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Individual or Team

Individual or Team

person’s working style: Everyone has his own strategy for work. Some people are not happy unless they’re independent. They have great difficulty working closely with other people and can’t work well under a great deal of supervision. They have to run their own show. Others function best as part of a group. We call their strategy cooperative one. They want to share responsibility for any task they take on. Still have a proximity strategy, which is somewhere in between. They prefer to work with other people while maintaining sole responsibility for a task. They are in charge but not alone.

If you want to get the most out of your employees, or your children, or those supervise, figure out their work strategies, the ways in which they’re most effective. Sometimes you’ll find an employee who is brilliant but a pain in the neck. He always has to do things his way. Now he just might not be cut to be an employee. He may be the kind of person who has to run his own business, and sooner or later he probably will if you do not provide an avenue of expression. If you have a valuable employee like this, you should try to find a way to maximize his / her talents and give him / her as much autonomy as possible. If you make him a part of a team, he’ll drive everyone crazy. But if you give him as much independence as possible, he can prove invaluable. That is what the new concepts of entrepreneurship are all about.

You’ve heard of the Peter Principle, the idea that all people are promoted to the level of their incompetence. One reason this happens is that employers are often insensitive to their employees’ work strategies. There are people who work best in a cooperative setting. They thrive on a large amount of feedback and human interaction. Would you reward their good work by putting them in charge of some new autonomous venture? Not if you want to make use of their best talents. That doesn’t mean you have to keep a person at the same level. But it does mean you should give promotions and new work experiences that utilizes a person’s best talents, not his worst ones.

Likewise, many people with proximity strategies want to be part of a team but need to do their own work alone. In any structure there are jobs that nurture all three strategies. They key is to have the acuity to know how people work best and then find a task they thrive in.

Here’s an exercise to do today. After reading this article, practice eliciting people’s metaprograms. Ask them: What do you want in a relationship (or house or car or career)? How do you know when you have been successful at something? What is the relationship between what you are doing this month and what you did last month? How often does someone have to demonstrate something to you before you are convinced it’s true? Tell me about a favorite work experience and why it was important to you.

Does the person pay attention to you while you are asking these questions? Is he interested in your response, or is he occupied elsewhere? These are only a few of the questions you can ask to successfully elicit. If you don’t get the information you need, rephrase the question until you do.

Think of almost any communication problem you have, and you’ll probably find that understanding the person will help you adjust communication so that the problem disappears. Think of a frustration in your life someone you love who doesn’t feel loved, someone you work for who manages to rub the wrong way, or someone you’ve tried to help who hasn’t responded. What you need to do is identify the operating metaprogram, identify what you are doing, and identify what the other person is doing. For example, suppose you need verification only once that you have a loving relationship, and your partner needs it consistently. Or you put together a proposal that shows how things are alike, and your supervisor only wants to hear about the ways they’re different. Or you try to warm someone about something he needs to avoid, and he’s only interested in hearing about something he wants to go after.

Sales Productivity Checklist

SALES PRODUCTIVITY CHECKLIST

Territory/Strategic Planning
(First Things First)

1. Where Are My Key Accounts & What Is Their Growth/Profitability Outlook?
2. What Are My Sales & Margin Objectives For All My Core Accounts?
3. What Outcomes Must I Make Happen By When To Meet My Account & Territory Objectives?
4. Who Are My Competitors & How Do We Stack Up In Terms Of Exclusives & Better Thans?
5. What Sales Tools, Joint Call Support, Authority & Pricing Input Do I Need & How Do I Set It Up?
Prospecting
(Facts To Find)
1. Do They Need My Product Or Service & Do They Have The Resources To Pay?
2. Are They Happy With Their Current Supplier?
3. Who Is The Decision Maker & Who Are The Influencers?
4. What Do They Do And How Do They Do It?
5. When & How Do They Make Buying Decisions?
6. Who Are My Established Competitors & What Are My "Better Thans" and "Exclusives."
7. Have I Learned Enough And Told Them Enough To Ask For A Second Call And To Effectively Sell During It?
Call Planning
(Need To Know)
1. What Was My Last Call Objective?
2. What Did I Learn And What Did I Promise During The Last Call In This Account?
3. Have I Learned Anything Since My Last Call That Could Be Important To A Key Contact?
4. What Is My Objective(s) For This Call?
5. What Probes Can I Ask That Are Likely To Reveal Information I Need?
6. Is There Anything/Anyone I Should Bring To The Call?
7. Is There Anyone Else From The Client Company Who Should Attend?
8. What Are My Key Contact's Call Objectives?
9. Are There Any Objections I Can Anticipate?
10. Where Is The Best Place To Have This Call (Client's Office, Lunch, Dinner, Etc.)?
11. What Time Of Day & Length Of Call Is Best?
During The Call
(Things To Do)
1. Adapt To The Client's Style & Stay Focused.
2. Let The Client Know Why I'm There.
3. Do Less Talking Than The Client.
4. Ask My Probes & Follow Up As Needed.
5. Actively Listen For Main & Supporting Points.
6. Restate & Confirm The Client's Key Points.
7. Find Ways To Develop Relationships.
8. Connect Customer Needs To The Ways I Can Add Value To An Ongoing Business Relationship.
9. Close (On A Next Meeting, A Deal, Something).
After The Call
(Follow Thru)
1. Write Notes Or A Call Report (Objective, Analysis, Next Actions & Recommendations).
2. Follow Up & Follow Thru Directly With My Management & Others As Needed.
3. Do What I've promised.
4. Think About How To Develop The Account.

Telephonic Interviews

There are three basic types of telephone interviews:

1. You initiate a call to the Hiring Manager and he or she is interested in your background. The call from that point forward is an interview.
2. A company calls you based upon a previous contact. You will likely be unprepared for the call, but it is still an interview.
3. You have a pre-set time with a company representative to speak further on the phone.

Here are some phone interview tips to help you:

1. Be Prepared

For preparing the phone interview, there are several things you can do. To prepare for the phone interview you can consider the following points:

* You can keep all of your employer research materials within easy reach of the phone.
* You can tape your resume to a wall near the phone. It will help a lot during the call and will be a constant reminder for your job search.
* Have a notepad handy to take notes.

If the phone interview will occur at a set time, Following are some additional points you have to consider:

* Turn off call waiting on your phone.
* Place a "Do Not Disturb" note on your door.
* Warm up your voice while waiting for the call.
* Have a glass of water handy, so that you will not have a chance to take a break during the call.
* Turn off your stereo, TV, and any other potential distraction.

2. Do not be afraid to pick up the phone

The first step in the hiring process is the telephone interview. It may happen that when you pick up the phone, the call may be from any company. Then that time ask the recruiter to repeat his or her name. Verify the spelling and write it down. Use the recruiter's name in your response.

If there is really any problem for you to talk, then ask for a telephone number and a convenient time to call back. You are now ready to make a good impression during your first five minutes.

The phone interview tips will help you master the phone interview and get you to the next step - the face to face interview. So do not afraid to pick the phone.

3. Be a good listener

During telephonic interview, you must keep in mind that you must be a good listener.

Avoid interrupting and let the recruiter complete his thought or question before you respond. Ask for clarification. Use open-ended questions. The more information you can gather, the better you can respond. We must know the fact that good listener is the best quality

Seven reasons why people fail in interviews

Success does not always come at the first attempt. This applies to interviews also. It takes some time for people to understand and perform well during the interview. But, often one can see candidates complaining that they got rejected despite having done well.

There are many reasons, why a person fails in an interview, but let us see some of the common ones.

Lack of preparation

Of all the reasons, this is the foremost one. It includes carrying improper CV, inappropriate dress code, completely unaware of interview questions and positive answers etc. By improper CV I mean, a CV which is not aligned well, or handwritten.

Walking into interview room in casual wear is also one of the key reasons for people to get rejected.

Casualness

Let us cross the bridge when it comes' does not apply to interviews. One needs to be geared up 100 per cent before the interview.

I have seen few candidates saying 'I will learn everything by experience. I am confident that by 'Law of average, if I attend 10 interviews, I will crack at least one'.

This attitude could prove lucky for few initially, but not for everyone at all times. The interview preparation should be given due respect it deserves.

Failing to understand the job role

This is a typical problem with a few of the candidates. They are completely unaware of what the job requires one to do.

If a person does not understand his/ her role properly, he cannot justify his suitability for the job.

If you are going through a consultant or got an interview call from the company directly, get the job description completely. In the event of responding to walk-in ads in newspaper, if you are not sure about the job description, spend some time on the Internet to know about your role.

Lack of skills

I am sure most of you would have read reports published by NASSCOM, HR experts & corporate professionals that more than 70 per cent of the candidates lack in employability skills.

A good qualification alone is not sufficient, but host of other skills such as good communications, interpersonal skills, analytical abilities, personality etc. are also vital.

Unfortunately most of the candidates realize this very late

No proper focus

During the interview, some candidates lose out, because they are not able to convince the employer about their interest in the position applied for. If you are applying for a job in marketing, stay focused on it.

Some candidates even put fields of interest as marketing, administration and accounts. Therefore, in the event of you being open to any career, prepare different types of CVs for different fields

Lack of subject knowledge

Irrespective of you being a fresher or an experienced professional, revisit your subject before going for the interview.

There are many chances that you will be asked questions from your subject, more particularly, if you are applying for a career related to the course you studied.

Lack of confidence

When the candidate uses too many negative words such as, 'I am not sure', 'May be I can', etc., it does portray lack of confidence to the employer.

The negative gestures or negative body language plays spoilsport in your selection. Instead use words such as 'Surely', 'I can do it', 'It's challenging but I can do it' etc.

Advertising Jobs During a Recession

7 Tips for Advertising Jobs During a Recession 

If your firm has work coming in during this economic crisis, consider yourselves lucky! If your firm has enough work coming in that you are in a position to hire new talent, you're in a very good position!

Posting a job during the economic downturn can be tricky. Tricky in a good way. Firms have the pick of the litter this year. There is an unprecedented number of accomplished architects looking for work. Job listings are often answered with a record-high response from highly qualified, even over-qualified, potential employees. The level of positive response to a job listing may be overwhelming to some, but who's complaining? This is a great problem to have.

Archinect would like offer advice on how to get organized and prepared during this unique employment period. Here are few simple tips to make the resume and portfolio filtering process a little less complicated.

1. Be extremely specific with job requirements in your listing. Specify years of experience, software knowledge - don't be afraid ask that only respondents meeting these requirements submit applications.
2. Specify a portfolio format, size, file format for portfolio submissions.Example: It may be much easier for your email to handle portfolios that are condensed to a certain size. Job seekers are more than happy to meet your requirements. This also shows the employer that the applicant knows how to follow directions and is being intentional about their application to your firm specifically.
3. Specify a title for email submissions. This will help the employer keep track of incoming applicants. A title such as "Senior Architect - Applicant Name" can be sorted and filed quickly.
4. Set up a dedicated email address. If you would like to skip the sorting process, a better idea is to set up a dedicated email address for resumes so that your personal inbox is not flooded with resumes, portfolios but also numerous inquiries regarding the status of the position.
5. Set up an auto response. Many employers set up an email auto response that indicates to the job seeker that their application was received with a statement regarding what to expect as far as a response. A common auto response would be " Thank you for inquiring about the position at XYZ Architects. We have received your resume. Due to high number of applicants we will not be able to contact each applicant personally. All applicants that will be interviewed will be contacted within 2 weeks. Good luck in your employment search."
6. Specify no calls or drop ins. Many firms are reporting that job seekers are often calling or dropping by to inquire if their resume was received and to find out the status of the open position. If it is important that your firm not get calls or drop ins regarding the position, don't be afraid to state it gently. "Please no calls or drop in inquiries, thank you."
7. Don't be afraid to require some unique application instructions.During this economic slowdown many job-seekers are becoming so desperate for work that they are submitting applications without fully reviewing the job advertisement. A simple set of instructions may provide a valuable way to filter out applicants who haven't followed the application instructions properly.

Though resume and portfolio filtering can seem a daunting task, the upside is that firms are at a major advantage. Many firms will secure a star employee with nowhere near the recruitment efforts it took before the economic slowdown.

How to Approach Recruitment during Recession

A recession is a bad thing for the majority of businesses,
but recruitment doesn’t have to stop.

All businesses have cycles — periods when you're unbelievably busy, periods where you can take a bit more time to breathe. It stands to reason that your recruitment plans will closely follow these cycles.

When a recession hits, or when the busy periods become less and less frequent, your recruitment plans will undoubtedly be affected and it's important for all businesses to have plans in place to work through the period in as smooth a way as possible.

• Resist a blanket hiring freeze — Whilst this is often the first reaction of any business that sees difficult times ahead, why should all departments be affected? If your business could be saved by investing in technology, then it doesn't make sense not to allow that department to continue recruiting, especially if there is a lot of good talent in the market due to other companies making redundancies. If there is a surplus of top talent, it may actually make sense to over-hire.
• Review your suppliers — Whoever you use to assist in your recruitment efforts (creative agencies, staffing firms, advertisers, etc), you should look to assess how safe your agreement is with them. As well as ensuring any existing contracts can be fulfilled, you may need to put in contingency plans for alternative suppliers in case any of your current vendors go out of business.
• Revise recruiting targets — A different situation means a different focus for those involved in recruiting and it's important that those signing off budgets and checking progress are aware of this. Look at your cost per hire, time to hire and retention rates to determine how you can display that you are having positive results despite the general downturn in business.
• Focus priorities — Ensuring you put all your efforts into recruiting high-impact positions will allow you to squeeze the most out of your budget. Look at the various recruiting methods you use and work out which have returned the best results. Recessions aren't the time for experiments, unless they come at a relatively low cost.
• Prepare for more applications — A recession means more people are out of work, which means you will generally see a higher number of applications per vacancy. While this sounds like you will have a nice pool of candidates to choose from, that's only the case if you can physically manage to review all the applications that come in. Plan your job adverts in a way that will allow you to manage the response levels.
• Combine resources — If you work for a large business that generally manages hiring needs on a local level, it's wise to look at ways you can share both knowledge and resources. It may be the case that one location strugglingwhilst another is is thriving and in need of help with their recruitment campaigns.
• Show you're a secure option — If you're trying to attract new employees during a recession it's important that you show in your job adverts that if someone joins your business, they won't be made redundant before they finish their probation period. Mention your recent growth and future plans to show that you're a safe bet.

If your business is unwilling or unable to continue even a limited recruitment programme during a recession, there is still a lot you can do to ensure you're prepared for when things do get better.

One tactic is to look at how you can shift talent internally. If one department is struggling to justify retaining an employee whilst another is desperately overworked, look at how you can utilise their skills to even the balance. You will obviously need to discuss any possible changes in career paths with employees, but it's often possible to adjust roles and responsibilities if they're attractive enough (and almost anything is more attractive than the prospect of unemployment)..

Look at analysing the various circumstances that have occurred that have put your business in this situation. Are there any triggers that would warn you when bad times are on the way? What can be done to minimise the impact of a recession in the future?

Whatever you do, make sure you don't just give up!

A Great Idea That Will Never Happen

A Great Idea That Will Never Happen

It is too easy to become a recruiter. I suppose that can be said for a variety of disciplines, but I would wonder how closely those positions affect the bottom line the way recruiting does. A company is powered by its people and the gas of that engine is recruiting. Staffing professionals know this, C-level executives are aware of the fact and likewise savvy investors who bet on the jockey rather than the horse they ride on. However, across many organizations the staffing department is grudgingly regarded as a resource of necessity that is wholly unappreciated. To make an unfair comparison, recruiters are often thought of like Firemen; well appreciated in times of fire, but forgotten otherwise. Sure, there are organizations that give lip service to the value of recruiting, but consider these questions. How often does the CEO of your company wander the cubicles of the staffing department to personally congratulate their contribution? When was the last time the staffing department was given kudos in a press release from upper management? When the stock goes up in your company, is staffing cited as a factor?

Recruiting overall suffers from bad publicity (or the lack of a significant amount of good publicity) reflected in the unspoken accolades from above and the occasional disdain from candidates. What do I mean? If a candidate is unemployed, unhappily employed or under-employed, then a call from a recruiter is a welcome God-send. Conversely, if the candidate is comfortable in their present role, such solicitations can be a nuisance. Furthermore, consider those recruiters who engage unqualified candidates and handle their candidates haphazardly. The end result is a negative impression of a certain company and a black eye on recruiting in general. It would seem that when recruiting (in any discipline) you have to contend not only with the requirements you are trying to fill, but also the biases of recruiting coming from all concerned. Fortunately, I have a strategy for turning this around.

Simply put, serving as a recruiter does not carry the prestige of being a doctor or lawyer; neither high school nor college students decide early on to become a recruiter. (How many graduate programs offer an intensive training in recruiting?) It has been my observation that people tend to "stumble" into recruiting and therein lies the issue. Returning to my initial statement, it is too easy to become a recruiter. While it takes a lot of effort to be a good recruiter and great experience to be seen as superlative, only a nominal effort is required to become an "official" recruiter. This is why I propose that the recruiting industry submit itself to a national standard that is regulated by an outside agency. Specifically, I would like to see the following:

That a license be required before one can recruit for any entity and that said license can be revoked if the licensee fails to maintain a minimum of continuing education credits.

That a national code of ethics is established and that an ethics review board be created as well. Said review board would operate to investigate major complaints and discrepancies jobseekers and organizations have lodged against a particular recruiter (and not necessarily a certain company.)

That an agency be created for the purpose of reviewing the practices, complaints and feedback of recruiters; after which, a ratings point will be given. Recruiters would then have the right to display their customer rating (akin to how restaurants display their health code ratings) and include these ratings within their sales collateral.

That a standard for resumes be established to include no more than four different formats. In this way, each recruiter and/or the company they represent may announce the style they prefer to receive from applicants.

That a reporting standard be established enabling job seekers to research the status of their candidacy in real-time.

That each recruiting entity post on their website a link to the national code of ethics they adhere to and information on how to lodge a complaint and/or testimonial.

Is this too much to ask for? Maybe not; perhaps we as recruiters will one day demand a new level of excellence and take it upon ourselves to regulate ourselves. When the labor shortage hits and companies are scrambling to secure top talent, management will appreciate our efforts to adhere to new principles and see staffing in a new light. And then there is the ultimate triumph of people aspiring from highschool to join the recruiting industry. Realizing the influence, prestige and distinction that come with being a trained and licensed recruiter, the average career span of a recruiter would more than double.

Outsourcing to Insourcing

How can recruitment process outsourcing, or RPO, possibly have an impact on a trend called "insourcing"?

If there was ever a contradiction that works for talent management, this is it. Over the past several years, only about 15% of companies were using RPO solutions as part of their talent management strategy. More recently, economic uncertainty, even in key industries like the energy sector, has demanded the development of hiring solutions that combine the flexibility of temporary workers with the training and dedication of permanent staff.

To address this new workplace need, RPO and insourcing are the best pairing since peanut butter met chocolate. The marriage has created what some industry experts call "a poacher-turned-gamekeeper" approach to recruitment and retention. Instead of hiring, training, and on-boarding their own telephone sales force, for example, a company approaches an outside agency to do it for them.

The sales force is trained according to client specifications and works on the client's site as a cohesive team, but is paid, managed, and administrated by the RPO provider. The company can increase or decrease the size of its sales force according to its needs, current projects or campaigns, and output cycle. As the performance, size, and productivity of the team are perfected under the supervision of the RPO provider, the company can choose to "insource" the entire team and hire them as permanent employees at the close of the contract.

Look for insourcing and recruitment process outsourcing partnerships to prove, once and for all, that opposites attract in a growing number of companies.