Recognizing and Empowering – Keys to Keeping Qualified Employess

In today’s economy and job market, finding and keeping the best employees is a company’s main challenge. Hundreds of resume’s come across HR’s desks and there are lots of choices about who to bring on  for that position that was budgeted less money than it was before (because the company had to “tighten their belts”, so to speak). There are many unemployed candidates waiting for your reply and you have to decide who. How to start? You may not wish to hire someone who appears “over-qualified” for fear that they may up and leave at a moment’s notice of a job that pays better. Right? This may not necessarily be so.  Maribeth Kuzmeski, founder of Red Zone Marketing, LLC, and author of “The Connectors: How the World’s Most Successful Business People Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life” (Wiley, www.TheConnectorsBook.com), says you may not want to ignore these candidate. She offers great suggestions. Most are related to connecting to a candidate’s “why”, or “passion/attitude”, know that they need less training, and once they are hired, empower them.

Empowering the highly skilled or qualified new hire becomes another related topic! Keeping them.  An employer needs to connect to the employee’s “feelings,” which are an essential part of the equation to giving people authentic and “real” recognition. (Roy Saudnerson, GIVING the Real Recognition Way) By developing programs that have a clearly defined framework of “IF” you do this, “THEN” you get that, you influence the employee’s beliefs of achievement within his work environment and he produces the desired results.

Employees tell us one of the problems they have with rewards is they only receive them when the goal finally is accomplished. Their complaint is generally that no one ever says anything along the way to getting the results. What a lost opportunity for acknowledging people for the many actions and behaviors leading up to the final outcome.  (Saunderson, 2011)

All too often, recognition is noticed and flagged only when it shows up as a low score on an employee evaluation or engagement survey. This is not reinforcing.  It is often seen that employees who lack “positive” recognition are more likely to leave the organization. People are more inclined to stay with a company where they are appreciated and who feeds their desire to achieve with training, workshops, professional development or mentoring.  “As recognition is included on performance reviews or 360’degree feedback tools as a key competency, managers can be measured and receive appropriate bonuses or pay changes [or gift incentives!] — the rewards.” (Saunderson, 2011)

“Suddenly, changing one’s mind and beliefs looks very rewarding,” then manager need not fear losing the “over-qualified” employee. That employee will become loyal.

Bibliography

Saunderson, R. (2011, March/April). Changing Minds. Training Magazine , p. 42.

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Cheryl Gnad – Incentive Specialist with Out of the Box Incentives, www.shopOutoftheBox.biz, www.shopOutoftheBox.snappages.com, Twitter: @shopOutoftheBox

See Me Dance? Hmmm, Maybe Not. (Just inside I am!)

Well folks, today seemed like a great day to bring you up to date. I am feeling inspired and motivated to create my path for success! Yea! Ok, see me dance? Maybe not. It isn’t my style actually, but I am just hopping inside! I should be out meeting new faces and making friends and maybe meeting someone who would like to expand their horizons like I want to do! I so enjoy finding a similarly motivate person – one that is wanting to grow, make more income, and help others because of what they learned. It is so fantastic, that when you lead another to greater things, you find yourself lifted higher than you were aware of happening! So, I begin with blogging about the possibilities and the insights I have received.

I’ve read The Progress Challenge by Dean Lindsay, and in it he writes the quote “Winning isn’t getting ahead of others. It’s getting ahead of yourself.” Holy Cow! That is me! I have since I was a child always wanted to better myself. It seemed easy, ha!, looking back. But I succeeded and reached my goals at the time! I did a journal about how one should always keep growing, planting new dreams in your future and finding ways to get there. Today, after MANY years of pursuing my dream, I found that it is harder now to do. Life throws new curves at you. Family, children, aging parents, distant siblings, loss of friends, jobs that didn’t work out, new jobs to learn, economy that takes and rarely gives, and so on and so on. No wonder many people just give up! They just “settle for”.

The author quotes Viktor Frankl “Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answers to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” Frankly, it means that the only things we can control are our responses, our decisions, our actions. Our actions are our responsibility! WE CHOOSE! Not life or others. It isn’t pressed upon us, we just choose to accept it. BUT what if you wanted something loftier than what you have? What do you do?

I will comment more on what does one do here in my blog later. Here is a peek…create your dream, set out a plan, decide to follow, and go. Have I done that? Yes, and still working it out. Have I achieved my goal? No, and yes. The end goal, no. But I hope I don’t get to my “END” goal because in truth, it is in the getting there, the journey, that makes me feel fulfilled! Does this excite you? I hope so. Part of my journey is in helping others find a way to travel that path – like or similar to mine. I have things in the planning that I hope to share with everyone soon. It is in addition to what I have now, but it makes sense to build where not all of your eggs are in one basket.

So, when you see my blog post announcement, come back and read. Better yet, let’s share stories about our journey to our goals! Want to know how you can get started? Contact me….

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Cheryl Gnad – Business Development, owner of Out of the Box Gifts and Incentives, and soon to be – Social Focus by CG!

Find me on Twitter @cggnad @shopoutofthebox @SocialFocusbyCG

Find me on Facebook – facebook.com/cheryl.gnad

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I’m Stressing Out! I Have An Interview!

Do you get nervous before an interview for a job? I remember what that was like. My stomach was in knots and I wouldn’t eat prior to the interview.  I remember wondering,  “what are they going to ask me? Will I know how to answer? Do I look ok? Why does this feel like a Game Show and I will lose if I don’t know the answer?” AAAaaaghhh! I was miserable and, of course, tense at the interview.

I found a way to feel far more confident. I realized it isn’t a game or a Game Show! It isn’t whether I or someone else has all of the answers that wins at the end. It is about being me and my being personable. What can be done? Don’t be fake, be real at the interview. They want to know if you will “fit in”. The skills and experience you already have are somewhat of a fit, otherwise they wouldn’t have called you in for an interview. So what can make a difference in getting you the best chance at getting this job? Be interested IN THEM! Know HOW you can help THEM with your know how and skills. Be able to prove it from what you have already done. Know about the company for which you are being interviewed for. It isn’t a game that you must win – you have no control of the result – you can only give it the best you. Your best may be great, but not right for the company or it may be perfect! Stressing isn’t doing any good unless you know zero about the company. Match up your best skills and experience to THEIR needs and you will look great. YOU CAN control that.

Make it all about THEM and find out how you can make THEM better with your skills and knowledge. When you give YOUR best for THEM – you can go to the interview and leave feeling good, even if you didn’t get the job. Because of this interview you will be better prepared for the next great opportunity.

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Cheryl Gnad, Incentive Specialist with Out of the Box Gifts and Incentives, and Consultant in Business Development, eComm Strategies www.shopOutoftheBox.biz, www.OutoftheBox.snappages.com, cheryl@shopoutofthebox.biz

Building relationships IS NOT A SKILL!

I just got off the phone with a good friend of mine. He spends is time networking with people at all levels of our community, trying to suggest ways to create job search strategies for the unemployed, underemployed, and for those who are “badly” employed, too. Our concern was for these people that don’t have their best life career going on for them, and how to teach them to take employment by the reins and make things happen for them. One of the most obvious activity that is missing, in what we agreed to be 95% of our unemployed community unemployed, was relationship building activity. Note that I say, “activity”, and not “skill”. Many descriptions came into our conversation and I wanted to share with you how we saw it. Why isn’t relationship building a “skill”? We refrained from calling it that because most feel that “they do that already”. But do they really? I’ve often asked the job seekers at job fairs, “Do your neighbors know that you are unemployed?” They respond, “oh, my next door neighbor knows”. I ask them, “so…. you say you have only a next door neighbor, no other people in your neighborhood?” The job seeker usually looks at me as if saying “Why should I tell the young mother down the street, or the grandpa who walks his dog by my house, or the 40 something 3 houses down who is mowing his yard, about my needing a job?” I ask them then, “why not?”  My friend on the phone says he has actually known neighbors that grab their garage door clicker, open the garage door, drive in — to avoid saying Hi to their neighbor in the yard next to them!” We have become a secluded population. Our lives happen indoors and not with folks we bump into everyday. The term I would rather use is “ACTIVITY” and not “SKILL” because “skill” means if it isn’t needed for my job, why waste my time doing it. BUT making relationships with PEOPLE is the activity, the HOW we make those relationships is the “SKILL”. Many times we assume we have the SKILL and don’t ACT assuming it will happen, uh, …when it happens. No so.

Why is it that we consider sales as the best occupation? Because sales is the “action” of making relationships and filling their needs. If you can’t do that, you won’t be in sales for long. If you can’t make relationships, you can’t influence the person that has the job you are wanting, you won’t have the job! There is an ongoing “disease” going on. That is “existing until things get better” or better known as “settle for” – doing without – not having cable, not going out to eat, not buying Christmas presents this year, not eating fresh fruit and vegetables, not having 2 cars, not going to school, not having a new winter coat, etc. By not having relationships we merely exist and not thrive! Does anyone desire to create that for their lifestyle? No, but who is willing to do the WORK of doing the relationship building to create the better lifestyle? This is the question.(One I ask myself to consider everyday!)

Several years ago, I became unemployed because of 911. I knew I didn’t have the skills, yes, skills, to promote myself well to others to get that “next” job opportunity. I knew I needed training. I came across a business idea, that promised me training in the VERY SKILLS THAT HELPED ME BE A RELATIONSHIP BUILDER! Yes, it was in sales and I knew sales would help me grow. It has done just that. Today, I am unemployed but not sad, depressed, or frustrated. Why? Because my new business plan from shortly after 911, has given me the skills to go out and do the activity that will either bring me a new job, OR create additional income that sustains me and lifts my spirit of hope for a better lifestyle! I am still growing and by far RICHER than I have ever been BECAUSE OF THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT I HAVE CULTIVATED since I began my business. I would even venture to say that I have a better chance of finding a job than those who don’t build relationship or who won’t create a business of their own. Being a business owner, creating my financial freedom, sharing my knowledge and skills to others, lifting people to become all that they can be, is by far more rewarding, than had I just cried over another lost interview or turned down resume.

In all earnest, I invite you to ask yourself,  “Am I able to meet people and find those people of influence that will offer me that job, or help me make the kind of (self created)  income of a business owner?” If you don’t think you know how, but would like to know. Give me a call. This is what I do, with a team of  like-minded people who are passionate about helping those who want another option instead of “settling for”, or “waiting for” the job market to give them a job.  Through my business, I have great mentors that have shown me how it is done.

I desire from my heart the chance to show you.

Contact me via email, Linkedin, or Facebook.

cgnad@yahoo.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylgnad

http://www.facebook.com/cherylgnad

How about making your own job at a company! Would you?….

CBS News just spoke about how the State of Georgia is doing something “out of the box” in hiring people from the huge pool of their 500,000 unemployed! Sounded a lot like what I have done (tried to do with surprising interest, in fact!). They have a program called Georgia Works. This program lets people who have the willingness to do work for a company/business for 6 weeks for free where they pay for their own expenses. This allows the person to stay on their unemployment benefits, and allows the employer to get 6 weeks of free labor, with the possibility of hiring the employee. The statistics are showing that 36% were hired in 6 weeks and 63% within an additional 90 days. If this program would be offered to you, would you take it? And what would you do? Tell us.

How do you approach your job interviews?

Last week I was called in for an interview with a major news-breaking research firm for a position as the Admin for the CEO. The CEO is very influential in setting the standards to the economic status of companies, as well for the city of Wichita! Hmm, I was honored to be considered! You would think that I’d be shaking in my shoes too! However, I wasn’t. Why? It doesn’t have to be a nerve-wrecking experience no matter who you interview for if you “create” your interview before hand. “Creating” your interview doesn’t necessarily mean you found the company/person (decision-maker) yourself; now it could, but it may be one that they found you. The “creating” part is in knowing how to present yourself to the needs of the person needing your skills and abilities. “How do you know what they need if you have never spoke with them before?” By knowing how the company is making its own news and learning where they are going and figuring out what the company’s challenges are – through news articles, websites, understanding the industry, and learning what others have to say about the company (this is where networking is so valuable – there are people out there for you to connect with for this information!).
A good interview is when you can keep your possible new boss talking about his business. Have a few questions ready to begin the process like – “what are your departments greatest challenges?”, “what achievements have you had in the past year that you are excited about?”, “where do you see the company being in the next 2 years?”, or “what kind of day to day energy do you feel your department has?” . Any of these kind of questions should be sufficient enough to get him/her talking and then giving you more information that you can ask more specific questions and relating what you know from the articles/research you did before coming to the interview. From this conversation you can add comments about your expertise to what actually fits the job and their needs.
Some of the questions I was asked by this very influential interviewing boss was – “so what have you been doing?”, “why did you leave this company?”, “how would you compare company A with company B?”, “who did you enjoy working for the most and why?”, “how good are your interpersonal skills?”, and “what kind of improvements did you bring to company X?”.
My interview went very well. He chatted about the company plans and time-lines, work environment, his personal history as a local business leader, and about the products they were producing and their business partners and their relationships! Wow! We talked business, and I didn’t feel like I needed to “audition” ! It was a business transaction – I was offering my abilities and expertise to be of service to his goals and aspirations! Whether he accepted me or not had a lot to do with chemistry of our relationship more than whether I could do the job. (Since I was called in, he must have already thought I had the skills to do the job). I gave it my best, but he got to make the last decision. RESULTS? I made a great connection with a very influential gentleman who I wouldn’t feel afraid to call up sometime if he could help me out – but I didn’t get the admin job. Oh, as a side comment – he asked me who my boss at a certain company was and this was the first question or near the beginning. OMGosh! For the life of me, all I could remember was his first name!(I must have had some nerves at that point! But did it jinx my interview? I truly doubt it.) My interviewer’s comment? He said “not good”. Ooch! Know the names – first and last – of those who were your bosses, even if you only worked for them only a couple of months, over a year and a half ago!
My reaction – Oh well! Moving forward to the next great conversation with a great employer!