75 Percent of Departing Employees Are Disgruntled

By Kimberly Weisul | August 9, 2011  Bnet.com     

Not only are record numbers of people leaving their jobs, but former employees are more disgruntled than ever, according to research from the Corporate Executive Board and featured in the Wall Street Journal Online.
The Corporate Executive Board, a research and advisory firm, compiled information from more than 4,300 exit interviews from 80 companies. They compared them to the results of similar exit interviews in 2008.

• In 2008, as the recession was beginning, 42 percent of people who had recently left their jobs said they would not recommend their former employer-about the same percentage as 2006.
• Those who are leaving their jobs now are a whole lot madder. In 2011, more than three-quarters of those who had recently quit said they would not recommend their former employer.

That represents a big problem for corporate America, where companies often rely on ‘alumni’ to help fill open positions. It also suggests that the two million people who voluntarily left their jobs in May may not have done so because they suddenly believed the economy was getting better. Instead, they may simply have been fed up with their employer, had stuck around as long as they could stand it, and finally left.
In the Wall Street Journal article, Brian Kropp, a managing director with the Corporate Executive Board, is quoted as saying:

Companies were blunt and rough and tumble with their workforce [during the downturn]. They created a sense that the company doesn’t care about me.

It’s the best employees who are leaving
Another Corporate Executive Board survey suggests that it could be the high-potential employees who are the most disgruntled, which is especially worrisome for companies that care about leadership.

• In 2008, about one in ten “high-potential” employees planned to change jobs in the next 12 months.
• In June of this year, one-quarter of high-potential employees said they planned to change jobs within the next twelve months.

With unemployment high, it’s easy to say that companies can be cavalier with their employees-even those who are supposedly the most talented. But losing a high-potential employee can cost a company 3 ½ times that person’s annual salary, according to the Corporate Executive Board. That factors in not just the cost of finding a new hire, but of smoothing over business relationships that may be ruffled by the departure and lost revenue that may accompany a high-profile opening.
With unemployment high, how hard should companies try to retain people-even their best people?

Restoring Employee Engagement

“I don’t like my job.” Did an employee say this to you or are you thinking it yourself? Before deciding to suffer or look for a new job, Group Dynamics CEO Ed Muzio says you should consider adjusting. Asking the right questions might reveal something that’s easily fixed.

Click on this short informative video to learn more:

Restoring Employee Engagement | At the Whiteboard

The surprising truth about what motivates us

The surprising truth about what motivates us

This lively RSAnimate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.
www.theRSA.org

How and Where to Find Your Next Superstar

Contrarian Hiring Advice to Find Your Next Superstar
To succeed, surround yourself with great talent.” Like most platitudes, sounds great. 

Also sounds expensive.

Facebook has the resources to buy companies in order to get excellent people. Most businesses do not.
So how can you surround yourself with Ferraris when you have a Hyundai budget? Start by thinking in stock market terms: People, just like stocks, are often underappreciated and undervalued.
Who is typically undervalued? People who are skilled but inexperienced. People with extensive education in the “wrong” field. People whose current job lacks sufficient “status.” People who suffer from negative social stereotypes.

The key to finding great talent at a price you can afford is to be a hiring contrarian. Go against the grain and against conventional wisdom. Then you can find your next superstar — and give someone a chance to show what they can really do in the process.

Here are some examples of talent hiding in plain view:

Career switchers. Take teachers. Many love to teach but hate the pay. (Can’t blame ‘em.) Teachers are excellent trainers, understand how to manage different personalities, and are great at motivating, encouraging, and nurturing other people. While you can train skills, do you have the time and resources to “train” qualities like those? Where career switchers are concerned, the key is to ignore their industry and look at the qualities the person possesses: A firefighter works well under pressure. A salesperson is a self-starter. A mechanic is an excellent troubleshooter. Toss an outstanding person out a plane and she will probably excel no matter where she lands.

Athletes. Granted I might be biased, but sports are an excellent training ground for business. A recent graduate who played a sport is self-disciplined, motivated, great at multitasking, able to overcome adversity, understands the value of teamwork… all qualities you can definitely use. Every year approximately 400,000 college student-athletes enter the job market. Snag one.

Ex-convicts. This category probably ranks highest on the “give someone a chance” scale. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s FIFTEEN restaurant hires 18 unemployed people a year, providing education, training… a chance. Seventy-five percent of the program’s graduates go on to successful careers. Many companies routinely reject anyone with a criminal record; do that many of your new hires — all of whom at one point you felt were sure things — turn out to be excellent employees? Probably not.

Crappy current job. You glance at a resume: The current job is telemarketing, or fast food, or stocking shelves. What is your first thought? Admit it. You think, “Well, if that’s all they’re doing now…” It’s easy to assume a person who currently has a less than wonderful job is only “worth” a job like that. (I have to admit this stereotype bugs me; I started as an entry-level material handler and eventually ran all manufacturing operations.) The fast food kid has more customer service experience than you do, and the warehouse worker may possess the attention to detail and work ethic of an accountant on PEDs.

Military. This time I’m definitely biased. I hired hundreds of people and definitely made mistakes, but I never regretted a single ex-military hire. Not one. Need a leader? The military is probably the only organization that puts as much or more emphasis on leadership training as it does on skill training. Need someone to see a task through, or to be able to follow as well as lead, or to be able to make smart decisions on the fly — and stand behind those decisions? Go with a vet. Every time.

Youth. Of course they don’t have any experience. How could they? You and I were young once too. Someone gave us a chance — and we worked hard to show that person they made the right decision. Some percentage of your new hires should be kids just entering the workforce. You get energy, ideas, enthusiasm — and the chance to truly grow your own.

I realize undervalued assets tend to appreciate as their true value is recognized. Someday the teacher you hired to run your customer service department may be a hot commodity and leave for better pay. That’s how it works; eventually the market recognizes the value of a superstar. And that’s also okay; wish him well and be glad you had him while you could afford him.

In the meantime, keep unearthing gems so your talent pool stays stocked.

By Jeff Haden | August 5, 2011        BNET.COM

5 Things Great Bosses Never Do

What you don’t do can make as much or sometimes more impact than what you actually do — and can also say a lot about your leadership style and abilities as a manager.

Here are five things great leaders never do:

1. Deliver annual performance reviews. Annual or semi-annual appraisals waste everyone’s time. Years ago my review was late, so I mentioned it to my boss. He said, “I’ll get to it… but you realize you won’t learn a thing. You’ve already heard everything I will say, good or bad. If anything on your review comes as a surprise to you I haven’t done my job.” He was right. The best feedback isn’t scheduled; the best feedback happens on the spot when it makes the most impact, either as praise and encouragement or as training and suggestions for improvement. Waiting for a scheduled review is the lazy way out. Your job is to coach and mentor and develop — every day.
2. Say, “Look… I’ve been meaning to apologize…” Apologies should be made on the spot, every time. You should never need to apologize for not having apologized sooner. When you mess up, ‘fess up. Right away. Don’t you want employees to immediately tell you when they make a mistake? Model the same behavior.
3. Hold meetings to solicit ideas. Many companies hold brainstorming sessions to solicit ideas for improvement, especially when times get tough. Sounds great — after all, you’re “engaging employees” and “valuing their contributions,” right? But you don’t need a meeting to get input. When employees know you listen they often bring ideas to you. Plus, the better way to ask for ideas is to talk to people individually and to be more specific. Say, “I wish we could find a way to get orders through our system faster. What would you change if you were me?” Trust me: Employees picture themselves doing your job — and doing your job better — all the time. They have ideas. Be open, act on good ideas, explain why less than good ideas aren’t feasible… and you’ll get all the input you can handle.
4. Create development plans. Development plans are, like annual performance reviews, largely a corporate construct. (HR staffers love to monitor compliance and alert managers when supervisors are late turning in their employees’ development plans. Or maybe that’s just my experience.) You should know what each of your employees hopes to achieve: Skills and experience they want to gain, career paths they hope to take, etc. So talk about it — informally. Assign projects that fit. Provide training that fits. Create opportunities that fit. Then give feedback on the spot. “Develop” is a verb that requires action; “development” is a noun that sits in a file cabinet.
5. Call in favors. I know lots of bosses who play the guilt game, like saying, “John, I’ve been very flexible with your schedule the last few months while your wife was sick… now I really need you to come through for me and work this weekend…” Generosity should always be a one-way street. Be flexible when it’s the right thing to do. Be accommodating when it’s the right thing to do. Never lend money to friends unless you don’t care if you are repaid, and never do “favors” for employees in anticipation of return. As a leader, only give — never take.
6. By Jeff Haden | August 8, 2011 BNET.COM

Use Your Customer's Competitor to Make the Sale

By Geoffrey James | August 2, 2011 BNET.COM       

When it comes to making an easy sale, your customer’s competition is your natural ally. This post explains exactly how to play this essential (but somewhat tricky) card.
A sales machine reader recently sent me the following email:

I am about to call a prospect who has shown some interest in our product, but is slow making a decision. I recently saw a big billboard from my prospect’s competitor promoting their actions in the area that our offering addresses. Is it okay to talk to the prospect about this in order to put some pressure on them? I’d like to say to them: “Look at your competition, they are overtaking you and if you don’t act fast, you’ll fall behind!” I would really appreciate your thoughts on the situation.

First of all, congratulations! While you’re new to sales, you quickly understood that the actions of prospect’s competitor can be used to your advantage. However, I do NOT advise that you barge right in and “put pressure” on them. Instead, you need some finesse.

• Step #1: Research the Competitive Situation. Dig around on the Internet, make some calls, do some competitive analysis. Find out EXACTLY what the competitor did, what product they used, and what impact they expect to get.
• Step #2: Research your Prospect’s Situation. Gather together everything you’ve learned about your prospects, their needs in your area of expertise, and the potential financial impact of buying your product versus not buying anything.
• Step #3: Create a Competitive Analysis. Create a document describing, in financial terms, the threat that the prospect’s competition poses to the prospect, now that they have what your prospect lacks. Do NOT try to sell your product in this document.
• Step #4: Create a Quid Pro Quo. Send a scanned photograph of the billboard to your prospect contact. Say that you’ve prepared an analysis of their competitor’s actions, and you’ll be happy to give them a copy, providing they’ll let you present your findings to decision-makers.
• Step #5: Create a presentation. Assuming they agree, create a presentation that describes the results of your research and segues into discussion why your offering will do a better job for the prospect than whatever their competitor is using.

That’s the basic approach. As an aside, whenever you talk with your prospect, try to find out more about their buying process. A “slow” buying process is usually a sign that you don’t know what they’re doing and when, so you don’t know when and where your presence (or absence) will speed the process along.

How to Come Up With a Brilliant Idea

By Caitlin Elsaesser August 3, 2011 BNET.COM

In competitive environments, businesses need fresh, creative ideas to stay on top. Unfortunately, it can seem like coming up with a brilliant new idea is a matter of luck or talent — neither or which you have, especially when you need it most.
Brothers Kevin and Shawn Coyne think otherwise. In their new book, “Brainsteering: A Better Approach to Breakthrough Ideas,” the authors lay out a method for generating new ideas that anyone can learn.
Business owners often fail to come up with great ideas because they are using the wrong approach — too broad and unfocused — say the authors. According to their book, two principles lead to fruitful idea generation: asking the right questions and adding enough structure to focus efforts.
While at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, Kevin worked on a project to improve the firm’s own ability to generate ideas. He looked at extremely successful businesses: ones that had either reshaped the entire industry or went from zero to a billion dollars in sales in under six years.
In 42 of the 43 businesses, says Shawn Coyne, “the founder had asked a single question at outset — or could have asked a certain question — that would have led you to same idea.”
Arm & Hammer Baking Soda is one of the authors’ model companies. Until the early 1970s, according to Shawn, Arm & Hammer was mostly used for baking. Then the company asked, “Who uses our product in surprisingly large quantities and how can we get more people to use our product that way?” When the company noticed a small number of customers using its product to deodorize refrigerators or to aid in washing clothes, it created a campaign to encourage customers to expand their use of baking soda. Today, the majority of its business comes from these other uses, he says.
The brothers deduced a set of guidelines based on such examples that can help other businesses come up with similarly groundbreaking ideas:

• Acknowledge your constraints upfront. Brainstorming often fails because it is too unfocused, scattering participants’ creative energy. In the real world, constraints exist.
• Ask focused questions. A good question forces you to look at a problem from a different angle. Instead of asking an overly broad question such as “How can we increase profits?” ask a more focused question like, “What’s the biggest hassle customers face when using products/services in our category, and how could we eliminate that hassle (in ways that others haven’t done already)?”
• Don’t assume that you (or your staff) can’t come up with creative ideas. The stereotype that some people are analytical and others are creative, but that people can’t be both, is not true. These are complementary forces that work together to produce better ideas. One helps you evaluate whether ideas are good or bad, while the other gives you perspective to help identify a new category of ideas.

Shawn says that the brainsteering method can be used for all types of businesses, but he has one note of caution. “If you are not willing to put real time and energy into brainsteering, don’t waste your time,” he says.