Growing Your Business in 2013 - Good NEWS Bad NEWS

Guest blog post from Carol Ritter of CarolTalks.com

Speaking of traveling, I’m blessed to work for a company that brings me opportunities to experience the state of Pennsylvania’s businesses at their best and at their worst.  I’m speaking every Saturday in February in various cites throughout PA.  My audience is wonderful, caring, giving folks who truly care about their communities.  That’s the Good news.  The bad news is that when you travel, the experience of just getting dinner or a hotel can be...to say the least, interesting and sometimes frustrating!

First week, asked the young hotel clerk for a local restaurant with good food.  He recommended the restaurant across the street (lots of high fat hot wings). Why did I ask?  I finally found a wonderful, well-know restaurant with a flare for buying local.  I went in and asked the gal a question and her surly reply was, “How would I know?”   I opened the menu and a different name was on the menu than the restaurant I was supposed to be in.  I asked,  “Am at the Rock Restaurant?”  She said, “No, just go out the door and turn left, they are over to the right.”  So I did.  If she was interested in advocating for her restaurant she would have said something to make me stay.  Bad news for customer service. 

Second week, had to leave early due to impending snow.  Hotel issues, they had my reservation but not payment from the company.  The clerk went over the top to solve the problem with the biggest smile on her face.  She must have apologized 10 times.  Good news for customer service.  Then...... dinner.  I was sent to a neighborhood place on the corner in a very run down neighborhood.  I went in and walked right out.... if you know what I mean.  On to the next adventure!  Checking my phone app for another restaurant, I found a beautiful quaint hotel with a lite menu, turned on the GPS and off I went.  I turned the corner and OM goodness, the hotel was burnt to the ground.  I’m giving up the ‘buy local’ so I decided to visit Red Lobster, 1 1/2 hour wait, I give up, just want to eat dinner.  I left Red Lobster and drove to a subtle, little Mediterranean restaurant, parked and literally waited for guests to leave. “How’s the food here?”  A gentleman replied, “Best place in town.”  My luck had changed. The hostess greeted me with a smile and I sat down to a lovely dinner with live Jazz music.  Good news for customer service.

The first question most people ask when looking for a restaurant is always, how’s the food?  We never seem to ask, how’s the service?   Most of us are in the “PEOPLE BUSINESS ” no matter what, we come into contact with the public while doing our jobs.  And people talk, I read that we all have 10 people in our lives that we love and trust, those are the people we tell about our Good news, Bad news experiences. 

The Good news is that some business owners understand and are committed to extraordinary customer service. The Bad news is some just don’t care and they will let a future customer walk right our the door.  Train your employees well and no one will walk out the door again.  NOW THAT'S GOOD NEWS!!

Carol serves as a featured writer for the Home News and the Lehigh Valley Chamber Blog.

Carol is an accomplished professional speaker, coach and educational consultant specializing in innovative leadership, outrageous fundraising, million dollar marketing, and building organizational alliances throughout the country.  Carol’s creative  leadership with bullet proof ideas for recruiting MORE MEMBERS, MORE MONEY AND BETTER LEADERS. www.caroltalks.com 610-442-4545 tellkids@aol.com  Like me on  Facebook at Caroltalks and CarolCoaches!  Carol S. Ritter, Immediate Past President, National Speakers Association Philadelphia.

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Know thyself

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written by members of Human Resources UK.

There are many and diverse disciplines of HR, yet one aspect that is common in most is the requirement to identify strengths and weaknesses in others in order to develop employees and drive performance.  However, as is common with such practices it can be very difficult to turn the tables on yourself.  Today, Jill Hart-Sanderson explores a recent experience which illustrated her strengths and led her to make a major decision. (Ed Scrivener)

Know thyself

Finding your strengths

What is the secret to success? Now there’s something to ponder! What makes some people so successful at what they do, whilst others strive for something, but never quite get there? Do you recognise your talents or are you concentrating on the things you are not good at, and need to improve?

By switching our efforts to our natural talents rather than focussing our weaknesses we may just find the success we crave. By using skills, knowledge and practice it is possible to improve, but when this is used in an area in which you have natural talent the improvement is much more dramatic. This can be summed up in the following formula*:

talent (a natural way of thinking, feeling or behaving)

 X 

investment (time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge base)

 = 

strength (the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance)

It can be very difficult to look at yourself objectively and ask ‘what are my natural talents’? In the quest to find this out for myself, I recently did the StrengthsFinder online assessment. There are countless assessments and tests out there, and no - I’m not working on commission, but I found the results impressive. By replying to some obscure questions I discovered my talents which included:

• Loving the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over; deriving satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person 
• Being intrigued with the unique qualities of each person 
• Having the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation 
• A gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively

All very flattering, but I was amazed at the detail, and how much could be uncovered by asking the right questions. Armed with this information I’m now able to look at my natural tendencies and understand what works for me and what doesn’t.

Is this what is meant by SWOT analysis?

By finding out others’ talents we’re also able to select the best people for the task or understand the best way of working with them. It may just be that I’m ‘intrigued with the unique qualities of each person’, but I truly believe that by recognising that everyone is different and by knowing and sharing our natural strengths we can improve the way we work.

I wonder how many of us take the time to get to know ourselves or our colleagues. By knowing who we are and what is really important to us we can make choices about how we work, where we work and who we spend time with.

Interestingly, as a result of all my navel gazing I’ve even decided to leave full time employment and to focus on my natural talents to drive me to my personal long-term goals. Do you know your strengths? Do you know the strengths of your team and how to make the most of their natural talent? What are your thoughts?

* StrengthsFinder 2.0, Tom Rath

About the author

Jill loves working with the team at Rambutan helping people to think, lead and communicate brilliantly in order to achieve business, team and personal goals.  Her previous management experience in both the public and private sector means she has seen how great HR can make a real difference to individual managers and organisations as a whole.

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  Next week’s Discuss HR will be published on Thursday 29th September and we are delighted to welcome our next guest writer, career coach Paul Goring.

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Why performance review doesn't always work

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers for being so interactive with this feature.  We wanted Discuss HR to do exactly that and it is really pleasing to see all editions of Discuss HR still generating comments.  So thank you for reading!

So to the point at hand, this week Dawn Clarke returns and looks at the fear of giving and receiving constructive feedback.  The article is particularly relevant for me as I have to give constructive comments on a daily basis, but I know I am also not very good at receiving them! (Ed Scrivener)

Why performance review doesn’t always work

The HR department has designed a structured and supposedly objective framework for reviewing employee performance.  Managers have been trained and employees have also been briefed as to how to get the best out of the process.  All the paperwork has been explained to everyone who will be involved and as the Head of HR I am looking forward to a successful outcome.  Managers can look forward to improved performance as a result of the performance review and employees will have the opportunity to discuss their work and career aspirations.

Heaven! 

Well, not exactly.  I have yet to implement a framework where it all goes to plan and almost always find that the HR team will be ‘chasing’ managers for their completed paperwork.  Maybe it’s the formality of the whole process that turns people, managers and employees, against it.

Frank was slightly over-zealous with his feedback

Whatever the real reason, it would appear that performance review is a task that the majority of managers absolutely hate.  How many times have I heard ‘I’m too busy, I don’t have time’.  And it’s not just managers – employees either dread the meeting or treat it as a bit of a joke.  From the employee side I hear comments such as ‘it doesn’t matter what I say, it will still be what my manager says that gets written down’ or ‘can’t be bothered, it doesn’t achieve anything’ and even ‘my manager doesn’t like me so he’s just going to use the opportunity to pick on me again’.

The fact is that most managers are not comfortable giving objective feedback and they fear provoking a defensive response from the other person.  This is perfectly normal because the natural response to an attack, whether it is real or perceived, is to run away or attack back.  An innocuous comment made by the manager is perceived as a ‘threat’ by the employee and so the manager reviewing the performance finds him/herself being ‘attacked’ in return.  Alternatively, not engaging in the process is akin to the ‘running away’ response.

I believe it is this fear of conflict that is the key reason that many decent managers will often avoid giving honest feedback and of course this defeats the whole purpose of the process.  Whenever the employee’s performance is rated as less than the best, or less than the level at which they personally perceive their contribution, the manager is viewed as unfair or even punitive. Disagreement about contribution and performance ratings can create a conflict ridden situation that festers for months and many managers will prefer to avoid conflict that will undermine work place harmony.

However, if we don't know how to give constructive feedback we reduce our effectiveness as communicators.  Many people do not like to give negative feedback because they are afraid of a scene.  They are afraid of conflict and of what the other person might say back to them or might say about them at some future date.  The key to success is not to avoid such communications, but to become more effective in these communications by developing skills which can facilitate this process.

So what’s the answer to this perennial problem?

Many companies do train their managers in giving feedback however what does not happen so often is the training of employees in ‘receiving’ feedback.  Receiving feedback is an important part of the whole interaction and so training the ‘receiver’ is as important as training the manager if we are to ensure that the process adds value. 

Whenever I have had to work on a performance management project, I always make sure that individuals are trained in how to receive feedback without becoming defensive.  These are normally awareness sessions lasting about an hour so they don’t take up too much time away from the workplace.  I don’t go into lots of detail, rather I focus on a few key principles:-

• I encourage employees to see feedback as an opportunity to grow and improve.

• We discuss the natural response to a perceived attack is to counter-attack or opt out – just making them aware of this significantly improves the interaction

• If they don’t agree with the feedback, ask in a non aggressive way for more details

• Replay the scenario to the manager using your own thought processes – explain why you are doing it that way

The most important one I pass onto managers is that before you are able to confidently give feedback, you must learn how to take it and I take them through the points above.  If you can handle receiving feedback, you will be far more effective in giving it.  Being able to take feedback and learn from it is a vital part of self-development and in so doing the manager may learn from those he works with how to make things within the team better. 

Of course the big issue for me is around managing expectations.  A performance review cannot solve all problems or make everything better as there are limitations as to what can and cannot be achieved.

One thing is certain in terms of performance review.  It will never be effective until it is embraced by all parties and seen as a value add activity in that both parties feel that they get something out of it.  The challenge for HR therefore is not chasing the paperwork but working to facilitate the process so that it really does add value and this can be a time consuming activity.

I would be extremely interested to hear from anyone on this blog who has been involved in a truly successful process.  Is there a quicker way of achieving success?

About the author

Dawn is an experienced HR professional with strong development & internal consultancy experience. She takes a practical approach to HR turning strategic plans into operational reality. Dawn has experience in a variety of industries with a track record of commercial success by engaging people and making work a fun place to be. On a personal note she is a huge Liverpool fan, well someone has to be!

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  Next week’s Discuss HR will be published on Thursday 16^th June.

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Lazy Recruiters

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR.

It has been really pleasing to see some of the older editions of Discuss HR still commanding healthy discussions, so clearly they are hitting the right note.  Needless to say I am hoping this week is no exception, as this week is written by myself! (Ed Scrivener)

Lazy Recruiters

The recruitment approach to communication!

After my previous article, Jobseeker’s must try harder, I promised to write about the other side of the recruitment fence.  When I started writing this I did so in a tongue in cheek vein about the cowboys of the recruitment world.  I was detailing why all the criticism is levelled at recruitment consultants, however, it suddenly occurred to me that the humour of the piece could have easily been lost and I was in danger of committing my own Gerald Ratner moment!  This was rather apt that I felt my communication may be unclear, as when you look at the criticism of recruitment practices, at the core of them all, poor communication appears to be the common theme.

If I were to ask 100 people about their main gripe with recruitment consultants, I would expect 90 of them to state lack of feedback.  Equally, this criticism can also be aimed at hiring organisations.  In general, too many organisations and recruitment agencies alike feel feedback is not an essential part of the recruitment process.  Why is this? I would suggest that not providing feedback to unsuccessful candidates, be it at application or interview stage, is due to them being placed further down a list of priorities as recruiters believe the candidates no longer hold any importance.  It is believed the time spent contacting all the unsuccessful applicants is not an effective use of time.  This is of course an absurd notion!  These recruiters are being very short sighted in a number of ways.  Hiring organisations which have poor recruitment processes damage their brand.  This is especially pertinent when the organisation provides a service or product to consumers.  A poor experience at a recruitment stage is just as damaging to a brand as a poor sales experience in a shop.  Equally, recruitment agencies are damaging their reputation, which as any recruitment consultant will tell you is the most important aspect for being successful.  A candidate who has a poor experience will not refer the agency to acquaintances or, as is especially relevant in the HR industry, will not return to the agency as a client.  In recent years a large number of multi-discipline recruitment agencies have created HR recruitment divisions to try and capitalise on the good will of HR professionals and generate more business.  So, often the key to receiving feedback is to chase for it.  This shouldn’t be a necessary step, but often it is.  Fortunately, you will find many recruitment agencies and organisations do understand the importance of feedback, but the actions of a minority tar the majority.

Lack of feedback is only one issue, the quality of feedback is very much another.  Last year I was recruiting for an organisation for a role  for which I submitted 2 CVs.  The client emailed me to invite 1 candidate to interview but with no mention of the other.  I emailed and called about the other candidate but to no avail.  So I explained to this candidate that I had to presume they were unsuccessful.  I knew this was the 3^rd role she had applied for with the organisation, however, she then explained to me that she had not received any feedback in any of the 3 occasions.  I persisted with the client, leaving messages and emails explaining the lack of feedback.  After a week of chasing, they sent an email explaining “there were closer matches.”  Surely, if someone has had such a bad experience a few minutes could be spared to detail why they felt the person was not suitable?  Needless to say the candidate was not impressed and won’t be using the services of the company.  It probably won’t come as a surprise either that the recruiter no longer works for the company!  Spending the time to detail feedback provides a great sense of goodwill, however, if an organisation is working with a recruitment consultancy this feedback will help refine the search for suitable candidates.  It is no surprise that organisations which work with agencies very closely in a partnership are far more likely to fill their requirements and have improved levels of retention.  Candidates whom I reject at application stage I do so with the offer of detailed feedback.  I am always surprised that only about 15% take up this offer.  You will find some recruiters not willing to provide any feedback, but most will.  Again the key is to ask for it.

The recruiters all went for the same candidate...

Another aspect where poor communication affects the recruitment process is when hiring organisations feel the need to commission multiple recruitment agencies.  I can see the value of using 2 agencies, but when far more are commissioned the lines of communication are dulled immensely.  Often multiple agencies are used out of a misguided notion that it will widen the talent pool, however, it actually decreases noticeably the chances of finding the right person.  The point of using a recruitment agency should be to find the talent that the hiring organisation cannot.  If all they want is an advert response it would be far wiser and cheaper to use an advertising agency instead.  The last multi-agency roll I worked on was 2 years ago and the experience made me stop working on that basis.  The client commissioned in total 16 agencies! (This was also the last time I forgot to ask how many agencies are working on the role)  Due to the numbers involved they could only afford to provide a 5 minute brief per agency and were not open to face to face meetings.  Within days they received a staggering 60 CVs!  They were not asking the agents for any form of description about the candidates (yet one of the main reasons a job seeker to uses an agency is to  sell them to organisations).  It was at this point I decided to withdraw from the process as it was clear the only chance of success was mudslinging.  As it transpired the organisation went to final interview stage 4 times over a period of 5 months before appointing – the successful candidate left after 6 months!  This is an extreme example, however, I would strongly suggest that had the organisation spent the time with 1 agent rather than 16 they would have found the right person in less time who would still be employed.  This should also act as a lesson to job seekers.  Find out how many agencies are recruiting for the role as you wouldn’t want to be 1 of 60!

So in general, if organisations and recruitment agencies improved their lines of communication the recruitment process would be:
·         Cheaper
·         Quicker
·         More effective
·         Improve the brand, employer brand, reputation

This seems to be a no brainer, but is this so startlingly obvious that it will be overlooked? Unfortunately, the simple solutions are often missed and this will be the case for some time to come.


About the author

Ed runs his own business and is an HR recruitment specialist with a passion for social media.  He holds over 8 years industry specific experience and specialises in recruiting for middle to senior management HR positions.  He is also the Group Manager of Human Resources UK.
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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  Next week’s Discuss HR will be published on Thursday 14^th April and will be written by experienced HR professional Dawn Clarke.

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