Articles

Are you hiring happy employees?

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Google the phrase “happy employees” and you will find statistics that show many employees don’t like their jobs, their bosses, their company, or their work requirements. The bottom line? They are not a good fit for their job. Unhappy employees become bored or overwhelmed, start complaining, and don’t do the work as it needs to be done. They expect you, the boss, to fix what’s wrong with the job, the company, their customers, their coworkers, and everything else they view as difficult! They don’t understand that from your perspective it’s their job to provide solutions to these problems and be open to training to enhance their skills—which is why you hired them in the first place! Remember, high proficiency in job skills will not necessarily mean good job fit!

Using qualified assessment tools will help avoid a bad fit and create happier workers (aka top performers)!

Top performers are employees who truly fit their jobs. They help create a positive work environment, reduce communication issues, increase job satisfaction and loyalty, and ensure customers keep coming back.  As a boss, you will find that they are effortless to coach, train, and manage.

Using more objective data provided in a qualified pre-employment assessment will eliminate the time and money spent trying (usually unsuccessfully) to “fix” them. An attempt at “fixing” usually leaves them, and you, unhappy!

High-quality “job fit” assessment products predict success in a specific job and have been thoroughly researched and validated. They can provide reliable and relevant information that is non-discriminatory. (Be sure to review the technical manual of any assessment you wish to use for pre-hire purposes and Department of Labor guidelines to determine which tools are qualified pre-employment assessments. Do not rely solely upon a product letter stating its virtues.) Used as directed, they work! Everyone is happier!

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Mark your calendars for March 13, 2013. Hire Amazing Employees, Second Edition: Improve Your Profits (and Your Work Life)!  will be available for purchase.

Jeannette Seibly delivers straight talk with immediate results to business owners and executives of $1MM to $30MM enterprises, creating dynamic results. You may contact her at JLSeibly@SeibCo.com for an initial free consultation.

Create Consistent Results

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Change is constant. What worked once, may not work again. Outcomes may not be what we anticipated, long term. Outside factors beyond our control can change even the best of plans. Achieving consistent and intended results requires vigilant attention!

Sometimes the smallest of changes can cost money if we do not catch them! When a plan doesn’t work, we often ditch the whole program instead of looking at the specific component(s) that may need to be altered. We forget employees may not run our systems exactly in accordance with set policies and procedures, thus changing expected outcomes.

A company, fast becoming a leader in their industry, created a strategic hiring system. It worked. Turnover was remarkably reduced. People fit their jobs and enjoyed their work. However, as veterans from the industry joined the team, they refused to trust the new system – it was different from their former cycle of hiring/firing until someone finally stayed. They were not used to following a well-defined system designed for retention. Only after the bottom line suffered, and their jobs were jeopardized, did they jump onboard.

Everyone has their own concept about how things “should” run. The reality is there are many inside and outside influences that can unpredictably vary how things actually do work out. Train your new employees on your systems, policies and procedures; give them the background information about why it works that way within your company. Be sure you have the right employees in the right jobs with the right training to handle outside technology and social media influences. These factors, along with others, will impact your sales.

Review your results objectively with your business advisor – it pays to be focused on the right things daily and catch changes early to maintain and improve your bottom line!

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Jeannette Seibly challenges you to ask yourself:

  • What changes have you had to make to maintain or increase your results?
  • Did they work?
  • Why?

Be Grateful for Conflict

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There are many articles written about conflict: the good, the bad and the ugly. The truth is when we fail to listen to others’ ideas and respect individual opinions, conflicts naturally occur.

Why? We have an illusion that our perceptions are the right way to think, behave or interact with one another. We are taught to speak up against someone who does not agree with us, or quietly dis them to others, negating the value of their contributions. The yeller that everyone complains about is actually no different than the silent screamer who fails to notify someone in authority of a problem.  Both cause loss of customers, low morale, poor quality of products or services and profitability. It is disrespectful toward others inside and outside the organization.

The time is now to put aside your preconceived judgments of others’ ideas and develop persuasive listening skills. Be open to hearing thoughts you would normally dismiss, learn to build upon these viewpoints and use them to create new systems, products and/or services. Often, there is a hidden gem of genius in many ideas. To determine the value, you need to develop the potential worth. Exercise facilitation skills that bring out each person’s opinions.  Listen to differing facts about the workability of internal and external factors – these can add to or hinder financial results.  In the end, whether your nugget shines, is used to create a better solution or set aside, be grateful for the “conflict” or differing mindsets that helped build a viable outcome.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2013

Jeannette Seibly is a business advisor for business owners and executives of $1MM to $30MM enterprises creating million dollar results. Contact her at JLSeibly@SeibCo.com for a free consultation on how to achieve amazing results.

When has “conflict” helped resolve a problem or open up a new product or service for your company? What did you do to facilitate it? Please share your ideas!

Stop Trying Harder!

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I adopted five-year-old Gracee a couple of months ago from the Dumb Friends League. She had broken her back leg when she was a kitten and her gimp is very noticeable when she walks. However, you wouldn’t know it by watching her zip around chasing her toys. One of her favorite activities is to race down the stairs to fetch a bouncy ball.  It’s a combination of a run and bunny hop!

How many of you are willing to go for it? Regardless of your challenges?

Or, have you fallen into the tiring and endless trap of “trying harder?” One of the biggest challenges for executives and business owners is learning that “trying harder only creates more of the same challenges.” It leaves you, and them, tired and cranky at the beginning and end of each day!

How can you be unstoppable? It’s inspiring when handled in a biz-savvy manner.

Banish the illusion of the “perfect time.” What are your excuses for not pursuing your goals? Write down these time mongers! You won’t find anything new or inspiring! Instead, write down what you really really really want to accomplish.  Rewrite it into a goal. Develop “I can do it and I do it” attitude and proceed forward. Talk with your coach to help you through the inevitable “walls of life.” 

Stay connected. Pick up the phone. Stop relying solely on emails or social media venues to stay in touch. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you talk with others and allow them to contribute their ideas. Sometimes the simplest suggestion can spark the right change required to move ideas forward.

Focus on priorities. It’s very easy to get caught up in the swirl or chaos of too much to do. Pick two key items to get completed during the day based upon priorities, or boss or client mandates. Regardless of whether you like to do them! These accomplishments will create naturally-centered confidence.

Have fun.  Take a couple of minutes at the end of each day to write down today’s achievements and setup tomorrow’s “must do’s.” Now, enjoy quality time without worrying about work. It will be there tomorrow!  Be good to yourself and learn appreciation. Gratitude helps you work smarter and achieve your goals faster!

Learn to Brag! Bragging to others in a biz-savvy manner gives voice to your accomplishments. Why is sharing important? You find out you’re not alone in your challenges. It encourages you, and others, to build on your strengths, achieve your goals and work smarter to enjoy your job and life. (TimeToBrag.com)

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012

Are You a Moody Leader?

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  • Do you thrive on drama?
  • Do people calculate your approachability before talking to you?
  • Do you gossip about your employees or clients?
  • Do others consider you untrustworthy?
  • Do you make decisions based upon your feelings at the moment?

Leaders set examples for the rest of the organization to follow. If you lack consistency in how you communicate, disrespect others in word or deed, or don’t trust others to do their best, employees respond accordingly. If you react (or over-react) before getting the facts, they may be afraid to speak up for fear of retribution. You create more of an issue.

If others are concerned about your effectiveness as a good leader, they will withhold valuable information. In these situations, often your employees’ focus is not on the organization’s goals. They are focused instead on how to work around your moodiness and still keep their jobs.

As a leader, immediate help is required to reaffirm your leadership position and move the enterprise forward. What can you do to resolve this?

Hire a business advisor. Being coachable is critical to anyone’s success, particularly top management. It can be lonely at the top; too often leaders don’t have someone else to talk with and their job can feel like a burden. Talk weekly with a business advisor. Focus on less dramatic ways to handle issues and have the benefit of consistent clarity to guide your organization forward.

Communicate effectively.  #1 concern for any leader! Be prepared to listen more than talk. Learn to ask the right questions. Be open to news you may not like, or new ideas you had not considered. Stop the internal chatterbox ; it inhibits your ability to actually hear what others are saying. When you need to deliver unpopular news or decisions, first think through what you need to say. Write it out. Read it out loud in the mirror. Keep it short, not long-winded.

Stop “should-ing.” Too often we believe people should have known or shouldn’t have said something. We forget the mistakes we’ve made ourselves over the years! A good rule of thumb: When someone does something great, let them know. When they make a mistake, take time to discuss it as soon as possible, one-on-one. When performance concerns are addressed in a consistent and respectful manner, it provides clarity about your expectations. Your employees will usually make the corrections required. If you scream at them, even once, it can damage your long term effectiveness.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012

Keep Energized During Q4

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Elections are fully done. It’s time to focus on achieving a great fourth quarter while balancing the stressors from the upcoming holiday season. The key is to take care of yourself while you’re completing 2012 goals.

Here are a few pointers to help:

Walk it out. Take 10 minutes, three times daily, to simply walk around, walk up and down the stairs, or simply move! Remember to breathe!

Talk it out. Turn your monologues into dialogues. However, sharing the same thing over and over will not get you any results. And – you will not feel any better! Share with someone who can actually help you. It may be a good time to find a business coach who can help you stay focused on the actions that will make a positive difference. Listen and incorporate at least one of his/her ideas the same day.

Write it out. Studies have shown that when people write out their fears, upsets and frustrations, it can be cathartic. It helps get it out of your head and provide insights. The key is to keep it private and not share your written journal with others. Do not send it in email to your boss or colleague.

Meditate. Take time to simply empty your mind and be silent for several minutes. It can be refreshing. Sit comfortably. Breathe in and out. When thoughts appear, and they will, say, “noise.” Don’t make these thoughts good or bad.

Confidence booster: For added benefit, keep your Brag! statements up-to-date. It helps build your confidence and competence by focusing on the results you have achieved. You can build on these strengths and use them as a foundation for handling new challenges. (TimeToBrag.com)

(c)Jeannette Seibly, 2012

Delay Judging Others

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In today’s fast paced world, we judge others in a nano-second. We base our verdicts on fact-less perceptions. Often, we are wrong! Successful business leaders have learned to bide their time before making irrevocable decisions about others. They know this trait can be held against them in litigation for employment-related concerns, in negotiations for contracts and special pricing and in their abilities to achieve the intended results for a project.

The following are six key points to minimize our misperception of others. The benefit? We will make better business decisions, develop stronger partnerships to grow our enterprise and enjoy positive financial impacts.

How to delay judging others:

1.     Emails. Many people don’t proof their work merely for the sake of expediency. They often forget mistakes create a long-term impression of their competence, and skip taking the extra minute or two necessary to proof their work. Review several emails to see if it’s a one-time oversight before sending them a friendly reminder.

2.     Social Media. Some people truly do not know how to use social media venues in business. “Spam” is an overused and misused phrase. Simply hide them on your newsfeed or disconnect without being offensive.

3.     First Impressions. Our internal chatterbox will focus on the person’s physical factors. It can be as simple as how they are dressed or shake your hand! If their “sound-bite” isn’t of interest, we automatically tune them out. Take time to get to know the real person before throwing away their business card. Be sure your own introduction is polished and engaging. (TimeToBrag.com)

4.     Network Meetings or Sales Calls. Some people create a weak impression or use an interrogative questioning style. Before discounting their credibility, set an example by sharing about yourself. Ask appropriate questions about them. It will help you make a better decision about any future connectivity.

5.     Manage your feelings. Your feelings about your employees, co-workers and clients will impact your ability to work with them effectively, even if you falsely believe you’ve kept your opinions well hidden. Learn to like someone by focusing on one or two things they do well, such as their success interacting with tough clients. Be careful of showing favoritism to those you naturally prefer. It can limit your ability to hold all your employees accountable.

6.     Don’t be afraid of the tough questions. If you’re working with a business advisor, banker or VC, they will ask hard questions. They don’t care if you like them or not! Their commitment is for your success and to provide you the clarity required to make better decisions. Learn from them! Take responsibility for asking the right questions to ensure the best welfare of your employees, clients, projects and bottom line.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012

Honor the Fear Factor

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New ideas, products and/or services can be difficult for many people to grasp if they are not part of the creation process. Too often when a boss, business development group or sales team comes up with the “new big money-maker” idea, others become fearful. Instead of creating a thought-out blueprint and return on investment on paper, they simply attempt to wing it! Worse, they attempt to control every aspect of the process as issues arise. Steamrolling others and not enrolling them into the process usually creates disastrous results. Employees and customers become fearful. Want to turn this loose/loose scenerio around? Honor their fears for positive outcomes.

It’s OK. Create an environment of innovation where mistakes happen and everyone learns from them. An environment where “What if’s….” are welcomed. Implement according to a well-designed, focused and simple blueprint. It keeps everyone on the same page. Allow others the opportunities to voice ideas or concerns, and explore them without repercussions. This sort of transparency prevents covert squashing!

Stay focused. Don’t make changes to simply change or falsely make others happy. Stop allowing the newest “bright shining object” to deter the process. Detours usually cost money and valuable time while wreaking havoc.

Come Down to Reality. When the team is concerned about an outcome, take time to listen. It’s usually based upon sad experience of past errors in poorly executed projects. Nay-sayers do quietly sabotage efforts, often due to their fear of the unknown or mistaken assumptions (e.g., changes in job duties, unwillingness to learn new systems, poor relationship with project leader or team members, etc.) Share the economic and market impact of the new service or product constantly. Repetition is the key to quell fears. Don’t make promises about big bonuses or payouts without the ability to follow through.

Keep it simple. Share the plan and idea in small bite-size pieces. Start with very simple questions to hook others’ interest, get them thinking and help get them on the same page. For example, asking a broad question can be a deterrent, i.e. “How can this company save a million dollars?” Instead, ask simpler engaging questions, such as “What is one idea you could implement today to save money?”

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012

5 Ways to Combat Never-Ending Excuses!

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I recently received an email from someone I had met several weeks ago. We had created a great idea for her business growth. It was a simple and sound plan with a positive ROI. Her excuse for not following-through? She wanted to stay focused on what she was currently doing and wouldn’t  be able to implement the idea. Huh? Then, like most of us do to when confronted to move outside our comfort zones, she listed several “excuses” and included a quote from a well-known author to support her rationalization.

Our automatic excuse-maker kicks into full gear and we can come up with amazing reasons to justify not acting upon ideas or following-through on plans! The problem is,    we engage our mental monologues in time-consuming thoughts that take more time than implementing the process would require! Then, we spend additional time (yes, and money) to enroll others into our justification for achieving poor results. We falsely await an epiphany without doing the necessary work! We rely upon mysticism that if we don’t act upon something, or follow-through, it wasn’t meant to be. Unfortunately, these cyclical excuses intensify as we use them more and more often.

How do we break out of this nasty trap? How do we move outside our comfort zones before they shrink to ensnare us completely? How do we achieve our goals with ease and positive financial results?

First – Hire a life coach or biz advisor who will propel you forward. You are still required to do the work, yes. The difference is a coach helps you break through the barriers  to do what you have been avoiding, so you can have what you always wanted!

Second – Complete the five exercises in the book, “It’s Time to Brag!” (TimeToBrag.com) and become aware of your past accomplishments. You can’t build on weaknesses. Use these “brags” in a biz savvy manner for sales presentations, retaining clients, and asking for new job assignments.

Third – Create a blueprint based upon future goals, not simply recreating what you did in the past. This can be a challenge since human beings love to operate inside their comfort zones, which include either generating strategic ideas that cannot be implemented, or tactical plans that only regurgitate our current work with a new twist. Neither provides “value-added” results.

Fourth – Ensure a positive ROI.  It’s like any investment of time or money. Ask yourself, “Does the plan provide a potential positive cash flow as it is designed, based upon the hours, days, or months involved?” If it does not, modify.

Fifth – Learn to recognize and shift your automatic excuses immediately. Saying “no” to requests may feel liberating. But in reality, if it’s not used judiciously, it only serves to entrench us deeper into our ruts. Learn to maneuver successfully through inevitable challenges via conversations with your biz advisor for positive results!

(c)Jeannette L Seibly, 2012

When Winners Lose

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There are times you can win simply by quitting. Or, losing gracefully.  You recognize them. Times when there’s been a financial drain. Resources are unavailable. No one is willing to work with you. It’s time to move on. If you’re unwilling to hire a biz advisor and incorporate their ideas, it’s doubly time to quit.

Feeling Bad. Regret rarely makes a difference to your team, investors, boss or customers. While many people will need to process it emotionally, moving forward is important so it doesn’t overwhelm you, your team or the company. If you’re not committed to the goal, consciously and unconsciously, your internal dialogue will stop you! Turn your monologue into a dialogue quickly instead of reinforcing “why it should’ve, could’ve and would’ve worked if only it had been different.”

Get clear. Every success and every failure provide “lessons learned.” These will be repeated in future projects and ventures until they are learned!  Complete a review of what worked from the project or venture. Clarify specifically what didn’t work. Using numbers will often help you see it more objectively. Incorporate these lessons into future plans.

Be Coachable.  Too often, people will give up too quickly due to entrenchment in how it’s always been done, or unwillingness to learn a new method. They might hang on too long due to their boss or leader not moving them forward.  Learn to quit gracefully after talking with a biz advisor to determine if the project, plan or venture can be turned around profitably and fulfill the intended outcomes.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012