Hiring Solutions

Internal Mobility Creates Profitable Companies

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“It’s tough when markets change and your people within the company don’t.” Harvard Business Review

Many employees are staying longer with their current employers, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they are happier (also known as the Great Detachment—employees who are unhappy but not leaving, according to Gallup). In fact, many are simply waiting for new jobs elsewhere. The significant reasons? Many companies are failing to provide professional development and opportunities for growth.

Promoting internal mobility is a key strategy for retaining employees, enhancing both company agility and profitability. Leaders should leverage their employees’ skills by facilitating their movement into new roles and opportunities within the company. Internal mobility can include lateral moves, promotions, project-based roles, and taking on new responsibilities.

By creating a company culture that builds on and utilizes existing skills and knowledge, your company can be ready for change and profitable growth!

Steps to Make Your Company Ready for Internal Mobility

Update Current Policies and Practices

Review existing policies and identify gaps that make it difficult for employees to apply for and get different jobs within your company. Instead of requiring a long list of skills and experiences, focus on their accomplishments. For example, ask them to describe a recent project where they and their team produced intended results.

Create Career Pathways

Not everyone wants to be a manager of people, yet this is often the only way employees can get a pay increase. Instead, utilize their experiences by building different career ladders or pathways. Use a qualified job fit assessment to focus on employee strengths and actual interests. For example, placing someone who excels with numbers into accounting may not be beneficial if they have no interest in accounting or finance.

Train and Develop Your Leaders

Many leaders hold their positions due to their expertise in finance, technology, or operations, but they may lack people development skills. Hire coaches for these leaders and focus on developing them to develop others.

Address Cultural Resistance

Some managers and employees resist internal mobility. To overcome these blocks, understand why. For instance, some companies base career mobility on length of service, which is not always indicative of effectiveness or ability to learn new skills. Address this type of resistance by emphasizing skill and performance over tenure.

Address Skill Gaps

Everyone can be a leader without a title, but it requires leaders to allow employees to work without micromanagement. Encourage employees to share ideas and take initiatives to close skill gaps. Provide workshops, one-on-one coaching, and training programs in communication skills, critical thinking, teamwork, and project management to prepare them for internal moves.

Build a Talent Pipeline

Encourage employees to participate in small-group and company-wide teams, as well as trade and professional associations. These opportunities broaden their awareness and help them learn new skills. When new positions arise or employees leave, look first at your talent pipeline to fill these roles. This saves time and money, while increasing your company’s agility and profitability to meet new market demands.

© Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 32 years of practical experience guiding leaders to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and achieve amazing results. Achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs. She has been an Authorized PXT Select® Partner for over 33 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.

A Note from Jeannette: Developing internal mobility in your company increases agility and improves the bottom line. What does it take? What are some of the issues and challenges that must be addressed? This week’s article covers common, yet overlooked, areas that need attention. Contact me for a confidential conversation to resolve what seems unresolvable.

Now is the time to get into focused action! Are there days you dread managing your people, projects, and team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has those days. But continuing to hide behind excuses only hurts you and your future promotability. I have extensive experience guiding leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully, including helping you get out of your own way and working effectively with your team to achieve the required results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Want to Improve Your Hiring Decisions?

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“If predicting job success were easy, or quick, we wouldn’t see expensive early hiring failures!” John W. Howard PhD

As you know, hiring and investing in your people costs money. Too often, mistakes are made despite all the interviews and other pre-employment rituals. Your retention, revenues, and results suffer.

The problem occurs when you hire, transfer, or promote people into jobs that don’t fit them. This often results in the person leaving your company and taking other top talent with them. For example, taking your top salesperson and promoting them to the manager role is a frequent misstep.

Current Problems Most Companies are Experiencing

Relying on:

Intuitive Hiring. Yes, it’s easy to rely on our “intuition/gut” to tell you if the person is the right one. The problem is two-fold. #1: There is no objective data, which often results in the collection of false information and hiring mistakes. #2: Your retention, reputation, revenues, and results suffer.

The Resume. Over 80 percent of resumes contain inaccuracies, embellishments, or lies. Many resumes today are created using AI, online templates, or professional resume writers. The question is, “How valid is the information?” Remember, you need objective and reliable data to improve your hiring decisions. The resume alone will never give you that.

Any Assessment. Over 95 percent of assessments today are not validated for pre-employment or job selection use. It’s time to learn about the science and legality of using objective job fit assessments. (See Chapter 9 in Hire Amazing Employees)

Overcoming These Challenges Requires Using Real Systems

Use the interview, assessments, and due diligence equally in hiring decisions. Do not rely solely on the interview; stop asking questions that are not job-related. (SEE Chapter 1 in Hire Amazing Employees)

Select a job fit assessment with the validity, reliability, and predictive validity that comply with the Department Labor Guidelines for pre-employment and selection use. (Most hiring bosses don’t do this.) The proper assessment will guide you to hire the right people with your eyes open to any challenges you may encounter. Remember, no one is perfect, but you cannot teach a cat to become a dog.

Train your hiring bosses. Use an intracompany system that provides all the tools and resources required. This will save you and them from hiring mistakes, costly turnover of current employees and clients, and legal challenges. (See Chapter 3 in Hire Amazing Employees)

Don’t Overlook Hidden Talent: Many talented people are already employed in your company. You overlook them based on biases and other subjective factors and seek top talent from outside the company.

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of practical experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select® Partner for over 32 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about these state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.

A note from Jeannette: Is the way you hire people working for you? Are you happy with your hiring results? Improving your retention, revenues, and results creates a positive reputation for you and the company. Contact me for a free, confidential conversation on how to improve your selection process and hiring decisions.

Now is the time to get into focused action! Are there days you dread doing what is needed to manage your people, projects, and team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has those days! But continuing to hide behind excuses only hurts you and your future promotability. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully – this includes getting you out of the way and working with and through people effectively to achieve the results required. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

What Are You Investing In? Probably Not Your Talent

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“What you focus on expands, and so do your results!” Jeannette Seibly

Many bosses/leaders have a budget and are looking at the next technology, sales system, or AI they can buy to build their company’s success and attract and keep customers. Sadly, they fail to provide the dollars required to train and develop their most important asset: their employees. They forget that team members are the main reason customers stay or leave.

Investing in your talent impacts your company’s results when:

  • People are promoted to jobs without the necessary training and coaching for success
  • Employees do not receive the proper training to support your client’s needs
  • It becomes challenging to job transfer employees due to a lack of upskilling

Studies have shown that training and development improves morale and retention, attracts top talent, boosts individual and team performance, and keeps customers from straying to your competition.

Many employees today value training and development. Remember, while many technical skills need continuous upskilling, don’t overlook the essential skills of communication, critical thinking, and ethics (to name a few).

Develop the Team Members and Achieve Amazing Results

Job Fit. It starts with hiring and knowing their strengths and weaknesses based on objective data. Hiring the right person for the wrong job equals poor job fit. And no amount of training and development will make them a superstar. Poor job fit can be very costly. If that is not enough to get your attention, studies have shown it can cost over $300K per person when you hire someone who is not a good fit.

Career Pathing. Not all employees are alike! Their career path should reflect the skills required for the success of their job and accomplishing their long-term goals. This makes it easier to upskill and focus on needed training to prepare for job promotions and job transfer. Example: One top employee wanted to return to his hometown in a different state. The company paid for the transfer. However, the employee could not operate independently without the structure of the office environment. Within a year, the employee left to work for a competitor.

Personalize. Similar to the Career Pathing above, not all team members need the same training. Listening would be a better skill to develop for someone fearless in speaking up than focusing on learning how to talk in meetings. Use a qualified job-fit assessment to provide objective insights and clarify areas that must be designed to improve effectiveness.

Leadership and Management Development. Even though many employees today say they have no interest in being a boss or leader, the truth is they don’t have the training and are not given the opportunities to showcase these skills. While they may not want the job title or responsibilities, the training can be priceless in supporting them to lead teams, manage projects, and improve personal job satisfaction.

Critical Interpersonal Skills Are Crucial. Communication, critical thinking, and ethics training (to name a few) are crucial skills needed today more than ever. It requires ALL employees to develop them ongoingly. Remember, these skills can be used everywhere with anyone at any time in their lives.

Use a Mix of Training Delivery. Use podcasts, face-to-face workshops, virtual training, etc. Remember, not all people learn the same way. Ensure the trainer or presenter uses a mix of media, games, and other engaging ways to help facilitate everyone getting value.

Appreciate Progress. All bosses/leaders must acknowledge each employee and their teams for steps taken and growth observed — what you appreciate strengthens the person’s confidence and competence in using their new skills. When a skill is not used appropriately, fine-tune it with spot-on coaching to steer the employee and team forward.

Hire an Executive Coach. Everyone, especially bosses/leaders, must have an external executive coach and an internal mentor. The executive coach can provide objective insights and confidentially address issues while steering you through sticky situations and political working relationships. An internal mentor can guide your ability to work with people through industry, professional, and company silos, factions, and other political elephants.

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of practical experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select® Partner for over 32 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about these state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.

A note from Jeannette: Are you adequately investing in your employees and teams? Many will spend more time and money on technology and overlook their people’s critical development. Need help fine-tuning your training and development efforts? Contact me!

Now is the time to get into focused action! Are there days you dread doing what is needed to manage your people, projects, and team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has those days! But continuing to hide behind excuses only hurts you and your future promotability. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully – this includes getting you out of the way and working with and through people effectively to achieve the results required. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Are you using your talents and abilities effectively? Many of us are not! Click Here for a Free Download on how to use your talents and enjoy a rewarding career!

Hiring for Likability Causes Company Results to Suffer

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“Likable job candidates are easier to hire but harder to fire.” Jeannette Seibly

Why is it so easy to hire based on “likability?”

Job candidates:

  • Are positive
  • Listen to what you are saying
  • Smile a lot

The problem?

  • They tell you what you want to hear
  • You fail to ask job-related questions
  • You don’t listen to their actual responses
  • You fear deep-diving into their actual skills and responses
  • All because you like them

The results?

  • Customers are upset they have another person to train on your behalf
  • The new “likable” employee has little to no interest in doing the job as it needs to be done (e.g., the employee lacks the initiative to get answers the customer needs)
  • The hiring boss waits too long to let the person go — in the meantime, the bottom-line results suffer due to loss of customers and top talent (again)

In a recent video, a GenZer claimed that bosses should hire based mostly on someone’s likability. The problem? Most companies have been doing that for decades. Now, turnover and poor job fit are at an all-time high since we have negated the importance of job fit, an important indicator of job success.

A new employee was hired to train employees in an insurance agency — the hiring boss liked her spunk and positivity. But she had no experience working in an agency, having previously worked in the benefits division of a large company. The current employees, who had also applied for the job, were now expected to train the trainer. The new trainer lasted 60 days. While everyone felt she was “likable,” the truth was that she was ineffective in training people to succeed in their jobs due to her lack of hands-on experience and poor job fit. (She worked better in a large corporate setting.)

These Are the Pitfalls When Hiring for Likability

Hiring too quickly. On average, many hiring bosses and leaders make a “yes” or “no” decision within 4.3 minutes of meeting the job candidate based on likability and other biases. For example: “It’s unusual for job applicants to like the color orange – I love orange too.” OR “They attended the same college I did.”). Note: Yes! These situations happen all too often and have no objective basis for job fit!

Relying on fragments of information. Savvy job candidates are likable and are good at telling hiring bosses what they want to hear. Since the hiring boss feels good about the person, s/he fails to ask job-related questions and deep dive to determine if the person has the required work experience. As a result, many hiring managers make decisions based on fragments of information instead of obtaining complete objective data.

Failing to admit we are wrong. When a person is likable, many hiring bosses will defend the job candidate even with data that shows they are not a good fit for the job (e.g., hiring accountants with excellent math skills but no interest in using them). Why? Once we’ve made up our minds, it’s difficult for us to change and admit we were wrong (again). Remember, this happens way too often… you cannot change a person’s fit with the job, but you can change the job to fit the person. Examples: People may learn the skills but lack the interest in using these skills effectively. OR, Former employees from large corporations find it difficult to work in smaller environments where more initiative is expected to keep the customer happy.

Expecting them to clean up issues. While likable job candidates will tell you what you want to hear, they do not have the capability to make the tough decisions and have the difficult conversations to “clean up issues” they were hired to do.

How to Focus on Job Fit and Less on Likability

Create a Strategic Job Fit System. Then, follow it! It’s not complicated. But it does require accountability and responsibility for who you hire and why you hired that person(s).

Use Qualified Job-Fit Assessments. It’s crucial to see the “whole person” (e.g., thinking style, core behaviors, and occupational interests). Using the wrong assessment allows applicants to show themselves as they want to be seen, not as who they are. With over 3,000 published assessments available, it can be difficult to discern which ones comply with the Department of Labor guidelines for pre-employment and selection use. Recommendation: Ask for a technical manual and check for distortion, predictive validity, reliability, and validity coefficients. (See Chapter 9, Use the Right Assessments and Skill Tests, Hire Amazing Employees). Using the correct assessment correctly makes all the difference in the selection process!

Conduct Due Diligence. It’s not uncommon for applicants to provide education, job titles, and companies that don’t exist! (Yes, likable job applicants can lie.) Make sure to conduct background, licensing, education, and other checks. Many times, using a third-party provider ensures a thorough and consistent process. (SEE Chapter 17, Types of Checks, Hire Amazing Employees)

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner for over 31 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool or how to coach and manage your people to achieve extraordinary results.

A note from Jeannette: Too often, we hire based on likability and ignore selecting for job fit (employees that fit their job responsibilities and workplace culture). But with high turnover of top talent and customers, poor job fit impacts results and your bottom line. With a well-designed job-fit selection system, let’s make 2024 a great year. Want to tap into my 31++ years of experience? Contact me now with your questions!

It’s time to get honest and genuine! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes for 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus is that they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Spotting Hidden Talent Easily

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“Selecting people based on job fit increases employee and customer retention and profitability.” Jeannette Seibly

Did you know hidden talent can be easily spotted using a well-designed job-fit selection system?

While everyone is complaining about the difficulty in finding “hidden talent,” the reality is that the person could be right in front of you! However, your biases often get in the way of seeing their hidden talents. Other blocks that can get in the way include lack of objective data, unrealistic expectations … the list goes on and on.

Bottom line: We miss spotting hidden talent due to a lack of good, reliable, and objective data when making our hiring, promoting, and job transferring decisions.

Here Are Ways to Avoid These Common Pitfalls

Prepare Job Applicants. Send them a helpful video about your interview process and what to expect. Remember, for many, this is their first time talking with your company. Provide several interview questions (and be sure to ask at least one or two of these questions) so they feel comfortable with your selection process. I would also recommend sending them a link to the brag book: “How to Sell Yourself Anytime, Anywhere: Start Bragging!” Many applicants have hidden talents that they need to learn how to share effectively!

Use Valid a Honesty/Integrity Assessment. These direct admission tools can help weed out those job candidates that are good at selling themselves, but have things to hide. They also help provide safer workplace environments. Be sure to check with local and state statutes to avoid asking inappropriate questions (e.g., age, marital status, children, etc.).

Conduct Phone Screen Interviews to Gather Objective Data. Ask questions designed to reveal the facts of their past employment and education. Remember, verifying and documenting is essential. Too often, job candidates fail to get honest about job fit… they want the job. (For help in creating questions, READ Chapter 10, Hire Amazing Employees)

How many times have you hired someone and 2 hours or 2 weeks or 2 months later realized who you interviewed was not the person who has showed up for the job!

Use a Qualified Job-Fit Assessment. It’s crucial to see the “whole person” (e.g., thinking style, core behaviors, and occupational interests). Using the wrong assessment allows applicants to show themselves as they want to be seen, not as who they are. With over 3,000 published assessments available, selecting ones not designed or complying with the Department of Labor for pre-employment and selection use is easy. How do you know the difference? Ask for a technical manual and check for distortion, predictive validity, reliability, and validity coefficients. (See Chapter 9, Use the Right Assessments and Skill Tests, Hire Amazing Employees). Using the correct assessment, the right way makes all the difference in the selection process!

Interview for Job Fit. Too often our beliefs in the skills required are sabotaged by our subjective biases (e.g., since they are good in math, they will be good accountants or financial consultants; since they were friendly during the interview, they’ll be great bosses; etc.). Ask job-related questions and listen! Deep dive into their responses using the “Rule of 3” to determine the depth of their skills. (For additional insights about “Rule of 3” and creating job-related questions, READ Chapter 10, Hire Amazing Employees)

Conduct Due Diligence. It’s not uncommon for applicants to provide education, job titles, and companies that don’t exist! Make sure to conduct background, licensing, education, and other checks. Many times, using a third-party provider ensures a thorough and consistent process. (SEE Chapter 17, Types of Checks, Hire Amazing Employees)

Require Onboarding for Best Results. Start when the job offer is accepted and will continue over a period of months. Otherwise, your newest talent will “leave” while remaining on the payroll. (READ: Chapter 20, The Success of a New Hire Is Up to You! Hire Amazing Employees)

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, it always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner for over 31 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool or how to coach and manage your people to achieve amazing results.

A note from Jeannette about discovering hidden talent: Often, we miss spotting hidden talent due to the lack of good, reliable, and objective data when making our hiring, promoting, and job-transferring decisions. With a well-designed job-fit selection system, let’s make 2024 a great year. Need help? Have questions? Contact me now!

It’s time to get honest and real! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes for 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus … they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Are You Frustrated that You’re Unable to Find and Keep Top Talent?

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“Are you feeling the stress due to your hiring practices? It’s time to make real changes.” Jeannette Seibly

There are four often overlooked reasons.

Many companies realize they have a problem finding and keeping top talent. They even know it’s due to their hiring managers’ bad habits and practices!

But realizing the obvious (e.g., interviewers need training) does nothing to create a positive difference with your job fit selection system.

How to Improve (not just read about) Your Company’s Retention, Revenues, and Results!

Use the Right Job-Fit Assessment. Legal and scientific (e.g., validity, reliability, predictive validity, and distortion) factors are often overlooked! And most assessments are not designed to comply with the Department of Labor Guidelines for pre-employment and selection purposes. Using the right one will help you achieve real results (e.g., salespeople who can close sales and CPAs/financial planners who enjoy working with financial data). When selecting a job-fit assessment, ask for the Technical Manual. Beware … run the other way if they provide a letter from their attorney. These letters are designed to protect them, not you! (Read Chapter 9, Use the Right Assessments and Skills Test, “Hire Amazing Employees)

Ask Job-Related Questions. Even though most hiring bosses know better, many ask inadequate or inappropriate interview questions. For example, “What’s your favorite movie/book/color/restaurant?” These questions have nothing to do with the job and are illegal! The focus needs to be on questions that address: Can they do the job? Are they willing to learn the job? Will they actually do the job? Can they be successful in doing the job here? (For help designing interview questions: SEE Chapter 12, Pointers for Successful Interviews, “Hire Amazing Employees”)

Recognize Your Competition’s Top Producer May Fail in Your Company. No two companies have identical cultures and values. It’s why a top results producer in one company may fail in another! A well-designed job-fit selection system will reveal whether or not they will succeed at your company. (SEE: Chapter 2, Create a Strategic Selection System, “Hire Amazing Employees”)

Know Your Biases and Judgments Make Little Difference. Yes, we ALL have them! Even you! How do you minimize the negative impacts of the biases and judgments? Recognize them using a well-designed job-fit selection system to hire, promote, and transfer your people! Do this now before the next rendition of the “Great Resignation” or “Great Attrition” occurs in 2024! It will save time, customers, and sleepless nights. (SEE: Chapter 1, The Selection Triad – What Is It and Why Should You Care? “Hire Amazing Employees”)

©Jeannette Seibly, 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, it always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner with Wiley for over 31 years. To learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool, contact Jeannette.

Why Do You Need to Make Crucial Changes Now?

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“Waiting to make the right changes in hiring and retaining top talent costs you time, money, and your business.” Jeannette Seibly

Because the right people in the right jobs are your most valuable assets!

Many bosses and business leaders in private and family-owned businesses are failing to make crucial changes now. Instead, they wait until there is an “Oh! S^&T moment!” By then, it’s usually too late. It’s gut-wrenching; they are looking for someone or something to blame.

Have you recently:

  • Noticed a leak in your financial profits? (There is no line item for hiring or promoting the wrong employee!)
  • Lost a major client … the one that has kept your doors open?
  • Lost a key employee … the one who knows everything about the company and its systems?
  • Spent more time updating your computer systems than hiring the right person?

The bad news? Ignoring these issues with the ostrich approach never worked well for anyone and never solved any of the “people challenges” you continue to have. Remember, the right people in the right jobs are your most valuable assets! Your reticence to make required changes takes a toll on your current employees and customers.

The good news? When you upgrade and update your hiring, promoting, and job transferring systems to collect objective, valid, and reliable data, your profits soar, and your employees and customers are happier.

It’s Time to Get Real

About the Numbers. Having high turnover is insane! And costs a lot of money. Relying on the excuse that it is less than “industry standards” won’t make a difference to your bottom line, retaining top talent, or keeping great customers. Conduct an analysis of the cost of hiring mistakes. Then, compare the cost of updating and upgrading your hiring and selection practices. Usually, a wrong hire costs much more than a well-designed strategic selection system.

About Your Selection Process. Are your people in the right jobs? Most employees today would give a resounding, “NO!” The Great Resignation and Great Attrition (along with other new terms for old issues) are employees’ battle cries for help! They are bored and stressed! A well-designed strategic job-fit process includes conducting effective job-related interviews, using real qualified job-fit assessment tools validated for pre-employment and promotion use, and following through on collecting true due diligence data.

About the Importance of Onboarding. Without following a well-designed plan to onboard new hires, you will lose them. Why? The boss is often too busy, so that the employees will step in. Employees have a way of doing work that may or may not reflect company policies and procedures. Bad habits, employees not on the same page, and mixed customer reviews will cause new hires to leave.

About Managing and Coaching Practices. Many bosses today are promoted for the wrong reasons and make poor managers and coaches. What missing? They lack coachability. It’s why many former employees blame bad bosses for leaving. These bosses take feedback as criticism of them personally instead of understanding it’s an opportunity to learn how to improve the quality of their work. Also, they fail to provide critical feedback to their employees.

How do you determine coachability? Ask the following interview questions more than once,

  • “What was your most recent mistake?”
  • “What did you do to correct it?”
  • “Who was involved in building the solution?”
  • “What were the results?”

If the job candidate or person you want to promote cannot think of any mistakes, move on to other candidates!

About Providing Leadership and Management Development. Again, many bosses and leaders are promoted for the wrong reasons (e.g., longevity, being liked by their boss (but not the employees), or handling a customer issue well once). Take the time on Day 1 to create a career path, leadership and management development training, and opportunities to use these skills based on the employee’s and company’s goals.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for success. As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom comes from 31 years of transforming bosses from hated to respected! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about making crucial changes now in how you hire, coach, and manage your employees: We all like to think we have time … as soon as we put all the fires out. The challenge? The fires never end if you keep hiring, promoting, and job-transferring the right people into the wrong jobs! Now is the time to get real! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation about updating and upgrading your selection processes NOW!

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Or are you one of those bosses? With my depth of experience and wisdom, I transform bosses from hated to respected! Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Podcast info When was the last time to patted yourself on the back? Learning how to brag is critical to your business and career successes! Check out my podcast interview with host, Frank Agin:  https://bit.ly/BragPodcast  Get your brag on! Give it a listen.

Be a Respected Leader and Achieve Intended Results

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“Respect grows based on the quality of the decisions you make.” Jeannette Seibly

Being a respected leader (or boss) and achieving intended results requires taking responsibility for each situation, discovering the true issue, and making the best decisions to improve results. And? Asking for help!

The biggest challenge I’m seeing today is leaders focused on being well-liked by employees and customers, and disregarding the importance of being respected.

A general manager (GM) for a company was well liked by employees and clients. It was a surprise and shock when he was reamed by a new board member about his poor management of the company’s satellite office. After the board session, the GM resigned. After the employees and other board members convinced him to stay, he rescinded his resignation. But nothing was done to resolve the real issue of poor financial management. Several months later the GM was fired.

In this situation, the GM was liked but not respected. He did not ask for help, and no one addressed the real issue of poor financial management.

5 Keys to Build Respect as a Leader

  1. Select the Best People. Stop intuitive hiring practices! Respect begins by hiring, promoting, and job transferring your management and employee teams into positions that fit them! (It’s called job-fit.) Before selecting people, craft a well-designed selection process to collect objective, valid, and reliable data about the person’s ability to be effective in the job. This requires using qualified job-fit assessments, conducting job-focused interviews, and implementing a six-month onboarding program.
  2. Make Faster Decisions. When done right, you will make better decisions. Taking days, weeks, or months to make decisions is often due to poor leadership, and the fear of not being linked. Instead, have the tough conversations and get to the heart of the issue. Remember, integrity, critical thinking, and paying attention to the impact on others will create better decisions now and in the long-run.
  3. Talk It Out. Communication is everything. Too often, leaders don’t pay attention to their own words, as well as not paying attention. When talking it out, go around the table to get everyone’s input until there is nothing new being added. The process includes eliciting responses from those you normally don’t listen to. The answers reside inside the quality of the conversation! Yes, it can take more time. But in the long run, it builds respect for you as a leader, and provides support when implementing less-than-popular decisions.
  4. Build Good Working Relationships. This facilitates getting things resolved faster, with faster buy-in. This is key to developing respect. When are allowed to make statements and offer opinions about how things should be done or how should be viewed before listening to people, relationships falter (and sometimes destroyed). Remember, listening, learning, and asking questions of those involved will always build stronger relationships.
  5. Plan for Your Replacement. Succession planning and development are crucial for future leaders. When you plan for your replacement, you build respect because you are showing your commitment to the longevity of the company, more than your own personal interests. You never know when your successor will need to step up, either short or long-term, due to illness, death of family members, and other issues. The key? Make sure the person is the right one. (SEE #1 above) Too often, a good #2 person does not make a good #1 leader. Don’t skip #1.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for success. As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom comes from 31 years of transforming bosses from hated to respected! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about being respected as a leader: Think of a leader you respect … what was the #1 trait that leader had? Now … think of a leader you liked but didn’t respect. What were the differences? Often, it comes down to how they made decisions that impacted the company, employees, and customers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation about how to become a respected leader.

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Or are you one of those bosses? With my depth of experience and wisdom, I transform bosses from hated to respected! Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Lying to Job Candidates Is a Very Bad Idea!

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“Lying is rarely a good idea because there are always consequences when the truth is revealed.” Jeannette Seibly

Did you know 40% of hiring managers lie to job candidates? (ERE Daily)

When you consider that many believe lying is acceptable, little white lies, unintended lies, and even whoppers don’t seem like a big deal.

Lies can occur:

  • During the interview when you fail to use a well-designed selection system
  • When relying on outdated job descriptions to describe work responsibilities
  • When making job offers and failing to include promises or deny having made them

Examples include:

  • Plan on a one-hour interview, but it lasts for 2-hours
  • We have a two-week holiday break in December, but the expectation is that you’ll work during that time
  • Remote working is touted, but you need to live within a limited distance from the office
  • Your health insurance starts on day 1, after a waiting period
  • We provide career pathing, failing to mention it’s a goal, but not a priority
  • We’ll decide in one week, but fail to communicate when no decision has been made

Why does lying hurt your company, business, and reputation? You lied!

Applicants today are looking for bosses and companies they can trust!

Yes, I understand 90% of resumes contain inaccuracies, embellishments, and flat-out lies!

But you need to take the high road! Why?

Lies have consequences, even though there is a false belief that lying is acceptable.

The reason? It’s called integrity … and you cannot control integrity or manipulate it. Eventually, somebody will tell the truth or the lie will be discovered. Then, job candidates and employees will leave, costing you customers (current and future), reputation, top talent, and EEO claims of discrimination!

Example (this is based on a true story and fictionalized): Michelle interviewed for a position as a purchasing agent. The interviewer and hiring boss lied, saying they would have a job offer extended to her in two weeks. The two weeks came and went without any word from them, nor did they return Michelle’s calls.

In the meantime, Michelle accepted a job offer to be a Purchasing Manager at another company. 

In her new role, Michelle was responsible for vetting potential suppliers. She informed the company who lied to her about the job offer that her new employer would not be purchasing their products and services. When they asked why? “You lied. How can I trust you to deliver these orders on time and within budget?

How to Stop Lying!

First, create and follow a well-designed strategic selection system for hiring, job transferring, or offering job promotions. Ensure all hiring managers are trained annually on how to use the system and hold them accountable. Using a selection system reduces the need to lie, embellish the truth, or make promises that cannot be fulfilled. You will see your retention increase and your ability to attract top talent!

Talk Straight. When you make promises during the interview, be sure you have the authority to do so. Write them down and store in an electronic file. Include these promises in job offer letters to ensure everyone is on the same page. Promising to think about honoring the promise in the future spells disaster.

Communicate the Truth. Tell the truth about what the job candidates can expect, especially regarding any known or potential changes.

Example: Do NOT hire a manager (or higher-level boss) to clean up a team or department. The new boss may not agree with your assessment, or the company’s, on who to fire or keep! (Some are more concerned about being liked than cleaning up issues.) Make your team and department changes first! Remember, any new boss hired to “clean up a team or department” will not become a long-term employee since other employees will hold it against them.

Transparency is a Good Thing. If there are factions, limited budget dollars, cultural challenges, and/or mediocre quality issues, share them with the job candidate. After all, you want the person you hire to resolve the problems, not make them worse or be complacent.

Respect Starts with You! Yes, many job candidates lie or embellish their credentials. But two wrongs don’t make a right! That’s why you use a strategic job fit system to weed them out! But if you’ve been honest with them about work hours, job expectations, and growth potential, that’s respect!

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for bosses and teams delivering intended results. Does your company or department have a persistent problem? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom guides clients to achieve intended dynamic results consistently! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about why lying to job candidates is a bad idea: How do you feel when someone lies to you? While you may believe it’s not a big deal, you stop trusting them! The same is true when you lie to job candidates. Please read about overcoming the need to lie during the selection process; this will improve your ability to attract and retain top talent. Contact me for a confidential conversation about becoming an employer of choice! 

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? A great boss uses an experienced executive coach as a sounding board. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams. Along the way, they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs. Remember, your ability to lead depends on your effectiveness in hiring, coaching, and managing your teams, onsite and remote.

What Do You Do When Your Team Is Hurting Results?

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“When a team fails to achieve intended results, bosses and leaders need to look in the mirror first for answers!” Jeannette Seibly

No one likes to think their team is hurting results. But dismissing the issue, believing it’s unimportant, and failing to take responsibility for the systems and outcomes is a no-win for teams, bosses, customers, and leaders! Remember, finding new customers and talent costs a lot of money. And it overlooks the necessity to improve quality and your team’s reputation!

Tips to Discover and Improve Results

Get into Action. Ask questions to get to the core of the issue. Use an objective process: “What Worked? / What Didn’t Work?” Debrief as a team. This exercise will end the usual finger-pointing or the blame game. During this process, use acknowledgment for the “good things that did happen.” Appreciation encourages viable solutions!

Be in Communication. Keep your team and co-workers apprised when there is an issue. Ask questions after conducting your team debrief to see what else may be missing. Do this immediately, BEFORE talking with the customer or other people affected. Keep everyone up-to-date while valuing their input! Promise to resolve the issue(s). (Very Important Hint: Don’t drop the ball … people have long memories when promises are not kept! These memories can stifle your co-workers and team from working with you in the future.)

“Excuses don’t help make things better. They only offer a rationale to avoid trying.”

Simon Sinek

Bring in Outside Expertise. Everyone wants to hide that they failed to achieve the intended results, fearing embarrassment and humiliation. Consider that bringing in outside help takes the pressure off you to have all the answers. (Hint: You don’t; others may not value your opinions right now.) Work with these experts to diagnose the actual issue. Listen. Make appropriate changes. Don’t forget that ongoing and consistent training is crucial when developing new habits!

Use a Qualified Job Fit Assessment. When teams and team members fit their job, it diminishes miscommunication, factionalism, and other mischief! Often, issues can be resolved by using people’s strengths and placing them in the right jobs! First, refine job descriptions and job responsibilities. Second, develop the skills that impact the quality of the results: communication, critical thinking, and team management.

Top-Down Challenge. When results fail, many bosses and leaders focus on the bottom-up (employees v. management). Consider the issue may be you! While many bosses and leaders believe they are above reproach, their rigid perspectives and do-as-I-say mindset get in the way. Remember, it’s not business as usual anymore! Bring in an executive coach/consultant to improve the management team’s coachability and ability to coach others for results. Then, empower each boss and leader and provide the tools to make the necessary team changes.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for bosses and teams delivering intended results. Does your company or department have a persistent problem? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom guides clients to achieve intended dynamic results consistently! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about when your team hurts intended results: Set aside the normal finger-pointing! Now, create conversations and solutions to create win-win-win outcomes. Contact me for a confidential conversation about how to have conversations that produce intended results.

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? Great bosses work with an experienced executive coach as a sounding board. I have extensive experience and wisdom in guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams. Along the way, they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching program. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to achieve intended results for you and your teams!