Hiring Solutions

As busy bosses, we often rely on our gut to determine who to hire and why. We falsely believe our intuitive abilities make us foolproof. Yet we are often wrong and our results suffer, clients stray, miscommunication becomes the norm and team conflicts erupt. And, even more sadly, our key employees often leave!

All of this is preventable.

The truth is, objective data will improve hiring decisions!

Facts will always matter!

Why Do You Often Ignore Facts?

• You’re busy putting out fires and rely solely on resumes to select who to interview. (By the way, 70 percent contain inaccuracies, and we spend less than 6 seconds reviewing each resume.)
• Statistically, 86 percent of the time you’re unable to discern the lies offered by job candidates.
• You believe candidates when they say they want to work for you.
• You believe it’s too expensive to incorporate objective data into your decision-making process.
• You rely mostly on feelings (your gut) about how the candidate looks, talks and interacts. (Remember, the right person will be trainable.)

4 Often-Overlooked Reasons Why Facts Will Always Matter

Your lack of objectivity will cause stress for everyone. In today’s job market, every employee has other alternatives … they can leave.

1.Job Seekers. They are savvier today than ever before, and unemployment is at an all-time low. It’s harder than ever to attract qualified candidates. It costs a lot of time, money and energy to interview people who are not well-suited for the position, or who do not have a real interest in the job or company. Remember, the right job candidate is out there, waiting to be found. Also, job candidates will decline job offers when they don’t trust interviewers to hire the right way. (They think, Where else is this potential boss cutting corners?)

A job candidate is impressed by:

• A clear list of expectations and easy-to-read job descriptions
• Well-prepared and appropriate interview questions
• Well-defined strategic hiring processes coupled with a positive outlook, and
• Qualified job fit assessments used to objectively customize the candidate’s career path: onboarding, coaching, managing and training and development

2.Employees. They are tired of training new people who leave through a revolving door, and of attempting to clean up messes that could have been prevented. So, instead, they update their resumes and reach out to others in their networks. They leave you still hiring the way you’ve always done … by how you feel. They leave you sitting at your desk, frustrated at losing another good person, wishing there had been more money in the budget to keep them. Hint: The No. 1 reason employees leave today is because of their boss, not their paycheck!

3.Customers. They are also tired of training new hires or employees who transferred into positions they don’t fit. I remember calling a company, needing to have a question answered. After I repeated my request a couple of times, I asked the receptionist what else she was doing. I could hear tapping in the background. Her reply: “I’m multi-tasking and typing up a report for my boss.” Needless to say, I did not feel like a valued customer and didn’t get my question answered. I became another lost customer.

4.Vendors. They can be great allies in helping build your company. However, their job and paycheck are dependent on helping as many customers as they can, not training yet another new person who doesn’t have the interest or willingness to do the job. The wrong employee can also hurt long-time vendor relationships by making uninformed decisions about the products and services and by changing agreements, causing chaos throughout the company and hurting customer relationships.

Obtaining objective data is easy. It can also save your own career! Remember, everyone affiliated with your company is depending on you to objectively hire employees based on facts, not on your gut.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Are you ignoring facts? Are you aware of how much this is costing your company? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes in your hiring process? First, you have to step up! Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

Today’s economy is robust. That’s the good news. The challenge is that most qualified people are employed, so it’s becoming more difficult for companies to attract new, qualified employees.

Although there needs to be a focus on hiring new employees, there is not enough focus on keeping the talent you already have. In this employee-driven market, the focus on employee retention must improve to keep great employees and attract qualified new ones.

How to Develop and Keep Great Employees

Training Is Critical:

• Include Everyone. Provide learning and growth opportunities for each and every employee, manager and executive.
• Budget Is Not an Excuse. The reality is, you can’t afford not to promote, coach, manage and train current employees. Budget for, rather than cut, the actual dollar amount available per employee for training, education reimbursement or other internal and external learning opportunities.
• Focus on Soft Skills. While technical skills are important, many times communication, managing people, critical thinking, project management and other soft skills are overlooked. These skills have become more important as younger people take on management roles. To get the most out of the advanced training you provide, make sure employees are ready to for promotion and leadership roles to use it.
• Offer Variety. Digital learning, group interactions and one-on-one sessions are equally important. Include opportunities to role-play…this will reinforce and fine-tune new concepts.
• Library of Resources. When a problem arises (and it will), have a library of online resources and books readily available. Also, provide mentors and coaches to help guide practical applications.
• Include “Why.” Employees today want to know why something is important for them to learn. Don’t skip this step.
• Public Workshops. When it’s not reinforced, new training will only impact people for a day or a week. Debrief and focus on three key points they should develop. While new ideas and methods can make a positive difference, if they’re not effectively introduced, they have the potential of turning a team upside down.
• Cross-training. Employees will develop a broader awareness of how their job impacts their company and customers when they have the experience of working in different departments.

Use Qualified Assessments. This is the best way to broaden employees’ perspectives on how to better communicate, work with team members and manage their work so it doesn’t hinder others’ efforts. It also provides a reality check about why some employees excel at certain work activities but others don’t.

Just-in-Time Coaching. We all have blind spots. A coach can help us uncover them. While internal mentors and coaches can be helpful, an experienced coach from outside the company often provides a broader perspective and customized approach to resolve persistent issues.

Be the Right Boss. A bad boss is cited as the No.1 reason employees leave. Today’s bosses need to be effective people managers.  While they tell everyone they like working with people, it would be detrimental to their future career opportunities to admit they don’t like managing them. Create different career ladders that include management and non-management roles, along with a commensurate pay scale.

Flexibility Is Important. Most employees value a flexible work schedule, opportunities to work from home and other work/life balance options. These are often more important than a pay increase or a new job title. Some would actually take a small reduction in pay if they could work fewer hours and be able to travel, participate in humanitarian work or spend time on their side gig or with family.

Appreciation. Take time daily to acknowledge and thank employees for their work efforts. It shows you value their contribution, and it goes a long way toward employee retention.

Focus on developing and keeping great employees. It will improve the company’s culture, increase employee retention and attract new, qualified talent.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Need a speaker or facilitator to successfully address company issues? What conflicts have you been ignoring that need to be resolved for a successful 2018? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly has been called a catalyst. She is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant who guides her clients to achieve unprecedented results. Are you ready to focus on employee retention? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

Many of us create goals to either check off a box for our bosses or to make a positive difference for ourselves and others. Yet regardless of why we have created the goal, it requires:

• -Commitment
• -A vision BIG enough to get everyone on board
• -Focused action to create and sustain momentum

Momentum is not like gravity, always there regardless of what we do, say or think about it. While momentum is readily available, it requires commitment to achieve BIG goals and taking focused actions steps over time. It’s not about waiting for the right moment, right team or right amount of money.

The reason momentum can be hard to create is that many people are risk averse. Yes, they want to achieve their goals financially, personally and professionally. But they are fearful of stepping outside their proverbial comfort zone. After their goals have been created, many times their initial excitement and momentum wanes, and so do they. Get into focused action early. Do not wait.

Create Momentum Now

(Note: This article assumes that you have created true goals that are BIG, with a focused action plan and the right team committed to getting outside their comfort zones. If not, I would recommend hiring an experienced facilitator to get you on the right path now, before the struggle irrevocably hinders fulfillment of the goal.)

Assemble the Right Team. Assembling the right team is critical to achieving a BIG goal. It requires going beyond what people agree to do now. Ask if they have the interest and long-term willingness to support the project to the end. This is often a question people will say yes to but fail to fulfill. Use a qualified assessment to take the mystery out of whether or not they can and will contribute to the BIG goal.

Manage and Coach for Solutions. A common mistake leaders make is micromanaging individual efforts when team members become stuck. Instead, encourage them to talk out issues with other team members to resolve the problem, not create a conspiracy as to why the project won’t work.

Take Focused Actions. The No. 1 saboteur in any project is when busyness is used as an excuse for giving up. Here’s a secret: Taking the right focused action steps will create new skills and confidence … not the feeling of more work! When obstacles occur (and they will), true brainstorming, resourcefulness and initiative are required. Then, immediately take focused action steps. (This is not the time to change the BIG goal!)

Delegate to the Best Person. Stop attempting to do everything yourself. Trust your team members. Delegate a task or portion of the project to the right person (e.g., give the financial analysis portion of the project to the person who has the skills and interests to get it done). Utilize qualified assessments to understand each person’s best role on the team.

Stay in Communication. Stay in weekly communication. Face-to-face conversations and electronic updates keep the momentum moving forward. It’s harder to hide out on a team call when you’re specifically asked for updates. When problems or excuses arise, have a couple of team members or a vetted, qualified outside resource work together to resolve it (it’s best not to use the whole team – it slows the momentum).

Get Objective Outside Feedback. Talk about the components of the action plan with a small, select group of mentors and your business coach. (Don’t forget to use a nondisclosure agreement [NDA] for people outside the company.)  Listen respectfully to alternatives or points missed. Remember, you asked for their input, and often, seasoned experts offer the greatest insights.

Manage Self-Talk. Your internal mental chatter and word choices when talking about others make a significant impact on fulfilling the BIG goal. Remember, each and every person’s contribution is important. To keep everyone aware of what they have provided and what others have accomplished, use “It’s Time to Brag! Business Edition” to create and share Brag! statements.

You will fulfill the BIG goal if you take the right focused action steps to create and sustain momentum.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

What conflicts are you blind to that need to be resolved for a successful 2018? Hire Jeannette Seibly as a speaker or facilitator to successfully address company issues. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that gets results! 

Jeannette Seibly has been called a catalyst. She is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant who guides her clients to achieve unprecedented results. Are you ready to challenge your status quo? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

I’ve seen, too often, employees in group meetings speak up and lose their jobs, credibility and opportunities for pay increases. And, there are times I’ve heard people speak up and save the company money, time and top talent.

What gets in the way?

When we hear a perception that’s different from our own, our egos can get in the way of listening and conflicts can escalate. Communicating persuasively, listening and building solutions are thrown out the window when we feel attacked, ignored or overruled. When you don’t own your point of view while respecting others’, you will miss the opportunity to share and build win-win-win solutions.

Today’s bosses are encouraging employees to speak up. They are breaking through long-standing barriers and fears for both women and men. However, the challenge still remains: many of us encourage coworkers, bosses and leaders to speak up—until they challenge the status quo. Then, often, our fears kick in and we silence what is being said. We become resigned about making any changes.  Yet, we applaud those that have the courage to speak up and wish we could be more like them.

How to Own Your Point of View

Owning your point of view makes it easier for others to listen and hear you! Otherwise, telling others that your point of view is “the truth” will shut down your contribution to the conversation, project and team—potentially sidelining your career success.

Take Responsibility. Never forget that the thoughts, opinions and feelings you are sharing are yours. When you are pointing out a violation of company policy, safety or ethics, take responsibility for sharing the policy, sticking to the facts about the violation, and talking directly with the people who can make the difference.

Expand Your Perspective. We are all limited by our perceptions and life experiences. Don’t become emotionally attached to them. Instead, be willing to expand your awareness by listening to and honoring differences. Participate in a training program, read social media stories about others’ challenges and successes, and hire a coach to help expand your thinking. For bosses, I have found that qualified assessments successfully expand points of view about how to hire, coach, manage and train their teams.

Be Kind. Life does not discriminate against anyone. However, our biases or “truths” often do, and we negatively judge and assess others. Instead, speak well of everyone. Share and build on ideas, and don’t engage in gossip.

Share Appropriately. Indiscriminately sharing your feelings about how awful your job, boss or company is will sabotage your career. Instead, speak up privately and directly to the person or people who can make a difference. Then, take focused action. For example, complaining about a system issue that has always been that way will not change anything. Instead, talk with your boss, propose solutions and offer to lead the project to make the changes. Then, do it. This will actually boost your career success.

Do Your Homework. Frequently, people take the tiniest fragments of information (often found on the Internet or as company gossip) and talk about it as if they know it’s the truth. Our conclusions are rarely true. It’s like reading the back cover of a book and falsely believing you understand the plots and twists in the story. Get the facts! Then, share them. Be open to learning from others’ experiences beyond what you read on the Internet or hear during coffee breaks.

Speak up! Learn how to own and share your point of view appropriately … it’s good for your career growth and success.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Need a speaker or facilitator to successfully address company issues? What conflicts have you been ignoring that need to be resolved for a successful 2018? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly has been called a catalyst. She is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant who guides her clients to achieve unprecedented results. Are you ready to challenge your status quo? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

No one likes to admit they made a bad hiring decision. However, as a hiring manager, it’s always possible you will fail to hire the right person for the right job.

What makes it harder is that you’ve invested lots of time and energy into a long and arduous interview process. However, hanging on to a bad hire isn’t going to change the person! While there are times it will not be a clear-cut decision to reassign someone or let them go, it’s important to never sacrifice your business, great employees or customers by keeping someone who cannot or will not do the job.

First … Get Real about Your Decision

1. Admit it. Denial isn’t helpful and will hurt you and your company’s reputation the longer you hang on to the bad hire.
2. Create a professional development plan. For example, if someone has limited outside sales experience, have them shadow several top salespeople. Then, the sales manager should go with them on calls. Well-defined sales indicators (e.g., number of calls, appointments, presentations and new customers) and a qualified assessment can uncover where to focus coaching efforts.
3. Talk candidly with the person. Many times, she or he did their best to land the job interview without truly understanding the job requirements. This is a good time to review expectations. For example, cold calls are a norm for outside salespeople — something good salespeople enjoy and others despise.
4. Evaluate them for a different position within the company. Use or review the qualified assessment to determine what you missed when interviewing the candidate. What did you assume? What did you ignore? Did you make your decision based solely on the interview without including the assessment results (which should be 1/3 of the hiring decision)?
5. Talk with HR and/or legal before terminating them. When you fire someone, make sure to include a key employee during the exit process as a witness. Be sure all passwords and proprietary information are collected immediately. Keep in mind that no exit interview is required.
6. When termination may be the best solution:

• – The employee misrepresented his or her skills.
• – The employee has excellent skills but is a terrible team player.
• – The employee does not follow basic company policies, despite warnings.
• – Theft or drugs are involved.
• – It would cost more money and time to invest in the employee than your company can realistically afford.

According to Insperity, the average U.S. employer spends about $4,000 and 52 days to hire a new person. A bad hire will diminish management, co-workers and customers’ confidence and hurt your P&L. Find out the real costs you incur when a bad hiring decision is made by using the Hiring Calculator. This will help you understand the need to improve your hiring practices.

Second, Review and Improve Your Hiring Decisions

After firing Candidate #1 and before contacting Candidate #2, take a candid look at your current hiring process. (Hint: One great idea is to bring in an objective facilitator to strategically review your hiring process and, if necessary, build a new one.)

Consider the following:

1. Use an ATS system that pushes job postings to many sites to attract more qualified candidates.
2. Review the job description and rewrite it to attract better candidates.
3. Share the rewritten job description and get agreement before restarting the hiring process.
4. Use qualified job fit assessments to better understand candidates’ natural strengths and weaknesses.
5. Deep-dive into candidates’ responses to better understand the quality of their skills. (Note: Just because they have skills doesn’t mean they will use them.)
6. Conduct complete due diligence and use a qualified core value assessment. Remember, over 70 percent of resumes contain inaccuracies. For example, it’s critical to validate the name of previous employers and job titles, actual base salary and actual dates of work, etc. Read Hire Amazing Employees for additional insights.
7. No one wants to admit their personal biases override common sense. But studies have shown we make decisions within 4.3 minutes of meeting a candidate and spend the rest of the interview validating our biases. Stay out of this trap.
8. Prepare for the interview. Winging an interview today is simply rude, and many job applicants will say no to the job offer if you are unprepared.
9. Conduct several interviews with more than one top candidate. Candidates today are savvy and will often say what you want to hear rather than the whole truth. For example, asking, “Are you familiar with QuickBooks?” and having them say yes does not mean they know how to use it. Instead, say, “Tell me about your proficiency in using QuickBooks.” Then, deep-dive into their responses to determine actual skill strength.

Acting wisely and quickly will improve your hiring decisions and make the difference in attracting and retaining great employees.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s executive group? Have issues to address? Conflicts to resolve? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you have a hiring system that needs to be updated, really updated? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

We all love to celebrate amazing hires. These exceptional candidates make our day. Yet rarely do we take the time to strategize about how to find more of them.

When creating CRM systems (customer relationship management), managing sales teams or producing quality products, we take the time to review specific changes that are required to ensure the right results: in other words, what worked and what didn’t work. How can we use the same process to positively impact our hiring and selection practices? In short, by learning how to improve our selection practices rather than relying on gimmicks, false promises and cute ads.

First, Get Real about the Costs

Many companies believe that if their turnover is less than the industry average, they are doing well. The truth is, turnover still impacts the bottom line, leads to the loss of top talent and is a red flag to qualified candidates. Additionally, it also negatively impacts current and future customers because turnover can translate to a less-than-satisfying experience. Use our New Hiring Calculator to get the real picture about your hiring costs!

Second, Review Less-Obvious Concerns

Inexperienced Interviewer. Experienced job applicants need good and honest conversations about what to expect from the position, company and career opportunities … not canned answers.

Lengthy Application Process. Shorten the process and feature your company’s benefits and job requirements. Include short video clips about why the company is a great employer.

Bad Interview Questions. Failing to ask job-specific questions and deep-dive into candidate responses will create a false impression and lead to candidates turning down job offers.

Focusing Only on the Money. Remember, today’s employees are very interested in training for career advancement in addition to a competitive paycheck. Talk about both.

Poor Job Fit. According to a Gallup poll, over 71 percent of employees are working in jobs that don’t fit them. Use incredibly accurate qualified assessments for hiring, coaching and managing. These effective tools can improve job satisfaction and your hiring success.

Third, Include These Practices to Positively Impact Results

Define an Exceptional Hire. Ask yourself and your team, “What does an amazing hire look like today? In three months? Six months? A year from now?” Now, rewrite the job description with those answers in mind. Ask your marketing department for their input when you create an exciting and enticing job posting to advertise this newly conceptualized position.

Make Promises. Ask yourself and your team, “Why should applicants want to work for us? How will this job help their career now and in the future? What specific training and development can we offer them?” Now, keep those promises!

Create a 180-Day Onboarding Plan. The plan should include on-the-job training, meetings (one-on-one and in groups), company and trade conferences, etc. Keep this list short and on point. Remind applicants during the interview process and the 180-day onboarding period to listen, learn and ask questions. rather than talk too much.

Assign an Internal Mentor and an External Coach. An internal mentor can help a new employee or executive navigate the written policies and unwritten expectations of your company. An external coach can confidentially allow them to vent concerns and not hurt their chances for future promotions or job assignments. Both can guide them to make better decisions, work effectively with and through others, and achieve intended goals. These are important skills for all employees to develop.

Use Qualified Assessments. Using objective data will accurately show you the inherent strengths and weaknesses of a candidate. Knowing these details will expedite selecting and onboarding job candidates for great results. Remember, while people may have the skills, they may not wish to use them! For example, selecting an applicant as a bank loan officer requires more than previous experience. Are they good at working with people, are they proficient with numbers and do they have an interest in networking? If not, they will not normally succeed.

Customize Individual Career Pathways. Clear pathways should begin immediately upon hire. Use the data from the qualified assessment and what the employee wishes to achieve when designing them. Provide alternative career paths and compensation packages that include two options: managing others or being an independent contributor.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s executive group? Have issues to address? Conflicts to resolve? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works!

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you have unresolvable issues that you need to transform? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.