Welcome to the December 21, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside:

1.   A Christmas Tale According to DISC

Sales staff, beleaguered from the crush that started on Black Friday, prepare themselves for the impending frenzy of last-minute shoppers. How bad will it be? Using the DISC model, I can make some predictions based on the behavioral styles of the shoppers.

Remember DISC identifies four behavioral styles that define how each of us responds to a job, a task, stress and, believe it or not, even shopping.

According to DISC theory, millions of people will purchase goods and services—on-line, by phone, or in person—according to their primary behavioral style. There is no magic or hocus-pocus to identifying these styles. All you need to do is look and listen. Here are a few examples of DISC shopping styles in action:

The high D behavioral style says “Only four days? What's the big deal? There's plenty of time left.” D types love the challenge. Ironically, the remarkable emotion of D behavioral style is a short fuse – traffic jams, long lines, crowded stores and D types don’t mix. Internet shopping is tailor-made for these direct, results-focused individuals. Gift cards and certificates are near perfect because they are much more efficient and they believe you can’t go wrong with cash or its equivalent. It's never a surprise to find high D behavioral types doing last minute shopping on Christmas Eve. It’s easy to spot this shopper – he’s the one on the lightening-quick mission. The D behavioral style person might even cajole his administrative assistant to make the shopping list, check it twice, and be Santa’s little helper. High D behavioral types give gifts that increase productivity.

The high I behavioral type loves the holiday season for the shopping, parties, and crowds that go with it. Shopping is an event, a day out at the mall. The I behavioral types plan shopping trips with the attention normally given to planning a wedding. Shopping begins early and centers on meals. After all, how can you possibly shop without a big breakfast, numerous breaks for snack and lunch, wrapping up the day with ....you guessed it: dinner? By the end of the day, the high I behavioral type has had a great time regardless of the success of paring down the gift list. The high I behavioral type is most influenced by gifts with the most decorative wrappings, even if what's inside is not always practical. You can be sure he/she's an "I: if you hear, "I just couldn't resist buying it. It had my name all over it. I hope you like it too."

The high “S” behavioral style favors handcrafted or personal gifts and homemade food. Christmas shopping begins and ends early. This steady, methodical shopper makes lists, clips coupons, and maps out a shopping itinerary before leaving the house. Although Black Friday marks the start of the shopping season for most consumers, December 26th is the right time to get a head start on next year’s shopping list. The S behavioral style kicks into high shopping gear right after Labor Day and with few exceptions, gifts are bought, wrapped, and shipped before Thanksgiving. December is set aside for making cookies and preparing Christmas dinner and making a list for the post-Christmas sales.

The high C and S behavioral styles share similar shopping styles. C behavioral personalities work to avoid big crowds and don’t understand how anyone can leave shopping to the last minute. The gifts they choose differentiate these behavioral styles. S personalities give gifts with a personal touch. The more practical C behavioral type purchase gifts that will last, and makes certain there are appropriate warranties. During September and October, they do research to find the best-made, highest quality and most reasonably priced gift. These logical analytical types prefer to give gifts with a proven track record and can’t understand why anyone would waste money on this year’s fad.

If any of these types seem familiar, that is because they are. DISC is the universal language and dates back to....well as far back as Christmas itself.

Learn more about DISC and its history here or contact us to receive a complimentary DISC report.

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts # 486 to # 488

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Fact #486: Spam will cost businesses more than $50 billion in 2005, according to Ferris Research. In the U.S. alone, the tab will run $17 billion in productivity losses and technology expenses to curb the effects of viruses brought by spam. This will increase to $198 billion by 2007 as spam messages will increase to 70 percent of all messages. When you factor in the cost of time that information technology staff spends fighting spam and viruses, Nucleus Research puts the cost at an average $1,934 per employee.

Fact #487: In 1964, 47 percent of Americans and 31 percent of workers age 24 to 29 had not completed high school. Today the percentage has fallen to 13 for both groups. (Source: Yankelovich Partners, 2005)

Fact #488: Two-thirds of employers said that public school students don't have the basic cognitive skill to succeed. One-third of the employers said the recent graduates had poor writing skills and 23 percent had poor match skills. One-third also said that young workers have problems with punctuality and attitude. (Source: Yankelovich Partners, 2005)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.   Supervisory Skills Boot Camp begins February 2006

Ever since Success Performance Solutions introduced Managing to Excel in 2002, hundreds of Central PA supervisors and managers have been learning and developing proficiency in the twelve competencies that highly effective managers and supervisors have that average performers don't.

Success Performance Solutions will offer Managing to Excel workshops beginning in February 2006. Each workshop will be limited to 6 supervisors. Topics will include Settings Goals, Time Management, and Scheduling Work.

Read more about Managing to Excel.

To learn more about 2006 workshops, email Marilyn Walker.

Managing to Excel is also available for purchase by in-house trainers and human resource professionals. The per participant cost per program is as low as $20!

4.  CriteriaOne Train-the-Trainer: Job Benchmarking and Certification

The next CriteriaOne Train-the-Trainer is scheduled for February 2 to 4, 2006 in Lancaster, PA. Learn to identify and assess essential core competencies, select the right psychometric assessments, and develop behavioral event interview guides in just 3 days.

Register before December 31, 2005 and save $500.

5.   New Screening Test for Personality and Cognitive Reasoning

Perfect for screening hourly and entry-level employees. JobClues™ reports describe an individual’s core behavioral traits and cognitive reasoning speed. We have developed numerous “job category templates” to assist you such as customer service, bank teller, construction worker, health care and a dozen more. Each report then provides specific behavioral interview questions based on how the participant scored in various areas.

These templates provide specific descriptions of behavior in the job category as well as a “generic” benchmark to use as an initial guide for determining job fit.

More about JobClues™