Welcome to the January 19, 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. What is top of mind for small business owners in 2005?
2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #331 to #335
3. New Book! The Leader Within - s*ve 25 percent
4. Interview Questions and Job Interview Resources
5. 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence
6. Nine percent of the public has been convicted of a crime!

1. What is top of mind for small business owners in January 2005?

If builders, contractors and remodelers are any indication, it's finding qualified workers and time.

This was the near unanimous concern for the 150 housing professionals who attended my workshop at the 2005 International Builders Show in Orlando this past Sunday. These folks represented just a few of the more than 90,000 who registered for one of the largest trade shows in the country. Business is booming for many of these employers and that is great news for the economy. They only wished they could find the right people.

I am the first to admit to not having a magic wand to wave and - voila! create a team of qualified workers. Candidly, if anyone looks at the demographic and socio-economic trends, no one has THE answer. What I offered was a solution for the second biggest concern - a predictable, yet affordable, test for hiring. The reliability and time-saving features of pre-employment tests and job matching (or employee selection) assessments generated a lot of interest from several dozen participants. But the hottest response came from my introduction of the automated online job interview to pre-qualify candidates as well as writing structured behavioral interview questions based on specific job competencies.

Despite admitting to performing dozens of interviews over their lifetimes as owners and managers, most admitted to asking the wrong questions and not being able to detect the truth-tellers from the fibbers. The difference between a predictive interview and the traditional one lies in the interviewer’s ability to ask the right questions in the right way, and interpret the answers and the way they are given, which determines whether the prospective employee can and will do the job for you.

How do you ask the right questions? I offer a simplified 3-step process.

First list five or six essential activities or functions the prospective employee must perform exceptionally well to meet or exceed your expectations. This is followed by identifying the core competencies required by employee to actually complete these activities consistently and effectively. Finally you develop interview questions that target the required behaviors.

This third step is where most managers slip. They understand the job inside and outside and do a pretty good job of recognizing the core skills. But then their interview process starts losing its wheels. One of the most common mistakes I see is that the job questions don't get to the real issue - does this candidate have the capability to do what he said he did in the past for you in the future. Too often the manager asks a question, hears what he or she wants to hear, and moves on to another question.

Sometimes the interviewer is uncomfortable asking a question that makes the candidate - well, uncomfortable. Avoiding that type of question may be appropriate if the position you are filling never causes any stress. Unfortunately in today's environment that almost never happens. Under most situations, asking tough questions, focused on the requirements of the job of course, is crucial to find out how this candidate will handle difficult situations or even to learn how they will respond if they don't have the answer.

Another mistake interviewers make is creating a checklist of interview questions, then feeling compelled to go down the list. While having a list of qualified job-related questions is imperative, the good interviewer can ask just one or two questions, and by listening and observing and then following up with another question, cover all the essential core competencies without interviewing like a robot.

Let me give you an example. One client listed the following responsibility for a manager: "assist the Chief Financial Officer in modeling a Team Work Spirit concept by participation in Company and community activities." Many interviewers would ask this question: "have you ever worked with a CFO in modeling team spirit and if so, describe the experience."

The candidate, if prepared and coached, can eloquently describe a series of events that absolutely knocks your socks off. Unfortunately, while this question is good, it doesn't help you understand how this candidate feels about the team work nor does it help you understand his role and contribution in the building team spirit.

Based on my client's key activity, I provided the following questions:

By starting with just one responsibility or activity and one question, you can listen and observe how this candidate will lead and follow, motivate and mentor, relate with people and reward and recognize, problem solve and make decisions, gain consensus and improve collaboration.

One activity. One question. Listen. Observe. Probe. That's all it takes to screen out the unqualified candidate and select the right employee.

For help in asking the right questions, contact us today or scroll down to #4

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #331 to #335
http://www.perfectlaborstorm.com/facts.html

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

Fact #331: Three of four companies are not confident their current talent pool will meet future needs. (Source: RHR International, 2004)

Fact #332: Half of companies will lose half of their current senior management by 2010. (Source: RHR International, 2004)

Fact #333: Approximately 50 percent of privately held, women-owned firms in the top 50 metropolitan areas collectively employ 9.5 million people and generate $1.3 trillion in annual sales. (Source: Center for Women’s Business Research) More Women-Owned Business

Fact #334: Almost half of Canada's workforce will be over age 45 within a decade. (Source: WarrenShepell Research Group)

Fact #335: Workers age 50 years and older experience about 60 per cent more workplace stress than in 2003 and twice the level of workplace conflict. (Source: WarrenShepell Research Group)

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.  NEW Book! The Leader Within
by Ken Blanchard, Michael O'Connor and others.

Best-selling authors and Fortune 100 consultants, Dr. Drea Zigarmi, Dr. Ken Blanchard, Dr. Michael O'Connor and Dr. Carl Edeburn reveal the results of an in-depth, seven-year statistical study of leadership in Corporate America. Their new book, The Leader Within, Knowing Enough About Yourself To Lead Others, shows how leaders exert influence and how disposition, values, beliefs, and persona contribute to their very success—or failure.

The Leader Within explores the following:

Which of the four unique management styles of
Situational Leadership® II: directing, coaching, supporting,
deleating—is most—and least effective.

The difference between being a manager and a leader—and how
one cannot fundamentally lead unless he or she knows what his or
her values are.

Identifies the 4 classic DISC dispositions for a boss—direct
controller (D), direct acceptor (I), indirect acceptor (S) and
indirect controller (C)—and shows us the guiding principles that
govern all bosses.

Contrasts how famous leaders compare with one another, based on
their values-inspired leadership styles: traditionalists;
challengers, in-betweeners, and synthesizers.

Order "The Leader Within" and save 25%.

5. Useful Links, Helpful Tips - 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence

NEW!
100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence

In our increasingly competitive business world, it is beoming more and more important to provide the best possible service to customers. Your customer service representatives are in a unique position to keep your customers happy and coming back.

With Learning Points: 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence, you can be sure your employee know exactly what they need to do in any situation to provide the quality of service your company expects. And your customers deserve.

These fun, engaging, and easy-to-use activities take only minutes to complete. They contain a wealth of insights, tips, and guidanc that will create employees who....

a. Understand the principles of customer service and how to apply them to build rapport, solve problems, and treat the customer with respect.

b. Know how to keep customers by removing obstacles to customer service, really listening, finding the root causes of problems, and never taking short-cuts.

c. Bring to the job knowledge of new ways to do business - from the Internet and voice mail to cellular phones, virtual meetings, and beyond.

d. Add value to everything they do by providing extra touches, making things right, continuously improving and delivering outstanding service - even when they're busy.

Order 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence
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6. Nine percent of the public has been convicted of a crime!

According to the US Department of Justice, more than 59 million criminal-history records are on file at state repositories nationwide.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the number of prison releases is growing, with more than 500,000 ex-offenders rejoining the community each year.

Three job categories are typically require greater scrutiny and “duty of care” before hiring:

We now offer Pre-employment Online Background Checks.

Syndication available - call us.