Welcome to the May 31, 2006 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:

Tune in to PA Cable Network (PCN) on June 7 at 7:00 P.M. for the PCN LIVE Call In Program. The topic: What If....avian flu hits PA?   Featured guests will be B2B managing editor Ted Byrne and contributing columnists Ira Wolfe. Visit PCN cable to determine your local PCN channel and for repeat broadcasts.

1.   How to Motivate Your Problem Employees

It's easy to energize employees who want to be motivated. But how do you crack the tough cases, the people who never seem to do what you want - yet take up all your time?

In an article published in the Executive Edition, Summer 2006, Harvard Business Review OnPoint, Nigel Nicholson lists "Seven Hazards in Handling Problem People.

The Mulberrry Bush Chase
Have you been going round and round with someone, having the same fruitless conversations over and over? That's a sure sign of the need for a new approach and fresh start.

The Huckster Hazard
Have you been trying to "tell and sell" - that is, convince the person of the reasonableness of your position? Don't be an evangelist. Be a psychologist. The most successful salespeople discover and fulfill people's needs rather than try to change them.

The Ignorance-is-Bliss Syndrome
Have you been contentedly clueless, neither knowing nor caring much about what makes an employee tick? You have to dig deeper to find out what drives that person - and what may be blocking those drivers.

The Self-Centeredness Trap
Do the words that spring to mind when you think about this person's behavior reflect a blinkered point of view? Ask yourself what words this individual would use to describe those same behaviors. It may give you a fresh insight into the nature of the problem.

The Hanging Judge Tendency
Have you been proudly occupying a moral high ground in your perspective of this person? It won't help to think of your employee as in the wrong while you act out the role of judge and high priest. Decide now whether you really want to solve the problem or sit in judgment.

The Monochrome Vision
Have you failed to search for any redeeming features in this person? Think hard. Because discovering even one positive characteristic in someone can color your relationship in entirely new ways and create a starting point for you to connect.

The Denial Danger
Have you been dismissing out of hand how someone perceives you? Remember the dictum, "if something is perceived as real, it is real in its consequences." It is the other person's reality you are going to have to work with, not just your own.

Source: Executive Edition, Summer 2006, Harvard Business Review OnPoint

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Alerts # 538 to 540

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

Just Released! Listen to "Trends That Will Change The Way You Do Business" - FREE Download.

Fact #538:  Almost 18 million people—7 percent of all Americans—have heart disease. More than half of the population with heart disease is under age 65. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of premature, permanent disability in the U.S. labor force. (Source: National Society on an Aging Society)

Fact #539:   Coronary heart disease is particularly disabling. Among workers age 51 to 61,for example, some 44 percent of those with heart disease and 56 percent of those with coronary heart disease report that their condition is the cause of a limitation in the type or amount of paid work they can do. Almost 500,000 people of working age who are not working report that coronary heart disease causes limitations in their ability to work. Coronary heart disease accounts for 19 percent of disability allowances by the Social Security Administration. (Source: National Society on an Aging Society)

Fact #540:   Only about half of 45 to 64 year olds with heart disease work, compared to 70 percent of people in that age group who do not have heart disease. Workers with heart disease miss more work compared to workers without the disease. Some 12 percent of workers age 18 to 64 with heart disease compared to only 6 percent of workers in that age group without heart disease report missing a day or more of work in a two-week period. (Source: National Society on an Aging Society)

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.  Employee Motivation - Understanding Business Values and Motivators

Understanding Business Values and Motivators is an introduction to understanding how people are already motivated and how to tap into those motivators for their success and yours in the workplace.

One of the great benefits of understanding people's motivators is that we can know their "hot buttons," what "turns them on" and makes them run. It's how a particular person is "wired." Some managers make the mistake of pushing buttons in their employee that are either disconnected or are prewired to turn that person off.

Learn more about what makes people tick - Read Understanding Business Values and Motivators

4.   Quotes from Hire Authorities

"Don't water your weeds."
Harvey Mackay

5.  Employee Motivation Books

Motivating Hispanic Employees:
A Practical Guide to Understanding and Managing Hispanic Employees

The Manager's Pocket Guide to Motivating Employees

6. Why Are So Many Employees Avoiding Vacations?
From Sunday News, May 28. 2006

The only employee in an administrative department at a Lancaster County health care provider, she has been on the job for nearly 15 years and has earned several weeks vacation. But she feels she can only take a few days off here and there and can't leave for any extended period of time. "I can't, because I don't know what kind of mess I would come back to,'' said the woman, in her late 40s, who requested anonymity. She said she suffers from migraine headaches from time to time, which she believes is due to stress. The woman's dilemma is one of many that Lancaster workplace expert Ira Wolfe has encountered in his job, helping employers with their work force issues.

Read More.....

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Ira S. Wolfe Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.