Welcome to the April 12, 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:

Health Care Benefits Survey

Health care costs are out of control. Massachusetts just enacted a law imposing a $295 per employee fee on every employer if they didn't provide employee benefits. Maryland hopes to require private companies with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on employee health benefits or make a contribution to the state's insurance program for the poor. Employers
are telling employees to stop smoking and lose weight or pay more for these health care coverage.

Are these states and employers on the right track or are they headed down a slippery slope?

Please take a few minutes and share your opinions in this short HR Health Care Benefits survey. Results will be published in an upcoming issue of The Total View.

Please forward this to colleagues or clients, HR professionals and senior executives. The more respondents the better.

The Greater Valley Forge Human Resource Association
Organization Development Special Interest Group presents

Navigating the Talent Management Rough-Water:
Charting for the Labor Shortage Ahead

Keynote Speaker: Ira S Wolfe, Author - Perfect Labor Storm

What does all the current buzz about “Talent Management” mean in light of the impending labor shortages we face? This forum is your opportunity to get an insiders view of the latest statistical data as well as hear how several well known companies are “battening down their hatches” to prepare for the changing tides.

Listen to presentations and ask questions of:

• Ira S. Wolfe, Author and Founder of Success Performance Solutions
• Virginia Clarke, VP Organization & Talent Management, SAP America
• Gail Townsend, Organizational Development Specialist and Tiny Dyer, Human Resources Generalist, W. L. Gore
• Scott Cook, Sr. Director, Human Resources, Day and Zimmerman

To learn more or register for Navigating Talent Management Rough-Water.

1.   Hiring the Right Joe and Not Just Another Joker

With over 16 million people employed in sales and sales-related positions, there certainly is no shortage of salespeople with experience. Billions of dollars are spent each year on sales training so it seems unlikely that there is a lack of sales knowledge. And yet there is no single position that demands comparable attention and investment from executives, business owners, and managers than sales when it comes to recruiting and hiring.

Given all the data and information and past experiences about how personalities affect sales performance, doesn't it make sense for hiring managers to understand what makes successful sales people tick?

Recent validation studies and thousands of empirical experiences prove that personality traits give managers a leg up in hiring salespeople who can meet and exceed expectations. But not everyone with the "right" personality becomes successful. Why? Because personality is not a case of you have it or you don't. Personality traits provide a recipe for success but other factors determine whether these traits will be turned on….or just lie dormant.

What are these "other" factors? In addition to some genetic component, environment certainly influences how an individual uses these natural abilities. For example, growing up in a family of extroverts with parents who encourage a bit of risk-taking will turn on different traits than a conservative upbringing that values a subdued, private lifestyle and feels that a bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush.

Personality traits also combine in unique ways. The number of possibilities is enormous which explains why two people who might look capable of selling (or doing any job for that matter) perform very differently in the workplace. That explains why understanding combinations of personality traits gives managers a new powerful tool in making hiring and training decisions and getting the most out of their employees.

What it comes down to is this: Single personality traits do not predict performance but combinations of personality traits do. More specifically, unique combinations of personality traits working together predict an individual's natural ability to succeed at certain work-related skills.

For example, customer focus is a critical competency for Joe's job as sales director. But he's struggling. Personality implications for customer focus are insight, positive attitude toward people, work pace and assertiveness. Joe falls within the recommended benchmarks for the first three, but flags assertiveness. While Joe looks out for the customer, projects a positive outlook and works at a reasonable pace, his low assertiveness prevents him from standing up for customer-focused initiatives and complaints.

A different problem arises if we look at the competency "persuading to buy." Personality implications include assertiveness, work pace and sociability. Based on his personality assessment, a manager would find none of his traits "help" his ability in this area.

Joe will have difficulty working with strong-willed customers and he may hesitate to ask for the sale. A few customers may even intimidate him. And while positive about people, his reserved nature may deter him from "working the crowd" and networking to engage new customers and bond with existing ones. Finally, his work pace, while adequate for customer service, falls short for top sales effectiveness.

Another key competency for sales is negotiation and personality definitely influences an individual's innate ability to get others to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Personality implications for negotiation include assertiveness, need to be liked, positive toward people, insight, frustration tolerance, criticism tolerance and self-control. Personality "helps" include his positive approach and broad outlook in searching for common ground. But certain traits may hinder his chances for success. Like the situations above, his low assertiveness may make it difficult for him to promote or sustain his position. Others may control the discussions and influence the outcomes. His need to be liked may drive his efforts to winning new friends rather than closing the deal. And his low frustration tolerance may force him to reveal his cards, compromise, or walk away too early.

Not unlike many of our engagements, we were called about Joe after he was hired. Our client-to-be wanted to know: is Joe worth keeping? And if so, what can they do to motivate him? Would coaching be a worthwhile investment?

The first question I always ask is, "Tell me more about Joe." What I hear most often is that Joe had something like 10 years of experience, worked in our industry, won numerous sales awards and came highly recommended. Occasionally my client will tell me they used a "test." Most often, the assessment is a behavioral assessment such as DISC or Myers-Brigg Temperament. Rarely do we hear the employee was screened using a competency based process or instrument. The result is that they hired Joe because his "behavior" was right for the job. As it turns out, behavioral style doesn't measure competence. Just because they look like they can sell and they talk like they can sell doesn't mean they can - or will - sell.

In Joe's case, the client was impressed - and to some degree "blind-sided" - by his experience, positive outlook toward people, practical and pragmatic approach to decision making, attitude toward teamwork, reserved manner, and attention to details. Compared to his predecessor, "General Patton on steroids", Joe was a breath of fresh air - until it came to getting results.

By failing to assess Joe's personality and cognitive (general mental abilities) skills and how they impact specific competency-driven performance factors, our client ignored how his low assertiveness, low frustration tolerance, high self-control, and average general mental abilities would work in cahoots to undermine his effectiveness when negotiating, persuading, and motivating others. Joe didn't lie on his resume or put on a show for his interview. Joe actually portrayed himself to be exactly who he was. Our client, like many other managers and owners, had selective interviewing - he saw what he wanted and ignored what he didn't.

Not unlike many managers and business owners, our client wrote off personality testing. He previously viewed tests as tools that provided "nice-to-know" information but not predictable and reliable instruments that can predict a candidate or employee's natural ability to perform specific professional and management skills at the highest level.

As our client found out after the fact, the right personality test, and more importantly the right interpretation, can help uncover what you can't see and differentiate between hiring top performers or just another Joe.

Customer focus, negotiation and persuading to buy are just three of thirty-eight competencies included in the SSM competency library.

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Alerts # 521 to 522

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

Fact #521: According to USA Today, a company with 1,000 employees can expect pay about $285,000 a year in additional medical costs and absenteeism because of obesity. Roughly 30 percent of that cost involves increased absences. (Source: RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Fact #522: Normal-weight men miss an average of three work days a year, compared with five days for men who are 60 or more pounds over a healthy weight. Normal-weight women miss about 3.4 days a year vs. 5.2 days for women who are obese, that is 30 to 60 pounds overweight, and 8.2 days for extremely obese, 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight.

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.  Interview candidates online - fast, convenient, cost-effective

Total Applicant Processing System (Total-APS) provides an affordable and efficient online recruiting system for small and medium size businesses. Total APS is not just a resume processing system: it is a complete, total applicant processing system that includes job fit screening and selection tools. It enables managers to list job openings, administer screening tests, and direct candidates through an application that produces a ranking score, saving managers dozens of hours. Instead of sifting through piles of resumes and playing voice mail tag, managers can target their search to only the most qualified candidates. Simplify your hiring process today and employ the most powerful assessment tools to determine a candidate's job fit.

Learn more about Total Applicant Processing System.

4.   Quotes from Hire Authorities

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

5.    Ask The Hiring Expert
As a hiring manager or small business owner, what is the most nagging question you have when it comes to hiring smarter, in less time, and finding the right person for the job?"

Don't be afraid to ask - no obligation, just submit your question and we'll respond within 24 hours. To ask your question, go to Ultimate Hiring Solution.

6.   Assess 360 for Sales and Leadership
This web-facilitated multi-rater survey component of the ASSESS platform utilizes dimensions and behaviors populated directly from the organization's competency model. A participant can rate multiple people at a time and the system allows for comparative ratings. Reports provide detailed individual feedback on:

• Competency Rankings

• Behavior Ratings

• Developmental Suggestions

• Action Planning Guidance

View a Sample ASSESS 360 Degree Report.

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