Three sure-fire ways to sabotage your new hire

EDITOR’S NOTE:
If you like what you see here, check out the longer version of this article published in Inside Indiana Business.

Are you inadvertently undermining the success of your new hire? Here are three common mistakes employers make in the early stages of onboarding.

1. Fail to prepare work essentials.
   Before your employee sets foot on your grounds, make sure you have everything ready that he needs to perform his job: ID, desk, computer, phone, security codes, email address, system logins, parking pass and so on. A tiny welcome gift is also a nice touch—anything from a note on his desk to a company T-shirt.

2. Keep the new hire’s arrival a secret.
   Make sure you inform the front desk and the new hire’s department of the employee’s start date. Designate someone to meet her in the lobby, and make sure her manager or supervisor is available to spend some time with her the first day.

3. View onboarding as a one-time event.
   According to TTI Success Insights, the onboarding process should last six months. It should be personal, purposeful and focused on setting up your employee for success.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about onboarding or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

Are you rowing or steering? Part 2 of 2

In our last blog post below, we discussed whether you’re rowing or steering your business and said it depends on which way you’re facing.

Today, we want to give you simple sentence to remember the difference. Read each sentence below and note the preposition (short italicized word).

Rowing: You work IN the business instead of ON the business.

Steering: You work ON the business instead of IN the business.

If you’re rowing, you’re bogged down in the day-to-day operations of your business. In contrast, if you’re steering, you’re in the ideal position to take it to the next level. Which sentence best describes you?

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about rowing versus steering or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

Are you rowing or steering? Part 1 of 2

Look closely at this picture. What do you see? A speedboat and a rowboat, right?

These two boats symbolize two very different approaches to running your business—and it all comes down to the 1) direction you’re facing and 2) what you’re focusing on.

For instance, if you’re rowing, you’re positioned so that you’re always looking backward. Steering, on the other hand, puts you forward facing and in the driver’s seat, focusing on future opportunities. Think of the implications for your business.

Rowing makes you tired and grouchy. Steering invigorates. What business boat are you in today?

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about rowing versus steering, or to see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

Let your job talk

Job benchmarking. It’s the best way to get the right people in the right job, whether you’re in the midst of hiring, succession planning or employee development.

The key? Let the job talk.

Imagine, for example, if your job could talk, what talent would it identify as being critical for consistent superior performance? Completing this exercise will help you determine if your candidate has the talent necessary to do the job.

In addition, through job benchmarking, you’ll:

• Define why the position exists
• Identify what really matters in the job
• Discover behaviors, motivators, skills and acumen needed for the job and candidate
• Create a tangible, objective framework for the review process
• Provide a solid foundation for coaching, hiring and onboarding

Laying the foundation for talent management has never been easier. All you have to do is listen.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about benchmarking or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

Avoid cloning yourself when hiring

Remember Dolly the Sheep? In 1996, she was the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. Cloning is rare in the animal world, but in the business world—well, it’s all too common.

In fact, one of the top hiring mistakes is to hire someone just like you. That’s because we’re drawn to people who are similar to ourselves. And left to our own subjective methods, we tend to hire people who are just like us.

Assembling a strong team means you need ALL KINDS of the right players, not lots of “Little Dollys” running around.

The next time you hire someone, avoid relying on your gut or intuition. Instead, use assessments to identify the skills and talents you need. The difference is “unbaaaaa-lievable”!

 

TAKE THE NEXT STEP

To learn more about hiring assessments or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

 

What’s the big deal about assessments?

Some leaders think assessments are a waste of time and money. We disagree.

Companies that use assessments make better decisions about people and placement—and that always leads to a stronger bottom line.

Assessments provide you with valuable data and insight about an employee, job, team or job candidate. They also help you:

• Ÿ  Hire the right employees for the right positions
• Ÿ  Communicate with your employees
• Ÿ  Increase engagement and interaction
• Ÿ  Increase productivity
• Ÿ  Manage and motivate 
effectively

Don’t take our word about assessments. Experience it yourself. Contact us today to see if you qualify for a free assessment ($300 value).

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about assessments or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

When’s the Best Time to Plan My Week?

The best time is Friday morning from 8-9 a.m.

During that hour, be unavailable to everyone but yourself. Tell your administrative assistant that you’re “in conference.” Yes, “in conference” with yourself!

Choose to honor that appointment as faithfully as you would an appointment with your best customer.

Friday is the one day when you can objectively review the week’s activities. The phone rings less frequently, and you often have fewer appointments and interruptions. Fridays also give you the chance to look ahead—to identify any potential schedule problems looming for the coming week.

This winter, try blocking an “hour of power” on Friday mornings. See for yourself how a consistent “one-to-one” conference can prove invaluable.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about coaching or see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

The Secret You Won’t Learn in Business School

What’s the biggest decision that leaders make? According to Jim Clifton, chairman and CEO, of Gallup, Inc., the answer is something that most business schools don’t teach. It’s who you name manager.

“When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision,” says Clifton. “No compensation, no benefits – nothing.”

Clifton’s comments appear in the introduction to Gallup’s 2013 State of the American Workplace Report, a study showing only 30% of employees are engaged and inspired at work—and blaming poor managers for the majority of the problem.

So what’s the “state of your workplace”? How are your managers engaging and inspiring your staff? Today’s takeaway is one you don’t have to go to school for. It’s easy. Managers matter.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP
To learn more about helping your managers engage employees or to see if you qualify for a free assessment, contact:

Tom Moellering, president
tmoellering@moellering.com
888-906-4111, x302
moellering.com

Is Your Leadership Boxed In?

What box are you in? How does your box effect your corporate profits, your leadership, your decision making, and your employees?

Are Your Emotions Boxing In Profits?

Do your emotions impact performance and profitability? The answer is yes, but whether it has a positive or negative impact depends on you.

No matter where you are in your career, no matter what industry your organization focuses on, the desired outcome is high performance that leads to sustained profitability. The centerpiece of high performance is a combination of good decision-making and your emotional intelligence. Whether the decisions to be made impact hundreds of people or they are the smaller ones made on a daily basis, these decisions and your emotional intelligence make all the difference.

As a leader, you have tremendous impact on the tone and culture of the organization. Your emotional intelligence affects the team’s emotions and actions. These interactions generate a response which travels down the chain in your organization impacting the culture, employee engagement & performance, and ultimately the bottom line through your customer’s satisfaction & buying behaviors.

Sadly, most leaders fail to recognize this connection and unintentionally “box in” the ability to generate profits. When the negative consequences of the emotional boxes of mood, emotions, frustration, anger, etc. are overlooked they impact and distort decision-making for everyone in the company. The result is a cascading effect in your organization of negativity, anger, resentment, self-protection, and employee disengagement. The focus shifts from profitability to self-preservation, and in that environment no one wins.

The key factors in emotional intelligence are:

1. Self-Awareness – The ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions, and drives, as well as their effect on others.
2. Self-Regulation – The ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods and the propensity to suspend judgment and think before acting.
3. Motivation – A passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status and a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence.
4. Empathy – The ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people.
5. Social Skills – A proficiency in managing relationships and building networks.

Think about your own organization for a moment; over the last six months how many of your decisions have been “boxed in” by poor emotional management? How many of your people are “boxed in” by their emotions? Which of the five areas of emotional intelligence are boxing in your profits?

Emotional management is crucial in leadership. You can either capitalize on it as a competitive advantage or let it continue to decrease profitability.

To truly benefit from your emotional intelligence you must accurately identify where your strengths and weaknesses are in this area. We can help you determine your emotional intelligence and how to leverage it to your advantage. Isn’t it time to take the lid off your box?