The Working Life: Effective Retention Strategies

The Working Life: Effective Retention Strategies

We all know how important it is for businesses to find, attract and retain a talented workforce. In today’s world, workers, especially younger ones, change jobs much more frequently than they did 10 years ago. Turnover has a huge financial and organizational cost as businesses struggle to recruit and train new employees. So what are the secrets to retaining quality employees? Do younger workers want different things than more seasoned workers? How do you keep young talent from jumping ship?

What’s the problem?
The problem is that, in large measure, today’s workforce is restless. A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that nearly three-quarters of any given workforce is looking for employment elsewhere. SHRM reported that 41 percent of employees were passively job seeking, 31 percent were actively job seeking while just 28 percent were not searching at all.

A full 50 percent of workers polled said they were likely to increase or begin a job search as the job market continues to improve.

And that’s one of the root causes of the problem; a strong job market and strong economy make workers restless, as they seek other, better employment opportunities. At the same time, a tight labor market means there are not enough skilled workers to go around.

The highest turnover is in middle management and non-management, and turnover is highest among the youngest workers, those in Gen Y and Gen X. Younger workers are much more likely to seek opportunities elsewhere if they are not getting what they want at an organization. And this is a problem because if you don’t keep your pipeline of talent happy, productive and retained, you won’t have much of a pool to draw from.

Retaining talent is a bottom-line issue for all companies, and 75 percent of human resource directors say they are concerned or very concerned about it. Keeping workers happy and productive is imperative, especially among the youngest sector. Here’s how to do it.

What’s the best way to retain young talent?

Obviously, money and benefits are very important to employees, and companies with good pay packages will do a good job of recruiting and retaining employees. But all things being equal, your competition probably has similar pay packages, so the question is, what sets your firm apart? How do you make your company a preferred employer?

This comes down to one, simple, yet complex factor—how your employees feel about working for your organization. And with the Generation X and Y workers, where turnover is the highest and where retention is a problem, companies have to understand what those workers need, and give it to them.

While, most people want similar things out of work: to be respected, to contribute positively and to be paid well. Younger talent place a higher value on things like professional development, relationship with their boss, and opportunities for advancement. Remember, young folks want to launch a career. Therefore if you want to retain them you should integrate some retention strategies that are aligned with their goals and your goals.
I recommend the following retention strategies:

I. Onboarding

Employee retention begins on day one. Studies show that new hires begin to question their decision to join your organization after their very first day, which is why employee orientation is absolutely key. The most frequent complaint about employee orientation is that it is boring, overwhelming or non-existent. This is where onboarding comes in. Onboarding differs from conventional orientation in that it is a comprehensive approach that serves to introduce and integrate new employees.

This approach is extremely important for young talent. Onboarding is your first opportunity to deliver on recruitment promises; you must reaffirm their decision to “buy” into your employment. In it, you must build cohort, solicit their input from day one, provide an authentic overview of your organizational culture, and get senior leaders involved. Show them how their work contributes to the organization. Use career and organizational success stories.

Young workers want to see how they will fit in, they want to be part of a team, and they want to be assured that their work is meaningful. Give them that from day one and your retention task will be a lot easier.

II. Professional Development

This is all about training. Employees want to have the skills to succeed.
This is especially true for young talent. The problem is that traditionally, organizations offer professional development as a “reward’ for service. Why do they wait?
Remember, this is about career launching. Training and development is a critical investment for individual and organizational success. If they are lacking skill or certain professional “sensibilities” then find them appropriate training. Don’t wait until the gap becomes a festering wound.

Training must be facilitative, interactive, and fun. Young people today need the “soft skills” as well as the hard, technical skills. Gen Y does not learn passively; they learn through active engagement, so be sure that your training is tailored to what works best for them.

III. Manage, Coach, & Mentor

Managers and supervisors of young talent must become adept at managing, coaching, and mentoring them. Gen Y is used to having adults invested in their success. They are used to being coached and mentored at home and at school, so they need this in the workplace as well.
Gen Y has defined expectations from their managers: They want respect. They want to be treated as colleagues not “kids” They want their managers to take an active interest in their well being. They want consistent and honest feedback. They want reward and recognition. They want a clear delegation of task with a flexible process. Again, recognize what they need and give it to them. If you don’t, someone else will.
Your organizational culture must support personal and professional development. In order to make this work, you have to provide your managers with the skills they need. And you need to hold them accountable. If your managers aren’t ready consider outside sources or structured coaching and mentoring programs

IV. Meaningful Work

Meaningful work means people feel like they are making an important contribution to the organization’s mission. For young talent it is an opportunity for them to showcase their talents and skills and develop professionally. Young talent will not be happy only doing menial labor; they want to contribute something they believe is meaningful.
You must find a way to give them substantial work. Give them a seat at the table.
Create strategic initiatives for them to tackle. Be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. Show them how their work contributes to the organization. Recognize and reward contributions. This is the groundwork you laid in your onboarding; now you have to deliver.

V. The Stay Interview
I am convinced that if more companies did this, turnover would be much lower. The stay interview is a situation in which you find out why your employees are staying. It’s an interview where you find out what your employees love or hate about your organization, sort of a how’s it going, state of the union sort of thing. Stay interviews are a great way to find out what your organization is doing right so that you may leverage it to make better strategic retention strategy decisions.

Rather than waiting for the exit interview, why not find out now what is working and what isn’t? It seems kind of insane that we ask people why they leave—as they are leaving! This information doesn’t really help us in real time, does it?

Stay interviews should be focused on the positive. They shouldn’t just be a bitch session, though you do need to find out if something isn’t working. Use appreciative inquiry, like:

• What will keep you here?
• What might entice you away?
• What is most energizing about your work?
• Are we fully utilizing your talents?
• What is inhibiting your success?
• What can we do differently to best assist you?

Conclusion
By using these strategies, your company can build a retention strategy that will keep all your workers longer and happier. The key is to understand that your youngest workers approach their careers differently. Once you understand this, you can be proactive and accommodate theses differences, and that will help you retain them.

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Successful Retreats

The Working Life: Designing an Effective Offsite Retreat

The offsite retreat. Some people love them. Some people hate them. And it’s easy to see why. If done well, retreats can be a powerful way to help organizations bring about positive change. If done poorly, retreats can be a waste of time and can actually make things worse.

Holding an effective retreat is hard work, but organizations can get a leg up if they follow some basic rules.

What is it?
A retreat is an offsite gathering of a group of similarly engaged people – co-workers, team members, managers, board members – with the purpose of digging deeply into issues. The gathering is held offsite so that the group can focus and not be distracted by the goings on in an office or by their day-to-day life. Retreats are an opportunity to bring people together to have conversations that they don’t normally have.

Why do it?
There are lots of reasons organizations hold retreats. Sometimes they are held to solve a problem, sometimes to explore a new strategy, sometimes to evaluate, sometimes to train; it depends on the objective and the company’s need. Leaders should seriously consider using a retreat when they want the support, input and creativity of their organizational members or partners. A well-designed and well-facilitated retreat can be very effective in:

• Helping change a strategic direction
• Dealing with sources of conflict and confusion
• Generating creative solutions for entrenched problems
• Getting people on the same page and pulling in the same direction
• Improving working relationships and increase trust
• Creating a common framework and point of reference
• Fostering a collective vision
• Generating honest and enlightening conversations
• Helping people feel heard in issues that are important to them

That said, here are 7 excellent reasons for holding an offsite retreat:

1. To explore serious organizational concerns or obstacles. Suppose productivity is low or turnover is high, retreats can be a great avenue to explore causes and potential solutions for thorny organizational issues.
2. To tap into group creativity. Retreats are a great opportunity to tap into the collective wisdom and creativity of a group. Taking people out of the day-to-day parameters of office life can greatly increase the creative process.
3. To tackle tough decisions. No matter how strong the leader, tough decisions will require the support of organizational members. Involving members in the decision-making on critical issues can result in high quality decisions with large-scale support.
4. To create a collective vision of success for the organization, department, team or group. Day-to-day organizational life doesn’t hold much time for big picture thinking among and between organizational members and groups. Often, tensions arise as different players have different goals and priorities. Retreats are a great way to align and design different parts of an organization with a common vision and commitment.
5. To explore and foster change. Whether you need a change in culture or a change in business processes, retreats are an effective way to explore and promote new ways of doing things. This can be especially important for leaders who are considering change. Getting input and involvement early in the change process will greatly increase the odds of creating successful change.
6. To improve organizational relationships and align members’ behaviors, attitudes and perceptions. Organizations are complex social structures. Sometimes relationships, behaviors and attitudes go awry. A well-designed retreat can go a long way to explore, align, and improve relationships, behaviors, attitudes and perceptions.
7. To evaluate or correct your course. Sometimes the most effective thing an organization can do is to simply take a breath and a 1000-foot view of how things are working. We call this the temperature check. What’s working well? What could be improved? Providing people with an opportunity to play a role in deciding what needs to change (or not) is an excellent way to build support and commitment for organizational goals and priorities.

There are, of course, lots of bad reasons for holding a retreat. Even though well intentioned, your reason may be not be sound.

Here are 7 bad reasons for holding a retreat:

1. Tradition. Many people think that annual retreats are a good idea just because they’ve always done one. They think just the act of bringing people together is a good idea. But having a retreat without a serious purpose is a bad idea. A retreat is not a party or a picnic. People don’t generally appreciate having their time wasted. Pointless retreats will breed cynicism faster than you can imagine.
2. Making an individual problem a group problem. Oftentimes leaders have a few non-team players and they decide a retreat is the best way to deal with these issues. Resist that urge. While an offsite can be a great way to surface and negotiate differences, the issues raised in a retreat should be germane and actionable to everyone in the room, not just a select few.
3. Talking at participants instead of with them. Retreats are not a one-way conversation. Retreats are not the appropriate venue for lengthy presentations or agenda pushing. While it is important to keep people well informed, daylong presentations do not constitute a retreat. People associate retreats with participation and change. Don’t confuse or mislead the participants.
4. Retreat as reward. Many organizational leaders want to use a retreats as a way to reward hard work. This is a mistake. People rarely see retreats as rewards. Because they are likely to have even more work as the result of a day (or two) out of the office, attending a pointless retreat will not foster a sense of gratitude. If you want to reward employees, have a picnic, or give them a bonus.
5. Improving morale. A retreat in and of itself is not going to improve morale. While using a retreat to explore morale issues and improvement ideas, do not confuse the diagnosis with the treatment. In fact, holding a retreat can actually worsen morale if action isn’t taken from ideas or concerns raised in the retreat.
6. The covert agenda. This means not putting real choice on the table. People view retreats as an opportunity to provide real input on real change. Leaders will sometimes use a retreat as a way to “get buy-in” on an issue in which they have already decided. But it is dangerous to involve participants in a retreat on an issue that is already decided. Do not use a retreat to push a covert agenda or give people a false sense of participation. This will create a sense of ill will that will take years to overcome.
7. No intention (or ability) to follow through or act on participants’ suggestions. When you ask people for their input, you raise expectations that this input will be implemented in some way. Do not disappoint them. Also, be wary of holding retreats where the topics are out of your and/or their sphere of influence or control.

How to do it
Now that you know why (and why not) to hold a retreat and what you can expect to get out of it, you have to take the time to design and execute one. A good retreat can improve communication, energize and motivate, improve engagement and or improve skill sets. A bad retreat can make matters worse. Good retreats require weeks, if not months, of solid planning in order to be effective.

Sadly, most people groan when they hear their organization is holding a retreat. Many people have had terrible experiences with retreats or imagine them to be as bad as their company meetings. Very few organizations do retreats well. Heck, most companies don’t even do meetings well, let alone plan and execute an effective retreat, so you can’t really blame people for their attitudes.

But by following some guiding principles in designing your retreat, leaders can plan and execute an effective offsite.

1. Know your objective and goals. Retreats should be designed and conducted in order to create organizational action or change, with a distinct goal in mind. Everything at the retreat, from participants to location to design, must fall from your specific retreat goals. Ask yourself: What will be different as a result of this retreat? What will this retreat create?

2. Be realistic. A one-day retreat with 30 people goes by pretty quickly, so try not to bite off more than you can chew. Keep your agenda proportionate to the length of the retreat and to the number of participants.

3. Invite the right people. Once you have your goals established you need to think about who you need at the retreat to accomplish those goals. Invite the people with the power, influence and information you need to reach successful results. Participants should also be involved in planning whenever possible. People always support what they helped to create.

4. Market the retreat wisely. Retreats carry a lot of baggage and expectations and people are naturally skeptical. It is essential that the project is announced properly and openly. And make sure both those who are invited and those who are not invited all have a common understanding of the purpose and process of the retreat.

5. Keep it focused. Retreats must relate to the actual day-to-day work of the organization. Don’t wander.

6. Keep it organized. Retreats must have structure and purpose. And you must know the message you want to deliver and stay on it.

7. Follow-up. This is, without a doubt, the most critical determinant on whether a retreat is deemed successful and effective. It is also the number one thing that most retreat conveners fail to do. Transparent follow up and follow through is absolutely essential.

Who should run the retreat?
In order to be effective and successful, your retreat will need someone to run it. That person may or may not be your company CEO, president, or manager. Very often, companies call in a professional facilitator to plan and execute the retreat. This is smart for many reasons.
First, a facilitator is a professional process expert but is a neutral party. Because leaders or employees have an enormous stake in the outcome of the retreat it is often difficult, if not impossible, for leaders to remain content neutral. Facilitators can also help plan and organize the retreat. They will focus on helping to foster innovative conversations, not on directing content. They will help surface different perspectives in ways that is often difficult for leaders to do. A trained professional will be able to help you think through different methodologies and conversation tools.

Another advantage to using a professional facilitator is that it allows the leader to be a participant. This helps people feel more comfortable in raising differing viewpoints if they see the leader as another participant, and in some ways a peer in the meeting.

Participating rather than leading is often difficult for a leader to do, but they should strive to use the retreat as a true opportunity to listen and learn. Whether the leader facilitates the retreat or is active as a participant, he or she should:

• Provide space for others to speak. In other words don’t dominate the discussion. Be careful about “leading the discussion.”
• Be honest. Tell people what you think. Just be aware that your opinion will naturally carry more weight and might make people hesitant to disagree.
• Invite opposing viewpoints. Acknowledge and appreciate those who offer up different perspectives and feedback.
• Be realistic about what can and/or can’t be changed. The point of a retreat is to effect change. If the participants start creating strategies that you know can’t be implemented—then be honest and say, “sorry, that idea will never fly with the board.”
• Work the room. Use the retreat to work and converse with people whom you normally don’t get the opportunity to collaborate with.
• Show appreciation and gratitude. And remember to tell people what you learned as a result of their candor and participation.

Given a clear purpose in mind, and when planned and executed correctly, an offsite retreat can be an incredibly effective, energizing and engaging tool for your company.

Just remember to follow up!




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Resolutions That Work

The Working Life: How to Make A Resolution That Works

Every year, people make countless resolutions about losing weight, traveling to exotic locales, exercising more or finishing that novel. But few people focus on what is one of the most important aspects of their life – work.

People spend most of their time at work, or thinking about work, or looking for work, or worrying about work, and it stands to reason that there is vast room for improvement there.

But change is hard, as everyone who has tried to schedule 30 minutes on that elliptical machine every day knows. A resolution usually involves creating something different in your life or giving something up, and that involves changing something about yourself – your behavior, your actions, your thoughts and your values. It’s not the commitment that’s the hard part, it’s the follow through.

Every year I work with clients who have resolved to make a change in their work life, from finding a new rob, to getting a raise, being more organized, working less, working smarter, spending more time on strategy rather than putting out fires, etc. Most resolutions are aimed at creating a more satisfying and productive work experience.

Invariably, my clients get tripped up by the paradox of their resolution: If your resolution is to create something new and different, you must be willing to destroy something old. You have to be willing to let go of old ways of doing things. And this means truly getting out of one’s comfort zone.

Making the right resolution
Don’t make a resolution just for the sake of it. But if you sincerely want to see a change, creating goals and making resolutions can be a powerful way to focus your energy. There is something very powerful about creating goals.

While the best goals involve a stretch, it is important that some goals are realistic. Having one or two easily achieved goals can help you feel successful and can empower you to take on bigger goals. But by the same token, don’t choose goals that are not really a stretch and are nothing more than items on a to-do list. Resolving to buy a new outfit doesn’t count.

If you really want to bring about some change in your life then it is essential that some (if not most) of your goals are a stretch. Think of your goals as a continuum. One the one end, you should have a few goals that are realistic and easy to achieve. On the other end of the continuum, you should have some BHAG’s or Big Hairy Audacious Goals. These goals should really set out what your perfect vision of life would be. In a continuum, buying that new outfit may be one of the first steps in your overall goal of improving your professional appearance and persona, for example, a resolution that may also include taking new classes, improving your vocabulary and posture, updating your resume, etc.

I see a lot of unrealistic goals in my work. Don’t settle on a resolution that is impossible – going from intern to CEO, for example. Furthermore, too many people make goals or resolutions that aren’t really in their control to actualize. For example, saying, “I resolve not to spend most of my day putting out other people’s fires” may not be in your control if you work for an organization whose modus operandi is very much last minute fire-fighting. To accomplish this resolution would require wholesale cultural change in the organization, something that is enormously difficult and time consuming, and isn’t in your control. Setting unrealistic goals and resolutions can lead to cynicism and dysfunction. Be realistic and optimistic, but not crazy.

An effective action plan
Once you’ve established your resolution and goals, it’s time to develop your action plan. The proper action plan should start with clearly defined goals, stated in a way that you know when you’ve achieved it. Don’t be vague. For example, saying, “I am going to be more organized this year” is great idea, but kind of fuzzy. Be specific, with concrete steps and goals. Instead of resolving to be more organized, resolve to do the following:

• My desk will be clear of paperwork every night before I leave the office.
• I will return every phone call and email within 24 hours.

You have stated the goal clearly and concisely, now it’s time to create an action plan. First, break it down. Many people don’t accomplish their goals because the goal looks too big or the actions required are too daunting, so break it up into smaller bits. Determine which actions are needed and create a do-able strategy for accomplishing them. Your mantra should be, “Will this action bring me closer or further from my goal?

For example, if your goal is, “My desk will be clear of paperwork every night before I leave the office,” then your strategy might be to take the last 20 minutes of the workday to file and organize. Therefore, your action plan would be to stop everything at, say, 4:30 p.m. and use that time to clear your desk. The goal is to clear your desk by the end of the day; the action plan is to schedule a time to do it. The key is to keep trying strategies until you hit upon one that works for you.

Involving your company
Many forward-thinking employers help their employees achieve their workplace goals. Highly effective organizations and teams allow for the accomplishment of both ordinate (individual) goals and super-ordinate (organizational or group) goals. An organization that doesn’t care about individual workplace goals will not be able to attract and retain top talent. It behooves organizations to create processes and dialogue around its employee goals.

This is easily done through providing employees with an opportunity to create IDPs, or individual development plans. Managers should take a very active interest in helping their people create and accomplish their IDPs. This requires dialogue and feedback.

There are also some distinct and important workplace-related health issues and resolutions that both the employee and the employer should consider. Carpel tunnel syndrome, weight gain, stress, burnout and other maladies are all work-related, and people should resolve to take more breaks, move around, be more active, improve their visual environment and take other steps to improve their overall health. Generally speaking, healthier employees are happier and more productive employees. Everybody wins.

The goal is near
Now, you’ve made the right, meaningful resolutions, developed a specific action plan to reach your goals and are well on your way. Remember to:

• Review your goals along the way.
• Consistently choose the actions and behavior that will get you there.
• Keep your mantra in mind: Will this action bring me closer or further from my goal?
• Reward yourself, not just when you reach your goal but for staying on track, too. You can do it.
  
  

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The Working Life: Changing Jobs Within Your Organization

The Working Life: Changing Jobs Within Your Organization Do you feel like it’s time to move up or across the corporate ladder? Have you ever thought of advancing or changing careers within your company? What if you are a manager and you want to hire an employee from a different department? There is a right way and a wrong way to change jobs and hire employees internally. The right way can lead to fulfilling and empowering career and company growth, while the wrong way can lead to career disaster. But, armed with a little knowledge, intra-company transitions can be effective and profitable. Everybody can win as long as everyone understands the pros, cons and how-to’s of moving up and around within an organization. Let’s start with the employee.

For The Employee Getting ready to make the move
Even before you make the move to apply for that new job, you should lay some groundwork that establishes yourself as a valuable employee, someone your company would want to keep. If you are interested in moving across or up the corporate ladder be willing to take on new challenges.

Go ahead and volunteer for extra responsibility. Volunteering for and taking on special assignments and extra responsibility is a fantastic way to move ahead. It not only demonstrates you are a go-getter, but it also allows you to develop working relationships with new colleagues which, in turn, helps expand your network and showcase your talents.

Having a mentor is another valuable tool. Mentors can really help you learn how to be successful in your organization. They can serve as a sounding board, an advisor, a coach, and a champion for your career. Last, make an effort to build a strong internal network at your organization. Building solid relationships throughout the company will help you stay on the forefront of opportunities. Having a great reputation with everybody is the best marketing tool you can create for yourself.

Take a look around
Next, determine the protocol within your organization. You’ve got to understand how this sort of thing is done at your company, and most large organizations have policies and procedures in place for upward and lateral moves. Large organizations often post open positions in-house and through the Internet. Your HR department can also be a good source of information. Small organizations rely much more on personal relationships and networks, so it may be fine to ask around (and this is where good workplace relationships come into play). You should also be having regular conversations with your boss regarding your career trajectory so that when opportunities arise, both of you will both be ready.

If you become aware of an opportunity in your organization that interests you, then you have to be proactive about it. As with any job, you need to do a little prep work before applying. Talk to people about the job and the team. Determine if it is a good fit for you and if you are qualified. Even if you aren’t qualified, sometimes just applying for a different position sends a strong message that you are ready for a new challenge.

If you decide to proceed, consider discussing this with your boss. Chances are he/she will find out about it so you want to make sure your action is “spun” right. You want to make sure your manager will support your pursuit of another position. If you aren’t sure your immediate boss will support your move, then you may have to rely on the support of someone else within that organization. This is where it really pays to have a solid mentoring relationship with your boss AND a strong network of professional colleagues within the company. This is also a great reason to always have an internal mentor at your workplace who is not your boss.

Not all bosses are alike. If you are a good employee your boss may not be enthused by your desire to move on. Some bosses really take pride in their ability to develop and grow people. Some don’t. It doesn’t make them bad people; it just means they are more invested in creating strong results for their department. So if you really think your boss wouldn’t be supportive, it is important to find another mentor, advisor or champion within the organization. Here are some tips for finding one:

• Look around. Who do you respect? With whom do you have good rapport? Who has successfully moved around within the organization?
• Find a few people and meet informally with them.
• Just be careful you don’t appear to be “going behind your boss’ back. In other words, don’t have coffee with your boss’ best friend.
• If your boss does find out be honest. Let him/her know that you are just exploring.

How soon can I move around? This depends on several factors: where you are in your career and what type of company you work for. Some organizations move people around quite liberally. But I would say try to not to move jobs sooner than a year. And I say this for several reasons:

• One, you don’t want to seem like a flaky employee. It takes time to get employees up and running so if you change too often employers are going to see you as a risky candidate.
• Two, organizations are social networks. If you transition too often, it will confuse your colleagues and people won’t really understand what your expertise is or where your loyalties lie.
• And three, it is important to really take the time to figure out what is a good fit for you. If you are constantly moving, then I’m guessing you haven’t really been able to accurately assess yourself and the situation in order to make appropriate decisions.

Now the caveat to this is when you are being recruited and promoted on a steady and consistent basis. In other words, if you are the rising star who is constantly being asked to step up then there will be less stigma. There is a danger to being a rising star, however, and that is that people may start to resent you, especially if you don’t stay in any one position long enough to really show results. In this case people may start to make up stories about you and your sudden rise to success.

II. For The Employer: The etiquette of poaching
Let’s turn the tables a little and talk about recruiting employees from within the organization to leave their current position and work for you. Let’s say you are a supervisor with a vacancy in your department and you have your eye on a possible candidate who has not applied for the position. Is it appropriate to approach this person? Is it OK to poach?

This is really a question of tact and finesse. The answer again depends largely on the culture of the organization and your relationship with the coveted employee and his/her supervisor. There is a fine line between actively recruiting people and letting people know about interesting opportunities. You want to make sure you are someone who can spot and attract good talent, but you don’t want to be known as a shameless poacher. Generally speaking, here is how to do it:

• Seek out the employee. Tell him/her about the position and why you think they would be a good fit. Find out if this might be a position that would fit into their career plans. Let them know that you are a fan of their work and would love to talk to them about their career plans.
• Invite them to apply. You can simply say something like, “I think you would be great addition to my team and I’d love for you to apply.”

The pros and cons of promoting from within As an employer, there are advantages and disadvantages of promoting an existing employee. The advantages are that existing employees know and understand the organizational culture and the business models utilized by the organization. They understand who all the players are and how to get things accomplished within the business. Existing employees have proven track records and a proven commitment to the organization. Another big advantage is that it helps organizational morale. People like to know that there are opportunities for advancement, so it sends a strong positive message throughout the company.

The disadvantages, however, must be considered. Sometimes, a position really needs a new set of perspectives and ideas. Existing employees often will reinforce the status quo. A person’s internal reputation can also be a disadvantage if their reputation is at all tarnished or questionable.

However, the biggest disadvantage is when people are promoted into managerial jobs based on technical skills. In other words, being a great sales or technical person does not necessarily mean that person will be a great manager. Those positions require very different skill sets. This is one of the biggest problems in organizations today -- organizations don’t spend enough time developing the skills necessary to move from being a great technical or sales person to a great manager. They are very different jobs with very different skills.

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The Working Life: First Job Blues

The Working Life: Combating Those First Job Blues

Your first job. How exciting! How nerve wracking. How disappointing. Your first job out of college or grad school can be all of those. Many people head into new jobs only to find that they aren’t too thrilled with the reality of their career. They often run into what I call the first job blues, and it’s very common. Luckily, the blues can be cured with a little insight, a little attitude adjustment and some very concrete tips.

What are first job blues? First job blues usually pop up two to three months after first-time job holders start working. First job blues can have many symptoms, including feelings of dissatisfaction or frustration; feeling tired, having low energy or feeling a low level depression. Work may feel unfulfilling or pointless and you may start to question your choices and your future. Many start to wonder, “Is this what I went to college for?

First job blues are similar to new job blues, where people may feel similarly dissatisfied after starting a new job. New job blues are when a new job initially doesn’t seem to be a good fit. You’ve been in the working world a while, but those feelings of dissatisfaction creep in after you’ve switched jobs. New job blues are often temporary, as you just need time to adjust to your new workplace culture and position.

Workplace blues aren’t new. People have always felt dissatisfied with their working life. What is different now is that we have far greater expectations that work should be meaningful and fulfilling. This is a relatively new career standard. A generation ago, people worked to provide food, shelter, security, etc. Being fulfilled by work wasn’t part of the equation. That, however, has changed, as people (especially young people just entering the workforce) expect their jobs to be meaningful and fulfilling. Young people today are surrounded by cultural images of exciting and rewarding careers. Expectations are very high.

Additionally, young people today have extraordinary pressures on them to compete, get great test scores, have all the right accomplishments, get into good schools, graduate with good grades, and get a “good job.” Then they get the job and BAM! They are unprepared for real work, the often banal “humdrummery” of day-to-day office life.

The cause of the blues There are four major causes of first job blues: transition, poor job/career fit, poor company fit and misaligned expectations and attitudes. The transition from college to working life is a doozy, and presents the first hurdle. Even when the change is a positive and exciting one, like getting a great job, the transition can be tough. But the transition from college life, where you basically called the shots and were your own boss, to working life, when you are working for someone for pay, presents an enormous challenge.

First of all, the environment is radically different and may appear stagnant, cumbersome and downright annoying. There are also very real physical and psychological adjustments. For example, you are no longer in charge of your own schedule. You have to be at a certain place at a certain time, and many recent grads struggle with not having control over their schedules. Many feel physically exhausted from a 9 to 5 day. Just sitting behind a desk all day is a huge adjustment for many young people.

The second cause of the blues, poor job or career fit, is equally difficult. Your job or career field may have sounded good on paper, but the reality may turn out to be quite different. This happened to me in my first job. I always wanted to be a PR person. I thought PR sounded fun and sexy and my very first job was in that field. Turns out, PR is all about selling and I hated sales. It was not a good fit.

The third cause, poor company fit, crops up when the field or job may be right for you, but the company ethos fits poorly. Organizations, like people, have distinct personalities and cultures. You may love your job or profession but you may not like the organizational environment or personality of your company. It may not be a good fit.

The fourth cause of the blues is one of the most common -- misaligned expectations and attitudes. Entry-level drudgery can be a real downer. It isn’t just that the transition to real work is difficult, it’s that you may have had expectations of writing ad copy or editing manuscripts, when in fact you are making copies and getting coffee. Young people today are used to fast results, instant gratification and lots of attention. They are not so used to the entry-level tasks that everyone must perform before they move ahead.

This is a real problem for many young people, and is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. Many people expect too much too soon and don’t realize the incredible importance of entry-level work. They think their degree is their golden ticket, when in reality the golden ticket is hard work, starting right at the bottom.

How to beat the blues You can beat the blues easily and I am going to tell you how. But first I will tell you what NOT to do:

• Do not disconnect from potential mentors or advisors.
• Do not assume the problem is the job and not you, or vice versa; in fact, do not assume anything
• Do not quit and run off to grad school
• Do not be afraid to ask for help from inside or outside your organization

That said, here is what you can do to beat the blues. The first step is to determine the cause.

You have to be very honest with yourself and ask tough questions. Try to isolate factors. Is it the transition? Are you just tired and out of sorts from working set hours? Is it the job? The company? Were your expectations too high? Do you like what you do? Look up the company ladder and around the office. Do you like what you see? Do you like what the company does? Would you like to do what other people in your organization are doing?

Once you have asked and answered the tough questions, find a mentor in your profession or company. Ask them if they went through this. You may be experiencing very normal transitional hiccups. Really understand what the transition process is all about, that you are going to feel shockwaves for some time about a new schedule. It’s no small feat to become accustomed to entry-level humdrummery. Try to establish relationships at the workplace. Get to know the job better and the company better. Rule things out so you can get to the heart of the blues. And take a good look at your expectations and work ethic.

Now, if you determine that you like the industry or profession, but don’t like the entry-level drudgery or dues paying, you have to suck it up. You will not get ahead until you have worked in that field. You’ve got to lose the green and gain experience. Similarly, if you like the profession or industry but do not like the company, you also have to suck it up until you have enough experience and have paid enough dues so that you can add that entry-level job to your resume. The more experience you have, even just a few months to a year, the more marketable you will be. It doesn’t look good on a resume to quit after four weeks.

Conversely, if you determine that you like the company but not the job then start networking within that organization. If they liked you well enough to hire you, there is a good chance they will help you find a more appropriate home in the organization.

Meet people. Explore other opportunities. Get informational interviews with people in other areas. Volunteer to work on other projects in areas you think would make you happier. Network, network, network.

Last, if you hate the job, the profession and the company, then you will have to do some real soul searching to determine what you want to do. Hiring a career coach can be very helpful. A career coach can help you determine and define your interests, skills and talents. They will help you create a game plan for pursuing and accomplishing your goals and they will support you through this process by giving you honest feedback and advice. If you are really at a loss, a career coach can help. You can find a coach through your college career office, on the Internet or by contacting me.

What companies can do to keep the blues at bay Organizations have to realize that their new recruits are going to go through some tough times, no matter the cause. And there is a lot they can do to soften the blow. First, they should try to provide young recruits with meaningful work. Traditional entry-level tasks like copying have to be balanced out with more meaningful work, or new employees will be demoralized. Companies can provide opportunities for young people to work on projects with older employees. Even if their duties will be small, at least they will feel a sense of connectedness and worth. They’ll be a part of the bigger picture.

Organizations can help their young employees find the right fit by letting them do departmental rotations. This allows young folks to spend several months in different departments until they find the right place.

Last, organizations should check in with their new hires after a month or so. They should make it a point to offer mentors and to introduce young recruits to other workers who are a few years older who can help them see the “light at the end of the tunnel.”


To Listen to an archive of this show: http://washfm.com/pages/waf.html

Workplace Mentoring

The Working Life: The Importance of Mentoring

Most successful adults can identify a person who had a significant and positive impact on them. Whether it was a teacher, a coach, a boss, a scoutmaster or a parent, chances are that someone, somewhere along the line acted as a mentor to you.

Today, more and more businesses are embracing the concept of mentoring as a professional development tool. Through mentoring, organizations are seeing dramatic improvements in efficiency, productivity and, of course, the passing of institutional knowledge and leadership skills from one generation to the next.

Mentoring is one of the oldest forms of influence and knowledge sharing. It started with the Ancient Greeks; Mentor was Odysseus’ trusted counselor and advisor. Mentoring is when one individual actively and willingly passes his/or knowledge and wisdom onto another person. A mentor is an individual—usually older, but always more experienced--who helps and guides another individual’s development. This guidance is done without the expectation of personal or monetary gain on the mentor’s part. Mentors can be friends, relatives, co-workers, teachers, supervisors, etc. There is no official title.

Mentoring vs. Coaching
Because both mentoring and coaching have become popular tools in the field of employee development, the two are often confused. While both utilize many of the same skills, being a mentor implies some specific organizational or industry knowledge that helps guide the protégé’s career. Coaching, on the other hand, is more about bringing an objective process to help someone articulate and achieve his goals.

In general, to be a coach, one does not need particular organizational or industry expertise and, in fact, most coaching is more about personal perspective and personal impact than specialized knowledge. Coaches are process experts. Mentors are task experts. Coaching is about skill development. Mentoring is about skill development AND specialized knowledge transfer. When done correctly, it’s a powerful double whammy.

Why mentoring is important
Mentoring is a tool that organizations can use to nurture and grow their people, and it’s gaining in popularity. As organizations strive to retain hard earned experience and wisdom, they are turning to mentoring programs as a form of interpersonal knowledge management. Protégés observe, question and explore, while mentors demonstrate, explain and model.

I know that coaching is big thing in organizations today. While coaching can definitely help individuals become better leaders and managers, it doesn’t really tap into the collective wisdom of people who have succeeded inside specific organizations or industries. Mentoring, on the other hand, can help employees navigate organizational culture, solve problems and advance their careers. Mentoring is a great way to make sure the talent pipeline is filled with people ready to manage and lead.

Additionally, organizations are using mentoring as a way to retain and recruit talent. As the latest generation, the Millennials, hit the workforce in huge numbers, mentoring has become a key tool for both recruiting and retention.

What makes a good mentor?
A good mentor needs to be more than just a successful individual. A good mentor must also have the disposition and desire to develop other people. Great mentors must be able to both “talk the talk” and “walk the walk.”

Being a good mentor requires more than just experience. It requires a willingness to reflect and share on one’s own experiences, including one’s failures. Great mentors are often those who are constantly trying to learn themselves. Essential qualities for an effective mentor include:

• A desire to develop and help others. A good mentor has to be sincerely interested in helping someone else without any “official” reward. Good mentors do it because they genuinely want to see someone else succeed.
• Commitment, time and energy to devote to the mentoring relationship.
• Current and relevant knowledge, expertise, and/or skills.
• A willingness to share failures and personal experiences. Mentors need to share both their "how to do it right" and their "how I did it wrong" stories. Both experiences provide valuable opportunities for learning.
• A learning attitude. The best teachers have always been and always will be those who remain curious about learning. Because a mentor is more like a teacher than a coach, this becomes an important characteristic in a mentor. Would you rather be advised by someone whose mind is shut (because he knows all) or by someone whose mind is open because he is always looking to deepen his knowledge?
• A skill in developing others. This includes the very real skills of listening, asking powerful questions and being able to tell stories, which includes personal anecdotes, case examples and honest insight.

What makes a good protégée?
Just as there are specific characteristics of a successful mentor, there are attributes for a good protégé. And this is important, because protégée’s must remember that mentors are doing this from the goodness of their heart, so being a good protégée is the best way to ensure the relationship enjoys a healthy purposeful existence.
Protégée’s need to be:

• Committed to expanding their capabilities and focused on achieving professional results.
• Willing to ask for help.
• Open and receptive to learning and trying new ideas.
• Able to accept feedback—even constructive criticism—and act upon it.
• Willing to experiment and apply what they learn back on the job.
• Able to communicate and work cooperatively with others.
• Be personally responsible and accountable.
• Ready, willing and able to meet on a regular basis.

How to make it a success
Mentoring is a joint venture. Successful mentoring requires that both parties share responsibility for learning and sustaining the relationship.
Successful mentoring begins with initiating the relationship, and then, to steal a coaching term, “designing the alliance.” This means all parties need to be clear about what this relationship is going to look like and how it will be managed. Mentor and protégée should discuss things like:

• Contact and response times
• Meetings
• Confidentiality
• Focus
• Feedback
• Goals and accountability

Very often, in a formal mentoring relationship, your mentor may not be your supervisor or even in the same chain of command. But this doesn’t have to pose a conflict, as long as it is clear what the difference is. The manager's role in employee development is always paramount and should not be replaced or modified by an employee's participation in a mentoring program. Mentoring is an additional and supplemental development tool for organizations, while a managers’ essential role is to support the professional learning process while also monitoring an employee’s performance.

Managers fulfill a stewardship role in terms of day-to-day direct authority and capacity building, while mentors provide a broader and longer view that creates a path to the future. Strong managers, however, will take an active interest in the mentoring process through endorsing experimentation in a way that applauds new approaches and permits the possibility of mistakes. Good managers will also support and design learning assignments in partnership with the mentor and protégé.

If enrolled in a formal mentoring relationship, it is always a good idea to respect the differences between a supervisor and a mentor and to openly discuss potential pitfalls.

How to find a mentor
There are lots of ways to find a mentor. Check with your company first; they may have a program or an organization in mind. You can also check out professional trade associations and groups like SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives.

The best place to look for a mentor, however, is right in front of you. Look around your workplace or your industry. Who do you admire and respect? Who has always impressed you with their insight and perceptiveness? And finally, who do you feel drawn to?

Consider your boss. Or your boss’s boss. Consider executives in other divisions. Consider older individuals who may not be top executives but who have tons of experience. Approach that individual and ask if they would consider being your mentor. Let them know why you selected them and what you hope to learn from them. It is really key to align your goals with their expertise and experience. Be prepared to talk about what the relationship might look like and how much time might be involved. There is a big difference between meeting someone for lunch on a quarterly basis versus a weekly phone call. Be clear what you want out of the mentoring process and structure your relationship accordingly.

Don't put it off. What can you lose? Even if they decline to be your mentor, and few will, they will be flattered that you asked.

How companies can start a mentoring program
Finally, if you or your company is interested in instituting a formal mentoring program, it is important to, yes, find a mentor for the process. Research other programs, talk to other executives and find the one that fits your company.

When you have your program in place, remember to be flexible and inclusive when matching the mentor and protégée. The right mentor may not always be the first person you think of. It is also important to ensure that participants really want to do this! It can’t be a “box” they check off; they have to have a genuine interest (and the aforementioned skill set) to participate.

You should also provide some skill building and structure, especially in the introductory phase. And be prepared to support the program with best practices. Finally, don’t forget to evaluate the program and incorporate the feedback. You want the program to be successful and worthwhile, so it needs to be given careful time and attention.

To Listen to an archive of this show: http://washfm.com/pages/waf.html

The Working Life: The Danger of Workplace Gossip

The Danger of Workplace Gossip

It seems so harmless. The little chitchat at the water cooler about so and so. The debate over someone’s relationship with someone else. The speculation about so and so. Is it chitchat or is it gossip? How can you tell the difference? And who cares?
There is a very big difference, and it is an important one, because gossip run amok can be dangerous and destructive in a workplace. First, while light conversation can be value neutral, gossip is often negative, inflammatory and embarrassing to the person being spoken of. So how does one tell the difference between idle chatter or gossip? Here is a test: Consider the impact of what is being said. Does it cast negative aspersions? Does it create rifts? Does it exult in the misfortune of others? Does it have a negative emotional charge? Does it serve to perpetuate conflict or negativity? Is it hurtful or damaging? Is it something you would say in front of that person?

Technically, any sharing of trivial or unsubstantiated information can be considered gossip. But you have to consider the sentiment. For example, if it were rumored that a co-worker is being promoted, and you discuss it with a co-worker, is that gossip? If the discussion is hurtful or damaging or negative, then yes, it is gossip. But if it’s value neutral then it’s not. If the story is told with negativity and without good will, then it is gossip.

Why gossip hurts
Gossip can have many adverse side effects on an organization. It can increase conflict and decrease morale. It results in strained relationships. Gossip breaks down the trust level within the group, which results in employees second-guessing each other and ultimately running to the supervisor to clarify the directions or instructions, or to settle the differences that will arise. Gossip is the death of teamwork as the group breaks up into cliques and employees start refusing to work with others.
Gossip results in the supervisor spending an enormous amount of time trying to figure out who said what to whom. Or, worse yet, the supervisor struggles to explain to the manager that the on-going conflicts and communication problems within the workgroup are the reason work doesn't get done only to hear the manager comment, "Why can't you manage your team better?" Productivity is lost, as are good employees who do not want to work in that toxic environment.

Breaking the gossip cycle
Let’s say you are not a gossiper. You simply listen to your co-workers so as not be rude. You’ve been taught to be a team player right? But here’s the thing that most people don’t realize—as a listener, you are a co-narrator to the gossip. In other words, the act of active listening actually supports and promotes gossiping. The more you listen, the more you encourage it. If you don’t listen, the gossip has nowhere to do. Think about the last time you told a story to someone who was clearly not interested. The story probably withered on the vine.
Here’s how to get out of the gossip pipeline:

1. Be busy. Gossipmongers want attention. If you're preoccupied with your work, you can't be available to listen to their latest story.
2. Don’t participate. Walk away from the story. Don’t give visual clues that you are interested in listening. If someone passes a juicy story on to you, don't pass it any further. Take personal responsibility to act with integrity.
3. Turn it around by saying something positive. It isn't nearly as much fun to spread negative news if it's spoiled by a complimentary phrase about the person being attacked
4. Avoid the gossiper. If you notice one person who consistently makes trouble, take the necessary actions to have as little interaction with that person as possible. Avoid him/her.
5. Keep your private life private. Don't trust personal information with coworkers. Remember, if they are gossiping about others, they will gossip about you, too. Don't give them ammunition.
6. Choose your friends wisely at work. You spend a good deal of time at work so it's natural for friendships to develop. Share information sparingly until you are sure that you have built up a level of trust. Also, close association with gossipers will give the perception that you are a gossiper.
7. Be direct. If you confront the gossiper and confidently tell him or her that such behavior is making it uncomfortable for you and other coworkers, it's likely to stop.
8. Don't be afraid to go to a superior. Gossiping wastes a lot of company time and hurts morale. A company interested in a healthy work environment will value the opportunity to correct this type of situation.

If you are the target of gossip you have two choices. You can confront the source or make a public statement. Thankfully, gossip has a very short life span. Sometimes, the best thing to do is let it run its (hopefully) short course. Creating a stink sometimes causes more drama than just letting it go.

What the employer can do
Gossip is as old as mankind. It is unrealistic to think we could free the workplace of gossip. It’s also conducted through the free will of employees, and regulating that is very difficult without creating a big brother climate. That being said, there are some things that employers can do to minimize negative gossiping and rumormonger:

1. Communicate regularly and consistently with employees about what's going on in the workplace. Regular communication minimizes the influence and need for gossip, because everyone is "in-the-know." If employees don't have good information from the supervisor about what is going on, they will make it up in the form of speculation and gossip. Consistent and authentic communication will work wonders in stopping the gossip.
2. Discourage gossip in official company policy. Include a section that deals with gossip in the company handbook. Convey to your employees that such talk is injurious to morale and productivity and will not be tolerated. Ask them not to participate and not to tolerate it from others.
3. Nip it in the bud. If an employee comes to you complaining of gossip, or if you know an employee to be a gossip, be proactive. Tell the offender that you are aware of his behavior. Describe how his behavior results in others not trusting them. For some, this single statement will be a realization that will result in immediate change. Furthermore, incorporate the impact the gossiping employee's behavior has had on the workplace in his/her performance evaluations. This should be incentive to stop the behavior.
4. Incorporate employee driven group discussions and expectations about gossiping. This gives permission to coworkers to hold each other mutually accountable for having a "gossip-free" workplace.
5. As a supervisor or manager—do not engage in gossip yourself. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

To Listen to an archive of this show: http://www.hot995.com/pages/wafaudio.html