11/28/10

Steps for Grooming Successful Mentors

QUESTION: As a business consultant I get asked many times, "What are the steps for grooming successful mentors?

RESPONSE: 
First off, I’d like to acknowledge that managers need to play a role in driving employee engagement and performance.  I would not recommend that you replace manager-employee coaching or try to make up for bad managers with a mentoring program.
Clarify your objectives.  An effective mentoring program supplements coaching from managers, and it should be positioned as a way to make the business, not just individual employees, more successful.  From there you can add a more specific goal, such as helping new employees get up to speed quickly.

Define your mentor selection criteria.  Mentors need to be more than willing. They need to have a coaching attitude and ability.  Describe these characteristics in writing—and other traits, such as particular business knowledge or specific skills.

Equip your mentors.  Provide tools and training to help mentors fulfill their role.  This process goes beyond basic coaching skills to include an emphasis on:
•        Individualized partnerships. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” may serve people well most of the time, but it can actually get in the way of successful mentoring.  Effective mentors understand their individual mentees needs and work with everyone differently. What works great for one person can derail another.
•        Career coaching. Although employees may look to their mentors for career “navigation” advice, our research indicates that few are clear on what’s important to them.  Mentors need to help people get behind the core values that create job satisfaction for them. What do they like to do and why? What would enrich their work each day?  Only then can mentors help employees create a plan for professional development, career progression or job enrichment.
Reinforce mentoring.  To reap the benefits that mentors provide, you need to make mentoring a way of life.  Senior leaders must be role models and discuss with employees the impact that mentoring has on business and personal success.

Leaders experience success as mentors through practice.  The more they mentor, the more successful their mentoring becomes.  A virtuous cycle will then take hold: They believe in mentoring, they’ve seen how it works, and they’re motivated to build their own competence.

And don’t forget to build in accountability, metrics and recognition systems. Without these, mentoring can fall by the wayside as a “nice to do that we don’t have time to do,” instead of remaining a core strategy for building an engaged workforce and thriving business.  Of course if you need help in setting up a mentoring program and/or would like to send your managers to a 2 day seminar that teaches mentoring, leadership and building relationships to improve your company culture, please call or write and I will respond immediately!

As always, please accept my wishes for a tremendous week.   If I can be of assistance to you or your organization when it comes to revenue growth, retention or recruiting, please call or write and I will respond immediately!

Regards,
George F. Mancuso, CPC
President

A Highly Specialized Business Consultancy
In The Growth of Revenues And People
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11/21/10

Asking The Right Questions Is Critical


QUESTION:  Whether you are in sales, marketing, customer service, consulting or management role, the power of learning to ask open and closed ended questions properly is paramount to your success.
RESPONSE:  Open-ended questions are those designed to solicit additional information from the person being questioned.  This type of question is broader in scope and prompts the receiver to use more than one or two word responses.  They are designed to avoid leading, controlling or manipulating the responder. 
Open-ended questioning provides an opportunity for a wide-range of responses and gives the person answering the question an opportunity share opinions, perspectives and details in an unstructured manner.  Although they can be more time consuming to utilize, open-ended questions are often perceived by the receiver as less limiting and/or intimidating. 
Closed-ended questions on the other hand are those which can be answered in a finite manner, often by using either a “yes” or a “no.  ”These questions are typically restrictive by nature. Close-ended questions can be useful in validating or confirming a fact or event.  And this is an extremely efficient and timely way to get an answer.The intrinsic downsides of close-ended questions include;  
  • the risk of receiving an incomplete response
  • they can limit the responders ability to respond thoroughly
  • they can be leading
  • they can result in misleading assumptions or conclusions
Two examples might be: 
  • Open-ended:  “What do you see as most beneficial to you from the information I have just provided you?”
  • Close-ended:“Does that sound pretty good?”  
 And at all costs ladies and gentlemen I strongly encourage you to stop using the phrase, “what do you think.”  In my humble opinion, this is the most over utilized meaningless question in the English language, unless you really don’t want a true and complete answer.  When people ask me that, I now have a stock answer, “I think I need to think about this.”  This then allows me to end the conversation or interview. 
Get your respondents interested in you, your service/product and get them involved in the conversation so how to respond in kind.  Answers to your questions give you information.  Information gives you knowledge.  Knowledge gives you the power to perform or respond in a professional manner.  Believe me when I tell you this works when dealing with customers, peers, direct reports, management or prospective clients or your family.
 In all of my seminars I always ask the attendees; “What is a sales person’s most powerful tool?”  Answer is his/her mouth.  Then I ask, “What is a sales person’s greatest liability?  ”Answer is his/her mouth.  Learn to ask questions properly, then zip your lips shut and patiently give the professional courtesy to the responder to respond accordingly and without interruptions.  More than one sales person has “blown a sale” because they don’t know when to shut their mouth and listen.
As always, please accept my wishes for a tremendous week.   If I can be of assistance to you or your organization when it comes to revenue growth, retention or recruiting, please call or write and I will respond immediately!
Regards,
George F. Mancuso, CPC

A Highly Specialized Business Consultancy  
In The Growth of Revenues And People


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11/19/10

Don't Use Poor Judgment in Your Hiring Decisions

Question: It is my opinion that the "bait and switch" tactics used by employers and their hired employment agencies is consistently used to screen the undesirable "minority" and/or “disabled” candidates from the better "match" non-minority, non-disabled candidates.  Yet, in the face of the various adversities that prevents highly qualified candidates from becoming gainfully employed, what can a candidate do without playing the race, age or disability card?  (Harold R., HR Director, Omaha, NE)

Response:  To begin with I am NOT an expert on racism.  I am however a 67 year business professional with a disability (I walk with a cane) and have experienced discrimination from both of these arenas.  Even though I am consider an “expert” in employee retention and other people issues, I was told recently that although I am filled with energy, the President of a particular company was reluctant to hire me to facilitate a management strategy seminar for his people because he wanted somebody that “looked whole.”

Considering I fly airplanes, walk, talk, dress, swim, manage a business, have an exercise regime, play catch with my grandson, facilitate a dozen seminars a year, am happily married and have spent a lifetime learning my trade, I was a bit irritated to say the least.  So irritated in fact that I canceled the recruiting contract I had with them, even though it was lucrative and they “claimed” I was one of the few recruiters that every really performed for them.

My advice to you is the same as it is to all of my potential candidates.  In order for me to present you as the “most place-able candidate” or better said……in order for YOU to prepare yourself to become the most place-able candidate it all comes down to the following; SKILLS, STABILITY, EXPERIENCE AND ATTITUDE.
  • All companies ask me for the “skill set” first.  If you don’t match the qualifications, why would you try to force a square peg into a round hole?  All it does is offer frustration and a set up for a failure.
  • Job hopping is a no-no.  I recently read an article that says the Generation X & Y employees will change jobs 26 times in their career path.  This is an atrocious goal in life. I hear from hiring managers, “why doesn’t he/she stay any longer than 2 years at any given job?”  And I rhetorically respond, “Good question, why don’t they?”
  • You must learn your trade and then relearn your trade every day.  Our world moves fast and change is a common word in most growing business environments.  If you don’t have the skill sets required by an employer it probably won’t be a match, no matter how hard you try. What did you do in the last 12 months to improve yourself?  Remember that YOUR resume is only a job description of who you were.  You must be prepared to demonstrate to a prospective hiring manager what you plan to be and how your presence can impact their company in a positive way!
  • There are no longer any “give-me’s” in this world.  Having an attitude that the new employer or current employer “owes you” is a destination to nowhere.  It all begins with you the employee.  Why fall into an impossible stereotype?  Why not demonstrate your qualifications by example?  My grandmother used to tell me, “deeds not words!”
When I speak with employers about employees they have terminated I hear, “they just acted like they didn’t want to be here; or he/she stood around with his/her hands in their pockets waiting for ME to do it; or He/she never contributed to the conversation, never offer good solutions to problems; or when the five o’clock buzzer rang, they were out the door like a shot.”

All these actions demonstrate why an employer wouldn’t want to keep an employee.  And if you fit into these categories, change or the results will be the same in the future for you.

Now from the management or hiring side of these issues I suggest the following;
  1. Start looking at candidates from what assets and value that they bring to the organization.
  2. Look at candidates with this thought, “if he/she has only five years left to work, how can I empower them to allow me to tap into their knowledge to grow the people in this department or company?”
  3. Become known as a company that is a champion of PEOPLE. This will probably include soul searching and making decisions that you have probably not made in your “job hiring” past.
  4. The results will be that you will have a work place that people will WANT to work and the word will spread and it will positively affect your sales and bottom line.
  5. If one of your friends or parent was noticeably older than you or walked with a disability or had a different color of skin, would you tell him/her not to come to your house because you didn’t want the neighbors to know that you associate with “those types” of HUMAN BEINGS?  I think not, so why do it in your business life?
  6. QUALIFIED candidates will reward you, the company and their co-workers once given the opportunity to shine.
Go forth and make this a tremendous week for you and everyone around you!  If I can be of any assistance to you or your organization with regards to Revenue Growth, Retention or Recruitment please call or write and I will respond immediately!
 
Regards,

George F. Mancuso, CPC
President
Client Growth Consultants


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Employee Retention Is a Management Issue, Not a Human Resource Issue

Question:  Employee Retention continues to be a management and not a human resource issue!  Below is a true story that was related to me by one of my clients in Overland Park, KS.  This is shared with you with their permission.

Response:  My “client” has a high end greenhouse operation. They hired a young lady “employee” on a part time at minimum wage.  The employee had lost her job, was a single mom, homeowner and been in the community for several years.  She took the job out of desperation to feed her family. The client loved her work ethics, on time always there reporting, and first to offer to help.  The employee was on a hunt for a full time job and met with the client owners, explaining her dilemma.  The employee explained that she really loved working there.  She enjoyed the co-workers, good working environment and was very comfortable but just couldn’t make ends meet.
So the client said, let us think about it and we’ll give you an answer tomorrow. 

Tomorrow came and they offered her full time work, and a whopping .25 per hour raise.  TWO WHOLE DOLLARS PER DAY! 3 days later the employee gave a two week notice as she had interviewed and was offered an administrative position for $3.50 more per hour.  The client responded by saying they would match it if she would stay, but the die had been cast and she turned them down.  One well trained good worker gone, and it didn’t have to be.

In discussing this with the client they revealed to me that they pay a temp agency almost $13.00 per hour for untrained help for a day or two of “warm body” work.  I asked if they didn’t see the error in their judgment.  Their turnover rate is very high, they don’t keep but a very few employees as core employees.  The cost of training and retraining far outweighs the value of paying people a fair wage for a fair days work.

I asked, “…if you were willing to match the offer, why didn’t you just make it in the first place?”  Answer, “…because we thought she’d stay and we’d save the money.”

This scenario plays itself out all over the United States in the workforce.  From a financial standpoint this position is truly illogical.  From a moral standpoint, it’s deplorable.  And from a morale and retention standpoint, it’s the kiss of death.  Retention continues to be a management issue.

I hope this week is a great one.  Call or write if I can assist you with Employee Retention, Recruitment or Revenue Growth issues.


Regards,

George F. Mancuso, CPC
President
Client Growth Consultants

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10/16/10

When You Achieve Success, Act Like You've Been There Before

October 17, 2010

Question: Vince Lombardi the renowned former football coach of the Green Bay Packers once said, “When you get into the end zone and score a touchdown, act like you’ve been there before.” What do you think he really meant by that statement?
(Steve W., Entrepreneur, Madison, WI)

Response: As our economy continues with its recovery, this is the perfect time to get your “publicity” in gear. Just like Vince Lombardi coached his receivers, you need to; “act like you’ve been here before!” Lombardi’s philosophy was that the other team(s) would view his receivers capable of scoring a touchdown every time they handled the ball. In essence, the perceptions is to be that we are winners all of the time.

Coach Lombardi also said, “Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence!” When you have self confidence, you have a feeling of exhilaration that is usually hard to beat. This feeling can easily get you through unknown paths, uncomfortable situations and provide you with a self determination that almost makes you unstoppable in your quest for success.

Knowledge, familiarity and comfort can be a solid element of trust in the eye of the beholder. We don’t have to be really famous to get attention. Although in the absence of a full blown media campaign, we do need to identify at least one thing that allows us to be “slightly famous.”

How do we translate this, without a complex marketing plan, into a presence in our target industry? How can we use personal or self marketing to differentiate ourselves from others? How do we actually create brand loyalty and not just awareness?

Perception is reality and the more self confidence you “show” the more likely success will be yours. The old adage that people like to do business with successful people is as true today as it was years ago.

Look the part, back it with wisdom, caring, desire and determination and you’ll off to a great start. Carry yourself well with a good posture, heads up, eye contact and a spring in your step. In other words become a silent or subliminal personal billboard about YOU and the balance of your requirements will begin to fall into place. Every single day you step into the business world, look like a success, act like a success and everybody around you will believe that YOU HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE!

As always, please accept my wishes for a tremendous week. If I can assist you or your organization, please call or write and I will respond immediately! Your comments, concerns and/or questions are always confidentially welcome here.

Regards,
George F. Mancuso

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