Delta Dallas Recently Honored

Staffing Excellence

Delta Dallas Honored at the Local and State Level

Delta Dallas was recently honored by both the Metroplex Association of Personnel Consultants (MAPC) and Texas Association of Personnel Consultants for our contributions to the staffing industry in 2008. Delta Dallas would like to thank all of our team members for their daily contributions to these honors.

Delta Dallas 2008 Awards:

Metroplex Association of Personnel Consultants

1^st Place Blended Services Administrative Team

1^st Place Blended Services Professional/Technical Team

1^st Place Blended Administrative Production, Dana Lee, CPC, CTS

2^nd Place Blended Administrative Production, Crystal Whitney, CPC, CTS

3^rd Place Blended Administrative Production, Stephanie Adair, CPC, CTS

Texas Association of Personnel Consultants

1^st Place Blended Services Team – Delta Dallas High Volume Quality Team

2^nd Place Blended Administrative Desk, Dana Lee, CPC, CTS

3^rd Place Blended Administrative Desk, Crystal Whitney, CPC, CTS

4^th Place Blended Administrative Desk, Stephanie Adair, CPC, CTS

Strong Hiring Strategies in a Weak Economy

During economic rebounds it is essential that companies acquire or retain high performers to thrive. Right now, companies need top-tier players in order to perform at optimum levels. The question is, “How do you get those players?” Perhaps you already have them on your team. With intentional training and effective leadership to motivate them, you might witness even greater productivity and creativity from these key players.

However, this also might be the time to look outside your company for fresh talent and experienced wisdom.  If you haven’t already, restructuring your hiring strategy can bring you the high performers that your company needs to survive.

1.  Be Patient

Take time with your hiring decisions. Build a plan for the time it will take to find the right candidate you are looking for.  Securing a top-tier performer for your position may take time as you communicate with the candidate and develop the position into the right opportunity.  The good news is that in this economy higher-end applicants are more accessible, but recruiting them may be tougher than you anticipate. A-players are hesitant to make a move in a down economy. If they are truly an A-player, they will ask about the financial situation of the company. The opportunity will attract them only if it aligns with their vision for success.

2.  Define the Process

Develop a process for hiring. The biggest mistake most companies make is having only one or two interviews and rushing to a decision. To make the right hire, your candidate needs to be introduced to the entire team. Senior management, managers, and potential co-workers are an important part of the hiring process. They need to be able to elaborate on their vision for the role and offer insight as to how the candidate will interact at all levels.

Once everyone has had an opportunity to meet the prospective candidate, you must decide how the information will be processed. Create a plan to gather the feedback and rate the candidate based on each member’s meeting. Again, your existing A-players will expect to understand how the prospective role will interact with the organization.

It’s not always an easy process, but thoughtful preparation pays off in the long run. My goals when I work with my clients are to create a realistic timeline, prep the interview team, and develop a clear career path in order to win the candidate for hire. This process promotes open communication internally as well as with the prospective candidate and establishes clarity for all involved in the hiring process.

3.  Make the Call

Who will make the final decision? Too often, I consult with companies who have made poor hiring decisions, and it ends up costing them 1.5-3.0 times the salary for the position.

Jack Welch has said, “Hiring great people is brutally hard. New managers are lucky to get it right half the time. And even executives with decades of experience will tell you that they make the right calls 75% of the time at best.”

At least twice a week I speak with clients that have wasted time and money on a process that was not successful. It’s painful to let the new employee go and face the hiring, onboarding and training processes all over again. (It’s also expensive.) To make solid decisions you need to base them on verifiable information. Game changers will have the testimony of references, test scores, background checks, and a proven track record to verify their value.

4.  Consider Contract Employees

After careful consideration, you may decide that you are not ready to hire. More and more companies are turning to contract employees during this rebound time. Several advantages come with contract workers. First, you have the ability to manage expanding headcount by bringing in a more talented workforce on an as-needed basis. Second, contractors can bring a specific skill set and diversify an environment with outside ideas. A contract worker is also immediately available and can quickly fill a void.

5.  Make an Offer They Can’t Refuse

Should you still decide to hire, and an  A-player has been identified, the company must put together their best possible offer. When my clients are struggling to attract top talent and salary is an issue, I suggest they offer other forms of compensation. There are a variety of possible solutions, but a lot of the compensation packages we put together include additional vacation time, flex time, 4-10 hour day work weeks, and remote access. Candidates find time to be an attractive selling point as it allows for a better work-life balance.

Tough economic times are the perfect time to re-model your hiring strategy.  You have the opportunity right now to acquire top-tier talent that was previously unavailable. A company with high-performance employees can thrive in any economic situation. Most importantly, if you build your strategy around acquiring and retaining these game-changers, you can have the team required to press through these times and lead new employees when the recovery begins.

Transformation Through Innovation

Being a recruiter is an interesting profession. I meet many people in every stage of their job search.  In these intense times, many people are calling to ask me what skills are in demand right now. This has become a prominent question as people try to re-invent themselves to obtain work in this economy. Unfortunately, I don’t think that mere re-invention of skills is a solution.  Technology is changing rapidly…so a lot of the skills you have today will be entirely irrelevant tomorrow. Your mind, however will always be with you and ready to grow.

Innovation is at the true heart of the new economy. In the future, employers will base their hiring decisions on a person’s ability to be creative and produce innovative results. They will be looking for talented people who can think. If you are going to differentiate yourself, you must be able to innovate.

A lot of my candidates are uncomfortable with this. Many people do not consider themselves to be creative. This is absurd. We are hard-wired for creativity. Sure, some of us could use a little development in the area of creativity and innovation, but it’s within our reach.

Stephen C. Lundin’s recent book, Cats: The Nine Lives of Innovation is like a training manual for innovative thought processes. Lundin highlights the value of personal innovation by challenging the reader in a fun, interactive way to find their inner “CAT.” Lundin postures that everyone has creative potential just waiting to “pounce” and guides the reader through a series of thought-provoking exercises to help them discover their inner creativity.

According to Lundin, a CAT is “anyone working to develop his or her capacity to innovate.” Everyone has the ability to be innovative, to stand out in the crowd, and to think outside of the box. The challenge is fostering this creative process to let innovation begin, starting with simple day-to-day activities.

Have you ever taken a new roadway, just to see where it takes you? Have you ever basked in the sun, just to get a moment of peace to sit and think? Do you stop to smell the roses? All of these are perfect examples of simple, day-to-day activities that will start you on your path to developing your inner CAT.

Furthermore, the brain is a nest of associations, from its synapses to its firing, which categorize all that we learn in a normal and logical order. In order to “escape the norm,” Lundin states you must elicit innovations through provocation; “All innovation is personal. All innovation is the result of personal provocations.”

The three forms of provocation outlined in the book, that will release your inner CAT into a world of free and creative thoughts, are physical provocation, social provocation, and intellectual provocation.

Physical Provocation

“Physical provocation is provocation by an object, a condition of the real world, the way things are arranged, or the senses” that starts the innovation process.

Being a recruiter is demanding, and I rarely take the time to “minister” to my creativity. I do, though, have a passion for plants. Some weekends, after I have made a new plant purchase, I find myself sitting on my porch just enjoying them.  It is in these times that often, my mind is relaxed, open, and ready to think independently.

Lundin encourages the reader to surround themselves with different, physical provocations to elicit pure innovation. Give yourself permission to escape into nature for hikes and scenic views, to observe different people groups, or to dive into an art project.  You might be surprised at how much more creative you become from these “breaks” from work.

Social Provocation

Social provocation is interacting with others, striking up dialogue to evoke spontaneous innovation. Basically, the concept is that two heads are better than one, and through conversation, new ideas can formulate and take shape.

One clear illustration that I can think of is how our office is physically structured. Our performance hall has an open, “prairie dog” style floor plan. While we still have our half wall of “privacy” around each of our individual office space, we can still hear all conversations around us. We can take what we like from those conversations and incorporate them into our own strategies. When in need, each little “prairie dog” can pop up their little head to ask for advice from the rest of the team. Our “prairie dog” concept definitely fosters open dialogue, giving added perspective to any situation at hand. Thus, innovation!

Intellectual Provocation

The final type of provocation Lundin speaks about is the intellectual type that challenges your thinking. Ask the unexpected. Ponder on the ridiculous. Read material that challenges your paradigms.  You would be surprised what you come up with!

We had an opportunity with a client that needed a large volume of customer service candidates and fast! We realized that in order to meet this need, we would have to recruit and interview a high volume of qualified candidates quickly. How were we going to do this in time to meet our client’s expectations? After brainstorming, one of the solutions was doing group interviews. Not only did this expedite the application process, it enabled us to see each candidate in a completely different light. We were able to not only assess their communication skills, but also their social interactions immediately. It made it easier for us to remember each candidate and gave us valuable information used as selling points to our client.

We took our “typical” process, thought about it in a different light, and tweaked it to meet our needs. From a business perspective, just like Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor say in their book, The Innovator’s Solution,

While the outcomes of past innovations seem random, the process by which innovations are packaged and shaped within companies is very predictable. By understanding and managing the forces that influence this process, companies can shape high-octane business plans that create truly disruptive growth.

Lundin goes on to talk about embracing failures, as they are the key to becoming innovative, and earning your “CAT belt,” once you overcome your fears. He talks about “CAT Wranglers” as a critical part of fostering other CAT’s growth, all the while delivering his message with engaging stories and insight.

I would encourage anyone who is feeling stifled by their present role to read this book. Unlike other creative books, this one is laid out in simple, easy-to-follow, practical steps. Survival in the times to come will depend on one’s willingness to engage and innovate in order to create value. There is nothing to fear. CATs always land on their feet. Has your inner CAT jumped yet?

Putting a Price Tag on People: Evaluating Value

I have been in the staffing industry for 20 years. During that time, perhaps the most frequent question my clients have when hiring is, “How do I know this person will bring value?” It’s a valid question, and in this economy, it is a vital one. Now, more than ever, employers are being forced to evaluate the value of each employee in their organization.

Employers are now moving beyond “cutting the fat” from their organizations and questioning what each of their employees brings to the table. It’s a new economy, and everyone has to have a value proposition. The individuals that prove and increase their value during this downturn will be the employees that stay gainfully employed and create a better future for themselves when things start to improve.

So, what characteristics truly bring value to an employer? What truly separates an “A” player from a “B or C” player? How does a corporation evaluate their employee base, and what are the deciding factors when choosing to keep, lay off, or replace existing employees? The bottom line is that it comes down to value.

Value is essentially related to worth, material or immaterial.  So, what brings value to your company or department? Right now, stop and think of your top performer. What makes you feel that this person has relative worth and that you are getting a fair exchange for your investment in that employee?

Generally, each company will have their own criteria and priorities when it comes to determining the value of their employee base, but in my daily interactions with clients, I have noticed several target impact areas that define the value of an employee for most organizations.

Performance/ Productivity - Impact the bottom line
When companies are looking at their team, performance and productivity are most likely at the top of the list.  Niel Ducoff in his book No-Compromise Leadership discusses the importance of looking at critical numbers and how “critical numbers eliminate the abstract interpretation of what work needs to be done.” In addition, he believes that every employee possesses the ability to influence profitablility in some manner. This ability to influence profitability increases an employee’s value.

Motivation/Influence/Attitude - Impact others
Malcom Gladwell in his book The Tipping Point discusses the differences between those who influence and those who connect/network. They add value to the company in a unique way. They possess leadership abilities and are able to rally the troops when needed to make things happen. They can keep teams together.

New Ideas/Thinking about Solutions -Impact through creativity
Creativity is about the development of new ideas and new solutions that can impact the way things are done in a business on multiple levels.

Since change is a daily occurrence in growing and evolving companies, creative people bring more to the table and provide new solutions to their customers. Increasingly, companies are looking for problem solvers that provide creative solutions.

Systems - Impacting structure and efficiency
In his book, Operations Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, Michael Lewis examines the work of Fredrick Taylor. Frederick Taylor, at the turn of the century, changed how companies looked at work organization, task definition, and job measurement. Taylor’s goal was to increase organizational productivity with a systematic process.

Today, companies continue to evaluate how they can efficiently utilize processes to streamline their ability to meet company goals. Employees that can aid in the identification and implementation of better systems will add to the bottom line value of the company.

Habits - Impact through consistency

“A” players have and continue to develop effective habits. In Brian Tracy’s book, Focal Point, these habits are defined as: punctuality, time management, self-discipline, concentration, and goal completion. Habits can be developed through practice, and employers look to those who continue to focus on and develop their good habits. Employees who have a proven success record with established processes, systems, and work ethic increase the return on their employer’s investment.

Emotional Equity - Impact through commitment

Rules for Renegades by Christine Comaford-Lynch breaks down emotional equity like this:

Companies like to know that employees have an emotional stake in their employment commitment. Employers want to know that their employees are in it for the long haul. Emotional equity provides the fortitude to “stick with it” in good, bad, and challenging times.

One of the hardest things that I have to do in my role as manager here at Delta Dallas is let people go. It is never an easy task, but when decisions are made based on the criteria above, I know I am making a decision that will support our short and long-term goals. I know that a lot of my clients have faced this dilemma in recent months, and honestly, there is no easy way to tell someone you are taking away their source of income.

In this economy, however, it is more important than ever to make sure that the money invested in your employees is money well-spent. In order to flourish during these times, you need team members with emotional commitment that bring true value to your organization. Only then will you have the foundation you will need to build upon as the economic recovery ensues. See you on the other side!

Delta Dallas Recently Recognized

Delta Dallas Receives 2009 WBENC Certification

Delta Dallas has been a woman-owned company for 25 years. We are pleased to announce that we have once again been certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council as a Woman’s Business Enterprise (WBE).  Delta Dallas was issued our certification by Women’s Business Council Southwest , the regional certifying partner for WBENC.

The WBENC certification for women-owned businesses is the most respected and sought after certification of its kind. Delta Dallas completed the national standard for certification which includes a stringent and in-depth review of our business as well as an on-site visit.

We are proud to continue our association with this organization and enjoyed participating in the Southwest Women’s Businessworks event on April 21^st and 22^nd.

About WBENC
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), founded in 1997, is the nation’s leading advocate of women-owned businesses as suppliers to America’s corporations. It also is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States.

By including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier/vendor diversity programs.