Sometimes while the rest of us are scrambling to make sure we get everything done in a day – we are halted by the observations of sheer genius. Seth Godin is a revelatory machine. He is one of the rare individuals who can smell an up-and-coming trend and give us the prophetic nuts and bolts of what is to come and what is already upon us. Like the clever mind-readers of the stage, he takes cues from subtle changes in our corporate facial expressions, makes keen observations about the direction of business . . .and he breaks those semiotic indicators down for the rest of us. I admire him for that. He’s a really brave guy.

Linchpin, Mr. Godin’s most recent book is no exception. The basic premise of this book is similar to Purple Cow. This time, however, you are the product. You must be remarkable, indispensable at your work – or you can be replaced by anyone at any time. The problem, he says, is that we have been conditioned by society to operate as cogs in a wheel – and that paradigm won’t cut it in the days to come. Now, Godin says, employers need true creative contributors. They need linchpins.

Are you a linchpin?
A linchpin, in the literal sense, is a pin inserted through the axletree of a wheel in order to keep a wheel on. In other words, a linchpin is a vital piece of an operational puzzle. If you are a linchpin, you are essential to your company. You are creative. You are unique. You are a contributor to the overall mission of your organization, and you are indispensable.

The reality is, for most of our lives we have been taught to put in a day’s work for a day’s wages, and go on our merry way. We were taught that if we show up and “do the thing”, and get paid for “doing the thing” – that we would be safe. As Godin says, “We exchanged genius for stability.” Boy, did we.

Well, there’s great news. We don’t have to do that anymore. This particular time in history has forced employers to search for people who refuse to be automatons. Larger organizations may not be onto this yet, but smaller organizations are starting to hire people who are indispensable . . and why not? They may not be cheap or easily replaceable – but they make a difference.

The good news is that whoever you are, and whatever your role, you are creative. Your creativity may be safely tucked under a mask of mindless cooperation and “yes man” gestures, but it’s there, ready to question the status quo and bring forward-thinking change to your organization, your work, and frankly, your personal life. If you give yourself the opportunity to create, you will find that you have contributions unique to you that can only be brought to the table by you. It’s time to bring those contributions to the forefront.

I could ramble on for days about this book – but I think you should just read it. If you have a pulse, you will find it inspiring. If you find it threatening – read it anyway – and find a good therapist to help you through it. If you take action on what Godin says, be prepared to meet resistance from others – and from your own fear. If you move past all of that garbage, though, the path ahead of you could just be the most satisfying journey of your career.

Tabitha Woods is Marketing Coordinator for Delta Dallas. Reach her at twoods@deltadallas.com or 972-788-2300.

This month, I had the great pleasure of talking with Leanne Edwards of Leadership Management International. Leanne is a leading industry expert in talent management, development and strategy. . . and it shows.

Tabitha: Leanne, you have such a large spectrum of clientele; I would love to know your perspective on hiring in the months to come. What kind of employee do you think employers will be looking for as we come out of this recession?

Leanne: I think that companies are going to be looking for several different things:

• One is somebody who can look at what a company has and make the most of it. Someone who can have a broad perspective and say “Here’s what we’ve got; now how do we leverage what we have?” I think that is going to be needed for quite a while.
• Two, is someone who can think strategically. This is another leverage point – As we add to our workforce, as we add to our company’s portfolio – as we continue to refine what we do, what gives us the biggest pay-off? Being creative and innovative with what’s there, but then also being able to look forward and strategically make decisions and make good choices about what will propel the company forward on a limited budget, time, people whatever resources are there. That type of person will be highly valuable.
• Another thing that I think is going to be valuable is the ability to work across teams, work across divisions, and leverage the people that are there. There are people across an organization that have skill sets that are not being used at this point. We have had to get rid of people, unfortunately, that had [specific] skill sets. So now, being able to pull teams together, cross divisions, across the company to make up for the missing skill sets is important.

Tabitha: Let me ask you this while we are talking about this – do you think as we move forward that companies are going to have more team-based, flat structures rather than hierarchical?

Leanne: I do, and I also think that the scrutiny on compensation packages is going to create that demand as well. Because right now, there is so much negativity surrounding high-level compensation that I think that shareholders are not going to want to add to the top level. I also think that they are not going to want to bonus and compensate out as they have done previously, so I think that business owners and shareholders will be more likely to add in towards that mid-level, mid-upper level as opposed to the upper level. For several reasons. You can get more people, obviously, for the same dollar, but you avoid the whole scrutiny from your shareholders on the high-level compensation packages.

So, [companies will be looking for] the person who can leverage what they’ve got, and strategically position people and resources across the company to accomplish objectives, and be able to see the talent that people have that may not be used and pull that together in team structures across the company. I think all of those things are huge and create value. And there are people out there that can do that.

Tabitha: What about people who can really get people to engage in the company vision?

Leanne: Right. So, if you have a couple of strong leaders, or one strong leader at the top of the company that’s able to impart the vision and strategy and continue to espouse the company direction – Then, a lot of the higher management structure isn’t needed, because the work is being done at the mid or lower level. So, when you have a couple of strong leaders that keep that focus going, then the middle and the lower levels are the important ones. There have been a lot of corporations that I have been in that – the upper 20% of the company could be gone for three months, and they wouldn’t even notice that. But the lower 20% could not be gone for two or three days without them having a hit to the bottom line. So, I do think that we will be more flat.

Tabitha: So, what can people do to get ready for the jobs that will be opening in the next couple of years as we come out of this recession?

Leanne: One of the things that I think that workers can do now in preparation for openings that are coming up is to read books like the one you were talking about [Linchpin]. You know , go to a Barnes and Noble and look through books on innovation or creativity. You know, we are all born with 100% creativity. We all have that ability to be creative. It is over time that it is squelched.

Tabitha: Let’s say I’m managing a team of people who are entry level. And I’ve hired them all, they are all on board, they are all doing a fairly good job, but I know they have the potential to go farther. How do I, as a manager – engage people who plan on being here for a couple of years and moving on – How do I engage them in the larger company vision?

Leanne: First off, you have got to be a mid-manager that respects your people, so they can respect you. You’ve got to give people the respect and the time to get to know you and establish a rapport with your team. Once you’ve got that going on, and they actually like who you are – That’s so much of the battle – People (especially entry people who are just coming into a company) like being a part of a community – part of a team. Engaging them in an activity or a task that is at a higher level and gaining their contributions automatically makes them start to feel that they are a part of the organization. They matter.

So, don’t treat them as a short-term employee. Don’t treat them as somebody temporary. Engage them just like they are a long-term employee. Because you want to get the most out of them no matter whether they are there for 6 months or 5 years. So often we have a tendency to look at those people who are entry level, or moving on in a couple of years in a different way, and we leave them out of the more strategic, visionary things.

I recently was in an organization that was 2,000 people, multiple levels. And it was a paramilitary organization. From the very start, as a consultant there – I said, “You know we need to engage everybody in the process.”

We were really looking at the future years, you know, the next ten years and diagnosing: What do we need to do more of? What do we need to do less of? Where are the gaps we need to fill? We actually went down to the bottom line level of employees that were just coming in to be trained (they may not even have a position in the future, but they were going through a training program; some of them would drop out). And I got questioned. People were asking, “Why do we engage way down to that level?” Because you want everybody in the organization to drive what happens today and in the future. And it was very interesting what these people’s reaction as they would come to these meetings, and there would be VP’s all the way down to – some of them were 19 years old. But those people contributed, and it was a real growing experience for those who were entry level to really understand and support what was going on, the decisions that were happening. I saw those same people volunteer for committees, you know volunteer for projects that were outside of the work hours. Why? Because they were a part of things at that point – they understood – they formed relationships with other people, they felt valued.

My time with Ms. Edwards seemed to fly by. I have several more pages of notes from our interview that simply won’t fit into this article, and I came away with a better picture of the people and organizations that will be valued in this new economy.

In this new economy, people are expected to bring more value to the table than they did before. Employers are looking for people who will contribute in new and creative ways that will help the company to innovate and create strategies for the future. With this need for innovative and resourceful gamechangers, employee engagement at every level will be essential in the days to come. Companies would be wise to engage all levels of employees in order to let them know where they fit in the bigger picture of the company vision. After that, employees will need permission to innovate and be creative – which sometimes means failure before success. As we move forward, fear-based hierarchical structures are on their way out, and if left unchanged, will create future employee gaps as people look to work for companies that value their people. The strongest organizations among us will be the ones that pay the price to hire the key players that can make a difference – and invest in them.

What are employers looking for in their employees? How can you make sure that you are indispensable to your employer?

I work with CFOs and Presidents of companies to help them hire and retain top talent. In my recent conversations with my clients, one theme prevails. Employers are streamlining their processes, making dollars stretch further, and focusing on higher levels of productivity. In this economy, they have to do more with less. Hiring decisions are crucial as positions that were eliminated are now being replaced. They expect current employees not just to do their jobs and crank out work product, but also to be invested in the goals and mission of the company.

They aim to do 2 things: 1) retain their top performers and 2) hire key players in new positions. In this post recession economy, there is no shortage of top talent. The market is full of highly educated, talented people who are looking for work. What is harder to find are people who “make it happen”. In 2010, top grading will be a focus for employers — replacing B and C players with A players who are creative, resourceful and committed to making an impact.

As Seth Godin conveys in his book, Linchpin, the economy has changed corporate America. We have moved from an industrial age to the digital age. We are in a “contribution economy” where the people behind the business are its equity. There are trends that will mark this digital age. One is businesses built on interchangeable parts and people. The other is businesses searching for those who generate value. They are looking for “Linchpins”. Linchpins are people who are on a quest to find the best that can be done, people who create order from chaos.

In 2010 and for the coming years, it is no longer enough to show up every day, do your job and collect a paycheck. If you are not adding value on a daily basis, then you are on your way to becoming dispensable. Employers are looking for people who will contribute valuable insight and opinions and produce quality work.

For example, a CFO does not look to the Accounting Manager to simply manage the accounting team, handle month end close and prepare financial statements. Today’s CFO needs an Accounting Manager who will do all of those things while looking at the big picture. The Accounting Manager will need to assess systems and processes, implement improvements, motivate the team, and get the work done more quickly and efficiently.

These expectations will be felt at all levels within organizations. Employers are not looking for people who simply do what they are asked and what is dictated by their job description. Executives are encouraging managers and team leaders to produce more and be more efficient. This gives every employee within the organization the chance to shine.

We all have the chance to take on an extra project, give our opinions on how processes can be refined, or come up with a better way to accomplish daily tasks. We should all resist the urge to check Facebook during the day, tweet about every daily occurrence, and other things that take us away from the task at hand. Instead, we should focus on ways to contribute and produce quality work on time. We should take a true interest in the mission of our company. When you focus on these things as an employee in this economy, you can be sure of one thing. Your efforts will not go unnoticed, but will likely be rewarded. It is crucial that our Employers view us as indispensable.

How can you be indispensable?

1. Sharpen your skills (ex. read, take continuing education courses)
2. Focus on professional development (learn new skill-sets, take on new projects)
3. Be invested in your company’s mission
4. Strive to work more efficiently
5. Encourage others. Build morale. Be a team player who contributes quality work and meets deadlines

In summary, employers want you to be invested and give more of who you are. They want you to do your daily job with a focus on excellence. Employees should find creative ways to do things better, more efficiently. In other words, be the “Linchpin” or the glue that holds it all together.

Andra Zwick is an Executive Recruiter for the Delta Dallas Accounting Team. You can reach her at 972-788-2300 or azwick@deltadallas.com.

Generation Y. What picture comes to your mind when I use that phrase? Do you have visions of skateboards and laptops dancing in your head? Do you have preconceived notions of what they want, who they are, and how they operate in the marketplace? Whatever your perception of Millennials, you can be sure that they will challenge it.

I’m a part of Generation X – and frankly, for the most part, I like Gen Y. Millennials exude confidence, they understand and demand the need for work-life balance, and they speak their minds. That being said, I decided to sit down with a Millennial, and get the story straight from the generation that has caused such a buzz recently.

This week I had the opportunity to talk with Alec Johns of Absolute Development, a real-estate development company founded by Johns and partner TJ Frank in early 2006. Alec is a great example of Generation Y. He is an entrepreneur, creating his own destiny rather than having dictated for him. He is intelligent, financially savvy, comfortable with technology and not one to be boxed in either intellectually or in business. Alec has his hands in several businesses including a food company, and another company that produces a clinical laser device. Not only that, but he consistently donates time and resources to the non-profit organizations that interest him. He makes ya wanna get off the couch, doesn’t he?

Tabitha: Alec, thank you for taking the time to meet with me. So, tell me a little bit about what you do and how you got into it.

Alec: Well, I am an entrepreneur. I went to college for about three semesters and decided that I would rather work. My dad had his own homebuilding company, and I went to work for him. He put me through all of the departments in the homebuilding company, (through warranty, accounting, all of them). . . and as I was going through them he said, “Pick the one you like and run with it.” So I did.

I chose land development. Eventually, I took over the Land Development Department for the company and started developing land for my dad. After a year and a half I started buying my own deals, and I ran both his company and my own.

Tabitha: Now, I know that you have other businesses…what made you decide to expand from land development into other things?

Alec: I am the kind of person who likes to have my hands in a lot of things – and I like opportunity. You know, when the real estate market slowed down, I was fortunate enough to be able to weather the storm. (I am still weathering the storm – it isn’t over for real estate.) When it slowed down, my income for real estate went down, so I had to find other things to keep me busy. That was the major thing – I had the free time, because people were not buying land. I had to find something to keep me busy – because I can’t just sit still.

Tabitha: I understand! So, let me ask you about this restlessness – A lot of people are saying that Millennials won’t stay in one position for very long – or that they are always looking for the “next thing”. Why do you think so many of the people in your generation exhibit that pattern? Do you think you all have a certain level of confidence or is there an open-mindedness in your generation that allows you to do that? I mean, what do you think brings that dynamic?

Alec: I would hope that we are confident. It’s true, I see my friends stay in a job for a year, and then they are on to something else. You know, though, I think that the workplace has changed in our generation. People used to learn a trade and stay in it for the rest of their lives. I mean, I know people who have been doing the same thing for 60 years….and they are still working. As for my generation, I hope this pattern is because of open-mindedness, and not short attention spans or some kind of generational ADD.

Tabitha: Whatever it is, Millennials are on the move, and they are moving to the companies and the positions that are able to attract them. There are companies out there that want to acquire them because they are tech savvy and innovative. Can you tell me a little bit about how your generation would innovate as opposed to how a boomer might innovate?

Alec: Well, yes. I think you are right about our relationship with technology. [I think that is a tool that we would use to innovate.] I know a hairdresser who is 27 years old, and built his entire business and clientele through Facebook and MySpace.

Tabitha: So, If I were a company that was seeking out new grads, or Gen Y employees what would I do to attract them? What would make a Millennial want to work for me? What kind of benefits would attract someone like you?

Alec: You know, I think strong leadership would attract me, personally – someone that is going to be innovative and at the cutting edge of their industry.

Tabitha: So, let’s say you accept a job with an organization. What kind of things would keep someone like you there?

Alec: A healthy work environment where thoughts and ideas can be exchanged freely… A company that is all about responsibility. A boss with a “buck stops here” policy, that doesn’t blame all mistakes on the rookies, and I think a financially sound company. I like to see a company that runs their business as debt-free as possible. Debt really bothers me.

Tabitha: Let me ask you about that. I am discovering that a lot of people in your generation are truly financially astute. Millennials are getting their first jobs, and signing up immediately for a 401K. What do you think makes your generation respond to their finances with such competence?

Alec: You know, I think there are resources out there that are really starting to wake people up. I think that people have seen their friends or family members who have struggled. And I know that Dave Ramsey is huge all over the States because people are starting to see that credit card debt is pointless and that you can live within your means.

Tabitha: Let me ask you this – you grew up in a generation where there was a lot of turbulence. I mean, if we look back, it probably started with the Challenger explosion, and then school shootings, the Lewinski scandal, and 9-11, then Hurricanes Katrina and Rita – I mean the list could go on and on… How do you think that has affected your generation? I mean, has it made you more cynical or more aware of things? And how do you think that affects your approach to work from day to day?

Alec: Well I noticed in my social circle, that a lot of us were getting out of high school and college right around September 11th. The country joined together, and put political preferences aside for a while. I think it has helped our generation. I think we kind of got thick-skinned coming out of college. I mean a lot of people spent $75,000 on a good college education, and came out to find that there were no jobs. We went through a tough time, but I think that we are getting through it, and I think my generation is coming along.

Tabitha: So, how do you think that has changed your perspective on work-life balance? Is your work your life or does your life take precedent over work – or is it a combination? Do your work and your life intertwine or is there a definitive line between your work and your life?

Alec: A lot of people that know me say that I am a workaholic. I like to work; I enjoy working. But I don’t lose sleep over work. I mean, I leave try my personal emotions at the door when I come into work and I leave my emotions from work at the door when I leave the office. I try not to mix the two, because in order for me to stay mentally healthy – I have to try to separate the two.

Tabitha: One of the reasons I chose you, Alec, is because of the kind of person you are, and because of your success as an entrepreneur. Is there anything else that you would like to say about your own generation?

Alec: Well, truthfully, there are a few things that frustrate me about my own generation. We have all of this relationship with technology – and I think that sometimes that my generation abuses it. I think that sometimes between texting and emails, we are losing some of the English language. I think that people start to become slaves to their email box, but I think that as long as people in my generation have a purpose, and stay anxiously engaged in good causes, I think that we are on the right track.

I enjoyed talking with Alec. It was encouraging. His generation has truly grown up in a new age. A turbulent age that has made them tough. Now, I won’t deny that there are Millennials that are late for work, dress poorly, are selfish or argumentative, but every generation has a few of those, right? (I can feel a few Gen X’ers looking away.“Come as you are” – wasn’t just a song, right?) The truth is, that if the multi-generational workforce that exists today has been presented with a challenge in Generation Y. If we are going to focus on the future with this generation or even the generation after them – we will have to know them well enough to do business with them, to work with them, and to innovate with them.

Tabitha Woods is Marketing Coordinator for Delta Dallas. Reach her at 972-788-2300 or twoods@deltadallas.com.

Corporate America has shifted. We arise every day to a rapidly changing economy. When the dust from this economic crisis settles, there is no question that business as usual will be over. We will be discovering and adjusting to a new normal. We no longer have the time or the money to absorb the costs of hiring mistakes. Every moment, and every dollar counts.

When I meet with my clients, recession or not, we focus on aligning their hiring goals with their overall company goals. If you want to be successful in hiring, it is essential that you are honest with the candidate at the front-end of the hiring process. Here is the best advice I can give to companies right now:

1. Strategize within your company on a clear job description.
2. Outline for all potential candidates the expectations of the job.
3. Clearly describe how those expectations will be measured.
4. Make sure they understand what they have to accomplish to keep their job.

Candidates who cannot fulfill the stated requirements of the job will generally take themselves out of the running during the interview process. Avoid the urge to “hard sell” your company to likeable candidates and let them know point blank that they will be expected to add value to your company. If you are looking for an A-player, you will need to focus on people who will enjoy the challenges of the role that you are offering them. If you do, you can look forward to developing core employees rather than the experiencing the deep costs of turnover. Here’s to a bright future.

Debbie Trevino, CPC, CTS is a Partner with Delta Dallas. Reach her at dtrevino@deltadallas.com or 972-788-2300.

You and I are living in a new corporate environment. This is a new year; we have begun a new decade; and we are definitely living in a new economy. We have changed.

Whenever there is rampant economic or political change, the requirements for staying relevant as an employee or employer shift. As we look forward, what will employers look for in new employees? The answer is simple. Employers will want employees that will bring value to their organizations. This is always the answer, but what defines that value has changed. Mere technical skill is no longer enough in this economy.

As I read Tabitha’s Woods’ interview with Dr. Beverly Kaye last month, many points resonated with me; the main point, however, was the fact that what we looked for seven years ago (coming out of the last recession) is much different than what we are looking for now. Employers and employees alike are looking for flexibility, creativity and vision. What do these three qualities have in common? They are all traits of “right-brain” thinking.

In A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink details the importance of using both sides of the brain to move ahead into the future. He believes that we have come out of the “Information Age” and are entering the “Conceptual Age.”

Pink asserts that three major factors have caused the Conceptual Age: abundance, Asia and automation:

In Light of Abundance
Today, we have more material goods and higher standards of living than any other generation in time. Most families have multiple big screen HD TV’s in their McMansions, and TiVo that they can program with their iPhones. Yes, we live in abundance, and this has forced companies to design new and more exciting ways to keep consumer-interest growing. As a result, companies have been forced to find and hire more creative employees to meet the demands of abundance.

The Asia Factor
Every day we hear about companies outsourcing their work overseas – accounting, technology and engineering are the fastest growing professions in Asia. An accountant in the Philippines earns less than 10% of what an accountant in the United States earns, yet that wage is still multiple times the average income in the Philippines. In the US, these primarily “left-brained” professionals will have to expand their abilities in order to stay relevant in the United States – they’ll have to add visionary thinking to their analytical abilities.

Automation Nation
Automation is truly creating a large portion of this push into the Conceptual Age. We have created such sophisticated computer systems that most analytical work can be done much faster and more accurately by machines. Do you remember the series of chess matches between Garry Kasparov (arguably the greatest chess player of all time) and a supercomputer created by IBM? This series of six games ended in a draw – one win each for Kasparov and the computer, and four draws. Kasparov himself has said that in the future, computers will win every match and that humans will struggle to win even one game. Keep in mind, though, that computers do not have the ability to show emotion, see the big picture, empathize, or think creatively. This dynamic will continue to open doors for people who can. People who can bring this kind of thinking pattern to their roles will become increasingly valuable in the new economy.

Throughout his book, Pink focuses on right brain attributes, but he is clear that they cannot be effective without the left side attributes enhancing them. People should be prepared to use their analytical thought patterns in tandem with their creative thinking patterns to express the “new mind” that will be in demand.

What six senses are necessary to create the “Whole New Mind?”

1. Design: Think of the last cell phone you bought. Is it just a phone? Would you buy it if it were your least favorite color or if it were bulky? Probably not. Design concepts can distinguish one (phone) product from another making them more desirable in this abundant age. Employers will search for employees that can conceptualize design and merge form with function.

2. Story: Stories are essential to the formation of an effective argument. There is always research that can be done to rebut an argument. What makes an effective argument is the use of persuasion, communication and self-understanding. You can read a book on weight loss, or you can talk to a coach that has lost 80 pounds and traveled the road before you. Which sounds more interesting? The story, of course! Story has the power of inspiration and motivation.

3. Symphony: A symphony is defined as “anything characterized by a harmonious combination of elements.” People are not just looking for black and white – they are looking for shades of grey; they are not just looking for facts and figures – they are looking for the big picture; they are looking for the ability to take the same information they’ve always had and create a new result.

4. Empathy: The main sense that sets us apart from software and automation is empathy – the ability to use reason and logic to understand the feelings of another. We can analyze information on a computer screen all day long, but what makes us human is the fact that we can use that information to find out what drives others to do what they do, or feel the way they feel.

5. Play: What is the easiest way to relieve stress? Laughter! We have so much stress and gravity at work every day that we need a way to relieve tension. Stress is one of the top contributors to illness, and fatigue. Today, some companies are beginning to urge employees to take time out of their days to play games, relax and laugh. Ultimately, they feel, a 30 minute break from the tension can create hours of productivity.

6. Meaning: Today, people want their work to amount to something – not necessarily just monetarily, but emotionally as well. They want to connect emotionally with their profession, and have their work “mean” something. Whether the work has spiritual meaning, or emotional meaning, employees want to connect with their work. They want employers to understand that and support it.

Ultimately, success in the Conceptual Age will boil down to your answers to these three questions:

• Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
• Can a computer do it faster?
• Am I offering something that satisfies the non-material, transcendent desires of an abundant age?

If you answered yes to either of the first two questions, or no to the third, then you are not ready to move forward into the Conceptual Age. The six essential senses are imperative if you are going to be able to change your answers and move into the future successfully.

This is an exciting age. We are all being challenged to move past the drone-like cubicle minds of the technological age and press forward into creativity. This kind of thought used to be reserved only for the greatest minds among us. The best-known minds of our time took part in this kind of thought, and it inevitably set them apart. Albert Einstein said that two keys to his problem solving ability were that he could concentrate on one problem for an extended period of time, and the fact that when he was thinking about a problem, he would reach a state in which he was almost day-dreaming. He was able to combine the concentrated efforts of his analytical mind and marry them to his creative mind. Today, we are being asked and encouraged to think like the best and brightest minds of our time. All of us have the ability and the opportunity to expand the breadth and agility of our minds and excel in this economy. So, be adaptable. Go beyond making decisions based on analytical findings, and call upon your creative mind to understand and interpret information. Be open to seeing the big picture, and changing the way you do things to change results.

Dana Lee, CPC, CTS, is an Executive Recruiter with Delta Dallas. Reach her at 972-788-2300 or dlee@deltadallas.com

It’s a new year. Budgets are being established. People are looking back on 2009, hoping for significant change in 2010. Employers are looking forward, assessing their human capital needs. Many are deciding that it is best to get ahead of the curve.

Delta Dallas has been in the business of staffing for over 26 years, and has seen a myriad of fluctuations in the economy. We have learned a few lessons along the way in the area of “recovery hiring.” We are beginning to see our clients re-hire for some of the positions they eliminated during 2008 and 2009.

Hiring strategies during recovery can be challenging. The approach you take now could define how quickly production teams can build momentum as your company acquires more business.

Team Temperature
This is a critical time for your remaining staff. It is important that you take the time to meet with and assess the temperature/attitude of your present employees. Let’s face it, the employees you have kept through this recession are the ones you value the most. They have put in extra hours to absorb the duties of their laid-off co-workers, and frankly, they are tired. There is a kind of unintentional resentment that can build between corporations and their employees during a downturn. While it is understood that most organizations are doing the best they can to survive, many remaining employees are planning to move when recovery begins. Employees that have been retained during this recession have taken on the production burden of lost workers. Their life-work balance has diminished, and after the recession is over . . . many will start to move.

You can avoid this dynamic by talking to them now. Be sure that remaining employees know that they are valued. Let them know that you empathize with and appreciate the amount of work they have been doing. Ask them what it would take to make them stay. The hard truth is that when the economy opens up, you will not be the only employer who is hiring. It would be unfortunate if resolvable dissatisfaction made your best, brightest, and most experienced people look for greener pastures.

Get Ahead of the Curve
Even if you do not plan to hire until 2nd or 3rd quarter, now is the time to plan. You can start now by pulling your HR team and/or managers together to discuss where your most effective placements can begin.

Tackle your critical positions first. Take a good look at your business strategy and align your hiring plan with the positions that are most integral to company goals. Which positions will be the most important spots to fill as your company (and the economy) begins to ramp up?

Build a plan that allows for recruiting, on-boarding and training time as you move through each position. Create a solid hiring strategy now, and you will be able to move into action when it is time to hire.

Make Them Want It
When order of priority and strategy has been established; take the time to create well-defined performance-based job descriptions that will attract top talent. Building a complete, dynamic job description will give your team a comprehensive picture of the position’s requirements. An inclusive job description will allow them to present your opportunity to A-players with a deeper picture of your company, your position, and the benefits associated with each.

Hire Forward
Get in front of your hiring needs so that when it is critical to have talent in place, you are not waiting for new hires to complete training, or develop depth of knowledge in their positions that will allow for production speed.

We are all ready for recovery. Top to bottom, most organizations are stacked with people that have been putting in long hours, and looking over their shoulders for the lay-off axe. The economic forecast for the New Year is encouraging. In order to run with the front of the pack, organizations will have to start re-hiring and implementing sound hiring strategies to bring their production up to recovery speed.

We are definitely walking through a new landscape economically. We at Delta Dallas have been spending our time analyzing and assessing the changes and assisting our clients as they navigate the changes in the global, national, and local terrain. We are happy to assist you or anyone you know as we move forward into this new economy.

An Interview with Dr. Beverly Kaye, Founder and CEO, Career Systems International

Every once in a while you are presented with an opportunity that requires little other than a simple and resounding YES on your part. This was the case last week when I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Beverly Kaye, author of Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em. (If you recall, Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em was the subject of last month’s book review in Hire View Magazine.) Through that review, I was connected with Dr. Kaye, and discovered that she would be in Dallas for a presentation. After a few emails to her team, I was not only permitted to interview her, but she invited me to an intimate preview of her new HR training product CareerPower 3.0. It was fascinating.

Not only is Dr. Kaye an individual with over 30 years of experience in the HR training industry, but she is also a woman with her finger on the future of training and employee retention. I asked Dr. Kaye, during our lunch together, what direction she saw employers and employees moving in as we come out of this recession.

Tabitha: I guess my first question for you, Dr. Kaye, is where you believe this market is going. Are employers going to start hiring again? Do you think we are moving deeper into recovery?

Dr Kaye: (Laughing) My thinking is too influenced by what I want it to be . . and I don’t know that I can separate it. But, yes, I think we are. I also think we will see hiring again; in fact, some of the research that I’ve read is that we are going to rehire at least 25% of the people that we have let go.

Tabitha: So let me ask you this, what about the employees that remain? You call them the “Kept On Workforce”**. These employees who have absorbed additional production expectations from lay-offs, and have lost some work-life balance – do you think they will look to move when the recovery ramps up?

Dr. Kaye: Yes, people are getting ready to move on. We [the employers] need to ask people, “What do you want and can you find it right here?” Because the moving on doesn’t help anybody. It doesn’t help corporate America, because they will have to retrain, retrain, retrain – and it doesn’t help the person that is exiting. In other words [when you stay with a company] you build up all kinds of equity. You build up not only your financial equity, but you build up your influence equity. (For example, “I know how to get this done because I know the assistant to…”) You also build a kind of skill equity. (To Tabitha) In other words, you, Tabitha, could look at a marketing job in another organization, and even though it said “marketing” [in the job description] and you have been in marketing for all these years, the very way that they do it causes you to use your skills differently. So, I think the issue is: Is the “greener pasture” actually Astroturf, or is it real?

Employers need to ask their managers, “Have you told your people recently that you appreciate them? That you care about them?”

I write a Year-End note to every single solitary person in my organization. Something personal. I say to many people, “I want you to stay. I want you with this organization.” We know that we would be less without them.

Tabitha: When people start to fill out their teams again, what kind of person do you think that they will be looking for in this new economy?

Dr. Kaye: I think that people are asking, [everyone is saying this] “Can this person deal with ambiguity?”  Employers want to know, “If I give you a job, and I don’t quite define it all, how comfortable are you dealing with the ambiguous parts?” This is a part of the self-powered careerist. (A new term coined by Dr. Kaye in her latest work.) The self-powered careerist will say, “Oh – wow, I can make this job match me.” Whereas some people will say, “I need more definition, more definition, more definition.” The truth is that some leaders are not going to be able to give the definition that some employees crave. They want them to discover and create it.

If I am not innovating, I am dead. So [as an employer] maybe one of the new characteristics I am looking for is “employee as innovator.” And perhaps one of the interview questions I will ask is: “How innovative did you get back when you were out of work?” Did you decide to learn, learn, learn everything you could through this period no matter what?

Tabitha: Do people find creative ways to deal with their situations?

Dr Kaye: I think that some do and some don’t. The people that I have talked to – the out of work people – respond differently. Some get in the “woe is me” stage and stay there, and some are re-inventing themselves. Some have gone back to school, some are going to every networking meeting that they can, and some are taking on small projects – from anywhere. When this is over, perhaps they will be able to thread the small projects together and give themselves a new way to showcase themselves.

Tabitha: What do you think employees will be looking for in an employer? If, say, they have been out of a job for six months, and someone offers them a job, will they jump on it? Will they care if an employer has a good reputation or not?

Dr. Kaye: My advice to those people is: Look before you leap. There are so many ways to find out about a company nowadays, on the net. But you know, there are going to be those people [self-powered careerists] who get a job, and then make it what they need it to be. The self-powered careerist will come into a company with more of a game plan.

Generalizations are so hard to make. Some workers will stay bitter, they might come back with a chip on their shoulder, or they will be eager, or over-eager. But they are not going to buy in to the “vision, mission, and values” easily, and maybe that’s a good thing. They are going to look at your vision statement and mission statement and say, “How does this play out – really?” And they are going to listen to what’s “corp-speak” and what’s real. What are the words that I know you are just using because you use them with everybody and they sound good?

Those on the recruiting end have done a lot of targeted interviewing and probe for examples of the competencies we are looking for. I think they [potential employees] are going to target interview employers. So, if in an interview, you [the employer] say, “Yes, we develop people.” They are going to say, “Well, tell me how you would go about doing. . .” and you are going to have to talk about cases and talk about stories within the organization in detail.

One of the most valuable take-away’s from my meeting with Dr. Kaye was her eye on the future. She is connected, to be sure, worldwide. But I had an opportunity to watch her interact with some of her clients first-hand. She has her finger on the pulse of what is going on in employment through her variety of connections in a wide-range of industries in a myriad of locations. That being said, I think the best gift we can all give ourselves at the moment, employers and employees alike is to pay attention. I think that as we search, view, and work to understand the ever-changing landscape of the employment world, that we will need to constantly re-tool our skills and our organizations to stay relevant. I appreciate the opportunity to have met someone like Dr. Kaye who has done so for over 30 years.

**Recommended Reading: The Kept On Workforce of 2009 by Dr. Beverly Kaye.

Tabitha Woods is Marketing Coordinator for Delta Dallas. You can reach her at 972-788-2300 or twoods@deltadallas.com.

Help your High Volume Managers Succeed

Have you ever seen a great working sheepdog? They are amazing. They dart back and forth guiding the sheep away from danger, to the location the farmer points out. Check out this video about sheepdogs. I found it while I was pondering the ups and downs of managing a high volume of employees. When a sheepdog is a puppy, they begin their training with the farmer; then they are exposed to the sheep. In the video I laughed out loud when the 5 month old puppy was first introduced to the sheep. The pup just went wild, chasing the sheep back and forth….intense, but not very productive. It was a sharp contrast to the skilled dog at the end of the video. The dog at the end guided the sheep, set boundaries for them and with the slightest move could manipulate the herd like a conductor. That dog brought the farmer measured, daily results.

Managing a large number of people requires a similar high level of skill. It requires perspective, emotional intelligence, decision-making abilities, vision, and the ability to delegate. In high volume environments, like call centers – it can be challenging to try to bring the corporate vision to every employee during the course of a workday. These environments can present additional challenges when the managers of some departments are new to managing. Their experience in the company may have been great, but they need leadership training. Like the sheepdog, a lot of new managers enter the job with pure adrenaline. They enthusiastically try to chase success or intimidate employees into cooperation, when simply setting the boundaries and guiding trained, well-informed employees would bring a lot more success.

Tools of the Trade

Train your Managers
Invest in your managers and prepare them for a leadership role with sound leadership, and management training. They will be able to solve a higher level of departmental problems before they have to approach leadership about an issue, saving production time and money.

Train your Employees
Teach each manager how to fully train their team at the front end of their on-boarding process. Invest in thorough training, training materials, and daily operations guides for the employees in each department. If you don’t have designated training specialists, and your budget is limited…find a way to get complete information to your employees.

Clearly define, in your training, your employees’ scope of decision-making authority. They will be able to interface with your clients with confidence, and when fully armed with information, can handle a majority of situations on their own. They will only contact managers in extreme situations, saving the manager time, and saving the company money. What would it be like if your managers could spend a larger part of their time planning for the future – setting new departmental goals and developing vision?

Share Company, Leadership, and Departmental Vision

Get your Managers on Board
Managing a large number of people can be stressful. Your managers need to be tapped into company vision. Share your company’s big-picture goals with each of your managers, and let them know how their department plays a role in the process. Transparency with internal leadership could give your managerial team a deeper buy-in to company aspirations…it can also help them engage their constituents.

Engage the Masses
Get your employees on board through the influence of their managers. The manager of each department has a great influence over the way your company is viewed as a whole. Let your managers know that it is important to have their employees understand, value and align with company goals. Set specific standards for this through arranging a 5-10 minute meeting between managers and employees once a week. (If you are in a call center or time-sensitive environment, you can stagger this time.) This time can be designated to let the employees know what the goals of the company are, where their department and specific role fit in, and what progress has been made to date. Give clear rewards for specific markers in their goals. Employee engagement is probably one of the highest deciding factors in production level. A recent survey revealed that 70% of American workers are disengaged. Yes, 70%. Don’t let your managers, your employees or your production levels be a part of this statistic.

The Rewards of Progress
Let your management team know when they are doing a good job. They are responsible for a large number of people, and ideally, they are finding ways to recognize their team every day. Recognize progress and daily accomplishments made by your managers, and make it public. Managers, too, need to know that they are valued and should be recognized when they are making a difference at work.

Direct managers have one of the highest levels of employee influence in an organization. They are the face of your corporation to your employees on a daily basis. Invest in their success, listen to and consider their ideas for change, and you will build a reputation for being a great place to work. The beginning of this recovery has been a busy time for many high volume employers. Managers are responsible for an increased number of employees in growing departments. Make sure your managers are prepared to lead with vision, guide with wisdom and succeed with their teams.

Michelle Cook, CPC, CTS is Vice President with Delta Dallas. You can reach her at mcook@deltadallas.com or 972-788-2300.