How to Attract and Retain Top Talent

The supply of talent is low. The demand for talent is high. Nationally unemployment is at 5.5% and locally here in Indianapolis we have a rate of 4.3%. Wage pressures are forcing employers to increase rates to remain competitive.

Here are three ways to attract and retain top talent given the current employment landscape.

1. Pay for Performance – Increase wages without increasing costs. Link employee effort to performance and results. Not unusual for sales people, CEOs, etc – why not expand this to your hourly workforce to allow employees the opportunity to earn more. This will help reduce turnover and improve productivity.

2. Employee Engagement – Provide workplace flexibility, real-time feedback, coaching and mentoring, a job that aligns with their personal values, and create a "cool" work environment. This can be accomplished even if you operate a warehouse, work inside a dental office, or staff up a call center. Feeling connected with work does matter, try being a culture that happens to have a company. 

3. Employee Recognition – Several studies note that money or compensation is not always the best motivator. While I would disagree for hourly employees – engage your workforce with Employee of the month, spot awards for safety or work activities that exhibit company culture, and breakfast with the CEO, etc.

Don't Search for Jobs - Target Employers

Are you tired of searching for a job for the past few months? The problem is that you’re looking rather than targeting. I would tell anyone who’s been out of work for two or three months should pick five targets — the places where you want to go work.

Once you have a list of employers, research each one and its competitors, looking for problems and opportunities. Brainstorm for ideas and solutions, which you can turn into a white paper or a Prezi presentation. Then, tap your network to arrange meetings with executives at your target employers, where you can deliver your findings. Also explore your base of contacts on LinkedIn and leverage those contacts that have inroads to those specific employers.

The moment you sit across from an executive and discuss the profits or productivity you can increase for their company, you are transformed. You change from being a job seeker, which is a position of weakness, into a problem solver, a position of strength. In fact, you may never go on another job interview again. Instead, you’ll be having business meetings with executives who are eager to hear your ideas.

Employers are people, too. And while most don’t like to be sold on the idea of hiring more staff, they still love to buy. Point out — specifically — that you can produce $1.00 in profits for every 35 cents you’re paid in wages, for example. When you do this, you’re selling money at a discount.

Now, what employer wouldn’t want to buy that?

(Excerpt taken from Jeffrey Gitomer on job search tips)

How Employers View Your Online Presence

Having a strong online presence is important for a job search. It’s more than likely a potential employer is going to “Google” your profile to see what they can find on Facebook and LinkedIn. Here’s five tips to creating the right perception in an online world.

1. Posting personal crap. Don’t raise a “red flag” to employers for constantly posting (rants, funny videos, etc.) every hour onto your Facebook page. Employers will see this as a distraction cutting into work time. By the way, I’m not talking about power users who understand how to leverage social media for their business or job function.
2. Build up endorsements on LinkedIn. If 99+ people endorse you for “finance”, it’s fair to say you're competent in this field. 
3. Username: If your Twitter handle is inappropriate or a little too cutesy (iLuvFluffyKittens), change it. 
4. Showcase your past accomplishments. Putting up published research papers, company projects, volunteering services, and certifications online allows recruiters to have a clearer picture of your competence. 
5. Keep learning. New technology, new tactics and new information are always coming. Invest in yourself and your blog, personal brand, and stay on top of new trends.

The Rise of Insight Selling

The new sales environment favors creative and adaptable sellers who challenge customers with disruptive insights into their business—and offer unexpected solutions.

Great article written by Matthew Dixon in the HBR, well worth the read, especially for any business owners or sales leaders.

https://hbr.org/2013/11/dismantling-the-sales-machine

The 2 Things You Must Do In Every Job Search

During a passive or active job search people often approach their network the wrong way.

We're all familiar with the classic distinction between strong ties and weak ties. Strong ties are your closest friends and weak ties are your acquaintances. Most of us when we need help go to strong ties because its comfortable to reach out. Often times weak ties are more helpful than strong ties because strong ties have redundant information. Strong ties know all the same people and information as you. But acquaintances can open up new information within different circles of friends. There's evidence that supports that you're 58% more likely to get a job from a weak tie than a strong tie.

The other way to improve your chances of finding a new job is make your network powerful by reaching out to a dormant tie. These are the people you used to know in the last 3 to 5 years (past colleague, former college roommate, etc.) The dormant ties have been meeting different people and learning new things over the past few years that will help open up new opportunities, plus its more comfortable to reach out to these ties because you have that shared experience or common history. And its certainly a lot easier to reconnect than starting a new connection from scratch.

Bottom line, most of us could do a better job of reaching out to those weak and dormant ties during the job search. 

Insight taken from the best selling book "Give and Take" by Adam Grant. A must read for every business professional.

Ask More of Yourself

I am grateful for the birth of our new born son, Sebastián Mateo. And I'm certainly thankful to have finished the MBA program at Notre Dame with my wife this May. The growth was certainly worth getting uncomfortable.

Be Anti-Social (Media)

Social media is a great way to stay engaged, but it's also a great way to not get other things done. How many of you check your FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts every hour? I'm now trying to set limits for my social media use, setting specific times of the day to check updates. By scheduling social time, you’re actively managing your online life, not compulsively checking in on auto pilot.

Secrets of the Most Productive People

We can make ourselves crazy trying to eliminate the waste, or we can embrace the daily chaos and use it to our best advantage.

Here's a couple of lessons from the front lines;

Time I get up: 6am

First thing I do each morning: Spend a few minutes praying in bed and then straight to the shower. I do my best thinking in this spot.

Apps and Other Assists: If I have one thing with me its my iPhone, and I'm always utilizing the LinkedIn app. Between work email and the business Facebook (LinkedIn), those two capture the majority of my attention.

Philosophy: Success on the outside means nothing unless you also have success within.

Last thing I do each night: Brush my teeth and spend time 15-30 minutes with my wife reading in bed.

Time I go to bed: I don't go to bed at the same time every night. Every day has a different demand. Most often I'm asleep by 11pm.

Ferguson's Formula

Some call him the greatest coach in history. Sir Alex Ferguson spent 26 seasons as the manager of Manchester United, the English football (soccer) club that ranks among the most successful and valuable franchises in sports.

The Harvard Business School developed a case study around his approach to management. Here are a few key takeaways from the reading;

1. Working hard all your life is a talent, too.

2. If you give young people your attention and an opportunity to succeed, it is amazing how much they will surprise you.

3. It's important to have confidence in yourself to make a decision and to move on once you have. it's not about looking for adversity or for opportunities to prove power, it's about having control and being authoritative when issues do arise.

4. No one likes to be criticized. Few people get better with criticism; most respond to encouragement instead.

5. Rely on the Power of Observation.

6. Never Stop Adapting. You have to control change by accepting it.

Detroit and Selling

The original Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller best describes decaying cities such as Detroit and its recent bankruptcy. The story is about a negative guy named Willy Loman who refused to change his ways as society grew and changed their ways. He eventually died, broke and a miserable man. And so will you if you fail to recognize what's happening.

Get used to the change and get over it. Understand the sales opportunity it creates. And take advantage of it. If you don't, society will take advantage of you.

App Sumo

I found a group called App Sumo who creates email templates. Here's a useful example for connecting your network;


Hey John,

Hope things are well.

I really want you to meet Steven.

Steven is one of the sickest graphic designers on the planet. He helped a LOT with AppSumo.

He's looking for work and I remember you saying you were on the look out for a good designer.

-----

Steven,

John is a long-time friend of mine from Boy Scouts.

He runs HappyJot which is a hugely successful online games website.

He's looking for a designer so I thought it made sense for you two to know each other.

-----

I'd suggest you two grab coffee since you are in the same city.

Be amazing

Noah

Get More Done

A few basics for avoiding distractions and the wasting of time.

1. Check your email just a couple times a day and train the people you correspond with not to cc you on endless threads.

2. Avoid instant messaging which tends to promote a focus on unessential details.

3. Avoid meetings and when you must have them, make sure they have scheduled end times.

4. Adopt a low information diet and read only the headlines in the news.

5. Develop template responses for customer service and supplier or media queries. Empower employees to use them.

6. Calculate how much your time is worth by the hour, and outsource administrative and research tasks to people who will handle them for less.

Tips and advice was taken from Tim Ferriss, the author of the 4 Hour Work Week and productivity guru.

2012 Goals

Start the MBA program at the University of Notre Dame (check)

Vacation two weeks in Europe (check)

Invest in a new rental property (check)

Help grow the business to over $34M (check)

Build a home for less privileged in Mexico (check)

When you set goals, write the list down where you can view it often. Have your spouse, partner, or mentor hold you accountable. Build out categories and take time to reflect on the outcomes. Most importantly thank God for the platform HE's given you.

Repeat and do over again.

A Smarter Way To Network

I'm back after a two month hiatus from graduate school at Notre Dame. Homework and exams have consumed much of my time, but its all worth the effort in the end. 

I recently read an article in the HBR (Harvard Business Review) that mentions successful executives connect with select people and get more out of them. Obviously this caught my attention, since I base much of my business activities around networking. Below are a few excerpts that are worth reading.

We all know the old adage, "it's not what you know, it's who you know" is true. But it's more nuanced than that. In spite of what most self-help books say, network size doesn't usually matter. In fact, they've found that individuals who simply know a lot of people are less likely to achieve standout performance because they're spread too thin.  

Yes, it’s important 

to know powerful people, but if they 

account for too much of your network, 

your peers and subordinates often perceive 

you to be overly self-interested, and 

you may lose support as a result.

The data collected pointed to a different 

model for networking. The executives 

who consistently rank in the top 20% 

of their companies in both performance 

and well-being have diverse but select networks 

made up of high-quality 

relationships with people who come from several different spheres and from up and down the corporate hierarchy.

Finally here's four important steps that came about from this article to implement inside your networking strategy;

1. Analyze - Identify the people in your network and what you get out of interacting with them.

2. De-layer - Make some hard decisions to back away from redundant and energy-sapping relationships.

3. Diversify - Build your network out with the right know of people, energizers who will help you achieve your goals.

4. Capitalize - Make sure you're using your contacts as effectively as you can.

Same Game New Rules

Last month I was standing in the middle of St. Peter's Square ready to enter the Vatican in Rome and I received a phone call from Notre Dame University. The Director of Admissions called to inform me of my acceptance into the MBA program. What a fantastic memory as my wife and I finished a two week vacation in Europe.

I'm excited about the challenge that lays ahead and the opportunity to prove myself again in South Bend. Over ten years ago I left Notre Dame with a terrible sense of disappointment when we lost to the Irish in a last minute football game. For those of you who don't know, I had a pass thrown to me while I was running a crossing route, which tipped off my hands and landed in the lap of Vontez Duff, who took the interception back for a touchdown. Game over, senior year over, and dreams of playing pro football over. Sadly enough I couldn't seem to recover and ever regain my mental edge to play at a high level.

The day after the game my picture was on the front cover of the NY Times sports page, and the highlight was shown in slow motion on CNN Headline News. I had been through disappointment in my sports career, but nothing had an impact quite like this moment.

As I look back on this experience, I realized how valuable a lesson this set back had on my life. Although I feel like I've left something on the table back at Notre Dame, I rest assure that God had this plan already in place, waiting to build my character. When I played college football ten years ago, I was immature and full of a big ego. What a blessing in disguise despite the temporary pain that ruined my senior year of college football because I grew more in my faith for God and changed the way I lived as a man.

Uncomfortable vs. Exhaustion

I believe the single most significant decision you can make on a day-to-day basis is your choice of attitude. Attitude is that one thing that keeps you going or cripples your progress. It alone fuels your fire or assaults your hope. (Acts 16:25)

It's not talent, it's not innate ability, it simply comes down to how hungry you are to improve. What's the difference between you and them. The professionals are willing to knock on the doors of complete exhaustion every single day.

Ask yourself this, are you moving closer towards your goals, or are you moving further away them? Are you knocking of those doors of exhaustion, or are you just uncomfortable? Being uncomfortable is not exhaustion. Being uncomfortable is your mind quitting before your body.

It's easier to buy the ticket to see the game, than the one to prepare for it. It's easier watch athletes from the couch than it is to be the one hoisting the trophy.

It's a lot easier to look back on your life and know you gave it your all than it is to live with regrets. Not living up to your potential, well that weighs on your shoulders for a lifetime.

Productivity

It's really not about genetics. It's about the effort. It's about doing the activity right. And this transfers throughout all facets in life. Whether its working on your school work, or working on that business proposal at your job. It's even the small things in life, like cleaning dishes or cleaning the house because if you can't clean the house right, how are you expected to run a fortune 500 company right. And all successful people understand that, that they're gonna give it there all throughout every single task that they have to do because time is so precious, and that they're going to do it right. So I hope you understand this concept of productivity a little bit better, and you need to ask yourself what are gonna do today, but more importantly you need to ask yourself how you're going to do it?

How Bad Do You Want It? (Success)

A lot of people in this world search endlessly for some complex magical formula to understand why some people are successful and why others are not.

But it really just boils down to this concept of productivity. That you're going to apply the most amount of effort to the best of your ability in the allotted time that you have.

And all successful people realize that time is the most precious commodity out there, its the one thing you can't buy or ever buy back.

So these successful people realize that they have an allotted time to perform a given task so that they have to give it there absolute all to doing that task. Because going through the motions is the most dis-advantgeous thing you can do.

An Appeal That Everybody Likes

I had breakfast with Congressman Mike Pence this past weekend. As we began the conversation, Congressman Pence went out of his way to make a personal introduction since we didn't initially get a chance to greet. This blew me away! I understand that politicians need to be on point when it comes to making others feel important, but Mike Pence did this with sincerity.

With that said I'm making a prediction that Congressman Pence will be the next Governor of Indiana.

Here's why - -

1. Genuinely interested in other people.

2. Encourage others to talk about themselves while listening well.

3. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.

4. Make the other person feel important - and does it sincerely.

Same Game New Rules

The basics are over. They are dead and gone. No more cold calling, no more overcoming objections, no more tie-down questions, no more closing the sale, and no more finding the pain. Those days are over. They left somewhere between 1972 and 1992.


Excerpt taken from Jeffrey Gitomer