Tip of the Week - Assessing for Job Match

Well I have enjoyed my time off with the recent holiday, but now it is time to get back to work and bring you the tip of the week. This weeks tip focuses on using assessments for Job Matching. Job Matching is not a new science, it has been around for years, yet most businesses still fail to properly Match prospective hires or promotions to the Job. Why are more companies not matching yet? One reason is that the process is time consuming and in todays thin labor market many business owners or managers feel that they cannot be too picky.

I would counter this idea and propose that in todays thin labor market, job matching and detailed screening is more important than ever before. Studies by the Harvard School of Business provide us with a lot of evidence that job matching will greatly reduce turnover. They also suggest that job matching will greatly increase the productivity of workers and overall profitability of the organization. In todays climate these are all very desirable outcomes, so why are companies still not job matching?

One reason would be that a proper Job Match takes time and few managers out there are really skilled at doing it right. This is where the use of proper assessments can make a world of difference to the busy business owner or hiring manager. Job Matching assessments like the Profile XT can quickly help you establish benchmarks using your already successful employees and then develop a highly specific Job Match Pattern to help you select more productive employees. Assessments like the Profile XT are extremely accurate and provide a tremendous amount of data that can be used for the initial match and also for coaching, training, succession planning, motivating and career planning. Best of all they organize and present this information quickly and succinctly saving the busy hiring manager a tremendous amount of time and money. For more information on the use of assessments in the workplace go to www.workforcesurvival.com and sign up for one of our informative webinars.

Jim

Succession Planning

Consider the following Case Studies:

In a large financial services office, all work on a key project stopped when the top decision-maker was absent for reasons she had not anticipated - a death in her immediate family. She had not appointed or trained anyone to make decisions in her stead.

People at the head of a small manufacturing company failed to anticipate the sudden, prolonged absence of the CEO due to illness. No one knew where he kept key data and information. Even the password to his computer was locked away for a time, putting the brakes on all business. After work slowly started up again, employees continued to operate in crisis mode for a lengthy period of time. The result was low production, high turnover and a serious threat to profits and survival.

Both situations could have been easily handled if the CEO or owner of the business had planned for a successor. In the best-run companies, planning for a future without the current CEO often begins years before the top decision-maker's retirement. Some experts say planning 15 years in advance is not too soon.

Succession planning does not have to be intimidating, but it must be intentional. This means every company, agency or institution should have a well-thought-out plan that lets the CEO-to-be learn the job before they actually have to perfrom on their own.

The key steps to a solid succession plan should be simple and logical. Top players in finding a successor are a company's executives and human resource specialists. Common sense dictates a potential successor is knowledgeable and supportive of the company's business strategy and will reinforce corporate goals. That means a human resource executive should have the successor's credentials at their fingertips. They should know what education, experience and special skills and knowledge the successor possesses.

Here are some steps CEOs often follow when choosing a successor:

• Select the right person. This is often difficult because of the CEO's closeness to the job. The help of other executives, especially those who understand the job and will be affected by the change, should be enlisted. All employees with skill and knowledge should get consideration, and the future CEO should be considered alongside the future goals and needs of the business.
• While no one wants to hand over the job and scurry out the door, it's important to establish a schedule. This goes hand-in-hand with the training process. The successor should learn the job while doing, with a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities.

After the training is complete, the departing CEO should turn the job over and go. Of course, this formerly busy executive will have prepared in advance for leaving - including what they are going to do with the rest of their life - so they will actually leave and not return unless it's for a visit.

While planning a successor for the top job is crucial, company executives must remember all key jobs need the right people. The way to retaining talented people at all levels is to make sure they are in the right jobs to begin with and to provide growth opportunities for them.

Jim

Empower Performance Tip of the Week

This weeks tip is on Stress Reduction. With 75 percent of employees believing that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago according to the Princeton Survey Research Associates, stress management programs at work are popular. Studies show such programs are more effective if coupled with organizational change. Stress at work is caused by duties that go beyond a workers capabilities or resources. With that in mind, employers should make sure the workload is in line with what an employee is able to do. Other ideas suggested by "American Psychologist" include:

• Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation and opportunities for workers to use their skill.
• Clearly define roles and responsilbilities.
• Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their jobs.
• Improve communications to reduce uncertainty about career development and future employment prospects.
• Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers.

When possible, try to establish work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities outside the job.

Hopefully these ideas will give you some guidance on how to decrease stress levels in your employees, and improve the reliability and productivity of your workforce.

Jim

Retiring Retirement

Don't we all agree now that Retirement should be retired? 34% of North American workers now claim that they never plan on retiring which means there is a sizeable workforce out there just waiting to be used. Check out this article in the New York Times by Marc Freedman, an expert and author on the second half of life that explores the idea of a strong second act in ones working life. Discovering Second Acts In Sustained Working Lives will make you think about your own retirement plans, and if you are a business owner or manager, you need to think about getting more from your own future retirees or looking into this group as ways to keep fully staffed. Mature workers are an excellent source of employees as long as you manage the resource properly. Check out one of our "Surviving the Workforce Crisis" Webinars for more information on appealing to Mature Workers.

Jim