Category Archives: Communication

Body Language Matters in Recruiting Great Talent

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So, possibly the greatest basketball coach of all time is University of Connecticut’s Women’s Basketball coach, Geno Auriemma.  He currently has a 109 game winning streak in NCAA Division I basketball. Many of his current players have never lost a collegiate game!

You have no idea how unreal that streak is. It’s not like he can just recruit every top player, every year. He might get three or four of the best high school players, but other schools are also getting great talent.

Geno has something that only a tiny few great coaches have. Watch this short video to see it in action:

Couple things about this:

1. He says when he watches game film he watches what the kids on the bench are doing. If you’re at that level of detail, you’re going to be successful! I can guarantee you Nick Saban does the same thing. Tom Izzo does the same thing. Bill Belichick does the same thing.

2. If you’re interviewing for a job, the moment you pull into the parking lot, you better believe your actions are being evaluated, and almost 100% of those actions are body language!

If you hire an Eeyore, you’re going to get an Eeyore. Don’t think somehow they’ll change from the interview. If someone can’t have good body language in an interview, they’ll never have it coming to work and grinding each day.

Most of the jobs we hire for are basically skill-irrelevant. What we truly need is someone who comes to work each day with enthusiasm, is open to learning, has the ability to learn quickly, and plays well with others. I can teach you the rest. I can’t teach you to have great body language. That’s on you!

Every Moment Matters! #UltiConnect @UltimateHCM

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So, I’m out at the Ultimate Software Conference this week and they had one of the most unique keynotes, Will Smith! Yeah, that Will Smith! Fresh Prince, I Am Legend, Hancock, Men In Black, Bad Boy himself!

At HR Conferences you don’t normally get big time Hollywood. You usually get a dude who’s really good looking, who wrote a book, telling motivational stories. The HR ladies tend to like those types. Well, they really liked Will! I really liked Will!

For starters, Will Smith is an entertainer. He immediately grabbed the audience and didn’t let go. He knows how to control and audience, tell great stories, be funny, and hit on big themes that make you think and leave you feeling motivated. That’s what a great keynote can do.

My favorite story he told was about his father dying. His father was told he had three months to live and he ended up living about six months. Will said after they got to three months every single moment felt like it really could be the last moment.

Because of this, hellos became special, goodbyes tended to linger longer, embraces were more special. It went on like that for another three months, and it made Will realize that all moments with those that you love and care about, should be moments like this because we don’t know if that will be the last moment.

On the last day of his dad’s life, Will was in LA and his dad was back in Philly. Will’s dad called him on Facetime and told him he thought this was it, that this was going to be his last day. Since he was going through this, it wasn’t a shock, but he stayed on the phone with him for a while.

Will said they went about fifteen minutes without saying anything to each other, just staring at each other, just spending this time together in the only way they could at that moment. Will’s sister was with her father in Philly and eventually broke the silence and said, “Well, dad, do you have anything you want to say to Will?”

His response was awesome and it brought down the house in classic Will Smith fashion:

My dad said, “Shit, anything I haven’t told this motherfucker isn’t going to make a difference now!”

He died that night. The crowd laughed. Will laughed. At the story, not at his dad dying!

The crowd laughed. Will laughed. At the story, not at his dad dying!

Most of us won’t be as lucky as Will to know you have that time and also in that time realize the importance of those moments. Our loved ones will die today, tomorrow, next week, and we won’t have any idea that it’s coming. We live with this reality.

We also live with a reality that we don’t have to let these moments go by. We can choose to not let moments go by and let people know how much we value them and care about them. For me, that was the real message Will was sharing.

You’ll have a bunch of moments today with people you care about. Try not to miss them!

Hi, My Name is Tim, and I’m a Lonely Middle-aged Guy.

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Middle-aged men face this weird life-path. You start a career. Get married. Move to the suburbs. Start a family. Become a little league coach. Watch your kids graduate. Then you get ready to die.

I feel like I’ve got more friends than ever in my life, but if I stop and really put down on paper people who I would consider a ‘close’ friend, that number is very small. Part of this is the social world we’ve created. Staying in touch with hundreds or thousands of people at a very surface level, but never really going that deep. “Sorry to hear your cat died. So, awful…Hey, this video is hilarious, I better share…”

The reality is I grew up in a generation that was much different than my parents. I don’t think my parents really cared if I lived or died, as long as I wasn’t too loud in the house, and I didn’t do anything to embarrass their station in life. My generation then went to the extreme opposite and became helicopter parents!

The Boston Globe recently had an article titled: The biggest threat facing middle-aged men isn’t smoking or obesity. It’s loneliness. And while I don’t really want to admit this is me, it’s probably more me than I realize! From the article:

Beginning in the 1980s, Schwartz says, study after study started showing that those who were more socially isolated were much more likely to die during a given period than their socially connected neighbors, even after you corrected for age, gender, and lifestyle choices like exercising and eating right. Loneliness has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke and the progression of Alzheimer’s. One study found that it can be as much of a long-term risk factor as smoking.

The research doesn’t get any rosier from there. In 2015, a huge study out of Brigham Young University, using data from 3.5 million people collected over 35 years, found that those who fall into the categories of loneliness, isolation, or even simply living on their own see their risk of premature death rise 26 to 32 percent.

I like to tell my wife she’s my best friend, and the reality is, that’s true in every form of the phrase. I’m sure she likes knowing that, but boy does that add a lot of pressure to a marriage relationship! I’m thankful for having such a great relationship, but she doesn’t like Tosh or Deadpool, so I probably need a guy friend for that stuff!

I have a dog. He’s pretty great. Wish I had a pickup truck for him to ride with me in it. That would be even better. I call him my best friend every day, and I think he actually believes it. I know I do.

I have others I call my ‘best’ guy friends, but some of those on that list I rarely see and sometimes go weeks or months without actually communicating live. That doesn’t seem best friend-ish!

Because I write in the HR space, I have a bunch of women who I communicate with often, and I would definitely call them my ‘best’ friends who are ladies. Most guys don’t have this luxury because their wives wouldn’t take to kindly to other women talking to their husbands. I’m lucky that way, but still, most of these ‘friends’ I rarely see live or talk to live, it’s mostly a social relationship.

The moral to this story? Stop reading blogs and go touch someone. Not inappropriately, but physically see them and talk to them. The human body needs real life relationships to thrive.

Why Won’t Your Employees Go See The Doctor?

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So, we have few major psychological issues that come into play when drag our feet in not going to see the doctor when we need to.

1. We don’t have the time! Ugh, these doctor offices are all run by former DMV or post office workers who were fired for poor performance in being too slow! We know if we go to the doctor’s office we’ll miss a half a day or more of work.

2. Yuck, sick people! Apparently, doctor’s offices are filled with sick people. You’re sick too, but just not that sick! I’ve got a cold, I don’t want some disease I’ll die from!

3. What if something is really wrong with me? I don’t want to know! I’m always surprised by this but it’s an actual thing. People would rather ignore a serious health issue, then to actually deal with it.

I’m definitely a number 1 & 2 person. I don’t have the time and I don’t want to be around sick people. So, going to the doctor is basically an ambulance ride for me! Meaning, I’m not going unless they drag me out in an ambulance!

That’s why I fell in love with seeing a doctor on my iPhone! One of the coolest things I’ve done in a while! Check it out:

If you haven’t tried it with your insurance company, you need to! So, simple. So, fast. It’s life changing for people like me!

Hit me in the comments about your experiences. Also, I would love to hear the kinds of things people have used this service for. Mine was a simple sinus infection and some antibiotics. The early adopter in me wants to know how far I can go with this service! Can I meet with a therapist and get an Adderall script? What about Viagra? I don’t need it, but a bet a bunch of dudes would rather do this over the phone than in person!

The early adopter in me wants to know how far I can go with this service! Can I meet with a therapist and get an Adderall script? What about Viagra? I don’t need it, but a bet a bunch of dudes would rather do this over the phone than in person! What about back pain? Can I get narcotics over the phone? That could be a game changer!

3 Ways to Get Rid of an Overpaid, Underperforming Employee

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One of the biggest issues we face as HR Pros is trying to get rid of our overpriced employees.  Let’s be real, we made our own bed with this issue!  We were the ones going to our ‘comp’ guy, going “No, we have to go over the range, this talent is worth it!”  Now you’re living with an employee making $20K more than the rest of team and all hell is breaking loose!

To be fair, we aren’t the only ones who do this.  Pro sports are classic for overpaying talent.  You sign a player to what looks like a great deal, but by year 4 or 5 all of sudden you wonder how do we get rid of this stiff!

This happened recently with the NFL’s Houston Texan’s in the signing of Brock Osweiler. Osweiler played great for a few games with the Denver Bronco’s behind an injured Peyton Manning, and when Osweiler became a free agent the Texan’s offered him a four-year, $72 million dollar contract.

He then fell to earth and showed his short success in Denver wasn’t a trend as he performed way below average and the Texan’s were forced to trade him to Cleveland in hopes of salvaging anything from this bad signing.

Let’s assume your overpaid employee isn’t horrible but has become just average.  Sound familiar?

How do you get rid of an overpaid, high priced, average employee?  I’ve got a few ideas:

1. Buy Out/Severance/Job Elimination – These aren’t all the same but these can be used to help you with this issue. For those HR Pros who have never used these options, you’re missing out.  Let’s be clear, it costs money but it also gives you legal protection and gets rid of a problem very quickly. Don’t blow this option off, you would be shocked at what amounts of money an employee would accept to go away.  Start low in your negotiations! Make sure you work with legal to get the right paperwork drawn up to protect yourself against future litigation!

(I’ve been able to get middle management levels folks to go away for $25K!  A huge positive impact with the team, productivity, engagement, etc.  Best $25K I’ve ever spent)

2. Put them in a box – Most of our leadership teams suck at accountability. To get rid of an overpaid person you need to turn up the accountability to an uncomfortable level. This usually pushes them out the door. You can’t let off the gas with this tactic. You really have to follow up on the accountability until the person bails.  This can be painful and loud, and usually isn’t the cleanest way to get rid of person. If they’re smart, they’ll know exactly what you’re doing and could cause further problems then your overpay issue! Ironically, most HR Pros use this technique, over all else.

3. The Breakup Conversation – I’ve also had some good success having the breakup conversation.  Face-to-face, nothing in writing, close the door and just get ‘real’.  “Tim, we need to talk. You’re making $20K more than the next highest person on the team, and you’re not delivering that level of compensation.  We’ve got to do something. That could be you leaving in some form, or what do you think?”

I’ve been amazed what my overpaid workers have come up with in terms of possible solutions.  I’ve had people retire after these conversations. They’ve put themselves into a tighter box than I ever would have created. They even offered up taking a pay cut because they love the company and the job and realize ‘we’ made an error and it’s become a problem.  I’ll be honest, in my career pay cuts rarely work out so be cautious using them, but breakup conversations can lead you to a solution!

There’s No Test for Grace Under Pressure

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By now you’ve all seen and heard what happened at the 2017 Academy Awards. It’s the end of the night where they announce the biggest award, Best Picture, and those announcing the award were given the wrong envelope, so the wrong movie gets announce. Mass confusion and you can see here what happens:

Jordan Horowitz, the Producer of La La Land, was put in the most extremely embarrassing situation most of us could imagine. 120 Million people on live television have just witnessed his greatest triumph turn into defeat in a matter of seconds.

How would you have handled this?

Jordan handled it with complete grace. There’s nothing that prepares you for being in an awkward time like this. His first thought was only to congratulate the true winners. I can’t even imagine how hard that was, but for him, it wasn’t. It was his true being, his natural state. If that happened to Jordan a thousand times, he’s most likely always be gracious.

Grace under pressure is such a wonderful trait to have in your character. I honestly can tell you I don’t have this grace, and I’m ashamed by that.

In 2006 I was working for Applebee’s and we had this huge leadership meeting. Probably a thousand employees in attendance and they gave out annual awards for top performing regions. My region was number one in all three main areas: Operations, HR, and Training. The winners got an award and a Rolex watch. Boy, I couldn’t wait to put on that watch!

The night went along and our operations leader accepted his award and watch. My training partner accepted her award and watch. Then it came time for HR! Our VP of HR got up there on stage. I straightened my shirt, cleared my throat, and oh no you didn’t just say what I thought you said, another name, not my name, I don’t understand, why is everyone telling me they’re sorry, what the fuck just happened!

The award was given to another deserving HR pro who improved their region a significant amount. She wasn’t number one like I had been back-to-back years, but who’s counting. I was counting! That’s who! I was pissed with a capital P. I excused myself from the ballroom and walked out.

I was not graceful. I was embarrassed. I was hurt. I let that VP have it as soon as he found me. I was not someone I ever wanted to be in that moment.

Grace is a funny thing. We all want it. We all think we have it. But until you’re actually put in a position to show it, you truly don’t know if you have it.

Shout out to JP! You screwing me out of that Rolex still stings! By the way, I was number one in HR metrics for a third straight year the next year, but the company decided to end doing awards that way. Man, I really wanted that Rolex! In hindsight, I wish I would have had the grace, like Jordan.

 

Free Frozen Yogurt is Always a Great Union Buster!

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If you’ve read any of my posts over the past five years you know I really don’t think too highly of unions. Unions today, especially the UAW, are basically in bed with major corporations, doing almost nothing for the members that pay their dues and keep them in business. Which is why I loved Elon Musk’s response when the UAW came knocking on Tesla’s door.

The Tesla CEO also lambasted the efforts of the United Auto Workers union to unionize Tesla employees at the company’s factory in Fremont, California, calling the organization’s tactics for doing so “disingenuous or outright false.” Musk alleged that the UAW’s “true allegiance is to the giant car companies, where the money they take from employees in dues is vastly more than they could ever make from Tesla.”…

Musk’s email includes a point-by-point rebuttal of a number of Moran’s claims. Regarding long hours, Musk said overtime has actually decreased by 50% in the last year, and that the average employee worked 43 hours a week. Regarding compensation, he noted that Tesla factory workers earn equity, and therefore, over a four-year period, earned “between $70,000 and $100,000 more in total compensation than the employees at other US auto companies.” On issues of safety, Musk said Tesla’s incident rate is less than half the industry average, and noted that the goal is to be “as close to zero injuries as possible.”

“There will also be little things that come along like free frozen yogurt stands scattered around the factory and my personal favorite: a Tesla electric pod car roller coaster (with an optional loop the loop route, of course!) that will allow fast and fun travel throughout our Fremont campus, dipping in and out of the factory and connecting all the parking lots,” Musk wrote. “It’s going to get crazy good.”

Don’t underestimate the power of free frozen yogurt and roller coaster rides through the factory!

Unions prey on your employees who are disgruntled. We all have them and there’s really nothing you can do about it. What you can do is continue to provide great communications to your employees about what being union-free means to them as workers, and what it doesn’t mean.

Unions lose their power the more your workers are actually educated. When they know the facts (not the alternate facts!) about what truly happens in today’s world when a union takes over a plant. This isn’t the 1940s. Most organizations today, and for sure Tesla, are competing for the best talent against their competition. This forces them to be competitive with wages, benefits and even frozen yogurt.

Where most of us fail in leadership, and this is traditionally how most organizations worked to remain union-free, was you became Fight Club! The first rule in being union-free, is to not talk about being union-free, especially with employees! This actually puts you a catch up role and you look behind the eight ball when unions come knocking.

All of sudden they have the upper hand, because you allowed them to talk about unions with your employees first, so your employees are naturally going to believe them over you. If this isn’t a big deal, why weren’t you talking to us about it?!

I think most employees today get that voting a union in your shop isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. You have to have a really bad work environment for anything to substantially change. What most workers today see when a union is voted in is the immediate payment of dues, and not much more!

How to Create an Employee Handbook that Doesn’t Suck!

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At every single company I’ve ever worked for, at some point in my tenure, I’ve gotten yanked into helping in some way rewrite the employee handbook. I’m sure most HR pros have been in the same boat!

There’s really only two camps when it comes to employee handbooks:

Camp #1 – We’ve had the same employee handbook since the beginning of time. It’s written on stone tablets.

Camp #2 – We rewrite our employee handbook each year because it’s the most important document on the planet.

The problem is both camps usually write the employee handbook that reads like a welcome packet to prison! If you forced candidates to read your employee handbook before actually accepting a position with your company 99% would decline your offer!

Gusto, an SMB HRIS provider, recently sent me a copy of a 54-page guide they put together to help organizations develop an Employee Handbook that is actually readable and engaging for your employee. It’s a really solid resource and after reading it, I’ll also pass along some of my own advice on how you can make your Employee Handbook not Suck:

1. Tell Your Story. If you can write your employee handbook in story fashion, people will actually read it. I know, I know, that takes creativity and you’re in HR and not creative! Someone in your organization is a storyteller. Have them help on the story, and you help on all the details you need to make sure get into the handbook.

2. Give them the ‘why’. We put some really dumb rules in our handbook that don’t seem to make any sense. Just give them the why. It might not make the rule any less dumb, but at least they’ll know. “No sock Thursday is because our CEO has an ankle fetish. Yeah, we know it’s weird, but it is what it is.”

3. Engage a graphic designer. Color and pictures matter to the readability of your handbook. Make it look pretty and engaging and that might cover up some of the boredom of the legalize we are required to put in our employee handbooks.

4. Use your handbook to communicate your culture. Your real culture. Don’t have a funny and engaging handbook when you have a buttoned-up culture, it sends a mix message. Also, don’t write this boring legal document of a handbook if you have “No Pants Wednesdays” in your office. It doesn’t fit your culture!

Gusto is giving their Handbook How-To Guide out for free in a download. Check it out, it has some really good information. They didn’t pay me to say this, I just liked it and wanted to share (that shouldn’t stop them from sending me these new Nike LunarEpic Low Flyknit 2‘s in size 9 as a thank you!).

 

 

Why do you still give out performance ratings?

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Let me give you a quick breakdown of how 100% of your employees feel about the performance rating they will receive this year:

Performance Rating on a 1 (you suck and should be shot) to 5 (we couldn’t live without you): 

Rating of 5 – 

The message you were trying to send: “We value your contribution. You go above and beyond. You are a top employee. Keep up the great work. We hope others follow your example.” 

The message the employee actually received: “Yeah, I know I’m the best, and now you better pay me or I’ll take this awesomeness on the road to someone who appreciates it!” 

Rating of 4 – 

The message you were trying to send: “You really increased your performance this year. We love having you on the team. There are still some things you can do to be great.”

The message the employee actually received: “Why am I not a 5!? What the hell! I’m way better than every other person on this team. You suck, this job sucks, I knew I should have worked at the other place.” 

Rating of 3 – 

The message you were trying to send: “You’re meeting expectations for the position. We are thankful for that and your input to the team. We would love to help you strive to reach your goals with us and we have some suggestions.” 

The message the employee actually received: “Why do you hate me? I’ve given you everything. I bleed for this company and this is how I’m treated? I better than most people on this team!” 

Rating of 2 – 

The message you were trying to send: “You’re underperforming for the position, but we really think we can help you reach your potential. We have a plan that will take you to the top if you decide that’s what you want to do, and we want to support you in reaching it.” 

The message the employee actually received: “So, this is my 90-day notice? You’re basically paying me to look for a new job, that’s cool. I wasn’t really feeling this one anyway.” 

Rating of 1 – 

The message you were trying to send: “Look this isn’t working out. You aren’t doing the job you were hired to do and we need that to happen immediately, or else. Are we clear?” 

The message the employee actually received: “So, I’m not fired?! Awesome! Can I now go back to not doing the job and you still paying me? Cool!” 

You don’t need an employee rating system! Employee rating systems are your home phone land line. You’ve had it for so long and although you rarely ever use it, you just can’t give it up!

We know that the rating systems do almost nothing but cause problems with morale. We use them because we can’t trust our hiring managers to give out raises fairly and equitably. So, a five gets a four percent increase, and a four gets a three percent increase, and…

The reality is study after study has told us for decades to not tie performance ratings to pay increases. Set job-related metrics and goals, and tie your pay increases to those. These are many times different than actual performance in the job.

So, how do you replace your ratings? Force your managers of people to make actual measurable items of performance and then create a framework of conversations on an ongoing basis around expectations, metrics and development. If an employee wants to make more money in a position, it shouldn’t be about being better than another employee, it should be about reaching measurables that are more valuable to the organization.

Your rating system system, is basically worthless.

 

The Single Point of Failure in Your Candidate Experience #TheCandEs

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The Talent Board (founders of the CandE Awards for the employers with the best candidate experience) recently released their 2016 Talent Board North American Candidate Experience Awards Research Report. This report is well written, packed with exceptional data, and one that I look forward to reading each year.

As you think about your own candidate experience, and as I read this report, one thing screamed out from the pages:

Dispositioning Still Sucks!

From the report:

Disposition Communication Is Still a Struggle. In 2016, 47 percent of candidates were still waiting to hear back from employers more than two months after they applied. Plus, only 20 percent of candidates received an email from a recruiter or hiring manager notifying them they were not being considered, and only 8 percent received a phone call from a recruiter or hiring manager notifying them they were not being considered…

What Candidates Want After six years of candidate experience research, candidates still have one basic expectation of employers when it comes to screening: feedback and communication. Screening and dispositioning is one of the most intimidating aspects of the recruitment process as the majority of candidates do not get the job…Sixty-five percent of candidates receive no feedback after they are dispositioned and only four percent of candidates were asked for direct feedback during dispositioning

Candidate experience is a bit like going to that new restaurant in town. You’ve heard good things. You’ve seen some marketing. It looks awesome from the outside, so you decide to give it a try. Reservations were a snap and easy to do. You get sat almost immediately. Wait staff is tremendous. The menu is easy to understand and enticing. The food comes and it’s brilliant.

You almost can’t believe a place could be this good. You decide you must try the dessert. So, you order it and it comes out. The first bite is taken and it tastes like you have a mouth full of crap! It’s the worst! Oh lord, I’ll never forget that taste!

This is your dispositioning in your candidate experience. It doesn’t matter how good you do on all the steps if you don’t awful on the last step. Still, most of us still suck at dispositioning. It’s the single point of failure on almost every organization’s candidate experience.

Dispositioning sucks so bad, we call it dispositioning! Candidates don’t call it dispositioning. The real world doesn’t call it dispositioning. It’s called, “sorry, you suck, we selected someone we liked way, way better than you”.

So, what can you do about it?

First, you must understand why it is you suck at this. The majority of the people in the world hate conflict. They’ll do anything to avoid it. Telling someone they won’t get a job they applied for, that they truly believe they’re the best for, is big time conflict! HR and Talent Acquisition professionals based on their career path, are probably even at a higher percentage of being conflict avoidant.

Once you come to grips with this, you can design a dispositioning process that actually works for both sides. The other part is to understand the goal of dispositioning is to not make someone happy or satisfied because they won’t be, it’s to inform and educate. Your measures, then, around dispositioning measure those facts, not satisfaction.

I’ve never met someone who didn’t get a job they really wanted and they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘happy’. No, they were pissed and couldn’t understand why. This is why dispositioning, and the measurement of, is so difficult.

Here’s what I would do: 

  1. Set realistic goals around dispositioning. “We will let each person know if they got the job or didn’t within one week of the position being filled.”
  2. Find a process that communicates this message in the best way for the level of position and interaction with the organization. Mass apply positions with no interview, probably is best through email or SMS. High-level white collar job that went three interviews deep, yeah, that gal better receive a phone call and explanation.
  3. Pick people to communicate that have been trained on how to give dispositioning feedback to candidates.
  4. Let everyone know in your company how this looks, since most of your best hires come through referrals, most of your worst dispositions come through referrals.
  5. Spell out your dispositioning process to candidates up front.