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November 2017

WEBINAR: The Power of Framing for HR Pros, AKA How Avoid Being A Victim...

I've been fortunate to do a number of webinars through the years.  Most of them have been about things that allow us to raise our game related to the HR services we provide to the companies we work for.

I'm doing a webinar this Thursday, November 30th at 2pm EST  - and THIS ONE IS ALL FOR YOU - NOT FOR YOUR COMPANY.

The official title is "5 Ways HR Pros Can Use “Framing” To Drive Results, Influence and Authority".  The street smart title is "Never Allow People Who Don't Respect You or HR to Use You Again".

We're talking about communications strategies to make sure you take credit for the good work you do as an HR Pro, and never get caught holding the bag of dog do again because you were too nice. Hancock

Full description below - I hope you'll join me, because I'm pretty passionate about this one.

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR BY CLICKING HERE!!

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5 Ways HR Pros Can Use “Framing” To Drive Results, Influence and Authority

The best talent – not good talent, not good to great talent, but the BEST – have one thing in common:

The most talented people consistently "frame" their goals, work and outcomes via varied communication strategies.

What is “framing”? And how can you harness its power?

Join Saba and Fistful of Talent Founder Kris Dunn as we answer those questions and more during our November 30th webinar, 5 Ways HR Pros Can Use “Framing” To Drive Results, Influence and Authority.

Gain insights into:

• How A Players use framing to communicate goals, challenges, progress, wins and finished work product.

• The importance of integrating a variety of communication techniques to enhance awareness and visibility – including face-to-face communications, email, reporting and more.

• Mastering different communications styles to influence peers, direct managers and skip-level executives in your organization.

• How effective framing leads to career opportunities and continuous development.

• How to foster the framing competency in managers and employees you serve as an HR pro.

Take control of the narrative. Register today for 5 Ways HR Pros Can Use “Framing” To Drive Results, Influence and Authority.

 

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR BY CLICKING HERE!!


Google For Jobs Launches "Job Board of Choice Apply", Throws Job Boards Big Bone...

Tracking the looming giant in the recruiting industry that is Google For Jobs can be a full-time job.  The latest is a biggie - GFJ rolled out 4 pretty important features last week, including auto-loading of salary data, bookmarking and better geographic search.  But one feature dwarfs them all - something called "Job Board of Choice Apply", described here by industry insider Joel Cheesman over at ERE:

"This update is by far the most interesting and unique to Google. Basically, if the job you’re viewing is located on multiple job boards, you can select which one you want to use when applying for a job. So, if you already have a Monster account, and have built a resume there, you can select to apply to that job via your Monster account and not, for example, through CareerBuilder or a site where you don’t have an account.

You can also opt to apply directly through a company’s ATS and bypass job boards entirely. Google doesn’t say how it decides the order, but in the screenshot, the company site comes before the job sites. (Again, it’s worth noting Indeed won’t be an option, as long as it chooses not to participate in Google for Jobs.) It’ll be interesting to see if Google will release data around the percentage of people who choose a company website versus a job site." (Capitalist note - Joel follows these trends better than anyone, so go follow him)

Job Board of Choice Apply is a big feature launch on Google For Jobs for a couple of different reasons in my eyes:

1--If you're a job board it would seem easy to wonder when Google's going to screw you and just remove you from the process.  "Job Board Choice of Apply" doesn't prevent that in the future, but Google is throwing a big bone to participating Job Boards (Indeed is the only major one not included at this point) by encouraging candidates to smoothly apply via their profile of choice on an existing platform.

2--This clutters the direct relationship you're used to with Indeed, where the traffic gets pushed directly to your careers site.  As an employer, that doesn't feel great, but at Google, it's not about you, Mr/Mrs. Employer - it's about the end user, which is the candidate.

3--You'd think as a casual observer that a candidate bypassing some of the employer careers site could save themselves time by going with the streamlined apply via a profile they have set up on a job board included on GFJ.  You might be right, you might be wrong.  I searched for jobs at at HeathSouth, then tested the job board apply to an RN position (I'd be a great nurse) via LinkedIn, only to get bogged down by a customized apply via LinkedIN process which walked me through 10+ screens and asked for analog info like my street address and home phone number.

Capitalist note - Do people still have home phone numbers?  I thought the only thing that matter was your gmail email address these days.

4--Google will eventually look at this cluster#### of bad user experience in applying for jobs (even on those job boards) and decide to take over that process for everyone.  Trust me, they'll be there. You can't be for user experience and then look at what I described on the LinkedIn auto-apply (which is not auto at all) without fixing it.  Unless it's about money, at which time all bets are off.

Screenshot of how the "Job Board Choice of Apply" options appear shown below.  Look at the row of options under the title in row marked "Apply"

"Will Jack Kevorkian please report to the ER? Consult with Mr. Indeed needed."

Google for jobs

 

 


Why Limited Feedback Points Are Crucial in Corporate Coaching...

You're a coach in the corporate world.  That means you know a lot - about a lot of things.  

It also means you've been trusted - whether formally or informally - to share your observations, thoughts and wisdom with others about their performance.  With that comes great responsibility.  I'm assuming you're good at what you do and have what it takes from a Subject Matter Expertise perspective to coach effectively.

So allow me to tell you where you're going to #### it up:

You're going to give your coaching recipient 10 things to think about the next time they perform the subject of your coaching.

Maybe 5 things.  The number is important, but also meaningless once you go above 2-3 items you attempt to coach on in a single session.  Let me explain what's out there in business books and then give you my own experience.

If you read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, you'll see the best in any field have 3 things present as they develop into world-class performers:

--They spent the time practicing - the 10,000 hour rule

--They had access to facilities/tools to practice the skill in question

--They had access to a coach/system that could provide immediate feedback

What's most interesting to me these days is the coaching part of that loop.  The older I get and the more coaching I do, the more I'm convinced that coaches have to be very selective in the feedback they give.  As SME's in whatever we do as coaches, it's easy to unload a list of things that a person should do in order to improve they next time they perform a task/service/etc.

You're a common sense person, so when I tell you "don't give the subject of coaching 10 things/points of feedback", you get it.

What if I told you that 3 points of feedback are too many? 

That's harder, right?

In my outside life away from business, I serve as a basketball shooting coach for some good to great players at a variety of ages.  The research Gladwell cited in Outliers certainly hold true for my students - they have to have a desire to put in the hours, they need access to an indoor gym and they need immediate coaching and feedback, which is where someone like me comes in.

In my basketball coaching life, experience rapidly brought me down to a coaching 3 points of feedback - base/feet, hand placement and speed through the zone/finish.  That's all I coach on, because different players have different styles and it's my job to maximize them - not change something that will take them backwards.

But experience as a coach in hoops has taught me something else - while it's OK to have culled my coaching package down to 3 things, when the player is getting reps in, 3 points of feedback is way too many.

What I've learned is that I can go into a coaching session thinking that we need to work on two of the three, but on a rep by rep basis, I can only give feedback on one.

One point of feedback per rep.

If I give feedback on more than one point of my package, it becomes so overwhelming to the recipient - you guessed it - improves on nothing at times during the session.

You're a good coach in the corporate world.  Check yourself before you wreck yourself when it comes to how you give feedback.

Coaching more than one point of feedback in a session?  It's bad for everyone's health.

 


VIDEO: Dealing with Sidetracks In Coaching Conversations...

Featured today - an interview I did with Tim Sackett for Talent Talks (a great series brought to you by Saba Software) on Dealing with Sidetracks in Coaching Conversations...

You know what sidetracks are even if you don't know them by name...  You know you need to coach a direct report on an issue, so you engage, only to get blown back by the employee with all the reasons the current situation (the one you're coaching on) exists.. It's them, it's their tools, hell, it's even you.

Yes, you! Sidetracks are so dynamic your direct reports can use them to throw you under the bus!!

Take a look at the video below (email subscribers may need to click through to see player) for ideas on how to deal with sidetracks.  If you like what you see, make sure to visit Saba Software- and don't forget to like the video or throw us a comment!


UBER: These Are My Values. There Are Many Like Them, But These Are Mine...

"This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine"

--partial quote from the Rifleman's Creed (USMC), popularized in the movie Full Metal Jacket (click for video)

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It's hard to make sure cultural values stand out as a company.

Sometimes it's better that they just blend in and sound like everyone else's.  That's what's going on at Uber. Uber

It's been two months since Dara Khosrowshahi began his reign as Uber's new CEO, and like most new CEOs, he's on the listening trail, hearing the good, the bad and the ugly. and as the new CEO of Uber, that listening tour is probably more important than it is at most companies...

First on the agenda - rounding off the edges of a hard knock culture.  That's why DK's post on LinkedIn on Tuesday is so fascinating.

"It’s also clear that the culture and approach that got Uber where it is today is not what will get us to the next level. As we move from an era of growth at all costs to one of responsible growth, our culture needs to evolve," he wrote in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday.

To create new cultural values, some 1,200 employees sent in submission suggestions that were voted on more than 22,000 times, he wrote. Uber followed that up with 20 focus groups.

During the listening tour, Uber asked employees to tell company management what the new norms of corporate culture should be.   From the new CEO's LinkedIn post announcing the new cultural norms at Uber :

Uber’s Cultural Norms

We build globally, we live locally. We harness the power and scale of our global operations to deeply connect with the cities, communities, drivers and riders that we serve, every day.

We are customer obsessed. We work tirelessly to earn our customers’ trust and business by solving their problems, maximizing their earnings or lowering their costs. We surprise and delight them. We make short-term sacrifices for a lifetime of loyalty.

We celebrate differences. We stand apart from the average. We ensure people of diverse backgrounds feel welcome. We encourage different opinions and approaches to be heard, and then we come together and build.

We do the right thing. Period.

We act like owners. We seek out problems and we solve them. We help each other and those who matter to us. We have a bias for action and accountability. We finish what we start and we build Uber to last. And when we make mistakes, we’ll own up to them.

We persevere. We believe in the power of grit. We don’t seek the easy path. We look for the toughest challenges and we push. Our collective resilience is our secret weapon.

We value ideas over hierarchy. We believe that the best ideas can come from anywhere, both inside and outside our company. Our job is to seek out those ideas, to shape and improve them through candid debate, and to take them from concept to action.

We make big bold bets. Sometimes we fail, but failure makes us smarter. We get back up, we make the next bet, and we go!

The note from Uber's new CEO also holds special contempt for something called "toe-stepping." Toe-stepping' was meant to encourage employees to share their ideas regardless of their seniority or position in the company, but too often it was used [as] an excuse for being an a--hole," Khosrowshahi wrote.

What made Uber special was a Viking/Pirate mentality to markets and business obstacles.  That Viking mentality spilled over to the workplace, which is why you see the post-scandal change to the values.

Toe-stepping is required when a city council tries to keep a revolutionary idea out of their city.  It's a problem when it spills over in the workplace via a climate where harassment is OK.

Can Uber remain special as their culture become nicer?  I think it can.  They just are 2-3 years to late with the change.  It will be interesting to watch.  

 


Let's Hangout and Talk - Google Jobs and Recruitment Marketing Spend...

What's up, fellow HR Capitalists?  I had the chance to speak this fall for Jobvite at something called the Recruiter Nation Live Roadshow.  Had a great time and met some great Talent Acquisition leaders, HR pros and Recruiters as a result.  

The energy was so good, we decided to do a hangout series monthly with Jobvite at my other site (Fistful of Talent).  It's going to be an informal 20-30 minute thing, and I'm joined this month by Tim Sackett, topic is how to figure out Google for Jobs, what's up with your recruitment marketing spend as a result, etc.

Stay ahead of the curve and join us - click the link below.  It won't be too formal and if you're interested in coming on and asking a question, let me know that as well.

It all goes down next Tuesday, 11/14 at 1pm EST.  Click below, register and join us!!!

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The Recruiter Nation Live Hangout Series - With Jobvite and Fistful of Talent!

Our first hangout is at 1pm ET on Tuesday, November 14th 

Google for Jobs/ROI of Recruitment Marketing Spend! What You Need to Know to Look Smart!!
 
REGISTER FOR THE HANGOUT BY CLICKING THIS LINK!!!

If you’re a client or follower of Jobvite, you know the Recruiter Nation Live series.  It started with the Recruiter Nation Live Conference in San Francisco last June, and continued with the Recruiter Nation Live Roadshow that brought real recruiter talk to 9 cities in North America over the last three months. 
 
The feedback was great – you loved it, so we’re back with the latest in the series – the Recruiter Nation Live Hangout Series.  Once a month, we’ll be hosting a Google Hangout designed to keep the conversation among recruiters going – focused on things you can use, like the best-kept secrets of today’s smartest and most efficient recruiters, Jedi-mind tricks proven to make you more persuasive/ get great candidate response and strategies to hold your hiring managers accountable for their choices–so everyone wins.
 
Our first hangout is at 1pm ET on Tuesday, November 14th and will be hosted by Kris Dunn and Tim Sackett, focused on the following juicy topic:
 
Google for Jobs/ROI of Recruitment Marketing Spend! What You Need to Know to Look Smart!!
 
REGISTER FOR THE HANGOUT BY CLICKING THIS LINK!!!

Let’s have some fun and learn from each other at the same time.  See you at 1pm ET on November 14th!!!


The Power of Self-Diagnosis In Corporate Coaching...

We've all been there as coaches in corporate America for our team.  

We know the adjustment we need our direct report to make. It's easiest to just tell them what to do with a side dish of "why". Self diagnose

That's prescriptive coaching, and it has its place.  But telling someone what to do is rarely the best path for long term results.  That's why tools I've talked about in the past, like the Please Shut Up 6-Step Coaching Tool, always involve you "shutting up" and forcing the recipient of your coaching to respond/talk/engage.

But there's a senior level to coaching strategy.  I call it Self-Diagnosis and it goes something like this:

1--You've got a long term investment in coaching someone on your team.  You've spent the time, they've heard how you want it done.  If you're really good, they feel like they have participated in that process.

2--Unfortunately, they're still ####ing it up.  They're not as good as you want them to be, especially since you've spent the time.

3--They have good intentions - they are trying, they just haven't put it together - the muscle memory isn't automatic, perhaps it's a reps (not enough practice or live situations) issue.

4--They mess it up. You want to tell them what to do.

5--You resist the urge and go into being a coach that has "self-diagnosis" as part of your package.

6--Next time the performance isn't there, instead of telling them what to do, you ask them to self diagnose what went wrong. Hopefully you've established a pattern of limited feedback points (3-4 things that they need to do given the task or situation).  The first time you ask them to self-diagnose, there will be silence - they're used to to you telling them what to do.

7--But, if you keep asking them to self diagnose, a funny thing happens - they start to develop the ability to evaluate their own performance, which is the true key to performance improvement.

Using self diagnosis is a powerful coaching tool.  You have to lay the groundwork with limited feedback points for the situation/task, as soon as you've done that, you can start using self-diagnosis.

If you haven't used self-diagnosis before, be patient.  It might take 3-4 sessions before the employee understands the expectation is clear - they have to self diagnose, and you're not going to bail them out.

You know you've won when they start self-diagnosing without you asking them to.

Or you could keep telling them what to do and see how that goes for you....

 


One Thing HR People Can Do Today - To Change How They're Viewed...

What's up, my HR leader friends?

Whether you're an HR Manager, Director or VP, I don't care - you're an HR leader.  So let's get away from titles and talk about what's real.

Some of you are process people.  Some of you hate process, but given the 900 things you have to get done this month, process feels like a decent place to settle into - until you can get back to changing the world.

Of course, just accepting the status quo - that's there's stuff we have to get done, and you're going to methodically guide your org in doing that stuff - can lead to a certain form of complacency.

If it was just your complacency, that might be OK (I would argue otherwise).  But the real danger is that the managers, directors and VPs you support get complacent with how they view HR.  It goes a little something like this:

The exec you support - "HR? Yeah, She's alright"

Interviewer - "What do you mean by that?"

Exec - "HR does what they do"

Interviewer - "Do they ever surprise you in a positive way?"

Exec - "Umm. No. Why would they do that? That's not really what HR is about"

How's that feel? Not great, right? Because you're capable of more.  You're capable of a positive surprise daily, if you could get out of your own way/task list of things to do.

That's OK, because I'm here to help.  If you want to change the way you're viewed in HR, start with this simple task:

Approach a leader today and recommend that they fire someone on their team.

I know. It's harsh.  But stay with me on this.

You know more about the organization's performance at an individual level better that anyone else.  You've likely provided counsel to leaders with performance issues on their team.  Many of you have listened and then provided counsel to the process those people have to follow related to performance issues.  A lot of times, that's reminding them of the need to go through a process.

But there's at least one person of a 100 in your company (do the math for the size of your org) who's ready to go.  There's a lot of them that are just languishing out there, waiting for closure.

When's the last time HR went to a manager in your org and said the following related to one of those issues:

"It's time. Let's get this done."

There's no reason to always be the order taker in HR.  Make a proactive call related to performance and the fact it's time for someone to leave the organization, and watch your reputation among your peers in other departments skyrocket.  It doesn't mean you have to fire fast in every occasion.  Actually, it provides you more cover when process is required, because if you're proactive with one (or some), your authority to guide others actually grows.

But this post isn't about process. It's about you feeling flat, and maybe some of your peers feeling you are flat.

Make a proactive recommendation to fire someone today.  I know that goes against the grain, but this blog is for HR pros, not the world.

Let's shake things up and make people appreciate you more.  We'll give the organization a bit of what it needs as we do that.

 

 


The Top 100 Movie Quotes for HR Pros: #74 is Billy Blaze ("I'm an idea man Chuck, I get ideas all day long. I can't control them. I can't even fight 'em")..

Recurring series at the Capitalist: The Top 100 Movie Quotes of all time for HR Pros.  In no special order, I break down the 100 movie quotes that resonate most for me as a career HR pro.  Some will be funny, some will be serious... Some will tug at your heart like when the Fox voice-over guy said, "Tonight - a very special episode of 90210"... You get the vibe... I'll do it countdown-style like they're ranked, but let's face it - they're ALL special..

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"I'm an idea man Chuck, I get ideas all day long. I can't control them. I can't even fight 'em"

--Billy Blaze in Night Shift

Today's movie quote is special - it's from employee #1 in Night Shift, Billy Blaze (played by Michael Keaton).  Billy has ideas.  He has ideas coming all day long.  

He's long on ideas, short on execution.  

Know any people like that in your organization?  Maybe it's a blowhard you need to brush back when they're critical of your team or the company at large.  Maybe it's a member of your team you need to coach on executing to a greater degree - they kind who starts a bunch of things they came up with but never sees them all the way through to fruition.  

This clip is for them.  Show it to them.  Billy Blaze had ideas. Ideas all day long. He couldn't control them. He couldn't even fight 'em.  He even had a tape recorder so he didn't lose them.

I'm long on ideas as well.  Billy Blaze keeps me grounded and humble that ideas really don't matter unless you can execute on them.  Clip below (email subscribers click through for video):