Archives for July 2016

If you live and work in Europe, you are surviving the very high noise level caused by Brexit.

If you live in North America, you are doomed until November to suffer the racket kicked up by the reality show Presidential Elections produced by the Ringling Bros.

In France and Germany, it’s your turn next year.

This is about as much distraction as a human can bear.  A challenge each of us will have sooner or later is to not let it divert our attention.   As a public service, here are a few coaching suggestions that you may find helpful.

Understand what is important.  There will be lots of distractions.  Some may truly be important to you; others, just confusing.  Don’t get drawn into long conversations without understanding it is happening.

Focus.  Don’t let the noise of politics distract you from what is really important.  Most of us will spend some time keeping up with what is happening, based upon how much time we believe reasonable.  There are still things that we need to accomplish in the next few months and we have to keep them in the forefront.

Understand what is in your control.  If you spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about political issues, how can you do what you believe is really important – whether running a business or finding a job?  Be mindful of how you spend your time – you do control this.  You make the decision to involve yourself in conversations or watch a news program.  You control the power button!  Know when to use it.

Walk away from it.  Political discussions can consume a great deal of energy.  This election-heavy time frame has the potential to generate more emotions than any within recent history.  Understand when it is important to move on, not winning or losing, or even getting a point of view accepted, but simply because you have invested all the energy that is currently prudent.

Keep things in perspective.  The above points should help you be productive during this next few months, perhaps accomplishing more than many.

Move on!

There should be very few people left who do not believe in assessments when they are hiring a senior level or key replacement.

They would include people who do not appreciate the true cost of a failed C-level hire (46% of whom will indeed fail within 18 months); people who still think it is a hirer’s market out there (which it hasn’t been for a decade); or people who still rely on a gut feeling or hire on a hunch.

Others, notably the best-in-class crowd, consistently use assessments and recognize that they are indispensable in finding and confirming high potential talent.

Assessments today are extremely sophisticated and claim a long line of benefits resulting from intelligent application.    Today’s psychometric are powerful and measure potential in many different ways that will enhance productivity and reduce the cost of hiring

However, don’t try this at home.  Advanced procedures require in-depth training both to apply and interpret, meaning you should be satisfied about your recruiter’s certification before proceeding.

A while back, the Aberdeen Group ran a blog post listing the five top reasons you should be using assessments.

  Here they are:

1. Data Trumps Hunches, Always.

With the power of measurable data on your candidates at your fingertips, gone are the days of making a decision on a gut feeling or a hunch. Interviews – which are difficult to keep strictly standardized – can’t effectively be used alone in making hiring decisions.

2. You Can Measure the Whole Person.

Intelligence and prior work history are not the only factors you should consider! Assessments can provide a thorough understanding of the (4) important facets in seeking the right candidate for a particular role: Can Do, Will Do, Will Fit, and Can Lead.

3. Effective Talent Measurement Can Increase Legal Defensibility.

By using a more standardized, objective approach to hiring through the use of assessments, you can make a more unbiased apples-to-apples comparison between various candidates. Validation data can be used to make sure that the assessments you’re using are good predictors for success in a specific job.

4. Assessments Yield a “Prescription” for Development Programs.

If you don’t fully understand an employee’s strengths and weaknesses in the beginning, how can you build a meaningful development plan or identify high potential and leadership candidates? By using assessment data collected during hiring, you’ll be ready to engage your new employee in a tailored development program.

5. You Can’t Afford Not To.

It’s more than just the team’s morale that takes a blow when you hire or promote the wrong person. Studies show it could cost up to 150% of that person’s salary to replace them.

You can read the full post here