Tag: Employment Value Proposition

The Truth About Older (50+) Salespeople

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Diversity, Employment Retention, Employment Value Proposition, Generational Gap, Hiring, Interviewing, Latest News and Articles, Millennials, Workforce Cuture

Wisdom is the knowledge base that will assist our future leaders.

Imagine if you will a time when you are getting a little bit older, a touch grayer and you start reflecting on what are you going to do when you get too mature for the industry you are in.

I have always had this question, but never bold enough to write about it. I’ve had a lot of opinions on this as the market is getting younger by the minute. People want to put millennials on pedestals and assume they are the next coming of…well whatever. I do not. But what I do say is they are dang smart. We Xers can learn tons from them.

The problem, however, is they lack the experience of hitting a curve ball. This can be taught of course, but won’t happen until they have failed a number of times. Knowledge and wisdom come from experience, not case studies.

I don’t fear getting older. I love it. I don’t fear millennials, I encourage them. 1+1 = power. Let’s embrace learning from one another. By the way, I am not 50+!!!

~The Organic Recruiter

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The Truth About Older (50+) Salespeople

 | Technology Sales Author, Sales Researcher, Founder Heavy Hitter Sales Training, USC Faculty

It is still hard times for salespeople (and sales managers) over 50 today. When companies downsize, they find themselves five times more likely to be let go when compared to their younger counterparts. They also have a more difficult time finding new jobs because younger sales managers have five basic fears about hiring someone older than themselves:

They are Un-coachable. Younger sales managers fear older salespeople are set in their ways and won’t take their directions.

They aren’t Technically Savvy. Younger sales managers fear they haven’t ingrained technology (smartphones, e-mail, and web-based sales force automation) into their daily working routine (nor are they up-to-date on the internet, social media, etc.).

They are “Washed Up.” Younger sales managers fear older reps are burned out from too many years “carrying the bag.”

They Have a Poor Work Ethic.  For a variety of family, personal, or health reasons, younger sales managers question how hard they will work.

They Really Want My Job! Perhaps the biggest fear of a younger manager is that he is hiring someone who may upstage him or her in the eyes of senior management in order to fulfill an ulterior motive of taking over their job.

Given these fears, I would like to offer five factors sales managers should consider when choosing between younger and more senior salespeople.

  1. Do you have to Sell to the C-Level? The C-level Executive sell is based upon establishing credibility and trust. Who do think has an easier time establishing rapport with senior executives; a 26 or 56 year old salesperson?
  2. It’s about relationships (not Rolodexes). Never hire any salesperson solely based on their Rolodex (if you’re under 30 you might have to look this word up) of customer contacts they claim to possess. Hire the salesperson who has a successful track record at penetrating new accounts and proven their ability of turning aloof prospects into close friends.
  3. Wit. Most companies make previous experience in the same industry their main criterion for hiring. Since these salespeople command the industry nomenclature, they are assumed to be qualified candidates. A more important hiring criterion is how candidates respond to pressure. In other words, how quick-witted or fast on their feet are they? What is their ability to learn quickly? Are they able to solve complex problems in real time? In this regard, don’t judge a book by its cover and assume a little gray hair means a lot less grey matter.
  4. Sales is a Mentor-based Profession. Sales organizations are mentor-based environments. Inexperienced salespeople don’t know what they haven’t seen for themselves. Usually, it’s through the “school of hard knocks” that they gain their experience. Unfortunately, this takes time. The entire sales team can benefit from emulating salespeople who have accumulated a reservoir of experience working with customers.
  5. Who Do You Trust!?! Peek into the cockpit as you board your next commercial flight. Chances are you are putting your life in the hands of one of the 70,000 airline pilots that are over 50 years old.

About the Author:  Steve W. Martin is the author of the “Heavy Hitter” series of books for senior salespeople on the human nature of complex sales. The Heavy Hitter corporate sales training program has helped over 100,000 salespeople become top revenue producers. Steve is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review and he teaches at the University of Southern California Marshall Business School MBA program. Visit www.stevewmartin.com to learn more.

THE 10 BEST INTERVIEW QUESTIONS TO ASK

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Employment Value Proposition, Hiring, Interviewing, Latest News and Articles, New Job

by Dona DeZube, President at DeZube Publications Corp.

No one wants to be told they sound like a broken record, so I won’t say that to you. I will however share with you why these questions will streamline your interview process and allow the best to be identified faster.  Remember, your candidates have been to this rodeo before.

If you are new to recruiter or a recruitment Jedi, I am here to tell you there is no perfect way to interview, but asking the wrong questions make your Time-to-Fill longer and you frustrate the hiring managers with not-so-good candidates.  My hope is you can pepper in a few, if not all, of these questions in your game. ~The Organic Recruiter

The best interview questions tell you about the person behind the resume, revealing the job candidate’s personality, strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, skills and abilities. The best interview questions also benefit job seekers by giving them an opportunity to speak to details that don’t fit on a resume.

While a savvy interviewer always includes questions tailored to the position, our list of the 10 best questions works across a variety of industries and job descriptions:

  1. From everything you’ve learned about this role, me and our company, tell me how you feel you’d make a contribution.

This interview question sorts people into two categories: contenders and also-rans.

  1. Why should we hire you?

This sets them apart from the intense competition in today’s job market.

Faced with a big stack of resumes telling a similar story, this question helps you determine the best candidate.

An interviewee who does a great job explaining how her unique experience, education, industry credentials, and personal interests will power your business will do the same thing for your company once hired. 

If you could start your career over again, what would you do differently?

Asking a candidate to explain the major decisions he has made, highlighting the positive and negative, reveals the person’s ability to make calculated decisions based on past professional and personal experiences.

It also lets candidates share their vision for the future and their ambitions.

  1. When I contact your last supervisor and ask which area of your work needs the most improvement, what will I learn?

“No amount of finesse will influence this answer because when the supervisor is brought into the conversation, the candidate knows the truth will come out anyway. Essentially, it’s the same question as ‘what is your biggest weakness,’ phrased in an unexpected way.”

  1. Describe the best boss you ever reported to.

This is a great interview question because it tells you about past relationships.

 Tell me about what motivates you. 

If what drives the interviewee matches the position and your corporate culture, you have a winner.

  1. What frustrates you?

When the candidate then talks about past frustrations, he reveals details about his personality, diplomacy skills and ability to work on teams.

  1. Tell me about the toughest negotiation you’ve ever been in.

The best negotiators answer this question by laying out both sides of the problem and then explaining how they aligned the issues or followed a process to a mutually-agreeable solution.

  1. How do you involve your staff when an important company strategy decision needed to be made? 

The candidate’s answer tells you whether a manager is secure enough to involve others in strategic decision-making, says Jayne Mattson, senior vice president, Keystone Associates, Boston, a career management firm.

  1. Where do you see yourself in five years?

With this question, it’s not what the candidate says but how she says it that’s important, says Joey V. Price, CEO of Jumpstart HR, a managed HR services firm in Washington, D.C.

“If you see someone’s eyes light up at the thought of the future, then you can tell this is a very ambitious person who knows where they want to go and will do everything in their power to help ensure your organization gets them there.”

For the complete article – http://bit.ly/10bestInterviewquestions

WHAT ATTRACTS THE BEST EMPLOYEES TO A COMPANY?

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Employment Retention, Employment Value Proposition, Latest News and Articles

by Brandon Rigoni and Bailey Nelson | February 16th 2016

With the creation of such sites as Indeed’s Forums and Glassdoor, employees have had vehicles to share the good the bad and the ugly about the companies they work for.  This has become damaging to companies as they have now lost control of their Employment Value Proposition or their Why People Want to Work Here statements.  This can cost a lot of money for employee retention, attraction and in many cases loss in revenue.  But you do not have to leave this in the hands of the forums and blog sites. We can help you here. What are you doing today to keep a good employment brand? ~The Organic Recruiter

 Highlights of this article:

  • First, companies need to study their best performers
  • A strong employee value proposition attracts talent
  • An effective EVP sets a company apart

When leaders see their best performers achieve business outcomes, they no doubt wish they could get more similarly talented people to apply to and join their company.

Apple’s brilliantly defined employment brand not only speaks to people with a strong desire to learn and grow, but also says a lot about the company’s culture and what it values.

Gallup meta-analysis results suggest that when companies select the top 20% most talented candidates for a role, they frequently realize a 10% increase in productivity, a 20% increase in sales, a 30% increase in profitability, a 10% decrease in turnover and a 25% decrease in unscheduled absences.

Best Practices From Companies With Strong EVPs The right talent selection and management practices offer a powerful approach to human capital that should be central to any leader’s business strategy.

Companies with the very best EVPs apply the following best practices:

  • They understand their best performers
  • They connect their applicant messages to their culture
  • They differentiate themselves from the competition

Companies can use an evidence-based approach to develop a definitive guide for attracting applicants with the most potential to thrive.

Just because a candidate has the talent to be a top performer in a role doesn’t mean he or she is a good fit for a company’s organizational culture.

A company’s applicant attraction message should help it stand out from its competitors and provide potential hires with compelling reasons to choose the company as a workplace.

To ensure companies are differentiating themselves, they need to analyze their employment brand’s effectiveness and authenticity and then compare their brand with competitors’ to capitalize on differentiators.

When a company’s EVP highlights the company’s unique qualities, it can set the business apart, win the attention of desirable applicants and promote the company’s brand.

The company discovered that candidates who were more likely to have successful careers after they were hired were the ones most excited during their interviews about future-oriented aspects of the job, such as opportunities to learn and grow and to advance in their careers.

Even though the company pays very well, its job ads don’t mention compensation because it would attract the wrong kind of applicant.

Companies spend a lot of time and money on marketing campaigns to attract loyal customers.

Studying top performers is a necessary first step; leaders then need to craft an EVP that accurately reflects their company’s culture and sets it apart from the competition.

With the right type of applicant knocking at a company’s door, leaders can be more selective about whom they hire, and they can fill every position with someone who is the right fit. When leaders focus on attracting a large quantity of applicants rather than on attracting high-quality applicants, however, they miss the mark significantly.

With the right type of applicant knocking at a company’s door, leaders can be more selective about whom they hire, and they can fill every position with someone who is the right fit. ~full article

For case-studies, please call or email me today

YOU CAN’T KEEP FAKING IT! 3 WAYS TO FULLY COMMIT TO MAKING SUCCESSFUL CHANGE

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Employment Retention, Employment Value Proposition, Latest News and Articles

By Scott Span | February 5, 2016

Often, we talk to customers about their EVP (Employment Value Proposition) or rather why does someone want to work for you and they say…well we are working on that.  I find that when I hear that, they really aren’t working on that and telling stakeholders they’re getting to it. I believe its more paralysis by analysis, therefore perpetuating the problem of why it’s so hard to retain or recruit great talent.  If we keep faking it, we’ll only be fake and employees and job seekers can smell it a mile away ~The Organic Recruiter

Stop faking change! Stop paying it lip service and not taking supporting actions. Commit to change or don’t even bother. Change is hard. I write about it a lot because how you navigate change impacts whether you will succeed or fail.

It doesn’t need to be costly or painful

Because change is hard, all too often organizations fake change. That means this: They expect change to happen in an environment where they are unwilling to commit to the support needed to make the change a success – unwilling to change processes, culture, strategy and the way they work.

Sounds counter-intuitive, right?

It is. And it’s costing your organization productivity, performance and profit.

Organizational problems are linked together, and change in one area often impacts other areas. New business initiatives, new technology, new processes and procedures, leadership changes – all require new behaviors and ways of doing things.

Organizational change is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean it has to be painful or costly. So how do you stop faking change?  First you need to acknowledge how you’re faking change before you can fix it.

You really gotta walk the walk

Communication is a key part of managing change. Are you really providing supporting processes, structures, and culture for open and honest communication? Are you sending the right messages to the right audiences at the right time?

And is everyone inside the organization – from the executives down to the interns – aware of the changes, how it will impact them, and can contribute towards making the change a success?

If not, then you’re faking change. Stakeholders can tell when they’re getting lip service and it does have a negative impact on commitment. Walk the walk and lead the change effort by example.

But, it’s how we’ve always done it

Culture is the way work gets done around here.  One of the hardest parts about causing positive change is changing the status quo – how things have always been done. But you have to change if you want to be successful. You’ve got to commit to the new way – fully.

If the leaders aren’t willing to change their behaviors, or work to change the behaviors of others to support the change, then how do you expect the change effort to be successful? Your job as the leader is to lead.

You MUST make the time to be the face of the change and prioritize engaging with stakeholders. That includes leading in changing the culture if needed to support a new way of doing things.

Fix broken processes

Change in one area often impacts other areas. This requires revamping or doing away with old processes or creating new processes to support the change. You can’t keep trying to use old processes designed to support the old way of doing things and expect a new result. You should do a detailed process inventory and analysis so you have an accounting of your processes, identify which processes need attention, which may need to be created, and then communicate the changes to the team – and train them how to follow them.

The moral of the story is this: You can fake change all you want, but if you really want positive change to be a success, lip service won’t cut it. You must commit to a new way of doing things.