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2011 is right around the corner. What are your plans for the New Year? Will you spend it drifting aimlessly around in a boat without direction, without a destination? That doesn’t sound so great, or does it?

Many people think that with the New Year, resolutions are necessary to start the year right. But are resolutions and goals necessary. What if we went against the stream and decided to “drift” through the year?  Are there any benefits to that?

“La dolcezza di non fare niente!” I heard this Italian phrase in the movie “Eat, Pray, Love.” It means “the sweetness of doing nothing.”  I just loved that thought! The sweetness of just “being.”

I know someone who has spent many years in a high pressure job with hours of travelling and he will be attempting to spend the year living “the sweetness of doing nothing.” Can he do it? Can he adjust his mind to slow down and not solve the problems that he’s great at solving? I hope so. Sometimes “the sweetness of doing nothing” is a gift that we aren’t often open to receiving.

So this year, I’m not going to set any New Year’s resolutions, but I am going to continue to live by my words of wisdom. 

• Be kind.
• Be grateful.
• Do what you say you will do.
• Look for the positive in people and situations.
• Enjoy your food.
• Stop, look around, and live in the moment.
• “Goosefraba” – don’t let stress get to you.
• Walk often.
• Live your life (including your work) to the fullest.
• SMILE.

And “La dolcezza di non fare niente!”  (At least, whenever you can!)

Happy New Year everyone,  Joanne

One of my Christmas memories is watching my mom make Christmas shortbread cookies. As we got older, we helped mom decorate each of the cookies. The kitchen floor was covered with sprinkles and I remember one time my Dad said, “I think there are more sprinkles on the floor than on the cookies!” I don’t ever remember my Mom being upset about that.

And while neither my mom and dad are with us, they are here in spirit. The cookies in this picture were made with Mom’s shortbread cookie recipe, and the Santa in the middle was made with a cookie cutter she used for years.

The tradition has continued through the years with my children lending a hand decorating the shortbread cookies, and most recently, my sister came for a weekend to help. The sprinkles still manage to find their way to the kitchen floor.

And as I knead the dough and cut out the cookies,
I see my mom in scenes of the past.
And as I sweep the sprinkles from the floor,
I remember the words of my father.
And I smile and my heart fills up with JOY.

That is the wonder of Christmas and the Holiday season. Memories of those no longer here, surrounding us with love, and in return, spreading that love to those still with us.

May your holidays be filled with joy, shortbread cookies, and love,  

Joanne

P.S. Memories are the gifts that keep on giving – in life and at work. What’s your special holiday season memory from the workplace? Hopefully it’s a happy, healthy, and productive one!

Have you met an energy vampire? “What’s that?” – you might say. Energy vampires are people who drain the positive energy from everyone around them. The more you listen, the more they complain. Everything is negative, everything is bad, everything is someone elses fault.

How can you stop the energy vampire in mid-flight?

Try these communication tips the next time:

• Sounds like you are having a difficult time since you’ve mentioned that issue several times. (Then move on to more positive topics.)
• Have you thought about what you can do about it?
• What will happen if this continues to bother you so much? What will happen to those around you?
• I had a similar issue in a past job and I found that asking my manager for help in resolving the issues helped? (You aren’t giving advice here, but sharing what worked for you).
• The new process makes it easier for us to track and handle customer complaints. (You are reframing to help them change from negative to positive thinking).
• I find it difficult learning a new process, but it gets easier each time. (Changing focus from negative to positive).
• On one hand your are complaining about the new process, but on the other hand you are not doing anything about it. (Gentle confrontation).
• (Put your hand out and say) Stop! Only happy thoughts allowed in this area!

If the negativity persists despite your best efforts, you can take the person out for lunch or a coffee and gently reveal that the negative outlook is impacting you and others. It’s draining and tiring and you’re letting them know because you care about them. They might not even be aware of it and your thoughtful feedback could be enough to get them started in a new direction.

Eventually, if the negativity persists, it might be time to move on to more positive people.  Negativity is like a virus, it’s contagious and saps the life out of everyone. 

Why stick around with the vampires
when you can fly into the sunshine with the eagles?

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. (Wikipedia)

It is a process used to nurture and grow the potential in people. Mentors demonstrate, explain and model. Mentees observe, question, and explore. Mentors provide expertise to less experienced individuals to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their network.

Why is mentoring important to your company?

A whopping 94%of U.S. executives indicated that mentoring is important for professionals just beginning their careers (Robert Half).  Soon years of knowledge and wisdom in the minds of experienced employees will walk out the door. Establishing a mentoring program in your company will help transfer knowledge from more experienced to less experienced employees. Benefits of mentoring include:

Mentor Benefits

• Become more self-aware of your leadership and communication style
• Develop coaching skills
• Have a positive influence and impact on an individual
• Be reenergized by fresh new perspectives
• Realize personal satisfaction through sharing knowledge, skills and experience

Mentee Benefits

• Develop career goals and take action to achieve them
• Benefit from personalized, one-on-one support
• Build competence  (knowledge, skills and attributes)
• Strengthen confidence and initiative
• Learn how to mentor others

Organizational Benefits

• Transfers internal knowledge and wisdom to others
• Shortens learning cycle
• Nurtures talent for succession planning
• Builds loyalty and retention
• Helps facilitate future growth

I teach a couple of HR courses at a local college, and several students each year keep in touch after graduating. I’ve had the pleasure of informally mentoring some of them in their first HR roles. While not a formal mentoring relationship, I’m happy to take the time to help develop and see them grow their skills, knowledge, and confidence. So what do I get back? It is very gratifying to see these enthusiastic and dedicated HR professionals build and enhance their skills and careers. And their enthusiasm is contagious. It’s like I’m getting an energy recharge each time. I’m very proud of them!

If you are interested in building a mentoring program for your organization and you don’t know where to start, give us a call.

Recruiting isn’t easy and neither is selecting the best person for the job.  Using a step-by-step selection system can lead to great hiring decisions and ensure that selection is more than a gut feeling.

What is selection? Many people use the term recruitment to include the full cycle of attracting, screening, interviewing, and hiring a qualified person for the job. However, recruitment stops when a suitable number of qualified candidates are found. Selection starts when a person begins the process to decide which candidate should be hired.

Selection is a process used to decide
which candidate is the most qualified and
the best fit with the position and organization.

Selection is important because all successful organizations need qualified people to carry out its strategy. Typically the selection system or process might include the following steps:

1. Receive candidate resumes – this can be through online recruiting software, fax, email and regular mail.
2. Review resumes to screen out unsuitable candidates – a simple strategy might be the A-B-C strategy using job description and specification criteria. (C = definitely not qualified, B = maybe, A = absolutely qualified and matched). Technology can screen resumes quickly at a high level based on screening parameters set to weed out the least qualified but this may screen out qualified candidates who don’t use the correct matching terms in their resume. 
3. Conduct screening interviews – start with telephone interviews and qualifying questions to narrow down the “A” pile and progress to in-person interviews. Interview questions are developed based on the job description and job specifications.
4. Administer employment assessments – this step is often missed during the selection process. The application of assessments helps increase the chance of successful selection. Testing might include skills, knowledge, and personality assessments.
5. Conduct reference checks – this step, surprisingly, is often missed or conducted too quickly. Thorough reference checks including verification of education and credentials helps ensure successful selection.
6. Make the hiring decision – the final hiring decision is made by the “hiring” manager who is directly responsible for the hired person’s day-to-day activities. If the preceding steps are followed, the hiring decision is made using an objective approach versus “a gut feeling” or subjective approach resulting in higher success rates.
7. Measure the selection process – measuring success is important and might include assessing the quality of performance and productivity of the new hire which requires feedback from the manager, co-workers and the new hire. Measuring can also include looking at turnover rates of new hires (i.e. do they quit after one month on the job).

There you have it. Of course the duration of whole process depends on labour market realities. Choosing candidates from a large base of qualified candidates is much easier because you have the opportunity to pick and choose the best of the best, but it means having to screen more resumes. In the case of complex or highly skilled positions, there may be fewer resumes, but the selection process is still critical. In either case, it’s important to understand what the position requires (skills, knowledge, attributes) and what it’s like to work for the company (organizational culture fit). Then build the selection criteria that helps form the best hiring decision.

So if you don’t have a selection system in place, start today. Give us a call if you need assistance with selecting the best employees for your organization – we can do it for you; we can help implement a selection system for your company; and/or if training is needed – we can train you and your people how to select the most qualified person for the job!