Trust in the Workplace — Do You Have it?

In the staffing profession, we have the unique opportunity to listen to employers and employees of all sizes, in all industries at delicate cross roads. Whether an employee is considering making a move, or an employer is going to add or upgrade the competencies of its workforce, the majority of the time trust is an underlying issue that is commonly ignored. Repairing trust after organizational failures can and does positively impact moral, culture, customer experiences, and ultimately the bottom-line.

Find Your Passion

Right before I graduated from college, I started an internship with a global organization. I remained in that company for almost thirteen years and had the privilege to work in five different offices and three different countries! I was very young then and I viewed all of this as a great opportunity. What I failed to realize is that I was carving my way to finding what I truly loved, without even knowing it! Later on, I moved to another company and although I truly enjoyed it, I knew I could not continue kidding myself! My manager at the time, a great mentor, talked to me about passion and risk taking.

It’s not luck of the Irish, it’s Midwest common sense.

The Midwest continues to defy the national unemployment rates and organizations rooted here understand that true talent is always scarce. Some people say that this can be explained by how the labor force is structured in our region and the local distribution of industries. Others chalk it up to just dumb luck.

Be Part of a Winning Team

So, my little brother’s high school boys’ basketball team has qualified for the Nebraska State Basketball Tournament this week in Lincoln! Go Pawnee City! I come from a long line of basketball enthusiasts. While most little kids watched cartoons as they enjoyed their bowl of cereal before heading off to school every morning, I grew up watching ESPN Sports Center. I didn’t mind — sports seem to run through my veins.

Behind the Scenes with a Headhunter

What do you do every day for more than eight hours at work? Here is what I do: I am on the phone. I am on the phone all day! When I’m connecting with a hiring manager, I learn about their talent gaps, bench strength, and organizational development initiatives. We discuss their talent acquisition strategies and the challenges they’re facing in the market place. I find out what the economy looks like for particular industries, which companies are hiring and which are laying off, etc. My goal is to constantly have a finger on the pulse of what is happening in the job market so that I can be a resource to our customers. The end result? I create opportunities to match the best employees in the market place with great companies and this, my friends, is the ultimate, most gratifying job ever. In fact, it does not even feel like a job!

Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay

Attention to retention is critical. Your employer brand is visible whether you can see it or not.

Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em is a Wall Street best seller that gives 26 engagement strategies to busy managers. Far too often managers and leaders are a day late and a dollar short. The “Talent War” for the knowledge workforce is on again (it never really ended). Employees who stay current on their technical and functional skill sets, adapt to change, and work well with others are always hard to find. How equipped are you to engage and retain your good people when their options increase and a headhunter calls?

Why you Shouldn’t Cancel an Interview

Anyone who has been in a hiring manager position has most likely experienced a candidate cancelling their scheduled interview at the last minute. Even worse are those instances where someone “no shows” for a scheduled interview and you never hear back from the candidate with any type of reasonable explanation for why they failed to fulfill their commitment. Is it just me, or do those scenarios really strike a chord and irritate the heck out of you?

Happy New Year!

The beginning of a new year is always exciting. It finds me looking forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead and, of course, setting those daunting Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Raising the bar and committing to tangible results is a healthy exercise for our team, as it provides a road map for the things we hope to accomplish in 2012 and beyond. One of the tools we use is a tactical map. Check it out and see if it can help you reach some of your business goals this year.

Goal Setting Here We Go — 2012 is Here!

New Year’s resolutions, goal setting, becoming that “new” person; be kinder, be nicer, become more philanthropic, lose weight, become fit . . . Does this sound oh so familiar?

Have you ever thought about one or even several of these as possible New Year’s resolutions?

Learning from Tebow: Five Quick Leadership Lessons for 2012

What makes a great story? First, you must have a compelling premise; something to guide your tale along its path to a conclusion. Second, you must have great characters to give life and body to a story. They must be edgy and unpredictable and keep the plot turning at every intersection. There must be a hero juxtaposed by a villain in there as well to give your story emotional appeal. Next, you need a hurdle for your hero to overcome; a mountain that can’t be climbed, or a girl or guy that’s out of their league. Lastly, there must be a climax and a resolution; a sequence of events that leads up to a bated-breath moment where the story unfolds from unknown to known. The resolution is where the premise is realized, and the audience is given the satisfaction of closure.