Typically, I am not a fan of Newsweek but I was drawn to this story from the Drudge Report link – Intrigue In High Places. This long article discusses HP’s chairwoman Patricia Dunn’s use of data mining to catch a leaker from the HP board of directors. The whole sordid affair sounds like a movie plot. According to an internal HP e-mail, Dunn then took the extraordinary step of authorizing a team of independent electronic-security experts to spy on the January 2006 communications of the other 10 directors – not the records of calls (or e-mails) from HP itself, but the records of phone calls made from personal accounts. That… Read More
Continue ReadingPerformance-Based Compensation
As a lifelong salesperson, I have always contended that all employees should be on some variable, performance-based pay. This article from CareerJournal indicates that a trend is forming in this direction. Employers are making employees work harder for their money.Most workers will receive modest raises this year and next, as employers reward employees with performance-linked bonuses rather than broad salary increases, according to a survey by consulting company Hewitt Associates Inc. That first sentence is bunk. I’m guessing the author has not worked in sales. The better lead would be to state Employees now have a chance to earn far more money for their efforts. “More companies are relying on… Read More
Continue ReadingEmployees Leaving Through the Back Door
Good post here from MN Headhunter regarding hiring and retaining top-level talent. There is nothing I can add so here is a tease: Let me bust this down to the simplest of levels: If you are bringing employees in the front door make sure you have the back door blocked with proper pay, work conditions, and job satisfaction. Retain your current talent and recruit your hard drive off and you can have one of the best staffs around. Fail to do so and you will be lucky to maintain staffing levels and at best average talent.
Continue ReadingEffective Communication for Managers
Uncommon to most of our Labor Day weekends, we relaxed and visited with family instead of the usual getting kids ready to start school on Tuesday. So with that enjoyable break, I am finally catching up on my reading. One of my RSS feeds is from Keith Rosen, author of Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cold Calling. His post on The Best Managers Are Fully Accountable For Their Communication is definitely worth reading, but let me share his 7 Tips to Strengthen Communication with you. Am I taking full responsibility for the message being heard by the other person? (Remember that it doesn’t matter what you say, it only matters what… Read More
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