A quick story from the Pioneer Press – Early exit cuts Stroucken pay package. The departing CEO of H.B. Fuller located north of St. Paul is taking a compensation package with him worth $18.5 million. The article simply states: The news release noted Stroucken is receiving $4 million less than he would have had if he had stayed through the March 31, 2007, the end of his contract. There is something you don’t see too often in today’s world – a CEO who could have made much more had he completed his contract that ends in 6 months. Obviously, he is leaving with a lucrative compensation package, but here is… Read More
Continue ReadingOffice Karaoke on YouTube
This story should probably be categorized as an anecdote – When Corporate Culture Shows Up on YouTube. The title alone is intriguing. Here is the tease: Still, when the card-services division held a conference over the summer, organizers asked employees Ethan Chandler and Jim DeBois to write a song for the event. Basing it on U2’s smoldering ballad, “One,” the B of A employees rewrote the lyrics of the Irish rock band’s song and renamed it “One Bank.” We here at The Hire Sense make it our duty to keep you informed of such items so here is the actual video via YouTube. I cringed all the way through it… Read More
Continue ReadingFlexibility and Loyalty
More from the work-life front of management: Flexibility with holiday schedules can boost worker loyalty. Absolutely true. I know, many people will comment about the abusers of such flexibility. You know, if they are abusers, they are currently applying their trade to some other area of your business. Best not to punish the upright workers due to the deceivers. Here is a good reminder for managers any time of the year: First, an owner needs to have the attitude that a worker’s personal life matters, even if the staff is small and there’s plenty of work to be done. So true of the younger generations no matter what the season.… Read More
Continue ReadingCyber Monday
In what can only be called a sign of the times, “Cyber Monday” has arrived today. If you are not aware of its meaning, it is the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Apparently, today is a significant online retail day as many people look for bargains in cyberspace as they head back to work. In light of Cyber Monday, I offer up a real distraction for techno geeks like myself – Popular Science’s What’s New for gadgets this Christmas season. I ended up on their site after reading a short article from the Pioneer Press website. Warning: This site can be a real time waster. Now that you have been warned,… Read More
Continue ReadingHappy Thanksgiving
We would like to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving. I know we have a lot to be thankful for . . . our spouses, children, health and country. We hope that you have lots to be thankful for as well. Every year in elementary school, my youngest son always comes home with a new bit of information. As you might have guessed, he always draws me in on these trivial tidbits. I did some fact checking on the internet and provided some links to support them: The true beginning of the present Thanksgiving Day is believed to have come in the 3rd year the Pilgrims settled in the… Read More
Continue ReadingWhere to Find Your Next Job
WEDDLE recently surveyed visitors to their website and asked where they expected to find their next job. A total of 1,270 people participated in the survey. Here is where those surveyed thought they would find their next job: 57.6% Responding to an ad posted on an Internet job board 16.8% Networking at business and social events 7.2% Responding to an ad posted on an employers website 7.6% Sending a resume to an employer by mail 3.9% Receiving a call from a headhunter 1.9% Receiving a call from a staffing firm 1.9% Attending a career fair 1.6% Responding to a newspaper ad 0.7% Joining a social networking site
Continue ReadingFrom Windbags to Bullies
It sure feels like a holiday already, but we at The Hire Sense march on today. We’ll keep things light before the long holiday weekend. Google kicked up this fun article from a CareerBuilder.com editor titled The 10 worst things to do in a meeting. Here’s a good tease: Who among us hasn’t cringed as the office windbag launched into a self-aggrandizing discourse that was completely off-point? Pitied a meek co-worker who got trounced by the office bully? Or marveled at a colleagues’ ability to string together an array of buzzwords that mean absolutely nothing? Oh, I have been in many of those meetings. A couple of my favorite items… Read More
Continue ReadingThose Little Slices of Death
A new trend from BusinessWeek.com – Napping Your Way to the Top. I laughed out loud when I read this article. Full disclosure – I hate naps. I never take them no matter how tired I am. Hence the reference to Longfellow in title of this post. From the article: Without sleep you don’t learn. My research shows that people deteriorate during the day. It’s difficult to sustain productivity. Naps can add back to the sleep you’re deprived of at night. And a nap enhances productivity even if you have enough nocturnal sleep. I still remember the business owner I worked for in my first outside sales position. He was… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Offers Gone Bad
A friend of mine is an established, successful salesperson who is looking for a new opportunity. He recently received an offer from a large corporation that had a 6 or 7 page commission document. The document looked like a court filing. After sifting through as much as we could tolerate, we came across this gem: All newly hired participants will receive a quota for incentive purposes on or before the 30th day of their territory assignment and no later than the 90th day of their territory assignment. So, for sure before the 30th day. Unless it is no later than the 90th day. Obviously, it cannot be “on or before”… Read More
Continue ReadingCivic-Minded Millennials
The justsell.com guys reference an interesting study that came out last month regarding the Millennial generation (born between 1979 and 2001). I know, I doubt they received much input from the 5 year olds. Anyway, the study indicates some distinct trends amongst the generation just out of college. Moreover, the poll finds that as Millennials begin to enter the workforce, they not only have high expectations for themselves, but also for their employers. Nearly eight out of ten want to work for a company that cares about how it contributes to society, while more than half would refuse to work for an irresponsible corporation. Certainly the Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom… Read More
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