The New Office Attire – Startup Casual

Derrick MoeNo Comments

Seriously, this is a thing – startup casual which is replacing business casual as the trendy office attire.  Here it is from Entrepreneur: The whole trend has become so popular, among founders as well as employees, that it has a name: startup casual. All of you who are  slave to fashion are probably wondering what is the proper attire to achieve startup casual.  I suppose if you have to ask….  I did find myself aligning with this tidbit from the article: Mark Zuckerberg claims that he wears the same jeans and gray T-shirt every day so he doesn’t expend any unnecessary mental energy on a decision that doesn’t matter. That quote… Read More

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It’s All About Their Career Path

Derrick Moe

LinkedIn recently surveyed over 10,000 people who changed jobs in 2015 to find out why they made a change.  Some interesting findings: #1 reason they left – Lack of advancement opportunities (45%) #1 reason they choose their new employer – Career path & opportunity (59%) I’m convinced that there are always a myriad of reasons behind a job change, but the primary reason is simply the most interesting.  I’ve been beating this drum for some time, but it warrants repeating – you must provide a general career path to all new hires today.  Many times in sales the thought process is to simply hire a strong salesperson and let them… Read More

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Does Job Jumping Matter Anymore?

Derrick Moe

I would answer no.  I have the opportunity to look at many resumes on any given day and there is a definite sea-change in the job jumping area.  Millennials are far less loyal to their employers than any generation before them.  In fact, I would say “job” jumping isn’t accurate, they are actually “skill” jumping.  These employees are often looking for personal skill development and once they sense they have tapped out their growth curve in their current role, they leave. I spend a fair amount of time explaining this skill jumping behavior to old-school hiring managers.  Companies must have a plan for ongoing development of their Millennial workforce otherwise… Read More

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Hunters Will Negotiate

Derrick MoeNo Comments

I have come across this fact with many of my customers and it always surprises me that they are taken aback by candidates who want to negotiate.  One thing that business development salespeople do is negotiate.  They live for the hunt which includes qualifying a deal and influencing the money structure to their benefit.  Generally speaking, a good hunter knows he or she is good at what they do and they also know that companies are willing to pay for their skills. That being said (or written?), hiring managers should not be put off by sales candidates who want to discuss (i.e. negotiate) the salary of the position.  Salary.com ran… Read More

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It Is All About Communication

Derrick MoeNo Comments

From today’s Herman Trend report (emphasis mine): The other highlights of the study are fascinating: the least happy of the generations is the Baby Boomers. They expressed the strongest discontent with their employers and the greatest frustration that their loyalty and hard work have been neither recognized nor rewarded. “Almost one-third (32 percent) of Baby Boomers surveyed say a lack of trust in leadership is a top turnover trigger—the highest ranking by any workforce generation.” Employers are most vulnerable to lose their Generation X workers. Lack of career progress is their top exit trigger (65 percent). Only 28 percent of Gen X employees surveyed expect to stay. This intention to… Read More

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Chipotle Rewards And Retention

Derrick MoeNo Comments

Retention does not seem to be a topic of great concern in this present economy.  However, the economy will turn and hiring will accelerate.  When this happens (hopefully sooner rather than later), retention will become a key topic for many companies. In a surprising story, CNNMoney.com provides a brief description of a unique approach Chipotle uses: Find incentives that work. The best Chipotle restaurant managers get the title “restaurateur” and a $10,000 bonus for each person they hire who starts as crew and goes on to become a manager. We have 170 restaurateurs out of 1,000 managers, and the turnover rate among them is very low. Two things that work… Read More

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Sinking Stock Syndrome

Derrick Moe3 Comments

I made that up, Sinking Stock Syndrome, from some interactions I have had recently with a couple of small business owners.  Both owners suffered from this syndrome which had disastrously negative effects on their company, both in revenue and morale. Here is how I define my newly-minted syndrome – an irrational hope that a grossly underperforming salesperson will miraculously turn things around and become a sales superstar. It rarely happens. The problem stems from the business owner who has invested in this failing salesperson.  Notice I used “business owners” – I do believe this syndrome is more prevalent among this group as they are closely tied to the business (i.e.… Read More

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The Unanswered Question

Derrick MoeNo Comments

Take a look at this headline from Twin Cities Business: MN June Unemployment Rate Drops, Sheds 3,700 Jobs Jobs are lost and the unemployment rate decreases…how can this be?  It is a question that begs an answer, yet you won’t find it in this article.  The closest it comes: Minnesota’s unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted 6.8 percent even though employers cut 3,700 jobs during the month, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) said on Thursday. Clearly workers had to leave the workforce or unemployment benefits expired for many Minnesotans.  It is probably a combination of both factors.  This is a critical… Read More

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Take This Job And

Derrick MoeNo Comments

shove it…apparently.  The Herman Trend offers up some stats that may catch you by surprise (emphasis mine): It is interesting to note that in the United States more people quit their jobs in the last three months than those who lost their jobs. After 15 straight months of time in which layoffs exceeded voluntary departures, it appears that the job market is finally shifting. … In a related development, one-quarter of our business community’s most promising employees are increasingly disengaged and many are actively seeking new employment opportunities. A recent study on employee engagement, conducted by the Corporate Executive Board’s Corporate Leadership Council (CLC), found that 25 percent of the… Read More

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Sales Departure Time

Derrick MoeNo Comments

I do think there is an impending, colossal jump of sales talent in the very near future.  The Herman Trend Alert speaks to this potential in their latest report: According to a new CareerBuilder survey, more than one-quarter (28 percent) of sales employers are concerned about losing their high performing workers in the second quarter, while more than one-third (35 percent) of sales workers said it is likely they will start looking for a new job when the economy picks up. And here is why: Increased workloads, longer hours and fewer resources related to the recession may be contributing to job dissatisfaction. Looking at key factors that influence job satisfaction… Read More

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