Here’s What to Say When Boss Asks: ‘Why Isn’t This Done Yet?’ I’m sure none of you have been asked that question before. I, being an incredible putz, have been asked that question many times. U.S. office workers get interrupted on the job as often as 11 times an hour, costing as much as $588 billion to U.S. business each year, according to research. I wonder how they get to that staggering dollar amount. A typical manager is interrupted six times an hour, one recent study showed, while another found the average cubicle worker is interrupted more than 70 times a day. The telecommuting trend has a new study to… Read More
Continue ReadingGet Your Gun Here
This may be a stretch, but I enjoyed the story too much to ignore it. Since we have had much to say about rewards and motivations today, check out this headline – Buy a House, Get a Glock: Real Estate Agent Offers Guns as Incentive. Now that is a unique incentive indeed. If you read the short article, you will find the Glock is only for police offers who buy a house through the realtor. Still, give her kudos for some creative thinking and marketing.
Continue ReadingEmpowering The Sales Team
Sales & Marketing Management has an excellent article out titled Break the Bureaucracy. The gist of the article is the revenue differences between companies that micromanage their team vs. companies that empower their team (especially sales). First, an intuitive point from the author: The result of this micromanaging? Young hires felt they got no respect and so returned no loyalty, Swanson remembers. Within 18 months, he and 10 other entry-level analysts had quit. This point cannot be overstated. The younger generations greatly prefer a more horizontal org chart with less hierarchy. The example in the article describes how this analyst working for a bank (well known for multiple layers of… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Multitasking Myth – Physical Limitations
Multitasking is one of those words that has entered business lexicon but should be considered an urban myth. We posted on this topic a few months ago and now I have come across a short Q&A article from CareerJournal.com that addresses the physical aspects of so-called multitasking. First, kudos to the author of the question who can really turn a phrase (emphasis mine): You’ve written that too much multitasking can leave the mind and body marinating in stress hormones. Can you elaborate on the physiological effects?…Brief or infrequent stress responses pose little risk. But when a person responds this way habitually or over long periods, the risk of injury or… Read More
Continue ReadingHope For Bad Writing Skills
Bad Writing: As Written Communication Skills Deteriorate, Business Schools Take Aim. There is hope and I am encouraged this Monday morning. We comment about writing skills frequently here at The Hire Sense since, well, we have seen some atrocious documents. The article attacks the problem right at the source: But in an era of nonstop e-mail and instant and text messaging, written communication skills within companies may be getting even worse as quality is compromised by the perceived need for speed. The casualness of email and the shorthand of text messaging has crippled writing styles. Now it appears to be affecting basic writing ability. The ubiquitousness of cell phones probably… Read More
Continue ReadingUsing Email At Work
Emailing from work is a high risk endeavor especially now that company’s are required to store all company emails. Right on cue, CareerBuilder.com offers Netiquette: The Niceties Of Workplace Email Use. They quote a survey with a rather small sample size, but there is a surprising statistic: A 2006 survey of 416 companies by the ePolicy Institute in Columbus, Ohio, concludes that 26% of them have fired employees for inappropriate email conduct. That’s up from 21% in 2001. I have seen some egregious emails come from corporate email accounts. I have also dealt with many candidates who use their company email to converse with me regarding a job opportunity. I… Read More
Continue ReadingDon’t Talk. Write.
I’ve been reading up on articles that are discussing how to use email for prospecting as opposed to the traditional cold call. The process has some merit since email has become so ubiquitous and accessible(BlackBerries, PDA cell phones, etc.). The cold call is an interruption in the prospect’s day no matter what time you reach them. Caller ID tied to voicemail provides a great screening tool for prospects. Email has a unique property to it – people do not view it as an interruption since they can check it at times that are convenient for them. Also, most people still enjoy receiving emails. I know spam is an issue, but… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Most Important Thing in Communication…
…is to hear what isn’t being said. -Peter Drucker We have assessed hundreds if not thousands of salespeople and the vast majority of them are extroverted in some form (High I being the most common). We have also assessed a handful of purchasing/financial employees who tend to have introverted tendencies (High S or High C being the most common). I mention this because selling, at its most basic level, involves good communication. Yet there is a natural problem that surfaces when a High I salesperson attempts to sell a High C purchasing/financial/operations person — their 2 styles are the worst possible communication match there is. The High I salesperson wants… Read More
Continue ReadingTracking Work Emails
New Rules Make Firms Track E-Mails, Instant Messages for Federal Trials. I just caught up to this story and it has distinct repercussions for most businesses. According to legal experts, the rules, approved by the Supreme Court in April, require American companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce “electronically stored information” as part of the discovery process, when evidence is shared by both sides before a trial.The change makes it more important for companies to know what electronic information they have and where. Most companies do have this type of monitoring in place today, but ones that don’t will have to make some fast changes. This law… Read More
Continue ReadingNo Email Fridays
I am an email junkie so I wasn’t aware of any “problems” until I read this BusinessWeek article – *!#@ The E-Mail. Can We Talk? The problem isn’t the distraction of spam or stuffed inboxes. Nor is it the potential for legal liability. The concern, say academics and management thinkers, is misinterpreted messages, as well as the degree to which e-mail has become a substitute for the nuanced conversations that are critical in the workplace. I think almost all of us have experienced the misinterpreted email issue. I have sent them and ignited a thermonuclear response and I have received what was supposed to be an innocuous email and found… Read More
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