This I did not know – from a Pioneer Press short Q&A article (my editing): My company has a new district manager. He and I got off to a bad start when he divulged my salary in a mass e-mail and caused an uproar among my new co-workers. Some of them do the same job as me but make considerably less. When I called him on this, he responded, “What’s the big deal? They all tell each other anyway.” A: Even though the manager showed poor judgment, he didn’t break the law, according to Richard Kass, a partner at Bond, Schoeneck & King in Manhattan. “Employees have no right to… Read More
Continue ReadingLeadership Made Simple
Remember the book, All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten? Perhaps not, unless you are a seasoned vet like I am, but the premise is still sound. Today I was reminded of the power of principle centered leadership. This morning I attended a meeting of the Manufacturers Alliance, a group of 300 or so manufacturers here in Minnesota who share best practices, lead training seminars and otherwise help their peers get better. The keynote speaker was Tom Tiller, CEO of Polaris Industries. Tom’s message was so crystal clear I need to share it. Polaris, he told us, has increased its value by 150 times in the last… Read More
Continue ReadingRecessions Are Tactical Problems, Recruiting Is Strategic
Steven Rothberg over at CollegeRecruiter.com provides a money quote in his post Why Today’s College Students Need Not Fear Exploding Offers. Obviously, Steven’s market is geared towards college students, but this paragraph is applicable to all businesses when it comes to hiring (emphasis mine): The recession of 2001-03 was worse than the recession of 2008 and employers are looking backwards in order to better understand what to do as they move forwards. Although many and perhaps most employers have scaled back their college hiring plans for this spring, there’s little talk of exploding offers. More employers realize that recessions are tactical problems and college recruiting is strategic. You don’t solve… Read More
Continue ReadingGen Y Retention Strategies That Work
Yesterday I posted on this “determine your own vacation time” approach to management. It is totally foreign to me. Today I come across another company with the same approach. This HRE Online article – In Their Own Words – contains comments provided by Gen Y workers on a recent survey. First the vacation comment (my empahsis): CarMax “Time away from work policy instead of vacation and sick days. There is not a set amount of time you can take, you just work it out with your manager. The office’s atmosphere is very bright and open. Management is very accessible and will answer any questions that you have. They encourage management… Read More
Continue ReadingRetention Strategy – Limit Rules
BusinessWeek.com’s playbook section offers a very short, but highly intriguing article title How Netflix nets and keeps talent. Here it is in it’s entirety: PAY LAVISHLY Higher-than-average salaries—and tying bonuses and raises to the market, not a pool—can make stars less likely to bolt. Money is no object in hiring. PROVIDE COMPENSATION CHOICE Employees are more likely to excel if they can pick how much of their compensation they get in stock rather than cash. FOSTER TALENT HUNTERS Encouraging everyone to hire the three people they’ve loved working with most during their careers creates an intense, fun workplace. LET THEM GO Don’t give B performers a middling raise. Give them… Read More
Continue ReadingManaging The Rant
Bob Rosner has a unique perspective on managing employees in his latest Working Wounded post – Stop Workplace Whining. The setup: A study by In Touch asked employees, “Why don’t you speak up at work?” More than 1 in 4 said they remain quiet because “there isn’t a good way to speak up” or “management doesn’t care.” I’ve outlined below three dos to reduce pressure at work and have everyone engaged in the problem-solving process. For more, check out Rant, Repair, Rave on workplace911.com. I’ll leave the whale example at the beginning of his post for you to read on your own (it is funny and disgusting all at once).… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Video Game Generation
These definitions are from Selling Power’s Talkin’ about Different Generations: The Silent Generation Consisting of workers over the age of 60, these folks tend to follow traditional patterns; they take their work seriously, expect to do this job for the rest of their working life, and feel comfortable working alone, knowing that they are trusted to perform up to or beyond expectations. Baby Boomers Born between the years 1943 and 1964, Boomers currently comprise almost half the workforce in many organizations. They tend to be a bit more individualistic than their elders, and struggle with workaholism and work-life balance issues. Generation X Born from 1964 to 1981, Gen X-ers have… Read More
Continue ReadingWeb Commute
That is a term coined by Citrix and one I suspect we will see with some frequency. If gas goes to $4/gallon, I suspect these articles will publish daily. ManageSmarter.com offers up an article discussing the preference of today’s workers to have technological flexibility in their job. The key here is the demographics of the results (emphasis mine): …U.S. workers aged 18-34 prefer flexible working conditions two-to-one over other age groups. In fact, 70% of survey respondents agreed that working remotely would be a welcome opportunity. In an era where acquiring and retaining good employees is a challenge, and the workforce is becoming increasingly young and mobile, offering the ability… Read More
Continue ReadingHow To Run A Gen X Meeting
As a Gen Xer, this article caught my attention on the Selling Power website. Some of the points from the article: Do remember this group has an entrepreneurial spirit. “They are individualists,” says Fishman. “Treat them as independent agents. They like to be in charge of things. If you have 100 people at your sales meeting, you have 100 entrepreneurs there.” Don’t hire motivational speakers. “This is not a group that needs to be motivated,” says Fishman. “They don’t like spin, hype, or touchy-feely. They want something that they can take back to the office that will help them sell. Sharpen their skills; that’s what they’re there for. Give them… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Net Generation
I haven’t heard that description used for Gen Y until I read this BusinessWeek.com article – Netting the Net Generation. The article is a good read for managers who have Gen Y employees. Some of the information is fairly common, but I thought this point was well stated: However, don’t assume this technologically sophisticated generation is made up of solitary video game players. Generation Y is highly relationship-oriented and uses a wide range of media and technology to connect with others. They expect to experience this in the workplace as well. Give them opportunities to engage and share ideas and to work on new things. Traditional behaviors that define power… Read More
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