The 10 Commandments of Networking

From © Mark McGregor

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

 

Networking is a lot of fun! Business networking is when a group of like minded business people gather and help each other. If you check, you will surely find a networking group in your area. The networking group can meet as often as they wish, as is convenient for the participants.

Regretably, most people start with a networking group by looking for immediate gains.... that is, for favorable results for themselves. If this is what you are trying to achieve, you are networking for the wrong reasons and will be sticking out like a sore thumb.

Many people think that the size of a networking group makes the difference in networking. When groups start falling in size, members will say, "we have to build up our numbers." Now, what numbers are they referring to? Is it the number of participants? I would rather belong to a networking group of two people who can help each other on a regular basis then have a large group of business people not following the Ten Commandments of Networking. It is not the quantity, it is the quality.

"I haven't got any leads yet!" Well excuse me, have you given one, ever? Or, have you made a suggestion that might help a fellow member? Did you call anyone with a compliment and say, "Just wanted you to know, Jim, that your comments on the XYZ expansion was right on the money." One must be willing to put in time waiting also. It might take a while before people feel comfortable with offering you a referral.

Networking groups will come and go. To get the most out of your networking experience, you need to build a relationship with people who you want to have contact with. Not all members will be able to help you, nor will you be able to help them. That doesn't mean you should snub them! I still have strong relationships with my networking friends from groups that are long gone.

When networking, spend most of your time and effort on people who can help each other out, for the long term. That is right. This is a long term project. Countless times I have been to business networking events and have seen people actually run from person to person, with the expectations of first giving away their card and hoping to gather the other person's. How can you possibly build a relationship with a person when your objective is to get out there, and collect cards? Some networking groups make a game out of it to see who can collect the most in a certain time. What a waste of business cards!

You will find that a highly effective networker will "work the net". What I mean is that they will go into a function with a goal in mind. My usual goal when business networking is to have the expectation that I will "meet" and "understand" only three people per event. I know what kind of person that I can help and expect that this person will be able to do the same for me. A win/win situation is what I am talking about. The highly effective networker will take the time to cultivate a rapport.

After the business networking event is when the real work begins. After all, you are only at the networking event to meet and build rapport. Follow up ASAP. Now is the time to send a nice customized card, and call a few days after to arrange a time to meet for a coffee or to have lunch. That is when you can listen to the details of what your new "friend" requires. You might even have the chance to offer your goods and services, only after listening.

If you want to gain the most out of business networking, follow the Ten Commandments of Networking!

• 1) Thou shalt drop the "what is in it for me?" attitude.
• 2) Thou shalt listen.
• 3) Thou shalt build a relationship.
• 4) Thou shalt give the first referral.
• 5) Thou shalt not tell others of the referral you require; thou shalt "show them" with a story.
• 6) Thou shalt be specific of the type of referral.
• 7) Thou shalt reciprocate when appropriate.
• 8) Thou shalt participate in the network executive, functions, and network time.
• 9) Thou shalt thank the person who gave a referral.
• 10) Thou shalt follow up on the referral within 24 hours.

 

Learn Basic Business Networking Skills

From Emjae Johnson

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

 

No need to shy away from business networking if you know how to do it properly. Business networking is a skill and in its most advanced form it can truly be considered an art in itself. There are some simple steps of how to learn basic business networking skills and I think that you will find them very easy to do. Nothing complicated here. I don't believe Sales as a profession should be complicated or stressful and business networking can be not only an effective means to help build your leads list, you can have lots of fun doing it!

There are many places and scenarios that you can utilize networking skills but these twelve steps of how to learn basic business networking skills will apply primarily to the typical prearranged business networking event. As you learn and practice each step you will be able to transfer your new skills into any other networking situation.

• Get Details About the Networking Event in Advance
Before you attend a business networking event make sure you know the agenda in advance. Some business networking events may include appetizers and refreshments, but not all, so be sure that you have a meal before you go as it is hard to be energized about meeting new people and be your best if your stomach is empty. Also, inquire ahead of time if the host issues a list of attendees and if they do be sure to request one. Read through and study it so that you have an idea of who you want to connect with while you are there.
• Dress Appropriately and Arrive a Few Minutes Early
At most business networking events the attire is business casual unless they state otherwise. Your appearance should be as polished as when you go to work or better because good first impressions make a positive impact. Wearing a dark colored blazer jacket is a good choice because it has pockets for pens and business cards and also because a name badge is more outstanding on the lapel of a jacket. Whether you are right or left handed, it is proper to shake hands with your right hand so wear your name badge on your right side so that there is a direct line of vision to it when you extend your right arm to greet someone.
• Bring Your Business Cards and Something to Write With
Business cards are a must at a business networking event. You may even want to consider printing separate business cards specifically for networking events although this is not necessary. Also, bring more that just one pen to the event -- bring a few because you are sure to meet someone there who needs a pen. It is not uncommon that someone forgot to bring one, or they lost theirs or the one they had ran out of ink! Supplying someone with a pen can be a great way to be remembered and also a terrific way to say hello!
• Have Your "Opener" Prepared
If you have not created your own opener yet, now is the time to do so. Always make your opener is short and sweet and practice your delivery so that it is causal and natural. Remember, the skill you want to develop here is to focus only on connecting with people and making new business relationships and not to try and sell anything.
• Decide in Advance How Many People You Would Like to Meet
You can stress yourself out at business networking events if you try to do too much. You really can only comfortably meet about five people in the time you have at most events; sometimes a few less and sometimes a few more. So, decide in advance how many people you would like to meet and try not to exceed that goal.If you rush from person to person then you will have lost the idea that you are there to develop new relationships and this is done at a slower pace because relationships are built on trust; trust takes the time to get to know someone.

 

Customer Relationship Management

By Martin Murray

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

 

When your company communicates with your customers the process can involve many different people within both organizations using a variety of different methods. The main tool that is used is an order that is communicated by your customer to your sales department. However this is only one of many communications that should be managed. To ensure that your company can provide the best customer service experience possible the use of customer relationship management (CRM) software should be considered.

Typical CRM software will allow you to track and organize its contacts with its current and prospective customers. The software allows your employees to store information about customers and customer interactions which then can be accessed by employees in different departments within your company.

There are three areas which your company interacts with your customers.

• Front Office Contacts - These involve the direct contact your employees have with your customers which can include phone calls, e-mail, instant messages and face to face communication.
• Back Office Operations – These are processes that are used to facilitate the front office, such as finance communications, marketing, customer billing and advertising.
• Business Contacts – Your employees will interact with customers and suppliers through networking, industry events and trade associations.

Key Elements Of CRM

CRM can be broken down into a number of different components which many software vendors have developed packages for. For the most part, there are three areas which are core to successful customer relationship management; Customer Service, Sales Force Automation and Campaign Management.

Customer Service

The customer service function in your company represents the front office functions that interact with your customers. These are the business processes that allow your company to sell products and services to your customers, communicate with your customers with regards marketing and dealing with the after sales service requirements of your customers. Each interaction with the customer is recorded and stored within the CRM software where it can be retrieved by other employees if needed.

Sales Force Automation

Your company’s sales department is constantly looking for sales opportunities with existing and new customers. The sales force automation functionality of CRM software allows the sales teams to record each contact with customers, the details of the contact and if follow up is required. This can provide a sales force with greater efficiencies as there is little chance for duplication of effort. The ability for employees outside of the sales team to have access to this data ensures that they have the most recent contact information with customers. This is important when customers contact employees outside of the sales team so that customers are given the best level of customer service.

Campaign Management

The sales team approach prospective customers in the hope of winning new business. The approach taken by the sales team is often focused in a campaign, where a group of specific customers are targeted based on a set of criteria. These customers will receive targeted marketing materials and often special pricing or terms are offered as an inducement. CRM software is used to record the campaign details, customer responses and analysis performed as part of the campaign.

Popular CRM Software

CRM software has been popular over the last twenty years and a number of software packages have been popular during that time. Siebel Systems was founded by Thomas Siebel back in 1993 and developed popular Sales Force Automation and CRM packages. In 2002, Siebel controlled 45% of the CRM market and in 2005 it was purchased by Oracle.

Epiphany was founded around the same time as Siebel and launched a very popular modular CRM package. Epiphany was purchased by SSA in 2005, which was in turn purchased by Infor in 2006. The Epiphany CRM software is now marketed as Infor CRM Epiphany.

Salesforce.com is a leading CRM product that is not traditional software that is installed at a client, but is offered over the internet, which is commonly referred to a software-as-a-service (SaaS). Salesforce.com was founded in 1999 and now has over 55,000 customers.

SAP, which is more commonly known as a vendor of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, offers a very popular CRM package. SAP’s CRM product is often purchased by companies who are already SAP customers because of the ease of integration.

 

Total Quality Management (TQM)

By Martin Murray

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach that seeks to improve quality and performance which will meet or exceed customer expectations. This can be achieved by integrating all quality-related functions and processes throughout the company. TQM looks at the overall quality measures used by a company including managing quality design and development, quality control and maintenance, quality improvement, and quality assurance. TQM takes into account all quality measures taken at all levels and involving all company employees.

Origins Of TQM

Total quality management has evolved from the quality assurance methods that were first developed around the time of the First World War. The war effort led to large scale manufacturing efforts that often produced poor quality. To help correct this, quality inspectors were introduced on the production line to ensure that the level of failures due to quality was minimized.

After the First World War, quality inspection became more commonplace in manufacturing environments and this led to the introduction of Statistical Quality Control (SQC), a theory developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. This quality method provided a statistical method of quality based on sampling. Where it was not possible to inspect every item, a sample was tested for quality. The theory of SQC was based on the notion that a variation in the production process leads to variation in the end product. If the variation in the process could be removed this would lead to a higher level of quality in the end product.

After World War Two, the industrial manufacturers in Japan produced poor quality items. In a response to this, the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers invited Dr. Deming to train engineers in quality processes. By the 1950’s quality control was an integral part of Japanese manufacturing and was adopted by all levels of workers within an organization.

By the 1970’s the notion of total quality was being discussed. This was seen as company-wide quality control that involves all employees from top management to the workers, in quality control. In the next decade more non-Japanese companies were introducing quality management procedures that based on the results seen in Japan. The new wave of quality control became known as Total Quality Management, which was used to describe the many quality-focused strategies and techniques that became the center of focus for the quality movement.

Principles of TQM

TQM can be defined as the management of initiatives and procedures that are aimed at achieving the delivery of quality products and services. A number of key principles can be identified in defining TQM, including:

• Executive Management – Top management should act as the main driver for TQM and create an environment that ensures its success.
• Training – Employees should receive regular training on the methods and concepts of quality.
• Customer Focus – Improvements in quality should improve customer satisfaction.
• Decision Making – Quality decisions should be made based on measurements.
• Methodology and Tools – Use of appropriate methodology and tools ensures that non-conformances are identified, measured and responded to consistently.
• Continuous Improvement – Companies should continuously work towards improving manufacturing and quality procedures.
• Company Culture – The culture of the company should aim at developing employees ability to work together to improve quality.
• Employee Involvement – Employees should be encouraged to be pro-active in identifying and addressing quality related problems.

The Cost Of TQM

Many companies believe that the costs of the introduction of TQM are far greater than the benefits it will produce. However research across a number of industries has costs involved in doing nothing, i.e. the direct and indirect costs of quality problems, are far greater than the costs of implementing TQM.

The American quality expert, Phil Crosby, wrote that many companies chose to pay for the poor quality in what he referred to as the “Price of Nonconformance”. The costs are identified in the Prevention, Appraisal, Failure (PAF) Model.

Prevention costs are associated with the design, implementation and maintenance of the TQM system. They are planned and incurred before actual operation, and can include:

• Product Requirements – The setting specifications for incoming materials, processes, finished products/services.
• Quality Planning – Creation of plans for quality, reliability, operational, production and inspections.
• Quality Assurance – The creation and maintenance of the quality system.
• Training – The development, preparation and maintenance of processes.

Appraisal costs are associated with the vendors and customers evaluation of purchased materials and services to ensure they are within specification. They can include:

• Verification – Inspection of incoming material against agreed upon specifications.
• Quality Audits – Check that the quality system is functioning correctly.
• Vendor Evaluation – Assessment and approval of vendors.

Failure costs can be split into those resulting from internal and external failure. Internal failure costs occur when results fail to reach quality standards and are detected before they are shipped to the customer. These can include:

• Waste – Unnecessary work or holding stocks as a result of errors, poor organization or communication.
• Scrap – Defective product or material that cannot be repaired, used or sold.
• Rework – Correction of defective material or errors.
• Failure Analysis – This is required to establish the causes of internal product failure.

External failure costs occur when the products or services fail to reach quality standards, but are not detected until after the customer receives the item. These can include:

• Repairs – Servicing of returned products or at the customer site.
• Warranty Claims – Items are replaced or services re-performed under warranty.
• Complaints – All work and costs associated with dealing with customer’s complaints.
• Returns – Transportation, investigation and handling of returned items.

Conduct a Simple Training Needs Assessment

By Susan M. Heathfield

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Want to quickly learn the training needs of a group of employees who have similar jobs? Yet, you don't want to develop and implement a survey, put the questions in a computer program, or run analyses on demographic information you collect. This training needs assessment works best in small to mid-sized organizations. It will give you a quick assessment of the training needs of an employee group.
This training needs assessment helps find common training programs for a group of employees.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Approximately 1-2 hours

Here's How:

1. The facilitator gathers all employees who have the same job in a conference room with a white board or flip charts and markers.
   
2. Ask each employee to write down their ten most important training needs. Emphasize that the employees should write specific needs. Communication or team building are such broad training needs, as an example, that you would need to do a second training needs assessment on each of these topics. How to give feedback to colleagues or how to resolve a conflict with a coworker are more specific training needs.
   
3. Then, ask each person to list their ten training needs. As they list the training needs, the facilitator captures the training needs on the white board or flip chart. Don't write down duplicates but do confirm by questioning that the training need that on the surface appears to be a duplicate, really is an exact duplicate.
   
4. When all training needs have been listed, use a weighted voting process to prioritize the training needs across the group. In a weighted voting process, you use sticky dots or numbers written in magic marker (not as much fun) to vote on and prioritize the list of training needs. Assign a large dot 25 points and smaller dots five points each. Distribute as many dots as you like. Tell needs assessment participants to place their dots on the chart to vote on their priorities.
   
5. List the training needs in order of importance, with the number of points assigned as votes determining priority, as determined by the sticky dot voting process. Make sure you have notes (best taken by someone on their laptop while the process is underway) or the flip chart pages to maintain a record of the training needs assessment session.
   
6. Take time, or schedule another session, to brainstorm the needed outcomes or goals from the first 3-5 training sessions identified in the needs assessment process. This will help as you seek and schedule training to meet the employees' needs. You can schedule more brainstorming later, but I generally find that you need to redo the needs assessment process after the first few training sessions.
   
7. Note the number one or two needs of each employee, that may not have become the priorities for the group. Try to build that training opportunity into the employee's performance development plan.
   

Tips:

1. Training Needs Assessment can be, and often needs to be, much more complicated than this. But, this is a terrific process for a simple training needs assessment.
2. Make sure you keep the commitments generated by the training needs assessment process. Employees will expect to receive their key identified training sessions with the brainstormed objectives met.

What You Need:

• Conference Room
• Flip Chart or White Board and Markers

Human Resources Training and Success Tips

By Susan M. Heathfield

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Human Resources training classes are available via email from the About.com Human Resources site. Take the free Human Resources training to learn more about a Human Resources topic of interest. Or, subscribe to the success tips newsletters that help you achieve career and life success.

Conduct Powerful Job Interviews
Want to hire great employees? How to conduct a safe, legal job interview that also enables you to select the best candidate for your open positions is important. The job interview is one of the significant factors in hiring because so many employers count on the job interview to help determine their best, most qualified candidates. Learn about job interviews in my free email class.

Recruit and Hire the Best
Recruiting the best employees for your organization is an ongoing challenge for every manager, supervisor and Human Resources professional. If you're looking for solid, proven best practices and up-to-the-minute ideas in recruitment, interviewing and selection, you've found the right course. Find useful forms and a Forum in which to discuss your hiring challenges.

Powerful Performance Management
Managers cite performance appraisals or annual reviews as one of their most disliked tasks. Performance management eliminates the performance appraisal or annual review as the focus and concentrates on the entire spectrum of performance management and development issues. Employee performance development, training, cross-training and more are included in an effective performance management system.

Ten Days to a Happier, More Successful Career and Life
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” said our Founding Fathers. The truths you will discover over the next ten days are self-evident; but, they are profoundly hard to practice. Even as I write, I find myself questioning whether I practice what I recommend. So, consider the pursuit of happiness and success in work and life - a journey. These practices will get you started on that journey.

Your Tip of the Week for Success in Work and Life
 Looking for an immediate positive thought or an idea to pick your spirits up? Want good ideas, thoughtful quotations, self-motivation ideas, working well with people tips, newsletter fillers, news about trends affecting workplaces and more? Once a week, Your Tip of the Week for Success in Work and Life will uplift your spirit, make you smile, touch your heart and provide useful information.


 

Mid-career Job Offer Letter

By Susan M. Heathfield

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

The job offer letter is provided to the candidate you have selected for the position. Most frequently, the candidate and the organization have verbally negotiated the conditions of hire and the job offer letter confirms the verbal agreements.
Generally, the candidate has indicated that he or she will accept the position, under the stated terms, prior to the final drafting of the letter. Do regard the position acceptance as tentative, however, until the offer letter, and the confidentiality agreement, if you use one, are signed.

Sample Job Offer Letter: Mid-career Candidate

The following job offer letter uses standard categories that cover most mid-career positions including manager, engineer, staff accountant, controller, network administrator, supervisor, and HR Generalist.
While the mid-career professional does make an effort to negotiate more working conditions than the early career professional, the negotiation bears little resemblance, generally, to the executive (Director, Vice President, CEO, CFO) negotiation. Executive contracts are often far more lengthy as the agreements reached can cover everything from compensation, moving expenses, and signing bonuses to millions of dollars in severance packages.
The mid-career professional will negotiate frequently for $5-$10,000 additional base salary; three weeks of vacation time; partial or complete relocation expenses; bonus eligibility; the amount of tuition reimbursement available; and a later start date to enable days off between jobs.
I would consult my attorney about any job offer more complicated or more extensive than this sample.

Candidate Rejection Letter

By Susan M. Heathfield

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

 

How you treat candidates for your jobs really matters. Sending a candidate rejection letter to the applicants who were not selected for the job is an extra, but positive step, your company can take to build good will with candidates and establish yourself as an employer of choice. Your reputation, that is built one candidate at a time, is critical to your ongoing ability to attract the best and most skilled talent to your firm. Candidates make decisions about your company based on their treatment and officially notifying them about your employment decisions is a point in your favor.

Start With a Follow-up Phone Call

I believe that a phone call to the candidate is the first step after you have decided that he or she is not the most qualified for your open position. During the call, you thank them for their application and interview time. State clearly that you have determined that you have other candidates who are more qualified for the position. Then, follow-up your call with the official letter providing the same information. This contact should occur as soon as you know the candidate is not the person you want to hire. Don't leave your candidates wondering for weeks on end if they are not the person who will be selected for the job.

Tips for the Candidate Rejection Letter

• Also known as a "thanks, but no thanks letter," the candidate rejection letter tells the candidate that he or she was not selected for the position. The reason stated is generally that you have determined that other candidates were more qualified for the job.
  
  If you believe that the candidate would qualify for other roles in your company, and that he or she appeared to also fit your culture, you can also encourage the person to apply again in the future. Always end on a positive note wishing the person success. Make sure you thank your candidate for the time they invested in the application and interview process.
• Personalize the letter with the candidate's name, the position, possibly a remark about the interview time. You don't want your candidate to feel as if he or she received a form rejection letter - even if it basically - is.
• Get straight to the point in your rejection letter. But, especially if you have called, the candidate really already knows what to expect in the letter.
• Make your letter business-like, but gracious. After all, you are puncturing a person's hopes and dreams. Do so with respect and consideration.
• Never say anything in the candidate rejection letter that you don't mean. For example, don't suggest that the candidate apply for openings in the future if you know the candidate will not fit successfully in your organization.
• Remember, the candidate rejection letter is your last opportunity to build a relationship with the candidate that will cause him or her to think favorably of your company. Your reputation as an employer is affected by this candidate and the people affected by this candidate's opinions and treatment at your hands. Don't ever believe this is unimportant for your reputation as a potential employer.

Standard Application Acknowledgement Letter

• Application Acknowledgement Letter Sample

More About Sample Candidate Rejection Letters

• See a standard applicant rejection letter that you use to respond to applicants who are not as qualified as the applicants you decide to interview.
• Here is a sample rejection letter for a candidate who did not appear to be a good fit for your company culture.
• See another sample rejection letter for use when you’d like the candidate to interview for a different job in your company.
• Here is a sample rejection letter for a candidate you hope applies again in the future.
• Find out more about writing job candidate rejection letters.

Letters for Successful Candidates

What if the candidate you are contacting was successful in his or her application? Following are sample job offer letters to let the candidate know the good news.
 

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Sometime back a friend asked me if I could come up with a leadership anagram. Bearing in mind that in reality our leadership or management style is probably somewhere along a continuum between despotic through democratic to laissez-faire perhaps the following anagram extremes can at least serve as reminders of the best and worst of us.

SO WHICH ONE IS MORE LIKE YOU? – (ACCORDING TO THE STAFF?)

Leadership Anagram (new thinking)

L ove of followers is demonstrated
E mpathetic with individuals at all levels
A ble to create vision & achieve the mission
D emocratic decisions & communicates
E mpowers & encourages others
R esilient, overcomes setbacks
S haring, provides for followers needs
H opeful, positive & future driven
I ntelligent, uses the head and heart
P ersistent, sticks to the task, never gives up

Despotic Anagram (old thinking)

D ictatorial & commanding
E valuates rather than values
S uspicious and cynical
P ower seeking & taking
O ppresses differences
T otal control seeker
I ntrustive & instructive
C old and calculating

“THE WORLD THAT WE HAVE MADE AS A RESULT OF THE LEVEL OF THINKING WE HAVE DONE THUS FAR CREATES PROBLEMS THAT WE CANNOT SOLVE AT THE SAME LEVEL AT WHICH WE CREATED THEM” – Albert Einstein

I assume we are all a bit of a mixture of both leadership styles at different times however it would be interesting perhaps to do a 360 degree analysis on our management approach to see how we are viewed by others we deal with… or would that be a bit too stressful?

Management Success and the Value of Failure

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

I still remember making a mistake as a young supervisor that cost the company I worked for $3,500.00. Of course my immediate thoughts were that I would at best be chastised and at worst be sacked. My punishment was a little loss of face as what I had done became a training bulletin to discourage others in similar positions from making the same mistake. The pleasant and valuable experience that resulted however was that I was asked by my bosses “what have you learned from your mistake” to which I responded “never do it again”, The final word from management was “then its money well spent, carry on”.

Prof Robert Sutton in the Harvard Business Review blog (ref*) states:

“Failure is inevitable, so the key to success is to be good at learning from it. The ability to capitalize on hard-won experience is a hallmark of the greatest organizations — [those are] the ones that are most adept at turning knowledge into action, that are best at developing and implementing creative ideas, that engage in evidence-based (rather than faith- or fear-based) management and that are populated with the best bosses.”

He goes on: “Failure sucks but instructs. In fact, there is no learning without failure… Discovery of the moves that work well is always accompanied by discovery of moves that don’t. This is why failure is so endemic to innovation.”

Brenden Boyle IDEO (Global Design Consutancy) is quoted in the same article as saying: “You can’t get any good new ideas without having a lot of dumb, lousy, and crazy ones.”

This is an excellent article and can I suggest you read it in its entirety at: ref* http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/08/forgive_and_remember_how_a_goo.html

Alternatively if you are working in an organization that that doesn’t see honest mistakes as a form of learning perhaps it time to spruce up your resume. There is a free blank resume form at orglearn.org!

Quotes on failure:

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” Sven Eriksson

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Colin Powell

“Failure is the tuition you pay for success.” Walter Brunell

Finally back to the HBR article: All of this positive “failure” experience of course only comes about if we (and our bosses) buy into the idea, again as Prof Sutton puts it, that “failure is a by-product of risk-taking and that honest mistakes will [and should] be forgiven [by the management]“.

Staff Empowerment: What it is, What it isn’t, How it works and Why Empowerment Often Fails

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Empowering workers, means truly giving them more authority to make decisions and then act upon them and that’s where many empowerment programs break down. Many (I suggest most) mangers are happy to delegate responsibility however they are reluctant to hand over any real authority. Lack of authority for competent staff can leave them frustrated and stifled, particularly if they are not being permitted to have any input into their work. In my experience the expert in the job is most often the person doing it, rather than the manger controlling the overall workflow and therefore constant staff input into work methods and problem solving is essential for empowerment to work.

One article (“smartmanager.com”) I read suggested that “Empowering people is closely aligned with facilitative leadership.” Essentially facilitative leadership is all about helping your staff reach their potential and therefore improve operations. The article continued “If you look at leadership skills along a continuum from persuasion, through collaboration to facilitation, most managers would be required to engage a variety of approaches at different times”. If you take the “Situational Leadership” (Hershey Blanchard) approach of course you would only pass on authority to an individual in the task area in which they are fully competent.

An essential ingredient for any empowerment is an effective training process which tests for competence. As well as the technical skill training you will need to ensure staff have access to the information they require to make confident decisions plus a clear understanding of their boundaries. In addition you must develop a culture of accepting mistakes or errors of judgement as being a legitimate part of the learning process. Obviously one of the boundaries needs to be that the same mistake twice is not acceptable.

Empowerment can be a gradual process. As an example as a lease manager when I worked for a finance company some years ago empowerment for my staff could mean that staff member “A” was able do lease quotes and a second staff member “B” would then check them. The real empowerment came when member A was granted the right to check the quotes and give the quote to the customer. As a checker you had both responsibility for the accuracy and the authority to act. Similarly, when granting loans was the issue, the first step was to give the staff member the right to decline loans to see what the lending competence was. Lending approval limits where then given (real authority) after reviewing the loans that the staff member had declined.

Empowerment of course is not for everyone. Some years ago I had the opportunity to watch as a large international/US hotel company tried to introduce an empowerment program worldwide. I was living on an island in Malaysia at the time and the staff to be empowered where “locals”, mostly from the island itself. These people were bought up in a culture of “do what you’re told” with a strong religious tradition that reinforced compliance to strict rules that to my mind limited the development of their emotional intelligence. The program was a complete disaster for this particular hotel. The empowerment of staff will only occur and be effective if the staff are willing to take authority. Don’t get me wrong they all craved status (manager on their business card) however they definitely did not want either authority or responsibility for outcomes. Emotional intelligence as well as technical skill should be assessed before any though of empowerment can be undertaken.

Finally many see delegation as empowerment and it is not. Sure delegating is part of the overall process however there is much more to real empowerment.

For the employer: (as “about dot com”) puts it, “Empowerment is the process of enabling or [and] authorizing an individual to think, behave, take action, and control work and decisionmaking in autonomous ways”. For the employee: “It is the state of feeling self-empowered to take control of one’s own destiny”.

Here are a few issues you will need to address if you a setting up an empowerment program:

Assign tasks that will allow your subordinates to grow.

Explain why task being assigned to them and highlight “what’s in it for them.”?

Give very clear and detailed directions (the what, where, why, how and when of the tasks) and allow and encourage questions.?

Introduce the empowerment process in stages and allow reasonable time for the process.

Demonstrate that you trust those you are empowering or those process will be nothing more than a waste of time and energy.

Solicit suggestions from your employees as to better ways of completing the project.

Follow up on progress, act as coach however don’t constantly look over their shoulder and always be accessible when those being empowered need help.

Pay a great deal of attention to ensuring employees feel (and are) rewarded and recognized for empowered behavior.

Effective Business Writing: Letters, Reports, Memos and Emails – Overview and Accuracy

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

  
Effective business writing skills in my experience are still one of the most difficult competencies for young employees to master. Here are a few rules that may help.
Rule 1. Write like a journalist, or as some call it the A:B:C way
Obviously good journalists are experts at getting their message across so the skills they display give a great skeleton to use as a guide to our writing. The A B C stands for:
A – Accuracy
B – Brevity
C – Clarity
In journalism’s ABC they add “coherence,  emphasis, objectivity  and unity” which are perhaps a topics for another day. So lets just look at the basic ABC’s of effective business writing.
What can you do to ensure your accuracy?
As a writer one of the most difficult issues to come to grips with is to judge how well your writing covers the topic, how well the ideas flow or if you have answered the questions being addressed. A key to good writing is to ensure what you have stated in your writing paints an accurate image in the readers mind.
A great exercise to develop this skill is to write some instructions on how to use a calculator plus solve a maths problem. Once done hand what you have written to a another person to see what happens and if the answer is correct. You can also use a geometric shape as a model to  write a description of how to draw it and then see what others come up with as a result of your written instructions.
Proofreading your own work is difficult however if you have the time, leave your piece of work for a day and then read it again. Using this method can help you find the weaknesses in what you have produced. Of course the best method is then to hand what you have written to a colleague to see if you have made sense,
It’s desirable if not essential, even today, for you to ensure that what you have written is grammatically ‘correct’ and that you have followed the conventions that your organization requires. As another writer on this topic puts it: “This is one of the most important post-writing tasks that you need to do.” Grammar in most cases is what difference between a readable and understandable piece of work and a nonsensical one. Remember grammar can change your meaning dramatically!
This classic example will perhaps demonstrate the point:
a) A woman without her man is nothing.
b) A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Once more – you must proofread your work as another reader may not know that if your intent was to express point a) above or point b)
Accuracy is also governed by giving the appropriate amount of information, too little and mistaken image will  occur in the readers mind and too much will lead to reader confusion. That leads me to part two beginning with brevity.
Before we move on, finally on accuracy: Check your facts, shouldn’t really need to say it however, don’t believe everything you read and try to confirm information – ‘facts’ – from more than one source.

Effective Business Writing: Letters, Reports, Memos and Emails the B and C of the ABC Method, Brevity and Clarity

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

As with speaking one of the quickest ways to lose your audience ti to circle around the topic or by indulging in the proverbial ‘beating-about-the-bush’. There is an old sales letter adage that if you don’t capture your audiences attention in the first ten words you have lost them. Get to the point quickly, use headings and bullet points, never have more than 27 words in a sentence and less is better.

According to Ann Wylie of http://comprehension.prsa.org/?p=217 ‘The longer your sentences, the less your readers will understand and  according to research by the American Press Institute a study shows that:

•    When the average sentence length in a piece was fewer than eight words long, readers understood 100% of the story
•    Even at 14 words, they could comprehend more than 90% of the information
•    However if you move up to 43-word sentences, comprehension dropped below 10%

Bottom line: To improve understanding, break sentences up or condense them.’

c) Clarity

Newspaper, magazines, blogs and many other articles have headings and so should you.

From P. Mathew www.articlealley.com/article_1568981_50.html

“Write in paragraphs that are short and convey a single thought that is briefly explained. Bulleting your sentences and maintaining lists improves readability and helps keep your ideas short and simple to read and understand.”

As I was taught it is always better to use simple words rather than long complicated ones and avoid jargon and anagrams.

Comprehension of a piece of writing can be calculated using what is known as a SMOG index and if you search for this on the web you can find a number of excellent articles that will explain how to calculate this so you check your writing effectiveness.

I still remember a boss that would send back lending submissions I had written with bright red notations “so what” at the end of sentences. To ensure clarity you need to follow the “so what” idea when reviewing your work to clarify what you are trying to transmit.

Example: The business’s gearing ratio is 2.5:1 The so what could be: This is way below the industry average of 4.2:1 and has reduced considerably over the last three years indicating a healthy financial trend.

And again from Pramila Mathew “Always keeping your goal in mind: If you lack a substantive goal, your readers can easily lose interest in your message. The rule of the thumb here is: start with an idea, and end it with the same.”

Rule 2 Read, Practice and Research like a Journalist

If you are going to an effective writer you will need to become an avid reader. You should read at least one or two books a month, preferably on topics related to your career or area of expertise or professional discipline. You can practice your writing by doing summaries of concepts you uncover in your reading, You will also I suggest need to read a serious newspaper each day and any industry magazines that relate to your work.

As you can see from this blog post I have used information written by other writers on the topic and with internet search it is easy to gain more facts or ideas about your topic. By doing research you can support your ideas with the help of other and broaden the perspectives you offer the reader.

Finally to improve your writing skills you should sit down and write at least one small ‘article’ a week – or more often if possible – on a topic related to your profession.

Perhaps a blog is a great place to start if you want to become a more effective writer.

We Often Hear the term “Working Smarter” so WHAT IS WORKING SMARTER?

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Working smarter is about finding new ways to get the same results in less time. Working smarter is about “doing more with less” and is the basis for increased productivity.
The infamous 80/20 rule suggests that 80 percent of our results come from just 20 percent of our efforts. Conversely I have through experience found that as a manager, if you let it, 80 percent of your time can be spent managing the bottom 20 percent of performers. So the first way to improve our performance (work smarter) is to change our focus and invest more time in our top 20 percent of performers. Easy you may say, of course, however it will take great discipline to implement this basic change in behaviour.
Here are a few more working smarter ideas to consider:
Becoming sound human relations practitioners and acting with respect for the needs of others: If you communicate well, form sound relationships and become more aware of an other’s needs you are far more likely to be able to enlist their help in achieving your desired results. Central to achieving this of course is being willing to develop & show sincere interest our colleagues’ well-being.
Constantly seeking what is effective rather than efficient: I’ve seen the most efficient people shuffle paper, religiously answer emails and maintain perfect filing systems however these are not the activities that will produce improved outcomes or greater productivity. Efficiently managing inputs is a given for any competent manager however finding ways to improve the level of outputs is the core of effectiveness and to being a smarter worker.
Working towards being agents of change rather than knockers of the new: Change is constant and developing a need to seek new and better ways to do things is a must. Question everything and don’t assume that the way it’s always been done is necessarily the best way to get it done.
Increasing our value adders and ridding ourselves of energy suckers: if you can’t measure a positive outcome from an activity that you often engage in you really need to stop the activity or make a case to those that are imposing the activity on you on why it should be abandoned. Often other will have you doing something which is done out habit that may in truth, no longer really be necessary.
Understanding our five points of power and using them all – see: five points of power
Approaching every activity with a customer in mind – see: excellent customer service
Stever Robbins in an article for Harvard Business School says: “Another way to work smarter is by distinguishing busy from productive. Oh, we’re busy, and we feel productive, but we’re only productive if we’re producing the results that are most important to moving the company forward”. Ref: hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/5190.html
Managing our limited time wisely – a few tweets I have done in the past: twitter.com/rictownsend
• #Time #Management: Don’t clutter your desk, file it, delegate it, or trash it. Action 1 item at a time! Clutter slows work!
• #Time #Management: Stop ‘multitasking’ it is not time effective, trying to do 2 or more things at once just does not work.
• #Time #Management: Plan your work & work your plan. Remember the 6 p’s ‘Proper Planning Prevents Pitifully Poor Performance’
• #Time #Management: Give instructions once, ensure receiver focused & is listening by asking astute questions to confirm understanding!
• #Time #Management: Prioritize tasks in order of importance A B C piles, split B into A or C, file C until someone follows you up, do “A” now!
Finally sometimes subordinating our own desires as the manager for the sake of the group can be a wise decision as it can help to build trust and loyalty and improve levels of cooperation. Obviously you don’t want to become a puppet of the team you are leading, however dogmatically sticking to a course of action or point of view because of your delegated “legitimate power” can reduce your effectiveness as a leader and your ability to work smarter.

Career Advice: You’re Never Out to Lunch – Telephone Diplomacy

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Obviously we all go to lunch on most work days however when our staff are explaining why we can’t take a telephone call they should never say we are “having lunch”, “in the lunchroom” or “out to lunch”. Actually the information that inept staff or colleagues will offer over the phone is often astounding. In the toilet is probably the worst I have encountered, however the one that really annoys is he (or she) is “in a meeting”.

So if you are unavailable for any reason what is the best “can’t come to the phone” explanation (excuse) that can be given. I suppose a simple “he’s out of the office” is OK however there is something I believe is better. “He/she is attending to another customer” for my money is the only phrase that will let me hang up without being annoyed at my inability to reach the parson I wanted to contact.

While I’m at it forget the “who’s calling please” it makes the caller feel as if your deciding if they are important enough to be put through. A better question is “may I tell him/her who’s calling”.

One last thing… never tell a customer, as someone did to me today, “he’s at lunch can you call back in an hour“, that’s terrible. Telephone diplomacy can win or lose you and your company great amounts of business!

Management Success and the Value of Failure

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

 

I still remember making a mistake as a young supervisor that cost the company I worked for $3,500.00. Of course my immediate thoughts were that I would at best be chastised and at worst be sacked. My punishment was a little loss of face as what I had done became a training bulletin to discourage others in similar positions from making the same mistake. The pleasant and valuable experience that resulted however was that I was asked by my bosses “what have you learned from your mistake” to which I responded “never do it again”, The final word from management was “then its money well spent, carry on”.
Prof Robert Sutton in the Harvard Business Review blog (ref*) states:
“Failure is inevitable, so the key to success is to be good at learning from it. The ability to capitalize on hard-won experience is a hallmark of the greatest organizations — [those are] the ones that are most adept at turning knowledge into action, that are best at developing and implementing creative ideas, that engage in evidence-based (rather than faith- or fear-based) management and that are populated with the best bosses.”
He goes on: “Failure sucks but instructs. In fact, there is no learning without failure… Discovery of the moves that work well is always accompanied by discovery of moves that don’t. This is why failure is so endemic to innovation.”
Brenden Boyle IDEO (Global Design Consutancy) is quoted in the same article as saying: “You can’t get any good new ideas without having a lot of dumb, lousy, and crazy ones.”
This is an excellent article and can I suggest you read it in its entirety at: ref* http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/08/forgive_and_remember_how_a_goo.html
Alternatively if you are working in an organization that that doesn’t see honest mistakes as a form of learning perhaps it time to spruce up your resume. There is a free blank resume form at orglearn.org!
Quotes on failure:
“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” Sven Eriksson
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Colin Powell
“Failure is the tuition you pay for success.” Walter Brunell
Finally back to the HBR article: All of this positive “failure” experience of course only comes about if we (and our bosses) buy into the idea, again as Prof Sutton puts it, that “failure is a by-product of risk-taking and that honest mistakes will [and should] be forgiven [by the management]“.
 

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

 

Empowering workers, means truly giving them more authority to make decisions and then act upon them and that’s where many empowerment programs break down. Many (I suggest most) mangers are happy to delegate responsibility however they are reluctant to hand over any real authority. Lack of authority for competent staff can leave them frustrated and stifled, particularly if they are not being permitted to have any input into their work. In my experience the expert in the job is most often the person doing it, rather than the manger controlling the overall workflow and therefore constant staff input into work methods and problem solving is essential for empowerment to work.
One article (“smartmanager.com”) I read suggested that “Empowering people is closely aligned with facilitative leadership.” Essentially facilitative leadership is all about helping your staff reach their potential and therefore improve operations. The article continued “If you look at leadership skills along a continuum from persuasion, through collaboration to facilitation, most managers would be required to engage a variety of approaches at different times”. If you take the “Situational Leadership” (Hershey Blanchard) approach of course you would only pass on authority to an individual in the task area in which they are fully competent.
An essential ingredient for any empowerment is an effective training process which tests for competence. As well as the technical skill training you will need to ensure staff have access to the information they require to make confident decisions plus a clear understanding of their boundaries. In addition you must develop a culture of accepting mistakes or errors of judgement as being a legitimate part of the learning process. Obviously one of the boundaries needs to be that the same mistake twice is not acceptable.
Empowerment can be a gradual process. As an example as a lease manager when I worked for a finance company some years ago empowerment for my staff could mean that staff member “A” was able do lease quotes and a second staff member “B” would then check them. The real empowerment came when member A was granted the right to check the quotes and give the quote to the customer. As a checker you had both responsibility for the accuracy and the authority to act. Similarly, when granting loans was the issue, the first step was to give the staff member the right to decline loans to see what the lending competence was. Lending approval limits where then given (real authority) after reviewing the loans that the staff member had declined.
Empowerment of course is not for everyone. Some years ago I had the opportunity to watch as a large international/US hotel company tried to introduce an empowerment program worldwide. I was living on an island in Malaysia at the time and the staff to be empowered where “locals”, mostly from the island itself. These people were bought up in a culture of “do what you’re told” with a strong religious tradition that reinforced compliance to strict rules that to my mind limited the development of their emotional intelligence. The program was a complete disaster for this particular hotel. The empowerment of staff will only occur and be effective if the staff are willing to take authority. Don’t get me wrong they all craved status (manager on their business card) however they definitely did not want either authority or responsibility for outcomes. Emotional intelligence as well as technical skill should be assessed before any though of empowerment can be undertaken.
Finally many see delegation as empowerment and it is not. Sure delegating is part of the overall process however there is much more to real empowerment.
For the employer: (as “about dot com”) puts it, “Empowerment is the process of enabling or [and] authorizing an individual to think, behave, take action, and control work and decisionmaking in autonomous ways”. For the employee: “It is the state of feeling self-empowered to take control of one’s own destiny”.
Here are a few issues you will need to address if you a setting up an empowerment program:
Assign tasks that will allow your subordinates to grow.
Explain why task being assigned to them and highlight “what’s in it for them.”?
Give very clear and detailed directions (the what, where, why, how and when of the tasks) and allow and encourage questions.?
Introduce the empowerment process in stages and allow reasonable time for the process.
Demonstrate that you trust those you are empowering or those process will be nothing more than a waste of time and energy.
Solicit suggestions from your employees as to better ways of completing the project.
Follow up on progress, act as coach however don’t constantly look over their shoulder and always be accessible when those being empowered need help.
Pay a great deal of attention to ensuring employees feel (and are) rewarded and recognized for empowered behavior.
 

Employee Empowerment Needs an Organizational Culture That Seeks Empowerment

by rictownsend

 

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

As culture is developed based on traditions, beliefs, rituals, information and language (communication) to develop an organizational culture of empowerment you need to understand how all these factors come about. The primary issues are the development of a shared vision, full understanding by all involved of the mission, setting of clear goals and as I said in my last post, the setting of clearly understood boundaries for decision making, The outcome to be sought is of course an improved level of staff competency and the competency development of course needs to be focussed on satisfying both internal and external customers. Any competency development program adopted needs to include strong levels of support in the form of mentoring for development of operational skills, organizational cultural support and the encouragement of risk-taking.

Quote: ‘To empower employees, managers need to create a nurturing environment in which staff can learn, grow, improve, and function effectively.’ “Staff empowerment gives employees a sense of trust, importance and capability, thus creating a positive work environment.” (Ref “xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/fall03/staff.html”)

Quote: “To feel empowered, employees must have a sense of self-determination, competence, meaning and influence.  Employees’ sense of self-determination is the perception that they are free to make choices and that their actions are not [over] controlled by policies, systems or managerial dictates.  Granting autonomy to employees helps them feel a sense of self-determination.  The higher employees’ competence, the more they appreciate and thrive when given autonomy. As long as employees perceive that doing their job satisfies important needs of internal or external customers, they’ll see the meaningfulness of their work.” (Ref: www.wright.edu/~scott.williams/LeaderLetter/empowerment.htm)

The article in wright.edu also points out the basic requirements of being systematic and consistent and that any empowerment program needs to develop their competence and confidence.

Managers who want to empower their staff must either be be trainers themselves or at least provide some competence development input and know how to acquire the training required by their staff.  Now you would think this would be a “no brainer” however in my experience mangers often neglect this duty and if we are looking at soft skill development, will actively reject it on the excuse that their staff/department is too busy to attend. Often then if new skills and knowledge are gained, when the employee gets back to work managers will still neglect to implement the ‘new ways’ of doing things. This is often because implementation of the operational changes desired/required will can be time consuming and and can be seen as risky to make . This is why the development of an organizational culture of empowerment that all managers buy into is so important. Managers must also become proficient in, as wright.edu puts it, ” telling them what they will be learning and why, providing information and demonstrations, allowing opportunities for practice” and finally “providing feedback on performance”. Confidence obviously comes from successful performances (either their own or as observed in others) and from encouragement by those who are respected and and seen as mentors.

One final definition of empowerment:

Empowerment is the process of enabling, through the development of competence combined with the authorizing of an individual to think, behave, take action, and control work and decision making in autonomous ways. The payoff for the organization, a more effective and presumably customer oriented operation and for the employee a feeling of being self-empowered and being able to influence the outcome of their own future.

Empowerment  is not something someone (a manger) bestows on the people who report to him,’ it is a personal development process undertaken in an atmosphere of mutual, trust, understanding, learning and shared responsibility. The organization’s management has the responsibility to create a work environment which helps foster the ability and desire of employees to act in empowered ways through the removal barriers that limit that ability.

Why Managers Particularly Young Mangers Should Join Rotary

by rictownsend

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Sometimes doing what you’re told works out well in the long run. I only joined Rotary because the chief executive of our company insisted on it.

I still remember the excitement of being appointed to my first branch management position way back in the early ’80′s. One of the things that came as a bit of a shock at the time of being given the position was the request/insistence by my company that, ‘as the company’s representative in my area and as we were good corporate citizens, I would be required to become a member of the local Rotary Club’. My less than politically correct (cheeky) retort to our chief executive was, “you must be kidding Mr Fletcher, that’s just for old guys”. His quick response was; “do you want the job or not”. Sure enough the club in my area was very large and mainly full of ‘old guys’. There was however a few members that were about my age (at the time, early thirties) that seemed to do much of the work in the club.

Now there are obvious advantages that come with being a Rotarian and they are not just the clichéd old… “its just a place for business networking”. Sure that is an obvious outcome however I have seen plenty of inept members almost destroy the positive side of the opportunity by their behaviour in their Rotary club. If you (or your managers) join a club with the view of just selling your products and services to other members you (or they) may well be very disappointed. I have however over the years sold a large proportion of my services both as a financier and corporate trainer through my Rotary connections. What I have said is not contradictory… its more a matter of how you go about things. People like to deal with individuals they can trust and in Rotary you gain trust and respect from the efforts you put in on behalf of your club and of course the projects they are involved in.

I am now a member of my eighth Rotary Club and have been a Rotary member for most of the past 25 or more years. I have also been a member of clubs in five countries. So what has Rotary taught me and what might it help develop in your managers.

Firstly through involvement in the club projects you are exposed to how “real” or “true” and teams work and what an effective team looks like. Because all members are volunteers there are no individuals with legitimate authority they can rely on which usually leads to effective teams being created around a shared vision. The lack of reliance on legitimate authority also teaches you sound human relations skills as you need to work well with others who are likely to be fairly self sufficient and competent in their own right. As part of this process you will also learn how to sell more effectively as you will need to sell you ideas on how to do things. You will also, on a more basic level, need to sell your particular point of view on what should be accepted as a legitimate use of your time and what is not.

A Rotary club is run somewhat along similar lines to any company or organization and if you accept positions in your club you will gain experience in financial control, secretarial duties, directorships and of course as president, a CEO. Even the position of Club sergeant teaches you crowd control and most of all… public speaking. If you think about it all activities involved in Rotary have parallels in your career however Rotarians will usually be a little kinder about helping you overcome your shortcomings than your company or boss will. If you are always late for meetings as an example you may cop a small fine from your club sergeant, however if you constantly do that at work and you may well get fired. Which way would you rather learn timeliness?

In Rotary you will be exposed to all kinds of leaders from autocrats to democrats. Learning how to deal with a range of individuals in a work type scenario will always be valuable.

Wherever people gather there will be politics so you should (or will) develop a greater level of political savvy and a better understanding of group dynamics. Groups of course operate on a different set of rules than do teams. All clubs have disputes over issues as simple as where to meet, to as complicated as which types of charity or projects they should support or not. There are always more in need than there are resources available to help. Here you will also learn how to make hard decisions that really can impact on the lives of others.

I asked a few Rotarians for their perspectives on learning through Rotary and these are a couple of the responses I received:

A lesson in setting personal priorities:

“Study the [your] priorities, get them right and then and only then if the circumstances are right, make the service/community commitment and [make sure you] carry it through. Part of “the lesson is that there does not have to be a personal financial reward for actions, the moral obligation and the outcome is [should be] enough.

Chris Brooker – Rotarian

I summed up his overall comments and attitude with the following statement that he agreed with:

“An individual (manager) who joins a Rotary club will learn very quickly that they need to deliver on what they promise. They will also learn to deliver because of a moral obligation (sticking to their word), rather than for any fleeting chance of financial reward, as there is no direct financial reward involved. This is a lesson in caring for others (a leadership quality needed to succeed) and in the value of sometimes placing your own priorities at the bottom of the list.”

Lessons in accepting diversity and the value of networking:

“The diversity of people with experiences, interests and occupations that can be called upon or learned about in an informal atmosphere, from either fellow members or guest speakers” is a major aspect of Rotary. Also as a Rotary member you can draw on the resources of both a “national and international network”.

David Edmonds – Rotarian

For me the lesson from David’s second point is that to co-operate locally can be quite easy however to deal with an international organization with its rules and procedures can be quite daunting. To learn to co-operate and deal with others, to gain access to funds and resources, mainly through expressing your needs through written submissions, is a great skill to learn.

Lessons in Power:

“[Inspiring] a volunteer/s, without being able to rely on authority provided from a position of legitimate power, is a rewarding way of enabling oneself and others to give of their best.”

Rotarian – Name Withheld

This Rotarian’s comment made me think more about the power issue. The management of Rotary projects teaches you how to use your four other points of power; personal attractiveness or charisma, referent or relationship power, knowledge or expertise, task abilities skills or competence developed from your field of expertise. Power is an emotional topic however if you don’t have it in all its forms as a manager and a leader you will find it difficult to succeed in your career

From my experience Rotary is a valuable way to add to the training and development of managers and of course the information they gather on their local community is a great asset to both the individual and the organization, not to mention the community goodwill that can be created.

Hopefully when you are next sitting thinking about your management development programs you will consider Rotary a legitimate option to assist in their broader education.

 

Management Skill Job Interview Questions

By Susan M. Heathfield

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

The following sample job interview questions about management and supervisory skills enable you to assess your candidate’s skills in management and supervision. Feel free to use these job interview questions in your own candidate interviews.

Management Job Interview Questions That You Always Ask

Always ask these management interview questions. The interview question answers give you valuable knowledge about the candidate’s experience. Ask:

• How long have you worked as a manager?
• How many employees reported directly to you in your management job? (You are asking about the number of employees whom he or she directly supervised with performance assessment and compensation assignment responsibilities.)
• Describe the exact responsibilities and activities over which you had oversight for these employees.

Behavioral Management Interview Questions

• If I were to interview the people who have reported to you in the past, how would they describe your management style?
• If I were to interview your reporting staff members, how would they describe your strengths and weaknesses as a manager and supervisor?
• Give me an example, from your past work experiences, about a time when you had an underperforming employee reporting to you. How did you address the situation? Did the employee’s performance improve? If not, what did you do next?
• Rate your management skills on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 representing excellent management skills. Provide three examples from your past work experiences that demonstrate your selected number is accurate.
• Describe the work environment or culture and its management style in which you have experienced the most success.
• Tell me about a time when you had a reporting employee who performed very well. The employee exceeded goals and sought more responsibility. Describe how you handled this situation day-to-day and over time.
• Describe three components of your philosophy of management that demonstrate what you value and add, as an individual, to an organization’s culture and work environment.
• What factors are crucial within an organization and must be present for you to work most effectively?
• Tell me about a time when you reorganized a department or significantly changed employee work assignments. How did you approach the task? How did the affected employees respond to your actions?
• One of the jobs of a manager or supervisor is to manage performance and perform periodic performance reviews. Tell me how you have managed employee performance in the past. Describe the process you have used for performance feedback.
• When you have entered a new workplace in the past, as a manager or supervisor, describe how you have gone about meeting and developing relationships with your new coworkers, supervisors, and reporting staff.
• As a manager or supervisor, one of your jobs is to provide direction and leadership for a work unit. Describe how you have accomplished this in the past.

Effective Meetings Produce Results: Tips for Meeting Management

By Susan M. Heathfield

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

After the Meeting to Ensure Effective Meetings

Actions and planning before and during the meeting play a big role in helping you achieve expected, positive, and constructive outcomes. Your actions following the meeting are just as crucial. Follow-up at the next scheduled meeting is never enough of an investment to ensure results.

Publish Meeting Minutes

Begin by publishing your minutes and action plan within 24 hours. People will most effectively contribute to results if they get started on action items right away. They still have a fresh memory of the meeting, the discussion and the rationale for the chosen direction. They remain enthusiastic and ready to get started. A delay in the distribution of minutes will hurt your results since most people wait for the minutes to arrive before they begin to tackle their commitments.

Effective Meeting Follow-up

Respecting and observing deadlines and follow-up will help you achieve results from your meetings. The deadline was established during the meeting. Following the meeting, each person with an action item should also make a plan for their personal accomplishment of their commitment. Whether they write the steps in their planner, delegate the tasks to another staff person, or just complete the task, the individual is responsible for follow-up.

So is the meeting planner. You can improve meeting results by following up with each person who has an action item mid-way between meetings. Your goal is to check progress and ensure that tasks are underway. Remember that what you ask about gets accomplished.

Accountability for Follow-up during the Next Meeting

Have you ever sat in a follow-up meeting that consisted of each participant telling the group why they were unable to accomplish their commitment? I have, and the result is deplorable. Establishing the norm or custom of accountability for results begins early in your meeting cycle.

Follow-up by the facilitator mid-way between meetings helps, but the group must make failure to keep commitments unacceptable. Report on progress and outcomes at the next meeting and expect that all will have been accomplished. Alternatively, check progress at the next meeting and if there is a real roadblock to progress, determine how to proceed.

Debrief the Meeting Process for Continuous Improvement

The practice of debriefing each meeting is a powerful tool for continuous improvement. Participants take turns discussing what was effective or ineffective about the current meeting process. They also discuss the progress they feel the group is making on the topic of the meeting.

Taking continuous improvement to another level, successful teams debrief their entire project as well as the process to determine how effectively they managed to create results. Future meetings reflect the evaluation. Meetings evolve as an even more effective tool for creating organization results.

Conclusion

Results are achievable and predictable from well-planned and implemented meetings. Follow these twelve recommendations to ensure that meeting attendees achieve expected, positive, and constructive outcomes from the time invested in meetings.