Employee Referrals – Really?

What an outstanding idea! Ask your current employees to share the openings you are trying to fill with their personal and professional network. Not just reposting on LinkedIn but sharing it with people they believe could be both interested in and qualified for the role. Have the candidate note the referral source when they apply and even agree to pay a referral bonus if they are hired!

Now to ensure it never works and you never pay a referral bonus – don’t acknowledge receipt of the application to the referring employee and by all means don’t follow up with the referred candidate!

Sounds crazy, right? I have had two business friends each working for a separate company say they couldn’t help a family friend because their referrals are never acknowledged. They said the resume’ would get just as much attention by coming in with every other blind application. You don’t have to hire the employee referral. You don’t even have to invite them for an interview if you don’t see the fit. Please have the common courtesy (certainly uncommon courtesy in application) to acknowledge and thank your employee and reply to the candidate.

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New Year’s Resolutions – Lost 2020, How About 2021?

I don’t know about you but I lost track of my 2020 resolutions, personal and professional, in the midst of all things COVID. Now I need to get back in the habit of reviewing my 2021 resolutions more regularly to help me improve in keeping them!

One of my dual purpose resolutions was to write more – personal letters (yes handwritten, envelope with a stamp) and more professional publishing. The easy (or so I thought) way to publish more was to publish something to this blog once per month and here I am publishing the first of 2021 in March. The write more letters portion was always going to be harder. Like many I’ve gotten out of the habit by relying on texts, emails and family group WhatsApp entries. The most consistent letter writing I’ve done in the last few years has been to a young gentleman I coached in Knothole baseball who found himself on the business end of a wrongful conviction and is currently at Madison Correctional in London, Ohio. Visitation has been closed since March 2020 and calls are monitored and limited to 15 minutes so writing a letter is my chance to draw him into some real thought provoking discussion. Despite knowing that, I mailed my first letter of 2021 last week!

Now is always the right time to recommit to good habits. I’m recommitting to my New Years Resolutions. I hope your New Year’s Resolutions are still intact but if necessary I’m encouraging you to recommit to yours.

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Cincinnati Reds and 4th Quarter Inspiration

Who in Major League Baseball, including many (maybe most) diehard Reds fans, didn’t leave them for dead the morning of 9-11-2020. Just one game short of completing three quarters of the shortened season they were at 19 wins and 25 losses. The hope of a long-awaited return to the playoffs seemed over. Nothing in their season long performance would have led you to believe they would finish 12 and 4 over the final 16 games, including series wins over four playoff bound teams. Now with three top of the rotation starters in Trevor Bauer (had to love his duck walk on 9-23-20), Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray all things are possible and hope springs eternal!

2020 has not been the year any business expected. The Reds have shown that with continued dedication to task, and maybe just a little luck, a season can turn around when you least expect it.

FYI – the 16 game turnaround started on the 35th anniversary of Pete Rose’s record breaking 4192!

#cincinnatireds #peterose #4192 

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KEEP UP! Lessons I Learned Caddying Apply to COVID-19

The final directive to the assembled pre-teens at the first Monday caddy school was to “keep up!” What our caddymaster Pat Higgins really meant was “stay ahead!” What golfer who has the privilege of taking a caddy wants to look for his own ball? When I first started caddying I would lag behind my golfer when I wasn’t entirely sure where the ball had traveled thinking I would be forgiven for being a couple of steps slow but not for failing to follow the flight of the ball. What I learned was they knew I didn’t see the ball and thought I was a couple of steps slow. The lesson I learned was to get ahead of the game, be the first to arrive at the most likely landing area and furiously survey the area to increase the likelihood of being the one to discover the right answer.

So, going back to that Zoom meeting, it means thinking ahead before the meeting and understanding not only the topic being discussed but doing the research necessary to answer the most likely questions. The group isn’t interested in watching you furiously review documents or access another application on your system.

They also want you to make a decision. The endless search for more information will have people tuning out of your online meeting both literally and figuratively. Early in my CPA firm career an audit manager said “make a decision and move on, we didn’t hire you because you know what to do, we hired you because we believed you were smart and will make good decisions about what to do!” I captured this from a national firm partner instructing an Ohio Society of CPA’s continuing education session – “Your only consistent value add is in decision making and that comes from the training and practice that informs your sound analytical thinking combined with your objectivity and judgement.”

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SHUT UP! A Caddy Lesson for COVID-19

The second directive to the assembled pre-teens at my first Monday caddy school was to “shut up!” Be Quiet is mentioned FIVE times in the short Western Golf Association Caddy Manual (www.wgaesf.org). I mistakenly thought our caddymaster Pat Higgins meant that only for when we were on the course with our assigned loop. I learned (not too painfully because I had three older brothers caddying) that it was even more important in the caddy yard and around the caddy shack. I’ve been asked “if you could give your professional self two daily words of advice what would they be?” My answer without hesitation – “shut up.”

I was told I was a pretty smart kid but early in my career I couldn’t stop trying to show that I was the smartest guy in the room. It wasn’t usually with my superiors, I guess I viewed them as the golfers I was caddying for, but it was with my co-workers, fellow caddies if you will. Now for that COVID-19 lesson: in today’s normal of video conference meetings just leave the microphone on MUTE until you are ready to speak. If you are interested in adding something of value consider using the “Raise Your Hand” feature (I know Zoom has this) and let your Call Host recognize you.

Some pre and post meeting idle chatter and catching up is appropriate but be mindful every time you unmute your microphone – we’ve all had that “did I just say that?” moment. Keep in mind sarcasm almost never works and it never works on a multiple attendee conference call – video or voice only.

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Show Up! A COVID-19 Caddy Lesson

“Only three things you need to know to be successful” according to my first boss, “show up, shut up, keep up.” I’m actually not certain if my first caddymaster Pat Higgins said it or if after hearing it during my Evans Scholar days at Miami University I just attributed it to him, but as time went on I learned just how universally true those keys to success were.

The #1 Lesson still matters in our current Covid-19 non-essential employee work from home environment. When you are scheduled to attend a web conference please Show Up! On Time and Ready!

Another caddy has to carry a double when an assigned looper is late. The same way your co-workers have to answer questions meant for you when you arrive late.

A golfer will be clearly annoyed if their caddy still needs to adjust the strap on the bag when they need them to get off the first tee and find their ball in the deep rough. In the same way your boss and co-workers will be annoyed when you can’t figure out how to mute and unmute your microphone.

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Define Your Own Normal!

In these days (hopefully ending soon) of social distancing my mind keeps turning to those actively seeking a new career opportunity, especially those who are unemployed. Don’t Stop Networking! Just know your goal can’t be to schedule an in-person meeting.

Your goals of: 1) introducing yourself and how you’ve been referred, 2) learning more about them personally and professionally and 3) sharing the type of opportunity you are seeking can still be achieved. Now you even have another objective – mutual education and support. Ask them how their personal and business life has been impacted. Share what your personal experience has been and what you’ve learned from others.

I believe people are naturally wired to help. Call them, help them and give them the opportunity to help you!

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Measuring Diversity is Important

A great article in the February 21, 2020 Cincinnati Business Courier speaks to the value of mentoring to increase gender, ethnic and cultural diversity in corporate leadership. Specifically it stated: “While statistics touting the merits of diverse corporate leadership are plentiful, the business world remains primarily white and male in its top ranks.” It goes on to state: “According to a McKinsey & Co. diversity report released in 2018, McKinsey found that the 346 companies it also surveyed in 2015 increased the gender diversity on their executive teams by only 2% to 14%, while ethnic and cultural diversity increased by only 1% to 13%.”

While the increases are disappointing, I believe the most important thing to take from these statistics is they are being consistently measured. Another great read I finished recently – How to be an AntiRacist by Ibram X. Kendi discusses categorizing and measuring specifically regarding race. On page 54 he writes: “Assimilationists believe in the post racial myth that talking about race constitutes racism, or that if we stop identifying by race, then racism will miraculously go away. They fail to realize that if we stop using racial categories, then we will not be able to identify racial inequity. If we cannot identify racial inequity, then we will not be able to identify racist policies. If we cannot identify racist policies, then we cannot challenge racist policies. If we cannot challenge racist policies, then racist power’s final solution will be achieved: a world of inequity none of us can see, let alone resist. Terminating racial categories is potentially the last, not the first, step in the antiracist struggle.”

As the father of two Hispanic children, I have had to become painfully aware of just how often people are judged by the color of their skin and other physical characteristics. I certainly wish our society was beyond judging people based on gender, race, ethnic and cultural diversity but I am happy we are measuring it and, despite the slow pace, working to improve it. The following quote is attributed to both Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) famous for devising the absolute temperature scale, now called the ‘Kelvin scale’ and Peter Drucker (1909-2005) one of the most widely-known and influential thinkers on management, – “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.”

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Counteroffers are the Norm

Not just the norm but the $$ and the promises have become bigger. More likely to be accepted, From My Perspective – NOT SO!

Two recent counters included 19% and 26% compensation increases respectively – both were turned down. Why? Because money doesn’t change the career opportunity and both candidates focused on the long term. Another counter included a title change and a new role with new responsibilities – “just as soon as we hire someone for your current role.” Yes, another turndown. Why? Because they had been clear about their career goals throughout their tenure but had been routinely “ignored” until they submitted their resignation letter.

Yes, sometimes counteroffers are accepted – either the big money wins or promised opportunities make it easier to stay and not admit change was just scarier than expected. From My Perspective counteroffers rarely win for long – the employer secures only an interim employee.

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How Do You Treat Passive Lookers?

You want to hire that elusive top performer. You know – the one who isn’t looking, doesn’t have a resume’. Your outstanding recruiting team (internal or external) has identified this performer, secured their initial interest and presented a profile. What’s next? Do you pursue them like the precious prospective client you are hoping to do business with OR the vendor who is trying to get on your approved list?

My most recent potential client interaction tells me it is still too often like a vendor. Their proposed contract requires a current resume’ uploaded to the applicant tracking system and reference checks completed before they will acknowledge a referral. References and applicant data are important but requiring them too early in the process risks 1) losing a candidate’s interest before you have the chance to make your case or 2) creating your own competition because now they have a resume’, so why not entertain additional opportunities.

I understand there are processes to follow and compliance issues to be dealt with but do you agree these can and should wait?

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