Instrumental Pointer

Many patterns in our society act like the swing of a pendulum, first one way and then the other. The highs usually go too far, and the lows sink too low. The same thing fits hiring trends.

In the not to distant past we had the swing of the dot-bombs, companies were being started almost every minute of each day. Then came the swing of the pendulum, companies folded, jobs vanished, and now ten years later many of those buildings remain empty.

Then we entered the 21st century and the hot industries were bio-tech and health-care. The SF Area saw a growth of schools training people in the medical field; even the EDD started training people for the medical field. Unfortunately, after a couple of years, the number of professionals looking for healthcare jobsfar exceeded the needs of the industry and today many of these individuals are now seeking a new hot field.

The new buzzword for jobs in 2009-10…and maybe beyond…is “cleantech”. The government has injected immense sums of capital for companies in a variety of connected industries – like energy storage, smart-grid, solar thermal, wind. These amounts are allowing these companies to expand and also helping new companies to get a start. According to CNN Money (11/18/2009), the government stimulus money has made 110,185 jobs in California. In discussions with Paul Davis, V.P. of Client Services here at the AA-Careers job hunting center, this year 25% of new customers are seeking career changes, and over 20% of them are taking clean tech jobs. The job positions cover the complete spectrum from accounting to development and testing developers to support and sales.

According to an article done by CareerBuilder, hiring in the 2009 period in “Green” jobs increased across the US by 13 %, and that will increase again in 2010. Clean Edge.(October 2009) states “President Obama and Chinese President Jintao have both made clean-tech development and deployment a cornerstone of their leadership, targeting the creation of millions of new clean-tech jobs”. “Many believe we are just at the beginning of the clean-tech job creation era.” It could be the largest growth area since the advent of the computer and the Internet.

The top 5 areas for clean-tech career activity, according to CleanEdge are:
1. CPV solar
2. Bio fuels & Biomaterials
3. Conservation and Recycling
4. Smart Grid, and
5. Small Wind.

Making career changes has never been easy. Many people using the old “Historical Style” resume have little or no success and tend to give up, using statements like “they are only hiring people with prior experience”. Paul Davis and his staff at AA-Careers have been extremely successful for years using targeted resumes which contain more and highly specific information regarding the client’s ability to make the company money or save them money, based upon past accomplishments. Think about your own accomplishments and how could they apply to the new rapidly growing “green” sector.

Stay tuned for more hiring trends with our new job hunting blog!

Success in business depends on the competent management of staff. These skills can be developed and learned. Having a intuitive affinity for communicating with people and forming relationships may be a plus, even so there are numerous things you can do that will make this process easy. Forging relationships: Start by remembering an individual’s name. Engage in conversation; get eye contact as you’re speaking. Show respect, also do pay attention to everything the other person has to say, even if you disagree or have another opinion. Listening to what staff say is one of the best human resources management skills in your arsenal. Exhibit interest in what people can give to the team.

Live up to your word: Keeping your promises is key. If a promise is broken, it can destroy trust, and without trust employees won’t offer their best. Each time you say something or give a promise, ensure you can follow through or don’t bother giving your word at all. You will discover, if you can’t be counted on, you can be sure they will behave in a similar way.

Encourage any feedback: Feedback should be a reciprocal process. Talent management skills mean being open to all feedback. Being accessible and receptive demonstrates that you want to listen to your co-worker’s opinions, and they will listen to yours. Promoting discussion also boosts growth of creative problem solving, ways of achieving the goals of the team, and develops the company dynamic. When team members are given a voice, every employee invests in the outcome. Encourage communication: Communication is the key to managing individuals skilfully. Be accessible, listen attentively to people, retain an open mind, and permit each of your team members to express their opinions. The team must be encouraged to speak to each other not just with you. The sharing of ideas is essential in the creative process, and in listening to one another, it becomes simple to discover issues before they could present a problem, allowing corrective action to be taken to prevent any further problems.

Some time and effort will be required, all the same the rewards are worth it. Through inspiring a good team dynamic and demonstrating good listening skills, a thriving business will be yours.

It’s opinion in a significant number of companies that, by providing employees with training in health and safety, they are well equipped to manage any situation. The truth of the matter is that, regardless of the industry you’re in, employees need far more than just the basics in safety regulations and risk assessment. Equipping your workers, hiring an enthusiastic supervisior and supporting frequent drills are all essential factors. Anyone in a supervisory capacity has a much larger function to play than simply managing the work area. A supervisor should be enthusiastic, they should also consider training essential.

As well as encouraging conformity with health and safety legislation, the person supervising must also check that every employee works to the highest standard. Naturally it isn’t easy to do all this at once. Excellent industry knowledge is an essential for a supervisory job in addition to a very high standard of knowledge of up-to-date legislation regarding safety, risk assessment and emergency assistance techniques.

It’s just not enough to merely send your employees to a health and safety training program. They have to practise risk assessment and the identification of hazardous areas. Employees need to know how to deal with safety risks as well as how best to react if the unexpected happens. Workers are only properly protected when everything has become automatic. Proper safety gear is just as critical to the your workers’ well-being as any training. Without the right apparatus or should staff discover that supplies are broken only after something has happened, even the very best instruction isn’t going to help them.

It is necessary to perform thorough checks frequently to verify that all the necessary equipment is where it should be as well as checking that it’s all being properly maintained. If you find something is not in good order, make sure that it is rectified promptly and returned to the right place.

Proper health and safety instruction is vital to the health of your staff, but they must have the proper gear, the chance to practise, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. When you implement these steps you should see that health and safety legislation will be established in your business culture rather than something challenging for everyone to remember constantly.

Talent management techniques are very important for business success. You may succeed in developing these skills. Having a spontaneous affinity for communicating with people and building relationships can be a plus, even so there are some skills you can do that will make this procedure simpler. Forging relationships: Start by remembering the names of the workforce. Engage in conversation; make eye contact during a conversation. Have a respectful attitude, in addition do pay attention to the other person’s point of view, even if you don’t agree or have another viewpoint. Listening to what employees say is one of the most important talent management skills in your arsenal. Exhibit an interest in what everyone can contribute to the team.

Live up to promises: Do not give promises you will not keep. When a promise is broken, it can damage trust, and nobody will give you their best efforts without trust. Everytime you say something or make a promise, make sure you can deliver or don’t bother giving your word at all. The truth is, if your people can’t count on your promises, you can be assured they will act in a similar fashion. Feedback is important: It’s a two way street. Maintaining an open mind with regard to other’s opinions is an important skill in managing individuals. Being accessible and open shows that you value your co-worker’s ideas, and they will respect yours. Bona Fide discourse in addition promotes innovative ways of doing business, ways of fulfilling goals, and strengthens the company in general. When team members can express their ideas, the success of the business becomes important to each member. Communicating is the key: Communication is central to managing employees with skill. Be approachable, listen closely to other people, be open-minded, and allow each of your team members to express their views. Encourage staff not only to speak with you, but with each other. The creative process depends a great deal on the open exchange of ideas, when the staff communicate effectively, you can identify any problems early, permitting corrective action to be implemented to prevent any further problems.

Some effort is essential, even so the payoff is worthwhile. By promoting a good team dynamic and by listening to your team’s opinions, a successful business can be yours.

Today, most of us have been involved in a team project, either as the leader or a contributor. The team concept, if structured properly, can be a very successful option for any company or organization. You’re able to pool a great variety of resources with various backgrounds and strengths to achieve a desired outcome. However, there also needs to be a proper foundation set in order for a team to function effectively and efficiently. So, in this month’s article I want to share my own key learnings and observations on how you can use the team concept to bring about success.

Okay, you’ve been “appointed” as the team/project leader, now what do you need to do to lead your team to success. Here are important steps to take to move along the path to achievement and success:

1. Develop a team vision and clearly define roles

Start with a project kick-off meeting to accomplish this task and engage the support/sponsorship of an Executive Team member

Ensure that the team vision and roles are agreed upon and committed to in writing

2. Establish project accountabilities and measurements

Develop a weekly or biweekly meeting schedule – This will allow for the team members to share their status, look for feedback and bring problems to the forefront. Have an agenda with team member input distributed prior to the meeting and distribute meeting notes with action items as a follow to the meeting.

Implement a project tracker – Create a master project schedule with timelines. Make sure that the team member understands how any delays or changes impact the entire project.

3. Let the team participants determine their own desired outcome

Hold each participant accountable for his/her own actions, progress and results – Again, have the team member commit to these items in writing

4. Define each team player’s desired rewards and the reward sought by the organization

Ask that a member of the Executive team communicate the reward sought by the organization during the initial kick-off meeting. – This communiqué should also address the “What’s in it for me?” question for the team members

Then ask the team member to outline the personal and professional rewards he/she is seeking

5. Communicate progress

Ask that each member give a two-minute status report at each team meeting

Enforce the rule that when introducing a problem, the team member must also offer a solution

Apprise the team participants of changes or updates in between meeting dates

6. Enroll stakeholders in the process

Each team member must be responsible for gaining buy-in from stakeholders in his/her department

Ensure that stakeholders are aware of how this project impacts his/her role within the organization and why the company is seeking the success of the project

7. Have team sign-off on successful completion of project

The project isn’t complete until all team participants agree on a successful project completion!

Have each team member share his/her key learnings, what worked well and recommendations for improvement

As the team leader acknowledge the strengths and accomplishments noted by each individual team member2005-04-25

Marion M. Chamberlain, MBA
The Lifestyle Strategist
Motivator… Educator… Leader… Coach…
MMC Lifestyle Coaching, LLC, a successful lifestyle strategy development and coaching organization, based in Southern New Jersey, part of the Greater Philadelphia market is led up by Marion M. Chamberlain.

Chamberlain holds the proven experience to make a difference as a coach who supports clients in achieving lifestyle goals, and helps the seemingly impossible in their lives evolve into the possible.

Offering customized programs and products in numerous areas of both lifestyle development and business coaching, Marion’s philosophy is to provide the insight and motivational skills to help her clients become the people they want to be. And they truly have, as evidenced by the expanding scope and recognition of her company.

With over a decade of solid professional experience and a Master of Business Administration degree in management/marketing from Rutgers University, Chamberlain’s business specialties have included marketing, customer service, international account management an

Organizations around the world has been realizing the cultural diversity within organization is not a negative aspect, rather can facilitate organizational stalk for glory (Papers4you.com, 2006). However it is not an easy task to manage employees with different cultural backgrounds. Nevertheless there are many policy guidelines that can make task easy.

On a broader perspective, cultural diversity can be manage through communicating (creating awareness among all employees about diverse values of peers through communication), cultivating ( facilitating acknowledgement, support and encouragement of any employee’ success by all other workers), and capitalizing (linking diversity to every business process and strategy such as succession planning, reengineering, employee development, performance management and review, and reward systems) strategies ( Cascio, 1995).

There are many different innovative ways that organizations have adopted to manage diversity. For instance Tabra Incorporation, a small manufacturer of jewellery and accessories in California comprised of modest workforce is composition of Third World immigrants from Cambodia, China, El Salvador, Ethiopia, India, Laos, Mexico, Thailand, Tibet Vietnam and other nations. To acknowledge importance of their cultural association, at least 10-12 different flags are always hanged from the ceiling of its main production facility which represents the countries of origin of the employees. The owner’s view point is ‘I would like for this to be a little United Nations everybody getting along and appreciating each other’s culture instead of just tolerating it’. (Bhatia & Chaudary, 2003)

If cultural diversity can be managed effectively, there is a potential to use diverse workforce for organizational benefits. Cox and Balke (1991) asserts that multi-culturism is directly linked to organizational success as

Effectively managed multi culture companies have cost effective competitive edge

It helps in promoting minority friendly reputation among prospective employees

Diverse cultural corporations help to get better customers which has a variety of people

Diverse group of employees are perceived to be more creative and efficient in problem solving as compared to homogenous group

Ability to manage cultural diversity increases adaptability and flexibility of an organization to environmental changes.

Many organizational examples can be taken in this regard. In Australia, for instance, Hotel Nikko in Sydney has unique edge that staff members in direct guest contact areas speak a total of 34 different languages. Similarly Qantas Flight Catering has sixty-six nationalities on staff, with various overseas-born chefs. So dedicated diverse ‘ethnic’ kitchens gave Qantas a huge competitive edge that offers food based on customer’s ethnic taste and requirements. Moreover Don’s Smallgoods through literacy, language and cultural trainings increased cross-cultural communication and increased profits while lowering costs at the same time. Similarly The Cheesecake Factory had put special effort to understand Japanese quality and packaging culture as Asian employees assist management to understand Asian tastes so that they can target exports to Asia (Nankervis et al, 2002)

Hence the discussion suggests that it is imperative to realize that cultural diversity should be taken as a tool for better organizational progress rather than a managerial problem and if effectively managed, it can be a key to gain competitive edge and success

References

Bhatia, S., K., & Chaudary, P., ( 2003),’Managing Cultural Diversity in Globalization- Key to Business Success of Global Managers- Insights and Strategies’, New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publication Pvt Ltd

Cascio, W., F., (1995), ‘Managing Human Resources’ International Edition, US: McGraw Hill.

Cox, T. H., & Balke, S., (1991), ‘Managing Cultural Diversity: Implications for Organizational Competitiveness’ Academy of Management Executive, Vol 5, Issue 3, August 1991

Nankervis, A. Compton, R., & Baird, M., (2002) ‘Strategic Human Resource Management’. 4th Edition. Victoria: Nelson Australia Pty Limited

Papers For You (2006) “P/HR/188. Views on diversity management”, Available from Papers4you.com [19/06/2006]

Building strong relationships is all about having two sides appreciate each other and want to build a bond that works both ways.

This can generate the enormous benefits of collaboration, which is a valuable interchange of ideas and effort that is better than one plus one.

When you are a boss, it’s quite natural to take the lead in conversations, and those who work for you usually take the subordinate role as a matter of course – it’s what they’ve always done!

So you need to do more to make them feel an equal partner with you in the ventures you undertake. You need to make a special effort to show them how much you value what they say, as a way of encouraging them.

One special way can be particularly effective.

This is a small step you can take in every conversation, which, like magic, makes a massive difference to how you are perceived in any relationship.

It is not a difficult skill to learn and you can start right away.

When you are in conversation (any conversation!), ask another question about what they have told you.

That’s it, just one more question about what your conversation partner has been saying – about anything!

What does this do? Here are twelve great benefits to this…

1. It shows you are listening and paying attention

2. It shows that what has been said is valuable

3. It values the person you have been talking to

4. Psychologically, it builds trust between you because you have shown you care

5. It develops the conversation and they will tell you even more

6. It enables them to realise that there is someone who they can share their thoughts, ideas, hopes and fears with

7. They can also start to approach you outside conversations started by you

8. It makes you appear out of the ordinary – in fact a bit of a hero – you listen, and most others in your position don’t

9. It creates new approaches which may well be of real value

10. Questioning becomes much less extraordinary, more the natural way

11. It helps you develop a conversational style which will help you do more, go further, involve others too

12. You can do it with your boss – see what the results are!

It is the start of a change of culture, to one where everyone values the input and involvement of each other – and that can be a most rewarding exercise.

Not least that you are making strong, supportive and encouraging bonds with each one of your people, one at a time.

And that is what 99% of bosses and leaders don’t do.

With this simple tool – ask another question about what they have been saying, you can make the difference – and you will!

© 2005-6 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.