Things We Can Learn from a Dog
By: Author Unknown
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your
face to be pure ecstasy.
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
Take naps and stretch before rising.
Run, romp and play daily.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by
and nuzzle them gently.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the
guilt thing and pout... Run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
"What Do You Wish For?"
Think, Believe, Dream and Dare
By: Author Unknown
An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a
wishing well, looked up into his eyes and asked: "I
understand you're a very wise man. I'd like to know the
secret of life."
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied:
"I've thought about that a lot in my lifetime, and the
secret can be summed up in four words.
The first is to Think. Think about the values you wish to
live your life by.
The second is to Believe. Believe in yourself based on the
thinking you've done about the values you're going to live
your life by.
The third is to Dream. Dream about the things that can be,
based on your belief in yourself and the values you're
going to live by.
The last is to Dare. Dare to make your dreams become
reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values."
And with that, Walter E. Disney said to the little boy,
"Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare."
By: Author Unknown
An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a
wishing well, looked up into his eyes and asked: "I
understand you're a very wise man. I'd like to know the
secret of life."
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied:
"I've thought about that a lot in my lifetime, and the
secret can be summed up in four words.
The first is to Think. Think about the values you wish to
live your life by.
The second is to Believe. Believe in yourself based on the
thinking you've done about the values you're going to live
your life by.
The third is to Dream. Dream about the things that can be,
based on your belief in yourself and the values you're
going to live by.
The last is to Dare. Dare to make your dreams become
reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values."
And with that, Walter E. Disney said to the little boy,
"Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare."
Friday, October 9, 2009
"Why Call Centres Cant Recruit The Right Candidates And How To Correct The Problem NOW!"
Best Practices in Call Center Recruitment: Stop Trying to Understand Why Call Center Representatives Are Quitting
The improvement in economic conditions has companies revamping their call center recruitment and hiring strategy. Call center recruitment has become a focus again and, as a result, call center turnover is inevitably increasing. The luxury of having a stable call center workforce during the last few months has begun to evaporate. Once again, call center managers are forced to deal with this perennial and nettlesome headache that just will not go away. And, I predict, most call centers will try to solve this problem (as they always have) by trying to understand why people are quitting.
This is the wrong approach; it will not result in a positive solution! If you try to comprehend why your call center representatives are quitting, you are assuming there is something wrong with your call center and you must correct the problem in order to make yourself more suitable as an employer. In an effort to improve call center recruitment it is far better to focus on why people are staying at your call center rather than why people are leaving your call center. This methodology is founded on the possibility there is nothing significantly wrong with your call center. Think about it! Regardless of how bad you think your call center environment might be, I’ll wager you have several productive call center representatives who have remained on the job for a long time.
If that is the case, I challenge you to try to understand what differentiates those call center representatives from their fellow call center representatives who were prematurely terminated. Armed with this awareness, you can improve your call center recruitment strategy.
Rookie Mistake: Accepting High Churn and Constant Call Center Recruitment
You can begin to emphasize employment processes and procedures that match the characteristics of those performers who are staying with you. Wouldn’t you agree to improve your call center recruitment it is far easier to change who you hire than it is to change your organization?
I think the biggest problem with high turnover in the call center is acceptance. This includes call center managers who say, “It’s just the nature of the working in the call center and we have to learn to live with it.” This simply is not true! A monumental study conducted in the 1930s by Patricia Cane Smith indicated, “There is no such thing as a boring job, rather there are repetitious jobs that some people don’t adapt well to."
And more recent studies have revealed that call center representatives remain on call center jobs because of the call center work relationships they do not wish to break. Now there’s a clue! Anything you can do in your call center to emphasize social bonding, car pools, peer-to-peer recognition group lunches, etc. will increase that social bond which will become difficult to break.
A Case Study in Call Center Recruitment
Now, a true story that illustrates my point: Several years ago, I was a Human Resource manager for the PepsiCo Transportation Division. I learned about employee selection and turnover from a very unusual source, and, like much of my real learning, it came the hard way. The message stuck and was the unintended inspiration for my subsequent doctoral dissertation.
Here’s what happened.
Our division was run by Mr. Butch Jones, a battled-scarred veteran of King-of-the-Mountain battles in one of the toughest businesses in America. Mr. Jones did not like staff managers in general and Human Resource whippersnappers specifically. But I didn’t let that dampen my enthusiasm. I wanted to show him that I was a professional, someone he could rely on.
My opportunity came to prove myself when Mr. Jones’s secretary called me three weeks ahead for an appointment at 2:28 PM. I knew the odd meeting time and long advance notice were among his intimidation techniques, so I was determined not to let them bother me. Grapevine rumors made it apparent that Mr. Jones was unhappy with the call center recruitment and staffing efforts of my department since we took over this responsibility for NTC. Call center recruitment at NTC proved to be a challenge.
One particular call center job paid $1.60 per hour and required continual calculation without the benefit of adding machines in a room without air conditioning. Call center promotion opportunities were non-existent and oppressive supervisors prevailed. More often than not, our employees crossed the street to Minihoma Insurance, which offered similar jobs in an air-conditioned office with adding machines and paid $2.25 an hour. I conducted a professional wage and benefit survey confirming the dismal working conditions and rock bottom pay scale at NTC. I was well prepared to deliver my presentation and escort Mr. Thompson and NTC into the 20th century.
Recruiting the Best and the Brightest at the Call Center
My heart quickened as Mr. Jones looked with interest at my slick graphs and quartile charts. As the presentation progressed, I thought I had gained his confidence. He even asked for my recommendation. I offered my opinion that we needed to raise the call center wage from $1.60 per hour to $2.30 per hour. Furthermore, we needed to assign a private call center work station to each call center representative, install air conditioning and purchase electronic calculators to attract qualified call center representatives. Most importantly, I recommended that we train our call center supervisors in modern management techniques. “That, sir, would enable me to recruit, hire and retain qualified call center representatives for NTC,” I concluded.
I proudly envisioned Mr. Jones rising to applaud my presentation.
It didn’t happen that way. Mr. Jones pulled a yellow pencil stub from behind his ear and made a few calculations on the tattered desk pad in front of him. (Mr. Jones didn’t use one of those newfangled calculators either.) He turned to Arnold McGruder, his trusted right hand in all matters of accounting, finance, public relations and personnel. Arnold wore the green eyeshade and plastic pocket protector of his bookkeeping trade proudly. He was Boss Hogg in the flesh.
“Arnold,” Mr. Jones drawled in a deliberate and cynical country accent, “Mr. Mitchell, who I believe is a college-educated boy, says he can hire and keep the help if we spend what I calculate to be 750,000 bucks a year.”
The words “college-educated boy” slammed into me like a Mack truck. I knew I was in deep kaw kaw. My college education taught me that much. Beads of sweat formed instantly on my upper lip. Mr. Jones paused for a minute to savor my obvious pain. Then he asked Arnold, “Do we have anybody working for National Trailer Convoy (NTC) who has been here for more than five years, who is doing a good job in spite of our supervisors and who is working for minimum wage?” “You betcha, Mr. Jones, There’s Iola Fay Welch, Prissy Stroop, Ella Joe Miller, Mable Grace Apple, Lydia Lou Landry and many more.”
Workplace Wellness Comes at Cost
“Now, Mr. College Boy, don’t you tell me we have to spend $750,000 to hire and keep good help," Jones said. "Your job is to find and hire more folks like Iola Fay and Mable Grace.”
I saw myself as the young warrior who had challenged the chief and lost. My destiny lay in riding alone in the badlands of ignorant managers for the rest of my career. Then, at the bottom of my despair, I came to a stunning conclusion. Mr. Jones was absolutely right! He had hit the nail on the head. Much of his logic was askew, but in terms of hiring practices, he was right. I didn’t endorse his sweatshop management practices, but no matter how bad the working conditions, pay or supervision, there were still, for whatever strange reasons, long-term employees who remained on the job and performed.
The key was to determine what was unique about these people and differentiate them from their short-tenured, unproductive counterparts. As soon as I correctly profiled the successful employee, in terms of NTC’s viewpoint, our turnover began to decline.
I don’t think I ever did gain Mr. Jones’s’ total respect, but once he did say, “Hi, Brooks” when our paths crossed in the executive commode. What more could a college boy ask for?
I continue to treasure the great lesson I learned from Mr. Jones. It is far easier to change the kind of people you hire than it is to change the organization in which they work.
http://axel.myprofileworldwide.com
The improvement in economic conditions has companies revamping their call center recruitment and hiring strategy. Call center recruitment has become a focus again and, as a result, call center turnover is inevitably increasing. The luxury of having a stable call center workforce during the last few months has begun to evaporate. Once again, call center managers are forced to deal with this perennial and nettlesome headache that just will not go away. And, I predict, most call centers will try to solve this problem (as they always have) by trying to understand why people are quitting.
This is the wrong approach; it will not result in a positive solution! If you try to comprehend why your call center representatives are quitting, you are assuming there is something wrong with your call center and you must correct the problem in order to make yourself more suitable as an employer. In an effort to improve call center recruitment it is far better to focus on why people are staying at your call center rather than why people are leaving your call center. This methodology is founded on the possibility there is nothing significantly wrong with your call center. Think about it! Regardless of how bad you think your call center environment might be, I’ll wager you have several productive call center representatives who have remained on the job for a long time.
If that is the case, I challenge you to try to understand what differentiates those call center representatives from their fellow call center representatives who were prematurely terminated. Armed with this awareness, you can improve your call center recruitment strategy.
Rookie Mistake: Accepting High Churn and Constant Call Center Recruitment
You can begin to emphasize employment processes and procedures that match the characteristics of those performers who are staying with you. Wouldn’t you agree to improve your call center recruitment it is far easier to change who you hire than it is to change your organization?
I think the biggest problem with high turnover in the call center is acceptance. This includes call center managers who say, “It’s just the nature of the working in the call center and we have to learn to live with it.” This simply is not true! A monumental study conducted in the 1930s by Patricia Cane Smith indicated, “There is no such thing as a boring job, rather there are repetitious jobs that some people don’t adapt well to."
And more recent studies have revealed that call center representatives remain on call center jobs because of the call center work relationships they do not wish to break. Now there’s a clue! Anything you can do in your call center to emphasize social bonding, car pools, peer-to-peer recognition group lunches, etc. will increase that social bond which will become difficult to break.
A Case Study in Call Center Recruitment
Now, a true story that illustrates my point: Several years ago, I was a Human Resource manager for the PepsiCo Transportation Division. I learned about employee selection and turnover from a very unusual source, and, like much of my real learning, it came the hard way. The message stuck and was the unintended inspiration for my subsequent doctoral dissertation.
Here’s what happened.
Our division was run by Mr. Butch Jones, a battled-scarred veteran of King-of-the-Mountain battles in one of the toughest businesses in America. Mr. Jones did not like staff managers in general and Human Resource whippersnappers specifically. But I didn’t let that dampen my enthusiasm. I wanted to show him that I was a professional, someone he could rely on.
My opportunity came to prove myself when Mr. Jones’s secretary called me three weeks ahead for an appointment at 2:28 PM. I knew the odd meeting time and long advance notice were among his intimidation techniques, so I was determined not to let them bother me. Grapevine rumors made it apparent that Mr. Jones was unhappy with the call center recruitment and staffing efforts of my department since we took over this responsibility for NTC. Call center recruitment at NTC proved to be a challenge.
One particular call center job paid $1.60 per hour and required continual calculation without the benefit of adding machines in a room without air conditioning. Call center promotion opportunities were non-existent and oppressive supervisors prevailed. More often than not, our employees crossed the street to Minihoma Insurance, which offered similar jobs in an air-conditioned office with adding machines and paid $2.25 an hour. I conducted a professional wage and benefit survey confirming the dismal working conditions and rock bottom pay scale at NTC. I was well prepared to deliver my presentation and escort Mr. Thompson and NTC into the 20th century.
Recruiting the Best and the Brightest at the Call Center
My heart quickened as Mr. Jones looked with interest at my slick graphs and quartile charts. As the presentation progressed, I thought I had gained his confidence. He even asked for my recommendation. I offered my opinion that we needed to raise the call center wage from $1.60 per hour to $2.30 per hour. Furthermore, we needed to assign a private call center work station to each call center representative, install air conditioning and purchase electronic calculators to attract qualified call center representatives. Most importantly, I recommended that we train our call center supervisors in modern management techniques. “That, sir, would enable me to recruit, hire and retain qualified call center representatives for NTC,” I concluded.
I proudly envisioned Mr. Jones rising to applaud my presentation.
It didn’t happen that way. Mr. Jones pulled a yellow pencil stub from behind his ear and made a few calculations on the tattered desk pad in front of him. (Mr. Jones didn’t use one of those newfangled calculators either.) He turned to Arnold McGruder, his trusted right hand in all matters of accounting, finance, public relations and personnel. Arnold wore the green eyeshade and plastic pocket protector of his bookkeeping trade proudly. He was Boss Hogg in the flesh.
“Arnold,” Mr. Jones drawled in a deliberate and cynical country accent, “Mr. Mitchell, who I believe is a college-educated boy, says he can hire and keep the help if we spend what I calculate to be 750,000 bucks a year.”
The words “college-educated boy” slammed into me like a Mack truck. I knew I was in deep kaw kaw. My college education taught me that much. Beads of sweat formed instantly on my upper lip. Mr. Jones paused for a minute to savor my obvious pain. Then he asked Arnold, “Do we have anybody working for National Trailer Convoy (NTC) who has been here for more than five years, who is doing a good job in spite of our supervisors and who is working for minimum wage?” “You betcha, Mr. Jones, There’s Iola Fay Welch, Prissy Stroop, Ella Joe Miller, Mable Grace Apple, Lydia Lou Landry and many more.”
Workplace Wellness Comes at Cost
“Now, Mr. College Boy, don’t you tell me we have to spend $750,000 to hire and keep good help," Jones said. "Your job is to find and hire more folks like Iola Fay and Mable Grace.”
I saw myself as the young warrior who had challenged the chief and lost. My destiny lay in riding alone in the badlands of ignorant managers for the rest of my career. Then, at the bottom of my despair, I came to a stunning conclusion. Mr. Jones was absolutely right! He had hit the nail on the head. Much of his logic was askew, but in terms of hiring practices, he was right. I didn’t endorse his sweatshop management practices, but no matter how bad the working conditions, pay or supervision, there were still, for whatever strange reasons, long-term employees who remained on the job and performed.
The key was to determine what was unique about these people and differentiate them from their short-tenured, unproductive counterparts. As soon as I correctly profiled the successful employee, in terms of NTC’s viewpoint, our turnover began to decline.
I don’t think I ever did gain Mr. Jones’s’ total respect, but once he did say, “Hi, Brooks” when our paths crossed in the executive commode. What more could a college boy ask for?
I continue to treasure the great lesson I learned from Mr. Jones. It is far easier to change the kind of people you hire than it is to change the organization in which they work.
http://axel.myprofileworldwide.com
Sunday, September 20, 2009
"Do Have Vision, Focus and Clarity?"
Keep Your Goals in Sight
By: Author Unknown
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a
solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming
for nearly 16 hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English
Channel in both directions. Now at age 34, her goal was to
become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the
California coast.
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like
an ice bath, and the fog was so dense she could hardly see
her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure,
only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid
grip of the sea, she struggled on-hour after hour-while
millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her
trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much
farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not
to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half-
mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she
told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I
could have seen land I might have made it." It was not
fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was
the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the
same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal
clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere
behind that fog was land, and this time she made it!
Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the
Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men's record by two hours!
By: Author Unknown
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a
solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming
for nearly 16 hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English
Channel in both directions. Now at age 34, her goal was to
become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the
California coast.
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like
an ice bath, and the fog was so dense she could hardly see
her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure,
only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid
grip of the sea, she struggled on-hour after hour-while
millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her
trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much
farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not
to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half-
mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she
told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I
could have seen land I might have made it." It was not
fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was
the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the
same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal
clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere
behind that fog was land, and this time she made it!
Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the
Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men's record by two hours!
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Power Of WE!
The Power of “WE”
The leader’s language is revealing. I recently came across this video on leadership. It reminded me of a conversation I had several years ago with a manager I’d been mentoring. The manger came to me with a BIG problem. He was having a difficult time getting his team to buy-in to “his” goals and objectives. After observing him in several one-on-one discussions and during team meetings, I approached him with a suggestion.
When you speak to your people, speak to them in terms of “We”. Let them know that you are in it together!
Jack Hayhow does an excellent job of sharing this concept in this quick two minute video. Check it out…
What challenges, in your leadership style, have you corrected to become a better leader?
The leader’s language is revealing. I recently came across this video on leadership. It reminded me of a conversation I had several years ago with a manager I’d been mentoring. The manger came to me with a BIG problem. He was having a difficult time getting his team to buy-in to “his” goals and objectives. After observing him in several one-on-one discussions and during team meetings, I approached him with a suggestion.
When you speak to your people, speak to them in terms of “We”. Let them know that you are in it together!
Jack Hayhow does an excellent job of sharing this concept in this quick two minute video. Check it out…
What challenges, in your leadership style, have you corrected to become a better leader?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
"What Do You Consider To be The Seven Wonders Of Your World?"
What are the Seven Wonders of the World?
By: Author Unknown
A group of students was asked to list what they thought
were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there
were some disagreements, the following received the most
votes:
1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. Saint Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noticed that one
quiet student hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked
the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl
replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind
because there were so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe
we can help."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders
of the World' are:
1. to see
2. to hear
3. to touch
4. to taste
5. to feel
6. to laugh
7. and to love."
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we
take for granted are truly wondrous!
By: Author Unknown
A group of students was asked to list what they thought
were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there
were some disagreements, the following received the most
votes:
1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. Saint Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noticed that one
quiet student hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked
the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl
replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind
because there were so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe
we can help."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders
of the World' are:
1. to see
2. to hear
3. to touch
4. to taste
5. to feel
6. to laugh
7. and to love."
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we
take for granted are truly wondrous!
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