Having problems with message search?
Team Cultural Fit
The recession has forced companies to be more competitive than ever; employees and managers have to be extremely customer-oriented and at the top of their game.
What this means is that all new hires have to be star players. The have to be able to hit the ground running and get up-to-speed almost immediately, because the company doesn't have the luxury of waiting.
They have to be ready, willing and able to play their position well and know how to play on an All Star Team...putting in the extra effort required in practicing their intercommunication skills to allow the team to win. And they need to be employees and managers who appreciate and apply the team training and personal coaching the company invests in them.
Because new employees are unlikely to go far if there's a disconnect with the company culture, many self assessments ask questions to see whether there will be a good match. Does the job candidate prefer to work on teams, or alone? Would he or she feel comfortable being empowered to make decisions? Is the person rule-oriented, or does he or she work better with looser boundaries?
Cultural fit is a key element of overall employee engagement, says Julie Gebauer, a managing director at Stamford, CT-based Towers, Perrin, and co-author of Closing the Engagement Gap. Some elements of engagement, she says, come from the employee--such as a person's openness to challenge, optimism and inclination to set high personal and professional standards.
At many companies, cutbacks have led to fewer people doing the same amount of work--so employees are increasingly working in teams to collaborate and share resources. Gallup, the Washington-based polling and consulting firm, recently studied thousands of teams at 10 companies and found that certain job applicants, once hired, can raise the engagement levels of their team members.
According to Jim Harter, Gallup's chief scientist for workplace management, those job applicants had these four traits:
"Mobilization:" The ability to mobilize people with decisiveness and genuine inclusiveness. "They're forceful but not pushy," says Harter. "Their approach is, 'Let's do this together.'"
"Clarity:" They reduce team members' uncertainty by helping make clear the goal of the team and of each team member. Both managers and co-workers can achieve this on a team.
"Relationship:" They are more likely to help team members get things done, because their relationship with them is important. "When people feel they won't be let down, and other people have their back, they are more likely to become engaged," says Harter.
"Affirmation:" These are people who have an optimism and enthusiasm that give others a positive attitude.
Gallup identified these traits by first examining the individual employee-engagement scores of each team member and figuring the average for each team. The next step was to see how that average went up or down when various team members were removed from the equation. Finally, Gallup looked at the pre-employment assessments of those who had the most positive impact on their teams, to see what they had in common. The four abilities listed above were embedded in the assessment questions, and the Gallup study was able to pull them out, says Harter.
Source: Human Resource Executive, June 16, 2009
Job Test Ruling's Impact
The Supreme Court's recent landmark employment-discrimination ruling might prompt employers to use tests more in making hiring and promotion decisions. But it has others scrutinizing their existing tests to ensure they are free of bias.
"There's going to be a re-evaluation of what additional tools are available to employers," says Maria Konev, human-resources manager at Liquid Transport Corp. of Avenel, NJ. Ms. Konev says she sometimes uses personality tests to help choose between equally qualified candidates for jobs or promotions, and would like to use tests more frequently. Following the court's ruling, Ms. Konev says she is considering using personality tests more and giving other exams to dispatchers and drivers.
"It is a tool," says Paul Nolan, owner of Cincinnati-based Personnel Profiles, which designs and administers aptitude tests. He suggests clients follow five steps, including an introductory interview followed by a skills test, a second interview, a drug test and a background check.
Doug Reynolds, vice president for Development Dimensions International, a Pittsburgh human resources and leadership consulting firm that develops tests for employers, says tests for hiring and promotion are most commonly used by retailers, manufacturers, telecommunications companies and businesses with large sales forces. Mr. Reynolds says the court's "very public statement of support for an objective and validated" test should ease concerns among private-sector employers about using tests.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2009
For more information, go to: www.SelfAssessmentCenter.com
Jobless Recovery: An Oxymoron
The depth of this recession, plus widespread expectations that unemployment will keep rising into 2010 and remain high thereafter, may exert a powerful drag on the recovery.
Shortly after the 1990-91 recession, consumers went out and bought houses, cars and other expensive goods on credit, noted Richard Curtin, director of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey. That helped boost job growth in construction, manufacturing and other industries.
Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. gross domestic product.
However today, Americans have abruptly switched from living beyond their means to saving more and working down the debts they incurred during the bubble years. This time around, because of the severe credit crunch, people won't be able to get financing as easily as they did in the 1990s--while many others who can borrow will be reluctant to do so, Curtin's survey's indicate.
Instead of leading the way to a more vigorous economy, consumers are saying they want to save and keep their personal debts low. Americans socked away almost 7 percent of their after-tax income in May, the highest rate in 15 years.
That's what scares Howard Roth, chief economist at California's Department of Finance. The nation's biggest state has been hit particularly hard by the housing meltdown, and its jobless rate is already hovering at 11.5 percent.
"If you look at the situation of consumers--home equity, it's gone away. The stock market has wiped away retirement savings," Roth said. "The consumers are not going to be able to spend as much as before."
Source: Ann Arbor News, July 2, 2009
Gluten-Free Products
Last July, General Mills released a gluten-free version of its Chex cereal and the company received thousands of grateful emails and phone calls. Gluten is a key protein in wheat, but many people react badly to it.
Doctors increasingly are diagnosing Celiac disease--in which ingesting gluten causes the body to damage the digestive system. Moreover, a diet fad is focusing on reducing gluten consumption...and...many quality restaurants today offer a gluten-free menu when requested.
Although only about 1% of the U.S. population has Celiac disease, General Mills says its research shows about 12% of U.S. households want to eliminate or reduce their gluten intake, although some doctors say it's nutritionally important for those who aren't sensitive to it.
The company's Betty Crocker brand is rolling out gluten-free mixes for cookies, brownies and cakes. The mixes are the first gluten-free offering from a major, mainstream brand in the cake-mix aisle. Currently, mostly small food companies supply gluten-free products.
Ann Simonds, General Mills' president of baking products, says the company decided to pursue gluten-free products last year after its customer-relations department noticed that customer inquires about food allergies and sensitivities most frequently centered on whether items contained gluten.
Even though retailers have been focusing on trimming products from their shelves recently, the new gluten-free products could get a welcome reception. "Gluten has increasingly become an area of dietary focus and concern for consumers, and we want to ensure our stores are able to meet their needs," says Haley Meyer, a spokeswoman for grocery giant Supervalu Inc., some of whose stores are now carrying the new Betty Crocker products.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2009
"You and I do what many dream of, all their lives."
John G. Agno, Editor, mailto:johnagno@... ...or... Join me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnagno
Offline 
Send Email