Small business talent and recruitment selection: only the best
November 17, 2011A recent study by the annual manpower employment survey shows that 52 per cent of U.S. employers are having trouble filling skilled and critical positions.
This statistic may seem confusing, since the U.S. unemployment rate is at 9.1 per cent.
In an article posted on Profiles International’s blog by Christina Krenek, she looks into this issue from the view of a small business.
As Krenek notes, small businesses must compete with larger organizations to not only hire skilled employees, but employees who also have the right attitude, so it’s essential for employers to find people with innovative leadership skills that go beyond the basic job description.
The Baylor Business Review lists these innovative leadership skills as:
- Ability to communicate effectively
- Resourcefulness
- Initiative
- Creativity
- Integrity
So, how does a small business owner find and select these employees?
By using pre-hire assessments and skills tests, which are based on evaluating a person’s skills, attitudes and behaviours. These tests are used to ensure that you hire the right person for the job.
To read Christina Krenek’s full article, click here.
If you want to be the best boss, you should also be the best coach.
Here’s why:
“The ability of one’s workforce to change and grow is increasingly relevant today, given that the pace of change is faster in almost every industry and the complexity of work is greater. That’s why it’s important for talent leaders to not only achieve the necessary results, but also develop and grow the capability of their people.”
– Talent Management, “Tips to Embed Coaching in Your Job Description”
The article points out that a key success factor in coaching people is to take a real interest in their development: you must be willing to help others achieve new skills and reach higher levels of performance.
The article lists four steps that you can follow to help your employees be all that they can be, but before you even begin, you must be willing and dedicated toward helping each employee achieve his or her goal, for a half-hearted attempt will only result in a half-achieved goal.
Step 1: Identify goals together.
Review your employees’ goals with them. Ask how they plan to get to the next level (also known as objectives or action steps). It’s important to come to a joint agreement on a few well-defined goals and objectives to build commitment and shared understanding.
Step 2: Create a written plan.
When an employee creates a written plan, it offers both of you something to which you can refer later. Make sure the employee describes the goals in detail and includes specific objectives to accomplish them. This will help you focus on each goal and create benchmarks along the way.
Step 3: Capitalize on development opportunities.
Help employees achieve their plans by finding opportunities at work where they can work on and achieve their goals and objectives. The best scenario is a complete integration of work and goals.
Step 4: Maintain dialogue.
Ensure that you have regular progress meetings, held separately from day-to-day meetings and regular work. Talk about how the employee is progressing, congratulate success, and discuss ways to minimize problems if and when they come up.
To read this article in full, please click here.
Michelle Painchaud lead chair for The Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce selection committee
PPG is representing on the Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
The Chamber held its 81st Annual General Meeting on June 3 at the Glendale Golf & Country Club – a spectacular event that included its first-ever Business Excellence Awards and the appointment of its new Board of Directors.
Among the board’s new members: PPG’s president, Michelle Painchaud.
The complete list of board members:
- Andrew Earle (Chapel Lawn Funeral Home)
- Ken Loxton (Ken Loxton Productions)
- Jay V. W. Pasemko (Winnipeg Airports Authority)
- Jack McLaughlin (PAL Distribution Group)
- Raunora Westcott (National Leasing)
- Tim Feduniw (Economic Development Winnipeg)
- Michelle Painchaud (PPG-Painchaud Performance Group)
- Julie Guevarra (MIG Insurance Group Ltd)
- Warren Thompson (Prairie Edge Management Inc.)
- Marcel Tetrault (RBC Royal Bank-Portage & Collegiate).
Premier Greg Selinger presenting WAA CEO Barry Rempel with the Assiniboia Chamber Large Business Excellence Award
The complete list of Business Excellence Awards:
- Large Business Excellence Award: Barry Rempel, CEO, Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc.
- Medium Business Excellence Award: Julie Guevarra, CFO, MIG Insurance Group Ltd.
- Small Business Excellence Award: Gord Pedersen and Dan Gagnon, co-owners, Auto Gallery of Winnipeg
- New Business Excellence Award: Bahia Taylor, owner, Envy Paint and Design Store
- Not-for-Profit Business Excellence Award: Elaine Kehler, Westwood Vocational Centre
- Manitoba Lotteries Community Service Excellence Award: Larry McIntosh, President & CEO of Peak of the Market
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners.
Here’s wishing all the best to the Chamber and its members in 2011/2012.
What role do emotions play in the coaching process?
June 10, 2011As a coach how do you handle your emotions and the emotions of the people you coach?
Doreen Petty, a Leadership Coach and HR Consultant, recently wrote a two-part article to answer that question, entitled “The Emotional Consequences of Behavior Change.”
In part two, Petty focuses on answering the question: “How do you, as an HR Partner, allow a person’s emotions to enter into the coaching process in a positive way?”
The answer will be of interest to coaches and coachees alike.
According to Petty:
- An effective coaching relationship is based on mutual trust and respect. This means that the coachee and trainer are in a safe environment and can be open and able to discuss personal issues.
- There should be an expectation that the process will end at some point, so coachees can see a light at the end of the tunnel.
- Coach with a positive psychological perspective, which means focusing on how things can go right, rather than wrong. It’s the strengths and virtues that enable an individual to thrive.
- Explore how coachees’ self-perception may be different, and affect, the people around them. Exploring this area will make coachees aware of their actions and change them into something positive.
- After you’ve explored coachees’ behavior and actions, you can create a vision and goals for them and begin the behavioral change process and progress measurement.
- Use the coaching model GROW, which helps you look at what is true now, what emotions are driving behaviors, what has to change, and what evidence the coachees have that they are moving toward their goals.
You can find out more information about the GROW model in Sir John Whitmore’s book “Coaching for Performance.”
To read Doreen Petty’s full article, click here.
