Sunday, July 26, 2009

3 Benefits of Hiring Someone Who's Overqualified

By Dwain Celistan

In the marketplace, there are a wide range of candidates for open positions. As an executive recruiter and coach, there are times when someone is "over qualified" for the role. Many times, these candidates are not actively included in the pool or seriously considered. This is a missed opportunity.

Potential candidates may appear to be over qualified based on items in the position specification. This can range from the amount of experience, education/credentials, having had a more senior role or title and/or having been more highly compensated in the past. For this article, we will consider the over qualified candidate as someone who has had a larger role/title.

Regardless of why someone would pursue a position, there are three key benefits of hiring someone who is over qualified:

Over qualified candidates usually have the technical capabilities to "do the job" immediately. If they have had these responsibilities in a prior role, they can usually come into the role and quickly add value. Their learning curve is short and they have many ideas on how to do the job efficiently and effectively.

These candidates add value beyond the role. These over qualified professionals tend to approach the job differently. They can think beyond the role and see other issues and possibilities. The breadth they bring enables them to provide a broader perspective to the role and its interactions with other stakeholders.

They provide built in bench strength to the organization. Since the over qualified employee has had a larger role, they have an ability to expand their responsibilities. The risk is lower that they will be unable to make the adjustment required.

There are no absolutes in the process of sourcing and placing talent. It does appear that the benefits of hiring someone over qualified are prematurely minimized by phantom risks.

In one role, I hired Bruce as a Director despite prior roles as a Vice President. Conventional wisdom would have suggested that he be dismissed as a candidate. Nonetheless, he was the best candidate of the pool and he joined my team.

Bruce had a great attitude and was quickly able to handle the responsibilities. More importantly, he added value well beyond his required duties and was also a great resource for me, his supervisor. Lastly, when I left as his supervisor, he was qualified and prepared to advance to the more senior role.

Every situation may not be ideal, hiring authorities should strongly consider "over qualified" candidates. They may prove to be huge, unexpected assets to your organization.

Dwain Celistan is a retained executive recruiter and former executive. He is the author of several books including "You're Hired Actions to Get and Keep the Job You Love". His contact information is dwain@reinvent2achieve.com or 630-455-0172.
http://www.CareerAccelerationCoach.com

Thursday, July 16, 2009

7 Human Resource Strategies to Use in a Recession

By Cindy Risling

By now most economists and armchair experts agree we're in a recession.

What both the educated and lay pundits find more difficult to agree upon are the answers to troubling questions like "How deep will the recession be?" and "How long will it last?"

Estimates for recovery vary wildly from the blackly dismal to the rosily optimistic. It seems the only thing we can know for sure is that no one really knows.

With the future so uncertain, business publications have taken to promoting the philosophy that recessions create opportunity... at least for those with the moxie to make success happen. While this may come across to some as a tired cheerleading attempt, there is soundness to the ideology. Even during the Great Depression companies like Kellogg's, Proctor & Gamble and Chevrolet did more than survive, they excelled. The people who steered their winning course did so with a combination of courage and inventiveness. In other words, they used moxie.

So where do you start? What kind of changes will ensure your company succeeds? Below are seven human resource strategies that are easy to implement and can make a big difference.

1.) Lead with Confidence - During these troubling financial times, it's natural to want to take the backseat until the road ahead becomes clear. However, companies need strong leadership to prosper, now more than ever. Providing direction inspires confidence in your employees and helps build a faithful staff. Businesses that lead effectively now will retain loyal staff to meet their present and future challenges.

2.) Communicate effectively - Making sure people have the information they need is the foundation for any good relationship. Being honest and open with employees is especially important at a time when they may be dealing with serious concerns outside of the office. Present worries might include a laid off spouse, the possibility of their own layoff, fears about not being able to pay the bills, etc. As their leader you have the responsibility to lessen any stress they might be feeling by communicating openly about the outlook for staff members at your company. Don't forget to communicate frequently because your employees' financial positions might be changing quickly right now.

3.) Recruit purposefully - The anticipated global shortage of workers has not gone away: it has just been postponed. The reason? Baby boomers are choosing to work a little longer because their retirement savings have been deflated. Once the market comes back fully, you should expect a mass exodus as the boomers leave the workforce. Companies who make severe staffing cuts and don't keep their HR people connected to potential hires will be caught severely short staffed. Savvy companies have a great opportunity right now to hire talented people who have been down-sized by other organizations.

4.) Make cuts strategically - Consider outsourcing the functions you can to help reduce costs, but don't forget to take good care of any employees you might eliminate. Generous packages create goodwill and increase loyalty from those who remain. What's more, the departing employees just might be more willing to return to work when times are better and your company faces the global staffing shortages that the recession postponed. Generous packages might seem out of the question in tight times but you should give serious consideration to offering the maximum that you can. Your company will be better able to recruit new staff in the future if its reputation is bolstered by how it treated people during the 2009 recession.

5.) Be strategic about delivering PD - Use your slower times to sharpen the skills, technical and personal, of your employees. This will help keep staff members engaged and equip them to provide the exceptional service that can sustain your company now and contribute to its prosperity later (see 6).

6.) Take great care of your customers - Remember the days when you attended networking events to stay connected, while secretly hoping you would not get too many new engagements because you did not know where you would find the staff, time or energy to provide the service? It all seems like a distant memory but it was probably less than 12 months ago.

What most business owners wouldn't do if they could just have that problem again!

Instead you're seeing business decline and you're wondering how to regain it. Part of the answer is in training your people to be customer service specialists. Step back to the times when you only hired people who would go the extra mile to give your customers exceptional experiences with your company. Re-new your company's customer focus now!

7.) Avoid layoffs with creative strategies - Before you cut staff, consider alternative ways to save money while still saving jobs. A day off without pay, work sharing arrangements, worker sharing with other companies, salary cut-backs, government assistance programs - these are only a few of the numerous possibilities that may work for you and your employees. Get creative!

Whether you consider yourself to have moxie or not, the current recession calls for courageous and inventive thinking. Implementing ideas like the seven above can not only help your company weather this global storm, but position it for full sail ahead when the storm has passed.

Cindy Risling is Human Resources professional with 20 years of experience and she assists business owners by helping them shore up their Human Resources practices.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Top 10 Signs You're a CEO in Trouble

By Michael McCann

10. Staff meetings are too pleasant. An early warning signal of wavering passion and possible discomfort. Meetings should be a time of dissent and discussion - yes-men won't push the company forward.

9. The company parking lot is empty on weekends. Are your employees committed to the company's success or simply punching the clock? They may need a boost of confidence in the product or the team.

8..You view strategic consultants as a way to solve problems. Nothing brings a group of people together like solving a problem. Make sure your issues can't be solved internally before bringing in outsiders to clean up the mess.

7. You're being filtered from daily issues and customer contact. A sure sign that you're too far removed from the real happenings of the company - or perhaps that you're an embarrassment.

6. Eighty percent of your customer surveys come back marked "No forwarding address." Close contact with your customers is more important than ever. Make it a priority.

5. You're consuming antacid tablets by the handful. Delegation is the key to sharing ownership in the progress of the company and to maintaining your health as an executive. Learn to let go.

4. You have more lawyers in your company than salespeople. Keep the paper shuffling to a minimum; put a premium on getting quality products out the door.

3. You can't get your accounting firm to return your calls. Make sure your finances are in order and maintained by trustworthy people. If you don't, the Securities and Exchange Commission may come a-knockin'.

2. The chairman tells you it's OK to attend the board meeting by phone. You're more likely to win the lottery and hit the trifecta in the Kentucky Derby in the same year than you are to succeed if you don't have the board of director's backing.

1. You win "CEO of the Year." Like gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated, the curse of this award cannot be underestimated.

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Michael McCann is a 25-year veteran of developing unique and professional business development programs that create tangible results for individuals and companies. Let him help you instantly...free!

Monday, July 6, 2009

You and Your Business at the Top - Seven Success Strategies to Take You There

By Binita Patel

Great health, wealth and success! We see people striving for these things every day. Do they reach their pinnacles? Sadly, no. What's holding them back? What separates them from the 'Donald Trump's' and 'Richard Branson's' of this world? To gain the answers, one must study and master the ways of the world's leading business people. How did they pave their way to millions and in some cases billions of dollars? Some from humble beginnings, some from privileged, but they all had one thing in common - an innate desire to succeed. They didn't care who laughed at them, they had a single-minded determination to reach the top and did not give up until they were there.

Extensive research into the strategies and thinking of the top business moguls showed the following:-

1) Goals - they set them clear and they set them big!

2) Action plans - they created realistic and achievable plans and stuck to them!

3) Mindset - they all had in common the success mentality that catapulted them to the top.

4) Passion - they loved their business and nurtured it as it grew.

5) Determination - nothing kept them down. If they fell, they got right back up again.

6) Mentors - they mixed with and learned from high achievers and top business advisers.

7) Education - they constantly adapted and kept their finger on the pulse of change and latest wisdom.

The rise of the internet has given more opportunities to the ordinary person than never before in history. Huge success stories have been well documented through websites, blogs, forums, articles, newsletters, etc,etc. The ordinary person has been handed the golden chance to practice and master the strategies of the greatest business minds. Immense wealth could be within their grasp and yours too! By owning a laptop and access to the internet, the possibilities are endless.

One would become overwhelmed and confused and possibly scammed without the right guidance. This is where a legitimate and credible mentor is needed. The reviews of online money making programs are endless. Discussion forums like warrior are an ideal way to weed out the fraudsters from the genuine schemes. I have found the most legitimate and top earning program. If you would like to try out the above 7 success strategies, read my review and decide if you want to join me and make it to the top too!

Binita is a member of The Online Coaching Club, Maverick Money Makers, run by Mack Michaels and is specializing in Affiliate Marketing. See her review of the club on http://www.wealthylifereality.com

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The 7 Crucial Errors in Finance

By Safaraz Ali

A number of crucial errors can expose a business to severe difficulties and can lead to the business trading insolently and eventual liquidation. The following is not an exhaustive list however one that lists the major faults. The key task for any business is to identify, and then to develop a strategy to overcome and mitigate the exposure.

1. Excess Borrowing!

2. Wrong type of Borrowing, there are many options for a business to borrow or raise finance and can range from overdraft, business loan, factoring/invoice discounting, asset based lending, leasing/hire purchase, payroll financing, merchant cash advance, private finance/angel investment. The business needs to decide on the best source for price and stability for the business.

3. Borrowing over the correct period - particular risk for a business is to borrow over too short a period where the cash flow of the business will suffer.

4. Not Realising that cash flow is king! It is a sad fact that many profitable businesses fail due to cash flow issues.

5. Excessive Spending. There are many business owners who have a view that they need to have the image of a successful business to gain success - big offices, high end equipment, vehicles. There is also poor control over costs - staffing, poor efficiency and productivity and lots of wastage.

6. Inadequate contribution/ investment from owners (shareholders). The owners of a business contribute by not taking out too much profit (dividends) and also investing further capital if required. Too many businesses when they are successful take out as much money out of the business as they can which makes it difficult for the business to innovate and grow.

7. Failure to manage risk - growing too fast, bad capital investments, insuring inappropriately against perils.

Safaraz Ali is an Impartial Finance Broker and can be contacted on by email: safarazali@easy4life.co.uk
http://www.easy4life.com

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