Why Social Media Might be Killing your Business?

Why are you using social media? Is it because you think every other business out there is benefitting from something you’re not doing? Is it because you think your reputation is suffering? Or, do you even know?

Social media is a powerful tool if used properly. An opportunity, lead and money generator if you tie your business strategy into it. Most people miss this crucial step, I know because I work with many businesses to turn this around. A few months ago I wrote a blog post entitled ROI – A Social Media Recruitment How-To to show how recruitment businesses should measure ROI to ensure they are growing their business.

In that article I wrote about how critical it is for any user of social media to clearly articulate why they are on social media in the first place. Is it simply to become more popular and increase your reputation? Is it to increase your network and sales leads?  Or is it to generate revenue for your business?

Social media can be a huge time suck, an opportunity for you to de-focus your efforts on your money-maker, your business. Ask yourself these questions to determine if your being productive on-line.

• Do you have a social media business strategy?
• Are you measuring your social media ROI?
• Are you making enough money online to justify your time on-line?
• Can you sustain or grow your business with your current strategy?

Social media can have a huge upside for your business, but only if you have a finely tuned strategy. Take a look at how social media is helping or hurting your bottom line and make adjustments now before your business becomes another social media casualty.

Why We Should Hire Based on IQ Scores!

Nothing affects corporate performance more than stupidity! I think companies should hire based on IQ scores. Think I am off my gourd? Demonstrating discrimination or elitism? That’s the point of this article as companies are already discriminating by screening out many qualified candidates, just because they do not have a certain qualification or are missing a certain criteria. So, why should a company hire you if your IQ score is lower than lets say 120?

HR already screens great candidates out if they do not have a degree, or have a low LSAT score, etc. They test people to screen candidates out that do not achieve certain test scores, so why not rule out all stupid people at the start by asking for their IQ score.

Maybe the government can save HR and companies a lot of work by instituting mandatory IQ testing. Your IQ score would follow you around on your drivers licence and all other appropriate records. You would have to present this at all interviews, saving HR and managers a lot of time if your score is too low. Stores could have their sales staff and clerks wear IQ badges so we could avoid the ones that would delay our goods purchasing by being incompetent at the cash register.

Your licence plate could also include your IQ score, maybe we could have the numbers flashing in lights on top of the car roof so we can try to avoid getting too close to cars with a low IQ. Dating would also become a breeze, as you could find your match much more quickly, smart or dumb, your choice, now made easy by a government near you. Back to hiring!

The point is that corporations already have such a system in place, it may not be IQ based but it keeps the deemed unqualified out of their corporate offices. Sometimes these IQ tests fall under the guise of educational standards or work experience. Do not be fooled as many of these are “IQ test like”, sure some of them are valid but many of them are simply to reduce the number of candidates applying or to reduce the workload in HR or to appease an elitist management group.

I say get rid of all that crap and just institute a national IQ program so we can get right to the point! The point of saying that we are all to lazy or too corrupt to find the best in the first place.

How to Know When HR’s Just Not That Into You?

Remember the book and movie entitled He’s Just Not That Into You. It was all about the elusive search by a group of women looking for prince charming by having to wade through a bunch of conniving frogs and some pigs along the way. During the search, the viewer is provided with a bunch of tips telling them why so and so was not their prince charming. No more wasting your time, move along to the next greenfield. In the world of Human Resources, HR not being into you is your sure sign to move on and find a new job!

Here’s how to know if HR’s just not that into you:

1. They call you by the wrong name
2. They never call you back after you call them.
3. They never make eye contact with you.
4. Their friends never say hi, just brush past you.
5. They always seem to be whispering when your around.
6. HR never invites you to their place, always to some random boardroom.
7. Cheques owed to you seem to disappear or are always late.
8. Your notes or letters to them are frequently lost or left behind.
9. You feel dirty and screwed over after meeting with them.

Hopefully HR is into YOU! If not take this chance to move on, prince charming or charming HR might be around the corner, otherwise maybe it’s YOU.

Firing on all Cylinders – Why Firing People can be Fun!

Look I am not some egomaniac on a power trip. In my earlier HR days I hated having to fire anyone. I remember having to fire hundred upon hundred of high-tech workers due to the market crash and it was probably one of the most painful things I ever had to do. Of course, at the time these individuals were all bright high performers who unfortunately had to be let go due to extreme market conditions.

No, the people I like to fire are the employees who choose to do below average work, who abuse the employee-employer relationship even after receiving warnings and being told what they are doing is inappropriate. The ones that are constantly late for no reason, who lie to my face constantly about being sick or having to attend their dead nanny’s funeral, for the second or third time!

I get a thrill and a buzz for firing these low performers because I am helping the company to be more productive and helping all other employees keep their employment. Your employees will thank you for firing low performers who constantly lie and under perform as they have to pick up the slack. Why should everyone else suffer due someone else’s self delusions. So approach firing with a new enthusiasm and not with dread, your company and your employees will thank you. So load up and make your company a better place to work at.

Gimme Gimme and the Culture of Entitlement

Remember hearing “Gimme gimme never get, don’t you know your manners yet?” You would think that parents everywhere would have been singing and repeating this lyric all through their children’s childhood but surprisingly it looks like they have been singing “Gimme gimme always gets!”

Our workplaces are filled with workers who feel entitled to receive a raise, a bonus, a perk, extra time off, a new job title without having to put in the time and effort to receive it. Like spoiled children they argue, posture and yell saying they are being treated unfairly, spouting off and poisoning your workplace. What’s wrong with the workforce? Why are they not willing to roll up their sleeves, get dirty and get some work done. A little effort and courtesy goes well along the way to receiving rewards and recognition.

It’s time to kill the culture of entitlement and create the culture of performance. Your company and our countries ability to compete will depend on it. So what can we do?

Get rid of policies and practices that reward employees long-term for only achieving a short-term goal. A 3 month successful project requires a 3 month type reward so that employees will not stop trying to achieve once they have reached the milestone and just expect it again. We must focus on long-term behaviors and stop the practice of rewarding cold and hot behaviors.

Communicate the new culture of performance and stick to your guns. Let employees that don’t fit the new culture leave and be ready to replace them with individuals that fit the new values. Be ready for some bumps along the way as making tough decisions will make the executive team squirm.

Companies that will succeed in the coming years are those that will be based on a culture of performance and not on a culture of entitlement. Treat employees like babies and they will behave like babies. Time to remove and hide the pacifier and give employees a dose of reality. I already hear their surprised cries and it’s a sweet sound.

My 5 Favorite Talent Blogs

Below are 5 blogs that keep me coming back for more. I may not always agree with them but boy do they keep me hopping either with my support or disagreement. Thank you for keeping me young my friends!

Fistfuloftalent

If you love HR, strong opinions and lots of fun and laughs, you will love Fistfuloftalent. Fistful of talent is a collection of talented (duh) opinionated guys and gals who ante up every week with exciting new stories that we recruiters and HR types gobble up. I may not always agree with them but they tend to tantalize the thinking taste buds and keep me fresh. Well somewhat.If you ever need a six-foot four Canadian with a penchant for telling it like it is, this Canadian would love to joint this bunch of misfits.

Costofwork

Chris Fields and the Costofwork blog are a thinking man and woman’s type of blog. Chris makes us look at human resources and the world around us through the eyes of someone not tainted by scandal, corruption and or corporate greed. Chris allows us to view HR problems as opportunities to address what is wrong in the world by showing the power that we have in those roles. Thank you Chris!

TheCynicalGirl

Our cynical girl Laurie Ruettimann tweets on career advice, human resources and Cats!. Ok guys, stick with me on this, cats are not my favorite either but Laurie tweets a ton of value here so stick with us for a little while please. Laurie is not a beginner at this blogging game, she is a master writer and is a force to be reckoned with in the HR world. Check her out.

TalentCulture

TalentCulture and it’s creator Meghan M. Biro are a force to be reckoned with. It’s a multi-generational blogging community of leaders with insight and advice on career management, workplace culture, personal branding and more. Sure to keep you informed on the latest HR news and innovations.

HRremix

HRremix says it’s “A little bit of everything HR” and that it is. Melissa Fairman it’s author is a pleasure to tweet to and has great insight into all things HR. Check it out.

Tired of your Spouse? Treat them Like an Employee!

If your tired of your significant other, treat them like most companies treat their employees, they are bound to pack up and leave you.

1. Tell them social media is off-limits in the home.
2. Issue a dress code policy.
3. Schedule a spousal evaluation meeting.
4. Constantly change expectations with very little notice or no notice at all.
5. Install a punch clock in the kitchen.
6. Issue warnings and counselling notices for absenteeism, lateness and more.
7. Limit how many times they can use the bathroom in a day.
8. Schedule eating at specific times only.
9. Set a no music rule.
10. Reduce their budgets constantly.
11. Limit who can visit them and who they can visit.
12. Set lofty expectations that can never be achieved.

If we treated our spouses like most companies treat their employee, our spouses would leave us. Is something wrong with how we manage our employees? Let me know.

Why Hiring Your Twin is Dead Wrong!

People love to hire in their own image. It makes everything easier, from getting buy-in on your approach to buying group lunches. But although it may seem like a logical choice, hiring candidates that look like you, talk like you and act like you is a huge mistake! Not only is there a case for systemic or racial discrimination, the biggest reason hiring in your own image is bad is that it seriously short changes your business and it’s success.

Diversity is the key to innovation, globalization, your company’s competitive edge and much more. Diversity in culture, thinking, approach and language allows companies to challenge the status quo and tackle issues other non diversified companies cannot even attempt.

Although diversity in hiring may seem like a lot of work, impact on your culture, work processes and more the payout will be high, so do it!

So re-look at how your company, your managers and your programs hire, you might be surprised to find out that these programs and your company discriminate in their own image and limit your company’s ability to be a true game changer. Be a game-changer and look beyond the obvious.

Street Smarts and Attitude Beat the MBA and PHD Nerd Almost Every time

Yesterday I read a fantastic post by Chris Fields
entitled Dumb it Down which talks about how some employers are threatened by educated people and recruiters suggest that candidates Dumb it Down. Chris is right to say to those employers to “Go walk off a short pier”. We all want our kids to be educated, go to great schools and strive for the highest level of success that is possible. Having said that “street smarts and attitude” will beat the MBA and PHD nerd every time. Now if you have street smarts attitude and are an MBA and PHD nerd or non nerd let’s talk job and numbers right now.

I remember working for a company in the late 90′s that would only hire PHD candidates for their fiber optics research roles at a time when the labor market was extremely competitive and where there were very little PHD candidates available. It took some convincing but when I was able to get leadership focused on hiring non-PHD students for key roles they found for the most part that those candidates were more business and sales focused and more a-tuned to the customer market vs. PHD students that were “pie in the sky” focused. Where we had struggled in the past to develop great products that customers wanted, we were now hitting the sweet spot.

Let’s face it, degrees matter but candidates without degrees can be superstars and rockstars. Many of them are entrepreneurs, innovators that chase their dream and are relentless in their desire to achieve.

So look beyond the “degree” look to the core of the individual and the skills they bring to your business. You might be surprised that their value proposition might far surpass what a PHD or MBA student might bring. Tell me your story.

15 Reasons you are Not Getting the Job

I see most of these behaviors every week during interviews. How can it be so!

1. Chew gum during the interview.
2. Slouch in your chair (show some spine).
3. Get to the interview late (really early just in case).
4. Have not researched the company at all (wow we really want you).
5. Swear during the interview (what are you a teenager?).
6. Badmouth other people (we know you will do it to us too).
7. Have no resume or references with you (your really interested right?).
8. Have bad body odour (a shower and soap goes a long way!).
9. Come to the interview in disheveled or ripped clothes (Please make an effort).
10. Demonstrate little enthusiasm or emotion (Sure we will give you a bonus!).
11. Be too loud and demonstrative! (Our customers will love you!)
12. Have alcohol on your breath or clothes (We like to party when appropriate).
13. Make sexual or discriminatory comments (Not in our respectful workplace).
14. Reference drinking or drug use or sexual escapades (duh) (Not appropriate).
15. Not remember my name after I have told you 3 or more times! (memory problems or are we dealing with number 14 above).

It’s a tough job market out there so make every effort to go beyond other candidates. It’s the little things that will impress your future employer but it’s also the little things that will turn them off you forever.