strategic business coaching - Activate Group Inc

The Recruiting Mistake Made by 99% of Companies

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Howard Shore

Recruiting is an art that few have mastered. At AGI, we work with many companies to create systems for Human Capital Management—for each company a customized strategic system for managing employees through every stage of their employment, from recruiting to retention. When we evaluate a company’s employee processes, one of the first things we look at is recruitment.

Recruiting “A” players is the goal of most HR professionals, but recruitment is one of the areas where many miss the boat completely. That’s because 99 percent of companies start the recruitment process with the wrong tool: the resume.

Starting the candidate evaluation process by reviewing resumes is one of the biggest mistakes you can makes. Here’s why:

Resumes aren’t accurate. Let’s face it, the resume is the most overinflated self-promotion tool invented. Most resumes are embellished heavily and some are flat-out inaccurate.
Resumes don’t reveal personality. Resumes are, at best, clinical lists of accomplishments and experiences. They tell you almost nothing about a person’s attitudes or working style.
Resumes encourage bias. Formatting, language, word choice, past employers, schools—whatever. All of these things can trigger an irrational “like” or “dislike” of a candidate that could very well be the “A” player you are looking for.

Use Talent Assessment Tools

After posting an open position, the next step of the recruitment process should be assessment testing. Candidate assessment tool like Topgrading provide revealing and unbiased information about a candidate’s natural abilities and inherent skills—these are the most important qualifiers for the successful matching of candidates to jobs.

A resume should be used only as a guide for interviews and a tool for sharing potential candidates with the hiring manager and other decision-makers. Using resumes as the first step in qualifying candidates will definitely make you pass over “A” players.

Howard Shore is a human capital management expert who works with companies that need leadership development and strategic business coaching. Based in Miami, Florida, Howard’s firm, Activate Group, Inc. provides leadership and management coaching to businesses across the country. To learn more about human capital management through AGI, please contact Howard at 305.722.7213.

Common Personality Traits In Great Salespeople

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Howard Shore

In my career as a sales force development coach, I have worked with hundreds, possibly thousands, of salespeople. I’ve helped companies large and small develop the right sales force development practices, including finding and hiring “A” talent for their teams. In my experience, there are a few personality traits that are common to all top sales talent, regardless of background or industry.

Ego. Great salespeople can handle rejection without letting it consume them. They realize that it’s part of the job and let rejections roll off them like water off a duck’s back. They also truly believe in themselves and their abilities. The ones who are full of doubt and need constant wins never last long.

Self-motivation. “A” sales talent needs coaching and development just like all other employees, but they can generate their own motivation. Most great salespeople have their own goals and aspirations and have no difficulty pushing themselves to get there.

Results Mindset. Top performing salespeople always see the numbers they need to hit. They keep their eye on the prize and work at achieving their goals. They also have a tendency to break those results down into smaller chunks (“chunking”) so they can achieve smaller results along the way.

Energy. Great salespeople jump out of the bed in the morning and go full force until there is no steam left in the engine. Their presentations are engaging and full of life, and they have the ability to get others excited about the product.

Have you seen these traits in your sales team? What other traits would you add to this list?

Howard Shore is a sales force development coach who works with companies that need leadership development and strategic business coaching. Based in Miami, Florida, Howard’s firm, Activate Group, Inc. provides leadership and management coaching to businesses across the country. To learn more about sales force development coaching through AGI, please contact Howard at 305.722.7213 or email him.

Employees Are Your Most Important Customer, Part 2

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Howard Shore

I wrote an article about the many reasons why your employees are your most important customers. I wrote about how keeping your employees happy is one of the easiest ways to keep your customers happy. Happy employees give great customer service and create great word-of-mouth for the company.

When I read an editorial in the New York Times written by an ex-employee of Goldman Sachs on his last day of work, I was reminded again about the value of keeping employees engaged. This is a real-life example of how unhappy employees can cause considerable damage to reputation and potential threats to customer retention.

The Goldman employee, Greg Smith, spent his entire career at the company, rising up in the ranks and maintaining a great amount of pride in the company and its values. He says in the wake of a recent leadership change, the company lost sight of its values to focus on blind profits. He decided to exit the company in dramatic fashion by writing this lengthy editorial detailing his first-hand experiences and resulting disgust. He exposed degrading language used within the company and the practice of selling worthless assets to unsuspecting buyers.

Was his account accurate? We don’t know for sure. Regardless, what he did (besides commit career suicide) was create a great amount of doubt in Goldman’s trustworthiness. Plenty of Goldman customers read that editorial and some probably considered whether it was worth remaining customers.

Remember, your employees are the eyes, ears and voice of your company. They can be your biggest cheerleaders or your worst nightmares. It is crucial you keep them engaged and satisfied. Training, coaching and communication are keys to their engagement. And if they become disengaged for too long they will tell you…or anyone who will listen.

Howard Shore is a business coach who works with companies that need leadership development and strategic business coaching. Based in Miami, Florida, Howard’s firm, Activate Group, Inc. provides strategic planning and management coaching to businesses across the country. To learn more about management coaching through AGI, please contact Howard at (305) 722-7216 or email him.