Subject: Recruit, Inspire & Retain, June, 2000
A FREE eZINE FROM TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC.
RECRUIT, INSPIRE & RETAIN JUNE, 2000
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COOL INFO CONTAINED IN THIS ISSUE: Employee
Productivity - The Big Picture * Check out who's wearing Fun Meter Buttons
* Skills That Are Tough to Find * It's a Dog's Life * Who's Temping? *
Some great books and web sites to help you and your company * Incentive
ideas to inspire your employees * Make training fun * Conquer Cardiac
Arrest in Your Workplace * Upcoming Conferences you'll want to attend
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You can put the Training Systems, Inc. web site on your Windows taskbar!
Just right click a blank area of your taskbar and select Toolbars/New
Toolbar from the drop down menu. In the new Toolbar box, enter
http://www.trainingsys.com.
It's that simple! Then you can have immediate access to great recruiting,
inspiring, training & retaining tips, ideas & resources!
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EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY - THE BIG PICTURE
A managed care company president was given a
ticket for a performance of Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony".
Since he was unable to go, he passed the invitation to one of his managed
care reviewers. The next morning, the president asked the reviewer how he
had enjoyed it, and he was handed a memorandum, which read: 1. For a
considerable period, the oboe players had nothing to do. Their number
should be reduced, and their work spread over the whole orchestra, thus
avoiding peaks of inactivity.
2. All twelve violins were playing identical
notes. This seems unnecessary duplication, and the staff in this section
should be drastically cut. If a large volume of sound is required, this
could be obtained through use of an amplifier.
3. Much effort was involved in playing the 16th
notes. This seems an excessive refinement, and it is recommended that all
notes should be rounded up to the nearest 8th note. If this were done, it
would be possible to use paraprofessionals instead of experienced
musicians.
4. No useful purpose is served by repeating with
horns the passage that has already been handled by the strings. If all
such redundant passages were eliminated, the concert could be reduced from
two hours to twenty minutes.
5. This symphony has two movements. If Schubert
did not achieve his musical goals by the end of the first movement, then
he should have stopped there. The second movement is unnecessary and
should be cut. In light of the above, one can only conclude that had
Schubert given attention to these matters, his symphony would probably
have been finished by now. (We don't know where we read this —
if you do, please e-mail us.)
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WHO'S WEARING FUN METERS?
* Jewel grocery store checker was wearing a Fun
Meter Button when a Training Systems Designer checked out - surprise!
* Employee at a major discount store chain in
Georgia had a Fun Meter Button that he'd gotten from who knows where and
other employees wanted them so much he was selling them!
* Woman on an airplane saw a Fun Meter Button on a
Training Systems Facilitator and got it for her father's 50th birthday
present (she was on her way to his party).
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?WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
These Skills Tough to Find
37% Interpersonal
24% Writing
13% Oral Communication
10% Other 6% Problem-solving
5% Organizational
5% Leadership management
(Source: Robert Half International Inc.)
So...what are you doing in YOUR organization to
either find people with these skills or help current employees get these
skills? Let us know your answer, and we'll publish it in the next issue
AND send you a FREE $12.95 book of your choice from our catalogue.
800-469-3560, Fax: 815-469-0886, e-mail: mail to:
TSI@trainingsys.com
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU LOVE OUR POSTERS, YOU'LL LOVE THESE...
It's a Dog's Life A dog is a teacher. And the
first lesson is the simplest, yet most difficult to discern. It is this:
He's a dog. That means he doesn't speak English, doesn't share his food,
and relieves himself when the mood is upon him. He is a dog. There are
greater dogs and lesser dogs, but each is...a dog. Once that lesson is
learned, and it often takes a long, long time, the pleasures of
companionship are legion. These pleasures include dog teaching man.
Here are three additional lessons my dog Harry
teaches.
First, greet each day for the gift that it is.
Harry jumps up and down, and begins his walk as if he had never seen the
street before. He appears delirious.
Second, remember it is the journey, and not the
destination. At his many stops he sniffs and learns who was there before
him. He confirms his suspicion that sparrows live in the neighbor's bush.
Some days he meets other dogs, other days not. All of the important stops
happen on the journey: none is at the destination.
Third, be yourself. Harry is completely without
pretense. He is sometimes surprised and sometimes frightened. He is often
curious and often ignorant. Whether surprised or frightened or curious or
ignorant, he doesn't try to cover up. He simply is what he is. That's his
beauty.
***
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced
enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. (Hardly seems worth
it!)
***
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
***
The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
***
Overcommitted Blues, by Deaf Lemon (known be day as Paul Duffy)
(sung to your favorite blues tune)
My calendar's full,
My Day-Timer's frayed,
My voice mail's overloaded,
I'm way underpaid.
Got tons overdue,
Several deadlines to meet,
The only things working
Are my two left feet.
I'm a-fumbling'—got
those overcommitted blues.
If you see me at the water cooler, please don't stop and schmooze.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a recruitment, inspiration, training, or
retention idea or question? Mail to
rir@trainingsys.com
and we'll post your idea or question (and the answer) in Answers &
Ideas on recruiting, inspiring, training, & retaining great employees
at http://www.trainingsys.com
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COOL RECRUITMENT TIPS
Now Temping: Attorneys and Rocket Scientists
Lawyers and engineers as temp workers? Yes, and accountants and other
professionals, too, reports the Conference Board, which estimates that
technical and professional workers now account for about 4.7 million of 23
million Americans currently working part time. What's driving the
increased reliance on technical and professional temps? The technical
nature and the project orientation of work these days, with short-term
requirements for people with specialized skills. (Lakewood Publications,
February 1997)
***
Build Your Reserve Army When valued people do leave, put them in a
database and consider them part of your reserve army. Stay in touch with
them. Call them up for active duty when there is a project that fits. And
re-recruit them after they've had a chance to see that the grass isn't so
much greener on the other side. (Generation X, April 1999)
***
Make Your Employment Applications Relate to Your Company & Who You're
Planning to Attract Amy's Ice Cream's applications are printed on paper
bags that have crayons inside for completing the application. McDonald's
applications are on placemats.
***
Quick Tip Stagger HR work schedules to create 12-to-16-hour availability
for recruiting and hiring. Reason: job candidates will appreciate the
accommodation of their needs for before and after work interviews, and
you'll open the door to more serious applicants.
***
Get more tips on recruiting great employees by
clicking
http://www.trainingsys.com
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TOOL BOX: Resources to Help You Recruit, Inspire
& Retain Employees
Creating Highly Interactive Training Quickly &
Effectively by Carolyn B. Thompson A great new book that gives you the
step-by-step process for putting together group and self-study training
with all the methods you need! Full of examples illustrating how each
piece should look, and photos of actual training. Call 800-469-3560 or
visit http://www.trainingsys.com
to order.
**
30 Ways to Shine by Denise Bissonnette A great resource to get any
employee off to a great start! It's a gold mine of practical tips and
suggestions. Also contains a "daily Challenge activity" for new
employees to grow and shine in 30 key areas! Call 800-469-3560 or go to
http://www.trainingsys.com
to order.
**
Skill Wars by Dr. Ed E. Gordon This book helps you learn how to win your
battle for productivity & profits. See excerpts at beginning of this
newsletter. Call 800-469-3560 or go to
http://www.trainingsys.com
to order.
**
Subscribe to Quality Digest at
http://www.qualitydigest.com
**
Committed to Memory: How We Remember and Why We Forget by Rebecca Rupp
Explains how memory works, and gives practical tips on easily remembering
names, facts, and numbers. (Crown, 1998)
**
CareerSteps A web based self-directed assessment program that can take the
burden off managers who aren't as skilled at evaluating and mentoring
their employees as they could be. And employees can find out what they
need to be happier and more productive. Call MindSteps at 650-473-4837 for
more information and to order. Link to hundreds of other great tools and
resources at Training Systems Links at
http://www.trainingsys.com
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IDEAS TO INSPIRE
Run an Integrated Premium Incentive Program. Your
program needs to encompass your End User (consumer), and ALL Employees (no
matter how small a part they play).
Remember that your company's goal is to move
product. Incentives provide action, achievement, recognition, and
empowered competence to both the motivated employees and customers. I've
always favored recognition, as it builds team spirit and unity. Everyone
on the team has to be considered no matter what his or her experience and
responsibilities are.
The key issue in management's consideration is not
only to gain a competitive advantage, but also to sustain it. IF the
competitors in your company's industry are effectively using incentives
and you are not, you're at a disadvantage. Target the incentive group,
segment the product mix appropriately, and position those incentives to
make it fun for everyone involved.
To be competitive, each company needs to obtain
extraordinary results from ordinary people. This ranges form the salesman
to the distributor to the dealer, and yes, even to the end user. Once
management acknowledges that motivational concept, and gives incentive
programs their appropriate share of the promotional mix, the impact will
result in increased sales and profits!
RECOGNITION is a great incentive, as it builds
team spirit and unity, resulting in increased sales and profits. (source:
Potentials Magazine, April 2000)
***
According to Timothy Butler and James Waldroop in
their book, "Job Sculpting: The Art of Retaining Your Best
People", there are basically 8 "drives" that motivate
successful workers:
*Mentoring & Counseling: "What do I wish for?"
*Expressing Ideas through Language: "How does it seem to
me?"
*Applying New Technology: "What else should I be doing?"
*Number Crunching: "Would it make any difference?"
*Managing Relationships: "What do I have control over?"
*Creativity: "Am I able to consider the questions?"
*Conceptual Thinking: "Is this the way things should be?"
*Enterprise Decision Making: "Am I doing anything about this?"
(based on the September/October issue of the Harvard Business Review,
"Job Sculpting: The Art of Retaining Your Best People" by
Timothy Butler and James Waldroop.)
***
Not Us! Now here's a company that got tired/fed up
with employees. Keep this from happening to you! I received a postcard in
the mail that read: "CHANGE IN SERVICE: No more employees...so
quality has improved. Your Professional Window Cleaner will now be one of
the Owners. Our rates have changed to reflect this...."
Get more tips on inspiring your employees by
clicking
http://www.trainingsys.com
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HOW TRAINING SYSTEMS...MAKES LEARNING FUN!
We use:
* plain English (or whatever other language is easiest for the
learners)
* the unexpected
* a theme carried throughout the learning
* highly interactive methods (even in self-study)
* contests (with others or with each learner only)
* timing, pauses, facial expressions, body movement, changes in voice
tone/volume (all of which are planned ahead of time)
* props
* stories & examples Above all - fun that fits the learner and the
learning objectives!
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RETAIN THE BEST
Conquering Cardiac Arrest in the Workplace Contact
your local American Heart Association (AHA) to come in and do what Joliet
Illinois group did: They invited business professionals from the community
to a free breakfast to learn about the importance of having employees
trained in the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). AEDs have
already saved many lives (being used by regular people) since they've been
in use. Until now, the survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest has been
less than 3%. The AHA believes the use of AEDs will raise the survival
rate to 20% or more! Your local AHA will come into your workplace and
provide lifesaving training in the use of AEDs. Be prepared to saved the
lives of your employees and those who visit your building!
***
10 Most Effective Initiatives for Retaining
Employees:
* Health care
* New hire orientation
* Open communications policy
* Salary increases
* 401(k) or 402(b)
* Salary
* On-Site parking
* Training costs reimbursement
* Casual dress
* Relocation costs reimbursement
Get more tips on retaining great employees by
clicking
http://www.trainingsys.com
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You can put the Training Systems, Inc. web site on
your Windows taskbar! Just right click a blank area of your taskbar and
select Toolbars/New Toolbar from the drop down menu. In the new Toolbar
box, enter
http://www.trainingsys.com.
It's that simple! Then you can have immediate access to great recruiting,
inspiring, training & retaining tips, ideas & resources!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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PLACES TO GO, THINGS TO DO
June 25-28 SHRM 52nd Annual Conference and
Exposition in Las Vegas. Bringing together leading HR professionals from
all over the world who will participate in three and a half days of
sessions on professional development in HR management. Contact SHRM at
800-283-7476 for details.
July 9-11 Meeting Professionals International (MPI)
Conference in Los Angeles, CA. Contact Eric Johnson at 972-702-3027 or
visit http://www.mpiweb.org for
information.
July 25, 26, 27 National Workers' Compensation and
Occupational Medicine 20th Anniversary Seminar in Cape Cod, Hyannis,
Massachusetts. Call 508-457-1111 for information.
August 1-4 16th Annual "Learning Online"
Conference. Visit
http://www.lern.org/LearningOnline
for information and updates.
August 5-8 National Speakers Association (NSA)
Conference in Washington, DC. Contact Dawn Milner at 480-968-2552 or visit
http://www.nsaspeaker.org for
details.
September 16-20 International Customer Service
Association (ICSA) in San Antonio, TX. Contact Pam Bowerman at
312-644-6610 or visit
http://www.icsa.com
for information.
September 20-22 Tech Knowledge Conference and
Exposition in Indianapolis, IN. Visit
http://www.astd.org
or call 703-683-8100 for details.
September 25-27 Performance Support 2000
Conference & Expo in Denver, CO. Call 888-203-9197 or visit
http://lakewoodconferences.com
for information.
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**Be sure to forward Recruit, Inspire & Retain
to others, and remember, you can check archives by keyword at our web site
http://www.trainingsys.com.
**We'll be back next month with more great tips,
ideas, success stories, and information to help you recruit, inspire,
training & retain great employees! Visit us at
http://www.trainingsys.com
soon!
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