Subject: Recruit, Inspire & Retain, November, 2001
A FREE eZINE FROM TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC.
RECRUIT, INSPIRE & RETAIN
November, 2001
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COOL INFO CONTAINED IN THIS ISSUE:
Really Great Interviews * FISH! Learners Wearing Fun
Meters? * Waiting for the Brick? * You Need a
Recognition Coordinator * How Training Systems Helps
Managers Trainers, Team Members, Learn About Each
Others' Best Way to Learn & Communicate * Have Your
Senior Managers Outgrown Training? * Places to Go,
Things to Do * Get 10% off books, tapes & fun stuff at
http://store.fastcommerce.com/trainingsys by typing "RIR"
in Special Instructions
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COOL RECRUITING TIPS
Really Great Interviews
How we'd like to interview:
Reaching the end of a job interview, the HR person
asked a young engineer fresh out of MIT, "And what
starting salary were you looking for?"
The engineer said, "In the neighborhood of $125,000 a
year, depending on the benefits package."
The interviewer said, "Well, what would you say to a
package of 5 weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full
medical and dental benefits, and a company car leased
every 2 years - say a red Corvette?"
The engineer sat up straight and said, "Wow! Are you
kidding?"
The interviewer replied, "Yeah, but you started it."
How we will interview:
Example from a restaurant: "We show people the menu
and
ask them to tell us which item they would like to
order
and why. This tells us about their enthusiasm and
knowledge of food. Energy level is also important and
we can get a feeling from body language and eye
contact we can see if they seem excited about being
here."
Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy, partners, La
Palapa. New York, NV
"For the second interview we have a 'Peer Tour' of the
restaurant led by a member of the staff. This shows
potential hires where they will be working, so there
are no surprises and the staff members get a chance to
form an opinion."
Jeff Phillips. GM, The Olive Garden, Ft. Walton. FL
**TOOL BOX**
#"Behavior Based Interviewing", by Terri L.
Fitzwater, available at
http://store.fastcommerce.com/trainingsys (10% off
by typing "RIR" in Special Instructions).
#Job Description Database: hundreds of job
descriptions available to members of the Society
of Human Resource Management, 703-548-3440.
Get more tips on recruiting great employees at
http://www.trainingsys.com and then click on RECRUIT
TIPS.
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Have a recruitment, inspiration, training, or
retention
idea or question? Send e-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
*****************
WHO'S WEARING FUN METERS?
*Wingren's Landscape Maintenance staff who used
"FISH!"
by Stephen Luadin, Harry Paul & John Christiansen in
their training ("FISH!" helps people learn that they
must decide for themselves whether an organization's
vision is worth committing to. They must see it, feel
it, live it- and when they do, they generate amazing,
self-sustaining power.)
*Someone at our website wanted to know the HISTORY OF
FUN METERS: Several years ago the developer was in the
Air National Guard on an aircraft flight crew. Their
flight suits had all the patches velcroed on (name
tag,
unit, command). When they were off duty in the local
clubs after a mission they would remove their name tag
and replace it with an embroidered patch of a Happy
Meter they got in Korea. One night a friend and the
developer were talking about the patch and they both
agreed that a patch that was always on Max Happy was
not necessarily a true representation of their level
of
Happy. They needed something that was adjustable. So,
well into a 12 pack of Bud Lite, the Happy Meter was
discarded and the Fun Meter was born, designed and
engineered.
**TOOL BOX**
Fun Meter Buttons, available at
http://store.fastcommerce.com/trainingsys
*****************
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU LOVE OUR POSTERS, YOU'LL LOVE THESE...
A young, successful executive was traveling down a
neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new
Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting in and out
from between parked cars and slowed down when he
thought he saw something. As his car passed, no
children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the
Jag's side door!
He slammed on the brakes and spun the Jag back to the
spot from where the brick had been thrown. He jumped
out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up
against a parked car shouting, "What was that all
about
and who are you? Just what are you doing?" Building up
a head of steam he went on. "That's a new car, and
that
brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why
did you do it?"
"Please, mister, please. I'm sorry. I didn't know what
else to do," pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick
because no one else would stop." Tears were dripping
down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked
car. "It's my brother. He rolled off the curb and fell
out of his wheelchair, and I can't lift him up."
Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you
please
help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt
and
he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the
rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He lifted the
young man back into the wheelchair and took out his
handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking
to see that everything was going to be okay. "Thank
you
and may God bless you," the grateful child said to
him.
The man then watched the little boy push his brother
down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to his Jaguar....a long, slow
walk. He never did repair the side door. He kept the
dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that
someone has to throw a brick at you to get your
attention.
It's your choice: Listen to the whisper -- or wait for
the brick.
Author unknown
**TOOL BOX **
#BUY PACKS of inspirational posters at
http://www2.mailordercentral.com/trainerswarehouse/ ,
do a Product Search for POSTERS, then look for
Training Room Posters (30/pack).
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IDEAS TO INSPIRE
You Need a Recognition Coordinator
Now here's a position we all need! Kelly Cielo is the
Recognition Coordinator in the Rural & Intercity Bus
Program for the Bureau of Public Transportation in PA.
When asked how the position came to be she said (in
the
really upbeat voice of someone in charge of
recognition!) that they noticed a gap in internal
satisfaction. As a state department, they can't give
gift certificates and many of the other incentives we
tell you about in Inspiring Tips. So the job was born
to create new procedures and come up with ideas to
recognize people.
Kelly says the job is great fun! She's working on a
web
site for employee recognition, and in October they
started a team recognition program. She'd be happy to
help you get a position like hers. mail to:
kcielo@dot.state.pa.us
**TOOL BOX**
#rent "Pay It Forward" for all your employees to
see.
#2002 Coach's Calendar: More than a calendar -
it's a complete coaching system! Available at
http://store.fastcommerce.com/trainingsys (10% off
by typing "RIR" in Special Instructions)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
HOW TRAINING SYSTEMS
Helps Managers Trainers, Team Members, Learn About
Each
Others' Best Way to Learn & Communicate
We use:
*Wilson Social Styles and can administer it for you:
email to TSI@trainingsys.com
*Keirsey Temperament Sorter and you can do it online
at http://www.advisorteam.com/user/ktsintro.asp
*Meyers-Briggs (MBTI) and TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC. has
several trainers who are certified; email to
TSI@trainingsys.com
*Learning Styles - glad to send you a copy; e mail to
TSI@trainingsys.com
*DISC and you can order it from
http://www.inscapepublishing.com
**TOOL BOX**
#Get more ideas at http://www.16types.com, the
first online marketplace for professional users
of personality types.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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TRAIN SO THEY'LL LEARN
Have Your Senior Managers Outgrown Training?
Leadership education must focus on personal values and
motives, otherwise behavior won't change. For example:
*"I used to be late to meetings and miss deadlines,
blaming it on 'lack of time'. Now I realize that I
choose to be late. I am accountable to myself, rather
than a victim."
*"My box says he will do reviews on time, but still
procrastinates. I've finally figured out that he
simply
hates confrontation. This insight won't fix him, but
now I'm more tolerant."
*"I used to believe my secretary when she put the
blame
on others for mistakes. Now I understand that the
problem is her responsibility, and can coach her to
take more ownership."
By reading motives, the senior manager takes more
responsibility for results. This distinguishes leaders
from followers. Participants like the success this
brings. In the words of a recent learner, "This stuff
really works!"
Since 1990, the writer has been working with senior
managers to develop leadership. Here's a short list of
his most compelling lessons:
* Avoid excessive detail. Summarize skill formulas to
one-page "recipes".
* Coach instead of lecture.
* Spread sessions 60 days apart, to allow time to
practice and show results. Limit sessions to 1.5 days.
* Emphasize small group coaching over lecture.
Maximize
cross-industry exposure and peer mentoring.
* Tailor coaching to the issues each participant is
currently facing.
* Use skilled facilitators to probe personal motives
and behavior.
* Use 360 degree feedback to measure behavior, before
and after the training.
* Write structured action plans to guide back-at-work
projects.
* Encourage learning-by-teaching.
Thanks to our friend at BDI for letting us reprint
portions of this from their e-zine Focus First.
**TOOL BOX**
#CourseBuilder design/development software
follows the same principle as "Creating
Highly Interactive Training Quickly &
Effectively"...Accelerated Learning! See all the
components at
http://www.trainingsys.com/resources/coursebuilder/cb.html
(10% off by typing "RIR" in Special Instructions)
#Authority Finder,
http://www.instantknowledge.com
(locates quotes from authoritative sources for
your topic)
#Use popular videos in training: go to
http://www.moviesforbusiness.com, search by
topic, then rent it. Mail to TSI@trainingsys.com
to get steps for using videos successfully.
Get more tips on helping great employees learn at
http://www.trainingsys.com, click TRAIN TIPS.
NEW FEATURE AT OUR WEBSITE! In addition to Train Tips,
you can now get new ideas for learning methods you can
use right away. Click TRAIN TIPS, then LEARNING
METHODS.
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RETAIN THE BEST
Involve Employees in Strategic Planning & Implementing
the Plan
You use the same strategic planning process every year
- facilitator from outside, flipcharts on wall, board
room, top level managers, go around the room, put
colored dots on the goals you most want, leave, come
back next year.
OR
Use a process that involves staff. You know - the
people who are going to be implementing the plan -
this
way it'll actually happen, because they were part of
the planning (there's commitment and they understand
what to do).
Make the process fun! We constructed a process for our
own staff (and we've helped others use it!) using an
8' x 8' game board. There are 30 paths to the center,
1
per person. Each path has 5 squares on the way to the
center. Each square represents a question they'll
answer during the planning session. You can use the
process with fewer (we did it with 10). If you have
more than 30 people, it's best to run more game
boards.
Everyone receives a few questions to think about and
the overall organization goal(s) the week before the 3
hour planning time.
During the actual planning time, the game board is
placed on the floor with all staff's chairs circled
around (or it can be on a large table). Everyone gets
a
game piece and planning begins with the first of 5
questions. The method for getting the answers varies
with each question and is very fun and interactive.
We've used slightly different questions for different
organizations but the idea is the same - each employee
(really great for board members too) plans their own
year relating to the overall goal(s). This leads to
solid action plans for the organization, because it's
the employee who'll implement anyway, and it cements
the connection between the goals/plans of the employee
and the organization. It's caused employees and Board
members to actually implement the organization plans
daily along with their own. The 2 plans feel one and
the same.
The planning ends with written plans and dates for
achievement for the organization and each person.
**TOOL BOX**
#TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC. Strategic Planning Game
info,
available at
http://trainingsys.com/resources/plngmtg/index.htm
#Employee Holiday Gifts! Buy a gift from any of
the
230 merchants at http://iGive.com, and an amount up to
15% percent of your purchase will be donated to
the charity or cause of your choice.
http://www.iGive.com
#"Winning the Talent Wars", by Bruce Tulgan,
Available at
http://store.fastcommerce.com/trainingsys (10% off
by typing "RIR" in Special Instructions)
Get more tips on retaining great employees by clicking
http://www.trainingsys.com and clicking RETAIN TIPS.
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PLACES TO GO, THINGS TO DO
November 30, 2001
Computer Security Day,
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/computersecurityday
December 2-4, 2001
Sixth Annual Workplace Learning Conference: High
Energy
High Skills, and High Performance, Chicago, IL,
http://www.workplace-learning.net
December 3-5, 2001
Dave Meier's 3-day Accelerated Learning Training
Methods
workshop, Embassy Suites Biltmore, Phoenix, AZ,
http://www.alcenter.com
January 19-22, 2001
Learning Brain Expo 2002, San Diego, CA, 800-325-4769
Global Volunteers
Service programs all over the world from a few days to
2 weeks in everything from teaching English, building
bridges to helping local businesses. Call Jules @ 800-
487-1074, http://www.globalvolunteers.org
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Copyright 2001 TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC. All rights
reserved.
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**We'll be back next month with more great tips,
ideas,
success stories, and information to help you recruit,
inspire, train, & retain great employees!
**Visit us at http://www.trainingsys.com soon!
