It is possible to increase the periods of happiness and reduce the other times in your career. We wanted to offer a few ways you can stay passionate and energized in your career, even when you may not be “feeling it!”

• Take a class, course, or other professional development offering where you can hone your skills, learn something new, and take your experience up a level.
• Remember why you choose your career in the first place. What was it you were passionate about, and how can you ensure that passion is being integrated into your work.
• Take time off. Whether a stay-vacation, a single day off, or a true vacation/get-away – get out of your normal routine and recharge.
• Volunteer your time or services. Volunteering has proven to increase moral and productivity, and it greatly enhances your overall perception about life in general. Find a cause you care about, and spend time giving back.
• Ask to be included in a new project, take on a new task, or do something out of the ordinary at the office.
• Mentor someone new in your industry. This gives you a chance to experience the passion and commitment of someone new, and it also offers you a chance to reconnect with how far you’ve advanced over the years.
• Enjoy the lull. Ironically, when your experiencing a lull, it’s a great time to actually enjoy the cycle of life. So, you aren’t as busy in the office, perhaps you’re even bored, what could you now use your for since you have some extra time?

These are just a few, simple things you can do to get re-energized about your career. What do you do when you want to recharge or renew your commitment to your work ? We’d love to know, please leave a comment below.

Here are a few things you can do to always come out as the better person.

1. Stop taking things personally. We all face challenging and difficult people at different times in our lives, whether on the job and even at home. Don’t let these encounters feel like a personal attack, in which you need to be defensive to win. Instead, realize that the person is likely experiencing their own set of challenges and is expressing them at everyone in their life. When you stop taking things personally, you can detach from their behavior.

2. Recognize different personality styles. Not all people are the same, and they shouldn’t be treated as such. The more aware you are of what makes people tick, what pushes their buttons, and how they interact with others, the more likely you are to engage with them in a productive way. For example, if you find that someone is highly defensive when they receive feedback, be sure to sing them extra praises when they do something right. This will help to break down their barriers.

3. Don’t speak or react out of anger. Anger can get you into trouble, it makes you say things you don’t mean, react without being logical or sensical, and isn’t an emotion to express haphazardly. It’s not to say you can’t get angry, just don’t react while angry. Take a moment to walk, take a breath, get outside – don’t vent to co-workers or throw fuel on the fire. Instead, remember a mantra such as, “This too will pass.” Or turn on some tunes that can help shift your energy. When you deal with people while you are angry, it’s likely you’ll regret how you handled the situation.

A challenging co-worker can cause a lot of issues at work, if you let them. Instead, rethink how you handle the people that push your buttons, after all, when you are upset with another person, it is you who is most affected by someone at the end of the day.

Here are some of the TOP benefits we’ve heard:

1. We save you a lot of time digging through resumes, screening initial applicants, and coordinating schedules and interviews.
2. We allow you to see only the best, most qualified candidates, after they’ve been screened and interviewed – leaving the company with just a few interviews to conduct.
3. We know how to properly screen and filter applicants.
4. We save you time and energy in coordinating the process, from posting on job boards, to gathering the information for the position, to screening applicants.
5. We understand how culture works, and look for candidates that not only match the position, but match the culture of the company as well.
6. We are able to make the process happen much faster, as it’s our sole focus, whereas a hiring manager within the company is often tasked with many responsibilities.
7. We specialize in finding individuals within finance and accounting.
8. Before the company sees any candidates, we’ve taken the time to understand your company, the culture, and the needs of the position and then deliver exactly what you are looking for. The process doesn’t stop there, with frequent check-ins, follow ups, and ongoing support.
9. We focus on a solution for the company, and not filling a position.
10. We make the process less stressful, less complicated, and at the end of the day make the hiring manager look good!

Do you have a staffing need within your company? Have a question about how we work? Contact us today.

This is such a great quote, and one that can be applied at anytime in your life. Although many people use the calendar new year to start fresh, remember that you can make a fresh start any moment you decide to.

With that said, what are your plans for 2012?

• Will you make a career change?
• Are you seeking a promotion?
• Would you like to increase your performance, sales numbers, attitude?
• Do you plan to move into management?
• Go back to school? Take a course? Become certified in a skill?

Beyond setting goals, making plans, and writing out your intentions – also consider your state of being. Perhaps you can choose a word for the year – like “Fortis” – meaning strength. You could also choose words like courage, balance, or harmony.

A word for the year can be a focal point. Something for you to remember, and bring yourself back to a solid base throughout the months ahead.

Writing your goals and intentions, means you are more likely to achieve them. Take the time to do this over the next few days. Then put them in a place where you’ll see them frequently, revisit them, adjust them, and make them happen.

Happy New Year!

Most companies claim they want enthusiastic, engaged employees — and with good reason. Employee engagement and financial performance are connected. A recent study by Aon Hewitt, for example, found that companies with high levels of engagement outperformed the stock market in 2010.

And yet Gallup research indicates that more than 70 percent of employees in the typical company are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged.”

What’s the reason for this failure? In my view, it boils down to a startling disconnect between how companies try to promote engagement and what truly inspires and motivates employees.

At most companies, the human resources department “owns” and measures engagement. It issues a lengthy annual survey, asking employees a withering barrage of questions — everything from your overall satisfaction to the adequacy of prescription benefits to whether you have a “best friend” at work. The resulting report, issued after lengthy analysis, leads to an improved benefits program, “supervisor coaching,” or other initiatives run by staff at the center.

This approach is just like the way most companies used to deal with customers. Marketing or customer service departments owned customer satisfaction, relied on traditional staff-directed tools (such as training programs) to improve it, and gauged their success through old-style satisfaction surveys.

In recent years, however, leading companies such as Zappos and Apple have led a revolution in creating great customer experiences:

• They make wowing customers a priority for every frontline employee, not just a central team at headquarters.
• Instead of infrequent satisfaction studies, they ask their customers for feedback all the time.

These companies typically give their customers short, quick surveys. They promptly distribute the scores and verbatim responses to frontline reps and supervisors, who follow up right away with unhappy customers, fixing the problems wherever possible. And these companies build closed-loop learning into their daily operations so that they’re constantly improving.

These efforts earn these companies deep, long-lasting customer loyalty. Their customers not only spend more, stay longer, and recommend the company to their friends, but they also contribute ideas for improvement because they believe the company values their feedback.

So, suppose you applied that same methodology to building employee engagement. What would you do differently?

For one thing, you’d conduct short surveys that respect your employees’ time and ask only the few questions that yield the most important insights. You would do this often enough to generate a steady stream of information about engagement levels and ideas for improvement. JetBlue, whose employees I wrote about in my last post, sends a survey ninety days after an employee’s start date and every year thereafter. Apple surveys its employees every few months.

And instead of delegating the effort to HR, you’d make employee engagement a top priority for frontline managers and employees themselves, with built-in procedures for closed-loop learning.

In fact, you’d take away the crutch of thinking that “someone else” is taking care of it, placing responsibility squarely and undeniably on the shoulders of frontline managers. That’s how it’s done at Apple stores. After each survey wave, store managers review the data for their store. Employee focus groups identify key themes and issues, and employee teams help develop solutions, which they present to store management. There is no waiting for analysis and recommendations from some central team. By the time the next survey comes around in a few months, managers and store employees know whether their solutions have had the desired effect.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the same basic techniques for earning customer loyalty also work with employees. At their core, both efforts depend on treating people with dignity and respect. Both require real-time learning. Both address the relationship in a human way, not just as a transaction or piece of data.

And, as it happens, they reinforce each other. Employees learn how to wow customers and feel great when they do. Customers love the experience. It’s a virtuous cycle — something we call the Promoter Flywheel — and it leads to great financial performance.

Conventional approaches to employee engagement tend to focus on overall workplace improvements and benefits because those things can be directed by staff from the center. They’re the “easy” things to do. Obviously, they’re important: A safe and pleasant work environment, fair compensation, and the tools needed to do the job are table stakes for employee satisfaction.

But what you really want isn’t just satisfied employees, it’s passionate employees — people who love working for your company, love your products and services, and love wowing customers. You build that kind of advocacy by creating a real commitment to enriching your customers’ lives, giving employees the tools and freedom to delight customers, and helping them see and hear the effects of their actions.

Here are a few things you can do to get organized for your new hire.

1. Have as much information about the position as possible. This includes knowing the day-to-day tasks, who the person reports to, what they are responsible for overall, and the big picture vision of their position.
2. Obtain the data, facts, projects, and any other miscellaneous information from the team in which the new person will be working. This entails the group projects, team meetings and information, and anything that help this person become more successful.
3. Have a training and integration plan. The more organized and detailed you can be upfront and in the beginning, the more the person will have confidence in their position and the company. This means you’ll need to be fully prepared for your new hire on their start date. If your week is too busy for a new hire to start on a Monday, consider moving their start date to Wednesday or Thursday.
4. Make their first day organized, planned, and incredible. This can include things like knowing their logins and passwords, having their office or space setup, giving them a calendar with meetings, expectation and upcoming deadlines. People love to be led, and they love when a company is organized.
5. Cater to the personality of your new employee. If you had your new hire take a personality test before employment, or at the start of employment, use that information to ensure the success of the individual. If they are an introvert, perhaps running them around to meet everyone on the first day, including lunch with the managers may not be the best bet. A one-on-one with their team lead however, would go over nicely!

Above all, remember that the more organized and prepared you are for your new hire, the more the relationship will start out on the right foot.  What that really means is a successful transitions into the new position.

For some, it’s a welcome break, but with looming deadlines, last quarter numbers and goals to meet, there’s still a need for focus and motivation.

Here are a few tips to keep you motivated through the holidays.

1. First, limit your intake of those high sugar, high fat foods in the break room. At least save them for after lunch, so you don’t have a spike and crash before noon.
2. Pick your battles. It’s likely you’ll be socializing more this month, limit alcohol , get to bed early, and say no whenever possible.
3. Schedule downtime. The last 30 days of the year can feel like a whirlwind. Hit the gym, take a break, unwind in whatever way you can.
4. Review your 2011 goals, and write your goals for 2012.  See what can be completed, wrap it up, and get a fresh start in January.
5. Allow yourself time to play. While work is important, enjoy the season.
6. Get away and work. It may be necessary to lock yourself in the conference room, or change up your space to get things done. With holiday traffic (reps, etc.) parading around the office, it’s a good idea to get out of your usual space… but alert someone to where you will be working from!
7. Set a timer to stay focused for a time block when working on a specific project.
8. Listen to upbeat holiday music to stay in the season, but inspired by the tunes.

These are just a few things you can do to not only stay motivated, but also enjoy the season that is upon us. What other tips can you share about how you stay motivated during the holidays?

The next time you structure a meeting, consider implementing these strategies.

The Right People -  While it may seem productive to include everyone in every meeting, it’s not always the best strategy. Instead, consider who the essential people are for each component. For example, if your meeting is about designing a new product, the sales team won’t need to sit in on the design talks. However, if the sales team needs to understand the design to sell it, include the sales team once production has made some headway and can report only what the sales team needs to know. This will vary depending on the type of meeting you are running and what the objective is, but overall consider who the essential people are to the meeting and keep the group concise.

Preparation –  The more prepared each individual person is for the meeting, the more effective and efficient the meeting will be run. Make any reports, updates, and information due the day prior to the meeting so everyone can be “up to speed” and  ”on the same page.” This will eliminate using the meeting time to get everyone on board. If you have a new person in the meeting, inform them of the background information prior to the meeting. This way all people will be ready to get to the most important part of the meeting – progress.

Communication -  A meeting should not consist of a one-sided conversation led by one person. Meetings are most effective when they encourage the individuals to provide open, honest feedback and ideas.  If you need to inform your team or staff of a new project/idea/business update differentiate that from a regular team meeting. Perhaps call it a “corporate update” or “company happenings” meeting. This will let your team know this is a meeting in which they will be actively listening, but not engaging. Keep these one-sided meetings to a minimum and report the information that is necessary to increase morale, leadership, team building, and understanding. In a typical meeting in which you are wanting progress and forward movement, it’s essential to encourage communication.

Meetings can spark imaginative ideas, creative solutions, and critical thinking that can and will change your company and team dynamic. Use meetings productively and you’ll find amazing results. On the flip side, if your meetings are unproductive you’ll notice a decrease in ideas and creative thinking.

What strategies have you found work best for you and your team?

Recognition – Recognition is the most common means of honoring someone’s value in the workplace; however, the majority of employees don’t feel recognized by their managers and team. Individuals who enjoy recognition will often post things that show someone has recognized them; i.e. a card on the wall, an award, etc. You may even find that individuals who need and enjoy recognition will also recognize others as well. Most people assume that everyone enjoys to be recognized for their accomplishments, but it isn’t always the case. Be sure not to assume that everyone on your team likes to be the center of attention and to get recognized in front of the group. For those who enjoy recognition, a simple acknowledgment of something they have done will go a long way and will significantly increase their performance and happiness on the job.

Equality/Fairness – The person who values fairness will always ensure that everyone on the team has equality. That could mean anything from equal time to share an idea, equal days off, working the same amount of time. It also could mean this person will count the favors you’ve done for others and will expect the favors to be equally shared. For example, you granted permission for a team member to leave early one day. To the person who values fairness, they’ve created a mental note that this will later be returned to them. If it isn’t, this person is likely to see this as a personal vindication.  For the fairness person, be sure they know they are as equally important as everyone else on the team.

Monetary/Gifts – Money is a common motivator for many, but this goes beyond a pay increase or a scheduled bonus. A person who values gifts loves to be treated to lunch, receive  a gift on their birthday, or receive anything with perceived value. It isn’t so much the gift it intself, it’s more the thoughfulness that goes into it. This person loves the idea that you took the time and energy to do something for them. In the workplace, this may be one of the harder values to recognize; however, if you have this person on your team, they’ll be thrilled with a gift card to a restaurant, a local store, or some other favorite place to show that they are valued and an asset to your team.

The individuals that work together on your team come from all different backgrounds, educations, and skillset.  They also comprise a variety of strengths and talents, some of which may go unnoticed in their positions.

In the book StrengthsFinder 2.0, author Tom Rath suggests a strengths model of leadership. Essentially, focusing on the strengths of your team and sharpening those, and ignoring the weaknesses. This goes against contradictory thinking that a person should identify their weaknesses and improve them. Rath suggests that when you take people’s natural strengths and abilities, they are more likely to succeed.

What are you doing to identify the strengths of the people on your team?

Begin to take notice where your team members are reaching beyond the expectations. If they get an assignment, are they exceptional in being strategic about how to implement it? Are they good at getting the rest of the team on board? Can they lift the moral of the team? What natural abilities do you see them using on a consistent basis?

To really optimize your team’s performance, it is essential to focus on their strengths that are natural, instead of their weaknesses.

When you know the strengths of your individual team members, you can then pair each individual with other team members who have a different strength’s style that complements their style. Additionally, you’ll want a team that is diverse in their strengths. The more varied your team, the more likely you are to have a fully functioning team that operates extremely well together and can achieve astounding results.

This also comes into play when you hire new team members. For your next hire, hire for talent and then develop that strength.  With all team members, make the shift of focusing on how to improve a person’s strength, and ignore their weaknesses.

When you focus on people’s individual strengths you allow members of your team to be more fully engaged in their work, and you will also get the best results possible.

To take the StengthsFinder 2.0 assessment, you’ll need to grab a copy of the book. You can find more information on that here. http://www.strengthsfinder.com If you take the test, we’d love to know your top five strengths.