Become Thirty Percent More Effective In Selecting The Right People

Success starts with the right people in the right jobs. Particularly in leadership positions. But if that's really the belief of most organizations, why is it that so many selections fail at their jobs - or - even worse, just hang on and take up space?

Based on feedback from any number of studies, candidates hired for leadership or emerging leadership positions are successful about a third of the time, with success being defined as meeting or exceeding the expectations of the organization. About a third fail, with failure defined as not meeting the expectations of the organization, and about a third survive, with survival being defined as getting close enough to meeting expectations to avoid being let go.

Often the rationalization for this level of performance is that the best hitters in baseball only get a hit about 1 out of three times at bat - and they're considered stars. The difference is that once the batter ends an at bat - it's over.

But when a failure to get a hit in selection occurs, the problems are just beginning. Low morale, increased turnover, missed goals, reduced profit, possible lawsuits and lowered standards of performance are all part of a poor selection decision. And those problems just get worse as the decision on what to do gets put off - no one likes admitting to a mistake. And the biggest cost - the opportunity cost - the cost of not having the right person in the right job - is by far the biggest cost of a poor selection decision.

And yet, many organizations that are constantly striving and working toward improvements in quality, customer service, sales, and profits appear satisfied with the status quo in selection. While they are convinced that standing still in so many areas is actually losing competitve advantage, they don't see the same thing happening in selecting the right people for the right jobs. To the extent they stand still on improving in this most vital of areas, theyre losing competitive advantage.

It doesn't have to be that way. In fact, every organization striving to improve their selection batting average can become at least 30% more effective.

How can you add 30% effectiveness to your people selection processes - selection including hiring, transfer, promotion and team membership?

Here's how:

1 - Start by identifying a critical position that has been hard to fill - where turnover and failure to perform have been a problem. Or a critical position where fit with the existing organization is essential to success.

2 - Look for biases that have no bearing on the job that may have limited the applicant pool. I don't mean the mandated of race, sex, ethnicity, religion - those should have been dealt with long ago. I'm talking about ensuring your pool of applicants/candidates isn't being restricted by biases and assumptions and cultural differences that have no real basis from a organizational standpoint.

3 - Create the key accountabilities for the job using the key stakeholders. Prepare to be amazed at how different one key stakeholder sees them from another. Get agreement on the top three to five - even if that means having to really negotiate to agreement.This is key at the beginning of the process - agreement here will go a long way to ensuring the people involved in the selection are all on the same page. And the recruiting is targeted.

4 - Have the stakeholders identify the education, experience, industry experience, and other hard data elements. These are the quantifiable data points that every candidate must have for further consideration.

5 - Identify the behaviors, motivators and personal skills that have been successful in the job. Get them from the people who have been successful in the job, from the people with close contact and interdependence with the job, with the people who manage the job. If assessments of behaviors, attitudes and skills are currently being used, use the results of past assessments to help create the profile. If they are not in use, or the assessments in use don't lend themselves to this process, get ones that do.

6 - Have the stakeholders meet to review the findings and to use them to arrive at a profile of the ideal candidate and to prioritize must haves, want to haves and nice to haves. Use assessments to help the stakeholders in this vital step. The process is benchmarking- creating the benchmark against which all candidates will be measured. No more letting the candidate pool set the standards for success.

7 - With this information in hand, train and develop an interview team to use it in creating a coordinated interview process. And have the candidates that pass the education, experience and other hard data elements take the same assessments. Review the assessment reports of the candidates against the behavior, motivators and personal skills profile created by the stakeholders in the organization.

8 - Use what was learned in this first benchmarking project and apply it to other high value positions. The process has value at all levels - but it does take an investment of time and effort, and the early efforts should be directed at the highest potential gain positions.

Organizations that have followed this process have seen major improvements in selecting the right person for the right job. Organizations have seen their comfort level and support for newly selected people jump because there is a firm foundation for the selection decision. And the profile completed by the stakeholders provides the blueprint for development and success of the person selected. Success and retention rates have increased well beyond the 30% level in many organizations.

Examine your own process. See what tools you are currently using. Don't be satisfied measuring activity - when evaluating your current process measure results in the success of the selections. Don't confuse survival with success. It's a roadblock to increasing the level of excellence in the talent level of the organization. Real improvement comes with the right person in the right job. Use this process for your own success.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: www,coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

The More Trust, The More Time To Succeed

Bill Oncken, in his book Managing Management Time, says that the more trust you have with your "universe " of people, the more time you have to do the things that lead to success.

Trust is hard to earn. Once lost it's hard to regain. It's the most precious asset in any relationship - at any level - at any time.

Without trust, time can stand still. Every action can be scrutinized, every request for money or assets or people be subjected to a tremendous amount of documentation. The result is there is no discretionary time - the time to get the really good stuff done.

A story of two Division Presidents about performance and trust:

Division President A, who had performed well for a year and a half in one Division, was promoted to Division President of a new acquisition. Because of his past performance, he came into this assignment with a high level of trust.
President A, in his first budget year, feeling pressure to perform at a high level, put together an optimistic set of financial goals, and they were accepted - with some skepticism. They weren't met. While the corporation was not happy, he argued that things were worse than he had expected, and next year would be better. In his second budget year, continuing to sense that there were expectations to perform at a high level, he again set stretch financial goals. He was reminded that his input was relied on for overall financial planning at the corporate level. The goals were not met. In his third year, he assured the corporation that the changes he had made, and the knowledge he now possessed, would result in success. By this time trust had been stretched thin. The budget was carefully reviewed. During the year he had to travel to corporate every month to review performance. He had no discretionary time - what had been time available to him to communicate, visit customers, develop his staff - were now taken over with financial and operational micro management. By the end of the third year the division actual performance came close to the proposed annual budget. But nobody trusted anything he said. They saw him as unreliable. Within three months Division President A was terminated.

In a separate Division of the same company, Division President B consistently beat his financial numbers. He knew how important making his numbers was in gaining trust. He rarely had to travel to corporate to explain his results, he had a high level of success in wringing capital dollars out of the corporation, his people decisons were rarely challenged. Things were far from perfect in his business, but whenever plans weren't met, or bad news occurred, he communicated - there were no surprises. His reward was trust - and a high level of trust resulted in being left alone. And he and his staff appreciated the freedom - and maintained close contact with their "universe" of contacts within the company - on a proactive basis. After five years of top performance, he was promoted to Group Executive, where he was equally successful.

What successful President B practiced were the essential elements of trust building. It wasn't that unsuccessful President A was not worthy of trust - he in fact had a high level of personal integrity, but he let intentions get in the way of results.

Here are Division President B's essential elements of trust building:

Honor commitments, and do that by being careful to make commitments that can be kept. And make commitments into statements of goals to ensure there are no misunderstandings - that everyone is on the same page.

Respect the requirements of others in your "universe." Realize that not meeting the requirements of others will create a climate of distrust and disrespect. And what should have been an opportunity to show respect for others requirements in the form of a routine report submittal, or a timely expense report submittal, or an on-time budget submission instead become seeds of distrust that can grow and eat away at free time.

Communicate the news - good and bad. Good news is easy - bad news not so much. But trust is lost every time bad news is delayed, minimized or blamed on others. The person that has the courage to communicate bad news on their accountabilities should be respected. Failure to do so leads to increased control - and a loss of time.

Trust but verify. Don't confuse verification with a lack of trust. See it as a necessary step to greater levels of trust. The optimistic manager who provides trust without verification doesn't last long - at least as a trusting, optimistic manager. Verification is a necessary component of a high trust relationship. Proactively providing verification in a routine manner creates trust.

Give trust to get trust. Like most things of value in relationships, giving results in getting. Have you ever seen a low trust- giving person receive a high level of trust from others? It's rare.

Learn to say "No." It's so easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new enterprise, a new project, a new relationship. And it's so easy in that excitement and optimism to commit beyond the ability to deliver. Maybe "No" is too strong a word. Perhaps "let's think about it for ...." is a better way to make sure commitments made can be kept. No commitment can be taken lightly - someone is counting on it being kept.

Respect the learning curve. As knowledge is gained on the path to meeting a commitment, use that knowledge to modify what was originally committed so that results are managed and trust preserved.

Tell the truth as fast as you can, and as you know it to be. At the same time, recognize that what you perceive as truth and what others perceive as truth can be very different. By communicating your own truth, be prepared to be amazed at how different others perception can be. Putting your truth on the table creates the opportunity to deal with the differences.

Honor the promises made to yourself. Every time a personal promise is not kept, personal trust is reduced. On the other hand, every time a personal goal is met - as small as taking that hike on a Saturday morning, or as big as quitting smoking, personal trust grows. And trust in ourselves is the key to trust in others.

Trust comes from accomplishment - not from intention. Intention can be invaluable for creating the goals needed to define performance, but results are the key to trust.

Start today - identify the "universe" of people that can add to or detract from the time you have to do the critical things that can lead to success. Then identify what it takes to give to and get from that "universe." Then cultivate your "universe" and be prepared to gain time - time you may never have known could be available to you.

Written By Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

The Biggest Barrier To Building Relationships - One - Way Conversations

At a recent event, I met a speaker and consultant who told me her specialty is leadership and communications development. Perhaps "met" is the wrong word to describe our exchange. "Listen to her tell me all about herself " is a more accurate description of our all - too - long one - way conversation. Once she had finished with her autobiography, she looked over my shoulder and spied another target of opportunity. And away she went without asking a single question about me. It may not be fair, but her conduct reminded me of the saying " you can tell a lot about the kind of person someone is by watching how they treat people they believe can neither do them any harm or any good."


I suspect she made " contact" with at least twenty people at this event - I suspect most of her "conversations" were the same as mine.

That kind of behavior has probably cost her more valuable contacts and relationships than anything else she could do. And I'll bet she has no clue. By definition, one - way conversations don't provide much feedback.

One - way conversations make it easy to come to the conclusion that the person doing the talking thinks they have more to say than the listener does. It may be a bad conclusion to draw, but it's a very human one. And in arriving at that conclusion, potential relationships slips away.


We're all guilty of "all talk and no listen" behavior from time to time. Excitement, nervousness, passion and commitment, exposure to new stuff , the assumption that we share the same interests - all can lead to one way conversations. And as long as they're the exception and not the rule, that's OK. Most people like to see excitement, conviction and other positive emotions in communications with others. But we all want to see a curiosity about us - as well. Failing that, we tend to draw conclusions - negative ones - about the person who goes on about themselves.


To check out your own behavior, after a conversation, ask yourself one question. "What have I learned from this conversation? " Your answer will tell you whether you had a two way or a one way conversation.

The good news is that one - way conversation behavior is very curable.


The cure starts with the belief that everyone has something to offer. That's key to two way conversations - and developing relationships.


Then the engaging behavior - an example:


A friend who has terrific engagement skills always starts by introducing herself and asking the other person their name. She then repeats their name and gives her ten second "what do I do or who I am " statement. Whenever possible she compliments or remarks on something about the person she is talking to. By offering that information she opens the door to her conversation partner sharing the same kind of information. Then, she will ask a "how, what, when or where" question relevant to the event or venue. She avoids "why" questions as too intrusive, particularly at the beginning of the conversation. Her goal is to create conversation on a personal, but not too personal level. From that point on, the conversation will flow - or not. It's important to realize that not everyone responds to good engagement skills. If they don't, she tells them it was good meeting them, and goes looking for someone else to engage. Her goal in every conversation is to give and get. To give information about herself and to get information by showing a genuine interest in what the other person does and who they are.

It sounds like such a simple behavior, and yet it's amazing how often people give information - on the assumption that what they have to say has so much value - but they don't think to get information. They lack the belief that everyone has something to share. It's the difference between being a living, breathing billboard, and being a living, breathing, engaging, unique person with a curious and courteous nature.


Which one would you rather be?

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

Excellent Customer Service Starts With Excellent Employee Service

Nothing sets the standard for excellent customer service more than excellent employee service.

I was reminded of that just the other day. The manager of a fast food restaurant was really giving an employee hell - and in view of customers. The person who waited on me was sullen, slow and seemed little interested in making my transaction a good one. As I sat and ate my cheeseburger and fries I watched the overall behavior of the staff. It wasn't good. Lots of slow walking, no smiles, no attempt at engaging the customers, no thank you's. It's one of my favorite chains, but I won't be going back to that particular store again.

Have you ever noticed the dramatic change in customer service from one store to another? I submit it starts with leadership at the individual store level. Forget all the stuff pumped out by headquarters. If the local store leadership is not providing excellent employee service, then the customer service level will not be excellent. And excellent pay and benefits will not overcome a lack of excellent employee service.

Here are six elements of excellent employee service - at all levels in an organization.

1 - Excellent employee service starts with good selection. It's hiring the right person for the right job. Have you ever encountered a person in a public contact job that just didn't get it? We all have. If you've got a job that requires people skills and optimism, hire an optimistic people person. You cannot train a pessimistic person to be optimistic - it just won't happen. When you're tempted to hire that good looking person with the personality of a stone for a customer contact position, instead of the less attractive person with the ready smile and a good word, go for the smile and the good word.


2 - Excellent employee service creates expectations of performance through leading by example. When that store manager greets everyone who comes into his/her store with a smile and a "How can I help you?" the model for customer service behavior is set. The manager who is too busy to acknowledge their customers cannot expect a high level of customer service - his people will, just like the boss, be too busy to give exceptional service.


3 - Excellent employee service starts with the conviction that every single person is a contributing member of the team - and everyone is held to a high standard of service. Successful leaders know employee service is inclusive - they put their arms around everybody and include them on the team.


4 - Excellent employee service means setting and communicating high standards, training to meet them, and being demanding. High standards bring out the best - they also flush out the worst. They let people know they are in a special place - a place that won't tolerate substandard behavior. People take pride in being part of that kind of organization.


5 - Excellent employee service recognizes accomplishment- in its many forms. I just had an ultra sound. The technician who did the test has been with her employer for 17 years. Two day before my test she had her appendix removed! She was as nice and helpful as anyone could be - she gave me excellent customer service. She also is extremely proud of her attendance record. Is that outstanding? I think so. I suspect she has stayed at the same place for 17 years because she's been recognized in the past - and she's looking for more - and she will get it.

6 - Excellent employee service provides feedback to all. Regular "how are we doing" meetings, passing on customer feedback, providing tips on how to help customers, cross training in different jobs - all lead to better qualified and informed employees who will provide a higher level of excellent customer service.

It's critical to measure the level of customer service. It's also critical to measure the level of employee service. There is a direct correlation between the two. Take the six elements of excellent employee service and see where your organization stands. If you want better customer service, start with better employee service.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

How To Increase ROI On People Development Investments

Organization X brought in an outside seminar company to "give the supervisors and managers a little boost." The seminar company suggested the executive group attend a preview as a way to support the development, to become aware of what was going to be presented, and to customize the message to meet the unique needs of the organization. They were all too busy. OK - how about a 4 hour overview ? Still too busy. The CEO ended up telling the seminar company to "Just give the people your message - so and so at (biggest company in town) said it was a great program."

And so they did. They delivered an intensive 5 day, 4 hour per day leadership skills seminar to all the supervisors and managers in the business. They focused on trust, communication, self development, goals and objectives and using teams as a key means to deal with the businesses challenges. They discussed ways to overcome the adversarial relationship that existed between the people who did the work and their bosses. Homework and on the job assignments were developed; action plans formalized; personal skill requirements identified. At the end of the seminar, the attendees were fired up. They interpreted the messages coming from the seminar leaders as coming from their management - there was no reason for them to feel different. Bad assumption.

When the seminar participants returned to work the following Monday, they did so with an enthusiasm that had been missing for some time. When the CEO asked them about the seminar, they were positive and enthusiastic and thankful they had the opportunity to attend. The CEO and his staff felt good - everybody seemed motivated - money well spent.

And then the managers and supervisors started to use their newly acquired behaviors, beliefs and skills. And the trouble started. The leadership wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but they knew it wasn't what they expected. They reacted with their "business as usual" approach, and the managers and supervisors became frustrated and angry.

Things were back to where they had been before the seminar within two to three weeks, except all the seminar attendees had developed a layer of cynicism that they had not had before. Whatever trust there had been in the organization disappeared, and the leaders were puzzled that what had started off with such high expectations had turned to negative before their very eyes.

If this story sounds familiar, it's because it happens every day, in all kinds of different organizations. It happens because the purchase of a service - a potentially very valuable service - is done when leadership sees the need for change, but the activity is not leveraged by internal design and development dedicated to ensuring the message and outcomes are what the leadership wants. The result is unintended consequences and frustration for all involved, including the development organization. They became event managers - not contributors to identifying and developing change and growth strategies and actions.

How to ensure your own critical people development investments are effective and carry a high ROI?

Ask yourself these seven questions. The answers will help define the best way to go about developing the skills, expertise and abilities of your people while increasing your ROI on development investments.

1 - How much time will be spent on customizing this seminar to meet out unique requirements? Are we trusting to a third party to represent our interests to our own employees? Focused time spent on development and customization of programs to fit your organization ensures that the objectives of the effort will be consistent with leaderships needs and expectations. Never trust to a third party to represent your interests to your employees without your extensive input - they can't.

2 - How many people should be sent to public seminars? When a public seminar appears to meet your objectives, send a team of at least three people. Why at least three? To paraphrase what Peter Senge says in his 2008 book - "The Necessary Revolution" - one person, even the CEO, can't make change happen by themselves, two people can have a conversation, but three or more can make change happen.

3 - Are we expecting this activity to improve individual poor performance? Don't use seminars to attempt to improve poor individual performance. It's not gonna happen. That's a subject requiring one on one work, with the manager of the poor performer leading the way.

4 - Have we reviewed the content and objectives of the development? Do we support the objectives and message? For seminars to be successful, the leaders whom the participants will look to for support must be fully acquainted with the objectives, and sign up to support the participants. When the leadership says it's too busy to spend the time necessary to get conversant with the content, spending money and effort on the content is a waste.

5 - Are our actions consistent with the message we are sending? Realize that action from the leaders within the organization speak louder than any words from even the most accomplished speaker or celebrity. Action speaks so loudly that what is said cannot be heard.

6 - Can we accomplish the same objectives using our own people? Who do we have that can teach others? Who do we have that can learn by teaching others? The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. Use that principle to develop the people in your organization. Make your own people your best meeting and seminar and meeting leaders - and your champions of change. Use outside services to train your own leaders.

7 - Are we using this activity to meet our needs, or are we trying to squeeze our needs into the goals of the seminar? Use third party seminars and development activities to advance the goals and behaviors identified by the organization. Don't let the tail wag the dog.

It's tempting to look for answers and silver bullets in the literature provided by professional development organizations. And their expertise is valuable. But its value is so much greater when blended with the unique needs of your organization. Plus, there are no silver bullets.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

Nine Essentials Of Employee Terminations

It started so well - high expectations and enthusiasm on everyone's part. And then it started to unravel. And in a period of months, that new hire or promotion or transfer is just not working out. And it comes time to part company. At that point, the most critical part of the termination process takes place. It's the place where the people remaining evaluate how it was handled - it's critical because well handled terminations create positive emotions, and poorly handled ones cause the organization to lose credibility in the eyes of its employees.

What are the nine Essentials in a termination situation that can positively impact the morale and perceptions of the people that remain?

1 - Be aware of the "there but the for the Grace of God go I" feelings of many of the remaining people. Terminations, even the most justified, create insecurity in the minds of many of the good people. View the actions taken by the organization through the self interest of the workforce.

2 - It's absolutely essential that respect for the person being terminated is shown. Privacy and providing the opportunity for constructive discussion show respect. It provides employees with the assurance that respect for individuals is part of the organization's culture.

3 - All employees want to know, by the actions of the organization, that there is a system of due process that ensures actions taken are subject to discussion and review before action is taken.

4 - Confidentiality is important. It's tempting to want to justify the termination of an employee by communicating the reasons for it. Don't. Trying to justify and/or gain the approval of others is a lose - lose proposition. Plus the terminated person may feel an obligation to seek recourse because of what is said about them.

5 - Not following what has been written and practised in order to terminate someone degrades the trust the workforce has in the word of the organization. Often aggressive managers - the same ones who would short circuit the selection process, are the ones who want to act without regard for process in termination. It's a poor investment in the morale of any organization - and almost guaranteed to result in legal action.

6 - Offer the opportunity to resign, whenever possible. The most effective action is often one where the boss and the person have a "it's not working out" talk, and the person is given time to seek other opportunities while continuing to perform their duties - or not.This can be tricky - trust is a big part of this kind of arrangement. But in most cases, people are relieved that the opportunity to salvage their self respect and protect their security is offered. Most people who are not performing well know it - they often find the discussion a relief.

7 - The Hiring Manager has to be the one to notify the person of their termination. A representative of the Legal or HR staff may be a witness and may be the resource to provide information on benefits, salary continuation, references, insurance, financial matters - but the Hiring Manager has to respect the individual by informing them of their termination.

8 - It's absolutely essential that as soon as performance issues are identified, action is taken. Failure to take action has the effect of reducing employees expectations of what represents acceptable levels of performance. And once action is deferred, it makes it more difficult to act later - while the bar of acceptable performance has been lowered.

9 - Don't make the same mistake twice. When the dust has cleared and the mistake in selection has been fixed, review what happened and take what was learned and apply it to the next selection. Continuing to do the same things and hoping for a better outcome are marks of a poor manager. And do not tolerate the "throw them up against the wall and see if they stick" approach to selection. That leads to sloppy selection practices, legal headaches, poor performance.

Review your actions when you have the responsibility for terminating someone - then compare your actions and the actions of your organization to the essentials listed. See how you can improve the morale and commitment of the people left to do the work. It's an investment in behavior that will create focus on the future rather than on the past.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved