The Telltale Danger Signs of a Bad Employment Candidate and a Bad Hire.
Posted by Ken McGovern in Executive Search | 0 comments
The cost of a bad hire is financial and emotional – because having the wrong person in the wrong seat at your organization can quickly turn into a cancerous situation that will quickly destroy morale and ultimately degrade your customers’ experience with your brand. Happy Employees = Happy Clients = Happy Bottom Line for the business.
What’s the Solution for Filling the Great Resignation Gap?
Posted by Ken McGovern in Succession Planning, Team Development | 0 comments
The tidal wave of the Great Resignation continues as more and more employees suffer burnout, a reluctance to give up their work from home status, and discover a need to work less and live with less to achieve a better work/life balance. According to Fortune.com, the number as of January is over 4.5 million people resigning. Some are leaving the workforce all together, taking early retirement, others are opting for lower paying jobs or entrepreneurism to feed their soul and wallets. As per the chart below – some industries are surviving better than others.
Thinking of Changing Careers? Remember the Purple Squirrel
Posted by Ken McGovern in Executive Search | 0 comments
If you’ve been following the news of the Great Resignation, you would think it’s a dream market for employees – simple supply and demand economics…or is it? While some industries such as health care and education are experiencing critical gaps, others are just seeing a lot of movement – all can be quite disruptive to the team, the organization, and the bottom line. The search to fill roles with the right candidates is at an all-time high but that doesn’t mean anything goes.
It’s Take More Than Just “Show Me the Money”
Posted by Ken McGovern in Leadership, Team Development | 0 comments
It’s a fairly safe assumption to make that every late Millennial to the Baby Boomers has seen the iconic scene in Jerry Macguire where Ron Tidwell, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. screams to Jerry, played by Tom Cruise, to “Show me the money!” If you haven’t seen the movie, you can watch the clip here on YouTube. The movie itself is a great example of what’s going on in the world today and has a lot to do with this month’s topic of gratitude and employee wellbeing.
Ask This, Not That – Legal Alternatives to 6 Illegal Interview Questions
Posted by Ken McGovern in Executive Search | 0 comments
During the interview process, you want to learn as much as possible about your top candidates before you make the very important decision of who to extend a job offer to. However, it’s important that you don’t expose yourself or your organization to a potential lawsuit. Knowing what questions to ask, and more importantly, what questions NOT to ask, is critical.
The “Great Resignation” and How to Avoid It
Posted by Ken McGovern in Culture, Leadership, Leadership Development | 0 comments
Over the past year plus, many people who had plans to change jobs ended up staying put due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. The “Great Resignation”, coined by Anthony Lotz of Texas A&M University during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, predicts that those employees are now ready to make their move. In fact, a recent study by Microsoft found that 41% of the global workforce would be open to leaving their current job within the next year.
What We Focus On Grows
Posted by Ken McGovern in Culture | 0 comments
Change is on the horizon, if not already here. Many of my clients are bringing 100% of their remote workers back into the office over the next few months, several are creating hybrid models – some remote, some office time – while others are closing brick and mortar offices in part to embrace the “new way of working.”
Your Own Mastermind Alliance
Posted by Ken McGovern in Culture | 0 comments
It’s about who you know. The power of your network. Most business owners are only tapping into a tiny fraction of that power because by nature we feel uncomfortable admitting we have a gap and/or we have a hidden fear that it’s a sign of weakness if we need to ask for help.
Navigating the unknown – how some business owners rose to the top
Posted by Ken McGovern in Leadership, Team Development | 0 comments
Over the past 12 months, I’ve seen all the business owner emotions emerge– from panic, to doom and gloom, to “Hey, here’s an opportunity – let’s jump on it” and everything in between. Just when I thought I’ve seen it all – a new twist came into the picture.
The Power of Referrals
Posted by Ken McGovern in Board Advisory, Executive Search, Leadership, Team Development | 0 comments
Have you ever commented on a social media post of someone looking for a recommendation for a plumber, pet sitter, accountant, etc. and recommended your favorite and most trusted people? If so, you’ve given a referral to someone. Whether solicited or not, you’ve just recommended someone to another person to consult, review, or take further action on because you think they would be a good fit for their need. From a business perspective, getting referrals from satisfied customers is one of the best ways to attract new customers.
For many businesses, word of mouth advertising can say a lot about the quality of your products/services and can help you grow your business organically vs. paid marketing and advertising. Referrals offer the most effective return on investment and carry more weight for most potential customers vs. an online or print ad.
A referral is the ultimate compliment you can get from a customer. In fact, a Nielsen study found that 92% of people trusted recommendations from people they know, and 70% trusted consumer opinions posted online – think Google, Yelp, Facebook, Glass Door, etc. When it comes to choosing the right company/product/service, most people have several options to choose from and a plethora of information online to do their research. At the end of the day, people want to know that their decision is informed, they are getting value, and that their decision is validated by someone’s prior experience.
It doesn’t matter what type of business you own; referrals can still be your best marketing tool. Here’s 5 ways to gain more referrals:
- Have a WOW factor. What sets you apart from your competition and makes your clients say Wow, I need to work with Mr. Smith. Showcase that WOW.
- Give the people what they want. Make sure you are promoting the products/services that your customers want vs. what you think they want. If you are a financial institution that keeps promoting savings accounts when people really want to learn more about mortgages or home equity loans, then you’ve missed a huge opportunity with your customers.
- Make referrals easy. Don’t make people jump through hoops to get to you. If a current client wants to copy you on an email to a potential client, let them. Don’t force them to fill out a form or contact you via your website first. Keep it simple.
- Just ask. If you’ve just done an amazing job for a customer and they are showering you with compliments and thank you’s, ask them to spread the word if they are willing to anyone who might need your product/services. Even in this digital world, people still like human connection, and a direct word of mouth referral from someone can go a long way.
- Utilize social media. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter – all great places to connect with your customers and interact with them via your business. By having a business page, people can easily tag you when making referrals on social media. You can also enable reviews on some social platforms so customers can leave feedback on their experiences. You can add some of these testimonials to your website as well.
Referrals can be for so much more than just product/services as well. It’s also one of the best ways to find a new job if you are a job seeker or find employees as a business. Happy employees LOVE to talk about how great their job and their company are. They will go out of their way to recommend it as a place to work to people they know who may be job hunting. From the employer perspective, it’s a great way to find potential qualified candidates who are vouched for by a current employee.
Have a product or service that you highly recommend? Let me know, it might come in handy!
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