Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Is a positive E-image important to attracting Top Talent?
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Research shows that Top Talent all over the world is adept at identifying companies that they wish to join and for lifestyles they want to enjoy.
- In Malaysia 47% of Top Talent is looking for a new job
- In singapore the figure is 40%
- Australia 33%
- Thailand 32%
- China 31%
- UK 40%
Much of this talent identifies companies thay wish to work for by surfing the internet. They are looking for companies that will look good on their resume and for lifestyles that they will find attractive. As such the company website will often be the first gateway to attracting Top Talent
A positive E-image is, therefore, important to attracting and retaining Top Talent in a business.
What should this image look like and which companies do you know that have a positive e-image?
Interview nightmares
Have you a story of a job interview that went wrong?For instance: The Accountant that sat in front of the interview panel with his flies undone with his white pants showing through.
or the interviewer who got the application notes muddled up and interviewed the “wrong candidates” all day.
If something similar has happened to you then we would love to know
Pay and Rewards for Top Talent
Do companies that recruit top talent?need to?pay more to attract and retain the top talent?
There are many reasons why top talent is attracted to a company and pay is often lower down on the list than we might expect. Firstly top talent tends to be hungry for knowledge, it’s often what makes them top talent in the first place. So if our business can offer learning and development opportunities then it will attract and retain top talent.
If there is a culture of training and development, coaching and mentoring opportunities with people that the top talent?respects, the prospect of promotion and development, working with other top talent and being part of a growing and successful company then top talent will want to join, even if this means compromising substantially on salary.
Secondly top talent will be attracted to a business that’s recognised as being (or will be) a market leader. Often top talent will delay rewards such as pay as these people will look for opportunities to grow and develop their skills and experience.
Companies that are serious about attracting and retaining top talent will pay a competitive salary and ensure that it remains competitive.
However it’s the non-pay actions that attracts and retains the top talent in the first place.
(44) 0 1727 838321
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How To Attract and Retain Top Talent
In my regular discussions with CEO’s and the leaders of large multi-national businesses about the value of top talent to their business we will often conclude that:
- A top talent company means having top talent in all areas of the business. A business can’t survive with top talent at the top or in specific areas of the business whilst having little top talentin all the other parts of the business.
- Many organisations fail to recognise that they may already have top talent within their business. As a result they will often seek to recruit expensive outsiders. This is because they don’t have a system for identifying their top talent at an early stage in the employment cycle.
- Top talent is often attracted to the prospect of personal development as opposed to a high salary.
- A company filled with top talent will always attract other top talent to it
- A company filled wwith top talent will grow faster, be seen as a market leader and produce more profits than its competition.
When describing how the above impacts upon a business I will often make the analogy to a highly successful restaurant. Any restaurant that fills all of its tables every night and has a full diary of forward bookings will have acapable, stable and motivated team of chefs in the kitchen. However having a team of top talent creating the product, in this case food, is not enough. To provide a great customer eating experience there must be a team of professional front of house and waiting staff to meet, greet and serve the customers. Otrher aspects such as decor, entertainment value and ease of access may play a part but the main criteria are the people and the product.
However if that top talent leaves the restaurant this is often immediately noticeable by regular customers. Either the food or the service will suffer and customers immediately will stay away in droves.
Why top talent is attracted to a business:
- The work is interesting and challenging
- There are promotion opportunities
- The company will look good on the CV
- High performers are recruited and looked after
- There is a boss or mentor that is admired
- The company has a good reputation and is a strong performer
- There is long-term commitment to top talent
- Culture and values are liked
- There is trust in the senior management
- Top talent is recognised and rewarded for their individual and team contribution
Why top talent leaves a business
- There is change in the management that does not appreciate the top talent
- There is conflict with immediate superiors
- Close friends (other top talent) leaves
- There are no further learning opportunities
- Another company will look better on the resume (CV)
Stephen?Harvard Davis is described as the UK’s leading authority on job transition and is the author of “Why do 40% of Executives Fail?”. He also advises companies on transion managment and attracting and retaining top talent within a business. He is also a sought after speaker at high level conferences and business meetings.
Tel: 44 (0) 1727 838321
email: stephen@busrelcon.com?www.stephenharvarddavis.com
Top Talent Turnover During M&A
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Research shows that there is an increase in turnover following a M&A and that this carries on for much longer than expected.
The exodus peaks about two years after the acquisition and research amongst 450 firms shows that executives depart at twice the normal rate for a minimum of nine years after the acquisition.
The reasons given by departing executives show that about a third depart due to reduced job status or alienation.
If you have left a firm as a result of a M&A we would be interested to know:
- How soon after the merger did you leave?
- What were your reasons for leaving?
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CEO’s in UK have come bottom in trust table
As reported on the Today Programme (Radio 4) this morning 25 January 2007:
CEO’s of companies in the UK have a Trust Void
Trust in CEO’s is 20%
whilst in an employee it is between 35 &40%
and in a peer 50%
Is it any wonder that the average tenure of a CEO in an organisation has fallen in recent years to under 2 years and that so many newly appointed CEO’s go on to fail in the new job.
Can CEO’s increase the chances of success by raising their TRUST rating both inside and outside a company?
Network Like A Flirt
Don?t work the room, let the room work for you!?
By Stephen Harvard Davis 😕 leading business relationship specialist
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Attending networking meetings is part of business life. Often it means walking into a room filled with strangers. Many of us find it awkward, ?who do we speak to?? ?what do we say?? and more importantly how do we avoid those self-serving sharks who circle around any new face ready to sink their jaws into soft flesh?
There are endless books and courses on networking. Many of these say that we must ?work the room? and collect as many business cards as possible. The result is that we move from one person to another like honey bees, collecting business cards as we go, often failing to remember who we have met and once the event is over wonder why other people seem to be better at it than we are.
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This busy bee method of networking, flitting from one person to another collecting just the minimum of information, only ensures that we are not remembered. An alternative to working the room is to make the room work for us.
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Positioning yourself
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The most important position in a room full of people networking is the centre.
It?s the place that everyone will pass at least once, where new arrivals can be easily seen and where confident networkers tend to gravitate to and stay. Standing in the middle of the room makes us look confident and in control of the situation.?
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In order to position oneself at the centre of the room we need to plan to arrive early. Arriving early also has the advantage in that we will be seen as a greeter. As people arrive they will naturally gravitate towards us. If possible try to position oneself facing towards the entrance to the room as it allows us see who is arriving and for them to easily see you.
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However, if we arrive after the room is full of people then put a smile on our face and to break the ice engage with the first person we meet. Then to progress so that we gently move to the middle of the room. If the first person you meet seems intent on staying on the edge then you can say, ?The group in the centre of the room looks interesting, let?s go and join them??
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The worst place to position oneself is on the edge of the room with our back to the wall. It makes us look uninteresting and lonely. The next worst place is in front of the coffee or buffet table. All you achieve is to frustrate people desperate for something to eat or drink.
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What to take with you
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Business cards are essential, a small notebook to make notes, a pen and a breath freshener. The breath freshener is a vital piece of equipment. I know of one individual who suffers from stale breath, particularly in the morning, and people are delighted when he asks for a business card as it indicates the end to the conversation and they can move away.
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Be a FLIRT
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Flirting is essential at networking meetings.
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F is for FUN
L is for LAUGHTER or at least having a smile on your face
I is being INTERESTED in what other people have to say
R is RESPONDING to what other people are saying through conversation
T is TALKING appropriately about yourself.
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In this context it means engaging with people effectively. It?s fun meeting new people, to laugh a lot or at least smile a great deal, be interested in what other people have to say, being able to have a conversation about work and life and being able to tell people about what we do.
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This brings us neatly to the topic of the elevator pitch and talking appropriately about what we do. So many books on networking talk about having an elevator pitch that can be delivered within sixty-seconds. Then they use it inappropriately ? the minute someone say?s ?What do you do?? out comes the rehearsed elevator pitch. Try this test. Stop reading this article and sit quietly for sixty seconds and listen. Boring isn?t it! So are most elevator pitches.
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The elevator pitch is an essential tool but should only be used after someone has asked ?So tell me more?. In addition to an elevator pitch (which is much better at thirty seconds in length) preface this with a sentence that generates the question, ?So tell me more?. Then deliver the elevator pitch
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Introducing yourself
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Always shake hands with people as you meet and state your name being careful not to mumble or say it so quickly that other person will not understand it. This will generally prompt the other person to tell you theirs.
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Conversation
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The is where we need to be more interested in the person speaking as opposed to being interesting. This means encouraging the other person to talk. So having a number of rehearsed questions can be useful. Such as ?Are you finding that business is growing?? What?s your main project for this year?? Avoid the question ?How?s business?? because almost everyone responds that it?s great, even when it isn?t. When we are being spoken to avoid the temptation to look over the persons shoulder to see who else we should be connecting with. It shows disinterest.
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Staying to the end
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Always plan to stay to the end of the meeting so that you allow as many people the opportunity to meet you. At this time the most important point of the room changes from the centre to near the exit.
As people begin to leave position yourself near the exit door. The objective is to position yourself so that it allows you to say goodbye to people, even briefly, just prior to their departure. It allows you to meet people you failed to connect with during the meeting.
However, don?t position yourself too near the exit. Within ten feet of the door people are intent on leaving and their concentration has changed focus. Also be prepared to have a very brief conversation, possible as short as promising to telephone each other to say what you both do.
Once done you will have ensured that the room has worked for you and your network grows more effectively.
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Stephen Harvard Davis is a leading business relationship specialist. He is the author of ?Why do 40% of Executives Fail?? and runs senior management events and advises individuals, organisations on business relationships and transition management.
He can be contacted: email Stephen@busrelcon.com.
www.busrelcon.com?????? www.stephenharvarddavis.com
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Why gamble with your top talent?
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by Stephen Harvard Davis
Top talent can get a new job tomorrow. With computers, the Internet and mobile phones at their disposal top talent doesn?t even have to leave their desk. All they need to do is to connect with someone that sees them as fresh, smart and keen. And when top talent starts to leave other top talent tends to follow. If too much top talent disappears then it?s possible to have a business filled with people that should go but don?t. Yet too many companies gamble that their top talent will stay but do little to prevent the loss.
Replacing top talent can be costly and often as much as twice the salary in hard cash terms. Yet recent studies from the USA suggest that the opportunity costs when top talent leaving a company can be as much as twenty-four times the salary (Based on a salary of ?62,000).
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Most companies try to retain their top talent by throwing money at the situation.? This reliance on financial rewards because it?s one of the few things the company feels they can exercise control over. So high salaries, share options and other rewards are used as a motivator. However as we all know this thinking is at odds with all the research done on the subject. The fact is that money only buys time and talent scouts are always on the look out for top talent and are always able to pay more.
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There are six steps to retaining top talent:
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Step one is to recognise that top talent can be found at all levels within an organisation. It?s not, and never has been, confined to the boardroom, top tiers of management or graduates. Once identified, however, top talent needs to be nurtured, developed and encouraged otherwise it walks. Managers, therefore, should be rewarded for identifying top talent, developing and nurturing it.
Step two is to understand the reasons for top talent leaving. This means learning what individual?s want from the job. Many companies view this as difficult because of the complexity of analysing human relationships. It also makes developing a one size fits all package of benefits difficult.
The result is that most companies ignore the real reasons for talent loss and blame attractive salaries and benefits on offer from competitors. As such companies seem to be content with allowing top talent to leave whilst pretending that nothing can be done about it. Yet the fact is that top talent tends to be hungry for knowledge and experience and seek out the companies that can offer them this.
Certain top talent can be therefore be categorised in three ways ?Knowledge nomads? moving from one company to another seeking information that adds to their abilities. Then there are the ?Prospectors?, those that are looking for better career expectations and finally the ?Relationship Migrant? who seeks out a particular type of boss as a teacher and mentor.
Step three is to engage with top talent. Top talent tends to be attracted by retention drivers such as, mentoring, coaching, training programes and particularly by discussion groups where the top talent is asked to contribute to the company?s vision, direction and future. However paying lip-service to this communication will only go to create resentment. The engagement must be real and allow the top talent the opportunity to contribute effectively.
Step four is to provide constant feedback and stimulation. There is little point in having groups of top talent look at the future of the business if senior management pays lip service to the process and are not prepared to enter into the discussion, try out some of the ideas that top talent comes up with or allow top talent to make their own mistakes.
Encouragement should also be given to top talent wishing to move laterally within the business. Such ?talent swap? encourages learning and reduces a feeling of being ?trapped? in one specialist area.
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Step five is recognising that line managers have the greatest influence over retaining top talent. Managers should be encouraged to develop a relationship and losing a top talent should be regarded as a ?management failure? and viewed with concern. When losing top talent there should always be an exit interview as well a debriefing for the line manager. This is essential if mistakes aren?t to be repeated time and again.
Step six is to assume that when top talent gives notice to quit that they aren?t out of the door until it?s firmly closed behind them. Early meetings to discuss why they are leaving and what could be done to bring about a turnaround are often successful.
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Stephen Harvard Davis is recognised as the UK?s leading authority on job transition and retaining top talent and the author of ?Why do 40% of Executives Fail?? A regular speaker at high profile conferences and business meetings. Contact Stephen on (44) 01727 838321 or www.stephenharvarddavis.com