The Ultimate Key to Effective Communication

On June 12, 2013   /   Communication Skills, Corporate Culture, Leadership   /   Leave a comment

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Is there a single “holy grail” of effective communication?

For more than 20 years I have been helping organizations and individuals improve their communication effectiveness in both professional and personal settings. I have developed and delivered training on a wide variety of communication topics: presentation skills, high-impact writing, active listening, understanding communication styles, speaking with clarity and brevity, how to have “tough” conversations about difficult topics…and the list goes on.

On occasion during a workshop someone will ask me to identify the most important communication skill – usually this means they have become overwhelmed by too much information and feel they cannot assimilate all of the communication skills, habits and techniques being delivered – so they want to know… what is the ONE technique they should definitely learn.

(Shameless Plug: If you are looking to assess your organization’s overall communication competency, take a look at the Professional  Communication SkillMap which is an organizational communication assessment.)

For many years my standard answer was “there is no single most important skill” and I would go on to describe the intricacy and complexity of human interactions. I would pontificate regarding the importance of this topic, how so much business productivity is lost and personal life satisfaction is never realized because people are unwilling to invest the time and energy needed to truly master interpersonal communication. Essentially I was saying “This is hard stuff, so stop trying to find the easy way to master it all. Take your medicine. You may not like the taste but it will be good for you. Really.”

Please accept my apology.

If you are one of the individuals who asked this question over the last 20 years, and received a response similar to the one above. Because I think this response was short-sighted and really meant that I had simply not thought the question through fully enough. But it is of course uncomfortable to say “I don’t know” when someone asks a good question in a communication skills workshop. And my response achieved the intended result – no further questions along this line.

Which brings me to the reason for writing this article. Because after many years of thought, discussion and observation, I believe I now have the answer to the question.

Bear with me a moment while I get to the point.

All of the skills I have taught over the years are still valid and important. Here is a listing of the skill categories included in some of my most recent workshops:

  • Authentically communicating what you really feel and think.
  • Speaking and writing with clarity and brevity.
  • Asking tactical and strategic questions to seek understanding.
  • Listening actively for deeper understanding.
  • Communicating with emotional effectiveness.
  • Clarifying agreements and outcomes.

And while these topics are still valid and immensely important, if tomorrow I were to be asked the question “what is the most important communication skill,” my answer would go something like this:

The most important communication skill is learning to motivate others to want to communicate openly, authentically and safely.

In both your business world and your personal life, if you can encourage others to open up, to share authentic thoughts and feelings, to feel safe knowing there is no downside to full and open dialogue, and to deeply understand the benefits of authentic interpersonal communication, this will be a profound ability that will radically change the quality and direction of your life – and the lives of many others.

With that said, this is not an easy ability to develop. It goes far beyond the mere development of communication skills. Because of course, before you can focus on helping others you have to first develop your own communication capabilities. You have to become a true “model” of open dialogue and communication.

If you are a business leader this means setting an example for others in your organization. It means “walking the talk” every day, communicating openly and authentically, addressing difficult situations directly and respectfully. The most effective communication “training” any business leader can provide for his or her organization comes from that leaders day to day communication style itself. In fact, the case can be easily made that this is the only real communication skills training that ever occurs in any organization.

Communication training workshops for businesses are a total waste of time if the skills, habits and techniques that are highlighted by the training are not reflected in the actual day to day practices of that organization’s leadership. Employees learn very quickly what the real communication culture of any organization is – and that culture is inevitably set by the organization’s leadership.

So once again – the most important communication skill any business leader can develop is the ability to motivate others to want to communicate openly, authentically and safely.

This is the ultimate communication skill. And it is profoundly difficult. Especially for business leaders. Because they are often under enormous pressures. They are under the microscope all the time. A business leader can spend years working hard to establish an open communication culture within an organization, and all it takes is a single slip – snapping at an employee, over-reacting to bad news – and the open communication culture can begin to erode quickly.

Business leaders also struggle because there is so much that they cannot say. Financial reporting requirements place severe restrictions on any business with publicly traded debt. Even privately held companies usually have important restrictions regarding what a business leader can and cannot say. And beyond the legal restrictions,  a business leader has to be careful because every word from the leader of an organization carries so much weight.

For a business leader, even something as simple as giving a compliment for a job well done to a specific subordinate during a business meeting can be problematic. Because it comes from the leader, that compliment carries great weight, both positive and negative. Positive for the person receiving the compliment. And potentially negative for others who did not receive similar positive comments. It isn’t fair to the business leader, but every comment is scrutinized this way.

(Shameless Plug #2: If you are looking to assess your own communication abilities as a business leader, check out the REAL Communication Assessment.)

So what specifically can a business leader do, to instill in others the motivation to communicate openly, authentically and safely? By “safely” I mean working to help others feel safe and certain that they will not suffer negative consequences because they have brought up a difficult topic. Here are a few specific recommendations for business leaders:

  • Spend more time asking questions and listening carefully than you spend talking and expressing your opinion.
  • Be careful not to “telegraph” your own opinions before asking questions in order to minimize the natural tendency of many people to echo the thoughts and opinions of the business leader.
  • Listen actively throughout your day. So much is being communicated all around you. Don’t just listen for what people are saying. Listen for what they are NOT saying, and listen for the emotions underlying everything they say.
  • Don’t be annoyed that you have to be so thoughtful with your communication. It is not that others don’t want to be direct and open with you – but we all have a tendency to be careful when we aren’t certain about the safety of the environment.
  • When you DO speak, don’t be too careful or nuanced in your communication. Be a “plain talker” who is known for speaking frankly, directly and respectfully in all situations.
  • Also when you speak, tell people what you REALLY feel and think. Don’t split hairs or equivocate.
  • Speak with clarity and brevity – this will come easier when you are saying what you really think. Many business leaders fall into the trap of talking way too much because they are essentially dancing around what they really think.
  • Your writing should reflect these same thoughts. Even email should be written with clarity, brevity and respect. Never “flame” an employee by email, or in person.

Final thought – remember, the most important communication skill any business leader can develop is the ability to motivate others to want to communicate openly, authentically and safely.

If you keep this goal in mind every day, continually assessing your own communication effectiveness and  monitoring the level of open communication in your organization, you will begin to move in the right direction. This is often slow, difficult progress. And it is very easy to backslide. But the benefits can be enormous. Imagine how much more productive your entire organization could be if everyone was comfortable. motivated and had the skills to communicate openly and authentically at all times.

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Can We Talk? Apparently Not When It Matters Most.

On June 12, 2013   /   Communication Skills, Leadership   /   Leave a comment

Conversation5When you ask people to rate themselves in terms of communication ability, the most common response is “slightly above average.” In fact, more than 80% tend to rate ourselves as average or above. Of course that’s not mathematically possible, so at least 30% of us are somewhat deluded in terms of our self-perception.

Authentic business communication is especially difficult for businesspeople during tough economic times. It is possible to be a successful business leader of you are totally honest and open in your communication with others?

Poor communication is partly the result of ineffective communication skills, but it is also caused by being in too much of a hurry to communicate clearly. Of course, some employees are poor listeners as well, but the best managers always take responsibility for getting through to all employees, even those with poor listening skills.

Good Intentions Don’t Equal Good Communication

Managers who make an effort to communicate clearly often do so by providing extra detail or by being unusually precise. They assume they have their employees’ undivided attention when, very often, their minds are racing with all the things they are in a hurry to do. It is vital to prepare listeners by telling them to relax and forget about everything else for a moment so they can concentrate on getting the manager’s message.

The second critical step is to engage listeners as much as possible. This can be done in a number of ways, such as asking them to summarize the message at various stages when delivering the message. Listeners can also be asked questions about the message: what are the essential points, how will they apply it, what will they do differently or how would they convey the message to others. If listeners are not engaged, they will only retain a limited amount of what is said. Everyone switches off after a short time period.

There are other simple communication techniques that can help make the message stick. Using vivid or funny examples and images can help; so can any pictures. Making people laugh is a great way to hold their attention. Knowing your audience helps as well, but if it is large and varied, it is important to use various tactics to reach everyone. Some people remember numbers and other facts; others are impressed by a strong emotion, while still others like to hear an exciting vision. The more you can mix various elements into your message, the more listeners will retain the message.

Communicating Under Pressure

One of the biggest obstacles to good communication is pressure — the sheer volume of work people have to do and the limited amount of time they have to do it in. In addition, everyone at work today is suffering from information overload, which means that much of what is communicated to them will never make an impression, let alone be retained. During tough times in business, one of the first casualties is honest communication.

The first step in dealing with the impact of pressure on communication is to recognize the reality of it. If the communication is important enough, it is essential to give it the amount of time it deserves and to find a number of ways and occasions to repeat the message. When managers are in a hurry, they run the risk of leaving out important parts of a message and to assume that people understand what they mean. When listeners are in a hurry as well, the chances of clear communication are nearly zero.

The only way to deal with the information overload problem to prioritize by ranking every communication in terms of its importance, using labels such as critical, important, and useful. Of course, managers think that all of their communications are important if not critical. But failing to prioritize is like failing to be strategic. No person or business can do everything equally well. Those who think otherwise are bound to spread themselves too thinly and are likely to fail. Keep in mind the 80-20 rule – that 80% of your results will be achieved through 20% of your efforts.

This rule means that much of what we do is not adding much real value. Being strategic means identifying the 20% that is critical and investing most time and energy on those items. The same principle applies to communication. Managers who treat every communication as essential are simply adding to the information overload problem, not solving it. Given that the meaning of management is to get the best return out of all resources, then managers who do not prioritize their communications by some means are simply not managing.

When it comes to communicating under pressure, dealing with difficult issues, having the “tough” conversations we know we should (but often don’t) have, our self-perception becomes more realistic. Most of us acknowledge a tendency to first avoid difficult conversations, and when we do have them we recognize that we are not often as effective as we could be.

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Authentic Business Dialogue During Tough Times

On June 12, 2013   /   Communication Skills, Leadership, Productivity   /   Leave a comment

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You can easily make the case that the dialogue in most business environments is never fully authentic, but when market conditions are especially challenging, there is no question that frank and candid conversation suffers.

For many businesses, a market downturn sets off both external and internal battles for survival.

And the first casualty of war is truth.

If you know that your employer is likely to initiative significant layoffs in the near future, are likely to “rock the boat” with information or opinions that go against the grain of current management thinking?

If your business leaders clearly value “problem solvers” more than “problem identifiers” (more commonly called whiners) are you likely to speak up about issues you have noticed, but do not know how to solve?

During times like these virtually everyone goes into survival mode, and they are only willing to do or say those things that will enhance their chances for survival.

There are four particularly destructive behaviors that become very prevalent during an economic downturn. You could argue that these tendencies are always there in practically any business, but when there is a marked increase in corporate paranoia and fear, these behaviors become more common – and also more destructive. Because now more than ever most businesses need authentic engagement and conversation rather than self-protection.

Here are the four most problematic business dialogue patterns during tough economic times:

Heads in the sand. It is truly amazing how many bright, educated and competent business people manage to minimize or deny the severity of a situation. They engage in debate about metrics and data and root causes and strategic vision while their corporate ship slowly sinks.

Business teams that openly discuss doubts and challenges are much more likely to act quickly in a practical manner – to acknowledge and resolve the crises. And yet, according to our research, fewer than 30% of business teams are able to effectively discuss disagreements about the urgency of economic issues.

Mouths shut. After deciding upon an action plan, most people fail to hold others accountable for deviating from agreed-upon execution timelines and deliverables. And those who fail to meet agreed upon objectives rarely speak up – they keep their mouths shut and hope that no one notices they didn’t meet a deadline. Or worse, they fudge their reports to create the impression that everything is fine. (“We’re all green on every project on this spreadsheet!”)

In contrast, high performing teams are comfortable directly addressing the issue when someone is not achieving an agreed upon goal. No one is attacked. These issues are addressed productively and directly – with the mutual goal of a successful outcome in mind.

Protecting Pets. In many organizations, individuals conclude that necessary budget cuts are politically unwise to bring up. Ideas are withheld because people don’t know how to suggest cuts to the boss’s pet project. And business leaders often send out clear signals regarding the “undiscussables” that must be protected at all costs. Even if the leader is factually and objectively correct, not allowing engaged dialogue about these issues creates a closed and fearful dynamic.

Business teams that aren’t mired in these kinds of “undiscussables” are much more likely to act quickly to resolve a financial crisis. Because everything is on the table, the discussions are more complete, have greater depth, and are more likely to result in an action plan that produces positive results.

Circling Sharks. By the time actual budget cuts and layoffs occur, business leaders have convinced themselves that their decisions are rational, well-informed and necessary. But more often than they realize, the cuts are actually irrational, based upon corporate sharks circling around the weak and defenseless..

Authentic dialogue can help to ensure that the difficult decisions made are in fact rational, well-informed and necessary.

What Leaders Can Do

Each of these behaviors represents a pivot point between agility and a tar pit. Teams that confront these behaviors through crucial conversations are 250% more likely to survive. Less agile teams are 360% more likely to miss millions of dollars in lost opportunities. Here’s how leaders can take control:

  • Model and Teach Authentic Dialogue Skills. As leaders foster the dialogue skills required to hold these crucial conversations, every one of the positive results described above is enabled as teams reach consensus, not conflict.
  • Schedule Regular Financial Workouts. The era of fixed budgets is over. Agile firms replace fixed budgets with financial workouts that pit a wide range of initiatives against clear criteria, revenue, and strategy to guide their spending. These workouts are led by the C-suite and scheduled quarterly or in response to unforeseen shocks.
  • Publicly Sacrifice a Sacred Cow. Sacrifice breathes life into new values. When leaders openly demonstrate that fiscal stewardship is more important than pet projects or personal ego, cynical team members begin to “doubt their doubts.”
  • Support Decisions that Favor Timeliness over Perfection. Most managers believe their leaders expect perfection. However, fiscally agile leaders accept that urgent financial decisions are made under conditions of uncertainty. Good leaders encourage managers to tailor decisions to the information they have.
  • Create Safe “Sub-Dialogues.” Leaders who break fiscal challenges into discrete problems and assign small cross-functional groups to work in a time-bound way are more likely to generate solutions. They will see intelligent cuts proposed rapidly by those who truly understood and embraced the goals of the reduction.

The greatest barrier to business agility is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of time but a lack of focused, unified dialogue. Leaders who invest in the skills, time, and support to help their people hold crucial conversations will generate both profoundly wise and surprisingly rapid solutions to their challenges. And while the need for business agility is paramount in today’s economy, the capacity to engage in candid, timely and wise deliberation pays returns in any season.

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3 Core Questions that Define Organizational Culture

On June 11, 2013   /   Corporate Culture, Leadership   /   Leave a comment

By: Jim Clemmer

Jim Clemmer is an international keynote speaker, workshop leader, author, and president of The CLEMMER Group, a North American network of organization, team, and personal improvement consultants based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. His other bestsellers include Firing on All Cylinders: The Service/Quality System for High-Powered Corporate Performance, and his most recent book, Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success. His web site is http://www.clemmer.net/

 

“I respect those who know their own wishes. The greatest part of all the mischief in the world arises from the fact that many do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken to build a tower, and spend no more labor on the foundation than would be necessary to erect a hut.”
   — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Over the years we’ve been involved in too many “vernacular engineering” debates as management teams argue about whether the statement they’ve been crafting is a vision, a mission, a statement of values and goals, or the like. Often these philosophical labeling debates are like trying to pick the flyspecks out of the pepper. Unless we’re lexicographers and our company is in the dictionary business, we shouldn’t worry about the precise definition of vision, mission, values, or whatever we may be calling the words we’re using to define who we are and where we’re trying to go.

What does matter is that our teams have discussed, debated, and decided on the answers to these three questions (in no particular order): Where are we going (our vision or picture of our preferred future)? What do we believe in (our principles or values)? Why do we exist (our purpose or niche)? I call these the 3 Ps — picture or preferred future, principles, and purpose. They are critically important questions. They are fundamental to leading others. This is the beginning point of effective leadership. These basic issues are the fabric with which we weave our Focus and Context (vision, values, and purpose). If we’re attempting to change our team or organization culture, our answers to these basic questions define the culture we’re trying to create.

If we’re going to further improve our leadership effectiveness, we need to have thought through and answered these questions on our own. If you have a spouse or life partner, you need to work on these questions together.

Whatever we call our answers to these questions doesn’t matter. They can be termed vision, mission, values, strategic niche, aspirations, purpose, and so on. And how “snazzy”, “different”, or “original” our words are doesn’t matter as much either. What does matter is: Can we give a unified answer to these questions? Is whatever we’ve developed clear and compelling? If we’re a management team — and especially a senior management team — does everyone on our team passionately own what we’ve developed? Do we give these critical leadership issues a sharp focus and meaningful context for everyone? That can only be done through skilled, live communications and consistent management behavior.

There are no right answers to these questions. No consultant, expert, or anyone else can answer them for us. There is no one way to answer them. Each of us has our own style and approach.

I was in speaking at a quality improvement conference a few years ago. Following my presentation, I had the pleasure of hearing Bill Pollard, chairman of the hugely successful ServiceMaster Company, speak about the management principles and practices that took their organization to more than $3 billion in sales in a few decades. In his address he stressed the importance of clarifying and living the issues that were introduced in this chapter. He introduced all this by relating a recent experience he had with calling a friend and getting this message on his voice mail: “. . . this is not an answering machine, it’s a questioning machine. There are really only two questions in life: Who are you and what do you want? Please leave your answer at the tone.”

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Is Your Corporate Culture Creating Cows?

On June 11, 2013   /   Corporate Culture, Leadership   /   Leave a comment

CorpCulture-CowsIs your business environment driving innovation and creativity – or numbness and passivity?

CEOs and executive managers understand that today’s rapidly changing global marketplace puts pressure on businesses to become increasingly innovative in order to compete. New products and new ideas are constantly needed to gain that competitive edge.

Organizations need ideas. But who produces those really great ones? Dean Keith Simonton investigated more than 2,000 scientists and discovered that the most respected scientists were more productive than those scientists who did not have as prized reputations. Is that any surprise to any of us? The most respected scientists, however, while having more good ideas and successful projects, also had more poor ideas and failures. Michael Michalko, an expert on genius and creativity, refers to this in his book, Cracking Creativity, as “Geniuses produce. Period.” They produce-both good and bad.

An example of an idea generator is Thomas Edison. He was an incredible genius, but he also had a remarkable number of inventive failures. Another person with many successes was William Shakespeare. Although `many of his plays and sonnets are masterpieces, many others are studied in schools and universities as examples of what not to do.

So what’s the link between Edison and business today? It’s simple-organizations today need innovation and creativity to remain competitive. This means that they need ideas-lots of them. Out of this abundance, some ideas will be successful and some won’t. But in order to grasp those that will possibly financially benefit an organization, all sorts of ideas need to be generated. So, does the declaration, “An idea every minute and every idea a great idea!” help or hinder idea generation?

Unfortunately, this message implies that each idea has to be a winner-that each idea has to be fully formed and complete. Great ideas die before they are formed when we send out the message that we will be happy only when presented with finished, successful products. Unintentionally, we all-at one time or another-unconsciously send out the message, “If you don’t produce, you are fired (or stupid, inadequate, uncreative, or a poor performer)!” And that suppresses and ultimately kills creativity as surely as if we had bound the eyes, mouths, and hands of every creative person in our work force.

In order to encourage creativity, we need to systematically create workplaces that make it safe for individuals to come up with “dumb” or “crazy” ideas, and we need to help other individuals build on those crazy ideas. Organizations need to generate a plethora of ideas, then select those that seem most promising, and go forward with them. But they also need to revisit those ideas that were rejected in the past in order to see if new insight is sparked by a forgotten idea. After all, sometimes those rejected ideas are the ones that are most successful-when they are picked up by the competition.

Remember, the individual who is dissenting is often giving voice to the opinions of many others who are not as comfortable speaking up. So the way you treat this person will be carefully observed. If you embrace the dissent and engage fully, you are likely to see more of this behavior in others eventually. But if you cut the person off and make it clear that dissent is not tolerated, you will produce the opposite outcome.

Encourage Frank Discussion

Many leaders feel they are being paid to be decisive and to lead, not to discuss. They are not comfortable in the role of a discussion “facilitator.” They would rather hear a few opinions of others, then make a decision. And the reality is that often the leader’s decision is the right one.

One of the reasons they have been placed in a position of leadership is that they have been right more often than they have been wrong. Business leaders are typically bright, competent and dedicated to doing what is best for their organizations. So they can be forgiven if they sometimes tend to lean a little too heavily on their own council.

But over time, a leader who does not cultivate a culture of open discussion and dialogue within his organizations will tend to become more and more myopic in his thinking. As he or she gets wrapped in the leadership “cocoon” that filters information coming in, the business instincts that served so well in the past can veer off track.

So encouraging frank discussion can help to ensure that you are always hearing the authentic thoughts and opinions of those around you.

Ask Provocative Questions

One way for a leader to “prime the pump” and drive an organization toward more frank and candid discussions is to ask questions that provoke a truly engaged response. Not obvious questions where the “right” answer is clear, but subtle, nuanced questions that force people to think. Be sure to avoid telegraphing your own thoughts or opinions when you ask these questions, and don’t let anyone hide out.

If you have someone who tends to speak up consistently. let this person know how much you appreciate their opinion, then ask them to hold back in order to force others to step up.

Reward Dissent / Punish “Yes People”

Ultimately you will see more of the behavior you reward, and less of the behavior you “punish.” So find ways to reward those who are speaking up. Let the organization know why you are rewarding them. Make it clear that one of your top values as a leader is open, authentic dialogue. And be patient – some will believe you and respond right away. Others will take longer to be convinced. And some will never be comfortable sharing their genuine thoughts in an open forum. For those people you may need to schedule one-on-one time to get to their true thoughts.

And if you eventually determine that an individual cannot make the transition, then you need to help to move them on to a career somewhere else. This will send a powerful signal to everyone in your organization that open dialogue isn’t just desired, it is a critical part of your corporate culture.

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Hold on to Your Sales Talent

On June 2, 2013   /   Leadership   /   Leave a comment

Finding, Attracting and KEEPING the Best Salespeople

The average cost of losing a salesperson with repeat and referral business ranges from $50,000 to $250,000 on up, per year. Just to replace one good salesperson can cost as much as $20,000 to $30,000 when the cost of recruiting and training is calculated. The biggest mistake business owners make is they don’t accept the problem of sales turnover as a serious one.

If you want to compete with corporate America for sales professionals, you have to be willing to offer matching incentives in order to attract and retain quality people. Companies have to give salespeople an incentive to stay with them, because it costs a fortune when they don’t. A company that relies on a sales department, must become more sophisticated in its way of recruiting and screening. Here are a few ways to find good candidates:

Stopping the Revolving Door

  • Recruit experienced salespeople from among the ranks of other sales fields, such as real estate, department stores, insurance and retail sales.
  • Get involved in your industry associations where you can meet salespeople from competing companies and suppliers.
  • Attend your target prospect’s associations. You can prospect for new business as well as new sales recruits.

Evaluate previous and current employees for selling skills or ask if they know of anyone who can sell. Try to think of creative ways to find people who will adapt well to selling your product. If a person has been successful selling another product or service, chances are they will be successful at selling yours. Also, senior management or the sales manager should spend 15-20 percent of their time recruiting.

There will always be a need for quality salespeople. Either to replace someone in your company or to add to your existing sales force. Some suggestions for retaining sales professionals:

  • Treat salespeople as a valuable commodity and offer low-cost “perks” that motivates them.
  • Offer salary incentives. Long-time salespeople and those recruited from competing companies could be rewarded with monthly salaries contingent on bringing in a predetermined number of outside sales during the year. New recruits could earn a salary in addition to their sales during the first few months on the job, to eliminate the fear associated with a commissions-only position.
  • Develop training program for all your salespeople. Many new salespeople fail because they are never taught how to sell the product. And veteran salespeople fall into ruts because they use antiquated selling methods.
  •  Provide days off, long weekends and holidays. It doesn’t cost anything, and it’s something offered in nearly every other industry.
  • Schedule time for salespeople to make prospecting calls and contacts. If they go on the road regularly or are scheduled to “work the floor,” mandate specific times for them to prospect for new business. It will result in more sales and increased profits for the salesperson and the company.
  • Provide company cars or reimbursement programs for expenses such as entertainment, car payments, insurance, tolls and gas.

Set up an organization system and require all salespeople to use it. Studies show that salespeople waste 50 percent to their time because they are unorganized.

Many factors contribute to the revolving door phenomenon at companies. Among them are poor initial screening processes, lack of solid training for the sales force, failure for owners to give managers the proper authority to oversee the sales staff and tolerating mediocre salespeople and practices.

It is extremely important to thoroughly screen each candidate before he/she is offered a sales position. Have two or three managers interview every candidate, then make a group decision. The old saying holds true in this case, “Two heads are better than one.” There is no place for gut reactions in the hiring of salespeople. Another big mistake companies make is offering to little of an incentive for a person to choose their company over another sales position.

Often, the owner or manager never tells a recruit what the company has to offer. They don’t tell a new candidate what will be expected of them, what their earning potential is, what extras come with the job and what their career path could be. High turnover effects all people and/or departments in an organization. New salespeople need to adjust to your companies policies or procedures and usually take other people’s time to figure out how to “get things done.” The next time you need a sales professional, ask yourself this question, “How are we at recruiting and retaining salespeople, and what could we do to make it better?”

Reduce Turnover

Turnover is inevitable. Employees come and go, people retire and die. Yet, turnover can be a positive process that gives a business new people, new vigor and new ideas. On the other hand, turnover can also become a profit-killing liability that debilitates a company. J. Douglas Phillips, writing in Personnel Journal, has blamed the high cost of employee turnover for the decline of productivity and the inability of many U.S. firms to compete in world markets. Turnover management and analysis is important to every business and every department. The excessive costs of turnover are frequently overlooked but are an important factor that affects a company’s bottom line.

Turnover has many causes and it can accelerate when events cause employees morale to drop. When conditions decline in a company, the first to leave are often the best employees. Those who are the most talented and whose abilities are most in demand elsewhere are most likely to exercise their options. When a company loses its best people, the effect can be disastrous. Turnover can also be the result of a “revolving door” hiring policy. This occurs in sales organizations when the boss has a “throw the mud against the wall and hope some of it sticks” attitude. It is also seen where a company does not have a clear idea of what attributes successful employees must have.

In the absence of clear hiring criteria, a company will hire those who meet a minimum standard and will evaluate job-fitness through trial and error. This is an expensive method when you take into account the costs of training and the loss of productivity. Excessive turnover is often a symptom of fundamental problems within the business. If, for example, a company has a department where the turnover is twice or three times the rate in other departments, it could be the sign of a problem that could range from poor hiring technique to sexual harassment.

Thus, excessive turnover should be viewed as a sign that there are other problems which must be identified and addressed. When these problems are dealt with successfully, turnover problems will be minimized. Attempts at solving the turnover dilemma which ignore fundamental problems will be no more successful that trying to solve morale problems by putting up posters with pithy slogans. A primary place to start solving turnover problems is in your hiring system.

When you can specifically define the qualities and characteristics that contribute to job-fit, you can do a better job of identifying the job candidates who will find long-term success in your company. There are tools on the market to help you achieve the goal of hiring people who will succeed in their jobs. These tools measure mental abilities, interests and motivation and job-related personality characteristics.

A study of your present employees results in a Success Pattern that you use for hiring. The Success Pattern will graphically display the qualities and characteristics which your successful employees posses. This pattern will allow you to evaluate job applicants to see how closely they match with people who have already demonstrated their ability to perform the job successfully. When you hire someone who lacks job-fit, you do no one a favor. When people don’t fit a job, they become unhappy, suffer from stress-related problems and lose self-image when they ultimately fail. The company that hires them will have productivity and morale problems and will likely see increases in the cost of health care plans. It is better to disappoint job applicants who do not fit with your Success Pattern than to hire them and subject them to eventual failure.

When you work at attacking the root causes of turnover, you make your business a better place to work, a more productive environment and a more profitable enterprise.

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