• Strong Work Ethic – Employers can usually find this characteristic when contacting previous employers.  The employee should demonstrate that they are hard working, going about each task until it is finished rather than doing too many tasks at once and not finishing them.
• Enthusiasm – The employee should be happy in their work, taking on each task with interest and an “I can” attitude.  When the task is finished, he or she looks for more to do without prompting from their employer.
• Reliability – The employee consistently arrives on time for work without excessive absenteeism, and can be depended on to get their assigned work done.  Employers like to know that once an assignment is given, they don’t have to worry about its completion.
• Positive Attitude – An employee that “sees the glass half full, not half empty” while going through their day keeps the morale of their coworkers high, prompting a higher productivity in the workplace.  Their smile during their work is genuine, and those around them begin to smile, too.
• Honesty and Integrity – The employee is honest in all of their dealings, from putting in a full day’s work for a full day’s pay to keeping company information confidential.  He or she supports their colleagues in the jobs they do as well, earning respect in the workplace.
• Good Communication Skills – The employee should be able to communicate well with the employer as well as coworkers in order to avoid any misunderstandings in assignments as well as preventing any conflict in the workplace.
• Team Skills – The employee is able to mesh with the team, giving suggestions as well as following them in getting the work done.  He or she also pitches in to help coworkers get things done when needed, being happy to be of assistance.

If an employer finds an employee that possesses all of these characteristics, they have found a goldmine in productivity and will be well pleased with that employee’s performance in the workplace.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Summit Assessment Solutions.

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A recent Mashable.com article reports that many fast growing companies in emerging industries, such as social gaming, green tech, cloud technologies, and mobile development are experiencing the same thing. “It’s a problem created by successful innovators,” says Mashable contributing writer, Dan Finnigan.  By 2015, 60% of new jobs being created will require skills only held by 20% of the population, according to a report from the American Society for Training and Development.

So how do you hire hundreds of community managers, super moderators, gaming producers and social media marketing specialists when there just aren’t enough qualified people looking for work?

Read  the full Mashable.com article for advice on finding the right employees for your startup:  HOW TO: Hire Top Talent in Emerging Industries.

This article has been brought to you by the good folks at Summit Assessments, experts in selecting, coaching and motivating your employees.

The employer must assess the candidate’s level of knowledge in their industry, as well as the experience they have from previous employment.  This will help to determine the amount of additional training the candidate will need in order to fill the job effectively.  Their current job skills may also have an impact on training needs, potentially saving both time and money in job adaptation.  The more experienced the candidate is, the faster they will be able to learn the employer’s procedures for the job position.  Administering skill tests such as typing and general knowledge quizzes will give a good indication of how well the candidate will fit in the job.

In checking the candidate’s employment record, the employer is able to see if they are reliable, with good work attendance.  Speaking with previous employers gives an idea of job performance to determine if the candidate did the work required and produced quality work.  In addition, the previous employer can give their assessment of the candidate’s attitudes and work ethic, as well as how the candidate handled stress, frustration, or any conflict in the work place.  It is important to know if the candidate has a propensity toward aggression, causing the conflicts that arise.  The candidate’s communication skills are also a consideration in order to prevent any misunderstandings in job duties and instructions.

The employer should be sure that the candidate is a good match with the organizational culture as well as the people he or she will be working with.  With the diversity in the work place, it is important that the candidate is able to work well with others in order to grow team bonds to maintain productivity.

After making these initial assessments, the employer is able to narrow down the field of candidates in order to choose the perfect one.

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Typical managers spend nearly 40% of their work hours in business meetings, and that’s not counting the time spent preparing for them. A survey of business leaders showed:

• 33% of time spent in meetings is unproductive
• 75% of the respondents said it is “almost essential” to have an agenda, yet they use them only 50% of the time
• Only 64% of meetings achieve their intended outcome

If you want to make your meetings more productive, use the following disciplined approach from Summit Assessment Solutions to help maximize your time and overall team effectiveness:

Set an objective

Before going into the meeting, answer these three questions:

• What do I want to achieve by this meeting?
• What, specifically, has to be accomplished by the end of this meeting?
• When the meeting is over, how will I know whether the meeting was a success?

Use your answers to define your meeting’s objective and then share them with the participants so that everyone is aware of the objective up front.

Make sure the key people attend

Key people are the ones with the knowledge and experience needed to accomplish the meeting’s objective. Entice key people to attend by arranging for the proper facility and taking care of the little things like arranging the room, adjusting the temperature, or having coffee and a snack available.

Write an agenda

Have a planning committee set the agenda, or send out a pre-meeting survey asking people to list one to three topics they want to discuss. When arranging your agenda, put the most important items at the beginning. The agenda should state the date, location, start and finish time, topics to be covered, the expected outcome, and time allotted to each topic. Also distribute the agenda far enough in advance so participants can adequately prepare for the meeting.

Keep the meeting on track

Assign a facilitator or have a team member serve as timekeeper. If a facilitator is not used, the meeting leader is responsible for keeping the meeting on course and adjourning on time. You could also assign meeting roles to facilitate progress such as chairperson, note taker, timekeeper or observer.

Summarize the meeting

In closing, the leader should summarize the group’s accomplishments, review action items and thank everyone for their participation. The summary of the meeting should be appropriately documented and distributed to team members and key stakeholders.

Keep these criteria in mind when planning your next meeting and it just might be enjoyable!

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• Lost productivity; both by the employee and his or her surrounding team.

• Loss of morale by remaining employees that impact productivity and interpersonal dynamics.

• Lost of intellectual property.

Here’s some tips from Summit Assessment Solutions that will help you avoid the costs associated with top employee defection:

1. Determine what you are looking for in an ideal candidate before you hire. Look not only at skill set required and competencies, but look at other successful people in the job and what makes them successful. Make sure that you conduct a behavioral interview to assess past experiences.

2. Most companies hire and then throw the candidate to the wolves. Make sure that there is a process by which the first 90-120 days are measured. An assimilation coach can assist in the planning process and implementation of this strategy and can assist in opening up the barriers to communication.

3. Establish an orientation that is On The Job in nature. On the job training allows a person to better understand and assimilate a topic in their normal routine. It also allows for interaction and collaboration of new associates, allowing a rapport to be established.

4. Use assessments to match skill, competencies and interest to the job. Employers that use assessment tools show a better rate of retention and less rate of failure for a particular hire.

5. Set up a plan to continue the growth opportunities. Setting up a success plan assures that the employee has something to strive for and that there is a guaranteed reward or a result at the end of the road.

6. Find what your employees value and use those things as motivators. It is important to personalize the individuals motivation so that the employee feels connected to the organization. It also makes the employee feel that the company cares about him or her.

7. Get your employees involved in company decisions. Employees are not stupid. Allowing an avenue for their feedback increases their ability to feel under control and passionate in the business, and helps to dissolve barriers to communication that would otherwise build up between teams and associates.

8. Look for ways to improve your employees life/career education. Most employees today are lifelong learners and want the company to provide such opportunities as well as fund educational opportunities. Many companies that offer tuition and seminar reimbursements go a long way in employee satisfaction.

9. Although many employees that leave an organization claim it’s for monetary reasons, surveys by Gallop and other such organizations note that money is usually third or fourth on the list of dissatisfaction. At the top of the list are things such as being more involved with the direction of the company, making a personal impact and lastly getting recognition from a superior.

Consider these tips when evaluating employee retention policies in your place of business and you’ll soon see defections decrease.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Summit Assessment Solutions.

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One of the primary keys to retaining talented people is to know how they feel within the context of the organization. In fact, a poll of U.S. employees by staffing agency Randstad revealed that 86% of employees felt their happiness on the job depended on employers letting them know that they were valued. Unfortunately, however, statistics still indicate that approximately 70% of people are actively or passively looking for other jobs. It would be fair to say, then, that companies could—and should—be doing a much better job of letting their employees know they are valued.

What is the best way to accomplish this? Great compensation and benefit packages are important, but in the end, people choose to stay with their organizations for many more reasons than money. Here are just a few:

Encourage ideas and contributions.
Talented employees desire to make a meaningful contribution at work. This requires that management adopt a “lead and coach” attitude by nurturing employees’ creative talents rather than trying to force everyone to conform to a “one size fits all” approach to getting the work done.

Invest in Management Training.
Talented people say that the number one reason for leaving their jobs is a negative relationship with the boss. Clearly, with the talent pool tightening, you can’t afford to have mediocre managers pushing your talented people out the door. It’s imperative that people given management positions have the strengths and skills needed to do the job.

Detail your expectations.
Good managers define the required results and then, within reasonably established boundaries, let people tap their own unique and creative ideas to come up with innovative approaches to their work.

Demonstrate a willingness to invest in career growth & development.
When you invest in your people they will be more engaged in their work and more likely to stay with your company. Younger workers in particular expect their employer to help develop their professional skills. If you don’t, they move on to someone who will.

Encourage a balance between work and life.

People go to work so that they can live life, not the other way around. It is very important, therefore, to provide employees the support they need when workplace stress becomes too much.

Express your appreciation often.
A lack of expressed appreciation drives people away, or gives them an incentive to do only the minimum required in their job. Either way, the company suffers. If you want people to be engaged and care about the success of the business, say thank you— and sincerely mean it.

Establish these criteria in your place of business and you’ll be well on your way to creating a superior retention culture.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Summit Assessment Solutions.

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But whatever an individual’s preferred style is, leaders who generate high performance in individuals and organizations generally display the same five common practices of exemplary leaders:

1. Lead by example — Competent leaders establish principles, create standards and set examples that establish the environment for the way work will be pursued. Even in times of stress and upheaval, they demonstrate great leadership, and in the process remind their reports that it is often the simple things that restore order and balance, and help generate clear-minded solutions.

2. See what’s possible — Strong leaders see beyond the horizon of “what is” and ask, “what could be.” Whether through magnetic attraction, exemplary modeling or quiet persuasion, they enlist others in those dreams or inspire others to envision their own dreams.

3. Challenge the process. Leaders are always on the lookout for innovation. They are not afraid of experiment and risk, and they consider mistakes and failures as learning opportunities. They know that complacency breeds stagnation, and are always looking for a new and innovative way of accomplishing a task.

4. Create opportunities — Exemplary leaders foster collaboration and create and motivate extraordinary teams. They offer resources, establish necessary boundaries, and provide guidance—all in the name of creating opportunities for others to succeed.

5. Appeal to a person’s spirit — Leaders recognize the contributions and needs of the human psyche. They celebrate people’s accomplishments, give credit when due, say thank you, and keep hope and determination alive by making people feel special. They accomplish this by acknowledging how people have contributed to the group’s vision, mission, values and goals in a creative and sincere manner.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Summit Assessment Solutions.

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If this is the case, then why don’t more employers focus as much energy on analyzing the core feelings of their employees as they do on physical tasks and workplace atmosphere? Most likely it’s because it could be taken as being invasive when trying to monitor how people “feel” at work. Employers and managers can legitimately claim they are not “mind readers,” nor schooled in the psychological criteria in creating a positive impact on employee engagement.

Yet, while this may be true, like it or not, managers and supervisors most assuredly do have an impact on his or her direct reports’ quality of work life and the way they feel about their jobs. Happy and fulfilled employees generally have managers who motivate and inspire them. Consequently, employees who feel disempowered likely have managers that are aloof and distant. So what are managers and supervisors to do when challenged to engage those they supervise?

Here are some tips from Summit Assessment Solutions that will help get you started:

• Focus on strengths — People are more motivated and inspired when they know what they do well. Focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses will create more leverage for improvement and excellence by maximizing talents and skills rather than trying to improve upon what’s missing.Impart coaching skills — Empower employees with the same tools and skills that you employ in managing others. Sharing with them the tools and awareness that you employ for expanding creativity or solving problems will create a new sense of personal worth in them and elevate their perceived value to the organization.

• Impart coaching skills — Empower employees with the same tools and skills that you employ in managing others. Sharing with them the tools and awareness that you employ for expanding creativity or solving problems will create a new sense of personal worth in them and elevate their perceived value to the organization.

• Be an agent for change — Most people reach a point in their work and lives where they feel like they are no longer learning new things. Oftentimes, this is a result of the work environment’s low tolerance for risk and failure. But people are most fully engaged when they are learning something new. Provide a forum for this and positive change will become a natural and almost inevitable outcome.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Summit Assessment Solutions.

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Given written instructions. Whether it is a written job description at the beginning of employment or instructions for each tasks assigned, giving visual instructions, instead of oral ones, will help keep your employees on track. It will also give them something to reference if they ever become confused on the task at hand and will decrease the amount of questioning back to you.

Give clear procedures for reporting. When situations happen at work, whether bad or good, employees should know exactly who they are to report to. The same is true if a team is working on a multi-step project. Each step of the project may have a different reporting person and each of these needs to be made clear to your employees. Leaving your employees a guessing game to play can decrease productivity and increase the amount of time your employees can spend off-task.

Give advance instructions and notice. By letting employees know what is to be expected of them in the future, as appropriate, will allow them to plan ahead. You can give employees weekly schedules or even monthly to yearly schedules if your projects allow it. With this, an employee’s priorities and expectations will be clear.

Hold periodic meetings. Holding daily, weekly, or monthly meetings will help your employees reconnect and be able to report back to you on how their assigned task is moving along. This will also give you a chance to praise their hard work which will in turn motivate them to keep doing their best work with the task at hand. Encourage note taking at these meetings to lessen the chance of forgetfulness within your staff.

Organization needs to start at the top. You as their superior need to be organized to be a model example of what is expected of them. By being disorganized, employers will mimic your behaviors subconsciously, resulting in loss of productivity by all.

The organization your company has, or lack thereof, can unfortunately make or break the success you have. Changing habits to those of organization can be hard to break but if everyone on the totem pole is involved in changing and being organized, the chances of the new habits sticking will be great.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Summit Assessment Solutions.

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By John Torre

Back in the dark ages when the Internet started to gain popularity, many business owners were reluctant to allow their employees to use it at work. They didn’t understand the value and potential that the Internet could have for their business. It’s not hard to understand why. Back in the Internet’s infancy it was largely viewed as merely a fun, personal means for connecting with friends. And while it is still viewed and used that way, of course, its present day marketing reach has become something that no one could have foreseen.

Today, it is all about social media, social networking, social marketing, and…well, you can insert the word “social” in front of just about any means of electronically interacting with others these days. But what’s important to understand is the true value that online interactions can bring to business. Consequently, in today’s business climate it is critical that HR professionals are fully educated about all of the benefits that they can get from casting their hiring net through social networking channels.

Another valuable aspect of social media is the affect it has on an entire industry. Summit Assessment Solutions recommends to our clients that they use social media to share valuable information and create a very broad audience. This strategy has far-reaching benefits because the companies are building relationships that will attract not only new customers, but new talent to them as well.

But while social media is an important tool for HR professionals to learn to use, at the same time, it is crucial to set up the proper metrics so that results can be measured. HR professionals also need to be aware of the affect a social media campaign can have on a company’s corporate values. For example, before the advent of social media, it was not always possible to connect with people 24/7. Now you can, but if implemented carelessly there is a possibility that that could do more harm than good. Respectful boundaries need to be put in place that don’t allow for over-exposure. And this applies particularly to HR professionals if you want to attract good talent through your social media campaign.

The one thing that is for certain is that social media is not going away anytime soon and will continue to proliferate in the years to come. Therefore it is beneficial for all industries to embrace it and continue to grow with it as new technologies are introduced.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Summit Assessment Solutions.