Past Five

Top Performers Uncover Mediocrity in Peers

As companies grow, mediocrity begins to infiltrate staff…it’s inevitable…with more employees and various office locations, it’s difficult to ensure everyone is producing at their highest potential.

Inevitably, there are employees who skate by, carried along by their high performing peers.

I’ve found that if a company retains top employees, and maintains an open door policy, those performers are likely to identify their sub-par peers.

Rock star employees who consistently go above and beyond don’t want to work alongside a slacker. They want to be challenged, pushed and stimulated.

Top performers are usually deeply invested in the company culture and care about their professional development. They expect their colleagues to share these sentiments.

If a company is growing and has concerns over the work product of certain staff members, they need to look to their top performers for insight. Listen to employees talk or ask employees their thoughts. If the company has fostered a collaborative, open door environment, employees won’t hesitate to speak the truth.

Entrepreneurs: What to Know When Starting a Business

According to a report conducted by the Harvard Business School, first-time entrepreneurs have only an 18 percent chance of succeeding. Why? Because many entrepreneurs today are naïve to the struggles and triumphs that accompany owning their own business. They underestimate the amount of time, energy, devotion and care it takes to develop a meaningful, successful organization.

Here’s what entrepreneurs need to know before they open up shop.

Pinch pennies: This seems obvious, but frugality is essential for entrepreneurs. The biggest area people spend foolishly on is technology. People buy huge servers for potential, yet technology changes so fast, that they bought too much, too soon and could have grown in to it. Companies can also save money when investing in an executive team. Entrepreneurs forget that they don't need to build the executive team of a $100 million company when they’re just starting out. The people they hire to start and build the company probably won't be the same ones they’ll need when they achieve certain milestones.

Go all in: Entrepreneurs need to be able to commit to working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, to being on call all the time and to taking a substantial pay cut (hopefully only initially). They need to be able to put their business first and themselves second.

Be resilient: Building a business is like having a child. You love your child unconditionally and are proud of all their accomplishments, but you know along the way there will be hardships. You don’t stop loving your child because of their mistakes or faults, instead you help them to grow and support them no matter what. This is how entrepreneurs should run a business. If something goes wrong, they need to do something about it. If their number one client leaves, they need to cold call and door knock to compensate for the lost business.

Build and leverage relationships:When an entrepreneur is just starting out, everyone should know about it, family, friends, former colleagues and acquaintances. Everyone is a potential investor or client. At the same time, entrepreneurs need to develop new relationships. They need to be transparent and honest with prospects, recognize the big events in their lives and show appreciation for their time and consideration.

Solid Relationships: The Keys to Business Success

My business has grown as a direct result of the strong relationships we have with our clients. I believe that many young professionals today overlook the importance of building relationships and don’t take the time to nurture and develop them properly.

Professional relationships, like personal relationships, develop overtime and grow as a result of honest and open communication. Transparency is crucial in professional relationships. If a mistake happens, own up to it. If something doesn’t goes as planned, admit it. Clients will appreciate the candor, even if they don’t like the outcome.

Client relationships should also be multi-dimensional;meaning both professional and personal. While understanding the business, desires and goals of a client is important, so is knowing the client’s interests, hobbies, significant other’s names and weekend plans. Demonstrating a genuine interest in the life of a client shows that they are more than just another account.

Finally, appreciate clients. Thank them for their business, no matter how small it may seem. While big events like a holiday party express gratitude, small gestures can be just as meaningful. Mail a handwritten thank you note, send a cookie cake or take a client out to lunch.

Are Job Seekers Above Receiving Training?

If you read "Help Wanted: In Unexpected Twist, Some Skilled Jobs Go Begging," in the Wall Street Journal, you know that Union Pacific is having difficulty finding workers with the necessary skill sets for their open positions. But Union Pacific isn't the only company struggling with this problem. Companies across the U.S. are willing to hire, but can't find candidates with the right level of experience.

Should these subpar candidates be hired merely to lower the unemployment rate? No. However, if companies find strong, hard working candidates, why not offer the position at a lower compensation rate for the first 6-18 months while the "A" candidates (that are lacking a few of the job requirements) are trained in the desired skills? Not only will this help the unemployment rate, but it will also eliminate the lack of qualified workers in the job market. Training is effective, builds loyalty and protects a company from turnover. And the best part is that training can be given to all employees in any division of a company.

But there's always two sides to a coin. While companies need to be willing to offer training programs to augment the desired skill set, employees and candidates need to be willing to take the pay cut and accept training. Job seekers today need to realize they don't have the skills companies are looking for. They need to realize they aren't worth the salaries they were making one, two, three years ago. They need to appreciate an opportunity to be invested in and trained. They should be the first ones in the office and the last ones to leave. If they can do this, then companies should be expected to train and develop hard working, intelligent people.

Now is the time for companies to train their own, at any level, and create their own stable of go-getters. The question is, are there people out there willing to commit themselves if this opportunity arrives?

Going Back to Basics

Last month I had the opportunity to see Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz speak at an Entrepreneurs' Organization event. Schultz spoke about his 2008 decision to shut down every U.S. Starbucks for a few hours in order to re-energize and re-educate his employees on how to make the perfect espresso. The goal of the closure was to revisit their standards of quality and improve the "Starbucks Experience."

I thought this was brilliant. And I decided to do the same.

Last Wednesday, LaSalle had a four hour hands-on meeting to re-gain our focus and re-educate ourselves on LaSalle's basic principles, values, and core competencies. 

We went over the basics of our business: recruiting, interviewing, and selling, but most importantly, I wanted to emphasize the importance of empathy, LaSalle's primary core competency. Whether it's client, candidate, or employee relationships, understanding what the other person is going through is key to success.

As I told all our staff in Wednesday's meeting, I have had their jobs. I audited time sheets, processed invoices, made collection calls, stuff envelopes, licked envelopes, did reference calls, recruited permanent candidates, cold-called companies for five hours straight, the whole nine yards. I did it all. I empathize.

Whether you're a new salesperson, a longtime manager or an office assistant, the key to success is putting yourself in the other person's shoes. Your livelihood depends on others success and theirs on you. While it's easy to get caught up in your day or your duties, your individual successes will come from having empathy for your co-workers, clients, customers, and in our industry, candidates.

Though 2011 is shaping out to be one of LaSalle's best years, as a CEO it's important to continually motivate and re-engage your staff. Whether it's re-teaching the basics, empowering employees to make a difference or instilling the value of empathy, as a leader it's important to take the time to re-instill these values. And if it takes shutting down the business for a few hours then so be it. The long-term gain is worth the short-term loss.

Are Women Better Bosses?

Are women better managers, bosses, leaders? Well, since four fifths of my executive team are women, I would say err toward the side of yes.

Throughout the past few years, I’ve been overly impressed by the performance of LaSalle’s female leaders. They successfully build consensus to reach decisions, openly communicate, and inspire their team for continuous achievement and accomplishment.

While some people say that women bring emotion into the workplace, I say “Of course they do!” but that’s a good thing. Give me passion or give me death!

The stereotype is that women experience more emotional extremes than men, but emotion, if positive, will create a constructive and supportive environment that is good for the workplace and critical for business success.

Throughout the day, regardless if an employee accomplishes a large goal or a small task, I hear these women cheering and outwardly congratulating their team. I see the Director of Human Resources become infinitely more excited for an employee’s birthday than her own. And I’ll see our Vice President of Sales jump up and down when a business development manager receives an order.

These women worked hard for their successes and have pushed through barriers to get there. Not one of these four women were handed opportunities on a golden platter; they worked hard and earned to be where they are today. Because of their perseverance, they equally push and elicit this out of their team.

Not only are these women great bosses, but they are role models. Without the women of LaSalle, our company would never be where we are today.

A Great Accomplishment

I am very proud to announce that LaSalle Network was just named the “Top Five Best Staffing Firms to Work For” by Staffing Industry Analysts, the global advisor on contingent work.

This is a huge honor to be recognized by the staffing industry’s leading analyst and I am very proud of every LaSalle employee for contributing to this award.

When I started LaSalle in 1998, I made it a priority to put my employee’s first. I had previously worked in multiple companies where I didn’t feel appreciated or recognized, and I never wanted my staff to feel like this.

I implemented a team-based staffing structure, fostering collaboration instead of competition, and encouraged a policy of honest and open communication between management and staff. I wanted to make sure every employee always felt they could voice their concerns and their opinion mattered regardless.

Ultimately, the more employees know they have support from you, the more they will support your organization.

Congratulations to all of my co-workers at LaSalle...now the entire industry knows that being a LaSallian is truly something special!

The Art of Over-Communicating

I recently read a blog that stated “recruiters over communicating with hiring managers” was a sign that a supplier is not acting in the clients’ best interest.

I highly disagree with this statement. Over-communicating, especially in the staffing industry, elicits strong relationships, trust, and success.

In order to build this trust and give your clients what they want, you must know the ins-and-outs of your clients: their business model, management philosophy, company culture, etc. It may take an extra phone call or meeting to learn this crucial information, but you can never obtain too much knowledge about what type of candidate would be a good fit.

It is also important to keep in mind that businesses change and so do their needs. If your client wanted one thing the prior year, it does not mean they will feel the same the next. You should continually check in on your clients to find out about possible internal re-structuring or changes in their marketplace or industry.

Clients want quality, speed, and affordability in a vendor, but there is no substitute for a reliable and trustworthy partner. Of course individual judgments are crucial, such as if your client tells you they want a certain level of communication. But, the key is to not be shy because you're afraid of over-communicating.

The Power of People

Each year, there’s always a catalyst that really makes me evaluate my life and the people in it. This year, the snowstorm did just that.

Like most Chicago companies, LaSalle was closed on the day of the blizzard. With 50mph winds, ice, snow and sleet, it was not safe for anyone to brave the weather. Granted I live close to our downtown office and was able to come into work, but most of my employees live in the suburbs or other areas of Chicago, making it nearly impossible to get to the office.

When I walked into the office at 7am on Tuesday, our accounting clerk was at her desk working diligently to make sure payroll was received and ready for next day. Thousands of employees were counting on her, and she did not disappoint. Likewise LaSalle’s head of human resources and operations came in to decorate a fellow employee’s desk for her Re-Birthday, a celebration I throw for the anniversary of each employee’s hire date. And even our staff accountant braved the storm to help a fellow co-worker.

Not only did these women impressively find a way to make it into the office, but they came in because they knew others were counting on them. And while only a few people were physically at LaSalle on Wednesday, I received countless emails and calls from other employees who spent the day working from home.

While I wouldn’t wish another massive storm upon Chicago again, occurrences like these reinforce and remind you what the best part of being a CEO is; the ability to choose the people you get to work with each day. And this blizzard did just that, reinforced that LaSalle has the most dedicated, committed, and well, fearless employees in Chicago.

The Future of Staffing: IT

In a recent SI Review article entitled the “The Future of Staffing,” many staffing experts predicted that more staffing companies will be going global, that outsourcing will be on the rise, and that baby boomers will be heading back to work. But as I mentioned in the same article, I think the most immediate change in staffing will be the exponential growth in the technology sector.

Small, medium, and large sized companies are consistently trying to integrate new technologies into their businesses in order to increase productivity and revenue. With the expansion in technological opportunities undoubtedly leads to the demand for employees with specific technological skill sets.

For example, according to Staffing Industry Analysts, “demand for Java/Java 2 Platform enterprise edition (J2EE) is up 60% from last year; Javascript is up 74%; HTML is up 104%.  Across all skills the median increase is 49%.” More specifically, “employment of computer and information systems managers is expected to grow between 18 to 26 percent for all occupations through the year 2014,” Career Guide to Industries 2006-07.

At LaSalle Network we have seen a dramatic increase in our technology business within the past year. From 2009 to 2010, our technology unit experienced an outstanding 80% increase in revenue. Similar to the SI Analysts blog, we have also seen employers ask for very specific skill sets. The latest trends have also been in .NET developments, data management, and online security, as well as, employees who’ve worked with Java and Oracle. 

Within the next few years, there will be a large increase in healthcare technology. With the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, which protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information and set national standards for the security of electronic protected health information, this sector will need an abundance of IT specialists to protect and safeguard information. Already a number of LaSalle Network healthcare clients are discussing staffing and recruiting strategies to take effect in the next twelve to twenty-four months. 

With technology among the economy's largest and fastest sources of employment growth, especially in the healthcare sector, there’s no doubt technology staffing will increase even more in the next few years. If you are a technology and engineering professional, your future is looking bright.