Every manager faces the problem of underperforming staff members from time to time.  In a recent episode, we discussed how low employee engagement can lead to low staff performance.  In their studies of employee engagement, the Gallup Organization found that it was a major cause of low performance and that full employee engagement was declining to the point that only 31% -- fewer than one in three employees -- were currently fully engaged in their occupations.  This is important to managers because Gallup also found that 70% of employee engagement was determined solely by the team manager.  In this episode, we’ll examine some of the causes of underperformance and disengagement, and talk about the steps you can take to manage both.

The first step in hiring the best candidate for a job is the screening process. This begins with a review of the resumes of interested candidates -- either by the HR Department and/or by the hiring manager. This process removes from consideration candidates who clearly do not meet the requirements for the position, based on their resume. This is followed by a "screening conversation" between remaining candidates and the hiring manager to further reduce the number of applicants to only those worth serious consideration.

Preparation for hiring top talent has to begin even before there is an opening to fill.

Many times new, and, even experienced managers, are overly focused on how much work is being done rather than what their team actually achieves.  This can sometimes get you wrapped up in some of the wrong directions.  A better approach is to focus on what is actually accomplished.  This requires establishing a performance-based climate that is based on strong team commitment.  We’ll discuss how to do this in this episode.

Once a decision’s made on the candidate that you want to hire, it now falls to you, the hiring manager, to close the deal.  Since this involves a number of skills and abilities this’ll be a challenging time for any manager, especially with candidates who may have other offers.  Among the skills needed, are the need to be totally prepared, a strong people orientation, knowing how to negotiate, and the ability to resolve conflicts.  And then, understanding that the recruiting process is not complete until the new hire is at work. 

Dealing with intelligent but aggressive staff members, sometimes given the label “alpha” for “leader of the pack” is one of the challenges a manager often faces.  On the one hand, they can provide leadership and productivity for your team but on the other hand, they can be hard to manage and disruptive to building collegial staff relationships.  In this episode, we’ll discuss ways of dealing with these staff members.

Once you, the hiring manager and your team, have met the final candidates you need to make the best choice for your department.  Once you have received feedback from each member of your hiring team, both in a meeting and with their individual ratings, then you’ll be able to make your final decision.  Once that is accomplished, and the references verified, it will be time to move on to landing the candidate.  This podcast deals with deciding on the top candidate.

The Gallup Organization has been measuring Employee Engagement among thousands of employees since 2000 using questions that measure 12 factors of engagement. The level of enthusiasm employees feel toward their work and workplace is a powerful predictor of numerous important  business outcomes, including the quality of the work, level of productivity, safety, and profitability, among other things.  In this episode we’ll talk about some of the components of engagement and what managers can to increase it among their staffs.

In our last two episodes, we spoke with Vance Morris, a former senior executive with the Disney Organization, about the benefits to consumer-facing businesses of creating what he calls “Experiences” for their clients.  In this episode, we discuss how managers can apply those same techniques to the benefit of their in-house departments even if they don’t have outside customers.

Vance helps business owners get, serve and keep clients for life through creating experiences and response required marketing. He is a Former Birth Control Factory Security Guard turned Disney Leader, turned Bankrupt Out of Work Executive, turned Carpet Cleaner, turned Successful Entrepreneur.

In this episode, Vance talks about the lessons he has learned to become a successful marketer -- in any business.