WorkPuzzle

Employment Brand Part 3: Creating and Communicating Your Brand

Hopefully you’ve had some time to put some thought into developing and quantifying your personal brand.  If you’re struggling with this, be assured, it is not easy work.  So, it may take some time.

As you think about a framework to build upon, here is some advice from Tom Peters in his classic article The Brand Called You:

“No matter what you're doing today, there are four things you've got to measure yourself against.  First, you've got to be a great teammate and a supportive colleague.  Second, you've got to be an exceptional expert at something that has real value.  Third, you've got to be a broad-gauged visionary -- a leader, a teacher, a farsighted ‘imagineer.’  Fourth, you've got to be a businessperson -- you've got to be obsessed with pragmatic outcomes.”

Your brand probably should contain most, if not all, of these components.  If you’re having trouble with this step in the process, make sure you ask questions, seek out the opinions of those you trust, and bounce your finished product off a few people who know you well.

Now, on to creating your brand... Your brand will not accomplish anything if it just lives in your head or even passively interacts with those in your close network.  A personal brand only takes on life when it is actively promoted and consistently impacts new individuals.

To create your brand, break your actions into online and offline activities.  I’ll cover each category in the remainder of the discussion.

Create Your Personal Brand Online.   If someone googled your name, your office, or [your city] real estate, what would they find?  If a person IS able to find you with a search inquiry, what does the information found say about you?  Does it match your brand?  These are important questions because a large majority of people will interact with (or miss completely) your brand online.

Here are the basics of what you need to create your personal brand online:

1. Facebook Profile.   You probably already have a Facebook account.  Does it match the personal brand you developed?  If not, you may want to create a professional version and then limit those who have access to your personal version to those in your personal network.
2. LinkedIn Profile.   Again, make sure that your LinkedIn profile matches what you’ve quantified as your personal brand.  Push the limits of LinkedIn by joining groups where you can contribute your expertise and build a reputation for being knowledgeable.
3. Twitter Profile.   Compared to the previous two venues, Twitter is much more tricky.  But, there are some people who have learned to use this tool effectively.  If you need some ideas, study some of the popular restaurants or night clubs in your area.
4. Blog.   It is tough to write a blog as a real estate company and not be perceived as biased.  So, if you decide to write a blog, you may want to focus it on a topic that is not perceived as manipulative.  One of the most popular blogs in my area is SeattleBubble.com - Even though the author is currently an employee of Redfin, he does a good job of maintaining neutrality.

Create You Personal Brand Offline.   Because real estate is such a local/community business, there are still many opportunities to deploy traditional methodologies for building your personal brand.  Here are some ideas:

1. Volunteer.   There are many opportunities in a local community to volunteer.  Pick opportunities that not only support your personal brand, but seem to get a lot of press.  Ride the popularity of things that are naturally interesting to others.
2. Take on a Cause.   Find something in your community that needs attention and make it your job to get it fixed.  For example, if there were a dangerous intersection in your community, could you bring it to the public’s attention and spearhead the public-interest project to get it fixed?  Seems like a great fit for someone who is concerned about the surrounding neighborhoods.
3. Teach a Class.   For most people, building a personal brand involves being perceived as an expert in a certain domain.  Teaching is a great way to build this perception.  Try contacting the local community college or an adult education program.
4. Participate in a Panel Discussion.   Are there conferences in your area where you can make a contribution?  It is quite common for conferences to hold panel discussions with experts from the local community.  Use your network to work your way onto one of these panels.  The first one will be the hardest, but visibility has a way of multiplying.

There are many more ideas out there, so don’t stop with what I’ve suggested... Build a good base, but then take every opportunity possible to add to your personal brand.  Tom Peters says it this way:

“The important thing to remember about your personal visibility campaign is: it all matters.  When you're promoting brand You, everything you do -- and everything you choose not to do -- communicates the value and character of the brand.”

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Employment Brand Part 2: What Is an Employment Brand and How Do I Develop One?

I’ve received a few questions back on the last WorkPuzzle I published.  Apparently, the concept of an “employment brand” is a new idea to many of you.  

Simply put, your employer brand is the image of your organization in the mind of current employees and key stakeholders in the external market (active and passive candidates, clients, customers and other key stakeholders).

So, employer branding activities are the sum of a company’s efforts to communicate to prospective and existing staff what makes your company a desirable place to work, and the active management of a company’s image as seen through the eyes of its potential hires.  (Definition Source)

When we think about this concept, our mind naturally drifts to the large businesses that have prominent brands.  Take a look at AT&T’s career page and you’ll see a great example of how the branding efforts of a well-known consumer brand now naturally crossover to the realm of employment branding.

Of course, this type of implementation would be beyond the reach of most local or even regional real estate companies.  And I would argue that it wouldn’t be very effective either.  While many real estate companies certainly spend money on building their image in the mind of consumers, the crossover to employment branding is not as natural.  Why?  Because the business model of most real estate companies is such that each local office tends to have its own culture.  And this culture (and in essence its brand) is largely driven by the owner or manager of that local office.

For real estate offices, the employment brand tends to be heavily influenced by the personal brand of the manager of a particular local office. 

When you’re attempting to recruit new individuals to your team, the first questions that go through the minds of candidates have to do with the brand of the local office (What is the office about, and is it a place I can see myself working?) and the brand of the manager (Is this the type of person I want to work with?  Does his/her team of agents have characteristics that are intriguing to me? ).

Much of our discussion about employment branding is going to focus on the personal brand of the manager or owner of an office.  And, this is where things get interesting. 

The concept of personal branding was perhaps initially discussed in Tom Peter’s classic article “The Brand Called You,” first published in 1997.  As social networking has exploded in the last 5 years, so have the tools that equip a person to develop and promulgate a personal brand.

So, what’s it take to build a personal brand as a manager?  Here are 4 steps that you should consider:

1.  Discover Your Brand
2.  Create Your Brand
3.  Communicate Your Brand
4.  Maintain Your Brand

We’ll discuss how to Discovering Your Brand today, and then cover the remaining topics in upcoming discussions. 

Branding expert and author, Dan Schwabell, offers this advice on discovering your personal brand:

“The single biggest mistake people make is that they either brand themselves just for the sake of doing it or that they fail to invest time in learning about what’s in their best interests. The key to success, and this isn’t revolutionary, is to be compensated based on your passion. In order to find your passion, you need a lot of time to think, some luck and you need to do some research online to figure out what’s out there.

Brand discovery is about figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life, setting goals, writing down a mission, vision and personal brand statement (what you do and who you serve), as well as creating a development plan. Have you ever been called intelligent or humorous by your peers or coworkers? That description is part of your brand, especially if you feel those attributed pertain to you. To know if you’ve discovered your brand, you need to make this equation equal:

Your self-impression = How people perceive you

Before you enter the next step in the personal branding process, you’ll want to select a niche, whereby you can be the master of your domain. When I say domain, I mean an area where there aren’t many competitors Once you sort this all out, now it’s time to create your brand.”

I encourage you to take some time to put some thought into Schwabell’s suggestions and develop a clear vision of what you want those in your close geographic are to think of you and your office.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Employment Brand: Does Anyone Really Want to Work For You?

Earlier this week, I referenced an article written by John Sumser.  John is a recruiting guru from whom I've learned a lot over the last several years.  While John's blog is on my Google Reader, I often skip over his articles because I really have to be in a position to concentrate to digest his articles.

Every once in awhile, I dive into a month or two worth of his articles for a couple of hours and try to figure out what he’s saying.  Typically, I walk away with something that changes my way of thinking.

I did this over the weekend, and the same held true.  John recently wrote an article on employment brands that is quite insightful.  I'll publish it here, and then spend the next couple of WorkPuzzles discussing its implications for the real estate industry.

"Employment Branding is the craft of being so completely organized that you are ready with the right message for the right person when she comes along.

A brand is a relationship.

Brands only matter to the people who care about them.  Mention the brand name outside of the circle of people who have the relationship and you will receive shoulder shrugs.  Mention it inside the circle and you can spark a conversation full of passion and opinion.

The only brands that matter are the ones that people care about.

The theory and development of branding has been reserved, historically, for companies that could afford large broadcast media campaigns.  The best examples of brand marketing are consumer product companies, from automobiles to popular music to varieties of American Cheese.  The term brand is used to cover a wide range of circumstances from name recognition to deep affinity.

Contemporary talk about 'personal branding' generally refers to the act of managing the fifteen minutes of fame that social media bestows.  Peppers and Rogers, the authors of popular books on database and relationship marketing, move the concept to tightly grouped members of a database.

It is useful to think about branding as an early stage technology.  Purely a 20th Century invention, branding, like many first generation technologies, began in organizations that could afford clumsy and inefficient approaches because of their sheer size.  For the past 70 years, branding has been a game of extensive spending to attract large numbers of people to a single product or company.

Today, however, the tools needed to build very clear, very small niche oriented brands are readily available.  Like much of marketing, the tools are now available from the desktop.  This 'downward evolution' of marketing creates both expanded opportunity and expanded responsibility at the department and operating unit level."

Notice what he says in that last paragraph:  "…the tools needed to build very clear, very small niche oriented brands are readily available."  This is great news for those who recruit for a living.

Do you see yourself (you personally) as having a brand?  Does your office (not your company as a whole) have a brand?  What do the candidates that you're trying to recruit think about your office's brand?  Do they wish they could be part of a team like the one you manage, or do they shrug their shoulders?

These are all important questions if you’re going to be successful at recruiting.  It's funny how much easier recruiting gets if you start attracting... 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Population Dynamics 2: Understanding Fundamental Changes

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the owners and managers of a large real estate company in the Northwest.  I enjoy these meetings because it gives me an opportunity to see and hear the realities of the business challenges many of you are facing.

The message I heard on Friday...the real estate world is changing quickly and there is a constant need to evaluate and plot a course to meet the changes.  As leaders struggle with this issue, our first inclination is to focus on surface issues (i.e. How do my circumstances today resemble something that happened in the past?).  But by doing this, there is a tendency to overlook the core issues that are responsible for the changes.

I touched on this topic last week.  How do you first find the “horizon” in your recruiting world and then work on developing tactics that meet reality?  As you ask yourself this question and wrestle with the answers, you may find that your “reality” is much different than you expected and even more troublesome to understand.

I ran across a discussion by John Sumser over the weekend that does a great job of illustrating one of these fundamental changes.  The topic is the traditional understanding of a population pyramid.

“I am going to stick with the pyramid idea just a little longer.  The theme is so embedded in our world view that it shapes the way we see, imagine and execute our possibilities.

The ‘Recruiting Funnel', where masses of candidates are winnowed down to a select few, is an example of pyramid theory.  The whole notion emerges from the longstanding shape of families and governments:  a few old people running things, lots of younger people ‘being run’.  It’s mommy, daddy, and five kids.  It’s the foundation of hierarchical management.  Large organizations, with their single point (winnowing) authority, perpetuate the view that pyramids are essential elements of society.

The reality is that family structure has changed.  One or two kids and two parents is not an organization that can be run hierarchically.  Combined with technology that is flattening our organizations, we’re in a transition period.  The pyramid is built into our perceptual framework and it’s outmoded.

Historically, economic growth depends on a pyramid structure.  More people, more work, more jobs, more goods.  We have no idea how to engineer growth without an underlying impetus of population expansion.”

So, John’s point is that the disruption of the traditional population pyramid changes everything.  It is a fundamental issue that must be understood in order to build successful recruiting strategies (or to run a government, or to market a college, or to build a restaurant clientele, etc.).  If you were to make plans without understanding this important piece of information, you'd struggle to be successful. 

I brought this example up to get you thinking about the fundamental issues that may be shaping your business.  Of course, population dynamics affect everyone, but many other important issues are industry specific. 

What are the foundational issues that have changed in your profession, industry, and community?  The companies that can successfully identify these issues and deploy tactics that address these changes are the ones who will find themselves significantly ahead of their competitors in the coming years.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Trends and Opportunities for 2011: What Will the New Year Bring in the Recruiting World?

I know I mentioned on Monday that I would wrap up this discussion, but I found an outstanding article earlier this week that is worth sharing.  The article was written by Kevin Wheeler.  Kevin is a recruiting guru who has worked with many of the best companies in the United States.  He has become one of the most well-respected voices in the recruiting industry.  I’ve read many of Kevin's articles over the past several years and have benefited greatly from his viewpoint.

Kevin's recent article highlights some predictions for 2011 and is particularly insightful.  Since he doesn’t specialize in the real estate industry, I’ll provide some commentary on how Kevin's thoughts apply to what you may be experiencing.

Hiring Situation

“Mid-level hiring will remain slow, and there will be few additions to support administrative staff.  Much of this hiring will be outsourced to Recruitment Process Outsourcing companies (RPOs) and agencies that specialize in specific areas.  The demand for workers with minimal skills will shrink even further as technology replaces them.  Many organizations have already replaced receptionists with automated sign-in systems and automatic call systems.  Accounting and bookkeeping systems are using OCR to automatically input receipts and other data into their systems.”

“Mid-level hiring” is the category of positions that we see typically make a transition to the real estate industry.  The good news…the supply will be good (lots of people will remain out of work).  The bad news…many people in this position can’t afford to start a real estate career, or don’t want to risk giving up their current job (if they still have one).

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)

“RPO will continue to grow as a service with more sophisticated approaches and more technology.  Some firms will focus on specific regions or on functional verticals.  These RPOs will invest the time and conduct research that will help them build large communities of candidates with narrow, deep expertise.  They will do this cheaper and better than a corporate recruiter can because of dedicated resources and investment in technology.  Corporate recruiting functions need to build better ways to assess RPO firms, establish firm performance criteria, and negotiate contracts based on how well your needs are met, rather than on cost.”

In the interest of full disclosure, Tidemark is an RPO firm.  These are the issues we focus on every day and companies use our services because it’s cheaper and more effective than sourcing candidates on their own.

Talent Management

“I have long advocated that every organization should increase its focus on developing a holistic and integrated approach to talent.  That will begin to happen in earnest this year.  Every major survey, including those from Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the Boston Consulting Group, indicate that CEOs are now relentlessly focused on getting better people in their organizations and are willing to put the resources in place to make it happen.

Critical positions need to be clearly identified, and there should be a plan as to how those positions will be filled.  The plans should rely on a mixture of internal promotions/transfer as well as external placement.  Development should be a key component and lead to a percentage of positions being filled by newly trained internal candidates.  Entry-level hiring can feed this pool, as long as development and assessment are in place.  Rigorous performance assessment in real time as well as feedback to recruiting on success traits are also important parts of a successful talent management plan.”

As we talk to real estate leaders across the country, we constantly hear about the lack of talent at the first-level manager position (commonly referred to as a branch manager or sales manager).  This is, by far, the number one issue that limits growth for most real estate companies.  How can this be solved? Understand and apply the “talent management” strategies that companies in other industries have developed.  One quick warning…doing this is not quick, easy, or cheap.

Employment Brand

“Building a believable and vigorous brand will consume more time and resources than it did in 2010.  A recruiting website will be much less critical, although still important, to success.  It will be more important to use a variety of marketing tools, including targeted marketing, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as LinkedIn, to interest more people in learning about your organization and opportunities.”

We’ve spent a bunch of time in WorkPuzzle over the past year talking about positioning your company in the mind of the potential candidate.  Just like someone needs to envision your company as the best choice when buying or selling a house, they also need to see your company as one of the most desirable places to work in your local marketplace.

Internal Sourcing Teams

“Internal sourcing teams will morph from a focus on Internet search, which will remain a small part of the process, to a major focus on social media.  The purpose of the sourcing team will be to ensure a supply of interested people who can be turned into candidates by a combination of skilled recruiter involvement and sophisticated marketing tools.  These teams will be small, technically highly skilled, and capable of being community managers, marketers, and experts in identifying and assessing key candidates virtually.”

In late November and early December, Dave Mashburn wrote a WorkPuzzle series about Lessons from an Expert Recuiter.  This series (1,2,3,4) highlights Kevin’s point.  There is no substitute for having one of the most talented individuals in your company be the first line of interface to the candidates who are considering making a transition to a real estate career.

Social Media

“In every way, the backbone of the recruiting function will be its ability to use social media — the tools that connect and engage millions of potential candidates.  Their success will be in how effective they are in convincing people to take part in the sub-communities that they create for their firms.  This will require a strategy that has been carefully thought out and is revisited constantly and updated as its effectiveness is evaluated.

Whether they use Facebook, Hyves, LinkedIn, or another community is immaterial.  What matters is that the community they choose attracts the kind of people they need.  New smaller specialist communities may arise over the next year, and staying abreast of these, or even creating them, may make the difference between success and failure.”

This is an area that needs growth for many real estate companies and it’s an arena that is a major focus for our company in 2011.

Kevin’s Summary

"In many ways 2011 will look a lot like 2010 but with more focus on implementing the initiatives that were started in 2010 and in being realistic about the use of RPO, outsourcing, and the need to focus on critical positions."

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Trends and Opportunities For 2011: What are the Best Sellers Trying to Tell You?

Happy New Year!  I’m going to wrap up this discussion today by sharing some insight from some of the bestselling business books of 2010.  The popular blog 800CEOREAD and Inc. Magazine compiled the list below.  I think we can learn about trends and opportunities by noticing what others are reading.   

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath; Gallup Press -- The original Strengths Finder book was published in 2001.  A full decade has passed and people are still trying to figure out where they best fit in the workplace.  This particular book was published in 2007 and it’s still at the top of the list.

The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg, John David Mann; Portfolio -- People are trying to find meaning in their work and purpose in the arena of business.

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath, Dan Heath; Broadway -- When things are difficult, change is necessary to stay in business and make sense of the new realities.

Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World by John Hope Bryant; Jossey-Bass -- You’ll see a lot of the books on this list addressing the emotion of fear.  There’s a lot of fear out there…

Return of the Gold: The Journey of Jerry Colangelo and the Redeem Team by Dan Bickley; Morgan James Publishing -- This is a story of how the NBA has sunk to an incredible low after many good years in the past.  There are many organizations that need to make a comeback after being beat-up by the recession.

Doing Both: How Cisco Captures Today’s Profit and Drives Tomorrow’s Growth by Inder Sidhu; FT Press -- Great case study on a great company.  

Rich Dad’s Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money by Robert T. Kiyosaki; Business Plus

Accelerating Out of the Great Recession: How to Win in a Slow-Growth Economy by David Rhodes, Daniel Stelter; McGraw-Hill -- More fear.  Both of the previous books offer help on making sense of what is happening in the economy.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin; Portfolio -- Many people are concerned about keeping their jobs and maintaining a viable career.

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter; Hyperion -- More change.  People want help with setting a path for the future, as they are feeling anxiety about their current situation.  

How Companies Win: Profiting from Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You’re In by Rick Kash, David Calhoun; HarperBusiness

Keep Swinging: An Entrepreneur’s Story of Overcoming Adversity & Achieving Small Business Success by Jay Myers, Darren Dahl; Morgan James Publishing -- Entrepreneurs are alive and well.  Although they try to make it sound new, businesses have always found success through identifing and meeting needs. 

Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone by Mitch Joel, Business Plus -- Businesses are still trying to make sense of the social networking phenomenon.

Rich Dad’s Prophecy: Why the Biggest Stock Market Crash in History Is Still Coming… and How You Can Prepare Yourself and Profit from It! by Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L Lechter; Business Plus

Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It by Marshall Goldsmith; Hyperion -- Some guys are just good at publishing books!  This is the second book on this list by each of these authors. 

The M-Factor: How the Millennial Generation Is Rocking the Workplace by Lynn Lancaster, David Stillman; HarperBusiness

Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down by Vineet Nayar, Harvard Business Press -- People always want help dealing with employees and people.  For some reason, we never seem to get this totally figured out.

The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures by Frans Johansson; Harvard Business Press -- This is one of those eclectic idea books that capitalizes more on great writing than on meaningful ideas (ex. The Tipping Point and Freakonomics).  These books were all the rage a few years ago, but are now starting to wane...

Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd by Youngme Moon; Crown

Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business by Josh Bernoff, Ted Schadler; Harvard Business Press -- These are the motivational business books that tend to make it into the bestseller lists each year.

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations? by Ian Bremmer; Portfolio

Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell, and Live by John Gerzema, Michael D’Antonio; Jossey-Bass -- Small businesses are worried about how the government will impact their ability to be successful in the future.

Crush It!: Why Now Is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuck; Harper Studio

The Mirror Test: Is Your Business Really Breathing? by Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, Jim Eber; Business Plus

Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You Didn’t Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now by Vickie Milazzo; John Wiley & Sons

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I hope this helps you gain some perspective for the year ahead.  If some of these concerns resonate with you, pick a couple of books off the list and start your own reading program for 2011.   

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Trends and Opportunities For 2011: Full Commission Jobs Are Becoming More Common

I hope you’ve wrapped up a wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends.  Assuming that you got everything you wanted for Christmas and you’re not out exploring the after-Christmas sales, you’re probably starting to think about the year ahead.

The job of any leader is to help those on their team to see and understand the business trends and opportunities that will affect their future.  Just as an airline pilot lets his passengers know when he sees turbulence on the radar, it will help your teammates feel more safe and be more productive if you can help them interpret the events going on around them.

We’ll take the next few posts to relay some of the trends and opportunities we see for 2011.  The purpose of these discussions is not to provide an exhaustive list of things that we think will happen in the future, rather it is to help get you in the mode of recognizing how the things going on around you will potentially affect those on your team and your recruiting efforts.

The first topic I’ll address is the future of full commission jobs.  As we mentioned in a WorkPuzzle discussion last summer, there is a lot of economic pressure being put on the traditional “job with benefits.”  At the time, I made the point that more and more companies are moving toward independent contractor employment models.

A recent article in Business Week conveys how this trend is not only continuing, but may be growing in the coming years:

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You can't buy Dallas clothier J. Hilburn's shirts in a retail store or online. Nonetheless, the company expects to sell 60,000 of them this year by dispatching salespeople to customers' homes or offices to take measurements and suggest fabrics and styles.  They send their orders to a factory near Macau, China, where shirts are cut and sewn from Italian fabric. Buyers receive them in two to three weeks and pay between $80 and $150, less than half the price of similar shirts sold in some high-end stores....

Some 30,000 people have bought clothing or accessories from Hilburn, the company says.  And 93 percent of its customers return for a second purchase, says Davis.  Since Hilburn was founded in 2007, its sales have tripled each year and are on track to top $9 million in 2010, driven by growing demand for its shirts as well as newer products such as trousers, cuff links, and cashmere sweaters.  "Customers are basically saying, 'You've become my solution, now offer me more products,' " says Davis, 38.

While new customers can find sales reps through Hilburn's website, most come through referrals.  The company has 650 "style advisers" who earn commissions of up to 25 percent on clothing they sell after paying $399 for fabric samples, sales materials, and training...

Amy Mancini started selling Hilburn shirts in 2008.  A mother of three in West Boylston, Mass., the former nurse says she earns about $60,000 annually, spending between 20 and 25 hours a week managing other reps and visiting customers.  "I have clients anywhere from college students all the way up to presidents and CEOs," she says.  The sales calls are crucial to getting measurements right and making customers feel comfortable about buying a garment they can't try on.  Clients' measurements are stored in a database, and the company plans to launch an online store next year where customers can order new shirts once they've been fitted….

The model removes some traditional up-front costs of retailing.  "You've got a sales force you're not paying until they sell things.  You're not paying to make the shirt until the shirt is sold," says Brian O'Malley, a Hilburn board member and partner at Battery Ventures.

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Notice the last statement in the article... Isn’t this what the real estate industry has been saying for several decades?  Of course, it is.  What’s changing is that traditional industries, such as retail, are starting to use the same methodologies.

If you’re trying to attract talent into the real estate industry, this is exciting stuff.  It is always difficult to get someone to consider something new.  But when the value proposition is completely different (full commission) than what most people are used to, the jump can seem insurmountable.  As the independent contractor becomes more common, the gap in someone’s perception of what’s “normal” is diminished.  This should make the recruiting process easier.

The potential downside of this trend is that it may force you to compete with other businesses who will be continually trying to perfect the independent contractor employment model.  If someone can earn $60K working 20 hours per week measuring people for shirts, you may have to sharpen your value proposition in order to compete when it comes to recruiting.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why Metrics Matter...

I realize that my last entry was fairly, well... adamant to say the least.  As you probably already know, we write and speak on the importance of metrics frequently (as I emphatically did earlier this week).  Everything that we do and ask you to do hinges on this principle.

We are certainly not alone.  For example, Tom Malone said, “If you don’t keep score, you are only practicing.”  Emery Powell noted that, “A strategy without metrics is just a wish.  And metrics that are not aligned with strategic objectives are a waste of time.”  Finally, some unknown but very wise manager once said, “Be careful what you measure—you might just get it.” 

By measuring something, you are stating to your employees, managers, stakeholders, and industry analysts that an activity is important.

Steven A. Melnyk, of the Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management at Michigan State University, sums up as succinctly as I have seen, why metrics are so important:

“Metrics are important because of the functions that they provide, namely:
 
Control: Metrics enable superiors to control and evaluate the performance of the people working under them.  They also enable employees to control their own performance.

Reporting: This is the most commonly identified function of metrics.  We use metrics to report performance to ourselves, our superiors, and external agencies.
 
Communication: This is a critical but over-looked function of a metric.  We use metrics to tell people both internally and externally what constitutes value and what the key success factors are.  As pointed out previously, people don’t understand value, but they understand metrics.  As a result, value as implemented at the firm should influence the type of metrics developed.
 
Opportunities for Improvement: Metrics identify gaps (between performance and the expectation).  Intervention takes place when we have to close undesired gaps.  The size of then gap, the nature of the gap (whether it is positive or negative) and the importance of the activity determine the need for management to resolve these gaps.
 
Expectations: Metrics frame expectations both internally (with our personnel) and externally (with our customers).  Metrics help form what the customer expects."

Melnyk also discusses various categories of metrics.  For our purposes, let's take a look at predictive metrics.

“Predictive (also referred to as a process metric) is one that we can use to help predict our chances of achieving a certain objective or goal.  In many systems, the bulk of metrics are outcome-oriented, rather than predictive.  As a result, the measure system gives the managers little information on which they can predict their chances of meeting their objectives.  However, firms such as Texas Instruments are now turning their attention to the development of predictive metrics.  They recognize that such measures are far more useful to the users.”

It is the predictive metric that provides us the opportunity to track our clients' outcome metrics, such as number of candidates, number of interviews, and total hires over time, and then quickly convert these to provide a forecast of what you can expect to achieve with your recruitment efforts.

What else can we all measure collectively?  How can we measure it?  What behaviors should we track?  How can you use metrics with your agents?  What should they be measuring and tracking?  What happens if they don't measure?

Because …

“A strategy without metrics is just a wish.” 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why Discipline in Recruiting Matters

You've all heard the saying "If it were easy, everyone would do it."

Ben wrote a great piece on the difference between microwave and crock pot recruiting that gets to the heart of the above principle. 

Every tool and philosophy we espouse at Tidemark is built upon this central principle.  I'm not surprised to say that 95% of our clients hold to this principle as well.  They have an underlying conviction that in order to see results tomorrow, they must engage in constant, systematic, and seamless steps today.  It's understood that "microwave" recruiting will only result in producing low hanging fruit that competitors are also vying for; And conversely that "crock pot" recruiting, may take more time and discipline, but over time yields the higher caliber and supplemental fruit that companies need to beat the competition.

The difference in conversation content between a microwave recruiter and a crock pot recruiter resembles two entirely different languages.  A microwave recruiter offers every anecdotal excuse under the sun, with no metrics to back it up.  In fact, metrics are absent from the language of the microwave recruiter altogether.  If you ask them a metric question, they give you another anecdotal answer.  Ask them how many candidates it takes to get ten interviews...or how many interviews it takes to get each hire, and then give them a week to come up with this information.  What do they provide?  More excuses.  Why?  Because they don't track it.  We all know that what isn't measured cannot be managed, predicted, and improved upon.

Now, don't get me wrong...there are always factors that change those percentages and numbers from one cycle to the next.  We're all aware that there is a time and place to dissect reasons to interpret the changes in percentages around the metrics.  But, excuses with no grounding in metrics amount to sheer laziness and avoidance of accountability.

Discipline is really the key to all of this.  Disciplined people and organizations rarely offer excuses.  They implement systems to drive, track and improve performance.

Read carefully the definition of Discipline:

1. Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior.
2. Controlled behavior resulting from training.
3. A set of rules or methods.
4. Activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill.
5. Behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.
6. A set or system of rules and regulations.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a four-part piece on an expert recruiter (Andy Nazaroff) who clearly exercises discipline (1,2,3,4).  He provides specifics regarding calls, interviews, information, timing, conduct, etc...and all of these methods amount to consistent and impressive success.

Why am I excited about the discipline that so many of our clients practice, and frustrated with the opposite?  It comes down to a belief system.  We believe that measuring discipline drives results, and increases responsibility -- two characteristics of every successful company.

Let me know your thoughts and your own methods for assuring your own discipline.

In an upcoming article, I hope to feature a manager who is disciplined in working the experienced agent pipeline... 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Have You Experienced TED? Great Ideas in 18 Minutes or Less

Where do you go to get great ideas?  I like to read...and I tend to best assimilate knowledge this way.  I know not everyone has this capacity or interest—some of you are more visual and auditory.  If you’re in this latter group of learners, you might want to spend some time on TED.

TED (an abbreviation for Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a nonprofit organization that began in 1984 with the purpose of spreading great ideas.  For years, they’ve hosted annual conferences, and in 2007 they launched a video-enabled website that has become quite popular.

The premise of TED is to challenge the finest thought leaders in the world to give the best talk of their life…in 18 minutes or less.  The speeches are traditionally given at one of two live conferences held each year (one in Long Beach, CA and one in Oxford).  Although, it appears that TED has recently started adding more conferences as their popularity has grown.

Here is a speech that you may want to digest if you’re a recruiter or a hiring manager who wants to become better at engaging the most talented individuals:

 

In this talk, author and consultant, Simon Sinek explains how great leaders have inspired great causes—both throughout history and even in modern day life. They do so by reversing the normal order of discovery, focusing first and most passionately on the question “Why?”  Most people focus their effort on the questions “What?” and “How?” and never get to the most important question.

This oversight is very common in real estate recruiting, and it’s one of the main reasons that so few candidates are inspired to action after an interview.  I don’t want to say any more at the risk of stealing Simon’s thunder, but let me assure you if you can master this technique and apply it to your candidate interactions, your effectiveness will skyrocket.  Enjoy!

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.