WorkPuzzle

Situational Leadership in the Recruiting Process

Occasionally, a book is written that sums up something so obvious it clarifies much of what we know and already do well.  At the same time, it inspires us to strive to perfect those very same things.

Ken Blanchard’s classic The One-Minute Manager developed some ideas about differing management styles that continue to inform me in a variety of circumstances, not just at work.  Read the following excerpt from an article addressing Blanchard's ideas and think through its implications on the entire recruitment, hiring, and training process of a new agent hire. 

"Situational leadership is a term developed by Ken Blanchard. As a situational leader you are able to adapt your leadership style to fit the situation of your team member or employee. This means you can deploy four different leadership styles depending on the situation.

As you assess which style is needed, you need to make a conscious choice about which of your own behaviors is needed. With directive behavior, you provide structure, control and close supervision for the people who need it. With supportive behavior, you use praise and two-way communication to facilitate the work of your team.

Blanchard sees four leadership styles growing out of combinations of supportive and directive behavior: directing style, coaching style, supporting style and delegating style.

In 'directing' style, the emphasis is on control and close supervision of the worker. In 'coaching' style, the leader provides more explanation of what the job entails and solicits suggestions while still staying in control of the situation. With 'supporting' style, there is a team approach between the leader and follower with the leader emphasizing support of the follower rather than control. Finally, in 'delegating' style, the leader turns over responsibility to the worker.

When I coach people on how to use Situational Leadership I usually talk to them about their own evolution in their current organization. I usually say, 'During your first week, how did you feel? You were likely excited and a little anxious. You also wanted to know what you were expected to do and shown how to do it.' You needed your supervisor to be using a ‘Directing’ leadership style.

Most of us evolve in our careers from needing Directing leadership at the beginning and then Coaching, then Supporting, and finally Delegating leadership when we become experienced and reliable.

Of course people develop at different rates and the Situational Leader needs to know where each person is in their evolution in order to determine what type of leadership they need. As Blanchard describes in his work, the level of a person’s development is measured by assessing their ‘competence and commitment’.  

Competence is the level of a person’s knowledge and skills as they relate to doing their job. Commitment, on the other hand, is the level of the person’s confidence and motivation. Most leaders find Commitment to be the most difficult to assess.

Success in leadership comes when the leadership style is matched with the characteristics of the follower. Problems with leadership come when the leadership style does not fit the follower."

What struck me about the relevance of situational leadership to the recruitment process is the evolution from the very first contact. The recruiting professionals who are skilled at switching from one style to another and back again quickly are most successful.  Why?  The savviest recruits may need each style.

Also when the recruiting process is shared across multiple roles in an organization, it is also important to pass this leadership information on to others in chain of contact.  This allows each new phone calll /interview to begin in the right framework rather than backtracking and repeating what others have already done.

Question: What styles do you find yourself naturally using the most? What relevance is it to be aware of these variations? 

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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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. 

What Causes Some Companies to Recruit Better Than Others?

As many of you know, our company often consults with our clients on the metrics of the recruiting process.   We find that metrics are the most reliable way to diagnose problems and shine light on areas that need improvement.

In some cases, the metrics also point directly to solutions.   For example, if a company is not doing enough interviews to meet their hiring goals, there are very specific and measureable things that can be done to fix the problem.

In other cases, the solutions are less tangible and easy to quantify.  For example, some of our clients are reliably able to convert “interviews to hires” at a much higher rate than other companies.   Why?  That’s a complex question.

As we collect data and try to find an answer to this problem, the path to the solution gets cloudy.   There are many intangible factors that play into the “interview to hire” metric.  It has more to do with the “art of recruiting” than hard metrics and simple tactics.

To illustrate this point, I ran across an article earlier this week written by Tod Sacerdoti, the CEO of a BrightRoll, a video advertising company based in San Francisco.  You may have read this article already—it was widely distributed because of the great content and insight it offered.

Tod correctly identifies the importance recruiting plays in the success of all companies (his examples are from the technology world), but also documents the “secret sauce” he commonly sees high-performing recruiting companies possess.  I think you'll enjoy his insight:

“Recruiters generally get little public credit because the naive observer assumes that good companies get talent for free. That is simply not true.

If you look behind the curtain at many of Silicon Valley's greatest tech companies (Google, Facebook, DropBox, etc) you will find great recruiters. In fact, those recruiters tend to be leaders of large internal recruiting teams and many have materially changed the trajectory of their company's growth, particularly in the formative years.

Great recruiters are different in the way great engineers, great salespeople and great leaders are different -- they have a secret sauce. This secret sauce applies to all roles and levels of recruitment, whether a recruiter is attracting interns, managers or executives.

So, what is the secret sauce of a great recruiter?

Authentic Compassion. The best recruiters are often labeled as a "people person" but what that really means is that they are incredible listeners and they truly care about the people they interact with. Compassion is even more powerful in the long term as people build a relationship and interact across multiple roles and/or companies.

Agile Builders. The best recruiters are data driven and iterate with the same discipline and frequency as the best software developments teams. Understanding a problem (such as sourcing, interview process, closing a candidate), measuring performance and using a sprint process to optimize results on a regular basis are fundamentally agile development skills and requirements for top recruiters.

Positive Marketers. Every interaction an external person has with your company is a marketing impression. This includes every email, phone call or news article, and every person they talk to including a recruiter, front desk admin, interviewer or executive. The best recruiters know this and use every impression as an opportunity to have a positive impact. People often forget that 99% of the time you make an impression on an external person you will not ever hire them so the risk of that impression being negative is high. If every interaction is positive, you will impact not only those individuals but a broad network of potential future hires.

Communication Artists. In today's electronic and busy workplace, communication is an often overlooked art. The best recruiters are able to handle three widely varying communication requirements -- sourcing new candidates, rejecting existing candidates and internal process alignment -- with the same level of empathy, positivity and discipline. Each of these communications is an art in its own right and the best recruiters manage all three such that every interaction leads to positive momentum.

How would you grade yourself on Tod’s “secret sauce” metrics?  In essence, measuring yourself on these ideas is a way you can start to make the recruiting intangibles….tangible.  If you master the issues outlined above, you’re recruitng metrics will not only improve, but you’ll also hire higher-quality agents.   You too could “materially change the trajectory” of your office’s growth through 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. 

Conscientiousness: A Trait Every One of Your Future Hires Should Possess

If you’re looking for a new blog to add to your daily reading, I’d like to suggest Eric Barker’s, Barking Up the Wrong Tree. Besides being listed on both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal blog roles, he has 45,000 email subscribers (it is very difficult to get to this subscription level) and his columns regularly appear in Wired magazine.

In addition to being a great writer, Eric collects and presents research-based content in a way that is easy to digest. He generally does this by picking a topic of interest and then summarizing the research on the issue with short, pithy paragraphs that make the case for his point of view. 

He recently published a blog on the character trait of conscientiousness that I found both interesting and compelling. Upon reading his insight, I immediately copied the content and sent it to all four of my teenage sons! I challenged them to start asking themselves, “How conscientious am I being as I do __________?”

While this information was helpful to my children, it is also a key trait that should be part of every hiring decision you make. Why? Because conscientiousness is highly correlated to success in all parts of life. Eric explains:

"Conscientiousness is the fundamental personality trait most closely tied to self control and it tracks with nearly every type of success across your lifespan.

It’s pretty crazy really:

Money and job satisfaction? - Check.

“Measured concurrently, emotionally stable and conscientious participants reported higher incomes and job satisfaction.“

Finding a job? - Check.

“…the personality traits Conscientiousness and Neuroticism have a strong impact on the instantaneous probability of finding a job, where the former has a positive effect and the latter has a negative effect.”

Long marriage? - Check.

“…our findings suggest that conscientiousness is the trait most broadly associated with marital satisfaction in this sample of long-wed couples.”

Healthier life? - Check.

“Among adults over age 45 (n = 2,419), Neuroticism and low Agreeableness were associated with metabolic syndrome, whereas high Conscientiousness was protective. Individuals who scored in the top 10% on Conscientiousness were approximately 40% less likely to have metabolic syndrome…“

Long life? - Check.

“Conscientiousness, which was the best predictor of longevity when measured in childhood, also turned out to be the best personality predictor of long life when measured in adulthood.“

And let’s not forget good grades and staying out of jail.

Via How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character:

…conscientiousness was the trait that best predicted workplace success. What intrigues Roberts about conscientiousness is that it predicts so many outcomes that go far beyond the workplace. People high in conscientiousness get better grades in school and college; they commit fewer crimes; and they stay married longer. They live longer – and not just because they smoke and drink less. They have fewer strokes, lower blood pressure, and a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease."

So, since conscientiousness is such an important trait, it might be helpful to know what it is! Here is the definition I sent my kids:

Conscientiousness is the trait that denotes being thorough, careful, or vigilant; it implies a desire to do a task well. It is manifested in characteristic behaviors such as being efficient, organized, neat, and systematic, also including such elements as self-discipline, carefulness, thoroughness, self-organization, deliberation (the tendency to think carefully before acting), and need for achievement. Conscientious individuals are generally hard working and reliable.

With this research as a backdrop, it only makse sense that you'd want to hire conscientious people. In fact, if you were to rank the importance of other traits, this may be the most important characteristic that leads to successful hiring outcomes.

Here is a quick application for this information: Ask some open-ended questions about conscientiousness during your upcoming interviews. For example:

Was your manager in your last job a conscientious person? How did that make you feel?

In your previous position, were your co-workers conscientious in accomplishment of their work?

Are there situations in the past where you were rewarded for your being conscientious?

These questions should spur some discussion and hopefully give you some insight into your candidate’s perspective on this important character trait. In our next WorkPuzzle, we’ll discuss the capacity a person has for improving his/her level of conscientiousness. I know I could use some improvement!

 

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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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. 

Givers and Takers: The Dilemma of Organizational Productivity

Finding and keeping productive people is important to the health of any organization.  Here’s a question you may not have considered: 

When does a person’s individual productivity actually deter from the overall office or organizational productivity?

If you haven't pondered this difficult dilemma, it might be worth some extra consideration because knowing the answer will guide you towards making better decisions about what is ultimately of greater value in the long term.  

One of the simple determiners of those you want to keep versus those you should consider parting ways with is assessing the "Giver -vs - Taker" variable. Here is what Steve Wood, President and CEO of the Leddy Group, recently had to say about this factor.  His comments were based on Adam Grant’s bestseller, Give and Take, A Revolutionary Approach to Success:

"Grant wrote about the findings of Harvard researchers who studied why some teams in the US intelligence system were more successful than others. They were surprised to find that the more successful teams were those that had “giving” rather than “taking” cultures.

Here are two important findings from the research:

Many organizations don’t support information sharing. Worse, in ‘taker cultures’ the norm is for employees to get as much as possible from others while contributing less in return.

The amount of help a groups’ members give one another is among the strongest predictors of group effectiveness. Building a ‘giver culture’ pays.

Giving and Taking Behaviors

Givers help others, share knowledge, offer to mentor, and, most importantly, make connections without expecting anything in return. Takers get things from others without thinking they should give something in return. Importantly, they only give when they expect to receive personal benefits that exceed the cost of giving.

Most organizational cultures fall in between and are called “matcher cultures.” In these cultures people help others who help them. Because this forms isolated groups of people who practice collaboration, they are less efficient than true giver cultures.

Organizational Structure Facilitates Giving Behaviors

In flourishing giver cultures employees are very comfortable asking for help. One interesting finding by Stella Anderson and Larry Williams is that 75 to 90 percent of all help exchanged between team members comes from direct requests for help.

However, in many of our organizational cultures today people are hesitant to ask for help for fear of feeling weak or incompetent, which they may feel hurts their future advancement.

One Structural Idea – Reciprocity Rings

A professor from the University of Michigan, Wayne Baker, experimented successfully with reciprocity rings. These are 60-90 minute exercises with groups of employees. During the exercise each person makes a request for help with their job. Then others with experience or knowledge offer help and people get matched-up. Everyone has to ask for help with something.

This exercise has a number of benefits – 1) It communicates a norm that it is okay to ask for help; 2) It allows leadership to learn who are natural givers and takers; and 3) It teaches those who are “takers” the benefits and skills needed to be a giver.

Recruiting and Hiring Givers, Not Takers

Many organizations including Berkshire Hathaway have policies against hiring takers and they use customized team activities during the hiring process to screen-out takers. Here are some other ideas for screening-out takers:

Listen for candidates taking personal credit for successes. They might frequently use pronouns like I and me instead of us and we.

Takers often practice “kissing up, kicking down” and when dealing with powerful people, they become effective fakers, are charming, and sometimes charismatic. In these cases look for references from people who are supervisors; okay to ask for different references.

Takers often badmouth others. Listen for blaming responses during interviews.

Making Sure Giving Behavior Doesn’t Go Too Far

One drawback of unmanaged giving cultures is that people can spend too much time giving, and too little time doing their own work. Successful cultures build-in time limits for giving activity. Others set aside certain hours for giving or certain hours where no one can be interrupted."

Reading this material has helped me become aware of the degree to which this trait characterizes the people with which I am privileged to work.

How about you? How about your organization? Will knowing this information aid you in making tough decisions about productive but toxic people?

Perhaps more research should be done on assessing the collateral damage that takers have on their organizations.  This would help leaders discern the true pros and cons of keeping (to realize the benefit of their production) or eliminating (to rid the organization of the toxicity) takers from their organizations.

I'd love to hear from you about your experience with both givers and takers and their impact on your organization.

 

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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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. 

Gallup Update: Languishing Still a Powerful Motivator for Career Change

If you’re a Tidemark client, you’ve heard Dave Mashburn frequently talk about workers “languishing” in the their jobs.   His observations have produced one of the maxims we use to source candidates for our clients:

The individuals most likely to consider career change are those who are languishing in their current jobs.

This observation is based upon research conducted by the Gallup Organization.  The initial study (conducted in 2000) painted a depressing picture of life in the American workforce.  Unfortunately, things are not getting much better.  The Silicon Valley Mercury News recently reported,  

“Seven out of 10 workers have ‘checked out’ at work or are ‘actively disengaged,’ according to a recent Gallup survey.

In its ongoing survey of the American workplace, Gallup found that only 30 percent of workers ‘were engaged, or involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their workplace.’ Although that equals the high in engagement since Gallup began studying the issue in 2000, it is overshadowed by the number of workers who aren't committed to  performing at a high level….

The poll, released last week, examined worker engagement beginning in 2010 and ending in 2012. The previous poll period covered 2008 through 2010.

The survey classifies three types of employees among the 100 million people in America who hold full-time jobs. The first is actively engaged, which represents about 30 million workers.  The second type of worker is "not engaged," which accounts for 50 million. These employees are going through the motions at work.

The third type, labeled "actively disengaged," hates going to work. These workers -- about 20 million -- undermine their companies with their attitude, according to the report.

The general consciousness about the importance of employee engagement seems to have increased in the past decade, but there is a gap between knowing about engagement and doing something about it in most American workplaces… 

The level of employee engagement over the past decade has been largely stagnant, according to researchers.”

How can a hiring manager use this information to be more successful at recruiting? 

First, recognize that almost all of the candidates you interview or otherwise engage in the hiring process are languishing in their current careers.

Secondly, use this information wisely.  We have written frequently in previous WorkPuzzles about every person’s need to be “heard” before he/she will be able to “hear” (i.e.. accept and internalize information) about any solutions you may offer.

Of course, you can talk about a number of topics during an interview (work history, career goals, strengths/weaknesses, etc.), but the one you’ll get the most mileage from is languishing. 

If you’re able to quickly steer a recruiting conversation to what’s going wrong in their current career (this typically take 20 to 30 minutes during an interview), you’ll earn the right to thoughtfully craft a solution that is tailored to their unique needs.

A final thing to consider as you contemplate the role of languishing in the hiring process: 

Some of the most talented and desirable people you could ever hope to hire are currently languishing in their careers.

The Gallup researchers went on to report:

“… different age groups and those with higher education levels reported more discontent with their workplace. Millennials…, for instance, are more likely to be 'actively disengaged' than other age groups. Employees with college degrees are also more likely to be running on auto pilot at work.”

This research is a goldmine for the real estate industry.  Most real estate companies know they must hire young, educated new agents to replace their aging workforces who will retire over the next decade.  

The top end of the Millennial generation will turn 31 years old this year.   Don’t miss the opportunity to engage and hire these individuals.  An understanding of languishing is a key building block to making that happen.

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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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. 

Can Your Real Estate Company Attract and Hire Veterans?--Part 2

Last week, I started a discussion concerning the noteworthy desire many real estate companies have to hire ex-military individuals.  There are some significant obstacles that make this process a challenge, and very few real estate companies have been successful in this endeavor.   If you didn’t catch the previous discussion, you may need some background to understand today’s WorkPuzzle.

While real estate companies have not been overly successful in hiring veterans, there are some other industries that have cracked the code.   For example, insurance companies and financial services companies have demonstrated success at transitioning military personnel into sales positions.

The compensation model for real estate agents (full commission from day one) is a “deal breaker” for most individuals leaving the military.  Other industries have overcome this hurdle by offering “commission draws” or startup compensation packages, but real estate companies have not embraced this practice.

So, are we at an impasse?  Perhaps.  However, I’d like to suggest you consider one more example of an industry that has been successful at hiring veterans—the franchise industry.

This may come as a surprise, but some franchises have been remarkably successful at attracting and “hiring” ex-military individuals.   This topic was recently identified as one of the top small business trends in the country.  Also, Michelle Obama recently promoted the marketing of franchises to veterans.

Why are franchises so interested in hiring veterans?  For the same reasons you’re interested in hiring them---they believe they are uniquely qualified to be successful in the role as a franchise owner. 

There is much to read on this topic (starting with the articles cited above), and I hope I have peaked your interest on investigating this connection on your own.  As I’ve studied this connection, I’ve noticed three things that franchises do well in attracting veterans.

The Cookbook Mentality.  Franchises are famous for promoting the idea that success is the result of closely following a proven system developed by the franchisor.  “If you meticulously follow these 50 steps, you will be successful,” is the franchise promise.

Military veterans connect with this line of reasoning because it is very similar to what they’ve experienced in the military.  A soldier is not expected to develop his or her own plan for shooting a missile at a target.  That would be crazy.  Instead, they are expected to follow a detailed specification that, if executed correctly, will guarantee the missile will hit its target.

If you want to be more successful at hiring ex-military individuals, develop your own “cookbook,” and then promote the idea by following the step-by-step procedure that will guarantee success.  Be ready to demonstrate how other veterans have stepped into this position, followed the cookbook, and experienced success according to the plan.

The Expectation of Camaraderie.  Some of the best memories I have from serving in the military center around shared experiences.  The solidarity in purpose allows relationships to flourish in a unique manner.  When people leave the military, they miss this feeling and often seek-out other individuals with military backgrounds with which to reconnect.

Franchise companies have noticed this pattern and use it to market to veterans.  Research this topic and you’ll quickly notice that franchise aggregators make a big deal of highlighting the number of veterans who are successful franchise owners.

It doesn’t stop there.  Some franchise companies highlight support and mentoring groups for ex-military personnel.  These companies are purposely attempting to duplicate the camaraderie the service members felt when they were in the military.

Convincing a person that he/she will be successful in a new role is an important selling point, but convincing a person that they belong there is a powerful attraction.  Notice the company highlighted in the graphic—this company produces a searchable list of names, branch of service, rank when they left the military, and location.  A candidate who goes on this company’s career site quickly sees how he or she could potentially fit into this community of veterans.

The Path to Financing.  As you may know, buying into a franchise is expensive. Start-up costs for most franchises are $50,000 and up.  There are very few veterans (or normal citizens) who are able to afford this expense as a lump sum. Every franchise company has to deal with the issue of providing financing options to potential franchisees. 

Real estate companies are fortunate that their startup fees for agents are not this substantial.  However, to a military member with a family living paycheck-to-paycheck, even $5,000 can feel like an insurmountable hurdle.  You’re in the same boat as the franchise company.

Franchise companies have become very creative on this issue.  Options include commercial loans, SBA loans, collateral-backed bank loans, crowd-sourced funding, angel investors, third-party lenders, etc. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs runs a program called Patriot Express (it is called this because of the fast approval times for the loans) that makes business loans up to $500,000 to active-duty military preparing to transition to civilian life, as well as to spouses and survivors of veterans.

When a veteran makes contact with a franchise company, they are ready and well-prepared for the financing question.  They assume the candidate will not be able to afford the start-up costs, and they put time and effort into helping them solve the financing issue.

To successfully hire veterans, real estate companies need to adopt the same posture.  The financing issue needs to be “front and center” and addressed early in the hiring process.  To someone leaving the military, there is not much to talk about until this issue is addressed and solved.

 Summary

I had one of our readers write me earlier this week and mention (after reading the previous WorkPuzzle) she was looking forward to hearing about my “magic bullet” for hiring veterans.

I wish there was a magic bullet.  Unfortunately, hiring veterans takes strategic focus and a lot of hard work. 

Most real estate companies have not boiled down their process to the franchise “cookbook” level.  Often new agents are expected to be self-directed and creative in how they build their businesses.  This is a tough transition for most veterans to make.

Most real estate companies do not have groups of veterans working in the company who are ready and willing to provide the camaraderie that makes an ex-military person feel at home. This takes time, effort, and focus to build.

Most real estate companies have not thought through the financing challenges that veterans face in making a transition to the real estate industry.  On this issue, franchises are very proactive.   They know the challenges the candidates face and they’re ready and able provide solutions.

If your company is ready and willing to address these issues, you can be successful at hiring veterans. Franchise companies have proven it can be done.  Real estate companies could potentially have even greater success because the financial barriers to entry are not as significant as franchises. 

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Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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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. 

Can Your Real Estate Company Attract and Hire Veterans?

One of the questions we often get from owners and hiring managers is this:

“Can real estate companies successfully source candidates who are leaving the military (usually because their service commitment is complete) and attempting to transition to the civilian employment world?”

The motivation for this question is usually two-fold.  Many companies (especially those in close proximity to military instillations) simply want to help veterans in their communities.  They feel a sense of gratitude towards those who have served our country and know many of these individuals have a difficult time finding a job in the civilian workforce.  If a company can offer a helping-hand at this critical juncture, many are glad to help.

The second motivation for seeking out the veterans is the perception that many of these individuals would potentially make outstanding real estate agents.  Traits such as integrity, self-discipline, attention-to-detail, persistence, and service mentality are many of the qualities that also make agents successful.  I’ve had several owners introduce me to new top-performing agents who recently left the military.  It is an impressive package when it all comes together.

I know what I’m describing sounds like nirvana.   If you could fill your company with these outstanding men and women, you’d be unstoppable.  Right?

I wish it were that easy.  The problem in this equation is the veterans themselves.  From their perspective, the real estate employment world does not look very enticing. 

How do I know this?  First, I am a veteran and I have many friends who are ex-military as well.  I have some personal insight into the military to civilian employment transition, but there are very clear indicators in military publications that also make this point.

Here are a several articles/publications to consider:

1.  Top 10 Ex-Military Employers.  Forbes and Payscale.com recently completed research benchmarking the top ten companies in the U.S. who hired “skilled labor” ex-military employees.  These are individuals who typically have advanced training that would equate to a bachelor’s degree or higher.  Here are the companies that made the list:

Booz Allen Hamilton

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

Northrop Grumman

L-3 Communications

Lockheed Martin

U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)

BAE Systems

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)

CACI International

The Boeing Company

What do most of these companies have in common?  They are all defense contractors or the government itself (i.e. DOD).    Many people who have advanced skills and training find it comfortable to seek employment in an organization that operates much like the military—both in the work they perform and company culture.

2.  Hourly-Wage Employment.  It’s natural to believe that specially skilled workers would seek employment in specific areas of their expertise, but what about “blue-collar” workers?  Military.com recently cataloged the most enticing jobs in this arena:

Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians –Average Salary: $54,500

Boilermakers --Average Salary: $56,650

Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas –Average Salary: $58,540

Commercial Divers –Average Salary: $58,640

Subway and Streetcar Operators –Average Salary: $59,400

Electrical Power-line Installers and Repairers –Average Salary: $59,450

Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators and Gaugers –Average Salary: $60,290

Transportation Inspectors –Average Salary: $65,770

Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation and Relay –Average Salary: $65,950

Elevator Installers and Repairers –Average Salary: $73,560

While some of these jobs require unique technical skills that can be transferred from the military (ex. aircraft mechanic), many do not (ex. subway operator, commercial drivers, etc.).  The common thread among these jobs is stability.  Employees show up to work, they’re told exactly what to do, and perform well.  Much of the military operates on this formula and many people joined the military because they want and enjoy this type of stability.

3. Corporate Employers.  As you might suspect, there are many traditional corporations (outside the real estate industry) who are trying to hire military veterans as well.  A military career site called GIJobs.com has tracked and ranked the top 100 corporate employers on this topic since 2003.  GIJobs (in partnership with a website called MilitaryFriendly.com) produces a list of the “Most Military Friendly Employers.” 

You’re welcome to page through this list (they broke the list into ten pages so it takes a while to load the pages one-at-a-time), but here are some things that I noticed: 

There are no residential real estate companies on this list.  None. Zero. Nada.   The closest thing to residential real estate is one commercial real estate company (CBRE..#79 out of 100).  Also, there is a secondary list of “Most Military Spouse Friendly Employers.”  No residential real estate companies made this list either.  This is surprising considering there are large, prominent residential real estate companies in areas that have high military populations (ex. Long and Foster in Washington DC, Prudential California Realty in San Diego/LA)

There are multiple insurance and financial services companies on the list.   The insurance industry (ex. USAA, Allstate, Hartford, etc.) and the banking/financial services industry (ex. Charles Schwab, JP Morgan Chase, CITI, etc.) seemed to have cracked the code on hiring ex-military.  Many of these companies hire ex-military personnel into sales positions.  

Many of the top companies hiring ex-military are brands you probably do not recognize.    Do you know these brands?

ManTech

Combined Insurance Company of America

J.B. Hunt Transport

All three of these companies are among the top ten companies who are most successful at ex-military hiring.   By the way, you’re not the only person who finds these brands unfamiliar.  Most military personnel have never heard of them either.

Summary

So, let’s get back to the original question:

“Can real estate companies successfully source candidates who are leaving the military (usually because their service commitment is complete) and attempting to transition to the civilian employment world?”

 The answer:  Yes, but not easily.

The greatest challenge to accomplishing this goal is that veterans are not familiar or experienced with the idea of being a real estate agent.  There is no job like this in the military and many will find the culture of a real estate company unfamiliar.  There does not appear to be prominent, widespread success stories of real estate companies turning veterans into successful agents.

The good news is other industries have figured how to accomplish this goal.  If others have done it, there is a possibility that you can do it too.  It is also good news that being successful in this arena does not require a nationally recognized brand.

In our next discusssion, I’ll give you some ideas on becoming more successful in hiring ex-military individuals. In particular, we’ll study a group of  companies (that have some close similarities  to real estate companies) that will teach us how to break through the barriers that keep veteran hiring from happening in your company. 

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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. 

Understanding Why Recruiting is So Difficult—The Assembly Line Mentality

I recently read an article about procrastination that helped shed some light on what I’ve frequently observed concerning recruiting in the real estate industry.

Although real estate owners put a great deal of emphasis on recruiting, first level managers (ie. hiring managers) often struggle to consistently perform the high number of the well-known tasks that lead to acquiring the best hires. The hesitation to perform the correct tasks soon turns into full-blown procrastination.  

This procrastination eventually morphs itself into the development of bad recruiting habits—a focus on a low number of more enjoyable tasks that equip poor candidates to progress through the recruiting process, but keeps high-quality candidates at bay. 

As our company has studied the recruiting process over the past seven years, I’ve noticed it often takes a multitude of two-minute tasks to get one high-quality hire. In contrast, low-quality hires rarely take this level of individual task volume.  Instead, it tends to be a low number of tasks (sometimes involving longer, more emotionally draining interactions) to get to the final signing.

You’d think that a bunch of two-minute tasks would be an easier “basket to empty,” and a hiring manager might even welcome the brevity of the tasks.  But, this is not the case. For some reason, if hiring managers are given sixty two-minute tasks to knock out, they get overwhelmed and throw in the towel (even though it is only two hours of work). Why is this?

Although diagnosing such a problem may seem simple (common causes are assumed to be traits such as laziness, lack of focus, poor attention to detail, etc.), it is actually quite complex.  This pattern of behavior can be most likely attributed to a set of erroneous internal expectations.  In essence, it’s an aversion to, what I call, “assembly line” work.

Think of it this way: Managers are hired with the expectation they will be called on to coach, train, inspire, manage office personalities, and see to it that everyone is productive. These tasks take thought, strategy, and emotional intelligence.   This is the type of work most managers get excited about doing, and it is not “assembly line” work.

Assembly line work requires a completely different mindset than creative work. There is a different rhythm involved in knocking out a set of tasks quickly and then moving on to the next task.  But this is the work of recruiting.  I estimate that 90% of recruiting is assembly line work.    

Is it even possible for real estate hiring manager (who spends a majority of their time in the creative realm) to be successful at recruiting? Yes, it is. 

But, he/she must become aware or the creative / assembly line reality.  Successful hiring managers understand they must consciously switch into a different mode of mental output when they put on their recruiting hat.

Part of the reason I figured this out was that I have a similar problem with my clinical work. Even though conducting psychotherapy for eight hours straight might sound like difficult work, it’s work I am very comfortable with doing.  After more than 20 years in this role, I am an expert. I know how to respond and the work is right there in front of me.  Because I have a stable client base, I don’t have to pick up the phone and prospect.  I get to enjoy the creativity of the work itself.

But, part of my practice (and some of the other consulting work I do) involves dictating reports and completing insurance paperwork. This is “assembly line” work, and as you might suspect, I don’t enjoy it.

Like many real estate hiring managers, my natural tendency is to procrastinate on these tasks.  To be successful, I too have to change my mindset and move into an assembly mind mode.

Here’s the bottom line:  For a real estate manager, creative work is going to seem easier because it tends to be reactive.  It is going to take more energy to do the proactive tasks of recruiting.  Proactive work will continue to seem uncomfortable until you list it out, get in an assembly line mindset, and knock it out.

As Sir Isaac Newton once said, “Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Objects at rest tend to stay at rest.”  The real estate hiring manager must understand both realities and know how to be effective in both arenas.

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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. 

Turning Your Sales Expertise into Recruiting Expertise—Part 2

In our last discussion, I outlined two of the five steps that allow you to connect your previous sales expertise to the recruiting process.

The first two steps—developing a relationship with the candidate and identifying the candidate’s needs are critical to the process.  If this important groundwork is not laid at the beginning of the recruiting sequence, the remainder of the interaction with the candidate will feel “sales-y.”  Talented candidates shut down and run the other way when they detect an interview heading down this path.

Assuming you’ve laid the proper groundwork, here are the remaining components of the recruiting strategy:

Preventing/Overcoming Objections: Although objections are inevitable in any sales process, the key for successful sales professionals/recruiters is actually preventing objections. By asking the right types of questions in step 2, many objections that would have occurred in the process are addressed before the candidate has an opportunity to bring them forth. Keep in mind that some objections are inevitable, that they are often training responses, and that most are emotional and not practical.

It is not uncommon for candidates to experience “buyer's remorse” at some point during the recruiting process.  After the initial attempts to build a relationship and share information, candidates often get cold feet.  If this should happen after an interview (during the follow-up process), reminding your candidates of why they started down this path in the first place may help them get back on track. 

Filling the Need/Providing Benefits: Identifying the need (step 2) is considered the most crucial skill in sales or recruiting; filling the need (step 4)  is the second-most critical step to ensure success. Often recruiters and sales professionals alike pay little attention to step 2, and focus solely on step 4.

Like many sales professionals, recruiters often focus on what is commonly known in sales language as their “product knowledge.” They have an in-depth understanding of the organization they are recruiting for, they understand every detail of the position and its function, and they completely understand the requirements of the role.

Armed with all of this product knowledge, these untrained recruiters contact potential candidates and attempt to “tell” them about every benefit of the position and company they represent, never addressing the real needs of the candidates. This is a common mistake that is made by most sales professionals and is illustrated further in this article.

Most of our recruiting coordinators (ie. the individuals who first make contact with candidates) have been advised to not over-share information.  While many of them do have the “product knowledge,” that information is best shared by the hiring manager later in the process (if it even needs to be shared at all).  If a candidate is told everything about the career and company, there is little reason for the person to invest time in an interview. 

When a hiring manager is face-to-face with a candidate, it’s important to only address the unique and specific needs identified in step 2 of the process.  At this stage of the hiring process, the candidate’s needs are the primarily concern.  Product knowledge and information overloading just muddies the water and makes it difficult for the candidate to gain clarity in an important career decision.

Advance/Close the Sale: In recruiting and sales, advancing the sale is the final objective throughout every step of the process. By filling the need in Step 4, you are in a position to advance the sale to the next step.

In recruiting, closing is most commonly compared to presenting the offer and gaining acceptance from the candidate. At this stage recruiters often focus on the practical aspects of the offer being made: compensation, benefits, perks etc.

Effective recruiters and sales professionals alike understand the importance of re-emphasizing the emotional drivers identified in Step 2 of the sales process prior to presenting the practical aspects of the solution.

In the real estate recruiting process, there is often more “advancing” and less “closing” required.  After learning about the candidate’s unique situation, figure out a reasonable first step (or next step) in the hiring process and attempt to get the candidate to commit to that step.  Mutually select a date when the next step will be completed and then hold the candidate accountable to the target date. 

Without “closing” a candidate on the next step, the hiring process will not gain and maintain momentum.  Seemingly great interviews result in disappearing candidates—i.e. individuals you never hear from again after the interview is finished. 

Knowing what to ask, when to ask, what to share, and when to listen is fundamental to both the sales and recruiting process.  Here’s to becoming an expert at both!

Note:  Note: Quotations (italicized text) are excerpts from a great article written by  Stephen Lowisz.  Read more of Stephen’s article by visiting his author page on Electronic Recruiting Exchange.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .

Turning Your Sales Expertise into Recruiting Expertise--Part 1

I recently came across an article that reinforces many of the principles I believe to be true regarding effective recruiting.  Steven Lowisz does a great job of succinctly summarizing the parallels between effective recruiting and effective sales.  

Since many of the hiring managers in the real estate industy started out their careers as sales professionals (ie. agents), the connection between these two activities will feel familiar.  The skills that once made you a great salesperson will now help you become a more effective recruiter.    

In this two-part series, I will discuss five steps to effective recruiting that also apply to sales.  Managers will get a two-for-one benefit in this discussion--insight for recruiting and insight for coaching agents on the sales process.  

I believe these ideas are also helpful for the "first responders" in the recruiting process (what we call recruiting coordinators).  It is important that the candidate experiences a consistent set of best practices from their first contact with your organization to the face-to-face interview.

1. Developing the Relationship: This is the time that the warming-up events occur before the serious selling begins. This includes how you introduce yourself and how you begin the conversation. Candidates have stated that it’s during the first two minutes of the call that they form crucial initial impressions that influence the rest of the recruiting process.

The recruiting coordinators are on the frontline with the HiringCenter leads.  They are the first to start building the relationship between the candidate and the company.  I’ve found most of the candidates who are contacted within the first 24 hours after applying are genuinely appreciative of the responsiveness and information that is shared.  After the initial screening the candidate is then introduced to the manager who starts to build their own relationship with the candidate.

2. Creating/Identifying the Need: Every sale involves identifying a need that the candidate is often unaware of by asking questions. This is much more than a simple collection of data. Identifying or creating the need is the most important of all selling and recruiting skills. Recruiters who are the most effective during this investigative stage are most likely to be the highest performers. Recruiters with poor investigative skills generally create candidates who ultimately do not accept the position once offered.

Here is where a little finesse comes into play.  Just asking for one’s work history is not enough. Of course it's important, but falls short of effective screening. 

Take it a step further and ask what it is that they enjoy about their current career/position…listen. Then ask what it is that they don’t care for….listen.  Then compare and contrast how a career in real estate would address those observations in their favor. 

For example, a candidate may say “I don’t like being behind a desk all day” or “There is a lack of advancement” or “I really feel micromanaged.”    All of those observations are non-issues as an agent.

As you capture the frustrating aspects of their current job and gently suggest how these issues may be solved by transitioning to a real estate career, the need for an interview with the hiring manager will be easier to sell.  Remember, that is the primary function of the recruiting coordinator. 

Also, when similiar questions are later asked by the hiring manager, he/she will be in a better position to build upon the groundwork that has been laid earlier in the process.  

In my next installment I will discuss the last three steps critical to the recruiting process.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .