WorkPuzzle

Resilience Revisited: Avoiding Anxiety Paralysis

Before the holidays, we wrote a couple of articles on resilience.   The articles highlighted the research of Dr. Salvatore Maddi and summarized the principles that he discovered.

Last week, Business Week did an article on resilience as well.  In today’s economic climate, it’s a topic that interests a lot of us.   Like the bathroom plunger under the sink, I don’t care for the circumstances that require me put the tool into use, but I am glad I have it.

Dr. Kerry Sulkowicz makes it clear you’re going to need resilience if you’re going to maintain a clear head during  tough times:

“Many psychologists consider [resilience] a key component of emotional health. Resilient people, they have observed, are naturally better at containing their anxiety. And that enables them to see in hardship the seeds of opportunity. What would emotional resilience entail in the face of the current crisis? The ability to resist being swept up in the global state of panic and to adapt as creatively as possible to one's setbacks and losses.”

We see this principle played out with our clients every day.  Some people are not very good at containing their anxiety and they become paralyzed as a result.  But, others are busy working to find new opportunities.  We all feel the strain, but some people have figured out how to use that strain as a catalyst for action.

If you find yourself in the second group, Dr. Sulkowicz has some advice for you:

“But just as there is no shortcut to emotional health, you can't become resilient overnight, or by sheer will, or by reading the latest book on the subject. Instead, resilience is acquired through increasing self-awareness. You must connect with trusted and candid intimates who help you build confidence. You need to repeatedly expose yourself to a range of difficult circumstances and then overcome them.”

If you’re responsible for coaching those around you, this is a great opportunity.  You’re the “trusted and candid intimate” your protégés need to overcome their anxiety.  Can you help them identify the things they are already overcoming?  This is the foundation to build upon and can give them courage to take on the next challenge.

If you’re struggling yourself, then you need to connect with others who can provide you support.  The first tendency will be to just talk with those who will compassionately identify with our circumstances.  While this may help, we also need those “tough love” friends who can give us the push to take on the next challenge.

Editor’s Note:  Did you miss the previous articles on resilience?  Click on the following links to catch up:  

Resilience: Are You Able to Thrive Under Stressful Conditions?

Resilience: Are You Able to Thrive Under Stressful Conditions? Part 2

The Stars Might Lie, but the Numbers Never Do

Yesterday, I told you I would follow-up with an example of how using metrics has equipped us to save our clients a significant amount of money on candidate advertising.

A few months back, we were interested in buying advertising in a metro area where we had a major client.   The client needed to source more than 500 candidates per month to meet its hiring goals.  In  this metro area, there is a regional job board that is very prominent—you see its ads on the sides of buses, at bus stops, on trains, and you hear its ads on the radio.  It constantly refers to itself as the #1 job board in this metro area.

We inquired about advertising on this company’s job board.  The prices were high, but its claims of traffic to the site were high as well.   Since we had been advertising in this city for more than a year, we had reliable metrics on this vendor’s competitors “advertising cost per applicant.”

With these competitive metrics in hand, we were able to negotiate a one-month trial at a fairly low price.   The trial pricing was based on a one-year commitment assuming the job board was able to hit a cost per applicant benchmark that its competitors were meeting.  

As you probably guessed, the trial did not meet the expectations of either party.  To this day, we’re able to source candidates in this marketplace through a group of competitive job boards and search strategies at an advertising cost of $3/candidate.  The trial with the prospective vendor produced a cost of $15/candidate.   Working this backwards, a job posting on this company’s job board priced at $300/month was really only worth $60/month for our application.  

With this information (a metric that can be used across vendors, reliable data from a vendor’s competitors, and low-cost trial data from the new vendor), we were in a much better position to understand the true reality of the situation.   In the subsequent negotiation, we were able to get this vendor to quickly reduce its prices by more than 50%.   It still ended in an impasse because the vendor was not willing to lower its price enough to displace its competitors, but you do have to feel sorry for all the companies paying $300 per posting!  With just a little more information and the confidence to ask, they could be paying $150 for the same advertisement.

If you apply this principle across the thousands of candidate advertising impressions we provide our clients on a daily basis, it adds up to some significant savings.  Granted, it cost us money to define, develop systems, and track this data, but the numbers do pay off.

I hope you’ll find an application in your business where you can use metrics to save you money or find opportunities that you’re missing.  It reminds me of the theme of one of my favorite Mary Chapin Carpenter songs, “The stars might lie, but the numbers never do.”

There's Gold in Them There Metrics!

I wanted to follow-up on Dave’s discussion yesterday by demonstrating how the principle of measurement has worked in our business.

As many of you know, I’m the Managing Director of Tidemark.  Tidemark is a recruitment process outsourcing company that specializes in sourcing large numbers of candidates for high volume hiring applications.  In simple terms, we’re hired to help companies develop a consistent and predictable flow of candidates.

We use many different tools to accomplish this task for a company, and we find that each application needs customization to produce the best results.  However, one tool we commonly use is the traditional job board. 

There are more than 40,000 job boards on the internet today.  The general business model for a job board is to charge a fee to “list” a job on their website.    Successful job boards drive a lot of traffic to their sites, and the jobs on the high-traffic sites get viewed by more potential candidates.  Theoretically, the price of a job posting on a particular site is related to the traffic a job board can garner.   Higher traffic—higher cost per job.

But, reality does not always match the theory.  In a business arena where it is difficult to measure and verify common metrics such as internet traffic, it is to our advantage to dig deeper.  We advertise very specific jobs in very specific industries.  We have an interest in what kind of traffic can be generated to our specific jobs.  We also have an interest in knowing how many people viewing our jobs actually turn into applicants.

Although there are a number of other factors that cause results, we eventually boil down this process (from a job board perspective) to a single metric:  “advertising cost per applicant.”  With this metric we now have a negotiating platform that is based on solid data and reality—our reality.

Over time, we’ve been able to collect data from more than 20 metropolitan areas and track issues such as seasonality, changes in the job market in the industries where we source, and even revenue flowing into our client’s industries.   But, everything still filters down to the “advertising cost per applicant” metric.

With this metric in hand, we’re able to cut through the sales and marketing rhetoric offered by a job board as a way to justifying pricing.   We question the job board on a very specific issue:  can the job board produce enough candidates to support the price that they are suggesting we pay?  If their competitors can produce results at a certain “cost per applicant” for our application, doesn’t  it make sense that this vendor should be able to meet the same metric?  If they can’t meet this standard, they need to lower their prices to meet their competitors—that only makes sense.

In this process, we’re not trying to disparage the vendor; we’re just helping both sides to see the true value of the service for our unique application.  Through this process, we’ve saved our clients tens of thousands of dollars in advertising expenses.  Tomorrow, I’ll share a specific example of how a negotiation was done with a particular vendor.  It will help clarify the concept if I run through an example.

Of course, most of you are not in the recruitment process outsourcing business, so what worked in our business will not directly apply to what you’re doing.  But, don’t miss the principle:

Every business process has points of measurement that can be identified and then optimized. 

What are the measurement points in your business?  If nothing comes to mind, that’s a red flag!   If you do have measurement points identified, are they the right ones?   In some cases, metrics are overcome by events and need to be adjusted to match a new reality.  It may be worth the time to take an inventory of one your business processes and see what can and needs to be measured.

Og Mandino's Christmas Story

In 1968, a recovering alcoholic and failed insurance salesman named Og Mandino wrote a Christmas story called The Greatest Salesman in the World.  This book was the result of several years of self-study and a single night of inspiration. 

Although the book was written 40 years ago, you can still walk into any Barnes and Noble and pick up a copy.  The book launched Og Mandino’s career, and he went on to write many more books, selling more than 50 million copies and became a very prominent public speaker.   

He died in 1996, but his legacy lives on.  If you’ve never read this story, pick it up over the Christmas holiday.  You don’t have to be a salesman to enjoy it.  In fact, I’m reading it to my kids in the evenings this week, and last night they said, “Dad, don’t stop reading now, we want to know what happens next!” 

I won’t spoil the story, but the basic premise is that a “lowly camel boy” named Hafid gets exposed to the ancient wisdom contained in ten secret scrolls.  By applying this wisdom, the boy goes on to build the greatest trading company of all time in the Middle East. 

The purpose of the book is to share the ten business/life principles contained in the secret scrolls. I’ve read this book several times over the last decade, and two of the ten principles have had particular impact on my life.   I’ll share those today, and hopefully you’ll be curious enough to read more on your own.

The Principle of Love:  purposing in your mind to show love to the people you meet and interact with on a daily basis.

"For [love] is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men and until I master this art I will remain no more than a peddler in the market place. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force.   My reasoning they may counter; my speech they may distrust; my apparel they may disapprove; my face they may reject; and even my bargains may cause them suspicion; yet my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest day.

…And, how will I confront each whom I meet?"   In only one way -- in silence, and to myself, I will address him and say, "I love you!" Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkle my brow, bring a smile to my lips, and echo in my voice; and his heart will be opened. And, who is there who will say ‘Nay’ to my goods when his heart feels my love?"

The Principle of Perseverance:  purposing to focus on the long term, push through obstacles, and see difficulties and setbacks as necessary ingredients for  a successful life.

“In the Orient,young bulls are tested for the fight arena in a certain manner. Each is brought to the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks them with a lance. The bravery of each bull is then rated with care according to the number of times he demonstrates his willingness to charge in spite of the sting of the blade. Henceforth will I recognize that each day I am tested by life in like manner. If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed.

…The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail, I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.

…I will be liken to the rain drop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.  I will persist until I succeed.”

In the end, you’ll learn how Og Mandino masterfully weaves these principles into the familiar Christmas narrative, but you’ll also get the opportunity to view it from a new perspective.  No doubt you’ll enjoy the story, but you may find some inspiration for the New Year as well.

Applying What We Know To Be True

One of the things that most parents attempt to teach their children is to respect the people around them.   Each human being innately possesses value and that value should be appropriately recognized regardless of the circumstances.

It is incriminating to recognize that the rules that seem so obvious in one area of life are easily overlooked in another.  This is true in the hiring process—especially as the economy slips deeper into recession and more people find themselves looking for jobs. 

Note what Business Week  recently reported:

"Advice to companies tempted to play hard ball with job applicants as unemployment rates rise: Think again. Employees who say they were mistreated during hiring feel less committed—for years. Researchers at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management surveyed roughly 100 MBA graduates about how they were hired by their employers. Those who felt they had been treated unfairly were twice as likely to be looking for opportunities outside their company, says Vanderbilt management professor Ray Friedman, “even after five years.”

This research attaches a tangible result to mistreating people in the hiring process.  But, it also speaks to a broader principle:  violating the rules of human behavior has consequences.  And, these consequences can be both far reaching and long lasting.

We can obviously get ourselves in trouble by not knowing these rules of human behavior.     But even if we understand these rules, recognizing how to apply the rules to the situations we face in our daily lives requires experience, thought, and insight.

With some diligent study and effort, the previous two conditions can be met by most anyone.   But, that’s not the point the Vanderbilt  researchers are making.   He’s cautioning us against developing a disconnect between what we know to be right and the actions we display in the execution of our business activities. 

Relationship Credibility and Recruiting

Recruiting is a tough job.  Without the ability to build credible relationships, it can be near impossible to be successful.

Dave’s comments about Relationship Credibility (yesterday’s blog : http://www.workpuzzle.com/workpuzzle/2008/12/simple-rules-of.html ) were confirmed by some comments from Peter Weddle this week.  Here is part of what Peter said in his newsletter:

“Recruiting is a profession that is most accurately defined as the art of forming honest connections with people so they can be persuaded to do what they don't want to do. Unlike a customer in sales, most of our prospects-and especially the most talented ones-aren't looking for what we have to sell. They are already employed and loath to experience the disruption and stress caused by changing employers. They don't want to "buy" our employer's value proposition, and recruiting techniques alone-even the best ones-won't change their minds. Let me explain what I mean.

The definition above has two parts. Both are essential to success:

•  One part, of course, involves the activity of persuasion. We have to present a compelling argument that our opening is (a) better than any other opening out there-the best talent, after all, has plenty of choices-and (b) that our opening is also worth the hassle of their making a change.

•  The second part involves the activity of forming of honest connections with our prospects. We have to convince them that we (a) understand and respect their unique values, goals and needs-what makes them the talented person they are-and (b) have their best interests at heart.
Good recruiters appreciate the first part of that definition and use Best Practices to execute it. The best recruiters, in contrast, are equally as able to accomplish the first part and devote considerable energy to accomplishing the second part, as well.”

Notice the “secret ingredient” that Peter attributes to great recruiters:  forming honest connections with our prospects.   

These honest connections are built on the what Dave called the “substance” of relationship credibility—learning about the other person’s story and then integrating what we have to offer as recruiters into the person’s big picture.

Of course, the process breaks down without honesty.  As a recruiter, do I really have an opportunity that has the candidate’s best interests at heart? 

If I don’t know the candidate’s story, I can’t honestly answer that question. 

If I put my own interests (just getting the job filled) above the candidate’s interests, then an affirmative answer is not an honest one.

This is difficult set of requirements—maybe that’s why Peter reserves it for “great recruiters.”