TACA Conveyor - Summer 2008 - (Page 13)

Organizations are feeling the squeeze….changing market conditions, customer expectations, top talent availability and leadership capability requiring different skill sets and behaviors. Yet, many organizations continue to operate under the same management principles utilized 20 years ago rather than anticipate and adapt to new behaviors needed today. The consequences of failing to anticipate and adapt: organizational demise. The symptoms are easy to spot: failure to select top talent, lackluster performance/ productivity, high employee turnover, poor customer service and satisfaction reports, and lower proﬁts. Based on 20 years of research and working with organizational leaders throughout the world, follow this consultative prescription to PREVENT the Leadership Death Spiral within your own company. Pay Attention – Survey Your Surroundings What gets attention, gets action. If you don’t know what’s going on in your world, in your industry, in your company, in your teams, you don’t know what needs changing. Every day, as you discover news – whether it’s online, on television, on the radio, or in print – ask yourself: “What does this information hold for the future? What is or will be the impact of this event or news on my industry, my company, and my teams?” Going beyond hearing the news to critically thinking about the news impact can help you anticipate events and allow time to prepare your organization. Even if that time is only days, this advanced preparation may be leap years ahead of your competitors. As an example, consider the world events identiﬁed in Table 1 – Environmental Scan. These events have had broad implication for changes across many industries. Leaders who identify the impact of events on changing industrial conditions – including pricing of supplies and customer expectations – and implement changes in their organizations accordingly will be better positioned to meet customer expectations. What events have you heard today that will have an impact on your company’s future? Recruit and Select Top Talent Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, identiﬁes one of the skill sets of great organizations as selecting the right players to sit on the right seats on the right bus, headed in the right direction. These organizations know that a new hire will either enhance or detract from an organization’s productivity and proﬁtability and that their managers are the gate keepers to organizational success or demise with each hiring decision. Selecting top talent for your organization is both an art and a science. The art of selection refers to the use of interviewing techniques and strategies utilized by hiring managers. The science of selection is the use of assessment tools validated for hiring purposes. What techniques and tools is your organization utilizing to ensure your hiring selection is based on what your organization needs now and for the future? Interviewing techniques include the use of a structured set of questions within a structured interviewing format. Questions should be: • Open-ended allowing the candidate to freely respond. Examples of open-ended questions include: “Tell me…” “Explain…” “Describe…” “Give me an example…” • Follow legal guidelines to ensure compliance with federal legislation. All hiring managers and interviewing teams must be trained in what questions can or cannot be asked of candidates to prohibit discriminatory hiring practices. Keep interview questions speciﬁcally related to the job position to steer clear of discriminatory issues. For more information on governmental compliance regarding the legality of interview questions, go to www.eeoc.gov, the website of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. • Utilize the behavioral interviewing technique: Ask the candidate questions to determine performance in his past job experiences to more accurately predict future performance in this job. Research proves that past performance is the best predictor of future performance. Follow the STAR model (See Table 2) to ask behaviorally based questions. World Event Terrorism Industry Change I ncreased Security Company Change Secured Entry Access with I .D. Badges “Green” Products and Services R ecycling I nitiatives I ncreased budget for research and development ST A R M odel Situation – Frame your question around a specific job situation or skill. E xample: “Tell me about a time in which you had to resolve a customer problem.” Task – Frame your question to reveal the specifics regarding the situation. Example: “What were some of the policies or procedures that were necessary for you to follow in this situation?” Action – Frame your question to reveal the specific actions that this candidate took himself/herself to resolve the situation. Example: “What action did Y OU take to resolve this situation?” Result – Frame your question to reveal the result of the candidate’ s action. Example: “W hat was the end result of your action with this customer situation?” Sometimes, a candidate may answer all elements of the ST A R model when the hiring manager only asks the first Situation Question. I f the candidate does not identify the actions that he or she directly took or the end result of those actions, the hiring manager must be prepared to ask those remaining questions (Action and Result). Global Warming Customer Expectations and Demands for E nvironmental Friendly Products/Services I dentifying A lternative E nergy Sources I ncreased Demand for Oil Today’s News: Table 1: Environmental Scan Table 2: STAR Model TACA Conveyor • Summer 2008 13

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TACA Conveyor - Summer 2008 Contents The Final Frontier And The Winner Is... Diagnosis: The Leadership Death Spiral Aggregates Rock Accident Investigation Training TXI Roadeo NRMCA Promoter of the Year Harold Hubbard NRMCA Driver of the Year Finalist Fort Worth Freightliner Changes at Cherry Crushed Concrete Index of Advertisers

TACA Conveyor - Summer 2008

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