Get More Done With Less - The Right Employee Makes All the Difference

Face it, today we have to get more done with less. The recession has limited many organizations' spending and the most significant reduction has affected manpower and headcount. Over the past 9 months, several million employees have lost their roles - victims of our challenging financial times. With fewer employees remaining in virtually every business, these employees must now not only do their work, but also the work of others. Though some at the moment may feel appreciative for the work, today's workers must now shoulder a more significant workload. Having the right employee in the right role is key to getting more done with less; the right employee makes all the difference.

Today's intellectual workplace requires greater employee thinking as part of daily performance. Since all roles require very specific thinking, and not all people think the same way, not every person is a good fit for every role. Studies show employees who are a good fit for a role (the "right" employee) are those who are good at what they do and passionate about doing it; these employees are more engaged, fired up and consistently outperform all others. If an organization must have fewer employees, then those who remain must be the right ones. Having the right employees as surviving employees allows for a smaller and higher performing workforce. This will be key in surviving today's recession - right people, right roles, less expense.

To help your employees get more done with less, start first by assessing whether the right employees are in the right roles. Proper employee alignment is management's responsibility and requires that management clearly create (what I call) a "Talent Matrix" for each role. The Talent Matrix identifies the critical performance talents needed to do the role well (they know how to do the role and are passionate about doing it), the team talents needed (for employees to fit into the organization's culture), and the skills and experience that will help the employee be successful in daily performance. These attributes allow for a thoughtful and bias-free process to assess whether employees are in the right roles. The better matched employees are to roles that use their talents, values and interests, the greater their performance. Using the Talent Matrix creates an effective process to determine who will be part of the core team that remains, and who will be laid off. This removes much of the emotional component of the layoff, and redirects the attention on performance, impact and results.

After first assessing and realigning existing employees to better roles, you may still see that critical roles in the organization are not staffed by the right people and the right people are not currently part of your workforce. This means that you must find your critical talent outside of your organization. Today, while others are firing, you could be hiring. There is no mandate that in tough economic times, you only lay off. With an increased supply of talented unemployed workers, now may be the time for you to bring in new employees who will be more capable than your existing employees in particular roles. Again, one right employee will significantly outperform several of the wrong employees. Not only will performance increase, but critical payroll costs will decrease. It is important to get more done with less so having the right employee who may need to be brought in from outside of the organization may be the right response.

Many people (some famous, some not) have recently said, "never waste a good crisis." Tough economic times challenge us to be more clever, creative and to know the performance abilities of our teams. It is up to us to ensure we have the right people in the right roles, even if we have to go outside of the organization to find them. It has forced us to look for the very best employee for each role, to hold each employee more accountable for results and to spend wisely regardless of the times. It has forces us to be more involved in the process of hiring the right employee and realigning employees based on their talents and contribution.

Having the right employees (those who are good at what they do and are passionate about doing it) is the key to all great performance. These employees have to get the job done, and done well. Our customers depend on it. Our vendors rely on it. If they are connected and engaged, they will perform. If they are miscast, disengaged and disinterested, performance fails.

Today, we must get more done with less. The right employees are ready for the challenge. Hire or realign employees into roles that they are good at and are passionate about and they will perform. They will be your core workers. They will help you weather this financial storm. They will help you to be ready for whatever else comes your way. Not every employee is the right employee. You'll know you have the right employee because this employee will make all the difference.

Jay Forte, a former financial executive and educator, now performance consultant, speaker and author, is a nationally ranked Thought Leader and President of Humanetrics. Jay teaches organizations how to ignite passionate performance in managers, employees and individuals using his MaxImpact Core approach. He has helped many organizations and individuals become more performance-focused by learning how to connect to organizations of all sizes, become more performance-driven and financially successful.

As an expert in guiding and activating performance, he is regularly interviewed by national publications and as a guest on business radio programs. His many articles have been nationally and internationally published. He is the author of the new book, "Fire Up Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition; How to Invite, Incite and Ignite Employee Performance", an innovative, practical, hands-on manager guide to activate exceptional employee performance. His new program, "Stand Out and Get Hired" is due out shortly and is an interactive program that helps job seekers assess their talents, link to careers that support their talents (to create greater employment opportunities) and learn how to create the new and powerful talent-based resume that gets noticed and hired.

See his websites at http://www.HumanetricsLLC.com and http://www.FireUpYourEmployees.com He can be reached at jay.forte@humanetricsllc.com or at 401.338.3505.

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10 Steps to Landing a Job During the Recession

Ten ways to find a job in ten days.

This article was written to help job seekers find a job in this recession. It is geared towards job seekers that work with headhunters, third party search firms, and recriuters. It can help you find jobs on the market in your industry whether you are looking for a sales job or technology job, this article can help you find a recruiter, has interview tips, and will help you negotiate your job offer letter. With the recession there are a lot of job seekers, and this article includes how to find a job during the recession.

1. Prepare yourself. This involves rewriting your resume and buying the right interview outfit. Practice your interview in the mirror and prepare for tough questions, such as an interviewer asking you to describe a time you helped your company when you didn't have to, or what your weakest trait is. Make sure you have your resume on hand when you do finally attend the job interview, along with any presentation papers that you feel will help you land the job.

2. Find a recruiter. Go to a recruiter directory to find a list of recruiters in your area. Once you are at the recruiter directory you should be able to do a search by industry or location. It is important not to narrow your industry too much, as you want to keep an open job search so you don't limit your results. Let the recruiter know if you are willing to relocate, that way they can search for jobs for you in other areas, with will expand your options dramatically. Go on a reputable directory to find a recruiter in your area. One good recruitement directory and staffing resource is http://www.therecruiterdirectory.com

3. Get all the job details. Be sure to ask the recruiter you are working with for specific details when they have an interview scheduled for you. Good questions to ask are if there are if this is a replacement position or a newly created job title. If it is a replacement position be sure to inquire as to why the previous employee did not work out. You can also ask if there are other candidates in the pipeline for this position and if there are other candidates who are no longer being considered. If there are, why didn't they make the cut? What does the recruiter recommend you do to avoid that problem? Keep in mind the recruiter is on your side, and while they want to be sure they hire the right person for the job, it makes their job easier if you get hired.

4. Presentation is everything. Many people don't realize how important presentation is when going to a job interview. Not tucking in your shirt could literally cost you the job. Your resume should be carried in a briefcase, folder, or something similar. Shoving your resume in your pocket does not look good when applying for a job. Even if you are applying for a casual job, you are gong to want to dress professional for the interview.

5. Arrive on Time. Make sure you have the right company directions. Arrive early, not on time. If you plan on arriving on time there is a good chance that there will be something unexpected, such as traffic that will make you late. Plan as much as you can ahead of time, and even find alternate routes 'just in case'.

6. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure that you have are applying to several different jobs. Not only will you get hired sooner, but you may even find yourself in a position where you have multiple offers. That is always the best case scenario, as then you can pick your favorite company and/or compensation package.

7. Concentrate on what the company wants first. The last thing you want to do in an interview is ask about the compensation package and benefits first. Remember, the company probably has several people interviewing and will choose the person they think is the best, not the candidate who likes the comp package the most. Remember, you are trying to sell your resume, experience and services to the company. While asking questions about how the company works shows interest, asking about the salary is not something that should be brought up until the offer letter is presented. Feel free, however, to ask the recruiter. They are a third party and want to make sure they have a good match between employer and employee and that includes what the company is paying and your salary expectations.

8. Do Your Research. Be sure to research the company and what they do. If you have questions about the company that show you have done your research, chances are the hiring manager will be impressed. If you ask a bunch of questions that show you have no idea as to how the company works, that will come off less than impressive.

9. Follow Up. Be sure to get the interviewers e-mail address so that you can send them a thank you e-mail to follow up. Let them know that you enjoyed the interview and look forward to working with them, even if you haven't been hired yet. Tell them you were impressed with the interview and their organization and be sure to include why. Inquire as to what the next steps will be. Follow up with the recruiter and find out if they received feedback. If you did not get the position, ask the recruiter why so that you may use that advice for future interviews.

10. Don't Reject, Negotiate. If you like the organization you interviewed for, and could see yourself working there, don't outright reject an offer that doesn't seem realistic. They might be just giving you a lowball offer to test your waters. Let the job recruiter know what your minimum conditions are and ask for a counter offer. Be careful going too high, don't forget there is a chance your counter offer will just be rejected and that will be the end of it. Ask yourself if you can afford to take that chance in this economy. Keep in mind there aren't that many companies hiring right now and it is very hard to find a job. Another technique is to gently mention the other offers you have on the table to the recruiter.

About the Author

Jackie has been writing articles for years, and is an expert when it comes to human resources.