ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? (or “Communicating So They Will”)
July 15, 2009
“TO WHOM AM I SPEAKING?”
With a background in marketing, communication and branding, I’ve been programmed in the cardinal commandment of the trade: KNOW THY AUDIENCE. Resistance was futile. But I learned that the only effective marketing messages are those specifically written for the exact person they know is listening and who will act on the information presented. The messages are carefully crafted to meet the potential customer’s needs… to help them hear… to make them WANT to listen.
What if we applied this same thinking when communicating with our colleagues… significant others… employees… kids… bosses…? Would they listen and hear us if we tailored our messages in the same way a marketeer crafts unique selling propositions? “So simple!” we rejoice! But is it that simple? Perhaps it can be…
The challenge is, life is busy, chaotic, complicated. I know what you’re thinking now, “There’s no time for the art of messaging in real life. Why can’t people just get it the first time? Sheesh, I hate having to repeat myself. Pay attention! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?” Ahhh, and so, we tend to communicate in a style that is natural for us… in the way that we need to hear information. Trouble with that is the receiver of our intended brilliant information has tuned out in 3.2 seconds… or less… if they don’t need to hear it in the same way we do.
So, how do we get them to really listen?
For starters, put on the empathy hat and take some notes. Pay attention to how they communicate for clues on how to get them to listen to you:
The Detailer
Know someone whose powers of observation amaze when they can report back the last detail of a report presented in yesterday’s staff meeting? The remember and want to discuss the intricacies of the data and why the suggestions will (or won’t) help the team reach it’s goals. The also tend to ask lots of questions, especially “Why?” When communicating with this curious fellow, give them all the details, data points, facts and figures you can come up with. Cite sources whenever possible to build credibility. End every interaction giving them an opportunity to ask you as many questions as they need to to fully understand. You may be surprised at how many more details you actually did know once they ask the right questions.
The Systematizer
Know someone who will not jump around or ahead when reporting the details of any event, big or small? They will probably also have the closet organized by season and color and the alphabetically arranged spice rack. When communicating with this person, understand that sequenced information helps them follow what you’re saying. Take a breath, and start from the very beginning (a very good place to start), give the events in exact order in which they have happened or are intended to. They may have some keen ideas on how to make that process even better.
The Improvisor
You know the one… Tangent is her middle name. Wings every conversation, every meeting, every interaction. Reports thoughts as they come… and oh boy do they come. Capture their attention fast and get to the point ASAP! Tell them the end first then give them a chance to ask a few questions about why and how you arrived there. And for sure never leave out what you predict will happened next. Then be ready for a brainstorm of ideas, thoughts, suggestions from them in return.
The Builder
Remember your friend who, after surviving a minor collision earlier in the day, reported the event back to you over dinner at your favorite eatery… “OK, so this pink sugar packet is my car… this blue one was the guy behind me… the salt shaker is that tree, you know that one at that intersection? So I’m driving along and stop at the light [drives pink packet close to the salt shaker] and this guy slams right into me [rams blue sugar packet into the back of the pink one]. I skidded and came this close [pink packet now dangerously close to the salt shaker] from hitting that tree!” Draw this one picture, maps, anything to model the “thing” you want them to understand. In this case, a picture is worth many more than 1000 words.
WHY BOTHER?
Number one, they might actually listen. And, frankly, it’s always nice to be heard.
Then they might actually engage in the conversation, and you may just be amazed at what you can come up with together. Ideas, solutions to problems, improvements… the sky’s the limit!
For me the most important reason: When you speak to another human being in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them, they know you really care. Maybe not on a conscious level. But they know.
Prep for the Turnaround: Hire Right the First Time
July 13, 2009
RIGHT FIT = SKILLS + INSTINCTS
You meticulously reviewed the resume. Used your best behavioral interviewing techniques. Checked references until you were blue. But the new hire still turned out to be a dud. What was missing? He looked great on paper and blew the interview out of the water. But once on the job he not only didn’t play well with others and ran with scissors, he didn’t fulfill the responsibilities of the job even though his skills indicated he could. What happened?
More importantly, how do you make sure that never happens again?
To quote an article from Landscape Management — featuring friend and fellow Certified Kolbe Consultant Jason Cupp — “There is solid evidence suggesting that defining an employee’s or candidate’s natural instincts will often provide the information you need to make your best job placement decision. While employers can choose from many assessment tools, the Kolbe Index is a simple and accessible tool to outline and reveal a person’s initiating and supporting instincts.”
Bingo! The missing link: instincts.
When a hiring manager can rate candidates in an unbiased (by gender, age, race, national origin…) way based on matching their natural instincts to the instincts required for the job, they have the ability to identify the required methods of operation of the ideal candidate. In addition to skills listed in a resume or motivators discovered in behavioral interviewing. The power to predict performance — based on those instincts that drive actual, observable behaviors — can save another bad hire, which saves an enormous amount of time and financial resources. Can you afford afford not to do this triple-check?
COST OF A BAD HIRE
I’ve read several articles, blogs and tweets recently talking about hiring and the cost of making a bad choice. Some of the information I read included results from a 2007 survey by Right Management reporting that the cost of a bad hire ranged from one to five times annual salary. Twenty-six percent of respondents reported that replacing an employee that doesn’t work out cost their organizations three times annual salary and another 42 percent said bad hires cost two times annual salary.
“How do they figure that?” I wondered, which prompted me to throw together this perhaps unsophisticated yet telling formula:
Total cost of a bad hire =
% of salary paid
+ portion of benefits paid
+ direct management time (supervisor’s time spent with employee face-to-face)
+ indirect management time (time on planning for arrival, coordinating training, etc.)
+ management stress time (time spent not focused on work, putting off the inevitable)
+ IT time for computer, phone, and other systems set-up (and take-down for security purposes after the firing)
+ HR time setting up benefits, payroll, etc.
+ % salary of colleagues’ time spent/wasted on the time-sucker
+ cost of time to rebuild postpartum team morale
Yes, I’d say this adds up to somewhere between one to five times the annual salary of the departed disappointment. So the question then is…
Is it worth investing a small amount up front to ensure a candidate’s fit with the role, the team, the organization?
