Greater Milwaukee Jobs

6 GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS • July 7, 2016 • G E N E R A L E M P L O Y M E N T getting done what they want to get done. Engaged employees are highly involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. When organizations get "engagement" right, they improve company performance and the overall lives of their employees. Only 13 per- cent of workers around the world, and approxi- mately one-third of U.S. workers, are engaged in their work and work- place. Q: What are the links between employee strengths, employee engagement, and indi- vidual and company per- formance? A: Employees who strongly agree that their manager focuses on their strengths or positive characteristics have more than double the odds of being engaged in com- parison to the average of all employees. A s t r e n g t h s - b a s e d approach that defines the individual differences of each person and seeks to leverage those differ- ences provides a more efficient path to engag- ing employees. A manag- er that sets clear expecta- tions, gets the right materials and equip- ment, positions each individual to do what he does best, provides the right recognition, and cares about developing employees usually has higher engagement. Engaged workplaces per- form substantially better than their peers, and this has been the case even through massive changes in the economy and technology over the past two decades. Q: What advice would you give to hiring man- agers? What should they look for in a prospective employee? A: First, it is important to define what success looks like within the roles you are hiring for. What are the outcomes that define success within the role? How long does it take to achieve those desired outcomes? Second, iden- tify your most successful people within the role and consult subject matter experts to define the responsibilities that lead to success. What are the experiences that suc- cessful people obtain as they progress within the organization? Very importantly, what innate characteristics define success within the role? The characteristics that differentiate between your top performers and your average or low per- formers are the ones to focus on in your hiring process. Q: What advice would you give to job seekers, recent graduates, as well as individuals re-enter- ing the work force? A: First and foremost, make sure you know your own strengths. As part of the new edition of "First, Break All the Rules," we include a code to the online Clifton StrengthsFinder instrument, an evidence- based, validated tool to discover your top themes – those you lead with in your work and life. Also, become familiar with the to return in tougher economic times. More casual dress codes seem to be the trend when economic times are good and it's an employee- driven market. That's my per- sonal observation of the last 17 years of staffing. Q: Why is that? A: If there are more jobs than there are people, what are you as an employer doing to attract talent to your com- pany? You do the things employees want: They want money and they want perks such as a more casual dress code. Right now, companies are having to be competitive for talent. Q: How well do employees understand the difference between business casual and just plain casual? A: I don't think inherently they understand it very well. So companies need to be spe- cific with their dress codes. They need to be more specific about what is unacceptable versus what is acceptable. You're going to have indi- viduals who push the enve- lope. But you're also going to have – especially with millen- nials – you have a generation of workers who don't know. So it's up to the employers to educate their employees as to what their interpretation is of business casual or casual. Q: Does a lot of this depend on whether the employee has to meet with clients? A: Absolutely. If you're in a role that's client-facing, your dress code standards may be higher. With that being said, you still have companies that want to look appealing to prospective employees and also make their clients com- fortable with you. 12 elements that are impor- tant to building an engaged workforce, also highlighted in the book. The 12 elements of engagement represent the type of workplace you should expect from your employer and contribute to developing. Q: What's the biggest mis- take people make when they accept a job? A: Most people think pri- marily about pay and loca- tion and, in general terms, the job title and type of work. But over time, being in a job where you can do what you do best, be recognized for your achievements, learn and grow, and be a contributing part of the decisions and progress of the organization will matter much more to your overall well-being. These things are all highly influ- enced by your direct manager. Ask to meet the person who will be managing you or learn as much as possible about the expectations of managers in the organiza- tion. Certainly, pay is impor- tant to everyone. But don't choose a job with a little more pay if you know noth- ing about your potential to develop and use your strengths within the organi- zation. Q: You've hired exactly the right person for the job. What are some of the ways you can best engage that person in order to retain him or her? A: First, get him or her a great manager. Through their own engagement, natural tal- ents and behaviors, managers account for more than 70 per- cent of variance in team engagement. Second, learn about the individual's innate talents and strengths. Third, define the right outcomes so that he or she has clear expec- tations. Participative goal-set- ting creates ownership for the expectations and alignment with what he or she is pas- sionate about with the orga- nization's overall objectives and purpose. Fourth, learn how he or she likes to be recognized, and honor that when he or she achieves success. Fifth, work with her or him to map out a developmental path that gives a chance to learn, grow, and progress. Sixth, provide ongo- ing coaching that takes into account how he or she works best. Discuss goals, aspira- tions, experiences needed, successes, barriers, the future, and overall well-being. Final- ly, make sure you create situa- tions at work where this person has a chance to get to know his or her coworkers, not just as workers, but as people. Q: How does finding the right job fit allow the employ- ee to find work-life balance? A: One of the top predic- tors of overall well-being is obtaining work where you have an opportunity to do what you do best every day. This means you're in a job where your natural abilities match with the demands of the job and are positioned in a way where you can use your strengths most of the time during your work days. Prob- ably every job has required tasks that aren't the first thing any of us would choose to do. The key is to influence the abundance of what you spend your time doing. In a recent Gallup study, we found people with the highest engagement in their work spent about four times as much time focusing on using their strengths to do what they do best in comparison to doing what they don't do well or don't like to do. Actively disengaged employees, on the other hand, spent about equal time focusing on their strengths as on weaknesses. The single best predictor of positive mood during the day was hours spent so absorbed in work that time passed quickly. Work-life balance may not be the perfect description for what most people are looking for these days. With increases in remote working and mobile technology that blends work and overall life, finding engaging work means the transition from non-work time to work time is less stressful and disruptive. dress code . . . from page 2 Talented Employees . . . from page 2 • Maintenance • Manufacturing Technician Full Time & Part Time Shifts Available Join our team and show the world that things are still made better, faster, and smarter in America. Visit: Signicast.com or mail your resume to: We're looking for good people to fill available positions as: 250909006

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