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2 GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS • April 7, 2016 Asking for help can lessen your stresses & A Q A. It's a recipe for exhaustion, that's for sure! And it may take some creativity to find ways to remain energized and sustained. Start with the positive.When do you feel your best? Sink into that feeling, closing your eyes and taking some deep breaths. Imagine the setting, the people around you, the sounds and smells; use your imagi- nation to recreate that feeling. Also focus on the physical aspect, taking in how relaxation feels. As an experiment, think about a more stressful situation, and notice in particular the physical impact it has. Does your breathing change, or do you feel your shoulders tense or your fists clench? Consciously reverse those physical effects; you'll see that you can defuse some of your inner tension by managing your physical responses. Now scanning all aspects of your life, make a list of all the people, places and things that make you feel good. Nothing is too big or too small – your list could range from a vacation to listening to your favorite song. In fact, a healthy sample of day-to-day "simple pleas- ures" will be valuable to know. Compare this list to your actual experience. On an average day, do you do one of these things? Five? None? Reflect on the level to which you nurture yourself. It's so easy to take care of others first, but you're experiencing the consequences of that priority. Where do you go from here? Right now, today, decide to do one thing for yourself. It may be as simple as taking a five-minute break in a quiet room, having dinner with a friend, or going for a walk. The key is to make it achievable with some emotional value for you.Then appreciate yourself for your follow- through. We've focused on building your- self up; the other side of the coin is managing your responsibilities. In most cases, there are ways to reduce the burden, even a little bit. When you think about your per- sonal life, are you allowing others in your family to step up? Are you asking for (and accepting) help? How about at work? Explore ways to become a more effective delega- tor. It'll help your team grow and take some burden off you. As you ease some of the immedi- ate strain through these tactical steps, you may find that you have the emotional space to do a larger assessment of your life. If you find that the structure of your life is not sustainable or that your situation cannot be managed in a way that nourishes you, consider more sub- stantial changes you might make. But take care not to do that in the heat of the moment, as it could lead to decisions you regret. All said, it's essential that you put yourself first in order to be valu- able to others. And even simple steps will help sustain you. Q. I am under so much pressure, and don't really see it changing. Between my kids and aging parent, and between my boss and my staff, it seems like everyone needs a piece of me. How can I keep it all together and still have something left for myself? I'm just plain tired. By Liz Reyer Tribune News Service (TNS) Liz Reyer is a credentialed coach with more than 20 years of business experience. Her company, Reyer Coaching & Consulting, offers services for organizations of all sizes. Submit questions or comments about this column at www.deliverchange.com/coachscorner or email her at lizdeliverchange.com. three offices in the Pittsburgh region, places temporary staff in the finance, accounting and bookkeeping fields. Haglund said employers are struggling to make good hires. "We hear that again and again – how hard it is to find the right person for your team." In addition to the hard skills needed to do a job, employees must have the right soft skills, such as a good work ethic, an understanding of the impor- tance of being punctual and generally fitting into the com- pany culture. When an employee left for a solid reason – such as moving to another city, a chance to learn new skills or being offered a higher level position – bringing that person back in a new role can seem less risky than starting over with an unknown individual, Haglund said. Yet there are risks. Some- times the memories of that indi- vidual's accomplishments make employers forget the issues that might have also been there. Haglund said employers should take a look at why that person left in the first place to make sure any problems are not going to recur. "This shouldn't be a quick, 'Oh, so-and-so wants to come back. Let's do it,'" she said. "Hit the pause button." If the decision is made to re- hire, she also advises making sure the rest of the staff under- stands why that person left and is being welcomed back. The growing willingness of employers to embrace boomerangs may not mean much if their former employees don't actually want to return. In addition to talking with human resources professionals, the Accountemps survey polled more than 1,000 U.S. office workers 18 years or older. More than half said it was unlikely they would apply for a job with a previous employer. They cited problems with management, company culture or their job duties. In some cases, they said the company had burned bridges when they left. Employers who at least want to keep the possibility open of bringing back top people might want to stay connected. The Workplace Trends/Workforce Institute poll found some human resources professionals try to do that. They use a mix of tools, with 45 percent sending out email newsletters, 30 percent using recruiters and 27 percent involved with "alumni" groups, often through sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. As for workers – even if they are leaving a job with no regrets and no plans to ever look back – Haglund recommends that they, too, avoid burning bridges and acting unprofessionally as they head out the door. "Pittsburgh's a small world," she noted. There is often a small group of employers hiring people in certain fields. Industry gatherings often fea- ture the same faces, even if they've moved on to a different role in a different company. "Your paths," she said, "may cross again in the future." rehiring workers ... from page 1 Whether or not you real- ize it, your career path may have a lot less to do with what people think of you as an employee and more to do with what numbers reveal. Much like the way base- ball teams crunch num- bers to determine which players best fit their teams, companies are embracing the power of data to create a winning work- force. By mining data, compa- nies from Miami to Sili- con Valley are doing everything from sorting through massive pools of candidates for better hires to discovering why people quit and how to get them to stay. Experts think that using analytics to make "people" decisions will revolutionize this process. "Organizations are col- lecting more and more data than ever before about employees and per- spective employees," said Dave Weisbeck, chief strategy officer for Visier, a human resources analyt- ics firm – a leading expert in the field. "The next step is looking for patterns to understand their people and make better decisions about their most expensive asset." Gartner, the information technology research firm, predicts that data will grow by 800 percent over the next five years and that competitive busi- nesses will leverage new sophisticated, lower cost technology to better analyze data and metrics that apply to their work- forces. For employees, the trend could mean a greater chance of being successful in the position they're hired for. When Foot Locker faced high turnover in its retail ath- letics stores in 2010, the company embraced ana- lytics to predict the profile of retail salespeople who were more likely to stay with the company long term. Using a cloud-based software system, the shoe retailer scans applicants' online assessments to determine how closely candidates' behaviors align with a job profile. By Cindy Krischer Goodman Miami Herald (TNS) A publication of Conley Media Call Center Director: Cindy Shaske 262-306-5016 cshaske@conleynet.com Account Executive: Julie Sears 262-306-5008 jsears@conleynet.com Story Coordinator: Dan Muckelbauer 262-513-2626 dmuck@conleynet.com Production: Patricia Scheel 262-513-2690 GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS Volume 18 • Number 29 April 7, 2016 To place an ad: Call us at 262-306-5008 or fax us at 262-338-5271 deadline: Noon on Wednesdays Distributed by: Conley Distribution 262-513-2646 ©2016 by Conley Media, LLC Waukesha County Independent and Locally Owned GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS is published weekly by Conley Media – Waukesha County, 801 N. Barstow St., Waukesha, WI 53186. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher. GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS assumes no liability for any error in copy or content. It is the advertiser's responsibility to be aware of the laws pertaining to employment advertising. Call 262-306-5008 for information. Balancing Act: see CAREER PATH . . . page 6 Plotting your career path? What do the numbers reveal?

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