Month: May 2022

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Innovative Employee Benefits

Employers are in the business of attracting and retaining top talent. That’s why it is important for them to offer benefits that make their employees feel valued. However, many employers don’t realize that they have to work at keeping their employees happy by offering additional benefits, as well.

If you’re looking for some innovative ideas to do just that, you’ve come to the right place. In the article below, New Century Dynamics shares some excellent ways to offer appealing benefits to your team members.

Coaching Programs

Training Industry explains that a coaching program, such as the programs offered by New Century Dynamics, is an excellent way to offer support and resources to your employees. These programs are a good option for employers to give their employees the tools they need in order to be successful.

Coaching programs can be done in person or through a digital medium like Zoom, depending on the needs of the employee. If you’re having trouble getting your employees engaged in your efforts, try a business gamification platform to help get your team on board.

Continuing Education

Also, consider paying for employees’ education if the program is related to their job. For example, with a degree in business, employees can learn skills such as accounting and administration, which they can apply to their job. An online program gives employees the flexibility to balance work, family, and school.

Yoga Classes

When it comes to finding a way to keep your employees happy, consider offering them classes or sessions in yoga. Yoga is beneficial for many reasons:

    • It helps create a sense of community among employees.
    • It can be an outlet for stress relief because yoga encourages you to “let go” and just breathe.
    • Yoga can help improve physical strength, flexibility, and balance.
    • Yoga can help with depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
    • Yoga can help reduce chronic pain from arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraines, etc.
    • Poses in yoga have been found to help with things like high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Wouldn’t you like to reap the benefits of more productive, happier team members? Yoga classes are a great place to start to make these things happen in your workplace. You can even create a relaxing, positive space in your office for people who wish to take a yoga break. Just be sure to keep this area clean and decluttered.

Employee Satisfaction Survey

Employee satisfaction surveys are a way to learn more about the issues your employees care about and make positive changes to accommodate them.

Qualtrics notes that conducting an employee satisfaction survey each year will help you get a better idea of how your staff feels about their work environment, company culture, benefits, etc. It can also give you a sense of what incentives your employees need to feel fulfilled.

You can also use these surveys as a way to motivate your team by giving them the chance to voice their opinions. This can lead to increased engagement and productivity.

By conducting an annual employee satisfaction survey, you will get important feedback that will help you improve your company culture and create a better work environment for your employees.

Nutrition Videos for Employees

In recent years, many companies have been offering their employees wellness programs to help them live healthier lives and feel more fulfilled. This can be as simple as providing a few healthy snacks in the break room or as involved as offering health coaching sessions and exercise classes for employees.

One of the most effective ways to improve your employees’ wellness is by providing them with nutrition videos that they can watch at their convenience. These videos address some of the most common eating issues people face, like craving sugar and food addiction, so it’s easier for them to make healthier choices throughout the day.

Daycare Services

Many employees struggle to cover daycare expenses, let alone find a reputable place to take their children every workday. You could give your team members more reason to grow with your company by lending a helping hand with daycare expenses and services.

Not only does offering benefits help retain the employees you already have, but doing so can help draw top-tier talent to your company. Click To Tweet So, see what your employees need and try to accommodate their requests — your business may blossom as a result!

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Jim Weber, Managing Partner – ITB Partners

Jim Weber – Managing Partner,  ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

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The Psychology of Goal Setting

I’m not going to bore you with scientific and psychological mumbo jumbo, but I think you should understand the importance of creating SMART goals using the process I will outline in this chapter.  Understanding why something is important makes you more likely to follow the process diligently.  Remember, people don’t buy what you do or how you do it.  They buy why you do it.  The same principle follows here.

First, as logical human beings, we all understand that having something to aim for increases the chances of hitting it.  Jordan Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, says, “One of the things you can be virtually certain of in life is that you don’t hit something you don’t aim at.”[1] Seems pretty logical to me.  Robin Hood would never have split that arrow if he didn’t aim at it.

When you aim at a target and hit it, your brain releases a chemical called dopamine, which gives you a feeling of pleasure.  Dopamine is your body’s reward system.  Dopamine makes you feel good, and the fact that it is released immediately upon achieving a goal creates a solid behavioral association.  That makes you want to set and accomplish another goal to get that good feeling again.  It is also why setting short-term goals, as you will see later, is much more effective than only setting long-term goals.  The longer the wait between dopamine releases, the less effective it is as a reward.  Dopamine is the habit-forming chemical in your brain.   IT rewards you for completing tasks regularly at short intervals, motivating you to accomplish more.

Another vital tool for goal achievement is visualization, which has physiological and psychological elements.  By visualizing yourself succeeding, you fool your brain into thinking you’ve achieved your goal already, and it releases some dopamine.  Yes, it is tricky.

The psychological aspect works a bit differently.  Have you ever bought a new car and suddenly noticed the same make and model everywhere as you drive down the road?  Have you ever said to yourself after purchasing a Ford Taurus, for example, Wow, I never realized there were so many Taurus’ on the road?

Your reticular activating system or RAS is now focused on your new Taurus, and you notice every Taurus on the road.  Your RAS is a series of neurons in your brain that filter out unnecessary stuff, which allows you to focus only on what’s important.  When you buy a new car, you’re excited and think a lot about it as you drive down the road.  Your RAS filters out, unconsciously, of course, the cars around you and zeros in on the ones like yours.

Coaches teach athletes to visualize desired outcomes because it trains their RAS to filter out failure and focus on success.  Professional basketball players visualize their shot going in the basket.  Visualization increases the odds of making the point because it filters out all the noise and distractions created by the fans and other players designed to make them miss.  Golfers also visualize their shots going down the middle of the fairway or in the hole because it filters out everything else like water, sand, and the rough.

When I teach people how to set and achieve goals, one of the things I do is have them create goals boards.  As part of the preparation process, I have my boxes of old magazines and tell the attendees to bring as many magazines as they can find.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  Any magazine will do.  In this way, we always end up with an excellent assortment.  Everyone in the class gets a poster board, pair of scissors, and a glue stick.  As you’ll see later, this is a crucial step near the end of the goal-setting process.  Participants find pictures representing their goals in the magazines, cut them out, and paste them onto the poster board.  Each one, in turn, presents their board to the group to make a verbal commitment and increase their accountability.  The board then receives a prominent place in the office or home where it will often be seen, reinforcing that filter in the RAS.

Visualization is a powerful tool in the setting and achieving of goals. Click To Tweet Jack Niklaus, arguably the greatest golfer who ever lived, has been quoted as saying, “I never hit a shot, even in practice, without having a very sharp in-focus picture of it in my head.” Here is what I know:

    1. Writing down my goals and having visual reminders that I see often have helped me achieve goals
    2. I have worked with clients who previously never set goals and have used visualization and the process I teach to achieve things they had never thought possible.

Whether or not there are statistics to support these facts is irrelevant.  I have seen the process work over and over with individuals and teams.  If you and your team want to begin reaching new heights of achievement and have fun in the process, this is how you do it.

[1] J. Peterson.  2018.  “How to Set Goals the Smart Way  .”www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WX9UEYZsR8&t=3s

Thank you for visiting our blog.

 

Jim Weber, Managing Partner – ITB Partners

Jim Weber – Managing Partner,  ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

 

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The Importance of Choosing the Right Consultant

As businesses innovate and expand, they often find themselves implementing unfamiliar tactics. Personnel who are available at the start of a project can lack required skills, and challenges further down the line are bound to stump those without relevant experience. Hiring a consultant such as ITB Partners can broaden a team’s skillset temporarily without the expense of bringing on a new permanent member. Though initially costly, their services save money due to added efficiency.

When To Use a Consultant

Sometimes a project only needs an expert’s assistance in its early stages. Hiring a new employee with the necessary skillset runs the risk of the role falling outside the scope of their expertise or far below their pay grade after the specialized work is done.

Consultants tend to be experts in their fields, focusing on a specific aspect of an industry with far more depth than the layman. Click To TweetWhile some advisors maintain lasting relationships with clients, companies also utilize consulting firms to solve a specific challenge before moving on.

Why Specialization Matters

Consultants are only hired for as long as needed, and the duration of the consultancy period can be determined in advance. They bring an “outsider’s perspective” to a given project. They may see common pitfalls someone less versed in a given industry may miss and can recommend the best solutions from experience.

Consultants cover a variety of specializations, so it’s crucial to select the right one for the job. There is no one-size-fits-all consulting practice that will work across the board. When deciding which consultant’s services to enlist, it’s critical to consider their areas of expertise.

What Types of Consultants Businesses Can Hire

PR agencies are instrumental, as a public relations consultant can help a company establish its online presence and advertise to target demographics. Operations consultants are available to streamline every step of a supply chain, from management practices to daily operations. A fledgling business with a solid product idea but no economic knowledge among its team may enlist a financial advisory consultant to get started.

Workplaces with limited use of computers and networking can opt to bring in a technology consultant when needed, rather than hiring a full-time IT person. There are even lean staffing consultants who help their clients work toward achieving the greatest productivity with the smallest workforce.

How To Find Qualified Consultants

After identifying what type of consultant is needed, it’s time to start searching. Besides the direct approach of researching and contacting consulting firms directly, colleagues from team members’ previous places of employment may have dealt with similar challenges in the past. These connections can point in the direction of consultants they’ve worked with previously. Job recruiting sites are also a useful resource for finding and filtering candidates. When looking for a PR company, for example, it’s possible to check out the ratings and rates of various agencies on a job board before reaching out.

Industry insiders agree that the right person for the job is not necessarily the least costly. Careful consideration should be taken to make sure all needs can be met, without paying more than the industry standard. After this cost-benefit analysis, a fair and specific contract needs to be created to protect the interests of both sides of the transaction.

When facing new challenges in the working world, utilizing whatever methods will produce the best results is crucial. Consultants make it their business to study the unique intricacies of their field to provide their clients with the tools to succeed. Though their services may seem cost-prohibitive at first, they eventually pay for themselves through the contributions to a business’s future.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

 

Jim Weber, Managing Partner – ITB Partners

Jim Weber – Managing Partner,  ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

 

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Make a Counter-Offer!

Mark, a friend and colleague, called Monday, asking for advice on behalf of his daughter,  Julie.  She had just received a job offer.  It included a generous benefits package and a performance bonus.  However, the base salary was 10% lower than her expectation.  It occurred to me that the initial offer was a bit light.  The market value for that position is greater than the initial offer.  Mark’s question was, should Julie make a counteroffer, and how much?

Before answering his question, I probed a little to determine if this opportunity was, in fact, a good fit for Julie.  Also, I wanted to learn the extent of her interest in this company.  Was it something she sincerely wanted?  Mark explained that it aligned with her college degree and will give her direct experience in her chosen field.  She likes the product and the people.  They are optimistic about this opportunity.  Mark’s insight made it clear that this job had great potential for his daughter.  I was ready to answer his question.

I told Mark that an initial offer of employment is seldom the employer’s final offer.  Furthermore, savvy employers expect a counteroffer.  They want to hire the best talent at the lowest possible salary.  They have flexibility in the budget to pay more.  But they don’t know the candidate’s bottom line compensation requirements.  Why should their initial offer be the most they can afford?  The only way to resolve the question is to negotiate.  Mark was concerned that a counteroffer would cause the client to withdraw the offer.  I said that I had never seen that happen.  On the other hand, I have seen job offers rescinded if the candidate demonstrated inappropriate behavior during the negotiation process.  I told Mark that if Julie showed a lack of good faith or presented irrational demands, she could lose the job.

My answer was Yes, she should make a counter. Click To Tweet

Mark was pleased to hear my perspective.  We then turned to how much she should request and how to deliver the counter.  I suggested that she ask the employer for the additional ten percent as I believe that to the market value for the position, given his daughter’s experience.  “The worst that can happen is that they will say no,” I said.  He asked me if I had a template they could use to draft her counteroffer.  I told him that he could find numerous examples on the internet and that I would be happy to review their response before they sent it to the hiring manager, which I did.

From my perspective, negotiating the starting salary and benefits package is the final part of the interview process.  These negotiations give the hiring manager a clearer sense of the candidate’s potential.  It reveals her problem-solving skills and ability to make her case and defend her position.  Negotiating the starting salary will be Julie’s first experience working for this company.  It will confirm her interest in working for this employer or not.  Negotiating the terms of a Job Offer is the final step in the interview process.

Key Attributes for Successful Negotiations

    • Confidence
    • Ability to state a position and make a case
    • Exhibits rational behavior
    • Performance under stress
    • Orientation toward win-win solutions
    • The Ability to Understand the Other’s Position

The ability to negotiate a better deal is fundamental to every business.  It is an essential skill that can be very useful to the employer.  Even though the negotiation abilities of a recent college grad may not be fully developed, the prospective employer will gain insight into the potential for further development.

I am often called on to engage in a search assignment for a newly created position.   Sometimes, the prospective client does not have a good feel for the market value of that position.  They rely on my expertise to determine a competitive compensation package.  However, I will not take on the assignment until we have established a competitive salary range that I can present to my candidates.  Otherwise, it would be a complete waste of time.  The new hire’s actual starting salary will require negotiation.  Employers expect you to make a counteroffer.  But remember, the prospective employer is still evaluating you throughout the salary negotiation process.

Upon reviewing Julie’s counteroffer letter, I found that it was a good product.  Still, I offered a few suggestions to make it better.  The employer accepted her counteroffer.  Julie started her new job on Wednesday.  Success!  Never hesitate to make a counteroffer.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

 

Jim Weber, Managing Partner – ITB Partners

Jim Weber – Managing Partner,  ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

 

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Success is a Habit

There’s been much interest in developing productive habits and having a set of principles for success in life during the past few years. Jordan Peterson and James Clear have written extensively on these issues. Their books have been widely read, especially among younger males. Our institutions have failed in this regard. Schools, for example, do not reinforce our cultural values and lack emphasis on character building for our youth. Or possibly because the old established institutions are not relevant to the younger generation. Regardless, it seems that many are adrift.

We learned our guiding principles from our parents, primary school, and church. I remember my mother telling me to stand straight with my shoulders back. She drilled into me that slouching does not make a good impression. We also learned about maintaining good habits by playing with others—things like sharing, respect, and fairness. We learned about the Ten Commandments, not all of which are particularly religious. They speak about honesty, respect for our elders (authority), avoiding envy, and lying. Stealing and murder were prohibited as well. Many of us participated in team sports, like Little League baseball. We learned sportsmanship, working together as a team, supporting one another, being on time, and honoring our commitments. We learned proper etiquette and table manners from our parents, and some were enrolled in formal classes to learn those rules. We learned how to behave in conformance with the norms of a healthy society.

Today, we can see the difference between successful folks and those who struggle. It is evident in their approach to life and the habits they embrace, wittingly or not. Much of my work is about helping people identify and correct bad habits. I help my clients develop productive routines and fix issues not being addressed. Usually, I help create systems and processes to improve performance.

Success is a habit, or more to the point, a collection of practices.

    • Be on time.
    • Be Proactive
    • Be Prepared-analytical
    • Take good notes
    • Follow up
    • Be organized
    • Honor you commitments
    • Be Ethical: honesty and integrity
    • Follow the rules of Reciprocity
    • Build relationships slowly
    • Attract like-minded people
    • Maintain your physical health

From my experience, successful people share a collection of attributes. I have observed that they are focused on what they want and have the discipline to realize their goals. Furthermore, they attract and surround themselves with like-minded people. You may have heard that you are the average of your friends and associates. I believe this to be true. Stated another way, successful people are forward-thinking and develop systems to achieve their goals. Click To Tweet Without a system, goals are just wishful thinking and daydreams. Another way to think of a system is a collection of habits. Let’s consider practices successful people share.

At the forefront, successful people are trustworthy. They are honest and ethical people who honor their commitments. The importance of trust should not be a surprise to anyone. Would you willingly associate with someone you did not trust? Of course not. If you are trustworthy and dependable, you will attract ethical associates. Ethical behavior is the foundation for success.

Successful people exude confidence. They have a positive, can-do attitude that people will naturally follow. I am reminded of the saying, “if you can conceive it and believe it, you will achieve it.” They are high-energy people who energize and motivate others. Compare these attributes to low-energy complainers who drain you of your energy. Avoid these people!

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is another critical attribute for success. A healthy body is required to generate the energy and drive needed to achieve one’s goals. It is challenging to develop confidence if you are not physically fit or do not feel well. A proper diet and exercise are part of their daily routine. They get the appropriate amount of sleep to be alert and focused during working hours. They see their doctor annually to check their vital statistics and catch potential ailments early.

To summarize, successful people are in control of their lives. They determine how they want to live and create that environment. Their lives are not perfect as they suffer unpleasant circumstances like everyone else. However, they experience fewer adverse events and cope with them better because of the systems they have created. Their grand system is a set of beliefs, attributes, and behaviors (read habits) they employ to create their lifestyle. For those of you looking for success or that want to mentor others, I suggest that you further explore the points made in this article.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

 

Jim Weber, Managing Partner – ITB Partners

Jim Weber – Managing Partner,  ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

 

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Introducing Alumni Direct

Alumni Direct

I recently came across a new platform called Alumni Direct, and I’m excited to share it with you! Alumni Direct is a digital community where we can connect with other alumni from Universities, Sports Teams, and Fraternities/Sororities. Through this, we can foster professional connections, stay up to date with what is going on in these communities, and promote our own business ventures.

 

I would like to personally invite you to try Alumni Direct:

https://alumnidirect.com/

Imagine a space where you can use the power of networking to find a job, develop affinity partnerships, grow your career, or support your startup/small businesses. Your trusted fellow alumni are your most valuable resource.

Think about it: you share a common background, you received similar education, and when it comes to supporting each other… your fellow alums will go above and beyond. Alumni Direct teaches you how to leverage your alumni connections.

If you have any questions, please reach out and I can put you in touch with the founder, Rob Finkelstein.

Best wishes,