
You can possibly teach a turkey to climb a tree ? but it is a lot easier to hire a squirrel. Quality staffing means selecting the right people with the right skills for the right jobs and at the right time. A good hire can take the weight of the world off your shoulders. A poor one can eat up your time and energy and weaken an entire team. So, why do so many leaders place so many people in so many wrong places? Here are five key reasons.
Failure to prepare.
When leaders are so busy dealing with multiple issues everyday, they may not have the time to do the front-end homework that is required. Find the time because bad staffing decisions can be costly in terms of your time and your money.
Failure to identify success factors.
You must go beyond the job description. Make a list of the qualities to be successful in the job. It could be two or three or it could be 10. Then go out and find people who have a giftedness to match those qualities.
Failure to evaluate correctly the person's skills.
If the position requires someone who is detail-oriented, then determine if the candidate has this competency either through behavioral interviewing or through some form of assessment.
Failure to do deal with a poor fit.
Something changed. Maybe the job, the organization, or the person changed. Maybe everything changed. Many people end up in the wrong place because they stayed in the right place too long. So the right place can become the wrong place over a matter of time.
Failure to be patient.
Sometimes the person is in the right place, but they have to grow into it - they have to be trained and developed. You know they have the giftedness, they have the ability, they have the passion; but they need time and someone to help them.
Marcia Zidle, the 'people smarts' coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job ? to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management.
Subscribe by going to http://leadershiphooks.com and get the bonus report "61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers". Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks ? resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs ? fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.
AP - The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, but an intense bombardment of missiles from Israeli jets and helicopters early Friday and a barrage of Hamas rockets indicated there may be no quick end to the fighting.
AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.
AP - Lawmakers are under orders to finish action on President-elect Barack Obama's nearly $800 billion economic recovery plan by mid-February. But already it is plain that a set of serious fissures need to be bridged if the bill is to be completed within five weeks.
AP - Democrats are ushering in what they believe will be a new labor-friendly era in Washington with House votes on two bills aimed at helping women fight pay discrimination in the workplace.
AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.
AP - Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated.
AP - President-elect Barack Obama is completing his national security team by announcing his unusual choices for CIA director and a national intelligence director who may face tough Senate confirmation questioning over how he confronted the Indonesian military when civilian massacres were occurring in East Timor.
AP - Just minutes after George W. Bush took the oath of office eight years ago, he signed papers formally nominating 13 Cabinet-level officials. Several hours later, the Senate, meeting in a special Saturday session, confirmed seven Cabinet secretaries, including the heads of the key posts at State, Treasury and Defense.
AP - The game defied expectations. Tim Tebow fulfilled them. He rescued No. 1 Florida, running through and throwing over No. 2 Oklahoma for a 24-14 victory Thursday night that gave the Gators their second BCS championship in three years.
Reuters - U.S. employers probably cut the most jobs in at least 34 years last month as the global economic crisis gathered pace and moves by policy makers took time to filter through to struggling companies.
Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Reuters - Europe sought a swift restoration of gas supplies on Friday after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a pricing dispute with Kiev.
Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.
Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is urgently overhauling the $700 billion financial rescue package to broaden its scope beyond Wall Street, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.
AFP - Israel and Hamas launched heavy air strikes and rocket attacks on each other Friday, ignoring a UN Security Council order on the warring rivals to end their conflict.
AFP - The European Union demanded Friday that Russian gas supplies to Europe resume immediately now that details of a mission to monitor the flow through Ukrainian pipelines have been agreed.
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