When it comes to successful personal relationships, there’s a 5:1 rule: for every unpleasant interaction, at least five positive interactions are needed to offset the negative one. That principle of teamwork applies to the entire office environment—from the lowest-level employee to the highest management—and can poison a company’s culture and values. So how do you deal with Bad Influences and Rotten Apple Employees? In his Thought Leader Lecture Series, Stanford Professor and author Bob Sutton discusses how to identify and eliminate the strains of grimy water contaminating your office’s cooler. Check out the video to learn more!
How was 2010 for you when it came to recruiting? And how do you think 2011 will fare? VentureBeat interviewed a handful of executive search partners around the world to get their take on what 2011 may bring in terms of recruiting, quality of candidates, and what its effects will be on the office environment. Here’s a taste: Andy Price, Schweichler, Price, Mullarkey and Barry (Silicon Valley) “We’re competing against two forces: Other companies recruiting, and inertia driven by either risk aversion or someone’s low priced options are suddenly in the…
Metrics are extremely helpful for tracking performance and gaining insights that will help you improve your company aspiration practice efforts.
It’s well known that text messaging is on the verge of replacing voice communication—but can the medium be used for recruiting? According to Nick Ellis at Recruiting Trends, text messaging is an untapped resource when it comes to finding qualified candidates. For instance: “Extend your online recruitment efforts offline to the mobile phone. Reach a larger group of users by distributing job postings through text message and take advantage of increased candidate engagement rates. Text messages are shown to have a response rate eight to 12 times higher than those of email…
Ever forget to cc a teammate on an e-mail? Ever do it intentionally? Cutting colleagues out of the loop—whether done accidentally or on purpose—can lead to devastating consequences. “A new set of studies shows that when people feel out of the loop, they immediately (often unconsciously) interpret it as a subtle sign of rejection. As a result, they report trusting and liking their bosses and colleagues less, feeling less loyalty to the company and feeling less motivated to perform.” The tricky part is that the perceived slight has a negative impact whether…
Built-up brands are few and far between.
They’re easy to identify. They have firmly established associations. Leveraging such a brand requires little effort; much of the groundwork has already been performed. And therein is the beauty of a recognized brand: it’s going to get you places solely based on name alone. For this reason, companies’ marketing strategies strive to propel their brand to lofty heights. Here are some questions for you to think about: Where are your talents? When you utilize what you know best, you’re certain to get good results.…
Recruiting staff members on a normal schedule can be difficult.
When you add complexity to the issue by adding a time constraint, recruitment becomes appreciably more problematic. For companies that are in the early stages of their growth, the challenges of startup recruitment are well-known. One of the main issues that arises during such a stretch is the maintenance of the corporate culture. The interview process will move quickly and you’ll likely end up with a pool of new hires that hasn’t been sufficiently schooled in your company strategy and culture. Employee…
You’re having problems with a co-worker. Though he/she is on the same level as you, the undermining never stops. You’ve brought this to your manager’s attention, to no avail. What’s next? According to The Professional Development Blog: It’s time to quit. Look at it this way: how could you expect your office environment to improve when 1) teamwork has gone down the tubes and 2) faith in management has failed? Where’s the positive company culture to be found in that? Here’s Renée Safrata’s suggestions: Secure another job Then request a meeting with…
Just because you’re part of the leadership team, doesn’t mean you have no use for feedback. But who should be the one giving it to you? When there isn’t anywhere to go up the ladder for commentary, you need to look at everyone below—but your team may not be prepared for that kind of forthcomingness. Fortune tells you how to prepare them for your review: Create an open an honest environment. “One important way to get there is to disengage the feedback process from that uncomfortable and largely useless annual ritual:…
Valuating startups is a tricky business.
The future of everyone involved relies on the accuracy of the valuation. A bloated valuation can put forth a false image and an understated valuation can prevent a startup from getting vital funds. Both the investor and the startup suffer in such situations. With this in mind, how much is too much money to invest, based on a pinpoint valuation? Today, when Facebook goes through funding rounds, it continually surpasses previous valuations. Just a few short years ago, Facebook would’ve been lucky to break the $1…
