WorkPuzzle

Coaching Insight: How to GROW your Coaching Skills – Part 3

In the past few editions of Coaching Insights you have been introduced to the GROW concept of coaching techniques. Beginning this week, and over the course of the next few weeks we will delve into each letter representation of the acronym in more depth and then we will tie it all together into the overall GROW methodology. 

Keep in mind, when it comes to coaching, if you are not working from a proven model it’s very difficult to be effective. If you don’t have a well thought out program, you'll end up directing and prodding and have little to show for it in the end.  

Last week I introduced you to a broad overview of the GROW Model:

Goal - The End point; what the person would like to achieve. 

Reality - The current status of where you are now, and how you have arrived there.

Obstacles/ Options - The variables that keep the person from reaching their goals; the choices one has make to overcome the obstacles. 

Way Forward - The action steps that will lead to the successful completion of the goal. 

If you were to just use the above skeleton outline and nothing more, you would provide much more meaningful and productive coaching benefits than you would without a model. But, the difference between mediocre and excellent coaching will be achieved by developing a deeper understanding of the impact each step can have when it is woven into your coaching style.

Today, we will begin with the first step in the process.  G = Goal.

It is difficult to even begin a day without setting goals; take a shower, brush your teeth. This holds true in coaching and defining relationships as well, just on a different scale. 

The Goal phase isn't as simple as it might sound. It must be arrived at with thoughtful reflection and keen awareness of a number of factors. Your mentee might have an idea where they want to ultimately end up, but they may need help in defining this elusive Goal. Your responsibility is to help them seek a measurable, concrete objective; one that is so well outlined that they will know explicitly when it has been reached. 

The goal should, therefore, not be arbitrary. When an individual does that, it will render a goal where there is little if any personal ownership or "buy-in." How do you achieve this? You find a way to personalize the goal through simple but directed conversation – the first step in any good coaching program. What motivates them, what makes them happy, what frustrates them? What are their short term goals versus long term goals? Why are they doing this in the first place? What do they hope to gain? What are their expectations? This is perhaps the most important part of the GROW program. Get to know the individual; take some time now for better success later.

Once this is done, you've tackled the most difficult, but essential piece to the Goal stage of coaching, and you have added to your relationship the knowledge of what motivates this individual. This is a priceless accomplishment when it comes to coaching, because goals can sometimes be empty without a greater motivation behind them. 

Now that you have the ultimate goal, press for a specific, measurable, and time based goal. This goal has to make its arrival clear and worthy of celebration. 

Next week, I'll delve into the next phase of the GROW model- Reality. This is where humility, honesty and vulnerability will all be required. 

I'll leave you with a quote from one of the greatest and most quoted coaches of our time Lou Holtz:

"If you're bored with life - you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things - you don't have enough goals."

 

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Coaching Insight: How to GROW Your Coaching Skills - Part 2

The last two blogs have been introductions to what you will read today. Over the course of the next few weeks I will explain in detail the GROW method.

When it comes to coaching, if you are not working from a proven model it’s very difficult to be effective. More often than not, when you’re “flying by the seat of your pants," you'll end up directing and prodding and have little success as a result.  

As I mentioned last week, the GROW acronym stands for:

Goal

Reality 

Obstacles and Options

Way Forward 

I'll describe each step of the model briefly this week, so you can begin to mull it over. Then, over the course of the next few weeks I'll delve into each phase of this model, so that you can begin to practice it with those you coach. I truly believe that if you learn and practice this model, others will experience you as an excellent coach guiding them to greater heights of performance. 

Goal - This is the end point. What the person would like to achieve. The goal must be concrete, verifiable, measurable, and clear. A person needs to be able to easily recognize when they have arrived. If for instance, the goals were around recruiting, we would set an exact number of New Agent Hires and Experienced Agent Hires a manager would like to achieve by years end. 

Reality- This is the current reality of where you are now and how you arrived there. The more this can be boiled down to specifics the better. To carry over from my recruiting example above, Reality might be how many experienced and/or new agents did you recruit last year, in exact numbers. How did you accomplish that? How many interviews did you have? What percentage of those new agent interviews were converted into licensing school? How many of those converted into hires? How did you build a supportive relationship during the pipeline process? 

Obstacles- These would be the variables that might hinder the person from reaching their goals. Be sure to list them all specifically.

Options- After the Obstacles have been thoroughly explored, begin to brainstorm a possible list of options to overcome the obstacles; this is where the previously described Inner Game questions are applied and achieve their magic.

Way Forward- Once the options have been identified they can be translated into very specific monthly, weekly, daily and hourly action steps that will lead them to their goal. 

Keep in mind that knowing the above model isn't enough. What makes this model work and allows the results you want is how the coach presents the questions throughout each step. This style of questioning is initially presented in Timothy Gallwey’s Inner Game methodology. The GROW model takes the Inner Game premise and expands it to make an extremely powerful coaching tool. Next week I will begin to dissect each of these steps in detail, especially focusing on how to ask the questions? 

Because the Inner Game and the GROW model in my mind will be forever linked; here is another principle of the Inner Game that could be applied to the GROW model practice:

“If the person being coached focuses on what the coach or their peers want, or focuses on appearances or the agenda of others, this will invariably distort every piece of this process and lead to poor results if not failure.”

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

PayScale: How the "Zillow of Recruiting" Can Help You Be More Effective at Hiring

Earlier this month, we talked about employment trending outside the real estate industry.  I warned you not to become too inwardly focused as you think about hiring, but instead keep your eyes on the broader employment horizon.

Why would you want to put effort into such a task? 

If the real estate industry is going to grow over the next decade, it must regain its ability to systematically attract new talent from other industries. Real estate companies were once masters at this trade, but many lost their ability to be effective during the downturn. 

This happened as a natural consequence of the real estate industry shrinking from over 1.5 million agents in 2006 to less than one million after the downturn.  During that time period, there were plenty of experienced agents to go around, and there was not an immediate and compelling need to hire from outside the industry.

Now that most real estate markets have started to recover, once again there is energy towards hiring new talent from the outside.  As you make this transition in your organization, don’t make the mistake of assuming that the tactics that work with experienced agents will work similarly with these new-to-real estate candidates. 

Also, much has changed in the broader employment market over the past seven years.  So even the tactics you used before the downturn could be less effective considering today’s job market realities.

To be effective going forward, you’ll need to become a student of what makes the candidates in the “normal job market” tick.  In addition, you’ll need to learn how to craft your message to be heard by today’s talented individuals who will become your next generation of new agents.

To get you started on your quest, I’d like to point you to a company called PayScale.  If you’re not familiar with this company, it’s the leading website people use when they have questions about pay and benefits.   It similar to Zillow, but instead of telling you what your house is worth, it tells you what you’re worth!

When a person is considering a new job, they enter some basic information about their education, experience, and the new job they’re considering.  PayScale then delivers a salary report that outlines what he or she could expect to be paid for a particular job in a particular market.

It’s possible that many of the “new-to-real estate” candidates you interview are using a tool such as PayScale.  If you were to request information on being a real estate agent in my local market (Seattle), you might get a report like this:

 

So, a full-time agent with 10 years of experience operating in the 50^th percentile can expect to make about $60K/year in the Seattle market.   To make $120K (or more) per year, a person would need to be in the 90^th percentile.

While this is all interesting information from the candidate’s perspective, how is it going to help you? 

If PayScale has millions of people entering pay and benefit information, it becomes a rich environment for employment research.  I’m sure that PayScale sells this information (in detailed and specific versions) to all types of companies. 

However, they also make a bunch of this data available to the general public at no cost.  By just reading and digesting the free reports and information, you can get quite an education on the employment market.

I encourage you to view these reports on your own.  In my next couple of WorkPuzzles, I’ll highlight several reports I found most interesting and relevant to  real estate agent hiring.

In the meantime, go to PayScale and find out what they report for agent wages in your market.  It would be interesting to hear from you on how accurate this information is for your area compared to the actuals you have in your company.  Like Zillow, sometimes the estimates done by PayScale are not completely reflective of reality.

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Coaching Insight: How to GROW Your Coaching Skills

In last week’s blog I spoke about Tim Gallwey and how he revolutionized coaching methodology with the introduction of his Inner Game theory. 

As with any successful “revolution” there are followers who help to spread the concept. Sir John Whitmore with Performance Consultants International and Alan Fine with Inside Out were two key promoters of the Inner Game tenets. Whitmore and Fine co-created a broader use of the Inner Game called GROW.

According to Wikipedia, "GROW was developed as a structured framework to use the Inner Game principles to achieve goals." Fine and Whitmore realized that the struggle to achieve ones goals extended far beyond the sports field. However, whether it is sports, business or personal the path is the same. Structure your journey into small well defined steps, focus on each one at a time, and be attentive and constantly aware of what you learn from your ongoing experience. This will guide you best to the ultimate goal or objective.

Recognizing that I am a fervent football fan and one of the Seattle Seahawks’ 12^th Man, I am compelled to use a football game as an example of how a coaching model can be successful.

Recently, the Seahawks faced the Saints on the windiest day we've experienced in Seattle in several years. Up 16 points at half time, and knowing that they were about to spend the entire 3rd quarter trying to move the ball against the wind, Pete Carroll and his staff came up with the idea of keeping the players focused on the immediate goal above the ultimate goal.  Coach Carroll's message was simple. As a team, our only goal this 3rd quarter is to protect the ball on every down. That immediate goal was placed above any offensive movement or scoring.  Fans, with no knowledge of their half-time emphasis were frustrated; "Where is the offense?” The coaches and players chose not to care what we thought. They focused on their agenda, their immediate task, and let the final goal, winning, come to them. 

As you might have guessed GROW is an acronym. It stands for:

1. Goal
2. Current Reality
3. Options (or Obstacles)
4. Will (or Way Forward)

Next week I will be looking at the GROW model in some depth as I believe it is an extremely important model in any “coaching” environment. I will define each of the acronyms in detail. Until then here is one rule I have garnered from the GROW model:

Rule : It is impossible to concentrate on the Goal and the Task at hand simultaneously and perform well. Focusing on what we "Should be doing" never works. We simply become overwhelmed and bogged down. Each well executed task at a time, made completely in the moment, is the only way to practice the principle of the Inner Game which you'll begin to see is central to the GROW model. 

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Staying Alive by Tending the Recruiting Fire--Part 2

In my previous blog I questioned what is causing some managers to put recruiting on the proverbial “back-burner” when it comes to prioritizing their regular responsibilities.   Managers wear many hats, but for some they tend to leave the recruiting hat on the hook. 

If the financial motivation is not enough to get this hat squarely on your head, perhaps discussing the tasks associated with recruiting and developing a comfortable process will help.  How comfortable are you with recruiting?  Have you implemented a process that doesn’t feel natural to you?  Yes, getting outside of one’s comfort zone can push us to greater limits, but if the resistance is causing inaction you’re getting nowhere fast. 

I came across an article on RISMedia in which Jeff Smith with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Bradfield Properties in San Antonio, Texas was highlighted for his recruiting strategy.  According to Jeff, his recruiting success comes from going back to the basics…and that’s how he was able to recruit 35 agents during the summer of 2012.

It’s not only about executing specific tasks on a regular basis, but understanding why they are effective that might help you find a different comfort zone in your recruiting strategy.  The excerpt of this article below speaks to Jeff’s understanding of why he is taking the actions he is taking. I have highlighted the top 5 steps.

Phone calls. Every day Smith dials between 30-100 agents, speaking to the ones he can reach and leaving messages for everyone else.  His voice mail message often includes a call to action such as an invitation to one of his many training events.

Smith’s daily tasks:  Smith spends a minimum of 1.5 hours daily making calls and sets goals for the number dials he will make.  Looking back on his real estate career, Smith says he developed good phone habits when he used to spend five hours a day calling  expired listings in his market.
 


Email. Smith understands that most experienced agents will say they are happy at their current company and not looking to make a change right away.  Due to this, staying in touch over what can sometimes be a long period of time is incredibly important.

Smith’s solution:  Smith uses email and handwritten notes to stay in touch with agents between face-to-face meetings.  Writing three to five emails and notes per day can be a great way to stay personally involved with prospects.  Never underestimate the power of a handwritten note, no matter how digital our world might feel.

Real Estate Schools. Twice a month Smith has lunch with the students at the local real estate school.  He says he loves working with new agents because the process is shorter and he knows he can train them to be successful.

Smith’s Tip:  This success strategy isn’t for everyone but will work if you have an item of value to offer.  Smith most recently did a drawing and gave a way his new e-book as a way to capture the student’s contact information.  He then makes phone calls and sends emails as follow-up and stay in touch with the students after they pass the exam.

Training.  Smith understands that training is imperative, especially for new agents.  Because of this, Smith will often invite students from the local real estate school as well as outside agents to join his regular two-hour training sessions.

A typical question is whether or not he is afraid that agents will attend training to simply swipe and implement his ideas on their own. ‘Absolutely not,’ Smith says.  In fact, his mantra has always been to ‘give away everything I’ve got.’  He makes the point that the more REALTOR® signs seen out in the local market, the better it is for all real estate professionals.  He believes that FSBOs are the only real competition.

Understanding the competition. Smith says keeping his eyes open to opportunity has served him well.  In order to grow, ‘you need to know when to pounce,’ referring to his recent merger as well as the large number of new agents he’s added to the company.

Making sure that agents in his market know he is there to support them in their careers helps to position Smith as a true leader.

Staying in touch with agents through regular phone calls and emails means that when smoothing happens and that agent is ready to make a move, Smith and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Bradfield Properties are the logical next choice.

With 19 years of experience in the industry and a track record of growing companies, there are certainly some lessons to be learned from Smith.

Getting back to basics, doing the work, and having the right intentions and attitude, and understanding your market could be all that it takes to hit your talent attraction goals.

So here’s to picking up the phone, writing a note and engaging old school style!

 

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

 

Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .

Staying Alive by Tending the Recruiting Fire

About a month ago I was speaking with one of my recruiters about her progress, specifically as it related to working with her managers to recruit new agents.  In that conversation she expressed some frustration that I have heard from other recruiters.  Her frustration stemmed from some of her managers lack of action with the candidates she was sending for interviews.   She told me that her managers don’t have the time to deal with new agent candidates.  They understand that recruiting is a top priority but they are too busy, and I quote…”putting out fires.”  

Paradigm shift alert….recruiting is a fire. Recruiting is a flame that needs constant attention.   The reality is all around you.

  In “Highlights from the 2013 NAR Member Profile” it was reported that the median age of experienced agents has increased to 57.    If you are not tending the fire to backfill the inevitable departure of the aging agent population you are seriously compromising your own profitability and that of the company at large.

 If the Managers know all of this, why do they not prioritize recruiting?  Is it because they simply do not like it or feel uncomfortable with the tasks associated with recruiting?  Is it because they don’t have any formal system/process to follow and feel lost in this endeavor?    Are they lacking motivation?

Let’s start with some motivational math.  Todd Shylak posted and article,” Recruit Today, Profit Tomorrow,”  that succinctly points to the financial motivation of recruiting.   

“Have you ever taken the time to truly figure out what it would mean to your bottom line if you recruit?  Most, I daresay, haven’t.  The pressure to recruit agents is part of everyday life for a real estate broker; however, the knowledge of what it actually means to your profits, isn’t.

Let’s look at this further.  If every experienced and productive agent you recruit adds, on average, between $10,000 and $25,000 to your bottom line, adding five agents will boost your bottom line by between $50,000 and $125,000 in year one.

Over the course of three years, those same five agents will add $150,000 to $375,000 to your business, while at the same time creating excitement and momentum in your office.”

While these numbers are somewhat outdated, I think you get the picture.   So, we have some motivation…now do we have a comfortable system to execute?  In my next blog, I will discuss more on the topic of a specific recruiting strategy that delineates a recruiting process and the reasons behind the tasks.

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

 

Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .

Coaching Insight: A History of Coaching

Most of us hear the word "coach" and we immediately picture it having to do with the sports/athletic world. I was curious where the word actually originated and how the current definition has evolved.

According to Wikipedia the: "English term “coach” is derived from a medium of transport that traces its origins to the Hungarian word kocsi meaning “carriage” that was named after the village where it was first made. The first use of the term coaching to mean an instructor or trainer arose around 1830 in Oxford University slang for a tutor who "carries" a student through an exam. Coaching thus has been used in language to describe the process used to transport people from where they are, to where they want to be. The first use of the term in relation to sports came in 1861."

Even though the term coaching was introduced in sports in the late 1800's, it remained primarily a student-teacher relationship based on skills assessments. This type of orientation did not transfer well to the growing need of 20th century organizations and corporations to improve morale and retention among their employees.

In the mid-1970's Timothy Gallwey introduced a new concept of coaching he named the Inner Game that revolutionized the standards and techniques for coaching, especially as it pertained to the workplace.

Gallwey has shared the Inner Games tenets for over three decades with clients such as Apple, AT&T, Coca Cola and others. He has set a new methodology for coaching and the development for personal and professional excellence in a variety of fields.

His epiphany came when he was captain of his tennis team at Harvard University. He observed that just telling or showing a student how to correct a particular behavior might be immediately duplicated successfully, but there was rarely a long term correction. The following reference from Wikipedia provides an example:

"This is often illustrated by the example of a player who does not keep his or her eye on the ball. Most coaches would give instructions such as: ‘Keep your eye on the ball’ to try to correct this. The problem with this sort of instruction is that a player will be able to follow it for a short while but be unable to keep it in the front of his or her mind in the long term. This means that progress was slow. The result was that coaches and players grew increasingly frustrated at the slowness of progress but no one had a better system of coaching. So one day, instead of giving an instruction, Gallwey asked the player to say `bounce' out loud when the ball bounced and `hit' out loud when they hit it. The result was that the players started to improve without a lot of effort because they were keeping their eye on the ball. But because of the way the instruction was given they did not have a voice in their heads saying ‘I must keep my eye on the ball.’ They were simply playing a simple game while they were playing tennis. Once Gallwey saw how play could be improved in this way he stopped giving instructions and started asking questions that would help the player discover for himself what worked and what needed to change. This was the birth of the Inner Game." 

The Inner Game is defined quite well by this quote from Timothy Gallwey taken from Performance Consultants International:

“There is always an inner game being played in your mind no matter what outer game you are playing. How aware you are of this game can make the difference between success and failure in the outer game.” Tim Gallwey, creator of The Inner Game.

One of Gallwey's early followers was Alan Fine. Fine was impressed with the Inner Game theory and worked with two other partners to develop it into a more global concept for leadership and goals achievement for all levels of individuals. My next blog will continue with our coaching theme and we will learn more about Alan Fine and his firm InsideOut Development.

The following quote is from Fine's web page and gives you some initial insight into what we will "talk" about next week. 

 
 

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

How to Take Advantage of the 2014 Hiring Trends

I’m sure most of you are already knee-deep into all the activities that the New Year brings.   I love this season because we seem to approach our professional lives with a new sense of energy.

However, the new energy soon translates into busyness, and there’s a tendency to quickly fall into old habits.  This is especially true when it comes to recruiting.  As we work hard at “doing what we’ve always done,” it can become difficult to recognize new trends. 

However, these trends signal changes that are happening in the world around you.  Making even small tweaks to your daily activities in response to these changes can improve your effectiveness.  By ignoring trending information over time, you may turn yourself into a dinosaur. 

The hard part in this process is finding and recognizing which trends are important.  Hopefully, WorkPuzzle will be helpful in this quest.   As you might suspect, we spend a lot of time reading the recruiting press (most of it from outside the real estate industry).  On either side of the New Year there are hundreds of articles published taking stock of what happened in the previous year and making predictions for the months ahead.

As I sorted through a lot of these articles, I found one in particular that was helpful. The article was published by Chad Brooks at Business News Daily and summarizes research recently conducted by CareerBuilder.

The research was based on recent surveys of more than 2000 hiring managers and human resources professionals.  Here are some of the most interesting and relevant hiring trends for 2013:

Part-time hiring on the rise.

Seventeen percent of employers expect to recruit part-time workers over the next 12 months, up 3 percentage points over last year.  While various factors will influence this trend, 12 percent of all employers stated that they will likely hire more part-time workers in 2014 due to the Affordable Care Act.

If companies are increasingly hiring part-time employees, there are a lot of people who still want full-time positions but can’t find openings.  As we discussed in previous WorkPuzzles (1,2,3), this is a strategic opportunity for real estate companies.  You could be providing talented candidates the full-time alternative. 

There is lots of competition for sales and information technology candidates.

For those companies that are planning to add new staff, sales and technology positions are the jobs they will be trying to fill most. The research shows that 30 percent of hiring managers plan to recruit full-time, permanent employees for sales positions, while 29 percent will do the same for information technology jobs.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but looking for new agent recruits among those who are considering other sales positions will probably be unproductive.  Why?  There is too much competition for candidates.  It will be more productive to focus your candidate sourcing activities among other competencies (ex. customer service, marketing, health care, etc.)

Skills gap is widening.

Half of human resource managers surveyed said they currently have positions for which they can't find qualified candidates.  Forty-six percent said these positions go unfilled for three months or longer.

In the recruiting industry, a “skilled position” is one where a certain qualification is necessary to even be considered.  For example, not just anyone can be a Registered Nurse—a nursing degree and certain qualifications are necessary for the job. 

Real estate agent positions are unique in the sense they do not require these types of pre-defined qualifications.  Many candidates are considering “going back to school” to earn qualifications for these skilled positions.  For some of these candidates, becoming a real estate agent may be a better option—less expense and a shorter runway to a viable career and substantial income.

Companies building the perfect employee instead of waiting for one.

In light of the skills gap, 49 percent of employers plan to train people who don't have experience in their industry or field and hire them in 2014, up 10 percentage points over last year.  Twenty-six percent of employers are sending current employees back to school to get an advanced degree – and picking up all or part of the cost.

Just before Christmas, I spoke at a manager’s meeting of a major regional real estate company on the West Coast.  During the Q&A period, the CEO of this company stated, “We need to embrace the idea of ‘creating new agents’ from scratch.  This will differentiate us from our competitors and allow us to compete more successfully in the next few years.”  Maybe he’s onto something.

Companies looking for recruits in high schools.

More companies are connecting with future generations of workers to establish a pipeline of job candidates. Twenty-seven percent of hiring managers have promoted careers at their firms to high school students or, in some cases, even younger; 25 percent plan to do so in 2014.

This trend surprised me.  We’re constantly encouraging real estate hiring managers to focus on building recruiting pipelines, but I had no idea “traditional companies” were targeting the high schools to find talented candidates.  Focusing on this age group may not be the best idea for a real estate company, it does validate the importance of building a recruiting pipeline.   Successful recruiting companies know that talented individuals must be engaged and courted over a period of time.

Here’s your homework:  Based on the these important recruiting trends, what changes should you make to your day-to-day recruiting activities?  As you consider these ideas, initially think about small tweaks that are visible and measurable and then build from there. 

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Coaching Insight: Back to the Basics

Wikipedia defines coaching as a "development process via which an individual is supported while achieving a specific personal or professional competence result or goal."  

By definition, it would seem that any company or organization would embrace the concept of coaching, but not all companies see coaching as valuable.

A variety of studies have found that over 90% of organizations with 2,000 or more employees use coaching, in contrast with only 68% of organizations with 250-500 employees.

It appears that larger companies see the connection between coaching and the increase in their bottom lines while smaller businesses are more skeptical.   Who's correct?  Researchers would probably side with the large businesses on this issue.  

An article by the Staff of the Executive Board of Bloomberg Businessweek had the following comments:

"While the link between effective sales coaching and better sales performance is widely known, the majority of sales organizations fail to realize the full potential of their investments in sales coaching and training. Often times, this means missed opportunities for dramatic improvements in top-line revenue growth, margin enhancement, conversion rates, as well as sales forecast accuracy, and sales rep retention and engagement levels."  

If coaching has been proven to improve these types of important business metrics (especially sales rep retention and engagement levels), why do small and mid-size companies resist embracing the concept at a higher rate?  

I believe it boils down to execution. The reality is that many organizations have great intentions regarding coaching but exercise poor or inconsistent follow-through. 

Here are some of the most common coaching pitfalls organizations make according to the Bloomberg Board, followed by the contrasting suggested approach:

Generic Coaching Training Content 

Effective coaching programs must link to the organization's sales model and address individual sales manager coaching challenges. Programs must be tailored to the sales manager, their team and the go-to-market strategy of the organization.

In a real estate company, this pitfall is usually demonstrated when managers try using off-the-shelf material or a "fly by the seat of your pants" approach to coaching.

Discontinuous Coaching Approach

Managers often see coaching as a sequence of separate events, similar to training, rather than an ongoing, continuous process where one coaching conversation is a continuation of the last. To solve this issue, embed a true coaching process within the normal workflow.

Lack of an Effective Coaching Infrastructure 

Without the appropriate supporting "coaching infrastructure," it is near impossible to sustain long-term coaching benefits. The most progressive organizations actively measure coaching effectiveness on an ongoing basis and fully engage second-line and senior managers in the process to ensure that coaching remains an ongoing priority, not a passing fad.

Managers' Failure to Accurately Observe Behavior

Managers often revert to teaching sales tactics that worked well for them rather than focusing on the new skills required to effectively coach in today's environment. Critical to coaching today is the ability to correctly observe behavior and specify behavior change.

How many of you have counted coaching as one of the keystone pieces for retention and improved revenue? And if so, is your approach consistent and effective? Give it some thought!

In my next coaching article, we'll look at the history of coaching. Knowing the history will help you better understand the underpinnings and rationale as to why this topic is so relevant to growing and sustaining a successful business. 

 

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Off for the Holidays

The WorkPuzzle crew is calling it a wrap for 2013.  Thank you to all who have engaged in the conversation over the last year.  I’ve learned a lot and I hope you have too.  We will learn much in the year to come as well. 

We’ll be back to our normal publishing schedule during the week of January 6^th.  As we finish up the year, I thought I’d share my favorite passage from one of my favorite Christmas books—Og Mandino’s  The Greatest Salesman in the World.   Hopefully, it will inspire you to draw close to those you love during the holidays.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

I Will Greet This Day with Love in My Heart

by Og Mandino

"I will greet this day with love in my heart.

For this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men and until I master this art I will remain no more than a peddler in the market place. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force.

My reasoning they may counter; my speech they may distrust; my apparel they may disapprove; my face they may reject and even my bargains may cause them suspicion; yet my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest clay.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I speak? I will laud mine enemies and they will become friends; I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers. Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize I will bite on my tongue; when I am moved to praise I will shout from the roofs.

Is it not so that birds, the wind, the sea and all nature speaks with the music of praise for their creator? Cannot I speak with the same music to his children? Henceforth will I remember this secret and it will change my life.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I act? I will love all manners of men for each has qualities to be admired even though they be hidden. With love I will tear down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have built around their hearts and in its place will I build bridges so that my love may enter their souls.

I will love the ambitions for they can inspire me; I will love the failures for they can teach me. I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine. I will love the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many. I will love the young for the faith they hold; I will love the old for the wisdom they share. I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

But how will I react to the actions of others? With love. For just as love is my weapon to open the hearts of men, love is also my shield to repulse the arrows of hate and the spears of anger. Adversity and discouragement will beat against my new shield and become as the softest of rains. My shield will protect me in the market place and sustain me when I am alone. It will uplift me in moments of despair yet it will calm me in time of exultation. It will become stronger and more protective with use until one day I will cast it aside and walk unencumbered among all manners of men and, when I do, my name will be raised high on the pyramid of life.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I confront each whom I meet? In only one way. In silence and to myself I will address him and say I Love You. Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkle my brow, bring a smile to my lips and echo in my voice; and his heart will be opened. And who is there who will say nay to my goods when his heart feels my love?

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And most of all I will love myself. For when I do I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my mind, my soul and my heart. Never will I overindulge the requests of my flesh, rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation. Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge and wisdom of the ages. Never will I allow my soul to become complacent and satisfied, rather I will feed it with meditation and prayer. Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and warm the earth.

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

Henceforth will I love all mankind. From this moment all hate is let from my veins for I have not time to hate, only time to love. From this moment I take the first step required to become a man among men. With love I will increase my sales a hundred fold and become a great salesman. If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world."

---

Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

---

Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.