Top 10 Traits of High Performance Staffing Firms

Top 10 Traits of High Performance Staffing Firms In my previous blog, I described management styles that help form strong teams. Effective people management is one of the building blocks of good business without the right staff or the right management, a company with potential will never shine. It is the energy of committed staff that turn an ordinary business into an extraordinary one, with each one playing their part to the best of their abilities, doing all the things, seen and unseen, that make a business run like clockwork. Over the last few years, I have had the pleasure of working with some of the fastest growing asset management and asset servicing businesses in the UK and Europe. I have seen how fundamental it is to get the right people in the right places. A few key people can genuinely turn things around, making extraordinary things happen to business. Delivering for high performance companies: Despite the slow growth of the fund industry, we are fortunate to have a number of fast-growing companies as clients. Culturally, we are similar and champion the same values. As we mainly use search methods to find candidates, we actually focus on working with companies who are market-leading. We do this for 2 reasons: Firstly, we won’t headhunt a candidate for a job that would create a downward career move, so we need to be able to offer top jobs at the best companies. Secondly, when companies are growing quickly, they need the specialist support of firms like us more, because hiring decisions are more challenging, and the understanding required goes way beyond taking down a simple job spec. We build up a knowledge of their business that enables us to do far more than just simple ‘box ticking’ recruiting thought and analysis that takes time and effort and goes way beyond a normal recruitment process. My partner, who is a consultant, regularly tells me that what I am doing is in fact HR consulting work because of the depths I go to with clients and candidates, teasing out key drivers for hiring and operational issues. I develop an understanding of businesses that is very profound, and from there, I can problem-solve and make matches accurately tailored to our clients.  Half the time the things I am looking for are not found on the job description at all. I believe that working with a good recruitment partner should be like this. We have the capacity to support businesses in demanding periods of fast growth because we can manage out people problems through the injection of the right people at the right times. This is only possible when we really know the business well, and in order for this to happen, we focus on servicing clients who are loyal to us. Human capital = capital: It may seem unusual to some people to hear that there are still some fast growing asset management businesses out there, but there are. The most interesting thing about it, is that they all display very similar characteristics when it comes to their human capital. Just a coincidence? I don’t think so. I believe these firms have got something right in the way that they go about their business which allows them to tap into the potential of their people, and that enables them to outperform the market any market. Getting human capital decisions right is essential if you want your company to grow, as it is the people who are engaged and motivated that will help you to drive your company forwards, innovating and creating as they go. It is your people who will help you to weather the storm or bring your company into profit. Although most companies will tell you on their homepage it is their staff that differentiate them from   the next, the number of companies who really behave this way is very different. In all high performance businesses I know, they really do live and breathe this. I believe it is the positive energy that is created by managing business effectively that makes certain companies outshine others. Let me share with you more specifically, some examples of what I have seen: My top human capital characteristics of high performance businesses: 1) High levels of respect and involvement from senior decision-makers: High performance companies have, what I would say is, a higher than average level of respect and involvement  from all levels  of the organisation, among managers and staff, and between staff and external suppliers people generally treat each other well. But it is the impact of the way that senior directors of the business actively get involved in the business that makes the biggest change. I have noticed that senior members of staff, like the COO or the CEO will dip into whatever is the businesses biggest concern and use their knowledge and power to make it work when it counts. They are not ‘hands-off’ when it matters. 2) Build strong supplier relationships: They build strong relationships with their external suppliers, and, as above, they treat them as they would an internal colleague. They understand that it is a two-way street, a personal relationship, regardless of the fact that one of you is a client. Your requests will be serviced last if your supplier feels disrespected, and on the other hand, that small favour you did for your supplier will get repaid to you in consistent service that is way above the norm. Always remember that everyone is someone’s service provider! 3)  They create flat structures: Heavy hierarchies tend to stifle new ideas and fresh-thought generation. Like it or not, once you have been in a business for upwards of 5 years, you don’t question how things are done anymore. Stay upwards of 10 years, and you’ve forgotten it can work another way. So let the young guys speak up sometimes, and hear what they say. The strongest managers can hear out a new thought and consider it, even when it isn’t one of their own. 4) There isn’t a heavy blame culture: This one is a tough one, but it is essential to the success of business to allow mistakes to happen sometimes, and not to let this get in the way of practicing good decision-making. When there is a heavy blame culture, this can destroy decision-making confidence and therefore, growth. It is important not to undermine people who are generally doing a good job for the odd error, one that they can then learn from. Mistake, learn, move on, and forget about it! If you feel someone is making mistakes all the time, they are probably in the wrong job. RELATED:  How to Keep a Happy  Office 5) They chose their teams carefully: They don’t hire badly, they invest time and effort in finding the right people, and they leverage on relationships with good recruitment firms to help them cover more ground. When they hire they focus on both people skills and technical skills. They aren’t looking for the perfect CV, they are looking for the right person, knowing that that person can develop. They hire people with potential rather than those that have the right CV, but who might not deliver. They spend time with their recruitment partners, internal and external. My clients know when it is me calling because most of them have my number saved and they call me directly to talk. 6) They chose quality over quantity in recruitment partners: They get to know us really well, and they give us the commitment that enables us to give them the best service we can. When they reach out to us, they know we will have it covered. That is the peace of mind that can only come from a strong relationship. They take the time to explain in detail how their business works, what their culture is like, and what the history is. Once done, this process saves them time and money because we can be sure who would be a fit and who wouldn’t and they don’t need to repeat themselves. Because of their commitment, we can invest our time in finding candidates who would never know about the firm otherwise. 7) They chose their suppliers carefully: They chose their suppliers carefully, and they give chances to new suppliers if there appears to be a new market-leader. Companies don’t make it big for no reason, if there is a firm out there making waves, go and talk to them, see what the hype is about, you might be glad that you did. High performance firms are open to change if this might bring about more positive results, and they invest time to review this eventuality rather than staying with the status quo, which seems easier but might be making your life much harder than you realise. 8) They promote gender balance: When I talk about gender balance, I actually mean that they try to attract and / or retain women of a certain ‘child-bearing’ age. They are not put off hiring them, because they are focussed on finding the best hire regardless of sex. This can sometimes double the chances of finding someone really excellent. They recognise the importance of gender balanced teams and how they function better. They support women in coming through the ranks, not dropping them at child-rearing age, after children are born.  It is at this time that many women reach their professional peak when they are actually of most value to the firm, knowing a huge amount about the clients and the products, and the best firms find a way of keeping their talent on-board. 9) They retain their best talent, and remunerate properly: They recognise that their best people always have other opportunities, and they look after them. It is often the best people who are the most frustrated if things don’t work out, because invest the most. High performance businesses are full of managers who have found a way to maintain positive teams, even when the times are hard, keeping morale high. This is the main way good businesses have seen out the recession. Good management breeds a workforce who will go beyond their role. They have clear career paths and pay structures for their staff, and have a ‘open door’ culture. 10) They use people in the right roles: They are able to identify people’s strengths and put them in roles that work with their core personality traits. This keeps the employees engaged because they can further improve their best skills â€" skills which are of equal benefit to the business given that they are exceptionally-strong, creating a positive and successful work environment. You could argue that it is the other way around, fast growing companies create these people, this environment, and that creates these typical characteristics. You could say it is a question of whether the chicken or the egg came first. But I think that would be the easy way out. In a world as demanding and fast-changing as ours, you probably wouldn’t want to take the risk. There is a huge opportunity to take this period in our history and learn from it. Look after your human capital, and you will see what happens to your capital. I think it’s a win-win situation. Author: Rana Hein-Hartmann is Director EMEA of  Funds Partnership,  a specialist firm for mid-senior hires in Asset Management and Asset Servicing operating throughout Europe and Asia.

10 Best Sites For Work Clothes Inspiration - Classy Career Girl

10 Best Sites For Work Clothes Inspiration Do you  spend hours in front of your closet every morning wondering what you should wear to work? Do you want to be inspired to turn your current closet of work clothes into something a bit more classy, yet fashionable?  I feel you, ladies! Office fashion should not be boring. Today we are linking to our favorite websites for work clothes: Corporatefashionista.com  is a fashion blog for women professionals, executives, and politicians highlighting todays dynamic style rules by industry experts. 9to5chic.com is a blog founded by Anh. Anh expresses her personal style at work and some fun weekend outfits. GalMeetsGlam.com is a source for inspiration that covers everything from fashion and beauty to home and travel. You can find some great inspiration for work clothes too. TheWorkingWardrobe.com is a series of publications and work fashion blogs  written for the working man and the working woman â€" and their fashions. They share  different styles and accessories for the office, how-to’s, inspiration from what others wear to work, and finally how to put outfits together that are not only appropriate for the workplace  but also complement your own personality. Corporette is a fashion and lifestyle blog for women lawyers, bankers, MBAs, consultants, and otherwise overachieving chicks who need to look professional but want to look fashionable. WorkChic ceaselessly searches for ways to help career-minded women look and feel great about themselves through fashion.  Sophie Wood is the woman behind WorkChic, definitely a workwear and professional style destination for career women. Inside Out Style  mission is to help women  look and feel amazing every day without stress and confusion.  Imogen Lamport, a Melbourne Australia-based blogger and internationally certified image consultant, is the woman behind Inside Out Style. She works as a personal stylist, and she loves sharing her passion because she knows that image can be a key to confidence and empowerment for so many women. FashionTag was founded by Dana Cristina Straut as an oasis of creation and inspiration for all fashion and beauty things, a diary of spotting trends and street style looks, latest fashion crushes and occasional rantings about certain hot fashion topics. She also shares some office wear ideas so you wont dress boring to work. This Time Tomorrow is Krystals personal blog. At This Time Tomorrow, youll find a slew of her daily outfit posts, current shopping cravings and general musings about fashion and style. Memorandum.com hope to illustrate that you can have a lot of fun with fashion within the confines of professional appropriateness. If you take a look through the blog, you’ll see that those “confines” lie far beyond the gray pencil skirts and bland black suits you might typically associate with professional wear. What are your favorite sites for work clothes? Do you have a great fashion blog that we should check out?   If so, please share!

Crazy Interview Questions Asked by Big Companies

Crazy Interview Questions Asked by Big Companies You know a company is cool when they start asking crazy interview questions. Imagine, you fill out an application and get invited to an interview. When all of a sudden, you get hit with some of the craziest interview questions that sound nothing at all like the common interview questions you hear all the time!The questions leave you speechless, laughing, or wondering how these companies grew in the first place. But, as always, there is a method to the madness. Check out some of these crazy interview questions asked by big companies. You will not find webinars or posts on LinkedIn with advice on how to handle these curveball questions.1. “25 Racehorses, No Stopwatch. 5 Tracks. Figure out the Top Three Fastest Horses in the Fewest Number of Races.”This one was asked by Facebook. It looks like a math question. But is it really? What would you answer? Perhaps the interviewer is trying to see the way you start thinking when it comes time to solve problems. Be sure to not show any job interview anxiety.2. “Why Are Manhole Covers Round?”This interesting question has been asked by Google. You never really think about things like this...or do you? Is this a trivia question or does Google want you to work in a sewer? Unless you want to change industries? Do not put that much thought into it and answer as you see fit.3. “If You Were a Pizza Delivery Man, How Would You Benefit From Scissors?”You are applying to work at Apple and then they ask you a question that sounds more related to Dominos Pizza. What does this question really have to do with the job at hand and your career? You had already discovered delivering pizza was not the career path you intended to stay on!4. “How Would You Solve Problems If You Were From Mars?”As far as we know, there are no Martians on Earth solving problems. But this question from Amazon seems to imply there could be. Do you know any Martians? Probably not, so how do you think you will answer this interview question? Do you h ave a powerful job reference from Mars?5. “How Would You Test an Elevator?”If you were to interview at Microsoft, this question would certainly throw you off...or would it? Questions that “sound crazy” usually do because it involves seeing or hearing something you are not familiar with. Perhaps, an engineer or someone in the tech industry could answer the question. Maybe a scientist or an elevator repairman? This question is truly testing someone seeking jobs in the tech industry.6. “How Would You Find the Words That Became Obsolete in the English Language Between 16th and 17th Century? You May Use a Search Engine.”What does 16th or 17th-century language have to do with driving people from place to place? Uber wants to know and you are not sure if they are testing your interpersonal skills or your knowledge of 16th century English Literature.7. “What Do You Think of Garden Gnomes?”Trader Joe’s asked this question. To this point, you may be seeing that these questio ns require answers that do more to show how you think, your personality, and how your work experience causes you to answer them. You certainly can tell a great deal about a person by the way they answer random questions.8. “You’re a New Addition to the Crayon Box, What Color Would You Be and Why?”This question from Urban Outfitters may be based on a psychology test used to assess personalities. There is no wrong answer to this one. There is no right answer. So, just be honest.9. “What’s the Color of Money?”If you answer, “A film from the 1980’s starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise”, the American Heart Association will understand many things about you. If you answer, “A beautiful shade of green” you also give away something about yourself. You could have another answer. Regardless, the company will know a lot about you.10. “How Would You Direct Someone Else on How to Cook an Omelet?”A question like this from PETCO may be secretly geared towards finding out ho w you manage people and what you sound like when you do. It is a simple answer but can you direct the team to do it in a way that everyone understands? Are you a leader people will follow?11. “On a Scale From 1 to 10, Rate Me as an Interviewer.”You may be a people pleaser who wants to give a compliment and quickly blurts out, “10”. But does the rating mean “greatest” or “worst”? The way you answer this question from Kraft Foods explains a great deal about your personality, analytical thinking, experience with research and lots of other hidden meanings.Just like every other interview question on this list, the only right answer is the one that gets you the job. But since you cannot predict the interviewer’s response, all you can do is be yourself and answer with honesty.Madness MethodWhat are these companies doing? They want to see how you react to pressure, think on your feet or how you come to a conclusion. Most importantly, they want to see:Do you panic? Do you g et angry? Do you give up easily? How do you approach work? Do you get your brain working in the right direction before answering?There is no “right” answer. But there is definitely a “wrong” answer. The toughest part is that there is no set of rules for answering these types of questions and there is no telling when or why these questions will be asked.The only thing to do is keep your cool, bring a winning mindset, do not panic, stay positive and get your mind to work in the right direction. Show employers you are ready for anything.

A resume is a story - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

A resume is a story - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career View my full resume What is a resume? The majority of the population view a resume as a piece of collateral that is a prerequisite for obtaining an interview. Those who have enriched resumes, will be granted an interview and those with resumes that are inadequate will lose opportunities. Today I would like to share my philosophy for creating a superior resume and the logical flow behind it. A resume is a story. More importantly, it is a story of your life, including your college experiences, as well as your work experiences. Think of a resume as a detail description of all that you have accomplished thus far in your lives. So you might ask how do I shape my experiences chronologically in order to be most effective? To have the most impact with your resume, there must be some logical flow behind it. I will now walk you through my resume as an example. Education: Start off by describing your experiences at college because it is the foundation for which you will enter your careers. Include your major, gpa (if 3.0 or higher), activities leadership positions and any honors. Relevant Courses: So after you lay out the statistics and qualitative information to give credibility, the courses you take in college help demonstrate that you have learned information in your field. Technical Skills: Im an employer and ive seen that you have gone to the same college as most of the other applicants and have taken similar courses. Having the right technical skills infuses your expertise level and allows you to accelerate in desired positions. You have already listed your overall background (education), so take the time to list out skills that have helped you accomplish this education. Major Accomplishments: This area is brand new to my resume. If you havent had any major accomplishments, feel free to list a school related project. This area is good for a reviewer who doesnt have time to read your entire resume. Experience: This area is a representation of your work experience history, from present to past, which is a story in itself. This area of your resume is by far the most critical to you landing that much anticipated job req. Make sure to connect your work experiences into your education and so forth. If you can cross apply your learnings, you should have superior interviews.

Mass, Meet Your Online Professional Resume Writing Service

Mass, Meet Your Online Professional Resume Writing ServiceOnline professional resume writing services Massachusetts can help job seekers turn their dream job into reality. Whether you're looking for a new position at your existing place of employment or you're just on the lookout for a change in your working life, hiring the services of an online professional resume writing service in Massachusetts can get you the attention you deserve. On your way to landing that dream job, you'll need all the help you can get.Starting an online career in Massachusetts can be a lot of fun. You could work with hundreds of people a day and be expected to turn in excellent output. With the internet, it's possible to create a career that is geographically remote, highly flexible, and yet very demanding. Who wouldn't want to live like this?What kinds of online career opportunities are available in Massachusetts? If you happen to be currently employed in a position that requires you to travel frequently, such as sales manager, executive assistant, or a customer service representative, you might find online professional resume writing services Massachusetts could help you. You won't have to worry about making the commute, as most of the service providers offer guaranteed pick-up and drop-off locations. Your employer would also appreciate the chance to save on fuel and car expenses.Another advantage of online professional resume writing services Massachusetts would give you is the fact that you can use the time off you get from the demands of your office to pursue your dreams. Imagine if you didn't have to drag yourself out of bed in the morning to make it to your office every day. Not only would you have more time to spend on your hobbies, but your boss would love the idea of helping out new people with their needs. It doesn't matter if you're pursuing a master's degree in music, or if you just want to finish up a degree on the side, anyone can benefit from the professional help offe red by a resume writing service in Massachusetts.For those people who are enrolled in graduate school or in new educational courses, online professionals will make it easier to stay organized and still accomplish your goals. You'll have the advantage of being able to review the syllabus and course materials online, making it easy to study with fellow students.Before choosing an online professional resume writing service in Massachusetts, you should think about the kind of job you're seeking. The most popular careers today are lawyers, nurses, doctors, and financial planners. These are the jobs that require a great deal of traveling, either for work or pleasure. If you're currently employed in these types of professions, or you're looking for another type of job, hiring the services of an online professional resume writing service Massachusetts could put you in touch with the people who can help you.Nowadays, you can easily get help from family and friends before setting up a meeting with your future employer. Or if you're still trying to find your footing in your career, you can seek the help of an experienced person who already has an established online professional resume writing service. Perhaps you've always wanted to be a commercial account executive, but are unsure whether the pay would be worth the amount of time spent commuting.It's not necessary to get through a traditional networking process before turning to a Massachusetts resume writing service. Instead, you can tap the expertise of professional writers who are skilled in crafting professional resumes. You can start the interview process right away and ensure that you're well equipped to meet your future employer.

Snowboarding - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Snowboarding - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I gave up skiing some years ago in favour of snowboarding, and if you want to know how it feels to start on a snowboard, read this funny, well-written account of a beginners trials: We watched little snooty five-year-old skiers walk by, kids you could tell hadn?t fallen even once that day. Do you have any idea how horrible it is when your ego is handed to you by a five-year-old who can perform a complicated skill better than you can? I can throw temper tantrums better than most five-year-olds, but skiing, those litter fuckers CAN KICK MY ASS. I felt like shouting, ?Yeah, well THERE REALLY IS NO SANTA CLAUS, SO SUCK IT.? Yeah! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Business Data How Do You Store Yours

Business Data How Do You Store Yours Data storage is a topic that you broach at the beginning of your business, because it’s something that has to be budgeted for carefully. If you aren’t storing your customer data correctly, you’re going to be in GDPR breach and possibly incur a fine not something a newbie company needs when they’re getting off the ropes! Learning where your data for both your personal business information and your customer data should be going is important to your business and its success. It’s not the most thrilling of things to budget for, but it’s going to be something that you’ll pat yourself on the back for investing in later on, especially if there your company ever suffers a security breach. The thing is, there is more than one way to store data for your business, and we’ve got them listed for you below: Up In The Cloud. One of the most popular ways to store data is in the cloud. It’s invisible (but not spooky!) and it’s a way to have excess storage without huge machinery around to take up space in the office. The cloud is a one size fits all approach to looking after your information, too, as it can suit any business of any size no matter what! Local Storage. You could choose to have an outside IT company host your website and data storage locally on a dedicated server, which can offer you added security and protection, too. This is a great solution for small and large businesses, and it’s not always reliant on being online to get your data back. 5D Storage. Not as heard of as the rest, 5D storage is a little bit more futuristic than regular old 3D. Five dimensions of storage is possible with the least likely material glass! It’s looking likely that this could be an eternal data solution for businesses in the future, and it’s a great way to do it economically. DNA. These suggestions may seem far-fetched, but scientists have successfully stored 739kb of data inside strands of human DNA. It’s a complicated process, one that is highly unlikely to happen in your local business any time soon, especially as it’s still in its pre-alpha stage. It’s also extremely expensive. The use of a server locally or a cloud system are the best ways to be able to store your company data in a way that is cheap, efficient and big enough to fit everything on it. Proper storage of business data is important, because you need to be able to access your own storage as well as that of your customers correctly. Doing it the right way will mean that you are playing by the compliance rules that are lawful; it also saves your business money from being sued for improper data use. You need your company to be running the right way, and staying compliant is crucial to that running. Take your time to research your options; they matter!