How Does Dr. Martin Luther King Inspire You?

Today many people are enjoying their day off from work but how many of us are really thinking of the meaning of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr day? Are you more interested in the gowns worn at the Golden Globes? The disaster in Haiti is front and center in the news as it should be. But really – have you thought about the meaning that this national holiday has for you or for our nation?

Today on the news they interviewed grade school children on how Dr. King affected their young lives. I was struck by the answer that one girl gave. She said that if wasn’t for the sacrifices that Dr. King made back in the 1960’s, she would be missing out on all the wonderful multi-cultural friendships that she has today. We are blessed with many freedoms in our country which we take for granted. This little girl inspired me to appreciate the many multi-cultural friendships I’ve been fortunate to cultivate since my sheltered childhood in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Washington Post is asking us to provide a video of how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired us. Here is the link if you are so inclined to hone your videographer skills and submit it. http://bit.ly/5VlYdZ.

For me, sitting at my home office in my sweats and without make-up I’ll take a pass on the video and reflect on the meaning of the day though this blog. For all of the complaining that we do about our country, let’s just take a moment to put that aside and be grateful for the inspiration and courage that we gain from Dr. King’s efforts to move our county in the right direction. And let’s keep on moving on!

Wake up call to Hiring Managers!

Chances are great that your top manager or key employee is looking for a new job. And I’ll bet you a cup of coffee that you probably don’t have a solid ‘hiring recovery plan’ ready to implement when the resignation letter crosses your desk on Friday afternoon.

Did you see the article in the January 8th Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal in which I was interviewed about the growing trend of employed executives who are seeking new jobs? You can read it at http://bit.ly/82wQmA.

It seems that every time I go to a networking or business event I’m approached by a top performer who wants me to look ‘confidentially’ for a new job for them. Job satisfaction is at an all time low and so is the level of preparedness for replacement (unexpected) hiring. Why? There are many reasons but mainly because companies are focused on survival and haven’t paid attention to fine-tuning their hiring process. This concerns me!

The HIRING PROCESS is the step-child of all other business processes. Companies have accounting, technology, manufacturing and sales processes. But ask many small to medium sized businesses what their hiring process consists of and they’ll tell you that they post an ad, do some interviews and hire the person they ‘like’. A hiring process that is not Performance-based and consistently applied throughout the organization is one that has the most risk to make a costly hiring mistake. And this is especially true during a time in our economy where one hiring mistake can be the demise of a small business.

My advice to hiring managers and business owners is this – dust off your old hiring process and fine tune it now, before you need it. It’s like taking your car in for maintenance when it’s running well. (A little fine-tuning now and you’ll avoid the breakdown in sub-zero weather.) You may think that your company isn’t going to hire this year, but odds are good that you will be unexpectedly replacing a few key positions. As a recruiter, I’m passionate about healthy hiring processes that result in the right hire of top talent. Invite me to come over and take a look at your current hiring process. If needed, I’ll fine tune it and……I’ll even bring the coffee!