Hire the Personality, Train the Skills

What do you think about that?  We help bank and credit union trainers excel at designing and delivering training that teaches people what they need to learn in order to do their job.  The trainer’s job is to identify the competencies the worker must master to ensure the work is accurate, complete and competent.  The caveat is that the trainer needs learners that want to excel on the job.  It is very hard to teach someone to be socially savvy and motivated to excel.  It is much easier to teach people how to complete a process or fill out a form.

The greatest stress, the biggest ailment in the workplace comes from how people “act” toward others.   It always gets executive management’s attention if a client is mistreated by an employee and it very well should.  I think the bar should be set that behavior that is unacceptable when interacting with a client is equally unacceptable with others you work with.   A company that wants to create an exceptional place to work has to take a hard look at what kind of work environment exceptional people want to show up for each day.

Our upcoming webinar, If They Knew Then What They Know Now, Would You Still Get the Job? focuses on the behaviors and impressions that help someone ace an interview.    No doubt you can dress, rehearse, learn your lines, and act in such a way in a job interview that you are sure to leave a very positive impression with the prospective employer.   It’s recommended.  It’s proven that the interview can trump the resume when recruiting new talent.  I want to pose this question: “When should you not present yourself on the job as you did when you secured it?” 

Everyone that wants a job recognizes the impression they make sets the stage for what will happen next.  Someone that doesn’t strife to make a positive impression in a job interview is a red flag.  This candidate might be the most qualified but they certainly won’t work at taking pride in how others they serve or work with see them. 

Second and third interviews serve a couple of purposes.  Additional interviews convey how important the selection process is to the company and the more comfortable the candidate becomes.  When we move past first impressions we get a good look at how someone acts on autopilot. 

Don’t misunderstand me, competency, skills, expertise and experience are critical to job performance so hiring someone that is engaging and enthusiastic but unqualified is not a good trade.  It’s a fact that you get hired for what your resume offers but if you can’t play well with others – others will regret you got the job.

 Still learning,

Honey

 

Grab that Frog and Be Done with It!

I was reminded recently of something Mark Twain is reported to have said, "Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

Procrastination is always lurking in the shadows ready to grab my thinking.  When procrastination rules I grow my dread list versus my get it done list.  It’s a tricky thing when you have a dread list. This is the list of what I am convinced I should do but appear committed to find ways or excuses to block me from getting that list wiped out.  The bigger the dread list the greater the procrastination.  Procrastination is barrier to accomplishing priorities.

At our Train the Trainer Boot Camp bank and credit union training professionals often share stories about the progress that gets underway when procrastination doesn’t rule at their company.  Some trainers are people-oriented while others are detail-oriented.  In a financial institution almost every job requires plenty of both.  Here’s the dilemma: if you are a people person, you dread aspects of the detail that is required of you. If you are a detail person, you dread some of the people engagement that comes with your job.

Put an end to feeding procrastination with dreaded intentions and start each day with a list of priorities that foster wiping out dread.

Grab that frog first and be done with it!  Do the unpleasant but important tasks first.

Still learning,

Honey