Empowering Employees to Make Decisions

Empowering Employees to Make DecisionsEmpowering Employees to Make DecisionsEmpowerment is a panacea for many organization illswhen empowerment is implemented with care. People in organizations say they want empowermentand often, they mean it when they say it. Managers say they want employee empowermentand often, they mean it, too. Organizations that are committed to the ongoing growth of their employeesrecognize employee empowerment as one of their most important strategic methods to motivate employees. Employee empowerment is also a key strategy to enable people who have the need, the answers, and the knowledge, to make decisions about how to best serve customers. If employee empowerment is such a great tool and strategy for accomplishing work, customer service, and employee motivation, how come employee empowerment is so rarely implemented effectively? Here are the top ten reasons why employee empowerment fails. Why Employee Empowerment Fails Managers pay lip service to employ ee empowerment, but do notlage really believe in its power. As with all management and business buzzwords, employee empowerment can seem like a good thing to do. After all, well-respected management books and consultants recommend that you empower employees. When you empower employees, they grow their skills and your organization benefits from their empowerment. Right. Employees know when you are serious about employee empowerment and when you understand and walk your talk. Half-hearted or unbelievable employee empowerment efforts will fail. Managers Dont Understand the Concept of Employee Empowerment Managers dont really understand what employee empowerment means. They have a vague notion that employee empowerment means you start a few teams that address workplace employee morale or safety issues. You ask people what they think about something at a meeting. You allow employees to help plan the company picnic. Wrong. Employee empowerment is a philosophy or strategy that enables peop le to make decisions about how to do their jobs. Managers Fail to Set Boundaries for Empowered Employees Managers fail to establish boundaries for employee empowerment. In your absence, what decisions can be made by staff members? What decisions can employees make day-by-day that they do not need to have permission or oversight to make? These boundaries must be defined or employee empowerment efforts fail. Managers Micromanage Empowered Employees Managers have defined the decision-making authority and boundaries with staff, but then micromanage the work of employees. This is usually because managers dont trust staff to make good decisions. Staff members know this and either craftily make decisions on their own and hide their results, or they come to you for everything because they dont know what they really can control. One HR manager in a small manufacturing company added ten days to the company hiring process because he required that his HR staff obtain his signature at certain mi lestones during the hiring process. The paperwork was buried on his desk for days, but staff did not proceed without his signature. His lack of trust made employee empowerment a joke. Do employees make mistakes? Certainly, and they also correct mistakes and learn from them, but fooling them about their boundaries is worse. Managers Second Guess Empowered Employee Decisions You second guess the decisions of employees you have given the authority to make a decision. You can help staff make good decisions by coaching, training, and providing necessary information. You can even model good decision making, But, what you cannot do, unless a serious complication will result, is undermine or change the decision you had empowered a staff person to make. Teach the employee to make a better decision next time. But dont undermine their faith in their personal competence and in your trust, support, and approbation. You discourage employee empowerment for the future. Managers Fail to Provide a St rategic Framework Managers need to provide growth and challenging opportunities and goals that employees can aim for and achieve. Failure to provide a strategic framework, in which decisions have a compass and success measurements, imperils the opportunity for empowered behavior. Employees need direction to know how to practice empowerment. Managers Fail to Provide Access to Needed Information If managers fail to provide the information and access to information, training, and learning opportunities needed for staff to make good decisions, dont complain when employee empowerment efforts fall short. The organization has the responsibility to create a work environment that helps foster the ability and desire of employees to act in empowered ways. Information is the key to successful employee empowerment. Managers Abdicate Responsibility for Decisions Managers abdicate all responsibility and accountability for decision making. When reporting staff is blamed or punished for failures, mi stakes, and less than optimum results, your employees will flee from employee empowerment. Or, theyll publicly identify reasons why failure was your fault, or his fault, or the other teams fault. Fail to support decisions publicly and stand behind your employees and makes staff feel deserted. You can make employee empowerment fail in sixty seconds. This is absolutely guaranteed. Managers Fail to Remove Barriers Allow barriers to impede the ability of staff members to practice empowered behavior. The work organization has the responsibility to remove barriers that limit the ability of staff to act in empowered ways. These barriers can include time, tools, training, access to meetings and teams, financial resources, support from other staff members, and effective coaching. Employees Want Praise, Recognition, and Compensation When employees feel under-compensated, under-titled for the responsibilities they take on, under-noticed, under-praised, and under-appreciated, dont expect result s from employee empowerment. Employees must feel that their basic needs are met for employees to give you their discretionary energy, the extra effort that people voluntarily invest in work. If you dole out more responsibility than their positions should require and cause employees to feel overworked or underpaid for the work expected, you need to make adjustments. People want empowerment, but they dont want you to take advantage of them, nor do they want to feel as if the organization is taking advantage of them. Ensure that the responsibilities match the job, that the person is doing the job in the job descriptionor change it. Fail to Educate Employees About What Empowerment Really Means Employees often believe that someone, usually the manager, has to bestow employee empowerment upon the people who report to him. Consequently, the reporting staff members wait for the bestowing of empowerment, and the manager asks why people wont act in empowered ways. You need to educate your emp loyees about what empowerment really means. Educate them also about these ten ways in which managers undermine employee empowerment. Youre smart to ask them to let you know if you exhibit any of these ten behaviors that impede their empowerment. Think about employee empowerment, not as something a manager bestows on employees, but rather as a philosophy and a strategy to help people develop their talents, skills, and decision-making competency. This growth helps employees feel competent, capable, and successful. Competent, capable, successful people best serve your organization. Avoid these ten employee empowerment traps. Dont let employee empowerment fail in your organization. Employee empowerment is so marvelous when it succeeds.

9 New Years Resolutions for Job Seekers

9 New Years Resolutions for Job Seekers9 New Years Resolutions for Job SeekersCue the long-awaited New Years resolution list filled with fantasies of achieving agoal weight, saving for a down payment on a house, or finally kicking that nasty smoking habit. But, have you considered yourcareergoals for the year? With the glitz and glam of these common resolutions, its easy to overlook the changes you could make in your professional life. Thats why weve written up a few New Years resolutions for job seekers in 2017 that are easy to remember and stick to.Here are a few New Years resolutions for job seekers that should be considered for 20171. Update youreverything.Nows the time toevaluate your cover letter, resume, social media profiles, websites, network, portfolio, and business cards to make sure they are the best they can be. Make sure there arent any typos and that your information is accurate and up to date.You also want to ensure that your best impression is being made through your work. Having an old address on your documents and a portfolio can mean missed job opportunities.2. Open yourself to possibilities.When youve associated your professional life with a specific industry or title, it can be easy to have a closed mind when it comes to the opportunities that are available.Dont limit yourself in this way. Explore different industry and research various job titles that might be a good fit. Also, dont limit yourself by geographical boundaries either. With flexible work, the world is your oyster.3. Master a new skill.Put the energy of a new year to good use by taking your professional development into your own hands. Give yourself a one-up on the competition by honing a desirable industry skill- one that is pertinent to your profession.Or, if youre looking to make headway in a new area, pick up a skill or two to get your foot in the door.4. Work that networkNetworking is a tedious activity for most job seekers, but dont let your lack of enthusiasm for it sta nd in your way. Employ thepower of your networkby reaching out to those you are already connected to, while also working to gain new connections.This is a great time to reconnect with old classmates, mentors, or colleagues re-activate your memberships with networking sites and update your online social networking profiles.5. Jump on the work flexibility bandwagon.Traditional employment is making its way out the door. This year it is time to consider flexible work arrangements- part-time, remote, temporary, or freelance work- into your search.In addition to greater work-life balance and the multitude of other benefits, flexible work can lead to some interesting new roles and career paths.6. Solidify and live yourprofessional brand.To stand out from others and make an impression, you need a solid and consistent personal brand.Evaluate your professional goals and aspirations, and then start to build something that shows who you are as a professional and why others should want to employ you. Remember to keep it consistent as an inconsistent brand can mean trouble.7. Create a long-term plan to grow your career.Knowing where you will be in five years is likely more of a bad joke than a real assessment of where you are going.However, that doesnt mean you cant make a long-term plan for where you want your career to go this year. Once you have your plan in place, create measurable and reachable goals so you can find success throughout the year.8. Dont forget social media.Whether you love it or you hate it, social media has become a necessity to really dig into a job search.Not only can you grow your virtual network through social media, but you can also connect with recruiters, get your name on a hiring managers radar, and gain access to information that will help propel your job search and career.9. Stay positive and findways to lose the stress.Last but not least, dont lose hope. The worst thing you can do for your job search is allow the stress and possible let down of job searching bring you down.To avoid getting bogged down, set daily or weekly job search goals, allow time to participate in activities that lift your spirits, and remember to reward yourself for any success, no matter how minuscule it may seem.Seek support from your professional network, friends, and family, and enter this new year with your head held high and with a newfound faith that this will be the year you score your dream job.Find a Flexible JobReaders, what New Years resolutions for job seekers are you adding to your list in 2017? Share your tips with us belowBrie Weiler Reynolds contributed to this post.

Typical Job Requirements and Qualifications

Typical Job Requirements and QualificationsTypical Job Requirements and QualificationsWhen you review job ads, you will often notice references to the qualifications for the position - or the job requirements. Those qualifications are deemed by the employer as essential to satisfactory performance in that job. They are the skills, experience, and attributes the employer wants to find in the candidate who is hired for the position. An Explanation of Job Requirements Job requirements may include specific skills, types and amounts of work experience, personal qualities, educational credentials, professional certifications, or areas of knowledge. Job postings also may state that some other skills, experience, or credentials are preferred, but not required. Employers try to be as specific as possible when listing job requirements in order to reduce the pool of applicants. They want candidates who are as close a match as possible to the job requirements in order to streamline the appli cation process. What do those requirements mean? It can be hard to figure out exactly what the company is looking for in a candidate. Youll find a lot of buzzwords in job postings, but what do they actually mean and what how do they translate to what the employer is looking for? Hereshow to decode a job advertisementand a list offrequently used job search words and phraseswith an explanation of what they mean. Skill Requirements Experience requirements may involve types of experience where candidates apply specific skills, e.g. extensive experience programming with PHP. Experience requirements might include working with a specific population or in a specific industry or employment sector, e.g. counseling experience with battered or abused women, or advising experience in a college setting. Requirements might also mention a combination of skills and a knowledge base that the employer is seeking, e.g. application of mechanical engineering designs to power systems. Years of Expe rience Experience requirements may refer to a number of years of experience either in a general way or in a specific role, e.g. five or more years of career counseling experience, or three years of accounting experience working for a financial institution. Educational Requirements Some positions will require applicants to have a certain level of education. For example, the job may require a high school diploma, a college degree, or a graduate degree. The employer will list the educational requirements for the job in the job posting.In some cases, related work experience, known asequivalent experience, may be substituted for some or all of the educational requirements. What do you do, though, if you dont have all the educational requirements for a job? If your educational background is a close match for the job and if you have employment, volunteer, internship, or learning experiences that would support your application, its worth taking the time to apply. If its obviously a str etch the job requires a Ph.D., for example, and you have an undergraduate degree dont waste the employers time or your own by applying. Matching Your Qualifications to the Job Requirements Its important to take the time to show the hiring manager that youre a match for the job requirements. Before you apply for a job, you should carefully review the requirements for the position, and reference as many of your corresponding qualifications as possible in your job application, cover letter and resume, and during job interviews. Here is more information onhow to match your qualifications to a particular job description. Applyingif You Dont Have All the Job Requirements Even though a qualification might be listed as a requirement, you should still consider applying for attractive positions if you possess most, but not all, of the requirements. Often, job listings include a long list of requirements, some of which are much more important to the job than others. Employers may cho ose candidates who excel in certain key areas but are lacking in others. When creating a job listing, employers imagine an ideal candidate, but they may never find someone who meets all of their requirements. Therefore, during the application process, be sure to emphasize the qualifications that you do have. The closer a match you are to the employers requirements, the better your chances of being selected for an interview.These tips for how totailor your resume for jobs will help you make that perfect, or as close to perfect as possible, match.

Your right to discuss salaries and wages in the workplace

Your right to discuss salaries and wages in the workplace Your right to discuss salaries and wages in the workplace Earlier this month, we conducted a  poll  on pay secrecy and discovered that nearly 60 percent of surveyed tech employees are discouraged from discussing compensation with other employees.

9 Factors Consider Before Accepting a New Job Offer

9 Factors Consider Before Accepting a New Job Offer 9 Factors Consider Before Accepting a New Job Offer When you’re considering a job offer, there’s more to think about than just how much you are going to be paid. Salary is, of course, important, and it could be the deciding factor in accepting a job offer.However, the other parts of a compensation package are almost as important. Your paycheck will cover your monthly bills, but you also need to consider employee benefits, perks and the non-tangible things that make a job a good one.Here are some things to consider before accepting a job offer, including what to look for when evaluating job offers, and when it can make sense to turn one down. 01Evaluate the Job Offer  Eric Audras/ONOKY/Getty Images Once you have made a decision on whether to accept or decline the offer, its time to let the employer know. Take the time to formally accept or turn down the position, and do it gracefully so you dont burn any bridges with the prospective employer.

How Being Yourself Can Help Your Career - The Muse

How Being Yourself Can Help Your Career - The Muse How Being Yourself Can Help Your Career There are certain things you’re supposed to do as part of the job search. The tailored resume is bound to get you much further than a generic one. And if your cover letter expresses enthusiasm for the job you’re applying to, it’s more likely to get the attention of the hiring manager- more than say one that could work for any job in any old engineering department. But what if you could do more to grab someone’s attention? What if you could speed that process up by being honest about who you are? Read on to learn how eight professionals braved being themselves to advance their career. 1. Going Off-Script I mentioned I was an innovative thinker and the interviewer asked me to explain. Instead of giving an answer by the book, I let her know that I had an example that was a bit weird. “Go on,” she prodded. I then recounted a story when I lost a Frisbee in the middle of a duck-filled lake. After trying fruitlessly to reach it with a stick, I gathered bread and threw it in a direction that led the ducks to naturally push the disc closer and closer. Within a few minutes, the Frisbee was mine and the lake ducks were well-fed. It may've been a good story to showcase my resourcefulness too, but at any rate, it was memorable and I got the gig. Dan, Account Executive 2. Being Multi-Dimensional So I have a black belt in Taekwondo, which I used to leave at the bottom of my resume, under skills. It was the last thing that I threw on there just to add something different and not entirely engineering related. On two separate occasions, it ended up being the main talking point for interviews. For my first internship in college, and my first full-time job out of college, my interviewer also had a black belt- in Taekwondo. I’m not saying that it’s the reason I got the job, but it 100% helped me hit it off with my interviewers. I think having something quirky on my resume definitely helped me have much better interviews. Jimmy, Data Scientist 3. Demonstrating Passion When I first came out, everyone in my family told me not to bring it up at work because (in most cases) I would get discriminated against. But during an interview, I was asked what I was passionate about and my response was the activism I was doing for the LGBT community. I went on to tell him about the work I was doing and how it was impacting LGBT homeless youth, giving more people the courage to come out and creating more safe (LGBT friendly) spaces. The guy interviewing me proceeded to come out to me and tell me how this company was super LGBT-friendly and they even had a committee for employees to do LGBT activism! He was also the hiring manager and offered me the position on the spot! Ariana,  Account Executive 4. Being Unafraid Back in 2008, hardly any guys watched The Bachelor (not sure that’s changed too much). I loved it, and started a Bachelor pool at our company. Only a few people signed up and most people mocked me during the course of the season, especially when they could hear me talking about the previous episode on Tuesday morning with my fellow pool members. Then on the Friday before the last episode of the season, our CEO, who I’d never officially met with, called me into his office. Scared out of my mind that I was being called into his office on a Friday afternoon, he immediately put my fears to ease by saying, “Who do you think will get the final rose?” He apparently was also a fan and not only wanted to talk about the season, but felt that as a company we should do a promotion around the finale. Finally, he asked me to lead the project. I would’ve never gotten that face-time or opportunity if I hadn’t been so open about loving such a terrible, trashy show. Elliott, Senior Director, Brand + Marketing 5. Coming Clean I had a sales manager ask me ‘If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?’ I originally responded with a professional answer, of ‘I would probably still have a job and work somewhere.’ He didn’t buy it and asked if that was really how I felt- clearly I hadn’t done a great job convincing him. Then I said, no, I would probably be a Real Housewife or be on a reality TV show. He thought that was a great answer and really showed my personality, and I ended up getting the job! Yanina, Account Executive 6. Forcing a Laugh In my final interview for The Muse I was asked if I could have any super power what would it be. For as long as I can remember I have wanted the power to pee out of my finger tips, and this was the only answer I could think of so I just blurted it out. Thankfully it got a laugh and I ended up with a job offer a few hours later! Nealy, Sales Development Representative 7. Displaying Originality In college I was interviewing for a position in the entertainment PR field that was pretty competitive. After making it to the second round of interviews, I was offered the job and accepted it. I later found out that the manager had had the current employees look up the potential new hires on Facebook to see if there was anything incriminating or interesting on there that would sway his decisions. Although mine was set to private, he was able to see my cover photo (which is a collage of Kim Kardashian crying), and he apparently thought it was funny enough to seal the deal. Jimmy, Content Associate 8. Getting it Just Right When I was looking for a new job, I was reading articles about how to stand out in the job application process. I found this great company that filled its team page with funny videos of each employee. I decided if I made one, the company would have to interview me. I sat in my apartment all day filming myself on my cell phone. I must have had over 100 takes to get it ‘just right’- including the part when I tried to beatbox like the CEO did in his. Long story short, I sent it directly to the CEO, got an interview, and although the job didn't pan out, it taught me being unique really does get you noticed. I took the same mindset to get my job here at The Muse. Dara, Team Lead Sales East The next time you find yourself deciding between the textbook answer and the response or behavior that more accurately displays the real you, consider the latter. It could be powerful enough to give you the edge you need to succeed in this competitive world. Photo of woman working on floor courtesy of Hero Images/Getty Images.

Demystifying the ATS Effect on Your Job Search

Demystifying the ATS Effect on Your Job Search Demystifying the ATS Effect on Your Job Search Demystifying the ATS Effect on Your Job Search Today a large part of the job search is done using technology, from social media to job applications, keywords and presentation are going to have a huge impact on how often you are noticed by employers. When you apply for a job, the first system you will encounter is the Applicant Tracking System or ATS. The Applicant Tracking System acts like the gatekeeper to the employer. It begins with you filling out your application, filling out the questions and tests required and uploading your resume. Applications come in various forms, some simple and some very complex depending on the employers needs. Courtesy: careerealism.com So what do you need to do to understand how ATS works, and get your resume to show up for the employer? How ATS works Applicant Tracking Systems work based on keywords, acquisition numbers, and search functions. ATS is designed to make it easier for the recruiter to sort through upwards of 900 or more resumes to find the right candidate to contact. It’s designed to make the recruitment process easier and less time consuming. With some tracking systems if you don’t fill out the questions properly or don’t pass the online screening you resume might not even show up! This is why it is so important to ensure you take the time to process your application properly and with detail. An Applicant Tracking System will also keep your application on file, there is less risk of your resume going missing! ATS systems have different functions such as keyword search, star rating systems, and they can be used to record information from applications or interviews you had in the past. Think of ATS as a Google search, you will only put in the words or phrases that will provide you with the results you want. How can I make ATS work for me? Keywords â€" Using the language of the employer is the first thing you must take into consideration. This doesn’t mean you should copy and paste their phrases. It means you should make use of the words they use more frequently in their job posting and website. For example, if they make use of the skill RFP or Request for Proposal make sure you have this in your application if you have worked with that before. Also many companies like to use words like Leadership or Innovation, if this is how they describe things, ensure that you work those aspects into your resume! Recruiters are usually going to search using the position title they are hiring for. They will often also search with similar industry titles, software required to preform the job or duties essential to the position. Another thing to remember is that ATS systems use methods to determine if the keyword context is relevant to what is being searched for by the recruiter. Therefore, ensure that if you are editing your resume you are putting the information in the right context. Understand how Boolean Search works â€" The Boolean Method is how recruiters will search to find the best candidates. The Boolean search is a method that entails using AND, OR, NOT, (), +, and “”. This will pull up the candidates with a combination of qualities that the recruiter is looking for, rather than simply looking up one term at a time. If you have more of the qualities that the employer is looking for, and have the information on your resume then you have a much better chance of turning up in the search results. Recruiters will often use a combination of the Boolean search and single term searches while recruiting! Application Completion Ensure that all aspects of your application are complete. Ensure all information is filled out using proper punctuation and spelling, this is one of the first things employers will see. Also check your email after you submit the application, at times there could be additional steps to complete such as aptitude or personality assessments. If you miss this step your application might not make it into the pile! When you are applying for jobs online to help identify if your resume will be going into an email inbox or an ATS system check for the following; ATS â€" will usually be on the website, require a login, and require you to fill out several pieces of information. Email â€" If your resume is going to an inbox it will come in the form of a simple email address or a contact form on the website where you can add an attachment. The biggest thing to remember when applying to jobs online is to ensure that every single application you send out is customized to the employer and has relevant statements of the work you have completed that matches what they are looking for!