How to Nurture Talent on the Team

How to Nurture Talent on the Team What can an employer do to draw out team brilliance and optimise performance? Some people go the extra mile, whilst others don’t seem to feel the call to step up. Understanding what engenders peak performance provides organisations with a great competitive advantage. You need to know the team, what matters to each individual, what makes them tick, what motivates them to invest their energy and commitment and offer that discretionary effort that makes all the difference? At 10Eighty we use Strengthscope to help individuals and managers understand their strengths and make the most of them. Strengthscope research indicates that peak performance happens when people are able to successfully combine their unique strengths with their skills, knowledge and abilities experiencing ‘flow’, a mental state of operation in which they are fully immersed in an activity, leading to success in the process of that activity. Peak performance People flourish when using their strengths, and aligning employee strengths with challenging yet meaningful objectives will also optimise overall team output. A persons best performance comes when they are given meaningful work that leverages those personal strengths. When you understand what motivates the team you can develop strong and resilient team members who optimise their strengths and this empowers the team to cope with challenges and work in a way that enables them to be more self-managing, agile, and productive during times of stress, uncertainty and change. When they play to their strengths, employees see where they make a difference and are, therefore, more motivated and effective. Help staff play to their strengths if a team member is particularly talented in a specific area, ask them to identify new opportunities and give them an opportunity to use their talents. Aim to mentor members of the team, passing on technical knowledge and sharing ideas and experience. Create a collaborative environment where employees feel comfortable to bounce ideas off each other and explore new perspectives. There are always innovative ways of doing business and it is important that new ideas are encouraged; don’t fall into the trap of assuming that good ideas only come from managers or creatives, they can come from anyone on the team. Listen to suggestions, remember that creativity sometimes means dealing with failure â€" after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Optimum performance Help team members learn from their mistakes, reframe problems and focus on future success. It is important that employees feel the organisation supports them fairly, paying attention to all team members. Nurturing the team requires attention and time spent exploring motivators and drivers for optimum performance. In order to foster peak performance and achieve excellence you need to set the standard for what is expected by the organisation. Employees are inspired to achieve peak performance when they work in an organisation where excellence is expected; the best way to motivate high performing teams is to make that commitment to peak performance in your field or industry. Developing, managing and retaining talent is crucial to success in a competitive marketplace because growth is dictated by the people who work for the organisation.

What Skills You Should Put on Your Resume to Land the Job (INFOGRAPHIC)

What Skills You Should Put on Your Resume to Land the Job (INFOGRAPHIC) How can you show your employer that you are the right fit for a given position?  Skills.  Having a skills section on your resume is as crucial as icing on a cupcake.  And as we all know, no one wants a cupcake without icing. No one. So how do you put your skills on a resume? First, you need to identify the skills that your potential employer wants.  Second, you need to showcase them and make sure they draw attention. Take a look at the infographic below. It will show you skills that are universally desired. It will also give you tips on how to showcase skills on your resume. If you need more advice and examples, you can read the full guide here: What Skills to Put on a Resume.

How to Use Live Video for Employer Branding

How to Use Live Video for Employer Branding Periscope is a great tool for live broadcasting a social campaign, but how should you go about it? We spoke to  Lars Schmidt, founder of Amplify Talent and employer brand strategist at Hootsuite to find out more. You can listen to the conversation on iTunes and Soundcloud, questions by me and answers by Lars. What was Operation Follow the Sun and where did you get the name from? The story of Follow the Sun started at South by Southwest. Ambrosia and I were at Craig Fishers TalentNet  conference  and we were having a conversation, Meerkat just launched. And we were using Meerkat to live stream a live podcast that we were doing. We were talking about the employer branding kind of possibilities of live-streaming in general. So about a few weeks later, Periscope came out and that was right around the time that I came on to Hootsuite. So Ambrosia and I were having a conversation around how we could use Periscope to really convey the global scope of Hootsuite. We were operating in nine different offices. We wanted to make sure we could help prospects get a sense of that global footprint. And then also, the unique culture within Hootsuite. We thought live streaming would be an interesting way to do that. So the idea was we wanted to start in Singapore and actually work our way East, around the globe throughout the day, showcasing a different office every hour on th e hour. So we started in Singapore, we moved to Bucharest, moved to London, to Boston, to São Paulo. All the way over to the headquarters in Vancouver. And the idea of Follow the Sun was we wanted to literally Follow the Sun as it turned around the earth.   Tell us about the Twitter handle @HootsuiteLife and the hashtag #HootsuiteLife? Yes, so @HootsuiteLife, the Twitter handle, is the primary recruiting and employer branding handle for the HR team. Thats our primary, what I would consider to be, HR/recruiting/employer branding handle on Twitter. We use that to interact with fans. We use that to promote the HR and recruiting team. We use that to participate in chats and Periscopes and things like this. HootsuiteLife is really kind of the anchor employer branding asset, if you will. But all employees are empowered to use that, whether theyre periscoping, tweeting, posting stuff on Instagram, or even Facebook. The volume of that hashtag is massive. And its all, for the most part, employee-generated content. So, again, from a recruiting perspective, its really easy for us to showcase and show people what the culture at Hootsuite is all about. We can share that hashtag and we have a link to Hootsuite campaigns URL that actually aggregates all of the content on that hashtag into a branded page. It allows us to actually show prospects or applicants what its like to work here. And the kind of people theyll be working with. So that becomes a really authentic and powerful recruiting tool. What are other company life hashtags to check out? #NPRLife is one that still has a lot of traction. #AdobeLife is another one of the early pioneers. Then you start to see other things like TripAdvisor, has #GoTripAdvisor. So youre starting to see other versions of it. Salesforce.com has #dreamjob. Well the dream jobs a little trickier because other people will just randomly use the hashtag #dreamjob. So, the volume is a little misleading. Its not all Salesforce content, but I think most major companies these days that are active on social have a #(whatever)life or some variation of that to empower their employees to show their culture. Lets face it. I mean, recruiters are biased. Were trying to bring people into our organisation. So, I can tele-prospect about what our culture is, but its much more effective, I think, if I can show them an unfiltered view. Because the reality is, thats going to attract some people, its also going to repel some people. Some people are going to see that and say, You know what? Thats not for me. And both of those outcomes are good. What will happen in the social HR space over the next three years? Im curious to see how virtual reality continues to mature. Oculus is obviously getting a lot of buzz. There will be more platforms coming on the market soon. I think if virtual does become fairly mainstream, I think that there could be some really interesting implications for recruiting and hiring with that. I think were also starting to see, this is something Im really happy about, a shift in approach around job descriptions, because  as much as I think recruiting has evolved over the last couple years, and particularly in recruiting technology, job descriptions, for the most part, havent. Theyre probably one of the least evolved tools we have in recruiting, so Im starting to see more visual job descriptions, more dynamic job descriptions, more video job descriptions, and most importantly, mobile-optimised job descriptions as well. Connect with Lars  on Twitter @ThisIsLars  and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes.

Human Resource Management Career Profile - VocationVillage

Human Resource Management Career Profile - VocationVillage VocationVillage.com interviewed Pamela J. Sampel to learn more about her successful career in human resource management.How would you describe the main functions of your job?As Vice President of Human Resources for PopCap Games, Inc., I lead the department responsible for all of the typical human resource management functions: Compensation and Benefits, Employee Relations, Talent Acquisition and Staffing, Training and Development, Organizational Development, Workforce Culture and Environment (which in our case also includes global facility management) HR Strategy and Planning and Global HR. PopCap has offices in Dublin, Ireland and Shanghai, China and staff in Germany and Korea. I lead a team of professional staff in each of these areas, who are primarily subject matter experts and who are technically experienced in handling each function. I provide vision, leadership, and strategy to my teams and to the Executive Team for our Global companies (I report to the CEO) in all matters of People Management.What does a typical day look like at your job?There really is almost no typical day they vary depending on what is happening and what time of year it is. For example, right now we are heavily involved in insurance renewals, so much of my time is spent in meetings reviewing proposals and discussing strategy (both short and long term) to maximize where our money is spent and to provide great coverage for our staff. Another day might find me in budget and strategy sessions with the executive team, participating in revenue forecasting and business growth planning for the upcoming year. Another day or part of the day will find me in 1:1 meetings with each of my staff, or in a team meeting, or walking around talking to employees, visiting work sites and managers and finding out what is happening around our company. I also meet 1:1 with individual managers to discuss employee issues in their departments, to plan for a sticky termination or to discuss strategies to get g reat job candidates into our hard to fill positions (like Game Producers and Technical Engineers). On good days, I get time to think, read, plan, and strategize about how I want our team to help the organization build the best company culture for creative, intelligent and talented individuals to do their absolute best work, as well as to have fun!! We make great games…we like to remember to have fun ourselves!What do you like best about your HRM career?The variety of the work I’m able to do. And the influence I have as a member of the Senior Executive Team to create a dynamic organization. Also the chance to work with really super-bright, creative and focused people.What are the most challenging things about your HRM career?Keeping up with the fast-paced business world, the speed at which technology changes and the impact both on our business and our people, finding the time to read and think.How did you land your current job?I was recruited into this position by people I’d wo rked with before who were familiar with my work, my background and my style. I have a solid business background and I am also a creative writer and amateur (very) photographer, so I understand how to build the creative components that are so critical in a company’s culture that allow people to be able to thrive.What was your professional background before you came to this job?I started my career in the health care industry, moved into public broadcasting, then returned to the health care arena before I landed here at PopCap late in 2007. Earlier in my career I was in general business management, then I moved into building compensation and benefits for a physician group practice, then moved fully into human resource management positions, including labor relations negotiations in all the fields mentioned above.What is your educational background?I have a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Iowa (emphasis in labor/industrial relations and economics) and a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs (MPA) from the University of Washington with an emphasis in non-profit management and public-sector labor relations. I’m also a lifetime certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and I am certified as an MBTI trainer and Career Coach. Finally, I also have Executive and Leadership coaching credentials from the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara.What skills are most important to succeed in a human resource management career?I think the single biggest asset I have (outside of my technical/subject matter HR knowledge) is that I have very solid EQ (emotional intelligence) skills: I have good judgment, I am aware of my impact on others, I am empathetic and yet I can be tough when it’s needed, I am a good listener, I am not easily ruffled, I handle change well, and I am great at seeing the bigger picture and possibilities for both people and organizations. I have a solid sense of humor (including the ability to laugh at myself an d admit when I make mistakes) and I love to laugh and have fun, as well as to learn. I also am a creative “out-of-the-box thinker” who has an almost insatiable curiosity and loves to try new ways of doing things. I’m not big on policies and policing people. That, interestingly enough, has helped me a lot in the business world. I also surround myself with great people who are very different from me and I listen to them…especially when they tell me I’m not seeing something correctly or I am off track in any way. I count on these people to be honest with me, even when it’s hard to hear.What advice do you have for someone who wants a human resource management career similar to yours?Know your technical/subject matter. Get certified if you want to be a human resources professional. Then, learn about and develop your EQ to the absolute best of your ability and practice those skills. Also, learn ALL about the business you are in as an HRM career professional: read, ask questio ns, pay attention, and push yourself.If a mid-career professional decided he/she wanted to make a career change into a HRM career, what are the steps he/she should take to make a successful career transition?Find someone with a successful HR career who is willing to mentor you. Take a certification class or university program to learn all you can about human resources. Volunteer to be on an employee task force or committee and watch how the HR people are and learn from them, in addition to helping them out. Read books on leadership and learning. Find a coach if you can afford to, who can help you set goals and move you towards creating a new position for yourself and hold yourself accountable. Keep your business skills sharp as you do all thisand if you don’t have business skills, develop them. Run a small business out of your home, work in one or, better yet, hire someone and have them work for you. Then you’ll quickly learn about a lot of the human resource management career f ield and life.Are there any commonly held misperceptions about HR careers that you would like to clarify?The most commonly held misperception I still find in this field is that HR People are all touchy-feely and soft and don’t have solid business skills. These days, that couldn’t be further than the truth, especially in successful, dynamic and growing companies. HR leaders and staff are business savvy, tough, and are seen as indispensable change agents.What is the income range for persons in a human resource management career?The sky really is the limit. Starting out, an HR generalist with some experience can make $35k on up. (Depends on whether you’re in non-profit or profit worlds, too. You’ll make more in the for profit world…but you may get faster, broader and deeper experience fast in the non-profit world because they can’t always attract HR leaders. I learned a LOT of skills fast working in non-profits who had never had HR before). An experienced Senior HR executi ve in the for profit world can make upwards of $250k plus benefits and stock options. Mid-Career managers make from $75K-$110K. People who work primarily in compensation can make even more…they are like the actuaries in the HR field and can easily make over $200k if they have certifications and specialties in compensation analysis.What are your long-term career goals?To be the best executive leader I can be, as long as I’m actively working in the business world. Some day, I want to be a full time and financially successful writer making at least as much as I do now!Any other comments?Good luck to allaspire to be your best!Thank you, Pamela!And thank you to PopCap Games for creating Bejeweled and Bookworm, two of my familys favorite addictions! . Read more career profiles. .

Why Big Companies Dont Care that Much About University Degree CareerMetis.com

Why Big Companies Don't Care that Much About University Degree Whether you’re fresh out of college or have been in the search for your dream job for a while, most companies will always seem to pay too much attention to your university degree instead of your skills and capabilities as a person. Thankfully, this isn’t going to be the case for every job.The good news is that there are plenty of options for those who either wish to find a job out of their regular field of work, or for those who haven’t got a university degree and would like to pursue a career in a certain field.evalHere are some reasons why not every big company is going to ask for a university degree in your application.1) Not every CEO is a college graduateevalMost of us usually tend to connect successful people with those who receive a higher education and our entire lives we are made to believe that the only way to a higher income is higher education.While a university degree can help a person grow, learn a lot of important and useful things and give them connections, it w on’t always offer them the perfect job.In fact, many successful people have not received higher education. A great exampleto support that claim comes from the CEO of Apple, Tom Cook, who said that the company was in fact founded by a college dropout. In fact, only around 42 percent of high school sophomores proceed to earn a university degree.While getting is a degree will help your chances of landing a good position, it is not all that matters when it comes to employment. Employers will always prefer to hire talented people than ones who simply have a degree but lack the drive.One of the most important things you can keep in mind is that no one will ever ask a CEO where they got their college degree. This can definitely show you that the chances for people without a major are equal to everyone else.What will set you apart from your competitors will be your drive and your desire to work hard and become better and better at the field of work you have chosen.2) Big companies need pe ople with technical skillsevalTechnical skills can be obtained through universities but there are also plenty of people who have acquired their skills through working experience, online courses and seminars. One of the things that usually happen is that university graduates only know and are good at one or two technical skills which they learnt through their years of studying.On the other hand, people without a university degree but with past working experience in the field will know how to do quite a few things successfully. This is a result of their need to be able to take on different tasks and perform well so they can keep up with other employees who have received a higher education.One of the most common groups of people with technical skills they didn’t develop through college work is usually freelancers.People who work online tend to spend time trying to learn new skills in order to be able to be better at their jobs and in general, businesses online tend to give their new employees the chance to learn more and become better for the sake of the business.evalTechnical skills can be obtained through a variety of ways. For those who wish to learn something new without spending too much time and money, there are plenty of trusted online services such as Khan Academy and Udemy which work by providing their users with a variety of free and paid courses on a variety of technical skills.Some of the most useful and common examples of technical skills include:WritingProgrammingAssisting in various fields such as marketingManaging projectsAll of these can be very useful in any big company and they can help you land the job of your dreams with a lot more ease.3) Universities can’t teach you certain soft skillsNo matter the position you are looking to apply for, soft skills will be just as important as technical skills and the two are also quite different. Soft skills can also be known as professional skills and this essentially means the type of skills which ar e not taught through a course but are obtained through experience and coming in contact with other professionals.Most soft skills will revolve around being able to work as a part of a team, solving problemsthat might arise, communicating your problems effectively with your coworkers, coming in contact with customers, and many other skills of a similar type which will help you become better at your job and more competitive.The truth is that while technical skills are always important, what can really make a big difference between two applicants are usually the soft skillsthey bring on the table. While having an employee who does their job perfectly is a big advantage for the company, no one would want to hire someone who won’t be able to follow instructions and work with their team in unison, without any conflict.Your soft skills will help you appear more trustworthy, dedicated and approachable to your employers and this can really help you look more professional and ready to take on the job. Soft skills make you easier to work with and for big companies with many employees, this set of skills can really make your employers’ everyday lives in the office a lot easier to handle.4) You can gain working experience without a degreeA common misconception is that a university degree will somehow automatically help the person having it land a great paying job. For most people who graduate, unemployment is a real issue and most of them end up working in jobs which have nothing to do with what they spent four years studying.Certain companies tend to believe that having a university degree means that you have the patience and drive to devote your time and energy to working on something for a long period of time and actually follow through. On the other hand, a college degree does not offer you enough working experience in order for you to be considered a true professional in the field.If you have landed a job in the field of work you are interested in and you have spe nt a good amount of your time learning and becoming better in this job, you are definitely going to have just as much experience and drive as a person who spent four years studying that certain subject.eval5) Bigger companies like to train their new employees in advanceevalLast but not least, another big reason why bigger scale companies don’t really care about university degrees is because they have the time and resources needed in order to train their employees before they get started with their new jobs.This is a big difference between them and other smaller, local companies which can’t afford to spend money on hosting a welcoming seminar or providing their new employees with enough materials in order to learn everything about their new position. Many smaller companies need people ready to work who won’t need a lot of training.On the other hand, big companies understand that while someone might not have a university degree they might have amazing communication skills or be a natural at a certain task and they want to “take advantage” of these skills in order to help create employees who will be motivated to work hard and actually have the skills needed to fulfill their duties.Motivation in these cases usually comes as a result of the fact that the new employee will feel grateful and excited that the company has picked them for the job.By giving them a chance to learn new things and grow their current skills every further, the company is giving them a very important working experience. For people without a university degree, this is a big chance to grow professionally and broaden their horizons even further.evalWorking for a big company isn’t that far out of your reachWhether you believe you have the skills to land a job or not, it is never a bad idea to try and apply for a position in a big company even if it seems out of your reach.A college degree isn’t everything that matters when it comes to working for a big, international company and you will be surprised to know just how much they can appreciate the skills you have to offer to the team.Instead of being afraid to be criticized about your lack of higher education, you can make it up with learning a variety or technical skills online and developing your core skills through webinars, books and speeches. There are truly so many ways for you to become the best in your field of work and the lack of a university degree should never stand in the way of your success.

How to recognize and reward your employees - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

How to recognize and reward your employees Every employee working at your workplace â€" from a simple technician to a richly experienced manager expects you to recognize his/her work and appreciate the efforts he/she puts in day after day for the success of your business. Employee recognition and rewarding is a process through which employers or business owners make a conscious effort to reward and award your employees not just to acknowledge their work but also to motivate them to continue with the same passion. There is absolutely no one in the world who doesn’t like being rewarded and recognized for the hard work they do and the same holds true for employees of your workplace as well. Employee recognition is the acknowledgment of an employee’s efforts, hard work and behaviour at the workplace that have contributed to the organization’s success and objectives in some way. Both things are very important: recognizing and acknowledging these efforts, as well as rewarding employees for their fruitful efforts. This article explores in detail 1) what employee recognition is 2) tips to start a formal employee recognition program 3) formal recognition examples 4) informal ways to reward your employees. Read the full article here: https://www.cleverism.com/how-to-recognize-reward-your-employees/

Grant Writing on Resume - Writing a Proposal for a Grant

Grant Writing on Resume - Writing a Proposal for a GrantIf you are looking for ways to help your resume stand out from the crowd, then grant writing on resume is a great way to go. Not only will it help to show that you have talent and potential, but also you can use it to show that you have already met the qualifications needed.Grant writing on resume can include writing a statement of purpose. It is very important that you know why you are applying for the grant. Your statement of purpose should be as clear and as complete as possible so that it doesn't make it seem like you are trying to scam the government.In addition to your statement of purpose, you should submit a proposal for the grant proposal. The proposal will show exactly what you intend to do with the grant funds. The proposal should also include a detailed budget and a justification for why you deserve the funds. When you read the proposal carefully, you will be able to review if you are really worthy of the money you a re applying for.It can be very beneficial to show off your portfolio of your previous work on grant writing on resume. You may be surprised at how many different agencies or organizations that you can write grants for that you may not have known about. By including this information, you will have more contacts and this will also help to build your credibility.Besides writing a resume, it is also very important to continue to practice and improve your skills. This is an excellent way to develop new skills and talents. Improving your resume will give you the opportunity to apply for more grant writing on resume. There is no limit to the number of grants you can apply for, so why not give it a shot?If you don't have much time to practice, there are some professional services that offer professional services for grant writing on resume. These services can help you write a grant proposal and they can also help you develop your writing skills.If you are able to obtain funding from any gra nt, you should always put these programs in writing. Including this information in your proposal and your resume will help your chances of being approved. Your application should also explain exactly what you intend to do with the grant.Don't limit yourself to just grants that you qualify for. There are plenty of grants that are available that you may not have ever known about. If you are able to find them, the best way to show off your skills is by applying for these programs.