While this is not a post about networking and finding jobs per se, knowing how a business thinks helps in preparing your resume, your marketing portfolio and your interview responses. You have to both have the skills, talents and abilities to make the company money or reduce costs plus fit into the team with your special personality. If you're a leader or manager, you'll have to be able to lead a team effectively through change. Your resume and marketing portfolio addresses the first, your interview the second. Do they feel you can address their pain points and make them money while being fun to be with?
A book I've read and just reread in the past few weeks (see my LI portfolio for reading list) addresses the cash curve and how to plan for, analyze and evaluate certain products and processes using the cash curve; and how to eliminate cash cows or projects that no longer are bringing in the needed revenue or customers. It also explained that certain initiatives are started for non-cash return reasons - to enhance the company's brand, to increae the employees' learning, and to build ecosystems (trusted partners). When analyzing the benefits of a proposal, the parties should determine the cash/non cash purpose at the outset and to not only consider cash proposals. In addition, the authors suggested that a review of the company's customers and whether they are high paying/profitable customers is important. Finally a point worth including is that most organizations are not lacking creative and innovative ideas, in fact, they may have too many. What they are lacking is Senior leadership's ability to pick those few ideas that will have the greatest payoff and scalability. With so much competition to get the product to launch first, having a yearly strategic planning process may not be often enough. Quarterly adjustment and the ability to be nimble is critical. Weighing market launch timing with the perfect product to launch is critical.
I attended an interesting Society of Human Resouces Management (SHRM) meeting this past week. The presenter was an expert in HR metrics that when properly implemented helps HR leaders get a seat at the table with other senior leaders. Since workforce costs and benefits are so critical, being able to measure effectively the cost of turnover, the cost of talent management, the cost of total rewards is critical in capacity and capability planning and organizational development. SHRM also provides data to compare the company's metrics with the industry so you can track progress against best practices. Another blog I read this past week talked about both the ethics and business case of withdrawing an employment offer once given and the employee quits, moves and relocates family only to be told by the boss that he/she is rescinding the offer. Whiile the attorneys on the blog talked about the issues from a risk, lawsuit exposure perspective, a senior and more credible HR leader talked about it from a brand and employee morale perspective. In an example mentioned, the HR VP was able to rescind the decision to cancel the offer convincing the CEO to look at the bigger picture of brand and morale decremental effects.
So while the finance professionals cringe at offering increased benefits or maybe at wellness programs that don't offer a substantial ROI, the HR professional must consider not only costs but improvements in presenteeism and productivity due to health and wellness issues. Having credible data is crucial to be trusted. But most importantly in wellness, Senior Leadership must walk the talk and participate.
I never feel that offering 100% (womb to tomb) benefits without employee involvement is beneficial to either the company or employee. It's because the employee must have "skin in the game" to feel a sense of accountability. Why do employees get more committed to weight loss when they have to pay a small fee to participate? Why do employees look out for their own health when they have copayments and deductibles? And finally they shop around better for medical treatments and options and maybe exercise programs when they know they can put the wellness/heatlth savings back into their pockets via a Health Savings Program. When we rolled such a program out in my prior organization, we saved 5% immediately in insurance premiums; more than 90% of the participants had money in the Health Savings Accounts at the end of the year and 20%, 30% and 50% of the employees participated in years one, two and three respectively.
How does your job provide either payback or the opportunity for improved branding or employee knowledge? How do you communicate that in your resume, marketing material or interviews? How do you work with your team and organization to implement positive change? How do your track and measure success? These are all things you must consider in your job search.
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