One of my favorite grade school activities was “Show and Tell.”  You remember the drill. Students were asked to bring something of interest to them to class to share with their fellow classmates.  When called upon, each student would both “show” some manifestation of their chosen topic and then “tell” or explain its relevance.  Teachers have long known that many students learn more effectively when they both see and hear.  Adult life-long learners still do.

Several months ago, I was asked to participate in creating interactive training programs, delivered via the internet that would allow interested supervisors and managers to get a better handle on the difficult and often troubling tasks of employee interviewing and performance evaluations.  I was thrilled to have the opportunity to revisit the many lessons I learned in my former professional life as a Human Resources manager to create the content for the two sessions described below.  I encourage you to take a look for yourself.

The Art of Interviewing and Selection

Effective interviewing and selection is one of the key activities for all corporations that value employees as their most valuable asset. Unfortunately, most organizations treat interviewing as an afterthought. Companies don’t spend the time, attention, and effort required to identify and define the characteristics and attributes that make a valuable employee – generally resulting in poor hiring decisions.

Interviewing and Selection features an effective blueprint for the employee selection decision and interview process. Business leaders and HR personnel can use this selection blueprint to find the “best suited” candidate for each and every job to be filled, greatly raising the chances of finding and retaining the best employees for their organization.

After taking Interviewing and Selection, users will be able to clearly identify which interviewees will be best suited for the organization, who can contribute to the overall  effectiveness of the team.

The Art of Employee Appraisals: Keeping Staff at High Performance

Employee evaluations and appraisals are an important tool for keeping staff at high performance - even for the best, most highly motivated employees. They help provide direction regarding their past and current performance levels, and help them manage their future performance. Evaluations and appraisals are even more critical for marginal or under-performing employees. Supervisors, managers, and HR personnel must be well prepared in order to effectively evaluate, and set goals during the appraisal process.

When business leaders use feedback as a performance setting tool, it is critical to instill a fair and effective process of appraising and evaluating employees. Honest and open feedback can be difficult for employees to deal with unless the right culture and appraisal structure has been established. Without these structures, performance will usually suffer. The Art of  Employee Appraisals offers ideas with impact and recommends structures for effectively evaluating and communicating feedback to employees within your organization.

And For Those Looking for a Customer Service Booster Shot…

Those of you who have read my books, newsletters and articles for years know that I am sold on the importance of serving customers professionally.  Well, I’m pleased to report that I have a new tool to recommend for your customer service tool box.

My dear friend and professional speaking colleague, Shep Hyken, has just release his new book, “The Cult of the Customer: Create an Amazing Customer Experience That Turns Satisfied Customers into Customer Evangelists.”  This book shows you how to design a strategy that leads both customers and employees through five distinct cultural phases – from “uncertainty” to “amazement.”  It includes dozens of case studies that show how great companies made this journey; the critical changes that allowed these companies to build a Cult of the Customer. 

By the way, there’s even a special opportunity of which you should be aware.  Buy the book on Tuesday, April 7 at Amazon.com and you will receive several bonuses that will make this book even more valuable to you. Go to Cult of the Customer to learn more.