Welcome to the July 7, 2004 issue of The Total View

Your resource for cutting-edge news, tips, and tools to help you hire, manage, and motivate top-performing employees.

=============================
In This Issue
=============================
1. Don't let a hot job market lead to lukewarm hiring decisions.
2. A star is born! New audio and video featuring Ira Wolfe.
3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #176 to #180.
4. FirstView Job Fit Indicator Screens Candidates: Quick, Easy and Cost Effective.
5. Best Practice Tips and Resources.
6. Question of the week: Isn't testing employees considered risky in today's litigious environment?
7. Survey Says. . . Things are changing.
8. Rise and shine!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira writes every article, every week!) and is distributed with permission by The Chrysalis Corporation.

Ira S. Wolfe 2004 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

To learn more about The Chrysalis Corporation or to read back issues of The Total View, visit our web site at http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060245_31117962

=============================
1. Don't let a hot job market lead to lukewarm hiring decisions.
=============================

After a three-year slump, the job market is on the upswing. That good news for job seekers presents a real challenge for those of you who are doing the hiring. If that sounds counter-intuitive, keep reading.

For employers, a competitive job market ups the ante for findingand retainingcompetent employees. Its where the tried-and-true system of skills-based hiring hits a wall.

How do I know this? From you, actually. I ask participants in my workshops why they take several hours out of a busy workday to attend our hiring workshops. The consistent response is: "I want to learn how to hire the right employees." Being naturally curious, I go on: "How do you describe the right employee?"

Without fail, workshop participants list competence, commitment and motivation to describe the "right" employee. In quick succession they add team player, good interpersonal skills, dependability and integrity. Then, I ask the group to define these terms. That's when the conversation turns lively.

Right now, at your desk, write a one-sentence description for competence, commitment and motivation, as these terms relate to your business. Forward this newsletter to three of your colleagues or co-workers who make hiring decisions asking them to define the same terms. Compare your answers.

Now you know what I know. Everyone of you have an idea of what those terms mean but not everyone agrees. So, how can hiring managers possibly make the right choice with vague and sometimes contradictory hiring criteria? Well, first, let me help define the terms.

Competence is something acquired over time with any combination of education, training and experience. It may be a technical skill such as bookkeeping or computer literacy. Or, competence may be a transferable skill such as problem solving, listening or communication. Competence can be demonstrated and observed.

Commitment is a willingness to do what needs to be done to learn new skills. It requires a "want-to-do-it" attitude. Commitment combines confidencean employee's feeling of being able to do a task without much supervision and motivation, which is that person's interest in doing a job well.

Traditional skills-based hiring is an excellent tool for evaluating technical ability, but falls short of identifying those applicants with transferable skills. Skills-based assessment worked for hiring switchboard operators in the 1950s but gives inadequate information for hiring technical support staff in the fast-paced, multi-tasked environment of this century.

Is there a reliable way to identify competence and measure commitment in job applicants? Yes. CriteriaOne, offered through The Chrysalis Corporation, helps managers identify core competencies and assess each applicant's potential and motivation to do the job. This comprehensive program aligns corporate strategies with individual goals. And, CriteriaOne includes technology to develop skills and monitor performance after employees are hired or promoted.

To learn more about CriteriaOne, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060247_31117962

=============================
2. A star is born! New audio and video featuring Ira Wolfe.
=============================

The "Resu-mess" on WHP-TV (Harrisburg, PA). View the interview with Sherry Christian and Ira Wolfe, the developer of the CriteriaOne process.

To view the clip, follow this link (you must have Windows Media Player
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060250_31117962

=============================
3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #176 to #180.
=============================

Fact #176 - There are 2 million people locked up in federal, state, and county facilities. More than 6 million people are under state supervision in the form of parole or probation.

Fact #177 - One out of every 130 people will serve prison time at some point in their lives.

Fact #178 - One of every three young (20-29) African American men are under some kind of correctional control-whether they are imprisoned, paroled, or on probation.

Fact #179 - There are almost 100,000 women in US prisons today.
Almost all of these women are single mothers.

Fact #180 - States are spending more money on prisons than education. Over the course of the last 20 years, the amount of money spent on prisons was increased by 570% while that spent on elementary and secondary education was increased by only 33%.

Source: Coalition Against The American Correctional Association
*********************************************************************
Yes - there are workers for hire. Just like during the late 1990's, prisons have an ample supply of candidates. But do they have the skills and work ethics you want? As employers begin to hire and expand, many will be unprepared to survive The Perfect Labor Storm. Will you?

"The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is HERE! Order your copy today - $7.95 includes no shipping costs for limited time only.

http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060252_31117962

=============================
4. FirstView Job Fit Indicator Screens Candidates: Quick, Easy and Cost Effective.
=============================

FirstView Job Fit Indicator is the newest generation of pre-employment personality tests which includes an optional cognitive section. FirstView requires only 15 minutes to complete and reports are available immediately. FirstView is the perfect solution to screen large candidate groups for 15 entry level positions in retail sales, hospitality, persuasive sales, administrative positions, drivers, IT positions, telemarketing, customer service, drivers, health care and more.

Each report includes job specific interview questions. FirstView evaluates a candidate's preferences in the following areas:

--Rules - consistency, ability to deal with change, need for structure, ability to follow rules and policies.
--Extroversion - need to work with others, communication of enthusiasm, ability to talk or listen.
--Assertiveness - decision making, selling and closing abilities, ability to handle confrontation, willingness to take direction from others.
--Teaming - teamwork, collaboration with others, competitiveness.
--Sensitivity - emotional stability, handling of criticism and feedback, dealing with stress.
--Organization - planning, spontaneity, time management attitudes, ability to handle details.
--Social Desirability - an internal validity scale to determine if the candidate is being frank with their answers.
--Cognitive Ability - an overall aggregate measure of cognitive skills.

To learn more about FirstView and to view sample reports online, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060254_31117962.

=============================
5. Best Practice Tips and Resources.
=============================

To learn more about hiring best practices, download the U.S. Department of Labor publication, TESTING AND ASSESSMENT: AN EMPLOYER'S GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICES
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060256_31117962

Interviews Questions - What You Can and Can't Ask
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060257_31117962

Test your Interviewing IQ at
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060260_31117962

=============================
6. Question of the week: Isn't testing employees considered risky in today's litigious environment?
=============================

To the contrary. In fact, according to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, any inventory or procedure used during any employment decision is considered a test. Much to the surprise of even Human Resource managers, the interview is considered a test and must meet the same validity and reliability standards as personality tests, ability tests, and even resume evaluations and screening.

Reliability is a huge problem with the interview. If you can't prove that an interviewer wasn't affected by being tired, rushed or turned off by the tattoo, piercings and blue hair then you can't prove reliability. If you can't prove reliability, the interview is suspect and increases the risk of prejudice, no less hiring mistakes, during employee selection.

Got questions about testing and assessment? E-mail them to questions@chrysaliscorporation.com. We'll address them in a future issue of The Total View.

=============================
7. Survey Says. . . Things are changing.
=============================

The paper/pencil method of conducting surveys has gone the way of the horse and buggy. Heck, the printing and postage costs of conducting surveys the old way make it hardly seem worth it. Then there is the the hassle of inputting survey results and the labor intensive experience of querying the data and creating reports.

If your company or association is planning to conduct a survey, contact us today to learn about real-time e-mail and web based surveys. No more hassles with entering results and creating presentations. Let us do the work for you. We can help you write, set-up, distribute (electronically), process and present in less time for LESS COST compared to paper/pencil surveying.

Are you putting off getting much needed feedback from customers and employees?

For more information about customer satisfaction, employee morale, or any other type of survey, follow the link below, fill out the contact form, and type "Surveys" in the comment box. We'll provide you with a no-cost, telephone consultation about your survey project.
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060262_31117962

=============================
8. Rise and shine!
=============================

Set your alarm for 6:30 AM on July 11, 2004 to WJJZ 106.1 or WUSL 98.9 and wake up to Empower Half-Hour, a Philadelphia public affairs program hosted by Lehronda Upshur. Lehondra interviews Ira Wolfe on The Perfect Labor Storm and how to motivate employees.

For those sleepy-heads or readers outside the listening area, we'll have CD-ROMs available following the show and excerpts on the web.

To order a complimentary copy of this 30 minute interview, click here.
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060264_31117962

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact Information:

The Chrysalis Corporation
2001 Hammock Drive
Valdosta, GA 31602
229-257-0665

e-mail: mike@chrysaliscorporation.com

To learn more about The Chrysalis Corporation, visit:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060245_31117962

To send this message to a friend, please go here: http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/remote.html?ltk=1060267_31117962