Welcome to the October 6, 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.

If you are receiving this issue as a forward, and want your own subscription, visit
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/newsletter.htm

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In This Issue
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1. Career Assessment Tests Keep Start-ups and Small Businesses On-Track.

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #256 to #260.

3. Have You Downloaded our Complimentary DISC E-booklet Yet?

4. Screen Entry-Level Candidates Easily Without Breaking The Bank.

5. A Research Database At Your Fingertips To Help You Hire Top Performers.

6. Is Your Company or Association Planning to Conduct a Survey in Q4 2004?

7. What Interview Questions Can You Ask? -- Complimentary Guide Reveals All.

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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/totalview_backissues.htm

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1. Career Assessment Tests Keep Start-ups and Small Businesses On-Track.
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Larger businesses have long recognized the value of testing for compatible – and not very compatible - personalities before hiring the "right" people and when building high performance teams. After all, the right chemistry can bring energy and creativity to a company. The wrong people can divert attention from running the business and irritate employees, customers, vendors.

Likewise, start-ups and small businesses can ill afford to burn through costly hiring mistakes and waste time resolving divisive interpersonal conflicts although they have been reluctant to adopt this best practice strategy of matching the right people to the right jobs through career assessment tests, or personality tests.

About half of all small businesses fail within the first four years. Many of these failures resemble one another in one crucial way – hiring people with the right technical skills but ignoring or at least overlooking the "soft" stuff - attitudes, mindsets and motivators. Burt and Rick were no exception.

After two years working for a local bank, Burt and Rick began to ask themselves if starting their own business wouldn't be the smart thing to do. They both joined the bank's IT department about the same time and immediately became best of friends. Each of them dreamed about starting his own business but neither had the capital or know-how to do it.

Then one day, they received an offer they just couldn't refuse. A regional distribution company called Rick and told him they were looking to outsource their web development and networking solutions. "Do you know any local companies who might be interested?" the company president asked. Rick immediately calls Burt about the opportunity and together they decide this is the break they are looking for. What a better way to start a business two best friends, complementary skills, and a guaranteed contract for at least a year.

Sound familiar? It should. That is exactly how many businesses start. Unfortunately it is also the formula for disaster.

Many small business owners learn too late that a "good" personality match means much more than the touch-and-feely stuff ….and that personality tests constructed with the entrepreneur in mind reveal a lot more than psycho-babble. It wasn't long before Burt and Rick could have used a few online personality tests to avoid or minimize their impending crisis.

What they first wrote off as just a bunch of silly little personality quirks began to drive a wedge in their business partnership and friendship.

For example, personality determines how people face the pace of work…and deal with the stress of a faster or slower pace. Rick thought Burt needed to get a life. Burt was always connected to work. He tried to call Rick several times after midnight but when Rick left work, he needed downtime and just checked out. Burt lived on a few hours sleep each night and just like the Energizer Bunny, just kept going and going and going. He thrived on deadlines and juggling multiple projects. Rick laid awake nights worrying about all the work he didn't get done yesterday and everything he needed to do tomorrow. Burt thrived on this type of frenetic schedule. It totally drained Rick.

Personality traits also affect how people evaluate risk, prioritize, and make decisions. While both agreed they needed to hire their first employee, the proverbial crap also hit the fan after the interviews. Burt was a risk taker. Rick was not. The candidate favored by Burt was "the best network guy around". He also demanded top dollar. Burt viewed his candidate as an investment in the company's future.

Rick agreed the candidate was superbly qualified but didn't understand why they needed to guarantee an employee more money than Burt and Rick were making themselves. Burt admired the candidate's drive and determination. Rick thought he was arrogant and pushy.

Soon the grand plan began to unravel.

Burt and Rick could have avoided the hassle and stress of breaking up a business (and saving a friendship, too) if they had only taken a page from a few of the Best Places to Work: building a business starts with finding a market, acquiring the cash, and building the right team – the three legs of the start-up stool. Two out of three don't work.

Just a few years ago, personality testing for small business owners and entrepreneurs was not practical even if necessary. It was expensive and time-consuming and frankly the organizational psychologists didn't understand the entrepreneurial mindset. With the introduction of the newest generation of personality tests and their availability online, all the entrepreneur needs to do is click the mouse. Results are easy, convenient, and real-time. Whether you are the solo entrepreneur hiring your first employee or just two colleagues forming a partnership, online personality tests are necessary tools in every start-up toolbox.

Learn more about Career Assessment Tests here:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/developmental_assessments.htm

Our clients use CriteriaOne®, a comprehensive competency-based selection and performance management system, to implement this plan. Our strategic partner, Success Performance Solutions, offers a three-day CriteriaOne train-the-trainer program for human resource professionals, hiring managers, business owners, and consultants. The next training is scheduled for November 3 - 5, 2004 in Lancaster PA. For more information, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/criteria_one.htm

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2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #256 to #260.
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Eventually there will be fewer unmarried or single heads of households workers in the workforce than single workers. Is your company prepared to offer benefits that fits these life styles?

Fact #256: Nearly 26 percent of Americans now live alone.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Fact #257: Unmarried adults now head half of all households.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Fact #258: Almost half of the nation's employees are unmarried.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Fact #259: In 2000, 3.8 million couples were living together.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Fact #260: 22 percent of children in the U.S. were living with their mother only.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Do you sit on a program committee for your local civic, business or professional association? "The Perfect Labor Storm" is the perfect topic for meetings, conferences and keynotes. Schedule Ira Wolfe today. Find out what's ahead in employment trends and how it will affect career opportunitues, education, quality of life issues and more. Call 717.656.4632 for more information.

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3. Have You Downloaded our Complimentary DISC E-booklet Yet?
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If you are new to DISC, or just want to brush up on your DISC knowledge, we invite you to download our complimentary e-booklet Teamworks: 42 Tips to Help Teams Thrive & Survive.

This easy reference pocked guide will provide you with a solid understanding of the DISC model in clear, concise language. You will learn:

--Four ways that people approach their work.
--Secrets to reading a person like a book.
--How to predict a person's behavior.
--What motivates your boss and coworkers

Follow this link to download Teamworks: 42 Tips to Help Teams Thrive:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/booklet_request.htm

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4. Screen Entry-Level Candidates Easily Without Breaking The Bank.
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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, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/first_view_jf.htm.

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5. A Research Database At Your Fingertips To Help You Hire Top Performers.
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Did you know that you have a database of Labor Storm Alerts, cutting-edge news, statistics, tips, and tools to help you hire, manage, and motivate top-performing employees at your disposal?

We archive each week's issue of The Total View on our web site. If you've missed a previous issue or are looking for information on a particular topic, we invite you to view back issues of The Total View. Simply follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/totalview_backissues.htm

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6. Is Your Company or Association Planning to Conduct a Survey in Q4 2004?
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Is your company or association planning to conduct a survey in Q4 2004? Hate the hassle of inputting survey results? Not enough time to query the data and create reports? Are you putting off getting much needed feedback from customers, employees and members?

Contact us today to learn about 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.

For more information about the survey solutions we can provide you with, including our Rapid Survey Option, follow the link below and type "Surveys" in the comment box. You can also contact us by phone at: 229-257-0665:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/contact_us_surveys.htm

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7. What Interview Questions Can You Ask? -- Complimentary Guide Reveals All.
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What Interview Questions Can You Ask? Ever wonder which questions are legal to ask and which ones increase your probability of landing you and your company in court as a defendant?

Download Our Interview Guide here.
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/pdf/what_interview_questions_can_you_ask.pdf

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Contact Information:

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

To learn more about The Chrysalis Corporation, visit:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com