Welcome to the March 16, 2005 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/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=11&c=10

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In This Issue
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1. An Apology
2. SPS Solves Sales Personality Puzzle.
3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #361 to #365.
4. How Can You Put Your Hiring Process on Auto Pilot?
5. Have You Tested Your Interviewing IQ Yet?
6. Screen Entry-Level Candidates Easily Without Breaking The Bank.
7. Back By Popular Demand - 21 Reasons Why Performance Reviews Fail.

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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 2005 - 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/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=12&c=10

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1. An Apology.
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Over the last couple of weeks we experienced a problem with our email server while sending out The Total View. We are aware that many of our subscribers inadvertently received last week's newsletter twice, while others did not receive it at all. That problem has been corrected and we are truly sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

As a reminder, if you ever miss an issue of The Total View, you can always read past issues on our web site by going here:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=12&c=10

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2. SPS Solves Sales Personality Puzzle.
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What we call a "sales personality" actually has five distinct components. It's like a puzzle, each component representing a different piece. The way these pieces fit together affects how well a person can and will sell your product. Here are the personality pieces: core personality, interests, cognitive ability, business motivators, and behavioral style.

How do you know which factors are most important for your business? That's a question a $2 billion-plus service company put to Success Performance Solutions. Management considered the search for a sales staff capable of excelling in discrete markets its primary challenge. This company operates in a competitive market. A close second was the first-year high turnover rate.

SPS initiated a benchmark study. First, we set performance standards so management could objectively distinguish top performers and under-achievers. The benchmarks, each derived from a combination of information, started with performance criteria supplied by company managers.

We then gave them these tasks: First, the sales manager completed a performance rating sheet for each salesperson included in the study. Each manager also completed a TotalView job description survey that described the work environment. Finally both top- and under-achieving representatives from the incumbent sales force completed the TotalView assessment system.

One hundred and ninety-nine salespeople completed TotalView assessments and managers completed ratings for 157 of them. An independent psychology consulting firm evaluated the results. A profile for a top performing salesperson, based on the analysis of manager's ratings, job descriptions and TotalView test results, emerged. Here's what the company learned.

The entire sales force rated high in these characteristics: independent, outgoing and well-balanced. That means the company consistently recruited and hired sales reps who are outgoing and driven people. Why then, did the company suffer from high attrition and low performance? Obviously, ambition coupled with an expressive personality wasn't enough to cut the mustard in this business.

Applying benchmarks to performance shed some light. Behavioral traits had a pronounced effect on a sales reps' tally. Let's start with assertiveness. Top performers ranked 7-9 on a 10 point scale, beating the sales staff average of 6.74. These sales reps were more able to speak up, to say what needed to be said, to ask the tough questions, and to ask for the sale. The numbers soared when rated in the "making benefits statements" and "gaining agreement from the customer" categories. These top sales reps show no reluctance when it comes to selling the service and closing the sale.

The ratings for top performers in the "outgoing personality" category showed a similar distribution. Top sales reps scored between 6 and 10, bearing the overall average of 7.53. The correlation was considerable when the propensity for outgoingness was compared with their supervisor's rating for teamwork, too.

High ratings in the 9 to 10 range on both the poised and relaxed scales were important indicators for predicting poor performance. People with high scores on these scales show exceptional work-life balance and coping skills. They, however, may lack the sense of urgency and the drive necessary to succeed in a fast-paced, dynamic, time-sensitive environment. Even if they can succeed, others perceive their calmness as non-chalance.

This is important. The ability to cope with the ups and downs of sales is one of the best predictive indicators for sales performance. Stability, the stress coping scale in TotalView, is one of the most predictive scales for success in management and sales positions. In several studies, SPS clients discovered that over 50 percent of their under-achievers scored in the 9 or 10 ranges in both the poised and relaxed scales.

Top performers scored between 6 and 8 on the emotional stable scale. What this means is that any company whose business depends all or in part on relationship-based sales wants a sales staff that falls into the average "relaxed" range. These folks show more sales initiative and rank higher with pre-call planning and effectively lower sales barriers.

Those who scored at the other extreme, in the 1-4 range, consistently had lower performance ratings. Take a moment to mull over this finding. Excitability and restlessness exhibited by people rated in the 1 - 4 range can be mistakenly deemed desirable if these traits are confused with enthusiasm and ambition. Think of times you may have rewarded high energy sales reps with a keen sense of urgency only to realize the net result was a lot of activity and busy-ness that did not land contracts.

The lower stability scores can indicate a propensity for a sales rep who is emotional. In other words, this person may jump ship more quickly than a more stable colleague. Simply put, when the going gets tough, the not-so-tough get going.

All the top performers show an above-average interest in working with people. Sales reps with high scores in this category are thorough about pre-call planning and follow-through.

Top performers rate about average on the conscientiousness scale. Although they have a slight preference for structure, these sales reps are motivated by deadlines and time constraints. Right or wrong, many markets demand sales people who can hit the ground running with a minimum of training and supervision. If that describes your business, you want a sales team who falls right between the conventional and innovative traits, and who show a slightly reactive tendency.

What's this thing we call cognition? Simply speaking, cognition is the word we use to gauge ability. High ability differs from the right ability. Our benchmarks showed that top performers may not have above-average general abilities. Many of the top performing sales reps showed below-average ability when working with numbers and average ability to works with words and shapes. Sales reps with above average cognitive tend to get bored quickly. If they are not promoted to more demanding and challenging markets or positions, they will move on. Think about that high and costly first-year attrition rate I mentioned earlier

Understanding how to rate and use a person's general ability is critical to making a sound hiring decision. Its importance warrants repeating myself: Any company that hires people whose cognitive abilities exceeds those required for the job wastes talent and results in turnover and performance issues. Ironically, people with lower cognitive abilities can become top performers, over time, with training and experience. When an applicant has a good personality fit and the right interests and motivations, lower ability might not be a reason to move on to the next person. With some time and preparation, a diamond in the rough can sparkle. Of course, the company must be prepared to train and groom this applicant.

To learn more about online personality tests go here:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=28&c=10

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3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #361 to #365.
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Fact #361: Half of all Americans today say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from nearly 60 percent in 1995. But among the 50 percent who say they are content, only 14 percent say they are "very satisfied." (Source: The Conference Board, 2005).

Fact #362: Job satisfaction has declined across all income brackets in the last nine years. While 55 percent of workers earning more than $50,000 are satisfied with their jobs, only 14 percent claim they are very satisfied. (Source: The Conference Board, 2005).

Fact #363: The largest decline in overall job satisfaction, from 60.9% to 49.2%, occurred among workers 35-44. This is also the worker group next in line for management and leadership positions. (Source: The Conference Board, 2005).

Fact #364: The second largest decline took place among workers aged 45-54, with the satisfaction level dropping from 57.3% to 47.7%. (Source: The Conference Board, 2005).

Fact #365: With less than 47% of householders claiming to be satisfied with their current job, workers in the Middle Atlantic and Mountain states are the least satisfied workers in the U.S. (Source: The Conference Board, 2005).

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Get a copy today - $7.95 includes shipping. Follow this link to learn more:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=7&c=10

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4. How Can You Put Your Hiring Process on Auto Pilot?
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The Resu-mess is back! If piles of resumes and crowded e-mail in-boxes have got you frustrated, you NEED to preview Total APS in action.

What is Total APS? It is an applicant tracking and assessment system that puts your recruiting and selection efforts on auto pilot. Total APS even provides you assess to the TotalView assessment (see the first article in this newsletter).

Total APS frees up your time to communicate with only QUALIFIED candidates and helps you ensure a good job fit between a person and the job. Total APS can save your company is to experience the system in action. View our online7-minute, no-obligation video demonstration of the Total APS system here:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=26&c=10

Can't view it online? Contact us today for a Free CD-ROM on How to Screen and Interview Candidates Online. Follow this link and type APS in the comment box:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=18&c=10

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5. Have You Tested Your Interviewing IQ Yet?
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Interviewing is still the most commonly used selection tool even though the traditional interview is effective at identifying a top performer as few as 1 in every 14 times. It's not always the fault or due to the inexperience of the interviewer either. The laws are complicated, time is always too short and the candidates are a lot more savvy and have more time to prepare.

Test your interviewing skills (see link below).

Take this test and determine how well you know the ins and outs of effective interviewing.

Don't hesitate to forward this test to your manager or boss. We won't tell where it came from! Follow this link to test your Interviewing IQ:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=10&c=10

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6. 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/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=5&c=10

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7. Back By Popular Demand - 21 Reasons Why Performance Reviews Fail.
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Recently many of you e-mailed us saying how helpful the information about performance reviews was. Incase you may have missed this information in a previous newsletter, we've included the information again for your convenience.

You are welcome to forward this article to managers, and anyone else, in your organization who may be responsible for conducting performance reviews.

1. The reviewer and employee have a personal friendship outside of work and both individuals can't differentiate their manager-employee role from their friend-friend relationship.

2. The reviewer and the employee see themselves as part of a team. Team members are supposed to encourage one another, be supportive in good and bad times. But when the manager has to provide negative feedback or discipline the employee, these actions are viewed as divisive.

3. When not provided regularly, annual (or even less periodic) reviews can be based on most recent performance, not performance over the course of the year. The results go both ways. Employees who put on their best behavior around review time get favorable ratings and the employee who has a bad couple of weeks gets punished.

Source: Ira S. Wolfe.

To read the remaining 18 reasons, follow this:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=22&c=10

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Contact Information:

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