Many times position are filled easily, with little effort, for roles that are so highly structured that the PEOPLE criteria have limited importance.

When roles are more critical, carry more risk, are harder to fill, have experienced unwanted turnover, it becomes very important to work on the process that will lead up to Attracting, Screening and Selecting the right person.

Raise your hand if yourleadership is continually encouraging innovation, but when it comes down toimplementation, everyone continues to do things as they’ve always done them.Don’t worry; you’re not the only one with your hand in the air. It’s notuncommon for us to revert back to what we know, what is comfortable. What youdid five or ten years ago worked for you — it got you to where you are today.Perhaps what you did back then was unbelievably innovative, and ultimatelysuccessful, for your company. Do you know what your next steps are for aninnovative and successful future?  Do youhave the tools and talent necessary for your company’s evolution?

Approximately seven yearsago, a TTI-certified consultant, Vicki Lauter, was working with a healthcareconsulting company. A small, entrepreneurial company, the leaders were having ahard time hiring the right people. This isn’t to say they weren’t hiringgreat people ­— they were hiring recent cream-of-the-crop MBAs from Duke andChapel Hill. These extremely intelligent, driven graduates were staying withthe company for about a year, then moving on to run divisions at Fortune 1000companies. They were tomorrow’s CEOs, and this particular consulting companydesperately needed dedicated healthcare consultants. Moreover, the leaderswanted employees who would be trained on how to be the perfect healthcareconsultant the way their company envisioned and how they had experiencedsuccess.

Lauter and her teambenchmarked the healthcare consultant position by identifying the keyaccountabilities of the job, and then determining the most successfulbehavioral (DISC) style, motivators, acumen and competencies (soft skills) anideal candidate would possess.  As theyrecruited and onboarded candidates who aligned with that particular benchmark,they found that their retention rate increased substantially, and the firstbatch of benchmarked consultants stayed on staff a minimum of four years.

Let’s fast-forward now to2011.  Five years after the original (andsuccessful) job benchmark, the company’s leadership came to the realizationthat their clients were changing, and thus the company needed to change aswell. Lauter’s team was brought back in to re-benchmark the company’s standardconsultant position, and during the benchmarking process, the leadership teamtruly realized how much their talent pool needed to change. Originally, theywere looking for highly compliant, technically savvy individuals who woulddeliver the company’s strategy precisely as they were taught. Afterre-benchmarking, the position, the company leaders recognized that they neededconsultants who were comfortable talking and meeting with clients, anddelivering solutions to each client depending on that client’s individualneeds.  This was a very different type ofemployee.

Implemented successfully,this healthcare consulting company developed a cadre of talented consultants,equipped to evolve with the company’s strategic plan, but before they couldinnovate, they needed the right people working to fulfill the vision of thecompany.

Click here to read more blogposts featuring job benchmarking success stories:http://www.ttisuccessinsights.com/blog/categories/job-benchmarking

How rational is it that a national retailer would actually build poor service into their business plan, in order to minimize staff costs and maximize profits?

Is this a viable strategy or does it eventually backfire? 

I recently experienced this in three locations of the same national retailer and have to believe that poor service is part of their plan.  This is not the first such experience with a retailer as I'm sure most of you can relate.

My first thought had been that they either have a hiring issue or a training issue, both of which we could help with.  This made me curious about the viability of pursuing the idea.

The staff tends to be on the younger side and I assume on the lower end of the wage scale.  If the willingness is there, it is neither very difficult nor expensive to improve hiring / selection processes nor to better train those with who have decent retail attitudes but no training.

I've come to believe that the retailer knows exactly what they are doing and strategically limits service in an effort to keep the level just above the breaking point for the retail audience.  Is this clever or dangerous?

My guess is that the store operators and regional managers have little control.  I suspect they blame Walmart or some other major competitor for poor business results when it is their own issues, within their doors, that kills business advancement.

Too bad.

By the way, I found what I needed at a Home Hardware store in Haney and got just the right kind of service.

What do you think?