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5 Hot Employee Recruitment Trends That Will Change How You Hire

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In the last year we’ve seen new advancements and applications in technology that have made the recruitment process easier. We’ve also seen work forces becoming more diverse, and remote work growing in popularity, changing the way recruiters fill open positions.

But the recruitment process isn’t done advancing yet. In the future we can expect to see continued changes to the way we hire new talent. To help you gear up for these changes, let’s take a look five recruitment trends we believe will be major game-changers this year.

1. Further Expansion Of AI In Hiring

It seems that artificial intelligence is making its way into just about every area of the business world, making it one of our top recruitment trends. While the use of AI in hiring was prevalent throughout 2017, it was still a fresh concept. This year we expect more and more companies to implement AI into their hiring process.

AI in recruiting can solve major problems for companies in all industries. From cutting down the amount of time HR professionals spend sifting through stacks of applications to removing biases during the hiring process, AI can help companies find the right talent and diversify their workforce. For these reasons and more, we expect to see sizable growth in the number of companies using AI in recruiting.

 We also can expect to see the way HR managers use AI to expand. In addition to making the hiring process easier, automation tools can be used to improve communication with candidates, increase the quality of candidates, and reduce the time it takes to hire new talent.

2. Increased Focus On Candidate Experience

Last year we started seeing a shortage of qualified talent in a number of industries. With about 40% of global employers reporting they weren’t getting the desired skills in their applicants, it means we’re operating in a candidate-driven job market.

For those in recruitment, there needs to be an increase focus on a candidate’s experience—maintaining a strong customer experience can encourage a stronger bond between a company and job candidates. If the pool of qualified candidates continues to shrink, companies will be fighting for the same talent. When your company is not considering your candidate’s experience during each stage of the application process, you may lose them to another opening.

Candidate experience is especially crucial if you’re using an automated application process; HR technology can actually improve your candidate experience. Using automation software can make it easier to stay in contact with your candidates, ensuring they get the information they need to stay satisfied.

3. More And More Applicants Turning To Mobile Devices

The marketing world has been preparing for a shift to mobile users for a few years now. As more and more individuals choose to let go of their desktop and laptop computers for tablets and smartphones, the way they’re browsing the web is changing. This means the way they’re searching for and applying for jobs is changing, as well.

Unsurprisingly, millennials make up the most active group of mobile applicants. However, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are still incredibly active participants. With 73% of Gen Xers and almost 60% of Baby Boomers using mobile devices to search for jobs, a mobile application process needs to be easily accessible, regardless of industry or job level. Additionally, Google and other search engines give preference to mobile-friendly websites, meaning your page will rank higher if you’re using responsive design.

As we continue to see the trend towards mobile use grow, companies need to be considerate of what this means for applicants who are applying on these smaller screens and devices. Company websites—as well as applications—should be fully responsive and easy to view, no matter the device the visitor is using.

4. Continuing Shift Towards Remote Work

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a relatively steady increase in the number of individuals choosing to work remotely. Remote work gives companies the ability to hire the best candidates, regardless of their location.

With more and more companies and industries embracing remote work, the way talent is acquired to fill job positions is also changing. Recruiters are no longer confined to candidates within a particular area, expanding the pool of applicants and making it easier to find individuals who fit their job descriptions.

However, as the shift towards remote work continues to grow, recruiters will need to change the way they screen and evaluate candidates. Remote workers require different skills than in-house employees, meaning recruiters may need to be retrained to know what to look for in a remote applicant.

5. use of social media (beyond LinkedIn) as a Recruitment tool

When we think about recruiting talent on social media, most recruiters immediately think of LinkedIn. While LinkedIn has introduced the idea of professional networking on a social media platform, we can expect to see other social media platforms join the recruitment world.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram encourage more engagement with candidates and

attract higher-quality talent. When companies use their social media platforms to engage with prospective employees, they’re able to reach an even bigger pool of passive candidates.

We expect to see recruiters stretch beyond just connecting with talent on LinkedIn. We also anticipate more “behind the scenes” social media accounts, allowing companies to show off their company culture by showcasing their team’s employees and inner workings.

preparing for recruitment

The recruitment trends we can expect to see all center back to one thing: technology. As the way we use technology continues to change, we can expect to see shifts in the way recruiters find, engage, and hire new talent.

These technology-driven recruitment trends will only continue to grow and change in the years to come. Properly preparing to implement new technology, ideas, and practices into the recruitment process can help HR professionals stay on top of the ever-changing needs of the recruitment industry.

Inspire Your Employees by Making These 6 Habits Part of Your Daily M.O.

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As a leader, part of your responsibilities as the boss is to inspire your employees. This may seem like a complicated and daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. By adopting some simple habits and demonstrating them every day, you can inspire your employees to have a more positive attitude toward their work, customers, and other staff members.

Six Easy Ways You Can Inspire Your Team

Start the day with a smile. As the boss, your attitude and demeanor upon entering the office can influence the kind of day it will shape up to be for your employees. A warm smile sends a message of optimism for what’s ahead, and it evokes a sense of being encouraged and supported. There’s even some research out there that indicates smiling can influence others to smile. What could be more uplifting and productive than an office full of joyful people?

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Take an interest in them. Your employees are real people with families, pets, unique hobbies, challenges to overcome, triumphs to celebrate, etc. Take the time to show an interest in them beyond what they do for your company. A simple “How are you?” or “What’s new with you?” or “How was your weekend?” can show team members you care about them as individuals.

In addition to making the effort to communicate like this every day, I also enjoy scheduling one-on-one lunches with each of my staff members individually every quarter. By carving out this time, I’ve learned more about them, they’ve learned more about me, and we’ve formed stronger working relationships. As a result, they are more engaged and enthusiastic employees.

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Demonstrate patience. You make mistakes, and so will your employees at times. It’s one of the realities of being human. Show patience and understanding when your team members mess up. Keep a cool head, discuss the mistake and how to correct it, and identify a plan/steps to avoid it in the future. A calm demeanor on your part when addressing slip-ups will help your employees concentrate on what they need to do to resolve the issue. Wouldn’t you agree that’s a much better approach than yelling and chastising, which makes people defensive and disheartened?

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Always use ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’ As a parent, I’m constantly reminding my children to do this. Sadly, I see plenty of grown-up, professional adults who fail to mind their manners. When you say, “please,” “thank you,” “excuse me,” etc., you demonstrate respect for other people. When people hear those magic words, they know they matter to you. By showing your attention to minding your p’s and q’s, you’ll help foster a culture of caring and mutual respect within your company.

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Have a sense of humor. According the Mayo Clinic, laughter helps alleviate stress and can make people feel more capable of dealing with adversity. By infusing some lighthearted banter at work, you can help employees feel more at ease and relaxed. Of course, choose your humor wisely so you don’t offend or alienate people.

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Empower them. Give them an opportunity to share their ideas about how to do their jobs better and how your company can improve its processes and products. By giving them a say in how things are done, you can instill in them a sense of ownership of their work and your company’s success. In my experience, people are excited to bring value to a company when they feel their thoughts are valued.

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Aspire to Inspire. The attitudes and actions you bring to work every day will have an impact on your employees, so be conscious of how you conduct yourself.

Your Long Game Strategy and Your Short Game Strategy

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The results you want when you play the long game are made up of the results you create by playing the short game.

your long game

Over the long term, you need to nurture your dream clients, create new opportunities, and win those opportunities.Nurturing your dream clients by feeding them value-creating ideas is a play for your long game. It takes time to be known as a value creator, to generate trust, and to open relationships. You can’t cram thesis outcomes, that’s why you need professional persistence to play the long game.The social channels, or digital you, is a long game play. Most of what you do will take time to create the impact you need. Digital lends itself to campaigns, and campaigns are what you need to play the long game.

your short game

Creating new opportunities is the short game. Your long game can set up your short game. By nurturing and building relationships over time, you may make it easier to create opportunities.That said, you can’t wait to create those opportunities. To generate opportunities now, you are going to have to use an approach that produces better results faster, and that means referrals and the telephone. You can’t wait until your dream client raises their hand and asks for your help. You have to create the opportunities you need now by doing the work that produces those opportunities right now.The sales process is a long game. You should do everything you can to compress the time it takes to win deals because it benefits you, your company, and your dream client, especially when they need results now. But it’s important to remember that fast is slow, and slow is fast.You are selling to create a preference for you, your company, and your solution. If you are trying to play the short game by behaving as if your complex sale is a transaction, your short game will kill your long game. Playing the long game and selling for the lifetime value of the deal for you and your dream client is how you build clients for life.

play both your games together

You can’t play only the long game. You also can’t limit yourself to the short game. You generate the best results playing the long game and short game together with discipline and persistence.

The Ultimate Business-Writing Checklist: How to Ensure Customer Trust and Sales

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Words can make or break a business deal. They have the potential to convert unaware prospects into repeat buyers. Businesses become brands when they communicate their vision effectively. So, how do you bridge the gap between your company’s vision and your buyer’s need?Writing is the thing that will come to your rescue. It is one of the effective mediums to create more clarity, boost confidence and strengthen your credibility in buyers’ eyes.If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are, you have control over your professional life, but you still have to make many stressful decisions. To minimise the stress of writing, check out the following 61 questions to improve your business-writing skills to win the hearts of your target audience and thereby increase your online sales.

preparation

  • Thought process: Do you plan in advance to make your writing more direct and efficient?
  • Idealisation: Do you write your first draft without worrying about perfection?
  • Communication: Are you clear with the theme of your article? (If you are not clear about your theme, expect the same from your readers)
  • Feel the pain: Are you putting yourself in your buyers’ shoes?
  • Action: What are the actionable takeaways from your article?

Headline

  • Benefit: Are you presenting the benefit to gain your readers’ attention?
  • Curiosity: Does your headline force readers to click the link for more information?
  • Convey: Does your headline convey the same benefit as your article’s theme?
  • Specific: Is your headline specific, not too general, to get an instant reaction?
  • Study: Do you study headlines of popular business blogs and magazines in your industry?

storytelling

  • Visualise: Do you help readers visualise the benefits of your product/service?
  • Aggravate: Do you up the ante of your the story by introducing the villain (the pain points)?
  • Hero: Do you calm your readers by presenting the hero (solution) of the story?

expectations

  • Justify: Are you making a true connection between your audience members’ time and their high expectations?
  • Referral: Do you expect readers to become your brand ambassadors by sharing the content?
  • Next visit: Do you expect a next visit by the same reader to learn more about your offer?
  • Over-deliver: Do you surprise your readers by delivering more than was expected?

listening

  • Intention: Are you listening with the intention of solving your customers’ problems
  • Capture: Does your listening capture the mood of your target audience?
  • Action: Does your listening translate into actionable content?

engagement

  • Drive: Do your subheadings push readers to the body paragraph? 
  • Short: Is your paragraph short enough to retain the engagement level?
  • Simple: Are your sentences simple, smooth and easy to read?
  • Connect: Do you maintain the connection when jumping from one sub-topic to another?
  • Questions: Are you asking the right set of questions to involve your audience?
  • Bullet: Are you engaging the audience with bullet points to make digestible content?

conenction

  • Frequency: Are you on the same wavelength with your target audience?
  • Feel: Do you generate feelings for your readers’ pain points?
  • Experience: Do you share customer experiences to build a strong connection? 

simplicity

  • Jargon: Are you (incorrectly) using technical terms to confuse your readers?
  • Passive voice: Do you (incorrectly) use passive voice to make ideas hard to follow?
  • Adverbs: Are you eliminating useless adverbs to simplify the message?
  • Transition: Are you using transitional phrases to create smooth jumps? (e.g., “There’s more,” “Here’s the kicker,” “Let me explain”)
  • Very: Do you use “very” to express dull and unclear phrases? (e.g., use “exhausted” instead of “very tired,” “vibrant” instead of “very colourful”)
  • Choice: Do you (incorrectly) offer multiple options that may produce decision paralysis for readers?
  • Cut the fat: Do you remove unnecessary words or sentences?
  • Originality: Does your buyer yawn over your boring clichés? (Remove phrases like “service-oriented” and “high-quality.” Instead, express the benefits of your product/services.)

clarity

  • One goal: Are you focusing on one goal to dig deep into a single topic?
  • One person: Do you please everyone to dilute the reader experience?
  • Examples: Are you using real-life examples to create more clarity?
  • Conversational: Is your writing too formal to alienate readers from your offering?

reality check

  • Vulnerable: Are you showing your “real” side, to build deep connections? (People buy you first, before buying your offer.)
  • True feelings: Do you share how you feel, to make your content more relatable?
  • Replicate: Are you sharing those things that matter to you?
  • Realistic Goals: Are you setting realistic goals for your readers?

credibility

  • Testimonials: Do you include customer testimonials to build trust and credibility?
  • Authority: Are you conveying confidence and decisiveness through content?
  • Data: Do you back your content with industry research or data?
  • Opinions: Are you taking the opinion of influencers to back your content?

closing

  • Summarise: Are you summing up the topic by touching on the main points?
  • Feedback: Do you ask questions to receive suggestions or queries in the comments section?
  • Specific: Are you making a clear call to action? (Don’t hesitate. If you are not clear, no one will take action.)

before hitting the ‘publish’ button

  • Read: Do you read your content aloud to avoid typos, missing words and errors?
  • Perspective: Do you present the ideas from an audience perspective? (Replace “I,” “our company” and “my” with “you” and “your.”)
  • Capture: Have you captured the hopes, fears, aspirations and desires of your target audience?
  • Practice: Do you work extensively on your headlines before publishing the post?

after publishing

  • Feedback: Do you ask your office team for the feedback?
  • Experiment: Do you experiment with your writing style to strike a perfect chord with readers?
  • Check: Do you keep a check on social media comments? (You might get an idea for your next article.)
  • Habit: Do you practice the art of writing on a daily basis?
  • Numbers: Are you gauging the interest of your readers by analysing the number of likes, shares and comments?

Here Are 5 Characteristics of Grit. How Many Do You Have?

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The definition of grit is courage and resolve or strength of character. It can also mean an indomitable and irrepressible spirit that doesn’t back down in the face of failure or obstacles. Experts identify five characteristics of grit. If you have them, you’ll be better equipped to handle the challenges life throws at you. How do you stack up?

1. courage: strength in the face of pain, fear or grief

People often underestimate just how courageous and resilient they can be. Every aspect of life requires a little bit of courage. A child needs the courage to face the first day of school, and a student needs the courage to step out into the world after graduation.Similarly, entrepreneurs and business owners need the courage to take risks with their daily activities, to make investments and introduce new products and services. They have to overcome the fear of failure and find it in themselves to stand up if a failed venture knocks them off their feet.

2. conscientiousness: meticulous, detail-oriented and careful

Conscientiousness requires patience and commitment and is a significant characteristic of grit. People who are conscientious try their best to avoid mistakes and never jump hastily into commitments. While courage is the ability to make mistakes and face failure, conscientiousness is the capacity to work hard to avoid failures and errors in the first place.You’ll notice that people who possess true grit don’t shy away from hard work. Conscientious people are also quite principled and won’t take shortcuts if they have to compromise their values and ethics.

3. resilience: confident, committed and optimistic

It’s easy to dismiss resilient individuals as stubborn. They stay on their path and are determined to succeed despite all odds. They’re confident in their ability to make sacrifices, put in the effort and overcome failures to reach their goals.Entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals need to be resilient to survive in a cutthroat business environment. Resilience can help you withstand the pressure of competition and even enjoy the challenges it presents.

4. excellence: being outstanding or extremely good

People with grit will always strive to achieve excellence rather that focus on perfection. While perfection focuses on the result of your efforts, excellence is more concerned with how you get there. Excellence is a forgiving concept and only asks you to give your all to a particular task.If you fail despite your best efforts, you’ll learn from your mistakes and move on. If you succeed, you’ve achieved the best result possible. Think of excellence as progress vs. perfection. It’s better to start and learn with a bad product, then to have never started at all.

5. endurance: staying put in different situations to achieve long-term goals

You won’t succeed in life if you don’t remain on a path you’ve chosen, regardless of how difficult and challenging the road becomes. Most people find it difficult to keep up the hard work and want quick rewards. Long-term goals require time, patience, sacrifices and effort and you need to have the endurance to stay on the path.All of these characteristics of grit will help you succeed in your personal and professional life. If you don’t yet possess these characteristics, life will happen and you will either develop grit or live a life of helplessness. As John Ortberg explained: “Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.”

5 Techniques to Avoid the Dreaded Happy Ears Syndrome

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I recently sat in on a pipeline review with a sales rep, Clare, and her manager. After asking a couple questions about one particular deal, her manager asked how confident Clare was that it’d close.“They were really enthusiastic, so I’m almost certain,” she replied.

But when I checked in a week later, Clare told me that buyer had ended up going with a competitor. She’d gotten happy ears: The common sales trap of being overly optimistic about a deal because you haven’t qualified enough to discover true objections.Happy ears lead to inaccurate sales forecasts and missed quotas, and are usually the result of salespeople failing to ask tough questions and uncover objections. These five strategies will help reps maintain a healthy level of skepticism.

1. ask probing questions

Digging into the buyer’s positive statements helps salespeople identify if there’s a true intent to buy. It’s easy to interpret a statement such as, “It seems like a great fit,” as “We don’t have any reservations.”However, that statement could just as likely mean, “We like what the product does, but the integration process sounds time-consuming and the price is a little higher than we’d like.”The takeaway: If reps take everything buyers say at face value, they’ll miss serious reservations.To surface potential objections, salespeople can ask these probing questions:

  • “Glad to hear it, [prospect name]. Can you explain what you mean by X?”
  • “Would you mind going a bit more in-depth about [prospect’s comment]?”
  • “I think [feature] is great too. But is there anything you’re not as confident about?”
  • “When it comes to X, do you see any obstacles to successful implementation?”

If prospects don’t have any objections, they’ll simply elaborate on their earlier statement — which will subconsciously reaffirm their own positive opinions while confirming that reps haven’t missed anything.

2. seek out red flags

The prospect might sound ready to sign the proposal right then and there — but unless they actually do, reps should be still keep their eyes peeled for warning signs the deal won’t close.These include:

  • Lack of authority: When salespeople get happy ears, they often forget to verify that their contact is the actual decision maker.
  • Lack of consensus: One of the stakeholders might be be eager to buy, yet their enthusiasm won’t matter if their colleagues are skeptical. To get a deal over the finish line, reps must identify everyone involved in the buying decision and show each person why the purchase helps with their individual goals.
  • Lack of urgency: Salespeople are always worried about the competition, but they should be focusing on the status quo. Doing nothing is always the easier option for prospects, even if inaction is harmful in the long run. Reps need to determine if their prospect is truly motivated to act and why. (Not sure how? Try assigning homework.)
  • Lack of budget: Sellers can only help buyers find creative solutions to budget problems if they know buyers are having budget problems in the first place. Don’t assume there’s money for your product: Ask how your prospect plans on funding the purchase.

Everything might look good at first glance. However, if these red flags are present, reassess your strategy rather than preemptively celebrating.

3. get an outside opinion

Reps can get a reality check by asking their manager or a team member to review the deal. An outsider can hone in on key details the salesperson might’ve overlooked. For instance, they might ask, “Why are they looking to switch solutions now? With the end of the year coming up, it’s an inconvenient time to replace all of their processes with new ones.”The rep could have forgotten to confirm his prospect’s timeline. Thanks to his coworker’s suggestion, he can explore this crucial detail on their next call.

4. avoid “this one is different” syndrome

Ideal co-founder and COO Shaun Ricci recommends salespeople think twice when they find themselves saying, “This one is different.”Reps may use this line to justify why a deal will close more quickly than normal or a buyer will spend more than the average customer, Ricci explains.“There are exceptions to every rule, but if you find yourself uttering those words when your boss asks why a prospect will buy in two weeks when your average sales cycle is 90 days, that should trigger you to go back and review why you believe this prospect is truly different,” he says.

5. prepare for the worst-case scenario

A positive mindset often transforms a salesperson’s ability to convince her prospects of her product’s value. On the flip side, being too positive blinds the rep to the obstacles in her path.How can salespeople strike the perfect balance between pessimism and optimism? Try New York University psychology professor Gabriele Oettingen’s W.O.O.P. strategy:

  • W: Think about your Wish.
  • O: Think about your ideal Outcome.
  • O: Think about the Obstacles in your way.
  • P: Plan for those obstacles.

W.O.O.P helps you envision the best possible future while also requiring you to prepare for roadblocks. If you have happy ears, this exercise will help you come back down to earth.Getting happy ears can wreck reps’ chances of closing. These five tactics will help them maintain a balance of confidence and realism.

Show Employees You Care About Their Well-Being. Here are 5 Ways.

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When we hear the term “well-being,” most of us imagine physical health. But well-being holds a much bigger significance in the workplace — how employees envision their future, goals, overall outlook and attitude.In the November 2015 Impact of Excellent Employee Well-Being study of 2,363 employees, conducted by the O.C. Tanner Institute, employees rated their life at work at the middle point of a 10-point scale. In five years, they said, they didn’t see that well-being improving much.That’s not good: With well-being affecting turnover, performance and the overall health of organisations, it’s necessary for employers to begin changing these statistics. Here are five ways to change how your employees view their well-being in the workplace:​

1. improve their social well-being

Let’s face facts: Many employees spend more time with their coworkers than they do with family. So, having a positive attitude toward their role and future at the company has got to weigh heavily on their interactions with fellow employees. Employers who recognise this will actively focus on team-building and establishing healthy coworker relationships.To do this at your company, plan events around building teamwork skills and communications. Try coordinating monthly planning meetings where employees can brainstorm ideas for the coming months. Designate a chat room where employees feel free to express to one another work and personal issues. Establish a special team-volunteering day.

2. look to the future

It’s imperative that employees see how their paths can continue within an organisation. Offering them a clear visual will motivate them to strive for goals and see possibilities for personal growth.So, be specific when showing employees their their future at the company is bright and includes them. Use one-on-one meetings to understand each staffer’s expectations and goals. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember which goals were set, and on what time line; so keep track by utilising a tool like Workstory, a personal accomplishment journal.Above all, be transparent so each individual can see what steps need to be accomplished to reach their ultimate goal.

3. focus in on emotions

When emotionally drained or stressed, any of us will are going to find it impossible to achieve our highest-quality work. Work-related stress is an enormous factor in mental well-being. Employees who have a natural drive may find it difficult to unwind and take care of that well-being.Unfortunately, only 63 percent of 828 employees surveyed said they believed that company leaders cared about trying to create a more human workplace focused on employee well-being. The source for this data was The ROI of Recognition In Building a More Human Workplace study released in November 2015 by Globoforce.Encourage employees to take time for breaks, especially those involving exercise. Relieve pressure by ensuring the organisation is properly staffed, and ensure that employees and leaders are on the same page about expectations of goals and hours worked.

4. offer educational opportunities

Leaders who provide educational opportunities are showing employees that their goals and future at the company are important. Fifty-five percent of 600 U.S. employees surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in November and December 2015 rated opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work as a very important contributor to their job satisfaction.Give employees a chance to perform at their highest quality and contribute to the betterment of the company. Providing these opportunities will show them that the organisation is invested their future.

5. recognise hard work

The overall outlook and attitude of employees has a trickle-down effect from leadership. The way leaders interact and acknowledge accomplishments affects the overall well-being of both employees and the company as a whole.

FREE Limerick Event: How to get More Cash in Your BusinessWhere: The Savoy Hotel, LimerickWhen: 6.30 – 8.30pm. October 20th 2016

7 Innovative Ways Your Business Can Give Back

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Employee volunteer days and donation-matching programs are excellent ways for businesses to give back. But companies today are exploring new ways to contribute to their communities, simultaneously stimulating employee (and customer) engagement and having a great impact overall. Here are seven ideas you can start implementing right now:

1. gamify ‘going green’

Composting isn’t new, and let’s be honest…not very exciting. But you know what is? Gardening, and getting outside during the work day! Helen Rogerson of Churchill Education says her team has a bucket for food scraps in the company kitchen which they empty regularly into a compost bin. They eventually use that compost to plant and grow a small herb garden on-site.

Team members are able pick out the herbs, plant them, and share the resulting produce. This is a fun and hands-on way to engage your employees and promote good environmental health throughout your business.

2. auction off some goodies, and give away the proceeds

Auctions are a simple way to raise money for a cause you care about, as people are more inclined to purchase products when the profits go towards a philanthropic project. This raises awareness about your company and your cause, and is a fun way to showcase your new and exciting products.

Bluethumb and Handkrafted have a great model in place for this kind of fundraising. They teamed up with local artists to auction off one-of-a-kind artwork online. This is truly win-win: the artists get exposure and the businesses get to give back.

Bonus idea: You could add some extra creative flare and turn this idea into a penny auction to maximize impact, and give more people “the gift of giving.” Bidders would commit small amounts of cash, even a few pennies, towards the item being auctioned. The highest bidder gets the prize, but all the other bidders’ contributions would still go towards a great cause.

3. better yet, just give away your awesome [extra] products

If your company sells a physical good, you are bound to have extra materials and old models laying around. Don’t let them go to waste! Take Orion Labs as an example: the San Francisco company now has its second generation of wearable communication devices on the market.

So what happened to the leftover first generation inventory? Operations guru Andrew Sherman saw an opportunity at a local homeless youth organisation that could put the product to good use. He provided the devices and arranged training for the nonprofit’s team so that these new electronics could improve communications within the program and help it run more seamlessly.

4. add ‘giving’ incentives for meeting deadlines

Whether it’s incentivizing clients, customers, or employees to hustle towards a business goal, adding in a “giving” reward is a sure way to move them to action. UK-based accounting firm Jonathan Ford & Co used this method to motivate their clientele to file their tax returns on time, by promising to sponsor one child’s malaria treatment overseas for every timely return received.

Tax season is stressful enough, so not only is this helping the kids, it’s helping the employees’ work-flow management as well.

5. use your work space during off hours for a ‘can’t miss’ community event

This is a good way to show your company’s commitment to the local community and become more integrated within it. You can offer a free event, like Amaze Education’s “movie night” where anyone can come and enjoy a peaceful evening catching a new flick at the company’s early education centre.

6. or donate your space to other causes

Nonprofits and charities are often looking for space to use for meetings, events and fundraisers… so why not let them use your empty after-hours work space to do so? You can give back simply by not letting your space go to waste!

7.give ‘giving’ for special occasions

Providing “giving credits” to your employees or clientele so that they can give to the causes of their choosing is a great way to celebrate achievements and milestones. Jane Burns of Lighthouse Health Group has each of her employees designate their “cause of choice” during their birthday month to which the company contributes towards. This kind of “giving gift card” could be replicated for employee (and customer) engagements, weddings, and birth announcements!

These 3 Psychological Barriers Are Hurting Your Creativity

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Psychological barriers routinely put chains around workplace creativity, stalling both projects and careers. To unlock your innovation, recognise these three most common hurdles and apply the easy fixes.

conformity

If you’re a conformist at work, you say and do what you think others expect you to do and say, aligning your beliefs, attitudes and behaviours with current norms. Honesty is difficult and, subsequently, so is building the trust you need to share your original ideas.

Fixes:

  • Ask your boss for some independent projects.
  • Ask questions, especially “Why…?”
  • Use phrases such as “I think…”, “In my opinion…” and “I would…” to remind yourself to speak with independence.
  • Spend time with those from other cultures to see what others do and believe.

fear of judgement/looking like a fool

Lower-level workers often fear being judged during the creative process because they don’t want to lose the chance for perks or promotions; upper-level workers don’t want to destroy the reputation they’ve built. If you fear being judged, you probably feel nervous when you have to show your work or are asked for your opinion. You also might think things like “If I do X, they’ll…” or “I don’t want them to…”

Fixes:Tell yourself “They’re on my side.”Make a list of your well-received ideas or products to remind yourself others have judged you positively and that rejection isn’t guaranteed.If you have a negative reaction to others’ work, challenge yourself to identify the root of that reaction. Then come up with something positive about the concept. The less you judge others negatively, the less you’ll expect others to judge you negatively, too.

ready acceptance of the obvious

Obvious solutions usually are easy to come up with, but they tend to be creative wastelands. Acceptance of the obvious likely is a problem for you if don’t come up with multiple options or jump to get to work without questioning what you were told to do.

Fixes:Set aside your initial idea for 24 hours to give yourself time to think of other options and avoid selection based on hot emotional reaction.Practise combining opposites.Take classes, research and read so you’re more aware of alternatives.

the creativity is there — claim it!

Most employees–including you–have creativity inside. They just need to free it. Doing this involves changing habits, which can take time and get you out of your comfort zone. The good news is, anybody can use the strategies outlined here. Recruit your coworkers and even your boss to support you, and encourage them to challenge conformity, fear of judgement and ready acceptance of the obvious, too!

FREE Limerick & Cork Events:

Sales & Marketing Workshop

​Where: Savoy Hotel, Limerick

When: June 21st 2016

Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm

​Where: Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork

When: June 29th 2016

Time: 9.30am – 11.30am

10 Tips to Grow Your Business

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Are you ready to grow your business? Even if you have clear-cut objectives, use your answers to these 10 questions to help you fine-tune your efforts and grow your business successfully.By now, you’ve set a working direction for the year, established clear-cut objectives. Your first-iteration plan to reach them should be in place. This now seems like an ideal time to rethink the whole thing, doesn’t it? After all, one of the effects of internet time is that plans are subject to change just as soon as – or perhaps even before – they are written.

Along these lines of thinking, perhaps there are some items you missed. Maybe there are issues you didn’t have time to consider, or even things your mind touched on, but quickly passed over to deal with more urgent and pressing events. If you are off-cycle, and on the verge of a new period, you can use this exercise ex ante, rather than ex post. To help you stimulate your neural pathways and hopefully create an idea or two, I offer the following thoughts for your consideration. These “considerations” are not sequenced in order of importance. I think they are all important.

1. how far in the distance is your planning horizon?

​Most companies today plan 12-24 months out, calling anything beyond that “vision.” Internet time implies a shortened time frame for activities, but does that time-collapse extend to a shortened vision as well? How much have you thought about what you will accomplish this decade? What will be your company’s impact on the millennium? (OK – perhaps millennium is too far out. What about the century?) You may say you have more pressing fish to fry. Your investors would like to see increased returns sooner than that. While this might be true enough, taking the long view can inform the short view, leading to greater returns for years to come. What do you see when you take the long view?

2. how are your prospects’ needs going to change?

​How is their world affected by the dramatic increases in connectivity and the compression of time? What are you doing to understand their changing environment – their changing business issues? What are you doing to improve your customer’s business under these slippery conditions? To take it one step further, what do your customers’ customers want? While you are at it, you might stop to consider how your suppliers’ needs are changing? Could those changes open up new opportunities for you, or darkly portend changes downstream totally derailing your business model? What about your distributors? Is their world shifting? Can you both benefit?

3. who in your organization simply isn’t contributing?

​As they say, your mileage may vary from individual to individual but everyone has the responsibility to go some distance, to make something valuable happen. Not everyone will make good on that implied promise. The often observed 80-20 rule applies to your staff as well: 20% of your people will produce 80% of the value.

That leaves 80% producing only 20%. Do the math: the bottom 10% of your organization produces almost nothing.

Who isn’t making the cut? Should you be doing something about it? You may think it beneficent to provide that bottom percent with a paying job – don’t. It isn’t. The non-performers know who they are, but they won’t cut the cord on their own. Do what you can to help them reach the bar, but if after a while they don’t make it, set them free to find an environment in which they can succeed. Free up your own resources for people who make a difference.

4. are you creating solutions to today’s problems?

​What about next week’s, next year’s, or the problems of several years from now? How are you figuring out what those problems are going to be, way out there on the time horizon? Because the solution you sell today should certainly address today’s problems, but the solutions on today’s drawing board better not. Who in your organization is responsible for trend-tracking and forecasting?

Are you building scenarios for the future? What about prospect focus groups, or some other market-based feedback mechanism? Who is your resident futurist?

5. what do you believe about the business you are in?

For most people this is a strange question – we rarely spend time thinking about our own beliefs. The collection of beliefs you hold about your business – what the Germans call Weltanschauung – is decisive in most of the choices you make. How much risk to take. What’s risky and what isn’t. What projects and initiatives to undertake. What kind of resources you need and whom to hire.

Whom to partner with, or should you have partners at all?

Cooperate or compete. How to treat your team. What your customers should expect from you. How hard do you expect people to work?

All these decisions stem from your beliefs, and it will help you to make them explicit. Once you surface those beliefs, you can start to distinguish which are useful beliefs and which are not.

What is the benefit of a particular belief? Is this belief relevant to your current world, or is it a holdover from some past part of life? Then, when you are ready, you can experiment with new beliefs.

6. what are the obstacles to proceeding along your current path?

​Yes – you’ve set a plan in motion, and you are taking steps toward its achievement. But what roadblocks may rise up to stop you? What things could get in your way – foreseen and unforeseen? (I know, if it’s unforeseen how are you going to see it? Use your imagination, that’s the point of this exercise.)

Rank these obstacles in terms of likelihood, then rank them in terms of severity. Consider how you might deal with them if they come up. The value of this is a) like the Boy Scouts, you are better prepared; b) you may illuminate issues you have been trying to sweep under the rug; and c) you just may invent a whole new approach to get where you are going, and it just might be better than what you are doing now.

7. what, if you only knew how, would you be doing?

​What would you do now if you had additional resources – and should the lack of resources be stopping you? What, if you were sure it would be successful, would you jump on right away? What would you begin immediately, if your resources were limitless? (Yes, limitless can be relative.) What are you betting the future of your company on? What would you be willing to bet the future of your company on?

8. what are the most important issues, right now?

​Make separate lists for issues in your market and issues in your company.

Which of these issues are you dealing with, which ones are on the backburner, and which ones aren’t even in the kitchen? What are the processes you use to deal with these issues? Which issues are you ignoring, or hoping will go away?

What breakthroughs might be possible by addressing or resolving issues in the latter category? Where are you “resolving” issues by compromising? What possibilities are available by refusing to compromise, or by breaking your compromises? What old stories or old ways of looking at things make these compromises seem inevitable? Where could new technologies (either material, virtual, or societal) be applied to break these compromises?

9. what are you sacrificing to accomplish your current objectives?

​The definition of sacrifice is giving up something of value for something of even greater value. Did you intend to give up that thing of value, or is it a thoughtless byproduct of your other choices? Do not dismiss this lightly.

In your business there are a number of priority-conflicting critical success factors. These include profitability, product development, new sales, customer satisfaction, recruiting and retention, revenue growth, sufficient capital – which one gets the most attention? And in this operating cycle – will each area get the attention it needs? Even in a lower position of priority, these areas cannot be neglected. What isn’t getting done that needs to be done and how are you going to do it?

10. what is the purpose of your organization?

I don’t just mean increasing shareholder wealth that simply won’t inspire your people to greatness. What besides that – a given – is the purpose of your company. Purpose is not something you invent, it is there already – you have to uncover it. Why do you come to work each day? What do you hope to accomplish in the long run?

What about your executive team? Your individual employees – why do they come? What do they think they are doing each day? Do you know? Have you bothered to find out? You’ve just completed a planning cycle, and I’m asking what your purpose is! If you can’t answer this question easily, now would be a great time to start.

Bonus question for consideration: Are there any questions I’ve listed above that you do not have easy answers to, but wish you did?

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