Calculate the Value of Talent

Calculate the Value of TalentCalculate the Value of TalentCalculate the Value of TalentCompanies are as diverse as the people who run them, but all organizations benefit by taking a systematic approach to assessing employees and attracting top talent. And its important to maintain your talent pool at all times, regardless of economic ups and downs. Why? It always pays, quite literally, to have talented people on board.You may be thinking that I am going to recommend you do a forced ranking of your employees to weed out the low performers. In response, you may be saying that your companys culture wouldnt stand the test of a forced ranking. OK, I can live with this. However, you should understand the intrinsic differences between your top and average performers.Top performersProduce as much as 10 times more than the average worker, while they often require less than two times the pay.Generate most of the innovation and new ideas.Help others to improve their performance, because they se rve as mentors, trainers and role models.You may think that even though ansicht findings seem true, it would be nearly impossible for you to figure out the value of your companys top talent versus its average talent. Think again. If you need a better business reason than my warning to identify and retain your top performers over all other performers, then try this simple value-differential exercise using some of the people from your team.Start by identifying several jobs with measurable results. Sales positions make for an easy starting point. Other easily measured jobs might be programmers (lines of code) or customer service jobs. The goal is to compare the differences in output or results between those with average performance and those ranked as the best in each job category.Steps in Calculating the Top-Performer DifferentialHere is how it can be done, step-by-stepCalculate the output of average and top performers.Start with the output of the average performer (the average output per employee).Look at the output of the very top performers or the average of the top 10 percent (the top-performer output).Calculate the top-performer increase factor.Start with the top-performer output per employee as the base.Divide into that number the output of the average performer (the small number into the bigger number). That is the top-performer increase factor.Calculate revenue per employee.Calculate the average revenue for an employee for these jobs (total divisional revenue for a year divided by the number of divisional employees).If that is not available, take the total revenue of the firm for a year and divide it by the number of employees.Calculate the revenue increase for top performers.Take the average revenue per employee and multiply it by the top-performer increase factor. That number is the revenue generated by the top performer.Calculate the value difference between top and average performer.Subtract the average revenue per employee from the revenue of the to p performer. The difference is the value added each year by hiring or retaining a top performer.Add additional jobs.Follow steps 1 through 5 for other measurable-output jobs. If the ratio (the percent difference) is close for most jobs and it usually is use that ratio for all jobs in the firm.An Example with NumbersThe average salesperson generates $250,000 per year, while your top salesperson generates $400,000. Divide 400,000 by 250,000, and you are provided with a top-performer increase factor of 1.6. Next, divide total revenues of your organization by the number of current employees, well say $100 million and 1,000 respectively, for this example. The result is an average revenue per employee of $100,000. Multiply this number by the top-performer increase factor, and you get the average contribution to revenues by top performers, $160,000 in this example. Subtract from this number the average revenue per employee of $100,000, and you see that on average, top performers contribu te $60,000 more per year than average performers.

What to Do When You Dont Know How to Answer a Job Interview Question

What to Do When You Dont Know How to Answer a Job Interview QuestionWhat to Do When You Dont Know How to Answer a Job Interview QuestionThe scenario sounds like something out of your worst job search nightmare. The hiring manager looks at you, poses a questionand you have no idea how to answer it.Obviously, though, youve got to say something. So take a deep breath to compose yourself and deliver some much-needed oxygen to the brain. Then, quickly assess why youre having difficulty with the question. The tips below can help you figure out your next move.What to Do When You Really Dont Know How to Answer a Job Interview QuestionAsk to have the question rephrased.When the question doesnt make sense to you, or is oddly worded, see if you can get the bewerberinterviewer to rephrase it. Different language may shed greater light on what theyre asking and enable you to respond intelligently.As a candidate, its perfectly fine to clarify the question and much better than guessing what the inte rviewer is looking for, says Mikaela Kiner, CEO and founder ofuniquelyHR. Phrases like I want to make sure Im answering accurately. Would you mind repeating the question? or I think what youre asking is . . . . Is that correct? work well in this situation.Figure out what the interviewer really wants to know.Interviewers should be well aware that they arent supposed to ask inappropriate or illegal interview questions, such as about a candidates marital status or age, but sometimes these issues do come up. Simply stating that youre not comfortable answering is one route to take hopefully, the person will realize they crossed the line and move on to a different subject. Another option is to figure out what the interviewer really wants to know and respond to that concern.Try to assume good intentions, Kiner says. For example, if an interviewer asks whether you take your kids to and from school, they probably want to know ifyou can work the hours required for the job. An answer like I un derstand the hours for this role are from 9-5, and Im completely available during those hours should work.Think of a positive spin.Candidates know that presenting themselves in the best possible light is crucial in an interview. It follows, then, that a question to which you know the truthful answer is less than stellar can cause panic.Lies have a way of coming back to haunt, so give an honest response- but quickly steer the conversation back to something positive. For instance, if asked Why did you leave your job at Company X? and the reason is that you were fired, try something like, I was let go, but I learned a lot from the experience. Ive really worked on improving my commitment to not missing deadlines by reading books on time management, breaking big projects into chunks, and constructing a daily to-do list that keeps me on track.As Kiner notes, Honesty and self-awareness go a long way in an interview. Nobody is perfect, and the best companies wont shy away from hiring someon e who is humble enough to admit mistakes and demonstrates that they have learned from those mistakes.Know someone looking for a job? Refer a friend to with this link- youll get a month free service and theyll get 30% off

When to be a lone wolf or choose to work with the herd

When to be a lone intertriginses ekzem or choose to work with the herdWhen to be a lone wolf or choose to work with the herdWeve all heard the career tropes about there being no I in team and similar. For the most parte, I cant think of a time Ive heard a motivational speaker encourage people to ignore the rest of the work crew in favor of doing it all on their own.Not all of us do their best work in group settings (raises my hand), one of the reasons the rise of the remote office and freelancing make the gig economy so powerful and popular. So how do you know when to stick with the rest or when its best to strike out on your own?Business has many similarities to individual and team sports, said Drew Westervelt, Founder + COO of HEX Performance, an entrepreneur who played nine seasons of Lacrosse in the MLL, NLL and with Team USA. You need to clearly understand and perform your best in the role that leads to wins. Whether you have the helfende hand of a team or are a lone ranger on t he court, the same level of vision, preparation, and commitment is required to battle through.Okay, so we know that the analogies work, but how can you determine which team to join and which of the rules to follow? Sometimes its literally a matter of showing a willingness to be part of the group, even if part of your work is done independently.The royal weTrying to act more like part of the team? Westervelt says I never like to hear I internally during conversations as we inevitably will have a hand in the execution. I think it signifies an unwillingness to be open-minded and empathic to accepting other thoughts, idea and support. Good to know. Sometimes its important to try to act like part of the group simply not to be excluded from upcoming projects.How well do you prioritize?If youve got a constantly updated to-do list in your head, its possible youre best on your own. One of the most crucial skills that can help people figure out whether its best to fly solo or be a team player is the ability to prioritize, said Mike Lu, CEO of Triller an AI-powered music video app. Figuring out how much time is needed and what kind of return youll get on every project you take on is a tactic that will help you work smarter.Challenge yourselfWhile a strong team is powerful, Westervelt says Sometimes have to challenge yourself to think differently from the team. Why? Because If you rely too heavily on others, Westervelt believes you become a follower. Ive learned to believe in what sets me and my business apart. We all have roles in business or on the field. Believe in your ability and have the confidence to make your value be seen by actions to drive your team or business. But dont just follow the pack. Westervelt believes that Me too ideas are never game changers.Come for the criticism, stay for the life lessonsBelieve it or not, being the lone wolf can sometimes make it harder to move swiftly and effectively because you dont have input or challenges from others necessa ry to better yourself and your work style. You might sit around puzzling over an issue when asking a potential team member for advice could change the trajectory of your career.One skill that stands out is the ability to accept constructive criticism, said Westervelt. Whether on the playing field or business arena, always ask for feedback. Customer feedback in business is similar to watching film in sports. It doesnt lie. But dont expect it to always be positive. Constructive and real feedback is sometimes hard to listen to, but it always helps build stronger products or services.Whats your action plan?As a leader, your ideas are nothing but thoughts in your head until you figure out how you can actually execute them, according to Lu. This involves deciding if its possible to execute on your own or if you need a team of five to help you out.You cant do it allOne of the problems perfectionists face is the inability to delegate, which usually means theyre trapped in a mire of busy wor k instead of the things they do best. Westervelt said.In my experience, a trusted team is essential to business success. You cant do it all. Nobody can He believes that You will grow individually when you surround yourself with great people and identify team goals metrics to achieve those goals.