Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Lorrie Coffey

  • What If You Were Mystery Shopped?

    What If You Were Mystery Shopped?

    One of my clients is a small retail chain in North Alabama. Each month I send out an email communication to their store managers and I always include an article that I feel is relevant to their business to give them some food for thought.

    This month the topic was “If your store were mystery shopped, would you pass?” and the article included a sample mystery shop survey that has 35 questions. I challenged them to “shop” their own store and be brutally honest in their answers. Would they pass the test? And if not, what can they and their staff do to ensure that they would pass?

    As I was drafting the email to them, I realized that this challenge could be put forth to any organization, regardless of the industry they are in.

    The focus areas of the survey include:

    • Cleanliness and Appearance: Is the parking lot clean of debris? Is the office/store neat and well maintained?
    • Employee Behavior: Was the customer acknowledged within 30 seconds of entering the facility? Did the employee offer to assist the customer? Did the employee greet the customer with a smile?
    • Path to Purchase: Were the items the customer needed available? How long did the sales transaction take?

    While granted some of the questions on the survey pertain specifically to a retail environment, they can be adjusted to apply to almost any type of business.

    If your organization was mystery shopped, would you pass the test? If not, what can you do to ensure that you would pass?

  • Leaders, Expect the Unexpected!

    Leaders, Expect the Unexpected!

    “Expect the unexpected.” -Zig Zigler

    During a recent hike on Rainbow Mountain with my three boys and two dogs, I was gently reminded that even when you expect the unexpected, you can be caught off guard.

    Multiple times during our hike when my oldest was leading the way, I reminded him to go slow and watch out for snakes. Then about half way through the hike we stopped to take a break. The boys sat down on a large rock and I sat down about ten feet ahead of them. Almost as soon as I sat down, I heard the leaves beside me rustling and looked over to watch what I’m pretty sure was a copperhead snake slither across the path in front of me.

    Even though I had warned my son multiple times to be on the lookout, I didn’t actually think we’d walk up on a snake while hiking.  And while I am not afraid of snakes (spiders are a different story), it still caught me off guard and I quickly had to assess the situation and decide how to respond, as well as how my boys and dogs would respond if they saw it.

    I quietly told my boys to stand still and as soon as it had slithered far enough away from me into the woods, I slowly stood up and moved to where they were. Together we waited a few minutes so that the snake had time to go on down into the woods and we could safely continue up the path.

    As leaders, we try to expect the unexpected and prepare in advance how to respond. But there are times when regardless of how much we anticipate and prepare, we are still caught off guard. So how can we navigate those situations?

    • Take a deep breath and don’t panic. Stress impacts how we make decisions and often causes us to view the risks and rewards differently than we would otherwise.
    • Assess the situation. As I tell my 12-year-old when he gets upset over something, ask yourself “in the grand scheme of things, how important is this?” What impact will this truly have? What can you do to mitigate it or even turn it into a positive?
    • Seek out help. Don’t be afraid, or embarrassed, to enlist the help of others. We all need to lean on others sometimes. And they may be able to offer a perspective we hadn’t considered.
    • Be flexible. Plans aren’t foolproof. Sometimes they work great, sometimes they work halfway, and sometimes they don’t work at all. That’s okay. Make adjustments where needed, or if necessary, scrap the entire plan and go back to the drawing board.
    • Assess the results. What went well and what could you have done better? What was the impact on your organization?
    • Celebrate your success. Whether it’s a new product or service, a new policy or procedure rollout, or just putting out a fire, take the time to celebrate your success and congratulate yourself and those who helped. For me, it was taking the boys and dogs for ice cream after our hike.

    The next time you find yourself in a situation that catches you off guard, how will you respond?

  • Marketing Your Core Values and Culture

    Marketing Your Core Values and Culture

    How does your company market your core values and culture? What do candidates see when they look at your website? Are your values and culture emphasized during the hiring process?

    • 76% of candidates want details on what makes the company an attractive place to work. (Glassdoor survey, October 2014)
    • Nearly 80% of Millennials look for people and culture fit with employers, followed by career potential. (Collegefeed, March 2014)
    • 77% of job seekers go to Company Websites to look for jobs. (Gallup State of the American Workplace Report 2017)

    If you’re not marketing your core values and culture, you may be losing out on attracting top talent. According to the 2017 LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends, 61% of those surveyed said that the best channel to build an employer brand is through the company’s career site, followed by LinkedIn at 55%, and Third-party websites or job boards at 40%.

    Try to look at your company’s career site through the eyes of an applicant. What sets you apart from other potential employers? What benefits does your organization offer that might attract potential candidates? Is your company culture reflected on the career site?

    Next, make sure your organization has a solid LinkedIn profile and post regularly. Ask current employees to follow your company page and share posts. Do the same with other social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter. Share pictures from company events that show the camaraderie outside of the office.

    And then look at third-party sites and job boards such as Glassdoor. Many candidates look to sites like Glassdoor to get a true feeling of what it’s like to work at a company. Employees and candidates can review organizations, share salary information & interview questions, rate the CEO, and much more. What does your Glassdoor profile say about your organization? Does your organization respond to reviews that are posted on Glassdoor and other sites? While you can’t control the reviews that are posted to Glassdoor, you can control their impact based on how you manage your profile and respond to negative feedback.

    • Employer branding has a significant impact on hiring talent according to 80% of recruiters. (LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends 2017)

    What message does your current employer branding send to potential candidates?

    For more on employer branding, read our blog post The Candidate Experience Influences the Brand.

  • Consider Cultural Contribution when Hiring

    Consider Cultural Contribution when Hiring

    “Don’t let your organization become a cultural museum. Stop emphasizing culture fit; start valuing culture contribution.” – Adam Grant, author of Originals

    During a recent phone interview I had a candidate ask me how the organization I was recruiting for (who is currently going through a rapid growth period) planned to keep their culture intact as they grow. I explained that the company goes to great lengths to ensure that they are not only hiring the candidate with the right skills, but also the candidate who will best help to carry their culture forward as they grow.

    Most job interviews revolve around a candidate’s experience, skill set, and ability to apply that to the role they are seeking. While the candidate’s behavior during the interview is also evaluated, most candidates put their best foot forward during the interview. So how can organizations truly assess cultural contribution?

    The Zappos hiring strategy is a great example of an organization that goes the extra mile to assess cultural contribution of candidates. Zappos has developed a hiring process that includes:

    • Requiring candidates to attend company social events to evaluate how they interact with employees at all levels.
    • Having team members interview the candidate in an unformal setting such as meeting for coffee.
    • Talking to company drivers who pick up candidates from the airport to see how they were treated by the candidate.
    • Requiring new hires to spend their first four weeks manning the phones and responding to customer service calls.
    • Offering new hires $3,000 to quit after their first week in the customer service call center.

    While many companies can’t go to the extensive length that Zappos goes to when evaluating candidates, there are strategies that organizations can implement to evaluate candidates’ culture contribution. I spent almost two years managing human resources in a long-term care facility. When interviewing candidates from Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) all the way up to Directors, there were two strategies I used to evaluate the candidate for cultural contribution. First, I would wait behind the reception desk and watch the candidate before going out to the lobby to introduce myself. I would evaluate how they interacted with visitors, staff, and patients. Sometimes I would ask the receptionist how she was approached when the candidate arrived. Second, if they passed the interview, I would take them on a tour of the facility. Again, I was watching to see how they interacted with other staff members and patients. There were many instances when I chose not to hire a candidate based on their interactions, or lack thereof.

    The interview doesn’t start when the candidate is standing in front of you, it starts when they get out of their car at your facility, or in Zappos’ case, when the driver picks them up at the airport. The true test for cultural contribution is how the candidate presents themselves when they think no one is paying attention.

    To read more about the Zappos hiring strategy, click here.

  • Mental Health in the Workplace… What Can You Do?

    Mental Health in the Workplace… What Can You Do?

    Recently I talked about authenticity during employee hardships. With recent events in the news, including the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, I wanted to dive deeper into how employers can help employees in need.

    Mental health is an ever-growing concern in our nation. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness:

    • Approximately 1 in 5 adults (43.5 millions) in the U.S. experience mental illness in a given year.
    • One in 25 of those Americans suffer a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
    • 9% of adults in the U.S. have had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
    • 1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as PTSD, OCD, or specific phobias.

    With mental illness so prevalent in our nation, what can employers do to help employees who suffer from mental illness?

    1. Understand, and make sure employees understand, what mental health benefits are covered under your health insurance plan. Going over the benefits coverage annually during open enrollment is a perfect time to educate employees on what is covered. If an employee comes to you, remind them that their insurance includes coverage for mental health services.
    2. If you don’t already have one, consider adding an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to your benefits package. Employees can contact the EAP confidentially, receive immediate counseling services for work related or personal issues, and if needed, the EAP will assist the employee with finding a mental health professional in their local area. Employers see an increase in productivity, reduced time off, reduced turnover, reduction in work related injuries, and more. It’s a win-win.
    3. Listen. Listen to your employees and take what they say seriously. If you have an employee who comes to you concerned about a co-worker, don’t take their concern lightly. If an employee comes to you to discuss a problem they are having, take the time to sit and really hear what they have to say. Sometimes all that is needed is someone to listen and show compassion. Sometimes more is needed, and that is when #1 and #2 may come in handy.
    4. Understand that sometimes it is bigger than you. There may be cases in which you aren’t equipped to help. I once called the local police and had them conduct a welfare check on an employee who showed signs of extreme mental distress and made an insinuative comment to a coworker one day before leaving work about what he’d do if he had a gun. (I had also provided this employee with information on his mental health coverage and the EAP).

    There are also many programs and resources that employees can access within their communities, as well as online. These include:

    • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline- 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
    • Alabama Department of Mental Health- 1-800-367-0955
    • National Alliance on Mental Health- 1-800-950-NAMI
    • Project Semicolon- projectsemicolon.com

    Remember that mental illness may be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If an employee comes forward with their mental illness and requests accommodations, be sure to follow your organization’s ADA accommodation request procedures. If an employee needs to take leave for a mental illness, be sure to see if they qualify for leave under FMLA.

    For more information on mental health in the workplace, check out the Center for Workplace Mental Health.