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Have you ever interviewed someone who was an absolute rock star on paper and nailed every interview question like they were trying out for the Interview Olympics? Then 91 days later they ripped off their mask and became the devil? You still work with him, right? Or, have you ever thought, “I’d rather stab my right eye with this pencil than hire this yahoo”? She stumbles through the questions like a 1st grader on Jeopardy. But due to staffing issues it’s been made clear that you must fill those vacancies. And 91 days later did she stun you with her initiative, work ethic and willingness to learn? She’s your supervisor now, isn’t she?
So what does this tell you? The hiring process is flawed. Despite your interviews, psychological testing and brilliantly prepared questions, it’s still just a crap shoot. There is no sure-fire way to find the perfect fit for the job through extensive tests and must-ask questions. They don’t work. Look around. Consider the service you experience from people who during the interview process aced extensive testing, personality inventories and slayed killer interview questions. Once on the job, they just slay your will to live.
3 things to consider when interviewing:
3 things to consider during the 1st 90 days of employment:
If you’ve addressed/implemented all 6 of these pointers, you have 89 days to put your laser focus coaching into play. On day 89, the patterns, progress and attributes will be clearly demonstrated by the new hire. If they do not fit into your culture, no harm no foul. If they do fit, you are well on your way to ensuring a brighter future for your organization. Remember, people make the organization, not the other way around.
What do you think? Any interview nightmares still lingering in the dark recesses of your mind? We’d love to hear them! Disagree with anything in this post? Challenge us! *rolling up our sleeves*
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Are you tired of opening your credit union doors and realizing the banks open their doors the exact same way? What’s different behind your doors versus the banks’ doors? 
What sets you apart? Do you know? Do your members know? Do your employees and leaders even know?
When you ask employees, “What’s the credit union difference?”, what type of response do you get? We are like a family? Not really a good response, because family should never mix finances with family. Just a thought.
Do they recite in a monotone voice: “Credit unions are not for profit but for people. We are a financial cooperative. We are people helping people for the love of all that is holy!”
Well, at least they drank the kool-aid.
Are you ready to experience the credit union difference? Well, first you must create it. And we are here to help.
Check out this link, and tell us what you think!
7 Things ALL Credit Union Employees Want
We love credit unions and believe that if you are willing to do the work, you will see amazing results! Call us. Send smoke signals. Take the bold move. Make a true difference.
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Kelly and I travel all over the country, working with organizations and teams of all sizes. While trapped on planes with fellow passengers, we are often asked, “What do you do?” Such a broad question. Despite the lengthy flights we often take, we don’t really want to engage in lengthy conversations with total strangers who are probably just being polite by asking the question. Or they have ulterior motives: hoping that by showing interest in us, we will consider assisting them before securing our own oxygen mask in case of a loss in cabin pressure! It could happen. Nope, not paranoid at all. So, let’s clear the pressure-less cabin before our next flight. 
Dear Future Passenger (with possible ulterior motives), here is a snapshot to answer your question, “What do you do?”…
So there you have it. A few bullet points from our highlight reel. We’d love to hear from you if your organization, team or department would like to experience The Experience Factor. And remember, you really should secure your own mask before assisting others. Just sayin’.
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I’m currently in training for a half-marathon. I’m relatively certain that my idea of training greatly differs from that of anyone else in the world who has ever trained for a half-marathon. My new jogging shoes have seen more action killing an Elvis-sized spider in my house than they have on any pavement.
The problem, you see, is my travel schedule. It often keeps me from maintaining an adult like existence. It also serves as the greatest excuse, ahem, reason that I find it challenging to fully commit to my training. My commitment goes something like this: I fully commit, on every trip, to pack my jogging clothes. That’s where that whole fully committed thingy ends.
The half-marathon is in two weeks. I think I still have a shot at it. The level of delusion required to maintain that thou
ght is not only compelling, it’s sheer awesomeness. Plus, no matter what, I get a t-shirt for participation! It’s like t-ball with its you-participated-so-here’s-your-trophy-philosophy, but without the t-ball fun. So let’s agree, a t-shirt is a pretty cool trophy and makes jogging 13.1 miles oh so worth every freakin’ second. Cuz’, you know, you can’t just go out and buy a t-shirt.
I ask myself, “why am I doing this?” The answer: two good friends are in the race (they have been training, like adults) and at the time I signed up, my intentions were legit (I have no idea what that means). So, I’m gonna do it. Vanity be gone. I may end up in last place, though I’m not completely averse to pulling a Tonya Harding if I’m in the running for second from last.
Fully committed.
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What we ignore, we endorse.
Think about how many times you’ve seen behaviors that you find distressing (at home, at work or in public). The child getting slapped by the angry parent, the bullying employee/supervisor that others fear, or the elderly person who needs help while everyone just looks in the other direction.
Yes. We all have these experiences. Our choice is simple. Do I take a stand or do I endorse the behavior/situation by ignoring it?
In the workplace, if you are a supervisor you do not have a choice. You’ve been paid and trusted not to endorse behaviors that are counter-productive to your culture, your norms, your expectations.
The problem is that we are used to looking the other way. It’s a quick fix easy solution that allows us to maintain our comfort. Yet for a company to do well (by it’s employees, consumers and the public), supervisors must never look away. A leader must keep all behaviors in the spotlight, for it is in the spotlight that we shine. When it comes to negative behaviors, once the spotlight is removed, some people mistake that for endorsement.
3 things a leader can do to ensure they are not endorsing behaviors that are counter-productive to the culture:
As a leader, what are some of the most difficult behaviors for you to address within your organization? We promise, we won’t ignore you!
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Kelly and I recently facilitated an all-employee training day for a credit union. The employees were enthusiastic, open-minded and willing to take risks (as it’s always a risk when we take the stage!). The following day, we met with their executive team to conduct a needs analysis: uncover whether or not they could benefit from our expertise and if the partnership would be a good fit.
We discovered in the first 20 minutes the reason this would not be a match made in heaven…or even made on one of those dating websites. One simple, yet disturbing reason: the CEO referred to some of his members as “deadbeats”. He was referring to those consumers who were unable to repay their loans.
This CEO is a leader in position only. His callous attitude toward human beings struggling to get by was unnerving and devoid of compassion. If the membership of his credit union (in good standing or otherwise) were to hear his degrading comments, I’m sure they’d seek another place to entrust their finances.
And so you don’t get the wrong idea about credit unions in these distressing financial times, let me be clear: most credit unions have leadership that is inspirational; they protect their membership as they would their own family. They operate their organization in the best interest of their members, employees and communities. It’s a wonderful life when leaders look out for the best interest of their organization and their consumers! Most leaders of the credit union industry have the characteristics of George Bailey and NOT Mr. Potter.
Leadership is not about judging, mocking or demeaning those you serve.
Leadership is about: integrity, compassion, humility, accountability, service, ethics, community, courage to do the right thing, responsibility and trust.
We chose not to work with this particular CEO and his credit union. We lost significant income as a result. What would you have done?
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Revolve your world around the customer and more customers will revolve around you. ~Heather Williams
There are 6 levels of customer service:
Let’s talk about Levels 5 and 6.
As consumers, when an employee does their job well, we typically consider that excellent and exceptional. The Experience Factor says, “Raise your standards!”
Excellent service is a bit rare, like spotting a Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat. It occurs when you, the customer, experience a level of service that is not only exceptional, it’s unexpected, welcomed and memorable.
The X Factor is when a business or employee delivers a level of service that leaves the consumer in awe. The X Factor is when a business or employee makes a conscious effort to exceed your expectations, provide a personalized experience and excel at every touch point. It’s about a 1% difference between excellent and X Factor. It’s an employee mindset: always looking for ways to take it up a notch, to make the difference. The X Factor is the rarest of service experiences.
Ask our clients: we are educated consumers who have high standards. It’s our job to educate our clients in order to take their service to the X Factor level (that’s level 6! I haven’t even achieved that level with Angry Birds!).
When was the last time you experienced X Factor service? Was it really the X Factor, or was it just a “given”? Throw some examples at us! And what about your business…do you have the X Factor? We will give you our opinion. And remember, we can agree to disagree, as long as you know we’re right!
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Ever wonder if you’re crazy? Well, let me clear that up for you…you’re special. Some of us are just a little more special than others. Like one of our vendors. He’s so extra special he’s like a special extravaganza; a special-ganza if you will.
Recently, we received a few emails from him (our web-host-vendor-guy) warning us about potential problems with our website due to hackers and phishers. Thank you for the warnings. Great service.
Having received 2 warning emails in a short period of time, I was concerned. So here’s how it played out in our final email exchange:
ME: Has your hosting site been hacked? Yikes.
HIM: No- my hosting site has not been hacked-
This is a scam- that’s sent from another IP- that someone gullible might click.
I got the email- and thought that I should warn some of my unsophisticated clients that it is a scam.
Call me sensitive, but seriously? That’s your final answer? This is how I read that response:
Don’t question the integrity of my site- I couldn’t care less about your concerns. You’re gullible and unsophisticated and I bet you’re wondering what an IP is… Consider yourself served.
I may be gullible and unsophisticated when discussing technically-ish stuff, but there’s no need to POINT IT OUT. Social Skills 101. Please people, read the memo.
Our web-host-vendor-guy is talented, smart and runs a decent business. Yet this response does not reek of an I-want-your-business attitude. It just reeks. If we called our clients gullible or unsophisticated, even once, we wouldn’t have clients.
Email can be an effective form of communication without smiley faces and dancing cats. Just consider basic email etiquette that goes hand in hand with basic social skills.
When getting ready to fire off a communication via email, ask yourself 3 questions:
1. Is this email clear and succinct without any jackassery?
2. How might this (intelligent, witty, yet sensitive) person interpret this email?
3. Is this person immature enough to tweet or write a blog about this email?
If you can answer these questions and still push the send button with arrogance, err, confidence, then fire away. Otherwise: revise, reconsider and read the memo. That is all.
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The Experience Factor and Dr. Jennifer Davis-Berman are conducting a research study. Dr. Davis-Berman is a professor at the University of Dayton and therapist at Lifespan Counseling. She teaches a course on death and dying and is interested in further research.
The questions below represent the information that we are seeking. All responses are anonymous. Please write as much or little as you are willing. We appreciate your help with this research and will make available the results once gathered.
1. Have you, or anyone in your family served in the military?
2. Do you think that the president was correct in approving the mission to locate and kill Osama Bin Laden? Why or why not?
3. Do you think Osama Bin Laden should have been captured or killed? Please tell us the reasons for your response.
4. What do you remember about your emotional reaction when you first heard that Osama Bin Laden had been killed?
5. Did you use any kind of social media to communicate about the death of Osama Bin Laden? If so, what did you do?
6. Did you engage in any type of celebration of the death of Osama Bin Laden? If so, what kind? If not, why not?
7. What are your ideas about celebrating death? Where do you think these ideas come from?
8. What are your views on the death penalty?
9. Have you ever celebrated the death of a prisoner who was executed? If so, why? If not, why not?
10. Please give us the following demographic information: gender, age, race, years of education, country of origin, political affiliation (if any) and religious affilitation (if any).
Thank you so much for responding! Your comments are completely anonymous.
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