Listening

Don’t Forget Your Manners

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There are so many elements that go into making an interview process successful.

From the HR side, the planning and preparation focuses on making sure all of the procedural elements are in place, which include asking the right questions. From the candidate side, the planning and preparation focuses on making sure that they are ready to answer all of the possible questions that will come their way.

Sometimes, what gets missed in the midst of all of this planning and preparing, is for both the HR and the candidate side to review the unspoken and yet expected etiquette that is inherit in any interview scenario.

Anna Post provides some practical tips for candidates in the following TedTalk:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKBlWanXzGE[/embedyt]

While the tips Ms. Porter provides target an audience of perhaps a ‘younger’ job seeking candidate group, the message for any candidate is about meeting the expected expectations that HR recruiters are looking for.

Candidates are told to be prepared; to dress professionally; to be on time; to shake hands; to show respect by standing up when being greeted; to put their phones away during the interview; and to send follow up thank you e-mails after the interview.

If this is this is the expected etiquette which candidates expect to receive, what is the HR professional/recruiter doing to ensure that they are fulfilling these expectations?

Any interview process is a two-way interaction that reveals as much about the organization through the actions of HR professional with the candidates they meet.  It should go without saying that the organizational recruiter, the HR professional, should also be prepared; dress professionally; be on time; shake hands; follow up with candidates to let them know the outcome of the interview; and most importantly show respect by focusing their full attention to the candidate in the room. There is no place for distractions, such as a smart phone, when the purpose of an interview is to engage in conversation which is ultimately, a process of mutual respect.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How often to you shake hands with others when meeting them in a formal setting – is it a comfortable thing for you to do?
  2. What do ‘manners’ mean to you?
  3. How will you model interview etiquette as an HR professional?
  4. Thinking of your own interview experience as a candidate, which of Anna Post’s six interview tips do you need to work on in order to improve your professional image?

Learning to Listen

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Source: Tumblr. The above content constitutes a link to the source website.

Effective transfer of training for all employees is easier when there is a culture of learning.  Creating a culture of learning must come with clear support from the top of the organization through the office of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).  As we have learned through our studies, two additional key strategies recommended for the effective transfer of training for employees into productive performance behaviours include, management support and on-going performance coaching.  So how does the CEO become more effective in their own performance as a cultural role model for the learning organization?

They too need management support and on-going performance coaching.

Click here to read the article.  

According to this article, there is a 65.4% increase in management productivity due to one-on-one coaching when compared to the transfer of learning that comes from attending a three-day management training session.  Further, most of us forget a significant portion of what we have heard within 8 hours!   So, it is particularly interesting to note, that for the CEO, the focus of performance coaching in this example relies on the continued development of their own listening skills in order to become better communicators.

If the CEO learns to listen more, then employees are more likely to be heard.  If employees feel like they are being heard, then they are more likely become more productive.  If there is more productivity, then there is likely to be an increase in organizational value as a result of employees feeling valued and listened to.

Does it matter?  If the transfer of training by the CEO makes for better listening practices and effective communication, then a positive chain reaction throughout the organization could occur.  This result makes it obvious that it does matter…a lot!

Discussion Questions:

  1. What advice would you give the CEO where you work (or have worked) in order to increase their communication effectiveness?
  2. What types of performance coaching would you benefit from in your current work situation?
  3. How much do you remember from past training sessions that you were able to implement into your daily work routines?
  4. Who would benefit from on-going performance coaching in your current workplace and why?