ProRecruiters

Happy Valentine's Day & February.   I was sent an article by a friend at the first part of the year, and it moved me so much I wanted to pass it along.   The full article is “12 Things Happy People Do Differently.”    Go to www.marcandangel.com and type in the title to get the full article. When I received the article, I was sitting down contemplating on my New Year’s resolutions.   In my teens and twenties, my resolutions were selfish in nature - usually all about how I could make myself better or grow professionally.   As I have matured, my resolutions are more about setting goals to be a better person and a better steward.   When I read the article, I immediately began to take action towards becoming happier because it has such a powerful trickle effect.   Below is a summary of the things happy people do differently and how it has impacted me personally.   I hope that some of these tips help you find happiness.   A ha...

Happy 2018!  As the year kicks offs it is all too common to have this sense of hustle and hurry.  We set goals for the quarter or the year, we make plans to better ourselves, and then we rush to try to get it ALL done.  However, all too often we set ourselves up for failure because no human can race at mock speed forever.  We must prioritize and stay focused or we run the risk of failure and burnout. How many times have we heard “I am so busy, I don’t have enough time.”  As leaders we don’t have permission to use this excuse.  We all have the same hours in the same day, it is how we chose to fill them that differentiates good leaders from great leaders.  “Not enough time” is an excuse we all need to take out of our vocabulary.  We need to focus on how we spend our time and how we prioritize our time.  Do we spend countless minutes scanning social media? How much time do we actually spend texting when we could be reading one chapt...

Happy November!  We are quickly approaching Thanksgiving, which is a time for expressing gratitude.  This month, I want to talk about the power of expressing gratitude.  This November, we have done a gratitude wall with the goal of having a wall full come the end of the month. The gratitude’s do not have to be big; they only have to be meaningful.  One staff member was grateful that she had co-workers who supported her when her baby was sick, and they did not guilt her for bringing her child to work.  Others were grateful for working in a drama-free office, or for supportive spouses.  Giving ourselves the space to be thankful for all that we have helps us to see just how much we often take for granted. Lunch with a client; having clients; my three-year-old very passionately ending her dinner prayer with “Awe Ha!” instead of “Amen”; gas in my tank, having a car; the ability to exercise; family nearby; the love of friends and family; the humility and...

Over years of successes and failures, we have developed a process, both internally and externally, to identify stealer employees. We have an unconventional approach to growing our database of candidates.    Instead of taking on each and every applicant, we carefully vet through them in hopes of identifying the people who are true professionals in every sense of the world, or who we believe have the potential to grow into the best. This is how we do it 1. Get to know the person Any new hire will impact our organization far beyond the specialized skills they contribute. Knowing each and every clients culture is imperative to finding the right match.  We have each applicant go through an on-line application then we conduct a phone interview and a face to face interview.  Through the course of this process we try to assess who the person is behind the suit and behind the resume.  We ask questions like: “What are you most passionate about? What gets you up...

CS Lewis said, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”  Trying times can threaten to overcome us in the moment, but if we endure, they can often result in great blessings.  This month, I want to share a personal story to provide hope and laughter as we push towards the last quarter of 2017. About a year ago, my daughter Katie’s dwarf hamster got out of her cage.  If any of you have ever had one of these little buggers, then you know that they run fast and can flatten themselves in a New York minute to escape!  Here is the e-mail I sent her that depicts the evening events and the humor and blessings that come from hardships.  Katie, last night was a tough night for us, but through the pain, your amazing little soul shined bright.  Your precious little hamster Minnie escaped her cage.  I had been on your case to fill up her food bowl and finally I said, “You must fill up her bowl tonight.”  I was failing to r...

Happy August!  H. P. Lovecraft said, “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” Fear is a powerful emotion.  It can drive us to make changes. It can paralyze us. Business owners and managers are not immune to fear! Unfortunately, in many situations we cannot predict the future. This month, I want to talk about handling fear and change in the workplace . Over the past year, I have experienced a lot of change within my company.  I have lost employees to expanding families, moving spouses, family needs, or better jobs.  I have lost clients because of economic factors and personal transitions. These situations are guaranteed to cause fear. The question is, “Will we respond to the fear by being paralyzed or by being motivated ?” Fear that paralyzes is not productive. However, fear that motivates can sometimes be one of the biggest factors in propelling you to growth.  So what’s th...

Happy July! This month, I want to discuss helpful and appropriate feedback .  Giving frequent feedback—good and bad—is important to the growth of your employees. Many employers unfortunately wait until the end-of-the-year reviews to consider successes and failures. I imagine that one of the main reasons for why people do not give regular feedback is that they become anxious about employees’ responses. If this is one of that factors that prevents you from offering frequent input, then let me offer the following tips to you to help create a positive environment. First, lead with questions . Often, employers start a review with the intent of leading employees to seeing a situation from the employers’ perspective. This can be met with defensiveness. A much more helpful approach is to be transparent about your intentions. Further, approach the meeting with curiosity, describing your observations and asking many questions about them. When employees see that you are legitimately int...