Janice Webber

Is it more Benefits....

Tuesday, 21 February 2012 17:54

Is it more Benefits – No, maybe it is more Money – What do your Employees really Want?

There are many items to include in the compensation agreement that will make and keep a great employee. Benefits are certainly one and salary increases on a regular basis is absolutely one of the other most important aspects to keep your employees happy. But they are not the only items to consider keeping your employees loyal and dedicated.  In order to have your employees committed, with a great work ethic and performing to the highest level you must consider other aspects.

 Goals: Set targets for your employees, even if they are slight in nature and are only personal and not competitive amongst the team. Goals and expectations give each employee a sense of purpose and provide a fun atmosphere in the office. A team lunch at the end of the goal is a great reward.

 Limitations: Each employee should have a set of rules to follow for their own role. While they should have some range to roam, your employees should know what time lines, delivery dates and what is at risk if limitations are not met. Everyone needs to know what is expected of them.

 Autonomy: We interview on a daily basis and I believe one of the most frequent answers I get is “I would like to work for a Manager who gives me direction, and then trusts me to work independently to deliver the project”. In other words, the candidates are almost always looking for autonomy. Latitude allows the employee to be creative and that allows innovative work. Your employees will be more satisfied if they have more latitude. Give your employees the freedom to work the way they work best, and see if their work ethic improves.

 Caring: Allow your employees to be part of the process. As Managers, we sometimes give instructions for a project without allowing our team to know the purpose of the project or what the company is striving for. Give your team a sense of being part of the whole picture. By doing so provides them with a sense of purpose. Keep your team informed of any corporate changes and why the changes were made.

 Input: Allow your employees to contribute their ideas and suggestions. Discuss the pros and cons of those ideas with your team. If you deny them the ability to contribute to the process you may miss out on some great ideas, but worse than that you will have a group of uninterested people working for you.

 Interest: Take some time (and it really doesn’t take much) to ask about the weekend, or how the kids are. Perhaps it would be a good idea to buy some chocolates for the office just because you were out and you thought it was a good idea. It doesn’t take much to show you care and are interested in your team. Your staff will be much more tolerant of a quick deadline, if they know that on a more regular basis the Manager is a person who takes time and is interested in them. The key is communication.

 The Horizon: Ask your employees what they hope to do in the future. What do they see in their horizon? Take some time to help develop them for their future role within the company. The best way to have caring employees is to be a caring Manager.

 You can email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Call me at 416-385-0050.  You can also read more about our companies at www.partnerscoaching.com or www.fromm.net. Watch for my E-book CLEAR, coming to our websites. Until next time.....

Supporting your Staff

Tuesday, 14 February 2012 11:09

Supporting your Staff

Your team will do their most productive and effective work when they are making progress on a meaningful project. The project doesn’t have to be a large one. It can be simple but it should be one that is useful and will provide a solution and make your organization more successful. Managers should support the team and do whatever is necessary to ensure the team has everything necessary to accomplish the task. However, as we all know thing will go wrong. It is how, as Managers, you provide guidance to your team and you offer solutions so the team stays cohesive and stays on line. Keeping your teams productive and creative is management’s responsibility. Here are some suggestions that may be helpful:

• Is it really a Problem or a Challenge? Treat the problem as a chance to learn a new skill.   If you tell your staff that they have failed with each set back, they will eventually feel beaten down and perceived themselves as not being competent. Motivation is positive. The team members will respond more favourably if you tell them to realize their mistakes, learn from them and carry on. It is not a problem, it is simply a way to grow and learn.
• Be Open to Learning a new way. If your team comes to you with a new direction for the project and it based on the project objectives, allow your team to go ahead on their track. Creative learning is learning and allowing your staff to be creative, no matter what the outcome, is showing an open management style. You will be appreciated more by your staff and they will produce great work going forward.
• Small Packages. Set the goals for your team in small packages. Let’s look at another way. Your doctor tells you to lose 50 pounds. That is a lot of weight. But if you decide to lose 2 pounds a week, it should only take approximately 48 weeks or just over 6 months. If you break it down to small amounts it seems less cumbersome. It is the same with setting goals for your team. Break the team goals down to small achievable focal points and they will achieve successes regularly. If your team is happy and engaged, the project is very likely to be completed effectively, on budget and within the time line set.

In this economy and as we come out of this recession (fingers crossed) team supervisors and managers must make wise decisions. Guide your teams in an efficient, effective and energetic manner.

Watch for my upcoming Ebook, CLEAR coming soon on our website, www.fromm.net and www.partnerscoaching.com. Also, you can reach me at 416-385-0050 or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Interview Intelligence

Wednesday, 08 February 2012 11:26

Interview Intelligence

As recruiters we are asked for tips on successfully mastering an interview to become the chosen candidate. There is no magic but there is common sense, a lot of research and homework to complete to be the one who lands that perfect job. Let’s talk about some basics.

If you are interested in meeting with someone who is a friend of a friend you, need to convey some circumstances that will provide valuable information for your friend to deliver to the person you are trying to meet and will make that person need to have a meeting with you. For example; explain a problem that your current team faced and what your responsibilities were within the team to get to the problem solved. Then explain details of what you did to solve the problem and what the outcome was. Finally, give the details of your accomplishments that resulted from your solution and what benefits your company saw as a result. This process will make it easy for your friend to make the introduction. Once you have the connection and have the appointment confirmed you will want to have your interviewing skills mastered. There are numerous books and articles you can read to give you tips. Read them. Go on the internet and do your research. The more you learn the better you will be and the more you interview the better prepared you will be when the really important interview comes along. Remember, practice does make perfect.

Here are some additional tips that you may not find elsewhere.

1. Try to find things that you have in common with the person who you are interviewing with. When you enter the interview room, look around at the pictures or awards. If you see a family photo, perhaps that will have something in common with your life. Or, perhaps your designation and that of the person interviewing will be the same. This will give you something to talk about immediately.
2. Try and find shared interests. Perhaps hobbies or sporting events are similar. Share your ideas. Make the conversation shorter rather than long but it will break the ice and make the conversation into the interview easier.
3. Watch body language and try and mirror and match that of the person who is interviewing you. If the person you are talking with is leaning one way and you are sitting directly opposite mirror that image. Keep good eye contact and do not cross your arms.

Strengths and Weaknesses-These questions are almost always asked and you should have your answers prepared. When you prepare your answers be able to give demonstrations of your strengths. The best way to do this is through a short and concise story. Well shaped stories are remembered. For you weaknesses (and we all have them) make your stories brief, honest and unimportant.

When the interview is winding down it is important to tell your interviewer that you are interested in the position. Say it in clearly. “I am very interested in pursuing this position to the next level”. Ask what the next step in the process is and ask what type of person has been successful in the position you are interviewing for. This will give you an idea if you are right for the position and if you are being considered. Finally, it is also time for you to assess whether you can work for this person. Is this a manager you can see yourself reporting to? You will have an opportunity at this point ask some questions. Remember, not only are you being interviewed but you are also interviewing the company and you have choices as well. You will know from the answers you get what type of Manager you could be faced with should you be a successful candidate with this company.

Look for much more information on interviewing in future blog articles and my upcoming Ebook, CLEAR. Contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Call me at 416-385-0050 and check out our websites; www.fromm.net and www.partnerscoaching.com. Until next time, keep smiling.

Practice Makes Perfect

Monday, 30 January 2012 17:41

Public speaking was always one of my biggest fears. Growing up with a Father known for his public speaking engagements at international conventions, certainly didn’t give me any confidence until I decided to face the devil and conquer. I didn’t want to embarrass myself but I wasn’t going to disappoint the one man in my life that I really needed to have complete approval from; my Dad. I decided I need to overcome this fear and the only way to do so was to do what he did; practice until it was second nature and the words just came out. That sounds simple but the age old phrase “Practice makes perfect” fits. How many a time has the ballet teacher told you or your kids to practice the steps until you know them just right. Confidence can only come along when you work hard, practices the craft and give all the effort possible. In the time I was trying hard to erase the public speaking fear, I would say my speech over and over again. I can remember when I had to make my first public speech in front of an audience of more than 300 people. It was something that had to go just right. The only time I had to practice by myself was in my car on my way back and forth to work and that is exactly what I did for several months. I am sure there were people en-route in traffic who thought I had lost my mind. There I was talking to myself in my car; quite animated at times and if they travelled the same route on a daily basis at the same time, they saw me doing the same thing every day, twice a day. (This was prior to the Bluetooth days) However, when that speech was delivered people were amazed. In fact, I was pretty astonished myself. I can tell you that practicing until you know your material, does give you the confidence you need in a task you otherwise were shy to perform.

So self confident people with high self esteem are that way about all they do, right? Not the ones I know.  Wise self confident people are wise enough to know and admit when they don’t know everything. Wise self confident people with good self esteem will ask for help when they know they need it. The ability to ask for assistance is an important and valuable asset and one to be admired. You can bet that once they have learned the new craft, the self confident person will practice, practice, practice to be better prepared. The new ability usually becomes a valuable skill for the confident personality.  Self confident people also know that if they choose a task and fail, they have learned a valuable lesson and that in itself if useful.

Refining and practicing a task to gain confidence will make what you have mastered of value to others. So put it out there and ask for opinions. Don’t worry about what is said about your new born skills; rather think about the new perspective that others can give you on this new skill and how you can incorporate those thoughts into that skill. Make sure to get the opinion of those who will be truthful with you.

Learning is growth and learning is done through practice. Our mothers were right practice does make perfect. For more information and to contact me call 416-385-0050. You can email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can also see our website; www.fromm.net or www.partnerscoaching.com. http://www.fromm.net/blog/janice-webber

Until next time, keep smiling.

Let's Talk Politics

Monday, 23 January 2012 10:52

Well, office politics. I would never have a serious conversation with you about any other kind of politics and expect to get read. The area of office politics I usually avoid as well; after all politics and religion are dangerous conversations to start, but this information is something that I thought should be shared, so here we go.

I believe successful relationships including working relationships, depend on an shared trust. In many cases, we spend more time in our offices working with piers, than we do with our families. Therefore, it is fair to say that we should have as much in common with those people as possible including our inner values. If your co-worker has the mindset to come into the office and pass off his or her responsibilities to others and is never reprimanded for that and you keep on track with your responsibilites, the team is out of sync and does not share the same values; therefore the political compass will start to rear its ugly head within the group as your coworkers continue their actions. These types of situations can cause havoc in an office and as a member of a team or as the supervisor of the team you must set the standards and make them stick for your team.

As the team leader, handling situations and coming up with a great solution will be how you build your team dynamics and your own reputation. Therefore, it is imperative to take care of this political nightmare in order to protect your own corporate hide.

Let’s take it a step further. What do you do if you immediate Supervisor or Manager asks you to do something that goes against your own moral compass or worse, asks you to do something you question as unethical? Do you say “No”? Do you talk directly to the Supervisor asking you to do the “unethical” task and take the risk involved? Do you go above that person and report him or do you keep quiet and have that raw feeling that what you are witnessing is completely wrong? I know what my code of ethics would have me do – do you know what yours would have you do? I wonder what the staff on Wall Street were thinking a few years ago as they witnessed all that was happening as we watched the stock market crash. Would it have been politically correct to report those CFO’s?

Over the last few years we have seen a huge change in the workplace environment and with that we are also seeing a change in the political atmosphere of the accepted code of ethics. Years ago fraternizing with a subordinate, particularly one in your own department would not have been allowed. Today, although completely not accepted everywhere; it is not frowned upon as it had been. Workplace romances are more common now than they were years ago and in fact are quite common. Today, if you were to say to an employee that 2 people within a company could not date, they would probably think you were joking.

What is important is that the company policy be consistent and that Managers deal with each situation consistently so that everyone is treated equally. Let me remind you that if the relationship doesn’t work out you will face the political risks involved and office gossip plus your employment in the organization could be really uncomfortable.

You can reach me at 416-385-0050 if you want to talk. You can email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Check us out at www.partnerscoaching.com and www.fromm.net. Until next time, keep smiling.