Day: March 25, 2020

THE VALUE OF TRACKING TURNOVER—AND HOW TO DO IT RIGHT

Turnover reports. Let’s be honest—they’re kind of boring. But, if you want to be a business that’s responsive to employees and boasts a great company culture, you need to track your turnover.
People in small business often say, “I don’t need to track anything! I know the names of everyone who works here and I can give you a list of everyone who has left, along with their reasons for leaving! Jane left because her husband got a job in Milwaukee. Steve left because a headhunter called him up out of the blue and offered him a raise we couldn’t match. Carol left because she wanted to stay home with her kids.”
It’s easy to think you’ve got it under control, but let me tell you a secret: People lie about why they’re leaving. Jane told her husband to go ahead and take that job in Milwaukee because she hated her manager. Steve was actively looking for a job for two years before he finally landed that one. He would have taken it without the raise. And Carol? Carol actually does want to stay home with her kids, but she intends to do consulting on the side. She would have stayed if you had granted her request for part time.

Seeing the Trees, But Not the Forest

When you know everyone in your company, you can’t always see the big picture. Which means that you don’t notice a very obvious thing that a turnover report might tell you—Jane, Steve and Carol all reported directly to Bob. It’s time to take a good look at Bob’s management skills.
No matter the size of your company, you need to look at turnover in a tactical and analytical way. The first step is to figure out your overall turnover rate.
Turnover is calculated by dividing the number of people who left by your employee population. But it’s often more difficult than just doing a bit of division—and it also depends on what type of business you’re running.
1) For a stable business: If you’re a stable business that is neither growing nor shrinking, you can use the following formula: Number of people who left / current employees. Because you’re hiring to replace, it will give you a pretty accurate look at what percentage of your employees are leaving each year.
2) For growing businesses: If you’re in a business that is growing by leaps and bounds, you’ll underestimate your turnover by using the “stable business” method. For a growing business, it’s best to use this formula: Number of employees who left / number of employees at the beginning of the time period.
Why the difference? Well, let’s say in January you had 100 employees. By June, 5 of those have quit. But you’ve been growing by leaps and bounds, and so now you have 200 employees: 5/200=2.5 percent. The reality is, though, that 5 of your original 100 left, so 5/100=5 percent. It’s a hugely different number with very different meanings.
3) For a shrinking business: If you use the stable method, you’ll overstate your turnover. So, for a company that is losing employees, you’ll want to use the same method as a growing business: number of employees who left / number of employees at the beginning of the time period.

Don’t Jump to Conclusions

You’ll want to cut the data across race and gender and departments and look for anything that stands out. You’re looking for patterns—but don’t panic. I used to do turnover for large grocery store chain and the reports were standardized across all stores. I got a panicked phone call from an HR manager in upstate New York who had 50 percent minority turnover. “What am I doing wrong? This was horrible!” I pointed out that the store only had 2 minority employees, and one had quit.
In other words, the numbers looked frightening, but the reality was that it wasn’t a big deal. A little research showed that her county also had less than 4 percent minorities, so it wasn’t surprising that her store had a small number of minority employees.
Likewise, if you discover that one department has significantly higher turnover than the others, don’t immediately fire the director. She may well need to be fired, but there may be something else going on. Was the department’s budget cut? Was there a reorganization demanded by senior management? Was the workload substantially altered? Investigate before reacting.

Separate Involuntary and Voluntary Turnover

Not everyone that leaves a company does so because they want to—you may have fired some people as well. But don’t pat yourself on the back if you have low voluntary turnover and high involuntary turnover. High involuntary turnover means that you’re either making some serious hiring mistakes—you shouldn’t have to fire good people—or your management is reacting to small problems by firing. Neither is good and requires investigation.

Make Changes with Your Knowledge

Looking at your turnover can alert you to problems before they grow too large. You can implement changes in your hiring procedures. You can train you managers. You can look at your salaries and your benefits.
Bottom line—don’t disregard the numbers just because you know every person that works and leaves your business. The numbers can show you a new story.

CAN COMPLICATED BE SIMPLE?

I have had an iPhone since the 3G.  I love the device.   Apple has made it easy to stay with them and they create great continuity in their upgrade stream.  They have excellent functionality and peace of mind with iCloud backups.  A recent experience made me realize just how dependent I am on the way that Apple rolls things out.
As usual,  with no warning,  I got a notice that the new release, iOS 9.0.01, was ready on my phone.  I had just done a backup so it seemed like an opportune moment, why not?  I had the time.  Remember though, there is no real notice about what is IN the latest iOS release ahead of time, nor is there any real background on what it is when you get it unless you troll the net to learn what good and bad things others have shared.  My first clue should have been to look deeper since it was iOS 9.0.1 NOT 9.0 which means Apple rolled out a ton of bug fixes right away.
But hey, we let it fly.
The first thing I noticed was it took an inordinately long time to load and install, atypical.  So long that I began to congratulate myself on the current backup I had made.  Finally it installed, but it looked like it was going through a lot of standard setup options that most updates don’t do.  The load process did several annoying things like attempt to use my iTunes credit card to drop into Apple Wallet (I had to read it twice and decline because it made it seem like it was just for iTunes, no thank you Apple). The update automatically tried to turn on location services (which I had carefully configured to my liking prior), turned on time zone settings for my calendar and added some new icons automatically rearranging my home screen.  Nothing dramatic, just a little intrusive and again with no real explanation as to what it was doing (anybody remember the “free” U2 songs you couldn’t delete from the last release?).  But the update took off and finally my phone was back. 
I didn’t think about it until the next day.  I was in Newark, NJ  with a colleague and we went to call an Uber Taxi for our meeting.  I opened the App,  and set my location and requested a car.  As usual I got a response within a few moments and the driver called me.  “I am at the Airport Marriott across from the terminal” I tell him,  “Where?” he asks?  “Are you at LAX, I thought you were in Santa Monica”? – it then dawned on me,  the update had turned off ALL OF MY PREFERENCES for location services.  The Uber app thought I was still in Southern California.  How funny.  I apologized to the driver and canceled the request, going back into my phone and redoing a number of configured settings that had been undone by this major upgrade.
Once I got a car on the East Coast, I ran through some of my favorite apps on the ride and found they were broken or behaved badly.  Again, nothing that rendered the phone useless,  but it did not behave as it did before.

Lessons for Release Management

Now, the iPhone and the iOS software are very complicated bits of technology which are designed to make my experience useful and simple.  But it dawned on me that this was a lesson in how to handle release management.  Complicated made simple…
  1. Publish what is in the release well ahead of time,  actually, publish it two and 3 versions out. So you aren’t adding functionality at the last minute.
  2. Let your partner community know it’s coming so they can plan for it ahead of time.
  3. Deliver any new functionality in the “off” position and allow the user to turn things on when they see use in doing so.
  4. Honor the configuration that the user has established and do not override their previous settings.
A simple, straightforward and planful approach to insure that the release is useful right away,  and that it does not have adverse impact on the user. As a consumer of software,  you should be able to expect nothing less.
BTW – I still love my Apple devices, but my iPad is not upgraded yet,  I think I will wait for iOS 9.0.2.

WHY RECRUITING MISFITS CAN LEAD TO OUT-OF-THE-BOX INNOVATIONS: Q&A WITH CRIS WILDERMUTH

Last week we spoke with Cris Wildermuth, assistant professor of leadership development at Drake University and community chair of LinkedIn’s Linked:HR group, about why companies shouldn’t — and can’t — teach company culture. Since employees play a big part in shaping the corporate environment, should companies hire people that fit into their current culture, or should they recruit outside of the box? Here, Wildermuth shares why companies should hire candidates that might not fit-in, since people with dissenting opinions often bring about the greatest innovations. 

What advice would you give companies that usually don’t hire people with dissenting views?

I would say, “You’re not going to be alive if you continue this route.” Ronald Heifetz, a professor at Harvard, talks about adaptive leadership, which is mobilizing people to thrive in a situation of change. When you’re confronted with a situation that requires changes in values, culture or history in order to survive, you’re not going to confront that challenge by having people who are strong supporters of the status quo. You have to have some seeds of dissent in there for that wall of the old culture to be shaken a little.
Apple, for instance, used to be the cream of the crop in its industry, and now you have all those competitors trying to attack the iPad and iPhone by coming up with alternatives. Is Apple going to survive by continuing what they’re doing or by making changes? These are the kinds of conversations that need to be held inside, and if you never accept any words of dissent, you’re in trouble.
If I could conjure up a culture with a magic wand, the one characteristic it would have is openness and no fear — the kind of culture that would let people express their disapproval without negative repercussions. From the standpoint of a well-oiled machine, there’s a lot of productivity in an environment without dissent. That will work wonderfully, of course, until there’s a disruption.

What are the dangers of having an open culture?

The danger of an open culture and allowing dissent is that you may temporarily lose efficiency. Let’s say, for instance, that we work as firefighters. There’s a big fire in the building and you’re an expert firefighter. At that point, you don’t want dissent because, while we’re discussing our disagreement, we’re going to die. There’s a danger in too much dissent in moments of acute crisis, and, often times, a crisis is an adaptive challenge.

What stands in the way of companies hiring people with contrarian ideas and views?

Often times those who object to things — who bring new ideas, who bring the elephant in the room onto the table — those people are not rewarded for their new ideas. If we’re not willing to protect the voice of dissent, then, from an ethical standpoint, we shouldn’t be hiring them. It’s not just about hiring people who don’t “fit our culture.” It’s about having hard conversations about what are we are going to do with the people who disagree with us. If we’re not going to support them, then we shouldn’t bring them in because we’re setting them up for failure. The problem is, if we don’t hire the people who disagree with us, we’re probably setting ourselves up for failure. 

Struggling in a Class? We’re Here to Help!!

Life can get in the way of success for a student. One day away from the books might turn into a week. And suddenly, you can find yourself not just falling behind, but failing.
The key to recovery after any roadblock you face in class is to keep in contact with your academic advisor and, or, your academic success coach, as well as your instructor. Working double shifts this week? Let them know. Death in the family? Let them know. Kids come home from preschool with lice? Let them know. They can adjust your due dates for assignments accordingly. And if you are not contacting them, they will reach out to you.
“Our advisors and academic success coaches work closely with our students, especially those who are in their first term,” said Brandy McDonough, associate dean of instruction. “If something seems amiss they will contact the student and support them to get back on track.”
Each instructor will have their policies late assignments listed on the class syllabus. However, McDonough said students who are facing a hardship need to be proactive. Instructors are willing to work with students who communicate when they have an issue.
“The biggest point is that students need to know the importance of being as proactive as possible and reaching out to their instructor right away if know they have a conflict,” McDonough said. “If all of a sudden life got in the way and they need additional time they should immediately reach out to their instructor.”
Students also need to check their Bryant & Stratton issued email address on a daily basis. Instructors will not respond to emails from outside providers. All staff members communicate with students through Bryant & Stratton email and through the online blackboard system. If you are struggling in a class because you need more instruction, Bryant & Stratton College has opportunities for you.
Faculty members are able to work with students one on one during virtual office hours, or, you can schedule a meeting. Tutoring is available as well. Once you’ve realized that you need more help in a course, your best action is to get that help. Students can only add or drop a course in the first seven days of the session without penalty.
On day eight, if you decide you are not ready for the course, you need to make it work. That’s because on day eight, you are responsible for the cost of the class. If you drop the course anyways, you may also lose some financial aid benefits. 

LEARNING CORNER WITH JEFFREY PFEFFER: WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE AGE IN DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION EFFORTS

At Stanford University, during the 2018-2019 academic year, virtually every meeting of the faculty senate included a report—or two—on the university’s diversity efforts. Yet ageism was never addressed—and continues to go unnoticed. According to a faculty colleague, the former dean of the School of Engineering, who is now the Provost, appointed a strategy committee packed with young faculty members simply because, to use her highly inopportune phrase, “they are the future.”
Clearly, diversity and inclusion are becoming a priority for all types of organizations. As of February 2018, diversity and inclusion roles, as a share of all job postings, were up by 35% from two years prior, according to Indeed. Meanwhile, PwC’s 18th Annual Global Survey noted that talent diversity and inclusiveness were now core components of competitiveness, and 77 percent of CEOs already had or intended to adopt a strategy that promotes D&I. Technology companies like eBay have even gone the extra step to regularly report their diversity statistics.
But, like with Stanford, virtually absent from most of these D&I conversations and action items is any mention of age. The arguments for valuing older employees are identical to the logic for emphasizing diversity and inclusion for other groups: In addition to being a matter of human rights (all people deserve equal opportunities and equal treatment), companies actually benefit from having a diverse workforce—and that includes diversity in age. After all, different perspectives often lead to more creative solutions and practices. Still, ageism in the workplace is a common and almost socially acceptable practice. It’s time for that to change.

Ageism Is Real

Ageism is a substantial workplace issue we need to address—especially because by 2022, more than one-third of the U.S. workforce will be over the age of 50. 
In an AARP survey of adults over 45, 61% of respondents said that they had seen or personally experienced age discrimination. A review of academic studies of age bias in hiring and promotion concluded that “study after study has shown how employers… may not objectively evaluate job candidates’ potential productivity.”
But it’s more than being passed over for career opportunities. A study by the Urban Institute found that of adults aged 51 to 54 who were employed full-time, some 56 percent subsequently experienced an employer-initiated involuntary job separation, with typically devastating financial consequences (not to mention psychological repercussions).
Much like racism and sexism, ageism not only harms its victims, but it also infects a company’s culture, creates a less inclusive workplace and deprives organizations of the talent they need to compete and innovate. And it’s why companies need to include age as they work on broader D&I initiatives.

Many Myths About Older Employees Are False

So what exactly is driving this discriminatory behavior? Stereotypes about older workers that are as pervasive—and harmful—as those about other demographic groups. But, as is often the case, these beliefs are inconsistent with the evidence.
Contrary to popular mythology, youth is not a key attribute for founding a successful business. One study found that the average age of entrepreneurs was 42. Even considering just the top 0.1% of startups based on revenue growth during the first five years, founders started their companies, on average, at age 45.
There’s also no evidence to suggest that age is related to productivity. Stephen Cole, a sociologist at SUNY Stony Brook, reported decades ago that mathematicians, who, it was assumed, did their best work while young, experienced “no decline in the quality of work… as they progressed through their careers.” And another review of studies found that productivity was constant as scientists aged.
Such evidence suggests that companies can and do benefit from encouraging the hiring and retention of older workers, just as they can benefit from hiring and retaining women and people of color. In all of these instances, companies access a broader and better pool of talent.

Companies Should Expand Their D&I Efforts to Include Age

So how should we attack the problem? Fundamentally, research shows that measurement is important in influencing behavior. What gets measured gets managed. As companies increasingly report their D&I statistics for women, people of color and other groups, they should also report the data for the age distribution of their workforce.
There are other things companies can do as well. We know that language matters—that we see things, in part, by the way we refer to them—and that words can hurt. Many companies have banned racist, misogynist language and call out those who use terms that inflict psychological distress on others. A similar sensitivity to ageist language (even the use of more subtle terms like “energetic and fresh” or “digital natives” to describe a company’s ideal employees)—would be a nice step in the right direction. Stereotypes about older workers and disparaging comments about them remain too common, as numerous surveys attest. 
When symphony orchestras wanted to hire more women, they did blind auditions where people could not see the gender of the person performing. When companies sought to build more inclusive workplaces, they focused on eliminating interview questions or signals that would not only harm someone’s chance of gaining employment, but also their likelihood of accepting an offer because the questions made them feel unwelcome. Consider taking dates off of resumes and banish questions that call into doubt someone’s energy or commitment just because of their age.
The parallels with other diversity and inclusion initiatives are many and direct. When companies do for age what they have already begun to do for race and gender, they will be well on their way to building a more diverse and welcoming workplace.
Until workplaces take ageism seriously, it will continue, depriving employers of wisdom, experience and talent, and inflicting unjust behavior on people simply because they have “too many birthdays.”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

FIXING THE LEAKING LEADERSHIP PIPELINE

Cornerstone has penned a new whitepaper on the issues surrounding leadership development and building a sustainable pipeline of leaders in your organization. We urge you to download a copy.  I think you’ll find that our new paper is an even-handed exploration of the issues confronting organizations and their plans for developing future leaders.

New Definitions: No Employee Left Behind

“Leadership development” itself might be a bit of an outdated term – not that it’s not relevant in the modern organization, because it surely is.  Instead, we mean to say that the term “leadership development” comes with some baggage.  As typically defined over decades of use in human resources departments, the idea too often is meant to only concern a narrow strata of senior leadership roles.
Don’t get us wrong.  Any effective leader is an employee worth developing and hanging on to.  It’s just that contemporary technologies and processes, alongside new (often flatter) organizational hierarchies and ready access to talent management data, mean that we no longer have to consider “leadership development” in the narrowest sense of the concept.  It’s no longer reserved exclusively for that hand-picked batch of high-performance / high-potential / high-fill-in-the-blank folks who need to be coddled and cared for like incubating eggs.
As companies look down the chain to develop and build future leaders from within, HR professionals need to consider that leadership and training curricula must be designed for each different level, from executives to employees. On other words, it’s no employee left behind.  In our new whitepaper we examine the challenges at each level (not just your senior leaders).

New Definitions: How Has Leadership Changed in the New World of Business?

Present-day thinking about cultivating leaders hasn’t only changed in terms of how we define who a potential leader is.  The very skills, competencies and characteristics of leadership are evolving as our business and cultural environment keeps shifting.
Although traditional competencies such as integrity, vision, judgment and people development will likely always be relevant, organizations needing to develop leaders today must be ready to look beyond the conventional. They must create an environment that allows high performers to grow professionally and, ultimately, develop new skills that will lead businesses into the future.
Our new whitepaper describes just this shifting sense of what real leadership skills are and asks interesting questions.  What were the core attributes of a leader in the 20th century and how have those qualities transformed over the last decade alongside rapid change in the world of business?
Of course, it’s not enough to ponder these changes in leadership development without making some suggestions for what the new world order looks like in practice.  In other words, how does your organization tackle the challenge of building a durable pipeline of successful leaders?
Developing and building leaders at all levels of an organization is hard work. However, the rewards are worth it: lower employee turnover, higher workforce empowerment, increased work productivity and successful execution of business goals. Check out our new whitepaper to find out more.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Get a Jumpstart on the Admissions Process

The college admissions process used to involve an elaborate set of steps including hand-written forms and a plethora of paperwork. Fortunately, the internet has completely transformed the experience. There are a number of resources available to students who may need to obtain transfer credits before applying or for those who simply want to do additional research prior to making their decision. The admissions process is also easier online. Prospective students can complete the bulk of their college admissions forms and requirements online, using a computer, keyboard, and about an hour or two of uninterrupted time.
1. Call the admissions office. Before you begin filling out your online applications, call the Admissions Office and speak with a counselor. During a complimentary interview, the admissions counselor will speak with you about your academic goals, as well as your background. The counselor will also go over the application process so you know what to expect. Lastly, the admissions staff can answer any questions you may have, and guide you in the right direction if their academic programs aren’t exactly what you are looking for.
2. Fill out the application. Once you have been given the green light from the Admissions Counselor, it’s time to fill out the online application. This involves a simple series of questions including:
  • Current contact information
  • Military affiliation if any
  • Citizenship status
  • Your academic history
  • Desired enrollment status
  • Academic area of interest
  • Whether of not you need financial assistance
Once your application is complete, you will hit the “Submit” button and it will be sent directly to our admissions office. It’s that simple!
3. Financial Aid. Many college students use some form of financial aid in order to decrease their college tuition, living, and/or school supply expenses. Even if you don’t need financial aid, it is a good idea to speak with a Financial Aid Counselor. You may qualify for grants and scholarships that can significantly reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. If you do require financial assistance, Financial Aid Counselors can walk you through the process and help you determine where to apply. There are two kinds of assistance:
  • Grants and scholarships. These can come from public or private organizations and never have to be repaid.
  • Loans. These are also offered via public and private organizations but they do have to be repaid, often with interest.
It’s never too early to begin researching financial aid options as most financial aid programs have application deadlines.
4. Transcripts. At some point during the college admissions process, you will need to send your high school and college transcripts (if applicable). If you have a GED, you can contact your state government’s GED office to request a copy.
Once you have completed these five steps, you can sit back, relax, and wait for your notification of acceptance. Contact the Admissions Office at Bryant & Stratton College to begin your college admissions process today!

HUMAN CAPITALIST: 3 STEPS TO AN “OWNER-THINKING” CULTURE

As Woody Allen famously quipped, \”80 percent of life is showing up.” But as corporate educator and workplace coach Jay Forte explains on Human Capitalist, the Allen rule doesn\’t work in the workplace. Successful managers, he argues, need to find ways to create and encourage entrepreneurial thinking up and down an organization — and instill what he calls \”owner thinking\” into a company\’s culture and ethos.
Why? Because without that scrappy, startup-like attitude, employees can easily become disengaged from higher level strategic goals and shy away from taking ownership for tasks that fall outside of job descriptions. Encouraging employees to shift from \”job-description thinking\” to \”owner thinking,\” says Forte, will enhance company culture, boost creativity, and promote productivity. Here are three ways Forte says owners can help create a shift:

1. Clarify Expectations

\”…Clarity, particularly about the required outcome, ensures employees and management are working towards the same expectation. This is also the place to raise the expectation from standard job description performance to owner-thinking performance…\”

2. Break Down Hierarchies

\”…Owners know the facts. Most employees don’t. How can an employee perform at owner level without all the information? Hire the right employees then give them more and better information…\”

3. Demand Big Thinking

\”…We define what we expect and need in our workplace. Raise the expectations, share important information and require big ideas. Set the tone for what must happen in the workplace and employees will see the opportunity to do more than just show up…\”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HUMAN CAPITALIST: 3 STEPS TO AN "OWNER-THINKING" CULTURE

As Woody Allen famously quipped, \”80 percent of life is showing up.” But as corporate educator and workplace coach Jay Forte explains on Human Capitalist, the Allen rule doesn\’t work in the workplace. Successful managers, he argues, need to find ways to create and encourage entrepreneurial thinking up and down an organization — and instill what he calls \”owner thinking\” into a company\’s culture and ethos.
Why? Because without that scrappy, startup-like attitude, employees can easily become disengaged from higher level strategic goals and shy away from taking ownership for tasks that fall outside of job descriptions. Encouraging employees to shift from \”job-description thinking\” to \”owner thinking,\” says Forte, will enhance company culture, boost creativity, and promote productivity. Here are three ways Forte says owners can help create a shift:

1. Clarify Expectations

\”…Clarity, particularly about the required outcome, ensures employees and management are working towards the same expectation. This is also the place to raise the expectation from standard job description performance to owner-thinking performance…\”

2. Break Down Hierarchies

\”…Owners know the facts. Most employees don’t. How can an employee perform at owner level without all the information? Hire the right employees then give them more and better information…\”

3. Demand Big Thinking

\”…We define what we expect and need in our workplace. Raise the expectations, share important information and require big ideas. Set the tone for what must happen in the workplace and employees will see the opportunity to do more than just show up…\”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

5 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand Online

Have you Googled yourself lately?
If you use the Internet, then you most likely have a personal brand. Your personal brand is essentially how you choose to present yourself and how you are perceived. Online, your personal brand is made up of your social media presence, personal blog or website, any online comments you’ve made, and how people respond to you.
“Your online personal brand reflects what you do and what you’re good at. It’s what you want someone to instantly know about you,” says Galen Mooney, a 2012 UVM graduate who specializes in branding for entrepreneurs at her company, Success Measured, located in Cambridge, Mass.
Mooney is teaching an online course, Managing Your Online Personal Brand, at UVM during Winter Session. She tells students that if they want to build their personal brand online, it’s never too early – or too late – to start.

Start Building Your Personal Brand Online Now

“You don’t have to wait until you’re out of college or getting ready to start your career. I started building my personal brand in high school,” she says. “There seems to be a fear of starting, but it’s better to start early and change as you grow.”
Mooney explains that people are often reluctant to establish their personal brand because they can’t find one particular niche or area of expertise to focus on. “What you need to realize is that a personal brand can change or develop over time. Pick something you’re interested in and excited about right now. As you grow, and your career develops, you can add to it,” she says.
So, what does your brand say about you? What do you want it to say? Mooney offers 5 tips for improving and maintaining your online personal brand.

It’s All about Engagement

If you want to build your personal brand online, one of the best ways to start is to focus on engagement. Connect with people online by finding a community that shares your area of interest or expertise. For example, if you’re interested in public relations, journalism or marketing, Twitter is a good place to engage. If you’re an artist or graphic designer, connect with other creative people on Dribbble. Industry or location-based LinkedIn groups are also an effective way to engage with like-minded individuals.

Keep it Clean

Did you recently apply for a job? Like it or not, potential employers are searching online to learn more about you. “Employers will try to find you on a different channels. So you need to look at yourself as if you were an employer,” she says. Mooney advises that you go into Google from scratch (sign out of Google, clear your browser history, and clear your browser cache), enter your search terms and see what results come up.
“It’s not to say that employers don’t want to see personality, they do,” she says, adding that it’s important to find the right balance between the personal and professional. You don’t want to be boring, but you also don’t want to be posting inappropriate or sensitive material that could turn off prospective employers.
A helpful tip is to learn from more seasoned professionals. “Think about the people in your industry who have a strong personal brand,” Mooney says. “Who are those people you want to emulate, and how do they represent themselves online?”

Choose Your Channels Wisely

Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+. Which ones do you choose? First of all, don’t spread yourself too thin. Mooney advises to keep your social media presence to just a couple of channels.
“Don’t overwhelm yourself. You don’t have to be everywhere on social media,” she says. “It’s better to pick one or two channels that work for you and for your audience.”

Improving a Negative Brand

What if there is something negative online about you, or you put something up that you now regret?
Mooney suggests removing or deleting any old posts that don’t represent you in a positive light. If there is something disparaging about you posted by another person on a channel such as YouTube or Facebook, try emailing the third party to have it removed.
To help make any unflattering material less prominent in your Google search results, Mooney advises that you engage on social media sites, comment on blogs, and post new material.
“Be sure to put positive things out there and create opportunities for yourself,” Mooney says. “Create your own website, start a blog, or join Twitter.”

Defining Success

How do you know if you have a successful online brand? “It all goes back to engagement,” Mooney says.
“Engagement is a big metric for me. It’s great to put stuff online, but if you’re not getting people to respond, then you need to reevaluate your approach,” she says. “Traffic is a good metric, but it’s also important to have quality people engaging with you.”

Next steps

Building a personal brand doesn’t happen overnight, but Mooney says the sooner you start, the quicker you’ll see an impact. Taking that first step toward establishing your social presence and creating your personal brand will eventually pay off in spades.

5 Steps to Prepare for Negotiations

The art of negotiation is a delicate balance between asking for too little and too much, according to Tim Lybarger, a human resource and organizational development expert.
To reach a balance, and a solution that is acceptable to both sides, you need to focus on the other person and anticipate what they need.
“You want to offer the other party things that are low-cost for you but high-value for them,” Lybarger explains.
As an instructor of professional development and corporate training courses in leadership and management, Lybarger focuses on principled negotiations, in which negotiators are neither friends nor adversaries but problem solvers. They are not “soft” negotiators who make concessions or “hard” negotiators who make demands and seek victory but “principled” negotiators who avoid having a bottom line, focus on the problem as something for both parties to solve, and work to find the wisest outcome that will result in mutual gain.
He’s used this technique throughout his career in both corporate and nonprofit settings. For 10 years, he served as manager of training and development with Nestlé University.
At one point, he negotiated with his boss to leave Los Angeles and work out of his newly purchased home in Vermont. He made it clear that he understood the pressures she was under to trim directors like him. Lybarger offered her a concession, suggesting he take the diminished title of manager – and live in Vermont. “At first she said no,” he recalls, “but then she thought about it and came back and agreed.”
Tips for negotiatingWhen you head into a negotiation, be it personal or professional, it’s important to be prepared. Lybarger offers these five steps to get ready:
  1. Separate the people from the problem you’re hoping to solve. Articulate the substance of the problem, and anticipate what problems you might run into with the other person.
  2. Identify the interests of both parties: yours and theirs.
  3. Brainstorm options for mutual gain. Anticipate where you and the other party might come together. Identify potential independent standards. What are the conflicting interests between you and the other party?
  4. Identify the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). This is what you’ll need if the negotiations fail to produce your ideal outcome – or the other party’s. You need to identify this beforehand so you know what you can live with.
  5. Finally, when it comes to any negotiations involving dollar figures, don’t focus entirely on the money.
Emphasizing Values Over Profits“Most people get so focused on the dollar value,” Lybarger explains, “that they lose the greater value, which doesn’t have a lot to do with money, and then they damage the relationship.”
Emphasizing values over profits will benefit you not only in negotiations but also in other workplace situations, including restructuring and layoffs. In his professional development courses and leadership training seminars, Lybarger encourages professionals to develop “personal leadership” steeped in values.
“Each individual today has to have a clear understanding of what they truly value, over and above money, and a constantly evolving sense of how they can create value for others. This makes them less reliant on the leaders above them,” Lybarger says. “There’s an unlimited amount of opportunities for people. The biggest challenge is figuring out which ones resonate with your values.”

Government Jobs for Criminal Justice Studies Majors

There are many types of jobs you can earn with a Criminal Justice Studies degree, most of them depend on your interests and specialties. Regardless of the career path you choose you will likely start your career in the public sector. Many entry-level jobs for criminal justice majors are in local, state or federal governments so understanding the differences between these levels of governments could be helpful in thinking about where you want to work after graduation.
One of the key differentiators between the different levels of government is geographic jurisdiction – or the physical range of the government’s authority. Local governments have the smallest jurisdiction, typically limited to a single city or county. If you are employed by a local government your roles and responsibilities would only pertain to a small area of activity. Some criminal justice professions you find at the city or county level are:
  • Police officers
  • Legal assistants who work for a county courthouse
  • Security Guards in the Mayor’s Office or courthouse.
State governments typically oversee local governments and activities that impact the state as a whole. Examples of employment at the state level include:
  • Corrections officer at a state facility
  • Legal assistant in the State Courthouse.
  • State Trooper
Federal employees deal with problems, issues and laws affecting the entire nation, like border security or the transportation security administration. Jobs at the federal level include:
  • Border Patrol
  • Park Ranger (with relevant experience)
  • Paralegal Specialist with Homeland Security
Another big difference in working for these different levels of government is how close you will be to the people you potentially serve. Employees of local governments often get to see the impact of their work in their own communities. But, they also may hear criticisms from neighbors or family member about actions taken by their employer. State and federal workers often have greater distance between the people they serve and where they live, in part because the populations affected are much bigger than at the local level.
As you move through your criminal justice studies degree at Bryant & Stratton College think about not only what type of job you want after graduation but also the setting. You’ll be spending a great deal of your week at your job so you want to make sure it is somewhere you will feel challenged, be able to put your skills to work and that will be conducive to your productivity.
Bryant & Stratton College offers an associate degree in Criminal Justice Studies along with diploma programs that focus on the criminal justice field. If you are interested in learning about any of the programs at Bryant & Stratton College, please call 1.888.447.3528 to speak with an admissions representative.

Five Common Financial Aid Pitfalls to Avoid

Preparing for college requires a lot of decision-making – from choosing a major, to deciding between traditional and online colleges. But for most students, deciding whether to apply for financial assistance is a no-brainer, as student financial aid is often a necessary step in paying for higher education.
In order to receive federal or state financial aid, you need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The application might seem intimidating, but as long as you are aware of the common pitfalls, tackling the application process should be a breeze. Here are five questions to consider in order to be sure that you receive the best financial aid package possible.  
1. Are deadlines important?
Absolutely! First and foremost, be aware of deadlines – if you don’t apply for financial aid in time, you might miss out entirely. If you’re enrolling in college for the 2017-2018 school year, the FAFSA deadline is June 30, 2017. Deadlines for state funding will vary, so make sure to verify the deadline for your state at https://fafsa.ed.gov/deadlines.htm. You also need to check with your college for their financial aid program deadlines.
2. Can I wait until the last minute?
It\’s not a good idea. Schools generally distribute financial aid funds on a first-come, first-served basis. Apply early to make sure you get as much financial aid as possible. Once their annual funds are gone, they’re gone, so don’t wait until the last minute.
3. Does it matter which form I use?
This may seem like common sense, but many people make the simple error of selecting the wrong FAFSA form. If you are applying to receive student financial aid in order to start school in the fall of 2017, you need to complete the 2017-2018 form, not the 2016-2017 form.
4. If I don\’t know the answer to a question can I skip it?
Be sure to fill out your application with care and accuracy. Errors and skipped questions on your application will delay its approval. Additionally, if you receive financial aid due to incorrect information on your FAFSA form, you are legally required to pay it back. It is important to pay attention to detail so that you do not make a costly error.
5. Will someone help me?
Don\’t be afraid to ask for help. If you have questions about the FAFSA or run into a problem while filling out your application, call the financial aid office at your college of interest. Financial Aid office employees are knowledgeable about the FAFSA process and are more than willing to help you with your application.
At Bryant & Stratton College you will have access to several types of student financial aid programs. Financial advisors are available to help all students in identifying what types of financial aid they may qualify for and filling out applications. To get more information about the degree programs offered at Bryant & Stratton College, or to speak with a financial aid advisor, call 1.888.447.3528.
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ARE YOU A LEADER OR A TEACHER? (OR BOTH?)

Do you think of yourself as a leader, a mentor, a boss or a teacher? People who work outside of education don\’t generally identify themselves as teachers. After all, teachers stand up in front of classrooms and give pop quizzes. What\’s that got to do with the world of work?
A lot, actually. Leadership is important, but there is also a case to be made for teaching in the workplace—and I\’m not talking about training. Managers and leaders who are also teachers focus not only on getting the information out there, but also ensuring that their students (employees) truly understand it.

The Difference Between a Leader and a Teacher

Lots of managers want to hire people who can jump in and get to work with little or no training. They expect to say, \”We need to accomplish X,\” and that their staff can figure out how to do that on their own. They provide overall guidance and make suggestions from time to time, but their focus is on the big picture. CEOs often fall into this category.
In a larger company, the CEO doesn\’t have the time, nor the skills, to teach each employee how to do their job. She hires, sets the goals, makes the big decisions and leaves others to get on with it.
But what if you\’re not a CEO? Or maybe you are, but your business is small and young? If you\’re a first-line manager, there\’s a good chance you have employees that don\’t know how to get from A to Z by themselves. That\’s where teaching comes in.

Teach the Journey—and the Destination

A teaching manager will sit with an employee and go over a process or procedure until the employee can do it on their own. They will explain not only the end goal, but also steps A, B, C and D and so forth.
This might sound a little bit like a micro-manager. It\’s not! No good teacher hovers over a third grader doing multiplication tables once the child has mastered them. Likewise, while a teaching manager will give detailed instruction and support to an employee, the manager moves on once the employee has mastered the skill.

Celebrate Success

A teaching manager also cares deeply about the success of her employees. She rejoices when one of them gets promoted, because she wants what\’s best for her team and for the individual—even if that means she has to hire a replacement.
If you want to become a teaching manager, you need to realize that you\’ll be devoting a lot more of your time to hands-on teaching and training. Figure out what your staff needs to learn, and create a plan for them to learn it. Depending on your staff, this can be a different plan for each employee. Take the time to sit one-on-one, answer questions, give feedback and push the employee a little bit forward every week—just like your favorite high school teacher did for you (hopefully).
If you\’re a manager who can teach by stepping back and leading once your team knows how to operate, then give yourself a pat on the back. That\’s the entire goal of management: To help people get to a point where you\’re no longer needed, so they can find the next challenge (and teacher).
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Workplace Capabilities: Perseverance and Problem Solving

One of the workplace capabilities listed on each supplemental syllabus is perseverance. Perseverance requires a level of patience and maturity. In the long-term, perseverance is what allows someone to complete a degree.
However, in the short-term, it is what helps us work through the smaller obstacles that can ultimately derail a career path.  Perseverance means going through the sometimes frustrating process of working through technical issues, continuing to grapple with tough course material, and completing projects when there is every possible distraction. What will perseverance look like in the workplace? It will mean attempting to resolve issues with challenging co-workers, spending time researching a case or file, and being able to stay focused on long-term goals such as a promotion. Thinking about how your coursework will help you cultivate perseverance will be a great strength to showcase in an interview. Being able to specifically demonstrate focus on long-term goals will make you that much more appealing to future employers, and more confident in your own abilities.
A closely related capability (also listed in the supplemental syllabi) is problem-solving. While problem-solving obviously involves perseverance, it also requires other skills.  One aspect of successful problem-solving is knowing what you don’t know.  Spending hours attempting to solve an issue that is beyond your knowledge (a technical issue, for example) is inefficient and will likely lead to frustration. It’s also important to know what problems are outside of your scope to solve. For example, a conflict may arise to the level where it is more appropriate for Human Resources to be involved. After assessing that a problem is indeed in your domain to solve, an effective approach will lead to a quicker, stronger result.  
Ask yourself the following questions: Whose assistance would be beneficial in solving this problem? Including others will strengthen teamwork and will allow you to take advantage of the strengths of your co-workers. Are there other responsibilities that need to be delegated or postponed? Making a quick assessment of other tasks is necessary to ensure that more problems are not created. One way problem solving is essential as a workplace capability is learning from mistakes. 
Taking the time to reflect on the possible causes of an issue can prevent the issue from occurring again. This is where your courses can help prepare you.  Some coursework itself will involve solving a real or hypothetical issue. Also, the necessary problem-solving involved with obtaining a degree provides an opportunity to showcase your skills to future employers. Being able to describe how you navigated technical issues and completed involved tasks such as financial aid demonstrates an ability to work through new situations. Or, for example, if you scored poorly on an assignment because you did not read instructions carefully or ask questions, you can describe how you learned from the experience and improved in the future.
Pointing to specific issues and describing how you avoided the similar problem in the future will make you stand out to future employers, and you may end up with more than one job offer! What a great problem to have
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