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Networking Goals: How Much Networking Is Enough?

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After a conference or corporate training event, I try to follow up with each participant. Have they made progress toward their goals? Are they using what they learned? What questions do they have? How can I help?

This week, someone sent me the following response. Their question is one that other people may also wonder about:

After attending your Network Beyond Bias workshop, I have actually been successful at expanding my network and having conversations with people who I haven’t been around as much in the past. I guess the only question I have is: How do you balance networking with the demands of the day-to-day?  I feel like there is always more that I would like to do but struggle to find the time to do that.  I also think that sometimes I am a little too reactive and not as proactive with the networking events.  Do you have any suggestions for how to balance these things?

I think the answer is different for each person, depending on their professional goals, personal strengths, and current situation. For example, someone who is planning to look for a new job in the next 12-18 months should expand their network as much — and as soon — as possible. Someone for whom retirement is imminent should focus on finding mentors who have recently made that transition, as well as a protege network if they want to stay connected to their industry. For mid-career professionals who are not planning a job change, strive to balance both breadth and depth.

Set Networking Goals

Networking goals are important to our professional development. Below are some examples.

  • Each day: Log into LinkedIn to see what folks are up to. In real-world environments, be friendly and open, and look for opportunities to connect, especially with people who differ from you.
  • Each week: Connect with someone new on LinkedIn every week.
  • Each month: Attend one networking event per month, on average. These can be virtual or in-person, and can be new groups or familiar ones. Mix it up!
  • Each month / Each quarter: Re-connect with the people in your CHAMP Network at least once per month. If you have a robust CHAMP network, be sure you have at least a quarterly touch point (email, social media exchange, coffee, etc.) with each one.
  • NEVER get complacent! The best time to build your network is before you need it.

One of the best ways to build a networking habit is to take notes using the Network Like a CHAMP Networking Activity Journal. This is the journal I use to record all my conversations when I meet new people or re-connect with colleagues. Not only do I have a record of what we discussed, I can also assess my CHAMP Network in real time. My initial goal was to fill four journals each year (one per quarter). Now, I fill one about every two months. In 2020, I hope to go through one per month!

What do you think, Dear Readers? Do you set periodic networking goals, or do you let your network grow more organically?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

 

Unemployed, Not “Unemployable”

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Have you ever received a job application from someone who isn’t currently working? Were you quick to move it to the bottom of the pile? Do you equate “unemployed” with “unemployable”? Be honest.

It’s ok to admit that we’re biased. We are biased, it’s human nature. It’s easy to continue doing the things we’re familiar with. It’s easy to stay in the comfort zone.

The best way to change our mindset, and start doing something different, is to realize that’s in our best interests to do so. For example, convincing leaders that diverse companies perform better – they do, by the way – is a very compelling argument to build a diverse company. Much more so that doing it for compliance reasons, which becomes a statistic game.

So, rather than appealing to your sense of duty, I’m going to make a case that hiring someone unemployed can be a good thing for your company. Here are five reasons you should seriously consider an application from someone who isn’t currently employed by another company.

#1 – Hunger

Not having a safety net tends to sharpen our instincts. We become more determined than ever because the alternative is bleak. Determination is a great attribute in a new team member. Give me someone hungry any day.

Think about it. Hungry people are more likely to try harder. They are more likely to make the most of each opportunity. When people try their best almost anything is possible. Harness that hunger and turn it into passion.

#2 – Reflection

When people have a break for the day-to-day grind – whether it’s a forced break or a voluntary one – they have time to reflect. This is often a good thing.

Taking a step back and reflecting on what is important to us is both healthy and productive. We come out the other side with a renewed sense of purpose. We become energized.

When people have a high degree of clarity and purpose they tend to perform. They have a personal mission and, if it aligns with your company’s mission it’s a match made in heaven.

#3 – Parents

Sometimes we take time off work to care for children. Often times it’s women, but increasingly men are acting as primary carers for their newborns.

Aside from being the right thing to do, it’s smart to hire people after they’ve been on parental leave and to be a company that accommodates parents and families.

First, becoming a parent is kind of like doing a degree and serving in the military at the same time. Trust me, I’ve done all three. Parents acquire incredible new skills, and they do it at speed and without a safety net. Parents learn how to figure things out on a dime, how to negotiate, how to make the most of time and, importantly, they develop empathy. These are extremely valuable qualities in any team member.

Second, everyone else in your team will see that you care about something bigger than short term profits. They’ll see that you prioritize what they care about. That is a powerful motivator.

#4 – Resilience

People who have been out of work or changed careers have experienced rejection. It’s not easy, but it’s a necessary part of life. As a founder or CEO, rejection is unavoidable. We hear “no” from customers, investors and the media. If you are leader, you’re used to it. It never feels good but it’s important to learn from each rejection in order to avoid the next one.

Look out for people who have learned from rejection and developed resilience. You’ll know two things about them. First, they won’t crumble at the first sign of trouble. Second, they will have a strong sense of personal awareness, which means they’ll be more likely to improve at a fast rate.

#5 – Work Is Changing

Once upon a time we each worked for one company, full time, in one physical location. It’s not like that anymore. Today we collaborate in so many different ways. We work freelance or part time. We work on projects with multiple companies at the same time. We work remotely.

Just because someone isn’t working “full time,” it doesn’t mean they’re not being hugely productive, albeit in an unconventional way. Don’t judge people by the logos behind them. Look into what they’re doing and what they care about.

The next amazing innovator is just as likely to be found outside a company than inside one. Probably more likely.

Pay It Forward by Hiring Unemployed Workers

I promised this article would focus on reasons hiring someone unemployed will be good for your company, not just your soul. But guess what, it’s both.

When you step outside your comfort zone, or when you give someone a chance, good things happen. People get inspired. You feel alive.

Do it.

Recruiting Millennials (and everyone else, too)

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Employees are your most valuable asset. If you want your business to thrive, you need to find and hire top talent. Despite the different channels that you can use to find the right people for the job, there are challenges that you’ll have to overcome during the process. Recruiting Millennials, not to mention retaining them, is key to your company’s sustainable competitive advantage.

Millennials are currently the largest generation in the labor force. It only makes sense to adjust your recruitment process to appeal to them. Here are a few strategies that you can incorporate into your current hiring process.

Create a Sense of Purpose

Although this generation has been frequently maligned, the reputation is undeserved. Making a social impact and having a sense of purpose is very important to them. That’s why they’re attracted to companies and brands which promote some kind of social awareness.

A job which puts food on the table is ok, but millennials want more than that. They would like to contribute to your company’s growth with their skills and expertise. It is therefore essential to show them how to do that.

A big, fat paycheck and cool perks won’t be the only reason why a talented and hard-working millennial would find your job offer appealing. So make sure to mention your company’s mission and values in your job description, as millennials want to find meaning in their work.

Personalize the Experience

Personalization is all the rage in every industry, and millennials, who expect their purchasing experience to be highly tailored and personalized, want the same from the recruitment process.

You can see whether they’re the right fit for your company and win them over by conducting the interview at the office where they would work. This will allow them to get a test taste of what it is like to work for you and get a glimpse of the work environment that they will potentially be a part of.

Ask them a lot of questions, and let them do the talking. Active listening is essential for learning as much about them as possible. Plus, being heard is something that they highly value. It would send a positive vibe if you give them the time of day and hear what they have to say.

Include Your Team in Recruiting Millennials

It’s a good idea to include your team in the recruitment process and have them interview your candidates. First of all, they are the ones who will be closely working with the new member of the team. Don’t forget that it’s they who’ll mentor the new hire, show them the ropes, and train them until they’ve gotten the hang of everything. It’s important that they participate in the selection process.

Besides that, this approach will show your current employees that you value their opinion. That’s something that will definitely present your leadership in a positive light.

Needless to say, your Millennial candidates will notice and appreciate the way you treat your employees. That will undoubtedly appeal to them.

Offer them an Opportunity to Build Their Personal Brand

Millennials are keen on personal growth. They want jobs that will help them develop their professional skills and expertise.

According to a Gallup report, 59% of them mention opportunities to learn and grow as extremely important factors when it comes to applying for a new job. They need to know that they won’t be stuck in a dead-end job if they decide to work for you. It’s essential that they understand that they’ll have an opportunity to learn new things and build their personal brand.

Get Creative With Benefits

Essential perks are a must. At a minimum, healthcare, dental, and retirement plans should be a regular part of your employee benefits package.

As you know, tech giants like Google and Apple have earned their reputation as the most desirable employers. They offer generous employee perks such as gyms, free snacks, and spa centers on campus.

Not many companies can afford such luxuries, but luckily, there are other ways to attract millennial employees. For example, the stat saying that 78% of millennials are more likely to spend their money on a desirable experience instead of a desirable thing speaks volumes about their mindset.

In other words, you don’t have to offer expensive material things if you want to appeal to them. Telecommuting and flexible hours, for example, could be just what will make them happy. This flexibility allows them to plan their schedule and spend more quality time with their loved ones. These benefits could mean more to them than other perks.

It’s also a win-win for both parties because studies show that working from home positively affects productivity, which means your company will benefit from this perk too.

Millennial employees might be demanding in terms of what they expect from their job. That’s actually good for your company, because they’re ready to commit to and work towards your shared goals. That’s what your recruitment process should reflect in order to attract and keep them.

It would be best to create an in-house recruitment process that works for you and invest in an in-house piece of software for that process. That way you’ll have your applicants’ resumes and other important information in one place. You can study them and effectively personalize the recruitment experience.

The Bottom Line for Recruiting Millennials

Good News: If you’re good at recruiting Millennials, you’ll be successful in attracting other qualified candidates as well!

Flexible Work Arrangements: Plan for Productivity

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It’s a much-debated topic and a growing trend, but most companies still don’t seem to take a deliberate approach to flexible work arrangements. Instead, they just offer a vague middle ground of “flexible work arrangements” on a case by case basis.

There are strong arguments for encouraging remote working and, conversely, arguments for bringing everyone together under the one roof. As recent examples highlight, there is no “one size fits all” answer. The key is to tailor your company’s approach to your objectives, operating rhythm, desired culture and workforce composition.

Back to the office

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer famously abolished working from home in 2013, saying that “people are more productive when they’re alone, but they’re more collaborative and innovative when they’re together. Some of the best ideas come from pulling two different ideas together”.

It’s a powerful argument. It also contains an inherent assumption that working from home increases productivity, which may not always be true. But Mayer had to do something to shake up Yahoo!’s culture and she put collaboration ahead of flexibility, which is what she felt the company needed at that point in time.

In 2014 Reddit decided to consolidate its workforce in one location, San Francisco, and abolished remote working. Reddit’s reasons were similar to Yahoo!’s.

More flexible companies

Envato, a marketplace for creative assets, takes a very different approach, explicitly promoting remote and flexible work arrangements on its careers site. Remote working, travel, flexible hours, paid parental leave and secondments are just some of the many employee benefits Envato highlights.

Envato’s culture is different to Yahoo!’s and, importantly, its head office is not in Silicon Valley but rather in Melbourne, Australia. Envato chooses to promote flexibility and optionality as important features of its culture.

Automattic, the company that developed WordPress, is another company that promotes flexible work arrangements, citing talent as its primary reason. Automattic CEO, Matt Mullenweg, said that remote working “… has been amazing for the company in that we can attract and retain the best talent without them having to be in New York or San Francisco or one of the traditional tech centers.”

Automattic uses chat, alerts and an internal blog to communicate effectively and ensures staff are adequately supported with great tools. WordPress is the most dominant content management system in the world so Automattic doesn’t appear to be suffering from a lack of productivity as a result of its remote workforce.

The conclusion is therefore that it’s different strokes for different folks. It depends on your company’s situation and, most importantly, how you execute your desired approach.

Here are some of the questions you should ask before deciding which way to go:

1.  What kind of culture do you want to develop?

2.  How would you like staff to communicate and collaborate?

3.  How much are you prepared to invest in home office stipends, tools and technology for staff?

4.  Where is the talent you need likely to be based?

5.  What do you need to do to get the best out of your staff and keep your people engaged?

6.  What is the downside of the approach you select and how can you mitigate that?

The Bottom Line for Flexible Work Arrangements

Under the right circumstances, remote working can hugely advantageous. The key is to put the right processes in place and maintain a structure, as Automattic has done. Otherwise it can get messy and very quickly. If executed well, the benefits can be tremendous.

Stop Wasting Time as a Leader

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As a leader, you may find yourself strapped for time, especially when you are juggling clients, team members and the constant flow of work that comes in any leadership position. Learning to manage your time more efficiently, then, is a very valuable lesson for you to learn as a leader. With that in mind, here are some ways to stop wasting time at work. Take note and speed things up!

1. Have Fewer Meetings

Never schedule a meeting when an email or phone call could accomplish the same goal.

When you do have meetings, make sure they are as efficient as possible. Have a structure, know what is going on, and work to ensure your mutual goal is met. That way you will start to dread meetings less and less!

Meetings are the bane of most workers’ lives, so reducing them as much as possible is the only way forward. Reduce the meetings, and make the ones you keep more productive.  You may be surprised by how much more both you and your staff get done!

You may aspire to be an inclusive leader. But if you’re not there for your employees, they won’t feel supported. Learn to strike that delicate balance.

2. Streamline Tasks, But Not at the Expense of Quality (Usually)

Have you ever spent a long time doing something which you know isn’t worth that much effort? You may have a process with unnecessary steps, create reports no one reads, or over-engineer a simple task. Have you considered how you can work to reduce that effort?

Seriously consider whether you can sacrifice quality for efficiency. For example, if the work is not customer-facing, you may be able to skip the third round of edits. In some cases, quality cannot be compromised. Know when your shortcuts could put your credibility at risk, and act accordingly.

3. Get a Plan in Place 

Failing to plan is planning to fail. The better the plan, the more likely your team will succeed. “Better” doesn’t always mean “more detailed.” Strike a balance between structure and improvisation that works for your team. Remember, plans change. Review your plan frequently, and communicate changes to everyone who needs to know, You will build trust by showing that you are competent and reliable.

Make sure that you have a day, week and even monthly plan which you base your working life around. Good planning can save you a lot of time as a leader and help to give you more room to deal with the little emergencies that appear every day.

4. Keep Your Priorities Balanced

Prioritising is one of the hardest parts of any job. Especially as everyone thinks the tasks you’re doing related to them is the most important thing for you to be doing. Learning to balance and manage these tasks, then to prioritise them, then, can be quite difficult.

If you want to be a good leader, this is a balancing act. Make sure you address all of the important issues, but don’t overlook what your subordinates are asking of you. It may seem relatively small in the grand scheme of things, less important than x, y or z on your list. Yet, sometimes prioritising the little things can make you a better leader.

At the very least, communicate to those you lead that you care. Let’s face it, every molehill can feel like a mountain during a bad day at work – whether you’re a PT, officer of the law or corporate solicitor. Mountain or molehill, you need to help your team to the top of either one.

5. Stop Being ‘Busy’

Busy work is a real issue when it comes to leadership and wasting time. You may find yourself doing way too much of it. Much like anything else, being busy is great until it becomes detrimental to your working life.

Busyness preoccupies a lot of managers. When employees notice this, it is all too easy for them to become resentful. They see themselves as doing the real work.

Stop being ‘busy’ and start being productive. You will be surprised by how much more you accomplish!

Final Thoughts

Leadership doesn’t have a secret formula. You can’t become an amazing leader by reading a self-help book, though that would be nice. It’s trial and error, learning to communicate, and being open to change. When you quit wasting time, you’ll create space for that growth!