Inexpensive Training for your Employees

We all agree that ongoing education is important because it helps keep technical workers interested, thinking innovatively and motivated.

Unfortunately, training programs and educational conferences can be very pricey and, given the state of many corporate budgets today, such offerings are simply out of their financial reach.

It's unfortunate that training is always the first thing to fall under the budgetory axe, because if you're not investing in your people, you and they, are falling behind.

Your workers know this and will remember it too when the good times are back, and they will be back, but at that time, when you need them most, your employees will be packing up to leave.

So, what can an IT executive do? The only thing you can do. Stretch your training budget as far as you can and as best you can, through efficient, yet effective, innovative arrangements.

1. Rotate your employees

Cross-training has long been an important way to help people learn new skills, you can take it a step further by rotating roles and responsibilities using other assignments involving different technologies and projects.

You don't want people to feel like they're only working on a care and maintenance basis. So, everyone needs to get the opportunity to be exposed to or work on the new products. This keeps everyone moving into new technology areas, so that they don't get stale and complacent. Skill stagnation and atrophy is the danger.

It allows people to grow, expand and diversify their skill sets and this kind of training can actually be far more effective than a typical classroom based session. You get to partner with someone who is hands-on with the application, so you can see the reality of what they actually do every day. It also creates a different perspective on issues and problem-solving techniques.

2. Establish Skills Forums

Two or three times a month, your employees can spend their lunch breaks hearing from colleagues who have developed expertise in particular areas.

Getting this innitiative started and off the ground is the biggest hurdle but once you have it going the program should become proactive and popular enough so that participation is truly voluntary. Half the session can be focussed on tech topics, with IT workers presenting and the other half can delve into known issues affecting other departments, with involvement from the employees in those areas. Better still if they can lead the discussions.

This gives us the ability to share more information, not just at a technology level, but also better insight into the business side. All for the cost of a finger buffet lunch.

3. Collaboration with Internal Partners

Don't ring fence the training that you would use for your business managers. That training is very much less expensive than techie IT training and the technologists are expected to understand what the business units do. They need to learn business analyst skills to understand the business.

Remember, if the company's accounting department want an application taht will better deal with commercial real estate bankruptcies, the IT workers are required and encouraged to attend. Encourage and co-erce business executives to give presentations to IT employees but specifically tailored for their perspective.

Select and use your best presenters and speaker, no matter where or what they represent. Teach them to talk to a wider audience. If someone in marketing runs the best meetings, tap that person to teach IT how to do the same. They can observe the marketing person in action and then have a follow-up session for questions. The technologists are quite bright, they can be quick to pick things up, normally.

4. Buddy up workers

Encourage IT workers to collaborate and pair up. To teach one another through "buddy learning."

You can take an RPG coder who really wants to learn .Net, or a SQL coder who wants to be better at Cognos, and partner them up. That way they learn from each other. Again this approach will work equally well in IT and across other departments.

Of course, employees could tap colleagues for one-on-one training on their own, but they need your authorisation, to allow, enable or permit this to happen. They are often very tied up in their daily duties and let the opportunities slip away. Your support and an established structure are critical for the program to succeed. Also some IT types need to be taught how to 'share' or 'play well' with others.

5. Collaborate with External Partners

Do you meet regularly with other comapnies in your busines sector? Have you established an information exchange forum with them? If not, why not? If you have, then well done. You need to meet regularly with your business counterparts and other local companies to discuss key issues.

The group can be expanded to incorporate any amount of relevant comanies, in your area and can become a pressure group and a support team for change. Also consider exchanging employees on a temporary basis. Build a model of collaboration and sharing with their staff. Sending workers to one another's companies for brief stints to learn from what's happening in the rest of the world, will produce and enlightenment within your employees and a big boost to morale.

Of course you can also use this forum to ensure that poaching of key staff members does not occur. Establish some ground rules and 'gentlefolf' agreements, at least so that you get some awareness of an employees dis-satisfaction.

6. Create Mentoring opportunities

Mentoring is a staple of career development that all executive coaches will recommend and yet many working professionals find it hard to implement. Meanwhile, formal programs using outside consultants can cost companies a huge slice of their budgets annually. The smart executive can start in-house mentoring sessions for virtually no money.

Pick 5 - 10 of the company's best leaders from among a group of volunteers to be dubbed mentors. Then ask your employees to sign up to the program, if they are interested in being mentored. Select the 5 - 10 candidates who show the most potential and could be best matched with a mentor.

Conclusion

Make it easy for your employees to learn, grow and develop and show them every encouragement to do so. Establish a technical library with up-to-date materials and online learning facilities. Publicise the schedule. Refresh it regularly and keep it alive. Record training sessions on DVD for people who could not attend.

Laid-off! Oh No! What now?

Crystal Balls

The USA reported that 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008, with 524,000 axed in December alone. Unfortunately, the situation isn't expected to be any better in Europe in 2009. People who invested years of hard work, loyalty and dedication have been shown the (back) door. Now they find themselves out in the street, left wondering what their futures hold.

Discard Pride and take Courage
The newly unemployed can't afford to miss a beat. Yes, the economy has deteriorated. Yes, more layoffs are coming. Yes, it's harder to find a job now than it was a year ago but while some will react badly, smart job seekers will get tough and get going. They'll brush up their résumés, hit the job boards, work their social networks and polish their interview skills . Remain calm, collected and focused on finding the next opportunity.

Resting for the Hunt

Finding a new Job is Your Full-Time Job
You might not be fully employed, but you do have a job. Your job is to find a new position. Remember, you have been released from you current commitments, you have not been granted permission to take time off and lick your wounds.

Some people may feel they have enough savings to live off for a month or two, before they throw themselves back in the market. Sadly, if you let yourself slip into the "let's call it a break" mentality, you seriously risk losing your edge and when you do decide to actively pursue a job, it'll be that much harder to get back into the working harness and the pace of things.

Job hunting race
Secondly all your colleagues are now running ahead of you in the job hunting race. You may even find that you have competition from some of your old colleagues, the ones that are not being laid-off. These are the 'jump before you're pushed' brigade. The ones that have seen some scarey writing on the wall near to them and this has provoked them into finding a more secure company to work for.

If you start to pursue a new position immediately, you'll be much more fit and prepared to seek out and find the right opportunity. You will still be hot from the fight. Your readiness will show in your interview attitude, from the way you present your résumé, to the way you conduct yourself while under scrutiny and in your ability to negotiate, confidently.

Slainte!

Keep Your Spirits Up
This is not a license to drink more whiskey, not that I want to discourage you. Being laid off in today's economy can send any level-headed person into a panic. That's why it's important to keep your priorities in check, preferably a reality check. Keeping your spirits high keeps you motivated to get back out there with the level of enthusiasm you need. Did you ever walk over hot coals? as part of a team-building course. Well, if you did then remember the state of mind you assumed at that time, face forward, focus and take that first step.

Step up out of the trench
Professionally speaking, your layoff could be a big blessing in disguise. You know that you felt unappreciated, stifled or bored in your old job! The company politics were dragging you down! So, now is the time to stop whining and find your true calling. Take advantage of this time for expansion, self-discovery and growth. Re-build, renovate and re-invent yourself.

Find a job or position that really challenges you in new and exciting ways. We are all the sum of multiple characteristics and talents that grow and change with knowledge and experience. Look at the different aspects and elements of your complex character. Train and develop some of these and allow others out for some exercise and experience. Try something new. Pick up on an activity that you used to enjoy, something you already know and can expand.

Hail! Friends Countrymen!

Network, Network, Network
When the going gets tough reach out to everyone you know and maybe some that you don't.

Looking for a job is no shame on you and you, like everyone else need to be supported.

Clearly, people don't like to talk about their sudden unemployment but remember that everyone knows the economy is down. Through no fault of your own, you find yourself in the growing army of newly unemployed people but YOU are one of a kind.

Tell your friends. Tell your family. Post updates on social networking sites. Let people know you could use some help, and ask them to put you in touch with people they know are hiring. Make sure everyone knows you are in the market, you are developing new skills and have something more to offer.

New Skills! New vacancies!

Recruitment agencies can help
Talk to recruitment agencies, whether you are looking for full-time or part-time employment. These agencies have already seen a noticeable increase in clients who have never used a staffing company before now. You can be sure that they have already planned for this increase in demand. It's their job.

Advice from friends is helpful, but staffing professionals know the ins and outs of local employment and can propose or suggest that you follow a new direction, one you had not been aware of or considered. Even more importantly, recruitment agencies have established good relationships with local companies. Listen to what they say.

Skills Gap Analysis
Recruitment agencies are also a good source of information regarding what key skills are most sought after, by the market. If you have good current skills they will be able to tell you how to package and market them. If your skills are out of alignment with the market, they can give you good advice as to how to change or tune your approach to a better fit.

No Demand for Zeppelin mechanics!

Take it on the chin if they say you need to re-train entirely and get out there to find the cheapest smartest way to do this. The web is a good source of free online tuition and again your friends and network can help you here too. Seek out the one's that have current skills or work with others who have them.

Consider working for FREE for a short introductory period.

It would be a great advantage to you to find work as an intern or assistant with a company who have, and use, the key skills you need to learn or develop! Remember there has to be value on both sides or it won't work. So you need to have something to offer them. You will short circuit many of their reticence and objections if you offer your time and experience for FREE! In return you get some valuable training or much needed exposure to a new skill, methodology or application.

Clearly working for nothing is a short term activity and you cannot allow it to continue for long. You need an income and you have only a small window of opportunity before you go broke. So, once you are in-situ, you need to learn as much as you can, gaining real hands-on experience and as quickly as possible. Poverty is a great motivator!

You never know what might come from this and it will keep your morale high, maintain your social interaction and extend your network. 3 very important considerations but beware of abusive persons that will try to exploit your position.

Social Networking helps
Don't hesitate to put your professional face online. Make sure you are on LinkedIn and your profile is up to date. Your online presence is often the first place potential employers will look. If run correctly, your social network could be that extra boost your résumé needs. Exercise caution and restraint, because, depending on the content, it could also be detrimental. Post articles you've written or details of a project you're particularly proud of, not the pictures of you mooning your mates on last year's trip to Cancun.

Consider Contract work and Consulting
Although you might be leaving a full-time, "permanent" position, don't rule out the idea of consulting. Many workers overlook the option of consulting because they don't like the relative insecurity and the idea of impermanence.

The use of Contractors and contracting
In fact, many cautious employers now are showing great caution when taking on new staff. They don't want the long term commitment in such a dynamic marketplace. They want to be able to grow and shrink as the work dictates. They do this by using contractors and they manage the uptake of contractors by issuing short 3 month contracts in the first instance, with the 'potential' to extend.

From my experience it will take you 6 weeks to settle into a new company and it will be 3 months before you will become truly confident and start taking the initiative in that position. From your side, you are set to go. From the employers side, they know who they are dealing with and they have assessed your worth. They can now decide whether to 'extend' you for a more agreeable period of time e.g. 6 months or 1 year, to completely 'domesticate you by offering a Permanent contract or to 'release' you back into the Wild.

If you dismiss contracting as an option, you could be slamming the door on your career.

Once you are established as a contractor, it is not uncommon to stay with a company for 2 years or more. Years of relative security and certainty, the same pay and benefits. Remember that a short consulting assessment is often the only way into and organisation but could potentially lead to a (semi-)permanent position.

Go Girl Power!

Cultivate Suppleness and Flexibility

Consulting also has a number of benefits you won't find with a permanent position. It provides a vehicle for flexibility. That may be the flexibility to spend more time with your family, or open up that business of your dreams. Consulting usually generates a higher salary than a permanent position. It can also stimulate you business sense in a way that a more sedintary position does not.

Just say 'No!'
As an independent consultant, you always have the option to say 'No' to a project if it doesn't appeal to you. Can you imagine saying "no thanks" to your last manager? (out loud). There are a huge array of jobs available to contractors. This makes it possible to not only choose where and when you work, but what you're doing and how you do it.

The Postman earns more than you do, now
A contract or temporary position with a company keeps some income flowing while you search for a more permanent and satisfying position. It could be the key to keeping you and your family fed and healthy.

Benefits? What Benefits?
Do remember that temporary workers and contractors do not have access to the same benefits within organisations. No health insurance, no pensions, no sick pay, short notification of termination periods, etc. So, its not all plain sailing and lots of money but its something you will know in advance and can deal with. Remember what your Grannie told you, save up and put aside something for the leaner days.

With grim determination and a willingness to grow and open yourself up to new experiences, you will not be a Statistic very long!

Staying afloat - develop buoyancy

Straighten up and Fly right!

With the economy said to be all at sea, what can an IT professional do, to stay afloat?

1) The first step is the easiest one of all. Keep your technology skills fresh and take advantage of every training opportunity, e.g. there are plenty of free online courses and certifications. "Free" is important, this is no time to ask your employer for money but also you may want to consider investing a little of your own cash on yourself, and your future.

In fact, you will find that when you are employing your own cash to buy training, you will become more discerning about the content, as well as the real relevance and necessity of attending a particular skills training course. Now suddenly you see it from your boss's position. Where is the payback? Do you have th ecourage to put your money where your mouth is? Are you willing to pay for the training and have the company reep the benefit. It would make you more secure and your boss would see you in a different and better light.

Something that is strangely inexpensive. You can always gain knowledge and get a head start on a new techie subject by 'reading a book' or three on the subject. I know, I know, its not very techie or 'out there' to be 'reading' and it will make some of your nerdy friends point at you and laugh, 'Oh, look guys! We've got a reader!' but tough times call for tough measures.

2) You could always leverage your technology expertise to help the company perform better. Wow! Is that possible you say? Yes! You might want to develop an application that helps the company's sales professionals (the suits), unlikely but possible. It's important not to be afraid to take the initiative. Develop your ideas or speak to the suits and see how their needs could be better met, especially if there is a techies slant to it.

Look seriously at mutually beneficial options, for both you and the company. Structure a rough 'business' plan showing how, by the use of new technologies (tools/ applications/ whatever), that you are willing to develop and learn the company can readily,

• save /make money or
  
• reduce overheads /wastage or
  
• get into new markets / challenge their competitors, or
  
• out manouvre them entirely by implementing more innovative approaches.
  

Some study in advance and a bit of prior knowledge here would be helpful in re-enforcing your pitch. Also brush up on your presentation techniques and I don't mean the Powerpoint style tools. I mean the, well dressed, standing at the front of an auditorium and speaking clearly and assertively, presentation skills.

These skills are some of the most important ones that you will need for the future and its vital that you get help with them. Your public performance can be easily made more structured, effective and carry more impact if you seek the advice of a professional tutor or toast master. Unfortunately by the sheer nature of this skill, it cannot be done online. You will have to go into the real world to speak to people about it. They will be wearing suits and maybe by that time, so will you.

Remember, you are the one best placed to know what new tools and technologies are out there and how best to apply them to the benefit of your company. So, why don't you tell them and put yourself forward as the co-ordinator and developer for the project. Cometh the hour, cometh the geek.

3) Be sure to stay up and alert. Be positive (B+) and become high profile and very visible. Throw off your cardigan and come out of the server room, turn your back on the Zen-like hum of the air-con, look your manager in one of his crazed bloodshot eyes and tell him how you are going to help him and lead him out of this mess. Then step back quickly, because he will become very emotional and may reach out and try to hug you. Not that this is a bad thing but it doesn't help your street cred with the guys.

4) Ensure that you stay busy by volunteering for new initiatives and by not turning down high profile assignments. Qudos and assignment selection is a story for another day, but be careful of being handed a dying star, a runaway horse or a poisoned elf.

Keeping fully occupied is good advice at any time, good or not so good but it is easy to get complacent in the good times and then find yourself out favour and out of position when times are difficult. Ask yourself, 'Am i doing enough to help me keep my job.'

Simple rhetorical phrases like "stay positive" are all very well but it can be tough to put into practice, especially in an oppresive or negative environment. Avoid the negative people in the office they will be the first ones targetted and then fired. Remember that negativity and cynicism are contagious. Therefore, turn off the news during the day. It is a drain on your spirit. Plug it or it will only drag you down and distract you from your chosen task.

If you do all that and you still face losing your job, what next?Who is moving my cheese?

Dust off your old resumé and make sure it is up-to-date, accurate, attractive, concise, well written and contains all of your updated contact information. Then, make sure it is optimized for keywords by describing your skills precisely. Post your résumé on all the job boards, such as Dice, LinkedIn and Monster, as well as the niche job boards, for jobs in financial services, media, etc. Check that the language used in your resumé is in synch with today's recruiters and job market.

If it is not 'reader friendly' it won't get read!

Take advantage of recruiting firms. Remember, when you meet with a recruiting firm, treat everyone with copious respect, because these are the 'gatekeepers'. The people who could help you land an interview and a job. Good recruiting firms and consultants will also work with you to optimize your résumé for the job boards and so also will good friends i.e. the suits not the geeks.

Finally, in this highly competitive dog-eat-cat job world, if you do manage to land an interview opportunity, let the prospective employer know you are available immediately. Don't say that you will be on vacation or only do interviews on Mondays. Make sure you are easily available and show a strong interest in the job; otherwise, you will lose the interview opportunity.

Remember the new mindset that you developed and all those new exercises that you carried out, just to make sure you didn't get fired, well these are the very ones that you can use to sell yourself to your potential employer, at the interview.

When the going gets tough, the tough will be the survivors. Build a plan and Make your own luck!

Develop yourselve into;

• a stronger, leaner and fitter condition to
• maintain, strengthen and consolidate your current position,
  
• study, re-train and supplement your skills,
  
• search out new opportunities inside and outside your present environment
• GROW!
  

Use the Power of persuasion

Are you hunting for a new job or the next step up the ladder? Well, it may come as a small surprise to you to hear that one of your main objective is simply to be persuasive.

What are the most effective approaches?

• These days networking is sited as the most effective way of finding a new job. So firstly, you need to build your personal network and then persuade the loyal members of your network to introduce you to people who might connect you with someone who knows someone ..........who has a suitable opening for you to fill.
  
• Secondly, you need to get your CV read and acknowledged. So you need to persuade HR professionals and recruiters to not just read and discard résumé but to consume, digest and ruminate over it.
  
• Having got as far as the HR dept, you need to persuade the hiring managers that you're the perfect candidate for their organisations. The missing link they have been seeking, even if they didn't realise it themselves
  

Be convincing - Some people are easier to convince in your job search than others. Getting friends and colleagues to arrange introductions for you doesn't require much persuasive effort because they know you and some may even like you or owe you money. Therefore, they're willing to play their part on your behalf. After all if the circumstances were reversed, you would do the same for them. Your powers of persuasion over your friends should stem from your mutual friendship, natural charm, credibility and likeability, not from your rhetorical prowess or physical strength.

The Gatekeeper - The hiring manager, knows nothing about you, apart from the fact that he has seen your name in a pile of CVs that need to be filtered. He has to create a short list of candidates fit for interviewing and you must be on it. How are you going to stand out from the crowd and rise loftily above the other candidates. You have to think better and work harder to convince them that you're worthy of their time. In such situations, job seekers need the advantages gained from fully understanding the fundamentals of persuasion.

Easy as ABC
Effective persuasion combines equal parts communication and observation. It hinges on having good people skills;

1. being able to read people,
2. being a good listener and
3. being empathetic.

You need to be a keen observer of the person you're trying to persuade. Otherwise how can you match the tone and language you use in conversation to the other person's tone and language. Watch how the other person reacts to what you are proposing, either physically, through their facial expressions and body language, or in their tone of voice. If you notice a negative reaction, or discomfort, you should be alerted and quickly change or slightly adjust your approach.

Under your Influence - To be an effective influencer, you also need to be likeable, outwardly open and trustworthy. It doesn't matter whether you're selling an idea, a service or a product, people tend to buy from people. If I like you, I will listen to you. If I don't like you or your message, I won't listen to you. Getting someone to listen to you is the first stage of persuasion.

Persuasion isn't inherently difficult. To do it right, people just need to focus on listening to the person they're trying to persuade and adjusting their communication accordingly.

Whether you're seeking a new job, clinging to an existing one or out to climb higher, persuading people of your value is going to be your key to success, especially during times of low market confidence and recession.

How do you persuade others without appearing pushy and what about the dangers of steamrolling people into submission. The Hard Sell!

What is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when trying to influence or persuade others?

One of the worst crimes you can commit is the lack of true or active listening. Far too many people only half-listen to other people who are speaking and the same people are equally unlikely to closely observe people either. We sentient humans have the capacity to think at four or five times the rate of someone who's speaking. Consequently, we can often listen badly because we're too busy looking ahead and formulating our responses while the other person is still speaking, or we're thinking about something else entirely, like shopping or the size of the other person's nose. We fail to pick up clues that indicate what the other person is really saying or thinking because we are not even listening.

Body Language

Observing body language is the closest we can come to mind-reading. If you make a statement, and that statement produces a grimace or a shift in posture of the other person, their body is telling you that something you said doesn't gel with them. It's a clue for you to change your tact or to inquire what it is that's bothering that person.

Negative pressure

Some individuals lack the level of people skills that are needed to persuade others. However, they can and are able to sway and influence their co-workers by taking a dominant posture. This is observeable, because they always have a response to a point or counterpoint. Their constant pressure exhaust others' patience and endurance, leading to submission. It is more like verbal tennis or squash than persuasion.

Is there anything wrong with this sporty method of persuasion if it accomplishes the persuader's goals?

Clealry. beating someone into submission is not good practice. It is not what we understand to be true persuasion. A truly persuasive person will not leave you in an exhausted state. The ultimate goal of effective persuasion, is that the relationship between the two people hasn't suffered, even after one has changed the other person's belief or behavior. There should be no 'losers' as there are in competitive sports.

Certain personality types are better at persuasion than others?

Extroverted people tend to be more persuasive than people who are prone to introversion. Extroverts are often in people facing jobs, such as sales or advertising, where they have to influence or persuade people to buy a product, take some kind of action or adopt a different lifestyle goal.

Introverted People will take jobs that are less people-focused and more facts and figures focused. They are the back-room people, often evry talented but lacking the self confidence that their knowledge should bring. Therefore, they have less experience of dealing with people than extroverts. Consequently, they don't develop the people skills that extroverts develop. It is a vicious circle that is not so easily broken.

Introverts can be good persuaders, when dealing with other introverts; people of their own type. Introverts have more difficulty in persuading extroverts because extroverts tend to speak louder and faster than introverts. Whereas, the introverts tend to conduct their interactions in a much slower manner.

Extroverts have similar difficulty in trying to persuade introverts. When you look at workplace disputes, some can be attributed to personality clashes between introverts and extroverts.

Logical arguments besides, just do it!

May I also postulate a theory that the extoverts are more emotionally open and accepting of emotive reasons for doing something. Whereas, extroverts may be less willing to expose their feelings to scrutiny and therefore take the safer option of discussions based on known facts. It is easier to dis-arm an introvert using facts and logic than it is an extravert. Discuss!

Is there a difference between persuasion and manipulation? Some people don't like the idea of having to persuade or influence others. It strikes them as unseemly, pushy or manipulative.

Persuasion is essentially about changing someone's perception, questioning their assumptions. You are trying to alter their beliefs and behaviour. Persuasion is really about moving someone from point A to point B.

Manipulation implies coercion. When we're talking about persuasion, you are seeking a win-win scenario, where both parties are happy. Manipulation implies that only one party is satisfied and the other is out-manouvred.

It's all about the approach

Manipulation is often synonymous with some kind of threat: If you don't do this, this will happen. Persuasion is a meeting of minds: You are persuading another to come around to your point of view. Ideally, no one gets hurt. You have simply changed a person's perception, not by coercion or threat.

It is better to have cross-pollination than a cross Polynesian

(old Hawaii proverb, alledgely)