This came to mind when one of our Slingshot candidates came to us yesterday and was a little frustrated over the way his manager was treating him. In this person’s view, it was a little bit like Jekyll and Hyde. One minute, he felt like things were alright and going great, the next minute, he felt like he was really being come down upon. (do those words go together?…i think you get it, right?)

Needless to say, some managers just don’t know how to take the heat when it comes down from the top, and it’s easy to take out their own sense of insecurity onto those they supervise. This is to be expected to a point, however, the best managers out there are able to recognize the pressure and shift. This is not anything that I know to be statistically true, but I believe that there are more people out there that respond to positive, constructive instruction, rather than feeling beaten into conformity. (For all you Lushin-ers out there, think, critical parent, loud and clear.)

So, this is a time of stress. It’s stressful for alot of folks. All you managers out there, I encourage you to put an extra effort in today, and in the coming weeks to creating a positive, reinforcing work environment for your team. I will go ahead (in my limited wisdom :-)) and say that I have a feeling, you will see a positive result in your goals all around.

Cheers!

That being said, graduation is just around the corner. I have met so many talented students getting ready to make their way out into our business community. It’s really exciting (since they are, afterall, the future of Indianapolis). But at the same time, it’s also really scary for our soon-to-be grads as unemployment rates have obviously grown. This is a graph from Monster that compares Indianapolis to national unemployment rates.

It is no surprise that many companies, rather than hiring straitaway, are looking to hire interns for a period of time before they commit to the actual hire. The idea of utilizing interns are great for a number of reasons:

1. Cost Effective- This is first and foremost a HUGE factor is choosing to go with interns. The company does not have to shell out hefty salaries, health insurance, or other major costs when it comes to hiring someone that may not work out in the end.

2. Trial Run- This is also a big one. You get to try the intern BEFORE you commit to that salary, and at that point, if the internship goes well, you will be happy to offer the bigger salary because they will have proved themselves. Plus, you know they’re a fit for your company. If they’re not a fit, you can all part as friends.

3. The interns are MOLDABLE- This is two foldfold. First, you get to mold the intern, teach them how you want things ran in your company, and these young professionals are eager. Second, with the market as tight as it is, you are going to get someone who is energetic and willing to work 150% because they need to find their niche in the real world. So, you get highly energetic talent that you can mold. (Does it really get any better than that??) Oh wait! It does!

4. You get to GIVE BACK to the community- Okay, we have all these great schools here in Indiana with highly talented students. Let’s keep them here after they graduate by giving them a chance to grow YOUR company and OUR community. Who knows, they may end up helping run it one day. It’s a win/win on both ends.

Cheers!

1. Do you want a cost-effective way to grow your business, especially in this economy?

2. Have you considered interns, but hold back because you don’t really think you have the time to train them?

3. Are you just doing way too much on your own, and you need some help?

4. Is your sales staff so bogged down with paperwork/follow up/referral call that they can’t get out and sell?

Okay, here are my questions: If your company is not using interns, why not?
And if you ARE, what are some of the experiences you’ve had with them? Did you end up hiring any?

Rather than “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, we should change it to do unto others keeping their preferences in mind.”

What a great way to approach-eh-pretty much everything. Whether it’s recruiting, doing business, managing employees or interns, relating…to anyone, keeping others’ preferences in mind is a perfect start. This is probably not something that would necessarily come naturally though, especially if you’re a high D on the disc profile. Often, we have our own ideas and agendas, our own goals with plans on how to get there, and we can easily just expect people to jump on our bandwagon. I know I am guilty of this.

In working with millennials and being one myself, I know exactly how it feels to want to be a part of a company that values my approach, my ideas, and allows me to be me. Every millennial out there feels the same way. They need to be valued, they need to be heard, and they need to be themselves.

I encourage all of you to be open to keeping others’ preferences in mind. If you have interns working with your company and you see a promising future for them there, this is a key to retention.

What are some things that you do to treat others how they wish to be treated that is different than how you wish to be treated?