| Hiring happy, optimistic job applicants can | | | | into in your last job." Then, the |
| increase your company's productivity and | | | | interviewer needs to observe if the job |
| lower turnover. Plus, optimistic, confident | | | | applicant answers like an optimist or a |
| employees are vastly more delightful to have | | | | pessimist. |
| on-board. | | | | |
| | | | LEADERS MUST BE ROLE MODELS OF OPTIMISTIC |
| Methods to help companies have optimistic, | | | | ACTIONS |
| positive employees include pre-employment | | | | |
| tests, job interviews of applicants, managing | | | | Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely observed, "What |
| being role-models, and reinforcing smiles. | | | | you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear |
| | | | what you say." This quote illustrates why |
| What are happy, optimistic employees? In a | | | | leaders, executives and managers must be |
| book I co-authored - "Spontaneous | | | | employees' role models for optimistic and |
| OptimismÂ(R)" -- we explained optimistic | | | | upbeat behavior. |
| people focus on solutions and not on | | | | |
| problems, have a "can-do" mindset, and do | | | | Every leader can be a fabulous role model |
| what is needed to achieve goals despite all | | | | simply by focusing non-stop on |
| odds. | | | | |
| | | | 1. Goals - measurable goals with deadlines |
| In contrast, the opposite of optimism is | | | | that help the company grow and prosper |
| pessimism. Pessimists focus on problems and | | | | |
| not on solutions. Pessimistic people love to | | | | 2. Solutions - every time a problem arises, |
| do three actions: Complain, blame, and | | | | instantly focus on implementing solutions |
| whine.. | | | | |
| | | | Also, the leader or manager must not allow |
| PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS HELP YOU HIRE HAPPY | | | | employees to act pessimistic by whining, |
| EMPLOYEES | | | | moaning, and complaining. When an employee |
| | | | complains or whines, the optimistic leader |
| The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to | | | | simply needs to say, "I can tell that bothers |
| have happy employees is to hire human beings | | | | you. Now, please tell me your possible |
| who are optimistic and upbeat. The most | | | | solution to overcome the problem." Insist |
| objective and customizable method to assess | | | | the employee conjure up solutions, and not |
| job applicants is pre-employment testing. | | | | wallow in moaning about problems. |
| When a company tells me it wants to hire | | | | |
| better employees, we start by customizing | | | | LEADERS NEED TO REINFORCE SMILING |
| pre-employment tests. How? We conduct a | | | | |
| "benchmarking study" by testing current | | | | Eye-opening research revealed the more an |
| employees in each job. From this, we | | | | employee smiles, the happier the customer. |
| discover test scores of the company's | | | | Harvard Business Review (5/07, page 24, |
| high-achieving "superstars" - that is, | | | | reported Patricia Barger of Bowling Green |
| employees who are both highly productive and | | | | State U. and Alicia Grandey of Penn State U. |
| low turnover. | | | | studied employees and customers in a coffee |
| | | | shop. They found the more an employee |
| Valuable finding: Almost invariably, | | | | smiled, the more the employee's customers |
| high-achievers score above-average or high on | | | | felt happy with their coffee shop experience. |
| two scales of the pre-employment test: | | | | |
| | | | Leaders and managers can apply the same |
| 1. Optimism test scale | | | | actions in any company. The leader needs to |
| | | | smile, reinforce smiling by employees, and |
| 2. Reactions to Pressure test scale | | | | hire employees who readily smile. This gels |
| | | | to create a positive, happy corporate |
| In contrast, underachievers in the same jobs | | | | culture. |
| in the same companies usually score (a) low | | | | |
| on Optimism (i.e., they score pessimistic) | | | | 3 KEYS TO HIRE HAPPY EMPLOYEES |
| and (b) low on Reaction to Pressure (i.e., | | | | |
| they score like whiners). | | | | Managers and leaders are smart to create an |
| | | | optimistic, upbeat workplace. My |
| For example, one company recently did a | | | | pre-employment testing research reveals |
| "benchmarking study" for hiring employees | | | | high-achieving "superstar" employees |
| into seven jobs. On the pre-employment test, | | | | overwhelmingly are optimistic and poised |
| "superstar" employees in all seven jobs | | | | under pressure. To create a workforce of |
| scored high on both (1) Optimism scale and | | | | happy, positive employees, leaders and |
| (2) Reactions to Pressure scale. Note: | | | | managers can do the following: |
| Although these seven jobs covered a wide | | | | |
| range of skill-levels and abilities, | | | | 1. Hire optimistic, upbeat job applicants - |
| pre-employment test scores showed | | | | predicted by pre-employment tests and |
| high-achievers in all jobs exuded an | | | | interviews |
| optimistic, 'can-do' personality. | | | | |
| | | | 2. Be a role model - always displaying |
| KEY JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ASSESS OPTIMISM | | | | optimists' actions |
| | | | |
| A second method to assess a job applicant is | | | | 3. Reinforce employees' optimistic actions - |
| job interviews. Unfortunately, interviews | | | | e.g., focusing on solutions and smiling |
| prove quite subjective, and managers | | | | |
| generally do lousy at predicting job success | | | | By leaders using these three keys, the result |
| based on interviews. | | | | is a company composed of optimistic, 'can-do' |
| | | | employees who are |
| Question: What should managers do to assess | | | | |
| a job applicant's optimism? | | | | A. Highly productive |
| | | | |
| Answer: Ask open-ended questions about | | | | B. Low turnover |
| confronting problems. Then, notice if the | | | | |
| applicant (a) focuses on solutions - like an | | | | C. A pleasure to work with |
| optimist or (b) wallows about problems - like | | | | |
| a pessimist. | | | | D. Highly profitable |
| | | | |
| For example, the interviewer could ask, "Tell | | | | © Copyright 2007 Michael Mercer, |
| me about the two worst situations you got | | | | Ph.D. |