"Finding and Keeping Great Employees" event June 15

I rarely sponsor events. I will work with charities to support our community. I will donate time and money when I have it. That being said, I decided to sponsor an event that I believe in, one that actually ties in to employees and employers. The event I am sponsoring is called “Finding and Keeping Great Employees” featuring Marcus Buckingham, Ann Rhoades, and Cameron Her.

I saw Marcus Buckingham on Oprah. He had such an impact on the audience and their careers by focusing on their strengths versus weaknesses. What would happen if men and women spent more than 75 percent of each day on the job using their strongest skills and engaged in their favorite tasks, basically doing exactly what they wanted to do? He made so much sense and I have been toting this concept around for years, but I have not written a book about it. Marcus Buckingham has written two. “First, Break All the Rules” was his first book, and wow, he is one smart guy!

Back to the event, it is an afternoon, 1:00-5:30pm on June 15th at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre.

Leaders, executives, managers, and frontline supervisors who want to get the best from their teams and become better managers should come to this event; this is why I am going.

Employees who want to learn how to be their best every day should also come to this event; this is why my employees are going! I hope to see you all there!

For more information on this great event or to buy your tickets, check out the website Afreshapproach.ca.

Women Versus Earth

This past weekend hosted the Calgary Women’s show at the Round Up Centre, and this coming Wednesday is Administrative Professionals Day AND Earth Day. So, I thought I would debate with myself, which is more powerful? The Earth or Women?

We, at About Staffing, place plenty of administrators in jobs all over Alberta, in a huge variety of admin positions and industries. They really make my company successful! So, I say, one mark for women, and the administrators who damn well deserve to be thanked and appreciated on Wednesday. OK, some administrators are male, OK, give them thanks too. But that doesn’t really work for my debate. So, back to women!

Women can withhold information; women can withhold sex (I guess men could do that too? Could they?). The earth gives us breath, but so do women; we deliver babies! The earth gives us food and water, and works to keep regenerating itself. Women work to regenerate others.

Wait a minute, the earth is made up of Mother Nature, and Mother Nature is female? So, it sounds to me like women do ALL the work?

Well, I only have myself to debate with, and I am a woman, and I live on the Earth, and I have seen the power of Mother Nature… so women win! End of debate.

Women hold the power this week! Don’t forget to thank the administrators on Wednesday. For Earth day, just thank the administrators. The repercussions if you forget will be less by the Earth. Good thing Mother’s Day is next month.

Easter

Easter brought lilies, and springtime, and chocolate, and purple, and Mass, and egg hunts, and family dinners, and hyper kids, and excitement for sunshine!

I have to say, I was excited for Easter because I feel like the past six months have been really hard for so many people. But now we have turned a corner. The sun is shining and Easter is here again, as it has been for 2000 years! Come on, Easter has survived all these years, don’t you think our small problems of today’s stress will mean nothing next Easter?

I really think our Canadian moods have changed for the better. People generally have a little hop in their step now.

Six months of winter, six months of depressing headlines in the news, six months of long dark days, six months of job losses and investments gone, but no more!

Recession Proof Industries

For the past 10 years or so, I have been telling job seekers to choose five companies that they want to work for, and target those specific companies. That was a better job finding strategy than blasting out resumes everywhere when the unemployment rate was low, and companies were dying to find any employee, let alone a good one. Job seekers are now in the back seat and no longer driving the market. They are becoming more desperate, and more concerned about finding a job or keeping the one they have. There are companies and organizations still hiring for various reasons and positions. So, strategies need to change for the job seeker, as there is competition for each job posting now.

Look around, pay attention, watch and listen, as there are industries that will not only survive in a downturn, but will grow, change, and stabilize. Our society will still need to eat, marry, have kids, get around town, communicate, live together in a community, follow the rules, date, socialize, and work.

Government, banking, health care, and education for example are industry groups not going anywhere but up. Auction houses, consignment stores and used car lots should be busy as people generally over bought in past years and now need to liquidate or buy second hand. Environmental companies and companies dealing in healthy lifestyles such as organic foods will certainly survive into the future. All experts in pretty much all industries will always be in demand, as the average person with average skills will become easily replaced.

OK, so maybe automotive manufacturing and some oil and gas jobs are at risk for awhile, but there sure are lots of other industries to choose from!