The Weiman Consulting Letter, October 2007

Wynnewood, PA

Why You Should Talk About Money First
Quotation of the Month
5 Steps To Building Trust
How To Help An Underachiever
Updates from Weiman Consulting
Read, Relax, Repeat

Why You Should Talk About Money First

At the beginning of one of her books on personal finance, Suze Orman says that everything financial is psychological. She means that how we handle money in our personal lives is impacted by the emotions we develop over a lifetime about money, how we acquire it and how we treat it.

I think her comment about personal finance applies to business finance as well. And one of the areas where you may have experienced emotions around money in business is when you’re talking with job applicants about salary.

The discomfort we naturally have in our culture about discussing money explains, in part, why many employers to save salary discussions for near the end of the interview process. Job candidates, as well, are coached in books and articles to not be the first one to bring up money during an interview. They often obligingly collude with us to avoid the topic.

When we eventually get around to talking about salary, the conversation often goes something like this:

The conversation goes on like that until someone breaks down under the pressure and finally says a number! Have you ever had an experience like that?

I believe that you should have salary discussions as early as possible during the recruitment process. Here are four reasons why:

1. You will save time. If the position pays $55,000 and the candidate won’t accept less than $90,000, it’s not a good fit. Going through the interview and assessment process can take hours. Learning salary needs early saves you the time of going through the interview process if the money is not a fit.

2. It makes the interview process smoother when salary issues are resolved early. At the end of the hiring process, both parties are often fatigued from the interviews, reference checking and testing that often take place. Negotiating salary when both are intellectually and emotionally weary may not yield the best result for either. Ensuring that the salary of the position and the needs of the candidate are a basic fit early can help make for a smoother interview process, as both sides can focus on establishing other areas of fit.

3. You learn the market. We often have ideas about the job market based on business articles, talking to head hunters and using other indicators of what kind of talent is available and for what price. But nothing is more accurate than learning the salary requirement of each applicant.

4. You learn how the applicant handles sensitive discussions around money.

As a consultant, I’ve handled conversations with candidates about salary for 20 years. My experience is that the way people talk about their salary needs tells you a lot about a person, such as their basic values, their idea of their own worth, what their future goals are, and how they negotiate. Those are excellent things to learn before you continue the interview process.

By the way, asking candidates to list their salary requirements and having a discussion about salary are two different things. Many candidates list a “dream” salary on an application/cover letter, which might be quite different than what they would accept.

Also, make sure there’s a good basic fit between the person and the job before spending any time discussing salary.

If you have any questions about this approach, feel free to contact us, or call (610) 642-3040.

Quotation of the Month

“As long as the world is turning and spinning, we’re gonna be dizzy and we’re gonna make mistakes.” — Mel Brooks, comedian.

5 Steps To Building Trust

If you sense that there isn’t a sufficient level of trust in your organization, here’s what you can do to improve it:

1. Be consistent. Eliminate discrepancies between what you say and what you do. People can’t count on you if you react one way today and another way tomorrow.

2. Listen with an open mind and respect others’ opinions. Attempt to understand and be open to what you hear. Every opinion is worth hearing, even if you don’t agree with it.

3. Admit your mistakes. When you’ve erred, others probably know it. Own up to your mistakes and apologize when you’re wrong. Admitting mistakes is also an indicator of honesty, because no one is perfect. Don’t pass the buck or blame others.

4. Give credit where credit is due. If the team as a whole did something great, say so. There’s plenty of recognition to go around.

5. Squash rumors early. If you become aware of a rumor in your organization, dispel it quickly and honestly. Open and frequent communication will effectively counteract rumors.

How To Help An Underachiever

If you’re having trouble figuring out how to approach and coach an underachiever, Inc.com’s Smart Questions section has a slide show that walks you through the right questions to ask.

The questions, like “Do you have what you need to do your job?” and “Is something at work preventing you from doing a good job?” are part of a series of non-threatening questions that help get to the sources of the problem, so that your solutions will be focused on the right areas.

Check it out!

Updates from Weiman Consulting

Just published – an article on creating volunteer teams to promote corporate values in non-profit organizations … it’s in the July/August issue of Nonprofit World magazine – send me your address if you’d like a reprint.

On October 19 (8:30 to 10:30 am) I’ll present “Transforming Your Nonprofit from the Inside Out” to nonprofit leaders at a roundtable hosted by the Main Line Chamber of Commerce (suburban Philadelphia). To learn more or register for this seminar, click here: Seminar information.

On October 25, I’ll be co-presenitng “Marketing Mastery for Community Banks” with David Frees at the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers.

For registration information, click here: http://www.pacb.org

Next Spring, David Frees and I are presenting a Las Vegas retreat where we’ll work with a small group of corporate leaders on setting and achieving personal and professional goals. Contact me if you want to be added to the mailing list for information on this outstanding event.

Please contact me to learn about incorporating web-based performance management and 360-degree (multi-rater) assessments and evaluations into your firm.

Read, Relax, Repeat

If work squeezing you a little too tightly lately, check out my book, The Stress Solution