How Marketable are you?

Business, work and technology are constantly changing – there are new methods, processes, markets and abilities being discovered and/or increasing in importance on a daily basis. Even for those who are currently ‘secure’ in your  job, skills and performance requirements change constantly and organizations place a high value on employees who can help them effectively navigate the ever shifting business landscape.

It’s important for us as professionals to stay relevant and competitive; this ensures your value in your current job and your attractiveness in the event you decide to change jobs. The only way to ‘future-proof’ your career is to keep your skills updated. So, what’s the best way to do this?

One of the best ways to upgrade your skills is to learn them on the job; seize opportunities for learning /exercising new skills by accepting challenging assignments or seeking new ways to do things. Experience based learning is considered more effective than classroom training. However, used intelligently, training courses can boost your prospects.

To enable a quick of analysis of how competitively positioned you are, consider the following questions:

·         What new skills would I need to have to perform my job in a different – a. Company, b. Sector, c. internationally?

·         What are the key trends for my job (and industry) in the next 3 years?

·         What new technology is being used in my job/industry and how can I use it to add leverage to my performance?

·         What skills are most highly valued for my job functions?

·         What skills are rare? Which ones are becoming obsolete?

·         What transferable skills do I have (can I learn)?

·         What are my current skills worth in the market?

Honest answers to these questions would give you a clear roadmap to build up your profile to top competitive position.

Here’s an interesting viewpoint from an experienced recruiter offering practical tips to keep your skills up to date http://www.headwaycorp.com/job_seekers/resources/keepingskillsuptodate.aspx

Also see this 1 min video that teaches you how to prove your skills : 

Can you justify your training spend? A focus on impact value in evaluating training

Increasingly, companies and trainers are seeking ways to validate returns on training investments.

Training has certainly moved away from being a 2 or 3 day 'semi holiday' with a course folder thrown in. In our training programs we have always advocated a practical, measurable focus on ensuring that learning is not only internalized, but easily transferable to everyday workplace productivity.

Some of the techniques we recommend and use are the pre & post course tests, practical applications of concepts thought to relevant working contexts as well as post training advisory and follow up.

Whilst this approach is effective to some extent, Paul Kearns in this article suggest specific, measurable techniques to ascertain good ROI for your organization's training spend. Click on the link below to read his full position.

All you need to know about training evaluation in about 700 words

Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work | Video on TED.com

"Managers and meetings are the main problems in the office." Do you agree? Jason expresses quite a few thoughts I have always thought but not had the courage to share :). A very refreshing look at enabling real productivity. Click on the link to see the talk. Enjoy it!

Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work | Video on TED.com

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Achieving better business results with employee engagement

This creative short animation from the folks at explania.com explains the key issues involved in creating and leveraging engaged employees for sustainable business success. please click play to view the animation below:


How to use Employee Engagement to boost your business - Explania

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

Just came across this common sense guide to reaching goals. I think you'll find it interesting.

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

How To Boost Employee Motivation With Better Leadership

It is an astonishing fact - repeatedly shown in numerous surveys - that two-thirds of the workforce are not engaged in their work. Imagine the magnitude of lost productivity and innovation this represents! It also lies at the heart of much workplace strife and it denies workers any chance of true satisfaction from their working life. It begs the question - what causes this lack of employee motivation?

No doubt the responsibility is shared - the workers may have limited vision and aspiration. They also inherit decades of conditioning which implies that work is something that has to be endured and that effort should be limited to the minimum. It's no accident that there are many more negative terms for work than positive ones.

But a good deal of the shared responsibility lies with those in authority. Much of what passes as leadership is ego-driven and rooted in self-interest. Much is small-minded, lukewarm or insipid.

When individuals are made leaders simply by position and title, they inherit authority rather than earn it. Often they are driven to protect their own position and spend more effort in preserving the status quo than in making genuine moves to advance the fortunes of the organization or the people working in it.

Meanwhile natural leaders of the future stay in the shadows. They either hold themselves back feeling they can't compete with the cultural bias or they are kept in the margins by the established power base.

The result is a shortage of true leaders - the leadership vacuum. The clear conclusion is that to win greater engagement and to transform levels of employee motivation, we need a leap in the standards of leadership.

This is where you could make a real difference. It means stepping forward, prepared to be visible. This takes courage and persistence. But most of all it takes the willingness to break with conformity. If you remain entirely within convention then the results you get will simply perpetuate all the faults and the lost engagement that are already familiar.

You have a rebellious side - if you don't believe me cast your mind back to your teenage years. It's likely that this was really active then - the part that does not want to conform; the idealist that refuses to compromise. Back then holding a principle was more important than expediency, and being sensible was akin to surrender.

Your rebel side is still alive now - it might just need awakening. Speaker and author David Whyte argues strongly for the outlaw - like a sort of Robin Hood - that lies within each of us:

"To preserve a sense of freedom even in the midst of rules and regulations is to preserve a part of our identities …to live happily within outer laws, we must have a part that goes its own way, that is blessedly outlaw no matter what the outward conditions"

It is from your outlaw that the passion can come to break with conformity enough to be a genuine leader and take your people with you.

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Trevor Hill works with managers and leaders who are striving to motivate their people. He helps them become inspiring leaders of highly-motivated teams. You can get a free copy of 'The 7 Biggest Myths About Motivating A Team - And What To Do Instead' from http://www.inspireandmotivateyourteam.co.uk/free-report

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