Hiring: The Manager’s Most Important Decision

Of all the situations that confront a manager, the most important decision to be acted on involves recruitment. The addition of an employee to your workforce is a long-term commitment. Similar to many other circumstances in life, it often is much easier to get into the relationship than it is to undo the arrangement at a later juncture. For this reason, appropriate time, resources and thoughtful consideration need to be dedicated to the recruitment process, in order to optimize your investment.Let’s suppose that there are only two types of managers; those who are insecure and those who are confident. How might these different managers approach a hiring situation and what legacy impact would that have on their organizations?The recruitment process begins by defining the requirements of the position and the development of a comprehensive Job Description. Complementing the Job Description, a profile detailing the attributes of the ideal candidate also should be crafted. If there are particular characteristics that warrant emphasis, for instance punctuality with the young cohort known as Generation Y, these should be highlighted. Finally, formulating a series of behavioural-based interview questions will encapsulate the requirements of both the position and the profile.A slate of candidates can be identified based on a review of the resumes that were received. If high quality candidates are not evident from the resumes and interviews, it is imperative that the manager resists the temptation to compromise the position.Far too often, however, managers may try to truncate the hiring process. There are a variety of reasons that might compel the manager to do this. For instance, the manager may be under significant pressure to fill the vacancy, as quickly as possible. Or, the manager may fear losing the salary allocation. Or, service levels will not be fulfilled. Or, it really isn’t that important and it’s not a perfect world, anyway.But compromising the recruitment process is not an acceptable resolution. Instead, the manager should re-initiate the process, until the right candidate is surfaced. In some instances, broader and different advertising approaches might need to be considered. This will become evermore critical as the competition for labour intensifies due to the changing demographics and the shrinking labour force.The Insecure ManagerInsecure managers have nagging doubts regarding their competencies. Although the insecure manager might be proficient at certain tasks, there resides an implicit acknowledgement that there are deficiencies with many more. The insecure manager lives in fear that the deficiencies will be exposed and that they will be declared a fraud.An insecure manager, naturally, will feel threatened by strong, competent employees who may challenge the status quo or be overly enthusiastic about inventing innovative ways to improve business functions. Such a manager will be inclined, perhaps unconsciously, to recruit weaker employees who will not be seen as a threat to them.Over time, the insecure manager assembles an operating unit that is populated by sub-optimum performers who collectively are not capable of resolving business challenges. In these circumstances, even competent employees will give up when confronted by this impenetrable inertia and debilitating ennui.Now apply this predisposition and the resulting behaviour to the organizational level. If the organization is comprised of insecure, weak managers, then it follows that they will recruit a workforce that mirrors their profile. This commits the organization to a relentless downward spiral. It, quite literally, will be an unimpeded race to the bottom.The Confident ManagerConfident managers, conversely, have assessed and recognize their personal strengths and weaknesses. They also will have identified their blind-spots. Confident managers recruit employees who will offset the manager’s weaknesses and cover their blind-spots. They are not threatened by employees who have ideas and vitality.Confident managers welcome the synergy that blossoms from divergent thinking and healthy conflict. They value competency and collaborative problem solving approaches to business challenges. They assemble an operating unit that is energetic, trusting and vibrant. They recruit action-oriented employees, not excuse-makers.These managers also have a keen eye to the future. Their recruitment strategy extends beyond merely today’s needs. Having spent time considering emergent trends, the confident manager is deliberately recruiting for tomorrow’s environment. Finally, the confident manager is purposely recruiting and grooming their possible successor.Applied to the organizational level, a cluster of confident, strong managers collectively will have orchestrated an outstanding roster of competent, high potential employees. This is a high-performance organization that creates a competitive advantage, now and in the future.It is insecurity or confidence that guides the manager’s hiring process and predilections. The results are self-evident, for both the operating unit and the organization’s legacy.

Special Education Teachers – Creating a Good Lesson Plan For Your Students

Among the thousands of teachers in America, one particular group in this profession deserves to be recognized more than the others – they are the special education teachers. They are a group of specialized teachers who work with students of special needs that not every teacher is able to teach. If you are one of these teachers this article is to help you create a lesson plan for your students.If you are a special education teacher you are probably having trouble creating a lesson plan for your students. A special education lesson plan is an educational technique or teaching method that is made specifically for students of any age group that have some disabilities.Now, the lesson plans do vary depending on the student’s disability, its extremeness and the student’s age. The main goal of the lesson plans are to prepare the students to function on their own, to master certain minimum skills to help them, and to help them build and support social competencies. All of these things are important but the number one importance of a special education lesson plan is to help the student and their family to lead normal and problem free lives.Some of the topics a special education lesson plan covers are math, language, arts, science, music, computer and internet lessons, P.E., social studies, health, etc. The plans cover pretty much every subject that those in a regular class are learning but the material is changed to suit the students.The best subject for those with a disability is music, dance, and any other art form. These subjects help students with disabilities to relate to the lessons which directly enhance their learning process. Also, reading, writing and any public speaking should be encouraged by the special education teacher as it will help the students in the long run.As long as you have a well thought out lesson plan you will be able to enhance the student’s feelings and responses, the student’s reasoning ability and reading skills, create a sense of fulfillment in the student, promote the student to communicate, help the student to achieve motor control and physical wellness, etc. Hence, it is most important for any special education teacher to thoroughly plan out a well thought lesson plan as this will enable and enhance the learning process of these special students.If you have no idea on how to create a good lesson plan, you can get some references and information on the internet, in books, and in articles. Do not just take the lesson plan and use it but modify it to suit the individual student.Being a special education teacher is one of the hardest things you could do but is also one of the most fulfilling. With a good special education lesson plan you are able to accomplish so much in making the student’s life the best it can be.

Why Use Video Promotion?

Promotion through web videos is the up and coming trend. If a single picture is worth 1000 words then a video is priceless.Today, YouTube is the single largest video sharing site on the internet. This stems from individuals’ desire to quickly locate videos without spending hours skimming through countless websites. Nowadays, the simplest means of attracting a viewer’s attention is through the use of web videos. When added to your website these will help draw in visitors and keep them on your site longer, reducing the bounce rate, increasing your search ranking, and ultimately drawing in more visitors.

With the exception to YouTube, too few companies apply web videos effectually as a marketing technique. Web videos have the dual benefit of both high popularity and accessibility through various platforms (computers, smart phones, and tablets). Any public relations specialist who is unable to recognize and embrace video as a highly beneficial technique is needlessly restricting their marketing capabilities.

One of the latest studies from Forrester Research discovered that including an online video on your site increases the probability of converting a visitor into a client by six fold.This research also revealed that a sparse 20% of visitors will read the text content on a website, whereas 80% will view the same articles when paired with video.

If a company’s site includes video it has increased its likelihood of being rated on Google’s top page by 50%. Web videos are a requirement for any company with a major internet existence. It is calculated that by 2012 if a site does not have video, it will not make Google’s front page. Videos are a highly influential method when it comes to snaring a visitor, enhancing their experience by making it far more memorable and effective when compared to text content and still images. In another study, it was also discovered that retail website browsers who watch a web video tend to linger on the site two minutes longer and are roughly 65% more likely to buy.

Video production is one of the most highly successful methods of marketing,particularly when used in conjuncture with a number of social networking platforms.Web videos operate most efficiently when they are the adhesive that bind strategies together.For instance, when a video can be published on YouTube, posted on FB, and shared through Twitter, the level of dispersal is optimal for maximum web exposure.

While web video production can be incredibly effectual, the content is important. For instance, a video that is neither useful nor interesting cannot possibly meet with success. In order to be effective videos need to stop wasting time and cut to the chase. There are high expectations for videos these days and those that are the most successful tend to be brief and concise.

If you want to be successful get a professional and experienced video production company to assist you in creating a script, provide the necessary equipment, and help you plan your concepts so as to be as aesthetically engaging as possible to potential visitors.

Another ideal use for videos is in email advertising. Studies show that email advertisements that contain only text are viewed only 20% of time. In comparison, emails containing a video will be viewed 75% of the time, and 85% of those will be viewed in their entirety. Individuals recall photos and visuals even after they have seen the information. The ability to utilize web videos is at your fingertips, so why not you utilize them. The sooner you begin using videos the sooner you will begin to increase your client base.