If you see someone demonstrating excellent customer service skills while you’re having dinner with your family, do you approach that individual and discuss job opportunities with your organization? When you attend a job or career fair, do you grab the attention of the many attendees by sharing valuable information about your organization? If someone asks you why a person should consider working with your organization, do you have a ready answer?

Selling the Sizzle in Your Organization: Developing a 30 Second Commercial Increasingly today, there are many day-to-day opportunities to recruit for our companies. Smart employers are learning that recruitment is everybody’s job, not just that of human resources. When you meet prospective candidates, how do you “wow” them and get them interested in your company? Every recruiter and business leader should have their “30 second commercial” at the ready for talking with candidates about the benefits and advantages of employment. What is a 30 second commercial? It’s a brief sales pitch—a spiel—about what your company has to offer. It’s also called an “elevator speech” since in an elevator you only have a few seconds to meet and impress another. You might need a good question to hook the interest of the individual. One recruiter would ask candidates she observed at restaurants exhibiting great customer service skills this question: “You are doing a great job here. Does this company appreciate your hard work/dedication/commitment to customers?” In that first question she had their interest and attention and could then go on to explain how her organization valued great employees. Consider what your organization has to offer. Don’t just think about the “features” of your employer; as great sales people have learned, present the benefits and advantages. In other words, quickly share WIFM—the station we all tune in to—“What’s in it for me.” Consider a short personal story. “I started in this company seven years ago as a novice, and now I’m an Assistant District Manager responsible for nine stores. I have much potential for growth in this expanding company.” Or, “I believe the commitment this company shows to both being an incredible learning organization, plus one that is family-friendly is what keeps me happy and balanced. And not a lot of people can say that about their employers.” Train your managers and make all your employees responsible for their own 30 second commercial so that recruitment can truly be everybody’s job

HR Book Club Wouldn't it be great if you could follow through on a New Year's resolution to read at least six leading HR/business books in 2006? Would it be exciting to get together with your HR colleagues and discuss these books and their application to your work life? Wouldn't it be fun to discuss books in a relaxed environment with wine and cheese? Do we have an opportunity for you! Concept: HR Book Club. Meeting Place: Workshop, The Creative Workplace, 2005 B Frankfort Ave. (at Bellaire) (park on the street or in the church parking lot), Louisville, KY. Time/Dates: Third Thursday of every other month, beginning February16, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. (For April and beyond, the date will be the second Thursday of the month) Cost: Only your time and commitment. Membership: No fees; come when you can (for one, two, or all six meetings each year). Required: RSVP; you MUST read the book in order to attend. First Book: HR Value Proposition by David Ulrich. Get ready for LSHRM's exciting event May 16 when Dave, one of the top HR gurus, is coming for a special LSHRM workshop! By having read the book, you'll benefit even more when you hear Dave speak. RSVP: To one of your Book Club Sponsors for this and upcoming meetings Cathy Fyock, Innovative Management Concepts, cathy@cathyfyock.com 502 243- 2482 Whitney Martin, ProActive Consulting, whitney@consultproactive.com 502 742- 7411 Next Meeting April 13, 2006 The Leader's Guide to Storytelling by Stephen Denning

What is “Success”? Whether you are talking about success in the HR profession, success in business generally or even overall life success, we all want to find it, right? But what is success, really? In her chapter in the book Conversations on Success, Sandy Allgeier, SPHR, joins 14 other authors including well-known names like Stephen Covey and Dennis Waitley to discuss what defines success – and the people who achieve it in their lives. Sandy speaks from experience. She has led HR functions in a multitude of business settings – from start up, to fast growth, and even declining market situations. Sandy has been involved with setting business strategy and implementing the right HR tactics to meet these various business conditions. Sandy has gained a wealth of experience in various industries over a 20+ year career in corporate America. She continues to share her experience and knowledge as she provides consulting, training and speaking services for her clients since establishing her business, Allgeier HR Consulting, in late 1999. You will want to read and learn from Sandy’s down- to-earth style and reality-based wisdom as she shares her personal stories and observations about those who have attained success. She shares her perspective from the wonderful vantage point of someone in HR – about leaders and leadership styles/capabilities. You will also learn from the perspective of a real practitioner about what it takes to become a success in the HR profession – and how too many HR professionals are trying to achieve success by following the path of greatest resistance. Sandy is a member of SHRM’s HR Generalist Certificate Program faculty. She has been a presenter at the last three national SHRM conferences with her program titled “Building Interpersonal Influence in HR Management.” SHRM reports that Sandy’s workshop continues to draw the highest number of participants and books up more quickly than any offered for the pre-conference sessions. When asked why she believes this to be true, Sandy explains “It’s pretty simple. HR professionals are smart – they know that the only way they can have a shot at truly being strategic partners in the business is to have skills and capabilities that allow them to gain management’s respect in the first place. This workshop teaches the skills we all need to help us appropriately influence – and to effectively present our thoughts/ideas in a way that will gain respect from those we are working with and for on a daily basis.” Sandy continues, “It’s all about personal credibility – that HR competency clearly defined in the Value Added HR study by the University of Michigan and Global Consulting Alliance with David Ulrich. HR is held to a higher standard when it comes to personal credibility. You just cannot be successful if there is a perceived gap in personal credibility – and the really great news is that we all have the opportunity to increase our own personal credibility! This is the cornerstone for success in our profession.” You can contact Sandy about ordering her book or to seeking her involvement in your next project by emailing her at Sandy@Sandyallgeier.com or calling her at 502-266-0159.

AARP Best Employers With an estimated 40 percent of America’s workforce being age 45 or over in 2006, employers that stand out as industry leaders recognize the key to success relies on their human capital. Retaining the critical skills and experience of your 50+ workforce should be a fundamental business decision. Future success depends on uniting strategic business needs with workplace practices that maximize the experience of mature workers. AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 honors those employers whose innovative policies and practices match the needs of their mature employees, capturing their skills and experience, strong work ethic, flexibility and enthusiasm. The deadline for entries is March 20, 2006. The process makes it easy for employers to apply for consideration as one of AARP’s honorees. Employers with 50 or more employees can complete the online application by going to: www.aarp.org/bestemployers. Any questions can also be sent through this web address. Information submitted is strictly confidential. Log on today and tell why your organization is a great place to work!

Cathy’s February – March Calendar Feb 7 Job Transition Ministry, Christ Church United Methodist, Louisville, KY Feb 16 Strategic Retention for the Home Health Industry, guest presenter for a Leading Home Care Teleseminar, Louisville, KY Feb 16 HR Book Club, Louisville, KY (see information in this newsletter) Feb 21 Job Transition Ministry, Christ Church United Methodist, Louisville, KY Feb 22 Generational Issues: Why Can’t We All Get Along? MSD, Louisville, KY Mar 2 Generational Issues: Why Can’t We All Get Along? MSD, Louisville, KY Mar 7 Job Transition Ministry, Christ Church United Methodist, Louisville, KY Mar 21 Job Transition Ministry, Christ Church United Methodist, Louisville, KY Mar 24, 25, 26 Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Poulenc’s Gloria, Louisville Orchestra, Louisville, KY SHRM HR Generalist Certificate Program April 3 – 5 Dallas, TX June 24 – 27 Washington, DC (SHRM conference) July 10 – 12 Atlanta Oct 9 – 11 New York City October 30 – Nov 1 Chicago Nov 13 – 15 Washington DC Nov 29 – Dec 1 Orlando Hold the Date! May 16 LSHRM sponsors Dave Ulrich for a luncheon and workshop, “The HR Value Proposition,” Louisville, KY. Call Cathy for more information at 1-800-277- 0384!

About Cathy Fyock Are you looking for a high-content speaker for your next conference or meeting? Call or email Cathy to find out how she can work with you to meet your specific goals and objectives. Cathy Fyock, CSP, SPHR, is an employment strategist—helping organizations develop strategies to recruit and retain top talent in an aging and changing marketplace. For over 15 years she has combined her knowledge of work-force issues and her talents as a speaker to provide innovative and inspirational learning events. She has helped organizations attract top talent, reduce turnover, and improve productivity in a volatile labor market.

Permission to Reproduce This Newsletter Permission is hereby granted to reprint articles from this report by Cathy Fyock, at no charge, with the agreement that the biographical information be included following each article used. One copy of the publication in which the article is published must be forwarded to Innovative Management Concepts. A fee of $300 per article will be expected for articles published without the biographical and contact information. Please contact us for assistance in editing this article to meet your publication guidelines.

Cathy Fyock

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