Our mission is to help your company succeed.

Accent on Success was started fifteen years ago to help executives select, manage, motivate and retain top talent.

We measure your most important asset – your people – with scientifically based, objective talent management tools.   The information we provide will help your company improve its employee “bench strength” in areas like – cognitive ability, motivational intensity, employee focus, etc.

Business is changing rapidly and no company, industry or person is immune. Your views on Talent Management and Change Management should be changing also.  How do you manage, communicate and motivate inter-generational employees during this time of rapid change.

Here are just a few examples:

1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) now offers over 2,000 courses over the Internet for FREE.

2. Social media has forced Verizon and Bank of America to withdraw unpopular new customer charges less than a week after they were instituted.

3. Ebooks are radically changing the publishing industry. Twitter, You Tube and Facebook are altering the news gathering business. Personal and corporate reputations can be changed in minutes.

We can’t stop change, but your company can formulate a plan to effectively deal with it.

Inter-generation issues – World War II, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millenniums

Companies often have employees from four to five generations with completely different traits, life experiences, work ethic, commitment to the company, etc. In addition, there are ego, status, job security, respect, communication, motivation and acceptance issues with the inter-generational employees.

 

      We are in the Employee Talent Management business. 

 

We offer:

a) full suite of employee talent management tools

b) hands-on guidance to help you develop and implement a plan that works for your company.

The I’m a Good Judge of Character management style and the That is the Way We Have Always Done It style may not be dead, but they are on life support.

You do not have to turn your company completely upside down, but as more and more of these young tech and Internet savvy employees enter the workforce they will be forcing rapid change. Your goal is to marry your current formula for success with forthcoming new ways of rethinking your business, your industry and your customer base. This means developing a comprehensive plan with realistic timetables.

The key will be having the right people in the right jobs, and vastly increasing open, two-way communications with your inter-generational employees.

Suggestions for your plan:

1. The Front Door – Who is screening your incoming resumes and deciding whether a person moves to the interview phase? That person may be one of the most important people in your company. The life blood of successful companies is attracting and keeping top talent. Who is guarding your front door?

2. Hiring Process – Harvard Business Review says that 64% of all hiring decisions are made in the first five minutes of an interview. How would you respond if your plant manager bought a new $60,000 machine after only five minutes of research? Review your hiring system. The job description is only a starting point. Here are five questions to consider:

a. Does the person fit your company culture and values? i.e. integrity, accountability, resourcefulness

b. Where do you see this candidate in three years?

c. Will the candidate increase your company’s employee bench strength?

d. Most managers will not hire above their self image. Who is making your hiring decisions?

e. Do you have an effective system to get new employees on board, trained, motivated, focused, and engaged?

3. Financial Statements vs. Employee Measurements – Does the if you can measure it, you can manage it rule work for your most important asset? Companies use financial statements everyday to provide direction. Yet, too few companies accurately measure their human capital with quality, validated employee assessments. What are your employees bringing to the workplace and how can you maximize their potential? (i.e. cognitive ability, sales aptitude, motivational intensity, decisiveness, work ethic, reliability, etc.)

4. Prepare Before Promoting – A manager leaves and the company promotes someone who has not been trained for the new position. Sound familiar? Poor promotion decisions can dramatically affect employee morale and turnover. The American Management Association figures direct and hidden cost of turnover to be 30% of a person’s total annual compensation. That’s $30,000 if you lose just one $90,000 manager. Promoting unprepared people can be very expensive.

5. Review the Review - Rethink your employee performance review process. Get rid of the annual reviews that don’t generate the results you need. Go to a web-based performance management system. Both the manager and the employee can input information on the goals vs. performance throughout the year. Advantages: Real time employee information on hiring, training, performance, career development, and succession planning available 24/7.

6. Human Resources – Employees are staying an average of three years at a company. How do you successfully engage employees in the least amount of time? The head of your Human Resources department should be a strategic thinking professional who has a place at the executive table equal to the operations, finance and sales executives.

7. Communications – Companies have employees from four to five generations (World War II, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millenniums) with completely different traits, life experiences, work ethic, commitment to the company, etc. There are ego, status, job security, respect, and acceptance issues with the inter-generational employees. It is difficult, but the goal for effective communication must be comprehensive employee engagement throughout the organization. Decision making in the future will harness the power of “we.” There will always be a need for leaders and decision makers, but how we gather, review, communicate and act upon information will change dramatically.Is your 55 year old Vice President, who has been with the company for 20+ years, effective in communicating and motivating your young employees? Is your 35 year old plant manager any better?

Developing a plan and implementing it fully may take four to five years, but rapid change is coming to virtually all segments of industry. Are your managers ready?

Today’s young employees are becoming change leaders. They may not fit your preconceived notion of what a new employee should look and act like, and they may be frustrating at times, but they are very talented and capable. Maximizing the potential of all the generations won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding.