CentreO Blog

Loosing great colleagues and employees is awful and there is barely anything good about the experience.

But no matter how unpleasant experiences may be, we are as always, encouraged to take something positive away from it.

In this particular case, an article on Mashable.com suggested we use this opportunity to ask our soon to be ex-employees some direct question on job satisfaction and company environment. And since they are one foot out the door, we may get the honest answers we are searching for.

How did the job match your expectations?

This is not about titles, salary and bonuses, but rather regards the day-to-day work and whether it turned out to be in line with the job description presented at the interview.

Result: precise job descriptions and subsequently better hires.

Did you feel that the work you were doing aligned with your personal goals and interests?

Goal-setting is personal, of course. But employees who feel that their jobs are in line or at least not in juxtaposition with their personal goals, will definitely be happier at work.

Result: better understanding on the personalities that the job in question would suit.

Did you have the tools and resources you needed to effectively do your job?

Lowering costs is an ever-important process for every business.  However, there is no moving forward without the right systems and equipment in place. So why not learn what you may be missing?

Result: an extensive base of specific resources, that may attract more professionals in the field.

 Would you recommend this as a great place for a friend to work?

This question can be a genuine request for a recommendation, if you think someone if your ex-employee’s circle could be a good addition to the company.

Alternatively, it can help you find out the selling points of the position for future hires.

Result: a potential new employee and a better knowledge of the benefits that come with the position.

We are all in constant search of new business connections.  Hundreds of articles have been written on expanding your professional network, getting to the right people and Linkedin tricks.

Yet we rarely pay attention to connections or meetings that are nor premeditated. How often do we have a casual run in with a friend of a friend or a colleagues’ relative? Yet, because these potential contacts come to us pretty easily, we tend to ignore them or dismiss as invaluable.

Why should we?

Last week I was having dinner with a friend of mine when her cousin walked by and joined us. Me and my friend had a lot to talk about, but I decided to break the routine and just listen. In under 20 minutes, I’ve learnt that Maggie, my friend’s cousin, was in the same business as I, running her own successful company in Singapore and looking for partners in other Asian countries.

Now if I knew a person like that existed, I would have invested time and resources into reaching out to her. Yet when she simply walked into my life on a weekend afternoon, I was very close to ignoring her and going about my day.

What I learnt form that was very simple: every connection is valuable, no matter how easy or difficult it was to get it.

So now, every time I run into somebody I don’t know, I never  ignore a chance to know them!

Have you had any fortunate meetings lately?

Dating and business seem to have very little in common at first glance. One is romantic and emotional, the other practical and reasonable. And yet, it seems that success in either of the two, quite often depends on the following points:

Research

When in comes to dating, we constantly compare ourselves to others. We learn what our competitors have to offer and do our best to become the best in show.

The same applies to business – we do care about competition. And perhaps what we should take away from dating, is the enthusiasm we have at actually beating the competition and learning from them. We can not change our (or our company’s personality), but we can develop our products or services, introduce new features and get inspiration form the competition.

What is you USP

When presenting ourselves on a date, we often emphasize the one thing that we do best, because we subconsciously know that it will make us stand out.

The same goes for our products and companies. Choosing your best advantage and working on making it even stronger or selecting a niche product or service is often a clear road to success.

Weed out the unsuitable matches

In dating, we pay a lot of attention to assessing potential candidatures. Once we realize that they are not a match, we simply let go. It seems more difficult to do it with clients, especially for new businesses. We tend to hold on to anyone who looks our way and are scared of loosing them. Yet some clients may not be right for you at this time: your company may be too small, clients’ demands may be not fitting to the service or there may simply be no “chemistry”. So let’s not be afraid to let them go.

Being direct

In dating and in business, we are often afraid to ask direct questions and keep relying on hints and signals. And in both (dating and business) this approach can lead to us missing out on valuable contracts or a possible relationship. Being clear and direct can be stressful, yet it will get you the answers you are looking for and allow you to move forward.

Dealing with rejection.

Clearly, no one likes rejection. It hurts in business and personal life. And is inevitable in both. So what will eventually make a difference is how we bounce back from it. Learn from your failures and use them to propel yourself to success.