Your credit history can keep you from getting a job.

For years employers have been pulling credit reports as part of the background check of potential job applicants.

“In the past only bank and financial institutions used credit checks,” said Amber Yoo with Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, “But over the years it has evolved so that more and more employers are using it to predict character judgments on people.”

Phil Blair with Manpower San Diego says a bad report could ruin a person’s chances of getting hired.

“You get one credit report back and it is a really negative one and you have two or three candidates to pick from, your tendency is not to pick the one with the negative credit check,” said Blair.

But while Blair understands why employers would look into a candidates financial history, he says it isn’t always fair.

“It is not indicative of the person’s ability or trustworthiness to do the job,” said Blair.

The credit report can include financial problems stemming from divorce, foreclosure, medical emergencies and more.

Starting in 2012 California employers will no longer be able to use those credit reports to judge a candidate. “It prohibits most employers from running credit checks on applicants unless it is substantially related to their job,” said Amber Yoo.

According to the new labor code employers can only use a consumer credit report if the person is applying for jobs like:

- A managerial position – A position in the state Department of Justice – A sworn peace officer or law enforcement position – A position where the person regularly accesses certain confidential information including bank or credit card accounts and social security numbers

California joins Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, Oregon, Maryland and Washington that have similar laws.

Amber Yoo says this change is the right thing in these tough times.

“Credit history does not predict job performance and so it is really unfair,” said Yoo.

Management is a complex task. As a manager, you are continually faced with problems that need solving and decisions that need to be made. Making decisions is not easy, but it is a major part of a manager's role.

As a new manager, you may be worried about making the wrong decision, but making no decision at all is rarely a satisfactory option. Employees expect good leadership and sound decisions from their managers. Failure to deliver these will result in frustrated and disillusioned staff members.

Put simply, decision making is about choosing between alternative possible courses of action. Routine decisions – for example, which call to make next – usually do not require a lot of thought or planning. However, more complex decisions which involve several people, and which may have far-reaching consequences, are better made when they are informed and considered.

Before you can even begin to make a decision, it is crucial that you identify exactly what the problem is. Once you have done this, you can determine what you expect your decision to achieve. This will enable you to ensure that all of the necessary factors are considered before you reach a final decision and take action.

Once you have identified your issue, you should structure your decision-making approach as follows:

Gather necessary information – Gathering information will help you to make a more informed decision. Some information may need to be analyzed. Do not use a lack of information as an excuse for procrastination.

Consider the options – Once you have all of the information, you will be in a better position to decide between possible courses of action. You may have identified specific criteria to help you to weigh the options.

Make a choice – You may choose to seek advice from others at this point. As a new manager, your own manager or mentor may be in a good position to help you. He or she will probably have dealt with similar situations in the past.

Implement the decision – Depending upon the nature of the decision, you may have to seek authorization from more senior managers before you can proceed. Remember that a decision cannot really be effective until it has been implemented.

Monitor the success of the decision – As always, it is important to monitor the action taken. If things do not seem to be going to plan, then it may become necessary to return to point three, and reconsider your options.

As a new manager, you will find it easier, and more effective, to use a structured approach when making decisions. Once you become more comfortable with your role, you may be able to adapt your approach. The steps involved are logical, but under pressure it can be reassuring to have a process to follow. Of course, sometimes it is not possible to follow such a structured path, because

• information or time is limited
• you have a decision forced upon you
• the number of available options is limited
• intuition replaces a rational approach
• implementation is impeded

As a manager, people are expecting you to solve problems. They want you to make informed decisions based on appropriate information, which is given due consideration. They are expecting you to identify the most effective course of action, and implement and monitor it carefully.

At first, decision making can be daunting. Using a structured approach will help you to consider all aspects and come to a sound conclusion. It can be tempting to think that the process is over once a decision has been made, but do not forget to check that the decision really is solving the problem and meeting the objectives identified at the outset.

As a leader in the New Economy, you surely recognize the imperative of faster, smarter and newer. The entire business agenda, including the quality of our decisions and relationships, is increasingly defined by how fast we act. It is widely accepted as true that to survive in a market demanding increased speed, quality and lower costs to compete, business leaders must be able to make and effectively implement fast and accurate decisions that are in the best interests of their customers, stakeholders and shareholders. Especially in virtual business relationships these decisions are increasingly being made across huge geographic distances. They directly and indirectly impact the lives of ever increasing numbers of people. In our business culture we are experiencing extraordinary rates of innovation, growth and change-especially from a technological perspective-which place extraordinary demands on people in their efforts to work together towards a common purpose to achieve superior performance and a sustainable competitive advantage. People are pushing themselves and each other ever harder to be and do faster, smarter and newer.
But what about the fourth item: "more trustworthy"? Where does trust fit in your vision, conversations, and practices for effective leadership, collaboration and business success?

Is your answer something like this?… Trust is an interesting topic and it would be great to have the luxury of time and bandwidth to cultivate it in our organization's business practices, but there are more pressing and critical issues which I/we need to address instead. If that sounds like you or someone you know, then my questions are: What issues take priority over trust? Why? What is it costing you?

Is your answer something like this?… The leadership in our organization knows the value of trust in all our business relationships; they have made a real commitment to generate and sustain high-performance, creative collaboration and to cultivate a workplace environment that attracts and retains the best talent, but our efforts at identifying and shifting trust dynamics have been less than fully successful. If that sounds like you or someone you know, then take heart: help has arrived!

Although trust-and an absence of betrayal-can be critical to the accomplishment of strategic goals, today's business leaders are often faced with the task of (re)building trust in organizations without the support, tools or understanding necessary to work with the consequences of betrayal and complex dynamics of trust. Saying "we have got to build trust here" in a business context more often than not gets about the same response as saying "all we need is love." Get real. It may well be true, but how do we do it? And how do we do it within the boundaries of our business mandate and available resources? Trust is an emotionally loaded and highly subjective concept. Very rarely do people in business know specifically what behaviors build the capacity for and perception of trust. The challenge is to translate ideas about trust into effective and meaningful action-give it a pull-down menu, so to speak.

There is a new model to help business leaders build inter-relational trust in a highly pragmatic, effective and potentially fun way. This model meets businesspeople where they are, helps them shift their awareness about what is possible, and enables them to do it in such a way that is accessible even to those who otherwise "won't go there." The model, based on ten years of research in over 65 organizations, differentiates between types of trust and identifies behaviors that develop trust-or may result in betrayal-in the workplace. The model is published in the book Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace: Building Effective Relationships in Your Organization by Dennis S. Reina and Michelle L. Reina. It is the only such model that also offers corresponding research-based and statistically valid measurement instruments that can be used within an organization to give people an opportunity to generate quantitative as well as qualitative data about trust dynamics they observe and experience within the collective.

Using the model within organizations, people learn a common, objective language for talking about trust dynamics. Using the corresponding instruments they can identify areas of strength and opportunity for improvement as a collective problem to be solved. With a framework for inquiry and understanding and accessible data, people are better equipped to make informed choices and targeted decisions for action. The model and instruments invite a process of discovery about one's own capacity for trust and learning what to ask and look for so trust-based relationships and leadership characterize a group's collaborative experience.

From a behavioral perspective, the Reina Trust and Betrayal Model™ identifies two main types of trust: transactional and transformative. Since people in most business environments are struggling with transactional trust, that is the most extensively developed area of the model. By their definition, transactional trust is reciprocal in nature; namely, you have to give it to get it. Note that this is different from "you have to get it to give it." It is also build incrementally.

There are three types of transactional trust: competence trust, contractual trust, and communication trust. The behaviors associated with these three types of trust are also those tracked in the survey instruments. A behavior that tends to build competence trust is, for example, involving others and seeking their input for decisions that affect their work and lives. Examples of behavior that builds contractual trust are managing expectations and delegating appropriately (with the necessary resources and authority, etc.). Examples of behavior that build communication trust include telling the truth, sharing information, and speaking with good purpose.

Can you imagine the value of experiencing more of these behaviors in your business relationships?

If the intention is to build trust, then why open the proverbial Pandora's box of betrayal? The Reina's research showed that the cumulative impact of what they classify "unintentional minor betrayals" cause the most damage in organizations. Examples of such betrayal can be gossiping, backbiting, and delegating inappropriately. Indeed, research and experience independent of this model indicate that people in American workplaces increasingly suffer profound, chronic and systemic instances of betrayal and have come to expect situations and relationships characterized more by betrayal than trust in the workplace. Finally, reconciliation requires acknowledgement of perceived betrayal; otherwise there is no trust for reconciliation.

With all the job hunting going on right now, I get a lot of questions about how applicants can put their best foot forward and get hired.

To get the most helpful information possible, I went to the source and surveyed a group of hiring managers. They shared the following tips—things they won’t tell you at interviews but sure wish you knew before you came in the door.

1. Know your stuff. Before any interview, do your homework and research the company. Very few candidates do this, so if you are one of them, you’ll immediately set yourself apart. Research the industry and, at the very minimum, read every page of the company website to learn more about clients, services, management, and competitors. Read the company press releases to find out what their latest projects are. Utilize websites like LinkedIn or Google to learn the background of the people you’ll be meeting.

Sample comment: “I have always been astounded when I ask the question ‘Do you know what we do?’ only to get a response like ‘I sort of have an idea.’”

2. Show that you’re a good match for the job and organization. Tell the interviewer how you see yourself fitting into the company and what value you’ll be able to add quickly. Show that you’re a team member who’s willing to go to the mat and that you’re not just in the job until something better comes along. Strong commitment and positive attitude often go further than actual skill—as long as you’re teachable, open to feedback, and a quick study.

3. Don’t be late. Allow yourself enough time to get lost or delayed in traffic. Make a dry run the day before so you know exactly where you’re going, the best way to get there, and where to park. Have the phone number of the interviewer with you so if you’re unavoidably delayed you can call and see if you should still come or if another time would be better.

4. Don’t be early. If you’re really early, find a place to freshen up a little bit and wait until your appointment. You can present yourself five to ten minutes before your interview time, but no earlier. The interviewer is on a schedule and doesn’t want to see you until the appointment time.

5. Dress appropriately. This sounds simple, but too many people show up for an interview with dirty, unpressed clothes, uncombed hair, and/or needing a shower.
6. Practice the basics. You know you’re going to be asked the following: “Tell me about yourself”; “What are some of your weaknesses?”; “Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager”; “Why do you want to work for XYZ Corp?”, so have well-crafted, concise, intelligent, and creative responses ready.

7. Make the interviewer’s job easy. The interviewer is probably almost as nervous as you are. Anything you can do to make his or her job easier will be a huge boost for you. Remember—it’s a conversation. Don’t hog the discussion, tell rambling, self-serving stories, or make the interviewer drag information out of you piece by piece.

Sample comment: “I wish they knew that I don’t care about past paychecks or stories, just what they are going to do for me and how they will help this company get to the next level.”

8. Prepare intelligent, thoughtful questions. The questions you ask the interviewer are as important to your suitability for the job as the ones the interviewer asks you. Note: asking about pay, benefits, or time off at the start of an interview doesn’t qualify as either intelligent or thoughtful.

9. A professional, polished resume. These things will put you in the “no” pile immediately: typos and grammatical errors; a generic resume with no specifics; an inappropriate email address  a cover letter that’s not keyed to this particular job. When emailing your resume as an attachment, use your full name in the file name, as in “Susan Jones Resume” and not “My Resume.”

10. Don’t forget your manners. Introduce yourself politely and remember the interviewer’s name. Don’t take a seat until offered one. If someone else comes into the interview and is introduced to you, stand up. Say “please” and “thank you.” On the way out, thank the secretary or receptionist—and make sure you got his or her name, too. Send a hand-written thank-you note within twenty-four hours of your interview.

11. Ask for the job. Too many candidates hold back for fear of looking too eager or too anxious. If you think you’re a good fit for the job and you want to work for the company, say so. It shows your passion for the opportunity and your willingness to take risks if you try to close the deal in the interview.

An overall approach to showing you care involves acknowledging individual views, encouraging people, and being sincere in your interest. As a manager, there are four primary ways you can demonstrate to your direct reports that you care:

• listening and being in the moment with your people when they are explaining their problems
• sharing and disclosing information they will find useful or interesting
• knowing something about each of your direct reports
• showing concern, but not counseling

Caring by listening

For listening to be an effective part of showing you care, you have to be in the moment. If you are easily distracted, lost in thought about other pressing matters, or restless and eager for the conversation to be over, then your people will get exactly the opposite impression. It will be clear that you don't care.

Avoid impatient behaviors such as cutting people off in mid-sentence or trying to rush them to make their point. These behaviors tell your direct reports that other things are more important than they are.

To listen in a way that shows you care, actively try to understand. Allow people to finish what they are saying, summarize what they say, and ask questions to ensure your understanding.

Caring through sharing

Sharing and disclosing is about creating an exchange of information that builds trust and shows you care. When you ask for an opinion from one of your direct reports, you should be willing to share your opinion as well. In this way, as you learn about your employees, you allow them to learn about you.

Sharing includes passing on information that direct reports would find relevant to their jobs. This shows your willingness to help them develop in their jobs and their careers. It means going beyond providing the basic information that your people need to do their jobs. Try to pass along anything you think they might find of interest or that will help expand their horizons.

And also disclose appropriate personal information whenever possible. Being a caring manager requires you to make a connection with employees. To do this, you'll need to know something about them, so it's only fair that in return you provide some personal information about yourself.

Caring by knowing about direct reports

To care about your direct reports, you must know them as individuals. To accomplish this, you can ask questions about their lives and observe their behaviors at work. The point is not to pry intimate details from them, but rather to acknowledge and understand their different skills, abilities, and areas of interest. And you can't just do this once and assume you understand them. You must keep in touch with employee concerns and emotions as time goes by.

Treating everyone the same sounds egalitarian and fair, but in practice, people have different needs, aspirations, and tolerances. They're not the same, and treating them as such is the quickest way to demonstrate you don't care about them as individual people. Get to know your direct reports individually. Some may need more attention than others. Some may be motivated by money while others may be focused on having more time off. Discover their individual needs and concerns.

One way to get to know your direct reports is by getting their perspective on the situation, rather than simply having them complete tasks. In addition to asking informational questions such as "Have you completed the inventory?" or "Did you run into any problems?" you need to ask curiosity questions.

Curiosity questions show that you're probing deeper because you care what your people think and how they feel. You show that you respect their various points of view. For example, you could ask "What did you learn from this experience?" or "How would you have done things differently?"

Caring through showing concern
 

As a manager, it's important to let your direct reports know that you want to understand what they're up against. When you show you are sincerely concerned with the things that affect your people, you build trust. But as a caring manager, you need to strike a balance. You must show concern, but avoid taking on the role of therapist.

Part of showing concern is being empathetic. But being empathetic doesn't mean taking on people's troubles; it means understanding how they feel about things. It involves asking yourself questions such as "How would I feel if it were me?" and "What would I want others to say or do?" It also involves keeping an open mind and being receptive to other viewpoints. You'll never understand your direct reports if you hastily dismiss what they say or respond too quickly to other ideas.

As a manager you will have to deal with a wide variety of people in many different situations. When doing so, keep the focus on being helpful, recognize what you can and cannot help with, and find a balance of being empathetic but also firm. There are many techniques you can use to show you care:

• Help, but don't go overboard when someone brings you problems on a regular basis. Select one issue and help with it, but refer the person to coworkers who can help with the others.
• If people ramble and repeat themselves, interrupt to avoid wasting time, but do so by summarizing. This technique shows you're listening.
• Allow venting without encouraging or resisting. If someone is angry, empathize and express your understanding, but don't encourage or resist what's being said, so that eventually the person will run out of steam.
• Deal with chronic complainers by moving them toward solutions. Get them to write down their problems and solutions before you'll discuss things.
• If you need to criticize someone, do so constructively with the focus on helping the person. Be sure to point to the benefits of changing the behavior.
• Ask people how things would need to change to get them more involved. If someone is demotivated, get the person's take on what would make work more exciting and get things moving in that direction.

If you demonstrate to your direct reports that you care about them as individuals, you'll be more likely to build strong, loyal relationships and successful teams. The four primary ways in which you can do this are to listen attentively, share information, know something about each of your reports, and show the right amount of concern. Being able to show your direct reports that you're aware of them as people, understand their needs, and are concerned about those needs is key to managing well.

References

What People Want: A Manager's Guide to Building Relationships That Work

2006, Bacon, Terry R., Davies-Black Publishing, 9780891062165

The Transparency Edge: How Credibility Can Make or Break You in Business

2004, Pagano, Barbara and Elizabeth Pagano , McGraw-Hill, 9780071422543

Would you be surprised to learn that management studies indicate that 50% to 80% of a manager's time is dedicated to communicating in some way? Clearly, the ability to communicate effectively is an integral part of being a manager.

Consistent use of four communication strategies will promote effective communication and help you do a better job directing others:

• being positive
• seeking and providing feedback
• keeping employees in the loop, and
• listening actively

Never underestimate the importance of being positive. It can provide a couple of impressive benefits – a more positive attitude toward work and an increase in productivity among your employees.

There are several aspects to being positive:

• providing positive reinforcement – Giving praise for a job well done or offering encouragement and support as employees complete tasks are ways you can provide positive reinforcement.
• being courteous – Saying "please" and "thank you" demonstrates respect and helps keep communication positive. Also, be prepared to apologize when necessary. Being courteous is a great way to demonstrate respect and encourage positive relationships and working environments.
• making personal connections – Inquiring about your employees' work or following up on a previous conversation shows interest and helps you make personal connections. A brief e-mail, phone call, or conversation is all it takes to demonstrate interest and create positive relationships.
• discouraging negativity – Another way to encourage a positive environment is by discouraging negativity when you encounter it. For instance, don't tolerate gossip, complaining, and negative talk.

Seeking and providing feedback

Seeking and providing feedback is an effective way to improve communication. And the better a team's ability to communicate, the better its chances of success. An environment supportive of open communication can help and will ultimately improve your ability to direct your team.

Improving communication is your responsibility. So a logical place to start is with your own ability. Seek feedback from your employees and colleagues about your ability to communicate.

Ask them questions like, "Am I clear?", "How could I improve?", and "Do you have any suggestions?" Extend your queries to include the team and organization, and you'll solicit feedback that can be used to improve communication throughout the organization.

Keeping employees in the loop

Being positive and seeking and providing feedback are the first two strategies for communicating for clarity and direction. Keeping employees in the loop is the third strategy. When you have to make a decision or a change that affects your team, it's important that you're open and provide an explanation for why you did what you did. When others understand your rationale, they're more likely to trust and support you.

A couple of pointers will help guide your efforts when you're explaining decisions and changes in order to keep your employees in the loop:

• always tell the truth – First, always tell the truth. Getting caught in a lie is the surest way to lose the respect of your employees and to damage your credibility. Be truthful and candid in all your exchanges. When you don't know something, say so.
• share appropriate information – Second, share only appropriate information. For instance, as a manager you may be privy to information such as individual salaries, details of yet-to-be-announced business deals or projects, and client information that you shouldn't share. When discretion or secrecy is necessary, say nothing at all, rather than lying about what you do know

In addition to being truthful and sharing only appropriate information, you should take care to be open and candid. If you're vague or evasive, your employees will question your truthfulness and feel disrespected, and you may lose trust and support. All of this will make it harder for your team to be successful.

Listening actively

Listening actively is a crucial component of communicating for clarity and direction. Active listening provides two very useful benefits – you'll gather more information and build a positive rapport with the other person.

You can be more effective and productive by making an effort to listen actively. Active listening involves giving your full attention, checking for understanding, listening for feelings, and summarizing what you hear.

Always give your full attention to the other person. This demonstrates that you are interested in and value what the person has to say.

As you listen, it's imperative that you don't interrupt. You'll gather more information and gain a better understanding if you wait until the person has finished speaking to respond.

You can check for understanding by restating or paraphrasing what you've heard in your own words. Aside from making sure you properly understand what you're being told, this offers an opportunity for the other person to elaborate or correct misunderstandings.

As you listen to what's being said, also "listen" for feelings. Do this by paying careful attention to body language. Watch for gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements that also convey information. Listen to tone of voice and consider choice of words and changes in delivery, such as hesitation or excitement.

When the conversation is over, summarize the important details of the message. This is an important final step – it provides one more chance to demonstrate interest and gives the speaker another chance to verify and clarify the message, if necessary.

Communication is a huge part of your role as a manager. You're responsible for improving communication on your team. Remember, teams that communicate well achieve better results than teams that don't. Given this fact, you'll want to do whatever you can to encourage good communication. Effective use of the four communicating strategies will help you improve your team's ability to communicate. Being positive, seeking and providing feedback, keeping employees in the loop, and listening actively will help you build an open environment where you can effectively communicate for clarity and direction.

The purpose of management in any type of organization is to make sure available resources are used most efficiently in the pursuit of goals. Organizing is one managerial function that helps ensure resources are used efficiently.

For the purposes of this course, organizing is defined as the process used by managers to define the task and team relationships that help employees work together to achieve goals. As you direct others, efficient use of resources is your responsibility. Organizing your team's efforts will help make the best use of resources as your team pursues its objectives. Generally, the better organized an effort is, the better the results will be. Continuous and consistent organizing can provide you with some benefits that encourage an organized effort and, therefore, are important considerations in your management function.

The structured and clear approach to work that comes from being organized is also important because it promotes efficient use of resources. In Frank's case, had the advice come at the beginning of the instructions, he would've made better use of his time and avoided frustration.

Managers who are efficient at organizing their teams or departments set a good example for their employees. If you're organized, your direct reports will strive to approach work in an organized way too. And the more organized everyone is, the better the outcome. This is just one more reason being organized is important.

The final reason organizing is important is that it pleases clients. Aside from demonstrating your commitment to your managerial role, organized effort typically generates better results. And being recognized for success is a definite career booster.

Organizing: Typical actions

So, how should you go about organizing? You create a structured approach to work that establishes how your team members will work together to achieve their objectives.

This structured approach to work is a formal system of tasks, processes, and work relationships.

The organizing function of defining the structure involves two key actions:

1. identifying what's necessary – You must identify the activities, tasks, and resources necessary to achieve objectives. Defining the tasks and processes to be used to get work done provides clear direction as your team works to accomplish objectives. This includes the allocation of financial resources. Properly organized, your team will always have the resources it needs, when it needs them, to achieve objectives.
2. allocating authority and responsibility – You must also allocate authority and responsibility for the work to be done by defining working relationships. This will help the team work efficiently and involves establishing who's responsible for what and who has authority for making decisions.

Organizing is an ongoing effort that occurs at all levels of an organization. As you organize for your team, other managers are organizing for their teams. Organizing at the company, unit, department, and team levels has a common focus – making sure resources are used efficiently as objectives and goals are achieved.

Because businesses are ever-changing, the structures created need to be flexible. This will help you respond to changes that occur, allowing your team to change or grow as necessary to meet objectives. The primary purpose of the structure is to direct the efforts of others, and they can't follow what they don't know. You need to make sure the structure is clearly communicated to all your employees.

As a manager, you're responsible for the organizing function, which results in the establishment of a formal system or structure to guide your team's work. As you work to establish the structure, you identify the activities, tasks, and resources necessary to achieve objectives. You also create authority and responsibility relationships. Both are necessary to guide how work will be accomplished in your department or on your team. The guiding principle of organizing is to make efficient use of resources while working to achieve objectives.

The purpose of persuasive writing is to motivate the reader to support an idea or take action. To make persuasive writing effective, you should ensure it attracts attention, stimulates interest, and maintains focus. It must also create a desire and prompt a response from the reader.

Example

Dear Homeowner,

[ATTRACT ATTENTION]

Three and a half million homes in the United States will be burglarized this year. Don't let yours be one of them.

[STIMULATE INTEREST]

When you have a SafeGuard Home Alarm System, there's no need to worry. SafeGuard protects your home from unwanted intruders so you can relax, knowing your home is safe.

[MAINTAIN FOCUS]

The SafeGuard Home Alarm system can detect unusual sound in any room. SafeGuard's scanner ignores everyday sounds like crying babies, televisions, or barking dogs. However, hostile noises, such as crashes or breaking glass, will trigger the alarm. Its 110-decibel siren is enough to deter any burglar while alerting your neighborhood to danger.

[CREATE A DESIRE]

A direct phone line connection to your local police station allows SafeGuard to contact the authorities instantly when alerted. Built-in batteries that recharge automatically keep SafeGuard active even during power failures. You can contact our technical support 24 hours a day by calling our toll-free hotline.

[PROMPT A RESPONSE]

Our Customer Service Department is waiting to take your SafeGuard Alarm system order at 555-227-SAFE, or log on to our user-friendly web site and place your order online. Enjoy peace of mind knowing your home is secure - order SafeGuard today.

Sincerely,

(Name and title of salesperson)