Jennifer Leake CMC®
My first official job was in my neighborhood drug store – a job that today is still my BEST JOB EVER! Predominantly young (high school and college) workers knew exactly what was expected of us with training and clear direction. I remember one of Mr. Brandt’s rules – the phone MUST be answered by the third ring. To this day, when I hear a phone ring, I still get nervous after that second ring!
We all felt part of something. The work environment was fun, we had great co-workers, and we loved being there. We'd visit even if we weren’t on the schedule - and if it got busy, we’d help out to serve customers despite not being on the clock. I now know that’s called discretionary effort.
I thought that was what work was all about – you loved your job, knew what your role was, and had a boss that cared about you as a person. My post college career mirrored this experience - I felt valued and productive in several Best Job Ever experiences.
After successfully moving up the ranks in pharmaceutical sales and management, I was promoted into a senior position designed to give me more experience in Finance and Operations. There I encountered the 3 main reasons smart, hard-working, and talented individuals leave a job or get fired: dislike for the job, dislike for the boss, and not feeling appreciated or valued. I was in a poor “job fit”, working with a boss led by micro-management and bullying. After 18 months, I could no longer get motivated to go to work and resigned. My engagement - total commitment, passion for the company and my job - was drained out of me.
That experience led to my passionate commitment to help other companies make sure every employee is in a “good fit” position so they think you are their BEST JOB EVER because they:
- love what they do – they feel they’re in the right job;
- enjoy who they work with – they feel they’re an important part of a strong team; and
- respect who they work for – they believe in your company, what it stands for and who runs it.
Over the last 25 years, I’ve researched, learned and worked with companies throughout the U.S. to understand what makes a strong and successful “people” system. It's a system that's like a 3-legged stool: Hire Right, Engage Employees, and Lead Well. Fail to address any one of these and your stool falls over.
Objective information is a key part of hiring and managing people, and that's why I became an authority on assessments. They supplement your experience and instincts, and help you better know:
- the best applicant for any given position – you want the person you interview to be the employee you hire;
- how to fast start and onboard a new hire so they contribute more quickly;
- ways to coach and manage employees you may have fired otherwise;
- when and how to spend training dollars more wisely, especially when developing career paths and leaders;
- key actions to help managers lead and motivate employees to contribute and produce.
Your business profits are directly tied to the performance of your people. I designed the Best Job Ever People System to give you a blueprint to help with who and how you hire - and to develop and retain employees who contribute to your business growth and profitability.
Two Ways to Start
- Schedule a conversation with me on my calendar.
- Contact me by email.
