Alan D. Benson

Are you an order taker or innovator? How to add value to your life and career Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with great people from all walks of life.

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Pre-employment Testing Helps Identify The Right Employees Pre-employment testing is one of the most effective tools manufacturing companies have at their disposal. This helps the companies weed through the potential applicants waiting at their doorstep looking for a job.

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How An Impactful Diverse Workforce Increases The Bottom Line One of the business concepts you can adopt to make your company more competitive is taking in a diverse workforce.

Recently I attended an educational conference where it was stated that by 2020, the City of Louisville will have a workforce demand for 40,000 additional degreed positions. As part of the conference, the groups gathered together to discuss strategies to ensure that youth go to and graduate from college.  While I adamantly agree that there should be strategies and systems in place to equip youth to further their education, in today’s society, obtaining a degree is only three-fourths of the task. The other one-fourth, or the unknown factor, encompasses increasing your own value proposition.  By including education with an added value proposition, you could dramatically increase your probability of having a sustainable living. Because of globalization and the recession, many companies are analyzing how they are operating their business and implementing strategies to operate leaner and more effectively.  In many instances, organizations have combined, outsourced, or even offshored positions. Those business strategies have led to fewer employment opportunities, thus creating more competition among degreed individuals.  So, how could a college graduate increase his/her probability of having a sustainable living?   Before graduating from college and as early as high school embrace the following mandates: Maintain your values and integrity always. Be a student for achievement in your classroom, community, church, etc… Write a personal business plan.  This would encompass what college you would like to attend, your interests, etc.  In addition, list how you are going to achieve your goals.  This plan should be an action plan and a blueprint for achieving. Get a mentor; someone who could offer wise counsel about life and career opportunities. Conduct informational interviews and do job shadowing to better determine your career path. If you are in high school or college, speak with your counselor and/or career center representative above publications on careers.  Once you narrow your list, ask for names of individuals you could speak to about their career. Learn the skill of developing and sustaining relationships among classmates, professors, and political figures in the community.  This will be a continuous process. Get involved in the political process.  Learn more about the business of politics and how both play a role in society. Learn to operate outside of your own comfort zone.  With globalization and the growth of society, one must learn to respect, embrace, and communicate with all people; if not, you will fall behind. Volunteer in your community.  As competition increases, individuals have to implement various strategies to be competitive, and in some instances, have to reinvent themselves in order to remain competitive. You also have to have a mindset of continuous reflecting and reenergizing.  By surrounding yourself with the aforementioned strategies, you can maximize the possibilities of being competitive in this society. Alan D. Benson is the President of Benson Group, LLC, and author of this article.   Read the full article

Empowered eLearning Courses In the current business climate, employees must be equipped to articulate and offer the correct product or service to customers.

Over the past several months, I have seen the attention to sexual harassment in the workplace come to a boiling point. We are seeing companies take action by removing those who have harassed people; and even if the harassment complaints are allegations, companies are still taking action by removing those accused. Some people question its legitimacy, but trust me, sexual harassment in the workplace is as real as waking up and going to work. I have spoken with countless colleagues and friends who have shared their experiences, from men picking a woman up and their hands landing wherever on her body. Or when a patient exposes himself trying to get the nurses attention.  And when the men were reported, the supervisor generally just says, “Oh, they are just playing and being boys,” with no form of recourse happening. Sexual harassment in the workplace is verbal and nonverbal. It is any unwelcome sexual advances. It is a request for sexual favors and other verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission describes sexual harassment as a form of gender discrimination that is in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court made employers more liable for sexual harassment of their employees.  While the Society for Human Resources Management reported that 62 percent of companies offer sexual harassment training and 97 percent of companies have policies in place, why does sexual harassment in the workplace still persist? In 2018, why 94 percent of women in Hollywood say they were harassed? Part of the main reason why harassment in the workplace still persists is that it is cultural; meaning, the top brass in the organizations have not made a deliberate enough effort to ensure that policies are executed and the harassers are held accountable. Having policies in place is just that, policies in place. In order to have effective policies, operating procedures and processes with outcomes have to be implemented and carried out should harassment occurs. Harassment apathy is another reason it exists in organizations. This occurs for a variety of reasons. For example, it was reported that 62 percent of workers do not say anything when harassment occurs. This could be because of fear of retaliation or losing their job, or an increase of hostility in the workplace. Several companies are doing the right thing when it comes to setting a culture, investigating, and ensuring that employees have a safe working environment since companies can be held liable if they do not protect their employees, but more importantly, because it is the right thing to do. Whether you are a large company or a small business, having a sexual harassment policy in place is a must. The policy is a starting point in establishing a culture and meaning of how the organization is going to operate. Other systems that must be in place include the following:  Leadership Setting the Tone: In order for sexual harassment to stop in any organization, leadership has to be the example and the champion for stopping the harassment. Leaders are also responsible for creating a culture that is harassment free. This involves establishing policies, making sure leaders in the company are trained, knowing the rules, and having integrity. At all times, the leaders need to be held accountable with abiding with company rules.  Sexual Harassment Training: Having periodic training on sexual harassment not only educates your employees, it underscores the importance of this subject matter. The training should cover the law, the company’s policy, where to report harassment, and the employee’s rights.  Sexual Abuse and Molestation Insurance Policy: While large companies have this type of policy, many small businesses have general liability or professional liability insurance and are unaware that those policies do not cover sexual abuse. Sexual Abuse insurance protects a company in the invent that a sexual harassment case comes about. This policy is extremely important because a lawsuit can bankrupt many companies as well as harm that organization’s name.  A Secure and Confidential Reporting System: Most employees, when harassed, are reluctant to report the occurrence out of fear of retaliation.  Employees should feel safe at all times and should feel comfortable in reporting any wrongdoing. An example of having a confidential system is a contact phone line they could call at any time. Some employees are reporting it directly to their supervisor or to Human Resources. Under no circumstances should the employee report harassment to his/her supervisor if the supervisor is the harasser. For too long, sexual harassment has been used as a tool for gaining leverage over employees and having power over people. There are many women and men who have been abused because of this act of aggression. With the Metoo movement in place, people are bringing to light the effects and harm it has caused many people, and now is the time for all companies to do the right thing: that is, treat everyone with respect and dignity. When we have respect for all people and the talents they bring, our country will truly be a greater place in which to live and work. Alan D. Benson is the President of Benson Group, LLC and the author of this article. Read the full article

While completing my masters, I met with one of the school’s administrators to explore opportunities that were available to me after graduate school.  I was wondering how many doors would open for me now that I had an advanced degree from an accredited institution.  The administrator replied and said,” I know this is not the answer you are looking for; however, education is not the only factor needed to open the doorways of opportunities.  I was surprised by this statement because often times we are told education opens the doorway to opportunities and success. As I reflected on our conversation, it became crystal clear to me what he was saying.  While an education is a necessity, it does not necessarily guarantee success in this competitive society. So the question still remained, how does one create opportunities to become successful? One way would be by taking deliberate steps to build and expand your network base. This requires being at the right place at the right time. The other would be creating and promoting a positive personal brand. To expand your network base, it starts with developing relationships with those with shared interests.  You can accomplish this through networking, volunteering with business organizations, and conducting informational interviews. Networking is not a one and done process; it is continuous. It requires being flexible and sometimes operating out of your comfort zone. Second, you have to create your personal brand. Your personal brand is a marketing term that tells the story of who you are as a person. For instance, your brand might convey that you are a likeable, diligent, innovative, and dependable person. If you have that type of brand, many opportunities will come your way.  Networking and having a strong personal brand will put you on the road to accomplishing your goals, but it requires preparation, practice, and follow through.  Below are some tips that will give you focus and direction on being successful in networking and establishing your personal brand. Be true to yourself: Conduct an inventory of who you are as a person. Determine your likes, dislikes, values, and goals you want to accomplish.  Be comfortable in your skin and know who the woman/man is in the mirror. Develop a strategy: Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and do a SWOT analysis to build your business/life plan; then you will know what/who is needed to assist you in achieving your goals. Do the work: After developing a strategy to do the work, realize that it will take faith, relationship building, and a belief that you can turn negatives into positives.    Always remember the people that helped you to become successful: As you become competent in your business, career, and life, remember those that assisted you. Help others: As you grow by doing the work, spread the seed of helping others. By doing so, you will reap greater returns. Always reinvent yourself: To sustain your life or business, you must remain innovative by staying abreast of new practices and trends in this society. You can accomplish this through continuous education, reading journals, research, and being a part of think tanks.  If you exemplify through your character and work, that you are about purpose, service, and determination, people, and groups will gravitate to you and offer support and advice.  Alan D. Benson is the author of this article and President of Benson Group, LLC.   Read the full article

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with great people from all walks of life. Many of them taught me how to add value to my career and strengthen my brand. I also learned about career traps and what it means to be labeled, in an organization, as an “order taker.” An order taker, in the context of this reading, is defined as one that only does what he/she is asked to do; nothing more, nothing less. To avoid this label, one must map out a plan and demonstrate the value he/she could bring to an organization. Adding value to an organization is paramount in today’s competitive market. Companies are not only looking for those who can follow instructions but can be innovative and strategically take the company to greater heights. If you are caught in the trap of being labeled an order taker and desire to be an innovator, there are some self-assessments you should take. You should understand your organization’s culture, the written and unwritten rules, and you must have the skill set to accomplish your plan. You also need to know the movers and shakers of the organization and learn from their actions. If you are lacking on any, learn what is needed. There are additional steps below you should take in order to effectively transition onto the path of being an innovator. By incorporating these steps, you would have a more focused approach and purpose. Be consistent and own your truth: The desire to be an innovator is more than just wanting to get a promotion and make more money. It is truly about believing in your work and being committed to the organization’s mission and cause. This requires you to do a level of self-evaluation and reflection in owning your truth. You have to ask yourself if you are willing to run the race, take rejection, criticism, and through it all, continue to push forward. If you are able to own your truth, you will be able to move throughout the terrain with deeper traction. Listen with the aim of finding solutions: Listening is a skill that requires the ability to hear what is instructed as well as what is needed. For example, if you work in a Marketing Brand Unit and your supervisor ask the question, “I do not know why our clothing line is confused with our competitors?” What s/he could be stating is, we need to rebrand our clothing line from our competitors. This could be an opportunity for you to research and develop a branding strategy for that clothing line. Seek out wise counsel and garner your support: In creating innovation, it would be advisable to run a summary of your ideas to those you trust and respect in your organization. They could give you more insight on the direction of the company, further direction for getting your ideas endorsed, and steps for implementing your strategy.  Be authentic and strategic in introducing your ideas to the decision makers: In today’s world, timing and delivery are everything. When introducing your idea to decision makers, learn how to present your idea according to their style of receiving and understanding information. Moreover, be sure to articulate your ideal in terms of cost, how & when it will be implemented, and resources needed, and most importantly, outline the return on investment (ROI).  Execute your plan with deliberate intent: You are given the green light to implement your idea, so what are your next steps? Take this as an opportunity to solidify your value, intellectual stamina, and credibility within your organization. Map out, deliberately, how you are going to implement your project and reignite support to complete your idea. Keep in mind that mistakes do happen; therefore, institute controls to minimize those mistakes.  Transitioning from an order taker to innovator is a process that requires consistency. It is also a matter of re-engineering your personal brand and having the courage to change. By having the strategy, belief, and courage, you will evolve into being an innovator and others will take notice. Alan D. Benson, President of Benson Group, LLC, is the author of this article.   Read the full article

Can you remember dreaming of becoming a millionaire, a superstar, or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company?   Well, dreaming is a phenomenon that creates imagination, creativity, and ideas. Our dreams could originate from our subconscious thoughts or placed in our spirit. A dream could occur once or reoccur several times. When the same dream reoccurs, it is a call for action. A call to action is an occurrence that continuously prompts your conscience to change and affect a situation. It could be a matter of giving someone advice, starting a business, or to change careers. Putting the pieces of a call for action could be puzzling; therefore, bringing understanding to it requires a spirit of discernment, vision, and willpower.  Incorporating the below steps could also bring about further clarity. Praying and meditating: The power of prayer and meditation gives one direction on what you should do, how you should do it, and when to do it. Journalizing what enters your mind: Write your thoughts down so that you have a record of your thoughts. Organizing your work: After recording it in your journal, turn it into an action plan of execution, outlining the cost, market, product/service, deliverables, goals, etc. Becoming a continuous learner: Researching what has been bestowed upon you and learning the craft, trade, and techniques will elevate your proficiency and efficiency. Seeking wise counsel: Receiving help and advice could give you another perspective that could revolutionize your call to action. This assistance should come from those that are trusted and credible. Timing and follow through are also essential once you have put the pieces together and established a foundation for your call to action. Rudyard Kipling’s poem “IF” says, “If you can dream and not make dreams your master,” is very meaningful, because many of our dreams just remain dormant and never becomes a reality.  Above all, the driving force in making your call to action a reality requires faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. If you incorporate the above strategies and exemplify through character and work with determination, people and groups will gravitate to you and offer support and advice to push your call to action onward and upward. Recognize your dreams and what they are saying to you and be true to yourself! Alan D. Benson is the President of Benson Group, LLC and the author of this article.   Read the full article

I once attended an event where an executive was giving a presentation. Before he presented, his bio was read. After the reading, he thanked the person and said, “Now that you know what I do, I am now going to tell you who I am.”  He discussed how his experiences, the challenges he overcame, and how the people he met helped to shape his life. He further explained while he was afforded access to various opportunities, it was the challenges that tested his fortitude and determination to achieve, and how those challenges made him a stronger and wiser person.  Like the executive, we all have had numerous experiences, people in our life, and challenges that influenced our thoughts and direction. Those experiences, whether positive or negative, have impacted our faith, vision, and stamina in running the race of life. Regardless to where we are today, it is key that we fulfill our God-given purpose. Part of the ingredient to finding and carrying out our purpose is to conduct an inventory of our life, skills, and creating a personal PLOT. By completing the two and developing an action plan, you would position yourself to reignite your purpose in your life.  SELF-INVENTORY Below are preliminary questions you should ask yourselves to get a clear perspective of who you are, what you stand for, and where you are going. If you are not comfortable and unclear with any of your answers, determine what is driving your behavior. If it is unclear to determine, please seek wise counsel to assist you. Who am I, what do I believe in, will not tolerate, and what impact do I have on others? Have I planned my life accordingly and with purpose? Have I been focused on reaching my goals? How do I respond when I have setbacks; do I take setbacks as an opportunity to regroup and learn or do I fall apart? CREATING YOUR PLOT Your PLOT is geared to explore and bring to light your passion, limitations, opportunities, and traps on your journey. This process, like the above questions, will require you to reflect and conduct an inventory of yourself. Below are examples of questions you should ask yourself. Passion What is a task you love to do? What are your natural talents and skills that will make you marketable? What is a task that is extremely easy for you to accomplish that others find difficult? What is your brand and what others say are your talents? What are your values that will set you apart from others?  Limitations What is a task that is tough for you to accomplish? What skills do you not have that is needed to achieve your goals? What fears you have that hinders you in accomplishing your goals? Opportunities What benefits would you receive on your career choice? What new technology can help you? What is the forecasted growth of the career/industry you are aspiring to enter? Who could mentor you and what organizations can you join? Traps What are the challenges that could hinder you from accomplishing your goal(s)? Is your career job/industry stable, transforming, or becoming obsolete? Is the economy affecting you from achieving your goal(s)? Are my fears my traps? By applying a PLOT to your life, this will give you more direction and focus. After gaining insight into your PLOT, develop an action plan for correcting and/or carrying out your discoveries. All the best in your future endeavors! Alan D. Benson is the President of Benson Group, LLC and the author of this article.   Read the full article

Spirituality seems out of place in a business. But unknown to many, it may be the key to success ‐ both in your personal and business life. Neal Samudre, Author of 6 Reasons Spiritual Leaders Are More Successful in Life stated a mistake we make in discussing leadership is that we pin the spiritual leader as only leading a church or family in spiritual matters. While it’s true that a spiritual leader might do this, a spiritual leader is also one who leads a business. When your beliefs are integrated into your daily routine, you begin to lead a wholesome life ‐ one that does not drift from day to day but instead lives with a purpose. Spirituality refers to your connection to a bigger awareness. It is the belief that there is a deeper meaning to life than accomplishing the trivial tasks that occupy our waking moments. When you live a purpose‐driven life, it is easier to maintain control and direction. All of your decisions will be influenced by your morals, values, and aspirations ‐ all of which are shaped by your spirituality. If you integrate that into your business, you become aware of things beyond what is obvious. That gives you vision, empathy and a sense of social responsibility. Once that is manifested into your life, it will lead to the positive encouragement of the people who are working with you ‐ increasing employee engagement in a productive and wholesome manner. Here are the steps that you can take to ensure that your spirituality and purpose will lead you to success.  Recognize your purpose and gifts in life Most people do not pay heed to their purpose in life. It is not as difficult to recognize as you think. Concentrate on your gifts or what you are good at. Your gift is something that is unique to you because it is shaped by your abilities and experience in life. This is something that you can use to accomplish your purpose in life.  Reach out to a higher calling to seek direction and answers The best way to identify your purpose is to connect to a higher calling that will direct you to the answers that you are seeking. A higher calling involves a supreme being or power that is beyond you and those in your environment. Since spirituality is all about the bigger awareness, you need to connect to a higher power to help you find the answers that will clarify your purpose in life.  Meditate on the specifics Once you have identified your purpose according to your “higher calling,” you should now meditate on the specifics. You need to think about how this will be translated into actions. How can you satisfy your purpose and let it be manifested in everything that you do ‐ in your work, decisions, investments, and the various areas in your life? Meditation can help you define these specifics so you can finalize your plans towards success.  Implement the specifics through a plan As you complete the connection between spirituality and your purpose in life, careful and strategic planning will allow you to translate it into actual activities in your life. Come up with specific tasks and ideas that will help you put your life’s purpose into practice. As you define your spirituality and combine it with your purpose in life, it will help you use your spiritual gifts to make all your endeavors successful. In Christianity, a spiritual gift is something natural or miraculous that is given by the Holy Spirit. These new found knowledge about yourself will make you feel empowered and soon, it will resonate with your every thought process and movement ‐ leading you to a successful and fulfilling life. The author of this article is Alan D. Benson, President of Benson Group, LLC.   Read the full article

Pre-employment testing is one of the most effective tools manufacturing companies have at their disposal. This helps the companies weed through the potential applicants waiting at their doorstep looking for a job. When tests are given before employment, it helps employers assess the pool of talent. Testing is also one of the most important tools used to address the skills gap. Without testing, it could hurt the company in the long run. The insight it provides takes a look at the potential of the incoming applicants. With some key markers, it identifies productivity rate, potential to succeed,  and better completion of training, This is important as a Deloitte study shares that a lot of manufacturing companies believe there is a shortage of skilled workers. So much so that there is a big possibility that the shortage would equate to almost a million workers every 10 years for the next two decades. This is because there are just not enough workers with the necessary training and skills to meet the modern demands of manufacturing companies. This shortage also adversely affects the bottom line of companies. A recent Manufacturing Institute report explained how the talent shortage takes out about 11 percent from a company’s profit margin every year. Dollar for dollar, this comes out to about $3,000 for every employee.  This is the reason why a lot of manufacturing companies prefer to put in pre-employment tests. With testing, it helps them identify the job candidates that would be best suited for their company. Moreover, it paints a picture of those who are able to learn quickly which is beneficial to the organization. In a way, pre-employment testing helps give the companies a peek into a potential candidate’s aptitude to succeed. This can result in lowering the skills gap, lower turnover rate, and improve the company’s bottom line. Alan D. Benson is the author of this article. Read the full article

There is a long list of things to do when you decide to take up a business partner especially with the business documents. However, there are some things you also need to keep in mind. One would be aligning your business interests. Developing partnerships means combining a lot of interests and you need to make sure that you understand and agree on these from the beginning. You can formalize these agreements with the contract to keep everything in black and white. From here, you should be able to pursue common interests while growing your business. By Alan D. Benson of Benson Group, LLC Read the full article

One of the business concepts you can adopt to make your company more competitive is taking in a diverse workforce. As the business landscape takes on a global economic approach, it makes sense to put in concrete steps. Those steps must be deliberate in your efforts of creating workforce diversity within your ranks. This is one of the reasons why Time.com shared that Google spent about $150 million to promote diversity in their workplace. Simply put, diversity means having individuals in the office coming from various backgrounds. This encompasses characteristics as well as experiences of your people. Most of the key components when you start talking about a diverse workplace environment would include race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. To broaden skill base in the company and become more competitive within the industry, diversity is a welcome development. However, as big as an asset that it can be, there are costs to it as well. Management costs will show up as you start to look into a diverse workforce. This could come in the form of coaching, relationship building as well as conflict resolution within the office. This is normally an ongoing cost as refreshers for old employees and constant training for new hires. HRdive.com explains that it is an accepted truth that training and development incur a cost. There is also the cost of legal compliance as you start to account for multiple considerations from a diverse group of people in your office. SHORT AND LONG RUN IMPACT OF HAVING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE As you put together a diverse team of people in your office, here are a few of the benefits you can expect from this setting. SHORT RUN IMPACT Language Skills – Diversity in people would mean enjoying the benefits of a diverse language set in your office. This makes it easier to reach out to more markets and even bring your company outside your comfort zone. This allows you to expand operations in other markets. Creativity in the workplace – Diverse workforce brings various solutions to the table when trying to achieve a common goal. Multiple approaches to the same problem increase the chances of finding the most suitable solution. LONG-RUN IMPACT Productivity – Diversity in your team brings you a competitive advantage because of increased productivity. As the desire to work more effectively with different groups of people increase, the result of output increases as well. Adaptability – As diverse talents and experiences come into your company, teams can adapt to changes pretty well. This allows flexibility within your organization in addressing various challenges along your way. According to the Yale Economic Review, a diverse workforce brings a delicate balance between the positive and negative factors or an organization. However,  the benefits far outweigh the risks and costs it brings. Alan Benson is the author of this article and the President of Benson Group, LLC – a Human Resources Management and Organizational Development company. Read the full article

One of the business concepts you can adopt to make your company more competitive is taking in a diverse workforce. As the business landscape takes on a global economic approach, it makes sense to put in concrete steps. Those steps must be deliberate in your efforts of creating workforce diversity within your ranks. This is one of the reasons why Time.com shared that Google spent about $150 million to promote diversity in their workplace. Simply put, diversity means having individuals in the office coming from various backgrounds. This encompasses characteristics as well as experiences of your people. Most of the key components when you start talking about a diverse workplace environment would include race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. To broaden skill base in the company and become more competitive within the industry, diversity is a welcome development. However, as big as an asset that it can be, there are costs to it as well. Management costs will show up as you start to look into a diverse workforce. This could come in the form of coaching, relationship building as well as conflict resolution within the office. This is normally an ongoing cost as refreshers for old employees and constant training for new hires. HRdive.com explains that it is an accepted truth that training and development incur a cost. There is also the cost of legal compliance as you start to account for multiple considerations from a diverse group of people in your office. SHORT AND LONG RUN IMPACT OF HAVING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE As you put together a diverse team of people in your office, here are a few of the benefits you can expect from this setting. SHORT RUN IMPACT Language Skills - Diversity in people would mean enjoying the benefits of a diverse language set in your office. This makes it easier to reach out to more markets and even bring your company outside your comfort zone. This allows you to expand operations in other markets. Creativity in the workplace - Diverse workforce brings various solutions to the table when trying to achieve a common goal. Multiple approaches to the same problem increases the chances of finding the most suitable solution. LONG-RUN IMPACT Productivity - Diversity in your team brings you a competitive advantage because of increased productivity. As the desire to work more effectively with different groups of people increase, the result of output increases as well. Adaptability - As diverse talents and experiences come into your company, teams can adapt to changes pretty well. This allows flexibility within your organization in addressing various challenges along your way. According to the Yale Economic Review, a diverse workforce brings a delicate balance between the positive and negative factors or an organization. However,  the benefits far outweigh the risks and costs it brings. Alan Benson is the author of this article and the President of Benson Group, LLC – a Human Resources Management and Organizational Development company. Click to Post