Transforming Leadership and Hiring in the Face of Global Challenges

Discover the secrets to cultivating a thriving workplace culture with my special guest Nicole, the brains behind a cutting-edge staffing firm. Together, we reveal the power of leadership in transforming the workspace into a hub of enthusiasm and innovation. My personal insights from Global Core Strategies and Consulting, paired with Nicole's wisdom, shed light on the necessity for trust and effective communication amidst today's talent shortages. Hear us out as we recount the remarkable adaptability witnessed during the pandemic, and how staffing solutions were reimagined to keep businesses resilient.

Recruiting is no longer a one-way street, and in our conversation, we dissect the contemporary complexities of drawing in top talent. As candidates now dictate the tempo, we underscore the imperative of constructing an alluring narrative for both the role and the organization. Nicole and I unpack the must-haves for modern job seekers—flexibility, work-life harmony, and cultural synergy—as we navigate the transparent and values-driven recruitment landscape of the present day.

In an act of solidarity with the underdogs of the business sphere, we shine a spotlight on the hiring hurdles faced by small companies and share cost-effective strategies that can tip the scales in their favor. If you're grappling with high turnover or in need of managerial hires without breaking the bank, this episode offers a treasure trove of insights. We round off with an inspiring tale of a family-led initiative that's making dreams come true by facilitating over 500 adoptions, celebrating their commitment to breaking financial barriers and empowering women in leadership. Join us for a journey into the heart of effective leadership, innovative staffing, and the profound impact of passionate initiatives.

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Just Make A Difference: Leading Under Pressure by Ron Harvey

“If you don’t have something to measure your growth, you won’t be self-aware or intentional about your growth.”

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Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or entity. The information provided in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before implementing any suggestions or recommendations made in this podcast. The speakers and guests are not responsible for any actions taken by listeners based on the information presented in this podcast. The podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or services. The speakers and guests make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this ...

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to Unpacked Podcasts with your host leadership consultant, ron Harvey of Global Core Strategies and Consulting. Ron's delighted to have you join us as he unpacks and shares his leadership experience, designed to help you in your leadership journey. Ron believes that leadership is the fundamental driver towards making a difference. So now to find out more of what it means to unpack leadership, here's your host, ron.

Speaker 2: 0:27

Harvey. Good morning everyone. This is Ron Harvey. I'm the vice president and chief operating officer of Global Core Strategies and Consulting.

Speaker 2: 0:34

We are a leadership firm based out of Columbia, south Carolina. We've been around for 10 years and our main purpose in our organization is really to help organizations create a winning culture by developing the best leaders possible. Our goal is to really help organizations have a company that people want to work for, that they want to show up and they're not driving and sitting in the parking lots and all I got to go in this building. We try to want to help our leaders be the best leader possible, because people have a choice of who they want to lead them and even if a company promotes you doesn't necessarily mean people are behind you 100%. So we work on individuals and leaderships and teams and trust and communication and conflict Love what we do, so we're happy to. At the end of the day, if you ever need anything, just look us up Global Core Strategies and Consulting. We're on LinkedIn and we also have a phenomenal website that will answer a lot of questions.

Speaker 2: 1:20

But today, what we do? Every single Tuesday we have people from around the globe that we sit down and have a conversation with called Unpacked, with Ron Harvey, and we talk with leaders that are phenomenal in all ways of diversity, if you will, answering questions that sometimes you don't hear in a boardroom or you don't hear in general conversations. So I will tell you that they're really good, because they don't know the questions. Neither do I. We're going to have a real open, candid, behind the curtain conversation that we're going to share with you publicly. So the camera is running, there's live TV, if you will, and we have real conversations. So I'm super excited to have Nicole with us this morning and we'll hear her story. I'll share it in our podcast. But, nicole, welcome to the show and thank you for saying yes.

Speaker 3: 2:00

Thank you for having me, ronald. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited for this unknown rapid fire questions, so it'll be a great conversation.

Speaker 2: 2:09

Yes, yes. Can you share, nicole, because I want people to know this is business development as well as access to you. Can you tell people a little bit about your company and, once you finish sharing that, how do people reach you? And we'll do it again at the end for those that may miss it.

Speaker 3: 2:21

Yeah, absolutely so. We really are full service staffing, and the reason why I say full service is we're able to service at every stage of business. So we have our fractional roles that are great for those solo entrepreneurs or smaller businesses that have some holes and gaps of things falling in between, and they're able to bring in team members that can fill as well as five hours a week. So it's a really great way for entry level roles to begin, and then we do all the way staffing all the way up to executive search. We do flat fee. So we really want to, and our roots, I would tell you, are serving businesses and so we wanted to be a disruptor in the staffing industry from what we saw, and so we're able to bring a lot of different solutions to our clients in their needs for talent. And you can go to our website, bosunbosunsolutionscom.

Speaker 2: 3:11

Thank you so much, nicole. We'll dive in. You know, one of the things that we look at. You know 2020, let's just say COVID time. I lost a lot of time on COVID, you know, and it hasn't gone away, so it's still hanging around and it seems like it's angrily saying I'm not going anywhere. But from COVID to where we are now for you and your business and you think about leadership. You know we talk about it all the time. What role did you play doing all that time? How did you help your team stay together and take care of your clients? What was important that you had to do during COVID? Because a lot of people didn't know what to do during COVID. How did you manage to survive and thrive in that time?

Speaker 3: 3:45

So COVID was kind of like an interesting real-time case study and focus group for us, because when we first started pre-COVID, we were really mainly the fractional support. So we were filling everything from assistance, bookkeepers, social media, ops, people, you name it for business owners, and that was really 90 to 95% of our business was in that space. And so during COVID, you know, obviously we all had that moment of like, freak out and like who's going to do what first and what do we do? But what we found was what we believe to be true of business owners needing to have a nimble solution, and not every role maybe warrants it from a time perspective, from a budget perspective, or the business isn't ready for it to have a traditional employee, and we believe that there needed to be a nimble fractional way. We were now seeing that live out during COVID. So where clients were having to lay off employees, maybe scale back their hours, our contractors and our team members that were with our clients, they really stayed status quo because they were able to be nimble. They say, hey, I know we were doing 15 hours of business development. Obviously that's slow. Let's drop it down to five and let's pivot in some of the responsibilities during this downtime. So we actually really thrived.

Speaker 3: 5:03

We had a banner year in 2020 and 2021. And I think it was because business owners saw like, oh, if I had had a traditional set salary employment, I would have really been forced to either say I can no longer absorb this or I'm going to have to figure out a way to absorb it at the detriment of a business. And so it was very interesting for us because we were like, okay, what we believe to be true actually was obviously no one wanted to see that live out in those circumstances, but it really did provide a valuable resource. And then, post COVID, that's where there are real talent solutions and recruiting came in, because now we had our same clients saying, hey, guess what? No one wants to come to work. I can't find anyone. It's no longer a post it and forget it. I need help. And that's where we said, okay, we've already know how to recruit, we already have these processes in place. Now let's bring talent directly to our clients. And that's where that new talent strategy and service lines came into place.

Speaker 2: 6:03

Wow, phenomenal, thriving, knowing that time frame and I know you spend a lot of time because you're right. One of the things you said in your conversation I like to unpack is not being able to find talent. And you still hear that You're a leader in organization and we're speaking to leaders across the globe right now. What advice do you give to leave that you hear say that all the time I can't find talent. I mean there's a talent shortage and I'm in Columbia, south Carolina, and we struggle with talents shortages because our college students graduating, they don't stay in town, they go to other places and we're trying to get our arm wrapped around it. What advice do you offer to leaders that are struggling with talent shortages and can't seem to recruit the right people or even enough of those people?

Speaker 3: 6:40

So I think the biggest thing is you know, I'd love to say that we have the secret sauce to finding it, but I think the market that we're in right now is recruiting talent is becoming a full time job, and so when you are in a leader position, number one, recruiting is not your day job, right? And so, like I said, we're no longer in like, hey, throw something up on, indeed, and I bet we'll get thousands of resumes and we'll just draw a name and I'm sure we'll get a great pick. It's just not that world anymore, and so it really is becoming a full, dedicated resource. You need to have to that initiative, and I think what happens a lot is leaders go, okay, yeah, we need somebody, and they'll post it, and they forget it and they're not presenting themselves, because that's the other thing is, we are in a candidate's market, we are not in a business or under market, so you need to be selling yourself, and a lot of job descriptions we see come through our very lackluster, you know, and they're not being presented that way.

Speaker 3: 7:38

They get on interviews. Business owners aren't coming with the insight of I need to present the opportunity and why you want to work here and sell my company, so to speak, on why this is a good opportunity. Some are still coming with a you know we'll get back to you mentality. Well, candidates have a lot of choice right now, so there's a lot of creativity that goes into our recruiting. You know, are their bonuses, are their hybrid options, what are some perks, what are things that you're offering that your competitors aren't? And we want to kind of put together a great marketing package for you and our recruitment efforts to attract that talent, even part time job now to really fill a role. And so I think leaders are in a hard space because it is a lot and it does become your full focus while you are in those hiring waves and hiring modes and candidates are moving fast. So you got to really make sure that you are in a place to capture those candidates, interview them and then move quickly on them.

Speaker 2: 8:35

Yes, people have options now, so they're not sitting around waiting and hoping that you call them back for two or three weeks before. That used to be the case, like I just hope they call me because it wasn't the market that it is today. Is there a list? I don't know if it does exist or not and, being that you're in the industry, is there a list that you would say one of the top three to four things that the new workforce is asking for used to be a nice job and and they stay forever and it has some benefits, some health insurance opportunities. It's changed according to what studies say. What are some top things that new workforce people are looking for when they go into a company you know, such as social impact? What are some of the things that really matter to the new workforce? What are they?

Speaker 3: 9:14

Yeah. So I think you know first and foremost would be flexibility, balance, health on all fronts mental, physical, financial. You know all of that. They really are wanting to have a well rounded experience and so being able to present those things that you're bringing to your candidates and your employees as well, really just kind of understanding and really you know you don't want to match with talent that isn't a match for your culture. So, being upfront, in fact, I have a good friend and he sends a lot of work our way.

Speaker 3: 9:45

He talks that people will naturally self eject and I love that term because sometimes we kind of go oh well, I hired this person, so it has to work, it has to work, it has to work and whether it's ego or pride, or they made the decision so it has to work, it's just not a good fit. So be transparent in those initial conversations. Let them know what's important to you, what your culture is, what you expect of your employees, whether it's, you know, the service that they're giving, the environment that we have, and that will naturally, you know, bring in the talent that is attracted to that. So I think every candidate coming in is wanting and needing different things somewhat purpose, somewhat balance. But if you've got to really have a good understanding of what your organization is, because you can't be feeding every kid a different meal, right? So you've got to know what is my organization, what is important to us, what do I want to provide, and then let me align with those candidates that that's also important to them.

Speaker 2: 10:41

Yes, wow, thank you so much, nicole. Is it fair to say you know, unpacking again that before it was just a candidate being interviewed, now candidates are actually interviewing organizations. So what's shift that? Because that's changed drastically. You know and I've no serve in HR and normally it's just you're just lucky to get this job, you're lucky with interviewing you that mentality has changed as well. You kind of got to be lucky that they're showing up for the interview.

Speaker 3: 11:07

Yeah, I think it's two things from what I see. One, I think you know, different generations are valuing different things. I don't know that every person coming into the workforce right now has a goal to climb the career ladder. They're valuing lifestyle, they're valuing options. They're valuing freedom more than you know. Maybe my generation, where it was like you start at the bottom and, man, you are just trying to get to that top. That's not the vibe, that's not the importance to some of the younger generations or generations coming in and then they have options.

Speaker 3: 11:36

I mean you can work for a company, not even in your country. You can work correctionally. You can get on a site like Upwork and collect as much work or you know money that you want to. So there's so many more other opportunities based on technology. Geography is not always an issue. So that's where we really have to sit down with a client and we kind of say give me everything in your toolbox that I can offer these candidates. Right, what do you have to be able to align and give them as opportunities, value, you know, bonuses, whatever that looks like, because, yeah, if it doesn't sound like a good fit for them, they're going to move on. So I always say in real estate there's buyers and sellers, markets we are in a buyers market right now, and so we need to be presenting in that way.

Speaker 2: 12:21

Wow, phenomenal interview for people that are listening, because everybody's struggling with this right now. So, when you think about organizations and that are doing interviews that are bringing people in, how important or what is the following level of importance? That people don't want to be in the office five days a week anymore. They're not really eight hours every day. I mean it's so much flexibility that they want. What do you tell the organization that wants to stick with the status quo in the office, five days a week, eight hours a day. Here's your vacation time, here's the corporate ladder and it's very structured and there's no flexibility? What do you tell that organization if that's what you're dealing with right now?

Speaker 3: 12:55

Yeah. So we like to be very transparent. We actually don't ever go into a relationship or post a job without feeling that we will be able to source something for this. So if someone comes in like that, you know we typically say then you need to be patient, we need to see what other offerings we can bring, whether it's salary, where's compensation, whether it's bonuses, whether it's benefits. And then you know, first and foremost, like let's walk through the reasoning behind that. Because if the reasoning is control, if the reasoning is distrust, well, we're going to have a bad candidate experience from the start, right? So if you tell me well, it's because we are a marketing company, it's a creative space, I need people to play off of each other and that's really important to me, Okay, well, that's something we can present to a candidate. Collaboration is very important. Brainstorming is very important. It's a team environment. If I say you need to be there at 8am to 5pm and that's it, and the boss wants to make sure he sees you clock in and clock out, that's just going to be a good experience.

Speaker 3: 13:55

And typically, if we have situations where we feel like it's not going to be a great experience, we may not take those clients on. I think we want to get to the heart of the why. We want to understand expectations, both in time, and then we want to talk through well, what are some other fringe benefits we can supply and give them the reasoning on why this is needed. Because I do think you know, business owners have the right to decide what they want their culture and their working environment to be, Absolutely. Having said that, you also need to understand what the market is, and so let's make sure that those are enlightenment. I can say that I want everybody to wear a tutu every day, but if no one wants to wear a tutu, I'm not going to have a company. So it really is just making sure everything's in alignment there.

Speaker 2: 14:35

Wow, I love the word to drop culture in there, which is what we focus on. You know, and I think leaders are responsible for the culture you know in the organization. So, I think, no solid information. So when you're in an organization or you're looking at hiring, let's shift a little bit. You know more women in leadership roles, more diversity at higher levels. I don't organizations that want to be able to say I want to be more inclusive, I want to make sure that we're changing the landscape and our organization or our company, we want to make sure it looks like the people that we serve. What advice do you give to those companies that struggle at recruiting a diverse workforce?

Speaker 3: 15:07

That's a good question. So you know, I really do believe that. Again, back to like the heart of that, right? So if you feel that you need to have DEI experience because that's the buzzword, you're not going to be happy with the DEI experience, right, if you understand? Hey, I'm serving a diverse client base and I have no representation of that. So here are some clients that I like.

Speaker 3: 15:29

We do a lot with this, with coaching Maybe. I'm serving a lot of diverse women and I am coaching them as business leaders, and I realize that I have no diverse coaches. No one is going to understand what they are up against, challenges they have. Well, that we can understand and get behind, right? If you are saying I need DEI because DEI is the buzzword and I need to do that, again, back to the candidate experience and why we're doing that. So if that's the case, then again, the way that we're going to present that recruiting effort is because we want to be a company that comes in and understands our clients, and the reality is our clients are in a diverse space and they are women leaders. I cannot have a non-diverse male talk to this woman and understand her challenges and how to guide and coach that, and so this is why this is important and this is the experience I want. That's a very different conversation to me than just a blanket. Let's check the box. Okay, great, we look diverse. Let's move forward.

Speaker 2: 16:27

Yes, nicole, you said it. Now. Do not check the box just because it's a buzzword. Like really understand the why and the value that it adds and the difference that you're trying to make in the culture you're trying to create in your organization. It can't be a check the box that shows up red flags for a client or a participant or candidate. If that's all you care about is checking the box, then I'm not interested. I want to see the implementation and the work and the why behind it.

Speaker 2: 16:49

So candidates are asking a lot of questions of the company they know who they want to work for. I love that you shared that. They may not come in saying how do I climb the corporate ladder? They may be there for a very specific reason of what they wanted. It may be a year, maybe two years, those times of where people stand 40 years and they just go along to get along and get to retirement. That is so far away from where we are now that, and I think it's important that we pay attention to that.

Speaker 2: 17:13

Let's pivot a little bit again. Smaller companies it's usually budget is an issue to get someone to help, like what your company does. They're doing everything in that organization. What comes first the chicken or the egg? They need your services but they haven't created enough revenue to bring you in. What recommendations do you have smaller companies that's doing everything and having figured out how to grow their company so they can serve their candidates or they can serve their clients better and they can't do it all themselves. That's the first thing I said. You can't do everything and expect the growth.

Speaker 3: 17:40

Yeah. So I mean, first and foremost, I would say you know, one thing that was really important to us, with our small business roots and who we want to serve, is to have a service line made for that exact scenario and we have our full fee, which is just a flat 5000. And that is great for a lot of roles that business owners whether it's entry level, high turnover, you know anything that is kind of that manager and below, and it really allows them. You know, when you start breaking down the time, the expense when you do not have, you know, corporate, indeed, accounts or recruiting management, and not to mention all the additional kind of AI technology we have in doing outreach and then doing interviews, and then, of course, the cost of if you hire the wrong candidate, right like you are not an expert recruiter, and so when you really started breaking down all those costs, $5000 we felt was a very manageable expense for a business owner and something that still comes with that guarantee of a replacement, still comes with background check, vetting, everything, and so it was kind of like let's have a line. I don't think every role warrants a 2030% of a salary. That's not something business owners can absorb and I don't think every role warrants it. So we wanted to bring a solution that was like hey, let's take this off your plate, because when you need talent, you need talent.

Speaker 3: 18:54

When you've hit that point, your hair is on fire, things are slipping through the cracks, you're not serving. Let's just take this off your mind. Know that we're going to bring you the candidates and all you're responsible for is making that decision and onboarding that client and set or a candidate. I should do that, so you know we do have ways to do that. If you are not in that space to even do that, I think you need to truly block your week and you are focusing on recruiting. You're not doing both. You're not coming in and out. You are literally serving as a dedicated recruiter to your company. You are reviewing resumes, you are going through screenings, you are scheduling interviews and you are focused on recruiting. You're gonna miss candidates if you're not, if you're not focused on that time, you're not gonna take the effort in screening and eventually you're gonna get to the point where it's like you're breathing, sounds like you're great, come on in on Monday, and that's certainly not a space that you want to be hiring.

Speaker 2: 19:47

Awesome small business owners that run companies like ours. Normally, when you first start off, you're doing all the interviews. What if I'm running the company and I'm not good at interviewing and I still need help, but I'm struggling with the budget piece of it and I'm an executive coach and I get to work with small business owners, I'm thinking of where I would introduce you to quite honestly, as you're talking, and I have some of them that, just like Ron, I gotta hire people but I'm not good at interviewing. They've had a really hard time. Who they recruit? It turns over really fast.

Speaker 3: 20:12

So one, if you're just not good at interviewing but you still have a great culture, you retain talent, it's great. It's just that's not maybe your skill set or you don't totally trust your gut on what you're doing. Reach out to other mentors, other business owners that know you and know your culture. Maybe let them do kind of a second interview, like, hey, really like this guy, here's what I liked about him. Can you just take 30 minutes with him, tell me what you think, tell me if I'm off. This is a really crucial role to my company. So engage some of those relationships you have outside of that. Even spouses are great. They know you, they know how you work, they know what's gonna make you, make you tick one way or the other, and so you know, engage that just to really have a set of eyes on that.

Speaker 3: 20:51

But if you were in the latter, what you mentioned of, like I've got, I'm constantly having turnover, I'm having issues well, my advice is gonna be you probably need a coach, there's probably something else going on there, probably gonna send them over to you, ron, and you know, say like, okay, well, what's behind all that turnover? Right, Do we not have a good onboarding process? Do we not have a good training process? Do we have a culture issue? What's going on there? Because we shouldn't have this level of turnover. So I think you know either camp you're in, we definitely can assist with that, but I think there's different elements that need to be addressed based on I just don't feel like I'm a great interview or man, I can't keep anybody. They're rolling through here every six months.

Speaker 2: 21:29

Yes, yes, it sounds like we need to do this up at another time, have another conversation, because exactly right is that we can address both. So, regardless of what camp you in, there's something behind it and we need to figure out what's behind it and what's the best approach going forward. I wanna spend time on our fun questions. I call it the rapid fire questions, and so I told Nicole as we come in, we do it and it's nothing real serious, but it's just allowing us just to have fun with our audience. So I'm gonna go through a couple of those and then I'll come to the closing of our session here today. So if you're traveling and you can go anywhere that you wanna go and it was both airplane would you prefer a boat or airplane?

Speaker 3: 22:04

Ooh, I'm gonna go airplane.

Speaker 2: 22:06

You're gonna go airplane. You wanna get there right.

Speaker 3: 22:08

It feels, faster feels faster.

Speaker 2: 22:09

yeah, yeah, yeah. Pizza or seafood, Seafood. Okay, do you prefer the beach or the mountains?

Speaker 3: 22:21

Ooh, that's a hard one. I'm split, by the way, but I'm on a real Montana kick these last few years, so I'll go mountains.

Speaker 2: 22:26

You're going to the mountains, awesome, awesome. So if you had all the money in the world, what organization would you immediately donate to?

Speaker 3: 22:35

Ooh well, we actually have an organization that we work with. It's called Sacred Selections. We've actually been a business advisory board member and donor there for seven years now, and it focuses on raising funds for families to adopt.

Speaker 2: 22:49

Really Tell us more about that. I mean, I know we're in a rapid fire, but I've never heard. Can you share with our audience a little bit more, so you get to promote? Let's promote them.

Speaker 3: 22:56

Yeah, absolutely. So. Funny enough, it's actually my parents' organization they were in the medical space sold their medical lab to LabCorp. This was 15 years ago and my mom was like, okay, you had your fun, now it's my fun. And she really wanted to get involved in adoptions. And the more they researched on why families weren't adopting, it was purely financial. The young couples did not have $40,000 for attorney and adoption fees and so she sort of said, well, if we can take the financial barrier out, would you adopt? And they said, yes, so they go around the country. They've actually just now kind of turned it over to the next regime that is going to take this mission even further and they've done over 500 fully funded adoptions just through volunteer organizations and raising money and it's been amazing. So, yeah, we've been a part of that for seven years and it's been awesome.

Speaker 2: 23:49

Wow, congratulations and kudos for them. Figuring out, though, what was holding people back and everything that capital makes a difference. So congratulations for your company, supporting it for so many years. Your parents said, hey, what do we do next? We've had plenty, we want to do something different. Nicole, is there anything? When you think of women in leadership, I want to lean in and you can answer questions I can. What are some of the things that women that are in leadership roles, because it's still pretty challenging sometimes. What are some of the things that women can do to make sure their voice is heard, that they're seen in a room without coming across as aggressive? You hear a lot of women say well, if I said and I'm not a fan of the word aggressive, because a man can do the same thing and it's not considered aggressive how can women show up and be assertive, not aggressive, or be taken as aggressive, and still be successful in the space?

Speaker 3: 24:32

Yeah. So I have kind of a unique view on this because I served as an executive assistant for so long and, yes, the people that I were working for were the boss, but there's a lot of control you have as an executive assistant. So I kind of have a perspective of you don't have to be the loudest in the room, you don't have to be the one demanding attention, respect, control. There are a lot of ways that you can show up and serve and be respected and be leaders without having to feel that you have to be a man or show up as a man or how a man would. So I think every person man, woman you have a unique gift that God's given you. You have a unique ability.

Speaker 3: 25:16

You may be a fantastic leader and can serve as that mouthpiece and speaker. Other people may be a leader that is more behind the scenes and nurturing and is an amazing manager. So I think finding, regardless of your gender, what makes you an amazing leader and leaning into that, and people will naturally see that they will put you in those positions and you don't have to come in screaming and wailing for that respect. So that would be my two cents. I've never had to come in and demand it. It just kind of people saw through my performance that I was able to take on things. I was put in leadership, I was put in management because they saw my behavior in the way that I performed those things.

Speaker 2: 25:56

Yes, yes, and Alina, thank you for being transparent. And that doesn't mean guys will be there from it. Guys, you don't need to go in yelling and screaming either, you know do a great job.

Speaker 2: 26:04

I don't think anyone needs to but yeah, yes, yes, Nobody's working for that leader, Otherwise, they're trying to find a way they're motivated to get away from you. So treat people with respect, with dignity, that you value them, that you appreciate them and allow them to be great in your organizations. Nicole, is there anything that you want to share that I didn't ask already, or that you love for people to know, and then we'll close out with how to reach you and why do people call you?

Speaker 3: 26:27

Yeah, that's awesome. So I would just say you know, really our roots is small business. I mean, I already told you I grew up in small business. We love to serve small business. So even if you're just not sure what that next step is, sometimes we're able to walk through just your idea of what that next talent or that next hire is gonna be and offer solutions that may be more economical. Maybe it's something that can be done in a fractional way.

Speaker 3: 26:50

So if you're just in that space of I know I need help. I don't know what that looks like, I can't understand the cost, I don't know how to recruit, just give us a call. I mean, we're happy to have conversations Half the times. I just love nerding out with other business owners and learning about them and what's going on behind the scenes. So it's just a great conversation. So I would openly welcome that and feel free to go to our website, boastin' Solutions, and just in fact, we think we have a button on there that says let's just talk through your talent and see what that might look like.

Speaker 2: 27:19

Awesome, awesome. So, as we come to a close here, what would a small business only be experiencing that says I need to pick up the phone and call Nicole and her company?

Speaker 3: 27:27

So the number one thing I would tell people is, in that fractional space, like if you are feeling like either, your team members are stretched, you're stretched, you know there are ways that you would like to be serving your clients and there's just things are falling through the cracks.

Speaker 3: 27:40

I'll give you an example. Maybe I'm not great in social media. I know my clients are on LinkedIn. I have no presence. My bookkeeping is way behind. I have no marketing efforts.

Speaker 3: 27:48

I wish I had someone to help with sales assistants. All those roles that I just rattled off can be done as little as five hours a week. And so starting with one of them and just saying, hey, you know I could use an assistant, I could really just use some help with my calendar there's. I always tell people when they come. I guarantee you there is money in your inbox, I guarantee it. And so having someone whether it's through follow-ups, setting appointments, whatever that looks like but that would be my first step. If you are feeling not stretched, you know things are slipping through the cracks. Your team is like why are you putting on this Me? This isn't my job, you know. That's where fractional is amazing. And then, if you are looking and you know you've got your next hire. You need to bring in someone in person. Utilizing that flat fee is just an amazing resource to just take that off your mind and know the talent is gonna be brought to you.

Speaker 2: 28:35

Wow, awesome. So we probably need to talk after this, because I'm to the place now where I need to make sure I got someone that's paying attention to follow-up in calendars as well, so I don't miss it, and I love that. You say I guarantee you there is money in your inbox. I don't know if I heard anybody say that, but, like she absolutely is, you know I guarantee there's money. So, if you're listening, you're a small business owner. Yeah, your inbox has some money in it. You need someone to help you figure it out so you can stop losing it. Yes, how do we reach you? Can you put them a phone number or a website or whatever? It's the most effective way, and I'm sure that people are gonna reach out to you, because you shared a lot. I mean, you hit about five things that every small business is going through probably all five, or at least two, three of the five. How?

Speaker 2: 29:12

do people reach you.

Speaker 3: 29:14

So the easiest way is just get in contact with me. I'll just give you my email it's Nicole and I see OLE, and then at Boson Solutions, so BOSUNsolutionscom, and from there just let me know kind of what you were looking for, what you're needing, and we can schedule a time to just connect. And you know I call it my strategy calls, so we just kind of understand, no cost, just like let's get to know each other, what's in your plans. I mean I do strategy calls. People that a year later come back to me because we were able to kind of lay out what could be in the future. So don't feel pressure is just a conversation, happy to talk and get to know you.

Speaker 2: 29:47

Awesome. Thank you so much. I mean I really appreciate you being on the show and for everyone that's with us I mean Nicole drops some really really great nuggets and if you just want to figure out who do you need, who can help you in your organization and this is someone that's coming on that's going to help, you know, focus on what you're trying to get done and take some stuff off your plate. I think oftentimes business owners think they have to have someone that needs, they need for 40 hours a week and she just, you know, just shared. That's not accurate. I mean, sometimes it's five hours a week to get some major things done that will turn into revenue opportunities for you or free you up for 30 hours a week. So please, please, in small businesses, figure out what it is that you really started, the business that you should be doing and those other things. Maybe it's five hours, maybe it's 10 hours, but it's not absorbing 30 hours or 40 hours of your time. So please use the experts that are there to help you. And it sounds like pretty. Really, you know good at what it is too. So thank you all for joining us again.

Speaker 2: 30:36

You know I'm Ron Harvey, the vice president and chief operating officer for Global Core Strategies, leadership development firm. Everything people to keep your best talent after. Nicole helps you find them and gets them in there. Your leaders don't run them off. We spend all our time around that and the best way to reach us is to go to our website and that's wwwgcsconsulting with the ING and there's a contact page you can fill out. You can send it to us. We'll respond to that or you can always call us at 803-764-1554. Again, thank you all for joining Nicole. Thank you so much for being with us. I really appreciate it joining us and sharing so much wonderful information without listeners across the board.

Speaker 1: 31:16

Well, we hope you enjoy this edition of Unpacked Podcast with leadership consultant Ron Harvey. Remember to join us every Monday as Ron Unpacked's sound advice, providing real answers for real leadership challenges. Until next time, remember to add value and make a difference, where you are, for the people you serve, because people always matter.