A shoe must fit the foot. A bolt must fit the nut. And in today's climate, new hires have to fit the organization.

Did you ever go to a dance with someone you liked, and after an hour saw your partner lost in someone else's arms?

In the previous column, I proposed abandoning the delusion of "industry norms" for 360-degree feedback.

Wouldn't you love to have access to data that tells you whether your people are working at a level of skill that's appropriate for your industry or sector?

When I think ice cream, I always think vanilla. Actually, I love chocolate mint, tartuffo, and butter-pecan. But say the words "ice cream", and I'll imagine vanilla.

When we put MY360 Degree Feedback online a few weeks ago, we had only one flavor in mind: to support talented people who lost their jobs to the recession.

We wanted to help them draw the attention of overworked recruiters to their excellent resumes.

You have a lot of wisdom to offer your organization, but if you have nothing unique to offer about the crucial issues, it's hard to get a hearing at the executive table.

Everyone knows already about problems in the economy, sales, and staffing.

But you could make a valued contribution by identifying other issues that fly under the radar of your leaders.

Do you know unemployed people whose job applications get no attention because they look like hundreds of others?

Millions of people are competing for the same handful of jobs. They're frustrated and demoralized.

At Panoramic Feedback, we saw that 360 degree feedback assessments could make well-qualified job-seekers stand out for recruiters.

But there's a catch-22. Most people have access to feedback only if they are already employed, by an organization that uses 360s!

New individual focus

We're proud to announce that's changed.

When a rebellious child demands, "Why do I have to?" the exasperated parent replies, "Because I said so."

This is the power of position: I'm your parent; bigger, older, smarter, so do what I say.

Sometimes it's all a loving parent has to fall back on. But in the workplace, it's too often the default approach to authority.

Fortunately, HR professionals are less tempted by it, not so much because they are better people but because they have very little of it. Positional power, that is.

As the recession winds down, the casualties include a lot of dedicated HR professionals.

They've experienced the pain of letting good people go. They've watched their own colleagues disappear, and worried that they might be next.

They've encountered people they would be firing in a day or two, and longed to shout that the sky is falling.

They've endured many a hostile glare.

It hasn't gotten any better

Even at home, some find it hard to relax. Their sleep is disturbed, their appetite affected.

I had a coaching meeting this morning with a manager who is distressed about problems at work.

Afterwards I tried to distil the factors that make a coaching session effective. Here's what I concluded:

Take charge

Create a secure environment which is comfortable and private. Generally that's an office with a closed door and no distractions. Turn off the phone.

Sit facing the individual, no desk between you.

Pay attention

Let go of the important things that you've been busy with.