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Tag: employee experience

  • People Really Only Care About These 3 Things at Work — Do You Offer Them? | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When people leave their jobs, they often give polite reasons: “looking for growth,” “better alignment,” “more flexibility.” But after years of hiring, managing and losing people — some to better opportunities, some to burnout — I’ve come to believe that most job satisfaction boils down to just three things.

    Everything else is noise. Perks, policies, titles or offsites can help, but they’re not foundational. Strip it all away, and here’s what people really care about.

    1. Great compensation

    Fair pay is the baseline. Competitive pay is the magnet. Exceptional pay is the reason someone stops taking recruiter calls.

    Compensation isn’t just about money. It’s about respect. People associate their salary with how much they’re valued, trusted and taken seriously. If your top performers feel underpaid, you’re not only risking turnover, but also signaling that excellence isn’t worth rewarding.

    Keep in mind that “great” doesn’t mean highest on the market. It means high enough to remove money from the list of concerns. You want your people to focus on doing meaningful work and not negotiating a raise every year or calculating how many extra hours it takes to afford a vacation.

    Aside from base salary, this includes equity, performance bonuses and clear, transparent criteria for increases. When people understand how pay decisions are made and believe the system is fair, they stay longer and give more.

    If you’re a manager, your job is to advocate for the budget your people deserve. Don’t wait for someone to bring it up in a performance review. Be proactive, because your competitors already are.

    Related: This Is What Job Seekers Want the Most

    2. Smart colleagues to learn from

    No one wants to be the smartest person in the room forever. People want to grow, and that happens fastest when they’re surrounded by others they respect.

    High performers seek challenge. They’re looking for both job stability and stimulation. A team full of sharp, thoughtful, curious people is more motivating than any job title or KPI. If your team is full of generalists who never push boundaries, your best people will quietly leave for places where they feel outmatched in the best way.

    However, this doesn’t mean hiring for raw IQ. It merely means hiring people who ask great questions, give meaningful feedback and stay open to being wrong. It means creating an environment where learning is constant, through debate, collaboration, code reviews, design critiques or customer debriefs.

    A strong culture of learning does more than retain top talent. It builds institutional resilience. When people feel like they’re leveling up just by showing up, you don’t need to rely on carrots and sticks. The work can become its own reward.

    3. Momentum or success with the product

    You can pay well. You can build a dream team. But if the product isn’t going anywhere, people lose steam.

    Everyone wants to feel like they’re part of something that’s working — or about to work. In fact, I tell my team at OysterLink every day that we’re going to be something bigger than what we’ve accomplished so far. It’s all about traction, clarity and the belief that progress is real.

    People don’t need perfect outcomes. They need forward motion. When the product gains users, solves real problems or unlocks new opportunities, it energizes the team. It reinforces the sense that time spent here is time well invested.

    Lack of momentum, on the other hand, creates drag. Teams lose urgency. High performers feel stuck. Meetings start to feel like exercises in optimism rather than planning. You don’t have to be winning in the market every quarter. But you do need to show a path to winning and make sure every person on the team knows how their work contributes to that journey.

    As a leader, this means communicating product progress often and honestly. Celebrate real wins. Be transparent about setbacks. And connect the dots between individual work and company goals. People will run through walls when they believe they’re running toward something meaningful.

    But what about everything else?

    You might be wondering: What about flexibility? Culture? Work-life balance? They matter — but they tend to act as modifiers, not drivers.

    A strong culture makes the three core factors more sustainable. Flexibility helps retain talent, especially if the work and people are already strong. But no one stays at a job just because there’s a remote policy or free snacks.

    If you underpay, even the best culture won’t save you. If your team isn’t learning from each other, remote-first won’t fix the stagnation. If your product is going nowhere, even generous PTO policies will feel like a consolation prize.

    People don’t leave because of snacks or slogans — they leave when they don’t feel valued, challenged or part of something that’s moving forward. Get the core three right, and the rest is optimization. Get them wrong, and everything else is damage control.

    When people leave their jobs, they often give polite reasons: “looking for growth,” “better alignment,” “more flexibility.” But after years of hiring, managing and losing people — some to better opportunities, some to burnout — I’ve come to believe that most job satisfaction boils down to just three things.

    Everything else is noise. Perks, policies, titles or offsites can help, but they’re not foundational. Strip it all away, and here’s what people really care about.

    1. Great compensation

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    Milos Eric

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  • Is Your Workplace Toxic? It Could Cost You Millions of Dollars | Entrepreneur

    Is Your Workplace Toxic? It Could Cost You Millions of Dollars | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We have all heard the jokes online that if someone puts in their job listing that “we will treat you like family,” you should run away — that is the last thing that a company will actually do. To be completely transparent, I once consulted with a friend who worked with a company that said this, and they had an extremely high turnover rate.

    Employees at this company called and sent Slack messages at every hour of the day. The manager expected the employees to be available 24/7 even though the company itself operated with normal 9 to 5 hours. The manager would host a team meeting every month where they called out every single person on the team to tell them what they did wrong throughout the month — in front of everyone else. Achievements were never acknowledged in these team meetings.

    On the other hand, my friend also worked with a different company whose employees absolutely adored the work culture. If you made a mistake, the business owner acknowledged it and helped you understand ways you could improve in the future. There was never a punishment or scolding involved. She encouraged everyone to use it as a learning experience.

    She also recognized people’s strengths and would actively approach them about other opportunities. For example, she noticed one employee who was originally hired to answer the phone had an affinity for numbers and enjoyed budgeting. With a lot of encouragement from the team and a little training, that receptionist moved up to inventory management.

    All jokes and internet memes aside, the culture at your company can make or break your business.

    Related: How to Create a Workplace Culture Where Everyone Feels Like They Belong

    The cost of bad company culture

    According to the Society for Human Resource Management, it can take up to 6-9 months worth of an employee’s salary to find their replacement. That means losing a $60,000 employee can cost you up to $45,000 trying to find their replacement. Just to put this into perspective, that aforementioned company with the horrible work culture had an average six-month turnover rate for a team of 15 people. Let’s say they were all salaried at $60,000. That means every six months the company was essentially burning $675,000 — which adds up to $1.35 million per year. As you might have guessed, that company went out of business.

    Of course, company culture is far more than money. Morale, performance and finding top talent all take a hit with a lackluster workplace atmosphere. Without positivity and recognition of successes, employees feel as though they can never do anything correct, which leads to low morale and, in turn, low innovation and enthusiasm for the job. If someone does not care about their job, they will not do it well, leading to external issues for the company such as poor customer service and missed deadlines. And if the company is not able to innovate in our fast-paced ever-evolving world, the business will not survive.

    This then leads to employment issues. Companies with a negative reputation will find it difficult to hire top talent because no one wants to work in a place where they are not valued. According to an estimate published by Gettysburg College, the average person will spend 90,000 hours of their lifetime at work — that’s about one-third of a person’s life. People do not want to spend that time in a place that causes them stress or pushes them to the brink. This includes current employees too; people do not want to work at a place where they constantly fear losing their job; so, many people (once they realize the toxicity of the workplace culture) will quit. This leads to a never-ending, vicious cycle of talent coming and going, leaving the business without a way to grow.

    Related: 10 Excellent Company Culture Examples For Inspiration

    Create a culture that retains talent

    There has been a shift recently where people are not staying at jobs as long as they used to. You’ve most likely heard of people who worked at the same company for 50 years or more. Nowadays, it’s more common than not to hear of someone who has worked for multiple businesses over a span of just a few years. This is due to the kind of work, benefits included and — you guessed it — company culture. Having worked for almost two decades in the hiring industry, here are ways to create a company culture that will retain your top talent, save you money and help your business grow:

    1. Be present. Too many people want to own companies without having to be present to run them. If you do not want to work there, why would your employees want to work there?
    2. Lead by example. Everyone is human, and even artificial intelligence tools make mistakes. Use a mistake or problem as a learning example, and you might even be able to turn it into a marketing opportunity.
    3. Empower employees. Give your employees the opportunities to go further in their careers with training, certifications, etc. If someone wants to improve, help them!
    4. Celebrate achievements. Recognize successes and create goals that lead your team to receive rewards.
    5. Communicate openly. If something is going wrong, it needs to be pointed out. Do so in a professional manner so that the team can address the problem.
    6. Promote a work-life balance. Especially in a remote workforce, people are tied to their devices. Make them take breaks and vacations and set a range of working hours that encourage this balance.
    7. Offer incentives as part of the job package. Benefits play a big role too for potential incoming talent. Look at what your company can offer to entice employees to join your workforce.

    Related: How to Create a Work Culture That Can Survive Anything

    If you are not sure what to change with your workplace culture, go to the source and ask your employees. Their invaluable feedback will help you create a culture that encourages employees to stay and fosters top talent to grow with the business.

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    Lesley Pyle

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  • Optimizing employee and customer experiences through workflow digitization

    Optimizing employee and customer experiences through workflow digitization

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    Today’s modern workplace has pushed the demand for business leaders to create meaningful employee experiences. Technology adoption has allowed us to not only impact employee experiences, but business operations and data security.

    According to an Adobe-sponsored report by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, Improving Employee and Customer Experiences Through Workflow Digitization, 79% of respondents agreed that digitizing workflows has improved the employee experience. Even more—87%—agreed that the employee experience directly impacts customer experience.

    Digitizing processes in organizations can boost efficiency in workflows, reduce errors, and improve collaboration. With automation, we’re not only enabling employees to work smarter, but empowering them to deliver the best customer experiences.

    Digitization can create efficient and usable workflows for employees

    In the survey conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, respondents indicated capabilities and benefits their organization has achieved as a result of digitized workflows. They experienced:

    • Improved efficiency (76%)

    • Better document tracking (cited by 75%)

    • Time savings (72%)

    • Streamlined processes (68%)

    • Improved employee collaboration (57%)

    Digitization can help improve the employee experience, leading to higher productivity and engagement. By deploying an integrated and secure technology ecosystem that supports workflow digitization, organizations can also streamline wider enterprise operations tailored to any industry.

    However, it is critical to understand the roadblocks that companies are experiencing when it comes to creating a modern workplace with seamless collaboration and process automation.

    In the report, only 31% of respondents said their organization is very effective in digitizing workflows. Just over a third of respondents in this survey cited that identifying the right technology (35%) and technical implementation challenges (32%) were challenges to their workflow digitization.

    Microsoft and Adobe integrations break down barriers to workflow digitization

    While there are several challenges getting in the way of digitizing workflows, the two most prevalent are a lack of transparency in workflows coupled with the difficulty in breaking down company silos. This lack of transparency prevents IT from successfully creating end-to-end workflows. Silos lock up data forcing employees to waste time and effort searching for the right data for their job.

    A typical approach to digitization is deploying incremental improvements that get bolted onto existing systems without considering the integration with legacy and future technologies and data security ramifications. To address this, Microsoft and Adobe developed over 60 out of the box integrations between our solutions, reducing the need for complex custom integrations.

    • Adobe Acrobat Sign for Microsoft Teams allows recipients to sign agreements, send agreements for e-signature, and manage in-progress agreements from within Teams. Adobe Acrobat Sign sends real-time agreement notifications to the activity feed in Teams, so agreements can be viewed and signed directly from the feed. This enables smooth document workflows where documents awaiting signatures can be viewed and accessed from anywhere in the app.

    • Many transactions and agreements that involve signatures are important moments that benefit from personal interaction. Acrobat Sign for Microsoft Teams now delivers a new signing experience called Live Sign. Live Sign provides a face-to-face signing experience in which Microsoft Teams meeting participants can sign documents while videoconferencing.

    • Pre- and post-sign workflows are necessary but often tedious. Microsoft Power Automate is integrated with Adobe Acrobat Sign, which enables knowledge workers with no coding experience to set up automated and customized e-signature workflows in minutes with its simple drag-and-drop system. This helps organizations free up their IT teams to work on other projects that deliver greater value to the organization and integrates disparate systems such as productivity, communication, and storage solutions through Microsoft Power Automate in Sign in a singular workflow.

    This integrated approach addresses critical business and technology challenges as organizations develop digitized workflows. It also addresses data security and compliance issues—another key concern as organizations modernize their operations.

    In the Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report, 77% of respondents agreed that digital workflows help keep their organization’s company and customer data safe and 79% agreed that digital workflows enable their organization to be compliant with regulations.

    Digitizing workflows has a positive role in not only improving employee experiences, but customer experiences as well. Organizations that invest in employee well-being see the same positive correlation with customer satisfaction, especially for those in customer-facing positions.

    Improved employee experiences lead to better customer experiences

    By providing employees with the support and technology they need to do their best work, they can create fluid, smooth, and meaningful customer experiences. With Microsoft setting the data foundation and Adobe providing a comprehensive marketing and customer experience layer, security organizations are well-positioned to roll out solutions that elevate employee experiences and positively impact customer interactions.

    Better access to data delivers greater insight into customers, translating into exceptional customer service. The benefits were clear from the report. Seventy-nine percent of the respondents agreed that digitizing workflows improved the employee experience and 76% agreed that it improved the customer experience. Centralized and easy-to-access customer information sitting on a single platform helps organizations provide a more personalized customer experience.

    Simplify your digitization journey with Microsoft and Adobe integrations

    Modern workplaces require seamless collaboration, automation, AI, and security to elevate employee experiences so they can work smarter and deliver the best customer experiences. These positive results of digitization are made easier thanks to tight integrations with Microsoft and Adobe technologies that create user-focused workflows which seamlessly fit into the way employees work and communicate.

    For a deeper analysis of the impact of digitizing workflows across the enterprise, read the report from Harvard Business Review Analytic services: Improving Employee and Customer Experiences Through Workflow Digitization

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    Michelle Thomas

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  • 3 Ways Business Leaders Can Balance Company Needs and Employee Satisfaction | Entrepreneur

    3 Ways Business Leaders Can Balance Company Needs and Employee Satisfaction | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The dynamic nature of today’s business landscape has caused a notable shift in how organizations navigate the delicate balance between organizational needs and employee satisfaction. The past few years have undergone a pendulum swing — from an employee market to an employer market —transitioning from a period prompted by the pandemic where the wellbeing of employees was top-of-mind to secure labor and top talent to now, where many organizations have reverted to more traditional models focused on profit margins, as seen in the number of mass layoffs over the past year of high-profile companies like Microsoft and Zoom.

    The pandemic’s labor shortages and pent-up consumer demand for certain goods and services forced companies to race to secure and recruit top talent. Now, more recent economic challenges, such as inflation and the pending recession, have caused businesses to reevaluate their strategies. In some cases, this has prompted internal restructurings that have led to layoffs, as we’ve seen job cuts increase 198% from last year, marking the second-worst stretch since the Great Recession. In other cases, cutbacks have been related to employee benefits or perks, as demonstrated through Meta cutting cafeteria options and other perks like laundry services or Google cutting back on laptops, equipment and employee training to save money.

    A recent survey from Care.com of 500 C-suite-level executives and HR decision-makers revealed that 95% have recalibrated their company’s benefits strategy amid economic uncertainty, and 47% are trimming their benefits. What’s important to take away from the events of the past few years is that the path forward does not mean choosing between employee satisfaction and company performance — striking a balance between the two is a challenging yet attainable feat.

    Forward-thinking companies acknowledge that long-term success involves finding a middle ground between disciplined growth and employee wellbeing. Recent data from Gallup reveals only 32% of U.S. employees overall were engaged in 2022 and that companies with engaged employees see an average of 21% more profits and 17% more productivity than their disengaged counterparts. When employment wellbeing is overlooked, it can lead to a lack of employee engagement, which in turn has an impact on profits and productivity. In order to find a sustainable balance, business leaders must revisit how they approach performance management, employee benefits and workplace flexibility.

    Related: How Flexible Work Will Give Your Business the Biggest Advantage

    Reevaluating performance management

    One of the most important components of sustaining business growth while keeping employee fulfillment at the forefront is reevaluating how to handle performance management. Recent data from Willis Towers Watson’s 2022 Performance Reset Survey reveals that only 16% of North American organizations reported being effective when it comes to managing and paying for performance, and a Gallup survey from last year revealed that an overwhelming 95% of managers are dissatisfied with their organization’s review system.

    To do so effectively, leaders must set clear expectations from the start. This could be for employees new to the organization but also for seasoned employees who may be starting in a more senior role or an entirely different department. Engaging employees in the planning process from the get-go will give them better insight into how their goals and contributions provide value to the overarching strategy of the organization. Clearly outlining the roles and responsibilities of each employee and tying those expectations back to the overall goals of the business will give employees a sense of purpose, which helps to lay a foundation for optimal performance.

    Once the foundation is set, it’s important to continue to revisit how an individual’s role ties into the broader business plan by regularly communicating with employees and assessing how they are tracking toward these goals. By having one-on-one check-ins and hosting formal reviews regularly, supervisors will have a clear opportunity to assess progress, provide feedback and level-set expectations.

    Take the time to sit down with each employee at the organization and assess the specific expectations and goals for their role. As an example, goals could include increasing Q2 revenue by 20% or closing $500,000 worth of sales by the end of the year. It’s critical to back these meetings by assessing both Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), for example, quarterly sales goals, customer retention rates, etc., for the company. In initial meetings with new team members or during formal performance reviews, it’s important to reference OKRs and utilize this as a goal-setting framework to connect individual goals with the overall strategy of the company. By setting this framework, the company will be able to better measure how they are tracking against KPIs, which will help with individual progress assessments on a more regular basis.

    Recent data reveals that 27% of workers rarely or never receive feedback, which can be detrimental to the overall performance of both the individual and the company. Believe it or not, data reveals that 75% of employees appreciate candid feedback and believe that it is incredibly valuable to their work. Feedback can help employees better understand where they stand, how they are tracking against broader goals and what they can be doing differently to improve. Not only will this help to strengthen the skill sets and contributions of each employee, but it’ll also showcase a genuine care for their development and wellbeing within the organization.

    Assessing performance should not only be targeted toward underperformers but should focus on lifting employees across all levels to their highest potential. As a leader, it’s important to be actively involved in these initiatives in order to provide the support needed to help employees bridge potential gaps where they may be falling short. It’s essential to view performance management as a positive exercise to help provide additional clarity and guidance to help employees grow rather than viewing it solely as an exit mechanism. While it’s crucial to address underperformance, it’s equally as important to acknowledge that poor performance management can adversely impact generally high-performing employees. Throughout the pandemic, many organizations did not properly attend to performance-related issues due to revenue reductions and in an effort to keep underperforming employees when there were labor shortages. The reality of today’s workforce is there is a much larger talent pool, which further underscores the need to optimize performance management across all levels of talent and performance.

    Prioritizing employee benefits and wellbeing

    A study by the Saïd Business School titled “Does Employee Happiness have an Impact on Productivity” revealed that happier workers were 12% more productive than their unhappy counterparts and that happier workers tend to make fewer mistakes, demonstrating that investing in new and old talent through added benefits can have positive impacts for both employee wellbeing and an organization’s bottom line.

    As we learned through the pandemic, offering a wide range of employee-focused benefits such as flexible work schedules, parental and family leave and wellness programs like gym memberships can help to attract new talent, but it’s imperative to recognize that this alone will not be enough to retain top talent. 80% of employees want benefits or perks more than they want a pay raise, but seek out companies that foster a culture that encourages them to actually utilize them.

    In many cases, benefits such as paid time off and wellness initiatives are available, but employees may be cautious about actively taking advantage of them, given a prevailing culture that doesn’t back their usage. Studies show that taking time off can help refocus and recharge the brain and body, leading to reduced feelings of burnout, improved morale and increased productivity. Encouraging employees to take breaks and recharge without repercussions or concerns is critical. For example, offering flexible working arrangements and encouraging longer vacations or mental health days can help employees feel more comfortable leaning into these benefits. It’s often perceived that lower-performing workers will take advantage of these benefits, which could cause companies to be hesitant about offering these sorts of offerings. But in order for high-performing workers to continue to operate at a successful caliber, these benefits should exist within an organization’s offerings. Rather, leaders should utilize that thinking as an opportunity to refine performance management for lower-performing workers, as opposed to avoiding offering extended wellness benefits and flexibility.

    Organization leaders must lead by example in order for this to be effective – as recharging and taking time off is equally as important across all levels. Leading by example and taking advantage of company benefits as a leader can help foster a more comfortable environment for more junior employees where all benefits are utilized to their full potential.

    Adopting workplace flexibility

    Much has changed over the past few years, most notably the convergence of remote work. Leaders must recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution that will cater to all employee needs, especially when it comes to striking a balance between fully in-office or fully remote work. When you factor in commutes, family commitments and personal situations – not all employees will flourish in the same workplace style, further insinuating the need for flexibility in the workplace. Data supports this as well, with recent insights revealing that workers with full schedule flexibility report 29% higher productivity than workers with no ability to shift their schedule.

    Leaders should strive to find a balance between the autonomy of remote work and the relationship benefits of working in the office. Engage with employees through company-wide surveys or in individual manager meetings to get a better understanding of their preferences regarding remote and in-office work, as this will help inform an organization’s policies for return to office. Consider offering additional flexibility such as flextime, staggered hours or hybrid work models for workers who may have longer commutes, younger kids or personal circumstances that prevent them from being in the office on a regular basis.

    For hybrid work environments, it’s best to offer flexibility when working from home that matches where and how employees work best. Work from home should ideally be spent on individual, heads-down work that doesn’t require in-person collaboration. For mandated in-office days, encourage collaboration, project work and team-building activities to help foster a cohesive working environment. Additionally, one way to encourage employees to come to the office is by hosting external work events like happy hours or organized sports as a way for coworkers to intermingle and gain better relationships outside of work. By being transparent about the in-office expectations from the get-go, employees will be able to plan for and engage at a level that best suits their personal and professional schedules.

    By implementing a flexible work environment that strikes the right balance between remote and in-office work, business leaders can effectively foster a work environment that promotes employee engagement and wellbeing.

    The rapidly changing landscape of the workplace in recent years has prompted organizations to reevaluate how they approach employee wellbeing while also focusing on sustaining organizational growth. This evolution has been a call to business leaders to incorporate employee wellbeing into the long-term organizational strategy rather than feeling the need to sacrifice one for the other. As leaders, it’s important to prioritize both the professional achievement and personal fulfillment of employees by committing to nurturing involved, high-performing teams that drive sustainable success.

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    Ben Richmond

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  • The True Cost of Employee Turnover During a Recession? Your Entire Business. Rethink Your Strategy to Make Your Top Talent Stay. | Entrepreneur

    The True Cost of Employee Turnover During a Recession? Your Entire Business. Rethink Your Strategy to Make Your Top Talent Stay. | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We hoped we had weathered the storm, that the Great Resignation and the Great Reshuffle had passed us by, but the employment landscape is still suffering severe aftershocks. In the tech industry alone, 2023 has brought more layoffs than last year — over 240,000 tech employees have been laid off this year, a 47% increase from 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi.

    Some layoffs are happening despite companies seeing profits improve. LinkedIn, for example, has grown in revenue over the last four quarters but still announced in May that it would cut 716 jobs in sales, support and operations in an attempt to streamline its processes. Other industries are far from safe.

    Especially as we enter another season of unpredictable economic news and pervasive uncertainty, it will be crucial for companies in any sphere to strategize on how to keep top talent from leaving, how to measure employee satisfaction and how to navigate employee retention during a recession. Here’s my advice.

    Related: How to Attract and Retain Top Talent

    How can companies boost employee retention during a recession?

    The importance of retaining talented employees cannot be overstated. Employee turnover has a direct line to the overall health and well-being of your company. Similarly, employee retention can signal to others that your culture is strong and can make the rest of the team feel reassured and ready to face another day.

    There are many things that company leaders can do to stop the cycle of employee turnover and retain the best people — those most aligned with the company’s values and those most equipped to face its challenges. Most of these strategies involve improving the way you appreciate team members:

    1. Rethink what cost means for you

    Many CEOs balk at any extra cost at this time. After all, why would you shell out for a new program or initiative when you’re having to cut costs drastically elsewhere? It’s hard to commit to a cost you don’t know you’ll be able to sustain.

    However, it is well worth considering cost from different perspectives. The cost of losing employees to more caring or rewarding employers is a very real financial outlay. Consider the various costs involved in recruiting and training a new employee, the inevitable slowdown in productivity as they learn the ropes, not to mention the mental cost on team members who are in the midst of a crisis and seeing their co-workers depart. If you can’t afford to lose talent at this critical time, then you also can’t afford to treat your employees as just another cog in the machine.

    Just take Adobe, for instance. The digital giant is ranked No. 1 in employee satisfaction, and this appreciation for its employees extends to its minuscule turnover rate as well. In times of turmoil, it’s important to learn from the masters and invest in your employees today so they can be your top talent tomorrow.

    Related: Employee Retention: 4 Tips to Help Keep Your Top Talent

    2. Perform a care edit on your benefits package

    Fear of being laid off comes along with a myriad of mental health symptoms. From self-esteem damage to depression, living with the real or perceived threat of unemployment can lead to significant distress, which (in today’s climate) can become a long-term problem.

    These symptoms can be further exacerbated if an individual’s workplace doesn’t respond with kindness. Taking care of team members and finding ways to show employee appreciation are especially important during uncertain times. If you fail to respond to these anxieties with care, your company risks losing talented, core members of your team.

    Fortunately, there are many ways to show employee appreciation that goes far beyond higher salaries. For example, HubSpot offers its employees unlimited holidays, flexible work agreements and perks for additional mental and physical well-being. By supporting employees, HubSpot continues to boast solid employee retention, even during economic uncertainty.

    Fortunately, your business can enjoy this stability, too. Start by performing a care edit on your benefits package and getting rid of anything that doesn’t serve employees’ health and well-being. Then, add the things that will truly help your team right now. Health insurance, dental care, gym membership or yoga sessions, healthy snacks/meals at work and even therapy. All of these benefits could help you differentiate your place of work from competitors in the marketplace and make employees feel cared for and more apt to stay.

    Related: 14 Strategies For How To Retain Top Talent and Build Championship Teams

    3. Get to know people on a deeper level

    When you’re navigating an economic downturn, employees can quickly become numbers on a spreadsheet as you work out what you can afford. However, companies should never let this sensation become a reality. Lose touch with your employees and you’ll lose your top talent just as quickly.

    Consider Google, for instance. Companies often look to the search giant for examples of how to keep top talent from leaving, and for good reason. Leaders at Google are acutely aware of how important company culture and trust are to a successful company; that’s why they prioritize employee relations to ensure their brand culture remains cohesive and effective. Just like Google, it’s critical for your company to stay aligned with employees and ensure every employee feels like a part of the bigger picture.

    However, the process of getting to know people shouldn’t stop after onboarding; people’s needs and goals change as they grow within a role. Leaders who keep in touch with these changing selves and the many personal successes that come along the way will be able to better offer advice and support their team towards achieving their personal goals.

    For example, the greeting card experts at Hallmark regularly practice recognizing employees by sending personal birthday cards, anniversary cards, thank you cards or greetings just to say “job well done.” Other businesses can take a page from the experts in this regard as well — especially since employees who feel like their workplace celebrates their achievements and remembers their important dates will be more likely to stick around and grow their careers within the company.

    It may be a hard and unpredictable time for your company. With daily reports of layoffs peppering the news cycle, your employees may be feeling anxious and overwhelmed. But this is not a moment to cut back on caring for your team. Invest in supporting and appreciating the talent that makes your company what it is — this is how to keep top talent from leaving.

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    Robbin Champaigne

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  • Here’s How to Recruit and Retain Talent From All Generations | Entrepreneur

    Here’s How to Recruit and Retain Talent From All Generations | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With boomers staying in the workforce longer and Gen Zers increasingly foregoing traditional career paths and heading straight to work, today’s offices, job sites and conference rooms are more generationally diverse than ever before. The range of experiences and points of view offered by today’s labor pool is helping companies be more productive and successful than in years past, with collaboration between workers of varying ages leading to increased innovation and resilience.

    However, while nearly all of today’s workers show a preference for companies with clear values, their preferences and priorities on benefits, compensation and other offerings vary.

    Related: 5 Ways to Achieve Better Recruitment

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    Alison Stevens

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  • 3 Leadership Lessons For Effectively Managing Remote Teams | Entrepreneur

    3 Leadership Lessons For Effectively Managing Remote Teams | Entrepreneur

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    Even as bankers urge companies, especially publicly traded, to return to their sprawling office complexes because commercial loan delinquency rates are the highest since the pandemic began, remote work is now firmly embedded in work culture. While financial puppeteers pull market strings on the ground, there’s no question that workers and leaders are facing off into a new world of work.

    My PR agency, celebrating 15 years in business this year, has always been remote. Much of this was out of necessity, but it was also born from my own experiences of efficiency as a remote worker in 2008. For context, in 2008, there was no Zoom and Skype was janky at best, creepy and weird at worst; there was no Slack or Teams. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and over the years, I learned a few things about managing a team remotely.

    Today, I consider these systems and processes one of our greatest strengths because our talent pool is limitless and our team and clients are happier. But these systems haven’t been without trial and error, and I’ve learned productivity and outcomes are the essential success ingredients of remote-first environments.

    Related: How to Build a Thriving Organizational Culture in a Remote Workplace

    1. Hire for emotional intelligence

    In my experience, emotional intelligence is the number one attribute determining whether someone can work effectively remotely.

    Studies show remote workers work longer and harder; a recent study that tracked 60,000 Microsoft workers showed the average worker saved 72 minutes in daily commuting but spent an extra half-hour each day working, an additional two hours a week.

    Because of extra time spent at work, a more significant challenge is ensuring remote workers don’t burn out. As a leader, make the extra effort to ask people how they are because you won’t be running into them in the hallway — 15-minute touch bases without a string of action items are an excellent way to connect and keep emotionally intelligent people emotionally engaged.

    It isn’t all that difficult to quantify emotional intelligence — emotionally intelligent employees are empathetic, self-directed, know how to express their needs, are curious, and are receptive to feedback. Emotionally intelligent people also know how and when they work best.

    Progress, rather than perfection, drives emotionally intelligent people, so the next tip is critical to success in remote work culture.

    Remote work culture requires mutual respect. Leaders should also be emotionally intelligent, seeking to be empathetic and solution-oriented rather than enforcers. Leaders should over-communicate their agendas and availabilities as an example rather than a requirement; emotionally intelligent team members will pick up on the signal.

    Related: Emotional and Social Intelligence Matter for Today’s Hybrid Workforce. Do You Know Why?

    2. Set clear goals and objectives

    When I hear stories of managers finding out employees have been using screen trackers to make it look like they are working, I know they haven’t hired for emotional intelligence and I know they haven’t set clear goals and objectives.

    Modern leaders need to rethink how we evaluate team members.

    According to a Stanford University study, remote workers are 13% more productive. Why waste this productivity by insisting on hour tracking? Even in an office environment, no one sits at their desk 10 hours a day and works productively.

    So rather than think of output in terms of hours worked, think about output in terms of contributions. What exactly should an employee be delivering? What KPIs should an employee be tracking for themselves? What is the contribution expected from their role? Suddenly, leaders have a clear view of their most valuable team members, and team members know what’s expected of them.

    Related: How to Keep Remote Workers Productive and Happy

    3. Use technology, but wisely

    It takes 15-20 minutes to get into the flow state, which means every time we’re interrupted, we take that long to get back up to the productivity level we were at just before the interruption. We have all gotten used to the many productivity benefits of technology, but not all technology benefits productivity.

    Notifications are the enemy of focus. Set up a hierarchy of communication. For example, non-urgent or outer office communication can usually happen via email. Slack and/or Teams, practically required for remote culture, are excellent for quick questions or urgent matters. But it’s essential to encourage these channels as professional communication channels, not water coolers. Having a communication channel that dings and pings with GIFs and meme threads all day isn’t productive. It’s not that there isn’t any room for fun; it’s that in a remote environment, providing focus is more critical than providing release. After all, unlike traditional office environments, a team member can take a walk around the block or cuddle with their pet for 10 minutes to blow off steam; they don’t need an intra-office chat for that. Normalize ways to blow off steam rather than having a Slack channel that pings and dings all day with minor grievances.

    I’ve found that project management software is a lot more work for our teams than it saves. Some exceptions exist, but I think most teams can work effectively without a third-party platform. Excel and Google Sheets can send an email when documents are updated. Use it.

    Scheduling meetings has never been more accessible, but that also means it’s more complicated than ever to have control of your calendar. Enabling company-wide “meeting-free” times (Fridays are a good day for this) is an excellent use of calendaring tools and allows everyone some guaranteed productivity time. Also, it’s great that we have so many ways to communicate, but if there are more than three messages or emails on a topic, it’s time to schedule a call. Sending emails back and forth has diminishing returns when it could be as easily solved with a 10-minute call.

    Remote work is here to stay; it’s important for modern companies to find their place in this new professional order. Protecting balance, contributions and focus are the pillars of success for both leaders and their teams.

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    Tara Coomans

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  • Know a DEI Skeptic? Use These 3 Strategies to Engage Them | Entrepreneur

    Know a DEI Skeptic? Use These 3 Strategies to Engage Them | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The good news is that most people believe in the value of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace — yet the minority, although vocal, is roughly 20% of the workforce. For these DEI skeptics, we recommend a three-pronged approach:

    1. First, learn more about their story and what is holding them back.
    2. Ask for their engagement directly.
    3. Offer up a specific way they can show support and hold them accountable.

    Related: Does DEI Training Work? It Depends How Proactive It Is.

    Learn more about their story and what is holding them back

    Overwhelming people with facts and figures is tempting, but often not helpful in changing perspectives. Instead, meet skeptics where they’re at. Give them time to process their fears, concerns and ideas. This can be helpful information for allies that want to better understand the challenges of DEI work. Chances are some other concerns could be valid. As with any line of work, there are always pros and cons and paradoxes that are more often in between.

    We’re all a product of our lived experiences. It’s hard for people to take on a perspective that they themselves don’t share. This is why storytelling is so powerful as allies. Asking questions to learn about people’s upbringing, caregiving roles they experienced at home and exposure to other races and cultures growing up is key. People’s socioeconomic class has a significant tie to our perceptions as adults. For example, many lower-class white people share the belief in the myth of meritocracy — meaning hard work pays off. Yet, when you compare notes with people of color, they are unique challenges they often face due to the intersections of racism and classism.

    To reach a DEI skeptic, consider asking these questions:

    • What aspects of DEI are you most skeptical about? Understanding their specific concerns can help tailor the conversation to address their doubts directly.
    • Have you encountered any personal experiences or observations that have influenced your skepticism? Exploring their personal perspective can provide insight into their viewpoint and help build a connection.
    • Are there specific examples of companies or organizations where you think DEI initiatives have been ineffective or problematic? What would you like to see done differently? Discussing real-world cases can lead to a more nuanced conversation and provide an opportunity to address specific concerns.
    • Do you think it’s important for all individuals, regardless of their background, to have an equal opportunity to succeed? How might unequal access to opportunities impact society as a whole? Exploring the concept of equal opportunity can help highlight the underlying principles of DEI.
    • Have you ever been in a situation where you felt excluded or misunderstood? How did that make you feel and what steps would you have appreciated to address it? Drawing parallels between personal experiences and the broader DEI conversation can foster empathy and understanding.
    • Are there ways in which you think diversity could be promoted without compromising meritocracy? Discussing strategies that align with their values can help bridge the gap between skepticism and the goals of DEI.
    • How do you think diverse teams can contribute to innovation and problem-solving? Are there examples you can think of where diverse perspectives led to better outcomes? Highlighting the practical benefits of diversity can help counter skepticism with evidence.
    • Do you think there is a connection between workplace diversity and attracting and retaining top talent? How might a more inclusive environment impact employee morale and job satisfaction? Discussing the potential impact on talent management can provide a tangible perspective.
    • What would it take for you to consider DEI initiatives as valuable and worth pursuing? What specific outcomes or changes would you like to see? By focusing on their expectations and potential solutions, you can create a shared vision for the role of DEI.

    Related: 4 Ways Inclusive Leaders Can Respond to the Weaponizing of DEI

    Ask for their engagement directly

    Many times there’s confusion about the role the majority group can play in DEI. For example, older, straight, white men who do not have a disability often say that DEI is not for them. DEI is about inclusion, so it is paramount that everyone is a part of creating an inclusive culture. Rather than wait for the majority group to join the conversation, consider directly asking for their support. Make it clear that you want them to play a role and what specific expectations are for engagement. Consider these ideas to engage them:

    • Collaborative initiatives: Create opportunities for members of the majority group to collaborate with individuals from different backgrounds on projects, committees or initiatives. Emphasize the value of diverse perspectives in problem-solving and decision-making processes.
    • Sponsorship of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): ERGs are a great way for the majority group to participate and learn alongside members of different groups. For those in positions of power, having them engaged as sponsors can help with resource allocation as well.
    • Lead by example: Showcase visible support from leadership and role models within the majority group who actively champion DEI initiatives. Highlight successful case studies or stories of organizations that have benefited from embracing diversity and inclusivity.
    • Mentorship: A great way for allies to get involved is by mentoring and being mentored by people different from themselves. This could be a formal pairing program of informally setting the expectation that leaders engage in mentoring folks different from themselves. Most allies report learning more from their mentees than the mentees learn from them.

    Related: 10 Ideas to Drive Your DEI Initiatives in 2023

    Offer up a specific way they can show support and hold them accountable

    Lastly, it is important that you set the expectation that they are responsible for their own education as potential allies in training. The burden of education should not fall on folks that are already dealing with the adversity of diversity. As with any cultural transformation, accountability is critical to long-term success. It is important to measure outcomes and hold leaders accountable for diverse representation and perceptions of inclusion on their teams just as you would with any cultural change.

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    Julie Kratz

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  • You Have to Give Your Employees Freedom to See Excellence — Here’s How to Do It. | Entrepreneur

    You Have to Give Your Employees Freedom to See Excellence — Here’s How to Do It. | Entrepreneur

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    Setting people free to do great work is one of the most important principles for a company leader to embrace. Productive employees who are engaged and inspired by their work are the key to workplace excellence. The real question is: How can companies create the circumstances that give people the freedom to thrive? When your employees are empowered to help impact their own progress, they feel much more valued and capable as contributors.

    This means, in part, ensuring that people aren’t simply assets on a spreadsheet. Companies that focus on building cultures, policies and practices that provide engagement and inspiration are freeing their entire organization to be better at what they do.

    As company leaders, our success ultimately depends on freeing our people to do great things. Here are a few principles that have helped me build supportive, freeing cultures throughout my career.

    Related: 8 Reasons You Should Give Your Employees More Control

    Be inspiring, not challenging

    Leaders must find ways to inspire the people around them rather than simply challenging those they consider underachievers. Storytelling is an essential skill that will help your teams understand both the company’s goals and their roles in reaching them, and is a powerful way to change hearts and minds.

    Highlighting the “why” — especially in a creative, engaging way — is a critical part of your role as a leader. This is clear as company and HR leaders are being called upon to make difficult decisions in this unique environment, including navigating hybrid work, needing to lay off employees in an economic downturn and responding to increased salary expectations. Combine that with a looming economic crisis and you have a volatile mixture that is pushing cultures and policies in new directions and taxing the patience of many company leaders.

    Recent headlines have spotlighted many of the battles some leaders are undertaking in order to bring their vision for the future of their companies to bear, and many of these efforts end up pitting employees against the executives.

    At BambooHR, we are a product-led company, which is tricky and requires a lot of discipline to get right. In order to do that, we maintain a sharp focus on how every single employee can help create products that delight our customers. Although not everyone is a designer or an engineer, we all share a common vision of delivering value, and that helps us see how our work contributes to success.

    At the end of the day, the vast majority of employees want to have a positive impact on the company through their work, and helping your people see the purpose of their efforts is essential to success during these challenging times. Embracing a vision that inspires will have a much greater impact in the long run and help people be free to do their best work.

    Related: To Have an Innovative Company, Let Your Employees Take the Reins

    Invest in creativity across your company

    Along with inspiring people to understand and embrace the vision, leaders need to invest in creativity at every level of the company. This often means dedicating time and resources when teams bring you new ideas that they believe will benefit the organization.

    Taking that leap of faith is rarely easy for a leader to do, especially when budgets may already be tight. And certainly, ideas need to be thoughtfully considered, not just rubber-stamped. But creativity is the lifeblood of any organization, and the potential reward for encouraging it across your company goes far beyond the balance sheet.

    Over the years our investment in creativity has encouraged essential, transformational ideas that address the vision of the company. For example, recently I’ve seen people in accounting, sales, CX, customer support, HR and marketing all finding innovative ways to save money, bring on new customers and improve processes.

    Investing in creativity will also improve how people approach change and embrace new opportunities. Right now, powerful, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence are heralding a new digital revolution, and companies will fall far behind if they are not already seriously considering how to integrate them. The advent of AI means there has never been a better time to harness creativity within a company. Bringing every part of your team along will multiply the number of people you have working on new solutions.

    Above all, enshrining creativity at every level signals to people that their ideas are valued and highlights their positive impact on the company. Leaders can further free people to do their best work by providing time and resources for creative ideas.

    Related: The Best-Kept Secret to Cultivating Creativity and Innovation

    Embrace design thinking

    A few years ago, I was at a professional crossroads after a number of intense years. I was lucky enough to have some options, but I didn’t have any idea what to do for my next step. To clear my head, I went with my wife on a vacation to Mexico. It was there, on a beach, that I read a book titled “Designing Your Life,” which became a powerful catalyst that led me to my current role.

    The book was written by two product designers and Stanford professors and it provides a framework for building a fulfilling life, using a concept called design thinking. It was a lightning bolt of inspiration that led me to think about many aspects of my life in a different way. Our instinct, when we run into a stumbling block, is to immediately jump to finding a solution. The key to design thinking is taking time to understand the actual problem and considering a wide range of possible solutions.

    Your people want to make an impact in their roles at work, and it can feel daunting to even find where to start. Design thinking is a great framework to help your teams uncover the challenges and sticking points they face and brainstorm creative solutions. Your people want to be successful and have a lasting, important contribution to their work. Helping them feel free at work is crucial for achieving this result.

    Ultimately, your people are the most important part of your business. Inspiring your teams, investing in their creativity and giving them tools for problem-solving will let your employees shine.

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    Brad Rencher

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  • The Pros and Cons of Hiring Family Members in a Small Business | Entrepreneur

    The Pros and Cons of Hiring Family Members in a Small Business | Entrepreneur

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    Even though we already had four children, when my husband Phil and I started CorpNet, our goal was not to create a dynastic family firm. Yet here we are, 14 years later, with two kids on the payroll.

    That’s not unusual; there are over 5.5 million family-owned businesses in America. Like most small businesses, family-owned companies struggle to find skilled employees. To meet this challenge, small business owners should ignore conventional wisdom and explore all avenues of finding good workers. One way to find the employees you need is to do what we did — hire family members, whether your own or relatives of your current staff.

    While this may be perceived as nepotism, hiring family members has several strategic advantages.

    Related: 5 Tips to Successfully Manage ‘Friends and Family’ Hires

    The pros

    1. Shared vision and values

    Family members often share similar values, work ethics and long-term goals. In PwC’s 2023 U.S. Family Business Survey, 90% of respondents of all generations say, “Growth is important because it enables them to invest in their company’s future.”

    Your kids likely share your values and goals. But look beyond that. Let’s say you have a high-performing employee that fits your company’s culture — they may have a sibling or a spouse with the same traits. Hiring them (of course, you should vet them as you would any new hire) can save you the time and money of searching for a new employee and the concern that your new hire won’t fit your company culture.

    When employees (related or not) share values, it’s often easier to work toward achieving common goals since they’re invested in each other’s success.

    2. Trust

    For small businesses to succeed, your team must trust one another. Family members have a pre-existing foundation of trust, and that attitude can spread to other employees, creating a strong team bond.

    Trust among your staff enhances communication, collaboration, goal-setting and decision-making. And 91% of business executives surveyed in PwC’s 2023 Trust Survey say maintaining trust improves the bottom line.

    3. Loyalty

    Employees want to work for companies where they know their opinions are respected. When your hire a relative of a current employee, they feel valued that you trusted their recommendation, deepening their loyalty.

    Family members likely enjoy working together, which further cements their loyalty to your business.

    4. Efficient communication

    Family members typically communicate more easily and effectively due to their familiarity and shared experiences. This streamlined communication minimizes miscommunications and misunderstandings.

    5. Lower recruitment costs

    Recruitment can be costly and time-consuming — especially today when many businesses compete for the same employees. Small business owners can reduce recruitment expenses, such as paying for job listings, recruiters or employment agencies, by hiring their kids or employees’ relatives.

    Also, since your children and the relatives of current employees are already familiar with your business, the onboarding process is shorter, reducing training time and costs.

    Related: The No. 1 Reason You Should Hire a Family Member

    The cons

    Of course, hiring family members can have some potential drawbacks. Here’s what to look out for:

    1. Appearance of nepotism

    Whether you’re hiring members of employees’ families or yours, other employees may resent these new hires, assuming they’re not qualified for the job. Transparency is essential. Tell your staff about the familial relationship and why you think the new worker will make a great team member.

    2. Preferential treatment

    It is critical that the new hire does not get preferential treatment. Family members should avoid inside jokes, telling secrets and any other behavior that would cause resentment.

    Job responsibilities, wages and paid time off for similar positions should be the same. Even a hint of special treatment will increase resentment in the rest of the staff.

    3. Emotional baggage

    Family members may bring emotional baggage and existing conflicts into the workplace, creating tension and making it difficult to work together. Those tensions can permeate throughout your company, negatively impacting growth.

    Regular communication is key to resolving family conflicts. The 2023 North America Family Business Report from Brightstar Capital Partners and Campden Wealth reveals that 49% of respondents experienced family conflict on the job, which for 41% resulted in a communications breakdown, impacting the entire company.

    Before family members join your company, you or your HR manager should set boundaries between the related employees (including you and your family). Explain what behaviors are not acceptable in the office. Consider adding a section about this to your employee handbooks.

    Related: The Do’s and Don’ts of Involving Family in Your Business

    Tips for hiring family members

    When hiring relatives, you need to:

    • Be clear about your expectations. Set clear expectations for the new hires so they understand their roles and responsibilities. When hiring family, it’s key to temper your expectations. Don’t expect them to be perfect or to think exactly as you do, and be patient. Give them time to adjust to their new roles. Also, if applicable, explain your expectations to the employee who suggested you hire their relative. If things don’t work out, you don’t want to lose your other employee as well.
    • Be fair and impartial. All employees should be treated equally. Favoritism is never acceptable.
    • Hire the best person for the job. Never feel obligated to hire relatives (your own or an employee’s) simply because they’re family. Make sure they’re qualified for the job.

    Before making a final decision, weighing the benefits of hiring family members against the potential drawbacks is critical.

    At my company, we have hired relatives of our employees and found that they work hard, quickly fit into our company culture and help us focus on growth and success. And while my kids work at CorpNet now, I don’t have unrealistic expectations. We’re not grooming them to take over. My children have aspirations and want to start their own businesses.

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    Nellie Akalp

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  • The Secret to Heftier Profits and Happier Employees Lies In This Industry | Entrepreneur

    The Secret to Heftier Profits and Happier Employees Lies In This Industry | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Labor shortages across the U.S. are impacting businesses of every size across all industries, with a whopping 9.9 million job openings and only 5.8 million unemployed workers available to fill the roles, according to the latest data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. While many factors are contributing to the labor shortage, at the heart, the problem is structural, with declining U.S. birth rates and the drop in net immigration resulting in a lack of available workers.

    Warehouse operations have been hit particularly hard by the labor shortage, complicated further by the extremely high turnover rate in the industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 216,000 people in the transportation and warehouse industry quit their job in April 2023. With 351,000 hires in the month, this exodus translates to a 3% quit rate, second only to the retail (3.5%) and leisure and hospitality (4.6%) sectors. Figures like these shine a spotlight on the retention and hiring challenges that business leaders across industries are facing.

    Related: The Labor Shortage Is Only Getting Worse. What’s Causing It and How Can I Avoid Losing Staff?

    Focus on happy teams

    In light of the labor supply/demand imbalance and the potentially crippling impact of peak season volumes on warehouse teams already stretched to the limit, meeting the demands of fulfillment operations is dependent on retaining quality workers. But employee retention is a significant hurdle, with an abundance of warehouse vacancies available across multiple industries and low barriers of entry for dissatisfied workers looking to change jobs. How can business leaders cope with this revolving door?

    Keeping existing warehouse staff happy with less stress and friction in their workday is fundamental to retailers’ retention efforts. While labor shortages are forcing organizations to do more with less in the warehouse, streamlining fulfillment workflows to increase efficiency and productivity, savvy business leaders are also looking at ways to optimize warehouse operations with the employee experience in mind.

    By leveraging warehouse management technology to simplify and expedite fulfillment tasks, companies can prevent workload overwhelm, reduce stress and improve job satisfaction for their warehouse teams which, in turn, helps to build loyalty and reduce employee churn.

    Related: 4 Ways to Boost Your Employee Retention in an Uncertain Economy

    Simplifying with tech

    While shipping the right items in the right quantities to the right customer may seem like a no-brainer from the outside looking in, warehouse teams relying on manual, paper-based practices are up against a wall. Given that one of the most common complaints of warehouse workers is unmanageable workloads, it’s a smart strategy to leverage technology that helps employees alleviate workplace stress by completing tasks faster yet with less effort.

    In addition to enabling more efficient workflows to boost fulfillment capacity, the aim of warehouse management systems (WMS) is to simplify and accelerate employees’ day-to-day tasks. When it comes to receiving, merchants without a WMS typically rely on specific staff to determine where to put inventory, which means that, oftentimes, the broader warehouse team does not always know where exactly to go (e.g. floor/area/aisle/shelf/bin) to find what they need for an order.

    With WMS technology that supports barcode scanning, inventory can be registered quickly into locations by scanning the location and the item. Barcoded items can be easily moved to new locations by scanning the item or selecting all items in the location. Armed with a barcode scanner and mobile app — instead of a clipboard — warehouse workers receive a digital pick list and follow guided optimized walking paths throughout the warehouse. Given they can walk several miles every day, reducing “mileage” makes the job easier and less physically taxing.

    In addition, tech-enabled pick methods (e.g. single item batch picking, pick and sort to trolley, multiple orders by item) enable workers to easily handle more volume, faster; for example, multi-order picking can decrease walk time by 85% compared to single order picking.

    Related: Using Tech to Build Supply Chain Resilience in a Changing World

    Job satisfaction linked to better operational metrics

    For businesses in diverse industries, adding a WMS to the tech stack is not just a boon for employee satisfaction, it produces substantial gains on the operational front as well. Organizations can manage their warehouse operations in real time, ensure inventory counts are accurate and synced with online storefronts and marketplaces to reduce the risk of overselling and increase fulfillment capacity with more efficient order picking and shipping. The ability to process more orders accurately and efficiently without hiring more people is particularly valuable in light of ongoing staffing challenges, helping to increase profit margins and drive growth.

    How business leaders are the gatekeepers to warehouse innovation

    For an organization to successfully leverage technology like WMS in the warehouse, top management must realize that supply chain and logistics agility is critical to company performance and take steps to enable innovation.

    Indeed, there’s a clear correlation between the strategies and decisions of top financial performers and those companies whose senior management hold the belief that supply chain and logistics innovation is crucial to success versus those whose senior management feels differently. Ultimately, business leaders across industries are the gatekeepers to technology innovation, and supply chain innovation in particular can make or break a company’s bottom line.

    This is underscored in the research study Supply Chain and Logistics Innovation Accelerates, but Has a Long Way to Go, which surveyed 1,000 global execs in the supply chain arena: “Respondents who said they were better financial performers were 20% more likely to have senior management who believes innovation is important and 16% more likely to have lower employee turnover.”

    In fact, when it comes to warehouse management in particular, 23% of respondents said that WMS technology will be one of the top focus areas for innovation for the next two years.

    In light of warehouse worker shortages, leaders need to prioritize the employee experience in the warehouse to ensure workers are happy, healthy and not looking for the door. They can accomplish this goal — and boost the bottom line at the same time — by opening the doors to innovation in their organization and leveraging warehouse management technology in order to streamline, accelerate and simplify order fulfillment operations. Everyone wins!

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    Johannes Panzer

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  • 4 Key Indicators It’s Time for You to Hire Your First Employee | Entrepreneur

    4 Key Indicators It’s Time for You to Hire Your First Employee | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Recognizing when to transition from a solopreneur to a team leader by hiring employees is crucial for sustainable growth. Most of my time with Strategic Advisor Board (SAB) is spent consulting new business owners reaching this pivotal point in scaling. Many business owners know they need help with maintaining their workload and deliverables, but they’re afraid of having enough resources to bring on employees and still be profitable.

    Let’s explore the key indicators I teach new business owners that signal the need for expansion and practical insights on navigating the transition efficiently and effectively.

    Related: 6 Signs It’s Time to Hire Employees for Your Startup

    1. Overwhelming workload and burnout

    As a solopreneur, you are tasked to fulfill every need and request of your business, I was there at one point myself when I started. From operations to marketing, and customer service to administration — it’s all you. This is a time of 60-hour work weeks and zero personal time; all work and no play. Your partner tells you they don’t recognize you anymore and your kids complain about all the soccer games and recitals you have missed. Your friends may even wonder if you are alive anymore.

    Many of my clients feel hopeless and as though they just created their own 9 to 5 (or 9 to 9) instead of an actual business. Hiring employees can help distribute tasks more effectively, reduce stress and improve your work-life balance. By delegating responsibilities, you’ll have more time and energy to focus on strategic initiatives and higher-value activities that drive growth.

    2. Declining productivity and quality

    Maintaining high productivity and delivering exceptional quality can be challenging for solopreneurs juggling multiple responsibilities. When you notice a decline in your output or struggle to meet customer expectations consistently, it’s a sign you need to bring in outside help. It often looks like missed deadlines, subpar projects being sent out the door and struggling to bring in new clients because you don’t have enough time to bring on more business and still get everything done. This decline may be due to being spread too thin, lacking a specialized skill or simply running out of time to deliver high-quality work.

    Bringing in skilled employees can not only enhance productivity but also streamline processes and ensure your products or services maintain high standards. When it’s time to bring in help, I understand it can be scary to hire a full-time employee. That’s why I tell my clients it may be easier to ease into the hiring process with a part-time employee or contractor.

    Related: Hiring Your First Employee? 5 Things You Need to Know.

    3. Limited time for strategic growth

    A comprehensive growth strategy becomes crucial as your business matures. If you cannot dedicate sufficient time to plan for the future and you spend more time working in your business rather than on it, you need additional resources. One effective way to optimize your business is by hiring employees to manage daily operational tasks. This would enable you to devote more time and attention to strategic initiatives like exploring new market opportunities, developing partnerships or expanding into new product lines or services.

    By prioritizing strategic growth, you can fully unleash your business’s potential and stay ahead of the competition. I always focus my efforts on how best to create smaller inputs in my companies that provide far larger outputs in terms of revenue generation. This also allows you to allocate more funds to reducing tactical tasks and workloads on your end and delegate appropriately.

    4. Increased customer demand

    A growing customer base is a positive sign of business success, but it can also strain your capacity as a solopreneur. If you find yourself consistently overwhelmed by customer demand or are forced to turn away potential clients, it’s a strong indicator that you’re ready for expansion. Hiring employees allows you to scale your operations to meet customer expectations. You can deliver prompt and efficient service with a team, maintain high customer satisfaction and capitalize on new business opportunities.

    Additionally, as you grow your customer base, having employees who can focus on customer relationship management becomes vital, ensuring each client receives the attention they deserve. The increase in customer demand also stresses fulfillment and leads to an imbalance in the growth and scale of the company. Putting the right people in the key seats that support fulfillment will relieve this strain. This is a lesson I learned by practical application a decade ago.

    Related: 4 Things Every Entrepreneur Must Consider Before Hiring Their First, or Next, Employee.

    Requiring new diverse skillsets

    Early on when I work with clients, I suggest they take a personal time inventory or a “time study.” First, look into where your skills aren’t at the highest level they could be, and then find out what you’re spending way too much time doing on a weekly basis. If you’re not strong in marketing or you’re spending way too much time balancing your books, consider finding an employee that brings these skills to the table. This will establish a more varied and capable team, enabling your business to progress in further growth.

    If you’re a small business owner, expanding from solopreneurship to having employees is a crucial step toward growth and sustainability. You can identify signs such as reduced productivity, insufficient time for strategic growth, increased customer demand and excessive workload to decide when to diversify your skillsets by hiring employees.

    Establishing a strong team of members who share your business’s values and mission is crucial for achieving sustained success. Skilled individuals can lead to discovering new prospects and driving your business forward, and by having more hands on deck and more minds problem solving, no doubt your business will head towards growth. Creating the right dynamic team is and will always be a challenge. Take your time and interview many people to fill key roles before actually hiring them. Ensuring you have the right people in the right seats on the bus will be critical to your success in being able to scale your company from a solo operation to a full-grown business.

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    Jason Miller

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  • 7 Common Myths You Might Believe About Allyship | Entrepreneur

    7 Common Myths You Might Believe About Allyship | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In a world that continues to grapple with social injustice and systemic inequality, allyship has emerged as a critical strategy for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. While many individuals genuinely believe they are good people, the challenge lies in effectively demonstrating allyship in their actions. True allyship goes beyond performative gestures or one-time efforts; it requires consistent, intentional actions over time. Allyship is about sustained change long term.

    Allyship, at its core, involves supporting marginalized individuals or communities by using one’s privilege to dismantle oppressive systems. Allies actively work to amplify marginalized voices, challenge biased norms and advocate for equity and justice. It is important to recognize that allyship is not a self-appointed label, but rather a status earned through continuous learning, self-reflection and ongoing action.

    In an era of social media activism and viral challenges, it is easy to fall into the trap of engaging in check-the-box activities. These are actions taken solely for the purpose of being seen as an ally or to temporarily ease one’s guilt, without a genuine commitment to effecting real change. Posting a hashtag, attending a single protest or making a donation can certainly be valuable, but they alone do not define allyship. True allyship necessitates a long-term investment of time, energy and resources.

    Effective allyship involves taking meaningful action beyond performative gestures. Engage in direct support of marginalized individuals and communities. This can include volunteering, mentoring or financially supporting relevant organizations. Stand up against discrimination and biases, even in uncomfortable situations. Being an ally means using your voice and privilege to effect change, both on an individual and systemic level.

    Related: Are You a Performative Ally? Here Are the Signs.

    Myth 1: Allyship is a one-time act

    Allyship is an ongoing commitment to actively support and advocate for marginalized individuals or groups. It requires consistent effort, education and self-reflection.

    Myth 2: Allies should speak for marginalized groups

    True allyship involves listening to and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities, rather than speaking on their behalf. Allies should create space for marginalized individuals to share their own experiences and perspectives. Allyship is about speaking up with marginalized groups, not for marginalized groups.

    Myth 3: Allies are always perfect and never make mistakes

    Allies are human and can make mistakes. It’s important to acknowledge and learn from those mistakes, take responsibility and make efforts to do better. Allyship is a continuous learning process. It is about progress over perfection.

    Myth 4: Allyship is solely about individual actions

    While individual actions are important, allyship also involves addressing systemic issues and working towards creating inclusive and equitable environments. This may involve advocating for policy changes, challenging discriminatory practices and supporting organizations that promote diversity and inclusion. Individual actions are important, but systems must be addressed for true positive change.

    Myth 5: Allies should be recognized and praised for their efforts

    Allyship is not about seeking recognition or accolades. It’s about supporting marginalized communities without expecting anything in return. True allyship is driven by the desire to create positive change, rather than personal gain. Allyship is in the eye of the beholder, it cannot be a self-proclamation.

    Myth 6: Allies should always be at the forefront of activism

    Allies should recognize that their role is to support and uplift marginalized communities, rather than taking the spotlight away from them. Centering and amplifying the voices and experiences of those directly affected by systemic injustices is crucial. Allyship is about dropping your ego and doing what is right, even if it is hard.

    Related: Every Leader Should Be an Ally: How To Implement Diversity and Inclusion in Your Business

    Myth 7: Allies cannot be criticized

    Feedback is a gift. Allies should be open to feedback and criticism. It’s essential to listen to the concerns and perspectives of marginalized individuals and be willing to reflect on and improve their allyship practices. Constructive criticism can help allies grow and become more effective in their support. If someone’s kind enough to give you feedback, they are trying to help you be better. Allies leverage feedback to learn and grow. It may be hard to understand something you haven’t yet experienced as an ally. That’s why feedback and learning are so critical.

    Allyship is a journey, and it requires continuous self-education, empathy and action. It’s important to recognize and challenge these myths in order to foster more inclusive and supportive communities.

    In a world striving for social justice and equality, allyship plays a pivotal role. It requires consistent, intentional actions over time rather than mere check-the-box activities. By actively educating ourselves, listening, amplifying marginalized voices and taking meaningful action, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and equitable society.

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    Julie Kratz

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  • Need a Freelancer to Fill in Talent Gaps? Look For These 7 Traits | Entrepreneur

    Need a Freelancer to Fill in Talent Gaps? Look For These 7 Traits | Entrepreneur

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    Hiring a freelancer requires almost the same amount of consideration as finding in-house talent. Doing so provides business owners and team managers to fully assess whether an independent worker is the right fit for their team.

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    Pierre Raymond

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  • Former Employees Confess to Seeking Revenge on Their Former Employers | Entrepreneur

    Former Employees Confess to Seeking Revenge on Their Former Employers | Entrepreneur

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    Revenge is a dish best served…via cyberspace?

    It is according to research from PasswordManager.com, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. workers who had access to company passwords at their previous jobs — and found that 10% used those passwords to disrupt company activities after they left.

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    Amanda Breen

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  • The Damaging Results of The Mandated Return to Office is Worse Than We Thought | Entrepreneur

    The Damaging Results of The Mandated Return to Office is Worse Than We Thought | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We’re now finding out the damaging consequences of the mandated return to office. And it’s not a pretty picture.

    A trio of compelling reports — the Greenhouse Candidate Experience Report, the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), and Unispace’s “Returning for Good” report — collectively paint a stark picture of this brewing storm.

    Unispace finds that nearly half (42%) of companies that mandated office returns witnessed a higher level of employee attrition than they had anticipated. And almost a third (29%) of companies enforcing office returns are struggling with recruitment. Imagine that — nearly half! In other words, they knew it would cause some attrition, but they weren’t ready for the serious problems that would result.

    Perhaps they should have. According to the same Greenhouse report, a staggering 76% of employees stand ready to jump ship if their companies decide to pull the plug on flexible work schedules. Moreover, employees from historically underrepresented groups are 22% more likely to consider other options if flexibility goes out the window.

    In the SHED survey, the gravity of this situation becomes more evident. The survey equates the displeasure of shifting from a flexible work model to a traditional one to that of experiencing a 2 to 3% pay cut.

    Related: You Should Let Your Team Decide Their Approach to Hybrid Work. A Behavioral Economist Explains Why and How You Should Do It.

    The talent hunt: A game of chess with flexibility as the queen

    In the game of talent acquisition and retention, flexible work policies have swiftly emerged as the queen on the chessboard — commanding, decisive and game-changing. The Greenhouse, SHED, and Unispace reports — when viewed together — provide compelling evidence to back this assertion.

    Greenhouse finds that 42% of candidates would outright reject roles that lack flexibility. In turn, the SHED survey affirms that employees who work from home a few days a week greatly treasure the arrangement. It’s like enjoying a day at the beach while still being connected to the digital world.

    Curious about what’s luring employees away? The Greenhouse report has cracked the code:

    • Increased compensation (48%)
    • Greater job security (34%)
    • Career advancement opportunities (32%)
    • Better flexible work policies (28%)
    • A more positive company culture (27%)

    In other words, excluding career-centric factors such as pay, security and promotion, flexible work policies shine brighter than the Vegas Strip in employee desires.

    Interestingly, Unispace throws another factor into the mix — choice. According to their report, overall, the top feelings employees revealed they felt towards the office were happy (31%), motivated (30%) and excited (27%). However, all three of these feelings decrease for those with mandated office returns (27%, 26% and 22% respectively). This highlights that staff are more open to returning to the office if it is out of choice, rather than forced.

    Case studies of attrition with the return to office

    Take, for example, a regional insurance company with a workforce of around 2000 employees. The company enforced a return to the office policy, causing waves of unrest. It soon became evident that their attrition rates were climbing steadily. It echoed the Greenhouse report’s findings: a majority of employees, 76%, would actively seek a new job if flexible work policies were retracted. The underrepresented groups were even more prone to leave, making the situation more daunting.

    At that point, they called me to help as a hybrid work expert that The New York Times called the “Office Whisperer.” We worked on adapting their return-to-office plan, switching it from a top-down mandate to a team-driven approach, focusing on welcoming staff to the office for the sake of collaboration and mentoring. As a result, their attrition rates dropped and the feelings of employees toward the office improved, in line with what the Unispace report suggests.

    In another case study, a large financial services company began noticing employee turnover despite offering competitive salaries and growth opportunities. Upon running an internal survey, they realized that, aside from better compensation and career advancement opportunities, employees were seeking better flexible work policies. This aligned with the Greenhouse and SHED findings, which ranked flexible work policies as a crucial factor influencing job changes. After consulting with me, they adjusted their policies to be more competitive in offering flexibility.

    A late-stage SaaS startup decided to embrace this wave of change. They worked with me to introduce flexible work policies, and the result was almost immediate – they noticed a sharp decrease in employee turnover and an uptick in job applications. Their story echoes the collective message from all three reports: companies must adapt to flexible work policies or risk being swept away.

    Related: Why Empowering Your Hybrid Workers to Co-Create a Winning Return to Office Plan Leads to Longterm Gain

    The brain factor: How cognitive biases play a role

    As we navigate these shifting landscapes of work, we cannot ignore the human elements at play. Like unseen puppeteers, cognitive biases subtly shape our decisions and perceptions. In the context of flexibility and retention, two cognitive biases come into sharp focus: the status quo bias and anchoring bias.

    Imagine a thriving tech startup, successfully operating in a hybrid model during the pandemic. As the world normalized, leadership decided to return to pre-pandemic, in-person work arrangements. However, they faced resistance and an unexpected swell of turnover.

    This situation illustrates the potent influence of the status quo bias. This bias, deeply entrenched in our human psyche, inclines us towards maintaining current states or resisting change. Employees, having tasted the fruits of flexible work, felt averse to relinquishing these newfound freedoms. The Greenhouse report bears testament to this, with 76% of employees open to job hunting if their company rolled back flexible work policies.

    Consider a large financial institution that enforced a full return to office after the pandemic. Many employees, initially attracted by the brand and pay scale, felt disgruntled. The crux of the problem lies in the anchoring bias, which leads us to heavily rely on the first piece of information offered (the ‘anchor’) when making decisions.

    When initially joining the company, the employees were primarily concerned with compensation and job security, the “anchors” in their decision-making process. However, once within the fold, the pandemic caused them to shift their focus to work-life balance and flexibility, as confirmed by both the Greenhouse and SHED reports. Unfortunately, the rigid return-to-office policy made these new anchors seem less attainable, resulting in dissatisfaction and an increased propensity to leave.

    So, as we steer our ships through these tumultuous waters, understanding these cognitive biases can help illuminate our path. Recognizing and accounting for the status quo and anchoring biases can enable us to create a workplace that not only attracts but also retains its employees in this age of flexibility. After all, success in the world of business is as much about understanding people as it is about numbers and strategy.

    Embracing the wave of change

    If there’s one overarching theme resonating from the Greenhouse, SHED, and Unispace reports, it’s this: Companies need to embrace the wave of flexible work policies or risk being left adrift. As we set sail into the future of work, flexibility isn’t just a passing trend; it’s a necessity, the new standard. After all, the key to not just attracting talent, but retaining it, lies in one simple word: flexibility. To ignore it is like trying to run a marathon with one shoe. Possible, perhaps, but far from comfortable or efficient.

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    Gleb Tsipursky

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  • 3 Methods to Unlock the Mindset You Need for More Success | Entrepreneur

    3 Methods to Unlock the Mindset You Need for More Success | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Recently, I sat down with a fellow entrepreneur to talk about his business. I asked what experiences I could share that would help him. He answered almost immediately: “I am struggling with getting my team to focus less on themselves and more on our customers and their needs.”

    Specifically, he shared that many of his team’s meetings have nothing to do with the customer but instead are centered around the company, its people or policies. For example, deciding whether to create a nap room or provide pet maternity leave. Because he is in a creative field and we live in feel-good Portland, Oregon, my guess is that he has a bit of a headwind trying to guide his team to think less about employee perks and more about serving their customers.

    I do have experience to share about fostering a customer-centric mindset.

    I am a year and a half into building my third company. Over time, the companies my team and I build have evolved to become more and more customer-centric — and are experiencing greater and greater success largely because of that. This third company has the highest customer satisfaction ratings we have ever received.

    We produced these results using three methods that promote a customer-centric mindset. The combination of the three essentially hard-codes the customer as the priority.

    Related: 3 Ways to Build a Customer-Centric Company Culture

    1. Create customer-oriented core values

    When I looked at my friend’s five core values, none even remotely involved the customer. They all focused on the types of people working there and their behavior mindsets mainly toward each other.

    Two of our four core values are around customer service (“We Care” and “We Inspire 5-Star Reviews”). Customers see these show up in different ways, which helps us stand out compared to other companies. At team meetings, we often recognize examples of these two values, and all team members are rated on how they represent these values during their annual performance review.

    It is a leader’s responsibility to ensure that the customer’s viewpoint is part of your core values discussion.

    When we started the company, we held off-site meetings so the team could brainstorm our core values. While it is common practice during this exercise to identify what the best team members have in common and pick those as core values, it is also critical to consider the top three deliverables that customers value most and that make the company stand out from competitors. Then, identify specific, action-oriented core values that can deliver at the level required to achieve the vision and growth you outlined.

    Though reworking core values can be very difficult, a values redux where as many as half of them focus on the customer or the types of characteristics that serve your customer best is key to enhancing company performance. Because core values function as your company’s DNA, this hardwires customer-oriented behaviors.

    2. Walk in the customer’s shoes

    What processes or experiences would help team members understand your customer’s unique journey and therefore improve it? New team members have a fresh perspective that can provide value to your company. It’s up to you to leverage that.

    We require new team members to blind-shop competitors — just like a new customer would. They complete a questionnaire about each competitor. During their orientation, I ask them to compare what they saw and experienced at our store versus competitors’ stores.

    This not only enables them to experience being a customer of our product but also empowers them to use what they learned to help sell to our customers, having literally walked in their shoes.

    Related: How to Become a More Customer-Centric Business in 5 Steps

    3. Tie compensation to customer satisfaction

    Another powerful way to inspire customer-centricity is to encourage it through compensation. There are many different compensation structures to achieve this.

    In our company, front-line team members are compensated in a number of ways. About 20% of their ongoing monetary compensation comes from a bonus pool tied to customer satisfaction. Their bonus percentage is calculated from the number of five-star reviews received and the percentage of promoters from our customer service survey.

    Additionally, these satisfaction measures, combined with their annual review core values ratings, are utilized to determine their annual company profit-sharing allocation. There is no substitute for the power of this direct connection to happy customers. The happier our customers are, the more money front-line team members make.

    Balance the seesaw

    When you created your company, did you do it solely to make employees happy? Probably not. More likely, you saw a need or problem and wanted to solve it to improve your customers’ lives.

    That said, a great work environment and strong company culture are important, too. After all, superior customer satisfaction can’t be delivered unless your employees are happy — the two concepts are not mutually exclusive.

    The connection between employee happiness and customer satisfaction is like a seesaw, requiring a delicate balance that each business leader must achieve on their own terms. As you calibrate where the weight will sit, remember that without happy customers, the company won’t survive very long.

    A customer-centric perspective is key to long-term success, which enables the opportunity for ongoing employee satisfaction. When you empower employees to connect those two concepts through core values, walking in the customer’s shoes and compensation tied to customer satisfaction, you’ve implemented a trifecta of winning strategies that should hard-code your company to find its ideal equilibrium and thrive for decades.

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    Barry Raber

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  • Which Hiring Strategy Is Right for Your Startup? My Experience Says This One | Entrepreneur

    Which Hiring Strategy Is Right for Your Startup? My Experience Says This One | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Startup businesses face a unique environment when it comes to adding the talent it needs during their earliest stages of operations. Of course, hiring a few full-time employees seems wise, but if a nascent business grows too quickly, salary spend might outstrip its initial funding sources. Too many staffing-related expenses remain a leading cause of startup failure especially when considering the difficulties encountered in hiring technology professionals.

    Related to that last point, even with rumors of a recession and the wide publicity of various tech layoffs, the current IT job market still greatly favors candidates. This situation makes any staffing process fraught with risk. Spending vital capital on a hiring effort that results in little success is something nascent businesses need to avoid.

    As such, any startup must consider leveraging the staff augmentation approach for at least some of its early hiring needs. Adopting this strategy provides a supply of talent at a fraction of the cost compared to onboarding full-time employees. It gives an emerging business the critical brainpower and budget flexibility it needs to improve its chances of success. So let’s take a closer look at both approaches to see what makes sense for your startup.

    Related: 5 Ways to Organize a New Business to Take Advantage of the Future of Work

    Traditional hiring provides a straightforward methodology for adding talent

    A startup using a traditional staffing approach takes a measure of comfort in its straightforward methodology. Your new company simply posts a job ad detailing the requirements of your opening. However, depending on the reach of your advertising, you might be faced with hundreds of candidates that need to be analyzed. This situation becomes a drain on resources for startups lacking a full HR department.

    Simply having to parse through a massive number of résumés requires a significant amount of effort from a startup’s management team. Productivity for entrepreneurs is critical, and this is time better spent vetting business ideas or developing the requirements for the new business’s first minimum-viable product. Once again, adopting this traditional staffing approach might not even result in any successful hires, wasting the time and resources of a business that needs to limit its capital spending. In a startup’s earliest stages, only consider using it for a few key hires and ensure you work with a strategic HR team to hire team members who believe in your company’s values, which a Gallup poll finds is important for 1 in every 4 employees.

    Staff augmentation gives startups more flexibility

    Strategic flexibility within startups is a core advantage impacting exploratory innovation, but by the same token, startups also need flexibility to ensure they have the right level of resources at the right time to escalate development, drive growth and advance at key times. When using a staff augmentation strategy, a startup typically adds talent on a temporary basis to meet a specific need. This might be someone with certain tech experience, like AI and machine learning, that your new business wants to complete a project. It also provides a way to try out a candidate on your team before potentially offering them a permanent position.

    It ultimately helps the startup scale up its operations in a responsible and manageable manner, especially compared to engaging in risky staffing processes that result in few meaningful hires. This approach remains more conservative and wise when considering the revenue-limited status of most new businesses. Of course, using contract professionals also saves money when compared to the full salaries and benefits packages of a permanent hire.

    Typically, a startup works with a managed staffing services provider or a startup studio operating as an agency builder for access to contract professionals on a staff augmentation basis. Building a partnership with a talent provider ensures they understand your business’s specific needs and office culture. It ultimately ensures a good fit between a startup and its temporary workers.

    Related: How to Boost Revenue Per Employee By Leveraging This Effective Strategy

    Other benefits of staff augmentation for startups

    Of course, startups gain a myriad of other benefits by adopting a staff augmentation approach for their talent needs. For example, many new businesses lack mature processes or even the concept of a productive team. When partnering with an agency builder as a source for staff augmentation professionals, you have the option to onboard an entire project team. This approach adds extra synergies related to collaboration, ensuring an efficient project highlighted by focused teamwork.

    Additionally, staff augmentation lets your startup quickly close a critical skills gap on an important project. If the startup’s core business idea involves a mobile app with real-time data analytics powered by machine learning, onboard an entire team with tangible skills and experience, developing, training and deploying ML models. It keeps your project on target and also lets your permanent employees gain valuable experience working with top-shelf software engineers with significant AI experience.

    Trying to find a similar team-based talent influx when engaged in a traditional hiring process remains effectively impossible. Your startup might make a permanent hire or two, but these new employees still need to learn how to work effectively as a team.

    In the end, staff augmentation for startups provides the flexibility they need to thrive during their early operations. They save money while still benefiting from the top-shelf technology talent many new businesses struggle to hire. Startups now boast the seamless scalability to grow in a measured manner — neither too quickly nor too slow. It’s the right approach for any new business looking for the greatest chance at success.

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    Andrew Amann

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  • 9 Strategies to Help Your Employees Find Their Purpose | Entrepreneur

    9 Strategies to Help Your Employees Find Their Purpose | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Studies show that people’s hunger for purpose and meaningful work is at an all-time high. It’s one of the top reasons people give for leaving a job and it’s what they’re looking for in their next one.

    While leaders set the tone for a purpose-driven organization, managers are the ones who bring it to life. Or bury it. Managers matter because their daily words and actions create the work environment for 90% of any organization’s workforce.

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    Britt Andreatta

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  • 3 Gratitude Practices I Tried That Turned Into Long-Term Habits | Entrepreneur

    3 Gratitude Practices I Tried That Turned Into Long-Term Habits | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In my 20s, it seemed easy to maintain a positive outlook on life. It was a simpler time with a lot less that could go wrong. As the years passed, I started collecting responsibilities — and bad things happened along with the good. When I started my company, I faced new, unchartered challenges. At one point, my business nearly collapsed. As a result, my outlook shifted to a more negative place. Business problems and other life responsibilities in 2007 took control and made some days outright bad ones. My tone changed from upbeat to downbeat. I started having trouble seeing the good in things. That change in outlook affected my health, inviting more “misfortune.”

    Though it wasn’t a conscious effort, I began to collect strategies to recapture the happy, positive mindset of my twenties. I had previously thought that whether a person thinks the glass is half-full or half-empty was genetically hardwired. At some point, I realized that any hardwiring could be overpowered by events. My parents taught me that a positive attitude was the foundation for a good life. I never thought that maintaining one would take practice or need support, but as it turns out: It does.

    Today, I practice three regular habits to keep my outlook positive.

    Related: Want A Major Business and Life Hack? Learn to Harness the Power of Gratitude. Here’s How to Do It.

    1. “The Greatest Hits” meeting

    As a business leader, most of the company’s challenging issues make their way to your desk. When you see so many problems, you get the feeling that’s all there is — problems. Rationally, you know that is not the case, but in order to instill the proper perspective, we started our “Greatest Hits” meetings.

    Every week at 9 a.m., the key people in our company share their latest and greatest hits for 10 minutes. Prior to the meeting, they fill out our unique Post-It prompting their answers. Each person shares two examples of something they are proud of: either something noteworthy they saw someone else do or something that happened around the company. They then share a personal hit — something from their personal life that they are thankful for.

    With six attendees, each week we hear 18 positive things that went right. In a year, that’s almost 1,000 good things! Without this process, I would not even be aware of most of these 1,000 greatest hits. The huge benefit to me is a weekly reminder that 90% of things are going right, even when it feels like 90% are going wrong. It boosts team morale and confidence, too.

    2. Thankful Thursday

    Another habit I developed is now known as Thankful Thursday. Every Thursday afternoon, I express gratitude to others for what they have done for me over the prior week.

    I use a few prompts for this. I jot down things as they happen on a “Grateful to You” notepad. I keep my post-it note from the Greatest Hits meeting to spark other ideas. I look at the prior week’s calendar to jog my memory on everything I did and who I met with and review my phone pictures. I write it all down on the Grateful notepad, then decide how best to appreciate those people.

    This practice has evolved to the point where I have a gratitude wall in my office with an array of cards I send people. I spend about 20 minutes sending out cards, letters, gifts, emails and entering relevant company items in a Core Value Highlights database.

    This habit accomplishes more than you might think. Of course, it makes me realize all the things I have to be thankful for (usually four to eight each week) and appreciate them more.

    With team members, it reinforces positive behavior, noteworthy actions and standout job performance. I find that people are universally motivated by being appreciated. When you do a good job of that, they are more motivated, repeat the excellent performance and enjoy better morale for feeling properly appreciated. I often see my notes on their office walls. I think doing a good job of appreciating people is a major contributor to the high ratings we receive on Glassdoor from former employees. In my experience, I receive five times the feedback from showing gratitude to team members compared with monetary recognition in the form of raises or profit sharing.

    Non-employees also enjoy being recognized for doing something for the company. Handwritten thank-yous are rare enough now that sometimes I even get thank-yous for the thank-yous!

    Related: How to Practice Gratitude as a Business Skill

    3. The 90/10 Rule

    Think about it: most — let’s say 90% — of the things that you worry may happen never come to pass. It might actually be more like 95%. When I first heard that 30 years ago, I didn’t necessarily believe it. But after 30 years of observing what I stress or think about versus the final outcome, the rule is absolutely true.

    The trick is to retrain your human nature that self-preserves by worrying to try not to worry while life is happening around you. That is probably a whole separate article unto itself — but if you can train yourself to only “worry” or dwell on something when it actually becomes a legitimate problem, you become 90% happier.

    The habits I practice are by no means an all-inclusive list of how leaders can keep gratitude top-of-mind to elevate their companies and stay positive. But they are the three that I put into regular practice. Each has nuances that are beneficial to me and my team (or both).

    No matter how you incorporate gratitude into your business, I encourage you to do so. Start now, get creative, experiment with different techniques and find what resonates most — because everyone benefits from an increase in gratitude and innovative ways to incorporate it.

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    Barry Raber

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