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Tag: Employee Experience & Recruiting

  • Why I Hire and Invest in Working Moms | Entrepreneur

    Why I Hire and Invest in Working Moms | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    For more than two decades, my co-founder and I have built an education business focused on mentorship, transparency and ethical guidance, and are committed to cultivating a culture where working moms of all ages and life stages can thrive. Before I launched this college admissions company, Top Tier Admissions, my professional network in educational television, publishing and as a parenting expert included women who inspired me, personally and professionally, as mentors and colleagues. I knew I wanted to use my position as an owner to empower working parents and create a culture that reflected this, even as we operated virtually. Today, I’m proud to lead a team composed primarily of working moms.

    Like many in business, I’ve been watching as the mass exodus of working women shapes conversations around associated policies and leadership retention. According to McKinsey, 10.5% of women in leadership are leaving their jobs — an alarming attrition, and the highest rate in the last five years. The private membership network for women executives, Chief, recently launched a campaign, #MakeWorkWork, to amplify how companies are supporting women leaders. In an interview with Forbes, their CEO, Carolyn Childers, notes that “… over 90% of women say that they would stay at a company if they were just invested in it.”

    So how do we invest in women, particularly those who are also balancing caregiving roles? Here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way — as a founder, a mom, a grandmother and a leader of working moms — to connect and support teams while delivering high-quality products and expertise.

    Related: I’m A Traveling Mompreneur. Here’s Why Ditching Sales Calls and Using DMs Was The Best Thing For My Sales

    1. The importance of flexible work

    Post-pandemic, traditional 9-to-5 jobs are declining, and for good reason. By prioritizing work/life balance and flexibility in order to accommodate parenting responsibilities, team members can be better valued and respected as whole people. Our team sets their own hours and works from anywhere. Moms with very young children can choose to take on a lighter client load for a season, for example, waiting until their youngest enters pre-school or the baby is sleeping through the night.

    Working mothers make exceptional entrepreneurs, but to set them up for success, it’s key to prioritize independence and control over working environments, hours and futures. The capable and experienced members of our team have this kind of freedom, and so flourish.

    2. Supportive mentors and peers

    A team is more productive when its members are encouraged and motivated to reach out and share expertise. Regardless of gender or parenthood status, everyone who contributes to the company’s mission should feel seen and valued. Drawing on the experiences of fellow team members fills in the cracks and lifts us up, energizing engagement with clients.

    Our philosophy as college counselors is to mentor students and families one-on-one. At the same time, team members mentor each other with casual lunch Zoom drop-ins, by sharing resources, concerns and case studies on Slack, and by imparting more formal expertise when it comes to deliverable reviews.

    Related: How Women Entrepreneurs Can Find Women Mentors

    3. Embrace asynchronous collaboration tools

    Dropbox is an obvious asset for any remote business. We appreciate the ability to learn from one another and prioritize transparency for more effective collaboration, and so each counselor’s student folders and files are available to the team. This way, we can brainstorm together, ask for peer review and share resources. We also rely on Slack for day-to-day feedback, quick questions and encouragement and to foster a sense of community and collegiality when we aren’t physically in the same place.

    4. Lead by example

    When my co-founder and I started Top Tier Admissions, our children were young. We had each other’s backs and cycled work days to match work/life rhythms. I was up early and handled the 5:00 a.m. international calls, while Michele was a night owl and dove into work after her children were asleep. Now, as a grandmother, I am seeing my daughters navigate the same precarious balance that comes with work and home obligations.

    Related: Lessons Learned From A Midlife Venture Into Business Ownership

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    Mimi Doe

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  • How to Lead With Emotional Intelligence in 2023 | Entrepreneur

    How to Lead With Emotional Intelligence in 2023 | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With Covid-19 firmly in the rear-view mirror in most parts of the world, entrepreneurs are now developing creative ways to mold inclusive and healthy work environments for employees. Rocky economic forecasts make this even more vital as companies double down on profitability overgrowth. Stay caught up; join the wise employers who swear by leading with emotional intelligence.

    What is emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence is the ability or quality that enables leaders to confront challenges with patience, insight and control. Through emotional intelligence, leaders achieve a higher level of problem-solving in the work environment. The ability to identify and monetize opportunities is also improved through emotional intelligence. Here are a few ways to pivot 2023 output by leading with emotional intelligence.

    Related: Use These 7 Emotional Intelligence Tips to Be a Better Leader

    How to lead with emotional intelligence

    1. Embrace diversity:

    Diversity in the workplace is synonymous with variety in the human body. We each rely on copious amounts of biological systems, cogs and energy to stay alive and thrive. Every cell in your body varies slightly from the next, and so does the workforce. Each employee is different in their unique way. As a leader, it is important to embrace each employee with their eccentricities without judgment or victimization.

    2. Prioritize the needs of your employees:

    The best way to create a positive work environment is by considering your employee’s needs at every step. Employees are more likely to perform exceptionally in 2023 when they feel their needs are being met.

    3. Practice self-awareness:

    Self-awareness is recognizing how your emotions impact your behavior, particularly toward your employees. Leaders who lack self-awareness often have a high employee turnover. According to a study performed by Georgetown University, the average employee lost commitment to their jobs due to low emotional intelligence displayed by leaders.

    The best way to develop self-awareness is by closely examining your behavior and attitude toward employees. How do you react when slighted? Are you calm and collected, or do you fly into a rage? Introspection will open your eyes to your flaws; if it does not work, you can always ask your employees for feedback.

    3. Keep emotions in check:

    Let’s face it, life is not always a walk in the park, especially when running a company. However, when dealing with employees, you must keep your emotions in check. A huge part of emotional intelligence is learning to identify different emotions you are experiencing. If you notice you get angry often, try and deal with the situation without reacting emotionally. Instead, employ facts and empathy to deal with the situation and see how it goes.

    4. Learn new concepts:

    Learning is a lifelong journey for everyone looking to keep growing. Learning new ways to manage situations as a leader is a fantastic way to keep your employees satisfied. Show your subordinates that you are making an effort to change, and they will be grateful and more cooperative in their daily tasks. Some new concepts you can pick to help with emotional intelligence include the art of meditating and empathy.

    5. Journal:

    Journaling is a fantastic way to express your thoughts and emotions, giving them form. Through journaling, you can identify wanting behavior and also learn about critical triggers in your daily life. Once you know where you are going wrong, you can swiftly devise a plan of action to improve your behavior for the company’s sake.

    6. Learn to communicate effectively:

    Excellent and practical communication skills are among the more positive byproducts of emotional intelligence. However, excellent communication skills can sometimes be used to achieve higher emotional intelligence. As a leader, your communication skills must always be on point. When it comes to communication, everything from the tone to how you say something matters. When it comes to communication, it is not always one size fits all, so you need to learn how to approach each employee for maximum impact.

    Related: Emotional Intelligence is the Secret to Leadership in Times of Crisis

    The benefits of emotional intelligence

    1. Reduced employee turnover:

    Emotionally intelligent people can maintain a level head in high-stress situations. They can see the reality for what it is by reading through numerous guises employees put up. In the highly competitive business industry, employers struggle to keep good talent, and emotional mastery is one of the top tools to achieve this goal.

    2. Improved output:

    A leader with high emotional intelligence can make all employees feel like they belong. When employees feel a sense of fitting in, they are more than likely to put in extra effort toward daily tasks. In the current challenging economic times, companies are placing more value on output and profitability, which makes this benefit even more valuable to your business.

    3. Better teamwork:

    Like other forms, emotional intelligence can be transferred through practice and teaching. Showing your team emotional intelligence will likely rub off and create better teamwork. People with high emotional intelligence communicate better within their teams, making them work better together.

    4. Creates a healthy working environment:

    In a work environment where leaders have high emotional intelligence, the employees enjoy a healthy work environment. Employees are also more likely to enjoy longer and more fruitful careers. A leader with a high emotional quotient (EQ) can maintain excellent relationships within the company, encouraging teamwork and innovation. Employees also enjoy growth opportunities with the support of said leaders who nurture and support the employee’s interests.

    The data is in, and the numbers strongly suggest that leading with emotional intelligence allows you and your company to identify and grab more opportunities. 2023 is the year you should add emotional intelligence to your wheelhouse, for posterity’s sake. Harness the exponential potential hidden in emotional intelligence, and make 2023 your best-performing year yet.

    Related: How to Raise Your Emotional Intelligence in 3 Steps

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    Steve Taplin

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  • Why Prioritizing Soft Skills in New Hires Is Crucial In The Modern Workplace | Entrepreneur

    Why Prioritizing Soft Skills in New Hires Is Crucial In The Modern Workplace | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Soft skills are the personal qualities that enable an individual to communicate effectively, work well in a team, and adapt to changing situations. In today’s modern workplace, soft skills have become increasingly important, not just for individual success but also for the organization’s overall success.

    Soft skills like adaptability and problem-solving are particularly important in today’s fast-paced, constantly changing work environment. Strong soft skills can also enhance an individual’s career prospects, leading to greater success in their chosen field.

    This article will discuss the importance of soft skills in the modern workplace, both for profitability and company culture.

    Related: Attracting and Retaining Customers and Employees Comes Down to These Two Skills

    What are soft skills?

    Soft skills are the personal attributes and traits that allow one to effectively communicate and connect with colleagues, friends and coworkers. These skills include emotional intelligence, leadership, communication, problem-solving, adaptability, time management, teamwork and conflict resolution. Soft skills are essential to succeed in today’s modern workplace, where collaboration and communication are increasingly important.

    Related: How to Acquire Soft Skills and Measure Them Successfully

    Why are soft skills important in the modern workplace?

    Soft skills are essential in the modern workplace and play a significant role in the organization’s success. Here are a few reasons why soft skills are important:

    1. Improved teamwork and collaboration. One of the primary reasons why soft skills are essential in the modern workplace is that they improve teamwork and collaboration. Effective communication and collaboration are critical for the success of any organization. Employees with strong soft skills can communicate and work well with others, leading to better collaboration and teamwork.
    2. Increased productivity. Soft skills can also lead to increased productivity. Employees with strong time management skills can manage their workload more effectively, leading to higher productivity levels. Effective problem-solving skills can also lead to faster resolution of issues, allowing employees to focus on other tasks.
    3. Better customer service. Soft skills are essential in customer-facing roles, where employees interact with customers directly. Employees with strong soft skills, such as communication and emotional intelligence, can provide better customer service, increasing customer satisfaction.
    4. Improved company culture. Soft skills can also contribute to a positive company culture. Employees who have strong soft skills are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and productive, leading to a positive work environment. This positive culture can help attract and retain top talent, leading to long-term success for the organization.

    Related: The 10 Unique Soft Skills Employers Desire in New Hires

    Why should managers prioritize soft skills during the hiring process?

    Given the importance of soft skills in the modern workplace, managers must prioritize these skills during the hiring process. Here are a few reasons why:

    1. They are hard to teach. Soft skills are personal attributes, and they are often challenging to teach. While technical skills can be learned on the job or through training, soft skills are harder to develop. By prioritizing soft skills during hiring, managers can ensure they hire employees with these critical attributes.
    2. Soft skills are essential for success. As discussed earlier, soft skills are essential for success in the modern workplace. Employees with strong, soft skills are more likely to be productive, engaged and collaborative, leading to better overall organizational performance.
    3. Soft skills contribute to company culture. Hiring strong soft-skill employees can also contribute to a positive company culture. These employees are more likely to be engaged and motivated, creating a positive work environment. This positive culture can help attract and retain top talent, leading to long-term success for the organization.
    4. They improve team dynamics. Hiring employees with strong soft skills can also lead to improved team dynamics. These employees are likelier to work well with others, leading to better collaboration and teamwork. This can improve the overall performance of the team and the organization.

    Related: 4 Soft Skills You Need to Improve Your Career

    Conclusion

    Soft skills are essential in the modern workplace, and they play a significant role in the success of the organization. An organization full of soft-skilled employees will run and communicate like a well-oiled machine. Managers can save themselves many future heartaches if they prioritize soft skills during the hiring process to ensure that they hire employees who already possess these critical attributes.

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    Jigar Thakkar

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  • Is a Hackathon Right for Your Company? | Entrepreneur

    Is a Hackathon Right for Your Company? | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Mention “hackathon,” and the image that might come to mind is of a bunch of computer geeks competing to devise some brilliant yet obscure programming solution.

    There’s some truth to that, but the hackathon has come a long way from its original incarnation and deserves more attention from businesses. I would argue that almost every company should be thinking about how they can use hackathons to unlock innovation and bolster teamwork — especially now. The practice is a powerful way to retain and attract good people in the post-pandemic world where employees are demanding more value and purpose at work. It’s also a major morale booster, offers the opportunity for important professional development and creates new relationships that span business verticals.

    The modern hackathon isn’t just about coding, though tech often plays a big role in the ideas that result. I like to think of it as an ideas meritocracy. It breaks employees out of their usual work-a-day structure, allowing them to focus on innovation to solve problems.

    The world’s most transformative companies have woven this approach into their cultures, ensuring that employees take regular time for blue-sky thinking that doesn’t necessarily yield immediate results. Google’s “20 percent rule,” allowing employees to take one day a week to work on side projects, famously led to the development of Gmail and Google Maps.

    Related: Microsoft Announces Hackathon For Future Ready Apps

    Innovation ‘flywheel’

    The hackathon culture can come in many different forms, from a tightly structured one-day event to a looser arrangement like Google’s. The key thing is that it establishes a network of new, organizational connections and gives teams the freedom to think big and fail. It needs to be part of a broader culture of innovation within a company, rather than a one-off event that compensates for a lack of innovative work the rest of the time.

    Done well, this can create a virtuous flywheel of innovation, helping make your company a place where people feel engaged and excited to work. So, it’s surprising that many companies still don’t do it. Many leaders — especially CFOs — may resist allowing employees to have “free time” that doesn’t contribute to the bottom line in an immediate or easily measurable way.

    How to get your executive team on board

    Step one for instilling a successful hackathon culture is to ensure buy-in from the entire executive team, particularly financial leaders. Start small, using funds from an existing budget to minimize the costs and risks. This gives you the opportunity to prove the concept and win over skeptics who will get a first-hand view of the excitement and energy that a good hackathon creates. We gave our CFO a seat on the judging panel, a not-so-subtle way to get them personally invested in the event.

    Hackathons shouldn’t just tolerate failure; they should actively celebrate it. The goal isn’t to come up with incremental improvements; it’s about sparking the kind of transformative, 10x ideas that would be unlikely to arise in the normal course of work. When teams are aiming that high, failure needs to be accepted and encouraged as part of the process without fear of negative judgment. Today’s flop could contain the seeds of tomorrow’s success. At the University of Phoenix, we’ve introduced an Icarus prize to our quarterly two-day hackathons to recognize the idea that flew closest to the sun before bombing.

    It’s important to take steps to ensure that the hackathon spirit doesn’t end with the event. It should become part of an overall innovation framework. I encourage companies to keep hackathon communication channels open throughout the year — perhaps via Slack. They should also continuously encourage innovative proposals and collaboration.

    Related: How to Cultivate a Culture of Intrapreneurship

    Not a free-for-all

    Participants should have a high degree of freedom to attack problems, but it’s a good idea to have a theme for the event which imposes structure. How to choose? Perhaps identify the type of problem teams need to focus on solving or specify an area of technology, such as AI and machine learning. We once ran a special hackathon with the goal of optimizing our data infrastructure, resulting in an API-based solution to cull thousands of expensive virtual servers. The concentrated focus, free from the usual distractions, allowed engineers to challenge entrenched assumptions and find creative workarounds.

    While participants need to figure out the big problems on their own without frequent check-ins, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have any support to complete their visions. Teams should be given access to resources such as tech infrastructure services and user experience expertise to help them avoid running into ditches.

    Organizers should also consider throwing the hackathon doors open to external participants. So long as potential intellectual property issues can be surmounted, this can benefit an organization by exposing problems to fresh thinking and acting as a recruiting tool for those who do good work and are attracted to an innovative culture.

    Lastly, don’t forget to bring the fun! Some of the most powerful effects of a hackathon are the contagious enthusiasm and team-bonding they can drive, so it’s counterproductive to run them in a sterile, dry atmosphere. Organizers should lay on lunch, crank up the music and even encourage teams to unleash their inner geek!

    So, stop looking outside your organization for solutions to your biggest tech problems. The solution is probably working for you right now.

    Related: It’s Not Just About The Tech: How Hackathons Foster People Skills In Its Participants

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    Jamie Smith

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  • The Power of Franchisee Training Videos | Entrepreneur

    The Power of Franchisee Training Videos | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Franchisors love to tout the training and support offered to franchisees in their system, which is designed to provide an education on the ownership and operation of their respective brands. It’s vital to communicate the instructions that make up the corporate training process, as the majority of franchise concepts make the valid claim that prior industry experience isn’t necessary to run the business models. But when job safety and accident prevention are often key components, you simply can’t underestimate the value and importance of training new franchisees.

    This is why some franchisors go all out during the onboarding phase. Many have developed elaborate programs, billed as “[insert brand here] University,” that provide countless hours of classroom and on-the-job training sessions. But are these dry, classroom-style sessions truly the most effective – and cost-efficient – way to reach new franchisees?

    In search of a better and more cost-effective solution to training new franchisees, should brands consider transitioning their valuable resources and money elsewhere? Below makes the case for using video as the primary medium.

    Related: 4 Big Benefits of Improved Employee Training

    What’s at stake

    Training new franchisees on operating a business model where they often have no prior experience requires a serious and sober approach, especially if new owners plan to handle the day-to-day operations. For instance, you can’t expect a former CPA to run a pest-control franchise without first communicating the associated risks and hazards that come with handling dangerous and harmful pesticides and chemicals. Just the same, a successful medical device sales executive has no business operating a chainsaw at great heights soon after purchasing a tree-trimming franchise. In both of these cases, communicating the associated workplace risks is every bit as important as teaching new franchisees how to acquire new customers and manage online ad campaigns.

    The value propositions of video

    What franchisors should value more than any other aspect of the training process is engagement. And securing the right level of engagement requires a training program that’s interesting, informative and even appealing. If franchisees find the instruction to be entertaining and enjoyable, they’re much more likely to retain the knowledge you’re trying to communicate. Forrester Research has conducted studies that reveal employees are 75% more likely to watch a video than read documents, web articles or emails. And thanks to the repetition and sharing that videos allow, retention rates rise, increasing trainees’ ability to remember details and concepts.

    One study, undertaken by the SAVO Group, found that — in the absence of video learning — employees were unable to retain as much as 65% of the material presented. Instructional video also allows for consistent messaging, meaning the information franchisors need to convey is absorbed equally by viewers. Lastly, the use of video — an effective, portable and engaging medium — also comes with metrics, allowing franchisors to track views, sharing, comments and even downloads. Why the discrepancies in effectiveness? Most experts attribute this to a theory known as The Cone of Experience, which holds that individuals can recall up to 50% of what is presented to them. If that sounds discouraging, the recall rate is 30% for what they see, 20% for what they hear and only 10% for what they’ve read.

    Related: How to Scale Your Training with Video and Learning Management Systems

    Is eLearning a thing?

    The sudden onset of the global pandemic brought radical changes to many industries and business channels that needed to adapt quickly to the public health threat. Education, with its pivot to online, or eLearning, offers one of the strongest examples. But is eLearning a thing? Video-based instruction and visual learning entered the mainstream almost overnight, and the results have been intriguing.

    Businesses and organizations are in near-total agreement that videos help them train their employees better and faster, and they plan to continue using the medium as part of their overall digital learning strategy. The flexibility that comes with video instruction has proven invaluable. Through video learning, users have the ability to pause, rewind and even rewatch content — giving the viewer full control over learning and comprehension of the proposed subject matter.

    How video saves time, money and resources

    The current training programs and onboarding platforms offered by many franchisors require the repetition of expenses in time, money and resources. It’s a time-consuming process, but transitioning to video could eliminate a majority of repetitive fixed costs. There are no scheduling conflicts or plane tickets to secure for instructors or franchise trainees. There are no venues to book, rooms to reserve or meals to cater. In fact, with the simplicity that comes from video training, trainees can absorb the required instruction whenever and wherever they choose — including the comfort of their own homes.

    As industries across the spectrum continue their rapid transformation to an all-digital world, the portability, engagement and effectiveness of video will play a central role in the comprehension of valuable information. The world of franchising is particularly suited to take advantage of the benefits that video production offers, and they go well beyond training programs. Many leading brands, as well as several upstart and emerging concepts, are already reaping the benefits of integrating video into their platforms. Video has become an effective tool for franchise development, recruitment, training, sales, customer acquisition and even ongoing support. Those that have invested in high-quality, brand-specific content for numerous franchise programs and initiatives will continue to reap the whirlwind of success associated with a powerful and consistent medium — video production.

    Related: How to Create A Video-Based Employee Onboarding Program To Maximize New Hire Productivity

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    Trevor Rappleye

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  • ‘Loud Layoffs’ Hurt Your Health — Shift Your Mindset Like This | Entrepreneur

    ‘Loud Layoffs’ Hurt Your Health — Shift Your Mindset Like This | Entrepreneur

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    Don’t let your biggest fears become your new reality.

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    Amanda Breen

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  • What’s on Entrepreneur TV This Week | Entrepreneur

    What’s on Entrepreneur TV This Week | Entrepreneur

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    Entrepreneur TV’s original programming is built to inspire, inform and fire up the minds of people like you who want to launch and grow their dream businesses. Watch new docu-series and insightful interviews streaming now on Entrepreneur, Galaxy TV, FreeCast, and Plex.

    This week be sure to watch episodes of:

    Chicago CEOs (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

    This Week’s Featured Show!

    CHICAGO CEOs, have you sat down with Chicago’s top CEOs as they discuss what brought them success?

    Episode 101: Sit down with the CEOs of the Chicago Bulls, White Sox, Cubs, personalized video app Cameo, healthy food producer Simple Mills, and the Wintrust Financial Corporation.

    My Stories (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

    MY STORIES The life stories of Roshan Brown, former D1 Basketball player.

    Episode 101: This moment of my life was an eye-opener and put me on my current path. Your current situation is different from your destination. Always keep striving for more!

    Celebrity Business Tips (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

    CELEBRITY BUSINESS TIPS showcases actors, athletes, and entrepreneurs as they share their best business tips to help you get started and find success with some humor and heart.

    Episode 101: Actors, athletes, and entrepreneurs alike all share their best business tips to help you get started and find success with some humor and heart.

    Habits and Hustle (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

    HABITS AND HUSTLE host Jennifer Cohen brings thought leaders and notable game-changers into thought-provoking conversations identifying effective techniques and ideas to help listeners level up their physical and mental capabilities.

    Episode 151: Amanda Knox is an exoneree, writer, and NYT bestselling author. We discussed topics like stoic meditation, negative visualizations, and the creative mental exercises she used to get through this hellish period. It’s imposing hearing Amanda’s ability to try to empathize with the people who had wronged her and the professional way she carries herself, especially after having every reason to be resentful.

    That Will Never Work (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

    THAT WILL NEVER WORK’s lively conversations showcase Marc’s unique combination of analytical skills and tough love, with a healthy dose of humor to provide actionable advice that will benefit founders – and would-be founders – at every stage of their business journey.

    Episode 304: Have you ever wondered what people do with the advice that Marc gives them on the show? David Silberman, the co-founder of PingPod, is here to tell you just that.

    Burt’s Buzz (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

    Our featured film BURT’S BUZZ looks at the world of Burt Shavitz, the face, and co-founder of Burt’s Bees.

    Movie: Journey into the remarkable double life of Burt Shavitz, a reclusive beekeeper who reluctantly becomes one of the world’s most recognizable brand identities.

    Action and Ambition (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

    ACTION AND AMBITION Andrew Medal goes behind the scenes to learn the world’s most ambitious people’s backstories, mindsets, and actions.

    Episode 102: Brothers John Resig and Leo Resig founded Chive Media Group and its flagship site, theCHIVE.com, in November 2008 with no capital and much hustle. With backgrounds in digital publishing and financial backing from partner Doug Schaaf, John and Leo were able to turn a three-person project into the nationwide, 170-employee entertainment digital media company that Chive Media Group is today.

    Elevator Pitch (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

    On ENTREPRENEUR ELEVATOR PITCH, entrepreneurs have 60 seconds to pitch a business idea to a boardroom of investors.

    Episode 803: They say to dress for the job you want. So why did one contestant show up without a shirt? Watch to see if going a little risque was worth the risk, and take in the lessons of other pitches on an episode that scored the most deals in show history.

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    Entrepreneur Staff

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  • 3 Signs That You Need a Virtual Assistant | Entrepreneur

    3 Signs That You Need a Virtual Assistant | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    According to Gallup, 45% of entrepreneurs report being stressed out, which makes perfect sense: Being the chief decision-maker and doing everything in a business gets overwhelming and frustrating, even when someone is passionate about what they do. In response, one of the most pivotal moves is taking on a personal virtual assistant — a person typically brought on via contract (rather than a traditional employee), providing both flexibility and enhanced options for getting things off your plate.

    Virtual assistants handle a broad range of tasks, including emailing newsletters, social media scheduling, calendar management, research, data entry, proofreading, landing page creation and much more. And there are reliable signs that you need one. Most people wait too long, then find themselves rushing through the hiring process, which makes disappointment far more likely.

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    Laura Briggs

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  • Why You Must Focus on Your Culture Amid Economic Uncertainty | Entrepreneur

    Why You Must Focus on Your Culture Amid Economic Uncertainty | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Amidst today’s market uncertainty, some organizational leaders feel they don’t have to focus as much on their workplace cultures now that power dynamics are shifting from employees back to employers. The real or anticipated labor market corrections suggest to them they can devote a significant portion of their time and attention elsewhere.

    They couldn’t be more mistaken.

    Economic downturns represent culturally critical times for organizations, especially those that rely heavily on their people. The threat of layoffs, compensation reductions, reorganizations and other internal changes all serve to severely depress morale. And while the anxieties that permeate such workplace events can drive some people to work “harder,” these efforts don’t usually result in better outcomes. Instead, underlying fears hinder connectivity and collaboration, preventing teams from driving value and achieving ambitious goals.

    What’s more, organizations that fall into this trap often suffer more when markets recover. Even brief cultural lapses make it extra challenging for them to engage in successful culture-building in better times, keeping them from capitalizing on new opportunities. Eventually, they lose out to the competition.

    Related: What Makes a Great Company Culture (and Why It Matters)

    The importance of culture building

    Workplace cultures — meaning the encouraged behaviors that, ideally, have been intentionally shaped to help employees reach and exceed big-picture objectives — are critical to the health of organizations. As an advisor who has facilitated hundreds of culture-building initiatives, I have seen firsthand how the strength of a business is usually directly tied to the strength of its culture.

    To illustrate, a long-time client in the highly competitive health technology space decided to invest in culture building in 2019 as a means of differentiating itself and preserving the organization’s legacy. This work helped it attract and retain top talent and instill a highly collaborative mindset, such that when the CEO explored a sale in 2021, valuations experts made specific reference to the company’s culture and put premium placement on its value.

    Simply, culture serves as an organization’s very foundation. And just like physical foundations, a culture’s real value and potential are often revealed when calamities strike.

    Related: Company Culture Is Everything

    What should leaders do?

    Leaders who are currently facing or anticipating challenges would thus be wise to keep culture efforts front and center. At a minimum, they can clearly and consistently reinforce their established mission, vision and values as a way to maintain teams’ sense of purpose and belonging. For organizations that have yet to put in place a mission, vision and values, conducting this very exercise is an ideal first step toward culture-building.

    Leaders can also embrace cultural norms that have been shown to consistently help organizations weather challenging environments. To illustrate, while every culture sits in a unique spot on various behavioral spectrums, those that lean toward greater transparency in their communications usually do better maintaining their people’s trust in challenging environments. Similarly, organizations that are more collaborative, innovative, inclusive and relationship-oriented, and those that take a longer-term view when it comes to how to measure returns on time investments, typically come out of downturns in stronger shape — both financially and culturally.

    Embracing these norms often requires leaders to give up some level of perceived or real control. It’s fairly common for top executives to seek control over not just systems, processes and messages, but authentic human responses that naturally defy top-down domination. They should consider letting go of this need and make space for their people’s messy, complex individuality in order to achieve greater transparency and build engagement and trust.

    In addition, leaders would be wise to reject any hint of the misguided notions tied to “capitalizing” on employee fears and anxieties for the good of their enterprises. This might mean bucking the emerging trend of walking back popular workplace policies, like flexible or hybrid work arrangements. Unless there’s a well-communicated strategic need to do away with such programs, employees will register such changes as calculated, punitive, traditional and unnecessary. They will impact the level of engagement and productivity teams bring to their work and inform their thinking when they have more employment options. Of course, employees are much more open-minded about in-person work when it’s directly tied to objectives such as team building and brainstorming.

    Related: 5 Ways to Turn Your Company Culture Around

    Rise to the challenge

    Rising to the challenge of organizational leadership requires top executives to constantly wrestle with the tension of doing the best for their people while doing the best for their organizations, keeping in mind opportunities and consequences that can impact both individuals and the collective. This means placing real value on team members’ high performance along with their humanity, accepting the challenge of prioritizing both simultaneously even in challenging times. While leaders might need to make difficult decisions, which, of course, can include letting people go, they must not lose their sense of empathy and compassion in the process —and not just because it represents poor corporate citizenship. It’s also a strategically bad move that will prove unwise sooner or later.

    The more leaders rise to this challenge, prioritizing their people’s humanity alongside their high performance, the more they’ll see their culture improve and serve to brace their organizations against whatever lies ahead.

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    David Eaton

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  • 5 Keys to Managing a Reshuffled Hybrid Team After Layoffs | Entrepreneur

    5 Keys to Managing a Reshuffled Hybrid Team After Layoffs | Entrepreneur

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    As a manager, leading a reshuffled hybrid team after layoffs can be a challenging task. The team dynamic has changed, and employees may be feeling uncertain, anxious or even resentful about the changes. This can affect their motivation and productivity, which can lead to decreased morale, lower job satisfaction and eventually, high turnover. It can be even more difficult when the layoffs happened in a less-than-empathetic manner, such as many prominent tech companies — Google, Twitter, Amazon, Meta, and others — recently laying off their employees by email.

    But with the right approach, managers can navigate this difficult situation and keep their teams motivated and productive. As an expert in hybrid workforce strategy, I helped team managers navigate through this stressful period, so as to minimize the natural decline of productivity, morale, and engagement that accompanies any layoff and team reshuffling.

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    Gleb Tsipursky

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  • How to Write Job Advertisements to Attract Remote Workers | Entrepreneur

    How to Write Job Advertisements to Attract Remote Workers | Entrepreneur

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    Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

    Writing job advertisements to attract remote workers requires a few optimizations that can be easy to make. Modern workers seek opportunities that offer flexible hours and the ability to work in any location. Remote work is becoming more of the standard and offering flexible working options is an excellent way for businesses to stay competitive in the job market.

    Keep in mind it’s still a job listing, so you need to effectively communicate the benefits of working remotely and the job requirements. Consider the following tips for writing job advertisements to attract remote workers.

    List your openings on job search sites.

    Job seekers start their searches on popular job sites like ZipRecruiter to simplify the hiring process. ZipRecruiter is a top site among hiring managers and job seekers because of its easy-to-use platform, AI matching technology, and the fact that it’s the #1 rated job site in the U.S.1.

    Candidates can select “remote” and “hybrid” filters when conducting their job searches, so having a quality listing can ensure your job opening appears at the top of the search results.

    Communicate the remote nature of the job.

    Be sure to specify that the job is a remote position and include details about the type of work environment and equipment that will be required. If the job advertisement doesn’t say remote up front, many people will assume that it’s not.

    Highlight the benefits of working remotely.

    Make it clear that the job offers the flexibility and autonomy of working remotely. Mention any perks or benefits that come with the position, such as a flexible schedule or the ability to work from anywhere.

    Clearly outline the job requirements.

    Your job advertisements should clearly state the skills, experience, and qualifications that are required for the position. This will help you attract the right candidates and weed out those who are not a good fit.

    Use language that resonates with remote workers.

    Use language that speaks to the benefits and challenges of working remotely. For example, mention the ability to work from anywhere or the need for strong self-motivation and discipline.

    Include information about your company culture.

    Remote workers often place a high value on company culture. In your job advertisements, include information about your company’s values and mission to help attract candidates who are a good fit.

    By following these tips, you can write job advertisements that effectively attract remote workers and find the right candidates for your open positions. Remember to be clear and concise and focus on the benefits and challenges of working remotely to attract the best candidates.

    1 Based on G2 satisfaction ratings as of January 1, 2022

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    Entrepreneur Deals

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  • Putting You in Your Business | Entrepreneur

    Putting You in Your Business | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Behind the Review host and Yelp’s Small Business Expert, Emily Washcovick, shares a look at this week’s episode of the podcast.

    Small business owners pour their time, knowledge, and money into building a business and keeping it running, all while trying to increase their bottom line, hire great employees, and create an excellent customer experience.

    With multiple priorities to juggle, it can be easy to leave out a crucial element of the business plan: the business owner themselves. When your business reflects more of you as a person—and not just an owner—you can humanize your business, improve the customer experience, and build brand loyalty.

    An easy way to put your voice and personality into your business is through your responses to online reviews. When a business owner takes the time to respond with an authentic voice, current and potential customers take notice. In fact, 88% of consumers are likely to use a business if they can see the business owner responds to their reviews, whether positive or critical.

    Even when things go wrong, Alyssa Bayer, owner of Milk + Honey Spa in Austin, said that her review response matters more than a mistake made during the customer’s experience.

    “Things are going to go wrong. That’s a given,” she said. “What really matters is how the business responds when things go wrong. And that’s what I think separates truly exceptional customer service from the average. Customers who’ve had the biggest customer service breakdown, a really horrific experience, when you have the opportunity to fix that and exceed their expectations, those customers are the ones that become the most loyal and fanatical.”

    Josh Campbell, owner of Rescue Air Heating and Cooling, agreed with Alyssa, making sure to also thank reviewers for their critical feedback.

    “They want to voice this concern because it’s not okay. And I’ll listen to them, and I’ll be like, I’m taking action on this. I’m going to build a better company. Every time, I thank them for the 1-star review. This is how I grow,” he said.

    It might not be your first instinct to thank a customer for a critical review, but according to Josh, reviewers often feel much better about their experience with his business after he responds, sometimes updating their reviews to be more positive because he engaged with them (not because he asked them to).

    Another way to be front and center in your business is to remain in a service mindset, even when interactions with reviewers or customers get tough. Brian Batch, co-owner of Bird Bird Biscuit in Austin, likes to keep that attitude top of mind when working with customers.

    “When you’re having a really hard interaction with a guest or someone on the team, if you can ask yourself, ‘how can I blow this person’s mind,’ that puts you in a place where you have the best opportunity to go through that situation to bring the best fruit,” he said.

    “You’re thinking about serving that person. And when you’re in a service mindset, that’s the place where you’re not judging that person, and then you can navigate with clarity.”

    Taking a moment to see the situation from your client’s perspective can prevent a defensive response (which can do more harm than not responding at all).

    Because you won’t always be available, it’s crucial to hire employees who are passionate about your business and are willing to uphold the customer experience even in your absence.

    Brandon Gardner, owner of SoCo Taphouse in San Angelo, Texas, makes a point to hire employees who love craft beer. It’s non-negotiable in his hiring practice because a bartender who is well versed in the beers on tap can personalize each interaction for every customer.

    “We try to pick the people that love craft beer because if you come into the place and you wanna work there and you don’t love craft beer, you’re not gonna exactly have the greatest way of interacting with the bar regulars, talking about beer or giving them something good to drink,” he said.

    This Behind the Review episode is chock-full of entrepreneurial advice that could benefit your business, including:

    • Employee training is key to an excellent customer experience. You can’t always be there, so you’ll need to hire and train employees willing to believe in your mission and uphold your company’s processes and policies.
    • Don’t be afraid to put some of your personality, your life, and your outside passions into your business. People appreciate authenticity, and that translates into good reviews and social media success.
    • It’s just as important to respond to positive reviews as it is to critical ones. Make sure your responses are sincere. Creating various templated responses can help you get started.
    • Hire slow, fire fast. Your employees are often the face of your business, but hiring the wrong people can impact the entire team.

    Listen to the episode below to hear more from our business owners over the last two years, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday.

    Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Soundcloud

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    Emily Washcovick

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  • Why Employers Forcing a Return to Office is Leading to More Worker Power and Unionization | Entrepreneur

    Why Employers Forcing a Return to Office is Leading to More Worker Power and Unionization | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Angry and dismayed Amazon employees are pushing back against the recently-announced return to office policy by the Amazon leadership. Amazon’s policy joins other high-profile companies such as Disney, Starbucks, Tesla, Google, and others that are forcing employees back to the office.

    Some are claiming they need to do so for the sake of productivity. For example, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, claimed that those working remotely only “pretend to work” and are “phoning it in.” Others say you need to be in the office to innovate: Disney’s CEO Bob Iger demanded the return to the office because “nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together.”

    However, in reality, extensive research shows remote workers are more productive than those in the office, not less. And you get more ideas and more novel ideas through techniques for innovation and creativity that are adapted to remote work.

    So what explains the situation? As a globally-known expert in the field of hybrid and remote work, I have seen firsthand how working remotely, whether part of the week or full-time, enables worker power through facilitating autonomy, decentralizing power and preventing micromanagement. Unfortunately, too many old-school managers like Iger and Musk prefer a rigid, top-down power structure; indeed, Elon Musk is well-known as an extreme micromanager.

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

    Such an authoritarian approach is well-suited to the assembly line model of the early 20th century, but not well-suited for a modern knowledge economy. That’s why we’re seeing employees use worker power to fight against these authoritarian mandates, resulting in empowered labor unions.

    It’s important to recognize that this turn to worker power is happening in the context of massive layoffs by tech companies, which are becoming less willing to offer perks like remote work to their workforce. In fact, there’s evidence that some companies such as Twitter are using return-to-office mandates to get workers to quit voluntarily, to avoid paying severance. Employers are increasingly getting the upper hand, as workers who feel anxious about the economy are reluctant to make demands for more remote work. However, such strategies may well backfire against employers in the long term if they spur increases in labor union organizing; even though individual employees might be anxious about their jobs, together they can press their case, especially given an unemployment rate of 3.4%, the lowest in over 50 years. And even tech workers are finding new jobs in three months or so, pointing to the strength of the labor market despite some shift toward employer power.

    Three case studies of worker power and the return to office

    YouTube contractors in Texas went on strike in protest of rules requiring such workers to report to the office. The workers, who are technically employed by Cognizant, were notified of the Feb. 6 return-to-office date in November. The vast majority of the contractors were hired during the pandemic and have always worked remotely. Workers say their pay, which starts at around $19 per hour, isn’t enough to cover the costs of relocating to and living in Austin. The workers’ strike came after they filed a prior month for union recognition, leading some to conclude the move was being made in retaliation. The workers are also seeking to have Google and Cognizant recognized as joint employers.

    The New Mexico State Personnel Office ordered state employees working remotely to return to in-person work at the start of the new year. Many voiced their frustrations against the order, citing issues with commute, health, poor in-person work conditions, lack of child care, and low pay, among other things. State workers rallied against the state’s return-to-office order at the roundhouse in Santa Fe. Dan Secrist, president of CWA Local 7076, said the state’s return-to-office mandate has worsened problems it was intended to solve while creating new ones.

    The Canadian Federal government ordered public service employees to return to the office up to three days per week. A recent survey of nearly 14,000 public service workers revealed close to 75% of government employees would rather work from home. Marc Brière serves as the national president for the Union of Taxation Employees, which represents some 37,000 workers with the Canada Revenue Agency. He says it is unnecessary for the majority of employees to return to the office.

    Tensions between employers and workers over the return to office

    These cases illustrate the increasing tension between employers and workers, particularly over the return to the office. The pandemic has accelerated the trend toward remote work, and workers are now resisting the idea of returning to the office. Many workers have become accustomed to the flexibility and freedom that come with remote work, and employers who refuse to allow it are facing backlash.

    Employers are forcing their employees back to the office to impose control over workers, but they are failing to recognize that remote work enables worker power. In fact, remote work is empowering workers by giving them more control over their lives and work. With remote work, workers can choose where and when to work, which gives them more control over their schedules and their work-life balance.

    Employers who are forcing their employees back to the office are trying to reassert control over their workers, but they are finding that it is backfiring. Workers are pushing back against these efforts, and many are joining unions to protect their rights and interests. Employers who refuse to recognize this trend risk alienating their workers and facing the consequences.

    Cognitive biases in the return to office increases worker power

    The drive to return employees to the office to regain control over employees is a prime example of how cognitive biases can lead to poor decision-making. Cognitive biases are mental shortcuts that we use to process information quickly and efficiently. They can lead us to make decisions that are not based on facts or rational thought, but on our personal beliefs, emotions and past experiences. In the context of the return to the office, employers are making decisions that are based on cognitive biases that are leading them to overlook the dangers of their actions.

    One of the most common cognitive biases at play in this context is confirmation bias. This is the tendency to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms our pre-existing beliefs or biases. Employers who are determined to bring their employees back to the office are more likely to seek out information that supports this decision while ignoring or downplaying information that contradicts it. This can lead them to make decisions that are not in the best interests of their organizations by harming relations with employees, leading both to challenges with retention and resistance by employees through worker power.

    Another cognitive bias that is prevalent in this context is the status quo bias. This is the tendency to prefer things to stay the way they are, rather than change. Employers who are used to having their employees work in the office may be resistant to change, even if remote work has proven to be effective and beneficial for their employees. They may be more inclined to return to the office simply because it is the way things have always been done, rather than because it is the best decision for their employees or their organization.

    The dangers of cognitive biases in this context are significant. By ignoring the benefits of remote work and forcing their employees back to the office, employers risk alienating their workers, and they may also be creating a situation where workers are more likely to unionize. This is because when employees feel that their needs are not being met, they are more likely to band together and form a union to protect their interests.

    Conclusion

    It is time for employers to recognize the value of remote work and to work with their employees to create hybrid or remote work arrangements that meet the needs of both parties. Employers who do so will enjoy a happier and more productive workforce, while those who refuse to adapt risk falling behind in a rapidly changing world.

    Remote work enables worker power, and employers who recognize this fact will be better positioned to succeed in the years ahead. As a manager, it is important to listen to your employees and to work with them to create the best possible work environment for all. By doing so, you can create a strong and vibrant workplace culture that will help you succeed in the long run.

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    Gleb Tsipursky

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  • Entrepreneur | How I Completely Transformed My Company’s Culture on My Own Terms

    Entrepreneur | How I Completely Transformed My Company’s Culture on My Own Terms

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    A few years ago, most of us leaders had certain ideas about how an office and team should work: Namely, that we as a team should be together in an office, working 8- to 12-hour+ days every Monday through Friday and weekends as well, broken up only by the standard two weeks of vacation and occasional holiday or sick day. In my company and many others, there wasn’t a lot of flexibility to do it differently — this is what we knew and grew up thinking was correct. It’s how we conformed to the ideals of other leaders and mentors before us. But then the world shifted, and suddenly, remote work was our only viable option. Once lockdowns were lifted, we were still initially encouraged to keep our distance, and schools remained online, which meant parents needed to generally still be home, too.

    Eventually, though, schools reopened and we started gathering again. And for many of us, it’s made sense to bring our work teams back together again, too. I have. And it feels great to have that dynamic energy return. But — I’m proud to say — it’s different now.

    Covid helped us all wake up. It helped me wake up. We learned that our previous level of inflexibility was unnecessary.

    Related: 5 Ways to Turn Your Company Culture Around

    How I transformed our culture

    During the pandemic, I had to lean into some trust — that my previously all-in-person team could be remote, and we could still produce amazing work and get everything done with the same quality our clients expect from us. And guess what? With the right structure and expectations set, we absolutely did. And in learning to trust more and make the changes I had to, I gave myself permission to make further changes. As we returned to the office, and I started to take stock of things, I realized that I had evolved — and I could bring our culture forward instead of just reverting to the old normal.

    And now, I’m seriously ready to move on from Covid and also from tired excuses, barriers, fears and limitations that stop us from doing business how we want to. So, now I ask, what do I want? And what do my employees need?

    I realized I wanted to build in more time for rest and recharge — to sometimes go slow to then be able to go faster. I also knew my team, now a mix of in-office and fully remote employees, would benefit from continued flexibility around where they worked and when. And I’d learned that with a solid structure and clear expectations and goals, people did well with the space to make more decisions for themselves.

    So, in 2022, we made some big changes. We rolled out unlimited vacation and PTO days. We instituted daylight savings hours, where we all take a break around 3:30 p.m. to either drive home while it’s still light out and finish out the day from the comfort of home, or for those working remotely, pause and pick up their kids from school, take the dog for a walk or move and stretch before coming back refreshed. During summer, we now have shorter working hours on Fridays and also keep work light between Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve also started planning quarterly gatherings to connect and get to know each other better outside of work.

    Besides making a positive impact on my team members’ daily lives, these changes encourage me as a leader to take time off that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. And I’ve proven to myself I can do it — without everything burning to the ground.

    Now as we move into 2023, I am making more shifts to build deeper productivity, foster the growth of my team and further evolve as the leader I want to be. After seeing how well things went over the past year, we are adding another benefit in addition to unlimited PTO: Two defined weeks off when we shut down the office, one in the summer and one in the winter, both at times that are naturally slower around seasonal holidays.

    Making these changes requires planning and organization, but it’s worth it — for my team and for myself as a leader. As I’ve slowed down myself, I’ve been able to get my own oxygen mask firmly in place. I’ve learned I don’t always need to go 100 mph. In fact, slowing down can be incredibly helpful. It’s the perfect time to look around, challenge our long-held perspectives and grow. It’s the perfect time to build more intentionally, from the inside out.

    Related: Great Company Culture Isn’t Magic — Take These Steps to Create It

    How you can transform your culture

    Being willing to change my perspective as a leader and build culture in new ways has been an incredible gift to myself and my company. If you want to step into a cultural rebirth of your own in 2023, I encourage you to do it. Here are a few tips to get you started:

    1. Honor the team culture that feels right to you — don’t be afraid to center around your personal goals as a leader and lead according to your own North Star, instead of what you may have been “taught” in the past. You aren’t beholden to any old-school way of doing things.

    2. Take it slow, make changes when it feels right, and retract when it doesn’t. Accept that trial and error will happen; changes often won’t be perfect at the first rollout. It’s OK to recalibrate, as you continually move toward what’s best for your company and team.

    3. Don’t think of these changes as handouts to appease your team or to keep up with other leaders. While you might be ready to make some changes, each should be instituted when you feel the time is right, rather than acting from a sense of pressure. Otherwise, you could easily feel resentful if your team doesn’t show the gratitude you might have expected.

    4. Give your team the responsibility to uphold the culture and grow it. They have a very big part in making sure what you are instituting works, too. For example, give them transparency around who is taking a vacation and who isn’t. Having an open PTO policy that allows peer oversight helps those who take a little more be aware and those who don’t take enough self-manage.

    5. Recognize the role your energy plays in your company’s culture. Lead by example. Do the personal work to figure out what helps you bring your passion to your company every day —then do more of that. Be the mentor you maybe never had as you lean into your own strengths. This will show up in the cultural framework you create for your team to uphold.

    We don’t need a new year to change—but it’s as good a time as any.

    Related: What Makes a Great Company Culture (and Why It Matters)

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    Taja Dockendorf

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  • Entrepreneur | Charlie Eblen of Single Tree BBQ on Becoming the

    Entrepreneur | Charlie Eblen of Single Tree BBQ on Becoming the

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    Just Do It. For Charlie Eblen, founder of Single Tree BBQ and host of Single Nation Podcast, that famous slogan is both a motto and rallying cry.

    “We really believe that we can be the “Nike of Barbecue.” says Charlie Eblen to Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef of CaliBBQ Media.

    The motivation behind that mission is not to be the top-selling BBQ restaurant and corner the market. Instead, the entrepreneur credits his push to a more noble cause; he wishes to use BBQ to impact the community.

    Eblen has turned to technology to increase his digital hospitality. Taking steps, like implementing an upgraded POS system, is done with the customer in mind.

    “We went with Toast to be able to start doing stuff like having a loyalty program,” says Eblen of the change. “Being able to tell our loyal fans of Single Tree Barbecue that we’re opening a brick and mortar, that we’re going to partner with Heroes Den (a local live music restaurant in Murfreesboro, TN) and we’re going to have live music and we’re going to have a great bar. We’re going to have an amazing barbecue.”

    In addition to technology upgrades, Eblen has dove head first into the new media world of podcasting with the Single Tree Nation podcast. After a push from Digital Media Guru Shawn Walchef, he wasted no time putting ideas to action and broadening the scope of Single Tree’s impact.

    “The purpose of my show is really that it doesn’t have anything to do with Single Tree BBQ. It has everything to do with our community and helping build our community through barbecue, digital hospitality, and online storytelling.” explains Charlie Eblen of the weekly podcast.

    The most apt description of Eblen’s growth as a restaurant influencer is summed up in his own words: “It’s been amazing.”

    ***

    ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS:

    Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

    Toast — Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about Toast.

    Restaurant Influencers is also supported by AtmosphereTV – TV to Enhance Your Business. Try AtmosphereTV.

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    Shawn P. Walchef

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  • Entrepreneur | How DEIB Programs Can Help Solve the Biggest Challenges in Employee Management Today

    Entrepreneur | How DEIB Programs Can Help Solve the Biggest Challenges in Employee Management Today

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Following a year marked by the “Great Reset,” 2023 is bound to bring even more employee management challenges, from spiking attrition to falling morale amid the economic downturn. As these challenges compound and priorities continue to shift, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) programs can serve as a hedge against these trends.

    The companies that make a concerted effort to establish equity and work-life balance for their employees will see tangible benefits in the year to come. DEIB programs are central to retaining the best talent, but it goes beyond programming, too: Between its role in upholding work-life balance guardrails to avoiding burnout, DEIB is an important effort to create a strong company culture that can power through tough economic times.

    Here are some of the top employee management challenges that companies face today, and how DEIB programs play a part in solving them:

    Related: The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion During Uncertain Times

    DEIB as a critical tool against today’s challenges

    Companies across industries are experiencing rising employee disengagement rates. Even as economic patterns shift, the issue prevails, with some studies estimating that as much as half of the U.S. workforce are “quiet quitters.”

    With many quiet quitters driven by burnout, DEIB can play a role in reversing this pattern. Why? Psychological safety is powerful — so much so, that people bypass extra money and better benefits in exchange for feeling safe at work. It’s human nature for people to want to stay in a place where they feel they belong and where their opinions and needs are valued. One study found that employees who feel a strong sense of belonging demonstrate a 50% reduction in turnover risk, a 56% increase in performance and a 75% decrease in sick days. Employees are more likely to stay at companies that see diverse perspectives as a business imperative — and DEIB programming helps build and nurture this sense of belonging.

    On the other side of the coin, despite economic headwinds, many companies are continuing to hire for priority roles and compete for top talent. Companies that historically haven’t been able to match large salaries from Big Tech can compete by creating a culture where all people can thrive. In fact, 86% of job seekers rank a company’s DEIB approach as a motivating factor for them when looking at their next role.

    Related: 7 Ways Leaders Can Level Up Their DEI Workplace Strategy

    Securing the buy-in to make it happen

    To see the above results, it’s critical to build a well-resourced and data-driven DEIB program. As recession fears prompt budget cuts across organizations, maintaining well-resourced DEIB programs should be a priority for leaders. Even so, securing buy-in from the top can be a challenge.

    Diversity roles are in high demand – “diversity and inclusion manager” was the second fastest-growing job title this year, according to LinkedIn. But DEIB role tenure, especially in the C-suite, is alarmingly short. That’s because underfunded teams can only do so much, and DEIB leaders aren’t immune to burnout themselves. DEIB leaders need continued resources to preserve and grow their efforts and effectively hedge against market conditions.

    Communicating the business case and outlining thorough plans can help DEIB leaders convince other stakeholders to join them in championing their missions. I’ve found that having honest conversations with an open mind and asking questions to learn more about where other stakeholders are coming from has helped me make my case to leaders throughout my career.

    Data is also central to DEIB — in both getting programs up and running and in iterating for improvement. Hard numbers are an effective way to secure important resources and support from leaders. Data also helps “lean” DEIB teams understand where they must focus their time and resources to make a meaningful impact. It also helps teams predict trends and anticipate needs and gaps ahead (recruiting, turnover, engagement, etc.).

    All challenges have solutions — and when it comes to solving “people problems,” DEIB is the answer. As economic uncertainty continues, these programs are not the place to cut. Good company culture is a boon right now, and DEIB plays a critical role in building and maintaining it.

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    Jyl Feliciano

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  • Entrepreneur | Top Challenges for Founders in 2023 — and How to Solve Each

    Entrepreneur | Top Challenges for Founders in 2023 — and How to Solve Each

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The past decade ushered in technological advancements that have beguiled us. Some have successfully offered solutions to the problems they posed to solve for the common human. Others have taken more from the public than they offered. However, none of these advancements have made running a business any less risky.

    As we ease into the year, founders will likely experience challenges on multiple fronts. While there are several technological solutions available to help solve these challenges, it is quite daunting to figure out the most effective solution. Also, having to deal with multiple issues at a time, keeping it together may be a tad difficult.

    Throughout the year, I see the following common challenges among founders, and I offered the following practical solutions to help ease their transition through 2023 and beyond.

    Related: How This Founder Overcame Challenges He Never Saw Coming

    1. Cash flow and funding troubles

    Cash flow is the lifeblood of a business, and many fail when they are unable to maintain it. Also, most startups take a while to start generating cash flow. So, they have to find a way to float the expenses before the money starts flowing in. This is why many early-stage businesses seek out investor funding. However, it may not be the best direction to go.

    Founders often have cash savings when they set up their venture. It’s normal to plan around this cash savings, and they often overestimate the chances of the business turning a profit in no time. As a result, founders (first-time founders, especially) are very likely to incur high overhead costs and accommodate more payroll expenses than necessary. As reality sets in, they may start seeking out external funding.

    While it’s a popular practice to secure investor funding, it’s something you should think through. Founders often make the mistake of giving out too much equity to investors in their bid to close funding fast. Early-stage investors can sense your desperation for money and exploit it to demand ridiculous equity.

    To avoid this, you should keep your overhead costs low and reduce your payroll expenses to a minimum. Only hire talents when needed. If a role opens up, and you don’t see it being relevant in a few months, it’d be smarter to work with an independent contractor.

    As an alternative to investor funding, consider reaching out to a local bank for a business line of credit early enough. This will give you some level of liquidity to keep your venture afloat. Mind you, financial institutions don’t really provide a long line of credit, especially to startups. So, the lower your overhead and operational costs, the more useful a line of credit will be for you.

    2. Marketing/advertising

    Marketing, as we know it, is crucial to the success of a business, but it’s often capital-intensive. A majority of startups are spending up to $15,000 per month on marketing. If you’re a startup founder, your mouth is probably agape about how much money other startups are pouring into marketing.

    Well, more marketing spend doesn’t always guarantee high returns. Almost every startup is strapped for money. So, your ability to find clever workarounds will be immensely helpful.

    Instead of creating expensive marketing campaigns, you should consider guerrilla marketing approaches. They often cost next to nothing to create and can be insanely effective.

    Also, maintaining a consistent, high-quality blog can help you attract more organic traffic to your website. If done right, this traffic can be converted to hot leads. There is lots of marketing that you can do on a very tight budget. Just get creative.

    Related: No Money? No Problem. 30 Low-Budget Marketing Ideas for Your Business

    3. Transparency

    A lot of founders are against complete transparency in their dealings. However, you need transparency to build a successful company. It doesn’t matter whether you raised investor funding or not.

    With investors, there have been cases where bad investors have used complete transparency against founders in subsequent rounds. On the flip side, non-transparent startup founders are likely to arouse suspicion.

    With popular cases, like Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos) and Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX), investors have become more watchful of opaque founders. This can often cause them to demand significant control over your business. Adopting a culture of transparency can facilitate their due diligence and enable trust.

    Speaking of trust, a study by the HBR revealed that founders are more likely to attract top talents if they build a more transparent workplace culture. So, why not consider laying your activities bare and maintaining all-hands meetings that encourage collaboration and foster belongingness?

    4. Burnout epidemic

    When you’re building a startup, you can easily find yourself working unusually long hours. Most startup founders work about 80 hours per week. The body needs some rest, food, sleep and distraction to function properly. Sadly, most founders are not giving their bodies enough of these.

    The interesting reality is that this unhealthy behavior rubs off on employees. When employees see their leader working long hours, they are challenged to do more. Soon, this unhealthy behavior becomes a culture in the workplace, and productivity may take a nosedive.

    Alternatively, you set out designated work hours for yourself and the team. Ensure that everyone on the team gets adequate rest. Also, you should prioritize your health. A simple solution is to leave your computer at work and keep work inaccessible outside work hours. This way, you can get some time to rest and find balance.

    Related: 3 Ways to Stop Founder Burnout In Its Tracks

    5. Diversity and inclusion

    There have been fewer movements better than the need to have a diverse and inclusive workforce, especially from the onset. However, many startups are making this an obsession. Leave the DEI initiatives for established organizations. Instead, focus more on hiring objectively.

    As a startup, you need talents for the value they bring to the team regardless of their race, culture, or gender. Don’t get bogged in the need to be inclusive that you start losing valuable talents in the process. If you hire on merit and find your team becoming diverse, great. Otherwise, leave the DEI initiative until further down the road.

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    Judah Longgrear

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  • Entrepreneur | Outsourcing, Offshoring or Nearshoring — Which is Best for My Company?

    Entrepreneur | Outsourcing, Offshoring or Nearshoring — Which is Best for My Company?

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Large corporations have been using offshoring to gain a competitive advantage by lowering their manufacturing costs since companies like General Electric pioneered the practice in the 1960s. Outsourcing started in the 1950s and became an attractive business strategy in the late 1980s as businesses began focusing more on their core competencies (NCST). Initially, these business strategies were mainly reserved for big corporations. However, as remote work technologies have developed and offshoring has gone from a strategy for lowering manufacturing costs to recruiting talent from around the world, companies of all sizes have turned to offshoring or nearshoring as a business strategy.

    The strategy has grown since 2020 due to five main factors:

    • global competition and the search for the best talent
    • COVID-19 forcing businesses of all sizes to work remotely
    • employees voluntarily resigning from their jobs en masse, compelling businesses to find talent abroad
    • high inflation rates and fear of a recession prompting businesses to examine strategies for cutting costs and maximizing their budgets
    • companies applying these strategies to almost all positions and not only IT.

    Related: Your Most Pressing Offshoring Questions, Answered

    What are the differences between these concepts?

    We must first understand the difference between outsourcing and nearshoring/offshoring. Outsourcing is when one company hires another to be responsible for a complete activity, losing control of the work done; the former pays for deliverables. For example, when a company outsources its designs to a design company, it relinquishes control of the activity, and the hired company takes responsibility for the designs. It will manage the team and deliver the designs.

    Nearshoring or offshoring is when a company hires staff abroad through a firm. The company controls the team, which reports directly to the company. The firm oversees legal compliance, payroll and HR — it might also provide office space and other value-added services. Let’s say a company wants to retain control of its design team and design activities; instead of outsourcing the work to a design company, it would hire designers from Mexico through a nearshore staffing firm. That firm would be the employee and be in charge of everything related to staffing, but the staff would report directly to the first company, ensuring they share the same culture and values.

    Nearshoring/offshoring is sometimes referred to as staff outsourcing because a company is outsourcing everything to do with staffing in a given country to a firm. Another term used for these practices is virtual staffing, where a company hires, for example, virtual designers. However, virtual staffing is a misnomer because the staff would not be virtual; they would report directly to the hiring company and would be an extension of its team in another country.

    The difference between nearshoring and offshoring is that, in the former, staff is in a neighboring country rather than an overseas country, as with offshoring.

    Related: 10 Strategies for Hiring and Retaining New Employees

    Which one is better for my company, outsourcing or nearshoring/offshoring?

    Deciding which strategy is better for your company requires first understanding your needs.

    From my experience, you should outsource when an activity:

    • is not your company’s core competency
    • does not affect your clients directly
    • does not involve support for your clients
    • does not strictly have to be controlled by you
    • cannot be handled by someone hired in-house, and economies of scale are available (for example, needing designs but not many scenarios would justify hiring a designer via outsourcing, whereas nearshoring/offshoring will be cheaper when you need to hire and manage a designer)
    • is one you do not know how and do not want to oversee (for example, outsourcing your accounting and taxes to a CPA firm makes sense when you prefer not to invest time and energy in an accounting and tax department).

    You can always use nearshoring or offshoring to cut costs or stretch your budget while getting talent from around the world. For example, if you have the budget to hire one digital designer but require a team, you might be able to hire three digital designers in another country. Based on my experience, I recommend analyzing which positions can be performed remotely by:

    • ascertaining if you are having trouble filling a position;
    • reviewing for each position how much you would save if you were to nearshore/offshore it; and
    • identifying any department, such as customer service, that could be completely nearshored or offshored.

    These analyses will guide you in developing a plan for building your remote team through a staffing company.

    Related: How to Prepare Your Employees for Outsourced Hires

    Should I go nearshore or offshore?

    Companies initially recruited from developing countries primarily to save money. They, therefore, turned to counties like India and the Philippines and began offshoring low-level positions.

    Companies are now using offshoring and nearshoring to save money and tap into global talent. They are offshoring positions of all levels. Companies are not looking for the cheapest solutions but for workers in the same time zone, countries with cultures similar to that in their country, and firms that share their values. Companies thus often look in neighboring countries, which is why nearshoring has been growing.

    Whether nearshoring or offshoring is better depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking only for savings, I recommend offshoring. Offshoring’s likely drawbacks are differences in time zones, culture and distance. If you are looking to save but willing to save a little less to have your team in the same time zone as you, in a country with a similar culture, and one flight away from your offices, then nearshoring is the best strategy for you.

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    Pedro A. Barboglio Murra

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  • Entrepreneur | How to Create a High-Impact Company With a High-Impact Purpose

    Entrepreneur | How to Create a High-Impact Company With a High-Impact Purpose

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Purpose at work is crucial if you want to love your job and have a meaningful career. I know this to be true from experience. Before I came to work at StoneAge, the global manufacturing leader in high-pressure industrial cleaning equipment, over 16 years ago, I was purposeless and lost — which, in part, led to addiction issues and low self-esteem. I was miserable in my job at the time, which led me to underperform, which made me more miserable. Back then, I didn’t understand the value of purpose, much less why the company’s purpose should resonate with me — truth be told, I wasn’t clear on what the company’s purpose was. Even worse, I was purposeless myself. All of it came crashing down when I overdosed in 2006. To recover and heal, I moved home with my mom to rebuild my life after an overdose in 2006.

    Fast-forward a decade and a half later, and I now realize how common this is. Maybe not the overdosing part but feeling miserable at work because your purpose and your company’s purpose either don’t align or don’t exist. I learned by working at StoneAge the power a company’s purpose has on motivating employees and helping them find more meaning in their work. Now, every day I live my personal purpose — to be an impactful leader that improves the lives of my customers and teammates — and am inspired by our company’s purpose of helping our customers go home to their families every night less stressed and uninjured because we make products that help them do their challenging jobs safer, easier and better. When you help your employees tap into the power of purpose, you can create an unstoppable organization. But it isn’t easy unless you have a clear company purpose.

    Related: Why a Purpose-Driven Business Is the Real Key to Success

    So, why is having a clear company purpose so important? When people are inspired and aligned with purpose, a company can easily attract and retain employees and build a loyal customer base. Having a higher purpose can help a company create a positive social and environmental impact, which can benefit society — which I believe should be a mission of all executive leaders. And most importantly, a clear purpose helps leaders make better strategic decisions that align with their values and goals, leading to long-term success.

    Don’t believe me? Look at Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies List. According to Korn Ferry, 97% of leaders at companies that have made the “Most Admired Company List” said employees embrace the organization’s purpose, and 95% believe their organization’s purpose aligns with the company’s vision and goals. Leading with purpose leads to success.

    Take Patagonia, for example. Patagonia has a higher purpose of helping save the planet from the devastating effects of climate change. In fact, Patagonia pledges 1% of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. This purpose is evident in every aspect of the company’s operations, from its sustainable manufacturing processes to its political activism and support for environmental causes. Patagonia’s employees are deeply engaged and motivated by the company’s mission and feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment in their work. This, in turn, has helped Patagonia to build a loyal customer base and become a leader in the sustainable clothing industry.

    How should a company go about developing a higher purpose? Here’s what we did:

    We defined the impact we wanted to make

    We make high-pressure industrial cleaning equipment and serve a notoriously dangerous industry — cleaning industrial facilities such as refineries, chemical plants, power plants, food processing plants and more. Our products make a hazardous and difficult job easier and safer. And our customers, although an essential part of the supply chain, are often looked at as glorified janitors, an undeserved label placed upon a critical industry.

    Industrial cleaning contractors rely on us to help them finish their jobs on time, on budget and as safely and easily as possible. We understand that our products, backed by our commitment to service, make their lives easier. We also understand that manufacturing everything we humans use daily would come to a screeching halt without industrial cleaning. Quite simply, the world is dirty, and we help keep it clean so you don’t have to worry about it. We clearly defined how we positively impact the world, which motivates us to innovate products and better serve our customers.

    Related: 3 Reasons Why a Strong Purpose Is a Good Business Idea

    We not only aligned our purpose with our values, we made our purpose a value

    We believe in keeping things simple. We don’t want our values to be an eye-roll-inducing poster that hangs on a wall. So, we narrowed our values to three principles that our employees understand and can speak to: Practice Self-Leadership, Be a Great Teammate and Deliver on the StoneAge Assurance Promise. The StoneAge Assurance Promise is our commitment to doing whatever it takes to help our customers complete their cleaning jobs safely, on time, on budget and as easily as possible — our purpose.

    We engaged stakeholders throughout the organization

    A higher purpose isn’t developed in a conference room by the executive management team, at least not one that stakeholders are inspired by. So, we set out to engage our team. Together, we developed the StoneAge Assurance Promise and our other two core values. Then we asked our customers what they thought about it, and the feedback was resoundingly positive. We hit a home run; our purpose aligned perfectly with what our customers needed and wanted from us.

    We continuously communicate our purpose

    What good is a higher purpose if no one knows what it is? That’s why the StoneAge Assurance Promise is everywhere. We discuss how well we deliver our promise to our customers daily and recognize employees who go above and beyond in embodying the promise. It’s woven into our hiring and onboarding practices and performance review process. It’s also on our website and marketing content; our customers even talk about it. Undoubtedly, our purpose is embedded in everything we do because of our commitment to communicating about it regularly.

    Related: What’s Your Purpose? 5 Reasons You Need to Set One for Your Business.

    Finally, we lead by example because we embody our purpose

    Every day, our employees lead by example by taking action and making decisions that align with our higher purpose. Our commitment to our promise builds trust and credibility with our customers and each other. Everyone demonstrates the company’s commitment to its purpose; there is no StoneAge without the StoneAge Assurance Promise.

    A higher purpose is essential for a company’s success and should be a priority for leaders. Helping your employees understand and embrace purpose will create a more engaged, motivated and purposeful workforce aligned with your company’s mission and values. The results can be outstanding if done correctly — long-term success and a positive impact on society.

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    Kerry Siggins

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  • Entrepreneur | Hybrid Work is Not The Problem — Your Guidelines Are. Here’s Why.

    Entrepreneur | Hybrid Work is Not The Problem — Your Guidelines Are. Here’s Why.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As companies continue to navigate the new normal of remote and hybrid work, it’s crucial that they establish clear expectations and guidelines for their employees. And unlike Disney and Twitter, it’s very important that they don’t change their minds randomly when the leadership changes.

    However, a recent survey conducted by Mercer found that only a third of organizations have formal rules in place for managing flexible work. Mercer assessed 749 organizations and found that 48% rely on informal and ambiguous guidelines to manage flexible work, 17% are completely hands-off, and only 34% rely on clear and transparent formal rules. This lack of clear communication and expectations can have a serious impact on both retention and recruitment efforts.

    And how effectively do companies communicate about the policies they do have? Fishbowl recently conducted a survey, with about 7,300 professionals surveyed about how well they understand their company’s plan for hybrid work. 50.8% did understand their company’s hybrid work guidelines, but 49.2% did not. Not a good outcome.

    Related: Employers: Productivity Among Your Remote Workers Isn’t A Problem — Your Proximity Bias Is.

    I talk with 5-10 leaders every week on how to create effective hybrid work guidelines. As a highly experienced expert in this field, I can tell you most of them don’t have clear guidelines for their employees. Yet when I ask them about their top concern, most say it’s hiring and retaining talented staff.

    Such anecdotes align with a recent study by Vistage, which revealed that a majority of small and medium-sized business leaders are planning to expand their workforce, with only a small percentage considering downsizing. This marks a change from the trend of large companies facing layoffs, as SME CEOs are hesitant to let go of recently-hired employees, according to Vistage Chief Research Officer Joe Galvin. The survey also highlighted that hiring difficulties are a major concern for these businesses, as they impede their ability to function at optimal capacity. 61% of CEOs surveyed cited hiring challenges as a major concern.

    So that’s CEOs — what about the true experts: HR leaders — what do they believe about hiring and retention as it relates to hybrid work? Well, you won’t be surprised that 95% of HR leaders say that hybrid work offers an effective recruitment tool, according to IWG’s HR Leaders & Hybrid Working Report. 60% also say hybrid work boosts retention, and 80% agree that it helps increase employee satisfaction.

    Related: This Dangerous Judgement Error Could Cost You Your Business

    Hybrid work guidelines: failures and successes

    Well, having poor guidelines and expectations unsurprisingly harms worker engagement, which undermines retention. Consider some examples of what happens in companies with whose leaders I talked to recently.

    In a mid-size IT services company, employees were given the freedom to work from home but with little guidance on how to manage their time or communicate with their colleagues. This led to confusion and resentment among team members, with some feeling overworked and others feeling underutilized. Ultimately, this lack of structure led to high turnover rates and difficulties in attracting top talent.

    Similarly, a large financial services company struggled with a lack of clear guidelines for remote work. Without proper expectations for communication and collaboration, team members found it difficult to stay on the same page and meet deadlines. This led to a decline in productivity and morale, causing top performers to seek employment opportunities elsewhere.

    Moreover, such guidelines are critically important for retention. Consider one of my clients who let me speak about them, the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute. As a result of a consulting engagement, I helped them develop a robust set of hybrid work guidelines, which they put on their website in the “Join Us” section. Their HR director found it helpful for recruiting talented staff to the institute — and given the demanding market for data scientists, they definitely benefited from having a leg up.

    What should hybrid work guidelines cover?

    These examples illustrate the importance of having formal, written hybrid work guidelines in place. These guidelines should outline expectations for coming to the office, for communication, collaboration and work hours, as well as provide a clear framework for how to handle issues that may arise.

    Effective communication is a key element of hybrid work guidelines. When employees are working remotely, it can be difficult to get a sense of what everyone is working on and how their contributions are impacting the team. Clear communication guidelines, such as regular check-ins and virtual team meetings, can help ensure that everyone is on the same page.

    Effective collaboration is another important aspect of hybrid work guidelines. Collaboration tools like video conferencing and project management software can help facilitate collaboration, but employees need to be trained on how to use them effectively. Additionally, guidelines should establish expectations for how and when team members should be available to work together.

    Finally, effective hybrid work guidelines must consider work hours and time management. Without a clear framework, employees may feel pressure to work longer hours or to be available at all times. This can lead to burnout and resentment, and can negatively impact both productivity and employee satisfaction.

    In addition to the negative impact on retention and recruitment, a lack of clear hybrid work guidelines can also lead to other problems for companies. For example, without clear guidelines for data security and privacy, remote workers may inadvertently expose sensitive company information to cyber threats. This can result in costly data breaches and loss of business.

    Another challenge that companies may face without clear hybrid work guidelines is managing employee engagement. When employees are working remotely, it can be difficult to keep them connected to the company’s mission and goals. Hybrid work guidelines should include strategies for fostering employee engagement, such as virtual team-building activities and regular communication from leadership.

    It’s also important to note that hybrid work guidelines should be flexible and adaptable. As the world continues to change and evolve, so too should the way companies approach hybrid work. Guidelines should be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect the latest best practices and changing employee needs.

    One way to ensure that hybrid work guidelines are effective is to involve employees in the process of creating them. This can help ensure that guidelines are tailored to the specific needs of the organization and that employees are more likely to buy into them. Additionally, it’s important to provide employees with the necessary training and resources to be successful in a hybrid work environment. This can include things like virtual communication and collaboration tools, as well as training on time management and data security.

    Cognitive biases can also play a role in how companies approach hybrid work guidelines. For example, the sunk cost fallacy can cause leaders to cling to traditional office culture, even when it is no longer effective. The availability heuristic can also lead companies to overestimate the benefits of working in an office and underestimate the benefits of remote work. By being aware of these cognitive biases, leaders can make more informed decisions about how to manage hybrid work.

    Related: How Has Remote Work Impacted Our Relationships With Other Employees? The Findings of This Study Will Surprise You.

    Conclusion

    It’s clear that hybrid work guidelines are essential for effective communication, collaboration and time management. A lack of clear expectations and guidelines can lead to confusion, resentment, and high turnover rates. It can also undermine effective recruitment efforts. By establishing formal, written guidelines – as did the Information Sciences Institute – companies can ensure that their employees have the support and structure they need to be successful in a hybrid work environment. As a leader, it’s important to recognize the importance of hybrid work guidelines and to take steps to establish them within your organization.

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    Gleb Tsipursky

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