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Tag: Employee Morale

  • How to Effectively Lead Through Uncertain Financial Times | Entrepreneur

    How to Effectively Lead Through Uncertain Financial Times | 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.

    Uncertainty is not unusual in business. In fact, it can be seen as one of the defining features of life as a business leader. Indeed, the combination of domestic issues — from inflation to supply chain disruptions — and global tensions suggests that the level of uncertainty is likely to remain high over the coming years.

    According to KPMG’s 2022 CEO Outlook, which speaks to CEOs about their current and future strategies, 86% of these global company leaders anticipate a recession to hit in the next year, and 71% expect the recession to cause a 10% shift in earnings. With uncertainty looking more certain than ever, how can leaders begin to get a grip on future business challenges?

    Related: How Startups and Investors Can Thrive in the Current Economic Environment

    How is economic uncertainty affecting how leaders plan for 2023?

    The first thing affecting leaders right now is the fact that they exist and work within a “poly-crisis,” facing numerous challenges to their profitability and security at once. Operating in crisis mode inevitably affects a leader’s ability to plan ahead and adapt to changes in a business environment.

    Many businesses already had to make significant changes to their organizational, operational and financial structures in order to survive. These businesses face extra challenges now while high prices, tightening monetary policy and weak demand persists — with 90% of economists predicting that tempered demand will be a significant drain on business activity.

    A knock-on effect of this period of crisis has been an increase in anxiety around work, performance and money among employees. Leaders are not immune from this stress, but the pressure is high to remain calm in order to retain the best employees. And yet, any attempt at stasis is likely to be thwarted when organizational restructuring necessitates layoffs and downsizing.

    The implication for business leaders is that they need to be more flexible in adapting their strategies. In fact, even large firms need to think more like smaller startups, which focus on agility to survive and thrive. Alongside lingering anxieties and monetary restrictions, leaders face new obstacles left over from the Great Resignation and Reshuffling. The move to remote-hybrid work environments means that leaders’ usual methods of making decisions are no longer available to them. They need to find much more resilience and adaptability in order to lead through uncertainty.

    All of these factors will be especially impactful for startups and smaller businesses. Newer businesses may not have even established a status quo of reliable processes before the pandemic hit; now, they need to raise their baby in a recession.

    As leaders try to navigate growing their businesses and retaining their teams, what should they be focusing on in early 2023? Here are three considerations to keep in mind:

    1. Reaffirm the purpose of the organization

    When leading a startup, a sense of purpose is vital. Leaders may begin by describing how their ideas are going to make a dent in the universe and why they matter in an attempt to instill this into the organization and create a purpose-driven business.

    Leaders should ask themselves and their teams: “What do we offer the world that no one else can deliver? What is our reason for being?” Bringing clarity to purpose will strengthen the bonds between teammates and re-center people’s vision on the horizon rather than on the chaos that surrounds them.

    According to a recent survey by Deloitte, 43% of surveyed business leaders said their company views organizational purpose exclusively as a marketing and brand play. That’s not the smartest approach, as customers aren’t satisfied when companies speak empty words about purpose. They expect to see action.

    Related: 6 Key Tips for Leading Transparently in Economic Uncertainty

    2. Build trust by celebrating integrity

    Integrity should be the last quality to fall by the wayside when times get tough, but it’s often one of the first. Integrity can be incredibly motivating; it can inspire a team and keeps members focused on what is important.

    If leaders make promises they will be unlikely to keep, short-term wins will be overshadowed by long-term damage to trust. Both integrity and transparency should enhance trust in leadership, which is important if the organization is heading into the unknown.

    According to Deloitte’s The Future of Trust report (2021), “trustworthy companies outperform non-trustworthy companies by 2.5 times, and 88% of customers who highly trust a brand will buy again from that brand. Furthermore, employees’ trust in their leaders improves job performance, job satisfaction and commitment to the organization and its mission.”

    3. Don’t forget the positives

    When challenges abound and the world seems chaotic and uncertain, leaders can often get stuck in a negative thinking pattern. This, coupled with the calamity language of news programs and social media, can be devastating for employees’ anxiety levels.

    In a 2022 study by the American Psychological Association, 73% of people from the United States who participated in the study reported being overwhelmed by the number of crises happening in the world. Nearly nine out of 10 participants also reported that they felt crises had been occurring in a constant stream.

    Leaders will be wise to remember that optimism is still valid and possible. Highlight that times will get better, eventually. Offer some assurance that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

    Economic uncertainty, which continues to unfold and evolve, has the potential to derail even the largest and most well-organized companies. For smaller companies and startups, uncertainty can be destructive and formative at the same time. It’s their nemesis and the water they swim in. Leaders need to be able to incorporate uncertainty into their futurecasting to grow despite the obstacles it presents.

    Related: How to Prepare Your Business For Economic Downturn

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    Markus Baer

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  • Ways To Make Your Team Feel Valued | Entrepreneur

    Ways To Make Your Team Feel Valued | Entrepreneur

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    Every business leader dreams of having a company that runs like clockwork. One complete with the perfect team of highly dependable, timely and responsive, honest and hard-working employees driven by the organization’s mission and goals. Such a vision may seem impossible for every business to reach. Yet, the key to creating such a dream team is to consider a simple question: What makes employees feel valued?

    Related: 3 Red Flags on Your LinkedIn Profile That Scare Clients Away

    In today’s hyper-competitive business landscape, many employees have suffered from burnout, poor morale and productivity and job dissatisfaction. This has led to heightened employee turnover rates for many companies. When asked about how the pandemic has changed their feelings regarding work and life, over 50% of workers have said that they have questioned the value and purpose at work, along with expectations toward their employer.

    While an employee engagement survey by Lattice has shown that the need to feel a sense of belonging is somewhat generational, others point out that employees are more likely to be engaged, productive, and dedicated to a company’s growth when they feel valued.

    Related: If Your Leadership Style Is Ever Judged By Others, Here’s 8 Things You Should Do

    If you want to add more value and retain top talent, this article will discuss tips to make employees feel valued. This ultimately improves workflow and overall success from within.

    1. Share employee stories

    Employee stories have been found to be one of the most effective strategies for building an appealing work culture. By providing opportunities for employees to share their work and experiences candidly, you allow them to drive the narrative. Plus, it provides future candidates with a more interpersonal perspective on what it is like to work for the company.

    Highlighting employees’ work also helps them establish a sense of identity. It allows greater connections with co-workers, managers and customers, forming a positive work environment and culture. At the same time, sharing employee stories across media platforms organically builds a strong company brand identity. It also builds authenticity and connectivity with target audiences. Essentially creating a symbiotic relationship that leaders and employees alike highly value.

    2. Give regular, constructive feedback

    A 2018 Harris Interactive Survey for Glassdoor found that “67% of employers believe retention rates would be higher if candidates had a clearer picture of what to expect about working at a company before taking the job.” For employees, this often includes the expectation of management valuing communication and professional growth among its workforce.

    Though recognition for your hard work feels good, people also want to know how to improve. Or, they want to know where they fall short to know they are on the right track. Providing regular, constructive feedback each month is a great opportunity to speak one-on-one with employees and whole teams.

    Related: ‘No One Wants to Hear You Toot Your Own Horn’ and 9 Other Rules From People With Blockbuster Personal Brands

    At the same time, while regular meetings with in-office and remote workers are a great way to deliver consistent feedback opportunities, leaders should also consider feedback sessions to discuss business strategies and performance or quarterly get-togethers to share new ideas and educational experiences.

    3. Say “you are valued here” with corporate gift giving

    While gift-giving during major achievement or professional (or personal) milestones is valued, employees feel greater respect and appreciation when they are thought of in other moments. Simple gestures can make an even greater impact during distress, providing employees with a sense of appreciation and care when they are out sick or on medical leave.

    While a generic gift basket is always an option, you can also opt for more personalized care packages that will really make them feel treasured. Along with your wishes for a speedy recovery, companies like Spoonful of Comfort offer a variety of get-well specialty gift baskets that include delicious soups, desserts, and comforting items. They also allow you to create a customized gift basket or care package that fits the needs of your employee or corporate team.

    4. Support social shoutouts and events

    Particularly in today’s common hybrid and remote work environments, employees often feel disconnected from their colleagues. In turn, it creates a disengaged team and fragmented culture. According to a recent study, companies only see 15% of employees being actively engaged due to unhappiness and dissatisfaction in their work – that is, lack of recognition.

    However, businesses with employees recognized for their dedication to company goals and consistent motivation in their work, deliver a 202% increase in performance outcomes. It is great to express appreciation for big accomplishments throughout the year. But also, praising small contributions and achievements can be just as valuable to an employee.

    5. Invite an open door policy

    Having an open-door policy is an effective way to encourage open communication and feedback. This also includes discussion about any questions, complaints, suggestions and challenges employees are facing.

    Former CEO of Xerox, Anne M. Mulcahy, once said, “Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, satisfied and fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.”

    You want to give them the opportunity to speak up at any time. Also, allow them to build a responsive, transparent, and trusting environment. At the same time, set certain parameters around the open-door policy. This way you value and respect everyone’s time. Additionally, managers actively listen to what their employees want to say.

    6. Encourage professional growth

    While you want to do your best to retain talent, employees should also feel free to expand their professional growth. Even if they move on to other green pastures in the future. Accomplishing this comes in many ways. They include educational incentive programs, a global benefits and rewards platform, or offering company training for career advancement. When they feel supported in their professional development, they are more likely to work hard for your company. Additionally, they gain valuable experiences along the way.

    At the end of the day, ensuring your employees feel valued will build a culture of appreciation. Take the time to express your gratitude to your workforce and see what a difference it can make.

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    Under30CEO

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  • Do You Know Why Your Customers Really Buy From You? | Entrepreneur

    Do You Know Why Your Customers Really Buy From You? | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The following is a simple question for business owners. Why do your customers buy from you?

    I told you the question was simple, but an accurate answer, on the other hand, can be far more complex and perhaps even elusive. To achieve long-term, sustainable success, your understanding of why your customers choose to do business with your company needs to be both correct and substantial.

    Many business owners develop a customer value proposition (CVP) alongside their company mission and vision statements. The brief declaration is supposed to document why a customer would opt to buy your product or service over the competition.

    While developing a CVP is commendable in its customer-centric approach, it often falls short of its intended purpose due to ambiguity, a lack of self-reflection and sometimes even outright insincerity. Dollars to doughnuts, there is not a single CVP out there that reads, “Our customers turn to us because we deliver lackluster service and a marginally good product.”

    Related: Who Is More Important — Your Customers or Your Employees?

    I would also assume that there are many businesses whose CVPs portray an exaggerated sense of the company’s true customer value. CVPs should never be created based on hype or manufactured mantras; instead built from sincere, astute insight.

    Bravado and disingenuousness are not the only ways business owners are misguided in their understanding of customer engagement and loyalty. The following are common misconceptions related to the question of why customers buy from you.

    “We are the cheapest”

    Sure, this value statement might be dressed up as “We deliver the best value,” “We are the low-price leaders,” or some other cost-based differentiator. But when I hear any form of “My customers buy from us because we are the cheapest,” I cringe. Competing on price alone is simply not a good model and is often unsustainable. There is always some other business owner who is willing to run out of cash faster than you are.

    Most customers – both B2B and B2C – understand the balance between cost and value. They walk that tightrope in every purchase they make. Contending that cheapest is the key attribute that keeps them coming back shortchanges both your business and your customers.

    “We have the best employees”

    Forgive me for being a bit skeptical about this assertion as well. Sure, your business may have good employees; but are they really the best? You may provide excellent service, but your competitors probably do as well. Is it truly your employees that keep your customers coming back? With the rare exception of that ultra-charismatic salesperson who charms the socks of buyers, the answer in all likeliness is a resounding no.

    That is not to say that hiring for personality and alignment with company values is unimportant. It most definitely is. But to put the onus of success and customer loyalty squarely on the shoulders of your employees is shortsighted.

    Related: 3 Reasons Why I Gladly Welcome Competition

    “We’ve got the best product on the market”

    While possessing a corner on the market is a great position to be in, it does not account for innovations in the marketplace and often fickle changes in consumer preferences. Evolving customer motivations and expectations, coupled with aging business models, have been the downfall of even some of the most successful industry titans.

    Consider Blockbuster, that for more than 20 years, was the largest and most successful video rental company in the U.S. Then industry innovators like Netflix and Redbox entered the arena with new and improved ways to provide the same service and completely changed the playing field. While the business’s products and services may have been “the best” in their heyday, innovators with more modern and sustainable business models came along and essentially put the video rental titan out of business.

    Suffice it to say even the best products and services on the market have competitors nipping at their heels.

    So why do your customers really keep coming back?

    What you are selling vs. what they are buying

    In considering why your customers continue to purchase from you, it is important to understand the difference between what you are selling and what they are buying. This is such a crucial distinction. As Harvard Business School professor and economist Theodore Levitt famously said, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!”

    An accounting firm may see itself as selling tax preparation services, but its customers are seeking peace of mind. Apple offers not just its technology but a modern retail experience. A mechanic sells an engine tune-up, but the customer is purchasing a quieter and safer ride.

    As a customer-conscious business, it is essential to sell the hole, not the drill.

    Related: Do You Actually Understand Why Your Customers Are Buying?

    Understanding customer loyalty

    How do you identify the true reasons why customers buy from you? Get ready for a shocker. You ask them.

    While this may sound flippant, you might be amazed by how many business owners never ask the right questions or truly listen to what their customers have to say. HubSpot recently reported that 42% of businesses do not survey their customers or collect any sort of customer feedback. Those that do elicit feedback often do not ask the right questions. And even fewer business owners take any action based on the responses they receive.

    Performing a customer survey can be a real competitive advantage for you. You can communicate by phone, on your website, in an email campaign or in person. The platform matters less than posing smart questions that evoke insightful answers. How important do they consider price? How would they rate your customer service? Why do they prefer you over the competition? Create a system for recording the answers you receive, which might be as basic as a spreadsheet or as comprehensive as entering responses into your CRM or other sales and marketing tools. Feedback should not be a one-and-done; make it a habit to speak to your customers regularly.

    Then the next time somebody like me enquires about why your customers buy from you, your answer will accurately reflect the true value your business brings to the marketplace.

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    Jason Zickerman

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  • Free Webinar | April 12: Return to the Office: 4 Ways to Make Both Managers and Employees Happy | Entrepreneur

    Free Webinar | April 12: Return to the Office: 4 Ways to Make Both Managers and Employees Happy | Entrepreneur

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    The return to the office has been far from seamless. While we all dreamed of a day when we could get off endless Zoom calls and back to “normal,” the truth is that many leaders are facing employee resistance, resignations, quiet quitting, and a loss in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as they attempt to bring workers back to the office.

    But it doesn’t have to be this way. In this engaging, interactive, and entertaining presentation, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky will walk leaders through four proven strategies and tactics that companies can use to meet the needs and concerns of their employees, while simultaneously better serving their businesses.

    Don’t miss it! Register now and join us on April 12th at 3:00 PM ET.

    About the Speaker:

    Dr. Gleb Tsipursky helps leaders use hybrid work to improve retention and productivity while cutting costs. He serves as the CEO of the boutique future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. He is the best-selling author of 7 books, including the global best-sellers Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters and The Blindspots Between Us: How to Overcome Unconscious Cognitive Bias and Build Better Relationships. His newest book is Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Korean, German, Russian, Polish, Spanish, French, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox, and over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist at UNC-Chapel Hill and Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.

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    Entrepreneur Staff

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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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  • 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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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    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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  • 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 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 | Leaders Concerned About Remote Work Should Be Looking at This Metric

    Entrepreneur | Leaders Concerned About Remote Work Should Be Looking at This Metric

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Many leaders are increasingly troubled by remote work. What was a lifeline during Covid has now started to look like an anchor. Of course, this isn’t the employee perspective. Most employees love remote work. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a system that allows you to avoid commuting — at least some if not all of the workweek — and to spend more time near family, friends, pets, your own kitchen, etc.?

    While different organizations face different issues with remote work, there is always one common concern: employee engagement.

    Related: 4 Essentials for Employee Engagement in a Remote World

    Satisfaction vs. engagement

    I am not talking about employee satisfaction, although many people use these terms interchangeably. Employee satisfaction is about an employee liking their job. Employee engagement is about how engaged in the work that employee is.

    It’s engagement with the work that raises the most concern when it comes to remote work environments, not satisfaction.

    Common misconceptions about engagement only exacerbate the problem. For instance, if I believe my people skills or powers of persuasion as a leader are critical for creating engagement, then I will probably be very concerned about having to lead in a remote, two-dimensional reality. I may feel like I’m trying to lead with one hand tied behind my back, since creating a human connection in a remote setting is more difficult.

    Also, if I feel it is essential for people to connect with each other in person to create engagement, I will be equally concerned about having my team in a remote environment.

    Right now, you may be thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute, is he saying a human connection is not important?” I am not saying that. Connecting with one’s boss and co-workers is often critical for employee satisfaction. However, based on my team’s experience over the last 20 years and the research of acclaimed clinical psychologist and management professor Frederick Herzberg, in-person connection is not actually necessary for engagement. Engagement comes down to just two things: progress and purpose. Think of these as, “Am I winning?” and “Is it a big deal”?

    You can test this on yourself. Go back to the time in your life when you were most engaged at work. Think of a specific time when you were so into the work, you couldn’t wait to get up in the morning. At that moment, the many elements that drive employee satisfaction may or may not have been present. You may have been well compensated, or you may not have. You may have liked your boss and your co-workers, or you may not have. But those factors — so critical to satisfaction — weren’t statistically relevant when it came to that moment in your life when you were most engaged.

    Related: How to Ensure Your Remote Staff Is Engaged

    Progress and purpose

    The two factors that I can promise you were present at that time in your life? Progress and purpose. You were making real progress on something you considered to be important. Engagement isn’t dependent on working side by side. It isn’t about happy hours, a weekly free lunch or even an inspiring boss. To create engagement, you must create a winnable game.

    The good news is, for a person to engage, it doesn’t require every aspect of that person’s job to feel like a winnable game. In our experience, even if 80% of a person’s job is just the hard work of sustaining the current operation, you’ll have their engagement if just 20% of their energy is spent making progress on something that matters. This does not require everyone to be working in the same physical environment.

    I worked with LeAnn Talbot, an executive at a Fortune 20 company, who executed an impressive turnaround. Her region went from dead last out of 20 regions to No. 1 in the country on the company’s overall performance power ranking. Long before this turnaround felt remotely possible, she confided in me her biggest concern: “I’ve got a group of leaders who seem to be addicted to losing. Before I can do anything with this region, that mindset must be broken. I need them to get some wins. Even if they are small wins.”

    This was the first time I had thought about my team’s work on execution as a way to help create winnable games and believe this to be the most important professional insight I’ve ever been given.

    If you’re in a situation where your employees can work remotely, I am not saying you won’t have challenges. What I am saying is that, if you can help them feel like they are playing a winnable, high-stakes game, engagement will not be one of those challenges.

    Related: Keeping Your Remote Workforce Engaged: The How-To

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    Chris McChesney

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  • 8 Reasons You Should Give Your Employees More Control

    8 Reasons You Should Give Your Employees More Control

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    If you are an employer, you might think giving employees clear direction is the best way to get things done and keep your business moving forward. And while it is true that everyone needs some structure and guidance, constantly telling your employees what they should be doing can be incredibly damaging to your organization. Your employees want you to trust them. If they feel like you tell them what to do instead of trusting them with their decisions, they may not be happy with their jobs.

    Here are the reasons you should stop telling your employees what to do and give them more control:

    Related: 4 Ways to Give Employees More of the Control They Want

    1. Employees hate micromanagement

    You might think this is a given and should not even need saying. However, many companies are still guilty of micromanaging their employees, especially when delegating tasks and projects. As mentioned by HBR, micromanagement is still a dirty word in today’s workplaces

    The problem with micromanagement is that when you constantly tell your employees everything they need to do, they do not feel like they are contributing anything of value or making any impact on their job. This can cause them to feel bored and underappreciated, which could lead them to leave your company for a new one where they have more freedom.

    If you want loyal workers who care about their work and feel they are contributing something valuable, you should trust them enough to get the job done.

    2. Employees want your trust

    Employees also want to know that they can make mistakes without being punished. If you value your employees’ input and let them contribute ideas, they will feel like they are a part of the team and that you listen to them. This will keep them motivated in their job and make work more enjoyable for everyone involved since it shows that you trust them and care about the work they do.

    3. Employees want to know that their opinions matter

    It is important to note that employees want to feel like they are contributing and that their opinions matter. Nothing is worse than being told what to do all the time and not feeling heard. The point is that employees want you to value them for their knowledge, skill and ability. They do not just want someone telling them what they need to do.

    4. Employees want to try something by themselves first

    Your employees want to learn on their own or at least be allowed to try something for themselves first. As discussed by Gartner, people are motivated when they feel valued and create an impact. The most productive employees do not have time for micromanagers. They are too busy smashing out tasks at lightning speed while thinking up creative solutions to problems.

    Of course, you will find those who will never change: the people who think it is fun (or funny) to prank call your office. There are those who think nothing of walking into work 15 minutes late every morning. There are workers who think it is acceptable behavior to skip meetings and leave early without letting anyone know why and others. These people need constant reminders about expectations set forth by management.

    Related: 3 Proven Ways to Keep Employees Happy

    5. Employees want to be able to ask questions

    Employees need to know that their questions are important. They need to know that it will not hurt their feelings if they ask for clarification or more information about something you have said or done. If you do not make people feel like their questions are welcome, they will stop asking and do what you tell them without understanding why.

    6. Employees want to know that you’re collaborating with them and not against them

    Employees want an environment where they can collaborate with their colleagues. This can be as straightforward as letting your team members know you appreciate their input. When employees feel like they are a part of the company, they will be more likely to take pride in their jobs and create innovative ways to solve problems.

    One study from Gallup found that employees who felt engaged were more productive than those who did not feel the engagement. Another study found that when managers recognize employees for their achievements, it indicates trust between the two parties.

    7. Employees need a clear idea of what success looks like

    You can only expect your employees to figure out how to achieve a goal if you provide them with a clear vision of success. If you want them to be motivated by the result, give them a picture of how they will feel when they reach it instead of just telling them what to do.

    This will help them stay motivated during challenging times and prevent burnout. You should also provide examples of people who have successfully achieved similar goals, so workers understand what you expect of them and how they might achieve those same results.

    8. Employees should have access to the job information

    Employees need access to the information they need to do their jobs, including knowing any specific project deadlines. If your staff can access the job instructions they need to complete their projects, they will know how much time and effort they should put into whatever task.

    Employees also need to know why they are doing something. This will help them understand how their actions affect customers, clients or other parts of your business. On the other side, employees might only sometimes be able to see that what they do affects other departments or divisions within a company. Access to the correct information can inspire them and give them a clear purpose in their role at work.

    Related: 6 Ways to Encourage Autonomy With Your Employees

    Your employees want you to trust them. It is no secret that if your employees feel like you trust them, they are happier with their job. A good strategy is to have weekly or monthly check-ins with them vs. hovering over everything they are doing. If they feel like you tell them what to do instead of trusting them with their decisions, they may not be happy with their jobs. That is because people are more motivated when they feel like they have some autonomy and control over their lives.

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    Steve Taplin

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  • 3 Simple Ways to Show Your Employees You Care

    3 Simple Ways to Show Your Employees You Care

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Leadership is about more than just giving orders and making decisions. It’s about guiding and motivating your team to achieve common goals, and one of the most effective ways to motivate your employees is by showing them you care about them as individuals.

    I’ve seen this time and time again as the CEO of StoneAge. I recall several years ago when a key team member called to tell me he was considering leaving the company. “I received another job offer, Kerry, and I am considering taking it,” he told me tentatively. “I’ve got too much going on in my life, and this new role will keep me closer to home, which I need right now.” Instead of getting upset, I asked him about the offer and what drove him to consider looking outside the company for a new job.

    Soon, it was clear that he didn’t really want to leave; he just needed some time to get his life in order. So, we agreed that he would take a month-long sabbatical to focus on his family and personal life. He came back refreshed, focused and committed. Last week, he and I talked about his sabbatical and its impact on his life. He said, “Kerry, I will go to the ends of the Earth with you and StoneAge. Thank you for caring about my well-being. I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else.”

    Related: 4 Ways Employers Should Show Their Employees They Care

    Ways to show your employees you care

    Who doesn’t want to hear these kinds of statements from their employees? A leader can do nothing more impactful than inspire their team members to live their very best lives. Here are some things you can do today to show your team you care about them:

    1. Offer opportunities for personal and professional development: This can include training programs, mentorship programs or opportunities to take on new responsibilities. Or it can come in the form of taking time off, such as in the example I shared above.

    2. Provide a supportive and inclusive work environment: At StoneAge, we promote a culture of open communication, provide resources and support for work-life balance and build a sense of belonging by creating opportunities to share personal stories and experiences that help us connect with one another.

    3. Recognize and reward employees for their contributions: “I get all the recognition I need!” said no one ever. Don’t underestimate the powers of recognition and acknowledgment. You can create formal programs like employee of the month or peer recognition systems that allow teammates to recognize each other. You can also create less formal methods like regularly thanking employees for their hard work and achievements. I make sure to acknowledge a job well done by each of my direct reports weekly.

    Related: Show Employees You Care About Their Well-Being. Here are 5 Ways.

    Why it matters

    Showing you care about your employees matters. According to a Gallup survey, those who feel their manager cares about them are twice as likely to engage at work. That’s a powerful statistic. Here are a few more reasons why leaders should make an effort to demonstrate their concern for their employees:

    • Improved morale: When employees feel valued and supported by their leaders, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their work, leading to higher job satisfaction and overall happiness.

    • Increased productivity: When employees feel cared for and supported by their leaders, they are more likely to feel comfortable asking for help and advice, leading to more effective problem-solving and higher productivity levels.

    • Greater retention: Employees who feel valued by their leaders are more likely to stay with their company long-term, saving the company the time and resources required to continuously hire and train new employees.

    • Enhanced reputation: Companies known for treating their employees well tend to have a positive reputation in the community and the industry, leading to better recruitment and retention of top talent.

    Demonstrating that you care about your employees builds trust and fosters a positive work culture. By showing your employees that you value them, you can create a more productive and enjoyable work environment for everyone. You can inspire your employees to say, “Why would I work anywhere else?”

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    Kerry Siggins

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  • How to Build a Culture of Emotional Intelligence

    How to Build a Culture of Emotional Intelligence

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    It’s no secret that emotional intelligence is a valuable skill for business leaders. However, many CEOs struggle to cultivate it within their team. Read along as we discuss the benefits of emotional intelligence in the workplace and how to develop it to enhance your leadership skills and business strategy.


    Shivendu Jauhari | Getty Images

    What is emotional intelligence?

    Emotional intelligence is “the ability to perceive, interpret, demonstrate, control, evaluate and use emotions to communicate with and relate to others effectively and constructively. Some experts suggest that emotional intelligence is more important than IQ for success in life,” (Verywell Mind).

    Utilizing emotional intelligence can help facilitate open communication and strengthen relationships between executives, managers and employees, creating an improved work culture overall. It’s important for leaders to not only know how to foster emotional intelligence within themselves but how to encourage it from their team as well.

    Related: 5 Ways Emotional Intelligence Will Make You a Better Leader

    5 pillars of emotional intelligence

    In his bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence, psychologist and author Daniel Goleman crafts a framework in which leaders can leverage five key traits to successfully implement emotional intelligence in the workplace. These traits are influenced both by experience and intuitiveness. The five pillars are:

    1. Self-awareness:

    Our emotions do not only affect us, they affect those around us as well. The ability to recognize your own emotional state and its impact on others is a skill that can be developed over time. For example, employees may be reluctant to ask for help if they can see that their boss is already stressed out with other tasks. While you should not hide your emotions, it’s important to be cognizant of how they come across to others.

    2) Self-regulation:

    Though we can’t always control our emotions, we can control the way we react to them. Self-regulation (impulse control) is critical to maintaining good relationships in the workplace. Leaders who are able to check themselves before reacting are better able to handle difficult situations and are more respectable.

    Self-regulation also promotes accountability as it helps create a clear set of expectations for how to act in the workplace.

    3) Motivation:

    Goleman writes, “Leadership is not domination, but the art of persuading people to work toward a common goal.”

    Motivating your employees is perhaps the most important action toward achieving alignment within your team. When all team members are motivated and focused on the same goal, you are more likely to hit your targets. Motivate your employees by setting clear objectives, celebrating wins and victories, and recognizing individual contributions.

    4. Empathy:

    Empathic leaders are able to put themselves in other people’s shoes and act with fairness. They are generally well-liked by employees, as they are more understanding and able to relate on a personal level. Having empathy does not just mean caring about others — it means being able to recognize others’ emotions even when they are not forthcoming and being able to conduct conversations appropriately with the other person’s emotional state in mind.

    A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that “managers who practiced empathetic leadership toward direct reports were viewed as better performers by their bosses.” Empathic leadership is not restricted to C-suite executives — managers and other level employees can benefit from practicing empathy at work.

    5. Social skills:

    Social skills like active listening and verbal/nonverbal communication will lead to stronger trust among a team. Leaders with social skills are better communicators and know how to work with different types of people. Effective communication is one of the most important skills for a leader to have and proves useful when addressing issues or tough topics. Having good social skills also makes leaders appear more approachable to their team members, enabling positive working relationships and an effective feedback loop.

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

    Benefits of emotional intelligence in the workplace

    Exhibiting emotional intelligence in your business can lead to countless improvements, from enhanced performance to a better culture. We’ve outlined a few of the main benefits below:

    • Team alignment: Rally your team members around a common goal. This creates cohesiveness across the board and helps ensure no boxes in your strategic execution are left unchecked.

    • Increased productivity: Employees will work harder and faster with the right motivation. They will be encouraged to ask questions for clarity and explore new ideas as they work toward the specified company goals.

    • Increased transparency and accountability: Emotional awareness is a desirable trait among leaders when it comes to the way employees see them. This prompts them to be more open and truthful with their team, creating opportunities for increased transparency in the company. By being upfront about certain initiatives, metrics and company information, leaders gain trust and understanding from their team. Establishing this kind of transparency and accountability helps fill in gaps and ensures that the right people are working toward the right goals.

    • Better communication: Communication is king when it comes to getting anything done as a team, and it’s easier to communicate when you know how you feel. Emotionally intelligent leaders are able to effectively express what is needed in a way that can be understood by others. They are also good listeners and know how to get a point across while also taking into account the other person’s viewpoints and opinions. This ties into the pillar of self-regulation, as being able to control impulsive responses is another important part of effective communication.

    Related: How to Cultivate Higher Emotional Intelligence in Your Employees

    Steps to improve emotional intelligence in your organization

    It’s no coincidence that the five pillars of emotional intelligence are also key traits of a good leader. It’s important for leaders to not only exhibit traits of emotional intelligence but also to recognize and celebrate them within their team. So, how can leaders cultivate emotional intelligence?

    1. Show appreciation:

    It’s easy for executives to overlook the importance of employee appreciation, even though the smallest gestures can make a huge difference. When employees are happy, the whole business benefits. Research has shown that having happy employees increases productivity, sales, employee retention, employer net promoter Scores (eNPS); the list goes on.

    Remember to give praise for a job well done and ensure your employees know their hard work does not go unnoticed. This can be as simple as a shoutout in your all-hands team meeting or a handwritten “thank-you” note. When employees receive praise, they feel valued. And when they feel valued, they are more motivated to work hard and deliver exceptional results.

    2. Practice what you preach:

    Respectable people lead by example. This includes making an effort to exhibit the positive traits that you expect to see from your team and acting in solidarity with them. In order to be effective, a team must be unified from the top down. Actions like giving thanks, admitting to wrongdoings and having an open-door policy will help create a healthier environment.

    3. Get to know yourself:

    Understanding yourself is the foundation of emotional intelligence. Self-awareness and reflection involve understanding one’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs and drives. It’s a major factor in emotional regulation, as it helps provide insight into one’s emotional reactions and makes it easier to control them. Make an effort to be mindful of how you react in different situations, and get comfortable with the idea of self-reflection. This kind of reflection is not just good for enhancing your leadership skills, but for the soul as well.

    4. Get to know your people:

    You know it’s important to establish good working relationships with your coworkers, but establishing good personal relationships goes a long way, too. Knowing your employees on a personal level means being able to better understand them and their emotional states and allows you to determine how to best work with them.

    Don’t underestimate the importance of one-on-one time between CEOs/managers and team members. Having frequent and consistent 1:1 meetings helps drive performance but also provides opportunities for open communication and relationship-building. Team members are more likely to provide truthful and constructive feedback if they feel like they are being heard.

    5. Provide training:

    As mentioned, emotional intelligence is a skill that can be developed and improved with practice. It’s important to invest in emotional intelligence training and development programs if you want your team to be successful. This includes both emotional awareness and emotional regulation, as well as communication skills, decision-making skills and more.

    Developing emotional intelligence requires practice, but it can have a huge impact on the success of an organization. By recognizing emotional intelligence within your team and investing in emotional intelligence training, you can create a better working environment that leads to improved performance and higher morale.

    Emotional intelligence is not something that can be forced on people or taught overnight. It takes time and commitment from leaders, but it can have a positive and lasting impact on the team as a whole when practiced and supported regularly. It’s a valuable tool that can help business leaders be more effective, improve communication and increase trust.

    By investing in emotional intelligence, your business will be able to reap the rewards of a better-connected workforce that feels appreciated, respected and motivated to succeed.

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    Doug Walner

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  • Microsoft Is Giving Employees Unlimited Time Off

    Microsoft Is Giving Employees Unlimited Time Off

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    Microsoft is starting the new year with a generous new policy for its U.S. employees.


    Stephen Brashear | Getty Images

    Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Washington

    Starting January 16, Microsoft is implementing a “Discretionary Time Off” policy, which gives employees unlimited time off without needing to accrue vacation days. Any employees who currently have unused PTO days will get a one-time payout in April.

    “How, when and where we do our jobs has dramatically changed,” Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s chief people officer, wrote in a memo obtained by The Verge. “And as we’ve transformed, modernizing our vacation policy to a more flexible model was a natural next step.”

    Related: I Was a Skeptic, Now I am Convinced Unlimited PTO is Good Business

    The policy only applies to salaried employees in the U.S. and excludes overseas workers and hourly employees. Microsoft says it’s difficult to offer unlimited time off to hourly and foreign workers due to differing laws and regulations, according to The Verge.

    The new policy comes as more companies have adopted flexible work schedules following the pandemic. When lockdowns rocked workplace norms irrevocably, what followed was The Great Resignation, where large numbers of workers left jobs in search of a more balanced lifestyle. As employees set new standards, companies have revved up perks and benefits to attract and retain talent in a tight labor market where many individuals seek more than just a paycheck — and unlimited time off is not a bad place to start.

    Related: How Companies are Offering Perks to Their Remote Workforce

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    Madeline Garfinkle

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  • Has Remote Work Impacted Our Relationships With Other Employees? Find Out.

    Has Remote Work Impacted Our Relationships With Other Employees? Find Out.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The concept of remote work and the impact it could have on the productivity and motivation of employees, has been in discussion long before the Covid-19 pandemic. A 2013 Stanford University study with 500 employees in China reported that employee productivity increased by 13% as a result of working remotely in quieter environments.

    The pandemic forced employers and governments across the world to adopt the remote work model. According to Statista, the global collaboration software market revenues rose by a whopping $15.9 billion in 2019 to $19.2 billion in 2021. These figures are expected to increase over the next few years, as digital transformation and remote work are here to stay.

    Some companies believe that the best practice is a hybrid-first work model, while others are pursuing efforts to bring employees back to the office. In September 2022, Kastle Systems, a key-card property management company that monitors entries and exits from office buildings, reported that some businesses are close to 50% office capacity.

    So, how has remote work impacted the relationships of employees? The way they connect on a professional level or even in a friendly manner?

    We conducted a survey in the United States across a wide age range, asking the participants about their experiences with remote and hybrid work models, and how it has impacted their productivity and their relationships with their colleagues.

    The participants

    To understand the role of remote work in the internal network of employers, we included participants across 31 states who are either working entirely remotely or with a hybrid work model. The survey sample included a diverse audience, as people of various ages and industries have varying preferences when it comes to the methods and tools they use to perform.

    • 82% of the participants were aged between 25 and 44 years old.
    • 18% were aged between 45 and 55 years old.

    The majority worked across different industries including, but not limited to, finance, software, healthcare and information services.

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

    Remote work and productivity

    71% of our participants claimed that their productivity has improved over the past two years. A further 21% stated that it remained unchanged and 8% believe that it deteriorated.

    This came as no surprise. Removing the hours of commute, preparing food at home and being close to the family are all elements that employees have appreciated. In the words of Allyson Zimmermann, Executive Director at Catalyst, “access to remote work increases employee wellbeing, productivity, innovation and inclusion.”

    Whereas, no one under the age of 34 found their productivity deteriorating.

    Remote work and relationships with colleagues

    Despite the fact that remote work removes the boundary between work and home, people have been able to establish methods to communicate with colleagues without it becoming a burden. So much so, that for some, remote work has improved their relationships with their colleagues.

    67% of our participants believe that their relationships with their colleagues have improved during the last two years. This figure was sufficiently higher among the younger ages, as 73.8% of the respondents between the ages of 25-34 answered positively.

    This is in line with the findings of Dan Schwable, Managing Partner of Workplace Intelligence, who highlights that “over the past year their relationships have improved with their managers (32%), peers/colleagues on their team (25%), and peers/colleagues on other teams (21%).”

    “When people trust one another and have social capital, you get a willingness to take risks, you get more innovation and creativity and less groupthink.”

    Methods of interactions

    No matter the benefits of remote work, employees can get lonely. Nancy Baym, Jonathan Larso and Ronnie Martin from Harvard Business Review elaborate, “the spontaneous informal interactions at risk in hybrid and remote work are not distractions or unproductive. They foster the employee connections that feed productivity and innovation — these interactions are the soil in which ideas grow.”

    Our survey participants, however, have shared different methods that their employers promote in-person interactions:

    • 26% said that social outings have been their company’s go-to method.
    • 23% of our participants stated their company does so through work retreats and off-site gatherings.

    An interesting point to note is that some companies encourage remote interactions with colleagues:

    • 23% connect through digital Interactive Office Solutions.
    • 11% interact through online video game sessions.

    Admittedly, we have tried the last two points at Covve by hosting virtual game nights and online yoga sessions once per month with great success, connecting our teams.

    In addition to the above responses, we invited the participants to share other activities that would help them interact better with their colleagues at work. The most prominent responses were:

    • The inclusion of outdoor activities and sports in the company’s schedule.
    • Department-wide lunches or occasional dinners with colleagues. This is a technique introduced at Google (and then the wider Silicon Valley) to encourage employees to eat together, connect and share ideas for new projects.
    • The introduction of biweekly or monthly mentorship sessions.
    • Working together on volunteering activities and community service projects.

    Related: How to Strengthen Communication Within Remote and Hybrid Teams

    Conclusion

    The key message from our findings is that while remote work has increased employee productivity and improved their relationships, it did not eliminate the need for social interaction.

    Company networking and bonding is still heavily facilitated at company outings and gatherings. Although online interactions and even video games are novel and rising methods in connecting employees at the remote or hybrid workplace, employees still need to connect over drinks, food, exercise, or even volunteering. This is well explained by a research-backed op-ed by Edward Glaeser and David Cutler featured in The Washington Post, which claims that “over the medium to long term, long-distance employment can’t deliver key benefits — including learning and new friendships — that come from face-to-face contact.”

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    Gleb Tsipursky

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  • How to Make Your Weekly Status Meetings More Exciting

    How to Make Your Weekly Status Meetings More Exciting

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Team meetings are often the most telling sign of the culture of an organization. And who among us hasn’t attended the painfully dry and dull weekly status meeting? The format is predictable: Each person shares their work status and then ends up with a brand new to-do list by the end.

    Status meetings can be useful. But most employees tune out of these meetings until it’s their time to speak. This defeats the whole purpose of sharing information and engaging in a meeting. This format couldn’t be worse for employee engagement and organizational morale. It causes employees to daydream, put themselves on mute, pretend they are taking notes on their laptop while perusing Facebook, browse other jobs on LinkedIn, etc. And with remote meetings, disengagement becomes even more likely.

    Unproductive meetings are more than just an occasional nuisance. According to research, the average employee spends 35% of their time in meetings, approximately 67% of which are considered unproductive. This results in a total cost of $47M per year in labor cost hours.

    Do you want to transform meetings at your organization from a routine, unvaluable experience to a motivating and inspiring one? If so, start by addressing the following questions and using the tips below:

    1. Are our meetings efficient and purposeful?

    Do our meetings have a clear, specific agenda beyond updating each other on statuses? Are there topics spelled out ahead of time that need to be discussed? Are materials sent ahead of time to reduce time wasted in meetings? Are meetings facilitated strongly so that they don’t stray off-topic?

    Tip: Set context for the meeting beforehand by denoting specific areas that need to be discussed. Ensure that only employees relevant to meeting topics are required to attend, and keep it optional for others. Often, meetings can veer off topic by one or more attendees expressing other concerns. Ensure that the meeting leader is able to keep the meeting on course and make progress on the topic(s) at hand while making note of other issues for a follow-up discussion if needed. Try to keep to the scheduled agenda of the meeting and end on time. Keep meetings snappy and efficient.

    Related: When Meetings Get Stuck: Getting Past the ‘Cork in the Bottle’

    2. Are our meetings inspiring?

    Routine meetings that occur on a weekly or daily basis can start being taken for granted by both leaders and employees. The meetings then have a tendency of jumping right into the weeds: current status updates and upcoming action items and steps. Do you take the time to inspire employees and keep them tethered to the big-picture goals?

    Tip: We can make these meetings more inspiring by setting big-picture context at the onset and conclusion of the meetings: iterating the project vision, long-term goals and outcomes (and why they are exciting). Encouraging an attitude of innovation and openness to solve problems in new ways. Rather than jumping into the weeds right away, start the meeting by setting intention and ground rules that focus on inviting input, innovation and crazy ideas from all members of the team, regardless of level. Just voicing this intention can help inspire a mindset of openness and non-judgment across the team.

    Related: How to Lead Effectively and Inspire During Virtual Meetings

    3. Do our meetings foster inclusion and collaboration?

    Do meetings maintain a clear hierarchy or differential in terms of contribution level? Is the meeting conversation dominated by one or two people? Is there enough space for each member to contribute not just status, but ideas as well?

    Tip: One way to increase inclusion in meetings is to remember that not every individual communicates best through words and may find it difficult to voice his/her ideas in a group. Meetings often form a competitive and stressful environment in which every voice struggles to be heard, and the loudest and most assertive ones usually win.

    Consider other forms of gathering input from all members: menti.com is a great tool for polling and crowdsourcing ideas or using chat features on Zoom. If you want to be more creative, lead a drawing/diagramming exercise in your meeting, where each individual is able to pictorially show their vision and ideas and share them with the group. Look for parallels/synergies between ideas to create a collaborative whole.

    4. Along the same lines, do our meetings give space for conflicting ideas?

    Are meetings dominated by groupthink, or are team members empowered to speak up in disagreement? Often the quietest members in a meeting are the ones who aren’t quite on board, and these are the individuals that may need to be heard from.

    Tip: One of the most important points for a meeting leader to remember is that silence does not necessarily equate to agreement. A valuable skill of a leader is a keen awareness of the collective field of the team and each individual. If a participant seems less engaged or enthusiastic, as a leader, it behooves you to encourage and support that person to speak up — even if, and especially if, he/she has a differing viewpoint. Addressing individuals by name, you may say something like, “Kate, it looks like you might feel differently. What are you thinking?”

    5. Are our meetings appreciative?

    Do we show recognition and appreciation to individuals for successes big and small by naming them in meetings? Do we thank all members of the meeting for their unique contributions?

    Tip: To foster a healthy organizational culture, remember to celebrate both financial and non-financial successes. Emphasize all of the goals of the organization (e.g., diversity, collaboration, acts of kindness) — not just those directly related to financial gain. Often, the simple act of showing you noticed good work is enough to boost morale.

    Truly constructive company meetings depend on both clarity of agenda and cross-functional and cross-organizational openness to sharing ideas and opinions. These are the types of meetings that everyone in the team looks forward to attending each week. They know they will have a chance to be heard and introduce something new. Aim to use new facilitation techniques and collaborative technology to revamp your company’s meetings. Then watch your employee engagement, innovation and performance dramatically boost.

    Related: 3 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Meetings

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    Sam Basu

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  • 5 Ways You Can Build a Strong Leadership Team

    5 Ways You Can Build a Strong Leadership Team

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Laying the foundation for a powerful leadership team starts with a business assessment and a self-assessment. What does the business need to achieve, and how can our leadership teams get us there?

    I tend to look at things globally, but while I can see things in a micro way to determine the next steps, I like to lean on my teams to dig down into the details as they come up with a knock-out marketing and sales strategy, stellar creative, rock-solid and accurate financials and innovative thinking that are all informed by five guiding tips.

    Related: 22 Qualities That Make a Great Leader

    1. Determine what goals and priorities the business needs to focus on

    When determining the base needs of the business, you have to look at who’s already on your team. Here’s a good example. I have a person in a manager’s seat right now, but I’m mentoring him to be a director because what I’ve identified in him are many of the key personality qualities that a leader and a leadership team need.

    Intelligence is key. I refer not only to business intelligence but also to emotional intelligence. This includes understanding how to interact with people and the business requirements. They are two different things, but both are required of a leader. You need to be organized, and you need to have really good communication skills.

    You also need to be able to say no. I want my leadership team to be strong enough to know the difference between what we should say yes to and what we should say no to because I’m relying on them to run their parts of the business and then report to me. Therefore, I need to have trust that they understand what it means to say no — and they can only know that if they understand the business as a complete operation.

    For example, if there’s a need for someone to jump in the warehouse and pack boxes, then so be it. The fact that my warehouse leader was packing orders on a Monday shows the rest of his team and me that he’s not going to ask anyone to do something that he’s not willing to do himself.

    Related: Setting Measurable Goals Is Critical to Your Strategic Plan (and Your Success). Here’s Why.

    2. Never forget the importance of “right people, right seats.”

    Do they get it? Do they want it? Do they have the capacity to do it? And then there are measurables that give us an idea if they are meeting those criteria. We’re a little obsessed about this, but it’s important.

    One thing that guides a strong leadership team foundation is the establishment of core values. What does the business stand for, and what are those values?

    In our business, one of the things that we really believe in is customer relationships built on trust. Another one is minding the small details. Little things matter. This can be the little nuances of contract manufacturing or providing more service to our customers.

    You want to go out and find a leadership team that lives the core values every minute of every day that they are in the building, hybrid or remote — because it is through their leadership, their belief in those values, and how they exemplify them that provides the blueprint of how an employee should act.

    Remember that every employee, not just leaders, builds a company’s reputation and goodwill.

    Related: As a Leader: Never Compromise Your Core Values

    3. Leaders should be able to pivot, make adjustments and change course

    If you’re going to be in business and think things are going to stay the same, you’re not in the right field and should do something else. There’s an excellent quote that I read recently from Jeff Bezos, where he said that “every day needs to be day one.”

    He said that day one is when you’re entirely customer-obsessed and constantly looking to grow the business. On day one of a business, you’re asking what we can do to wow our customers. How can we provide value? You never want to leave day one because, once it becomes day two, it’s now on a path to stagnation.

    I agree with that. Part of day one thinking is understanding that things change. It’s being resilient enough to change course, evaluating things on the fly, knowing what’s working and rapidly driving resources to what’s working.

    How do you bring the best out in your teams? In baseball, it’s catchers that have a unique perspective. They’re managing the pitcher and see the game from a perspective only they can see.

    They’re watching the game unfold in front of them. Nine innings, 162 games a year for 20 years, or however long they’re behind the plate. They’re great leaders in the sport because they understand the game at a level that other players can’t.

    I think that that’s a big part of when you’re looking to develop a quality leadership team. Those are the kind of skills that you want to see.

    Be like a catcher.

    4. Knowing that honest mistakes, smart risk and bold action are often needed

    What I believe in is that you want to give people smart authority. You want to let them understand the guardrails within their sphere and encourage people to own things. You give people a chance to accept responsibility, take full responsibility for something and give them goals for what you want them to accomplish. Then set them free to go out and do it.

    When they make mistakes, they learn something. It’s through honest mistakes that real learning happens. We grow up in a culture where everything has to be mistake-free and perfect. In reality, however, the best and most successful entrepreneurs are founded out of risk. If you remove the risk from your business as you’re operating it, how can you ever grow? How can you ever move to the next level?

    You want to allow your team and leaders to grow and make what I call “smart mistakes” — honest mistakes that are not due to carelessness or recklessness. It’s okay to make a mistake when you’ve gone through the process of making a good decision.

    I also believe in “smart risk,” — where you think more outside the box. Smart risk is, for example, taking a reasonable chance on a well-thought-out opportunity.

    In marketing, there’s the whole theory of test and rest. Try something, give it a time frame, and look at the results. Did it work? Yes, then throw more at it. If not, what did we learn, why didn’t it work and what could we tweak?

    Related: 7 Mistakes Leaders Make When Managing a Remote Team

    5. Blending diverse talents can create a force multiplier effect

    The best example that I can give is a hockey team. There are usually four lines on a hockey team, and traditionally, you have the top six that score. You have two lines of forwards that go out there, and their job is to generate offense and control the puck in the other team’s zone. But if you have four lines like that, then who’s playing defense?

    So, you complement those lines with somebody who’s maybe a bit more physical, somebody who likes to agitate. While you certainly need to score goals, you also need the passers, the players who keep the team spirits up, and the enforcers where necessary.

    Same thing in business. You have to have a leadership team that’s not an echo chamber. In echo chambers, there are no divergent views or solutions. When you look at things like marketing and sales, you want different opinions so you have the best chance to make a decision that helps the business move forward.

    Related: Ensuring Diversity Is Not a Distraction to Leaders

    While values can be shared, talents should be unique. People should be able to work together and respect each other’s aptitudes and viewpoints because I believe that creates a high tide in which all boats can float.

    My feedback about our vice president of sales from her employees is that “She is the best manager I ever worked for because she empowers me to own things and do the best job I can.”

    That’s what I call great leadership.

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    Vincent Tricarico

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  • 78% of Employers Are Using Remote Work Tools to Spy on You

    78% of Employers Are Using Remote Work Tools to Spy on You

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    78% of employers use software to spy on employees. But the research — and common sense — shows that this tempting practice does far more harm than good. And 83% of employers acknowledge that it’s ethically questionable. When you spy on your people, you trade trust, culture and morale for sketchy data and productivity theater.

    Work-from-home and hybrid models are here to stay. Companies everywhere are investing millions in digital employee experience (DEX), which reduces IT friction and makes employees happier and more productive. Separately, the same remote and hybrid shift has encouraged companies to deploy so-called productivity surveillance technologies. These have the opposite effect and even punish those who allegedly waste company time.

    DEX and productivity surveillance are very different. DEX helps employees and their companies, while surveillance harms both. What’s more, data from productivity surveillance is, ironically, a terrible measure of productivity. Many companies have good justifications for specific, security and compliance monitoring practices. But we shouldn’t let productivity surveillance hide in the shadow of necessary measures that prevent disasters like data breaches.

    What’s productivity surveillance, and what does it measure?

    Leaders are worried about productivity. 85% blame hybrid work for obscuring whether employees are being productive, even though 87% of employees report they’re more productive working from home.

    Productivity surveillance includes things like taking screenshots throughout the day, logging keystrokes and clicks, analyzing message frequency and length and tracking website usage. All in order to measure, safeguard and (managers hope) increase worker productivity.

    Companies implement productivity surveillance to police how employees are spending their time. But, the proxy measures they use are extremely problematic. Screenshots, keyloggers, mouse trackers and message frequency logs don’t capture the important work that takes place away from company devices. Social workers, for example, have been penalized for visiting clients. Companies have docked pay for routine bathroom breaks. And none of these intrusions measure true productivity, like outcomes, work quality or goal attainment.

    This technology is doing real harm to people who don’t deserve it. And for what?

    Related: Can Employee Monitoring Be Done Ethically?

    The not-so-hidden harm and unbearable cost of surveillance

    Productivity surveillance damages the relationship between workers and companies and makes employees more likely to lie, cheat, steal, pretend to work and quit.

    43% of remote workers feel employee surveillance violates their trust; 59% feel anxiety; 26% feel resentment, and 28% feel underappreciated when subjected to such technologies. Tracked employees are nearly two times more likely to fake work and they spend over an hour extra online every day on average just to be seen by colleagues and managers.

    The authors of two 2021 studies discovered many paradoxical effects of employee surveillance. Monitored workers are “substantially more likely” to engage in myriad negative behaviors, including damaging and stealing workplace property, taking unapproved breaks, disregarding instructions and cheating, working at a purposefully slow pace and blaming others for their actions.

    During the pandemic, people took stock of their priorities. Millions have quit jobs because of poor working conditions and bad work-life balance and productivity surveillance decays both. Nearly 60% of tech workers said they would reject a job offer if they were surveilled by audio or video to enforce productivity. Roughly half would leave a job if their employers used audio and/or video surveillance, facial recognition, keystroke tracking or screenshots.

    Related: Your Boss is Watching You. Here’s Why Monitoring Workers Can Be …

    DEX vs. productivity surveillance

    DEX, on the other hand, is a category of technology and strategies to empower — not punish — workers. DEX tools find and fix IT issues before they cause delays and frustration, and track employee sentiment about IT experiences to continuously improve them behind the scenes.

    DEX is distinct from productivity surveillance because it scrutinizes things, not people: device performance, network speed, application crashes and the like. Companies use this data to enhance the technology experience for workers, not to evaluate productivity or punish them. This is precisely what employees want: 90% say their company’s digital experience has room for improvement, 82% say the delayed resolution of IT issues slows employees down and 68% say DEX has a high or critical level of influence on revenue.

    Related: How to Effectively Measure and Track Employee Productivity

    The contrast couldn’t be clearer. DEX makes workers more productive, makes the workday more enjoyable and makes companies more money. Policing productivity with surveillance makes your employees feel demoralized, untrusted and eager to find a better job. For leaders, it’s time to take a hard look at your so-called productivity surveillance technologies, practices and data. It’s also a moment for introspection. Let’s end this misguided trend before it goes any further.

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    Mark Banfield

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  • How to Attract and Retain Employees in the New Age of Work

    How to Attract and Retain Employees in the New Age of Work

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    You’ve undoubtedly heard about the so-called “anti-work” movement if you’re a business owner or entrepreneur. According to a slew of media outlets, nobody wants to work anymore. Even worse, those businesses that can find people to hire have trouble retaining talent amid outrageous demands, quiet quitting, and worse.

    Indeed, there is a growing rift between employers and employees. But if you look closely, it’s nothing new nor indicative of some “anti-work” movement. The idea of business owners lamenting “no one wants to work anymore” is so old you could likely find it carved on the pyramids.

    The truth is this: workers have more options than ever before. If you, as an employer, are not making your business a desirable workplace, you’ll need help attracting and retaining employees. You might recognize this as less of a “crisis of work ethic” and more of a failure of employers to keep up with changing needs.

    Related: Happy Employees Create Happy Customers

    Attraction starts with finding out what employees want

    If you own a business, you should have at least some knowledge of basic capitalism. If so, you might recognize that the entire system relies on choice. Your clients choose your products and not your competitors’ because you incentivize them in some way. Well, the same is true of employees. As with your customers, you need to find out what employees want — and what they want changes over time.

    Unfortunately, many “old school” employers are too inflexible to consider this. To them, the mere offering of a job should be enough to inspire not only action but loyalty. But that doesn’t work in a world where employees can merely join the app-based gig economy (Fiverr, DoorDash, Lyft) if they don’t like their current job. Sure, the pay is variable, and the benefits are nonexistent, but such jobs offer flexibility, which is in high demand among modern workers.

    So if you want to figure out what employees want, that’s your first stop. According to this Pew Research Study, most workers who quit their jobs cite low pay, few opportunities for advancement and a general feeling of being “disrespected” as reasons for leaving. Other reasons included “not enough flexibility” and “too many” or “too few” hours.

    You might recognize these as perfectly valid reasons to leave a job. While the media may make it seem like all employees are demanding to work from home, get free childcare or have an on-site brewery, today’s employees want what employees have always wanted. They want to be paid fairly, treated well and have a chance to climb the ladder.

    Related: Improve Employee Retention By Taking a People-First Approach

    Retention is about finding the “them” in the team

    Every year, magazines put out their list of “Best Companies to Work For.” But rather than cite the companies with trampolines in their meeting rooms and corporate retreats to Bali, the top-ranked positions are typically occupied by companies that treat their employees respectfully and pay attention to their needs.

    The standout criteria for why employees loved working for top companies were as follows:

    • 98% — I can take time off from work when I think it’s necessary.
    • 98% — When you join the company, you are made to feel welcome.
    • 97% — Management is honest and ethical in its business practices.
    • 97% — I’m proud to tell others I work here.
    • 97% — People care about each other here.

    Every single item on that list is personal. It’s something that the company provides its employees, either literally or emotionally. There’s nothing about “sky-high salaries” or “office perks,” just references to how working at the company makes them feel.

    Of course, most employers already know this but either choose to forget it or prefer to imagine the problem as a lack of work ethic. The truth is that attracting and retaining employees comes down to treating them like part of the team from day one. It’s about making them feel important and valued. The companies that top that “Best Places to Work” list see their employees as assets, not indentured servants who should feel lucky to have a job.

    Returning to the discussion about what employees want, it’s crucial to consider the “upward mobility” factor. Many employers lose perfectly good, perfectly happy employees because they don’t have a chance for advancement. With nowhere to grow in their current job, the employees have no choice but to look elsewhere.

    That’s why it’s so important to provide a “light at the end of the tunnel.” Educate your team members so that they can move up the ladder. Moreover, reward them financially when they do. And if your business isn’t big enough to provide them a place to go, invest in them anyway so they can continue their career elsewhere.

    Related: Google’s CEO Is Asking Employees 3 Simple Questions to Boost Productivity

    Employers need to be more than just “job givers”

    In the end, attracting and retaining employees is about making them feel like they’re a part of something greater than just a 9-5 job. Of course, there are dozens — perhaps hundreds — of ways to do this.

    Some of the best strategies include making custom plans for each employee’s future and following through when they fulfill their side of the agreement. You might view their job as an opportunity for you to help them rather than for them to help you. You might learn to welcome feedback, avoid micromanagement and recognize and reward outstanding performances.

    Despite what some news outlets say, there is no “anti-work” movement. If anything, hiring and retaining talent issues result from employers failing to recognize what potential employees want or provide what they promise. As with the last 100+ years, all it takes to get good employees is to stop treating them like a number and treat them like valuable team members.

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    Larry Jones

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  • How Serving in The Army Taught This Leader The Importance of Employee Wellbeing

    How Serving in The Army Taught This Leader The Importance of Employee Wellbeing

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Once upon a time, protecting the wellbeing of employees might have been viewed as a luxury for a few lucky workers or a fluffy topic for soft leaders with nothing better to worry about — but things are changing. The U.S. military has recognized the importance of mental health since 2009 when it launched its “resilience training” program. While the corporate sector has been slower to catch on, more than 90% of leaders believe promoting wellness boosts performance.

    As a past military leader myself, many of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about employee wellbeing come from my time in the army. Today, I’ll share them with you.

    Related: How Military Service Made These Veterans Better Entrepreneurs

    The military and mindfulness

    The big M has become more popularized over the last few years, yet not every organization thinks it’s useful or feels comfortable discussing it. Most people certainly wouldn’t associate with the military.

    But mindfulness is the ability to be fully present in the moment. And where could that skill be more critical than in a survival environment where failing to be alert could put you and the rest of the team in danger?

    The army teaches soldiers how to stay in the moment and make better decisions under pressure by encouraging mindfulness practices like sitting with your thoughts for a few minutes each day. As well as boosting on-the-job performance, the military has found this training helps soldiers to deal with the after-effects of being in a traumatic situation.

    Standard employees might not be dealing with life-and-death situations, but they can adopt similar principles.

    Mindfulness in the workplace comes down to developing the ability to deal with the emotions, stresses and conflicts that crop up each day. You need to teach employees how to become more aware of the present moment and accept their feelings, thoughts and decision-making processes instead of being slaves to them. It’s the difference between feeling stressed and thinking “the world is burning, I’m overwhelmed and I want to go home” and “I’m feeling the sensation of stress right now, but that’s okay, it’s just a sensation. I’ll let myself breathe for a bit and let it go.”

    Thanks to the widespread awareness of mindfulness these days, it’s easier than ever to help your team learn to deal with what’s going on in their head. For instance, the Calm app is full of guided meditations, many of which are directly related to the workplace and last less than ten minutes (making them easy to slot into schedules).

    Why not offer a free subscription to everyone who works for you?

    Related: Military Service Is the Ultimate Training Ground for Entrepreneurship (Infographic)

    It’s all about the culture

    You’d struggle to find an organization with a more tight-knit culture than the army — those who have been in the military often describe it as a “brotherhood.” Everyone is united by their shared purpose to serve the country, authority is respected for the most part and everyone knows they have to work together to achieve their goals.

    68% of veterans say they’re proud of their service. How many people would say the same of a former employer?

    You can try to emulate this idea of a “brotherhood” by giving your employees a sense of purpose and connecting them to the company’s greater mission. Make your values a part of daily processes, and review them with your employees.

    The way you lead also makes a big difference. Instead of creating a dog-eat-dog or hustle-hard environment, lead with empathy, transparency and trustworthiness. Are you truly being honest with your team and doing your best to look out for them?

    To show that you have everyone’s best interests at heart, curate an agile working environment and give everyone opportunities to try new things, plus the flexibility to take things easy when they’re struggling. You may be able to use technology to help your team connect and get more out of their job — for instance, tools that facilitate remote working or offer education.

    Don’t forget the financial side

    It’s a well-known fact that the U.S. military looks after its soldiers. Not only do most soldiers receive a fairly substantial salary, but they also have a range of other perks. These include:

    • Free college at public colleges.
    • A savings deposit program with 10% interest (for those in a combat zone).
    • Affordable housing.
    • Affordable life insurance.
    • Allowances for food and housing (in some cases).

    Many private-sector companies could learn from this. In the working world, employers often favor solutions related to improving corporate culture and providing perks of the job, while employees would simply prefer to earn more. The truth is something in between — there’s more to a positive working experience than good pay, but without financial security, you’re probably not going to get people to stick around or produce their best work.

    Who is going to want to follow the guided meditations on Calm if they can’t even fill their car up with gas?

    Considering the current environment with rising inflation, high-interest rates and the increasing cost of living, this isn’t something you should be neglecting. Do some market research to gauge how much other companies are giving employees with similar roles — and look at your budget to see if there’s any wiggle room to offer more.

    Wellbeing is just the beginning

    With the global corporate wellness market set to reach $90 billion by 2026, overlooking this could mean you get left behind. When you work on your team’s wellbeing, you won’t just be making your employees happier — you’ll increase the chances of them sticking around, being more productive and being committed enough to the organization to lead innovation.

    Employee wellbeing isn’t as simple as implementing a single action, and a strategy that works for one company isn’t necessarily going to be right for every organization. But if you try various approaches and are prepared to tweak them until you figure out what works, you’ll be impressed with the results.

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    Tim Madden

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