It’s time to discuss improving employee engagement. Or is it employee experience? Who knows anymore? All I know is we continue to work our butts off to find that secret sauce that will ensure employees connect with the company and pledge their eternal soul to you in HR, the department they work in, and the organization as a whole–yet nothing …
The 5 Qualities Needed to Be a Really Great Manager
I’ve had a lot of jobs so I’ve worked for a lot of different managers — the good, the bad, and the really ugly. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of them, it’s this: it’s rare when you find one that you would really want to work for again. In fact, when I try to count the good …
Five HR MindShifts We All Need To Make
Let me first start by saying I love being an HR professional. I love the insight that the profession gives you into a company and its employees. But as HR people know, this insight can often be a double-edged sword. Instead of being coaches, we often become referees, and instead of ambassadors of our organization, we become law enforcement to …
If Millennials Want to Change Jobs All The Time Do You Owe Them Development?
I’m a huge proponent of developing your employees. I was raised by a Baby Boomer who would tell me, “If you spend money on developing employees, they’ll just leave for a better job, so it’s a waste of money!” I’m sure many of you reading this probably have current bosses who have the same theory of management and employee development. …
UPS Driver: From Sweet Job to Suck Job
Gather ’round the campfire, kids, because I’m here with a story from a galaxy far away, a time when things seemed simpler, when good was easier to distinguish from evil, and when we weren’t so divided. It was also a time when “UPS Driver” was a premium job. Don’t laugh out loud–that’s disrespectful. UPS Drivers were once knights among us …
Should You Call Your Co-Workers Family? Depends on the Family.
Mike: We’re all family here. Archie: Don’t remind me! —All In The Family I saw an excellent Twitter chat that discussed if people should use the term “family” at work. For instance, do you work for an organization that claims “we are all one big family”? Or if the company is really high on itself, they may say, “We are …
Know Your Why–Gut Decisions and Your Career
I feel like I should dedicate this post to PFP, a local gym my youngest daughter attends. My youngest has scoliosis, and in addition to being braced for a number of years by a phenomenal Orthotist, she’s been working out with a trainer to have an amazingly strong core. The best news–the workouts at PFP have been pivotal in reducing …
What Are You Telling Employees When You Send Them Late Night Emails?
I learned long ago that you should always be ready to take good advice — no matter where it comes from. This month, it came from a guy named Michael Dermer who touts himself in his blog and newsletter as The Lonely Entrepreneur. His words of wisdom were short, sweet, and spot-on. He said: “Turn off at a respectable time, …
Is High Performance a Zero-Sum Game?
I read a lot of HR stuff about high performers. We all want an entire population of these employees at our companies. Adding more high performers means better overall results, which means better everything, right? Maybe not. Depending on your culture, you could be making it hard for the best performers to stay. As Long As It Helps Me A …
What’s Your Story?
Everybody has a story, maybe more than one, impacting your work life. A few years back while attending the SHRM National Conference in Orlando, Heather Abbott, a Boston Marathon bombing victim, gave a rousing 10-minute introduction to the conference. An HR executive whose life was dramatically altered after losing a leg in the tragic event. She has recovered, moved on, …