Company Culture

Why Your Ping Pong Tables Aren’t Working

Let’s get real about corporate culture

You have no idea why your culture sucks. It just does. You bought the ping-pong tables. You started Happy Hour Fridays. And you even do the obligatory birthday cakes for your employees. Yet, people just don’t click. They can’t communicate. Your turnover rates are on the rise and the employees you do keep just don’t seem like they want to be there. Getting people to work together, collaborate, and have a normal conversation is like pulling teeth. And those words you had so beautifully hung on the wall seem meaningless.

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11 Nov 2019 0 comments

Making Work Meaningful: Inspire. Engage. Ignite.

For years, company leaders have had the belief that employees can be motivated by more money. If they’re not happy with their jobs, just give them a raise! But studies have shown that this method of motivation doesn’t always work. It’s about making work meaningful for your employees. Think about it. What makes you get out of bed and come to work every day? What drives you to stay late working on a project with your team?

Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist and speaker, says the answer is that we care about reaching the end. We care about the fight and the challenge of getting there. We care about making our lives meaningful. And that means that you, as a leader, should also be making work meaningful for those you lead.

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22 Oct 2019 0 comments

Hiring Assessments: Are They Right For You?

Let’s talk about your hiring process. What does it look like? It probably consists of an application of some sort, an interview or two, a background check, and a salary negotiation. Does it also include a hiring assessment? If not, you could be losing money.

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15 Oct 2019 0 comments

Have You Created Your Individual Development Plan?

If you do research on how to create an individual development plan (IDP), you’ll probably notice that the advice you find is typically offered to a leader or manager, helping to develop an IDP for their employee.

They all start with the notion that first, you should know where the business is going and then talk with your employee about the future. Next, it’ll walk you through determining what the person is missing (gap analysis). Finally, it ends with creating a training plan and applying it. You might even find some lists that have a few more steps, but the majority contain at least those steps.

But why wait for your manager to create an Individual Development Plan?

Managers are busy. Sometimes they are lucky to get 1:1 meetings done, let alone helping someone write a plan to develop their career. So our advice? Take your future into your own hands and get started.

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16 Sep 2019 0 comments

Executives are the Reason Development Efforts Fail

This might be a touchy subject. But we have to say it. You are the reason your people aren’t learning, growing, and fully engaging.

Picture this all-too-familiar scenario. An employee is struggling to get things done. He’s missing deadlines and always seems rushed or stressed, especially if you ask him to do anything extra. His manager notices these behaviors and immediately diagnoses the problem. He picks up the phone. “Um, yes, HR Person, John needs time management training. What can we offer?”

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09 Aug 2019 0 comments

The Importance of Developing High Potentials

Why should you develop high potential employees? This seems like a ridiculous question.  Isn’t it obvious why you should develop your high potentials? Yet so many companies take their high potentials for granted.  It’s easy to do.  Think about these individuals in your organization.  They often outwork their peers, get along well with others and, usually, if they want or need to learn something, they’ll take it upon themselves to figure it out.  They ask the right questions, don’t create drama, and are all-in. Let’s call them our HPs.

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06 Aug 2019 0 comments

Transforming the Employee Evaluation

As a supervisor, giving an employee evaluation can be dreadful. You start by staring at yet another blank form. You go through each performance category, carefully marking your choice of below average, average, or above average. And when done, you recheck your responses, making sure that the report is “balanced.” Too many low marks, and your employee might be upset. Too many high and there is nowhere to aspire. What is the answer? Rank the employee in the middle…the sweet spot! Not hanging back, not showing off. The solution is average.

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16 Jul 2019 0 comments

Do You Need an Executive Coach?

When you’re in a position of authority, people have a tendency to tell you what you want to hear; or at least be very “calculated” about how they share feedback with you. An executive coach can provide more honest and direct feedback.

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03 Jul 2019 0 comments

How to Save your Workforce

Your talent is going to walk out. Let’s talk about how to save your workforce.

You’re about to lose 40% of your workforce. Yep, we said it. That’s awfully close to HALF! Over recent years, we’ve seen many Baby Boomers retire. Waved goodbye as they took their knowledge and expertise out the door with them. As of December 2018, 39.2% of people in the US workforce were aged 55 or older. Traditionally, most people retire in their early to mid-60s. So what does this say for your company in the next 5-10 years?

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24 Jun 2019 1 comments

5 Ways to Give Back Now!

Does it feel good to give to others? Biology tells us that giving back actually makes us happier!  The National Institute of Health found that when people give to charities, it activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust, creating those warm and fuzzy feelings. And when you feel warm and fuzzies, your brain wants to continue to feel that way. But giving is more than just making ourselves feel good.

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29 May 2019 0 comments