Media Clips

“Never let a good crisis go to waste.”  

– Sir Winston Churchill

Coronavirus.

Pandemic.

Social distancing.

Flatten the curve.

Do I shower today? 

Unprecedented times.

Work from home (WFH).

Remote workers.

Virtual work. 

Who would have thought these words would be so frequently used by our worldwide lexicon?

Here is some great advice on helping your virtual employees to adjust to remote work – Read more:

https://kevinsheridanllc.com/2020/03/helping-your-virtual-employees-adjust-to-remote-work/

I sincerely hope that you and yours are safe, happy, and healthy,

Kevin

Good Reads/Views

12 Geniuses Podcast:

Entrepreneurial expert Gino Wickman joins 12 Geniuses to discuss what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and how to make the best decisions for your business. He also discusses common mistakes made by entrepreneurs, the entrepreneur’s identity after they sell their business, and the impact of COVID-19 on entrepreneurship.              

https://www.12geniuses.com/12-geniuses-podcast/the-future-entrepreneur

The Human & Business Case For Remote Work:

https://medium.com/@redwheelweiser/the-human-and-business-case-for-remote-work-5ad876847f9f

The Virtual Manager LinkedIn Group:

This LinkedIn Group was founded with the expressed purpose of sharing Best Practices as they relate to effectively managing virtual employees, as well as the Best Practices of working remotely.  Thus, it is a group meant to help both Virtual Managers and Virtual Employees.  Even before the Coronavirus pandemic, 50% of the worldwide workforce was virtual to some degree or another.  Post-Coronavirus, this LinkedIn Group has become even more important.  If you are a remote employee, we encourage you to join the group.

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/6569113/

Additional Resources

Here are some other new resources you can use to take your organization to a whole new level vis-à-vis employee engagement, talent attraction, and talent retention:

https://kevinsheridan.tradepub.com/?pt=dir&page=kevinsheridan

One of the single greatest mistakes organizations make when trying to increase their levels of employee engagement is forgetting to encourage their employees to accept some responsibility for increasing their own job engagement. Even if you hire the right employees, they still need to know the steps they can take to stay engaged at work in the long term. Many employees know the “to-dos” of engagement, but they often forget to implement them, or execute them consistently.

So why not give them a checklist? Well, I created one for you, based on a key driver analysis of millions of survey responses. You can get complimentary access to it here.

Whether it’s summiting a mountain or climbing the corporate ladder, success can often be attributed to great leadership. Through my experience mountaineering and consulting with top organizations, I noticed that the best leaders focus on the same things.

Resources
Sometimes companies have to tighten their belt, but doing more with less isn’t usually the best option. Not providing the right resources with which to work is easily as detrimental as not having the right resources on a high altitude climb. I have seen climbers relying on the wrong crampons or ice axe, which made a difficult climb even more arduous. I witnessed situations where people who had the wrong UV level of protection in their sunglasses became “snow blind” and the whole expedition had to go back down the mountain to get them off to safety and medical help.

In my 30 years of listening to employees in the workplace, I have heard some of the most unengaged complain, quite rightly, that they were made responsible for doing a great job, yet were given antiquated, worn down, or incorrect tools and equipment. As such, most of these people were extremely frustrated, and some even reported serious safety violations or accidents as a result.

Action Item: As a leader, one of the best things you can do is to make sure you are providing the right resources your employees need to flourish and achieve great workplace outcomes. Rather than assuming you’re doing this already, make sure you ask employees for their feedback. You might be surprised by what they say.

Fun
Studies have shown that laughter relaxes muscles, lowers blood pressure, and speeds the flow of oxygen through the body, which ultimately reduce stress levels. In addition, both smiling and laughing release endorphins into the brain. Encouraging laughter in the workplace is a great way to make a positive impact on both company culture and employees’ wellness. Nearly all of my Best-in-Class Employee Engagement clients had proactive efforts to build laughter and levity into their workplace and culture.

We spend far too much time working not to be laughing more often. Five-year-olds laugh an average of 113 times per day. As we get older, this number continues to decrease until it bottoms out in adulthood— from age 44 to retirement with only 11 times per day. ¹ To me, these statistics are rather sad.

Some of my most memorable moments on mountaineering expeditions incorporated fun into the climb or experience. Take a look at this video of blistering weather and our expedition leader’s wise crack about 80-mile an hour wind “keeping the mosquitoes down.”

Having the right resources and having fun may seem like simple advice for the workplace, but it’s often an opportunity for improvement. Make sure you capitalize on these quick wins for employee engagement.

1. Charles “Chic” Thompson, What a great idea! (New York: Harper Perennial, 1992) 26.

Use this resource to help avoid the career demise of Jim Halpert from the popular TV show The Office. Leverage these Best Practices on Career Development and you will be well on your way to achieving Best-in-class status on Employee Engagement.

Here is some background and tips to leverage the most impactful driver of Employee Engagement, that being Recognition. Start implementing and watch the outcomes flourish!

Studies have shown that employees who regularly “check in” with themselves about their job engagement are far more likely to improve their engagement and level of job contentment. Use this document to self-motivate, or motivate others, by regularly pondering the following reflective questions.