Blog Posts

Working Together to Create a Strategic Virtual Work Plan

Our working lives have experienced remarkable change in the past month.  Many careers like yours have been forced to move home and online, with Zoom and Hangouts becoming the new normal. In this new normal, many organizations and leaders are realizing that it’s more powerful and efficient to have a remote work model.  In fact, the metrics are there to prove it. You may ask yourself why didn’t we make the change to a remote work model sooner?  The answer is because it’s easier and more comfortable to keep doing what you’re already doing. Now it’s a ...

Helping Your Virtual Employees Adjust to Remote Work

The Coronavirus has forced hundreds of millions of people worldwide into working remotely.  The Coronavirus has also forced millions of Managers into the role of Virtual Manager, wrestling with how to manage, motivate, and engage their new virtual workforce.  Thus, so many employees and Managers are struggling with this sudden virtual workplace.  Being the author of The Virtual Manager and best-seller Building a Magnetic Culture, in addition to being the CEO of a partial remote workforce company, I can help train your employees and Managers on the related best practices.  Feel free to email me if ...

Funny HR Stories

funny HR stories

During one of my recent keynote speeches, a member of the audience asked me to share the funniest or most unusual story about Human Resources management I had ever heard in my 35 years as management consultant. I included one below, but I thought it would be fun to invite my newsletter subscribers to share their funny HR stories. If you need a good laugh, these stories won’t disappoint!   From Kevin: I was doing employee survey feedback sessions for a company in Michigan and I met with the third shift of the manufacturing operation who scored very, very, ...

The Disturbing Signs That We Have A Long Way To Go In Closing The Workplace Gender Gap

gender gap

The #MeToo movement has shined a powerful spotlight on the gender gap in the workplace.  Not only did it reveal the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, but it also highlighted the continued persistence of gender inequality. A recent survey by McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.Org provides clear evidence of how men and women come into the working world in roughly equal numbers, but women immediately fall behind. (And these plummeting career ladder numbers are even worse for women who are minorities.) Women’s share of jobs at the following steps “up” the career ladder: Entry Level:  ...

11 Things You Need to Know About Generation Z

Generation Z

Millennials, Millennials, Millennials.  Very much in line with Millennials’ insatiable desire for recognition, it seems like the last ten years of articles, videos, and speeches, were all about Millennials. As the first surge of Generation Z enters the workplace, organizations may be surprised at how different they are from Millennials (also known as Generation Y).  Organizations, human resource leaders, and managers will need to learn about, and fully understand, this unique generation especially since they may be the solution to the never-ending talent attraction and talent retention challenge.  Thus, employers will need to also adapt and bring ...

Detecting Alzheimer’s in the Workplace

Alzheimer’s in the workplace

In early 2018, I lost my Dad to this dreadful disease. Alzheimer’s is a form of progressive dementia, where the brain cells gradually stop functioning or die. The disease usually occurs in adults over the age of 65. This used to be past the typical age for retirement, but that isn’t true anymore. Largely due to the 2008 recession, 62% of all employees between the ages of 45 and 60 have planned on delaying their retirement. That means we have an older workforce that is more likely to experience problems with Alzheimer’s in the workplace. In fact, according to The ...

That Evil Smartphone – 6 Tips to Stay Focused at Work

Stay Focused at Work

We’ve all seen it or experienced it firsthand: Someone is speaking at a meeting or presenting at a conference, while half the audience members are looking down, openly fiddling with their smartphones.  As a keynote presenter myself, I find this audience behavior especially frustrating.  I’m up there passionately speaking about ways to truly help people improve their day-to-day experience at work, and the messaging is lost on an audience that is simply not listening or being fully present.  Even when event planners ask participants to silence and put away their cell phones, people can’t seem to part with ...

Body Odor in the Workplace: 6 Tips

Body Odor in the Workplace

Upon entering your workplace, have you ever been greeted by a foul and pungent smell? Most of us have experienced this at least one time over the course of our careers. Sometimes coworkers don’t shower after a long exercise routine, or they simply don’t shower often, transforming their daily physical accumulation into a roaming smelly cloud. Sometimes people don’t wear socks, or they take their smelly shoes off under their desk. And sometimes people routinely forget to brush their teeth in the morning. Suddenly you find yourself in an unpleasant and awkward situation. What can you do? Should you say ...

The 7 Characteristics of a Great Recruiter

recruiter characteristics

Last month we polled nearly 130,000 HR/OD/Talent Management/Senior Executives about the top traits of a great job recruiter.  We thought it would be extremely valuable to identify recruiter characteristics, since 86% of staffing firms feel they are doing a good job recruiting, yet only 60% of job candidates report having a positive experience during the recruiting process.1 The results are in and the top recruiter characteristics are listed below in the order most frequently cited by respondents: They have great listening skills. The highest-performing and most effective recruiters harness the power of careful listening, which far better ensures ...

Thinking of dating your co-worker? Think again.

dating your co-worker

The recent and poignant worldwide conversation on sexual harassment and abuse of power has spawned a more expansive dialogue about whether consensual relationships in the workplace are acceptable. For years, the modern workplace has proven to be a very reliable matchmaker.  In fact, an estimated 22% of American couples met at work.1  In addition, fully 35% of workers worldwide report having at least one relationship with a coworker in the past, 37% of males, and 34% of females.2 And fully 84% of Millennials are open to dating a coworker.1 Barack and Michelle Obama.  Bill ...

The Business Case For Leadership Development & Learning

business case for leadership development

“ONCE YOU STOP LEARNING, YOU START DYING.” - Albert Einstein It is not uncommon for Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) to struggle trying to secure funds and commitment for leadership development programs, despite the value that organizations see from such programs. I’ve been surprised and disappointed to read so many recent articles that assail the value of these programs versus the amount of money spent on them, including a Wall Street Journal article entitled “So much training, so little to show for it,” and a 2016 Harvard Business Review article calling leadership development programs “the great train robbery.” ...

Recognizing Millennials

Recognizing Millennials

Millennials are a unique generation in the workforce for a variety of reasons, including their plans for staying with their current employer. Unlike other generations, Millennials aren’t afraid to pick up and leave a company if a better offer comes along. This new approach to career development has many managers scrambling to retain Millennials, but most don’t do the single easiest and most effective thing to engage these workers and entice them to stick around for the long haul. In just two minutes, this video shows you how to be a better boss for Millennials. ...

Managing Generational Differences and Culture at Work

Generational Differences

Ever sense generational friction in your workplace? You are not alone. This workplace tension is most common between Baby Boomers and Millennials. Luckily, there are a variety of things you can do to improve coworker comradery despite generational differences. Subtle changes can go a long way in improving your company culture and boosting employee retention. Here’s how. ...

The Perils of Disengagement

employee disengagement

In partnership with the Association for Training & Development, this video explores just how damaging it can be to tolerate Actively Disengaged employees on your team. I should know. My former account stole $110,000 from my company over the years. But even worse, she sabotaged a deal I teed up to sell the company. (The potential buyer was an auditing firm and she was scared the transaction would unearth her secret, so she stopped at nothing to avoid being caught.) This shows how employees who don’t have the company’s best interest at heart cannot be tolerated. You must learn ...

The Thief of Workplace Productivity

workplace productivity

When asked about the single greatest detractor of workplace productivity, most employees, and especially managers, will incorrectly cite workplace meetings or meeting mismanagement. While it is certainly true that a great amount of productivity is lost to these things, the real answer is workplace interruptions, especially given the push to open-office floor plans. While this design trend was intended to facilitate more communication and collaboration, it no doubt carried an unintended downside. The lower cubicle walls, communal snack bars and break rooms, and removal of office doors bring heightened interruptions, as well as concerns over keeping information confidential. A study ...

7 Ways Technology Is Impacting Human Resources

Human Resources Technology

Oh, how technology has influenced the Human Resources function and its constituents! Cell phones, the internet, social media—these have all forever changed every aspect of life, from home to the workplace. Many things have become much easier with technology, but it has also been a game-changer that is forcing companies to rapidly evolve in ways that might make them uncomfortable. It is nearly impossible to predict what these changes will mean in the future, but it helps to understand the current trends. Here are 7 key ways technology is impacting Human Resources: 1. Performance Management HR Professionals have successfully harnessed ...

How To Deliver Bad News At Work

Bad News At Work

You may work at one of the most positive workplaces in the world, but invariably, there will be times when you must deliver bad news at work to a team or a colleague. We’ve all been there. Probably the most visceral example of this is when you have to lay someone off. Many of us have been the recipient. Just in November 2016 alone, more than 26,000 workers were terminated.1 Certainly, it is never easy to deliver bad news to a colleague. With that said, here are 3 useful tips for “softening the blow” to the colleague: 1. Put ...

7 Telltale Signs You Hired the Wrong Employee

Hired the Wrong Employee

According to a 2016 survey by CareerBuilder, more than half of American companies said a bad hiring decision had negatively impacted their business this year. Many company leaders cited associated challenges such as lost revenue, poor productivity, lower employee morale, and strained client relations. Furthermore, 27 percent said a single bad hire had cost them over $50,000.1 Needless to say, this is not only a critical mistake to building a world-class culture of employee engagement, but it also adversely affects revenue and profitability outcomes in a serious way. So here are the 7 most glaring signs that you hired ...

The 5 Employee Engagement Warning Signs

Employee Engagement Warning Signs

How confident are you that your employees are staying engaged? Here are five of the most common signs that employee engagement is waning: 1. Productivity suffers. Engaged employees are all about going the extra mile and putting in extra effort. Employees who are not engaged are all about doing the absolute minimum. How are you measuring employee productivity and its close parallel to employee engagement? 2. Higher absenteeism. Companies with less engagement have employees take more sick time. In fact, one study by HR Zone concluded that companies with the lowest level (bottom 10%) of engagement, experience 2.3 times ...

The Top Three Reasons Employees Quit

reasons employees quit

You have seen it play out time and time again. Someone in the workplace says, “Hey, where is Mary today?” Someone else says, “Oh, she quit.” Or equally as common these days is when Mary just doesn’t show up for work one day. No notification, no resignation letter, and maybe no ID Badge turn in. The sad fact is that many of these resignations could be avoided by simply studying Exit Survey data and applying solutions to the top three reasons employees quit. While running my HR consulting firm from 1996-2012, we did a lot of research on ...

What Employee Engagement Means to Recruiters & The Staffing Industry

Recruitment

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent with recruiters and staffing firms each year by companies trying to attract top talent to empty positions. The obvious hope on the companies’ part is that the recruiters will find the perfect person for the position and that the new hire remains fully engaged in the years to come. A natural question posed by the people holding the purse strings for recruiting is: Are we getting our money’s worth? I was invited to do a keynote presentation at the 25th Annual Staffing Industry Analysts Executive Forum later this month to answer that exact ...

The Easiest Way to Influence Employee Engagement

This is the first video of a series of tips for managers and employees on how to reach best-in-class levels of employee engagement. It reveals the single most important way to positively influence employee engagement as well as some of the best practices on that key driver of engagement. If you are as passionate about employee engagement as I am, then you will definitely will want to share these with your team....

Behaviors and Traits of Best Bosses

Best Bosses

One of my most popular blogs this year was 19 Ways to be a Bad Boss. So I thought it would be equally as valuable to outline behaviors and traits of a Best Boss as well. As fortune would have it, I discovered a fascinating leadership study conducted by Lead Well LLC in partnership with Chicago-based Vantage Leadership Consulting. The 2013 study identified five common traits of a Best Boss: Leads From a Higher Purpose – The Best Boss demonstrates a purpose beyond self-interest and self-profit and/or a purpose beyond the organization that is put into action on behalf of ...

Becoming Someone’s Best Boss

Best Boss

Nearly every expert on employee engagement agrees there is a single, most impactful, means of increasing employee engagement and performance: the Manager. Taken from the Leadership Development workshops I conduct, here are the five simple ways to elevate the effect your managers have on your corporate culture and employee engagement. 1. Ask all of your managers to think of who their best boss was throughout their entire career. Have them write that person’s name down on a piece of paper. 2. Have them write down the three key qualities that made that person their best boss. 3. Encourage them to ...

The Three Most Impactful Workplace Phrases

Three best workplace phrases

I recently read a New York Times article that featured The Three Most Influential Phrases in the Workplace. I was surprised to be in agreement, that indeed using these three phrases is the most powerful way managers can show that they are human, and show they truly care about the relationships they have with their direct reports. I was so excited to begin using these phrases in my keynote presentations and leadership development workshops, that I went home and shared them with my wife. Each phrase is featured below, along with my own explanation as to why they are so ...