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At the SHRM 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Peter and Mary Ellen Slaytor of SmartBrief on Workforce, discuss ways to increase employee engagement which will improve morale, productivity, motivation and retention.
Continue reading “Increase Employee Engagement: SHRM10 Interview with ‘SmartBrief on Workforce’” »
Filed under: Leadership, Peter's Blog on June 30th, 2010 No Comments »
Tackling Podium Panic
In your quest for workplace excellence, you will undoubtedly be called upon to make presentations. Whether they are for your work team, or for the CEO, we want to position you for success.
In an early episode of Seinfeld, Jerry states, “Surveys show that the #1 fear of Americans is public speaking. #2 is death. Death is #2. That means that at a funeral, the average American would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.” It is clear that the fear of presenting before a group can be intimidating and upon occasion, actually cause physical stress. If you have experienced butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms, weak knees or lost sleep for a week before your scheduled presentation, read on.
First, you must understand that in areas of your life where you have deep-seated confidence, you’ve been there before, again and again. In areas where you excel, you’ve had considerable practice. For example, if you are an IT whiz, you’ve spent years honing your craft. You didn’t just show up on the scene with a high level of expertise and confidence. Bit by bit, you built a solid skill set. As the skill set was building, so was your confidence.
Filed under: Peter's Blog on June 28th, 2010 No Comments »
Hint: It’s Not Money
Slowly but surely, the job market is beginning to improve and unhappy employees will be able to execute their exit strategies soon, if they have not done so already. If your focus over the past few stressful years has shifted from employee engagement to the bottom line, realize that you are not alone and that you can still get back on track.
To get back in the game, you need to take the time to find out what your employees want from their jobs and from you – and it’s usually NOT more money.
In our experience, employees have told us what matters most to them, is the ability to:
Filed under: Leadership, Peter's Blog on June 21st, 2010 No Comments »
Common Manifestations of Employees’ Anticipation of the Unknown
The past few years have brought many changes to companies, good and bad. Although the economy seems to be turning around, many organizations will still be facing major changes to come, mostly for the best. As a leader, realize that employees react to organizational changes in a variety of ways—some positive and some negative. It is important for managers and supervisors to understand that these reactions are simply a normal part of the process employees go through during periods of change. The following are some typical responses to be aware of:
Filed under: Leading Change, Peter's Blog on June 14th, 2010 No Comments »
Revisiting the Performance Appraisal Process
Performance appraisals can be an organization’s greatest leadership tool. So why are performance appraisals often “the job nobody wants”? This is because of the way the appraisal process is designed and implemented. Organizations that establish their strategic objectives and values, design their appraisal system to specifically measure progress toward these objectives, and involve their employees in the process report substantial increases in productivity and morale, and outperform organizations without performance management systems in almost every measurable financial and productivity category.
Many of the organizations we work with have experienced dramatic changes in both the way people work and the actual outcomes of the work when they developed a different approach to their appraisal system. Their new system clearly outlines individual performance objectives, provides employees with feedback about areas of success and areas needing improvement, and recognizes employees for their contributions to the organization.
Filed under: Peter's Blog on June 2nd, 2010 No Comments »
Handling talented, but toxic, employees
May 2010 Quest for Workplace Excellence
When you think of the driving force behind the choices of leaders when coaching employees, what emotion comes to mind? Is it appreciation? How about passion? Optimism? For many managers it is those. For some managers, unfortunately, the driving force is fear. Fear of what an employee will say or do if things do not go their way.
These employees who are causing fear in leaders are typically the employees who are the top performers, obtaining great results, but are still managing to leave a path of destruction behind them. They are not pleasant to work with. They throw fits. They threaten to quit. Never are they accountable for their actions, and if they are held accountable, giving the manager the cold shoulder is a common response. However, because of extensive knowledge, experience, etc., they are, or at least they convince others that they are, indispensable. This gives them leverage, and they use their talents to drive fear into their managers by holding them hostage.
Filed under: Leadership, Peter's Blog, Quest Newsletter on June 1st, 2010 1 Comment »
