SEPTEMBER 2022 • Vol.09 • No.09 (ISSN 2564-1999) 1809 25 32 Evaluating The Impact Of Rewards On EngagementEmployee - Brett Farmiloe, Terkel.io Quiet Quitting Is A Great Thing - Diane Sadowski-Joseph, LifeLabs Learning Celebration Together: Why Holidays And Festivals Should Be Part Of Every Company’s Inclusion Efforts - Anna Julow Roolf, Propel PRM What Compassion Means To The Current Workforce - Matthew Durr, Fetch Rewards FOUR WAYS TO EMPLOYEESRECOGNIZEINUNDER60SECONDS-ATNOCOST! - Matt Parkin, FindWRK
- Bonnie Low-Kramen, & Assistant Training & Inc. The Impact Of The Hybrid Work Model On Management, Culture, And Well-being
Leaders should help people find the right solutions to make their jobs work for them
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Founder, Ultimate
No one gets to wherever they are,
Consulting
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- Laura Neuffer, Wellness Programming Content Manager, CoreHealth Technologies The 2022 Workplace Golden Rule: Employees Come First
Worksite wellness programs to the rescue
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Human Experience Excellence - Engagement, Performance, Rewards & Recognition SEPTEMBER 2022 Vol.09 No.09 Articles (ISSN 2564-1999) 14 4
- Mahir Iskender, Founder and CEO, Digno Three Ways To Address The Employee Engagement Crisis
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Employee demands continue to evolve and present new challenges for companies
- Amanda Piwonka, Senior Vice President, People & Culture, Tebra Top Skills Employees Need Today
A great culture exists when everyone has the opportunity to thrive
Four Ways To Recognize Employees In Under 60 Seconds - At No Cost! Your employees are your strongest brand advocates - Matt Parkin, FindWRK 07 INDEX
Strong leadership is essential to navigating change successfully
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- Lisa-Moné Lamontagne, People Success Leader, Unit4 What It Takes For Companies To Lead Through Change Successfully
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- Andrew Gold, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Pitney Bowes
On the Cover Ways To Send The Elevator Back Down & Why It Matters To Keep Doing It
What Compassion Means To The Current Workforce
To recruit and retain talent in a competitive market, lead with compassion
- Anna Julow Roolf, SVP of Operations and People, Propel PRM
- Brett Farmiloe, CEO and CHRO, Terkel.io
25091832
Top Picks
INDEX
12 ways leaders see rewards and recognition impacting their employee productivity
- Diane Sadowski-Joseph, Head of the Content Department, LifeLabs Learning
Evaluating The Impact Of Rewards On Employee Engagement
Celebration Together: Why Holidays And Festivals Should Be Part Of Every Company’s Inclusion Efforts
- Matthew Durr, Sr Director, Talent Acquisition, Fetch Rewards
Building a more inclusive environment
Quiet Quitting Is A Great Thing
Simple changes to quickly improve both productivity and your employee experience
Join almost 25,600 HR.com members with a similar interest and focus on rewards and recognition. Share content and download research reports, blogs, and articles, network, and “follow” peers and have them “follow” you in a social network platform to communicate regularly and stay on top of the latest updates. This well established Rewards and Recognition Community is an invaluable resource for any HR professional or manager. Experience Products and helping to make you smarter?
SEP 2017 Vol. 5 No. 09 JANUARY 2021 Vol.08 No.01 1812 25 30 Digital Is All The Rage: Why Employee Rewards Must Include Digital Options In 2021 Theresa McEndree, Blackhawk Network EmployeeTrendsExperienceIn2021 Tips To Increasing Your Reward And Recognition Strategies Post-Covid Richelle Taylor, One10 How To Create Meaningful Mike Byam, Terryberry HOW TO EMBRACE THE SHIFTS THAT OCCUR AS WE RETURN TO A NEW NORMAL WORKPLACE Key workplace trends for 2021 David Roberts, Chief E�ecutive �fficer, �lchemer �hemed Edition on Agile Reward & StrategiesRecognition How are our Human
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While it is super convenient to work from home, it is also isolating and a little disorienting. In the remote workplace, employees need ways to stay strongly connected to one another. Ultimate Assistant Training and Consulting's Bonnie Low-Kramen in her article, 4 Ways To Send The Elevator Back Down & Why It Matters To Keep Doing It, shares valuable insights on this topic.
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Employees In Under 60 Seconds - At No Cost! shares four quick ways to actively appreciate your employees.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
HR managers and business leaders share valuable insights on the impact of rewards and recognition on employee productivity in Brett Farmiloe's article, Evaluating The Impact Of Rewards On Employee Engagement.
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In brief, this month’s Human Experience Excellence is all about ideas and approaches to keep your employees engaged, supported, and happy in today's workplace.
While employee-recognition programs are part of almost all organizations, employees value meaningful appreciation, rather than just a tick-box activity by managers, which are sometimes disconnected from employees’ accomplishments.
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In the September edition of Human Experience Excellence, we have included informative articles that focus on the relevance of employee engagement, rewards and recognition in today’s disruptive world of work.
Everybody likes to be appreciated. A simple Thank You for a job well done, not only boosts employee morale, but can have a long-lasting impact on their productivity.
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With the tight labour market and Great Resignation, it’s crucial to be appreciative of your employees, not simply to retain them, but to turn them into your strongest brand advocates. FindWRK’s Matt Parkin in his article, Four Ways To Recognize
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Propel PRM's Anna Julow Roolf in her article, Celebration Together: Why Holidays And Festivals Should Be Part Of Every Company’s Inclusion Efforts, talks about the significance of including various holidays in organizations, as part of the inclusion efforts.
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The phenomenon of mass quitting and the recent quite quitting are all, in one way or the other, related to lack of appreciation. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that one of the top three reasons for resignations was "feeling disrespected" at work. Also, in Glassdoor's Employee Appreciation Survey, 53% of people said feeling more appreciated by their boss would make them stay longer at their
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keeping customers happy to drive revenue and keep the business afloat. Where many companies fall short, however is, not giving their employees the same amount of appreciation.
Many companies have customer appreciation days, loyalty programs, massive semi-annual sales and dedicated customer support teams. A lot of time, effort and money go into
By Matt Parkin, FindWRK
Your employees are your strongest brand advocates
Four Ways To Recognize Employees In Under 60 Seconds - At No Cost!
COVER ARTICLE
There may be a staff barbeque and some thank you notes, but these seem insignificant compared to the love your customers receive.
Create a channel in your Slack, Teams, or group messaging space called “Small Wins” or “Little Wins”. Encourage your team to use this channel and lead by example to give specific and detailed shoutouts to teammates for their contributions and accom plishments. For example, avoid saying, “Matt did a great job today”. Provide some more details like, “Matt gave an excellent presentation and kept the clients engaged throughout. Looks like we’re closing the deal this afternoon for $50,000.”
Here are four no-cost steps you can take in under 60 seconds to actively appreciate your employees.
These strategies are all no-cost and can be done in under a minute, so budget and bandwidth are no longer excuses for not appreciating your employees. Give these a try, alongside your existing employee recognition efforts and watch your team’s engagement and productivity skyrocket.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 8
will likely want to improve their presentation skills to emulate Matt’s strong presentation performance. This can help you as a leader to reinforce strategic priorities and indicate where employees can be focusing their time when it comes to professional development.
Say Thank You
Writing a two to three line LinkedIn recommendation and endorsing an employee’s skills are great ways to publicly recognize them for their efforts. This takes 60 seconds and can easily be done during your morning commute or
Four Ways To Recognize Employees In Under 60 Seconds - At No Cost!
Recommend and Endorse
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Allocate Time
With the tight labour market and Great Resignation, it’s crucial to be appreciative of your employees, not simply to retain them, but to turn them into your strongest brand advocates.
As Kim Scott, Author of Radical Candor, says: “Public praise tends to lend more weight to the praise, and it encourages others to emulate whatever was great.” In the above example, teammates
Create a weekly recurring event for employee recognition and share it with your entire team, so they get a calendar notification each week. Encourage your team to take a minute from their busy schedule to recognize a teammate for their contributions that week. This will help promote a positive feedback culture and show employees the importance the company places on recognition.
Matt Parkin is the Business Development Lead at FindWRK.
We often get caught up in our work and only provide feedback when something isn’t up to par. Making the time to recognize contributions and provide positive feedback with a simple thank you can go a long way. Set a goal for yourself to thank one person each day via direct message or at the end of their shift. Not only will it boost their morale and confidence, it will also make you feel good too.
Celebrate Small Wins
while waiting for the microwave to heat up your lunch. You may even see them write you a recommendation in return - a win-win. Your name and picture will appear on their profile, and theirs on yours, which can lead to an increase in traffic for both your personal profiles and your company profile.
12 ways leaders see rewards and recognition impacting their employee productivity Rewards Get Employees Motivated Keeps the Teams Engaged and Focused on Making Positive Changes It Creates Healthy Competition
» It
By Brett Farmiloe, Terkel.io
in the
» Rewards
When employees know that their work is both being seen and truly recognized by their leaders, they’ll be much more likely to put in the effort to be productive at work. Recognition is probably one of the best ways companies can maintain or increase productivity organization-wide. Rewards also play a part, as long as they’re meaningful. Rewards also shouldn’t be given out too often, as that can diminish the effect they have on increas ing productivity. If a reward is given to an em ployee who’s done exceptional work or truly gone above and beyond, that’s motivation to continue working productively to earn another in the future. If rewards become little other than tokens, they won’t have the same positive impact on productiv ity.
Do you think rewards and recognition impact employee productivity?
Rewards and Recognition Counteracts Quiet Quitting
To help you best evaluate the impact of rewards and recognition on employee productivity, we asked HR managers and business leaders this question for their best insights. From counteracting quiet quitting to creating healthy competition, there are several ways rewarding and recognizing employees have caused an overall boost in productivity in the workplace.
Up » Measure
» Recognition
Quiet
and
Better Customer Service
» Rewards
» It
» It
»
TOP PICK Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 9
» It Helps Foster Transparency and Collaboration » Employees Feel a Sense of Ownership Over Their Work » Celebrated
»
Here are 12 ways these leaders see rewards and recognition impacting their employee productivity: and Recognition Counteracts Quitting Pushes Productivity Productivity at All Stages of Workflow to Have the Right Impact Result in Low Turnovers Supports a Culture of Balance Belonging Shifts Focus Positives Workplace Employees Give Evaluating The Impact Of Rewards On Employee Engagement
to the
the
Colin Toh, CEO, Headphonesty
We tend to focus on easy measurable wins, which usually happen at the end of a workflow. But in this process, there are multiple people involved. The people at the beginning of the process, do more 'simple' work. But that work is just as important for the success of the project. I've noticed that these people often feel as if they're 'lower' than the people at the end of the process. But their wins are less clear, so it doesn't come to mind right away to reward or recognize them. It's a clear sign we overlooked, how to measure their milestones and wins - and we need to find a solution for that as it can demotivate very important employees!
Eric Mochnacz, Senior HR Consultant, Red Clover
Measure Productivity at All Stages of the Workflow to Have the Right Impact
we recognize compensation influencing behavior. When making pay increase or bonus decisions, we tie any financial recognition to positive behaviors that drive the business forward. That way, we all know and understand "what good looks like", and that is recognized either with public recognition, a raise, or some type of financial incentive.
Bibi Lauri Raven, Founder, BibiBuzz
I run a company with 30 employees, distributed into four teams, each run by a team lead. We do regular shout-outs for employees who've overdelivered, or reached milestones in their output. It impacted those employees' productivity in a good way, it also had a negative side-effect.
Evaluating The Impact Of Rewards On Employee Engagement Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 10
We clearly identify what good looks like in our organization - and then we reward and recognize that behavior. One thing we do is, in our weekly team meetings, we offer Shout Outs to team members, who embody our Core Values. Generally speaking, we all know that we want to repeat those behaviors because they are driving the business forward and demonstrate core value
It Pushes Productivity Up
Additionally,alignment.
Lorien Strydom, Executive Country Manager, Financer.com
When employees feel appreciated and valued, they are more likely to stay with the company. We have implemented a number of programs that provide both immediate and long-term rewards for employees. For example, we offer cash bonuses for meeting short-term goals, and we also have a point system that can be redeemed for vari ous prizes. In addition, we regularly recognize employees for their outstanding performances at company-wide meetings. These programs have been highly successful in reducing turnover rates and increasing employee satisfaction.
Recognition Supports a Culture of Balance and Belonging
Evaluating The Impact Of Rewards On Employee Engagement Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 11
Joe Alim, Head of Product and Customer Experience, Compt
brings us together to celebrate one another for a job well done. It also leads to increased motivation and energy levels, which we've found directly and positively impacting our team's productivity. Recognition also encourages behavior that's beneficial to the company. We know that when employees are recognized for good work, they'll likely do more work of similar quality (i.e. positive reinforcement). It also helps us maintain a healthy company culture in a rapidly scaling startup. Recognition and a feeling of belonging can help avoid burnout, which is all too prevalent in a startup culture. One thing we do is encourage employees to take a break after accomplishing something big, so they're refreshed to continue doing great things!
Rewards Result in Low Turnovers
A culture of recognition has helped lead to higher, more widespread feelings of balance and belonging here at Compt. We've found this is especially important in a fully remote team, where people can easily feel like they're operating in a Recognitionsilo.
Gates Little, President/CEO, altLINE Sobanco
Giving recognition publicly often has unintended benefits. For example, it increases transparency and collaboration. Whenever you recognize an em ployee, you shine a light on their work and share it with the rest of the team. That praise illuminates their contributions, fosters cooperation, and even inspires new ideas.
Ben Travis, Founder, HR Chief
Rewards and recognition are a public acknowledgment of an individual's value to your organization. That is a powerful tool, as it increases morale and shows our team that their efforts don't go unnoticed. I think there is a real problem in many workplaces with reactive management of employees. This means, only acknowledging the problems and mistakes of the team, rather than giving the same (or more) attention to achievements and great ideas. This allows employees to relax a bit and this has definitely had a positive impact on their productivity. Any energy wasted on worrying about performance or fearing management's wrath is better spent on creative solutions and idea generation.
It Shifts Focus to the Positives in the Workplace
Staff rewards and recognition have resulted in much better customer service. Satisfied and cared-for employees tend to be much kinder and more patient with customers, which translates to a better level of service. When employers go above and beyond to take care of employees, this triggers a "pay it forward" effect that compels team members to go beyond the minimum for clients.
Chris Lewandowski, President, Princess Dental Staffing
We offer a few different types of rewards and recognition programs at our company, but one way they have impacted employee productivity is by giving employees a sense of ownership over their work. We have seen employees work harder and be more creative when they know their lead ers will acknowledge their efforts. As such, these programs foster a spirit of competition and col laboration among employees, which helps to drive productivity.
Michael Alexis, CEO, tiny campfire
It Helps Foster Transparency and Collaboration
Evaluating The Impact Of Rewards On Employee Engagement Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 12
Celebrated Employees Give Better Customer Service
Employees Feel a Sense of Ownership Over Their Work
Employee performance has been shown to benefit from rewards and recognition. It is therefore a great way to emphasize to employees the signifi cance of a company's key performance metrics by implementing an R & R framework around them. Higher levels of motivation and satisfaction result in higher levels of performance and productivity. However, in order to satisfy higher-level needs that affect motivation, lower-level needs like pay and benefits must first be satisfied.
It Keeps the Teams Engaged and Focused on Making Positive Changes
Brett Farmiloe is the Founder and CEO – and currently CHRO - of Terkel.io
Rewards Get Employees Motivated
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Nathan Hughes, Marketing Director, Diggity Marketing
It Creates Healthy Competition
Victoria Culbertson, Founder & CEO, NYC House Cleaners
This activity presents Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum awards to winning teams, and they'll receive spot bonuses, gift cards, and bragging rights that help keep our team members engaged and focused on making positive changes. Addi tionally, the projects they come up with are often adopted as standard practice, which provides an extra incentive for everyone to participate and do their best.
Maxime Legardez, CEO, Maki
Working at an office, where people need to work constantly to make better and more appreciated content, is a big deal - especially when people need a good break more than anything. Employee engagement lessens as soon as the thrill of a new job lessens. People understand that once they have gotten the job, they do not need to work hard anymore and that things should be easy from here on. But unfortunately, it decreases the employee and the company's performance. Thus rewards and recognition help people understand the need for generating healthy competition among each other and work for the betterment of the company by helping each other. The workplace seems more lively as there are always talks about the new system where the company gives some sort of a gift to those who have worked exceptionally well.
In Maki, we have a yearly Continuous Improvement Project competition, where each department from across the company competes to see who can make the biggest impact in improving our processes. This has been a great way to motivate and recognize our employees while also driving productivity improvements throughout our organization.
Evaluating The Impact Of Rewards On Employee Engagement Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 13
By Bonnie Low-Kramen, Ultimate Assistant Training and Consulting
What we realize as humans is that we need one another. We yearn for the connection that comes from being in a room together. Real connection, not just one with five bars.
The remote workplace can feel mighty lonely these days, can’t it? While it is super convenient to work from home, it is also isolating and a little disorienting. Months into this new-ish work schedule, many home workers are reporting that they need to see people in person and are choosing to go into the office, if they even get that choice. Mental health issues like depression are raising their heads.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 14
Here are 4 ways to maintain strong and real connections with your work colleagues. It’s about sending the elevator back down and to keep doing it. Here’s what I mean.
4 Ways To Send The Elevator Back Down & Why It Matters To Keep Doing It
No one gets to wherever they are, alone
Sending the elevator back down is rooted in the idea that we make it our business to know our colleagues and support them to succeed with intention and without keeping score. We look at their resumes and review LinkedIn profiles to find areas of subject matter expertise, education, and interests. We talk with them regularly.
Offer them an opportunity to work on a project that will highlight their PowerPoint design skills or event planning abilities. Say, “I’m leading this project and I think your creative talent in XYZ would really help us. I’ve chosen you to join the team. Let me tell you what’s involved.” When they stumble, be ready with constructive feedback with ideas about how it can be better next time.
d. There is a training budget allotted for your role. What kind of class or workshop are you interested in taking?
Examples:
through a webcam and what they look like only from the shoulders up.
Bonnie Low-Kramen is a highly sought-after TEDx speaker, teacher, and founder and CEO of “Be the Ultimate Assistant,” a curated training solution for corporate leaders and assistants creating synchronous and thriving work environments. Low-Kramen serves as a consultant to the World Administrative Summit and is the author of Be the Ultimate Assistant: A Celebrity Assistant's Secrets to Working with Any High-Powered Employer. Much of her work in this space is rooted in over 25 years of experience as a Personal Assistant to celebrity actor couple Olympia Dukakis and Louis Zorich. Would you like to comment?
b. Thank you for going above and beyond. It matters.
Sending the elevator back down not only demonstrates your leadership, but also your sensitivity and empathy to what others are experiencing in our new world of work. Remember that those people who are coming up in the elevator are the future leaders and the pipeline to other roles.
The result of this kind of feedback builds confidence and motivates higher performance.
It is useful to remember that no one gets to wherever they are, alone. No one. We are all standing on the shoulders of someone who sent the elevator down for us. Everyone needs a chance and someone to recognize their potential. Didn’t you?
4 Ways To Send The Elevator Back Down & Why It Matters To Keep Doing It Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 15
Ground Floor Please!
3. Be generous with 1:1 praise, encouragement, and feedback. The thing all staff wants is regular feedback so this strategy is effective with staff at any level but particularly important with newer remote workers. Make opportunities to give authentic and relevant encouragement.
a. I see how hard you are working and others do too. Way to go.
1. Give a shout-out a meeting to a colleague who is present. Whether at an in-person or virtual meeting, make an announcement. “Before we begin, I want to thank Shelly for the great job she did on the XYZ project last week. It was a big success and we had ABC outcome. Well done!” Specificity matters when you do this. Public kudos are powerful confidence builders and encourage mentorship between colleagues. It also builds rapport and reinforces the company culture.
c. Your work is getting better and better. Is there anything you particularly are eager to focus on?
2. Give a shout-out in a meeting about a colleague who is not present. “I just want everyone to know what a terrific job Robert is doing in his new role. I think we ought to involve him in leading other XYZ projects. Clearly, he has skills that we have just begun to tap.” Since the remote world of work can make some staffers literally invisible, it will require overt diligence to make sure your team is aware of everyone’s contributions. The results for Robert will be that he knows his work matters and is being recognized and respected for it.
In the remote workplace, the staff of the world needs ways to stay strongly connected to one another. To build a culture with an expectation of sending the elevator back down again and again and again is to ensure loyalty, high productivity, and build rock solid employee retention.
4. Give young staff a chance to shine and the freedom to fail. In the new workplace, we need to be mindful of the younger staff just starting out in their careers, who not only lack experience but selfconfidence. Many will only know their colleagues
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Look around right now and you'll see a lot about "quiet quitting" - the idea of employees doing only what's expected of them as a way of "quitting" without actually resigning. To that, we say: hurray!
Skill #1: Spot the Patterns
Quiet Quitting Is A Great Thing
First let’s look at what people are actually “quitting” - it’s not the idea of getting things done, it’s the idea that doing a "good job," means employees have to work beyond their official job without compensation. Not only is this
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 18 TOP PICK
Simple changes to quickly improve both productivity and your employee experience
By Diane Sadowski-Joseph, LifeLabs Learning
If you ended each month with a negative balance in your bank account, what's the first thing you'd do? You'd look at where the money is going. Really productive organizations ritualize the same attention to detail when it comes to time. When they see that someone's hours exceed the time allotted, they investigate. Is it a skill gap? A resource gap? An efficiency gap? Solving the time issue allows them to not only ensure that time is spent on the highest priorities but it also allows them to create sustainable workloads that retain top employees.
stance demoralizing, it's often a sign that an organization doesn’t know how to set performance standards or allocate resources. This lethal combination is the perfect recipe for burnout, disengagement, and an innova tion-free culture.
overworking employees is the wrong way to do that. At LifeLabs Learning, we've worked with 2,000+ organizations, and we've seen that some of the most successful and innovative companies are ones that embrace the idea of a healthy time culture with their employees. The great news is that there are some really simple changes you can make to quickly improve both productivity and your employee experience.
We get that you still need your employees to be productive and ideally exert discretionary effort - we want that too! But creating a culture that celebrates
A quick fix is to deblur (akaclarify) what your communication norms are - specifically where urgent communication will come from. One company we work with uses phone calls when things are urgent - why? “Because people hate calling, so if they’re calling, you know it’s really important.” Another organization has an “Oh Sh*t” slack channel only for urgent things - at the end of each month, they review the things in the channel and decide on what
shouldn’t have been there. The result is less channel surfing, and more actual work getting done.
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Diane Sadowski-Joseph is the Head of the Content Department at LifeLabs Learning. Before LifeLabs Learning, Diane spent 15 years building People Ops, L&D, and train-the-trainer programs in organizations around the globe. Diane’s specialization is in behavior change, leadership, and organizational design.
A simple fix is to train people to identify their MITs. MITs stand for their Most Important Things - the top 2-3 highest value tasks each day/week/or month. If a new priority emerges, you swap out an old MIT for the new, more urgent MIT, keeping the list to a max of 3. This system ensures you’re only
Skill #2: Know Your MITs
Quiet Quitting Is A Great Thing
Skill #3: CommunicationDeblur Norms
But I didn’t get to where I am by “just doing my job”
A tool you can implement right away is a simple time audit: for one week, have your team track where their time goes. Be brutally honest - this exercise isn't about judgment, it's about getting an accurate picture of the current state. Once people have their time audit, the secret is to focus less on individual tasks and more on patterns. How much of that work was unplanned or reactive? What things routinely take longer than we thought? What norms could we set that will address boundary-pushing requests?
There's a not-so-fun game we see managers and employees playing all the time - we call it "channel surfing." Channel surfing is when you spend lots of time flipping between different communication channels - email to slack to text to gchat - just in case something important might come through. Not only is this an incredible waste of time, research shows that this constant context-switching is one of the worst things you can do for productivity and long-term brain health. It also rapidly leads to burnout because people feel like they're "always on." The most productive organizations realize that the value of having a depleted workforce texting in the middle of the night is not as valuable as a recharged workforce who's ready to actually solve problems during work hours.
committing to what’s possible while also making it really easy to communicate and hold people accountable to priorities.
One of my favorite quotes when it comes to time is "If everything is urgent, nothing is urgent." Creating a culture where everything is a fire that needs to be handled is the perfect way to keep your team from actually doing things that are really valuable while also burning out your people. The most productive organizations are the ones that train their leaders to communicate clearly around priority levels and reward de-escalation and smart prioritization, not just fire-fighting.
Spotting these patterns will help you craft workloads that both meet organizational needs while reducing stress for employees.
This is a sentiment we hear a lot, particularly from senior leaders. To that we say, it’s time to reexamine the norms that lead to phenomena like “Quiet Quitting.” We know from research that people are more creative and productive when they aren’t overworked and we know from the great resignation that your best people will leave if they don’t like your culture. We also have seen from working with our clients that organizations that create healthy cultures around time end up having higher performance because they’re giving employees the time and space to deliver on greatness. That feels like something worth being loud about.
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coworkers. It can also blur the lines between home and work and cause changes in company culture.
Employees want to work from home. One lasting change from the pandemic is that the hybrid workspace has become mainstream – and appears to be here to stay. In fact, 59% of workers in the US who say their job can mainly be done from home, choose to telework instead of return to the office (source). This new work model brings pros and cons: for most remote or hybrid employees, it’s led to improved work-life balance but decreased connection with
The Impact Of The Hybrid Work Model On Management, Culture, And Well-being
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What is the Hybrid Model?
Worksite wellness programs to the rescue
By Laura Neuffer, CoreHealth Technologies
The hybrid model is a work structure that includes both in-office and remote work. In fields where remote work is possible, the ability to work remotely at least part of the time has become the rule rather than the exception.
Of course, adjusting to a new way of working comes with challenges. One issue is managers overseeing remote staff. How can a leader keep tabs on what a team is doing when everyone is out of sight?
Another issue related to remote work is mental health concerns related to working remotely. Workers who live alone or have limited social interaction may have previously relied on seeing others in the workplace for social well-being. Loneliness and isolation are major drawbacks of remote work.
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Why the Hybrid Model is Important?
Benefits to employees are also numerous: more freedom, no commute, less money spent on gas, less wear and tear on vehicles, fewer business clothes needed, better work-life balance and flexibility for families - to name just a few.
The Impact Of The Hybrid Work Model On Management, Culture, And Well-being
The phrase “the future of work” frequently refers to fully remote or hybrid work. Forced upon by many organizations during the pandemic, there have been widespread benefits for both employer and employee.
Not only is a hybrid model of work convenient and
Group work apps, tools and websites make managing a remote team simple and streamlined. In fact, many of these programs were in use well before the pandemic and made the sudden shift to remote work
How the Hybrid Model Affects Well-being
Hybrid Model is the New Normal
And while video conferencing facilitates virtual face-to-face communication and instant messaging helps with quick communication, more interaction is sometimes needed. A proven solution: virtual employee well-being programs, including team challenges, message boards, activities, and more, can support team building and strengthen social connections at work.
Andoption.while
is in maintaining a positive organizational culture despite the distance. This can include strengthening relationships between coworkers and team building. In many instances, casual social interactions such as ‘watercooler’ conversations ceased to exist once employees went remote. These interactions, while seemingly insignificant, can actually play an important role in strengthening connections between workers.
Leadership has noted lower costs related to renting, cleaning, and maintaining office space, for one thing. If organizations can downsize their office, they can significantly reduce overhead spending. Other noted benefits include greater productivity and morale, lowered employee turnover, less absenteeism, and the ability to hire new talent from around the world.
How the Hybrid Model Affects Managers and Morale
commonplace, but it has also become a basic expectation. In many fields, employees feel that the option to work from home is a must-have when looking for a new role. And if a job does not allow remote work (where it’s possible), it can be seen as a deal breaker. When it comes to attracting top talent, offering hybrid or fully remote work is essential.
employers navigate a looming recession and The Great Resignation, the need to acquire and keep top talent is at its peak. Management benefits from offering remote or hybrid work as an option. Employees see it as a necessary part of modern work. But how can this newer style of work be viable for the whole company?
A lasting vestige of the pandemic is that many employees simply do not want to return to the office. Having gotten comfortable at home, many don’t see the need to commute or spend unnecessary time in a corporate setting. The ability to work entirely from a home office or to work part-time in the office and part-time from home is now a demonstrated viable
Anotherfeasible.challenge
Telework has been around for decades – as long as there has been reliable access to the Internet and telephones, workers have been able to participate in work remotely. But this style of work became exponentially more common during the pandemic when much of the workforce was required to stay at home and isolate for months at a time.
How does a hybrid model benefit organizations?
How Does it Work?
Educational micro-learning programs support a healthy lifestyle and encourage healthy habits. Additionally, team challenges or buddy activities can strengthen friendships between coworkers and enhance the culture and morale of a workforce. When employees can interact with their teammates on something fun, like an engaging challenge, complete with a message board and reminders that encourage posting encouraging notes to each other and sharing pictures, can bolster their enjoyment of work and help them be more effective later in their work-related communications.
Finding the Right Balance
Worksite Wellness Programs to the Rescue
Work Model On Management, Culture, And Well-being Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 23
If mental health or loneliness among employees is an issue in an organization, an employee well-being program with a focus predominantly on mental health can be immensely beneficial. Not only can it improve mental health outcomes and employees’ quality of life, but it can also improve employee retention and productivity.
Employee wellness programs have historically come fully equipped with the technology to remotely log points or participation data. This enabled participants to play along even on the weekends or in the evenings, when they have time to exercise or engage in the activities that the program encourages. That same technology, strengthened by the latest tech updates, can facilitate remote employees’ participation too.
Employee well-being programs are a powerful tool to make hybrid or fully remote work run smoothly. Wellness programs can foster a sense of comradery, boost morale, improve interpersonal relationships between coworkers, improve communications, boost employee retention, and more.
balancing act. The decision to offer hybrid or fully remote work is situational and must be informed by the type of work performed and the needs of each employee. Offering flex time, regular visits to the office or headquarters, virtual check-ins with managers, and a strong employee well-being program can help smooth out imbalances and transitions.
The Hybrid
Many employee well-being programs are available completely virtually, so even fully remote employees can participate.
seamlessthird-partyinparticipantseveryareTheWHRC-employee-engagement-remote-employees(Source:)mostup-to-dateemployeewellnessprogramsofferedonanadvancedplatformthatincludesaspectoftheprograminoneplace.Thismeansonlyneedonelog-intoaccesseverythingtheprogram.Theplatformcanevenconnecttovendorsandhealthprovidersforatrulyexperience.
Again, offering wellness programming to remote employees is a helpful solution. Not only can the challenges and activities promote inclusivity and friendship, but content about mental well-being and other aspects of health can support their well-being in a variety of ways.
There are lots of ways to offer worksite wellness digitally to a hybrid or fully remote workforce. Only programs that are offered completely virtually can reach all employees regardless of whether they work in the office full time, from home, or a mix of both. Reaching out to remote employees in this way helps include them in the company culture and strengthens morale.
Impact Of The
Employees who participate in work-sponsored wellness programs are reminded that the leadership cares about them and their well-being. Content like health assessments can inform managers of any red flags, such as higher levels of stress or depression among employees. This can facilitate course corrections and inform decision-making and communications.
For example, employees who may need support with their mental health can be connected to resources and tools through their employee well-being program portal. This creates a seamless experience for participants to log in, see their suggested activities, and access the care they need.
How Employee Wellness Programs Can Help a Hybrid or Remote Workforce
Making work from home, work for a staff is a
The best employee well-being programs are available on a single, powerful platform that includes all aspects of the program, from the onboarding health assessment to reporting, individualized challenges, and much more. Platforms link with third-party vendors and health providers for a truly seamless
The Impact Of The Hybrid Work Model On Management, Culture,
Virtual employee well-being programs help workers and managers support each other, using technology and access to benefits and resources that are mutually beneficial. When employees see that leaders are reaching out to support employees through an employee well-being program, they feel valued and cared for.
With the hybrid work model here to stay, managers can use digitally delivered worksite wellness programs to boost organizational culture and employee well-being. This includes spreading awareness and engaging in conversations and dialogues that inspire positive company culture and a focus on prioritizing health. It can power cohesive collaboration across age groups as employees have meaningful interactions that strengthen the team.
When deciding on a fully-virtual employee well-being program there are several factors to consider, including the specific needs of the workforce. There are endless options to fit an organization's size and
Laura Neuffer, MS, has 10 years of experience in corporate wellness. She works with CoreHealth Technologies to create technology programming that can be used in worksite wellness programs around the world.
And Well-being Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 24
Finding the Right Worksite Wellness Program for a Hybrid Workforce
Once participants log in (from wherever they are in the world), they’ll be able to participate in staff well-being challenges, complete health assessments, log their biometric data, access information about their benefits, reach out to health providers, securely share documents like prescriptions and lab results, and access helpful resources.
needs. Whether a workforce is mainly virtual, mostly office-based or hybrid, a fully-virtual wellness program can help enhance employee retention, productivity, quality of life and well-being. It can inspire meaningful interactions and motivate participation.
They’ll also be able to connect with other employees via message boards, photo sharing, challenge leaderboards, progress trackers and more. This facilitates a strong culture of health and meaningful interactions at work.
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Aexperience.hybridwork
Summary
style is the future of work, and a fully virtual, all-in-one wellness program can help it run smoothly.
Employees can participate in challenges on a team, with a buddy, or alone. They can earn points and prizes or receive discounts on their insurance premiums for doing specific tasks. These activities can include taking a health risk assessment, getting enough exercise, or participating in a fun challenge.
Virtual programs can be thoughtfully developed to reflect regional differences, like including culturally sensitive wording, time zone differences, and acknowledgement of regional holidays and customs. Programs can be made available in multiple languages, to unify even the most widespread global organizations.
At our company, “diversity as an edge” is one of our core values. One place we see that diversity is in the holidays our team members celebrate. Our relatively small team is spread out across multiple countries, including Israel, the UK and the US. Holidays like Shavuot and the UK’s Spring Bank Holiday are just as commonly observed among our team as US federal holidays like Memorial Day.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 25 TOP PICK
Earlier this year, my child’s Midwest-based daycare surprised us when they shared that they would be closing early for Eid al-Fitr. The holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan and is celebrated by Muslims worldwide, wasn’t on the yearly school calendar and list of closures. However, so many employees observe Ramadan that the daycare made adjustments to allow their staff to be home celebrating with their families.
Quite the opposite: It illustrates an example of inclusion — driven not by a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) plan — but by kindness and consideration for the people who make up the organization.
Celebration Together: Why Holidays And Festivals Should Be Part Of Every InclusionCompany’sEfforts
I don’t share this story to cast my child’s daycare in a poor light.
We’re all seeking that sense of belonging and holidays are part of that equation. As organizations look to incorporate more diversity, equity and inclusion practices (DEI), the significance of celebrating various holidays as it relates to inclusion shouldn’t be overlooked.
By Anna Julow Roolf, Propel PRM Building a more inclusive environment
However, even with an intentional focus on diversity, we still missed the mark with holidays a few times. Here’s what we learned along the way.
Most of our employees are based in either Israel or the US. Unlike the US, in Israel, there are specific religious holidays, recognized by law, when members of each recognized religion don't work. Because of this, until recently, employees based in Israel had a set list of holidays, but US-based employees did not. Instead of giving US-based employees a set holiday schedule, we introduced an unlimited PTO policy for US-based employees and allowed each employee to take any holiday they wanted.
Holidays as Part of DEI
Holidays Help Us Feel Seen
However, employees still asked a lot of questions regarding holidays even after the unlimited PTO policy was rolled out. They wanted a list of holidays. Our US-based team wanted to be seen and recognized the same way our employees in Israel were seen and Becauserecognized.team
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It can be easy to miss certain holidays simply due to a lack of knowledge. As you’re considering how to incorporate holidays into your inclusion efforts, consider leaning on employees to fill in the Thegaps.team
Celebration Together: Why Holidays And Festivals Should Be Part Of Every Company’s Inclusion Efforts
to learn more about one another on an individual and cultural level.
members are clustered in three main countries, we developed three lists of holidays by region: one for Israel, one for the US, and one for the UK. We recognize these lists will likely grow and evolve as our team and company grows and evolves.
Learning about how others celebrate, helps us to feel connected to one another. However, it’s challenging to learn about holidays and other celebrations, if you don’t even know you could ask.
Holidays and Your Organization
Holidays Help Us Feel Connected
Anna Julow Roolf serves as the SVP of Operations and People for PR technology platform, Propel PRM. Prior to joining the company, she was part of the executive team for BLASTmedia, a US-based PR agency specializing in B2B SaaS, where she not only enabled the agency to scale from approximately 20 employees to over 60, but also built a robust client roster including well-known B2B companies like MOZ and 6sense. Anna also has extensive experience in PR, including with media relations, content marketing, and analyst relations for B2B and B2C tech.
yearly school calendar and a list of closures for my child’s daycare. After closing early for Eid al-Fitr in 2022, the daycare will be closed the full day for Eid al-Fitr in 2023.
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Instead, we created a comprehensive holiday calendar that employees can access right from their work calendar. This provides visibility for these holidays in a way that is in line with our team’s workflow.
Holidays and other celebrations are a natural vehicle for inclusion efforts, but each organization is as unique as the people who comprise it. To create a sense of belonging, it’s important to consider the cultures, customs, regions, and religions represented in your organization. You won’t necessarily get it right the first time, but your efforts can build a more inclusive environment and a greater sense of belonging for Iemployees.recentlygot the 2022/2023
Since our holidays are broken up by region, it would have been easy to store regional holidays in a handbook, shared only with those in each region. But then we’d miss the opportunity for team members
at Ethena, an NYC-based startup that provides modern corporate training for sexual harassment prevention, suggests sending, ”a list that allows your coworkers to anonymously contribute any holidays they’d like to see celebrated in the office” or asking employees “broad questions like, ‘Does your family have any traditions around this time of year?’”
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By Mahir Iskender, Digno
When an employee starts a new job - regardless of the industry - the first few days or weeks inevitably follow a standard, predictable protocol. After the initial onboarding period, there’s a redundant employee lifecycle involving a six or twelve-month review, intermittent mandatory training, and the occasional professional
Whether referencing the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting, or any of the other new-age economical theories of the post-pandemic workplace - the conclusion remains the same. Working adults are making new demands and leaving jobs in search of better culture, benefits, and growth opportunities. To put it simplythis is a huge systemic issue.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 28
development opportunity. An employee’s initial exposure and experience with an organization have a huge influence on their trajectory and performance, and the pressure is on every organization to evolve these traditional methods by prioritizing the needs of each employee.
A great culture exists when everyone has the opportunity to thrive
The 2022 Workplace Golden Rule: Employees Come First
safe space to learn from possible Meanwhile,mistakes.
In an evaluation of the hidden costs of onboarding graduate talent, Wiley Edge found that company culture suffered in roughly 63% of businesses as a direct result of high turnover rates. Surveyed employees reported minimal benefits, and a work culture that strayed from the proposed mission and values. Nearly half stated the primary reason for leaving was a lack of opportunities for growth and development, and a lack of support from their managers and colleagues.
as a manager, leader, or employer, you now have the chance to measure employee performance, paving the way for a more consistent - and accurate - feedback system. This measurement and feedback loop is exactly what creates and solidifies habits within the
black box training practices. Organizations are wasting time onboarding employees and not spending nearly enough time identifying their unique needs and strengths. There is a serious lack of transparent and efficient review processes. Why are we so blindly loyal to traditional six or twelve-month review cycles, in which very few tangible measurements are used to offer factual and reliable feedback? To increase transparency and visibility for everyone in the organization, methods that involve specific performance measurements must be Butimplemented.howdoyougather data for valuable measurement? You provide opportunities for the employee to practice and participate. Practice is the heart of a productive training program. It’s counterintuitive to spend excess time training a new skill, simultaneously depriving the employee of an opportunity to learn firsthand. Employees not only need - but crave - autonomy; give them a chance to roll up their sleeves and learn how to do the job themselves. This promotes a strong work ethic, and a positive sense of independence and There’saccountability.apattern here. To keep employees engaged, improve efficiency in the training process, and personalize the experience. Provide each employee with opportunities to execute the job independently, complete with positive encouragement and a
The 2022 Workplace Golden Rule: Employees Come First
Mahir Iskender is the Founder and CEO of Digno, an advanced platform that provides agile management of tasks, goals, and rewards within an organization - a one-stop solution for employee performance evaluations.
When it comes to training and development, the employee must come first. Are they trainable? Do they have what it takes to grow with the company? At the risk of sounding presumptuous, a job offer should be the validation needed to answer such questions, so each employee deserves the opportunity to succeed.
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The keys to a successful onboarding process and supportive training and development programs come down to basic human behavioral psychology. A great culture exists when everyone has the opportunity to thrive. The business won’t perform if the employees aren’t performing, and there won’t be measurable growth if the employees don’t grow. It’s a partnership. And in any partnership, if one party feels neglected, there’s a strong chance they stray, disengage, or fall short of the other’s expectations.
Most of what people experience today are monotonous,
Whenemployees.donecorrectly, development takes place - the employee thrives and the company concurrently generates positive results and profit. With this win-win scenario in mind - and the consequences of failing to change making headlines daily - there’s never been a better time to reevaluate the training process and put employee needs first.
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Trust, community building, and investment in employee well-being are all essential for companies looking to stand out in a crowded field
By Matthew Durr, Fetch Rewards
What WorkforceMeansCompassionToTheCurrent
proposition is and tailor it to the needs of the modern workforce.
To recruit and retain talent in a competitive market, lead with compassion
As the values of candidates have shifted with younger generations entering the workforce, and as the nature of work has changed since the work-from-home revolution, one fact has remained constant: Organizations that structure their culture and values around compassion are best-positioned to attract talent and retain it.
The Great Resignation has caused not only recruiters and hiring managers but entire organizations to reevaluate their companies, their values, and their culture. Attracting top talent used to be as simple as offering higher pay or better benefits—but not anymore. In this competitive hiring market, brands have had to completely overhaul what their value
What Compassion Means To The Current Workforce
In practice, compassion can express itself in a number of programs—programs that used to be “perks” are now seen as must-haves in a company. Giving employees safe spaces, open forums, and employee resource groups (ERGs) to discuss how the company treats diversity and inclusion offers avenues for expression while also giving the business ideas on ways to improve in the future.
It’s a little funny to say, but at the end of the day, the employer-employee relationship is just that: a relationship. When employers hold all of the cards, that relationship is too-often built on a skewed power dynamic. Because there was always another candidate willing to take the job, it has been easy for companies to take employees for granted and demand more while offering less.
Now, with Gen Z and Millennials making up a larger percentage of the emerging talent pool, that skewed power dynamic is proving itself outdated. Statistics show that company culture is an increasingly important factor for job seekers, with nearly 50% stating it’s a deciding factor in their decision to take a job. What’s more, Glassdoor reports that 3 in 4 candidates say a diverse workforce is important in evaluating companies and job offers.
Mental health also needs to be prioritized as part of a larger wellness program. Offering no-cost confidential counseling gives employees an outlet to work through job-related or additional stressors that may be impacting performance. These gestures create a happier, more productive workforce that also works to ameliorate burnout and promotes retention. On the physical front, wellness classes and fitness resources provide additional outlets for stress relief.
that may have more complex priorities, the concept of trust presents itself differently. Offering employees paid parental leave and child care support demonstrates an investment in their well-being. It also puts trust in their time; if they’re shown that they can take the time they need for major life events it makes them more inclined to return at their full capacity.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 33
For Gen Z workers especially, however, they may only know a remote or hybrid work environment. Fostering constant communication and giving employees all the tools they need—and structuring their work lives around implicit trust without complex bureaucracies of approval—puts them in the best position to
In short, the workforce is becoming more compassionate, and companies need to rise to that mandate to appeal to this generation of workers. But what does compassion mean in the workplace?
All strong relationships are constructed on a foundation of trust. As companies have adopted fully remote or hybrid work models, that trust has been a difficult barrier for organizations to overcome. Not having eyes on an employee every day requires a leap of faith in knowing that the job is getting done.
Compassion in the workplace means creating a supportive environment for all people. Creating that support system means allocating time and resources
Forsucceed.oldergenerations
towards efforts that employees value. By building a top-down system that prioritizes the values of employees, it creates a culture of compassion.
What Compassion Means to the Current Workforce
The Role of Trust in a Compassionate Workplace
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are adopted by the C-suite they reverberate throughout the organization.
Matthew Durr is Sr Director, Talent Acquisition at Fetch Rewards. When Matthew joined Fetch in January 2021, the company had just landed its Series C and was a little under 300 employees. Over the last year and a half, Matthew and the Talent Acquisition team have hired 700+ employees spanning 42 states across the US as Fetch has closed a Series D and most recently, a Series E in April 2022. Prior to Fetch, Matthew was a Recruiting Manager at Google and Android Recruiter at Facebook. Matthew has a passion for growing teams and enjoys the fast pace of the startup world.
When companies ingrain compassion into their culture, however, adapting to these changes becomes increasingly easy. When employees are treated as a company’s most important asset, it makes prioritizing their needs a no-brainer.
The Value of Investing in a Community
In Madison, a city with a large university, our presence has proved essential in recruitment efforts for recent graduates at a time when entry-level positions are proving the hardest to fill. In emerging cities like Birmingham, where there is a hungry talent pool, we’ve created pipeline programs like coding camps and apprenticeship roles. Building up potential talent has led to a temp-to-hire conversion rate of around 80% in our organization, and enabled members of our support team to advance to quality assurance roles and eventually engineers.
Instilling the idea that anyone can try out for the team is another form of compassion. It tells employees and candidates that no matter who you are, you have value within the organization.
Creating ties to a community through a physical presence also works to build a pipeline for future employees. My company, Fetch, for example, has offices in Madison, Wisc. and Birmingham, Ala., both of which have been invaluable in building the future of the company.
Having and maintaining an office presence is still important even in this evolving work environment. Giving employees the option to come to an office affords them the opportunity to collaborate and build stronger connections with the company and their coworkers. For HR professionals and C-suite members, it also provides an avenue to listen to employees in the workplace and mine those conversations for ideas for improvement.
Exploring Compassion in the Future Workplace
What Compassion Means To The Current Workforce Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 34
Remote and hybrid work models have proven that employees appreciate the flexibility of deciding the environment in which they work best. With that flexibility comes a tradeoff, however, as the collaborative environment and community of a company is dispersed throughout the country.
Trust and compassion are the bedrock of recruiting and retention in the modern hiring environment. They’re not easy to instill, but when these core tenets
As we look to the future, compassion may take on different forms and shift with the priorities of emerging generations. With workers gaining more agency within organizations, new mandates like income transparency, openness on the methodology of company policies, and further pushes towards gender parity may emerge as deciding factors for prospective employees.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 35
Employee demands continue to evolve and present new challenges for companies
As the pandemic moves to an endemic stage and the economy remains uncertain, businesses are confronting another crisis: low employee engagement levels
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report, disengaged employees have cost the global economy $7.8 trillion dollars — which is approximately 11% of the world’s GDP.
By Lisa-Moné Lamontagne, Unit4
That said, the crisis is flying under the radar in many organizations, where some leaders mistakenly believe the remote, hybrid, or return-to-the-workplace strategies they developed will take care of the problem. However, the data suggests otherwise. It’s complex, but new ways of working, the stress of the past few years, economic turmoil, and other factors have combined to create the employee engagement crisis.
Three Ways To Address The Employee Engagement Crisis
proved their value as they confronted the many crises that overtook workplaces during the past few years. HR professionals coordinated work-from-home protocols and coached managers who were new to remote work on how to supervise employees from afar. They found creative ways to build teams and set employees up for success. But while some sense of normality is returning to most workplaces, employee demands continue to evolve and present new challenges for companies.
This includes addressing the employee engagement crisis that’s unfolding now. The disconnect is real, and employers need to be proactive about addressing it since it affects productivity and exacerbates retention challenges. But the crisis is also an opportunity to make changes that set the workplace apart in a labor market that has many employers struggling to keep their best people on board. By reaching out to employees, embracing company values and streamlining workloads so employees can focus on their true purpose, HR can save the day — again.
Many companies have already invested in regular engagement surveys, but those that don’t should consider starting them now, and those that do may want to think about stepping up the cadence because employee concerns and needs are evolving rapidly. An employee well-being survey to identify pain points and gaps where the company can step in to meet emerging needs and streamline processes is a great idea. When conducting a survey, be prepared to show your company is listening to employee needs and wants by following up with solutions that demonstrate responsiveness and address the employees whose commitment may be wavering. However, this only works if participation rates are high, so be sure to pay attention to the timing, formatting, and language of the surveys that receive the most responses to inform the structure of future surveys.
The good news is HR leaders can begin to turn it around by streamlining processes so that employees can reconnect and focus on what matters most, reaching out to employees and addressing their needs and concerns, and living their company values. Here’s a look at three steps HR and company leaders can take to improve employee engagement:
Three Ways To Address The Employee Engagement Crisis
evolving circumstances. That’s why it’s so important to link business decisions and other corporate actions to company values. Employees want to be associated with an organization that shares their values — it creates a sense of belonging and purpose that can heighten engagement, improve productivity and increase retention. For these reasons, companies need to explicitly show that their company values are the foundation of their business decisions in employee communication from HR and company HRleadersteams
2. Consider Engagement Surveys
3. Link Business Decisions to Company Values
Lisa-Moné Lamontagne is People Success Leader, North America at Unit4
1. Evaluate Processes and the Employee Tech Stack
Assess established processes and legacy technologies to see if they still serve your organization and your employees well. There’s no reason to change them if they do, but in some scenarios, new processes and technologies can significantly streamline employee workloads and enable staff to serve customers and achieve success more efficiently and quickly. Automation can reduce tedious, manual work and give employees more time to focus on customers and engage in strategic activities that add real business value. By removing technical barriers and making necessary processes as easy as possible, engagement levels, productivity and employee satisfaction will improve.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 36
A vibrant and strong company culture can sustain employee engagement, even under challenging and/or
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ePublicationEditorialCalendarCheckoutthenewandupcomingthemedHRtopicsin HumanExperienceExcellence-Engagement,Performance,Rewards&Recognition Check ePublications Editorial Calendar Here. Would you like to submit an article? | Write to us at ePubEditors@hr.com Submission Guidelines 1 Employee Disengagement & Re-engagement Oct 2022 2 The Future of Employee Engagement Nov 2022 3 Current Employee Experience Challenges and Anticipated Trends Dec 2022
is an agent of fear. Often the uncertainty that goes along with change results in employees making assumptions about what lies ahead. As a leader, it’s imperative to address that fear with positivity and
Preparation for change should be a component of every business’s strategy to equip itself for the future. While change can undoubtedly be stressful and the uncertainty can drive fear and worries among a team, it can also encourage employee innovation and foster new skills. Embracing
Positively and Accurately Portray Change
Strong leadership is essential to navigating change successfully
a dynamic work environment that’s always evolving can help both employees and businesses to face any challenges that may lie Uncertaintyahead.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 38
Since the pandemic’s start, change has been ever-present. But change, whether planned or unexpected, is inevitable and, often, necessary to propel the growth of any business. The ways in which companies manage the needed transformation can be the difference between whether they achieve their goals and transition to the next level, or not. Change is critical for any business, and strong leadership is essential to navigating it successfully.
By Amanda Piwonka, Tebra
transparency. Encourage an attitude of excitement and anticipation but also be clear about the potential pitfalls and bumps in the road along the way. By supporting a positive and honest outlook among team members, leaders can highlight change as an opportunity rather than a setback. Change will always be forthcoming, and embracing it starts with a strong leadership system.
What It Takes For Companies To Lead Through SuccessfullyChange
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 39
Whethercounselors.change
What It Takes For Companies To Lead Through Change Successfully
Ensure CommunicationEffective
Furthermore, the role that managers play in providing guidance through change is significant. Regular check-ins between team members and team leaders can provide a better overview of which areas
are strongest and which need to be addressed. Communication gaps often result in high attrition and under-resourced support. To avoid that, leaders must create a workplace atmosphere free of judgment, in which employees can discuss their ideas and concerns openly. Welcoming creativity, innovation, and open communication can help employees understand their role and have a positive contribution to the period of change. As teams adopt new ways of working together, clear communication between managers and employees makes everyone feel comfortable.
Amanda Piwonka, Senior Vice President of People & Culture at Tebra
When it comes to leading a team through an evolving business landscape, it’s better to communicate effectively than excessively. Leave the lines of communication open. Listen actively and ask clarifying questions to ensure that you understand what is being asked and that employees feel heard. When addressing questions and concerns from your team, remain solution-oriented and positive. You may not have all the answers at the moment.
Employee Support is Empowering
happiness. When employees become overwhelmed, it’s crucial to help them understand that their feelings are valid and they are not alone. Team leaders and human resource representatives should work together to nurture a culture that prioritizes mental health. A strong HR system should make employees aware of any resources that relate to their well-being, including medical or exercise programs and the availability of mental health
When going through any changes within a business, it’s essential to empower employees. Developmental training for team leaders is a great method to help supervisors, managers, and directors master the art of leading change. By offering these affirmative employment programs, company leaders will learn how to navigate all personnelrelated matters. Change can be frightening for all, but having an executive team with the right skills in place from the beginning will ensure greater productivity when that time Navigatingcomes.change can also be exhausting. Support employees in keeping an eye on the number of hours that they put in as they adjust to any new processes. Occasional time off can also help promote a healthy mindset, recharge productivity, and refuel
employees on why a change is taking place can help them to better understand how it relates to the business goals and to their role, so they can welcome it as an opportunity for growth rather than see it as a burden. This will allow team members to participate in the process. An effective team leader will develop a strategic plan, update it consistently to adapt to the company’s changing needs and relay any timelines and tangible steps to their team.
arises suddenly or has long been on the horizon, a business must learn to respond accordingly with a strong coupling of effective communication and leadership. Encouraging transparency and honesty, alongside a concrete, strategic plan that details both individual and company goals can help open a clear pathway to a successful transition.
Setting clear and appropriate follow-up expectations is part of demonstrating that leadership and the company want to address employees’ questions and concerns proactively and as a Educatingpriority.
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Top Skills Employees Need Today
By Andrew Gold, Pitney Bowes
With unemployment comes greater availability of talent – something employers have struggled with over the last year amidst the pandemic and “Great Resignation” or “Great Reshuffling.”
The labor and economic landscapes are facing unique turning points: While unemployment rates1 have remained at 3.5-3.6% for the last four months, fears over an impending recession and a resulting increase in unemployment are on the rise.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 40
Leaders should help people find the right solutions to make their jobs work for them
One of HR executives’ biggest challenges right now is addressing the reality that many employees are looking for a purpose; employees want to gain more from their nine-to-five beyond just coming to work.
3. Project management. People need to understand how to understand your mission and what is needed to achieve it. To carry this out, organizations need effective project managers who have strong change management and communication skills in addition to a solid understanding of the business.
Andrew Gold is the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Pitney Bowes. Andrew has been involved in work across the business that has been recognized by various groups and has been a champion of HR transformation, talent development, diversity, and employee health. Would you like to comment?
Top Skills Employees Need Today
However, regardless of the landscape, strong talent – those who possess the latest skill sets – always remains in demand. Not only is it up to workers to cultivate these skills but also their employers to help develop them and retain these high-perform ing workers.
What Makes a High-Performer?
Retaining High-Performers
While this can be a challenge as workers may define meaningful, purposeful, or integrated work differently, this is also another area where diversity training and leadership play a role, as leaders need to listen and help people find the right solutions to make their jobs work for them. At Pitney Bowes, we respect our employees’ needs and find an arrangement that best suits them and their needs. Now: the scale is bigger. We know people will have dogs in their team meetings or may want to pick up their children after school. Organizations must respect their workforces, communicating that their lives are not less important than their work. In turn, this will create a sense of loyalty and commitment that retains high-performing workers.
Submit Your ArticlesHuman Experience Excellence presented by HR.com September 2022 41
At Pitney Bowes, where I lead our HR function and have spent the greater part of my career spanning over 28 years, we look for specific skill sets in our talent, among both existing and potential employees. These skills represent the convergence of people skills, culture, and emerging technologies, including the below, which I believe are pertinent to any organization:
Organizations must help them find that purpose by fostering an understanding among employees of how they are truly making an impact and can integrate work within the rest of their lives. Workers are focused on their families and communities, and with this, helping them find the right integration of work and life helps retain them for the long term.
2. Data analytics. New technologies have impacted the ways the workforce processes information and make decisions, and as such, employees across all areas of the organization need to possess skills in data analytics. In fact, McKinsey & Company predicts that leveraging data will become a natural part of all employees’ work by 2025. This means going further than looking back at a report, but rather working with data to understand the story it tells.
1. Managing diversity. Recently, many companies have placed an increased focus on creating a diverse and inclusive environment for employees. To achieve this, they need empathetic leaders who can develop employees and recognize that people come from different cultures and backgrounds. This also means taking meaningful actions for employees, such as ensuring pay equity and creating safe spaces.
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