Biggest Workplace Pet Peeves

Are you frequently annoyed by your co-workers? You are not alone. Yahoo! Shine partnered with Fitness Magazine to survey over 2,000 women and men, and we found that a whopping 79% of employees feel aggrieved at their place of work. Chalk it up to open plan seating or recession stress, that's a lot of crankiness causing friction around the water cooler.

Workers are annoyed with both the personal behavior and the work habits of their colleagues. Topping the list among men, 41% are turned off by co-workers' body odor. Nearly as many women think their colleagues could do better in the hygiene department, about 38%.

Read the rest on Yahoo.com

How workplace culture can help drive employees to succeed

How would you describe your organization/department/team’s culture? Take a moment and select three words or phrases that describe your company culture. Write them down and set them aside; we’ll come back to them in a few paragraphs.

If you’re like most leaders, you don’t pay careful attention to the work environment that exists in your organization today. Most leaders have been groomed to focus primarily on performance metrics, things such as net profit, market share, EBIDA, payroll expenses, etc.

These are certainly important metrics; all organizations need to meet or exceed performance standards. And research indicates that these, alone, are not the strongest drivers of desirable outcomes such as consistent performance, terrific customer service or engaged employees.

Read the full story:

http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2012/02/22/how-workplace-culture-can-help-drive-employees-to-succeed/

Co-Workers Change Places

Employers are mixing it up. Jobs, that is.

Some U.S. businesses are giving employees the chance to complete a stint in a different department or temporarily swap places with a colleague overseas.

Companies have long provided job rotations for higher level executives to give them a sense of how different departments operate, but now they are discovering that short- to medium-term moves for rank-and-file employees help workers sharpen their skills, stay motivated and identify new roles they might aim for in the future. Moreover, they help address a challenge that many companies are facing: how to better foster collaboration across different specialties and regions.

"In organizations today there is more emphasis on adaptability, teamwork and learning agility. Companies have to be flexible about creating opportunities for employees to opt into projects," says Caroline Paxman, president of the Americas for SHL, a talent-measurement firm.

Read the full story:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204059804577229123891255472.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

An Insightlink employee survey can help you effectively identify problem areas within your organization. With this valuable insight, you have another tool that can be used to improve your company's bottom line.

Do You Share Our Goals? Sign Our Constitution

This interview with Steve Stoute, chief executive of Translation LLC, an ad agency, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant. Mr. Stoute is also chairman of Carol’s Daughter, a beauty products company.

Q. What are some important leadership lessons you’ve learned?

A. One of the hardest things to do is run an organization. And teaching people who work for you is a very important skill set that requires patience. I’ve seen a lot of great leaders fail to execute because they couldn’t get a team to rally behind them. You meet a lot of entrepreneurs who want to build great businesses and they have great ideas, but their leadership style doesn’t allow them to have any patience to teach people.

Read the full story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/business/translation-ad-agencys-chief-on-setting-a-belief-system.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

When you choose Insightlink Communications, you will get much more than just a way to efficiently collect survey data. With our specialized tools, you can immediately see and use your findings to effectively create positive change within your organization.

10 Benefits Employers Can Provide for Parents

Most jobs in the United States are offered with at least a minimal list of included benefits, such as medical insurance and vacation / paid time off. For parents who work full time, the needs are substantially different and, depending on the employer, those needs aren’t always addressed. There are many benefits specifically intended for working parents, and need to be universally available in our opinion. Here is a list of 10 benefits that employers can provide for parents:

See the list of benefits on National Nannies

It’s a performance review, not an ambush

At Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, the oft-dreaded performance review is seen as a good thing – from both sides.

According to a yearly in-house survey, employees rate the company’s bi-annual performance reviews very highly. That’s mainly because Deeley’s, the exclusive Canadian distributor for Harley-Davidson and Buell motorcycles and parts, takes performance reviews seriously, not only as a measure of performance tied in with raises and promotions, but also as an important opportunity for employees to discuss their career paths.

Read the full story:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/human-resources/its-a-performance-review-not-an-ambush/article2332563/page1/

Insightlink's 4Cs Employee Survey lets you see a clear picture of where your company stands on each of the critical 4Cs of employee engagement and satisfaction.

Convincing a cynical workforce that change is necessary

After years of being told to “do more with less” using the latest management fads – think Total Quality Management or Reinventing Government – how do you convince a cynical workforce that change is really necessary? -Federal Supervisor, U.S. Department of Education

To some public servants, the call to do even more with even less may sound all too familiar. It’s especially difficult if your employees see it as a call to work even harder to achieve the same results with fewer resources. The problem may be that they are working as hard as they can, and if so, we need to change what we ask of them.

Those who heard this same theme in the 1990s or in previous eras may be saying to themselves and their leaders, “We can wait this out. This will pass.”

Leaders and employees paying close attention to the debate about government performance, however, will note that this time the conversation and environment are significantly different than in previous cycles.

The political discourse today is reexamining the role and size of government. Fueling that conversation is a still fragile U.S. economy and a very real budget crisis. Some fundamental aspects of what government does and how it operates may be on the verge of change. Helping your employees deal with the new reality won’t be easy, but here are a few ideas you may want to consider:

Read the full story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ask-the-fedcoach/post/convincing-a-cynical-workforce-that-change-is-necessary/2011/03/04/gIQAczKaDR_blog.html?wprss=ask-the-fedcoach

Only Insightlink's 4Cs Employee Survey can show you a picture and let you hear how your employees feel about their experience at your organization.

5 ways to promote a culture of smart thinking

Innovation has been a core theme in business over the past few years. The mantra is that companies need their employees to work smarter, not harder. As I discuss in my new book “Smart Thinking,” there are some straightforward things you can do to help everyone in your organization think more effectively. The more you know about the way your mind works, the more that you can improve the thinking of the people around you. I call this “creating a culture of smart thinking.”

Here are five things you can do to get the ball rolling toward a smarter organization.

Read the full story:

http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2012/02/13/5-ways-to-promote-a-culture-of-smart-thinking/

If you need to really understand things from your employees' point of view then you need a tool that will give you the greatest level of insight into what they think and how they feel. Anything other than an Insightlink 4Cs Employee Survey is a waste of your resources.

Three Types of People to Fire Immediately

Want a more innovative company? Get rid of these folks. Today.

Show of hands: How many of you out there in Innovation land have gotten the “what took you so long?” question from your staff when you finally said goodbye to a teammate who was seemingly always part of problems instead of solutions?

We imagine a whole bunch of hands. (Yep, ours went up, too.)

These people—and we’re going to talk about three specific types in a minute—passive-aggressively block innovation from happening and will suck the energy out of any organization.

When confronted with any of the following three people—and you have found it impossible to change their ways, say goodbye.

Find out who the three types are in this great piece by G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Vitón on Bloomberg Businessweek

It's 10 P.M., Do You Know Where Your Employees Are? 4 Steps To Set After-Hours Work Expectations

The other day I sat with three senior leaders from three different industries. One was the CEO of an international PR and communications firm. One was a partner of a professional services firm, and the other the president of a national not-for-profit. As it often does, our discussion about work and life turned to technology. I asked them how they used their smartphones and laptops to stay connected to work after traditional business hours:

”I keep my phone on 24/7, but I don’t respond to everything, all the time.”--CEO of the PR and communications firm.

“I sometimes send emails at 4 a.m., and on the weekends just to get a jump-start on my day and week.”--president of the national not-for-profit.

“My phone goes in my briefcase when I get home and I don’t look at it again until the next morning.”--partner of a professional services firm.

Three leaders, with three very different uses of technology. So I asked them, “How many of you have sat down with all of your direct reports and explained how you prefer to connect with work, and specified what you expect of them?”

Read the full story: http://www.fastcompany.com/1814467/4-steps-to-clarify-after-hours-work-expectations-for-employees?partner=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: fastcompany/headlines (Fast Company Headlines)

If you need to really understand things from your employees' point of view then you need a tool that will give you the greatest level of insight into what they think and how they feel. Anything else is a waste of your resources. Insightlink 4Cs Employee Survey

4 Rewards That Are More Powerful Than Money

Formal employee recognition programs can be effective, but many formal programs only pay lip service to recognizing employee performance.

Real praise should reward effort and accomplishment, reinforce positive behaviors, build self-esteem and confidence, and boost motivation and enthusiasm.

Do your formal recognition programs accomplish all that?

I’m guessing no.

Here are four informal and powerful ways to praise your employees:

Read the full story:

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/4-employee-rewards-that-are-more-powerful-than-money.html

An Insightlink 4Cs survey will help you maximize your human capital by providing not only an insightful, strategic analysis but also by highlighting action to create change and improve employee engagement within your organization.

Supportive employee services needed to reduce workplace stress?

Offering supportive employee services could be an important way of helping personnel cope with workplace stress, as one expert has advised staff members to reach out to mentors and bosses if they feel they need to.

Chartered psychologist Sue Firth told people they should talk about their troubles if they are feeling under strain.

This could be a key time for individuals to look for support, as many are currently worrying about the security of their roles, while new research has also revealed pressure from jobs is a problem for more employees now than 60 years ago.

To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development commissioned a Work Audit investigating how the work situation of Britons has changed since the monarch’s coronation in 1952.

Although job satisfaction was found to be higher than it was 60 years ago, the latter decades of Elizabeth II’s reign have seen increased levels of stress among personnel.

Read the full story:

http://blog.youatwork.com/2012/02/06/supportive-employee-services-needed-to-reduce-workplace-stress/