Smile and your workers smile with you
How you treat your workers will largely dictate how they will treat your clients and customers, writes Art Petty. "Employees mirror the treatment they receive from their leader," Petty writes. "Give your employees a reason to smile."
For the complete article, please follow the link:
It’s no coincidence that Steven Slater, the now-famous JetBlue employee, has been elevated to the status of a working person's hero. He did what so many frustrated employees would love to do, if only they had the courage, the beers, and the inflatable slide to help them escape a less-than-pleasant office environment.
It should come as no surprise, though, that the most successful businesses are the ones that work the hardest to please their employees, and it's up to managers to make sure they're giving their staffs what they want to the best of their abilities.
For more, go to:
Don't ban your workers from keeping tabs on the competition
Corporate leaders shouldn't freak out if employees talk to their counterparts at rival firms, writes Leonard Fuld. Information is a two-way street, and companies that ban workers from contact with competitors risk isolating themselves -- or, worse, creating a culture of mistrust in which employees do what they must to gather information, but then lie about it to their bosses. "Such unrealistic rules are no more likely to stop the flow of competitive information than Prohibition stopped the flow of liquor," Fuld writes.
For the full article, follow the link:
The best bosses don't beat around the bush
To lead people effectively, it's important to be direct, decisive and disciplined, says former Hearst Magazines chairwoman Cathleen P. Black. Debate and deliberation are useful up to a point, Black says, but difficult decisions should be dealt with as swiftly as possible to keep problems from festering. "The point is to solve it right now, and don't let stuff simmer overnight. Don't let it linger," she says.
For the complete interview, go to:
Cathleen P. Black, on Career Risk-Taking — Corner Office - NYTimes.com
How the best companies really get things done
Companies must embrace the spirit of innovation and involve employees in decision-making, writes Richard Lepsinger, president of OnPoint Consulting. "Involving people in decisions gets them focused on generating solutions to problems rather than complaining or waiting to be told what to do," he writes. "If your employees don't have a sense of ownership, nothing truly great can occur."
For the complete post, go to:
5 secrets of companies that execute well | SmartBlog on Workforce
Google's decision to hand out companywide bonuses and to boost employee salaries 10% in an effort to retain key workers may be a waste of money, August Turak writes. Research shows that to drive satisfaction and productivity in the long term -- and hang on to talent -- workers need to feel a greater sense of purpose in their work. "We are actually most satisfied when we are sacrificing for something worthwhile," Turak writes.
For the complete article, go to:
Study suggests that keeping wary workers engaged may be as simple as granting flextime or approving a title change.
Keeping employees engaged in the midst of layoffs, pay cuts and a skittish economy can be difficult. A new study suggests that organizations should adopt policies that address different generations of workers' needs, rather than attempting one-size-fits-all fixes.
For the complete article, go to:
Report: Workers' Needs Vary By Age - small business - productivity - employee engagement
One of the things that continues to surprise me is that when times are bad, organizations still spend money on employee engagement surveys. What are they expecting these surveys to tell them? You only need to walk around the office or factory and listen into some tea room discussions to find out that employees are not engaged because they are worried about their jobs.
This leads us to two major issues to consider during tough times. The first is how we inspire confidence and innovation in an organization that appears to be in freeze mode. The second is what you should measure as an indicator of employee engagement.
For more, go to:
The vast majority of senior executives admit that employee disengagement is one of the biggest threats facing their business. But despite this, issues round morale and motivation are rarely discussed at board level and most companies simply choose to ignore the problems caused by disengaged staff.
According to a new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, more than eight out of 10 top executives in companies across Europe and the Middle East view disengagement as one of the three biggest threats to their business.
For the complete article, go to:
Use sticky notes to become a better boss in 2011
It's the time of year when business leaders start taking stock of their achievements and making sweeping plans for the months to come -- but most people won't follow through on their good intentions, writes Marla Tabaka. To keep your goals in mind in the New Year, try plastering your office walls with sticky notes of various sizes and colors.
For more go to:
Improving internal communications at Salesforce.com required providing more support to managers, says Jeremy Henderson, director of internal communications. Adopting an internal social-media network just for managers has been particularly productive, he said. "Using internal social media breaks down silos, encourages collaboration and connects people in a meaningful way," Henderson said.
For the complete post, go to:
How Salesforce.com puts managers at the center of internal communications | SmartBlog on Workforce
Talented but arrogant workers may think they're worth their weight in gold, but they're not always worth the headaches, experts say. Lew Bayer, president and CEO of Civility Experts Worldwide, recommends gauging the true cost of obnoxious employees by keeping track of their time drain -- whether it's management hand-holding or sick days racked up by co-workers trying to avoid uncomfortable situations.
For the complete article, go to:
Hell hath no fury like a sidelined employee
Managers who deliberately leave certain workers out of the loop, whether for strategic, political or pragmatic reasons, could be causing themselves major headaches down the line, writes Heidi Grant Halvorson, a motivational psychologist. Sidelined employees don't just get annoyed, they start questioning the foundations of their workplace relationships, Halvorson writes. "The short-term gains could be far outweighed by the significant losses of trust, cooperation, loyalty and motivation you create," she warns.
For the complete article, go to:
Understand the true cost of leaving people out | SmartBlog on Workforce
There are always awkward moments when a company's new hire is younger than the team he or she is managing.
Older employees who thought they were in the running for the same position may feel slighted, others may assume youth amounts to inexperience, or they may not be bothered. Often though, the experience tends to be just as uncomfortable for the new boss who is aware of joining a closely knit team, not only as an outsider but a young one at that.
For the complete article, go to:
10 Ways to Manage Employees that Are Older Than You : Managing :: American Express OPEN Forum
Opinion: Labor Department plan will bring new pressure on employers
The "operating plan" for the Labor Department's Office of the Solicitor could result in enforcement officers from multiple agencies showing up at business sites, in greater use of the courts to enforce rules and a policy of "shaming" businesses into compliance, writes John Fund. The Labor Department plan comes as liberal groups are urging the Obama administration to use executive orders and rule-making authority in the face of a Republican-led Congress.
For the complete article, go to:
How does a company get on the list of the top 25 best small-business workplaces? Jill J. Morin, CEO of serial award winner Kahler Slater, has a few suggestions: Build trusting relations, encourage respectful collaboration and have regular "creativity fire drills."
For more, go to:
Make your workplace one of the “Best” | SmartBlog on Workforce
How does one get on the list of the top 25 best small-business workplaces? Jill J. Morin, CEO of serial award winner Kahler Slater, has a few suggestions: Build trusting relations, encourage respectful collaboration and have regular "creativity fire drills."
For the complete article, go to:
Make your workplace one of the “Best” | SmartBlog on Workforce
