March 20th was International Day of Happiness. Those celebrating had one united goal in mind: to create more happiness in the world around them. In today’s America — where happiness is dropping — it’s more important than ever to take…
Engagement
Can Culture Be as Simple as Just 19 Words?
It’s well understood that culture can make or break a workplace. Understanding what “culture” means, however, is a whole other matter. As a working concept, culture can’t be easily defined or measured. Merriam-Webster offers six different definitions (and even named…
Don’t Let ‘Meaning’ Be Missing From Your Engagement Strategy
Meaning is one of the five keys in building employee engagement and it may be the most powerful of the keys. The power in meaning comes because it is self-determined. Meaning is found when your work has purpose beyond the work itself. How…
What Exactly Is Employee Engagement?
Have you ever wondered why there were so many definitions of employee engagement? Organizations around the globe are striving to build a culture of engagement, yet the various definitions often cloud their efforts. Rewards and recognition, learning and development, health…
HR’s Role When Divorce Impacts Performance
Despite the general pattern of the divorce rate declining, there are still plenty of married couples who untie the knot. Doing so is obviously life-changing, but it can also have a severe impact on your career and ability to work…
When Money Isn’t Enough: 4 Drivers of Motivation
Most existing recognition and incentive programs have been designed utilizing traditional economic theories which suggest: People tend to act rationally and in their own best interests when making decisions Money is the most effective motivator This conventional approach (that rewarded…
5 Ingredients for a Successful ‘Goodness’ Program
It takes more than perks to attract, retain and engage today’s diverse, socially-conscious workforce. Purpose, passion and an ability to make an impact are important to employees — especially millennials, who are projected to make up 50% of the global…
Get Better Ideas, Higher Engagement and Even Improve Your Managers By Encouraging 2-Way Feedback
Every successful relationship works via a careful process of give and take. We need to learn how to express ourselves, our ideas, and our interests. Equally, though, we need to really listen. Proactive listening can prevent a lot of issues…
Recognition Can Help Connect People to Your Values and Mission
When it comes to mission and values, there are two ends of the spectrum. On one hand, you might be thinking: “Of course I care about my company’s mission and values!” As an HR professional, this is music to my…
HR 101: 5 Ways to Win Back Your Stressed Out Workers
According to a survey administered by Kronos and Future Workplace, 46% of human resource professional respondents (at organizations with 100 to over 2,500 employees) blame burnout for up to half of their staff quitting each year. The top three reasons…
Give Them Purpose by Giving Them a Fight Club
Many of today’s organizations find themselves in a death-spiral, speeding towards mediocrity. Worse, many a re already on the slippery slope to irrelevance. The free fall is fueled by the inability to attract, develop and retain the best talent of…
Everything You Wanted to Know About Pulse Surveys
Many organizations and survey software providers use the terms “employee pulse surveys” and “always-on survey” (or variations of always-on, such as “continuous feedback” or “real-time feedback”) interchangeably. While this makes sense on the surface, pulse surveys are technically more similar…
How HR Can Save Us from Employee Engagement’s #EpicFail
Our attempts to improve engagement have been an epic fail. This, according to the most recognized organization involved in this arena. In the Worldwide Employee Engagement Crisis, the Gallup Organization authors state: “Though there have been some slight ebbs and…
Is Team Building the Secret to Improving Engagement?
There are myriad factors that influence the productivity of any given organization. Employee engagement is one of the most crucial, thanks to its direct relationship to productivity. Organizational strategies and tactics implemented by progressive, productivity-minded HR executives can have a…
3 Stressed Workers Your Wellness Program May Be Overlooking
As more employers start investing in wellness benefits and initiatives, it’s important to understand their objectives. It’s no secret employees need help with managing their stress. SHRM’s annual benefits survey found more employers are offering wellness programs, while a MediKeeper…
Give ‘Thank You’ and ‘I Know’ a Rest
I did a piece a while back on how “thank you” can wear out its welcome in the workplace, and come off as insincere if overused. The law of diminishing returns says that the longer you rely on something for results, the…
5 Steps to Elevate Your Company From Good to Great to WOW!
“You can’t deliver a wow customer experience without delivering a wow employee experience,” says Janine Buis. That shouldn’t be news to any HR professional. Years ago — many years ago — Disney understood that the employees who swept the streets…
What Cisco Is Doing to Develop Better Leaders and Better Teams
The “Future of Work” is definitely a popular buzz word at the moment. What does it really mean? Across industries, we know that work is changing faster than people and organizations. The transition to digital is changing everything, from how…
3 Damaging Myths About Top Performers
Those of us in HR and management spend a lot of time discussing employees — particularly those employees who appear to be struggling. We look for ways to support and encourage them, to boost their performance, and to incentivize them…
How to Take Accountability from MESSY to MARVELOUS In 9 Steps
Who doesn’t want to move from a messy culture to one that’s marvelous? A culture that others and your own leaders marvel at? That’s where Dr. Richard Coughlan begins in this DisruptHR presentation from Richmond, VA, where he’s associate professor…