Happy Employees
The 4 stages of a new hire (but only use 3)
Congratulations: you hired someone new! And of course, they are the right person. Probably. Almost definitely. But, still, we need to have a conversation. New hire journey First of all: of course you do. It will take everyone time to learn the job, the business, the culture, and even what to do when the coffee…
Read MoreHow to give the people what they want: hr edition
“Organizations… are nothing more than the collective goodwill and aspirations of the people involved”. – Sergio Marchionne As a business owner, you are responsible for the collective goodwill, you are the vehicle for people to achieve those aspirations. You are, in short, responsible for a positive working environment. The workforce solutions company ManpowerGroup did the…
Read MoreStop punishing your best employees (😕yes you are)
Much like children or grandchildren: of course, you don’t have a favorite employee. You support them all equally and appreciate each one for their individual skills and talents. Now that we have established that, let’s look at how you are punishing your favorite employees. Who is your best employee There is somebody who is always…
Read MoreHire the right person the first time
Hiring is difficult. It’s complicated, and confusing, and will take a long time. Here’s one way to simplify your hiring: start with essential skills. What are essential skills? Essential skills are the skills you need for the job but don’t have time to teach. You can teach somebody how to use a hammer to hang…
Read MoreDo your employees understand what you are saying?
Businesses spend time and resources learning how to speak to clients. You do this through your copywriters, website designers, and messaging experts, all to make sure that your message is truly connecting. Now look inward: are you also connecting with your employees? Are they hearing the things you truly want them to hear? The good…
Read MoreYou only need two things to meet your goals ✌️
Motivation and support. When you have the motivation to do the thing, and the support to get it done, you have the perfect formula. Motivation means willingness, but it is more than that. Motivation is also the excitement of doing the thing, it means looking forward to it and being a reliable party. Support means…
Read MoreDid your employees mess up? It’s probably your fault.
Raise your hand if you ever had a roommate. Keep your hand up if you ever tried to pour yourself a glass of milk only to discover there were only 8 drops left. So you tell your roommate to please add milk to the shopping list when they finish it, and your roommate answers: “I…
Read MoreHow to be a good leader: (hint: know when you should follow 😉)
One way in which people demonstrate leadership is by knowing when to be followers. This was a lesson I picked up recently from listening to the McKay Interview podcast episode with Dr. Cynthia Cherrey and Professor Mike Hardy. (If you want to both feel and be smarter, spend some time with The McKay Interview). A…
Read MoreAn introduction to company culture
It’s not really a “thing”, it’s more of a concept. An abstract we can talk about but not physically build. Right? No that’s not right. Culture is when we put ping pong tables in the office and offer beer on tap and relaxation pods. Right? Is it when I let all my employees work from…
Read MoreHow to be specific and not too specific at the same time
Tell your employees exactly what is expected of them. But don’t tell them what to do. A client recently asked me how to balance these two instructions. We were building role descriptions and she wanted to know how to be specific enough that people knew what to do but also open enough that she wasn’t…
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