Blog – Page 5

Do you have a two-class organization?

It’s no secret that the last two years have been challenging for employers. Early in the pandemic, all businesses except essential businesses were required to shut down. Then as COVID continued, and various states had widely varying standards for workplaces, many organizations had some or all employees working remotely, and essential workers continued to work on premises. As the COVID environment wore on, many organizations had some employees work from home and some come to the workplace, and it made sense. However, in implementing these survival measures and allowing greater flexibility for employees, did we set the stage for two classes of employees; and if so, what can we do about it? [Read more…]

Gaining an Advantage in Recruiting and Retention

Many employers are reeling from the high number of resignations and the unprecedented difficulty of hiring new employees. It’s a “seller’s market” out there for hiring and retaining employees, and those employees are making organizations pay. Over the past two years, employees learned a great deal about themselves, their families, and their needs for work-life balance. They have demands that we must meet if we want to attract and retain them, and in many cases the competition for employees is unrelenting. [Read more…]

The Great Resignation: 6 Steps for Gaining Control

Inc. Magazine recently reported that between April and September of 2021, more than 15 million workers left their jobs in what is being called The Great Resignation. It’s possible that your organization has been immune to this trend; but whether it has been or not, there are key, practical, timely steps you can be taking right now to reduce or prevent undesirable turnover in your company.

I started using this process in a client location years ago when it was experiencing a 30+% annualized turnover. The client liaison wanted me to help plan and implement cross functional work teams in the location because the locations I worked in inherently experienced lower turnover and higher employee satisfaction. But this location was a mess, and I knew we had to stabilize the turnover situation before trying to implement any large-scale change initiative. The process works just as well in the current environment as it did before the COVID pandemic.

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3 Key Practices for Compassionate Accountability

The other day, a manager asked me, how long do we have to keep being compassionate and understanding? When can we go back to the way it used to be? I laughed and said, “We may never go back to the way it used to be.” Even though the pandemic shows the first signs of waning, uncertainty still abounds. Leaders and employees across all levels of the hierarchy tell me they are worn out and burned out. McKinsey, HBR, Kron Ferry: the experts are telling us that compassionate accountability is here to stay. Some managers and leaders fear that compassionate accountability means not getting results—that it means giving in and weakening standards and deadlines. It doesn’t have to. [Read more…]

How to Make Accountability Compassionate

In recent months, we’ve heard more about compassionate leadership than ever before. We’re 18 months into a horrible pandemic experience, and we’re still juggling remote, hybrid, and office-based work. Many organizations have delayed their Return to Work plans. Employees – from executive leadership to front-line employees in client organizations – tell me they are zoomed out and burned out, and many have experienced tragic situations.

At the same time, the work goes on and we need to meet deadlines and goals. Managers I talk to understand the need for compassion and coaching employees through the continuing difficult time, but they struggle to balance that against accountability when getting results is vital. How can managers strike this balance to make accountability compassionate?

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4 Emerging Models for Return to Office

In recent weeks, many organizations have developed their strategies and plans for the “Return to Work”(RTW) or “Return to the Office”(RTO), a large percentage of which have created hybrid work plans. The plans are in response to research that shows employees want flexible work and on average want to work remotely three days a week. Additionally, research indicates that a large percentage of employees will go elsewhere if employers do not provide significant flexibility. [Read more…]

Must Flexible Work be Hybrid?

Over the past couple of months, I have been helping clients develop strategies and plans for the “Return to Work”(RTW) or “Return to Office” (RTO). Many employers want their employees to return to the office, believing the office environment is an integral part of their cultures. However, more than half of employees want to work from home three days per week, and recent research indicates that employers may very well lose those employees if they don’t provide flexible, hybrid work. [Read more…]

Zoomed Out? A Meeting Strategy for Hybrid Work

I think it’s safe to say that many of us are still “Zoomed out” from the pandemic. I certainly am. And I cannot begin to count the number of times in the last year when I heard someone say, “that Zoom meeting could have been an email” or “that meeting should have been a phone call.” As many organizations develop and implement hybrid plans as part of the “Return to Work,” we have an opportunity to re-set–to plan and implement meeting strategies that respect employees’ time and energy.

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3 Guiding Principles for Making Hybrid Work

As we continue to emerge from COVID, employers are planning their employees’ return to work. Many employers have already opened their doors for the return of employees, but how they return to the office and the flexibility provided by employers will determine the degree of success in the Return to Work. How important is creating an effective plan for hybrid work? Very important. Most employees want to work from home at least three days per week, and a large percentage of them will evaluate whether they stay with their current employers based upon their employer’s plan. There are three guiding principles that form the foundation for a successful Return to Work Plan. [Read more…]

8 Key Steps to Plan for Hybrid Work

8 Key Steps to Plan for Hybrid Work

Different experts predict that roughly 80-90 percent of employers plan to have their workforces return to the office during Q3 of this year, most with hybrid work, and employees are feeling anxious about it. There are three reasons. Part of the anxiety stems from burnout from the entire COVID work-from-home experience, with employees feeling as if they must be “on” all the time. Second, there is the stress and uncertainty over the culture shock of going back to an environment where employees have not been for 15 months. Third, employees are reporting that their employers have not communicated the vision for the return to work/hybrid work, much less the details.

[Read more…]