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‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Business Edition
December 14, 2018 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Teamwork, Trust
Photo by sea turtle on Flickr ''Twas the night before Christmas, all had left for the holiday break. But I was at the office stirring, for rarely a break did I take. Never resting, always doing. Not having fun, and burnout ensuing. With engagement low, and turnover high, Unless attitudes changed, my dream would surely die. If only my people were loyal and engaged in their responsibilities, And showed behaviors like teamwork, instead of showing their hostilities. For a change, I took a look at myself, and for the first time I did see, That the problem wasn't my employees,…
Employee Feedback: Sugar-Coated or Bad Medicine?
February 1, 2016 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership
Photo by Ramchandran Maharajapuram on Flickr I have to admit the title of this article forced me to listen to "Bad Medicine" by Bon Jovi and the song is still in my head (People younger than 40, YouTube it. Yes. Bon Jovi used to wear spandex and had big long hair). I have seen at least 2 articles in the Wall Street Journal which state in one way or another we should lessen the amount of negative feedback we give employees. The links can be found below: The Trouble with Grading Employees Everything is Awesome! Why You Can't Tell Your…
Work Environment Does Make A Positive Difference
July 29, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Trust
Photo by tifotter on Flickr When employees do not have the correct tools to do a job, they find "work arounds" to keep things moving. I have heard stories about nurse's using coffee makers to generate hot water to bathe patients because their facilities did not generate enough. I have seen workers shovel large amounts of gravel by hand for multiple days because the company's one payloader was broke down. Employees also clean their own work areas and empty their own trash because custodial services do not complete their tasks and management does not address the issue. I have seen crazy things done to a copier…
A Week To Honor Teachers
May 6, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Trust
Photo by Joanne Johnson on Flickr This week, we honor everyone that has accepted the profession/vocation/calling of being a teacher. We all probably had a teacher who made a profound effect on our lives....hopefully mostly positive effects. I was fortunate enough to have teachers such as Annette Freeman, Bill Munn, Sharon Bailey, Terry Lakes, Alan Erwin, Mike Buck, and David Tippey who not only held me accountable to the classroom work but also held me accountable to being a good citizen. This, I believe only spoke to the fact that they saw teaching as more than just a profession but also a higher calling.…
Handwritten Thank You Notes Are #1
April 9, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership
Photo by Rick Payette on Flickr Remember the days when we were excited to go to the mailbox with the prospect of receiving a letter, note, or card from someone? I have to admit that there are some people with whom I would have never stayed in touch if it hadn't been for e-mail and social networking. I have never been known for my written correspondence. Nonetheless, I believe it is still an important means of communication. In the year of 2015, I personally hope to increase the amount of written correspondence that leaves my desk. In my experience, people still…
Addressing Turnover Also Means Addressing Surprise Departures
April 3, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Trust
We've all known that turnover costs companies money, and high turnover costs companies lots of money. The costs depends on the industry and company's cost structure. We do know that turnover costs are derived from the cost of recruiting, training, and the cost of integrating employees into the organization. There are also soft costs that can be a little more tricky to quantify like the cost of grief of having a vacated position or the oppurtunity cost of losing out on other opportunities because of the lack of manpower. That is why it is so important to address turnover as it costs…
