25
May

Fun gets results!

“The most wasted day is one in which we have not laughed” – Anonymous Some may scoff at this quote and insert “produces widgets/sales/results” instead of “laughed”, but fun can actually have a very positive impact on your business.   Take a look at successful organizations such as Zappos, SouthWest Airlines, …
20
May

Strategic Human Resources is critical to business success

As I was reviewing recent “Answers” on Linked In, I came across one that inspired this post.  An HR pro had posted a question asking what others would recommend as focus areas when starting or reviving HR in an organization.  An Operations Manager had answered the question by saying “None”, and going on to clarify that it …
13
May

Lessons in corporate culture from the Royal Wedding

Joanne Royce, An HR colleague from the HRPA Halton recently posted a great blog about lessons from the Royal Wedding.  Here are my thoughts: There are lots of ways that companies could have taken advantage of the Royal Wedding to engage employees. I heard of companies having “Royal Hat” day, and serving afternoon tea. At my company, we …
12
May

Want to motivate people? Don’t pay more…

If you are a compensation professional or a leader in any capacity, you need to watch this video  from Ted Talks, and read Drive by Dan Pink.  Talk about engaging hearts and minds!  For me, this helps to build a case for re-evaluating my company’s bonus structure and for the need for things like flex time, socially conscious programs, and …
09
May

Serving your Internal Customers

I think most leaders realize how important it is to provide great service to clients or customers. I often find, though, that some organizations forget about engaging and “serving” their internal customers – their employees. In fact, I would argue that the relationship that leaders cultivate with their employees is actually more important …
28
Apr

Storytelling to engage your team

I recently had an opportunity to participate in a webinar, led by Anecdote, a consultant firm out of Australia.  Anecdote specializes in storytelling to bring company’s strategies to life, and the webinar was about leveraging storytelling to build engagement.  I have never worked with Anecdote, so can’t tell you much about them but I can …
25
Apr

Engaging Orientation

When a new employee starts at your company, do they feel like you’ve rolled out the welcome mat or like they’re just another number? A new employee’s first few days can be critical to their longterm success and engagement.  They are gauging whether they’ve made the right decision to come and work for you and probably feeling …
19
Apr

Great Leaders know how to Receive Feedback as well as give it.

As leaders, we’re often giving our teams feedback that will help them grow and develop. But what happens when someone on your team gives you developmental feedback? How do you take it? I’ve seen several responses ranging from sarcasm to defensiveness to agreeing immediately and then using that feedback against the person later. Most recently, …