HRGuru

In order to prepare for the new workforce, understanding what makes them tick and tuning in to what is important to them will keep them longer and more satisfied. Generally speaking, Gen Xers are between the ages of 28-42, they don’t plan on staying with one job or company forever, and will not sacrifice their family for their job. Many were ...

In order to prepare for the new workforce, understanding what makes them tick and tuning in to what is important to them will keep them longer and more satisfied. Generally speaking, Gen Yers are between the ages of 18-28, they were heavily marketed to, and are more influenced by their peers. Many experienced family breakdown with the rise of divorce, are ...

We know about Gen X & Y – but who is Generation Z? (Is it too soon to consider them as a workforce?) Coming soon to an office near you… (If they aren’t there already). Nearly 70 million Generation Y employees are embarking on their careers, entering the workforce for the first time. In prior articles, we identified what Gen Y ...

by Donald N. Sull and Charles Spinosa (excerpted from the Harvard Business Review) By examining the commitments people make to colleagues and customers, executives can figure out why work stalls and how to get it moving again. Managers have a full set of tools for translating strategy into action. They can redraw their organization charts, redesign their business processes, realign employee ...

I found another study that demonstrates the strong link between employee engagement and the bottom line: this one from Watson Wyatt, a global consulting firm. (Note: I wrote previously about similar results from research conducted by Wharton and Towers Perrin.) Watson Wyatt’s 2007-2008 Global WorkAttitudes Report also examined the drivers of employee engagement across global regions and employee segments. Among its ...

With the current economic turbulence, employees are walking on egg shells wondering about their jobs. Fears about job security abound, and managers in almost all economic sectors are grappling with the question: How do you bolster employee morale and confidence when the future is so uncertain? I found some great management advice that addresses this question. According to Melcrum’s Source for ...

How many people do you know who use “Attitude Adjuster” as a business title? Kevin Burns does. He specializes in Corporate Personal Development, helping companies develop their people in order to develop better and stronger organizations. His work is based on the premise “that business gets better when the people in the business get better.” I met Kevin earlier this year ...

  Using outdoors as a classroom is interesting, fascinating and more importantly effective. The term outbound has been adopted from the Navy, where a ship is said to be outward bound when it leaves its shores to sail into the unknown, rough sea. Similarly when we go out in a camp, we leave our shore, i.e., the comfort zone of our ...

   Two  critical skills which the highest performing managers have in spades are the ability to influence and persuade. The most obvious targets for your powers of persuasion are your team, and sometimes your peers in different departments; but just as you need to manage down or sideways , it’s also critical you know how to manage upwards.  Do it well, ...

What's a manager to do about feelings in business? Why, manage them, of course. Not to mock your question in the slightest; we're dead serious. Because if there's one thing that doesn't get enough blame for undermining productivity, creativity, and the smooth functioning of business, it's the mismanagement of emotion in the workplace. Too many managers let people go, emotionally speaking, ...

Following is an interview with David Zinger, founder and host of the Employee Engagement Network. [Note: this interview is excerpted from Sybil F. Stershic’s Quality Service Marketing Blog on Internal Marketing & Internal Communications.] 1. In talking about employee engagement as something that “enriches everyone in the workplace,” you emphasize that “It is not sucking out more discretionary effort from ...

Concern for employees’ satisfaction is more than just a “feel good” aspect of management. Wharton professor Alex Edmans’ recent study confirms that happy workers positively impact financial success. His study examined the stock returns of companies from Fortune's “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” between 1998 and 2005 and found they had higher financial returns – more than double ...

To attract and retain talent in the 20 to 40 age cohort, consider “Straight-A Management” – a formula found in Rebecca Ryan’s book: Live First, Work Second. (Note: Ryan’s firm, Next Generation Consulting, is a market research firm focused on engaging young professionals.) Straight-A Management comes from David Richo’s book, How to Be an Adult in Relationships, and involves: • Acceptance ...

Towers Perrin's latest Global Workforce Study reported dismal findings on employee engagement levels. They define engagement as employees “willing to go the extra mile to help their companies succeed.” The study found only 21% of employees surveyed are engaged in their work. (Here’s a scary thought: if only one out of five employees are fully engaged, what are the others up ...

Walker Information’s 2007 Loyalty in the Workplace study found employee disloyalty is on the rise. The percentage of “high risk” employees (36%) – those who plan to leave their employer within the next two years – now outnumbers the percentage of loyal employees (34%). This trend is frightening when you consider the costs of lost productivity and high turnover. Walker also ...

Most businesses understand the impact that employees have on customers. The challenge is how to ensure that impact is a positive one. To effectively serve customers, how do you get employees to work with you rather than against you? An essential strategy to engage employees in customer care involves internal marketing – the application of marketing inside an organization to instill ...

It should be no surprise that the way people treat each other within an organization impacts how they ultimately treat external customers. In other words, good internal service drives good external customer service. How employees are treated is a reflection of an organization’s internal service culture. To assess your firm’s service culture, ask your employees: Would you refer a friend to ...

Most organizations have mission statements that articulate their purpose and reason for being. But how meaningful are they? Try this interesting two-part experiment: • If you were to randomly approach employees and ask them to repeat the company’s mission, how many would be able to repeat it? • Of the employees who can actually recite your company’s mission statement, how many ...

Reference site for mangers and employees. Features a number of major articles regarding the things that managers and employees need to do, or at least the issues they should consider in the soft skills area of their role. Articles on teamwork, leadership, communication, competence, power and effective work habits. There is a free blank interactive resume form, with examples, and resume samples ...

The war for talent. The coming brain drain. Mismanaged succession. In recent years, judging by steady increases in spending on talent management, workforce challenges like these have become top of mind for most companies, large and small. But what is the most productive way to invest in your workforce, and what are the chances you will see a tangible return? A ...