Embracing the Spirit of Summer at Work
Remember the excitement as a child when the summer months rolled around? When that last school bell rang, a sense of adventure and freedom was upon us as we looked forward to warm, sunny days. As adults, this desire is still within us – but our adult responsibilities get in the way. Sitting at our desks, attending countless meetings, all while gazing outside at blue skies can be a bit depressing. Therefore, it is not surprising that during the summer, employee motivation, job satisfaction, and productivity drop.
How can we combat this decline? Is it possible to balance the freedom of summer with the demands of work? The answer is…YES! Here are a few ideas…
Encourage Time Off
Do you have an employee who is not taking time off during the summer? If so, encourage them to do so – even if it is just a day or two. According to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics , 50% of American workers do not use the paid vacation time they are given. Taking time off helps us reduce stress, clear our minds, and return ready to take on the world (or at least that big client project!).
Promote Work Flexibility
Adding a little flexibility into how work gets done is a great way to embrace the summer spirit. 74% of employers offer some type of telecommuting arrangement, which is a great way to promote work flexibility.
Host Family Events
Consider a companywide picnic, field day, or trip to the local baseball game. Showing that you value family time positions the organization in a positive light for the significant others – which comes in handy when you ask employees to work late nights!
Today’s employees value organizations that embrace a work environment that supports employee well-being. Having a culture that promotes work-life balance and flexibility can result in a happy and healthy workforce – and a solid bottom line. Get out there and enjoy the sunshine with your employees…the child inside all of them will love you for it!
Reach out to us at https://www.successfulculture.com/contact/ to discover how we can help you design a balanced work-life culture, the supports the whole employee. Our SCALE Academy is the perfect place to start! Building cultures where everyone feels valued is what we do best.
Make Life at Work Better for Your Team
According to a recent Bersin Report, a major focus in the years ahead will be on human performance – a combination of how we think, feel, experience, and react to the world around us. People today are experiencing higher stress levels, pressure to do more in less time, and forced to juggle multiple priorities – all with a smile on their face. So, it’s not surprising to see employees disengaging and burning out. For example, the Bersin report shows:
- Employee engagement levels today are no higher than they were 10 years ago
- Productivity in the United States after the iPhone launch has slowed (ironic considering the device was meant to make us more productive)
- Employees in the United States take 4-5 days less vacation now that they did in 1998
- Almost 40% of employees believe it is impossible to maintain a growing career and sound family life
Work-life balance is important – but don’t overlook the importance of life at work. How do we as leaders make the work we offer one that encourages employees to perform at their best AND enjoy themselves while they’re doing it? What is good about life at work at your organization? What is not? How are you challengingyour employees to be their best? Consider adopting these strategies when assessing your company’s life at work:
Offer Purpose
We all crave to find a deeper meaning in the work we do – to have purpose, to contribute to something bigger than ourselves and to feel energized. How does the work you offer contribute to the small and big picture (company, industry, community, self)? Although this is often a personal journey, employers can support the importance of discovering purpose with their employees.
Embrace Mentoring
Having someone who helps you work through challenges, pushes you out of your comfort zone, and helps to define your career path is something many of us long for in our careers. Effective mentors are perfect for this and go a long way in keeping employees engaged and excited about the work they do.
In addition to these strategies, ensuring your employees have access to the resources they need and keeping the lines of communication open are always key to making life at work better. We spend a big chunk of our waking hours at work – shouldn’t making it a great experience be a top priority? We think so.
Reach out to us at https://www.successfulculture.com/contact/ to discover how we can help your organization make your organization’s life at work better. Our SCALE Academy is the perfect place to start! Building cultures where everyone can thrive is what we do best.
3 Powerful Ways Your Company Brand Fuels Your Culture
The ‘War for Talent’. I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase over and over – and perhaps, even have a battlefield story of your own. Today more than ever, companies are competing for talent – forcing employers to find ways to stand out from the pack. There is one thing that makes each company unique and should be the foundation for how you attract job seekers – your employer brand.
When you have a strong employer brand imbedded in your recruiting strategy, you find authentic ways to connect with and inspire the talent you need today and tomorrow. Today’s job seekers aren’t just looking for a J.O.B. – they want to work for a company with a culture that fits their goals, personality and values. If you brand speaks to this, you are more likely to attract the type of people that will fit into your culture – resulting in 50% more qualified candidates at your doorstep. Sounds amazing, right?
Well-known companies such as L’Oreal and Salesforce know how to position their employer brand in recruitment. But you don’t have to be a huge company to do this well – companies large and small made a recent top 10 list for winning at employer branding. So, what are these companies doing well? And, more importantly, how can you start doing it? Start off by considering the following strategies:
Careers Page
Your company’s career page should not just be a place where you list open positions (a thing of the past). Instead, use this as a platform to promote your company’s culture and values. This is your chance to connect to job seekers on an emotional level and make them want to work for you.
Your Employees
Words on a website are not enough. Use videos with testimonials from real, live employees – highlighting why they love to work for you or even show a ‘day-in-the-life’ of an employee. Let your employees do the talking. This connects job seekers to your people, giving it a personal touch.
Cohesive Message
Social media is your friend when it comes to promoting your employer brand. And with 79% of job seekers using social media in their job search (even higher for Millennials), this is a platform you just can’t ignore. Strive for a cohesive message across all social platforms with links back to your careers page – enticing job seekers to learn more. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are all fantastic platforms to engage and create a fan-following – building a candidate pipeline for the future.
Hiring great talent is not an easy task. With companies competing for the best and brightest, it is vital that you position your company in the strongest way possible. Your brand tells the world who you are as an organization. What is your story?
3 Ways Artificial Intelligence (AI) Can Improve Your Culture, Hiring, and Bottom Line
When it comes to differentiating your organization, leveraging technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) can strengthen and improve your culture, and increase operational efficiency and productivity, if it’s implemented in a thoughtful way that doesn’t disrupt workflow. Bill Gates said it best – “The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice, so it’s part of everyday life.”
Recruitment is one of the best applications for AI. Over the years, we’ve seen a gradual shift from traditional recruiting practices (think headhunter) toward automated, machine-driven features. AI is everywhere and is changing the game for recruiters. Chatbots, automated scheduling, gamification, and video-based assessments are all the rage. By 2020, it is predicted that 85% of customer interactions will be managed without a human. Whether we like or not, AI is here to stay and will continue to shape the way we interact with others.
But how can AI technology really help your recruiting function (and bottom line)? Consider these benefits:
- Increased Diversity (which has been linked to higher revenues)
Implementing AI in the recruitment process can help organizations achieve diversity goals – allowing the AI technology to rank and score candidates based on qualifications without bias creeping in. According to a recent Gallup study, the more diversity the better the organization with 14% higher average comparable revenue and a 15-fold increase in sales revenue for companies with high levels of gender and racial diversity.
- Increased Candidate Quality (which leads to less time and money spent sourcing talent)
Predictive algorithms are emerging as a great resource to identify the best candidates for your organization. Outside of what is on their resume, AI technology takes it a step further – assessing a person’s emotions, tone, word choice and behavioral gestures – giving us deeper insights into human behavior.
- AI and Your Culture (not just recruiting)
AI is not just for recruiting. In fact, an organization that embraces AI technology in its day-to-day activities, will promote a culture that is not afraid to try new things, is determined to stay on trend, and wants to offer the best experience for their employees – which just happens to be a culture today’s talent is looking to join.
One thing remains the same – recruiting is one of the most vital activities your organization undertakes. The people you hire will make or break your culture and business. Exploring innovative methods to find the best and brightest talent for your company should be top of mind.
Reach out to us at https://www.successfulculture.com/contact/ to discover how we can help hire and develop your people using today’s most cutting-edge techniques and resources. Our SCALE Academy is the perfect place to start! Building cultures where everyone feels valued is what we do best.
Soft skills make a difference in your culture – what matters to you?
You are sitting across the table from a job applicant. His resume checks off all the hard skills (e.g., technical knowledge, software skills, product knowledge, industry experience). But does he bring the soft skills needed? A common mistake employers make is assuming that just because someone has all the hard skills required, he or she will be successful.
However, soft skills are a critical piece of the hiring puzzle and should not be undervalued. All the experience in the world cannot replace the fundamental soft skills that your culture thrives on, so whether you are interviewing a seasoned exec or a recent college graduate, soft skills can make the difference between a bad hire or a future rock star.
Soft skills reflect how a person relates, listens, thinks, and collaborates with those around him. Employers are finding them increasingly important with 93% reporting soft skills as an “essential” or “very important” factor when considering a candidate. These skills can be challenging to screen for during the hiring process (and even harder to teach after the new hire has started). However, once you know the soft skills that are important to your company, you can design your selection process to reflect those qualities.
Here are a few steps to consider:
Know Which Soft Skills You Need
There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to assessing soft skills. Instead, it’s best to focus on the characteristics that drive the business forward. Consider your corporate culture, your industry, and your unique business.
What soft skills do the most successful people in your organization exude? Are they effective communicators?
Do they collaborate well and rally the troops when you need it most? Identify what skills are most important to your organization and then build them into your hiring process.
Ask the Right Questions
When structuring your interview questions, be sure to ask behavioral-based questions that drill down into the soft skills you have identified. Questions such as ‘Give me an example of how you have changed your approach in order to communicate more effectively with someone’, or ‘Tell me about a major project that you are proud of and why’ are great questions to uncover a candidate’s soft skills.
Add a Soft Skills Assessment to Your Hiring Recipe
There are a variety of assessments on the market that look at factors such as compassion, humility, emotional intelligence, motivation, and countless other soft skills. Find one that fits well with your needs. Just make sure the assessment serves as only part of the puzzle – not a deal breaker.
As the dynamic of our world of work continues to evolve, many top soft skills will remain the desirable – serving as the foundation to success regardless of where we work. When you focus on hiring the right mix of cultural fit, soft skills, and experience, you are sure to hire a winner for your team.
Reach out to us at https://www.successfulculture.com/contact/ to discover how we can help your organization identify the right mix of soft skills to
What does your employee’s well-being say about your culture?
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a focus on employee well-being and improving ‘life at work’ – recognizing the importance of supporting the mental, physical and emotional health of our workforce. Afterall, our mental and physical energy drives our ability to think, act and create. Although offering a wellness program is often made with the best of intentions, these programs often fall short because one key element was overlooked – the role of the organization’s culture.
What does that mean? Well, think of it this way…If you tell people to get an annual physical, but do not offer programs that address health concerns or foster a culture that is inactive, how are you really helping them? At the end of the day, you cannot force someone to participate; however, the more you tie your program back to your culture and what fits within your organization, the better is will be received. Unlike the movie Field of Dreams, employee wellness initiatives cannot have a ‘build it and they will come’ approach. There’s more to it.
Don’t believe me? Consider these wellness stats: Although 85% of companies offer a wellness program, only 60% of employees are even aware it exists – and of those who know it exists, only 40% participate. To be successful, your wellness program must have strong leadership support, reflect the company’s cultural beliefs and values, and address the whole employee (social, emotional, mental and physical health).
So how can you weave your culture into your wellness initiative? Try some of these great ideas:
- Get Moving! Consider adopting stand-up meetings vs having everyone sitting as usual. Or conduct a walking meeting if it is just with one or two others. In fact, walking meetings are linked to increased creativity! Steve Jobs knew this as he preferred to conduct important business meetings while on a walk. The more we move, the more creative and engaged we can be.
- Skip the Donuts! Ok, maybe not every time given they are a crowd pleaser, but make sure to offer healthy snacks that are packed with the nutrition our bodies need when working long hours on a critical project.
- Reward & Recognize! Your employees are working hard on their wellness – reward them for their effort! And make it public to show your support and commitment to a healthy culture. Receiving positive feedback is a great way to boost emotional health.
The wellness of your employees matters. It is not only human to care about others – especially those that give us their time, ideas and energy day in and day out – but creating a culture of wellness will inevitably impact your bottom line – enabling your organization to be more productive, more creative, and just a great place to work for all.
Reach out to us at https://www.successfulculture.com/contact/ to discover how we can help your organization design a wellness program that reflects your cultural values to best engage your employees. Our SCALE Academy is the perfect place to start! Building cultures where everyone feels valued is what we do best.
When It Comes to Rewards & Recognition Programs, Culture and Timing is Everything.
The Boston Red Sox are World Series Champions! Years of hard work, dedication, and drive culminated this past week – end result? Trophies, championship rings, banners, confetti, bubbly, praise – celebration for a job well done. Did the players have to wait long for these rewards? Not at all. The world was right there ready to reward them in real time (well, maybe not the L.A. Dodger fans!). What a letdown if everyone had to wait 6 months to celebrate!
In the workplace, the timing of rewards and linking the program to your culture is everything when it comes to offering a rewards and recognition program that delivers real impact.
In recent years, we’ve experienced a shift from traditional once-a-year performance reviews to a more continuous performance management model . This shift has brought about a new challenge as many organizations have not adjusted their rewards and recognition programs to fit this new approach. According to a study published by Deloitte, 40% of companies have re-engineered performance management, yet only 5% believe they have best-of-breed reward programs and worse yet, 74% say their programs are ‘out of date’. The result? Employees are not being rewarded in real-time for the efforts. The shine wears off by the time the reward catches up.
To design a best-in-class rewards and recognition program that fits your culture and motivates your employees, consider the following:
- Your culture should be the driving force behind your rewards and recognition program. Base your rewards around the shared values, beliefs and mission of your organization.
- Reward in real-time and even on-the-spot for outstanding performance. Gone are the days of rewarding for performance only at the annual review cycle.
- Offer a well-rounded strategy that considers both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of your employees.
- Make rewards personal. Reward programs need to speak to all people. Offer rewards that fit your culture and that all of your employee can love.
Employee rewards and recognition programs can strengthen your organization’s culture, employee engagement and overall performance. Reach out to us at https://www.successfulculture.com/contact/ to discover how we can help your organization design a best-in-class program that fits your culture perfectly. Our SCALE Academy is the perfect place to start! Building cultures where everyone feels valued is what we do best.
Are Your Leaders of Tomorrow Ready…Today?
As a leader, one of the most important things you can do is groom the next generation as capable of continuing your vision – or better yet, transform it into something even better than you could have imagined. When leaders fail to develop those around them, no one wins. Top talent leaves for greener pastures and businesses struggle to grow. Take it from Seattle Genetics, Amazon or any of the other companies voted as having the best training and development programs – when your leadership training program is done right, job satisfaction levels increase, you promote more from within and have better retention overall. Everyone wins.
Need more convincing? Consider this – 63% of Millennials do not believe their leadership skills are being fully developed and are likely to leave an employer for an opportunity to better develop those skills. Possibly more shocking – in a study reported in Forbes, 58% of managers said they did not receive any type of management training for their current role – inferring they may be good at their job, but have no direction on how to lead others. So what’s a business leader to do? Here are a few things to consider when designing your leadership training program…
Leadership Training that Fits Your Culture
Developing a leadership training program does not happen overnight – it takes careful planning and execution to ensure you have a program that fits your culture. Some skills are universal to becoming a strong leader such as being a great communicator , knowing how to delegate, and executing against the “big picture”. However, make sure to look to your culture for additional skills and behaviors that represent a good leader in your organization. A great resource for this is your people. As them “As an emerging leader, what skills do you want to personally develop?”
Offer Internal Mobility
Don’t limit your employee’s vision of what growth opportunities are possible. Becoming a great leader is not a straight path up the org chart. Instead, encouraging internal mobility and cross-department training is a great way to give your next generation leaders hands-on experience. Understanding how the business operates from different vantage points creates a well-rounded leader.
Maximize the Learning Experience
To maximize the learning experience, learning content needs to be user-friendly and personal. Traditional classroom training can be highly effective; however, with today’s mobile app capability and introduction of AI, learners are increasingly pushing for “on-the-go”, individualized training. Riding the train to and from work, flying to a client meeting, or on their own time, employees today love the flexibility that on demand learning provides.
As with any program, the success (or lack thereof) often depends on whether or not the program has support from the top (that means you!). Executive leadership support shows your leaders of tomorrow that you are committed to their development and growing the organization.
Developing a leadership training program is the perfect way to create a culture of continuous learning, which will benefit your organization today, tomorrow and beyond. Reach out to us at https://www.successfulculture.com/contact/ to discover how we can help your organization develop a leadership training program that develops and retains your top talent too. Our SCALE Academy is the perfect place to start! Building cultures where everyone thrives is what we do best.
Want Better Results? Be a Better Leader. Better Yet, Be a Coach.
The world’s greatest leaders have something in common – the ability to engage, inspire and connect with those around them. From leaders on the championship court such as LeBron James to those at the top of forward-thinking organizations like Sheryl Sandberg, they have a way of rallying others to produce outstanding results.
The way you lead has a direct impact on your organization’s culture. Consider this…according to a report in USA Today, nearly one-third of employees reported that their bosses hurt company culture and roughly 25% said that their manager didn’t care about them as a person. Your leadership style has a direct impact on performance, engagement, and how others view your organization.
But what makes a great leader? Traditional leadership models continue to be challenged in today’s modern workplace. Modern leaders resemble that of a coach, yet many leaders today still don’t know what this looks like. According to an article in Inc. magazine, 93% of managers feel they need training on how to coach their employees. There are many elements to being a great coach in today’s modern workplace – here are few of my favorites:
- Be a coach, not a dictator
John Wooden said it best, “Make sure that the team members know they are working with you, not for you.” A leader today needs to be viewed as part of the team – not someone who is dishing out orders from behind a desk. Roll up your sleeves and get into the trenches with a collaborative style. Know when to be hands-on and when to let your team run with it. Cultures should be designed around networks, squads or teams – not a traditional top-down hierarchy.
- Practice involved detachment
According to research by DeLoitte, recent shifts in organizational design models require a different kind of leader – one who embraces a fluid, collaborative culture. Practice involved detachment…let your team members set their own goals and get to the end on their own. As General Stanley McChrystal shared, “A leader isn’t good because they’re right; they’re good because they’re willing to learn and trust”.
- Cultivate your digital mindset
As the world evolves, leaders need to embrace a digital mindset and coach their teams to do the same. Research by Josh Bersin indicates that much like the technologies that power our organizations, leadership needs to “be” digital. Be adaptable, try things before you have all the answers, and form a healthy relationship with risk.
Bobby Knight once said “To be as good as it can be, a team has to buy into what you as the coach are doing. They have to feel you’re a part of them and they’re a part of you.” This philosophy holds true on and off the court. Leaders shape the culture of their organizations. The time is now to be an inspiring, collaborative, and empowering leader – coaching your team to the finish line.
Looking to sharpen your leadership style and create your best culture? Reach out to us here. We love helping our clients grow into the leaders they were destined to be, and build their most successful organizations. We want to do the same for you.
Three Steps to Living Audaciously: Setting Your Lifetime Legacy Mission
My lifetime legacy mission (LLM) is to educate, equip, & empower 100 million entrepreneurs & leaders worldwide to reach their greatest personal & organizational potential.
In my last two speaking engagements, I watched the audience’s reactions as the conference coordinator read my bio aloud. People were taken aback. They raised their eyebrows and smiled in surprise.
During my remarks, I put my lifetime legacy mission into perspective:
- There are approximately 400 million entrepreneurs in the world, so my goal only reflects 25% of that population.
- I’m only 48, so I estimate I have another 40 years ahead of me to make my impact.
- There are so many ways to reach people globally today. Between my writing, speaking, online products (in development), merchandising line (in development), and consulting, I should be able to touch a lot of people.
- Even if I achieve only 50% of my goal, I’m still impacting 50 million people, which isn’t so shabby.
Here is what I know for sure: If I don’t envision it, and put it out there, it will never happen.
- Elon Musk (Founder of PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla)
- Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon)
- Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook)
- Steve Case & Ted Leonsis (Founders of AOL)
These are just a few audacious thinkers who have committed to changing the world.
Why shouldn’t you think big? Because someone else may find your idea to be grandiose? Because you sound unrealistic? Are those really reasons to limit our thinking?
“Thinking realistically is the quickest path to mediocrity.” ~Will Smith
I can’t remember the exact day when I committed to my LLM, but I do know this: everything changed the day I committed.
When I start to get tired, I remind myself of why the little things matter. When I doubt myself, or question why I am doing what I am doing, I reach back to my LLM, and the possibility of helping so many others live up to their potential.
You can set an LLM too, and here is how you do it.
- Think about what fuels you. What creates a fire inside of you? When an opportunity presents itself, or when you have achieved a specific result, how does that impact you emotionally, physically, and spiritually?
- Think about your success without limits. If you had absolutely no constraints (money, time, resources, energy), what would success look like for you? Think BIG. Think audaciously.
- Craft your LLM using this format:
My lifetime legacy mission is to:
1: Insert Verb
2: Follow that with the number of people you want to impact
3: Follow that with the target population you will impact
4: Follow that with how you will impact them
Your LLM should be connected to what you are doing every day. If it’s not, you need to re-evaluate what you are doing every day, and how you are spending your valuable time.
As a Melanoma survivor, I have a very healthy respect for mortality. Our lives pass by in the blink of an eye. Every day you should LOVE what you are doing. If you don’t, what is holding you back?
Your LLM begins with the mindset that you are capable and worthy of living a life that delivers joy, fulfillment, and impact to yourself and everyone you touch.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~Marianne Williamson
Your LLM is inside of your heart & spirit right now. “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world.”
My hope is that as I let my own light shine, I am unconsciously giving you permission to do the same. As I am liberated from my own fears of failure, loss, and disappointment, my hope is that my presence automatically liberates you.
Today, commit to developing your LLM. I would love to hear your mission. Please email me your LLM at [email protected] and indicate if I have permission to share.
The world needs your light!
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About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.
Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected]
Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).
Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”
