You’ve probably heard the saying that a team is only as productive as its least productive member. This statement may not necessarily be true in every case imaginable, but nevertheless, all teams need to adopt certain practices to reach their full productivity potential. Let’s take a look at six initiatives you and your team can implement to reach peak productivity. Remember, though: productivity is not a constant. Even with all of these practices in ...
Read moreEmployee safety needs to be taken seriously, whether your organization employs a handful of people or is the workplace for dozens (or even hundreds) of professionals. "No business strategy can be effective if it doesn’t embed employee health, safety, and well-being into its DNA. You’ve made a foundational promise to your workers to take care of them," the authors of a 2020 Strategy + Business article remind us. Let us also remember that good ...
Read moreIf you want a high performing organization, you need to engage and inspire your middle managers. They are the key to employee engagement, according to research conducted for the UK Chartered Management Institute. This is even more important now during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. But middle managers, those whose team is on the frontline, need good lines of communication from top management in order to engage their own staff. Unfortunately, good contact ...
Read moreOrganizations need to ride out tough times. They need to adapt to changed conditions, and they need to communicate to all key stakeholders what the changed priorities are during difficult periods. The global financial crisis was clearly one of those times - and now the world is dealing with a pandemic health crisis. What sort of information is important to communicate during difficult times? It is important to get back to fundamentals and to ...
Read moreEmployees report on what they wanted from communication with them, in response to a survey conducted by international HR firm, Willis Towers Watson. The respondents detailed these expectations: Open and honest exchange of information Clear, easy-to-understand materials Timely distribution Trusted sources Two-way feedback systems Clear demonstrations of senior managers’ interest in employees continual improvements in communication Consistent messaging across sources. However, these expectations are not often met. For instance, the latest Gatehouse State of ...
Read moreResearch consistently shows a strong correlation between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Economics experts report from their global study that "Higher employee wellbeing [satisfaction] is associated with higher productivity and firm performance." They found "correlations between employee wellbeing, employee productivity and firm performance across all industries and regions." Writing a 2019 article for the World Economic Forum, George Ward and Christian Krekel from the London School of Economics, and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve from University ...
Read moreWe all have a fundamental need to belong. One way to achieve this is to connect people’s work with outcomes. When people know their work has a meaningful, positive impact on others, they are happier and more productive than those who don’t make a connection. How can a link best be established? Put a recipient or end user in front of a provider, and the beneficial change will happen, ie enable a worker to ...
Read moreWhy is it important for all managers to communicate well with their team members? It's because "the manager accounts for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units," according to the 'State of the American Manager report' 2017, by Gallup Inc., the world's biggest organizational analytics and advisory firm. Gallup consultants believe "Engagement should be a manager's primary role responsibility." [Keep in mind there are many different definitions of ...
Read moreA vital role for communicators is to tell all stakeholders, especially staff, about the decisions and the planned outcomes from the strategic planning process. Key messages need to be passed on consistently and effectively throughout the organization in a tailored way, not as mass-communication, head-office gloss or propaganda. Link the 'big picture' with the 'little picture' for employees The messages should link the ‘big picture’ with the ‘little picture’ so that staff can see ...
Read moreOne of the managers I admire tries to explain concepts by using a marker pen and whiteboard – in his office or in a larger venue. Vincent thinks visually. I look at what he has quickly presented on the whiteboard in his office and marvel at the way those concepts have become clearer through his use of visuals – diagrams, graphs, and little flow charts. What’s more – the whiteboard images can be quickly ...
Read moreThe Covid-19 pandemic has hit like the biggest earthquake the workplace landscape has ever experienced. Unlike any industrial or digital
The effects of the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic will last for years around the world. Communication professionals and organizational management need
Putting on a brave face. Many people are reluctant to reveal they need mental health counseling, so they pretend they
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