Thursday, April 30, 2009

Skills training failing to meet employee needs

Without continued training and skills development many Americans believe their current workplace skills will be outdated within the next five years, according to a recent global workplace survey by Kelly Services.

The survey found that more than three-quarters of Americans surveyed predict that their job skills will be outdated within five years and believe the training currently provided by their employers will fail to meet their future career needs.

“Many organizations in an effort to cut expenses may eliminate or reduce training opportunities, but this will cause businesses to become less innovative and without the capacity to compete,” says Mike Webster, Kelly Services Executive Vice President and General Manager.

As revealed in the survey, people across all generations in the workforce depend on training and development to stay competitive in the changing labor market.

People’s views regarding their workplace skills varied in different regions of the U.S., according to the survey:

  • Workers in the West are most concerned about their skill sets, with 82% worried that they are becoming outdated.
  • People living in the Northeast are the most confident that their current skill levels are sustainable.
  • Gen Y workers (18 to 29 years old) living in the West and Midwest are the most worried about their workplace skills.
  • Gen X workers (30 to 47 years old) are more concerned about the adequacy of their skills than any other age group in the U.S.
  • Workers in the South are the most satisfied with the quality of training provided by their employers.
  • More than half of the Baby Boomer generation (aged 48 to 65) feel they have been let down by their employer’s human resources departments in managing their careers. Workers in the Northeast are the most critical in this area.

The majority of those surveyed (77%) believe that training should be a joint responsibility between employers and employees. The workers surveyed said they most prefer on-the-job training (42%), followed by professional development courses (26%), self-initiated learning (20%) and formal university or college courses (12%).
“The current economic environment has made people very aware of their skills and whether they will be sufficient to survive the recession and beyond, into a period of economic recovery,” Webster says.

Do you think our current economic situation has put an added significance on employee training and skills development? Are you concerned that your current workplace skills will become outdated in the coming years?

Leave a comment and let us know.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Summer teen safety issues on the horizon

Memorial Day, the unofficial summer kick off, is only weeks away and has many businesses looking to hire some extra help from the pool of eager students wanting to turn their free time into cash.

As businesses welcome the added help and teens look forward to the extra money in their pockets, there are some serious issues for every organization to consider before hiring anyone under the age of 18.

An estimated 200,000 teenagers are injured on the job every year and nearly 70 die from work-related injuries, according to federal statistics. Teens have a significantly higher rate of workplace injuries than that of adults, despite child labor laws restricting young workers from hazardous jobs and the penalties employers face if found negligent.

Last year’s changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that increased penalties for child labor violations have made teen safety more important than ever. Employers may be penalized up to $50,000 for the death or serious injury of an employee under the age of 18, with the possibility of up to $100,000 in penalties for repeated or willful violations.

With the summer job season right around the corner, businesses must be aware of the laws protecting teen workers and prepared to provide young workers with the most comprehensive on-the-job safety training.

Start getting your teen safety training program up to par with these online resources:

  • Youth Job Safety - Developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Youth Job Safety campaign is a one-stop shop for employers, teen workers, educators and parents to find valuable information on keeping teens safe at work.

  • Youth@Work: Talking Safety - The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) put together the Youth@Work program to provide a foundation curriculum in on-the-job safety and health for young workers. The site lists customized state guides, addressing state-specific rules and regulations, that can be used to supplement any teen safety training program.

  • YouthRules! - The DOL’s online resource providing information on federal and state labor laws that apply to young workers, including the hours young employees can work, the jobs they can legally do, and tips to prevent teen workplace injuries.
(NIOSH) put together the Youth@Work program to provide a foundation curriculum in on-the-job safety and health for young workers. The site lists customized state guides, addressing state-specific rules and regulations, that can be used to supplement any teen safety training program.

Always prepare early for seasonal help and have a safety training program in place well before your organization hires teens for summer work. Ensure that your business stays protected by training teen workers on the importance of safety in the workplace from the first day they walk through your doors.

To help your business avoid costly child labor violation fines and provide a safe working environment for young workers, take a look at the ComplyRight Now E-Guide: Teen Safety in the Workplace. The downloadable guide provides concise, legally sound advice to help your business navigate and comply with the latest changes to federal child labor laws and regulations.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Training is key to preventing the flu at work

As of this morning, there have been 64 confirmed cases of swine flu in the U.S., including 45 in New York City, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In response to the intensifying outbreak, President Barack Obama said that swine flu is a cause for concern, but not a cause for alarm. Because government officials don’t yet know how widespread the flu may be in the U.S., they are focused on aggressive planning and precautions.

The CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have developed a planning checklist for businesses, especially large businesses, to use in the case of a swine flu pandemic.
“In the event of pandemic influenza, businesses will play a key role in protecting employees' health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society,” the agencies said in a statement at PandemicFlu.gov. “Planning for pandemic influenza is critical.”

Along with how a pandemic could impact business operations, the checklist also includes valuable information that any organization can use to educate and inform employees on the dangers of the flu.

Officials suggest that businesses complete these tasks to communicate to and educate employees:

  • Develop and disseminate programs and materials covering pandemic fundamentals (e.g. signs and symptoms of influenza, modes of transmission), personal and family protection and response strategies (e.g. hand hygiene, coughing/sneezing etiquette, contingency plans).
  • Anticipate employee fear and anxiety, rumors and misinformation and plan communications accordingly.
  • Ensure that communications are culturally and linguistically appropriate.
  • Disseminate information to employees about your pandemic preparedness and response plan.
  • Provide information for the at-home care of ill employees and family members.
  • Develop platforms (e.g. hotlines, dedicated websites) for communicating pandemic status and actions to employees, vendors, suppliers, and customers inside and outside the worksite in a consistent and timely way, including redundancies in the emergency contact system.
  • Identify community sources for timely and accurate pandemic information (domestic and international) and resources for obtaining counter-measures (e.g. vaccines and antivirals).

Educating and training employees on the dangers of the flu, including swine flu, is the best way to prevent illness within your organization and calm employees’ fears about a potential outbreak at work. Be prepared to answer employees’ questions and concerns, and prepared to squash any misinformed rumors that may be circling the office.

Whether your business is preparing for a natural disaster like a hurricane or flood, or a health crisis like the flu, your success will ultimately be determined by the information and training your workforce receives. Ensure that everyone in your organization knows what to do during a crisis. Your business depends on it.

Is it time for businesses to start getting involved? Is your company actively preparing for a swine flu outbreak? What types of informational materials/training have you provided employees with?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Sustainable training: The new way to go green at work

Over the past few years, businesses across the country have been doing their part to reduce their carbon footprint in the earth by going green at work. Whether the motivating factors involve cutting costs or getting an edge on the competition, more are discovering the benefits of sustainability in business.

As part of their overall corporate green strategy, businesses may change the way they manufacture products or start buying recycled printing paper, but they may be overlooking one key area that could have a major impact on their green strategy -- the training department.

By not only training employees to learn new, greener ways to work, training departments can become leaders within any organization through the use of environmentally friendly training methods.

The definition of sustainable training will differ from business to business. A manufacturing company may be focused on reducing emissions, while a software development company is more focused on reducing waste in the office and finding eco-friendly ways to dispose of computer equipment.

Whatever the end goal is, the training department plays a key role in improving any organization’s impact on the environment. By shifting learning from the classroom to online platforms, training departments can lead by example.

Enrolling employees in online training and making learning resources available online or on the company Intranet are both great ways to start improving the sustainability of your organization’s training program.

Why choose sustainable employee training? Moving training and reference materials online can help businesses conserve natural resources in the following ways:

  • Reduced fuel consumption. Since the material is online, employees use less fuel traveling to attend training classes.
  • Reduced energy consumption. By reducing the amount of time spent in a traditional classroom, businesses save energy that would be used to light and air condition physical rooms.
  • Less physical waste. When courses and materials are online, less paper is used to create training materials and reduces the amount of physical waste businesses create.
  • Reduced costs. With sustainable training, businesses save money by reducing costs for printing, paper, travel costs and energy use.


When it’s necessary to send people to a physical location for training, find facilities that are accessible from public transportation or encourage employees to travel together in a carpool.

As you start to improve the sustainability of your training department, keep the three Rs in mind - reduce, reuse and recycle. Throughout the process, be thinking of new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle every day at work and in your employee training programs.

Every little green step can add up to big green changes for your organization. Discover more green business ideas and everyday ways businesses can reduce, reuse and recycle here.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Take a peek at Ivy League learning for free

Developing an in-house learning library is one of the most cost-effective and easiest ways to promote ongoing employee education. If you don’t have the room or resources for a physical library, there are countless resources on the Web that promote learning and usually for free.

“Whether you'd like to learn algebra from a mathematician at MIT, watch how to make crawfish étouffée from an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America or study blues guitar with a professor at Berklee College of Music, you can do it all in front of your computer, courtesy of other people's money.” (TIME)

Making these lectures available to the public is part of a widespread movement among universities and learning institutions to open their once exclusive classrooms to the general public. New sites have been cropping up all across the web to deliver world-class learning to anyone who want’s a peek inside.

Take a look at these free online learning sources with information from some of the top colleges in the world:

YouTube Edu - YouTube’s central education hub dedicated to videos from more than 100 schools that have official channels on the site. Viewers can find videos from schools like the Grand Rapids Community College to Harvard.

Apple’s iTunes U - In a win-win situation for educators and Apple, users can find more than 170 schools offering free content through iTunes U.

Academic Earth - Smaller and more edited than YouTube’s videos, Academic Earth assembles playlists of related lectures on topics ranging from “Wars Throughout History” to algebra.

TED.com - A central broadcasting site for online lectures from some of the top innovators in the fields of technology, entertainment and design.


Whether you’re wanting to learn more about ancient Egypt, or looking to develop your own presentation skills by watching some of the best in the business, there’s a world of free online tools just waiting for you to get started.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Improve training with guerrilla tactics

From art to gardening, and even marketing, people have been using guerrilla-style tactics over the past years to side step the usual outlets and get their work noticed.

Take guerrilla gardening for example. It’s a practice where environmental activists target a piece of seemingly neglected or misused land and give it a new, more beautiful purpose. Some guerrilla gardeners practice their trade overnight and in secrecy to reveal a flowering garden or lush vegetable patch in the morning.

Through the inconspicuous act of gardening, these activists are able to get their message across to a much wider audience than what they could reach in their own backyard.

So, what does gardening have to do with training?

Not much, until I read a recent post on guerrilla learning by Michele Martin at The Bamboo Project blog. After reading Keri Smith’s Guerrilla Art Kit, Michele started thinking about how the same tactics artists use could be put to work in the learning world.

Her ideas can be used as pre- and post-training activities, or even ongoing tactics to reinforce training points. Here are just a couple of Michele’s ideas for Guerrilla learning:

  • Public Chalkboard--Install a chalkboard and chalk in a public space and invite comments or ideas. For learning, I'd post a provocative question related to the learning and then invite responses. You could also do this with a notebook that was passed from person to person or with a poster in a public place that has a pen attached.

  • Installations--Use Post-It notes in a central location to create a trail of words, quotes or drawings. This could be a semi-permanent, ongoing project for a lunchroom, hallway, etc.

All of her ideas would undoubtedly make workplace learning more enjoyable and imaginative. Guerrilla tactics like these could get employees excited about the learning process again and improve learning retention over the long run.

Have you ever used guerrilla-style tactics to reinforce your employee training points? Do you think they would work in your organization?

Monday, April 20, 2009

Poor ‘team spirit’ at work is depressing

Do your employees seem depressed? Are they mopey, dragging their feet and stuck in a general state of grouchiness?

On first guess, you may assume that it’s the economy to blame, but a new study is showing that may not be the case.

A lack of team spirit in the office and poor work climates could be causing employees to feel depressed, according to a new study published in the journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
"As depressive disorders are a major cause of work disability and account for a considerable proportion of the disease burden, more attention should be paid to psychosocial factors at work," lead author Dr. Marjo Sinokki of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Turku told Reuters Health via e-mail.

Through a series of tests, Sinokki was able to determine that people who work in a “poor work climate” characterized by feelings that their workplace was highly prejudiced and quarrelsome, were 61% more likely to be depressed. The same group of workers were also more susceptible to feelings of anxiety.

While there’s still more research to be done in this area, Sinokki notes that his findings provide evidence that a disagreeable work environment can cause depression.
"The U.S. work environment right now is far more tenuous and toxic than in recent history," said Josh Klapow, an associate professor of health-care organization and policy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who had no role in the study. "With layoffs and downsizing, the opportunities for increased stress, negativity and pressure have all greatly increased."

Because we spend most of the day at work, our work environments have a substantial effect on our overall psychological well-being, said Klapow in a recent BusinessWeek article.

With the effects our economy is having on our households and workplaces, it’s getting harder than ever for many people to cope with stress. A certain level of stress is a normal part of life, but when it starts to interfere with productivity and emotional and physical health, it’s time to find better ways to keep that stress under control

Earlier this month, TrainingTime.com published an article, titled “I’m Not Stressed – That Pencil Had It Coming!!!” that outlines a new training exercise to practice with yourself and your team to help reduce work stress. Feeling happier and less stressed at work all starts with a simple lesson in reading and writing.

  1. First you must identify the source of your stress. Without knowing where the stress is stemming from, it will be next to impossible to treat it. Write down a list of specific things that make your job stressful.
  2. Then review your list of stressors and determine at least one thing you can do do reduce or relieve each source of work stress. Identify specific, concrete and definable actions that would help alleviate each problem.
  3. Systematically start going through your list to determine what you can do to change each stressor. If it’s within your power to change it, find a way to check it off your list and get at least one stressor off your back each week.

Write, read and review your list regularly to make a positive impact on your work stress levels. Read the Training Time Library article for detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to hold your own stress-reducing training exercise.


How do you manage work stress? As a manager, how do you help your employees reduce their stress levels at work? Leave a comment and let us know.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Skip the gross, stage greener office pranks

In the wake of possibly the worst workplace prank ever recorded and posted on YouTube (thank you Domino's employees), we'd like to take a less disgusting and much friendlier approach to the office prank.

Whether it's filling your coworker's cube with packing peanuts or covering their walls with sticky notes, most office pranks create unnecessary waste. Now you can still be funny while keeping the environment in mind by playing greener office pranks.

Here are just a few ideas:
  • Stage a kidnapping. Kidnap all the plastic water bottles from your coworkers and replace them with eco-friendly reusable mugs. Leave a ransom note with the reason for the swap.
  • Paper saver. This one's for that employee who always prints way too much. Get onto their computer and change their printer settings to ".pdf writer" or another option that doesn't go straight to the printer.
  • Indoor guerrilla gardening. Pick up a bunch of indoor plants and do a little indoor guerrilla gardening on a coworkers desk by covering their workspace with a collection of greenery.

The video below by Grist's Umbra Fisk shares some great ideas for going green in the office, plus an added green office prank that should go over well with most of the eco-friendly pranksters and The Office fans out there.

April Fool's Day was only a few weeks ago and we know you were a part of at least a prank or two. Leave a comment and share your ideas for the greenest office pranks going around.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Domino’s employee video goes viral, is poor training to blame?

When you order a pizza you generally trust that none of the toppings have landed in someone’s nose before they made it on your pizza. Right?

Sadly, there’s a new viral video sweeping the Internet that has seriously damaged customers’ trust in one of the country’s most popular pizza chains and two employees are to blame.

A couple of Domino’s employees are now unemployed and facing felony charges after posting videos of themselves defacing food while preparing it for delivery. The videos show an employee breaking various health-code standards including sticking cheese up his nose, putting nasal mucus on sandwiches and passing gas on salami before it made it onto a sandwich.

“We got blindsided by two idiots with a video camera and an awful idea,” said a Domino’s spokesman, Tim McIntyre, who added that the company was preparing a civil lawsuit. “Even people who’ve been with us as loyal customers for 10, 15, 20 years, people are second-guessing their relationship with Domino’s, and that’s not fair.” (New York Times)


Company President Patrick Doyle has posted a YouTube video of his own apologizing for the unacceptable behavior of these two infamous employees and asks that customers continue their support, despite the embarrassment it has brought to the company.

"You can be the safest driver, you know," McIntyre said. "But there's going to be that Friday night someone's drunk and comes from out of nowhere. You can do the best you can, but there's going to be the equivalent of that drunk driver that hits the innocent victim." (Advertising Age)


You hope that most employees would have enough common sense to refrain from illegal activity at work, let alone film it and post it on YouTube, but some may need a reminder from time to time.

A great way to remind employees how to act online when representing the company is through regular training. After you’ve developed a sound social media policy (read our guidelines for social media use), it’s time to explain the policy and consequences for not following that policy to employees.

How formal or informal your employee social media use training will vary depending on the nature of your business, but should give employees a clear understanding of what is considered acceptable online behavior when representing the company.

There’s no doubt that your policies and social media guidelines will change as new technologies and social networking tools emerge, so it’s best to provide training on an on-going basis.

The best way to defend your company against an unfortunate situation like what Domino’s is going through right now is through preparation. It’s impossible to control what employees will say about you online, but with clear policies, employee training and the proper planning, you’ll be in a much better place to handle any issue.

Do you think poor training could have played a role in Domino’s current dilemma? Does your organization train employees on how to represent the company online?

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The ugly side of safety incentives

Safety incentive programs are generally developed to encourage employees to practice safe working habits on the job. Unfortunately, how some organizations design and execute their programs can be dangerously flawed, putting more employees at risk for injury.

In a series of articles dealing with Workers’ Compensation issues, entitled “A World of Hurt,” one of the most recent articles examines how safety incentive programs may be causing more harm than good. Employees at one New York DuPont plant, are being peer pressured into not reporting workplace injuries in order for everyone to receive safety rewards.

From the New York Times article:

TONAWANDA, N.Y. — The sprawling DuPont plant along the Niagara River here can be a grim place, but less so on the days when the company hands out coupons to reward workers for a few weeks without injury.

Called “safety bucks,” the coupons look like real money and can be redeemed at Red Lobster, Home Depot and several other businesses in the area.

For some workers who risk their fingers and bones to make Corian, the stonelike countertop material that is the plant’s major product, the coupons have become a modest blessing and benefit. But other workers regard them as a curse, as a way to mobilize peer pressure against workers who might consider reporting an injury.

“You know that if you report an injury, everybody says, ‘You son of a bitch,’ ” said Dan Austin, who worked at the plant for 30 years. “I’ve heard people say, ‘So-and-so reported an injury and it’s going to cost us our safety bucks this month.’ ”

Companies across the state have recently introduced reward programs to curtail injuries, in part to keep their workers safe, in part to cut down on workers’ compensation claims, which managers cite as a huge factor in the high cost of doing business in New York.

The article goes on to explain how New York’s workers’ compensation system is “plagued” by an ongoing list of failures, including a war between employers and employees over workplace injuries.

When it comes to safety incentives, a program will never be successful if employees are cursing each other for reporting injuries. Some in the safety industry suggest that instead of rewarding a lack of accidents, rewarding safe behavior will improve the effectiveness of your program.

Robert Breslin at SafetyXChange says that the problem with most safety incentive programs is that managers aren’t rewarding safe behavior, just the “absence of unsafe behavior.” That major flaw is actually providing employees with an incentive to fail to report or under-report workplace injuries.

Breslin suggests that companies “stop rewarding the lack of unsafe behavior and start rewarding safe behavior,” giving this example of what an effective incentive program would look like:

Instead of awarding each employee on a quarterly basis $50 in cash, equivalent non-cash prizes or chances to win prizes, take that $50 and buy 10 $5 gift certificates to a local store, movie theater, restaurant, car wash, etc. Then, pass out those gift certificates when you see someone doing something right. And do it with fanfare. “Hey Jim, glad to see you finally remembered your safety glasses! Here’s a gift certificate.” Before you return to your office, everyone in the facility will know what you just did.

What you’ve just done is reward safe behavior. And in encouraging safe behavior, you’re cultivating safe attitudes, as well. As a side benefit, you’re improving your relationships with workers and getting them to actually look forward to your visits. Last but not least, you’re accomplishing all of these things cost-effectively and saving your company money.
Every organization can learn a lesson from the flawed safety incentive program at the New York DuPont plant, but you still shouldn’t forgo the idea of implementing a program of your own. But remember to use safety incentives to reinforce positive behavior, not the absence of poor behavior, and you’ll be on course for success.

Does your organization use employee incentives to encourage on-the-job safety? What worked or didn’t work at your organization that you think others could learn from? Leave a comment and let us know.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Bringing kids to work may improve morale

If your company has been searching for affordable ways to improve morale, you may need to look no further than your employees’ families.

Next Thursday, April 23, 2009, is the national date for the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work program. While opening a child’s eyes to what their parents do for a living, the program can also serve as an inexpensive way to boost employee morale.

The yearly event exposes children to what their parents do during the workday, showing them the value of education and what their future can hold. Though the program is centered around kids, bringing children into the workplace for a day may hold even more benefits for employers.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day benefits workplaces by providing an important boost to workers and their families, while keeping costs to a minimum. Holding a family day at work can foster employees’ pride in their work, which will ultimately improve performance.

Think kids would be bored senseless at your workplace? Take a look at some of these educational ideas and activities that just about every organization can incorporate, including:

  • Hold hands-on department workshops. From Accounting to Human Resources, create activities where children use their problem-solving skills to tackle real workplace issues like managing a budget or interviewing new job candidates.

  • Give a tour. Take children on a tour of your workplace starting at the front desk and make your way through every department of the organization. Show children how your product or service is developed from beginning to end.

  • Have a brown-bag lunch. Have families eat together in the main lunchroom and set up an interactive Q & A session with the head of the company. Have your CEO explain what they do and allow children to ask questions on anything they would like to know about the job.

Whether you’re able to allocate a full day to the event, or just a half-day, giving employees the opportunity to share what they do with their families can have a positive impact on their work.

Discover more resources, activity guides and ideas at the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work official website.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Does updating your Facebook status make you a better employee?

Surfing the Internet may no longer be seen as a warning sign that an employee is a lazy slacker, but actually a sign that you have a top performer on your hands, according to the latest research out of Australia.

Earlier this month, the University of Melbourne released a study showing how employees who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9% more productive than those who don’t.

The practice of “workplace Internet leisure browsing” or WILB, helped to sharpen workers’ concentration and improve productivity after taking a leisure break.

From the Reuters story:

"People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration," [said study author Brent Coker, from the department of management and marketing] on the university's website (www.unimelb.edu.au/).

"Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity," he said.

According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work engage in WILB.

Among the most popular WILB activities are searching for information about products, reading online news sites, playing online games and watching videos on YouTube.

"Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity," said Coker. "That's not always the case."

The study focused on workers who used the Internet in moderation (less than 20% of their workday). The authors also note that people “who behave with Internet addiction tendencies” will be less productive than those without a problem.

Surfing the Internet as a new idea to improve employee productivity ... Could this be a manager’s worst nightmare come true?

What do you think about the research? Do short “leisure browsing” breaks make for better, more productive employees?

Friday, April 10, 2009

Cheap motivational posters, not always the best choice

When it comes to motivational posters, the cheapest may not be the best. Though they do serve as great material for Dilbert cartoons. Just take a look:



Have a happy Friday!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Are you living to work or working to live?

A new survey examining the health and well-being of Americans discovered that the majority of people value their work for more than just the paycheck it delivers by asking: Do you live to work or work to live?

As the U.S. economy struggles through a recession and companies lay off hundreds of thousands of workers, CIGNA conducted the survey to explore attitudes toward work and disability insurance, along with the effect the economy is having on work environments.

Key findings of the survey include:
  • Americans have a strong work ethic and derive satisfaction from their jobs.
  • Americans feel unproductive, worried, afraid, anxious and depressed when they’re out of work because of an injury or illness.
  • Most say the overall mood in the workplace has changed in the past six months – and most say those changes have been for the worse.

When asked about how they viewed their job, those surveyed revealed that:
  • 65% would say they belong in the “Live to Work” category
  • 35% put themselves in the “Work to Live” category
  • 31% like their job and feel a sense of satisfaction by going to work each day
  • 21% love their job and would continue working even if they won the lottery
  • 13% said their work give their life structure and purpose

Among those who work to live, survey respondents said that it was the paycheck or insurance benefits keeping them at their current job. Many felt stuck because of the economy or had hopes of retiring soon, but can’t afford to.

The most common reasons why respondents felt they live to work: they like their co-workers, feel a sense of accomplishment from their job, are proud of their work, or feel their work makes a difference.

“The good news for U.S. employers is that most people say they enjoy their work and derive satisfaction from it,” said Jodi Prohofsky, Ph.D., a licensed therapist and senior vice president of health solutions operations at CIGNA. “On the other hand, the economy is causing more stress and anxiety among workers, and we know that stress can often contribute to or lead to disabling illnesses, so it’s important for employers to help their employees manage stress and anxiety before that happens.”

Earlier this week we talked about how employees desire more in-person communication with top management in their organizations. Making employees a part of the conversation during tough times is one of the most effective ways to help employees manage the stress and fear that typically comes along with organizational change.

Effective communication can have a powerful impact on morale within an organization. Though you may be navigating some rough waters right now, focusing on communication and employee morale will have you smooth sailing when everything finally calms down.

So, the question is: Do you work to live or live to work?

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Using PowerPoint for training: Top 5 tips

In most offices it’s rare to get through the day without attending at least one meeting where you were the lucky viewer of a not-so-interesting or helpful PowerPoint presentation.

Since Microsoft released the tool in more than 20 years ago, we’ve been using it as a crutch for any and every presentation we’ve ever delivered.

Unfortunately, we’ve been using it the same way for so long that everyone is tired of seeing the same old presentation and over and over again. We’ve been dying a slow death by PowerPoint and are ready for a change.

When you’re using PowerPoint for training or any other kind of workplace presentation, keep your audience alive with an interesting slideshow and review these top five PowerPoint tips:

  1. Prepare. Develop your presentation with a clear goal in mind. What is it that you want your audience to understand? Mapping out the presentation by hand before getting on the computer will help you create a more focused and concise presentation.

  2. Make note cards. Write down all of your main talking points on notecards, don’t depend on the screen. People like it when you talk to them, not to the screen.

  3. Reinforce, don’t repeat. Use your slides to reinforce the points you’re delivering in your presentation or training seminar, not repeat what you’re saying. Instead of repeating your words, use the slides to add detail and paint a clear picture of each topic.

  4. Send a copy. At the beginning of your presentation, let your audience know that you will be sending them copies of your slides along with supplemental information. This way, they’ll be paying attention to what you’re saying rather than reading a handout or copying every slide you put up.

  5. Keep it short. Keep the amount of words on each slide to a minimum. Every presentation will have a different number, but concise writing will keep your audience’s attention and keep them interested in what you’re saying.

Oh, and watch this slideshow from Lifehacker for even more great PowerPoint ideas:

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Employees want more informal, in-person communication

Whether your company is moving offices or has just gone through a round of layoffs, effective communication is critical throughout each step of the process. Employees who are informed will find it easier to adapt during a major change and at handle the stress it creates.

While most communications and human resources professionals are content with the amount of information they’re getting on the state of their company during the recession, many want more opportunities to use social media and have face-to-face conversations with company leaders, according to a survey by Heyman Associates Executive Search.

Heyman developed the survey to gauge the effectiveness of corporate communications in today’s difficult economy, Marketing Charts writes. According to survey respondents:
  • 85% say their CEO has done a good job communicating with them, but
  • 65% would still like more informal, in-person communication opportunities.
When the 550 respondents were asked whether they were getting the right amount of information about their company:
  • 71% answered “yes”
  • 17% answered “somewhat”
  • 68% answered “no”
Those who were satisfied with the communication coming from their company said they are receiving information about the company’s short- and long-term prospects and challenges on a regular basis from an official and credible internal source. Sources included presentations, town-hall meetings, email newsletters, CEO blog teleconferences, intranet postings and staff meetings with their manager.

Those who were unhappy with the amount of information they were receiving say the lack of communication has been causing mistrust of the organization among employees.


Try something new

One of the most revealing findings is the way in which employees want to receive information. Though most companies utilize email and other mass communication methods, the survey showed that employees desire more in-person communications.

When asked how they would improve the way they receive information about their company, 65% of respondents would like more informal, face-to-face communication.

Written survey responses show that employees trust informal, in-person communication because it shows that the company wants employees informed on the latest information and encourages feedback.

Responses also indicated that more employees would like to see more use of social media within the company because of its interactive nature. Many respondents would like to see an mix of in-person and social media communication, believing that it will increase the frequency and trustworthiness of messages.

If your organization is experiencing major changes as a result of the recession, remember that including employees in the conversation and trying new forms of communication will improve your chances of success.

Does your company utilize any forms of social media for internal communication? Do you think it’s a useful tool when it comes to company communication?

Monday, April 6, 2009

Improving employee engagement? Ask 3 questions

Over the weekend, Tammy Erickson shared an insightful story at Harvard Business about how any business can find low cost ways to improve engagement. She believes it all starts with creating goose-bump moments for employees.

She explained how years ago AARP asked her to audit their employment policies. AARP, an association dedicated to serving retirees and older Americans, also touts its commitment to being an employer of choice and strives to follow only the best human resource practices.

So, when company representatives began their presentation for Erickson and she became extremely bored, she interrupted and asked the presenters a few questions, including these three:

  1. Why do you work here?
  2. How often do you feel passionate about your work?
  3. How often do you get to have experiences that make you feel passionate about your work?

One of the presenters explained how passionate she was for improving the lives of older Americans. She described a goose-bump moment she had with the company on Capitol Hill when a piece of legislation AARP worked to support became law.

“I strongly believe that the essence of a great employee experience — one that deepens our commitment and heightens our engagement — are those moments that give us goose bumps — the moments that remind us why we chose to work for this particular organization in the first place.”

With the recession taking a serious toll on morale, improving employee engagement is a top goal for many organizations. As Erickson explained in her article, sometimes all it takes is reminding people of the reasons why they wanted to work for the company in the first place.

Though the reasons for wanting to work for a company will vary from employee to employee, the desire to be happy and feel passionate about what they do is a shared feeling among many. Creating opportunities for employees to have goose-bump moments will remind employees of that passion and encourage them to go above and beyond in their work.

“In this difficult year, it's important to understand why people joined your organization and reinforce those values. In most cases, these steps don't cost a lot of money, but they can have a huge impact on employee engagement and commitment.”

Reminding employees of the reasons why they chose to work at an organization can be as simple as talking to customers or as involved as a trip to Capitol Hill. It’s all about creating experiences for employees that bolster the passion they have for the work they do.

“Find the authentic core of work at your organization and create ways to amplify and extend the experience to all employees. Give 'em goose bumps.”

How do you remind employees about what it means to be a part of your organization? How do you “give ‘em goose bumps”?

Friday, April 3, 2009

Warning! Happy employees may rap on the job

Want to see a great example of a happy employee who loves their job? Watch this ...



Think an unhappy employee would ever spend that much time putting together a rap about their employer? I doubt it.

Happy Friday!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Change puts engagement and productivity at risk

More than one-third of employees are unable to adapt to workplace changes, decreasing their effectiveness on the job and suggesting that employee engagement and productivity are at high risk, according to a recent survey by Right Management.

Right Management asked more than 100 senior human resource professionals across North America: Is your workforce able to adapt to change and increase their effectiveness on the job?

  • 31% answered, “No, employee engagement and productivity are a major risk”
  • 43% answered, “Somewhat, our workforce gets the job done, but morale suffers”
  • 26% answered, “Yes, our workforce is very agile and responds to new challenges”

Among other changes, layoffs and organizational restructuring require leaders to make difficult decisions that many employees have trouble dealing with.

"As our poll results demonstrate—with only one in four employees having the agility to adapt to change—most organizations don’t prepare their employees to handle changes at work. As a result, change management strategies tend to fail, undermining the organization's ability to achieve the goals the change initiative was designed to produce," notes Right Management President and COO Douglas J. Matthews.


Matthews also commented that most hardships originate from a lack of planning, preparedness and skill in managing the change process. It is only through careful planning and with support at every level of an organization that employees will be able to manage change effectively.

Though the causes of workplace change can vary, there are a few basic concepts that every manager should review to help reduce its impact on engagement and productivity:

  • Communication. Keep communication lines open and inform your staff of upcoming changes as soon as possible. Having clear expectations is one of the most powerful ways to reduce workplace stress.

  • Participation. Involve employees in the decision-making process whenever you can. Involve your staff in managing the change and ask for their input when implementing new procedures or training programs.

  • Provide positive options. If a negative change, like a layoff, is unavoidable, offer employees something positive to balance out the situation. For example, implementing an employee development program for the remaining staff after a layoff can help improve productivity and relieve stress.

  • Monitor progress. Monitor the progress of your staff throughout the change. Keep an eye on productivity, attendance records, turnover rates, the use of sick leave - anything that may suggest your team is not adapting well.

Whether your organization is moving offices or has gone through a series of layoffs, communication is the key to making sure employees are managing stress effectively. Managers must listen, learn and take action to replace negative situations with positive experiences.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Training Trends: Legal changes, stress at work and employee attitude problems

It may be April Fool’s Day, but this month’s issue of Training Trends isn’t joking around. The April issue of TrainingTime’s monthly workplace training newsletter is dedicated to informing you of the latest labor law changes to start preparing for, simple stress-reduction training and how to deal with an employee with a serious attitude problem.

Here’s what you can find in this issue of Training Trends:

Heads Up On Radical New Labor Law Changes

In compliance with major changes in federal and state administrations, several significant modifications and additions have been made to labor laws throughout the country.

We’ve put together a summary of the upcoming changes to allow you to prepare your HR departments and develop relevant training before the deadlines. We’ll continue to post additional details as we receive more information on the new regulations. (more)


I’m Not Stressed -- That Pencil Had It Coming!

I’ve gone through at least a dozen pencils and I have no idea how many paper clips this week, and it’s only Thursday. If I’m not unbending the paper clips, I’m snapping pencils in two…I know the stress in this place is killing me, but I don’t know what to do about it!

Does this sound familiar? Is it you? Or are you seeing it among the employees at your company? Maybe it’s not paper clips and pencils. Maybe it’s eating too much or being short tempered with coworkers or families.

Recent studies have proven that stress takes a serious toll on our health. Heart attacks, cancer and diabetes have all been linked directly to stress. Luckily, there are some simple things you can do to reduce stress at work and its potentially dangerous effects. (more)


I [Heart] My Attitude Problem

We’ve all been there. You have an employee who looks perfect on paper - never late, flawless work, goes above and beyond - but they’re a nightmare to work with. This “perfect” performer is bossy, troublesome, swears like a sailor and is never wrong.

You’ve got a serious attitude problem on your hands, and your troubled employee is the only one who doesn’t know about it.

So what’s a manager to do? Here are some things to consider before reaching for a pink slip … (more)


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