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Don’t let wrong assumptions ruin your business
Simma Lieberman Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementEveryone has some kind of bias. Our biases are based on how and where we were raised, what we heard growing up, and images and depictions of different groups in the media. I've spoken countless times on how to prevent or break through conscious and unconscious bias. Too many people still believe we can't do anything about them, but we can. Once we become aware of our biases, the next step is to reframe our internal messages and look at people and situations in different ways.
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Avoid these tricky but common nonexempt traps
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementCan't we just make everyone exempt? It would be so much easier! Employers would not have to worry about overtime budgeting or the details of whether their employee is on or off the clock when they make a request. And most employees would happily trade in their time card for a set salary, schedule flexibility and just the ability to be considered exempt. It seems everyone wins. However, the Federal Labor Standards Act is pretty clear on what type of position can be exempted from overtime rules and many of us our pushing those guidelines to their limits. Here are a few common traps and tips for how to avoid — or rectify — them.
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5 ways to increase employee retention
Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAre people leaving your organization faster than you can fill jobs? If so, you're not alone. But that doesn’t mean it's OK! Steady, unwanted employee turnover leaves you in a constant state of recruiting, encouraging those who've stuck around to remain, plus training and re-training. Not to mention the exorbitant cost of employee turnover. A recently published report by Tinypulse pored over data collected from more than 25,000 employees around the world and found five main reasons why employees were flying the coop. Here are five key takeaways from the report.
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Are you sabotaging your workers’ productivity in ways you never realized?
Lisa Mulcahy Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAs a manager, you might think you're doing a great job at creating a work environment that helps your employees thrive. But are you making unintended mistakes that could be zapping your staff's physical and emotional strength? If you have been, here's some good news. Researchers have been looking extensively at ways workers' performances can be affected in unexpected ways. The result: they've come up with some great solutions for how you can recognize where you can easily improve your workers' productivity.
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The easiest ways to give negative feedback
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementSocial media may empower us to tell that restaurant what we thought about the poor service or show the shoe store how mad we are about their return policy. However, it does not help us tell our staff that they are dropping the ball. While providing negative feedback is not the best part of being a leader, it is a necessary part. Here some are easy steps to get started now.
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Unraveling the mystery of miscommunication
Candice Gottlieb-Clark Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementCommunication always comes with a level of messiness and ambiguity. Even with the best of intentions and clearest of communication we can portray mixed messages, leading to misunderstandings or conflict. Add to that the array of communication platforms we deal with: meetings, email, Google chat, passing remarks in the hall, phone calls. The opportunities for miscommunications are introduced at almost all hours of the workday. These miscommunications are at the root of distrust, misled beliefs, and conflict, especially in a corporate culture.
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Advice from an association’s past presidents
Robert C. Harris Association ManagementWe invited a half-dozen past presidents of AIA San Francisco to lunch, asking them to share governance tips with the new board members. The first advice was, "please don’t call me past president. It sounds like I am deceased," one said. Their insights were eagerly accepted by directors. Another tip they offered was to take a break after completing the association presidency, "but don’t abandon the association." You will need a rest after the role of chief elected officer, but your skills and value remain essential in the association.
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Workplace romance: Happy ever after or a lawsuit waiting to happen?
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe average person in the workforce spends eight hours a day at work. This time represents more waking hours than are spent doing anything else. Co-workers often become friends for life: as close as, if not closer, than family members. So, it’s no surprise that people would also find romance at work. In a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey conducted before the #MeToo movement gained steam, 24 percent of employees reported that they either had been or were currently involved in a workplace romance. But is this a bad idea?
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Should you care if your employees love you?
Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementFor years, I thought it was important that my employees loved me. Boy, was I wrong. You see, love is one of those things that can dissipate at a moment's notice. Here's what I mean. Remember when you were in junior high and you were so in love with one of your classmates? You were giddy as could be when you found out they felt the same way about you. Then, boom — you wake up one day to find out they've moved on. They've got a new love, while your world has fallen apart. I see the same thing happen in business.
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Pollyanna was right: Why you should always be grateful
Anne Rose Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementPeople who have only vaguely heard about Pollyanna often wrongly describe her as a naïve goody-two-shoes who was blindly optimistic, regardless of reality. Actually, her personality was to simply focus on the good in a situation and to be grateful no matter what your circumstances. There's nothing wrong with being grateful for your life. Gratitude is not reserved exclusively for the fourth Thursday in November; it should be a perpetual state of mind.
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