Don’t Be a Squidward!

If you’ve ever tuned into Nickolodeon you’ve probably run by a funny little show called SpongeBob Sqaurepants.  It’s about a funny little guy who lives at the bottom of the ocean with a starfish, crab, squid and even a squirrel.  I like this show because of it’s humor but also that it possesses those funny […]

The Importance of the Meet and Greet

The Importance of Work Cultures For Employees

New employee orientations in some businesses have become a thing of the past.  Shuffling the new employee in, having them sit at a computer station to fill out there new hire paperwork, watch some videos on Code of Conduct and then sit them at their work station is considered “orientation”. Is this what’s happening at your organization? What if […]

How Are You Getting Employee Feedback?

Effective Employee Feedback Strategies for Business Success

  Regardless of what your business does to garner feedback from the employees, the most important thing to remember is that there are methods to give the feedback.  Ideally it should allow for the isolated individual complaints/questions and broad stream of feedback to the masses. Photo Credit. 

Tips for Uncomfortable Conversations

How To Face Difficult Conversations

In my years of management and HR, I’ve had my fair share of uncomfortable conversations.  From telling an employee they are showing their nipples to telling my boss they’re under investigation for physical assault – there’s never a lack of them.  Each conversation creates butterflies, demands preparation, and I’ve never been thrilled to do any of them.  They are […]

Wanted: Collaboration Expert

Wanted: Collaboration Expert NPR had a piece on Yahoo’s recent “death of telecommuting”.  If you haven’t heard, the tech-giant has recently rid it’s entire company of “working from home” and is forcing its workforce back into the office. Yahoo stipulates that good ideas can turn into profitable business strategies when their employee base interacts.  And not just “in […]

Adam and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Communication

Work Cultures that Affect Management

Adam and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Communication I once had an employee (we’ll call him Adam) and Adam was a “slacker”.  He was downright lazy, never completed things on time, always goofing around on the job, and never worked on stuff we wanted him to work on.  Despite this, Adam was brilliant.  In brainstorming sessions, group […]