How to Build a Motivated Workforce
Are your employees motivated? Getting an engaged workforce requires employers to focus on nurturing motivation. Read this blog post to learn how to nurture motivation in your workplace.
There’s a lot of buzz and conversation happening around the importance of employee engagement to a successful organization. But I believe that engagement is an overused or at least misused term. Engagement, to me, isn’t a process but rather an end-state where your employees are “all in.”
Engaged employees work hard on today’s priorities, and when they believe what they do matters and know that you’re invested in them, they will stay with your business for the long term and help you solve the challenges of tomorrow. But getting to this state of engagement requires focusing on nurturing motivation.
Simply put, motivated workers are more productive and efficient, and stretch themselves to do more. When employees are motivated, they get their work done faster and with greater levels of collaboration, creativity and commitment. A motivated workforce goes above and beyond to do what is in the best interest of the organization and, ultimately, the bottom line. So, what are ways you can truly motivate employees?
Set Clear Expectations and Goals, and Communicate Frequently
It’s a strange truth, but many employees simply don’t know what is expected of them at work. Workers are more motivated and engaged when they are given clear objectives, understand how they will be evaluated, and see how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture. Isn’t that what we all want anyway; to contribute to and be a part of something bigger than ourselves? When HR teams help create this clarity for our employees, they experience a greater “purposefulness” or “meaningfulness” which in turn contributes to motivation. So how do you ensure organizational alignment and foster this sense of meaningfulness?
One critical step that HR leaders can take is working with managers to increase the frequency of communication around performance and goals. When employees work with their managers to set goals and then check in on progress on an ongoing basis rather than treating them as ‘set and forget,’ it can help improve employee motivation, elevate performance and benefit organizations overall. By increasing the frequency of conversations between managers and employees around progress towards goals, HR teams can take a huge step towards creating an effective performance management program for today’s workforce.
This ongoing endeavor isn’t easy. There are time and commitment involved, and it only works when managers and employees are both invested in open and ongoing dialog about goals and expectations. But the more often managers talk to their employees, the more motivation and performance increases within the workforce. Even quick, informal check-ins, or “managing in the moment” to address priorities or give feedback boosts an employee’s sense that someone is invested in them, and drives motivation.
Spend Time Talking About Career Development
Motivation is tied to a future outlook. One critical way to boost motivation is to move away from ineffective, backward-looking annual performance reviews, and start coaching your managers around having more frequent conversations with their employees that focus on career development. By focusing on development, these conversations become more constructive, forward-looking, and connected to both personal and business objectives. Now you’ve motivated an employee because you’re actually talking about their future and showing you are invested in them!
Implementing performance management processes that are rooted in continuous conversations that center on coaching and career development is vastly more effective for motivating the modern workforce. Focusing on ”performance development” rather than “performance review” shifts the conversation around the process to a more forward-looking, positive and employee-focused stance. This can have a huge impact from an employee motivation perspective, rather than feeling like their managers are micromanaging them or questioning their work, workers feel invested in and motivated to get to the next level in their career, which translates to increases in employee performance.
Provide Timely and Relevant Feedback
Almost half of employees receive feedback from their managers only a few times a year or less. Not only do employees want clear expectations to be established, they also want to know how these are mapping to their larger career goals. Managers need to provide feedback in a timely manner to promote career development. Feedback can be tricky to deliver, and many don’t like delivering or receiving it. So managers need to normalize the feedback by making sure it is timely and is relevant to the employee and their work.
There are many approaches to delivering feedback, but delivering all feedback all the time isn’t the right answer. Managers need to be thoughtful about evaluating all the feedback they receive about their employees and select those items that are most relevant to the employee and those items that they are ready to hear, all in a timely manner to assist the employee in their career.
So, for many reasons, a quarterly review cadence, vs. an annual review, enables managers to align employees’ individual career goals with the organization’s top priorities, ensuring the employee has a sense of purpose and business goals are met.
This is what motivating your workforce is all about. There is no silver bullet to motivate your workforce, however, HR leaders and managers can make a big impact by having frequent and continuous conversations with employees that focus on career development, communicating clear expectations and providing timely feedback. It’s an ongoing process and won’t happen overnight, but by focusing on motivation, both employees and organization at large are better positioned for success.
SOURCE: Strohfus, D (27 August 2018) "How to Build a Motivated Workforce" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://hrexecutive.com/how-to-build-a-motivated-workforce/
The days of employers ignoring the opioid crisis are over
What do employers need to know to help their employees and help reduce the risk of the opioid crisis? The opioid crisis is affecting companies' productivity, medical claims, work injuries and their bottom line. Read this blog post to learn more.
Productivity, medical claims, work injuries, and the company’s bottom line — what do these things all have in common? They are all being drastically affected by the effects of substance abuse. The opioid crisis that is running rampant across the United States is having an impact on employees at every level.
As an employer, what do you need to know to support your employees and reduce the risk of this national crisis?
First, you need to educate yourself on the facts. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, every day, more than 115 people in the U.S. die after overdosing on opioids. It is not just the deadly heroin/fentanyl combination that we have been hearing about in the news, sources of opioid addiction include prescription pain relievers such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, morphine, codeine, and other prescribed substances.
See also: Taking A Page From Pharma’s Playbook To Fight The Opioid Crisis
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates prescription opioid misuse in the U.S. cost $78.5 billion per year; affecting medical spend, productivity, and law enforcement supervision.
Substance abuse does not discriminate on any demographic, however if your business is construction, entertainment, recreation, or food service, the National Safety Council found your employees are twice as likelyas the national average to have substance abuse disorders.
Secondly, you need to take action. The most important thing an employer can do is to have a proactive plan in place to help your employees live a healthy lifestyle. It is easy to get in the habit of saying “that does not happen here,” but the reality is substance abuse can — and does — happen anywhere.
Solving the opioid crisis won’t happen overnight, but here are some steps to take to build a better relationship with your employees and quite possibly help someone overcome a substance abuse problem.
Train your staff. Explain what resources are available to help them help your employees. If you have an employee assistance program in place, leverage it, and have the information easily available so any employee can access the information at any time. This will help lower the fear barrier for employees who are not ready to ask someone they know for help. If you do not have the right resources in place today there are many programs available, and it is important that you adopt one that will fit your culture and help employees be high performers.
See also: Employers take steps to address opioid crisis
Show employees you care. Look for signs and symptoms that an employee might have a problem with substance abuse. Make sure supervisors, managers, and team leaders are aware of these signs and what actions they should take. Have an open door policy, and make sure your employees feel they can ask for assistance when they need it. It is important to know how to handle sensitive, often painful, discussions in a professional and action-oriented manner. It is essential that you have the right steps in place to ensure leadership is aligned with the organization’s strategy on how best to help your at-risk population.
Be transparent. Have clear policies in place that promote a drug-free workplace. Consider expanding your drug testing panel to include opioids.
Share the savings. Consider sharing the dollars a successful well-being program will save your organization’s bottom line through lower prescription drug costs and less lost productivity due to illness and time away from work.
See also: A look at how the opioid crisis has affected people with employer coverage
If your organization is struggling with how to successfully address the challenges of substance abuse and opioid addiction, seek out employee benefit consultants to help you develop a strategy for success. Like anyone with an addiction, there is no shame in asking for help.
SOURCE: Panning, C (7 September 2018) "The days of employers ignoring the opioid crisis are over" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/employers-cannot-ignoring-the-opioid-crisis?feed=00000152-a2fb-d118-ab57-b3ff6e310000
5 steps to improving employees’ mental health
Do your employees have an “always on” mentality? Many employees are making themselves available 24/7, costing businesses big time due to workplace stress. Read this blog post to learn more.
Technology has transformed the way many of us work, but it also has almost completely eliminated our ability to unplug, de-stress and take care of our mental health. Many employees make themselves available 24/7, checking email before they go to sleep and as soon as they wake up. This “always on” mentality is costing everyone — businesses spend $300 billion each year on absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover and insurance fees due to workplace stress.
Stress and mental health are increasingly important issues in the office. Elevated stress levels lead to mistakes, lower productivity, lower employee morale, higher rates of absenteeism and even physical illnesses such as high blood pressure and heart disease.
Up to 14% of mental health issues could be completely avoided by reducing workplace stress, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. Now, more than ever, employers need to make sure their employees have the right resources to help combat depression, anxiety, stress and job strain.
Here are five ways employers can improve employees’ mental health.
Remove the stigma. Improving the mental health of your employees starts with talking openly about it. Employers should focus on mental health as part of a wider wellbeing program — calling attention to the need to relieve stress and seek help for mental health problems.
Workplace training to help employees and managers recognize the signs of stress and poor mental health can also bring attention to the issue.
Provide and promote stress-relief activities. Employers can build in activities to help relieve stress during the workday. Yoga, exercise classes and walking groups can help employees cash in on the feel-good endorphins that come from physical activity.
Some larger companies take stress relief to the next level. Office gyms, weight rooms and boxing gyms provide stress relief outlets. Some companies even employ in-house psychologists and other professionals to help teach employees how to manage their stress and fears.
Consider a flexible work policy. On a more basic level, creating a more flexible work policy throughout the day can also help. Everyone needs to take care of personal business from time to time, whether it’s a doctor’s appointment or a home maintenance issue. Take advantage of technology and allowing your employees to work from home or change their hours can help reduce stress.
Develop a financial wellness program. Financial fears are stressing out your employees. More than half of workers say they are stressed about money, and the younger the worker, the more likely he or she is to be worried. Creating a financial wellness program that educates employees on how to better manage their money can help remove this stress. A program could include helping younger generations balance paying back student debt with budgeting and saving, while older generations may focus on putting their kids through college while saving for retirement. Other topics to cover include making big purchases, such as a home or a car.
Highlight your employee assistance program. Draw attention to benefits that can help people cope with mental health issues. You very likely already offer an EAP, but you may not stress enough how it can help employees who may need assistance. Generally, an EAP includes telephone-based or in-person counseling, referrals and other resources to help assess and treat mental health issues. Communicate the details of your company’s EAP often (not just during open enrollment) to give employers another way to improve their wellbeing.
Your employees are your greatest asset; ensuring they are healthy is in your best interest. Facing mental wellbeing head-on can help you keep your employees happy and healthy, and help you boost your business.
SOURCE: Newman, H (25 June 2018) "5 steps to improving employees’ mental health" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/improving-mental-health-in-the-workplace?tag=00000151-16d0-def7-a1db-97f03ad90000
The DOL Audit: Understanding the spectrum of risk
Will the Department of Labor (DOL) audit my plan? The likelihood that the DOL will audit your plan is low, but it can happen. Continue reading to learn more.
Risk is discussed in many contexts in the retirement plan industry. It comes up as a sales tactic; as good counsel from trusted advisors preaching procedural prudence; or, often, in the form of intimidating industry vernacular like fiduciary liability, fidelity bond or the big, bad Department of Labor (DOL).
This DOL paranoia is an underlying motivation that drives the risk conversation with distributors and retirement plan sponsors. Naturally, the question of probability comes up: What is the likelihood the DOL will audit my plan? The answer is low, but it can happen.
When evaluating retirement plans in terms of risk, it’s best viewed as a spectrum. Generally, risk falls into three principal areas of concern.
Lawsuit risk: The likelihood of a fiduciary-based lawsuit for most plan sponsors is very low. However, if this does arise, it will be unpleasant and expensive, both financially and in terms of reputation.
Administrative breach: Upon inspection, most plans will have some kind of operational defect. Typically, these are either an administrative, fiduciary or a document-level defect. If left uncorrected, they are potentially disqualifying. The good news is the IRS has corrective methods in place for the most common errors. Generally, these are relatively inexpensive to correct but will cost clients a little time and money, and likely some aggravation.
DOL/IRS audit risk: It’s usually the administrative breach discussed above that leads to the DOL/IRS investigation or audit. These agencies are not interested in disqualifying plans; they are more interested in correcting them and protecting the participants from misdeeds (intentional or not).
When a DOL audit does happen, it tends to occur because someone invited investigation. This could be the result of a disgruntled former employee, a standard IRS audit that somehow spiraled into a full DOL investigation or a variety of other reasons. So, what can employers and their service providers do to avoid an audit?
The IRS and DOL don’t publish an official list of items that could lead to an investigation, but it’s a good idea to look at your plan’s most recent IRS Form 5500 filings to decrease the likelihood of an audit. This is publicly available information that can signal to government agencies that something might be wrong and they should take a closer look. Some of the more common red flags include:
- Line items that are left blank when the instructions require an answer
- Inconsistencies in the data disclosed on the Form 5500 schedules
- A large drop in the number of participants from one year to the next
- A large dollar amount in the “Other” asset line on the Schedule H
- Having an insufficient level for the plan’s required Fidelity Bond
- Consistently late deposits or deferrals and hard-to-value or non-marketable investments (including self-directed brokerage accounts or employer stock) could be counted as red flags as well.
Plan sponsors should make sure that 5500s are completed with the same care and attention to detail used when filling out IRS 1040, and ensure the plan is being governed properly and in compliance with ERISA. This can be a challenge even for the most well-intentioned plan sponsors, given the complexity of the task and the fact that most employers don’t have the expertise in-house.
Calling in a specialist
But you don’t need to navigate these waters on your own. Instead, you might consider the “Prudent Man” rule, which implies that when expertise is required yet absent, a prudent person outsources the needed expertise. There is a wealth of talented retirement plan specialists and advisors available to help guide you through the audit process or, better yet, steer clear of it altogether.
When considering whether to employ one of these specialists, you will need to evaluate their experience, expertise and training, as well as if they provide services to help the plan sponsor keep the DOL (and the IRS) out of their offices. Some commonly available services include:
- 5500 reviews to help plan sponsors avoid potential audit triggers
- Coaching services to help plan sponsors identify and eliminate some of those difficult-to-value assets like employer stock or self-directed brokerage accounts
- Service provider evaluations to help plan sponsors identify those who will work as a plan fiduciary and put the appropriate guardrails in place on an automated basis
In conclusion, the best way to survive a potential DOL investigation or IRS audit is to avoid one altogether. Committing to best practices for running the plan may mean outsourcing a great deal of the work to specialist retirement plan providers and advisors. Plan sponsors would be wise to consider working with service providers who operate as plan fiduciaries themselves. In this way, you’re more likely to avoid problems and achieve better plan results, leading to better outcomes for everyone.
SOURCE: Grantz, J (7 June 2018) "The DOL Audit: Understanding the spectrum of risk" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/dol-audit-understanding-the-spectrum-of-risk?feed=00000152-18a5-d58e-ad5a-99fd31fe0000
Do employees know where to go in a health crisis?
Does your organization have a plan for employee health crises? Employees are often confused and unsure about who they should turn to for assistance when they have a health crisis at work. Read on to learn more.
When talking to employers about their disability programs, I often ask, “Who do your employees go to first for assistance when they have a health condition?”
If I ask that question of a direct supervisor, it’s met with a quick response of “Me!”, which is quickly followed by the statement, “My employees know that my door is always open and I’m here to help them!”
Sadly, this is not true. Another insurance company recently surveyed employees who experienced a health condition in the workplace and asked that same question: Who did you go to for assistance? The responses varied.
For example, we found that at midsize companies with 100 to 499 employees, it varied:
· 44% went to their HR manager
· 33% went to their direct supervisor
· 18% went to their HR manager and direct supervisor
· 5% went elsewhere
What this shows is that many employers don’t have a consistent process in place for addressing employees with health conditions. This confusion or misunderstanding about whom to approach for assistance can create an inconsistent process for your clients and their workforce — potentially resulting in a negative experience for employees and lost productivity for employers.
Based on the survey findings, employees who worked with their HR manager tended to have a more positive experience and felt more valued and productive after speaking with them about their health condition.
For instance, 54% of employees felt uncomfortable discussing their health condition with their direct supervisor, versus only 37% of employees who went to their HR manager. In addition, 73% of employees who worked with their HR manager felt they knew how to provide the right support for their condition versus 61% of employees who worked with their direct supervisor.
There are several reasons why working with an HR manager can be more beneficial for employees, and ultimately, your clients. Typically, working with an HR manager can lead to more communication while an employee is on leave. Our research shows employees who worked with an HR manager were more likely to receive communication on leave and returned to work 44% faster than when they worked with their direct supervisor.
HR managers also are usually more aware of available resources and how to connect employees to necessary programs to help treat their condition. HR managers who engaged their disability carriers saw a 22% boost in employees’ use of workplace resources, such as an EAP, or disease management or wellness program, when involved in a return-to-work or stay-at-work plan.
This connection to additional resources is essential, as it can help employees receive holistic support to manage their health condition — whether it’s financial wellness support, connection to mental health resources through an EAP or one-on-one sessions with a health coach. HR managers also are usually able to better engage their disability carrier to provide tailored accommodations, which can help aid in stay-at-work or return-to-work plans.
Providing your client with these findings can help them understand the importance of creating a disability process that puts HR as the main point of contact. Not only does this create a consistent experience that helps provide employees with the support they need, it can improve employee morale and reduce turnover.
SOURCE: Smith, Jeffery (16 August 2018) "Do employees know where to go in a health crisis?" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/do-employees-know-where-to-go-in-a-health-crisis
Checklist: Updating your employee handbook
Employee handbooks can be confusing to prepare and revise. Ensure you don't miss any information when preparing or revising your company's employee handbook with this simple checklist:
When you are preparing or revising an employee handbook, this checklist may be helpful.
Acknowledgment
- Do employees sign a signature page, confirming they received the handbook?
- On the signature page, do employees agree to follow the policies in the handbook?
- Does the signature page state that this handbook replaces any previous versions?
- On the signature page, do employees agree that they will be “at-will” employees?
- Do employees agree that the employer may change its policies in the future?
Wage and hour issues
- Does the employer confirm that it will pay employees for all hours worked?
- Before employees work overtime, are they required to obtain a supervisor’s approval?
- During unpaid breaks, are employees completely relieved of all duties? (For example, while a receptionist takes an unpaid lunch break, this person shouldn’t be required to greet visitors or answer phone calls.)
- Are employees paid when they attend a business meeting during lunch?
- Are employees paid for attending in-service trainings?
- Are employees paid while they take short breaks?
Paid Time Off
- Has the employer considered combining vacation time, sick time, and personal time into one “bucket” of paid time off?
- Does the paid time off policy line up with the employer’s business objectives? (For example, does it provide incentives for employees to use paid time off during seasons when business is slower?)
- Does the handbook say what will happen to paid time off when employment ends? (In Pennsylvania, employers are not required to pay terminated employees for the value of their paid time off. Some employers choose to do this, as an incentive for employees to give at least two weeks’ notice.)
- If the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to the employer, does the handbook inform employees of their rights?
- Does the handbook list all types of leave that are available? (For example, does the employer offer bereavement leave? How about leave while an employee serves as a juror or witness? What about municipal laws that provide certain types of leave, such as paid sick leave?)
Reasonable accommodations
- How should employees request a reasonable accommodation?
- Does the employer permit employees with disabilities to bring service animals to work (Employers should avoid blanket policies that ban all animals.)
- May employees deviate from grooming and uniform requirements for a religious reason, or a medical reason? (For example, an employee may have a religious reason to wear a headscarf, even if the employer has a blanket policy that would otherwise prohibit this.)
Discrimination and retaliation
- Does the employer inform employees that they are protected against discrimination and retaliation?
- Is there an accurate list of protected categories? (Confirm all locations where the employer does business. Some states or municipalities may provide employees with greater protection than federal law. Are there any categories, such as sexual orientation, that the employer should add?)
- Do employees have a clear way to report discrimination and retaliation?
- Is there more than one way to report discrimination and retaliation? (In other words, employees shouldn’t be required to make a report to the same person who they believe is committing acts of discrimination.)
Restrictive covenants/trade secrets
- Are employees required to keep the employer’s information confidential?
- Do employees confirm they are not subject to any restrictive covenants (such as non-compete agreements) that would limit their ability to work for the employer?
- Are employees prohibited from giving the employer confidential information that belongs to a previous employer?
Labor law issues
- If employees belong to a union, does the employer state that it doesn’t intend for the handbook to conflict with any collective bargaining agreement?
- Does the employer have a content-neutral policy on soliciting and distributing materials in the workplace? (In general, if an employer wants to limit union-related communications, the employer must apply the same rules to solicitations which don’t involve a union.)
- Does the handbook accurately reflect whether employees may wear union-related apparel, such as hats, buttons, T-shirts and lanyards?
- Are employees permitted to discuss their wages with each other? (Some employers try to prohibit this, but the National Labor Relations Act entitles employees to discuss their wages with each other. This rule applies to all employers—whether or not they have a union.)
Other
- If the employer has a progressive discipline policy, does the employer reserve the right to deviate from this policy?
- Does the employer reserve the right to inspect company computers and email accounts?
- Does the employer have a social media policy, or a medical marijuana policy?
- If the employer has other policies, how do they fit together with the handbook? (Does it make sense to incorporate the policies into the handbook? Or, should the handbook clarify which other policies will remain in effect?)
- Does the handbook contain any provisions that the employer is unlikely to enforce? (For example, does the handbook prohibit employees from using all social media? Does it prohibit employees from talking on the phone while driving?)
SOURCE: Lipkin, B (20 August 2018) "Checklist: Updating your employee handbook" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitspro.com/2018/08/20/is-your-employee-handbook-up-to-date-compare-it-wi/
Avoiding red flags: How to lower your plan's audit risk
Any size plan can be selected for an IRS or DOL audit. Businesses should learn how to avoid the red flags to help lower their plan’s audit risk. Read this blog post to learn more.
Are only the largest retirement plans audited? The truth is that plans of any size can be audited by the IRS and the DOL. Your plan could be selected for a random audit, or as a result of IRS datasets that target certain types of plans. However, lots of audits are triggered by specific events. Learning to avoid the red flags can help reduce your risk and increase the odds that you will survive any audit for which you are selected without major problems.
Your Form 5500 can be audit bait
Bad answers to Form 5500 can attract the Labor Department’s attention and serve as audit bait. The best way to make sure that your Form 5500 filing doesn’t lead to an audit is to check it carefully — with outside assistance if necessary — to make sure that the compliance questions are answered correctly.
For example, one compliance question asks whether the plan is protected by an ERISA bond and if so, the amount of coverage. Never answer “no” to this question. If for some reason you didn’t have a bond before, get one now. It is even possible to obtain retroactive coverage.
A coverage amount that is too low is also a red flag. In most cases, the bond must be for at least 10% of plan assets at the beginning of the year, although plans with certain types of investments must have higher coverage. Since assets at prior year end and at the beginning of the year are also shown on the 5500, showing an amount lower than 10% of those assets will invite the DOL to follow up.
The DOL will also look at the investment and financial information shown in the asset report. If your plan has many alternative investments such as hedge funds, has invested in other hard-to-value investments, or if you have large amounts of un-invested cash, you may also be inviting a follow up by the DOL. If your asset values as of the end of the prior year do not match your opening year balance for the succeeding year, you are also inviting unwanted inquiries.
Other answers that may get you targeted for further investigation are: if you indicate that you have late deposits of employee contributions or that you have not made required minimum distributions to former employees who are 70.5 years old. Note that this question does not need to be answered “Yes” if reasonable efforts have been made to find the participants but they still can’t be located.
Don’t ignore employee claims and complaints
Many plan sponsors don’t realize that employee complaints to the IRS and DOL often lead to audits. Make sure that employee questions and complaints receive a response, and if a formal claim for benefits is filed, make sure to follow the ERISA regulations on benefit claims and appeals. It is a good idea to run any denials past your ERISA attorney to make sure they are consistent with the written plan terms and clearly explain the participant’s appeal rights and the reason for the denial.
Be prepared
If your plan is selected for IRS or DOL audit, expect to be asked to provide executed plan documents, participant notices and fiduciary policies, such as your Investment Policy Statement. Keep these in a file to avoid a last-minute scramble to satisfy the auditor’s requests. You should also be prepared to show that you are making diligent efforts to find missing participants, deal with defaulted loans and review plan fees, which are current hot issues for auditors.
To be even better prepared, you can do a self-audit to identify problems that need correction before the IRS or DOL do.
SOURCE: Buckmann, C (29 June 2018) "Avoiding red flags: How to lower your plan's audit risk" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from: https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/irs-dol-audit-red-flags-and-avoiding-plan-risks
LinkedIn voice messaging aims to connect HR with job seekers
HR professionals are often looking for more active ways to correspond with potential hires. Continue reading to learn about LinkedIn’s new voice messaging service.
Connecting with job applicants has become more complex and interactive since the days when a single telephone number and e-mail address were displayed at the top of a candidate’s paper resume. HR professionals are continually looking for more active ways to communicate with potential hires.
Now they have another tool to allow them to connect.
LinkedIn announced last week it is rolling out a free messaging service to its 562 million users. The service allows job seekers and HR pros to dictate and send voice messages via the LinkedIn mobile app and receive them via the app or the web.
LinkedIn Messaging users can record and send a voice message up to one minute in length and review the message before hitting the send button.
“People speak about four times faster than they type, making voice messaging great for explaining longer or more complex ideas without the time and involvement of typing and editing a message,” according to LinkedIn. “It’s also helpful for when you’re on the move and don’t have time to stop and type.”
The LinkedIn feature can help HR managers determine if a job candidate is truly interested in the position that is waiting to be filled, according to Kimberly Schneiderman, senior practice development manager for RiseSmart, an outplacement services provider with headquarters in San Jose, California.
“People like to hear tone of voice and their energy from both the job seeker and job candidate side,” she says. “HR wants to hear that the candidate is interested and is eloquent — and oftentimes that comes through verbally,” she says.
LinkedIn agrees, saying that “it’s easier for your tone and personality to come through, which can sometimes get lost in translation in written communications.”
See also: Smiley faces and thumbs up? Texting, emojis enter the job interview
With unemployment at a record low in the U.S., employment experts agree that this is a job seeker’s market. Using social media for job hunting is now the norm. According to business consultant and author Peter Economy, 79% of job seekers use social media in their job search, and this number jumps to 86% for younger job hunters. He adds that 45% of job seekers use their mobile devices to search for a job at least once a day.
But not all new gadgets take hold in the HR world, warns Schneiderman, who says she has seen innovations like video resumes that were proposed in the 1990s fizzle out. “Now we see video interviews,” she says.
“Any tool can be useful so long as people use it,” she says. “We see an ebb and flow with these new tools and some stick and some don’t.”
LinkedIn’s voice messaging feature is available on its app on the iOS and Android platforms. It will be available globally to all members in the late summer.
SOURCE: Albinus, P (9 August 2018) "LinkedIn voice messaging aims to connect HR with job seekers" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/news/linkedin-voice-messaging-technology-connects-hr-job-seekers?tag=0000015f-0970-de2a-a7df-8f7ee7d20000
The corporate asset you’ve completely overlooked — and what to do about it
Have you heard of social capital? The social capital of your employees is a huge asset to your business. Continue reading to learn more.
As an HR professional, you already know the importance of human capital in the workplace. You may have even started to see the shift of referring to human resources as human capital management. Human capital is undoubtedly important, but there’s an even more important “capital” that might not be on your radar: social capital.
Social capital can be defined very simply as the resources embedded in relationships. When you find a rockstar candidate for a position because of a recommendation from a friend, that reference is your social capital. When an employee is working on a challenging project and seeks expertise from an industry veteran he knows, that advice is his social capital. When an executive scores a meeting with a coveted customer because she used to work with someone who sits on their board, that introduction is her social capital. There is no question that the social capital of your employees can be a powerful corporate asset.
The academic literature takes this insight one step further. For example, Tom Schuller of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) differentiates between social capital that results from bonding relationships (links between people with similar characteristics within a community) and bridging relationships (links between people who are different outside a community). He poses that the right balance between these two types of relationships leads to a confident, creative and enduring community. Just replace the word “community” with “team” in the sentences above, and you’ll start seeing that our efforts to promote trust and diversity in the workplace are directly related to social capital.
What can HR professionals do to consciously cultivate social capital in the workplace? Here are a few concrete ideas that you can implement immediately.
1. Consider relationship-building aptitude during the hiring process. Employees who excel at cultivating their networks have the most potential for contributing to an organization rich in social capital resources.
Here are some simple questions you can incorporate into your interview process to assess candidates’ potential: What is your process for cultivating relationships in your network? Who is your most valued relationship as it relates to your career and why? When is the last time you reached out to someone in your network for help on an important task, and how did you do it? Start with questions like these, and then dig deeper to explore how candidates would mobilize resources within their networks to solve problems they encounter in the workplace.
2. Establish policies that reward knowledge sharing. The workplace can become competitive as employees strive to prove their excellence and climb the corporate ladder. A little competition is good, but too much can stifle productivity. Even if team members trust each other, those relationships cannot bear fruit if employees see their coworkers’ success as a threat. Reward employees for helping their coworkers achieve a successful outcome and allow employees to log hours spent helping so they don’t fear retaliation for taking time away from their own projects. Employee recognition software is a great first step toward moving your corporate culture in this direction.
See also: 5 software providers for employee recognition
3. Promote bridging relationships inside and outside the organization.Good managers cultivate a tight-knit team with high levels of trust. But sometimes those managers forget to cultivate relationships outside the team. Perhaps you’ve seen this play out in the scenario where the marketing department rolls out a new piece of software, but doesn’t think to get feedback from the IT team early on in the vetting process. If even just one person in marketing had a trusted relationship with someone in IT, their connection would likely ensure a more successful launch. Remind managers of the importance of fostering cognitive diversity with ideas from outside of the team, because diversity shouldn’t end after the hiring process.
Social capital may not be an asset on your company’s balance sheet — yet. But as an HR professional, you can ensure that your employees’ relationships are cultivated to their fullest potential. What is your organization doing to develop social capital?
SOURCE: Emerson, M (13 August 2018) "The corporate asset you’ve completely overlooked — and what to do about it" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/the-overlooked-corporate-asset-and-what-to-do-about-it
Shifting from employee engagement to employee experience
Employee experience is gaining steam and has many employers changing the way they view their employees. Read this blog post to find out more.
The way businesses view their employees has changed. From mere workers and resources, employers started adopting the mindset that they should give their employees benefits and values, instead of just extracting value from them. The concept of employee engagement applies to this. A lot of studies and researches came out on how employee engagement helps increase employee performance and profitability. Recently though, a shift is happening, with the term “employee experience” gaining steam.
What is Employee Experience?
So, what exactly is employee experience or EX? According to this article, employee experience is “just a way of considering what it’s actually like for someone to work at your company”. It is a holistic model. It includes what the employee experiences in the workplace and within teams—bringing together all the workplace, HR, and management practices that impact people on the job.
Why the shift?
Employee engagement tends to focus on the short-term. For example, there’s an upcoming engagement activity. Once the activity is done, what happens? Most likely, the employee returns to their work, the event just a memory until the next one.
The change in workforce demography creates new demands. The millennial generation, which currently dominates the workforce, have different priorities than the previous generations. The Generation Z’s are now also entering the workforce with a new set of expectations.
Making little changes that impact employee morale and motivation is important. Employee experience is more long-term and big-picture focused. Its scope, from an employee’s point of view, can be end-to-end—from recruitment to retirement.
The challenge of EX is immense. Fortunately, technology is on your side. Various HR tools have been developed to help you get the data that you need, as well as make it easier for you to design the programs you want. Deloitte lists down what you could do right now:
- Elevate employee experience and make it a priority
- Designate a senior leader or team to own it
- Embrace design thinking
- Consider experiences for the entire workforce
- Look outside
- Enlist C-suite and team leader support
- Consider the impact of geography; and
- Measure it
The best way to conquer the challenge of EX is by starting now!
SOURCE: Cabrera, A. (23 January 2018) "Shifting from employee engagement to employee experience" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://peopledynamics.co/shifting-employee-experience/