Our Latest Blogs

The Human Element in HR Tech: Nurturing Personalized Employee Experiences in the Digital Age

The Evolution of HR Tech Human Resource technology has significantly transformed how the workforce is managed and engaged. The introduction of HR technology has led to increased efficiency, valuable insights and improved decision making completely changing the HR environment. Nevertheless, despite this shift, towards digitalization maintaining the touch, within HR technology remains crucial. The essence of the "human element" within HR tech has become pivotal. Striking the Balance: Technology and Personalized Experiences The challenge lies in striking the right balance between leveraging technological advancements and nurturing personalized employee experiences. TMP Direct recognizes the significance of this equilibrium and champions a people-centric approach amidst technological innovation. The essence of personalization and its role in exceptional employee experiences are key pillars in this pursuit. Personalization: Foundation of Exceptional Employee Experiences Here, the discussion revolves around the importance of personalization in crafting tailored solutions for employees. The shift from a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to acknowledging individual skills, motivations, and career aspirations forms the core of nurturing a people-centric workplace culture. Integrating the Human Element into HR Tech At TMP Direct, human-centric HR technology is not just a concept but a practice. This section details the practical applications that blend technology and personalized approaches to curate tailor-made solutions for onboarding, training, career development, and well-being initiatives. Communication: The Key to Human-Centric HR The art of communication in balancing HR tech and the human touch is highlighted in this section. TMP Direct's approach focuses on utilizing digital tools for seamless communication while emphasizing face-to-face interactions, feedback sessions, and mentorship programs to foster trust, collaboration, and a sense of belonging. Evolving for the Future: Adaptability and Agility Continuous evolution remains crucial in the pursuit of balance. TMP Direct's commitment to exploring emerging HR tech trends and consistently refining strategies to ensure they remain human-centered is discussed here. The significance of adaptability and agility in embracing new tools and methodologies is highlighted. Empowering People Through Technology The future of HR in the digital age isn't about choosing between technology or the human touch but empowering people through technology. This section emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where employees thrive and are not just beneficiaries but empowered by HR tech solutions. The Path Forward In conclusion, the synergy between technology and the human element within HR is the intersection where innovation meets empathy. TMP Direct's commitment to upholding the human element within their HR tech solutions is emphasized, ensuring a workplace that is not just efficient but genuinely enriching for every individual within the organization.

29 Apr 2024

The Future of Employee Benefits: Secova’s Role in Redefining Employee Benefits

In today's rapidly changing business environment, organizations must continually adapt and innovate to maintain their competitive edge. An essential aspect of this adaptation is the evolution of employee benefits. Employee benefits are no longer limited to mere compensation packages; they have become a strategic tool for attracting, retaining, and engaging top talent. This article explores the future of employee benefits and the various trends and technologies that are reshaping this landscape. Personalization: Customizing Employee Benefits The days of one-size-fits-all benefits packages are long gone. Today's workforce is more diverse than ever, comprising employees of varying ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles. Forward-thinking companies are recognizing this diversity and adopting a personalized approach to employee benefits. Secova, through its advanced technology, empowers organizations to analyze employee data effectively, gaining insights into their unique needs and preferences. This data-driven approach allows HR teams to craft customized benefits packages tailored to each individual employee. For instance, a younger employee may prioritize student loan assistance, while an older employee might focus on retirement planning. Personalization not only enhances the employee experience but also nurtures a sense of loyalty and belonging. Wellness Initiatives: Prioritizing Employee Well-being Employee wellness extends beyond gym memberships and occasional health check-ups. It has evolved into a comprehensive approach that encompasses physical, mental, and financial well-being. As employees increasingly seek workplaces that prioritize their health, companies are investing in innovative wellness programs. Secova's expertise in benefits administration and wellness initiatives enables organizations to seamlessly integrate well-being into their benefits packages. Leveraging wearable devices, mobile apps, and data analytics, companies can monitor and enhance employee health. Furthermore, Secova offers virtual healthcare options and mental health resources to support employees, whether they work on-site or remotely. Financial Well-being and Retirement Planning Financial stress can significantly impact employees' job satisfaction and productivity. To address this concern, forward-looking companies are expanding their benefits offerings to include financial wellness programs and comprehensive retirement planning. Secova's cutting-edge platforms empower employees to access financial tools, retirement calculators, and retirement savings plans with ease. By providing guidance and resources for managing finances and planning for retirement, organizations can help alleviate stress and boost employee engagement. Remote Work Benefits: Adapting to the New Normal The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work, and this trend is expected to endure. As remote work becomes the norm, companies are reevaluating their benefits to cater to the unique needs of remote employees. Secova recognizes the importance of adapting to this new work environment. Our solutions enable organizations to offer remote employees virtual healthcare options, ergonomic workspace setups, and mental health resources. This ensures that remote employees receive the same level of support and benefits as their in-office counterparts. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation: Streamlining Benefits Administration The integration of AI and automation into benefits administration is revolutionizing HR processes. These technologies streamline administrative tasks, reduce overhead costs, and enhance the overall employee experience. Secova's AI-powered platforms simplify benefits enrollment, claims processing, and dependent eligibility verification. By automating these processes, organizations save time and resources while minimizing errors, ensuring efficient benefits delivery. Data Security and Privacy: Protecting Sensitive Information As technology becomes increasingly integral to benefits administration, the importance of data security and privacy cannot be overstated. Employees entrust sensitive personal information to their employers, necessitating robust data protection measures. Secova places a strong emphasis on data security and provides state-of-the-art protection measures. They also ensure compliance with data privacy regulations, instilling confidence in employees regarding the handling of their personal information. Dependent Eligibility Verification: Ensuring Fairness and Efficiency Many employee benefits extend to family members, making dependent eligibility verification essential to prevent misuse and control costs. Secova specializes in this verification, helping organizations ensure that only eligible individuals receive benefits. Through advanced technology and rigorous verification processes, Secova assists organizations in maintaining the integrity of their benefits programs. This not only conserves resources but also promotes fairness and equity among employees. The Changing Landscape of Employee Benefits In the past, employee benefits primarily consisted of healthcare plans and retirement accounts. However, the landscape of employee benefits is rapidly evolving to meet the changing needs and expectations of today's workforce. Here are some additional areas where employee benefits are transforming: Mental Health Support: Acknowledging the importance of mental health, organizations are increasingly offering benefits such as counseling services, mindfulness programs, and stress management resources. Work-Life Balance: Flexible work arrangements, unlimited paid time off, and sabbatical programs are becoming more common, allowing employees to better balance their professional and personal lives. Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives: To foster a more inclusive workplace, companies are incorporating benefits that support diversity, such as diversity training, mentorship programs, and employee resource groups. Career Development: Benefits like tuition assistance, professional development opportunities, and mentorship programs are helping employees advance in their careers within their current organizations. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs): These programs offer confidential support for employees facing personal challenges, including mental health issues, addiction, and family-related concerns. Navigating Regulatory Compliance Employee benefits are subject to numerous regulations and compliance requirements. Navigating this complex landscape is essential to avoid legal issues and financial penalties. Secova's compliance expertise helps organizations stay current with changing regulations. We offer assistance with compliance audits, reporting, and documentation, ensuring that companies adhere to the latest legal requirements. Conclusion In the evolving landscape of employee benefits, driven by personalization, well-being, technology, and security, Secova's extensive HR and benefits administration experience leads the way with innovative solutions. In today's talent-driven world, personalization, employee wellness, financial support, remote work, AI adoption, data security, and dependent eligibility verification are vital. Organizations fostering such a culture value and support their most crucial asset—their employees. Secova is the trusted partner ensuring organizations not only keep pace but lead in shaping employee benefits' future. With the right strategies and technology, companies create thriving environments, driving individual and organizational success. Embracing transformative employee benefits, we move towards a future where employees benefit as contributors and beneficiaries of their organizations' success.

20 Mar 2024

How to use AI-based tools to find your next job

How to use AI-based tools to find your next job The tradition of real people reading your résumé and assessing you in a face-to-face interview may be going away—at least in the early stages of the recruitment process. AI has certainly changed the hiring process. But the good news is that if you work with the new machine-based system you’ll do just as well—perhaps even better—than you would have in the traditional hiring process. First, be prepared to be pursued by a machine. Companies are using the intelligence of machines today to search for talent, and they may come after you. Employers are using the power of AI to search through millions of profiles to find candidates. AI also searches for talent among passive candidates: people who are employed, but may be open to a change. If a bot reaches out to you as a possible candidate for a job posting on LinkedIn or elsewhere, you’ll need to decide whether you want that job or not, and whether the bot would likely rate you as a top candidate. If you decide to go for that job but are rated as having only a few of the requirements, you’ll want to rewrite your online profile so that it better reflects the requirements of that posting. Before submitting your résumé, make sure all language is as concise and direct as possible. Education levels and proficiency levels based on the job requirements are usually the first things evaluated by the machine. People often outline all their skills, but the machine wants to know what skills were actually used on the job and what problems applicants have solved. The machine also picks up details. It looks for names of companies you’ve worked for, titles you’ve had, and how long you’ve been in each job. It also looks for hard numbers that show your impact. The machine analyzes your résumé for keywords and related concepts that are in the job description. If possible, incorporate the important words into your most recent job experiences. Don’t forget to give your cover letter attention too. This letter might be your first opportunity to appeal to a human being, but in many instances, you’re still dealing with a machine. Think of it as a summary of the résumé. That means including language that parallels the job description. Machine scans may also test them for optimum length, contact information, measurable results and skills. Finally, you may encounter the bot at the interview stage. While many companies provide all candidates with human interviews, some have a machine evaluate you in a one-way taped pre-interview. Once you get through the bot-driven screening process, you’ll likely deal with human beings in live interviews. Here your interpersonal skills will come into play. AI gets to work in the background, gathering and analyzing your behavior—everything from your mouse clicks to reaction speeds. It then crunches the millions of data points and creates a personal profile that includes things that don’t appear in a regular resume, such as your personality, longer-term life goals, and the type of work culture that you would flourish in. The more you reveal regarding your career ambitions and personality, the better your chances of matching with companies and roles where you’d be a good fit. You need to make sure your resume accurately reflects where you’re trying to go. When used effectively, AI can reward job seekers with a newfound sense of control. It can put the power to steer their career path into their hands. Traditional strength and personality assessments aren’t going anywhere, but they are becoming more sophisticated. To better understand whether or not a candidate is the right fit, employers are using assessments with more intelligent algorithms that can determine how you’ll perform in a specific job environment. Some address cultural fit, and some are built to measure technical skills. Chances are, you’re familiar with the ‘scenario’ type of questions in an interview that asks how you would react in certain situations. Pretty soon, you may have to show, not just describe, how you’ll handle on-the-job-scenarios. Companies that have substantial resources and that are hiring en masse are taking it a step further by using VR to build workplace scenarios. Employers are looking beyond your résumé and building a profile based on your online activity. Beyond the obvious steps of cleaning up your social profiles, think in terms of creating more content that can actually support your image. Share your thoughts with LinkedIn posts, start a blog, or create an online portfolio. Companies have resources at their disposal, but job seekers have options too.

20 Jul 2022

Being a better leader during a crisis

Being a better leader during a crisis Any leader who will successfully guide their organization through turbulent waters must design their role in the way that works best for them and their team members. This can be a tremendously liberating realization, freeing them from false expectations that there’s a right or wrong way to be a CEO, director, or senior leader—and giving them permission to lean into their superpowers. The key here is to be keenly aware of your superpowers and play disproportionately to those strengths. Surrounding yourself with trusted people to whom you can delegate responsibilities that aren’t in line with your core strengths is often priority number one. And building a high-performing team of diverse, complementary superpowers usually comes next. When you’re growing your business, you likely have a lot of goals you want to achieve and projects on your plate. A significant challenge for any leader is prioritizing the work in process to guarantee their team (and they themselves) aren’t overwhelmed. Further, if an individual or a single team is pulling in too many directions at once, they’re likely to go nowhere fast. Setting long-term and ambitious goals is important for growth, but it can seem overwhelming. Take those goals and break them down into short-term, manageable ones so that you can continue to be motivated by seeing progressive, tangible achievements. Prioritization should include a mix of fully achievable (that is, 10% or less uncertainty) and stretch (that is, 25 to 50% uncertainty) goals. Segment your priorities into three categories: financial, quality (of your products/services and the experience you are creating for your employees and clients), and strategic. By balancing short-term and long-term activities, you can guarantee continuous improvement in all key areas. Measure weekly progress, adjust timelines as needed, and monitor your overall stress and well-being. Goal achievement is both emotional and logical. Each day, assess the top five priorities that “feel” necessary to conquer. Also assess the top five priorities that make the most sense logically. They don’t always align, so it helps to have this internal dialogue daily. Solicit insight from trusted colleagues occasionally if the tension feels irreconcilable. Leaders and managers are being asked to adapt and evolve like never before. To emerge with an evolved culture, an engaged workforce, and a strong talent pipeline, leaders at all levels will need to engage their personal authenticity. A leader who is honest, creates conditions that allow their employees to be who they truly are, and provides an environment that brings some comfort. Leaders who show their real and genuine selves to others at work build stronger bonds of trust. This provides the fuel to power their teams to tackle thorny issues with transparency. Navigating times of change requires faith in others that are guiding them through unknown waters. To retain your staff and lead a WFH workforce, leaders cannot be seen as just blindly accepting the company’s rhetoric. Authentic leadership is a significant predictor of an employee’s job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and workplace happiness. Authentic leaders embrace their unique leadership style. Whether naturally extroverted and charismatic or introverted with low-key charm and grace, leaders are most successful when they own their style and build a team around them that complements it. Leaders should communicate clearly and often in times of strife. Explain in plain language the facts as you know them. Describe what decisions were made, and why, and how. Talk of your organization’s values, and your own values. Discuss what you expect to happen next, without overpromising. Explain what you don’t know yet, but hope to learn. It is not possible to bear the weight of supporting those on your team when you are not supporting yourself. A daily commitment to self-care in the form of exercise, art, mindfulness, and/or prayer can help keep you healthy and mentally fit. Make an effort to talk of the things that are weighing on you with those who are not themselves struggling. Recognize when you are beginning to suffer burnout. Leading with empathy, changing how we do what we do, how we make people feel, working together... As we reach a critical mass of allies, we create stronger and happier workplaces, companies, and industries, together. When you’re ready, take action to lead change in your work, on your team(s), and in your workplace. Transform your organization, industry, and society.

01 Jun 2022

Try this power move to beat procrastination

Try this power move to beat procrastination It’s really amazing how creative we can be when it comes to procrastination—there are so many ways we can put off doing things that we actually want to do. From making major career moves to something as simple as updating your wardrobe, there are always sticking points along the way. What hope is there for fighting procrastination as social distancing drags on? It comes down to figuring out why we procrastinate and how this common behavior fits into the current crisis environment. One reason we are procrastinating more is the number and variety of distractions in a home work environment—like homecare, childcare, other adults at home, improvised work spaces. So much procrastination stems from our projections of the future and what it might look like. But, of course, the truth is, we never really know what the future will look like. The only thing we can do is make the most educated decision in the moment with the information we have at present. It means that if you focus on some small steps that you can take immediately, you will make incremental progress that eventually adds up to big gains. A ‘now step’ is the smallest meaningful action that you can take in the face of a challenge. It reminds the brain that your behavior matters as you experience a win from completing it. A ‘now step’ can take two minutes, or 20 minutes, or two days—and they are all equally valuable. Because making the tiniest progress proves to yourself that this is a project that has meaning for you. Plus, once you complete one step, the next ones will start to fall into place. All you have to do is locate the following ‘now step’—and do it. Procrastination is an emotion-focused coping strategy. The brains of procrastinators have a larger amygdala, which is part of the limbic system known for fight or flight. The procrastinators are reacting emotionally, and the emotion-focused coping response is to escape. It’s saying, ‘I don’t want these negative emotions I’ll experience during the task,’ and so it avoids the task. When we face a task that presents boredom, frustration, or fear, the limbic system lights up, and the amygdala hijack overrides the prefrontal cortex, which is the home of executive function that includes things like impulse control, planning, and organization. The key to getting control over procrastination is emotion regulation, and one method is practising mindfulness. Use breathing and muscle relaxation exercises. Then practise non-judgmental awareness of the emotion. Acknowledge your feelings. And then look for the reasons for those emotions. Your emotions are trying to teach you something. But you don’t need to freak out. Once you find a way to get control over your emotions, it’s time to move forward. Procrastination, whether it stems from fear or boredom, is resolved with action. It’s getting yourself to do something you don’t feel like doing. Propel yourself forward by breaking down a large goal or task into individual steps. Keep it as small as possible. As humans, we have something called a “complexity bias.” It’s our tendency to make things that are simple seem way more complicated. It makes us more likely to ignore or overlook simple solutions and instead focus on the more complicated option. It’s that alarm that goes off in your head, blaring, ‘Warning: Difficult and complicated task ahead. Bail while you can.’ The good news: There’s a way to override the complexity bias and start seeing the simpler path forward. Ask yourself: What would this look like if it were easy? The ‘easy’ question, challenges us to frame a task in terms of elegance instead of strain. In doing so, we sometimes find incredible results with ease instead of stress. Sometimes, we ‘solve’ the problem by simply rewording it. It’s important to remember that a task can be simplified and still require work to get it done. The “easy” question isn’t finding the lazy way out—it’s creating a more straightforward process that we have an easier time wrapping our brains around and starting. It means still putting in the work, but feeling clear and confident regarding what that work actually entails. Research has shown us that when you make progress, even a little on a goal, it fuels your wellbeing. Even if you just take the tiniest of steps, you’ll help yourself get started and then you’re on your way. Mindfulness + action: the one-two punch that can cure procrastination.

11 May 2022

How to properly address microaggressions at work

How to properly address microaggressions at work We all want to feel safe at work. But many of us end up feeling uncomfortable or hurt because of microaggressions. Intentional or unintentional, these actions can have a significant impact on our engagement and overall well-being. They usually come in the form of seemingly innocent comments by someone who might be unaware of the impact their words have on a colleague. Microaggressions still exist, even when we’re no longer sharing the same physical space. But they can take on new forms. Now that so many of us are logging onto work from our couches or offices or kitchen tables, microaggressions can look different, but they are still equally harmful. To be able to best deal with them, it helps to be able to identify them in all forms. Microaggressions fit into one of three categories: Microassault (an explicit racial derogation), Microinsult (communication that conveys rudeness and demeans a person’s racial heritage or identity), or Microinvalidation (communication that excludes or negates the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person belonging to a particular group). Many microaggressions are nonverbal, so they can be subtle. Our facial expressions can convey our feelings and thoughts. Seeing another person’s facial expressions can change how we show up. A close counterpart to facial expressions is body language. A few key pieces of body language to keep in mind in avoiding microaggressions are closed body language and dominant power positioning. Employees impacted by microaggressions don’t always feel safe expressing their true thoughts and experiences. It might make them feel uncomfortable, or fearful of retribution for speaking out. Creating space in which open conversations are encouraged, where employees can feel psychologically safe and protected from microaggressions, should be the starting point. Empowering your people to express their opinions and concerns without fear of being ridiculed is a critical step in identifying microaggressions. You also need to make sure that anyone who stands up to courageously share something regarding themself should be recognized and encouraged. Show them you appreciate their viewpoint and uniqueness. Microaggressions typically come from a place of ignorance. You will need to encourage open and candid conversations in which the aggressor and target can share their version of events. Predetermined scripts can make this process much easier by including carefully worded statements. This simple tool can help avoid an even worse situation with a new series of slipups or slights. Storytelling can be another powerful way to evoke emotions and enable people to see how hurtful an off-the-cuff comment can be to their colleagues. The stories shared help educate employees who might be unfamiliar with microaggressions. They also remove the ignorance that microaggressions need to thrive, so you can begin building a culture of empathy in your workplace. When anyone reports a microaggression, there needs to be a plan in place that documents how to move forward, learn, and improve. The plan should be published on the company’s own intranet and communicated to everyone throughout the organization. Every employee should know how to report a microaggression, and every manager should know how to deal with and resolve the issue. Resolving conflict should be seen as a learning opportunity to unpack and understand why the situation occurred and what individuals can do to prevent this from happening in the future. In addition, the process should be seen as an opportunity for the entire organization to learn and celebrate our differences and unique perspectives, and break down communication barriers. If someone commits a microaggression, pause for a moment and take a few deep breaths. This helps to calm you and allow you to think rationally, rather than reacting emotionally. Ask yourself what you want to achieve by responding to this person. Discuss the incident with the individual involved directly. You may want to request a private conversation with them to avoid further attention. Once you have discussed the incident with the individual, allow yourself to move on from the issue. If HR was not present for your conversation with the individual involved, send an email to them summarizing the incident and ask that it be placed in the individual’s file. The ideal way to combat workplace microaggressions is for employers to educate their workforce against these behaviors before they happen.

20 Apr 2022

Figuring out work-life balance

Figuring out work-life balance While work-life balance has always been important, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the human need to step away and recharge has increasingly become a topic of discussion. Many professionals at all levels have reported working even longer hours since moving to remote work arrangements—when the office and home become a single location, stepping away can become even harder. While many have spent more time than ever working because their home is now their office, it is important to create time and space away from work. One way to do that is to clearly document and prioritize what needs to be done this week. Assess how much time is needed to accomplish these tasks. Clear your calendar of any items that do not help you achieve your goals for the week. Learn how to fuel your peak performance and be able to do in one hour what could have taken hours to do. It starts with having clear goals, eliminating distractions, having curiosity regarding the task you are undertaking, and making sure that your challenges are in line with your skill level. This will boost your productivity and creativity while giving you more time to enjoy life. Prioritizing by outcome instead of by time is an effective way to trim down the workweek. Check in with yourself regularly on how the task that you are doing is helping your company reach its desired outcome for the week—if you are unclear on how it is or if the answer is that it isn’t, don’t do it. It’s very simple to say but very difficult to put into practice! Being flexible is a great way to let your team figure out the most constructive way to manage their time. Everyone understands their expectations, and as long as your clients’ needs are being met and you continue to grow, don’t limit employees’ time away from the office. Each person understands what works best for them when it comes to work-life balance. It’s essential to trust your employees to make their own decisions. Most of the time, they know what they’re doing better than a leader because they’re closer to the problem and have a better idea of what’s possible for a solution. Letting go of the reins and trusting your employees to make good decisions allows them to have the chance to grow and prove themselves. Shorten meetings to 45 minutes and immediately get back 25 percent of your day. Another tactic: Meetings should be for discussion or decision making. Information sharing can be handled offline and should not take up time during your day. Start your workday earlier and stick to a schedule. Whether you and your team are working exclusively from home or showing up to an office building one or more days a week, developing a healthy work-life balance is essential for everyone’s mental and physical health. Activities like resting, happy hour, or going for a walk should be encouraged and praised out loud. People who rest regularly are better thinkers and more pleasant co-workers. Encourage employees to take time off from day one. Build a culture where employees don’t feel the need to check their emails outside of work hours. Also, institute ‘Friends and Family’ day, which is an optional but highly encouraged day off every month. Encourage team members to use this day to go do something fun, get some errands done, or engage in self-care. Establishing work-life boundaries is neither a matter of corporate policy or personal responsibility, but should be a shared commitment by both employees and employers. Unless organizations commit to policies that make sure workers feel confident being truly “off the clock”, employees need to decide between establishing their boundaries or allowing work to disrupt their down time. Employers can set policies, they can lead by example when creating work-life balance, and then there’s that honest and open communication that employees can give their employers for what they need personally to create work-life balance. Many organizations boast of their work-life balance, but setting policies that encourage that divide is only effective if they’re followed by leaders. Leaders need to lead by example to create a work environment that has healthy boundaries, space and time to recharge, and open communication when tough topics need to be addressed. Perhaps the easiest way to do that is to take a vacation and truly disconnect and recharge, or be open (and unapologetic) on prioritizing home events as much as work events. Rather than target a delicate work-life equilibrium, which requires constant perfection, change the formula. Fuse the personal and professional spheres of your life into a peaceful coexistence. Integration occurs when your highest priorities and responsibilities blend into a cohesive whole.

04 Apr 2022

Effective time management strategies for busy leaders

Effective time management strategies for busy leaders As a leader, your time isn’t just something you’re ‘selling’ to whatever company employs you in exchange for a wage. It’s an important asset you must divide carefully to make sure operations run smoothly, everyone on your team receives the support they need, and any individual tasks also get completed. Time management strategies is essential for busy, high-achieving leaders. Leaders should always set SMART goals (goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). For example, instead of aiming to communicate more with your team, set yourself the target of having a one-on-one meeting with each team member every two weeks. Once you have a specific target, you can build it into your carefully planned schedule and make it happen. Focus your efforts in three categories: calendar management, tasks and projects and work-life balance. They involve the three assets everyone brings to work: time, priorities, and energy. Productive people get key activities done between major events in their schedule (like high-stakes meetings) instead of filling gaps in their days with work chats, emailing, or low-priority tasks. Even the most conscientious time managers tend to fall into the trap of spending too much time on the low-hanging fruit. This is why so many people believe in identifying the most important task (MIT) each day and tackling it first thing in the morning before moving on to anything else. If you’re freshest and most alert in the morning, it’s the perfect time to dedicate to your biggest priority. Timeboxing is the process of accounting for all your tasks in your calendar each day, allocating a specific duration for each. It holds you accountable to complete a specific task on a specific day. Timeboxing is great for estimating level of effort. This is a great project management skill to have. You assign yourself an amount of time for a task and check yourself on how long it actually took. Take the list of projects and assign one or more 30-minute time slots to each project. Prospecting is a good example. Once the project is done, move onto the next one. If 30 minutes spent prospecting is not enough, assign projects like that more than one 30-minute segment, but make sure they are spread throughout the day. It’s not difficult to focus your attention if it’s only for 30 minutes. You can’t blindly assume that you’re going to follow whatever schedule you set, so try monitoring yourself as you do your activities. There is a range of applications that can help you do this, with various levels of sophistication. DeskTime, for example, includes all kinds of features, such as reports, integrations with your project management software, and even productivity timelines. At the end of each workday, reflect on how you spent your time. Then add events to your calendar to document a map of what you accomplished in each block of time. This helps refine your workload estimation skills and hold yourself accountable for the work you said you’d do. You can set this to private in most calendar apps—you know if you don’t want to share it with your entire organization. To keep stress levels in check, managers must focus on one essential skill: delegation. Your ability to become the best version of yourself depends on your ability to find the time and space to hone your strengths and passions. Delegating work will help alleviate stress and reduce the potential for burnout. Mapping out your tasks can help you get more specific on what you need to delegate. To perform at your best, you need to take regular, intentional breaks to recharge. When you are doing high-intensity, focused work, you’re using up your cognitive resources. And when you take a restorative break, you are recharging those resources. These breaks help you be more productive, restore your motivation, and help you make better decisions and reach more creative results. When the stakes are low, it is easy to convince yourself that there’s more to life than careful time management strategies. But as your responsibilities, task list, and the number of people counting on you multiply, you may realize that you need to have your time management strategies down to a fine art to be able to think of or enjoy anything else. This is fulfilling your duty as a leader. You have eight hours to sleep, eight hours to work, and the last eight hours of the day—what you do with that time will determine the quality of your life. Explore more about : How to onboard employees virtually

28 Mar 2022

How to onboard employees virtually

How to onboard employees virtually In the past, a new employee would show up on their first day and get thrown into the mix. They might go through a few organized sit-downs with managers, financial controllers, or a department head to get them up to speed, but mostly, they would learn by watching. Onboarding digitally is a very different experience than onboarding in-person—not just for new employees, but also for the existing team members already working with the company. There are a few things that are especially useful for creating an authentic experience. You must be very specific regarding what your culture is like, beginning with the interview. Give them a sense of what a day of their role would look like. Walk them through some of the problems they could expect, and talk with them on how they feel regarding them. Something that has been found to be beneficial is pairing new hires with senior employees who can act as mentors. This gives the new hire someone they can go to for questions, but more importantly, it gives them a way to feel included. A mentor gives you reassurance. In terms of onboarding a new employee, structuring time to answer questions, introducing them to other team members, or walking them through client materials is priority number one. There should also be moments where other employees spontaneously reach out. These moments of serendipity are everyday occurrences in a physical office. When working remotely, we have to work a little harder to engineer them. Send a few check-in emails to the new hires or, better yet, pick up the phone and ask how things are going. Find ways to build relationships so new team members feel they’re part of something and that people in the organization care for one another. What we are learning from this shift to digital workplaces, is that the way we interact needs to be done with intention. Being effectively onboarded into an organization deals with communication: how you communicate the workings of the company, how you communicate standards and expectations. It sends a signal as to how the new hire should communicate. Have someone from your marketing team put together a quick video that can be used for new hires. Including interviews or videos with leadership and employees across teams and levels can give a new employee a good grasp of the corporate structure, everyone’s roles, their personalities, and how each team and employee is connected. Asking people to record clips on their phones is an easy way to get this done, and makes it feel relatable. Set up a buddy system. Give someone a go-to resource they can ask questions of, and make sure to introduce them first-thing on their first day. Set up ‘meet and greets’ with as many employees as you can, even if it’s not someone that the new hire will work with daily. There’s nothing worse than joining a meeting and having to ask someone who half the people are because you have never seen them before. Don’t jam everything into one day. The first day on a job is always overwhelming, so don’t overload a new hire with all the details. Spread out how you can to ease them into everything. Create a probation period plan with concrete goals and small projects. Although getting onboarding right represents a massive opportunity, getting it wrong represents an even greater risk to an organization. 1 out of 5 new hires will leave within the first six weeks — and it has never been more critical than during the Great Resignation. It’s important that everyone involved in the onboarding process knows what they need to do. Even more critical are the actions of the new hire’s manager during the first few weeks. Research shows the hiring manager’s impact on an employee’s engagement is 70%, so it’s critical for managers to receive thorough coaching, guidance and reminders. Instead of giving new hires and managers a list of information and tasks to complete on the first day, onboarding should be viewed as a journey that takes place before, during and after a new hire steps through the office door. This relieves much of the first-day stress by providing new employees the right information at the right time.

14 Feb 2022

How to get the right work mentor

How to get the right work mentor Beginning a job remotely can be stressful. When your interactions with new colleagues are only happening through a screen, the process of learning the best ways (and people) to help you do things often feels overwhelming. Research shows that mentors are not only helpful to new workers acclimating to a new organization, but also key to professional growth. In a hybrid mentorship setup, mentors must take advantage of the time they spend with their mentees in-person to have constructive discussions and form connections, while also establishing open lines of communication in remote settings through virtual coffee chats, accessible hours and a common goal for the mentorship program. When designing a mentorship program, businesses should focus on pairing mentors and mentees who can learn from one another. For instance, a senior manager can share advice on leadership style and future career path options to a more junior employee, while the junior worker can provide insight on navigating technology, social media and new mediums. Organizations should also be thoughtful in the assignments, discussion prompts and materials provided in mentorship programs so they aren’t solely one-way knowledge dissemination processes. For instance, hard skills and management discussions are well-tailored for mentees to learn from mentors, but weaving in technology workshops and discussions on work-life balance, can allow senior employees to learn from junior mentees. Engagement can be improved by one-on-one mentoring relationships and specifically tailored learning development programs. Mentors and coaches also provide employees with a window into future career paths, which enhances learning and development plans by giving workers a better idea of the types of experiences they want to gain in the future. Many younger workers say they would like a mentor figure at work. A recent study of 13 to 25-year-olds found that 82% of respondents would prefer to work for a boss who cares for them and can discuss issues beyond work, and 73% reported they were more motivated to perform at their jobs “when they [felt] their supervisor cares for them.” It’s important as a new employee to grab any and all opportunities to connect, including company-sponsored mentorship programs. A mentor doesn’t even have to be someone high up. Some of the most useful mentors are people who are just a step or two ahead of you because they were in your shoes not too long ago. Your mentor doesn’t really need to be someone who was in your shoes five years ago. They can just be someone with whom you share a similar mindset. The mentor experience has changed during the last few years. Given the Great Resignation, employees are reclaiming their power, advocating for themselves, and seeking a better work experience. This better work experience includes having mentorship that is inclusive, measurable and results driven. With the shift to virtual work and employees becoming increasingly mindful of their priorities, we’re seeing an increase in employees wanting not only mentorship but also a way to connect virtually with other employees to build meaningful relationships. Corporate mentorship programs continue to pair mentors and mentees based on position, title, or gender rather than personality traits and lived experiences. With 52% of American workers considering a job change and burnout running rampant, sustainable mentor-mentee relationships are more important than ever. In a mentor relationship, you often share very personal aspects of yourself, such as your goals, aspirations, struggles, and so forth. Hence, entering a mentorship is an exercise in vulnerability. To determine whether you can be honest with your mentor, ask that person what level of information they’re comfortable sharing and discussing. Start small and expand the mentor relationship as time goes on. Two of the most important characteristics of a good mentorship are a willingness to show humility and to practice transparency. That might mean confronting emotions of pain, embarrassment, or remorse—but it also means celebrating moments of great joy, learning, and camaraderie. When you do find someone that you hit it off with, make sure that you hold onto this spark. These connections can eventually become long-lasting friendships. As you grow in your professional life, you will need different skill sets to get from one point to another. Soft skills, such as people skills, negotiation, management and leadership, become more and more important and mentorship is the best way to learn.

27 Jan 2022