Susan Scott's Blog, page 22

3 Ways to Prevent Your Employee Pool from Leaking Like a Sieve

There’s a lot of buzz out there right now about the infamous, often unbearable … Great Resignation. It’s dizzying how many stats we’ve seen about the slews of people quitting jobs. We hear it all the time–around 3.9 million people per month were quitting in 2021. And we feel it when we’re forced to wait an eternity for something as insignificant as a side salad. There’s been a lot of talk about what’s possibly sparked this phenomenon, everything from anxiety about COVID-19 to job insecurity to underwhelming DEI initiatives.

While we can conjecture all day long about why employees are leaving left and right, one thing is crystal clear. There are far more open positions out there now than there are people to fill them. According to the US Labor Department, there were 4.6 million more job openings than there were people to fill them in December 2021.

Put more bluntly: employees have the upper hand. So, if they’re unhappy or generally disengaged, for whatever reason, it’s no wonder so many of them are willing to throw up the proverbial peace sign and waltz right out of your office for something better. Unlike any other time in recent history, employees have got options, and they know it.

Every situation is unique, but as a leader, you can begin turning the tide in your company. How? By embracing the power of effective coaching conversations.

Here are the top three ways effective coaching conversations can help you increase employee retention.

1. Effective coaching conversations enable you to address employee burnout. No one can run on empty for very long. No one. And if you’re not attentive to your employees’ emotional needs, your office could rapidly transform into a psychologically draining, brain-sucking zombie. In short, the onslaught of pressures from mounting deadlines and remaining understaffed, for instance, leaves little room for employees to fill their tanks.

But the first step in mitigating this problem isn’t to begin making sweeping procedural changes. It’s simply to listen. An effective coaching conversation with your employees puts the ball in their court. They enable employees to drill down deeper and deeper, and give them the space to discover solutions to burnout for themselves (solutions that you probably haven’t even considered). Talk about empowering. Would a 9/80 schedule help? How about redistributing tasks in a way that saves time and energy? What about automating or even eliminating certain processes? You’ll never know until you start listening to the people with their boots on the ground. And to do this well, you absolutely must learn the art of the coaching conversation.

2. Effective coaching conversations stimulate employee engagement. This point can’t be understated because employee disengagement is one of the leading risk factors associated with resignation. In fact, according to a recent Gallup poll, “the highest quit rate is among not engaged and actively disengaged workers.”

But coaching conversations done right allow employees to regain control over their decision making and their actions in the workplace. It’s hands down one of the quickest ways to re-engage them. This works so well because it’s like flipping a switch in their brains, taking them from passive bystanders to active participants. It gives employees permission to shake up their routine and explore ways of creating greater success for themselves and ultimately for your company. And because they’re engaged, it significantly reduces the risk of them leaving.

3. Effective coaching conversations empower you to address your toxic office culture. Toxicity in the workplace is important to consider as it often lies at the root of both employee burnout and disengagement. It’s a tricky thing too because it comes in all shapes and sizes. But if there’s one red flag that’ll ping your office as toxic, it’s this: an overwhelming degree of poor communication. At its core, however, poor communication is not the cause of the problem; instead, it’s a glaring symptom of larger cultural issues. For example, in some highly driven, male-dominated industries, anyone who doesn’t adequately represent the dominant voice runs a high risk of being marginalized.

What’s scary is that often leaders completely, albeit inadvertently, overlook this problem. To be fair, it isn’t necessarily because they don’t care. They’re often just so overwhelmed that keeping up with the ebbs and flows of interoffice relationships is downright hard. But once you master the art of the coaching conversation, you’ll find it much easier to identify those cues that signal deeper office culture problems. This is the first step toward fostering a healthy, equitable workplace that leaves employees feeling heard, engaged and satisfied.

Perhaps the pandemic is the straw that broke the camel’s back and is spurring people to reevaluate their relationship with work. One thing we do know is that workers just aren’t willing to continue to put up with the same old tired day-to-day anymore.

Employees are reevaluating their relationship with work. And no matter the cause of this reevaluation, if you stand by and do nothing to improve their satisfaction, there’s a huge chance you’ll be left in the lurch.

Fortunately, leaders have recourse: Fierce Coaching Conversations. They can be a game changer. They can help you get to the bottom of employee burnout, reinvigorate employee engagement, and combat the ever-pervasive toxic workplace culture.

Want to learn more about leveraging the power of coaching conversations? Click here. 

 

LOOKING TO CREATE A HEALTHY, LOW-STRESS WORKPLACE?

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The Future of Communication with CEO, Ed Beltran: “Is Measuring Employee Engagement Outdated?”

The Future of Communication with CEO, Ed Beltran: “Is Measuring Employee Engagement Outdated?”

In response to Fast Company’s recent article, Employee engagement is out. Here’s a better metric.

 

Hello, everyone, I’m Edward Beltran. I want to share with you an article I recently read on Fast Company, where the research and the premise are asking the question, “Is employee engagement, a good and effective metric?” The premises that it doesn’t necessarily correlate with a thriving culture or exceptional results. I don’t think anyone will argue with the fact that employee engagement is a good thing. I believe what the research is challenging instead, is instead of focusing on this one metric, really looking at the behaviors that define great work, and when you distill that down a little bit, they’re saying good work is just getting the job done, where great work is exceptional, innovative and groundbreaking. They identify five observable behaviors, three of which I want to highlight here.

The first one is asking questions.
The employee would constantly be asking, how might this be better? How might we do this? How might we think about what we do differently?

The second one is deeper involvement.
Wanting to interact with clients, products, or assembly, especially if this is outside of their current scope. This is really pulling customer-centricity into every function.

The third one I want to highlight is gathering information from a broad array of experts and resources, not just relying upon internal institutional knowledge.

I think it’s very, very important to bring in different dynamics, and not being so insular in how you think I think about things. So whether you believe that employee engagements and effective measure or not, the challenge is really to ask what behaviors correlate most to a thriving culture, and your desired results. At fierce, we believe in this premise of great work. And we have identified four behaviors associated with great work and human to human connection that have correlated to exceptional results for the clients and work that we’ve been doing for the past 20 years.

The first one is interrogate reality.

The second one is provoked learning.

The third one is tackle your toughest challenges.

And the fourth is while you’re doing all this, enriching relationships.

I hope you found this article as interesting as I did and also the challenge to think about this metric a little bit deeper, thought-provoking. I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day and encourage you to pick up the book by Susan Scott, fierce love,  and remind you that the conversation is the relationship.

 

 

Tags: #CEO corner

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The Coaching Disaster

A couple of weeks ago, a few members of our team were fortunate enough to overhear a conversation that demonstrated how professional coaches often overstep and create unintended roadblocks for those they’re supporting.

We were eating lunch at our favorite deli just a few blocks from the old office (we’re now all remote and taking our own medicine as we adust to remote conversations). At the table across from us were sitting a distinguished-looking older gentleman and an energetic guy who’d clearly been making waves in his industry. We’d gathered from early on in their conversation that not only was this the start of a new mentoring relationship, but it was also a celebration.We picked up bits and pieces of the conversation as we finished our sandwiches, and we imagine it went something like this:

“Congratulations, Chase!” the older gentleman said. “VP of Learning and Development—that’s a huge step up in the world. I know you’ve been working hard towards this promotion for quite some time. How does it feel?”

“It’s pretty amazing. My wife screamed when I told her,” Chase said.

The older gentleman smiled and leaned back in his chair, “I bet. She knows firsthand how much time and energy you’ve dedicated to this.”

“Definitely! But I’ve got to step up my game. Our company’s had massive turnover in the past year, and there aren’t any signs of that trend reversing anytime soon.”

“Yeah, a lot of industries are struggling right now. But let me ask you something, Chase: what’s the average employee’s work-life balance look like in your company?”

“It’s par-for-the-course, I guess. We’ve got the standard 40-hour workweek, but nobody punches a clock. There’s always a mad rush to meet client deadlines. And with more people leaving every week, late hours and on-call weekends are fairly commonplace.”

The older gentleman raised his eyebrows. “That’s not a sustainable business model. Can I give you some friendly advice? I’ve been at this a long time, and I can tell you: your business lives or dies based on employee satisfaction. Point blank. Their negative perception not only impacts retention, but eventually, it’ll trickle down and get the attention of your customers, if it hasn’t already.”

“Exactly,” Chase nodded and glanced around the room. “But the real question I have is this: what can I do now to begin making things better?”

“One word,” the older gentleman revealed a slight grin. “Empathy. Show your employees you understand what they’re going through. You could even make a bold move. Encourage the other members of your leadership team to give employees a mandated holiday with pay. Have them turn off their computers and close up shop for an entire three day weekend.”

Chase’s face was completely blank. “That’ll cost us,” he said.

“Yes, it’ll cost you. But this kind of thing communicates that you care about more than only the bottom line. Just remember, though; you have to follow this up with action. In our next meeting, we can start plotting out how you can help your employees feel more appreciated and fulfilled. That’s going to be the key to turning this mess around.”

Unfortunately, at that point, we broke our cover and had to avert our attention. What can we say, we’re passionate about the power of effective coaching. But what we just witnessed … let’s just say it made for some interesting conversations on slack in our team chat that afternoon.

Redefining the Coaching Conversation

We know what you’re thinking. The guy’s advice seemed spot on. If a super-famous, not-to-be-named tech company is doing this sort of thing, then there just has to be something to it. Well, sure. BUT, that super-famous, not-to-be-named tech company is not Chase’s company. Their circumstances and contexts are not the same. Our point? The older gentleman gave Chase a band-aid when what he needed was to cut open the proverbial wound and dig out the infection before it gets worse. And the BEST way to arrive at deeper, more transformative solutions is through effective coaching conversations.

However, the wrongheaded assumptions people often make about what a coach is and what a coach does undermine opportunities for substantive growth.

At Fierce, we define coaching as “the process of developing others to generate and embrace their own solutions.”

And this definition makes all the difference. Here’s why.

1. It requires personal responsibility and is therefore repeatable.
The best coaches don’t give advice. We might sound a bit off our rocker when we say that, but hear us out. While the older gentleman’s advice will certainly help Chase, advice in itself simply doesn’t have growth potential. It’s hard to further nuance, reshape or reapply as circumstances change. In a word, it’s static.

However, by encouraging Chase to take ownership over resolving his problem for himself and providing appropriate support through that process, an effective coach would enable him to develop a critical thinking practice that could sustain him throughout his career. Remember the old adage: teach someone to fish and you feed her for a lifetime? It might sound cliche, but it’s so true, especially in the context of a coaching relationship.

2. It encourages depth of understanding and allows more well-rounded solutions to blossom.
By urging Chase to drill down and think about his situation for himself, an effective coach could help him see the problem with greater depth and clarity, and to generate more thoughtful and lasting solutions for himself. For instance, if asked the right questions, Chase might’ve uncovered that his office culture as a whole is toxic, and that the women in that space are repeatedly talked over, marginalized, and even sometimes publicly maligned. Chase might’ve realized that this toxicity is actually what’s driving his high turnover rate, not work-life balance issues.

In this specific context, a three-day weekend is probably only good for giving employees the mental space they need to realize they deserve better. Taking the older gentleman’s advice and calling it a day eliminated an extraordinary opportunity to get to the real root of the problem. This discovery would’ve informed Chase on how to institute a host of more relevant initiatives to transform his employees’ day-to-day experiences.

3. It connects the head and the heart, laying the foundation for lasting change.
Let’s face it. Change is hard. And in order for it to stick, most of us require an emotional connection to it. Chase had a clear set of steps to fulfill that could seemingly set him on the path of improving employee retention. But notice how the only person in the above scene who seems emotionally invested in this checklist is the mentor. Chase’s indifference to it means there’s a high probability that he’ll slip back into old habits and won’t expend the energy needed to resolve his problem.

Meanwhile, flipping the script and guiding him to uncover solutions for himself instantly grants him the emotional investment needed to catalyze long-term action. And that translates to ongoing results as his circumstances evolve.

The point here is that in order to enable others to create deep, genuine change in their lives, your coaching conversations MUST begin recognizing and relying on the wellspring of insights simmering just beneath the surface not of the coach, but of each individual.

Want to transform your coaching conversations into something truly empowering? Start here. 

 

Learn How to Have Better DE&I Conversations

Bring this powerful virtual keynote featuring Karith Foster into your organization today!

Learn more >

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The Fierce Approach to Coaching

 

The word “coaching” means a lot of different things to different people, but what do you think makes a really good coach? In her newest vlog, Fierce Master Facilitator Beth Wagner reviews the Fierce approach to coaching and shares tips on how you can improve your coaching skills. 5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

Download eBook >

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Three Steps to Creating Clarity

Certain cycles repeat themselves, both in our personal and professional worlds. From a personal standpoint, January always brings with it a bunch of resolutions, most of which have already been broken. From a business perspective, while short-term and long-term planning happens at different times of the year depending on when the fiscal calendar starts, one thing is clear: a lack of clarity (i.e., conversations) continues to cause confusion, which can result in a new strategy being a lot less effective than planned. Much like that now forgotten resolution. Many fail to realize that this lack of connection – again, conversations – is costing you a ton. And we’re not just talking financially!

In our development sessions, we speak to a Papua New Guinean word, “Mokita.” It stands for “that which everyone knows but doesn’t speak of.” We call it the elephant in the room. This represents the conversations that we know we should be having but we are not for any number of reasons. Again, insert personal or professional here. It impacts all areas of our lives. That said, this is supposed to be a business blog, so I’ll focus on the professional side of things.

How well are you communicating this to your people as you plan and prepare to launch your new strategic vision for the year? Is it a memo detailing all the finer points of the plan? Is it a town hall where literally no one is brave enough to speak up to ask questions about it? Is it a memo passed down to all the lower-level leaders, “hoping” they understand it well enough not to confuse everyone? Whatever method you are using, there is one thing to remember. This is only the start; anything new needs constant support, constant evaluation, and, yes, constant conversation.

 

This is where things get messy. Strategies can look great on paper, but we need to remember that they mean and do nothing without the people doing the work to turn them into reality. This is where the conversations are essential. Unfortunately, with people being involved, we open ourselves up to varying contexts, assumptions, opinions, all of which lead us to do everything EXCEPT have the conversations that want and need to happen. We play out the conversations in our heads. We fear the failed conversation and then never have them. Then we are amazed that things didn’t turn out the way the piece of paper told us they would. All of which create a vicious cycle of confusion, poor performance, and stress. None of which is good. Remember, when there is a lack of information, the natural tendency is to fill in the gaps with the worst-case scenario.

In a white paper just released introducing our new Chief Behavioral Science Officer, Gabe De La Rosa, it is noted that occupational stress costs businesses $187 billion annually! This number jumps up to $300 billion when you include factors such as absenteeism, turnover, diminished productivity, increased medical costs, and increased legal fees. In the end, there is a solution, and it isn’t very complicated. Start having (and continue to have) conversations!

Here are some common steps you can take:

Define Goals and Purpose

Your daily actions will have little context if you don’t know what you’re working towards.

If employees and leadership have different goals, or if anyone is unclear about their intended outcomes, engagement suffers. Have conversations around expectations with everyone involved. Write a “Stump Speech,” as individuals and as a team, answering these questions:

Where are you going?Why are you going there?Who is going with you?How are you going to get there?Understand Roles and Responsibilities

A formal job description gives employees a general understanding of their role within an organization, but that clarity may disappear when it comes to day-to-day tasks. This is where delegation conversations are essential.

Delegating effectively can create clarity around, for example, whether an individual owns a certain task item or whether they merely need to weigh in on the task.

Employees need to know where the responsibilities of their role begin and end if those responsibilities might overlap with their coworkers, and how.

Have the Necessary Conversations

As we’ve discussed, effective conversations are the solution for gaining clarity, and for conversations to be effective, they need to occur frequently and include clarifying questions. No more avoiding!

We have to be willing to communicate what we’re really thinking and feeling. Frequency is especially important when it comes to giving and requesting feedback.

Taking a “when you see it, say it” approach is best, as engagement improves when appreciation is out in the open and employees are clear on potential areas they can improve.

In combination with asking clarifying questions whenever anything is unclear, feedback conversations are the two conversational skills that can significantly reduce miscommunication.

So stop the cycle of blown resolutions; I mean ineffective strategy. Start having the conversations!

Learn How to Have Better DE&I Conversations

Bring this powerful virtual keynote featuring Karith Foster into your organization today!

Learn more >

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How Fierce’s New Chief Behavioral Science Officer, Gabe De La Rosa, Is Poised To Transform Your Company’s Culture (And Bottom Line).

Fierce is excited to announce Gabe De La Rosa as our new Chief Behavioral Science Officer!

You may at this point be wondering ”what exactly does a Behavioral Science Officer do, and why did you hire one?” These are both valid questions for anyone who does not have a background in behavioral or organizational psychology.

 

WHAT IS A CHIEF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE OFFICER?

To answer this question, let’s first ask some other questions you may have already pondered in your business career.

Why do our customers buy from us?
Why do our customers choose one product over another?
How will our target audience respond to our newest ad campaign?
How can we find actionable insight from all of this prospect and customer data we have?

These are the types of complicated questions best answered by a Behavioral Science Officer. Behavioral psychology (or science) is simply studying the connection between our minds and our behavior. Scientists in this field seek to discover why people act the way they do.

With access to enough data, behavioral scientists are able to identify patterns in action and behavior. While this type of statement typically only excites the marketing department, Fierce is working to make sure everyone in your organization benefits from this incredible branch of science.

 

FIERCE IS LIKE THE API OF COMMUNICATION

Everyone knows that their devices are connected and that apps can “talk” with each other, but few understand how the process works. Computer networks communicate through something called an API, or Application Programming Interface. Asking Google a question is similar to telling the waiter at your favorite restaurant what you’d like to eat. The waiter takes your order, delivers it to the kitchen, and a few minutes later brings you the food that you requested. An API works in the same way, except it’s much faster than any waiter I’ve ever met.

Similar to how the devices on a network are connected to each other through an API, every person in your company is connected with each other through an interface as well.

The “interface” (to run with the metaphor) that humans use to connect is communication.

Unfortunately, our “communication API”, or process by which we understand one another, isn’t nearly as effective as it could be. Books like John Maxwell’s Everyone Communicates But Few Connect and Frank Luntz’s Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear have taught us that while we believe we’re getting our point across, oftentimes, we aren’t.

What happens if we think we’re saying one thing, but our audience picks up on something different? Or what happens if we (being human) are worried about the social consequences of clearly speaking our mind?

Lack of clear and effective communication will eventually lead to a serious and expensive problem in any company. That’s the problem we solve. You can think of Fierce like the interface that allows the people in your company to better communicate with each other.

 

THE BURDEN OF COMMUNICATION

Who is responsible for understanding what’s being said in a conversation: the speaker, or the listener?

This is known as the burden of communication, and the answer to that question varies across different cultures. In English however, the burden of communication is on the communicator.

It is our job when speaking to do everything in our power to make sure we make ourselves clear. Simply “using our words” as we like to sometimes tell children, isn’t always enough.

People express themselves through words, tone of voice, inflection, volume, eye contact, body language, the speed we talk, the duration of our pauses, and even the things we don’t say. The point is: effective communication is complicated. It’s not just an art, but also a science—behavioral science.

And now we have Gabe on the team to help us further our mission of better understanding it. Read his whitepaper The Impact Of Stress At Work to see why we’re so thankful to have him.

 

FIERCELY INTO THE FUTURE

We at Fierce are furthering our research to improve our understanding of how we can develop leadership, culture, and communication for the success of our clients.

Yes, your company’s culture can change. Your leaders can develop, and your bottom line can improve. The key to unlocking your potential in these areas is hidden in your people’s ability to effectively communicate with one another.

Teaching people how to communicate is what we do. We hired a Chief Behavioral Science Officer so we can do it even better. Companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Uber all already have this position filled. The role will become more common over time, but we realize not every company will be ready to hire someone for a role they don’t fully understand.

So let us help!

Leverage our trainings that are rooted in decades of experience, and get better every year as we learn. We’d love to have a discussion with you to see how we can help.

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DO YOU HAVE A REINTRODUCTION PLAN?

Just as employers worldwide reintroduced in-person working, another wave of COVID required a pause, slowing the return, followed by the need for a new reintroduction of in-person working. Companies have worked diligently to adapt operations and practices to keep employees and customers safe during the reintroduction to in-person work. Safety continues to be key, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach for every business or organization to return employees to work successfully.

The first step in implementing an office return strategy requires a transitional period that allows for adjustment to the new dynamic, which will most likely include a mixture of remote and in-office work supported by the newly developed technology infrastructure. Best practices for a reintroduction plan also include ensuring that team members have the training and resources required to avoid struggles associated with returning to work. Workloads have changed, and often, new employees need to be added to ensure your business continuity and continued growth. In addition, businesses have been required to clarify company best practices regarding illnesses, emphasizing the need to stay home when unwell, without fear of negative repercussions. The goal is to develop a safe working environment as the business reintroduces in-person working in the “new normal.”

During the past two years, we have learned that change is constant and inevitable. Whether it comes as the result of a global pandemic, a merger, new company leadership, new technologies, a changing marketplace, employee turnover, or rebranding, we must be prepared for changes. In this case, the change is the reintroduction to in-person working.  No one expected the wave of changes the world faced as remote working suddenly became the norm, nor the reaction when the call for a return to in-person working came. 

The call to return to in-person work can seem entirely out of control for many team members. To a certain degree, it is, but with guidance, your company can present a reintroduction plan to help your employees thrive as they return to work.  As a business leader, you already recognize that everyone responds to change differently. It was true when remote work was first required, and it is true now as a return to in-person work is inevitable. On top of those noticeable changes, the world has experienced advances in technology, a disruption in the way it does business and changes in its economy. Every organization faces challenges in improving business processes and remaining relevant while reintroducing employees to the workplace. 

For some companies, reintroduction will be easy. For others, it will be more of a challenge. Fierce offers these reintroduction strategies to help your organization thrive through the return to in-person work and well into the future:

Build Trust through Continuous ConversationInvite Collaboration through People-Focused Initiatives Encourage Feedback and Active Listening

Build Trust Through Continuous Conversation 

Preparing your team for a return to the workplace environment requires an ongoing conversation. As you ensure your employees’ health, there will likely be numerous changes in how spaces are utilized and by whom, cleaning procedures, and new best practices for safety. At Fierce, we know the root of conversation means to “associate with,” and regular and effective communication through conversation can prevent confusion and promote understanding. It is important not to talk AT your team, but rather to them in a conversation with genuine two-way dialogue that allows for sharing (concerns, ideas, etc.). These conversations should be open, real, and honest, discussing the reintroduction plan in ways that help your team navigate the changes and, in turn, drive positive results. 

This type of ongoing, open dialogue builds trust. In turn, that trust helps your team welcome the changes when returning to in-person work and makes them what to succeed. It enables teamwork and connection and is crucial because, at the end of the day, the conversation is the relationship. Think about it, when you are honest and authentic in your conversations, that’s what you will get in return. Your conversation equals your relationship. Your ongoing conversation throughout the reintroduction process will build trust within your team, grow relationships with your team, and help everyone manage the changes which come with returning to in-person work. 

Invite Collaboration through People-Focused Initiatives 

Just as a real, genuine conversation builds trust, people-focused initiatives invite collaboration among team members. Consider the changes your team has endured over the past two years, often working in isolation for days or weeks at a time. As a result, many companies suffered from decreased morale, diminished motivation, and dwindling employee engagement. As a part of an effective reintroduction plan, people-focused initiatives can instill a sense of normalcy, increase engagement, and encourage collaboration. 

Keep in mind, consensus does not equal collaboration. Consensus is when everyone agrees in opinion or judgment within the team. Collaboration is people working together to create or produce; it doesn’t require everyone to agree. Collaboration invites inclusion; it allows team members to express themselves and feel valued. People-focused initiatives invite collaboration and build on trust not only during the reintroduction process but whenever changes come in your business. 

Encourage Feedback and Active Listening

During the reintroduction plan, it is crucial to encourage feedback from team members. Whether questions or concerns, actively listening to employee feedback keeps the two-way dialogue open, enhances morale, and reassures employees as they return to in-person work. It shows your team members their voices are heard, and they are valued and respected members of the company. The goal is to give everyone the opportunity to return to in-house work and contribute in ways that make the “new normal” better. By asking for feedback and listening, everyone gains a sense of belonging and empowerment within the shared corporate culture where trust has been established through conversations and people-focused initiatives invite collaboration.

LOOKING TO CREATE A HEALTHY, LOW-STRESS WORKPLACE?

Explore the 5 conversations you need to start having

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THE CHALLENGES OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN 2022

Employees have embraced remote working and continue to demand greater flexibility from employers. This can be a winning scenario for organizations, decreasing the need for expensive office space and developing a happier and more productive workforce.  The challenge comes as learning and development teams must continue to invest resources and time in developing effective procedures for virtual and onsite teams.

T he Evolving Role of Company Culture, Soft Skills and Emotional Intelligence

Before the pandemic, organizations focused heavily on developing an invigorating and dynamic company culture. With the creative company culture in place, individual talent who “fit the culture” was attracted with numerous onsite features. The idea was to elevate employee satisfaction, enhance retention, and nurture collaboration and communication among team members.

Post-pandemic, many organizations have implemented flexible workplaces. Team members may be across town, across the country, or around the world, creating enormous challenges for HR and L&D teams to define company culture or cultivate it. At Fierce, we understand and have developed training to resolve these issues from building accountability, increasing productivity and ensuring exceptional engagement with coaching and experiential learning methods.

Along with the evolution of company culture, soft skills and emotional intelligence have become crucial in flexible working environments. Anxiety levels remain high for many. Priorities and outlooks have changed. At Fierce, we know how to develop soft skills, enhance emotional intelligence among team members, and teach leaders to start the needed conversations, avoid microaggressions, and ensure a diverse, fair, and inclusive workplace.

Digital Transformation Propagates Change Management

Digital transformation is not new but certainly took on greater significance in light of the pandemic. Updating business practices by replacing legacy systems and procedures with the latest digital technology and software became truly mandatory beginning in March 2020. Companies are adopting AI and machine learning for recruiting, marketing and sales. Universities are implementing online assessment, remote orientation and virtual classes. And restaurants are incorporating QR menus, integrated POS and mobile payments. Old jobs are lost as new ones are created, generating considerable change and the need for reskilling and upskilling of the existing workforce.

Learning and Development training must meet these challenges of reskilling and upskilling while keeping production high and developing new opportunities within organizations. It means developing a greater understanding of the workforce, ensuring DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion) strategies are met and supporting employees throughout the technology adoption learning curve.

As the digital transformation efforts move forward, change management strategies must be developed to ensure effective migration initiatives. Here organizational leadership faces challenges in creating cross-functional teams who can effectively communicate changes organization-wide and ensure training and onboarding needs are met. Among the most difficult obstacles of change management initiatives are lack of communication, low buy-in levels, failure to establish goals and KPIs, and inadequate training. Learning and Development training must ensure effective strategic development to drive organizational change successfully.

The Function of Scaling in Learning and Development Training

Scaling prepares an organization for growth and often needs to be implemented rapidly while at the same time enhancing company processes and performance. Doing so requires strategies including onboarding new employees, skill development of existing team members, and implementation of required training due to new local, state, or federal guidelines. In addition, these programs may include training or retraining in regard to company policies, support programs, or initiatives, such as DE&I. Today’s organizations see the exceptional value in learning and development training for fostering a culture of learning and delivering a return on investment (ROI) in productivity, growth, retention, agility, adaptability, progress engagement, and more.

Data Use for Enhanced Learning and Development in the Hybrid Workplace

Today’s hybrid workplaces present more significant challenges for an L&D team to monitor employee development, performance, and productivity. Formerly, in-person monitoring was accomplished through employee interaction in traditional workplace settings. Still, with the latest tools in leadership and training development, teams can collect data from development and training initiatives to establish benchmarks and KPIs and measure training effectiveness.

Employees have embraced remote working and continue to demand greater flexibility from organizations. The commute is no longer required, nor is spending money at the food court. Flexible schedules mean more time with family and greater opportunities to take care of their homes and be more productive in their work. This can be a winning scenario for organizations, decreasing the need for expensive office space and developing a happier and more productive workforce. The challenge comes as learning and development teams must continue to invest resources and time in developing effective procedures for virtual and onsite teams.

At Fierce, Learning and Development Training promises to deliver the guidance needed to meet the challenges in any organization through experiential learning, focused on real-life issues with hands-on practice and ongoing support to the organization. Fierce delivers learning and development training to last, with well-developed, personalized training that positively impacts businesses. 

 

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THE IMPACT POLARIZING VIEWS HAVE ON TRUST

 

Tension and anxiety are high these days, and polarizing views can threaten the trust we have with our closest relationships, both professionally and personally. So how do we develop transparency on polarizing topics without damaging the trust among employees, friends and family? In his most recent vlog, Fierce Master Facilitator Luis Gonzáles explores how to engage in authentic conversations to keep and build trust with others.

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Are Your Teams Feeling the Fatigue?

More employees have started to bring their whole selves to work. Leaders need to pause and look at the HUMAN demands impacting their people. Addressing non-work stress, the mental and emotional demands of the last two years while balancing a full-time job is important to establish trust and transparency. Incorporating these practices in your re-introduction plans will ensure a healthier work environment for all.

We’ve all felt it. After months of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world seems to be getting back into more normal rhythms. In communities, businesses, schools and activities are opening once more. Even so, those early months of the unknown turned into nearly two years of unanticipated challenges. While everyone did their best, adapting to the changes, facing the obstacles, overcoming the challenges, everyone is tired. We are feeling the fatigue at work, at home, everywhere. Everyone is languishing, feeling the tension, facing the burnout from your clients to your team members.

The fatigue your teams are feeling can manifest in many ways. Some may be cranky, others “in a fog.” Some may seem annoyed, others frustrated. Some may feel defiant, others angry. And the list goes on, leaving leaders with lots of challenges to overcome. So, just how do we, as leaders, get our team focused, energized, and reconnected – ready to strategize, boost engagement, and enhance productivity in a healthy work environment?

As we explore the solution to team fatigue, we must take note. Even if your business is flourishing and positioned well, your team may be struggling with the loss of energy, lack of determination, and feelings of malaise. The truth is, we all possess the ability to recover and bounce back, but everyone is different, so there is no one size fits all solution. Everyone’s resilience is based on personal needs, varied histories, and unique experiences. Identifying the solution requires an examination of human needs and giving people choices. Begin the process of battling fatigue by asking your team what they need and genuinely listening to the answer. Finding a solution is bound up in having real, honest conversations, or as we like to call them, Fierce Conversations.

Understanding Human Demands 

All your team members have unique human demands applying pressure and stress to specific areas of their lives. Knowing that, you can begin to understand those demands by getting to know your teams better. Each individual has different abilities, experiences, capabilities, and with those unique attributes come varying levels of stress, fatigue and burnout. Knowing your team members means you can gauge the demands they face outside of work with the expectations for them at work. You can understand their level of fatigue and develop the needed strategy to help them overcome any challenges.

When your teams are tired, honest conversations in personal meetings work best. Tired teams are more challenging to motivate than individual team members. Meet with team members privately, engage and encourage, listen and respond to needs and concerns. Teams will recognize you as part of the team, working alongside them to address issues, find solutions, and make the changes needed to restore energy, morale, and productivity.

In many cases, team fatigue results from a lack of self-care. With all the stressors facing most people today, self-care, including rest and rejuvenation, is neglected to meet life’s daily demands. Exhausted team members simply can’t be at their best at work or anywhere else. Encourage rest and recovery times for your teams and make it readily available. Factor it into planning. In most instances, you’ll find that when more leave time is used, team morale will be higher, and with it, productivity will increase as well. 

What Matters Most?

In most businesses, teams haven’t spent a lot of time together in person during the pandemic, which means they need ways to reconnect with one another. Find ways to connect which work for your teams. As they come together again, re-introduce your company’s mission and goals and motivate teams with your “why” and the significance of their purpose and contribution. Here, your goal should be to move past the urgent and address the principal issues that may have been neglected in light of the challenges your company faced during the early days of the pandemic. For businesses with success throughout COVID-19, the “important” might be developing ideas for long-term competitive advantages. For companies struggling due to the sudden shift in the global workforce, the “important” might be winning back lost customers. What matters most is employee health and well-being, enhanced engagement, and increased performance to come out of the pandemic challenges as a stronger company.

Recognize and Energize 

Already fatigued team members will face more significant challenges preparing for the expected post-pandemic boom. As leaders prepare teams, offering appreciation for performance during the pandemic can help energize team members. It’s not simply about recognition for wins and successes but also an appreciation for every contribution. Team members’ unique contributions and good work should always be acknowledged and celebrated. Recognition goes a long way in helping teams, and leaders overcome fatigue and sustain energy.

Offer insight on how teams can pull together, recognize one another’s contributions, and keep the energy flowing into your business. While recognition is a great start, there are many other ways to energize your teams. Real, honest communication is one way. Setting up friendly competitions is another. Dividing lengthy projects into manageable pieces is yet another. If setbacks occur, allow for honest feedback and constructive criticism. In doing so, teams see challenges as changeable, as opportunities to gain experience and learn, as areas they can positively influence. 

Find Balance for Success 

For team members, the challenges of the past years have not only resulted in fatigue but a great deal of evaluation, with many reimagining their lives and their successes. Returning team members and new team members want a more prominent role in balancing their future success. As a leader, you can meet this need by allowing teams’ input into your organization’s future. When you listen to diverse perspectives, team members find balance, teams feel empowered, and the company can truly meet its full potential. Honest, open communication can help leaders address the fatigue many teams are facing, reduce anxiety and stress levels and help teams see their place in the company’s future.

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Tags: #Employee Engagement, #Mergers and Acquisitions

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