HR & Management Tips
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You Still Need to Be Professional When Working From Home
Read the rest of this entry »Experienced work-at-homers know to keep the dog out and the door closed when on a conference call. For video meetings, they know it's important to present a professional appearance. That may mean dressing as they would in the office. They're also mindful of what's in the background that everyone can see.
Now that so many of us are working from home for the first time, it's too easy to fall ...
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Here's a Free Course In Leading Virtual Meetings
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With so many businesses limiting employee travel and having those not required to be in the office to work from home, virtual meetings are booming. Since February, Microsoft says use of its conferencing service Teams has jumped 500%. Companies with travel restrictions have increased their use of video conferencing service Zoom 30% in a month.
That's sent IT teams scrambling to get their newly remote workers up and running with ...
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Managers Gain More By Asking Questions
Read the rest of this entry »To be a better manager, ask don't tell. More specifically, ask questions of your team.
If that seems inconsistent with projecting strong, decisive leadership, it can be, if your questions suggest a lack of homework or are manipulative. But managers whose questions are honest attempts at understanding or express curiosity were considered more trustworthy and more credible as leaders.
Research soon to be published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision ...
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Do You Really Want to Be a Manager?
Read the rest of this entry »It's flattering to be offered a management promotion. It shows the confidence your boss has in you, and the bump in your paycheck would certainly be welcome.
But before you say yes, take a deep breath and think about what it means. Not everyone wants to be a manager. Not everyone who is a manager should be one.
Being a manager comes with dramatically different responsibilities. Instead of being responsible ...
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Thank You Team For All You Do!
Read the rest of this entry »In the press of business, while we’re rushing from one meeting to another, answering emails, hustling to get another report done by the deadline, it’s easy to forget to say “Thank you.” That’s why 25 years ago today was declared Employee Appreciation Day.
We all know how important it is to recognize each other for the contributions we make. It’s especially important for managers to acknowledge not only the special ...
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Employers Need to Prepare For Virus Spread
Read the rest of this entry »While the US has so far seen few cases of the coronavirus, employers need to plan should the situation change, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent briefing.
“Now is the time for businesses, hospitals, community schools, and everyday people to begin preparing,” said CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes. Employers should “begin to respond in a flexible way to differing levels of severity, to refine their ...
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More Vulnerable, Women CEOs Negotiate More Severance
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When it comes to severance agreements for CEOs, the gender gap works against men. Women who lead publicly held companies negotiate severance packages more than half as rich as their male counterparts.
Good news? Not really, say researchers, who not only studied the size of these agreements, but also the reasons for the disparity.
“Pre-employment severance agreements reflect the heightened concern of prospective female CEOs that they are more vulnerable ...
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Motivating With Money Has Its Limits
Read the rest of this entry »Money isn’t nearly the powerful motivator people believe it to be.
Dozens, perhaps even hundreds of studies demonstrate quite clearly that a few extra dollars or even many extra dollars rarely produces the long term effect on productivity employers hope for.
It is true that the less a worker is paid, the greater the impact of a bonus or raise. But at a certain pay level, somewhere around $75,000 according ...
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Tech Team Leadership Takes More Than Coding
Read the rest of this entry »You've just been tapped to lead a development team on a new project. It's a sign of the company's confidence in you and the opportunity you've been wanting for a while.
Now that you're back at a workstation, reality is setting in. What do you need to get your team on board and rowing together?
In a word, it's leadership. And that has far less to do with your coding ...
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Don't Commit the Sin of Overproductivity
Read the rest of this entry »Is it possible to be too productive?
The short answer is "Yes." The consequences of overproductivity can be as serious in white collar work as it is in lean manufacturing.
If that surprises you, consider what it means to exceed expectations and not just by doing more than what is expected, but overproducing to such an extent that you sometimes run out of work and feel guilty if you stop ...
