Tag Archives: Organizations

Mentoring or Coaching: What’s Best for Your Company?

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by Lis Merrick and Steve O’Brian 

Mentoring and coaching strategies translate to better employee engagement and retention. But it pays to know the key differences between coaching and mentoring to implement an effective program.

One of the major effects of the recession was a lack of investment in developing business skills for younger, midlevel workers. Today we’re faced with a serious talent gap and, with the improving economy, greater difficulty in recruiting highly skilled employees to fill those positions.

As organizations realize the depth of their talent predicament, many are developing strategic talent pipelines, with eight out of 10 saying they are “taking the steps to grow the talent pool and ensure access to the rights skills that will help drive business results,” according to “The Talent Shortage Survey: Research Results,” a ManpowerGroup survey. Continue reading →

5 Rules for Efficient, Effective Meetings

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by Kristine Kern

Despite their reputation as a huge time-suck, meetings are the laboratories of real, measurable teamwork. To reclaim productivity at your organization, try these strategies for making meetings meaningful again.

Meetings are a major pain point for many of my clients striving to achieve organizational health. The remedy, however, is not fewer meetings; it’s more regular and specific ones. Sounds fun, right? Let me explain. Continue reading →

WorkLife – How to Make an Impact in Onboarding

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By Stephanie Shaw

 

Onboarding, or organizational socialization, is a topic that can seem somewhat daunting for companies to embrace. Going beyond the simple employee orientation, onboarding ensures that new hires feel welcome and prepared, while giving them the confidence, trust and freedom to succeed in their new position. Most companies have some form of onboarding practice, but it is often regarded as tactical, rather than a strategic endeavor in the talent management process.

 

The Aberdeen Group, an organization that conducts business research, found in 2013 that companies are interested in re-evaluating their onboarding strategies. They found the top reasons for revamping onboarding practices were to improve new hire productivity (68 percent), engagement (67 percent) and retention (51 percent). Aberdeen also found that 90 percent of organizations believe that new employees make a decision on whether to stay at a company within the first year. This means employers need to make a great first impression and have a full year to make sure their top talent stays. Continue reading →

Why Work Is Lonely

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80-gianpiero-petriglieri-2 by Gianpiero Petriglieri

There is an old cartoon I often show to the managers I work with. It portrays a smiling executive team around a long table. The chairman is asking, “All in favor?” Everyone’s hand is up. Meanwhile, the cloud hovering above each head contains a dissonant view: “You’ve got to be kidding;” “Heaven forbid;” “Perish the thought.” It never fails to provoke awkward laughter of self-recognition.

I have a name for this cocktail of deference, conformity and passive aggression that chokes people and teams. I call it violent politeness. Continue reading →

Malcolm Gladwell Explains How ‘Strategic Disadvantages’ Can Make You A Great Leader

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Do some disadvantages come with a hidden upside?

Malcolm Gladwell, popular author of books like “Outliers” and the recent “David and Goliath,” thinks the answer is a resounding yes. In a conversation at the World Business Forum he discusses how “strategic disadvantages” such as a learning disability can be instrumental to your future success because they force you to adjust your learning strategies and work around obstacles from an early age. Continue reading →