Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog

Mark Zuckerberg is making a splash in the press by reducing his annual salary to $1, according to SEC filings. Zuckerberg joins a small group of CEOs who made the same move years before him, including John Mackey (Whole Foods), Meg Whitman (HP) and Larry Ellison (Oracle).

Modern customers now have superpowers, have you altered your customer service match? Technology has changed customer service both in how we sell and how customers want us to sell to them.

Effective customer service starts from within an organization. Successful companies see their employees as more than just workers but also brand ambassadors. A company's efforts to boost employee engagement should translate into effective and strong customer service.

Not all people in leadership positions are effective leaders, but they can be developed into excellent leaders. Extraordinary leaders are not born or created over night. Some may say that Richard Branson has a certain ‘Je ne sais quoi’ about him, that Steve Jobs grasped the attention of everyone when he presented to an audience, or that Jeff Bezos is the most upbeat CEO of our time. But what really makes a great leader in big and small organizations today?

A recent employee engagement report revealed some shocking statistics. Only 31 percent of employees are engaged at work! What does a disengaged employee mean for your company? Loss of productivity is an obvious answer, but the loss of productivity goes beyond just that employee. Even the best employees can become frustrated with coworkers who don’t pull their weight, resulting in lack of productivity for your entire office!

It’s the middle of the day on a Monday. Do you know where your employees are? If you do, do you know what they’re doing?
According to a new study from Mercer, there’s a 50 percent chance that any given employee is currently checked out or looking for a new job. According to the report, 32 percent of US workers are, “seriously considering leaving his or her profession at the present time,” and 21 percent are unhappy in their current job and have hit all-time low productivity and engagement levels. So even if your employees are sitting at their desks, they may not be getting anything done.

We have all been told at some point in our life that it is important to make a good first impression. That rule of thumb not only applies to individuals, it also applies to organizations. It is crucial that organizations know how new employees view them from the beginning. Poor planning and sub-par onboarding not only negatively impact productivity, they can shatter an organization’s recruitment and retention efforts; ultimately affecting overall success. To avoid this downward spiral, organizations need to be proactive in their approach to onboarding and look at adopting new practices and technology that will help them achieve positive results.

The days of marriage lasting forever and the days of an employee working at one company forever are long gone. Based on recent statistics, the average marriage only lasts 8 years, and let’s face it; it is uncommon for an employee to remain at one company for more than 5 years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average employee tenure in 2010 was 4.4 years. Although companies cannot prevent employee turnover, they can take steps to reduce their turnover rate and increase employee tenure. So, why do employees choose to end the relationship and voluntarily leave a company?

Researched and Edited by Jeff Meyers

Groundhog Day is a famous ritual in rural Pennsylvania that dates back centuries to the days of the Roman Empire. It was also the subject of a comedy movie in which the main character is forced to relive the same day over and over again. Both the day itself and the movie offer several lessons for business leaders: managing by fact, work climate, employee engagement and motivation, training and development, innovation, and managerial effectiveness.

Motivating employees can be one of your biggest challenges as an employer, but learning how to inspire your workforce is the key to a successful organization. Constant pressure to increase productivity, profitability and revenue growth can often overshadow the importance of how an unengaged workforce can negatively affect corporate performance.

This article will provide you with tips for motivating employees that will help your organization unlock human potential.  Whether you're an executive, a manager or a team leader, you too know that motivating employees is a must!

Nationwide studies have shown that up to 80% of employees are not motivated by their work. Now that's a staggering number! Take a look around your office; how many people seem actively motivated and engaged in what they are doing?

Many organizations continuously face the problems associated with decreased employee motivation including complacency, declining morale, and widespread discouragement in the workplace. If allowed to continue, these problems can reduce productivity, earnings and competitiveness in your business.

Motivating employees is crucial to the success of our rapidly changing workplaces. Motivated employees help organizations survive by being more productive. Effective managers need to understand what motivates each individual employee within the context of their job. Of all the functions a manager performs, motivating employees is arguably the most complex due to the fact that what motivates employees changes constantly.

Motivating employees will help you improve employee engagement in your workforce so that you can maintain a productive, successful business.