Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog

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 all have our fair share of meetings at work. Whether it’s weekly team meetings, brainstorming sessions or client proposals, you can’t avoid them. The important question is: do you have effective meetings?

According to recent research from US News and World Report, older Americans seem to be happier at work than their younger coworkers. Surprised? Well, a survey conducted by Charles Schwab found that 32 percent of 60-something-year-old workers didn’t want to retire and 76 percent said they were “sticking to their jobs because they wanted to.” It was also found that 50-somethings are more likely than 60-somethings to say they feel "stuck" in their jobs and report that they are still working for financial reasons, not personal satisfaction. So why are older workers staying at their jobs? Because they are satisfied and happy at work!

Lately we have posted a few articles on behaviors that can have an effect on the workplace, such as problematic personalities, bad attitudes, and business manners. However, what do you do when you have a workforce that consists of four generations and each generation has different values, different ideas, different ways of communicating, and different ways of getting things done?

“An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.” - Elbert Hubbard

For decades, the goal of many organizations has been to satisfy customers. While satisfaction is important, it is not sufficient to guarantee that your customers will continue to buy from you. As the business world evolves at a rapid pace, the minute you become complacent, BANG, a new competitor surfaces with a product or service they claim is better and more cost effective than yours. Suddenly, your customer no longer needs you.

One of the key issues facing businesses today is bench strength. Although, the overall number of people entering the workforce is increasing, most of those people are entry-level.  As many experienced workers reach retirement age, companies are forced to look to their internal talent pool to fill leadership roles. So, how do you make sure that your organization has the bench strength it needs to succeed, now and in the future?

Do you know an office grumpy? You know, the employee who walks in to work with a negative or demeaning attitude. It’s no surprise that bad attitudes are unhealthy in the workplace. The more negative employees are at work, the less productive and valuable they are for the organization. That’s why knowing how to manage difficult employees is a crucial leadership skill.

Much like playing a game of chess, effective leaders need to be strategic. Now you might be asking yourself, what exactly does it take to be a strategic leader? Well, a recent article from Inc.com written by Paul Schoemaker presents the Six Habits of True Strategic Thinkers. These habits include:

Most of what we have learned about manners, both good and bad, has come from our family and friends and most of us have a pretty good grasp on what is considered to be good manners in a social environment. However, where do you stand on business manners? Do you know the accepted protocol during a business meeting? How about the correct way to introduce a client or an executive?

According to Merriam-Webster, personality is a person’s set of distinctive traits and characteristics. Note that the definition does not say ‘good’ traits and ‘favorable’ characteristics. Although there are many people with extremely pleasant personalities, there are just as many people with ‘nails on a chalkboard’ type personalities that send shivers up your spine and make you want to scream.

Hiring new employees is one of the biggest investments a business can make, so managers need to make sure they hire employees who will be the most successful in a particular position. A popular article from Forbes presents “The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness).” These six obstacles are also enemies of successful hiring, which lead to common hiring mistakes. Don’t let these factors get in the way of finding the best-fit employee for your organization! 

April 25^th 2012 saw a shocking announcement that will affect the careers of millions of workers.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new Enforcement Guidance on criminal background checks. Despite heavy concerns from the Chamber of Commerce and background check industry professionals, the new guidance was passed in a 4-1 vote by Commissioners.

The cinema hype has died down, but The Hunger Games isn’t going anywhere. The best-selling novel and recent box-office hit is still capturing readers and viewers across the nation. If you’ve missed out, the story is about a futuristic society where twelve kids, from ages 12-18, are submitted into a televised, life or death competition. Contestants are in a constant war between themselves to see who ends up as the champion. The excitement, fear and mystery keep readers and viewers on the edge of their seats.

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.

Guest Post By Ashley Furness, Blogger and Market Analyst for softwareadvice.com/crm.

According to recent reports, 78 percent of employers will invest in tablets by the close of next year, 83 percent of which will choose the iPad. Oddly, most haven't created a corresponding implementation strategy.

Summer is almost here, which means students are out of school and many are in search for internships. Back in the day, interns used to be perceived as the guys who went on coffee runs, made photocopies and ran the fax machine. Well, times have changed! Internship programs have become valuable resources for top businesses across the nation. Interns may be young and work by the hour, but that is no reason to underestimate the skills and contributions they can bring to your organization.  

Eliminate the guesswork of where your focus should be in developing and training your sales team to the top.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could easily transform your ‘average’ performers into a top quality sales force? How do you identify a clear focus for the training and development of your sales team?

Guest Post by Deiric McCann

"The eyes are the windows to the soul” – Ancient Proverb

Eye contact is a critical tool in creating a charismatic impression when you speak – either one-to-one or one-to-many. When charismatic speakers present every person in the room feels that their comments are directed at them personally.  When they speak they hold our attention. Eye contact plays a large part in creating this impact.

Do you know what is important to your prospective and current employees? Do you work hard to meet those needs? If you answered yes to both questions, then you probably have a low employee turnover rate. However, this is not the case for all employers and many companies struggle with the issue of employee turnover.

Dealing with difficult employees has been an issue that managers have faced for years. There are always employees who are lazy, poor performing, with bad attitudes and at times just downright rude. The majority of the time, they are not like this for no reason. They are clearly unhappy in their job. Often, managers think that the best and easiest solution to the problem is to simply let the employee go. This may help in the short-term, but can be financially painful for an organization, and who knows, perhaps that employee could have been one of your top performers if matched specifically to a particular job.

We live in a fast world. Fast food, fast cars, fast computers and fast business. Convenience and mobility are power factors in sales and customer service etiquette. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there are over 2 million customer service reps employed, and we interact with them every day.

A popular doodle illustrating “What People Think Success Looks Like Vs. What It Really Looks Like” has created a buzz online. In the image, ideal success is portrayed as a straight 45 degree arrow, constantly and steadily increasing. The image of what success really looks like is still an arrow moving up, but it resembles a bird’s nest with twists, turns and knots along the way. This twitter-popular image is simple, yet so true. The road to success is certainly not a straight upward arrow! There will always be knots to untie and challenges to overcome, that’s why conflict management skills are essential for success.

“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different” – Coco Chanel

Do your prospective customers know clearly why they should buy from you rather than from your competitors?  If they can’t see any difference between you and your main competitors, then the only advantage you have is price. Selling on a price basis is selling to your competitors strengths which can end in disaster!