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6 Tips for Successfully Working at Home

March 26, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 1 Comment

I started my consulting firm in 2002, so I’ve been working from home for 15 years. My home office is the nicest I’ve ever had in my career.

When I was researching consulting as a profession, I asked consultants about their success strategies and biggest challenges. A couple of them talked about home offices. The first one told me as soon as I could get an office outside the home, I needed to do it because clients won’t take you seriously if you work from a home office. I didn’t follow that advice and I don’t regret it. The business world has changed a lot and most of my clients want me to visit their worksite (not the other way around.)

The second piece of advice I received was that it would take two years to learn how to effectively work at home. Yep, two years. And I must admit, it probably took me that long. Tim Sackett wrote a post on his blog titled, “Working From Home is One Big Lie” and it reminded me of the challenges people can have working at home. I know several consultants who chose to reenter the corporate world because they didn’t care for the isolationism that working from a home office can bring.

If you want to work from home, you should learn how to successfully do two things: control the distractions and embrace the freedom. On the surface, they might seem counterintuitive, but the key is to figure out the balance.

Learn How to Control the Distractions

Yes, it’s true that there are distractions in a corporate environment too. Sometimes you can tune your co-workers out by closing a door or putting on some headphones. When you work at home and you’re all by yourself…you are your own distraction. So, if you spend the afternoon playing Con Man, then you only have yourself to blame. If you want to overcome the self-imposed distractions, here are a few things to consider:

Figure out how you like to work. Self-awareness is a very powerful thing. Be honest with yourself about productivity. When are you most productive? When are you least productive?

Set up the best office space you can. Speaking of productive, your home office should allow you to be productive. Make it something that you will want to spend hours in. That includes making the space comfortable and healthy.

Designate time for home chores. Just because you’re at home, doesn’t mean that you need to do stuff around the house every day. Once you figure out your best work schedule, then you can figure out when to do the laundry, etc.

Embrace the Freedom that Comes from Working at Home

Many people want to work from home because of the flexibility it brings. And I’ll be the first to admit that it’s true – in terms of everything from time to clothing. Even when companies give employees flexible schedules, it’s not the same. But to rip-off a quote from Spiderman, “with great power comes great responsibility”. Enjoy all the benefits that working from home brings, but do it responsibly.

Practice self-discipline. If you want to visit a Starbucks to get out of the house, do it. Just remember that at some point, you must go back to work. Maybe set up a recurring appointment or reminder so you can get out.

Schedule errands and appointments during non-peak hours. A goal of working at home isn’t to work more hours. This allows you to get certain activities done faster, like doctor’s appointments and grocery shopping.

Find time to exercise and eat healthy. A huge challenge working from home is exercise. The good news is you can also visit the gym during off-peak times. And you can make healthy meals in your slow cooker while you work.

Working at home isn’t easy. There are many advantages like a lower dry cleaning bill and shorter wait times at the dentist. But there are challenges too – like exercise and self-discipline – that have to be addressed. Finding the balance that works for you takes time and honesty.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while wandering her neighborhood in South Florida

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Employees Need to Learn Freelancing Skills

February 21, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 2 Comments

I read a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article recently titled, “The End of Employees”. It’s a good read and you should check it out when you have a moment. The article talks about the growing number of companies that are using freelancers, contractors, etc.

Freelancing is more than a trend. It’s a business dynamic that deserves attention. There are lots of different terms for it – some call it a contingent workforce or the gig economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines a gig as “a single project or task for which a worker is hired, often through a digital marketplace, to work on demand.” Regardless of what you call it, there’s a lot of it going on.

According to the Freelancers Union (and yes, there is one), freelancing is a $1 trillion industry (that’s not a typo – trillion with a t). Freelancing represents 35 percent of the U.S. workforce. And probably one of the biggest things to know is that a growing number of individuals are choosing freelancing as a career (63 percent). We need to shed the stereotype that freelancing is this thing people do when they can’t find a job.

As the WSJ article mentions, organizations are benefitting from using contingent workers. They can tap into specialized talent when they need it. They can flex up or down their operations easily. This is the “borrow” component of a buy, build, and borrow recruiting strategy.

But there are a few things that I would add to the WSJ article. If you’re an organization looking to develop a contingent worker strategy, or an individual wanting to start freelancing, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Organizations that want to hire freelancers:

Put a process in place to source, select, and onboard freelancers. If you’re bringing on freelancers because they have specialized skills, then this isn’t a “lowest fee” hire. Do your homework and understand the market. Select a freelancer who will work well with the team. And give them the tools to be successful. If they will need to attend an internal training session, let them know that in advance.

Engage your freelancers. The goal of developing a contingent workforce is to have people who will drop everything and help you when you need it. The way to accomplish that goal is to keep them engaged with the organization. We’re not talking about dangling an occasional carrot. Engagement can be keeping them informed about what’s happening. Possibly inviting them to an internal gathering. Or sending them a thank you note for a job well done.

Individuals who want to freelance:

Learn the critical skills associated with freelancing. Being an employee and freelancing are two different things. They both have their advantages. But freelancing includes acquiring reliable technology, having a workspace to be productive, and budgeting for your own professional development. Freelancers must know how to price, sell, and service what they do.

Get comfortable with the unknown. Freelancing involves not getting a paycheck every week. There’s no such thing as paid health insurance. On the plus side, you also don’t have to ask anyone for a vacation day. Freelancers should be comfortable with working on their own, with little guidance at times. They must budget their time. And they need to be okay with occasionally not having a client.

The real success of the gig-economy isn’t how many people are using it. It’s how many people are using it successfully. Individuals need to learn the skills to be successful freelancers. And it could make some sense for organizations to teach employees how to become successful freelancers. Because if that’s the direction we’re heading, then organizations will want people to have those skills long before they need them.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby after attending the Great Place to Work Conference in Austin, TX

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Recipes for #HR Success: Leadership and Navigation

September 23, 2016 by Sharlyn Lauby

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about the competencies (aka recipes) for human resources success. Those topics included:

Ethical Practice

Critical Evaluation

Communication and Business Acumen

Relationship Management and Consultation

IMHO, this final post brings it all together – with the topic of leadership. I believe that the definition of leadership is the ability to influence others. That means that everyone is a leader. Leadership isn’t attached to a group of job titles that sit in the C-Suite.

In order for us to be a good leader, we need to do all of the other competencies we’ve talked about. We must practice ethics so people will trust us. We can’t influence others if they don’t trust us. We need to be able to effectively evaluate business situations and communicate business details. And, in our role as an internal consultant, we can only influence change when we have built positive working relationships.

Leadership is about using our power positively to influence organizational change.

The last thing to remember about leadership is the importance of “paying it forward.” Leadership is about helping others understand how to become effective leaders. Whether that’s by setting the right example or mentoring someone, leaders are not threatened by sharing their knowledge and expertise. Because let’s face it, great leaders want to work with other great leaders.

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Employee Well-being Needs to Include Retirement Plans

September 21, 2016 by Sharlyn Lauby

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Xerox HR Services. For more than a century, Xerox has been a leader in document technology and services. Their human resources services include advisory, technology, and administration solutions to help companies manage and engage employees. Congrats to them for 100 years of business excellence. Enjoy the post!)

One of the things that I like about human resources is the variety. Not just from the standpoint of the many different HR functions: recruiting and onboarding, training and development, compensation, etc. but from the variety of backgrounds that transition into HR careers. Organizations have an opportunity to harness the variety of experiences for the benefit of the workforce.

For instance, I know marketing and operations professionals that have moved into HR. Another area is actuarial science. Now you might be saying – actuarial science?! Yes, it’s true. I recently had the chance to chat with Dean Aloise, global HR consulting leader for Xerox HR Services, overseeing career, health, wealth, engagement, and knowledge practices. Before becoming a human resources professional, he was the operations leader for a major actuarial firm.

I was so intrigued with Dean’s professional journey that I asked if he would share his story and insights about human resources with us. Luckily, he said yes.

Dean, I was immediately intrigued by your background, particularly your experience with an actuarial firm. How did that experience translate to working in the human resources field?

[Aloise] Actuarial science, particularly as it relates to valuing the liabilities of a pension plan, is a critical need in managing the retirement benefit programs for many organizations that sponsor a defined benefit pension plan. For some organizations, this is a key component of their benefits package, thus it’s an important part of the overall employee value proposition. So, while being a pension actuary is how I got into the HR field, as I gained exposure to other areas of HR, my interests and activities expanded into all other aspects of HR, which led to my career advancement.

You mentioned defined benefits plans. I know one of your areas of expertise is in the area of retirement planning. There are lots of articles these days on the topic of retirement – ranging from whether people are actually retiring (versus transitioning to an encore career) to the financial considerations of retirement. How do you see the retirement conversation having an impact on strategic HR?

[Aloise] This is indeed a critical area for employees these days, and HR must lead the way in helping their employees achieve the best possible outcome for themselves and for their organization. HR needs to approach this strategically, understanding that the changing dynamics of retirement (employees are working longer, living longer, and seeking various ways to phase into retirement) should be embraced. By supporting their employees in this changing dynamic, HR will be in the best position to properly succession plan, but also do right by their people in helping them to achieve a successful retirement outcome.

Thinking about and planning for retirement can have a huge impact on well-being. Should HR consider retirement planning a part of their well-being programs? And if so, what would help employees better prepare for retirement?

[Aloise] Well-being must be thought of as TOTAL well-being, which includes the health, wealth (retirement), and career development of employees, as well as community and social engagement, and even spiritual elements. Traditional wellness or well-being programs initially were primarily focused on only one aspect of well-being—physical health—and this likely explains why many employers haven’t achieved the results they seek. The well-being programs of the future will achieve greater results by focusing on all five of the elements I mentioned.

Looking more closely at my area of initial focus—wealth—up until now we have focused exclusively, or nearly exclusively on accumulating wealth to fund a traditional retirement. But today, given the dramatic economic and social changes that have impacted the workplace, HR should be expanding beyond assisting employees with retirement planning and instead help them achieve greater levels financial well-being.

This is a great time of year to have this conversation. In many organizations, it’s the start of operational planning and budgeting. HR has the opportunity to educate senior management on trends in retirement and planning. What trends are you seeing that HR needs to keep on their radar?

[Aloise] Adding a meaningful financial well-being program into employees’ benefit offerings is a key trend. HR should be looking for what vendors are offering in this area, issuing requests for proposal (RFPs) and taking different programs for a test drive. Another trend that has been with us for a while now, but that continues to gain momentum thanks to continuing advances in technology, is supporting employees—and their families—in making more informed decisions about their benefits, not just when it’s time to choose their benefits but year-round, when they actually are using those benefits to meet their physical and financial well-being needs.

I’m curious. Are the conversations and trends we see in the U.S. about retirement and well-being the same conversations that are happening globally?

[Aloise] The nuances around retirement readiness and financial well-being vary by country, as social security programs, employer and individual practices vary significantly. Some countries like France have fairly robust programs that lessen the severity of the retirement readiness issue, while other countries like the U.K. share fully in the ‘grey tsunami’ risks and concerns such that the U.S. is seeing in the very near future. The dynamics of individual, company-provided and social security retirement programs overlaps come into play in a big way when looking at retirement issues globally.

At this time, we are finalizing the results of the seventh edition of our global wellness survey, Working Well—only this year we have dubbed it the Global Survey of Workplace Well-Being Strategies, reflecting the trends I discussed earlier. Among our survey’s findings is that implementing a global well-being strategy is challenging, due to the variability in culture, laws and practices across regions. This holds true not just for retirement plans, as I mentioned above, but also for physical wellness and financial well-being programs.

What is consistent around the world are the reasons for supporting employees’ well-being: improving worker performance and productivity and attracting and retaining employees. Clearly, employers believe that the well-being of their employees is critical to the organization’s success.

Employee well-being must be thought of as TOTAL well-being, including retirement - @DeanAloiseClick To Tweet

I want to thank Dean for sharing his expertise with us. I believe organizations will have to start viewing retirement as more than just a program they offer employees. And, as an increasing number of organizations adopt a global business strategy, it will be important to understand well-being in a global context.

P.S. We hope you can join us on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 9a Eastern for a Google Hangout with Dean and Scot Marcotte, managing director of talent and HR solutions, to talk about global well-being and retirement strategies. You can also follow @XeroxHRInsights on Twitter for details. It’s sure to be a thought provoking conversation about the future of HR that you just won’t want to miss.

P.S.S. Google just released an update to Hangouts, so be sure to check it out beforehand.

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Recipes for #HR Success: Relationship Management and Consultation

September 9, 2016 by Sharlyn Lauby

(Editor’s Note: This series is brought to you by our friends at Capella University. Capella is an accredited online university dedicated to providing an exceptional, professionally-aligned education that puts you in the best position to succeed in your field. They offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees as well as certificate programs for human resources and business professionals. Enjoy the post!)

One of the most common terms associated with human resources is business partner. In this role, HR needs to play the role of ally. That doesn’t mean always agreeing with every idea or suggestion. It means doing what’s in the best interest of the organization. Even if what’s in the organizations best interest is change.

The pace of change facing business today is phenomenal. It’s hard to believe, but over the past decade, we’ve seen the emergence of Facebook, YouTube, the iPhone and iPad, and self-driving cars. These innovations have changed the way we do business. In turn, HR has to monitor, propose, and implement changes to the talent side of the business by using their business partner status to consult internally.

But, there’s no way HR can be effective as a business partner and consultant if they don’t know how to manage relationships. The first step in any change effort is buy-in. Getting key stakeholders to listen and buy-into new ideas involves trust and positive working relationships.
And, it involves always asking the question, “What do you want to do?”

When communicating with others, it’s important to find a way to communicate on the other person’s level. If they like talking about the numbers, then that’s the best way to get their attention. If they prefer to have long conversations after getting written proposals, then you know what you need to do.

Being an effective internal consultant is about building relationships. It’s about understanding how and when others want to communicate, then giving them information in that format. Notice I didn’t say it was about telling people what they want to hear. We can’t always control the message. But we can do our best to deliver the message in the right way.

P.S. ICYMI, check out the previous posts in this series on HR Success competencies:

Ethical Practice

Critical Evaluation

Business Acumen and Communication

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Professional Ghosting: Is It the New “No”

August 2, 2016 by Sharlyn Lauby

I’ve seen a new term lately called “ghosting.” The Urban Dictionary defines it as “the act of suddenly ceasing all communication with someone.” It’s done in the hopes that the person being ghosted will come to the realization on their own that the other person wants nothing to do with them and they’ll just go away. The idea being that the person doing the ghosting is avoiding a difficult conversation or hurting another person’s feelings by ignoring them.

The Urban Dictionary also seems to imply that ghosting is related to a person’s level of maturity and communication skills (and not in a positive way.)

Ghosting has been typically associated with dating and friendships, but after reading a post on GOOD titled, “Just Checking In…Again,” I’m wondering if there’s such a thing as professional or business ghosting?

You can read the article yourself, but basically it’s about applying for a job and never receiving a response from the company. As readers of this blog, you know I’ve received several letters from readers about the exact same thing. Candidates who are upset because the organization won’t tell them what’s going on. While candidates never want a TBNT letter (thanks but no thanks,) at least the letter brings closure.

But not hearing about the status of your job application isn’t the only form of professional ghosting. Ever submitted a proposal to your boss or a prospective client never to hear any feedback? What about the person you meet at a networking event who asks you to follow-up with them in the office only to never take your call?

One thing to note about ghosting is that it’s predicated on an interaction or relationship. If someone doesn’t get a reply to a cold call or a blind pitch, that’s not ghosting. There’s an implied expectation or response element to ghosting that doesn’t exist with other one-way communications. Ghosting is a response in two-way communication.

The more I think about it, the more I can see that professional ghosting exists. The question becomes “why?”

On one hand, I can see a person rationalizing that ghosting is a way to let someone down softly without hurting their feelings. Although personally, I want to call bravo sierra on that reasoning. It is possible to tell someone “no” in such a way that they can ultimately benefit from it. If you want to learn more about how to do it, check out “The Power of a Positive No” by William Ury.

Another reason that I’ve seen quite a bit (especially with consultants) is the person who views everyone as their potential customer so they say whatever that person wants to hear. They never disagree with anything anyone has to say. Sometimes this approach of always saying “yes” can build to a point where the individual just has to remove themselves from interactions. So instead of respectfully disagreeing, a person resorts to ghosting. Again, it’s important to remember that everyone is not your customer and all conversations do not have to be delivered with radical candor.

The way I see it, ghosting can send the message that a person doesn’t care or value the relationship enough to even say “no.” If that’s the message the individual wants to send, then ghosting is an option. However, ghosting to simply avoid saying, “I can’t support that idea right now.” or “I think the proposal needs more work in this area.” Isn’t helpful to anyone. And could actually do some harm.

However, the thing that really scares me about ghosting is that it might be possible to create ghosting cultures. Can you imagine organizations where ghosting is how employees communicate (or not communicate) with each other? What impact does that have on the organization’s ability to develop and execute strategy, communicate with customers, and engage employees? As a human resources professional, how do we stop ghosting from becoming acceptable behavior?

Image taken by Sharlyn Lauby on Día de Muertos somewhere off the coast of Mexico

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Quick Shots for #HR and #Business Pros – Freelancer Edition

April 28, 2016 by Sharlyn Lauby

Regardless of the reason, the gig economy is here to stay. Individuals are opting to have a side hustle in addition to their regular full-time jobs. Some people are choosing to leave the daily grind and freelance full-time. An article in Forbes put the number of freelancers in the U.S. at 53 million and predicts that number will increase to about 50% of the workforce by 2020.

If you’re trying to decide if being full-time employee or freelancing is right for you, check out this post I wrote on Unum’s WorkWell blog with the six advantages to consider for each.

I know one of the biggest challenges for freelancers is healthcare. My friends at The Devon Group told me about a partnership between Work Market, the leading on-demand marketplace for independent professionals, and Stride Health to offer its entire network of independent professionals across the United States access to affordable healthcare. Work Market’s partnership with Stride Health allows the company to connect its growing network of independent talent with more than 200 insurance carriers, as well as Stride’s recommendation platform, which compares 38 factors across thousands of health plans to find which plan will save a freelancer the most money, giving freelancers and their families more options.

But the gig economy isn’t something human resources should ignore. Organizations that want to take advantage of freelancer talent, need to consider how they are going to recruit and retain that talent. HR People + Strategy posted a good read titled, “HR in the Age of Gig.”

It also raises the question about training and professional development. Freelancing isn’t an excuse to stop learning. David Creelman penned an interesting post on Medium titled, “The problem of the ‘average Joe’ in the gig economy.”

Freelancers, consultants, contractors, whatever you want to call them, are a vital part of today’s economy and modern workplaces. There are tremendous advantages for organizations to have on-demand talent options. But, like everything, it means having a strategy, planning and executing that strategy well.

Images taken by Sharlyn Lauby while consulting around the globe for her clients

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