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How to Reduce Individual Stress Levels at Work

May 14, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

During this year’s BetterWorks Goal Summit, closing keynote speaker Srikumar Rao, author of the book, “Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated, and Successful – No Matter What”, shared with us his views on stress and goals. I must admit, it was a great way to wrap up our day.

I don’t know about anyone else…but I love going to conferences for the learning and ideas. At the same time, I also find myself creating massive “to-do” lists for myself – things I want to look up or read, projects I should start, and overall reminders of habits that I need to start doing again. Of course, this means I’m learning and adding to my own stress.

Stress continues to be is a major issue for employees and organizations. And there are many reasons for it. Rao shared several and I found they fell into three buckets: individual, work, and life.

The “me” issues.

I’m putting in this category financial stressors such as not having enough money or savings. Or if you’re a freelancer, not having customers pay on time.

Health issues like not feeling well and the stress associated with trying to resolve health insurance issues. Fighting with insurance companies can really take a toll.

We love our family and friends, but sometimes they get on our nerves. And we get on theirs. Dealing with misunderstandings, gatherings, and holidays can be stressful.

The workplace stuff.

Our careers don’t always move as fast as we would like. It can be frustrating. We think we’re ready for a promotion (and more money). Or we want to be on a special project that will get us noticed.

Too much work! We never seem to get a breather to get organized and focus on our goals. We no sooner get done with one project and another one is dropped on our desk.

And let’s face it…sometimes our boss, co-workers, and customers can be a PITA. I’m sure there are days they feel the same about us. It’s all part of work.

Life in general.

Regardless of your political affiliation, it’s hard to escape today’s political environment. It’s on our Facebook pages and everyone wants to share their point-of-view. Whether we want to engage or not…

Time is precious and we don’t always have as much as we would like. We’re thinking there’s no such thing as work-life balance, or work-life integration, etc.

As you can see, these examples aren’t mutually exclusive. Politics at work = stress. No work life balance = hard on relationships.

Now you might be saying to yourself, “Yep, I knew all of these things are stressors. I don’t need someone to tell me what I already knew. Tell me how to make the stress go away!” Well, that’s the interesting part. Rao says that the reason we have stress is because we have a rigid idea of what the universe should be like and the universe isn’t cooperating.

Stress is the result of control. And the key to reducing stress is realizing that we aren’t in control. And we never will be. But we can learn how to manage control better.

Stress – How to Manage our Need for Control

Rao outlined three activities we can do to manage our need for control.

Practice appreciation and gratitude. This could also be in the form of mindfulness. Rao pointed out that we tend to spend more time focused on the things that are wrong around us instead of focusing on the things that are right. He suggested that things are only bad if we say they are. It’s important for us to reframe change in the context of the things we appreciate versus the stuff we can’t stand.

Become aware of mental chatter. Speaking of focusing on positive messages, that also goes for the messages we send to ourselves. I refer to this as self-talk. It’s that little voice inside our head. Does it send us positive messages or negative ones? We should make sure our mental chatter doesn’t wear us out. It will take some time and activities like mindfulness could help.

Invest in the process, not the outcome. Rao shared his view that we are a goal obsessed society. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Goals are important because they set direction. What we need to change is the mindset that if I meet the goal, that’s great and if I don’t, that’s bad. The experience is equally as important as the outcome. Rao suggests, “The more detached you are from the goal; the higher the probably that you will achieve it.”

Think Like a Civil Engineer

Rao compared the steps for managing control to being an engineer. You have a road to build. How are you going to handle the obstacles (i.e. stress)? Because we know the project will have some speedbumps along the way (pun intended). But the road still has to be built. So, we need to learn ways to manage those obstacles.

Managing the stress in our personal and professional lives isn’t easy. But I can definitely see how trying to control everything adds to our stress. And learning how to manage control could be helpful.

Thanks to Author Andrea Beaty for sharing this image (and others!) with the March for Science organizers around the world.

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Talent Acquisition Strategy: The 3 Tactics Your Organization Needs

May 11, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

I listened in on a panel discussion during this year’s SHRM Talent Management Conference when I hear a recruiter say, “My job is to fill openings.” And I thought to myself, “Hmm…no. A recruiter’s job is to fill the company’s talent pipeline.”

Now you might be saying to yourself, “Same thing.” But I’m not sure it is. Hear me out.

From a process perspective, organizations hire employees from their talent pipeline. So if the pipeline is full of quality candidates, the company will have people to fill jobs. Recruiters would make their lives easier if they keep the talent pipeline full because candidates will be there when the company has an opening.

But I think there’s an added dimension to recruiting that needs to be addressed. Not every job opening can and will be filled with an external hire. If talent acquisition is going to be responsible for finding the best talent, then they need to work with the learning and development function to develop employees from within the organization. They also need to work with compensation and benefits to determine if full-time jobs would be better as part-time or ideal for freelancers.

I recently partnered with Alongside to publish a series of articles on the three talent acquisition strategies that organizations should consider:

Using a “Buy” Recruiting Tactic to Find Talent

Filling Your Talent Needs with “Build” Recruiting Tactics

Leveraging “Borrow” Recruiting Tactics to Meet Your Staffing Needs

I don’t have to tell anyone that hiring is getting tougher. The only way companies are going to win the war for talent is by giving talent acquisition professionals the responsibility and tools to do their job. That’s not simply filling requisitions. It’s helping the organization keep their talent pipeline full, whether that’s with candidates, full-time employees, part-time employees, or freelancers.

Your talent pipeline is more than a bunch of external candidatesClick To Tweet

The talent pipeline is more than a pipeline of external candidates. It’s all of the organization’s talent. And that’s a pretty big pipeline. And today, businesses can afford to have it run dry.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby outside the Hard Rock Casino in South Florida

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Stop Doing These 6 Things that Slow Organizational Momentum

April 30, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

Momentum is the strength or force that allows something to continue to grow stronger or faster over time. We tend to think of momentum in the context of objects – such as the rock gained momentum as it rolled downhill. But it occurred to me that momentum applies to activities – support for a project can gain momentum.

If workplace activities can gain momentum, then we need to be focused on how to increase it. Because that could be a good thing. Organizational momentum can be a powerful thing. It can increase morale and engagement, fuel creativity and innovation, and bring support for goals and strategies.

In turn, we should be aware of situations that can zap or decrease momentum. Because it can stall organizational progress. Here are six things that can keep momentum from moving the organization forward:

Operating the organization without goals or a plan. One of the reasons I included the definition of momentum above is because I think that “something” is a goal or plan. Organizations want momentum to accomplish something and, if there’s no goal or plan…well, you know the rest. There doesn’t need to be a lot of goals and plans. Or even big plans and goals. But they do need to exist.

Shortening the new hire “honeymoon”. I understand that organizations want new employees who can start contributing quickly. I’m sure a new hire wants the same thing. However, an employee’s introductory period is valuable. It’s the only time when they will truly have a set of fresh eyes on the organization. And that perspective could spark the organizational momentum the company is looking for. So, let employees have their introductory time.

Overlooking the need for organizational investments. Businesses must make investments in equipment, training, technology, etc. to remain competitive. IMHO, sometimes organizations are quick to invest in equipment and forget investments in people. The better companies are about investing in all areas of the operation, and the better their momentum will be.

Losing focus on products and/or services. At moments in time, we all get distracted by shiny new features or inventions. And that’s okay. It’s when those distractions start to change the way products are produced or customer service is delivered – and not in a good way. Momentum is about making the customer experience better. And when I refer to the customer experience, I’m talking about internal customers too.

Assuming employees know how they are performing (so there’s no need to give feedback). Everyone wants to know how they’re doing. This isn’t a Millennial or Gen Z thing. And it shouldn’t happen just once a year during an annual performance appraisal. Organizational feedback fuels high performance. And high performance creates organizational momentum.

Forgetting the value of employees (even when they are leaving the company). Employees will leave the organization for a variety of reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the company. Former employees can be raving fans of the organization. They can refer customers and candidates. At some point, it’s possible they will want to come back. Treating exiting employees with respect sends a positive message.

Organizations are going to start thinking about momentum as part of their employee engagement and retention strategies. They will want to create this infectious positive work environment. The results will be obvious – increased employee referrals, improved employee engagement, and decreased turnover.

Human resources professionals will want to start thinking about how to create a movement or momentum within the organization. And how organizational momentum becomes a part of the company’s employment brand.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby after speaking at the Flora Icelandic HR Management Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland

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The Definition of Data Collection Insanity – Friday Distraction

April 21, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 2 Comments

There’s an often used quote attributed to Albert Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

I was reminded of the quote when I saw this Time Well Spent from our friends at Kronos. While there are some cases where we can still gain insights from old data collection methods, we have to be careful that new information doesn’t remain hidden because we’re using old techniques. In addition, organizations might have to temper their expectations where timing is concerned. We can’t expect to gain new understanding at a faster or same pace using old data collection methods.

In today’s business world, organizations need data to remain competitive – both in terms of customers and talent. But that means organizations need to invest in their technology infrastructure that will allow for proper data collection. Here are a few things to consider:

Think short- and long- term. Building a data collection infrastructure doesn’t mean buying the biggest and best right away. Think about the organization’s need over time. Using a phased-in approach can allow the organization to create buy-in, adjust to change, and allocate resources efficiently.

Get comfortable with early adoption. It’s possible that at some point, the organization will need to consider new technology. There are times when it makes sense to wait until a technology is proven and other times will benefit from earlier participation.

Assume it’s a never-ending cycle. I know we’re not supposed to “assume” in business, but I think this one is a pretty safe assumption. Technology continues to evolve and organizations need to be prepared to evolve along with it. There’s a point where clinging to old infrastructure can be detrimental to the organization.

I enjoy plenty of old-school technologies. It’s hard to move from the comfortable way of doing things. In some cases, it can be expensive. Organizations that want to continue to move forward have to think about building a data collection infrastructure. Then plan for building another one when this one becomes dated.

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Objectives and Key Results (OKR) – The New Goals

April 9, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 1 Comment

I think it’s pretty safe to say that I’m a goal-driven person. I like setting goals and always having something that I’m working toward. In fact, I’ve written a few posts here on HR Bartender about goals. One of my favorites is “Use Gumby to Keep Employees Focused on Goals”.

One of the things that I’ve come to realize is that setting the wrong goal can really set you back. Obviously, setting the right goals moves you forward. But, setting the wrong goals isn’t a neutral activity. If not done correctly, it can cause us to take a step backward. Not just individuals. This applies to organizations as well. So, we need to place some dedicated thought, energy, and resources toward proper goal setting.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working with my friends at BetterWorks on the topic of OKR (Objectives and Key Results). OKR is a management methodology that connects work to strategic plans in a very specific way. So, within an organization, objectives and key results connect an employee’s work to the company’s strategic plans. Here’s an example from an article I wrote over on the BetterWorks blog titled, “Why OKRs are Going Mainstream in Business”.

Objective: Improve customer service scores

Key Results:

Have 100% of employees attend “How to Deal with Difficult Customers” training by the end of Q2 2017
Track customer compliment and complaint letters (goal: 2 to 1 ratio)

Organizations that feel their goal setting processes are getting stale or that employees are just going through the motions where goal setting is concerned, might want to look at OKR as a way to breathe new life into their processes. Companies can start small by working with employees to align their personal development with the company’s OKRs. The results – both in terms of accomplishing the OKR and creating team engagement – can be huge.

If you want to learn more about OKRs and how they can help your organization, BetterWorks has a downloadable eBook on the topic. Even better, join us at BetterWorks Goal Summit in San Francisco on April 20, 2017. I’m really excited to be attending this year. One of the speakers is John Doerr, who has worked with companies like Google, Intuit, and Amazon using the OKR concept. HR Bartender readers get a FREE registration using the discount code HRBARTENDER. Hope to see you there!

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HR Audits: What Are They and Why Should You Conduct Them

April 6, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 2 Comments

Businesses want to know that they’re operating effectively and efficiently. So, they regularly review processes and procedures to ensure that they are. Similarly, every HR department wants to know they’re operating well. So, they do the same in the form of HR Audits.

An HR Bartender reader recently asked me about HR audits. To give us a thorough explanation, I asked Mike Haberman SHRM-SCP, co-founder of Omega HR Solutions, if he would share his expertise with us. Omega HR Solutions provides HR on demand services including compliance, audits, and training.

Mike, on a high level, what is an HR audit and why should companies consider conducting one?

[Haberman] An HR audit is a tool to help a company determine that the HR department is functioning the way it is supposed to and covering everything it is chartered to cover. It is a specific look at the current state of HR and whether its specific practices are protecting the company and providing for the best use of their ‘human’ resources.

Specifically, what is covered in an HR audit?

[Haberman] Depending on the need at the time, HR audits can cover several areas. But it does not need to always cover everything. For example, I like to think of audits in four different categories.

Organizational. The simplest audit can just be an organizational one. Is everything filed in the proper file? Often things get misfiled and as a result an important piece of paperwork may go missing. Or something will be misfiled in a folder that is not as confidential as it should be. This kind of misfiling can occur on computer files as well, not just paper.

Compliance. The second level of audit, and the one we think of most often when talking about ‘audits’, is a compliance audit. Here the policies, procedures, and practices are looked at to make sure that federal, state and local laws are being complied with properly. Are your employees properly classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? Are Form I-9s complete and filed correctly? Are correct forms being used for Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)?

Functional. Rather than doing an entire compliance audit, sometimes it may be appropriate to do just a functional audit. Organizations may opt to look only at wage and hour classifications. Or focus on FMLA utilization. Benefits enrollment and proper participation levels may be an appropriate section to look for missing employees. Proper and up-to-date Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) policies and recordkeeping may be appropriate. Are performance evaluations being done in a timely and effective manner?

Strategic. The highest level of audit is a strategic audit. Is HR in concert with the strategic direction of the organization? How does HR put into practice its part of the strategic plan? Are the goals appropriate?

Should internal HR do the audit or is it better to use an external consultant?

[Haberman] The answer depends on the reason the audit was called for in the first place. If a perceived problem, such as unequal pay, prompted the call for an audit, it is best to do so through an external consultant and generally with the approval and guidance of your legal counsel. If a lawsuit were to result from a complaint, then that audit becomes ‘discoverable’ and the results could be used to prove the other side’s case.

Another reason to use an outside consultant is that the process of an audit is time consuming and frequently there will not be enough internal people to be effective in getting it done, especially if there is a short window of time to get it done.

After an audit is completed, what should a company do with the results?

[Haberman] Well, the audit was conducted to discover if there is a problem. If a problem was discovered, correct it. Unless it is one big one, such as you have been under paying women in your organization across the board, then you need to contact your legal counsel.

Often you can work with the consultant that did the audit to work through the issues with you, for a fee. Sometimes you can take the findings and develop a work list of things to get done. For example, it’s probably not an effective use of company resources to have the consultant redo your personnel files.

Are HR audits something that should be conducted on a regular basis?

[Haberman] The organizational audit is one that could be done periodically. That is just good housekeeping. Looking at Form I-9s for correctness should be done twice a year. The others should be done as the business world changes. If there has been a lot of new legislation, then an audit should be done to insure compliance. The strategic audit should be done every couple of years to insure the HR is on track with the strategic plan.

A huge thanks to Mike for taking the time to answer our questions. I loved his explanation of the four types of audits. It shows that HR audits aren’t just for start-ups or small companies. It’s something organizations need to do on a regular basis to make sure they’re being effective.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby at the National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, NV

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7 Reasons HR Needs to Learn About Unretirement

April 2, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 5 Comments

Years ago, people just retired. They announced to their boss that they were going to retire. The company threw them a party, gave them a gold watch, and wished them well. Then, they spent their time traveling, working on their hobbies, etc. I don’t know that those days exist anymore. And if they do, it’s only for a small handful of people.

There’s an emerging conversation about unretirement. It’s the idea that you don’t have to retire. You can work on the things you want and do more of the things you enjoy. And it’s not necessarily age-based. Professionals of all ages are planning for it. Human resources needs to take note of this trend. It’s one that could benefit HR and organizations in many ways.

Recruiting: Having a contingent workforce is a must. Unretirement provides organizations will access to labor. These are individuals who don’t want to work full-time but do find occasional work a nice option. They are also someone the organization knows. So, you understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Employee Referrals: Freelancers and contractors can be a source of employee (and customer) referrals. It wouldn’t take much to revise the employee referral program to include non-employees. Referrals are still the best quality and lowest cost per hire.

Employee Engagement: While people do work to support themselves, they also work for the sense of fulfillment. In fact, many workers are staying in the workplace longer because they simply like working.

Knowledge Management: Retaining workers, even in a part-time or contingent status, allows the organization to retain knowledge. Organizational history, information about processes, and background about key clients is essential to the business.

Learning and Development: Speaking of knowledge management, organizations might find it beneficial to create short peer based training programs as a way to pass along skills and knowledge. If an employee announces their “retirement”, see if they’re willing to stop by once a month to be a lunch and learn speaker.

Performance Management: Another way that “retiring” employees can help the organization is by being a mentor or coach. Again, doesn’t need to be full-time work. Maybe they stop by once or twice a month. They have BOTH knowledge of the organization and they’re an outsider. Just be sure to give them the training to be an excellent coach and mentor.

Replacement and Succession Planning: Pew Research says that 10,000 people each day turn retirement age. For organizations concerned about a large number of employees leaving the workforce, allowing employees to openly discuss an exit strategy could be advantageous.

It’s time for organizations to have a discussion about retirement – what it is and isn’t. And how unretirement fits into the picture. I’m so convinced that unretirement is a trend that will be taking off in the near future that I’ve started another blog dedicated to the topic. It’s called “The Unretirement Project”. Mr. Bartender and I will be sharing our perspective and journey toward unretirement. I hope you’ll check it out and subscribe.

Unretirement has the ability to help organizations find and retain great talent. It has the potential to keep workers engaged and excited about their contributions. Unretirement can help organizations and individuals prosper.

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