New Year, New Resolutions… EVEN AT WORK!

Hello readers, and welcome to 2018! Jaime Marie here, writing to you about a tradition I look forward to every January- New Year’s Resolutions.   For many, this will be the year they finally achieve that “dream body,” finish that novel they’ve been working on for years, or clean out all the junk drawers they’ve tried so hard to ignore for so long. According to the Statistic Portal, the top two 2018 resolutions in the United States were to save money or to lose weight/get in shape.   Promising to change and improve yourself and your life is an almost unavoidable part of the transition to a new year. So, as you take on the next 365 days, what are you going to promise to change? Think about what improvements you could make this year in your workplace.   Stuck? Can’t think of what you could POSSIBLY improve on at work…read more...

Employee Appreciation

The number one reason why most Americans leave their jobs is that they don’t feel appreciated. Employee appreciation is a must-have for organizations that value employee engagement. Showing appreciation for employees can increase productivity, customer service and product development.   Companies who participate in employee recognition report a turnover rate 23% lower than at companies without a recognition program, and 41% of companies that use peer-to-peer recognition have seen marked positive increases in customer satisfaction.   Recognizing employees is one of the most overlooked facets of management that even great leaders sometimes forget about. Without honest, frequent praise, people build up stress.   What is employee recognition?  Employee recognition is all about acknowledging the hard work and accomplishments of the individuals and teams within your organization. It’s really about creating an emotional connection between your employees and your company all while supporting the work your employees do each day. Employee…read more...

What Not to Say During an Interview

Interviews can be tough. They’re stressful, anxiety provoking and call for extra-strength deodorant.   In an interview, your goal is to get across to the interviewer why you—above all the other applicants—are the right person for the job. The hiring manager is looking for the candidate with just the right set of skills, the ideal personality, and the drive to make things happen.   A wrong move or two, and it won’t matter how great you performed at your last job. There are some questions, topics, etc., that aren’t appropriate and can really make the employer think twice about your character.   This is Jaime Marie, and here are some phrases that come off as red flags during interviews:   “So, tell me what you do around here.”  Do your research. You never want to walk into an interview knowing too little about the position or company. Companies want to…read more...

10 Tips for Team Building

Belonging to a team, in the broadest sense, results in being a part of something larger than yourself. Team members understand the mission or objectives of your organization. In a team-oriented environment, you contribute to the overall organization by doing your job well and helping others to do their jobs well. Getting a team to work efficiently requires focus on team building. Even though everyone may belong to a different department, they all work together to achieve the common goal of the organization. The bigger picture drives your actions. Many compaies use team building as the major key for business success. If your team-morale isn’t living up to your expectations, this checklist may help you better understand why. Successful team building calls for attention to each of the following: Common Vision  A common vision for all team members is essential for team building and organizational success. Spend time visioning as a team –…read more...

Just a Minute, Boss. My Cell phone is Ringing.

These days, we’re never on the go without a cell phone in hand. Whether you are a GenXer at the hair salon, a millennial on a mountain bike or a soccer mom at the grocery store, we depend on the connectivity that a cell phone provides.  Smart phones provide our news and our entertainment.  When we find ourselves unexpectedly without our phones, we don’t know where to look or what to do with our hands. But, have you ever asked yourself if your cell phone is killing your productivity at work? According to Pew Research Center, cell phone owners between the ages of 18 and 24 exchange an average of 109.5 messages on a normal day—more than 3,200 texts per month! If we assume a millennial spends one third of their day at work, they are receiving somewhere between 30-40 messages during a workday. The buzz of our phone can…read more...

Five Tips on Working from Home

In today’s interconnected world, working doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to a grey-walled office building filled with rows of cubicles. It doesn’t need to mean you’re jumping on a plane every couple of days, or that you’re in constant competition for the room with the biggest view. Working from home has become increasingly possible and popular. More than 30 million Americans work from home, and Forrester Research’s US Telecommuting Forecast predicts that number will rise to 63 million by next year - meaning that 43 percent of the U.S. workforce will work remotely. It’s not a piece of cake to work from home if you allow the distractions of your spouse, kids, pets and UPS deliveries to disrupt your workflow. Working from home is awesome as long as you set up your home workspace to meet the needs of your work.  Don’t let working from home turn into unnecessary sleep-in days,…read more...

Hey There, Let’s Decorate!

Do you look around your workplace and think, “Man, this place is drab?” Does your work environment remind you of an uninspired school classroom? Are there faded posters on the walls that have been there since 1972? If the walls of your workspace are tired, your employees might be less than inspired when they walk into work each day. There’s a special place in my heart for interior design. It goes well with my little fashion obsession, because it’s essentially dressing up your work space! From the lighting, the furniture, the equipment, and how it’s all positioned and arranged- here we look at why interior design is so important to the success of your business. Impress Clients Clients are the trickiest part of businesses. You have to be able to please anyone who enters the office. Combining that idea with the popular saying, “first impressions are everything,” it becomes crystal…read more...

The Key to Avoiding Turnovers

Hi Again!   Jaime Marie here, ready to talk through one BIG struggle many companies seem to have. New employees coming and going, always having to “show the ropes” to fresh faces. It’s time consuming, it affects production rates, and it’s frustrating for existing staff. Every boss’s question: how do you avoid turnovers and stay fully staffed? The ultimate answer: Employee engagement.   What Does Employee Engagement Mean to Employers?   Employee engagement is a workplace tactic resulting in just the right conditions for all members of a workplace to give their best each day. David Macleod, founder of ‘Engage for Success’ says, “This is about how we create the conditions in which employees offer more of their capability and potential”. Employee engagement is about positive attitudes triggering and reinforcing one another. It’s important to our companies that our employees are loyal and proud to be working for you. Employee…read more...

Bring Your Child to Work Day

Hello, Readers!   Don’t you love reminiscing about old times? Those experiences shared with parents, siblings, neighborhood pals or even simply classmates throughout the years. Many may say they distinctively recall going to work with their parent once or twice throughout their schooling careers… With the school year quickly approaching, parents everywhere are scrambling to get all the correctly colored back-to-school supplies to launch their children off to a great start. Today, in honor of all the chaos associated with the school year commencing, I’m touching on the topic of “Bring Your Child to Work Day.”   Does it Even Matter to the Kids?   Being the youngest of my siblings, my mom was back to working part-time by the time I was in pre-school. I would go to the AM session at school, and then she’d pick me up and bring me to work with her. She does ultrasounds…read more...

Health and Well Being in Your Work World

Hello Friends!                                  Don’t worry- I’m not going to try and talk you into throwing your entire vegetable drawer into a blender and drinking it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, I am here to talk to you about the importance of taking care of your body and your mind while tackling your day to day workload (this is for the sake of you and your fellow employees)! Jaime Marie here again.  I’m super excited to give all the who’s what’s when’s where’s and why’s about these game changers: eating your veggies, drinking lots of H2O and moving those muscles. Breakin’ a Sweat Yeah, yeah, “there are two types of people”: the ones who crave the five AM runs and the others who suffer through their 25 minutes on the elliptical after work. Oh, hold on…there’s a third type too- the people who just don’t exercise. If that’s you, have you…read more...

Keep up with the latest HR Alerts and Industry News

Site Archives

Recent Posts

MENU