Talent Connection Blog

Take a minute to reflect on your workplace and consider these 3 issues facing workplaces today: A lack of “workplace vitality” –a phrase developed by Mars Drinks, meaning the overall collaboration, engagement, well-being, and productivity of an organization. Staff burnout due to poor technology—tech-savvy employees, especially younger ones, highly value the necessary software and technology tools to get the job done. A lack of employee recognition – one in five employees said they would rather receive a promotion to a higher title without a pay raise over a pay raise without a new title; one third said they would prefer public

A recent Goldman Sachs infographic defines the Millennial Generation as individuals born between 1980 and 2000. People in this generation have grown up in a world of immense change technologically, economically, and globally. This makes them what Goldman Sachs calls “digital natives;” they were born into technology, so they expect it and thrive better with it. With that said, it can be difficult to obtain and maintain Millennials’ attention. Forty-eight percent of Millennials say that word of mouth is their biggest purchasing motivator; only 17 percent say an ad has compelled them to purchase something. This year’s Inc.com Women’s Summit

When starting a new job, the feeling of the company being unprepared for your arrival can be disheartening. Nearly everyone has experienced it—management doesn’t have much to offer but a quick hello before pawning you off on another employee, equally unprepared, who is given the responsibility to show you the ropes. If you haven’t experienced that before, those who have will tell you that it doesn’t make for a good first impression. Proper onboarding processes are more than just first impressions. The onboarding process stretches beyond that first day, ensuring a new hire’s comfort and future performance within their role

Research shows that feeling appreciated is one of the top three drivers of employee engagement. Feeling appreciated comes from recognition from others—in the workplace, it is recognition from your team and especially your team leader. Since 69 percent of employees work harder when they feel appreciated, it’s time to show some employee appreciation! Here are a dozen simple, effective methods for showing your employees appreciation in your organization. How to show appreciation A simple sincere word of thanks can go a long way Giving a thank you note or posting it on their office door Mention them in a department-wide

Experience, skills, and education are all important considerations for new hires. But there’s another factor that is just as important but is sometimes overlooked—culture fit. Culture fit is more than just whether or not a candidate will get along with the current team members; it also entails a candidate’s likelihood to thrive in your work environment and embody your organization’s values and vision. Only then can you be sure a candidate is truly right for the job. Here are some ways to ensure cultural fit during your next interview. Have candidates take an assessment first. This gives you concrete metrics

Executive coaching can meet a variety of needs in the workplace. Some executive coaches are meant to push you to find your own way, while others focus more on constructive feedback and offering ideas for solving issues. Ideally, you would want someone that is good at both. To find someone who can do both for your organization, use these questions to help you, courtesy of Entrepreneur.com. What areas am I seeking executive coaching support in? You can’t find the right solution for executive coaching until you know what you’re looking for. Once you, and your organization, are clear on what

Does your organization have any new year’s resolutions lined up to achieve in 2017? Employees and job seekers probably do: to obtain and maintain a comfortable, stable job—especially all those new, qualified winter college grads! Unfortunately, one third of new hires quit their job after about 6 months (despite the strength of their new year’s resolutions). With that said, here’s a new year’s resolution idea for your organization, or one to add to the list if you already have some: improving employee retention throughout your organization. The Wall Street Journal online and Forbes online have a few employee retention strategies

With the end of the year right around the corner, most organizations are working on their year-ending employee performance evaluations. This time of year can be frustrating and worrisome for both the recipients of the performance reviews, as well as those administering them. Here are 5 tips for a more enjoyable performance evaluation experience. Evaluate yourself first. Some companies include a self-assessment portion of the employee evaluation process. Whether your company includes that step or not, it’s worthwhile to take the time to evaluate yourself for several reasons—to know how you’ve progressed from your own perspective, to have a comparison

Workforce planning—the overall process of linking workforce strategies to desired business outcomes—is a necessity for a thriving business strategy. This workforce planning process helps employees in numerous ways: Manage organizational culture Deploy staff and organize work Anticipate and manage risks Respond to organization-wide staffing needs Influence development of job classes, rules, and collective agreements within the workplace With all these provided perks, it’s no wonder why workforce planning is constantly high on the wish list for HR executives. The issue is, however, it seems strategic workforce planning remains on the wish list rather than the to-do list. The most common