It’s no secret that the hiring process and the labor market overall have been drastically altered due to COVID-19. The question is, what changes can we expect to see sticking around post-pandemic? Fortunately, Harvard Graduate School of Education has been working on an answer to this through their Project on Workforce. Co-director of this project Peter Q. Blair, who is also part of the National Bureau of Economic Research, sheds some light on the potential post-pandemic workforce we could be seeing in the future: “Because of COVID-19, paying for college imposes a significant financial burden on most families. As more
Many Americans are now working from home full-time, while also juggling the task of looking after and even homeschooling their kids. This means less time for work and more distractions while trying to get work done. That’s why we have compiled a list of tips that can help you stay productive when working from home. Distraction is a huge work-from-home hurdle. It can take anywhere from 10 to 18 minutes to regain the same level of attention back that you had before getting distracted. Keep your workspace free of distractions to maximize productivity. The lack of regular facetime with coworkers
Did you know that cognitive ability and conscientiousness are the strongest predictors of future job performance? Or that one’s problem solving abilities are most strongly linked to success on the job? Luckily, more and more organizations are realizing this, leading the personality assessment industry to impressive growth. The effectiveness of personality assessments is even getting recognized and taken advantage of by Fortune 500 companies. It has become common practice to include assessments in the hiring process about as often as background checks are included. In fact, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using a computer- or paper-based pre-employment assessment,
Hiring for any position in your organization can be stressful. Whether it’s a managerial role or entry level, adding a new employee to the team takes time, effort, and money. It’s necessary to know what type of employee you need so you can hire the right one the first time to make the hire worth that time, effort, and money. Naturally, there are certain requirements for different roles in any organization. But there’s more to add to your “ideal candidate” list than just the requirements of the job. Arguably the most important aspect of an employee, besides their ability to
A recent study by TowersWatson found that fewer than 21 percent of employees surveyed described themselves as “highly engaged.” This is 10 percent less than the figure from 2009. And 8 percent admitted to being fully disengaged. Having only 1/5 of your workforce engaged doesn’t make good odds for keeping your employees motivated. Entrepreneur.com states that employee engagement and motivation derive from 3 factors: Alignment of the employee with the goals and vision of the company Employees’ faith in the competence of management and their commitment to realize the goals and vision Trust in their direct supervisor that he or
When it comes to high-potential employees, or hi-pos, Harvard Business Review tells us that 1 in 4 believes he or she will be working for another employer within a year. It seems finding talented people is hard work but keeping them is even harder. Some components to be aware of if you are putting effort towards retaining your top employees are explained below. Flexibility – Remote working options, flexible hours, and PTO policies are replacing the traditional strict 9-to-5 workday. It’s no secret that flexible workers are happier and more productive, meaning not only a more positive impact on
The potential increase of minimum wage and the aftereffects it brings has companies of all sizes in its grasp. Regardless of size, companies will find it necessary to minimize their front-facing workforce, often running understaffed to be able to compensate for the rising cost of keeping employees on the clock. And with entry-level employees making comparable paychecks to those who have invested much of their time and effort into the company, retaining and motivating high performers will become a challenge. With the increase in the cost of the workforce, companies will have to be more discerning when hiring new employees
Emotional intelligence consists of one’s ability to express and control emotions, read the emotions of others, and respond to others empathetically. Knowing this, it makes sense that emotional intelligence would have its place in sales performance. A typical sales role calls for connecting with and communicating with total strangers—a task far easier for those with high EI. We’ll look at some sales aspects that are most affected by emotional intelligence, and how they can potentially improve sales performance. Building Rapport. Very few salespeople would claim that the same sales tactic works on every individual. Tailoring a sales tactic based on
Research shows that it can take as much as 10 to 18 minutes to regain the same level of attention back that you had before getting distracted. Whether you are the type to get distracted by the slightest interruption or the type who easily tunes out distractions, no one is completely attentive 100% of the time. That’s why we can all benefit from some tips for avoiding workplace distractions. To start, you can help yourself by tackling visual distractions. Organize your workspace and limit technology interruptions—only check calls, emails, and messages when necessary, and keep any distracting clutter off your
Remote employees are becoming a more common occurrence for companies everywhere. This working remote trend can be highly beneficial to both the employee and the employer when done correctly. But oftentimes, the cons outweigh the pros if you don’t know how to efficiently and effectively set yourself or your coworkers up for remote work. It’s important to be aware of typical working-from-home hurdles in order to be prepared with solutions for those setbacks. The following descriptions highlight what to avoid and what to be aware of so you can maximize the effectiveness of working from home. The biggest—and probably most