Talent Management Archives

Remote Work Teams- There Are Many Fish In The Sea

By Chris Cancialosi

Published at September 11, 2017January 25, 2022 In Category Blog Tags: Leadership, Org Culture, People Strategy, Remote Work, Talent Management

As the war for talent rages across the land with no end in sight and as competition in the market continues to bubble over at a fervent pace, many business leaders are finding that they must cast an ever widening net to succeed in securing the right people. Data from the updated Global Workforce Analytics study in June of 2017 on telecommuting found that people spend approximately 50-60% of their time away from their desks anyway and the many tasks are more conducive to solitude than collaboration. Read More…

How to Create a Customer Service Culture on People Power

By Startups.co

Published at August 15, 2017November 14, 2019 In Category Blog Tags: Customer Experience, Org Culture, Startups, Talent Management

By Ari Rabban

The biggest brands in the world become what they are with the help of one elusive ingredient: customer loyalty. In a world over-saturated with scattershot marketing messages, successful companies take the time to truly get to know their customers — their motivations, fears, ideas, and priorities — and tackle customer service with relentless dedication.

If you’re an entrepreneur, this is good news and bad news.

The bad news? You’re likely competing against established brands that have worked for years — or even decades — to build loyalty among customers.

The good news? You can make customer-service commitment part of your company’s mission early on and be hyper-focused on giving a smaller number of customers the best experiences possible.

If you commit to offering better customer service than your competitors, then your customers are far more likely to tolerate growing pains and stick with you as you scale. This is why developing a customer service culture should be a table stakes commitment for all startups.

Flexible Leaders Will Rule the Employee-Centered Workplace

By Shawn Overcast

Published at July 6, 2017July 12, 2017 In Category Blog Tags: Leadership, Talent Management

flexible leaders employee centered workplace

Elon Musk acts like space is the next frontier, but business pioneers know true innovation is happening on terra firma. Instead of exploring the cosmos, business leaders are experimenting with office dynamics. The 21st-century workplace is characterized by perpetual changes and increasingly unconventional setups.

Our ancestors would have trouble recognizing our employee-centered office spaces and working arrangements. Telecommuting has become commonplace for many small and large organizations, and most companies have a global focus — internationally-based employees, vendors, and clients are par for the course. Thankfully, communication is instantaneous with technology such as email, real-time messaging, virtual meetings, and synchronous conference calls.

How accustomed are we to this brave new work world? When children photo-bombed their father’s international interview on the BBC, society laughed it off because of how commonplace that scenario has become. Workers adore this ever-changing environment, but it can be problematic for business leaders.

Navigating the Murky Waters of Workplace Expectations

By Chris Cancialosi

Published at June 8, 2017June 9, 2017 In Category Blog Tags: Change Management, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Talent Management

We spend most of our work lives managing other peoples’ expectations. Yet, half of employees say they don’t know what’s expected of them at work, according to Gallup research.

Sadly, we don’t have to look far to find stories of how this unfolds in the workplace.

How to Master the Art and Science of Effective Team Management

By Chris Cancialosi

Published at June 1, 2017June 14, 2017 In Category Blog Tags: Employee Engagement, Leadership, Talent Management

master the art and science of effective team management

A single perfect brush stroke does not make a painting. Nor does a single note make a song. Every work of art is a result of many individual pieces all working together in harmony to make the whole. Artists spend their entire lives learning how to improve these individual elements and learning how they fit together to create the final composition.

We don’t often think about this kind of dedication in business. No one spends their entire life devoted to the mastery of middle management. Yet, to excel as a manager, you will need to spend a considerable amount of time learning about the individual people that make up your team.

To Grow Leadership Skills, Get People Out of Their Comfort Zones

By Brett Morgan

Published at May 9, 2017May 9, 2017 In Category Blog Tags: Leadership, Talent Management

When I worked in the outdoor industry, I saw a lot of leaders forced out of their comfort zones. To survive in the backcountry, they had to use their physical and mental strength, keep an open mind, and rely on those around them for support.

Some fared better than others, and I found people’s individual identities and corporate positions didn’t determine their levels of success. Anyone could grow as a person and leader during a backcountry excursion, but only if he or she was willing to embrace the discomfort that accompanied the transformation — and you can do the same.

How Technology Can Save Your Company Culture During an Expansion

By Shawn Overcast

Published at May 2, 2017May 1, 2017 In Category Blog Tags: Growth, Org Culture, Process Improvement, Talent Management

technology can save your company culture during expansion

As any business expands — either domestically or internationally — it can be a challenge to maintain a consistent company culture. Communication might suddenly need to bridge time zones, and messages will need to stay consistent despite language or cultural barriers. An expansion can affect organizational design and the centralization of resources, potentially making employees feel detached.

How To Create Change When You’re Not In Charge

By Chris Cancialosi

Published at April 12, 2017April 12, 2017 In Category Blog Tags: Change Management, Leadership, Org Culture, Talent Management

What does the name Thomas Wilson mean to you?

Probably not much. But over a decade ago, this young man created a groundswell of change in a massive Federal organization that altered thousands of lives for the better; including mine.

How did he do it? And what can we learn from his story about creating large-scale change from the bottom up?

Is Your Organization Ready for a New Performance Management Process?

By Peggy Parskey

Published at April 6, 2017April 6, 2017 In Category Blog Tags: Org Culture, Process Improvement, Talent Management

If you’ve been in the workforce for at least three years, you have likely had at least one annual performance review (unless of course, you work for a firm that has abandoned the practice). As I began to draft this article, I was curious about what my colleagues had experienced in their annual reviews. Their stories are below:

Are They Employees or Widgets? The Results of People-as-Commodity Cultures

By Brett Morgan

Published at April 4, 2017April 3, 2017 In Category Blog Tags: Employee Engagement, Leadership, Org Culture, Talent Management

Newsflash: People aren’t possessions. So why do we insist on treating workers like commodities?

Once upon a time, employees and companies enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship. Workers stayed with one company for their entire careers, taking pride in their output and putting their noses to the grindstone for the sake of the organization. In return, companies offered pension plans, training, development opportunities, and reasonable work hours.

While those days might seem like distant memories, the churn-and-burn mentality of the modern workplace isn’t sustainable.