A highlight of the ASTD Conference (American Society for Training & Development), held in Chicago, May 16-19, 2010, was an informal talk at the Ken Blanchard Companies® exhibit booth by Ken Blanchard, Chief Spiritual Officer. Ken is one of the most influential leadership experts in the world, respected for his years of groundbreaking work in … Continue reading
According to HRZone, only 40% of employees say their business is ethical (article by Cath Everett, April 28, 2010). “While employers that adhere to corporate social responsibility and environmentally-friendly business practices show better rates of employee engagement and retention, only two out of five UK staff believe that the organisation they work for behaves ethically.” … Continue reading
An article in the Wall Street Journal (4/19/10) by Samuel A. Culbert, “Yes, Everyone Really Does Hate Performance Reviews,” comments that performance reviews are “one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities.” The article goes on to say that performance reviews do enormous damage on both a personal level … Continue reading
According to a 2008 article in HR Management magazine, replacing a worker costs on average 100% to 125% of an employee’s annual salary. Yet, many organizations mistakenly ignore employee retention. An article in the 04/01/10 issue of AMANET, “Becoming an Employee-Centered Organization,” by Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. and Gary M. Stern, outlines four steps that … Continue reading
A March 18, 2010 article in Amanet.org by John Schaefer, How to turn HR expenses into profits, talks about how a trust relationship can be built up between employees and managers: Five keys 1. Visit everyone 2. Stay positive 3. Be genuine 4. Make sure it’s not all business 5. Don’t expect results right away … Continue reading
The 2009/2010 Staying@Work report, a joint survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide and the National Business Group on Health, found that many companies have not dealt with the impact of stress in the workplace: The survey, based on a survey of 282 companies in the United States, showed that the primary sources of stress affecting organizations … Continue reading
I was invited to speak on the topic of Trust in the Workplace at the January 18, 2010 meeting of the Chicagoland Chapter of ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) Trust is the core issue impacting organizational, team and leadership effectiveness. The session explored the impact of trust in the workplace, definitions of trust, … Continue reading
According to a new survey published by the Conference Board, only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work, the lowest level ever recorded by the Conference Board research group in more than 22 years of studying the issue. When the Conference Board first conducted the survey in 1987, most workers — 61 percent … Continue reading
Five Minutes on Mondays: Finding Unexpected Purpose, Peace, and Fulfillment at Work, by Alan Lurie, is a collection of 30 weekly messages that the author wrote for the New York business community. The book addresses such topics as authenticity, balance, honesty, happiness, humor, and how to understand difficult times. Lurie’s suggestions for bringing spirit to … Continue reading
… NBES data show that, like the Enron era, improvements in ethical conduct tend to be temporary. From 2000 to 2003, ethics metrics all improved, with the bursting of the dot com bubble, 9/11, and corporate scandals, including Enron and WorldCom, only to fall back until the start of the current recession in December 2007. … Continue reading