Q: How do you promote innovation? A: You listen. To everyone. At the recent “Great Place to Work For All” summit, an annual event sponsored by Great Place to Work (GPTW), the focus was on inclusion. Speaker after speaker drew a direct connection between everyone at the organization feeling heard, and business innovation. Note that […]
The Devil Wears What??
When in the past would a candidate’s history of mistreating employees have been a thing? The news about how Senator Amy Klobuchar has treated her staff, beginning as rumors but now increasingly well-documented in multiple credible news sources, is disappointing and sad. But here’s another way to think about it…four years ago, would it have […]
For Some Employees, It’s Valentine’s Day All Year
Fortune’s 2019 100 Best Companies to Work For list was posted on Valentine’s Day. That’s highly appropriate, when you think about it, because to get on this list your employees really have to love your organization. The winners are selected according to a rigorous application process that includes an employee engagement survey, which counts for […]
Know Which Employers Are Most Supportive of Aging Workers? Neither Do I!
Isn’t it time for a “best employers” list that puts older workers front and center? Think about it. There are lists of best companies for women, for millennials, for supporting diversity. For people with disabilities, for dads, for parents generally. So where is the list for employees who are nearing the end of their careers—or […]
This New Year, Resolve to Improve Your Employee Communications
We’re told that employees in mission-driven organizations are more engaged. But surely this applies only if the employees, themselves, feel they have a role to play in achieving that mission—which can’t happen if they are routinely kept in the dark. A robust, mission-driven organization requires robust employee communications. Today, when Google, smart phones, social media […]
Three Things Jigsaw Puzzles Can Teach Us About Problem-Solving
I often keep a jigsaw puzzle going on a side table when I’m working. I’ve got a 1,500 piece one sitting here right now, just finished—after five months. Working on the puzzle is a calming exercise when I’m thinking, or on hold, or taking a breather as I transition from one project to the next. […]
What do the Working Mother 100 Best Companies Have That Other Employers Don’t?
Last month, Working Mother magazine released its “100 Best Companies” list. Companies need to apply to get onto the list, and one of the things I do is help my clients with these applications, so I know a thing or two about what it takes. Yet it’s still always gratifying to see the extent to […]
Challenging Truisms, Fostering Inclusion
Last week Working Mother Media held its annual conference, now called the WorkBeyond Summit (this year’s theme: “Transform to Innovate: What’s Next?”) The event, which culminates in a gala dinner honoring organizations on the Working Mother 100 Best Companies list, brings together representatives from these and other companies as well as research and advocacy groups and […]
A Voice for Older Workers
Have you heard about this group yet? Respectful Exits calls itself the “organized voice of aging workers,” and it aims to give voice to a group that is often forgotten (except in the most legalistic way) in the whole question of work-life and diversity. It advocates for employers to end mandatory retirement ages and implement […]
Great Employers: Don’t Skip To the End of the Story
I’ve just put a bow on my busiest season, the late spring and summer months when I work with companies to put together the best possible submissions for next year’s Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list. In other words, I spend each summer helping my clients tell their stories—stories about how they work […]