Why Employee Recognition is Topping the CEO Agenda

Why Employee Recognition is Topping the CEO Agenda To get the most out of your employees, you must keep them engaged at work. The question this poses however, is how can you achieve this? Employee recognition schemes are becoming increasingly popular in businesses and by making your staff feel more valued it can drive a significant improvement in their commitment and performance in the company. These schemes dont need to be pricey and can involve as little offering a bit of praise to your  staff, or publicly acknowledging hard work. The  benefits are likely to outweigh any cost in the long run anyway. This infographic by our friends at  Terryberry  outlines just how important employee engagement is for the success of a company and some simple cost effective ways that you can implement an employee recognition scheme in your organisation. Takeaways: Keeping your employees engaged can have a multitude of positive implications for the company. The results of good employee engagement can be an increased level of productivity at work, a lower turnover of staff and higher profits and customer satisfaction. Employee recognition schemes can help to achieve these results and 46% of senior managers consider them an investment, rather than an expense due to the positive outcome, and 41% of companies who use peer-to-peer recognition report higher customer satisfaction. As little as a 1% spend from payroll on employee recognition can see a positive influence on engagement, and praise and commendation from managers was voted as the best motivator for performance at work. A mere 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work, so theres definitely room for improvement. North America has the highest proportion of engaged workers at 29%, followed by Australia and New Zealand at 24%. Some low cost ways to start employee recognition are acknowledging  hard working employees in a newsletter, thank you cards, face-to-face meetings to express gratitude and issuing awards to mark achievements. RELATED: Want Your Employees to Be More Engaged?

3 Reasons Why You Should Invest More on Skincare than Makeup

3 Reasons Why You Should Invest More on Skincare than Makeup Koreans have taken the spotlight when it comes to beauty innovation and trends. At the heart of the K-beauty revolution is the idea of prioritizing one’s skincare more than make-up. Most Korean beauty products are geared towards improving one’s skin rather than just covering up its imperfections. With Koreans gaining attention because of their flawless and youthful looking skin, it might be interesting to look into the importance of skincare. Here’s why you should invest in it more than building your make-up collection: Gain a Better Understanding of Your Skin Starting your own skin care regimen lets you examine your skin on a deeper level. Before considering using any product, you need to know first what type of skin you have. Is it dry? Oily? Blemished? Normal or combination skin? Determining what type of skin you have also allows you to look for the best make-up product to address your needs. It also helps to know how your skin changes throughout the day, the condition it prefers, and the environment it doesn’t like. This information will guide you in your day-to-day decisions that could possibly affect your skincare. You will never know what’s best for your skin unless you become better acquainted with it. Prevents Long Term Damage An ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure. Investing in a skin care regimen lays down the groundwork for preventing skin problems in the future. It prevents long term and permanent damage by avoiding skin issues at an early stage. A good example of this would be the average Korean’s diligence in putting sunblock. Korean women would put a sunblock with SPF 50 or higher every three hours, even when it’s raining or when they’re inside their homes. Korean companies have also been reported to offer SPF car windows for individuals concerned about sun protection. Saves You More Money The Korean 10- to 12-step beauty regimen may seem daunting and expensive at first but its long-term effects outweighs the expenses. Skin care products help improve your skin, making it look better even with minimal make-up. Taking care of your skin rids it of blemishes, dark spots, acne and other possible problems, so there’s no need to pile on make-up to hide these flaws. The right skincare products like Nu Skin can also help scars fade faster, even your skin tone, and keep pimples at bay. You get to save more money because you do not need to buy make-up as often as before. Skincare has always been a part of Korean culture. This timeless tradition has helped Koreans become the envy of the whole world, especially when it comes to beauty and the quality of their skin. Proper skin care lets you understand your skin better, prevents further damage and will save you more money. It takes a lot of work, time and effort; but in the end, it will be worth the investment. . Images via pixabay.

What To Do If You Were Asked for an Employment Verification Letter

What To Do If You Were Asked for an Employment Verification Letter What To Do If You Were Asked for an Employment Verification Letter So what is an employment verification letter?There may be occasions in life where you are asked to provide an employment verification letter. These letters are mostly requested as proof of your employment status when you need to secure a financial loan or may be requested by landlords when you want to rent a property. Sometimes mortgage lenders will need confirmation of your employment before they grant you a mortgage. Requesting a letter that clarifies your employment status and salary will act as proof that you are in stable employment and can comfortably afford your mortgage repayments.How to request an employment verification letter from your employerRemember that you will be requesting a formal for of correspondence from your employer. You need this letter to be drawn up properly and in an official manner to use it as proof of your employment with the company.The letter should detail such important points such as:• Your job title • The length of time you have been employe d with the company • Your current salary (if needed) • Any other information that a creditor may need such as details of an expense account or bonusesMake sure that your employer is aware of the details they need to include as a simple confirmation of employment will often not be enough to satisfy a potential creditor or landlord.What your employer needs to realizeYour employer needs to be aware that what they write in your letter can have a serious impact on what you intend to use the letter for.Should you need this letter to help you apply for some crucial funding for a mortgage on a new home, or to gain a loan at the most favorable rates that you can get to afford to buy a more reliable car, for example, your employment verification letter will have a great bearing on your success.There are many reasons for needing an employment verification letter, so being refused a mortgage, loan or a rental home because of a poorly written letter can seriously impact your well being and y our long term plans for the future.Asking for a Letter from a former employerThere are some circumstances where you may need to approach a former employer for a verification letter to detail your previous employment with them.Usually, these letters are needed when applying for a new job. You may mention in your resume or within your cover letter that your previous employer is open to receiving an employment verification letter. However, these are very different from letters of reference.Sometimes you can feel a little intimidated having to approach an old employer for a letter, especially if you didnt part under good terms.You need to make them realize that this letter is very different from a letter of reference or recommendation. You are not asking them to write anything about your personality, your performance or skills level during your time with them.Instead, they need to keep emotions and personal opinions out of the letter. Your verification letter is simply a statement of yo ur record with the company, your former position, time served with the company and any promotions awarded during that time.There is advice at hand to help you should your former employer give you a bad reference on our blog.Obtaining your letterYou can either contact your former boss, line manager or the human resources department from your old company. You can send them an email request, make a phone call or write a request letter asking them to supply you with a verification letter that states the details of your previous position.Clearly request the information that you need in your verification letter according to your needs. It may be that you only need official confirmation of your previous position, salary and time of employment. This is often the only requirement needed from a previous employer.Remain professional and respectfulRegardless of whether you are contacting a previous employer or asking your current employer for a verification letter, you need to act professionall y and ask politely.No matter whether you left on good terms with your previous employer or not, you still have a right to ask for an official employment verification letter. Try to keep all correspondence on a professional level.Online employment verificationMany larger companies have online verification request forms that you can fill out via their company website.Check with the human resources department to see if they have an automated system in place to enable you to do this online.Acknowledge their helpIt will always pay you to respect and appreciate the help given to you by your former or current employer.You will never know when you may need their help again in the future, so it is wise to keep a good relationship with them by thanking them for their assistance.How to write an employment verification letterIt may be that your employer has never needed to write an employment verification letter before so he may appreciate some guidance on how to go about writing one.The letter should follow a formal business letter format and style. So this means including the company contact information at the top followed by the date and the recipients contact information if that is applicable.Just like a regular business letter, you should include a salutation at the beginning and leave a space for a handwritten signature at the end.Employment verification letter tips and examplesYour employment verification letter need not be too lengthy. Remember that you just need a statement of facts here, so there is no need to go beyond including any information that isnt needed in the letter.For example, there is no need to write an evaluation of your work performance, personality or working relationship with others at the company.Here are some tips to help you prepare the letter:• Include the persons name • Include their specific job title and the department worked for • The amount of time employed with the company • The employee’s salary and payment terms (weekly, b i-weekly, etc.) • How many contracted hours a week they workYou should also provide your employer contact information so that the recipient can contact you for more information. It is always polite to end the letter offering to answer any further questions that may be needed.Sample letter templatesEmployment Verification Letter Example (basic confirmation information only):This is an example that can be used for a current employer to confirm your current state of employment with their company. Your name Your job title Company name Address City, State Zip CodeTodays dateThe Recipient’s contact name Company position/job title Company name Address City, State Zip CodeDear Mrs Smith,This is an official employment verification letter to verify that Jonathan Jones has been employed at Widget Industries for the past four years in our Sales Marketing Department. Jonathan began working with us on 1st December 2016.If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 123-456-789.Sincerely,(Handwritten Signature)Andrew Carlyle Director of Sales Marketing Widget IndustriesWhen the verification letter is needed to confirm details for financial purposes it may be necessary to also include salary details as well as any extra bonuses or regular expenses awarded each year.However, personal financial information may not need to be disclosed in all cases. Check the requirements of the letter recipient before releasing sensitive financial data within the letter.Employment Verification Letter Example (for a previous employer):This is a simple â€" fact-based only â€" verification letter template that can be used to confirm the details of your previous employment. Your name Your job title Company name Address City, State Zip CodeTodays dateThe Recipient’s contact name Company position/job title Company name Address City, State Zip CodeDear Mrs Smith,This letter is to verify that Jonathan Jones was employed at Storybrook Marketing from 1st April 201 4 to 30th November 2016.If you require any additional information regarding Jonathan Jones, please feel free to contact me at 111-222-333.Sincerely,(Handwritten Signature)Emma White Managing Director Storybrook Marketing previous article Fresty â€" A Clean Simple Resume Template next article Career (Con)Quest #1: Have You Got Any Question For Me? you might also like6 Online Gigs You Can Do During Coronavirus Outbreak (To Offset Your Lost Income)

The Fall of the Open Office Trend

The Fall of the Open Office Trend This piece isn’t just about evaluating the impact open offices have on employee morale, productivity, and communication. Because even though almost  three quarters of companies in the US have an open office plan of some sort and industry leaders like Facebook have embraced the trend as collaboration Utopia, robust research led by credible sources like Harvard Business School has presented a very strong case in favour of doing away with the concept. The message has already been received loud and clear. Open offices in their present avatar do not work. Hard data like the instance of an open office in Australia leading to 10% of the workforce contracting tuberculosis is proof enough that savings in terms of space are far outweighed by sick days, declining productivity and utter worker dissatisfaction. While some companies think they can get away with a botched-up copy of an open office, choosing to focus on the immediate cost cuts, others still subscribe to the notion cause open offices done right DO work. Proof lies in history. And most importantly, open offices of the brands that frequently make it to the “Best Places in the World to Work At” lists have key differences compared to the hard floored, messy, noisy landscape that has come to define an open office in the 21st century. What are bad copies of open offices doing to the workforce? Elizabeth Von Lehe, is the director of strategy and concept design at Icrave. According to her experienced eye, most open offices lack the basic features that can support the journey to unbounded collaboration with the right concessions made for privacy and productivity. Ethan Bernstein and Stephen Turban, the pioneers of empirical evidence based open office research led by Harvard found that the shift to an open design actually reduced in-person communication by a whopping 72%. Correspondingly the use of emails increased by 56% and that of instant messaging platforms spiked by 67%. This can be largely attributed to the fact that human beings are not bees and  can’t be likened to insects who need to be together to grow their pool of social intelligence. We have a defined sense of self and even the most extroverted people need quiet time to focus and to tend to their personal needs. In open office spaces with shared desks, ringing telephones and forced listen-ins on private conversations, people get overwhelmed and shut down direct communication to preserve their sanity and their productivity. Impersonal channels like emails that do not require active engagement turn into the preferred channels of correspondence. Not surprising since findings by Stegmeier Consulting Group show that audible distractions, visual distractions and their respective lacks of privacy are the top four concerns of open office workers. Source: State of the Open Office Research Study (Stegmeier) William Belk has shed light on yet another aspect of the open office disaster. It has found that high performing individuals who take on a lot of problem-solving are impacted the most when companies choose to do away with private spaces and instead advocate hot-desking. While open offices have certainly not given birth to sexism at the workplace, they are unknowingly perpetuating unacceptable behavior. Medium blogger Amar Singh eloquently wraps up the dialogue on poorly designed open office spaces. They turn distractions into an inevitability which even in the era of depressing cubicles were always a choice, one which employees had some degree of control over. Taking open offices back to better times: The open office is not dead â€" yet. Because there are examples of great design and flexibility around the world which have kept the spirit of Wright’s work alive. Facebook is the flag bearer of the open office success. But if you really drill down into what makes Facebook’s Menlo Park HQ tick, you come acrossideas that reinforce the need to balance collaboration and privacy. First and foremost, the open office story at Facebook doesn’t end with shared desks. There are conference rooms and plush private areas where people can go to focus on tasks demanding attention. This is the recommendation of almost all architects who give credence to the open office concept. Mark Zuckerberg walks the talk. He is just another white desk at Facebook’s open office and this is extremely important if employees are to embrace the open office space as an improvement that’ll work in their favor instead of a cost cut made by the management. Creativity and purpose are built into the DNA of the Facebook HQ. Bold colors, quirky furniture and the quiet reiteration of the company’s purpose position the open office as a place for innovation that’s rooted in the common desire to make Facebook the best social network in the world. The provision of a rooftop garden, showers, and ergonomic desks and chairs put health first, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Not every company has the budget to pull a Facebook though! This is why  Gensler breaks down the salient features of a highly effective open office space. Choices are important Distraction minimization is another non-negotiable trait Finally, access is the best complement to an open office The shift to the open landscape should be made when collaboration is the real motivation and the management is ready to execute a thoughtful design that values privacy, flexibility, and empowerment. About the author: Norberts Erts is the co-founder of HR software company CakeHR, that streamlines attendance and performance management for customers worldwide. Keeping a sharp eye on HR, marketing, business, finance, science, technology and the connections between them.

Rebranding Your Personal BrandIt is Time - Career Pivot

Rebranding Your Personal Brandâ€"It is Time - Career Pivot Rebranding Wikipedia defines rebranding as: Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, competitors, and other stakeholders. I am going to define personal rebranding as: The process of creating a new, updated personal brand that is related to your previous personal brand. There are times when a personal brand needs a faceliftâ€"often by taking past experiences and relating them to the current world we live in. Rebranding in the Corporate World Companies need to update their image from time to time. A classical example is Apple. When Apple was named Apple Computer, their logo looked like this: When Apple Computer rebranded itself as Apple, they changed their logo to: Apple had transformed from a computer manufacturing company to a consumer electronics company. They needed a new brand logo, but notice that the new logo still resembled the old. Listen to the most recent episode This is not a new brand, but a rebrand. For More:What is a Personal Brand? â€" Guest Post Rebranding â€" Your New Personal Brand My favorite definition of a personal brand is as follows: “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room” â€"Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon Sometimes we just need to move on from our jobs, industries, or professions. We need to translate our talents and skills into a new arena. I recently went through a rebranding process with a client, and I want to use his story as an example. Jim retired early from a company that made sensors for the transportation industry. This is a very niche industry that, while it is stable, only has room in it for a few players. After aa while he decided that retirement was boring. He decided to go back to work in a sales or business development position. He did not want to return to the transportation industry. In his previous life as a business development and product manager, Jim had grown his sensor products from zero to $20M in revenue over a 4-7 years. He had a pretty decent track record, so we just had to figure out the best way to translate this experience to a new industry. For More:Talents versus Skills â€" Do you know the difference? Translating Experience As it turned out, that translation was pretty easy (might have been easy for me because of my technology experience). The sensors he worked with did the following: Communicated data over a network to a central controller Generated alerts when error occurred Updated software via the network Monitored sensors from the central controller My first thought was that this sounded a lot likethe latest trend ofInternetof Things (IoT). After doing some research, we found a subset ofIoTcalled Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IIoT mapped very closely to what Jim had worked on previously. Rebranding Statement We came up with the brand statement of: I was doing IoT before it was called IoT! His LinkedIn profile has IoT and IIoTeverywhere it makes sense and it tells the story on how what he did for the last 10 years of his career maps directly toIoT. When Jim went to networking events, he felt comfortable telling people, “I was doing IoT before it was called IoT!” He felt comfortable saying this becauseit was true. This rebranding process landed Jim a contract business development position with an IoTtechnology startup. We will use this position to develop somestreet credin theIoT andIIoTspace. The rebranding or mapping of his talents and skills directly into this new space made it clear he had the expertise. For More:Changing Industries to Smart Grid Conclusion This was a fairly easy translation of Jim’s experience from one industry into another. It is not always this easy. You will likely need to get help from someone who works in your target industry. Between your expertise in your previous industry and the expertise from the person who is helping you, you can develop your own rebranding statement. Have you gone through a rebranding process? Please tell us your story in the comment section below. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Coffee in the office... or office in the coffee house - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Coffee in the office... or office in the coffee house - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Wired has an article on a company that use a coffee house as their office: Delicious Monster is the Mac software company behind the hit Delicious Library, a program for cataloging collections of books, movies and games. The software is selling like hot cakes and has garnered rave reviews and awards, yet the companys headquarters is a Seattle coffee house. As well as creamy lattes, the coffee shop offers wireless internet access and big, bench-like tables that several people can gather around. Often, Delicious Monsters entire seven-person staff will work there. Zoka is pretty much their office, said Reid Hickman, a Zoka barista. Its a pretty good deal. They hang out here all day and they often get lunch and dinner here. They take good care of us. This is yet another interesting blurring of what is and isnt work. Or of where work can or cant be performed. Expect more of this kind of thing. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Resume Writing Costs in North Carolina

Resume Writing Costs in North CarolinaThe number of job seekers with no idea on how to begin their resume writing needs is ever increasing and there are many websites that are so full of them that you can find a dozen resumes from the same job posting. While it can be frustrating to get an overload of resumes, it can also be embarrassing to see them all. That is why many people resort to doing it by hand because if it's going to be done correctly then it's a lot more convenient.Many job seekers now believe that resumes that cost money are a scam and they're not worth wasting their time. People who go through the first steps to write one have been paying close attention for a long time and have done so for free. Let's have a look at some of the factors that need to be considered when looking at the price of a resume.First of all you will notice that most job seekers who write their own resume are paid well for it. If you're on a tight budget, you might not be able to do it yourself, b ut you can have a look around at what companies charge for their services. You'll probably be surprised to see that there are some very expensive resume writing services that charge hundreds of dollars for your resume. Don't go with the first one you see because they could be scams.Also, don't be so quick to sign up for more than one resume writing service. You can find a list of them on the internet and only choose one or two. Keep it simple and stick to one service if you can because in this case you'll get some quality information from them.Try and focus on this part of the entire job application process because it will save you a lot of time and it can increase your chances of getting a call back. There are thousands of job vacancies on a daily basis and while they might pay well, you will not receive any calls after you've filled out your application. So it is important to maximize your time in order to apply for as many jobs as possible.Of course, resume writing costs money is n't it? Yes, it is but not always. The difference in price should definitely give you pause if you're on a budget.Look around and see if there is a reputable company to submit your resume to and if it is, make sure you take advantage of the benefits that they offer you. They should also tell you about their guarantees and how long it will take for you to get your resume approved.And remember, when it comes to resume writing costs in North Carolina, you want to keep your costs low. If you are willing to take the risk and research yourself then you will find that it's not so difficult and can save you a lot of time and frustration in the end.