I picked up a book yesterday called #CORPORATE CULTURE tweet.  Seeing as we’re fascinated with corporate culture here at McNak, and I’m on Twitter every day, this seemed like a book for me.

The tag line is: 140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Help You Create a High Performing, Values-Aligned Workplace that Employees LOVE

What a way to hook me in.  This is a book I want to read, I’m thinking.

The author, S. Chris Edmonds, is a Senior Consultant at Ken Blanchard Companies and has more than 25 years of experience working with leaders on culture change, team performance and effectiveness.

I cracked open the book last night, and was delighted to see that the format was short little snippets of wisdom.  It is a very fast read, and I found myself noting down several of my favourite ‘ahas’ that I can’t wait to share with our team.

What you will find in this book is some solid advice that you can apply to your corporation immediately. Culture does take time to grow and nurture, and #CORPORATE CULTURE tweet will help you lead the way.

photo credit: http://www.happyabout.com/thinkaha/

“Change your thoughts, and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale

I recently challenged myself to changing how my mind works. I am an over analytical, one-step-ahead, worrying type of person and I made it my personal, internal goal to be more positive and focus on what I want out of life rather than focus on the current hardships I have going on. I have been reading a lot of books and blogs about how powerful the mind really is and it’s astonishing to think how a small change of thought can lead to big changes in life. Now, somewhere deep down I knew just how powerful the mind was because my father is an avid “positive-thinker”. He has always taught me that by thinking positively and being grateful for what you do have, you can shape your future by the simple power of positive thought. Basically asking the universe for what you want, knowing inside that you can get it, and taking the steps to achieve what you want.

Most people go through a bad situation and dwell on the negative experience – and in doing so they manifest more bad. Very few people go through a bad situation and think about the good that has come from that negative incident or how worse off things could have been. It’s those few people who put things into perspective and make a negative into a positive that have success in life. And I do not mean just financial success, but success in relationships, career, health, and emotional wellbeing.

Within my research I have found that it is simply up to you to decide how you feel and in turn shape where you want to go in life. You have to actively train your brain to think positively and be grateful for the things you have. This positive thinking will bring you good things. It will be a challenge to retrain your brain, but I can guarantee you that it’s worth it.

This short animated YouTube movie depicts just how powerful the mind is and by focusing on something good, even if it’s just a distant thought can bring you peace and positivity.

I think we all lose sight of how powerful our minds are and how important it is to be happy and positive at all times. Like attracts like – so shape your own world by thinking positive!

It is one thing to hire exceptional individuals it is another to hire exceptional individuals who are leaders and who understand the importance of positive energy and the power of working together as a team to achieve dynamic results.

Positive energy flow and teamwork is vital to the long term growth of any establishment. Be aware that negative energy and ego can contaminate an entire establishment – all it takes is one individual.

Creating a strong positive team environment is important. Each individual plays a significant role in the overall energy force contributing positive or negative energy in the workplace. “Teamwork not only allows a person to do what he couldn’t otherwise do; it also has a compounding effect on all he possesses – including talent. A group of talented people committed to working together is a work of art. – John Maxwell

Understanding each team member’s strengths and weaknesses including varying energy levels and pairing up individuals who balance one another to create a team can be beneficial to all. In addition, hire individuals who are willing to learn from one another and support one another’s growth regardless of their position within the company. Look for the greatness within each individual and pair them with teammates who complement one another encouraging growth, support and teamwork.

A Chinese proverb states, “Behind an able man there are always other able men” The truth is that teamwork is at the heart of great achievement. The question isn’t whether teams have value, the question is whether we acknowledge that fact and become better team players – John Maxwell

One is too small a number to achieve greatness. Nothing of significance was ever achieved by an individual acting alone. Look below the surface and you will find that all seemingly solo acts are really team efforts. – John Maxwell

You are only as good as the employees you hire.

This guest post was written by Janis Gall of MAC Marketing Solutions

photo credit: kool_skatkat

What I really like about this particular post is the simple message of being kind. Searching for a job has got to be one of the most stressful situations in anybody’s life. For those of you in the position as a hiring manager, please keep this in mind. Whether you hire the candidate or not, please make sure that the interview experience with you and your company is a positive one.

As the Greek author and philosopher, Plato said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

1. Ever had a difficult situation where you didn’t want to let someone down with unwelcome news, so you avoided personal contact, and resorted to e-mail? The post, Don’t hide behind email  was selected for WordPress’s Freshly Pressed, and elicited many great comments.
2. Written by one of our Gen Y staff members, the article Facebook friend or foe serves up an interesting perspective on how your activity on Facebook could affect your career.
3. No matter what profession, no matter what stage in our lives, actor Kevin Spacey’s Wise Words can apply to all of us.
4. What do you want to be when you grow up? Vancouverite Sean Aiken set out to do something different. He decided to try out 52 jobs, one week at a time. An inspiring documentary are the results of Sean’s One Week Job project.
5. Here are 4 excellent points from Mike Desjardins of ViRTUS in his article about Influencing Corporate Culture
6. Arianna Huffington’s funny TED Talk about the importance of sleep. It clearly makes sense that sleep is the Ultimate Productivity Tool

This year the McNak blog has seen more page views than ever before. We’d like take this opportunity to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment and share our articles. We have more grand plans for 2012 so watch this space.

Happy New Year!

“You hit a goal, you achieve a goal. You keep a resolution”.                                ~ Gretchen Rubin

I decided to ask some people in my network if they had any New Years Career Resolutions. I got off to a great start. One woman admitted that she would love to see her coworkers deal with their customers in a more empathetic and positive way, especially since the company she works for is purely customer services orientated. I found her answer to be genuinely concerned for how some of her coworkers were dealing with customers and in turn making her work environment not a very fun one.

A couple of people admitted that they would like to look for a new or more challenging role in 2012. Others felt that they had hit the well-known ceiling and were at a crossroads with whether or not they should stay or move on from their current companies.  Two people said that they would like to further their education and be more challenged in their work. Then I got an answer that made me realize this whole “New Years Resolution” thing is a bit silly! My close friend Paul said, “New years resolutions are easy enough to make, but it is the actual implementation that differentiates the highly motivated from the somewhat motivated.” This comment jolted me a bit and made me question why do we feel we need to make promises to ourselves just because it’s a new year? I am sure most people can admit they never follow through with these promises, and most of them probably quickly conjure up some cliché answer when asked. Do you ever hear anyone ask,  “Hey, what’s your resolution for April?” Of course you don’t. People have this tendency to think: New Year, new start. What I am asking here is why?

Be the highly motivated and make your goals year round. Write out your goals and stick it on your wall or in your bedside table and look at it nightly. Remind yourself of where you want to be and want you want to achieve and start taking the right steps. Don’t give some fluffy answer because everyone and their dog are asking you “What’s your New Years resolution?” How about next time you’re asked say, “To make a new goal for every month and actually achieve it.” Let’s get serious here and make our own successes with actual steps to get us there.

For example,  to the woman who wants to see more positivity and empathy coming from some of her coworkers, I propose she initiates the change by being extra positive herself and setting a clear example for the rest of her team. Exude the fantastic customer service energy and hope some jump on the train. Or become a good listener to those who are negative and help them clarify their issues and perhaps provide good insight of how she handles difficult customers while remaining empathetic and helpful. These would be great steps to implement – and it means actually following through with your goal.

I completely appreciate my peers’ answers and honestly believe every single one of them will achieve their career goals. It just got me thinking about how many things I would like to achieve for 2012 and if I will actually do it.  Being honest with myself I can say that previous “resolutions” were not fulfilled and I am tired of it! I am now going to make goals for myself every time I think of something I want, and that’s not just for my career, it’s for my health, personal life, and anything else I want. And I will tenaciously take the needed steps. Saying it is easy… it’s the doing that’s hard.

How did you find your last job?  Feel free to share in the comments below how much of a role social media played in your last job search.

                        Click on image to enlarge

Infographic courtesy of  MBA Online

Sharon – I really enjoyed taking on this 30 day challenge! Working out daily made my body and soul more energetic and positive. It was also really fun and rewarding to accomplish this challenge with like minded friends…the no drinking for 30 days, however wasn’t the greatest because there were days when I would have enjoyed a glass of wine or two. I realized I wasn’t trying to break a habit of drinking as it wasn’t consuming my life so as I embark the coming month of December, I have given myself another 30 day challenge in making good habits:

-        Spend 30 minutes min each day with some kind of self development and learning ie. Reading business book, daily paper, studying for recruiter courses!
-        Drink 6 glasses of water per day

Laura – I could drink coffee all day, but water? – I don’t drink nearly enough. Water is so important to good health so for my 30 day challenge I decided to drink 1.5 litres of water a day. Most days I drank at least 1.5 litres a day, if not more, but I have to admit that some days I got pulled back into old habits and drank less than 1.5 litres. My 30 days of water drinking were mostly successful (even including the small missteps) as even on the days when I didn’t quite meet my goals I was still drinking more water than I would have was I not consciously engaging in the challenge. I will definitely challenge myself again!

Matt – I accepted the 30 day challenge on a whim. I’ve never done one before so thought “why not.” I accepted my challenge in theory – I liked the idea. And an idea is what it remained. I lasted 3 days before it was out of mind for the rest of the period. It reminded me of the ‘best practices’ of goal setting that I didn’t use – I didn’t write it down and give myself a deadline; I didn’t ask for help or someone to check in with me to see how my progress was going; I didn’t keep a physical reminder near my desk to cue me to do something. This challenge reminded me that an idea will stay an idea until I turn it into a goal. Lessons learned for my next 30 day challenge!

Alana - My 30 Day Challenge was an interesting exploration of habit-making activity. In an effort to make it stick, I made a cup of green tea each morning and brought a pre-sorted bottle of vitamins with me to work.  I was really good and didn’t miss a day for 2.5 weeks until I ran out of green tea and one of my vitamins.  I missed a couple days of green tea, then a couple vitamins on various days. The interesting part was how I wasn’t as motivated to continue my activity after a slip up.  I learned that if I try any diet, exercise or new habit, I need to be routine on not only administering the activity, but also making sure I am ready with supplies.  Starting on Dec 1, I started a new routine to try – making my lunch every weekday so I don’t buy lunch.  Both Sundays I have gone out to purchase the necessary groceries  then chopped and cooked enough for the whole week.  That way, it is easy each morning to just pack the food into a Tupperware and bring it with me.  Also, in case I accidently run low on supplies, I have a backup of a few soups in my cupboard so I stay on track. Hopefully I can use my 30 day challenge experience as a learning point instead of a failure.

Jessica – I reached for my business book every night – except for the occasional night when I didn’t read at all because my eyes were just so tired from the day, that I had to go straight to bed.
I did manage to plough through my book way more than I normally would have. Glad I did the challenge. I will continue with my reading – see, the habit already worked!
Now I want to pick up another good habit. Maybe I’ll drink green tea every day, just like Alana did. That would be a good place to start.

What I think we all learned from this challenge, is to keep yourself accountable to attain your goals, and if you miss a couple of days, pick up where you left off, and eventually, the habit could start to stick again.

5 Tips for Onboarding Strategies

Some people may assume I’m focused on training when I say “onboarding,” but the fact is that the employee experience starts in the recruiting stage. With this in mind, here are a few key strategies to help you throughout every phase of the process:

1.  Tailor your recruiting strategies. Your recruiting efforts should be tailored to meet the specific needs of a seasonal workforce. It’s important to make the details of the opportunity clear from the get-go. Also, be wary of how you communicate potential for further employment, as you don’t want folks making assumptions.

2.  Perform due diligence. Don’t skimp on due diligence in collecting legal papers and monitoring employees’ schedules. “A lot of people short-circuit processes like verifying work eligibility or tracking hours correctly. It should go without saying, but you really need to be sure you’re following the law,” says John Rossheim, a senior contributing writer at Monster.com.

3.  Provide proper training. According to Forbes Woman columnist and onboarding expert Emily Bennington, onboarding should focus on integrating new employees in three areas:

• Technical Skills: To what depth of expertise do seasonal employees need to be trained to perform their jobs?
• Company Culture: How thoroughly do seasonal hires need to understand company policies and values?
• Social Integration: In what ways can you connect seasonal employees to your organization so they feel like they are part of the team?

Furthermore, Rossheim suggests designing your seasonal workforce “to accomplish the task at hand, rather than haphazardly training everyone to do everything they may possibly have to do. Specialize rather than throwing everyone into the same bucket.”

4.  Know your capacity upfront. Whether you have a general human resources management system or a hodgepodge of spreadsheets and checklists – it’s important to know your capacity. Can your back-office system efficiently handle an increased volume in applicants and new hires?

5.  Make them part of the team. Seasonal employees can easily feel isolated if an onboarding program doesn’t successfully connect them to the organization. According to Eddie Baeb of Target Corportate Communications, Target is focused on engaging seasonal employees and making them feel just as valued as anyone else from day one. With nearly 40 percent (about 35,800) of seasonal team members joining as permanent employees last year after the holidays, they’ve got this down.

End Things on a Good Note with Offboarding

You may have discovered a few star performers you’d like to bring onto your team permanently. For the rest, though, Bennington says “there’s definitely an opportunity to establish brand ambassadors.” Offboarding provides a chance to make a lasting positive impression, while gaining insight into the worker’s experience.

Standard offboarding practices include surveying workers on their experience. Bennington suggests going beyond surveying, and having one-on-one exit interviews with select employees to get more candid responses.

This guest post was written by: Kyle Lagunas

Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice. On the surface, it’s his job to contribute to the ongoing conversation on all things HR. Beyond that, he makes sure his audience is keeping up with important trends and hot topics in the industry. Focused on offering a fresh take on points of interest in his market, he’s not your typical HR guy.

 Daniel Pink , author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, said that for the 21^st century, there exists an evidence based approach to motivation for complex work.   Daniel says that you can’t manage people into engagement. His recommendation is to pay them enough and then give them sufficient amounts of autonomy, mastery and purpose. So the secret to workplace happiness is not found in the carrots or external motivators to do great work.

People in complex jobs, which seem, these days, to make up the better part of the corporate workforce, require self direction. They also find a great deal of reward in the mastery of their work. The desire to get better at stuff and see real progress at work is highly satisfying. The only catch is that these people need to know the context of what they are doing and why what they do every business day really matters.

 Time Magazine recently quoted Nobel winning economist Daniel Kahneman saying that ‘when you analyze happiness, it turns out that the way you spend your time is extremely important.’

 When work is meaningful time passes quickly. The wheels of enterprise move in a kind of synchronized motion and teams are truly happier. Engagement? – check.  Great corporate culture? – check. What better place to spend half of your daily life but in a workplace where you actually feel happy and enjoy the company of others feeling the same.