Employee recruitment and retention are hot topics for employers, and a wealth of news and information on HR topics like these is available around the web, many with advice and suggestions that are fairly easy to implement and inexpensive. Here are some of our favorite recent reads from the HR arena.
To Motivate Employees, Apply This Scientific Rule of Leadership [Forbes]
Hiring the right employees and giving them the tools they need to succeed are important, but Micah Solomon contends that employee autonomy is key: “Employees who are selected, oriented, and reinforced properly, and who are surrounded by peers of the same caliber, will thrive when given significant autonomy. Otherwise, they’ll wither.” He says that by empowering employees to have control over their work, including flexibility in when and how they do their job, employees will be happier and more motivated.
Simple Ways to Make People Exponentially More Productive [Inc.]
When you think about helping employees to be more productive, you might go straight to items like calendar management or eliminating unnecessary meetings. But Margaret Heffernan contends that when leadership believes employees show promise and potential, those employees perform significantly better, and presents two studies that support this theory. She encourages recognizing great work and creating a “positive feedback cycle” to help employees produce, rather than emphasizing picking “the right” talent in the first place.
Wellness Isn’t Just for the Health Industry [Triple Pundit]
Many employers offer wellness programs with a focus on the absence of illness, but author Paresh Shah encourages a more wholistic approach to wellness. His suggestions include helping employees have a less stressful commute, having plants around the office and holding walking meetings. Many of these ideas are less expensive than traditional workplace wellness approaches (such as a corporate gym membership or on-site doctor’s visits), and, he argues, will allow employees “not just to live, but to thrive.”
How Company Culture Could Make or Break Your Business [Fast Company]
We often hear the term “company culture,” but what does it actually mean? What contributes to it? Author Chris Cancialosi describes it as “the way we do things around here . . . things that might not be in the employee manual but are no less important for successfully navigating a company.” He sets out a plan for educating employees about culture, and suggests tracking culture to performance outcomes in both quantitative and qualitative ways.
