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How do you define productivity? Do you look at the hours worked, the effort expended, and the exhaustion incurred? Or do you look at results? If you’re in the first camp, you might be measuring productivity all wrong. 

Prioritizing output has long been the traditional way of gauging employee productivity. But think about it this way: is the most effective person on your team the one who takes eight hours to complete a project…or the one who can bring about the same or superior results in half the time?

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Don’t despair if you’re late to the “outcomes over output” party–but keep reading for a way of assessing employee effectiveness that’ll change your company for the better.

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Burnout culture is on its way out

We’ve all been in careers where we felt a certain pressure to appear dog-tired from all the work we put in. 

Late nights and early mornings were glorified, and coming in on our days off was a badge of honor. These were habits we adopted to show our bosses that we’d work ourselves to the bone to hit company goals. We were expected to be grateful for the opportunity to wear ourselves down in exchange for a paycheck.

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But there’s a major cultural shift taking place, one that places employee wellness and satisfaction above burnout. 

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A record number of American workers left their jobs in November 2021–4.5 million, to be exact. These employees weren’t leaving the workforce; they were breaking up with their employers. And with 11.3 million positions waiting to be filled across the U.S., the unhappy and overworked have plenty of options at their disposal.

Long gone are the days when employees had to take whatever job they could find. And companies who want to minimize turnover and avoid staffing shortages would be wise to change how they gauge productivity.

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A new take on an old concept

When we talk about prioritizing outcomes over output, we mean shifting the focus away from individual behaviors and onto specific results. In other words, as long as the job gets done and gets done well, your employees have fulfilled their obligations.

To put this into perspective, consider your own company work model, and ask yourself which components are necessary and which aren’t.

Do your employees really need to report at 9:00 am on the dot and remain glued to their computers for five hours before their first break? Or does that rule exist because that’s how it’s always been done? If an employee knocks out all of the day’s tasks by lunchtime, why are they beholden to run up the clock all afternoon?

The purpose of growing your team is to see improved results, whether it be to increase revenue, secure new clients, or expand your audience. None of these things requires a workaholic mindset to come to fruition, yet all of them can still be achieved when you move away from output-oriented culture.

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How this shift in priorities helps your bottom line

Transforming your company in this way requires effort, and it won’t be easy to get everyone on board. You may even have doubts yourself. But when you consider the far-reaching benefits, both in the short and long terms, it’s hard to argue against redefining how you measure productivity.

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Reduced sick days

Absenteeism is the bane of any employer’s existence. Employees calling in sick, using PTO at inconvenient times, or not showing up at all can throw a major wrench in your operations. 

If your staff has more control over when and how work gets completed, however, they won’t need to request time off nearly as much. Not only does this ensure that high-priority tasks are tended to on time, but it also means less revenue lost to employee absence.

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Lower turnover rates

People stay where they’re happy, plain and simple. An employee with zero downtime, poor work-life balance, and a sense that the big bosses are always breathing down their neck is more likely to jump ship than the employee whose time and autonomy are honored.

We’re seeing this exact dynamic play out across the labor market, with workers ditching low-satisfaction jobs for positions that respect these employees’ inherent value. You want your company to be the one they’re running to, not from.

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Enhanced productivity

Counterintuitive though it may seem, prioritizing outcomes over output can actually boost productivity.

The reasoning behind this is almost too simple: when you measure productivity by results realized, you’re looking for efficiency. The most efficient employee, therefore, isn’t the one who takes all day to get back to a top client. It’s the one who calls the client and makes the sale right away. But if your staff knows they’ll be at work for eight hours no matter how well they manage their time, what incentive do they have to work harder?

By adjusting your focus, you also adjust how your employees approach their job functions as a whole, giving them a reason to get you those results faster.

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How to change your productivity metrics

If you’re convinced that this culture shift is in your company’s best interest, you need to take concrete steps toward reconstructing how you measure productivity. Here are a few to get you started:

• Cut out busywork. Your employees should only perform work that’s directly linked to the company’s goals.

• Be clear about results. Your staff can’t hit a target they can’t see. Let your employees know exactly what results you expect to see from the work they do, and be as specific as possible. “Increase revenue” isn’t nearly as helpful as “increase sales by 10%.”

• Share timelines. It’s perfectly okay to give your employees deadlines, and in fact, it’s necessary. Setting a target date for when those aforementioned results should be achieved will only help your staff to manage their time appropriately and effectively.

• Loosen the reins. You’ve simplified job duties, communicated goals, and implemented timelines. Now, trust your team to get it done.

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Conclusion

Defining productivity by outcomes over output may feel foreign, but it’s one of the best ways to maximize efficiency and improve employee satisfaction. Particularly in the age of remote work and employee empowerment, can you really afford not to make this shift?

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Unresolved workplace issues disrupt employees’ workflow. A study on team conflict published by the Global Transitions Proceedings found that team climate and cohesion are directly linked to the outcome of a project. Thus, a positive climate and relationship among employees greatly improves the quality of their work. As such, whenever there are workplace issues, business owners must do their best to resolve them.

If you’re unsure how to start, take our guide on the right approach to solving workplace issues:

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Diagnose the problem

The first step is to identify the root cause of the conflict. For some business owners, it’s convenient to suggest team-building activities to resolve conflict. However, generic band-aid solutions like this do not actually target the problem at hand.

For instance, Senior Vice President of global leadership solutions for LHH, Alex Vincent, shares his company experience when a team of the best employees was underperforming. While the CIO wanted Vincent to do anything and everything to solve the problem, he opted to talk to each team member. Doing this, he found out that the underperformance was caused by one member who did well alone but lacked in team settings. Thus, Vincent recommended that the CIO address that individual instead of the whole team. As a result, the team improved and performed better. Without this diagnosis, the cause of conflict wouldn’t have been identified and given a resolution.
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Acknowledge everyone’s perspective

Conflict is between two or more parties. They will have different perspectives regarding the problem, which is why you should hear everyone’s thoughts regarding the situation.

Abdul Omar, a worker at the Office of the Ombudsman in Hawaii, says that the difference in perceptions is actually the cause of conflict. When you talk to all the parties involved, you start to see how their behaviors are causing the issue — not their personality traits. For example, an employee can be perceived as incompetent by others when they’re slow to finish tasks. It’s better to address the employee and ask if there are things going on in their personal life. When employees’ perceptions are acknowledged, business owners think of better solutions that would satisfy each of the involved employee’s situations.
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Brainstorm workable solutions

Now that the problem has been identified and everyone’s perceptions have been understood, possible solutions can be formulated. It is in this stage that it is crucial to practice empathy, as mentioned in our post ‘Why and How to Cultivate Empathy in Your Organization’. Empathy allows you to relate to others, thus creating the best possible solutions for them.

Keep in mind what you’ve gathered from the diagnosis and employees’ perceptions. For example, an employee that does not participate in meetings is perceived as apathetic. Upon talking to the employee, you find out it is because they aren’t given chances to talk. As a result, a solution you can come up with to satisfy all parties and address the actual problem is to extend the meeting duration. This way, the “apathetic” employee is given the opportunity to talk, others won’t perceive them as such, and there won’t be a repeat of the problem.
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Implement and monitor the solution

After formulating a solution that benefits everyone, it’s time for implementation. Inform the involved parties of your proposed solution and what each of them should do in order to achieve the desired outcome.

However, resolving conflict does not stop at solution implementation. As the person running the business, you should see to it that your solution is making progress. Monitor how the people involved are reacting or changing their behavior in accordance with your suggestions. If there is no progress or the situation worsens, it’s best to step in and redo some steps like brainstorming workable solutions.

Unresolved workplace conflict will affect your employees’ performance and your business as a whole. Thus, you should take measures in order to resolve them as soon as possible.

We’re excited. This is big. Really BIG.

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On May 18, 2022, we look forward to introducing you to Qarrot 3.0. This 3rd generation of our employee recognition platform includes many updates and some very cool new features.

Plus, Qarrot 3.0 includes a whole new look. So if you liked Qarrot before, we’re confident that you’ll love what our customer success, product, engineering, quality, and marketing folks have been hard at work on for the past while.

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Want to learn more? Keep reading.

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Why are we making changes to Qarrot?

Since the inaugural launch of Qarrot in 2017, we have continually updated the platform by adding new features, functionality, beefing up the system’s infrastructure, creating mobile apps, fixing bugs, and more.

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Along the way, we’ve learned a lot. A better way to build and manage Qarrot across its web, iOS, and Android applications. Better ways of organizing and presenting the app, so that it’s easier and more fun to use for administrators and employees, alike. More powerful solutions for managing and organizing employee data so that larger organizations can use Qarrot as successfully as smaller ones. And, we’ve learned a lot from customers and users like you, who have provided feedback about tweaks and improvements to Qarrot that would make it work better for you. 

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What is changing with Qarrot 3.0?

In short, a lot.

Apart from upgrades to our back-end infrastructure that aren’t readily visible to users, below are some of the improvements we hope will make Qarrot work better for you:

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A brand new design. 

With Qarrot 3.0, we’re introducing a new look to the entire application. Along with the clean layout, here are some changes you’ll notice:

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1. The menu now appears along the top of your viewport, not on the left-hand side

2. Your points and badges are now more visibly presented to the left of the social feed

3. Your campaigns and any pinned announcements now appear to the right of the social feed

4. The social feed has also been upgraded with posts now presenting information more clearly

5. Plus, badges are now larger and have a new hexagonal shape, which we love! 

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Addition of Spanish and French!

If you prefer to interact with your program in another language, now you can change your display language to Spanish (International) or French (Canada) or stay with English:

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Our menus, labels, instructions, and notifications will now display in the language you select. 

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New notification center and more control over communication preferences.

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Now you can access your notification center by clicking on the intray icon next to your avatar from any section. Plus, we’ve added the ability for you to select which notifications you receive by push or by email so that you only receive the ones you want. 

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Better campaigns. 

We’ve revamped campaigns so that it’s easier to view important details and have added a new global leaderboard so that participants can readily see how they’re doing.

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Plus, you’ll no longer receive an award winner notification and social feed post every time someone earns points within a campaign. We’re replacing these with one consolidated award winner post and notification that will go out daily.

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Easier way to view and sort rewards. 

It’s now easier to filter and sort rewards - whether by country (if your account is multi-country), by type, and by value. Plus, newly added rewards have a new’ indicator on them and your most recent purchases are more easily viewable.

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Improved reward management. 

As a program administrator, you now can disable brands, specific gift card denominations (so that your rewards are only available above certain denominations), and entire categories.

Plus, if you create customer or company-provided rewards, you have the ability to set multiple people for fulfillment (previously, we provided just one person). And you can now set stock limits so that if you have a limited quantity of any item, this can be set for the reward.

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A new way to organize and find your people. 

As a program administrator, you can now create custom fields for employee profiles that allow for better organization and filtering of your people.

For example, you may wish to create the custom field “Department” so that each employee’s department can be added to their profile. This way, when you create a new campaign, you can easily filter the people you want to invite based on their department. Or if you’re an employee, you can filter people by department in order to more easily find the person you want to recognize.

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Custom fields make it easier to filter people across all sections of Qarrot - whether you’re an administrator or a regular employee. And you can create as many as you need.

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A new dashboard for people managers.

Now team leads (aka managers) have their own team dashboard. While appearing identical to the dashboard available to program administrators, it differs in that it only includes the data for the members of that team. If a manager is the team lead for more than one team, she can easily toggle between teams to view the dashboard for each. 

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And with so many other changes across Qarrot, we encourage you to take a moment on May 18th to review your account and familiarize yourself with the new look, layout, and feature updates.

And there’s more to come! Our roadmap for 2022-23 is packed full of new features, integrations, and other updates.

For now, we hope you enjoy the current updates and encourage you to contact our customer success team should you have any questions.

In early spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as we knew it. Schools shut down, toilet paper disappeared, and thousands of employees suddenly found themselves working from the kitchen table. As many of these impromptu remote workers and their employers soon found out, however, not all work-from-home environments are created equal. Remote work sounds like a cushy gig, but it takes the right combination of factors to make virtual employment beneficial for both parties.

If you’re thinking about hybrid or fully remote work for your staff, take note of the qualities that make for a productive, morale-boosting virtual work environment.

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1. Flexibility is a cornerstone.

Not everyone wants to work from home all the time, and some don’t want to work from home at all. Rather than dealing in absolutes, giving your employees a choice empowers them to make the decision that suits their needs and preferences.

This may or may not be possible, depending on your industry. Teachers, for example, can’t easily switch back and forth between the classroom and the home office. But accountants, attorneys, and even therapists can perform at least some of their duties without physically coming to work.

Consider how flexible you can be in extending remote work options to your staff. When you can, let your employees choose if and when to take advantage of the opportunity to work virtually.

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Related Article: Hybrid workplaces are the future of work – here's why

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2. Expectations are clearly defined.

Employees are more likely to perform at their best when they know what’s expected of them, especially when the work environment changes or when they don’t have managers or supervisors nearby for direct guidance.

If you opt for a hybrid environment, where employees are sometimes in the office and sometimes at home, your staff needs to know what days they can work remotely, when they’ll be required to show up in person, and what protocols to follow when they choose to stay home.

Even for a fully remote setup, make your parameters crystal clear. Do employees still need to report at a certain time? If so, how will they let you know that they’re “clocked in” from home? How will you ensure that they’re taking legally required breaks but not taking advantage of minimal oversight?

Figure out what a successful hybrid or virtual work situation looks like from your company’s and stakeholders’ perspectives. Then, develop easy-to-follow guidelines for your employees. 

Make sure your expectations are fair, however. One of the great appeals of remote work is its freedom, so avoid micromanaging unnecessarily. Requiring staff to dress professionally for Zoom meetings is reasonable, but telling them not to wear pajamas while they send emails is a bit much.

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3. Employers help with the logistics.

Especially if your company has only recently shifted to remote work, your employees might not be totally prepared. Believe it or not, not everyone has a computer or WiFi at home, nor does everyone have a distraction-free workspace outside the office.

Get ahead of these issues by directly asking employees if their homes are prepared for remote work, and take inventory of how you’d be able to help them get there. Can your company afford to give out remote work stipends? Is there any tech you can invest in, like wireless headsets or laptops?

It’s important, too, to be aware that W2 employees can’t deduct any work-from-home expenses on their taxes. If they have to pay for equipment, furniture, software, or extra utilities in order to perform the job they do for you, you’re the only one who can reimburse them for those costs. Take care of your staff–particularly if working remotely is a requirement–and they’ll take care of you in the form of company loyalty and heightened productivity.

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4. Support is extended proactively.

Aside from stipends or reimbursements, remote employees need to know that the same resources they had in the office are still available from home. Don’t assume that no news is good news in a hybrid or remote work environment–your staff might be struggling but not be comfortable enough to tell you.

Periodically reach out to and check in with your employees. Let them know how they can access human resources, supervisors, upper leadership, and tech support. Ask how they’re doing and what would make the remote work experience better overall.

This is also a great way to keep tabs on if remote work is worth offering long term. If your employees adjust well and maintain or exceed their in-office performance, you will have successfully modernized your company’s work model.

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Related Article: Optimizing remote employee experience through feedback

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5. Patience is a company pillar.

The transition to remote work, even in the best of situations, will inevitably come with hiccups. It also comes with an understanding that the lines between your employees’ personal and professional lives blur somewhat. Their Internet may go down from time to time, or the occasional toddler may waddle past the camera during an important Zoom meeting. 

These things are bound to happen–even to you–so you may as well take them in stride. Your employees will appreciate your recognition of the fact that they are indeed human, and they’ll be grateful to see you acknowledge your own humanity, too.

This doesn’t mean that expectations for decorum and responsibility go to the wayside; it simply means that you intentionally cultivate a company culture that acknowledges the reality of a hybrid or virtual work environment. 

By resisting the urge to wield discipline where you can use humor or compassion instead, you’ll improve the remote work experience for both you and your staff. By viewing these moments as opportunities to build connections, you’ll strengthen rapport, learn more about your employees, and make an unforgettable (and inexpensive) investment in your #1 resource: human capital.

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Related Article: How to balance workplace culture and employee productivity

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Conclusion

Some companies have used a hybrid or fully virtual work model for the last two years, while others are just now making the switch. Either way, it’s become abundantly clear that remote work is here to stay. 

Implementing virtual work options is a learning process, though, for leadership and staff alike. Don’t be afraid to innovate and adjust as you go. As long as you remain patient and flexible, you’ll ensure a good experience and healthy environment for employees working remotely.

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Optimize the employee experience with recognition - request a demo with Qarrot today!

The past few years have brought significant growth and development here at Qarrot. 

We’ve had the good fortune to welcome many new customers from a wide range of industries with employees in dozens of different countries. We’ve continued to listen to our customers and add new features and functionality based on their feedback. Further, we’ve grown our team and entered into distribution partnerships. 

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And for the past year, we’ve been developing a relationship with the team at Vantage Circle, a global leading employee engagement solution. Its AI-powered employee engagement suite includes, Vantage Rewards, Vantage Perks, Vantage Pulse, and Vantage Fit. And its roster of customers includes well-known brands such as Wipro, Tata Communications, LnT Infotech, Airtel, and Bosch.

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Though Vantage Circle and Qarrot focus on different market segments, we have a similar vision for the global employee recognition market and where it’s headed. Moreover, we have complimentary experience and perspectives.

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And, so, I’m very excited to share that Vantage Circle has made a strategic investment in Qarrot. Read the full press release here.

This investment will bring both organizations closer together and provide further fuel for Qarrot to grow and better serve small to mid-sized businesses with its easy-to-use employee recognition solution.

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With that in mind, the team at Qarrot is looking forward to a year ahead with many exciting product updates, lots of further growth, and a great new partnership with Vantage Circle.

When you hear "personal and career development," you may feel a flash of dread. As a leader or manager, you know the importance of employee development. Time over time, statistics and studies show a lack of development is a leading cause of employee turnover.

Here are a few examples:

• Pew Research found that 63% of respondents who left jobs in 2021 gave the lack of advancement opportunities as the reason for leaving.
• According to a 2022 McKinsey study, insufficient career advancement was the most common reason for quitting a job.
• According to a 2022 SHRM report, 61% of respondents cited lack of career development and advancement as a top three cause of turnover, while 21% said it was the number one reason.
  

Despite the glaring statistics, for many managers, it seems impossible to prioritize. You know it's your responsibility. And, of course, you want to help employees grow their skills and careers. But your to-do list is overflowing with a million other tasks that are arguably more urgent.

Ideally, your employees would take an active role in their professional development. They would come to you with questions, sharing with you their goals and professional aspirations.

The reality is employee development should be a two-way street. Managers shouldn't bear all the responsibility. You can empower your employees to advocate for their professional development and growth.

In this article, we'll cover actionable strategies on how to empower employees to take charge of their own professional development. As a result, your employees will be given the tools and road map to take charge of their own careers. As a manager, your role will be more of a helpful guide rather than the primary driving force. 

What is Employee Empowerment?

Would you rather have to micromanage your employees to get even the smallest of tasks completed? Or would you rather have them be self-motivated and independent? Of course, most managers would choose the second. Self-motivated employees mean less work for you as a leader.

Despite this, many leaders end up doing the opposite. The idea of giving employees more freedom can trigger a leader's biggest fears. In short, people taking advantage of company time and not delivering results. Many try to avoid this by doubling down on the opposite of autonomy. Control.

Like many things in human psychology, the answer lies in a counterintuitive approach. When leaders offer employees freedom and autonomy, they are motivated and perform better.

In an HBR article titled When Empowering Employees Works, and When It Doesn't, researchers explain what it means to empower employees. They state, "leaders who were perceived as more empowering were more likely to delegate authority to their employees, ask for their input, and encourage autonomous decision-making."

In essence, empowering employees is about providing a baseline level of guidance, support, and structure. But also give employees the opportunity to test their ideas and innovate within those set parameters.

In other words, it's not about letting employees run wild and free. But giving them a basic structure and letting them experiment within it. According to the researchers, this management style leads to employees who "are more likely to be powerful, confident individuals, who are committed to meaningful goals and demonstrate initiative and creativity to achieve them."

How does all this apply to employee development? Managers often act as the driving force of employee development. This places an undue burden on managers on top of all their other duties. 

In reality, employee development has a greater chance of thriving when employees are empowered to advance their development.

With a few strategies, managers can enable employees to take the lead in their own careers. Managers are still responsible for high-level direction, support, and approval. But employees will be in charge of steering their own ship.

How To Empower Employees To Take Charge of Their Development

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1. Understand employee needs from the start

Often, development talks begin before an employee starts their new job. If they didn’t occur in the interview, a great time to start is during the onboarding process. 

By setting the tone from the start, you can show your employees that their development matters to you, and you can guide them through building a learning path to help them succeed in their roles (and beyond). 

Here are a few questions to start these conversations:

• What are your long-term professional and career ambitions?
• What do you hope to achieve in this role?
• What skills do you hope to acquire or improve?
• Are you looking to grow your career quickly (i.e. take on management responsibilities) or deepen your knowledge as an individual contributor?

If you use skills assessments in your recruiting process, you can use those insights to identify skill gaps and areas for improvement.

Empowering employees to tackle self-development from the start of their time at your organization will show them they are in control of their future. This perspective shift can help them view their new role as a growth opportunity instead of feeling like they are a slave to your bottom line. The more in control of their future they feel, the more likely they will want to continue their journey at your company.

2. Embed it into your culture with a dedicated meeting

Work is busy. Our to-do lists are constantly growing with new and shifting priorities. By its very nature, “employee career development” is a forward-looking process. When you’re so busy thinking about the here and now, planning for the future can quickly fall by the wayside. 

This is why it's crucial to carve out dedicated time for development discussions. Be realistic. Don’t set these meetings at a frequency that seems unattainable. That will only lead to cancelled meetings, and nothing kills employee morale like cancelling a meeting they were looking forward to. Start small, test out how employees respond, and adjust accordingly from there. 

For example, you can start by booking a meeting every 6-month with each employee. By proactively bringing up this topic and dedicating time to it, you will demonstrate to employees that you are serious about their professional development. In turn, they will be more likely to be proactive on their side, come prepared for the meetings, and be an advocate for their own development.

3. Set clear goals and expectations

Getting a recurring meeting set up is a good start. But it’s not enough for employees to feel empowered to take charge of their professional development. They still have to consider important questions like:

• What long-term goals are you working towards?
• What type of projects are you enjoying or not enjoying?
• What skills do you want to improve?
  

Remember: Empowering employees isn’t about letting them run wild and free. Employees still need some high-level direction. This is especially true when they are more junior or at the start of their careers. In other words, clearly defining expectations and setting goals is crucial to ensuring employees start on the right foot.

For example, as part of your discussion for each meeting, you can establish one “career and professional development” objective to achieve.

This can take many forms, for example, working on a self-directed project, shadowing with another department, or taking an online course.

With open communication and asking the right questions, you can help employees develop a high-level objective to work towards. Establishing clear goals and objectives is the foundation of employee empowerment. The idea is to help employees with a general direction to work towards; how they get there is up to them.

4. Provide access to resources for development

A great way to empower employees to pursue their development is to set aside a budget for learning and development.  

For example:

• Online courses
• Webinars, training programs, workshops, etc.
• Magazines, publications, books, etc.
• Conferences, events, etc.
  

Of course, some materials and resources aren't free. But many others these days are free or highly affordable. You can consider carving out a monthly "learning budget" where employees are reimbursed for any learning materials and resources above. Even a small budget can go a long way for online courses and learning materials. 

As a way of motivating employees to take part in additional learning and development, you can create a channel in your local work chat where employees share any additional learning programs that they are undertaking, whether it be attending a webinar or completing an online course. 

You can even make it a group challenge to get the ball rolling. For example, find an online course that appeals to your entire team and make it a quarterly challenge to complete the course. You can even incentivize and reward those who follow through with their final goal.

Using a tool like Qarrot, you can set up an incentive campaign and reward team members who hit their personal development goals once (or multiple times) with award points and badges.

Providing access to these learning opportunities and materials will help establish a culture of learning and development among your team. Employees will feel their career development is being prioritized, empowering them to take action.

5. Help them identify their strengths (and weaknesses!)

As a manager, you know that no two employees are created alike. Some employees are amazing self-starters and need very little prompting. Others, however, seem impossible to convince to go beyond the minimum.

In the book Radical Candor, Kim Scott, author and management expert, proposes a model to help managers evaluate their employees' performance and guide them into roles which will allow them to perform at their best.

In other words, Scott truly believes that everyone can be an A-player employee. If they perform at average or mediocre levels, what she calls “B player employees,” it reflects a bad job fit. A manager's job is to steer employees out of this limbo. A new position may even be necessary.

The first step to empower employees is to help them identify their strengths, highlight what they are good at, and where their potential lies. But the other side of the coin is important, too; challenging employees by letting them know where their work is falling short or where their weaknesses lie. 

Of course, it’s difficult to have these conversations. But challenging people shows that you care enough to point out when things aren't going well. And Scott believes the “discomfort is better than being labelled permanently “B Players.” Ultimately, it will benefit both parties (and even the entire organization) when employees' strengths are developed and utilized.

6. Help facilitate connections

As a manager or leader, you may have exposure or access to other leaders or departments that your employees may not have contact with. These connections can be a powerful way to promote their development and learning. 

For example, during an employee's tenure, they might realize they want to develop skills they aren't using in their current role. They may also express an interest in learning more about another department or team.

This curiosity doesn't mean you must transfer a valuable employee to another team. You can, however, arrange an introduction and offer shadowing or mentorship opportunities. The goal is to empower employees to explore different areas of interest. 

Ultimately, what’s better for the organization's bottom line? Having an employee unhappy and struggling in their current role. Or have the employee be more productive and feel empowered in a role that’s a better fit for their skills and talents.

In the end, allowing your team to explore other options and grow their skills will give them a sense of purpose in their work. More importantly, they will feel the company and leaders truly care about their long-term growth and happiness, which is the best strategy for employee empowerment.

7. Recognize & reward development efforts

Employee recognition is underutilized as an employee motivation and empowerment tool. It costs zero dollars to give recognition. By letting employees know what you value with positive reinforcement, you can boost their motivation.

In the context of professional development, giving employees recognition for completing an online course, meeting training requirements, or taking on a stretch assignment can be a powerful way to motivate employees to continue down this path. 

Moreover, it can set the bar for the rest of the team. Using a recognition tool like Qarrot, you can easily post a recognition to a public social feed for everyone to see. When you give recognition for a specific achievement or embodying a certain value, it signals to the team what is important to you. As a result, this provides employees with the incentive to meet this standard as well.

Remember, the best type of recognition is specific and timely. Don’t wait too long until the goal is complete to offer recognition, and try to avoid vague or high-level “good jobs.” Shine a light on the precise accomplishment the employee completed and its impact on you and the team. 

This type of detailed recognition is most likely to fuel a growth mindset among your employees and team. As a result, your team will be more motivated to continue to embrace challenges, seek learning opportunities, and invest in their development.

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Final Thoughts

Being a manager involves more than guiding your employees through their daily tasks. It's about helping them become the best versions of themselves and giving them the tools to grow in the company.

But this duty doesn't have to fall on the shoulders of leaders. Employees should be responsible for being proactive about their development as well. First, leaders must provide some basic guidance and support—empowering employees with a roadmap to growth and success.

When employees are inspired to take control of their own development, it's not just good for them—it's good for the whole company. Setting clear goals and expectations, identifying employee strengths, and providing access to learning resources are critical steps toward empowerment.

As employees invest in their development, the positive effects spread throughout the organization. This leads to happier employees, better work, and a team capable of handling challenges. Ultimately, when organizations commit to helping employees shape their careers, it's a win-win.

Like a newsworthy political scandal, The Great Resignation is emerging as one of the most discussed labor trends of 2021. But what is it exactly? And how does it concern employers of different stripes?

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record number of Americans quit their jobs in April 2021. However, this was just the beginning. In July over 4 million Americans left their jobs, setting yet another all-time high. And then both August and September set further records. 

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The common perception was that remote work - with its more flexible hours, non-existent commute times, and family meals - was leading workers to quit their jobs in favor of a lifestyle with greater passion and purpose. According to Forbes, surveys made headlines declaring that 40% of workers planned to quit their jobs - and soon. And when 4.3 million Americans left their jobs in August, this grim forecast seemed to be coming true.

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Despite these all-time records, the figures are much less scary (from an employer’s perspective) than at first glance. The number of workers quitting their jobs represents something closer to 3% of the total workforce. A far cry from the 40% announced earlier this year. That said, the U.S. has over 10 million open jobs. So while some perspective helps to calm nerves, the pressure is real for certain industries.

The Great Retirement?

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Moreover, the reasons why more people have been leaving their jobs seems less problematic (in some sense) than the theories being bandied about earlier this year.

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Fully two-thirds of the departures were not due to workers “quitting” per se. According to new research from Goldman Sachs, they were retiring. However, here the picture gets interesting. Of those workers retiring, about 1 million were “normal”. The balance - about 1.5 million workers - were taking an early retirement. 

Given the generally permanent nature of retirement, the majority of workers leaving the labor force likely won’t return. As Goldman notes, retiring "tends to be stickier" than other reasons someone might leave the labor force. Because of that, "we therefore expect that the participation shortfall from early retirees will unwind relatively slowly through fewer new retirements going forward."

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While some portion of older workers may return to the workforce once they feel conditions are safer for them to do so, most economists are expecting effects of the “Great Retirement” to be felt for a while, leaving a tight labor market across the U.S.

Strategies for Retaining Older Workers

While the recent trends may have brought early retirements into focus as a strain on the labor market, many companies already employ strategies to retain their older workers for longer.

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As noted by Forbes, the first step to retaining older workers is to count them. Until your company has a firm grasp of its workforce demographics, it’s difficult to assess the impact of future employee retirements. 

With an understanding of the age distribution of your workers, you can develop programs to keep them engaged and actively working.

For example, training programs that are ‘inclusive’ of older workers such as the Talent is Ageless initiative at CVS are a great way of developing older workers, while signalling their importance within your employee base.

Signalling this importance is also quite important as most Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs expressly overlook this segment of the workforce and, so, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many older workers are opting for an early retirement when work conditions aren’t ideal. 

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A further way of combating early retirements is to meet your older workers half-way, by letting them have more flexible work hours. This greater flexibility is ideal for both employee and employer alike as, in many cases, companies can retain the experience and knowledge of their older workers longer, while employees who would have otherwise had to abruptly adjust to retired life can follow more of a gradual transition.

Under this structure, it’s important to ensure your culture supports more flexible hours and doesn’t discriminate against those who take this option. A great example is the U-Work program offered by Unilever. The program effectively offers workers a contract and not a job, whereby they receive a minimum monthly retainer and health benefits. On top of this, workers earn additional amounts for the projects they participate in.

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Although The Great Resignation affects industries and companies differently, it is undoubtedly a wise strategy to assess the age distribution of your workforce. As those workers who are 50 and over are increasingly likely to take an early retirement. But as demonstrated above, it’s never too late to employ programs that engage, develop, and retain your workers regardless of how old they are.

For a time, empathy and caring were considered the opposite of effective corporate culture. Maybe even today, leaders believe they must choose between caring for their people and driving results. 

After all, balancing these priorities is one of the biggest struggles of being a boss.

But do leaders need to choose between these two ends of the spectrum? Is it possible to have both? Jamil Zaki, a psychologist and foremost researcher on the study of empathy, believes so.

‍In a recent Fast Company article, he asserts that companies often find themselves caught between these two competing priorities—empathy VS efficiency, but he claims it's a false duality. In other words, he argues companies don't have to choose between the two.

In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests that empathy could lead to greater organizational performance. Ultimately, empathy is not the antithesis of productivity but rather one of the key factors in maximizing efficiency at work.

‍A case for empathy in the workplace

According to Psychology Today, empathy is the ability to recognize, understand, and share another person's feelings. In other words, an empathic person understands the needs of others and is sensitive to their emotions. Empathy is crucial to establishing strong relationships and enhancing group dynamics at work.

Given the increasing demands and stresses of modern life and the surge of worker burnout, promoting empathy in the workplace is becoming even more critical to fostering healthy, happy, and productive workplace cultures.

A few studies and research reveal the impact of empathy at work:

• Employees who feel their companies lack empathy are more likely to burn out and call in sick with stress-related illnesses. (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes)
• 76% of people with highly empathic senior leaders report often or always being engaged, compared to only 32% of people with less empathic senior leaders. (Catalyst)
• The majority (86%) of employees believe empathetic leadership boosts morale while 87% of employees say empathy is essential to fostering an inclusive environment. (EY Consulting)

The research is undisputed: showing empathy at work contributes to greater employee well-being and happiness. In turn, this leads to greater engagement, efficiency, and productivity in the workplace. 

But when it comes to a soft skill like empathy, it isn’t always clear how to practice it. This is not something that can be boiled down to an exact formula. 

Nevertheless, you don’t need to be a mental health expert to practice empathy. There are actionable steps leaders can take to build greater empathy in their team. Next, we’ll dive into a few examples of empathy at work so you can take steps toward creating a more empathetic work environment.

6 Ways to Increase Empathy In The Workplace

1. Practice active listening

When an employee comes to you with an issue, your first instinct might be to jump straight into fix-it mode.

You might do this by:

• Offering advice ("Have you tried this?),
• Trying to change their perspective ("Others have it worse.")
• Offering unhealthy positivity ("Try to stay positive.")

Of course, sometimes people want practical advice or need to hear a voice of logic. But oftentimes, when we go into fix-it mode, we unwittingly fail to understand the other person effectively. 

The antidote is active listening. In leadership, active listening means paying attention, understanding, and remembering what others say. It's not just about hearing words; it's about making an effort to make people feel heard. 

According to Very Well Mind, a few techniques are involved in practicing active listening. For example, being fully present, making eye contact, and asking open-ended questions.

In other words, before rushing to offer practical advice or fixes, you should ask questions and validate their feelings. These small gestures in conversation will go a long way to making people feel you genuinely care about them. 

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2. Ask for people’s opinions

Empathy requires understanding the needs of others. But you can’t read people’s minds; you have to take the time to ask them about their wants, needs, and opinions. Taking action in this area goes a long way to demonstrating that you care and creating a compassionate work environment. 

In other words, as a leader, acting with empathy means involving your team in big decisions. Interestingly, a Salesforce report showed that employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6X more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work. Employees are more productive when they feel they are being heard.

Of course, that’s not to say every single decision requires your entire team's final approval. Nevertheless, gathering feedback and input from your team is a great way to show that you value their opinions and perspectives. 

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3. Be proactive and offer assistance

Being responsive and available to your team is the cornerstone of empathetic leadership. But it's not enough to express to your employees that you are available and then proceed to disappear into your own world. 

If you don't show employees you care, it may be difficult for them to trust and come to you. A core component of building trust is showing you care about your employees through your actions. Not just your words. 

In other words, instead of simply stating you're available to them, why not show them? For example, an empathetic leader is sensitive to the climate of a team and can feel when their team is stressed or if there is tension. In this case, they will take the time to ask questions, listen, and find out how they can help. Empathetic leaders are proactive. They won't sit back and wait until a fire is burning to take action; they will try and catch the ember before it turns into a fiery blaze. 

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4. Show interest in employees' goals and development

As a leader, you know that employees are much more than what they produce for your team. They have their own dreams, goals, and aspirations. They have their own passions and interests. Leading with empathy means getting to know your employees on a deeper level and supporting their career development.

That said, "employee career development" can feel like a vague, ambiguous goal. But it all starts with a conversation. It involves getting to know your employees, what skills they want to grow, what they are passionate about, and what long-term goals they want to achieve. 

You have to set aside time for these conversations, which can be hard to do when a million other tasks are competing for your time. Yet, it makes your effort even more meaningful. When employees see how busy you are but still make the time to discuss their development, that will go a long way to making them feel valued. 

5. Be flexible and understanding

By its very nature, work entails structure and process. A team can't achieve results, and a large-scale organization can't function without guardrails. 

But, like all things, structure exists on a continuum. A need for structure can veer into inflexibility and rigidity if taken too far. Cultures like this undermine caring, empathy, and understanding.

For example, if employees come to you with a problem or concern, and you respond to them with, "That's just the way things work" or "That's the policy," without offering them any solutions or thinking deeper about the root problem at play. Such extreme inflexibility will undoubtedly make them feel ignored.

Being flexible and understanding means trying to devise a solution that benefits everyone. Even if an issue is out of your control, it also means validating your employees' issues and concerns. In other words, being flexible shows you care about your employees not just as workers but as individual people. 

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6. Share your appreciation

Recognizing and appreciating employees' efforts is one of the best ways to show them you care. On the flip side, one of the quickest ways to have an employee feel ignored is to minimize their efforts and take their contribution for granted. 

It's not enough to just praise the end result, like saying, "Good job on X." Vague and superficial praise can feel just as empty as not giving praise at all! Employees want to be appreciated for more than just ticking something off their to-do list. They want to feel special for their unique skills and contributions.

There were a lot of smaller steps and efforts that led up to that final achievement. People want the behind-the-scenes efforts to be appreciated. In short, employee recognition is not just about the end result. Taking the time to offer employees detailed and impactful recognition is the essence of empathetic leadership.

The Dangers of Too Much Empathy

When you think about a toxic work culture, niceness and empathy might not be the first things that come to mind. Typically, you might conjure up an image of nasty coworkers spreading negative gossip and arrogant managers lashing out at employees. 

Yet, the reality is that unhealthy work cultures can manifest in various ways. The stereotypical competition-driven environment is just one example. Cultural problems can often hide behind a cheerful exterior. Where even empathy—when excessive, can prove harmful.

Can empathy go too far?

Renowned leadership expert and best-selling author Kim Scott contends that empathy, if taken to extremes, can become unhelpful.

In her book Radical Candor, she coined the term "Ruinous Empathy" to describe the tendency of bosses to be overly nice but not genuinely kind. This occurs when leaders have a desire to care personally but a low willingness to challenge employees directly.

According to Scott, challenging employees is the key. It can be difficult in the short term and might feel cruel, but it's actually the kindest thing you can do.

Challenging people shows that you care enough to point out when things aren't going well. Most employees are hungry to grow, evolve, and be challenged. So, if you fail to challenge them, you will not only deprive them of the opportunity to grow but potentially create an environment of toxic positivity in your company—this can be just as damaging as an overly cutthroat environment. 

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant discusses a similar view in his model, The 4 Deadly Sins of Work Culture. He calls these types of overly nice work culture "cultures of mediocrity." In these cultures, "people are so worried about getting along that they end up forfeiting good work."

In the end, empathy is critical. It's a great thing for leaders to make sure everyone feels happy and gets along. But in any business, tough feedback or difficult decisions must be made. And if leaders forgo good work out of fear of creating disharmony or conflict, that's when this tendency to be nice is taken too far.

‍Final Thoughts‍

Leaders have long struggled with the conflict between empathy and efficiency. But as you can see, either end of the spectrum can lead to problems.

On one hand, being overly concerned with efficiency can lead to a cold, detached climate. Employees may feel like mere production units when their feelings and individual needs are not met with flexibility and understanding. Pursuing results without recognizing the human element can lead to burnout, decreased morale, and turnover. In the long run, this can be detrimental to success.

But the other extreme has problems of its own. For example, a desire to be too considerate prevents leaders from giving constructive criticism and needed challenges. As a result, "Ruinous Empathy" can emerge. Taken to an extreme, the fear of creating conflict can lead to a culture of mediocrity, where people are afraid to voice opinions or push boundaries. This climate can also stifle performance, growth and innovation.

Ultimately, leaders must strive to balance empathy and efficiency. It's not one or the other. When organizations learn to balance these two competing priorities, a thriving and productive organization is most likely to emerge. 

Ensuring employees possess the right skills is crucial. Enter employee skills assessment – a valuable tool empowering HR professionals to identify and assess the skills of future or current employees and ultimately leverage the talents within their workforce. 

For HR professionals, this process is akin to having a personalized roadmap for employee development. It enables them to achieve some of the following objectives.

For example:

• Craft targeted training programs
• Create personalized learning paths
• Plan for the future by aligning employee skills with organizational goals

While traditionally, we have seen skills assessment tests happening during the recruitment and onboarding process, employers have realized their importance and have started conducting them periodically for their existing workforce. Having a robust assessment structure enables companies to make the most of their workforces. It also ensures that they have the requisite skills needed to perform their expected tasks.  

In this article, we’ll explore why your companies could benefit from actively investing in employee skills assessment, highlighting the transformative impact it can have on individual careers and the collective success of the organization.

Benefits of Employee Skills Assessment

1. Reduce bias

In a popular Gallup survey of 7,500 full-time employees, they found the top reason for burnout being “unfair treatment at work.” Most employees complain of workplace politics acting as a bottleneck and hindering their proper growth. Undertaking a skills assessment test would help employees prove their abilities and mitigate the negative effects of favouritism and bias. This shift towards a merit-based approach ensures that talent is recognized and nurtured based on actual capabilities, not personal opinions. For HR leaders, this translates into a more accurate identification of high-potential employees. This becomes a powerful tool for HR leaders, fostering a culture of fairness and transparency and maximizing the full potential of their workforce.

2. Close the skill gap

According to a SHRM study, 75% of employers reported difficulty in hiring because they faced skill gaps in job candidates. As a result, companies often hire people who may not be the best fit for their position. When HR leaders actively undertake periodic monitoring of their development via skills assessment tests., they can better understand the skills gaps within their workforce and plan accordingly. In other words, HR can proactively bridge the divide between existing skills within their workforce and the evolving needs of the organization. This proactive stance is crucial for the organization's overall success. Addressing skill gaps ensures that the workforce remains adaptable and aligned with the company's objectives. It enhances employee performance, productivity, and job satisfaction while safeguarding against potential organizational shortcomings.

3. Creating personalized development plans

Creating personalized development plans is imperative in today's fast-changing world. Employees are frequently called upon to acquire new skills to adapt to technological and industry shifts. Consequently, hiring decisions increasingly hinge on a candidate's proactive approach to personal and professional growth, recognizing the ongoing need for evolution post-employment.

Incorporating a skills assessment tool into your workplace practices is instrumental in supporting employees with the desire to cultivate fresh skills. It serves as a proactive mechanism, identifying skill gaps and ensuring that employees receive targeted development opportunities. Moreover, the tool enables HR to craft individualized training plans, fostering an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and equipped to take on their roles. This bolsters employee satisfaction and strengthens the organization's resilience in the face of evolving demands.

4. Boost Retention and Satisfaction

The adoption of these assessment tools signifies an organization's commitment to identifying and nurturing individual strengths. This acknowledgment not only empowers employees but also fosters a sense of value within the workforce. When employees perceive that their skills are not only acknowledged but actively developed, it contributes significantly to employee engagement and job satisfaction. The result is a workforce that feels not only competent in their roles but also valued and supported. This heightened job satisfaction translates into increased employee engagement and loyalty, making employee skills assessment a powerful tool for HR leaders seeking to create a workplace where talent not only thrives but remains committed for the long term.

Potential Drawbacks of Employee Skills Assessment

Using an employee skills assessment tool can benefit individual employees and the organization as a whole. However, this process is not without its limitations. This section will review some of the potential shortcomings of these types of evaluations, so you can be prepared to address and mitigate these potential problems if and when they arise. 

1. Subjectivity in self-evaluation

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When employees are asked to assess their own skills, the number one risk is faulty assessment. In other words, self-assessment leads to subjectivity, as people may overstate their abilities due to personal biases or a desire to appear favourable. This can result in inaccurate data. Self-assessment may fail to provide the objectivity needed for a comprehensive understanding of skills.

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2. Inflated confidence

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Similarly, when employees assess their own skills, there's a risk of inflated confidence. In these cases, employees rate themselves higher than their actual proficiency. This can misguide HR decisions, causing a disconnect between perceived and actual skills within the organization.

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3. Challenge in identifying genuine gaps

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Limited self-awareness may hinder the identification of genuine skill gaps. Without a clear understanding of weaknesses and areas of improvement in your workforce, targeted development efforts may fall short.

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4. Low participation and response rates

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As someone who works in HR, you know that getting everyone to participate is unlikely, especially in large organizations. Some employees may exhibit low participation rates or response rates for self-assessment, potentially resulting in incomplete or skewed data. This could present a barrier to obtaining a holistic view of the organization's skill landscape.

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Reducing these challenges 

To address these challenges, it's crucial to supplement self-assessment with external evaluations and feedback mechanisms. This approach ensures a more balanced and accurate representation of employee skills, laying a reliable foundation for strategic talent development and organizational growth.

Finding The Right Skills Assessment Tools

Using third-party tools

HR teams can efficiently conduct employee skills assessments by leveraging third-party tools and services, streamlining the process and obtaining valuable insights. Here are some examples:

LinkedIn Skill Assessments:

Description: LinkedIn offers skill assessments for various domains.

Benefits: HR can gauge candidates' proficiency directly on their professional profiles.

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SkillSurvey:

Description: SkillSurvey provides 360-degree feedback and skill assessments.

Benefits: Offers a comprehensive view of an employee's skills through peer and supervisor feedback.

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Vervoe:

Description: Vervoe offers skill testing and assessments for hiring and development.

Benefits: Helps HR evaluate both technical and soft skills through real-world simulations.

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Cost-effective alternatives

For HR teams on a budget, several cost-effective solutions ensure effective employee skills assessments:

Google Forms:

Description: You can create custom skill assessment surveys from scratch using the tools available on Google Forms.

Benefits: Free and user-friendly, allowing HR to design tailored assessments.

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Talentsoft Hub:

Description: Talentsoft Hub offers a suite of HR solutions, including affordable skills assessment tools.

Benefits: Tailored for small to medium-sized businesses, providing a cost-effective solution.

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Test Gorilla:

Description: Test Gorilla offers a solution designed to assist employers in evaluating the skills and abilities of job candidates efficiently. 

Benefits: Test Gorilla’s platform is cost-effective and available for even small teams,  covering areas such as cognitive abilities, personality traits, technical skills, and job-specific competencies.

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Final Thoughts

The pursuit of optimizing your workforce through skills assessments is not just a strategic move; it's a commitment to unlocking the potential of all employee.

However, like many endeavours in HR, there are challenges and roadblocks to be on the lookout for, like subjectivity in self-evolution and low participation rates. But these challenges can be mitigated with the right approaches. 

By embracing skills assessments, HR professionals are committed to fair recognition and transparent talent development. This commitment goes beyond identifying strengths; it extends to crafting personalized development plans that enable employees to evolve alongside the ever-changing demands of their roles.

Ultimately, investing in employee skills assessment leads to a workplace where talents become aligned with organizational goals, and employees are empowered to reach their full potential.