Returning to work is faltering: Seven steps for productive hybrid working

Three years after the start of the pandemic, the call by CEOs to return to the office is faltering for several reasons. There is no grand “fix” for hybrid working. The ideal solution for each organization will depend on the…

Remote work uncovered but didn’t create problems

Surveys show that the war over hybrid, remote, and office-based work continues. It is a conflict that about two-thirds of current remote and hybrid workers are willing to quit over. And the number of employees working remotely or in hybrid…

Beat the Great Resignation with Career Pathing

At the end of last year, I identified top strategies for HR in 2022. In the 2020s, HR strategies are shifting to reinstating powerful, comprehensive talent management strategies to offer employees careers with purpose, excellent pay and benefits, and equity…

Don’t let office real estate be a financial drain.

When I was at Medtronic in Santa Rosa, CA, in 2012, I learned that individual office cubes and offices were in use only about 37 percent of the time, as the occupants were traveling or in meetings. Worse, many employers…

The Future of Work Tops the 2022 Priorities List for Leading HR Organizations.

Several research organizations have published their HR Priorities for 2022. I was particularly impressed with the findings of Fuel50 because it looked at an issue the “Best-in-Class” HR organizations are prioritizing: The Future of Work. This priority did not make…

Survey shows hybrid work is here to stay — here’s how to get started.

After nearly two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, employee expectations and company strategies have permanently shifted. The surge of Omicron in December 2021 and January 2022 has once again delayed office reopening plans, according to The Wall Street Journal.  Many…

Four disruptive steps to transform the work environment and finally beat Covid-19

For the second year in a row, the US celebrates Labor Day during a dramatic transformation of work and high anxiety for CEOs and workers. The difficulties presented by a chronic labor shortage of skilled and unskilled jobs are complicated…

Are you on the right — or wrong — side of history with your return-to-the-office plan?

Leaders often speak with me about the repeated delays in calling back to the office their remote employees and alternative optimum dates for their return. In fact, some organizations have rescheduled the return-to-the-office date four times. Others have recalled managers…

Five New Priorities for 2022 HR budgets

One of the most difficult budgets to prepare for any company is the human resources budget. HR leaders and their executive teams need to anticipate the needs for next year for both the HR department and for leading the workforces.…

Gallup reports improving engagement is not enough. Five tips for leading a stressed-out, restless workforce.

Gallup released its venerable State of the Global Workplace Report for 2021 this month. Surprisingly, workplace engagement rose to 36 percent in 2020, the year of the pandemic, a one percent increase for both the US and Canada. But, stress…