Using AI in the Workplace to Make Work Feel More Human

Using AI in the Workplace to Make Work Feel More Human

  • Admin
  • AI
  • 07 Feb, 2025

The fusion of artificial intelligence (AI) within the fabric of our workplace’s daily operations is reshaping not only how we work but how we connect with each other. While technology might seem like a cold mechanism, AI holds the potential to enhance the human touch in the workplace, creating more dynamic, engaging, and personalized experiences for employees. By integrating AI, the complex layers of human interactions and emotional intelligence can be amplified, offering a more human-centric approach to work — AI that makes work more human.

Overview of AI in the Workplace

In the digital age, AI serves as a pivotal tool in transforming how organizations operate, particularly in recruitment, communication, and productivity enhancement. Whether it’s automating mundane tasks, analyzing employee feedback, or facilitating cross-functional collaboration, AI efficiently addresses some of the workforce’s most pressing needs. By utilizing AI’s predictive capabilities and real-time analytics, companies can optimize workflows, ensuring that employees are both content and productive in a seamlessly integrated digital environment.

The Importance of the Human Touch

Human interaction in the workplace is crucial, as it fosters a sense of connection, empathy, and shared purpose. The nuances of human emotions and interpersonal relationships play a significant role in team dynamics and individual performance. AI should not be seen as a replacement for this essential human element. Instead, it can serve as a bridge, enabling deeper insights into team dynamics and facilitating environments where trust, empathy, and effective communication flourish. Ultimately, AI can help nurture a more emotionally intelligent workforce by providing personalized recommendations and insights that enhance the way we understand and respond to each other.

AI’s Role in Learning and Development

Adapting to New Skills and Training Methods

The workplace is experiencing a seismic shift with the growing reliance on remote and hybrid work models. This has accelerated the need for new learning and development (L&D) strategies. Traditional training methods, such as one-time workshops or external consultants, no longer meet the dynamic needs of today’s workforce. Companies are transitioning to digital platforms that can provide on-demand, flexible learning experiences, which better support the way employees learn today. These platforms allow for the integration of reskilling and upskilling into daily workflows, fostering continuous professional growth.

Personalized Learning via AI

Personalized learning has emerged as a key component of effective L&D programs. AI-driven platforms can tailor educational content to individual career aspirations and learning styles, empowering employees to take ownership of their development journey. These platforms can provide adaptive learning paths, helping individuals focus on specific skills they need to advance in their roles. This approach not only enhances engagement but also aligns with today’s workforce that desires personal and professional growth opportunities.

The Impact on Employee Retention

A well-crafted L&D program significantly impacts employee retention. Research shows that employees are far more likely to stay with a company if they see clear paths for advancement and skill development. Companies that offer comprehensive training have witnessed higher income per employee and greater overall performance. Therefore, investing in personalized, AI-enhanced learning solutions can be a strategic advantage in retaining top talent and reducing turnover costs.

Enhancing Communication and Collaboration with AI

Bridging Gaps in Remote and Hybrid Work Setups

The advent of remote work has posed challenges for maintaining effective communication and collaboration within teams. AI has the potential to bridge these gaps by facilitating seamless communication across different locations and times. AI-driven tools can manage virtual team interactions, ensuring that communication remains consistent and effective. They provide insights into team dynamics, enabling smoother transitions and interactions among distributed team members.

Utilizing AI to Improve Emotional Intelligence

AI technology can assist in enhancing emotional intelligence within teams by analyzing communication patterns and providing feedback. These insights help employees tailor their interactions to better suit their colleagues’ emotional and motivational preferences, fostering understanding and empathy. This capability is particularly beneficial in remote settings, where misunderstandings can easily occur due to the lack of non-verbal cues.

Tools for Real-Time Communication Insights

Modern AI-powered tools can deliver real-time insights during meetings and collaborative sessions. These tools analyze discussions, suggest relevant documents, and provide conversational prompts, thus improving the quality and outcome of communications. Additionally, AI can offer real-time translation services in global teams, ensuring language barriers do not impede collaboration. By integrating these tools into daily workflows, organizations enhance productivity and enable more meaningful interactions among team members.

By leveraging AI in these areas, organizations can create a more human-centered work environment, fostering growth, better communication, and deeper connections among employees. This not only improves individual performance but also propels companies towards achieving higher overall objectives.

Creating a Feedback-Driven Culture

Fostering an environment where employees feel heard and valued has become more pertinent than ever. Modern workplaces demand an adaptive feedback culture that progresses beyond traditional annual performance reviews.

AI’s Role in Continuous Feedback Mechanisms

Artificial intelligence introduces a transformative approach to feedback in the workplace. By leveraging AI-driven platforms, organizations can seamlessly integrate feedback into daily workflows. AI tools can facilitate continuous feedback loops through employee engagement suites that incorporate psychometrics to enhance understanding. These platforms can provide insights into employees’ work behaviors, motivators, and energizers, allowing managers to tailor feedback more effectively. Automated feedback reminders and real-time coaching tips can also encourage a culture of continuous improvement. This not only aids in addressing issues promptly but also in reinforcing positive behaviors, ultimately leading to enhanced employee satisfaction and retention.

Building a Supportive and Inclusive Workplace

AI also plays a crucial role in nurturing a supportive work environment by providing data-driven insights into team dynamics. AI tools can identify trends and patterns in employee behavior and sentiment, offering insights into workplace inclusivity and team cohesion. These insights empower HR professionals to make informed decisions on diversity and inclusion initiatives, ensuring that every team member feels valued and included. By promoting open communication and understanding, AI can help to dismantle existing barriers, fostering a more cohesive and inclusive work environment.

Benefits of AI in Team Dynamics

Harnessing AI’s potential in team settings can vastly improve how teams interact, collaborate, and perform in the workplace.

Improving Team Collaboration with AI Insights

Artificial intelligence can significantly enhance collaboration by analyzing communication patterns and providing insights into areas of improvement. AI tools assist teams by highlighting collaboration bottlenecks and facilitating more effective communication strategies. For instance, AI can recommend optimal communication practices tailored to individual team members based on their preferred communication styles. By understanding these nuances, teams can reduce miscommunication and enhance collective problem-solving capabilities.

Enhancing Team Performance Metrics

AI offers dynamic analytics capabilities that track and predict team performance metrics. These tools enable managers to pinpoint specific areas that require development and provide real-time feedback to align efforts with organizational goals. By utilizing predictive analytics, AI can forecast potential team challenges and suggest proactive measures, thus maintaining consistent team performance. Furthermore, AI’s ability to personalize learning paths ensures that team members acquire the skills necessary to overcome challenges and contribute more meaningfully to team objectives.

Overall, the integration of AI in the workplace is not about replacing human interaction but enhancing it. By promoting continuous feedback, supporting inclusive environments, and optimizing team dynamics, AI enriches the human touch at work, creating a more connected and humanized workforce.

Final Thoughts

Embracing AI tools in the workplace represents more than just technological advancement; it signifies a bridge to a more human-centric work environment. By enhancing emotional intelligence and offering personalized learning experiences, AI contributes significantly to fostering a culture of inclusion and connection. It’s crucial for organizations to leverage AI not only as a tool for efficiency but as a means to enhance the human touch and impart genuine connection in daily interactions. This dual focus ensures that as we scale operations, we also nurture the vital human elements that drive engagement and productivity, ultimately creating workplaces where people feel valued, understood, and integral to their team’s success.

Tags :
Share :

Related Posts

AI to Enhance Humans...Not Replace Them at Work
AI to Enhance Humans...Not Replace Them at Work

Emotional intelligence at work has become a cornerstone for effective professional interactions in modern society. As workplaces become more complex and diverse, the ability to understand and manage emotions—both one’s own and those of others—has become essential for fostering productive and integrated work environments. The World Economic Forum's "Future of Jobs Survey" highlights that by 2025, emotional intelligence will be one of the top skills required in business, highlighting its growing importance in the professional sphere.  Despite its recognized value, developing and applying emotional intelligence at work present numerous challenges. Traditional training methods, which are often costly and difficult to scale, fail to provide the practical, real-time application necessary for true skill acquisition. Of the employees who received traditional training, 43% considered it ineffective. Furthermore, identifying and recruiting talent with high emotional intelligence is a complex process, often relying on subjective measures and lengthy evaluation periods.  Enter artificial intelligence (AI). By leveraging AI technologies, organizations can improve emotional intelligence in the workplace and overcome potential hurdles by offering scalable, personalized, and effective solutions.  How Can AI Help Individuals Develop Emotional Intelligence? AI technologies can play a pivotal role in overcoming the challenges associated with developing and applying emotional intelligence in the workplace. At Humantelligence, I've seen firsthand how AI-powered assessments can scan entire companies and enhance collaboration. By analyzing communication patterns in meetings and written interactions (both offline and virtual), these tools provide real-time, personalized feedback on how to improve emotional interactions. Employees then receive insights on how to adapt their communication to better suit their audience's preferences and motivations, ensuring more effective and empathetic exchanges.  In our own workplace, we use AI tools to rewrite communication at the push of a button, tailoring messages to the emotional preferences of the recipients. This feature enhances day-to-day interactions and fosters a more emotionally intelligent workplace culture. In meetings, our AI engine scans the dynamics and provides the emotional intelligence insights needed to improve productivity and collaboration. This proactive approach integrates emotional intelligence into everyday workflows, rather than letting it be a neglected aspect of professional development.  We also address the challenge of scalability in emotional intelligence training. While traditional training methods are often focused on a small percentage of leaders and managers, all employees receive personalized training up to 20 times a month, equating to 240 interactions a year. This consistent use makes the training more impactful and transformational across the organization.  During recruitment, we utilize advanced psychometric evaluations and behavioral analysis to assess candidates' emotional competencies. This approach allows us to identify high emotional intelligence candidates early in the hiring process, leading to better team dynamics and performance.   3 Best Practices to Integrate AI with Emotional Intelligence Training for Improved Professional Interactions  Integrating AI with emotional intelligence training can significantly enhance professional interactions and workplace dynamics. The following are just a few of the best practices we've learned while integrating AI across our organization and navigating the challenges that arose along the way.   1. Look for Personalized Learning Opportunities Seventy-five percent of Fortune 500 companies use emotional intelligence training, and for good reason. These AI tools can analyze individual learning styles and preferences to deliver tailored training programs that meet the specific needs of each employee. At Humantelligence, we've seen how AI tools can adapt training content with a click of a button to meet the needs of each user. For example, if an employee struggles with a particular aspect of emotional intelligence, AI can provide additional resources and exercises to address that specific area.  An effective AI-driven platform should provide personalized insights and training modules that help employees develop their emotional intelligence skills in a way that is most effective for them. This approach ensures that employees are more engaged and can apply what they learn sooner rather than later.  2. Implement Real-Time Feedback Mechanisms Real-time feedback is crucial for the practical application of emotional intelligence skills. AI technologies can provide immediate insights and suggestions based on an employee's interactions and communications. In fact, Gallup data show that when employees receive meaningful feedback within the last week, they’re almost four times more likely to be engaged.   To meet this need at Humantelligence, we implemented a tool that offers real-time feedback on email communications and meeting dynamics. These real-time insights are surfaced within an employee’s workflow, which helps them adjust their behavior and improve their emotional intelligence in the moment. This continuous feedback loop is essential for reinforcing learning and promoting ongoing development.  3. Integrate Emotional Intelligence Training into Daily Workflows Emotional intelligence training should be seamlessly integrated into the daily workflows of your employees. In our daily workflows, we use AI tools that can be embedded into existing work processes, such as communication platforms and meeting tools. This integration makes it easier for employees to access and apply their training in real-world scenarios.  For those who struggle with soft skills, AI-driven training insights can also be an essential resource for enhanced productivity and job satisfaction. According to research from IDC, organizations stand to benefit up to $1 trillion in productivity gains worldwide over the next two years by implementing skills development powered by generative AI and automation. AI can significantly improve collaboration among teams by providing real-time insights into their communications, helping them work better and faster together. This ensures that emotional intelligence training is not an isolated event but a continuous part of their everyday interactions.  As emotional intelligence becomes increasingly important in the workplace, leveraging AI to provide scalable, personalized, and real-time training can address many of the challenges associated with traditional emotional intelligence development methods. By adopting best practices for integrating AI and emotional intelligence, organizations can foster a more emotionally intelligent workforce, leading to better communication, stronger teamwork, and improved overall performance.

Read more
Unlocking the Power of Generative AI to Transform HR
Unlocking the Power of Generative AI to Transform HR

In an era marked by digital transformation and remote work, Human Resources (HR) professionals face an evolving landscape. The challenges of recruiting top talent, maintaining effective communication, and optimizing productivity have never been more critical for the employee experience. Fortunately, generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformative force in HR, offering innovative solutions to address these issues. In this article, we'll explore the power of generative AI to transform HR by reshaping practices, improving recruitment processes, enhancing communication, and boosting productivity in distributed workforces. Revolutionizing Recruitment with Generative AI Recruitment has always been a cornerstone of HR, but the process can be time-consuming and fraught with biases. Generative AI, through its natural language processing and machine learning capabilities, is revolutionizing how organizations identify and attract top talent. Here are some key ways in which generative AI is reshaping recruitment: 1. Automated Candidate Screening Generative AI-powered tools can analyze thousands of resumes and job applications within seconds, ensuring that every candidate is evaluated fairly. These systems can identify relevant qualifications, skills, and experience, streamlining the initial screening process. According to a survey conducted by HR Dive, 72% of HR professionals reported that AI has improved their ability to find the right candidates more efficiently. 2. Eliminating Bias in Hiring One of the most significant challenges in HR is reducing unconscious bias during hiring. Generative AI algorithms are designed to make decisions based solely on data, reducing the risk of discrimination based on gender, race, or other factors. It promotes diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. 3. Personalized Candidate Experiences Generative AI can personalize candidate interactions, making potential employees feel valued from the beginning. Chatbots and AI-driven email responses can answer candidate queries promptly, enhancing the overall candidate experience. You can even make these responses sound more human than the traditional chatbot. Juan Betancourt, CEO of Humantelligence and well-known executive search recruiter notes, "Generative AI is a game changer for HR. The power of generative AI to transform HR will show itself in saved time and also an improvement in the quality of candidates screened. It will make the recruitment process is more efficient and inclusive than ever before." Generative AI to Transform HR in the Delivery of Communication Across Distributed Teams Effective communication is the glue that holds remote teams together. Generative AI is playing a pivotal role in bridging communication gaps and fostering collaboration. Here's how: 1. Virtual Assistants for HR Queries Generative AI-powered virtual assistants can handle routine HR inquiries from employees, such as leave requests, policy clarifications, and benefits queries. This not only frees up HR professionals from administrative tasks but also ensures quick and consistent responses. According to a study by Deloitte, companies that use virtual HR assistants have seen a 50% reduction in HR query resolution time. 2. Multilingual Support In a global workforce, language barriers might hinder effective communication and create inefficiencies. Generative AI can provide real-time translation services, allowing team members from different regions to collaborate seamlessly. 3. AI-Powered Chat and Collaboration Tools AI-driven chat and collaboration tools can analyze conversations and suggest relevant documents, resources, or experts, facilitating information exchange among team members. This enhances productivity and ensures that the right information is always at hand. This also works for email communication and communication in virtual meetings among colleagues. For example, HR can provide employees with an AI plug in to their email provider so that emails can be rewritten and optimized for how the recipient likes to receive information. One simply writes an email and then pushes a button. The email gets rewritten instantly using AI and then tells you why that person prefers this type of communication. "It's important for the employee experience to create a more supportive and engaging environment for people to develop and thrive. AI-driven insights that help people work together better have the power to reduce turnover and boost team productivity, while keeping team cultures/dynamics positioned for the future. It’s an investment that keeps paying dividends across the employee lifecycle,” said Betancourt.  In fact, a McKinsey report found that organizations that effectively leverage AI for internal communications and collaboration are 2.5 times more likely to be top performers. Boosting Productivity Through AI-Powered Insights Improving productivity is a constant goal for HR professionals. Generative AI is providing new insights and tools to help organizations streamline processes and maximize efficiency. 1. Predictive Analytics for Workforce Management Generative AI can analyze historical data and predict future workforce needs. This enables HR to plan for staffing levels, skill gaps, and training requirements, ensuring that the organization remains agile in responding to changing demands. IBM's Watson is a prime example of an AI system that offers predictive analytics for HR. 2. Automating Routine HR Tasks Administrative tasks, such as payroll processing and benefits enrollment, can be automated using generative AI. This not only reduces the risk of errors but also frees HR professionals to focus on strategic initiatives. 3. Employee Feedback and Sentiment Analysis Generative AI can analyze employee feedback, surveys, and sentiment data to gauge employee satisfaction and identify potential issues. This proactive approach enables HR to address concerns before they escalate. HR can now focus on strategic initiatives while the AI takes care of routine tasks.  Employees also appreciate the quick and accurate responses they receive. Challenges and Ethical Considerations Using Generative AI to Transform HR While generative AI offers numerous benefits, it's essential to acknowledge and address potential challenges and ethical concerns. These include data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the need for ongoing human oversight. HR professionals must ensure that AI is used responsibly and in line with legal and ethical standards. As technology continues to advance, HR departments that embrace generative AI will be better equipped to meet the demands of the modern workforce and drive their organizations toward success in an increasingly digital and remote world. For now, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the power of generative AI to transform HR. If leveraged right, it can enable organizations to recruit top talent, enhance communication, and boost productivity among distributed workforces. By automating tasks, reducing bias, and providing valuable insights, AI is transforming HR practices and helping companies thrive in a digital and remote world. However, it's crucial to address ethical considerations and ensure responsible AI use to maximize its benefits. As technology continues to evolve, HR professionals who embrace generative AI will be at the forefront of shaping the future of work. If you're interested in learning how Humantelligence's AI-powered psychometric tool can improve the employee experience, let's talk!

Read more
15 Benefits of Collaboration in the Workplace + 3 Tips to Improve it
15 Benefits of Collaboration in the Workplace + 3 Tips to Improve it

Many businesses are supported by distributed teams spread across different states or even around the world. According to a study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity and Rob Cross, the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Business at Babson College, high-performance organizations are up to 5.5x more likely than lower-performers to incentivize individual, team, and leader effectiveness in collaboration. The study of more than 1,100 companies—two-thirds of which include collaboration as a stated organizational value—found that the difference between productive and unproductive collaboration can be summed up in one word: purpose.  Ask anyone to make a list of what makes companies successful, and collaboration is definitely going to be near or at the top. When you’ve got a mix of minds and talents working in harmony, you can unlock all the top achievements for innovation, efficiency, and employee satisfaction. It’s the purposeful pursuit of collaboration that is the primary reason high-performance organizations can leverage collaboration to achieve desired business outcomes. Effective collaboration results from an effective company culture that is supported by management and embraces the entire organization. Truthfully, we should not have to make a case for the benefits of collaboration, because anyone who has ever worked with a really great team knows exactly how powerful that is.  Still, it never hurts to have a refresher or a few tips to reset your approach your collaboration in the workplace. So let’s dive into all the ways great teamwork spells success for everyone at your company. What is Employee Collaboration? First, what is collaboration? Employee collaboration is what happens when people in your organization work successfully together to achieve your specific goals and objectives. It’s that special magic that comes from getting everyone rowing their oars in the same direction. The sum ends up equaling a lot more than the parts when you have the joint efforts of all team members, leveraging their diverse skills, knowledge, and resources to solve problems, create innovative solutions, or improve processes. Effective collaboration requires a few starting ingredients:Communication: Clear and open lines of communication are essential, allowing for the seamless exchange of ideas and information. Trust and Respect: Successful collaboration requires trust among team members, fostering a safe environment where ideas can be shared openly without fear of judgment. Shared Goals: Collaboration is most effective when all participants are aligned on objectives and understand their roles in achieving these goals. Technology and Tools: Modern workplaces are often distributed and need to utilize digital tools and platforms to facilitate collaboration, especially in environments where team members are geographically dispersed. Cultural Encouragement: Organizational and team dynamics play a significant role, as they should enable collaboration by recognizing and rewarding cooperative efforts.In a nutshell, employee collaboration is about harnessing the collective intelligence, problem solving, creativity, and energy of your team to drive organizational success and innovation. 20 Benefits of Collaboration Curious about what effective collaboration really brings to the table? Let’s jump into the benefits of collaboration. The list below shows pretty clearly why getting your team to work together will be fundamental to completing your mission. 1. Enhanced Innovation When* brains storm *well together, thinking gets better. Collaboration turns regular meetings into new idea-fests. That’s because people feel safer in putting their ideas forward and building more innovative practices through team collaboration. 2. Increased Efficiency Two heads are better than one! Collaborative teams are able to work faster — putting the right people on the right tasks and streamlining processes. Not sure who to put on what project and in what role? That's were technology comes in. 3. Improved Employee Satisfaction Working together doesn’t just get the work done — it also makes the job fun! When employees are able to collaborate, they build relationships and enjoy a sense of shared achievement that makes every workday feel like a win. 4. Faster Problem-Solving When challenges pop up, collaborative teams are the best at pulling together and pushing forward. Used to building off of one another’s ideas, they can better clear blockers and land on solutions that solo players might miss. 5. Balanced Workloads Many hands make lighter work, as the saying goes. Collaboration allows team members to distribute tasks based on everyone’s preference, expertise, and capacity, preventing burnout and keeping spirits high. 6. A Collaborative Learning Environment Every collaborative project becomes a mini-classroom of a sort. Team members who collaborate well form a natural learning cohort that can encourage one another on shared learning journeys. Think of it as an informal mentoring program. 7. Cross-Skilling Opportunities Collaborate today, learn new skills for tomorrow! Working alongside diverse talents also lets employees pick up new skills and competencies directly from one another, turning everyday tasks into learning opportunities. 8. Stronger Decision Making When decisions are made through collaboration, they’re also built on a foundation of many diverse perspectives and experiences. This means decisions are not only stronger but also fairer, reflecting the wisdom of the crowd. 9. Higher Flexibility and Scalability Collaborative teams are more resilient — stretching to match the task at hand in a way that is both flexible and scalable. This is important because grit and adaptability is a game-changer in facing disruption — which is getting more and more common. 10. Boosted Creativity Collaboration is creativity’s best friend. It pushes employees to think outside the box and paint outside the lines, leading to solutions and ideas that are as creative as they are effective. 11. Enhanced Communication Skills Regular collaboration turns shy folks into communication pros. It encourages clear and frequent interactions that refine everyone’s ability to express ideas and listen actively. 12. Fewer Workplace Conflicts When collaboration is a core part of your culture, conflicts tend to take a backseat. Regular interaction and mutual goals help to reduce misunderstandings and build bridges over troubled waters. 13. Deeper Friendship, Trust, and Transparency Trust doesn’t just happen; it’s built through many acts of connection and collaboration. When teams work closely and well, transparency becomes the norm, and trust and friendship flourish. 14. Positive Dynamics Collaboration is one of your best ways to create a positive employee experience. A collaborative environment is the soil where a great company culture grows. It nurtures an ecosystem where support, teamwork, and mutual respect flourish. 15. Enhanced Adaptability Collaborative teams shine because they are able to adapt more quickly — moving around obstacles and reshaping themselves to fit new challenges. 3 Tips to Improve Collaboration and Connection 1. Leverage technology to boost human connections. Technology isn’t just a left-brained tool. Sure, it’s good for metrics and mechanics — but it’s also an amazing channel through which you can connect people on a deeper level and facilitate relationships. Use tools that build self-awareness, connection with others, and see how collaboration flourishes naturally. 2. Foster mutual support among employees. A supportive culture will get your new hires up to speed quickly, and it can also make everyone work better together! When everyone feels empowered to offer support, you’re cultivating a culture where meaningful micro-interactions flourish and employees feel good about sharing knowledge as a default. This sort of open give-and-take is rich soil for teamwork and will help you reap the benefits of collaboration. 3. Empower employees to shape their own connections. When employees are able to steer their own collaborative experiences, they will feel a deeper sense of belonging and mastery. Technologies that enhance decision-making and bring team members closer can also be used to help employees connect and collaborate — sharing knowledge and skills. By empowering people to connect with colleagues on a personal level you will see the benefits of collaboration soar. Bonus Tips!Encourage active listening in teams. Part of the challenge in facilitating effective workplace collaboration is balancing discussions among different team members. This can be particularly difficult when dealing with different cultures, personalities, and challenging topics. Helping employees, and especially managers, develop their active listening skills can help everyone feel heard and more involved. Organize next steps and feedback. When employees collaborate to develop a new strategy or review an important document, they can share ideas in a number of different ways. After the work of brainstorming and sharing is done – i.e. the meeting – set clear expectations for processing the notes and feedback to avoid creating a backlog of partially developed ideas that go nowhere. Asynchronous collaboration tools are an essential asset but need to be well-managed to get the most value out of the communications, and importantly, move the project along.On a final note, don’t underestimate the benefits of informal collaboration. You can certainly accomplish a lot in meetings and formally organized work activities, but a lot of the real work gets done between employees themselves. Whatever you can do to make it easy for your team members to get together or communicate more effectively not only helps improve collaboration, but also will allow many of them to forge long-term or even lifelong relationships.

Read more
20 Expert Tips to Improve Collaboration at Work
20 Expert Tips to Improve Collaboration at Work

The modern workforce has adapted to several changes that have impacted the way we perform work. Obviously the COVID-19 pandemic is front and center, which resulted in many companies moving to completely remote or hybrid workplaces. These changes have also presented an excellent opportunity to find ways to improve collaboration at work. Many businesses are supported by distributed teams spread across different states or even around the world. According to a study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity and Rob Cross, the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Business at Babson College, high-performance organizations are up to 5.5x more likely than lower-performers to incentivize individual, team, and leader effectiveness in collaboration. The study of more than 1,100 companies—two-thirds of which include collaboration as a stated organizational value—found that the difference between productive and unproductive collaboration can be summed up in one word: purpose.  It’s the purposeful pursuit of collaboration that is the primary reason high-performance organizations, such as Patagonia, one of four companies highlighted in the study, can leverage collaboration to achieve desired business outcomes. Effective collaboration results from an effective company culture that is supported by management and embraces the entire organization. Simply think about the best team of which you’ve ever been a part. What made that team work? Was it the project? The people? The interpersonal dynamics? Did you enjoy being part of it? Did it bring out the best in you? Now think about the worst team you’ve ever been on. What made those experiences different? Collaborative teams equal enhanced productivity and results. When teams work, they work in the best of ways. But teamwork takes effort, and the reality is that teams can fall apart, break down and experience disruption for myriad reasons. In this post, we’ve combed article after article in order to compile 20 of the most common and most effective tips to help you improve collaboration at work. Be Strategic About Meetings to Improve Collaboration at WorkPrepare formal meeting agendas & keep communication styles in mind. If you’re leading a meeting or part of the team that called the meeting, keep in mind that some attendees might have a more reflective communication style, so if you want your meeting to be valuable and productive, proactively reach out to those team members ahead of the meeting to share specific topics in which you'd like them to contribute.  Defining a clear agenda for each meeting and considering the role of each person who is attending will help everyone involved understand how they can participate and what individual expectations entail. Not sure how to determine communication style?  No worries, there are tools for that. Always use ice-breaker questions. Never just jump into meeting business. It comes across as too cold and transactional, which makes it more difficult to develop report, connection, and trust as a meeting team. Instead of starting with the formal agenda topics, try these ice-breaker options from Atlassian, designed to build authentic connection. One of the best ways to improve collaboration and work and instill a stronger sense of teamwork is to give employees plenty of opportunities to learn more about each other. Don’t forget about the kickoff meeting. Whenever a new team is established to work on a shared goal, it’s a good idea to hold a formal kick-off event. This not only gives team members a chance to ask questions and learn about the project, but also helps create a shared sense of ownership. While these meetings don’t need to be complicated or even lengthy, depending on the complexity of the project, it’s always a good idea to solicit feedback about the agenda from team members. At minimum, reviewing the scope of the project, the shared objective, and key roles and needs of the project should be enough.Observe and Model Best Practices for Building an Environment to Support CollaborationCollaborate on the issue of collaboration. If the company culture dictates strong teams, take a look at the organization and see who else is doing it well. Talk to other managers about team dynamics, how they get people to collaborate and the behaviors they encourage. And make sure that you return the favor, sharing your own best practices and lessons learned. Don’t forget to look outside your company as well, talking with colleagues and mentors. You’d be surprised at how similar situations seem to come up across industries. Create accountability around team performance, not just individual performance. This helps draw out the lone ranger team member and forces the team to work collaboratively toward common goals. If one person isn’t participating as a team member, the others won’t carry that person and a shift will start to take place. If there is one particular cynic, take that person aside and discover why there is conflict, too much independent work, or general derailing of teamwork. Depending on personality, you can either be very direct here or ask a series of “why” questions to get to the bottom of the situation. Prioritize the employee experience. Seeing things from employees’ perspectives can help you learn a lot about work culture and some of the communication challenges that your company may be facing. Dedicating some time to explore employee experience and finding ways to improve both digital and physical work environments can go a long way towards making employees feel more satisfied and comfortable at work. Get digital. Especially for remote or hybrid teams, it can be difficult for employees to follow and understand what their coworkers are doing. This makes it difficult for workers to forge bonds and improve the way they communicate with each other. Using a shared digital platform that fosters teamwork can help improve visibility, create connection, foster belonging, and support more effective communication. Create tech-driven collaboration spaces. Internet speeds and improvements in technology have made audio and video conferencing remarkably convenient these days. To foster more meaningful communication among employees, consider adding personalized communication insights to your meeting tools so everyone knows how best to communicate with one another. Making meetings more valuable for everyone involved goes a long way toward developing a strong collaborative work culture. Promote learning and development. Many employees desire career advancement for the chance to apply their skills to new projects and learning opportunities, all of which contributes to effective and collaborative relationship building within the company. In fact, companies that encourage mindful risk-taking and learning from mistakes often realize greater innovation and workplace effectiveness. According to the July 2021 Monster Job Index:80% of professionals don’t think their current employer provides growth opportunities.  54% of employees fear they don’t have the skills they need to thrive in a workforce that emphasizes collaboration using technology.  49% of employees expect their employer to support career growth.Check in consistently. Have a formal check-in periodically, once a month or at minimum once per quarter, to make sure relationships are developing and collaboration is growing. Especially important if you’re repairing a team, check in to make sure things are on track and to gain a better understanding of what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to be adjusted. If you start the teamwork ball rolling but then neglect the process, any progress you’ve made will quickly evaporate.How Leaders Can Improve Collaboration at WorkSet clear goals. Employees are more likely to collaborate with each other when they clearly understand their individual roles and the team goals that everyone is working toward. Well-defined goals give the entire team a sense of shared purpose and can help foster innovation and problem-solving. One clear sign of an effective team is one that can self-assess and identify issues that lead to meaningful improvements over time. Provide team incentives. “The lack of incentives and rewards is the most common and powerful barrier to effective collaboration. Yet, most talent management systems are designed to reward individual achievement, not team accomplishments,” says Kevin Martin, Chief Research Officer, i4cp. “Finding ways to recognize and reward individuals, leaders, and teams who engage in productive collaborative behaviors can pay off in a big way.” Communicate expectations for collaboration. It’s easy to be a cheerleader for collaboration, but without clear direction, it can be challenging for employees to understand what to do. From the start, set your expectation for collaboration as a minimum standard. Even better, it should be part of your onboarding process so that potential recruits know you prioritize teamwork. Employees' job descriptions should include details about their own individual roles, as well as roles they're expected to carry out collaboratively. By differentiating these, you're setting clear boundaries between what they should be taking personal responsibility for, and what they need to work on collectively. Define the company culture. If a company culture is well-designed and supported, it should truly represent the behaviors and actions of employees throughout the organization. Create a slide deck and supporting materials that define the mission, vision, and core values of the company. These points should act as a guiding resource for employees and can be especially powerful when managing communications and challenges. Celebrate wins often. Especially when dealing with long-term or complex projects, it’s not always easy for employees to appreciate the achievements they are making along the way. Teams can benefit from taking time to celebrate wins and milestones together in a formal or informal setting. These celebrations can be small, as any chance to recognize and appreciate effective team collaboration is valuable.Focus on Communication to Improve Collaboration at WorkEncourage active listening. Part of the challenge in facilitating effective workplace communication is balancing discussions among different team members. This can be particularly difficult when dealing with different cultures, personalities, and challenging topics. Helping employees, and especially managers, develop their active listening skills can help everyone feel heard and more involved. Communication format matters. When the need to communicate some information arises, think carefully about the format you use to share it. Some communications may work best as text messages, while others are more suitable for an email or phone call. Particularly important or sensitive information may also require a meeting to allow for questions and discussion to clear up any confusion and ensure everyone is on the same page. Don’t neglect asynchronous communication. Asynchronous communication involves information that is shared at different times. One example would be a post made on a company message board that others can respond to at any time. Many collaboration platforms include features that enable this form of communication. Asynchronous communication can be particularly effective for remote teams and those working across multiple time zones. Adopt hybrid communication models. One of the best ways to foster communication and enhance collaboration is to give employees a number of tools to communicate with each other. Utilizing several tools such as email, chat or messaging, video, and a company intranet will allow employees to communicate information in a way that is effective for them. And if you have plug-in tools that provide specific tips or suggestions for collaborating with particular teammates, even better! This makes it easier for everyone to share insights at any time and contribute to an individual, team, or corporate discussion. Organize next steps and feedback. When employees collaborate to develop a new strategy or review an important document, they can share ideas in a number of different ways. After the work of brainstorming and sharing is done – i.e. the meeting – set clear expectations for processing the notes and feedback to avoid creating a backlog of partially developed ideas that go nowhere. Asynchronous collaboration tools are an essential asset but need to be well-managed to get the most value out of the communications, and importantly, move the project along.On a final note, don’t underestimate the benefits of informal collaboration. You can certainly accomplish a lot in meetings and formally organized work activities, but most of the real work gets done between employees themselves. Whatever you can do to Make it easy for your team members to get together or communicate more effectively not only helps improve collaboration, but also will allow many of them to forge long-term or even lifelong relationships.  If teams are important for your organization, you need to do what you can to facilitate their effectiveness. Make sure open communication exists. Create opportunities for all voices to be heard. Connect with the shared values that unite the team. Effective collaboration is one of the biggest drivers of success in modern organizations. Following these expert tips will help you implement the right processes and technologies to enhance collaboration and incentivize effective collaboration among individuals, teams, and leaders.

Read more
3 Ways to Power Employee Engagement Beyond the Survey
3 Ways to Power Employee Engagement Beyond the Survey

So you've rolled out your employee engagement survey and find yourself with some interesting insights! Now what? If you’re not sure what to do with that data, you’re not alone. Most companies don't know how to operationalize these insights to truly improve performance and the employee experience. But there’s not a moment to spare right now. In a trend that kicked off in 2021, more than 47 million people quit their jobs last year, and a record-breaking 4.5 million Americans quit in March alone (BLS), amounting to 3.0% of the workforce. Without a strategy for putting your employee engagement survey insights to work and a roadmap for operationalizing your culture , you may keep losing employees. The Problem with Employee Engagement Surveys Originally a human resources concept, employee engagement has taken on broader context and value in the modern workplace, serving as a measure of employees’ dedication and enthusiasm for their job, managers, co-workers, and the organization.  However, HR departments often find it difficult to get employees to complete these employee engagement surveys. Sometimes, when workers do fill them out and HR discovers a department has a morale problem, it can be just as difficult to get those workers to speak up and explain why they're unhappy. There’s good reason for that. Employee engagement surveys, and the way they're administered, tend to have flaws that either prevent leaders from truly understanding morale at their companies, or from doing much to lift morale if it's low. Many surveys ask information about the respondent’s department, general title, compensation level, years with the company, and so on – making anonymity unlikely. Often, employees suspect that managers will easily figure out which replies were from whom, casting doubt on how honest a respondent might be. So if a survey reveals widespread discontent in a department or across the company, whether a leader will be able to address employee concerns will depend on how candid workers feel they can be with that leader. Surveys tend to serve as a poor substitute for daily face-to-face communication. The idea should be to create enough trust such that people can speak up without having to hide behind surveys.  Your employee engagement survey will only be as successful as the effort and ability for post-survey culture change. When leaders do learn of morale problems through surveys, their reactions can range from denial and defensiveness to an embracing attitude that looks at the results as a baseline measure upon which improvements can be made. Better Ways to Foster a Culture of Feedback and Stronger Employee Engagement Use Shorter, Ongoing Feedback Channels: Use surveys to learn about your employees’ feelings on engagement. Let’s take a brief look at a couple of survey options:Pulse Survey Feedback: Organizations can frequently perform pulse surveys, which consist of 10-15 questions on a specific topic. These quick surveys don’t take much of your employees’ productivity time, but they give you a real-time reading of the mood throughout your organization. Career Mobility and Development Feedback: These types of surveys are typically peer-to-peer and subordinate-to-employee. They can help make the annual review process easier and more streamlined, but also provide valuable information on your employees’ career mobility plans. Employees now expect mobility and flexibility to move into different roles and to shape their workdays. But many employers do not create personalized progression plans for their employees.Conduct One-to-One Employee Interviews: Employee engagement interviews can be informal exchanges among managers or HR leaders and remote employees through phone calls or Zoom sessions. These might be helpful to conduct each month or quarter. They are an opportunity for employees to share any concerns, new ideas, comments, and for you to demonstrate that you hear and see the employee. These face-to-face check-ins can also help you nip problems in the bud – before they grow into mountains and this becomes an exit interview.  Encourage Virtual Break: Employees naturally form relationships at the watercooler or taking 15-minute walks together. In today’s way of working, encourage your employees to make these breaks virtual. Recommend setting up a Zoom coffee break or a Zoom walk via social media posts. Thanks to smartphones, people can enjoy break time with co-workers just as easily and regularly as ever, which will help build trust and stronger relationships – translating into better engagement.  Run Mood Meter Checks: Before the beginning of a meeting, ask everyone to respond with a quick phrase, single term, emoji, gif or meme to reflect a combination of their mood and personality – or ask for a rating between 1 to 10. These fun mood checks are low-key surveys without the intention of gathering feedback. Instead, these mood checks can be used to make sure everyone is having a good day and to see if you need to follow up with anyone after the meeting. Mix It Up With Games Thanks to today’s amazing technological tools, you can create a seamless work environment for everyone, no matter where they are. Suggest that employees participate in fun activities such as:Open mic sessions for singers, poets and comedians Scavenger hunts Gardening chats and seed-starting tutorials Interactive video games Team triviaReal-Time Communication & Collaboration Tools for Better Connection: One of the biggest sources of employee frustration and discontent is a lack of connection and ability to collaborate effectively with teammates. With a communication & collaboration plugin to your already existing daily communication tools – Gmail, Outlook, Zoom, Teams, and Slack, you have access in real time to:Tips to better understand team members’ learning styles, motivations, and values An ability to create a more equitable and engaging experience for remote team members  Actionable emotional intelligence data that helps team members work better with one anotherThe Next Step: Operationalizing Engagement In addition to these tactics, consider what technology can do for you when it comes to putting your employee engagement survey insights to work. This means taking the challenges you uncovered during your employee engagement survey and identifying WHY employees feel this way and HOW to improve it. What are the behavior, motivators, and work energizers that have led to your survey results -- the why? Knowing if your team members are content or not, engaged or not, is not all that helpful. And it also does not help align your culture to business strategy, which is essential if you want to improve organizational performance. That's where Humantelligence comes in. We help you understand the why and then provide the insights needed to align culture to strategy for a team, a functional group, a division, or the entire organization. In the end, team members who are engaged and connected with their organization tend to feel that their position and efforts in the company make a difference. This feeling can inspire them to stay with the organization longer. They also want to work in a role that matches their values and builds their skills.  The problem is, many employees are not in roles that match their skills or their values. Compounding that, employers are using a “warm body” approach to hiring, not considering the personality traits, motivations or skills of candidates. Because of that, employee frustration often comes through in the employee engagement survey results. Make sure employees are a fit for their role and that it aligns with their goals.  As a result, your team's performance and productivity will improve.

Read more
5 Ways to Create a Feedback-Friendly Team Environment & Why It Matters
5 Ways to Create a Feedback-Friendly Team Environment & Why It Matters

Whether good or bad, feedback is one of the best ways for us to know if we’re doing something right or wrong. And while it's a must for a healthy culture, still not every business has guidelines about when or how feedback is provided. A strong feedback culture welcomes feedback and uses it to foster the growth of individuals, teams, and the organization. In a feedback-friendly culture, employee voices are valued. And to become more effective and fulfilled at work, people need a keen understanding of their impact on others and the extent to which they’re achieving their goals. That’s called feedback, and direct feedback is the most efficient way for them to gather this information and learn from it. Typically, this information -- what we like to call intel on our efforts -- comes in three forms: Appreciation...recognition for great work. Appreciation connects and motivates people, and it’s vital since intrinsic motivation is one of the critical factors for higher performance. Coaching for Continuous Improvement...helping someone expand their knowledge, skills and capabilities. Coaching is also an opportunity to address concerns, feelings, or ideas, which helps balance and strengthen relationships. Evaluation...more formally assessing someone against a set of standards, aligning expectations and informing decision-making. Why a Feedback Culture is Important Even people who aren’t interested in or skilled at giving or receiving feedback will participate in the process and improve when they’re working in a feedback-rich environment. On the flip side, even the most ardent and capable of feedback champions will give up if the organizational or team culture doesn’t support their efforts. So in addition to helping your more reserved team members improve, feedback carries with it a slew of benefits. Here are just three of the most important. Feedback Saves Time, Money & Resources It’s estimated that a company of 10,000 employees spends a staggering $35 million a year to conduct performance appraisals. Yet 9 in 10 managers are dissatisfied with how their companies conduct annual performance reviews, and nearly 90 percent HR leaders say the process doesn’t yield accurate information. Moreover, the average manager spends about 210 hours a year on activities related to reviews. That’s more than 26 work days. However, when you supplement performance reviews with ongoing, real-time feedback, you can help ease the pressure and expense of the annual review. When you think about performance reviews, it’s really just an aggregation of all the feedback data an employee should have received throughout the year.  Better Performance in a Feedback Culture Now, imagine the loss in productivity throughout that year when that employee doesn't receive ongoing intel on his/her efforts throughout the year. When you save it for an annual performance review, you're missing out on opportunities where your employee could have been improving. When employees enjoy their work, understand their goals, and know the values and competencies of the job, performance increases. The link between effective feedback and productivity has been well established. One study found that 69 percent of employees would work harder if they felt their efforts were better recognized. Continuous feedback helps align goals, clarifies expectations, and motivates employees. It also creates a positive workplace, one dedicated to encouraging people to be better will improve the level of performance and employee engagement. Strengthened Interpersonal Relationships Engaging in open feedback and dialogue with colleagues, recognizing efforts after a job well done, and helping employees meet their goals will help create meaningful workplace relationships. Fostering these types of relationships among employees is a driver both for improved collaboration within and across teams as well as for retention.  Once a foundation of feedback has been set, sustaining it will become easier with each feedback conversation. Here's how the experts say to do it. How to Build a Continuous Feedback Culture To foster an environment of both personal and professional growth, people need to feel safe about giving and receiving feedback. A feedback culture is a fluid, two-way exchange between employees as well as employees and management. The end goal is a safe space where employees feel comfortable voicing their concerns, suggestions, and advancement plans while employers are equally able to express constructive feedback.A healthy feedback culture is one where feedback is the norm rather than a signal that something is wrong. That means when improvements are needed, asking for change won’t come off as awkward or out of the blue for either staff or employers. Instead, you’ll be able to enhance business processes while empowering employees to excel in their roles. Here are some ways you can start embedding a continuous feedback culture into your workplace.Set and reinforce expectations during onboarding, performance reviews, manager 1:1s, town halls, and department meetings for giving, receiving, and using constructive feedback. Train people to focus on the quality of the feedback. It’s worth noting that there is a difference between good and bad feedback. Encouraging people to say "good job" isn't going to improve employee performance or build an effective feedback culture. Building a culture of feedback starts with providing meaningful feedback - that is, feedback that is behavior based (not trait-based), forward looking (instead of backward), objective, continuous, in real-time and direct. Create multiple channels for giving and receiving feedback...like newsletters, email inboxes, surveys, town halls, office hours and more. Some folks like to write it out, while others prefer vocalizing -- be inclusive of how you solicit and provide feedback. Couple feedback with recognition so that employees associate feedback with a positive form of reinforcement. It will help reinforce the kind of behaviors that are helping move the organization. Make it routine. When feedback happens routinely, it becomes expected. Hold employees accountable by incorporating feedback giving and receiving KPIs. Ensure that managers are having regular feedback conversations and check-ins with their direct reports. Moreover, encourage employees to ask and share feedback.As a rule of thumb, more frequent, directionally correct but incomplete feedback outperforms more detailed and accurate but less frequent feedback. This means that consistency and iteration are what makes feedback good. When asking or giving feedback, many refer to the 30/60/90 Feedback Framework. It states that one should receive feedback when a task is 30% complete, again at 60% complete, and finally at 90% complete. Transforming your culture into one built on continuous feedback can propel your teams to approach tasks from a different perspective and find new solutions to your company’s biggest challenges. And the first step in your culture transformation is a team culture mapping, where we’ll help you unlock the behaviors, motivators, and work energizers of your team so you can empower better performance.

Read more
Angry & Overloaded? Read This Before Your Next Email
Angry & Overloaded? Read This Before Your Next Email

Overwhelmed with Internal work emails? Yes! Too aggressive, too many, not enough, no response, or maybe just too many of the dreaded reply-all — you name it, as senders and receivers of emails, we have made ourselves miserable. People get dozens, even hundreds, of emails a day, and it’s easy to miss a thread—or just plain ignore them — not that you would! And we’ve all been there before…the premature Send of a strongly worded email that might just not go over so well. Generally, experts agree that about 130 business emails are sent and received each day per person. And with more people suddenly finding themselves working from home or in distributed teams, not only have digital communication tools been pushed to the forefront as a primary means of communication, but it’s become all too easy to hide behind our keyboards. Where you might usually speak to someone in person to organize a meeting or find a quick answer, remote working means making do with digital substitutes -- email being the number one fallback. As more and more folks enter the job market -- and new kind of workforce -- email continues to get complicated. According to Gretchen McCulloch, internet linguist and author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, “I think it's a misconception that everyone in the modern workplace knows how to email, especially younger people.” She points out that people who got online after the rise of social media may never have emailed socially, instead becoming accustomed to the norms of other digital messaging formats, such as chat or social media posts. “People who have been online for 10 or even 15 years haven't been exposed to routine professional emails — routine emails for trying to accomplish tasks between people in a professional context." Further, in a recent study on the effects of email, a team led by researchers from the University of California-Irvine, hooked up forty office workers to wireless heart-rate monitors for twelve days. They recorded the subjects’ heart-rate variability, a common technique for measuring mental stress. They also monitored the employees’ computer use, which allowed them to correlate email checks with stress levels. What they found: The longer one spends on email in a given hour the higher is one’s stress for that hour. In another study, researchers placed thermal cameras below each subject’s computer monitor, allowing them to measure the tell-tale “heat blooms” on a person’s face that indicate psychological distress. They discovered that batching inbox checks—a commonly suggested “solution” to improving one’s experience with email—is not necessarily a panacea. For those people who scored highly in the trait of neuroticism, batching emails made them more stressed, perhaps because of worry about all of the urgent messages they were ignoring. The researchers also found that people answered emails more quickly when under stress but with less care—a text-analysis program called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count revealed that these anxious emails were more likely to contain words that expressed anger.  So when the number of emails sent and received in a day continues to rise -- only to be further complicated by varying email user levels -- your job as a sender (and receiver) becomes more challenging. The truth is that some emails are more effective—and likely to get a response—than others. Your email will be noticed and get the attention it deserves when it is written appropriately and geared to your audience. No matter what field, industry, or user level, a better email experience is imperative -- both from productivity and mental health standpoints -- and knowing how to write effective emails that achieve your goals is more vital than ever. When you’re writing an email, you want to do everything in your power to ensure the recipient sees, opens, reads, and feels compelled to act on it the way you’re hoping. Here are the email basics, some refreshers for those more seasoned senders, and a couple superstar tips for everyone! The Anatomy for an Email No matter what your email is about, they can all be broken down into the same basic components. Depending on the situation, you might not need to use all of these elements, but consider each one carefully based on your goals. Subject Line NEVER send an email without a subject line! If you do, there's a high likelihood it will remain unopened, whether the reader skips over it or it lands in their junk folder. Ideally, you write the whole email, then you write the subject line by looking at the email and saying ‘what is the three to seven-word summary of this entire email?’ This means the recipient can easily see what the email is about, whether any action is required, and how urgent it is that they respond.  Protip! McCulloch emphasizes the need to think of the other person when you’re choosing your subject line. For external emails, including their company name may be helpful for you as a unique identifier, but the name of your company will likely do more to distinguish it from other emails in their inbox. “A lot of people use search these days rather than folders to find old emails, and for search, you want to have your keywords, especially in the subject line,” she says. When in doubt or strapped for time, just be sure to clearly state what your message is about and set the right expectations. Stay away from subject lines that just say “Hello” or “Please read” unless you know the person well. The only time you don’t need to write a subject line is if you’re responding to or forwarding someone else’s message: In this case, you can just leave the existing subject line—unless you want to highlight a specific deadline or action item. Greeting You probably wouldn’t walk up to someone at work and just start talking about the report that’s due without saying “Hi” or even their name. Right? And in the new age of remote work where it’s likely you might never meet colleagues face-to-face, you probably shouldn’t do it over email either, and you definitely shouldn’t do it if you’ve never communicated with the person before. Start your message with an appropriate salutation (most commonly “Hi,” “Hello,” or “Dear”) and the recipient’s name. In most workplace communications, a first name only is just fine, unless the person works for a more formal company where using their full name might be more appropriate. Including a first or full name (if formality is warranted) is always better than accidentally mis-gendering somebody with a “Ms.” or “Mr.” For formal communications, particularly with people who have earned doctorates, it’s always a nice touch to include Dr. Body This is where you actually write the information that you want to send the person you’re emailing. Every email has a body, whether it’s a single word (“Thanks!”) or paragraphs (and paragraphs, and more paragraphs)—but please don’t make it too long! For professional emails, make sure that you keep your language appropriate for the situation and clearly state why you’re sending the message and what (if any) action you’re hoping the recipient will take after reading.  Don’t be afraid to use formatting for emphasis — colors, underline, or bolding — to call out particularly points, actions, or important dates. As we all know, CAPS are NEVER good. Now if you really want to get a response from your recipient, tailor the email! Make sure you deliver information in a way that speaks to them, in ways they learn or take in info best. How? Well, you need to know their EQ — and with a simple email plug-in, it’s right at your email-writing fingertips. See more in our tips section! Closing & Signature Your email closing is the (usually single) line before your name and/or signature. Skipping this can come off as rude or abrupt, so be sure to include one unless you’re emailing with someone you know well or you’re several emails into a thread. The most common professional email closings are “Best” and “Thanks.” Boomerang has done some work on closings that get the most replies here. But you can definitely change it up based on your preferences and the circumstances. Also, if you know your recipient well and she/he knows you well, a comedic closing -- especially for those long-winded but ever necessary novel-length emails -- is always entertaining. My go-to for my most verbose messages is always a classic: “Anyway.” When it comes to the signature, you typically end with your name as sign-off followed by your block of contact information. As recent trends suggest, always feel free to include your pronouns as part of your email signature. This helps create a culture where people can bring their full selves to work and gives people transparency into how you should be addressed. Email Tips & Reminders Here are a few tips and recommendations to make sure your emails are effective. If you want tips and trick for internal work emails -- those 1:1 colleague communications or emails to managers, bosses, departments, or company-wide -- get our quick tips in this 5-minute video on writing better emails today! Keep It Concise If sifting through your inbox in the early morning or late evening -- in between all the other work! -- you’re probably more likely to respond in the moment to something that’s a few short paragraphs at most as opposed to something that’s much longer. Keep your emails short and to the point as much as possible with a clear ask. Add a Personal Touch & Get Emotional Because you want to be concise, and written messages can sometimes lack tone, email can feel abrupt, but this is easily fixable. Being professional doesn’t mean you need to be robotic. So before you jump into the meat of your message, provide a quick pleasantry or find a common interest on which to comment...think sports, arts, family, hobbies, etc. You should also take it a step farther and flex your emotional intelligence muscle. Before you click send, take one last precautionary step to make sure your email lands just right! One of the most important, yet overlooked, tools in the email writing toolkit is EQ, and as we move into more long-term remote and hybrid work models, it’s going to be imperative to infuse emotional intelligence into your communications to optimize likelihood of response and action. With a simple plug-in, you (and the rest of your colleagues) will have the kind of communication-rich information needed to not only write better emails but also collaborate more meaningfully with one another.  Imagine being able to click on a recipient's address and see real-time tips and recommendations for communicating, motivating, and influencing them. Imagine seeing this same information in aggregate for a group meeting. Imagine knowing who best to tap on for specific asks, for helping lead certain initiatives, and who might benefit from a heads up on certain items — all of which takes into account your recipients’ behaviors, motivators, and work energizers in an easy-to-understand way. Some have called it “a transformational tool for remote work that allows for informed collaboration and communication.” Some might even say it’s the best-kept future of work secret that will help you communicate and collaborate better, understand individual and collective communication insights, and figure out how to re-energize the collaborative juices for teams who may have never met in person — and for purposes of this article, get your emails opened and acted upon!  State Your Intent In all email messages, explicitly say why you’re emailing in the first couple lines. Don’t make the reader guess at your point. At the end of your email, you might also include a call to action such as “Can you get me feedback on this deck by X day?” or even a clear statement that ‘no action is needed, just keeping you in the loop’ is helpful. Be sure the recipient comes away with the right information. Duh, Proofread! If you’re sending multiple emails a day, it can be easy to overlook this step (guilty as charged!), but you should be re-reading all (okay, maybe just the most important!) emails for spelling and grammar. This probably isn’t necessary for notes to colleagues you email multiple items a day, but for particularly important or delicate emails, it might help you catch that embarrassing typo or mistake before you hit send. Also to note, technically correct grammar and punctuation may be essential for someone working in publishing, for example, whereas people in another industry may take a less formal, more chatty approach. Regardless, correct grammar never fails. Make Sure Email Is the Right Avenue Just as important as knowing how to email, is knowing when not to do it at all. Sometimes a phone or video call is better if the topic is complex or sensitive. While a well-written and concise email is effective and allows the reader to respond in their own time, a phone call can sometimes take the place of multiple emails while getting much more accomplished and building a stronger relationship. An immediate answer might also be necessary given the situation and, because email volumes are skyrocketing, consider a direct chat. And as a final tip, emailers should always bear in mind that their messages may well end up in front of a much larger audience than they anticipated, whether through legal discovery, a leak, hack, or the dreaded un-anticipated forward.

Read more
Strategies And Tools For Improving Employee Performance
Strategies And Tools For Improving Employee Performance

Each employee within a company has the power to boost a company's success. For better or worse, the inverse is also true: Each employee has the power to drag down productivity and the organization's bottom line. Business leaders have become increasingly focused on finding strategies to improve the performance of employees to better serve and delight customers. At some point, each business leader needs to devise a high-functioning HR performance improvement plan that gets results. If you're struggling to develop an action plan for non-performing employees, it's probably time to take a deeper look at the issue to discover the right performance improvement plan (PIP) for your organization. Keep reading to learn how a PIP can help streamline your employee performance improvement process. What Is an Employee Performance Improvement Plan? A PIP can become a powerful tool to help struggling employees succeed or let ambivalent employees go for immediate issues and any thereafter. You might think of it as an on-the-spot, essential performance evaluation.  When you and your managers become painfully aware of a recurring or worsening employee performance issue, you must resolve the issue quickly and effectively. More employers today are relying on performance improvement plans, which are formal template documents that feature details regarding the specifics of your employee's performance issues. Further, it gives you the opportunity to create a clear list of goals that the poorly performing employee needs to succeed and a timeline to allow him or her to reach those goals. A performance improvement plan isn't always (nor should it be) a negative experience for an employee. Many employers also use it to help driven employees determine and plan professional goals and create measurable steps to achieve those goals.  How to Determine If Employees Should Face a Performance Improvement Plan Here are key steps to take to determine whether a PIP is warranted for your troublesome employee:Analyze the various possible factors regarding if the employee is not doing his or her job or meeting your organization's standards. Remove external factors, such as an unclear job description or requirements, miscommunicated professional standards, or issues and incompatibilities with management and co-workers.Once you go through these steps to conduct evaluations, you should move forward with a performance improvement process. What Are the Benefits Your Organization Might Experience With a Performance Improvement Plan? Employee turnover is expensive. You probably want to avoid termination and searching for a new employee. A performance improvement plan can help you correct a poor attitude, behavior or performance. Your employee might be experiencing personal turmoil. A PIP can help this individual see that his or her performance and productivity are failing. Your employee gets the chance to course-correct, and you keep a quality employee on board and avoid needing to invest in a recruiting mission. What Are the Components and Requirements That Comprise a Performance Improvement Plan? Performance improvement plans include numerous steps that your employee needs to follow to improve his or her work performance. That said, it helps for you to understand and follow some integral steps:Meet with and discuss the performance issue with the employee, letting him or her know you want him or her to succeed. Create achievable goals, such as hitting a certain sales figure or contributing input during team meetings, according to a set timeline. Maintain communications with the employee during the PIP process, providing accolades for improvement and questioning any lack thereof. Ask if the individual needs additional training or other assistance to facilitate his or her success. Evaluate the outcome when the deadline arrives. Make this meeting a discussion regarding how the employee feels about the process and outcome. Prepare to continue the improvement process. If you feel the employee is unlikely to succeed, you might consider an alternative solution, such as a transfer, demotion or termination.What Steps Do You Need to Take to Create the Improvement Plan? When determining that an employee is continually experiencing issues meeting deadlines, cooperating with team members, or providing customer satisfaction, it's time to create a performance improvement plan. Here are some actions to take at that point:Review the employee's job description and expected performance. Analyze the times when the employee has fallen short and any notable circumstances surrounding the issue. Consider what might help the employee succeed, thereby creating a path to improved positivity and productivity.When Is the Improvement Plan Needed? You can usually detect when someone is struggling to fit in with the corporate culture. You might also have a gut feeling when someone has checked out and doesn't care about his or her position anymore. Nevertheless, you can't let detection and gut feelings rule your strategic decision-making. Here are some instances when you should implement a performance improvement plan:Your company has taken on the PIP process as a means of dealing with performance issues. Your organization has no detailed prescription in your employee handbook for managing performance issues. You believe your employee is worth the effort that goes into a PIP due to a history of strong performance and a positive attitude. Your employee is experiencing personal challenges, and you want to offer him or her an opportunity to improve.Humantelligence Provides a Highly Effective Three-Step Process Humantelligence will help you improve employee performance without the stress and disruption that sometimes accompanies such a task. We offer a three-step performance improvement plan process that allows you to achieve a high-performing culture where everyone gets the opportunity and encouragement to shine. Our platform is here to help you measure and manage existing employees' performance levels. With our help, you can also hire employees whose attitudes align with your company culture. Our employee performance improvement plan consists of the following:Step One: Our quick and comprehensive culture self-assessment tool was designed to uncover your employees' and prospective employees' work motivators, behaviors, ideal work styles and life priorities. Step Two: Manage and optimize your workplace culture using data meant to culturally align your employees at the team, group, functional, organizational and departmental levels. Your accumulated data can help you understand why teams do or do not perform, and help you find ways to spur them to course-correct. Step Three: Hire effectively by using our talent fit tool and team analytics to find and hire prospects faster, speeding the process by 80%. Our talent management and development tool offers strategies and analytics to help you make the right decisions at every point in the employee improvement process.Ready to turbo-boost employee performance to improve everyone's attitude, confidence, conduct and achievements? Contact Humantelligence today.

Read more
The Best Team Assessment Tools Help You Understand Your Team Dynamic
The Best Team Assessment Tools Help You Understand Your Team Dynamic

Collaboration makes the world go round, and having teams that consist of people whose dynamics work well together and are constantly working to improve themselves are key to sustaining business success. As an L&D and people leader, you likely already have an overall perspective on your team’s productivity and how it impacts the company's financial goals, but do you truly know what motivates and empowers your team to succeed? Do you know your team dynamic? The best team assessment tools will help you answer those questions. The Best Team Assessment Tools Measure Your Team Dynamic Successful teams must be agile. However, it’s impossible to be an agile team without fully understanding employees' behaviors, motivators, work energizers and the kind of work that truly engages them. Without this baseline knowledge, you run the risk of having a team that lacks problem-solving, seems disengaged, and exhibits poor team dynamics. For example, let’s say you are onboarding a new executive team member. Everyone on your existing team is a self-starter and decisive in their actions. Your new team member, on the other hand, is more team-oriented and deliberate. While the rest of your team is independently working on their initiatives, your new team member is trying to get feedback and approval from others. This disconnect between the new hire and the existing team may cause the new person to feel like they don’t belong and that they can’t engage with the rest of the team. Because of this, the new hire may decide this isn’t the right role for them and leave, ultimately leading to lost time, resources, and finances for the rest of the team. Understanding a Team Dynamic Archetypes are universal, inborn models of people, behaviors, or personalities that play a role in influencing human behavior. They were introduced by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who suggested that these archetypes were archaic forms of innate human knowledge passed down from our ancestors. In Jungian psychology, the archetypes represent universal patterns and images that are part of the collective unconscious.  Jung believed that we inherit these archetypes much in the way we inherit instinctive patterns of behavior. He identified four major archetypes but also believed that there was no limit to the number that may exist. Of the four main archetypes described by Jung, one was the persona -- or how we present ourselves to the world. The word "persona" is derived from a Latin word that literally means "mask." It is not a literal mask, however. The persona represents all of the different social masks that we wear among various groups and situations. Over the course of development, we adapt and behave in certain ways in order to navigate society's expectations and norms. In practical application, an employee persona derives from this thinking and is the sum of one’s psychometric self-assessment. This sum is called a Humantelligence talent profile and details a team member’s behaviors, motivators or values, work energizers and life priorities -- using three primary business archetypes or personas. All together, the best team assessment tools take your team members' assessments into account and show you your team culture. The Benefits of Measuring Your Team's Dynamic Like the traditional customer/buyer persona, your employees’ talent profiles -- and their dominant personas -- are valuable on many levels -- and unlike the buyer’s persona, your employees’ persona summary is specific, personalized, and measured. As a result, use of this kind of data is nearly limitless. Here are just a few of the high-impact ways employee talent profiles are valuable. Greater Self-Awareness Once reserved for the executive level and requiring extensive consultation and workshops, deep insight into how you prefer to think, engage, and apply one's self is available for all employees. It’s that kind of self-awareness -- when people better understand their success factors and are more deeply engaged in their work -- that helps them leverage their strengths and more easily identify the kinds of opportunities that best align with their professional motivators and career goals. Accurate self-knowledge is the key to getting what you want out of life. And with a talent profile that goes deep into your behaviors, motivators, work energizers, and life priorities, employees can see their tendencies in real-life action and get the right guidance to help them achieve your goals. Improved Team Collaboration & Coaching So you’ve helped your team members become more aware of their tendencies. Great!  Now, it’s time to leverage these predominant behavioral themes for your team to achieve better communication and collaboration -- and that starts with elevating emotional intelligence across your team.  Imagine being able to take emotional intelligence insights from your team members’ profiles and put them right where employees communicate most often -- think meetings, chat, and email. You’re probably already using communication technology like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, and more! But you’re probably not optimizing your use of those tools by integrating  emotional intelligence for your team. With a simple integrated plug-in, you can give your staff the kind of information needed to better communicate and collaborate with one another -- based on their talent profiles & personas -- taking all of the guesswork out of it and allowing them to spend time on the work that matters.For example, imagine giving every employee a collaboration coach that helps them work more effectively with anyone! We call it the HT Coach, and it uses assessment insights and applies AI to help team members work better together. With the HT Coach feature, all you have to do is ask a question (or use the pre-loaded questions) about your colleague, and like magic, you have a response that will help you communicate more effectively with your teammate. Imagine the day-to-day leadership training you could instill while encouraging better connection and collaboration among employees! You can do the same for a team and gain insights into the makeup of your team in order to drive productivity. You’ll see your team’s similarities and differences -- the overall team dynamic -- on a continuum with team strengths highlighted and potential gap identified. This kind of information can help you finally manage the dynamics in a way to drives team effectiveness:Map current vs. target cultures for teams or the entire organization Pinpoint strengths and gaps to identify necessary shifts -- what do we need more of or less of Understand what work motivators contribute most to your team’s cultureThen, take those team culture analytics and apply them to your hiring plans. Resumes, LinkedIn, and educational backgrounds only tell some of the story. Besides being self reported, they are limited to only showing past experiences — whereas leveraging a psychometric-based talent profile more clearly reveals a person’s fuller potential when it comes to situational behavior, actions, opportunities for improvement, communication styles, and values — now and in the future. Building Stronger Teams More Efficiently For each role, region/geography, and department within the same company, the needs will be different and there is no out-of-the-box formula or one size fits all approach. Each individual you add or remove from the team will play a part in your culture’s evolution. That means it’s imperative to hire and train individuals who share or have demonstrated the values you have identified as paramount, believe in your vision, and are excited about the work your team is doing. Consider employing technology designed to help you identify your team's strengths and blind spots so you can build stronger, more engaged teams.

Read more
14 Steps to Becoming a Better Manager in 2025
14 Steps to Becoming a Better Manager in 2025

While it may be easier, to some, to lead a team that occupies the same office, acquiring and strengthening the skills associated with being a good manager for virtual or hybrid teams is more relevant than ever. The Future of Work is evolving, and the number of people who work remotely at least once per week has grown by an astounding 400% since 2010. In Robert Half’s August 2021 survey report of more than 2,800 senior managers, companies in cities most receptive to hybrid work -- including Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Pittsburgh -- have figured out that many employees are productive no matter where they’re sitting. Still, in Lattice's recent 2025 State of People Strategy Report, managers truly recognize the importance of staying connected with their teams. Most managers (78%) have daily or weekly check-ins with direct reports, and of those, 97% say they feel somewhat or very connected to direct reports. Managers who are meeting or exceeding their goals also report feeling very connected to
their team. Still, managers in these companies cite the complexities of supporting a distributed workforce long term, and indicate their top challenge as “communicating effectively with team members” quickly followed by helping staff avoid burnout. For them, being a good manager means addressing these items head on. So as teams settle into distributed work models, it’s clear that effective communication and collaboration can no longer remain dependent on in-person interactions. As a remote-first organization since its inception, we asked our Humantelligence Culture Success Coaches for their short but most impactful tips for better supporting hybrid and virtual team members. These quick tips are meant to enable better communication, collaboration, and team performance. Being a Good Manager Means Better Communication Demonstrate empathy any time the team member expresses a problem or frustration. Use The Empathy Formula to acknowledge the team member’s feelings based on facts. Here’s the formula: “It sounds like you’re (feeling) because/about (fact).” Here’s a real-life example: “It sounds like you’re feeling overwhelmed (feeling) because of the reduced number of people on the team (fact).”Establish a new one-on-one meeting routine.According to Lattice, most managers (78%) have daily or weekly check-ins with direct reports, and of those, 97% say they feel somewhat or very connected to direct reports. Managers who are meeting or exceeding their goals also report feeling very connected to their team. Have a scheduled meeting at least twice per week over video conference. If these meetings are currently less frequent, use the same amount of overall time divided up over more meetings. Always have your camera on and ask that the employee does the same -- it’s a way to build connection and drive resonance. Talk to your team members every single day. If a meeting is not scheduled, call them on the phone and talk to them. Sometimes just a quick check-in call is all it takes for some days. One of the most important elements of being an effective manager is keeping lines of communication open with your team members, especially when it has nothing to do with assignments or project statuses.  Do note that talking to a team member in a team meeting doesn’t count here, nor does exchanging texts or leaving voicemails. We have to put in the work! 2. Demonstrate your availability. End your meetings with your team member by encouraging the team member to contact you by phone or to request an unscheduled meeting. Always answer the call when possible. 3. Establish line of sight and continue to reinforce it. Ensure work assignments, expectations, and deadlines are perfectly clear. Break down current goals into smaller chunks that are measured on a more frequent basis. Find opportunities during your one-on-ones to talk about how the specific work they do contributes to a specific team or company objective. This is not as obvious to them as it might be to you. 4. Do not hold hybrid meetings. Being a good manager entails leveling the meeting playing field so all team members can contribute equally. This is a best practice in general, and particularly important for any struggling team members. If some of the team members are in the same location and some are remote, have the onsite team members split up and join from their own computers. It equals the playing field, and makes remote employees feel less on the outside. 5. Leverage a Culture Playbook Use Humantelligence at least once a week with your teams. The first step is deepening your understanding of the team member’s motivators and behavioral preferences to best know how to help them. Once you have a deeper understanding of his/her psychometric-based Talent Profile, use the one-on-one comparison tool to go over your and the team member’s similarities and differences, which will help the team member feel “seen.” Uncover how the team member’s unique strengths shown on their Talent Profile can be better put to work for the benefit of the team, and then tell them.  From here, you can then leverage the team culture playbook. Being a good manager entails taking stock of your team’s dynamics, monitoring it, seeking feedback on it, and then shifting, building, or sustaining it. The Playbook enables you to align culture to strategy so you can improve your team’s performance. It’s a simple three-step process to help guide you through driving better collaboration, inclusion, and team effectiveness more quickly. With ongoing and frequent assessment of your team’s culture, you’ll be well on your way to better engaging team members and ensuring optimal effectiveness. 6. Address Employee Burnout In today’s climate, employee burnout is inevitable. It’s everywhere, just recently classified as an occupational phenomenon by WHO, and felt by most at some point. In Visier’s survey of 1,000 full-time employees across the U.S., findings revealed:89% of employees report experiencing burnout over the past year 70% of employees would leave their organization for one offering resources to reduce burnout 42% of women feel uncomfortable talking to their boss about burnout, compared to only 30% of menGood managers remain on guard for signs of burnout, and more importantly, effective managers monitor some of the top causes for it and then actively address them. Root causes of burnout often include:Underlying team structures, such as the size of the team, how they collaborate, and how they get things done Atmosphere created within the team, such as the degree to which people communicate openly and are able to take risks Level of transparency in the organization, such as how readily leadership shares significant information with employees Organizational structures, like a lack of role clarity caused by:These causes often manifest themselves in some of the following ways.Unclear Job Requirements Impossible Deadline Requirements High-Stress Times With No “Down” Times Big Consequences for Failure Lack of Personal Control Lack of Recognition Poor CommunicationBeing a good manager requires you to adapt to the unique needs of your team – a team that may still be navigating the challenges brought on by Covid-19 – in order to create team cultures which value the whole individual, not simply the sum of their efforts. Below are ways to make culture shifts that can help better support and retain your employees.   7. Developing Sustainable Workloads Workload is often one of the top reasons employees cite when feeling burned out. Despite some reports showing that productivity went up as teams transitioned into remote work, leaders must not take it as a clear invitation to increase workloads. For many, throwing themselves into work was one way to cope with the vast unknowns which have characterized this year, and productivity levels may dip simply because they’ve been firing so hot for so long.  It’s also important to consider competing challenges employees may be facing, such as childcare or Zoom fatigue, and assign tasks and the complexity of the workload based on your assessment and each employee’s abilities.  8. Set Clear Performance Expectations High levels of stress due to performance expectations can often be solved by analyzing your teams in the current context. The abrupt shift to virtual teamwork created a lot of strain for individuals, and the pressures on teams will continue as companies shift their focus to how, if, and when to bring employees back to the office -- or completely transition its workforce model. Evaluate the makeup and status of your organization’s teams, giving consideration to both tasks and people. Are their objectives still relevant and are their timelines appropriate? Are you spreading certain individuals too thin by placing them on unnecessary teams? Or are there teams who need more resources to work more effectively? Approaching performance with curiosity can help organizations better identify problems and ease the pressure to perform.  Additionally, being a good manager requires that you give employees clear priorities can help them focus on what’s most important and balance their responsibilities. Ensure your teams have a solid understanding of goals or deadlines they’re expected to hit and feel empowered to weigh in on those expectations.   9. Good Manager Practice Balance With the boundaries between work and home blurring more than ever, cultivating a culture that prioritizes rest is critical. Rest goes hand in hand with innovation, creativity and results; however, the pandemic has made traditional travel fraught with challenges, if not impossible. Most employees continue to work with no vacation in sight and forget they can still use their paid time off, even if there’s nowhere to go. Remind them of the importance of taking a break.  It’s also important to adapt your notion of what constitutes a workday. For some, traditional work hours may still fit with a working-from-home landscape, while for others, a less-traditional schedule may do wonders for their wellbeing. Create ways for your teams to reflect on when they work best and adapt their workflow. Are they most inspired in the evenings after the kids are in bed? Do they need a couple hours between meetings to give themselves time to recharge? Be open to new timelines and structures, and lead by example.  Additionally, the increased reliance on virtual communications and home offices means that for many, it is more difficult to unplug and turn work off. Ask employees what rest looks like for them in this new landscape. Is it having a day of no meetings? Having cutoff times for phone calls? These small steps can be crucial in ensuring that your teams have the time and space they need to recharge.    10. Build employee commitment by actively encouraging feedback During any period of rapid change, all employees need to understand the company’s future vision and direction. An unknown future can make employees feel very unsafe and insecure. It could also lead them to imagine and predict outcomes that may (or may not) happen. Creating a culture of trust, transparency and openness is critical to reducing the stresses felt by today’s workforce. Last year was filled with uncertainties, so being a good manager means you must be open with your teams about the organization’s return-to-work plans and pivots in structure or projections can help give them a sense of control when it comes to childcare planning, personal financial decisions, and how they prioritize their tasks. With clear, regular updates from leadership, organizations can boost morale and increase employee engagement, as well as help their teams feel empowered to make well-informed decisions for themselves and their families.  Employees’ thoughts about work then become dominated by these fears. However, workers are reassured when their leaders encourage them to give feedback about new goals and strategies. They are also more likely to feel their thoughts are valued. And they will be more likely to commit to achieving new goals. The American Psychological Association’s Center for Organizational Excellence outlined the importance of communicating to prevent burnout, recommending “regular, ongoing opportunities to provide feedback to management.” Doing this allows leaders to recognize when it may be time to dial demands back and expand resources, such as child-care assistance and increased wellness and mental health support.   11. Connection and Engagement One of the toughest challenges currently facing companies is how to help mitigate their employees’ feelings of isolation. Feeling disconnected can compound stresses due to workload and performance, and with many organizations still fully remote or transitioning to remote-first, leaders must find new ways of inspiring authentic connection. Finding ways to allow for connection not related to workload is key. For some organizations, hosting virtual happy hours, trivia nights and even karaoke parties have been innovative ways they’ve created a culture of online fun. Slack can also be used for more than productivity — consider starting a channel that invites people to share birthdays, posts pictures of pets and funny WFH moments, and of course, share memes.   12. Good Managers Practice Active Listening Disgruntled employees often talk to each other. And this can create a subculture of resistance and poor performance. However, not all employees are willing to talk about their issues with their leaders, even though these issues may occupy a loud place on the office grapevine. By listening actively and compassionately to employee complaints, leaders can identify potential problems before they begin to affect team collaboration. 13. Create an honest, fair, and equitable culture across all levels Office politics can make work highly stressful. And they can get worse when people are working remotely, without face-to-face conversations. Problematic office politics can also violate your organization’s code of ethics and potentially expose the organization to legal problems. Strive in policy and practice to treat all employees honestly, fairly, and equitably. 14. Provide tools that help people develop Consider the opportunity to develop the communication, collaboration, and leadership skills of each of your employees -- without extra work or time. Using personalized virtual AI coaches built right into the tools employees use every day, you can drive more effective interactions that lead to more agile and productive teams. In the increasingly complex world of the Future of Work, being a good manager means we have to use technology, emotional intelligence, empathy, and communication as team leaders to build the person-to-person connection. Doing so is the definition of being a good manager because it makes our team members feel trusted and empowered to perform.

Read more
What You Might Be Getting Wrong with Personality Tests
What You Might Be Getting Wrong with Personality Tests

In the fast-paced realm of modern work, where remote and hybrid work arrangements are commonplace, the intricacies of collaboration have taken on a whole new meaning. Traditional personality tests, once heralded as the solution to understanding personalities and team dynamics, find themselves woefully inadequate in this landscape. The primary problem is that they lack accessibility because they aren’t seamlessly integrated into teams’ daily workflows. Even when accessible, personality tests demand interpretation and lose the essence of quick, actionable insights. Moreover, they focus merely on behaviors, overlooking the vital motivators, values, and work styles that drive individuals and teams. Yet, a more significant concern looms large — the emergence of AI, blurring the lines between professional evaluation and personal privacy. This article will explore strategies on how to use personality tests in team building through leveraging technology and AI to create and sustain effective team collaboration. A Quick History in Personality Tests in the Workplace The world of pre-hire and employee self-assessments is age old. Based on historically recorded information, the first pre-employment cognitive testing may have been used during the imperial examination in China, dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). Its use was standardized during the Song Dynasty (960 AD – 1279 AD) as a civil service exam for candidates wishing to enter the state bureaucracy. The imperial examination tested candidates’ knowledge on topics such as civil law and fiscal policy, and helped the nation transition from a military ruling class to a scholarly one.  Objective personality testing began with Woodworth's Personal Data Sheet in 1917. That test was developed to identify soldiers prone to nervous breakdowns during enemy bombardment as well as shell shock during World War I. Soon after, many competing personality tests were developed for use in American industry. Many of these tests focused on the construct of employee maladjustment and were deemed important in screening out applicants who would create workplace disturbances.  As time went on, many types of personality assessment tools were developed. One famous test used in the early 20th century was the MMPI, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Established as a way of determining psychopathology, it was used in some cases as a hiring assessment until the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stopped its use as a violation of the standards of non-discrimination. Another, established in 1943, was the MBTI or Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, and it has served as a popular assessment for a number of purposes, including executive development. It was inspired by the work of renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. While useful for staff development, it has demonstrated limitations in the selection of candidates. The use of other assessments and skills tests continues to proliferate the business world. Millions of workers take assessments each year as part of personnel selection, to improve collaboration and teamwork, and to identify next steps in a career path. On its own, personality testing is a $500 million industry, with an annual growth rate estimated at 10 to 15 percent.  Employers are continuing to use hiring, leadership, and employee mobility assessments to gather data points that will enable more informed decisions in the area most critical to the company’s success – its people. Making the wrong decision can be very expensive, so HR departments, executives, and team leaders rely on these tests – some with more success than others – even though most of these tools have failed to keep pace with the changing needs of today’s workforce. 3 Limitations of Most of Today’s Personality Tests Thankfully, assessment tools have evolved significantly since their early days. For example, the ability to take an assessment online, from anywhere in the world, has made them much more attractive than they once were, and algorithms can score tests quickly and easily. A wide variety of instruments can be used this way: Cognitive Ability Tests, Integrity Tests, Interviews, Job Knowledge Tests, and Personality Tests.  According to G2, there are 189 tools in the market – but that’s just a listing of pre-employment testing software! So while many of these tools are certainly continuing to evolve – albeit slowly – their limitations remain glaring, especially those in the personality assessment category.  To get any kind of value from these tools, many require external consultants or facilitators who are certified in particular assessment methodology. This then requires a highly manual implementation process whereby data is collected, aggregated, and analyzed by that consultant – and that takes time. This is why employer assessments have required an intermediary and remained within the domain of costly certified consultants. Personality tests are supposed to help you understand your team, build trust, establish psychological safety, and create an inclusive workplace culture. In remote or hybrid work environments, they fail to carry out that purpose for a few reasons:The test only measures behaviors, not what motivates an individual or team. Most assessments only measure behaviors and are vulnerable to multiple biases, misunderstandings, and interpretations with no chance of clarification. They're not sensitive to the employee's state of mind when the test occurs and may be biased due to the timing of its findings.  It fails to take into consideration change and adaptability. As an employee starts a job, they gain experience, try to develop every day, and subsequently adjust to correct previous shortcomings. These tests fail to allow room for that inevitable change and improvement. The results are not worth the expense. Assessments like the Myers-Briggs personality test and the Clifton Strengths test are costly and take a long time to be implemented. Additionally, further interpretation of the results can only be completed by a costly certified consultant or a psychologist.Common Challenges When Adapting to Remote or Hybrid Work Environments To complicate things, hybrid work environments are becoming the norm. This means employees must continue to get used to the mix of in-house and remote work and find ways to make virtual teamwork collaborative and successful. In trying to manage the hybrid workforce, here are some common challenges organizations encounter: Lack of connection: Remote teams mean personal and social connections are lost almost entirely. Members don't know their teammates, as there are no coffee breaks or lunch meetings where employees can sit together and break the ice. Mentorship and bonds between employees are hard to forge, and such a disconnect can make employees unhappy and less committed to the job. Lack of communication: Differences in how information should be relayed between workstations can be a big challenge. An example can be seen when a Gen Zer sends an email. Even if it contains lots of detail and information that a millennial recipient needs, it also has a lot of abbreviations and shorthand because that is how Gen Z likes to write. However, the millennial prefers more conceptual and formal communication and sees this email as unstructured, thereby ignoring it. The receiving person will likely delete the email and classify it as not worth reading, regardless of its vital information. Doing so leads to a loss in productivity and reaction time in completing that task. Lack of collaboration: Distributed team collaboration is a big issue within remote teams, as some employees might get left out of decision-making processes. Collaborating with remote teams takes more time and effort than with those who work together in person. This makes collaboration a big challenge in a hybrid work setting. It’s not all dismal though. Personality assessments can be very helpful in identifying the right kind of person for a role, to complement your existing team, or to help navigate conflict that currently exists on a team; and they can be particularly effective when aligning leadership teams. However, the most effective assessments are the one-stop shops that can serve multiple purposes at once: that is, use the data to hire and build more balanced teams, for leadership and team building, and to identify high potential employees and possible development and promotion paths.  How Do Technology & AI Improve the Impact of Psychometrics in the Workplace? Psychometric testing in the workplace through technology and AI acts as the glue that holds together different teams in the organization by helping boost connectivity. The following are just some of the many examples of how psychometric questionnaires paired with AI can enhance distributed team collaboration.Technology and AI connect all employees whether or not you've physically met them. They can track phone calls, virtual meetings, and related data to summarize when and how often people need to meet and connect. This helps to foster and potentially identify cultural aspects of the organization that are associated with productivity and performance. AI helps rewrite emails in various communication styles, all based on how the recipient likes to receive information – which reduces the friction among team members of different generations or backgrounds, thereby improving communication and mutual understanding within your workforce. It is responsible for suggesting and influencing virtual meetings for training, onboarding new members, and building good relationships – all based on actionable psychometric insights. Psychometric testing in the workplace builds an inclusive spirit by showing that differences can do wonders for teams that are willing to be open-minded and enhance efficiency. This diversity of thought leads to innovation and better problem-solving.Using Psychometrics in Your Existing Collaboration Tools In the digital realm, psychometric assessments are not just tools; they're catalysts in transforming remote and hybrid team dynamics. Imagine having essential insights at your fingertips, bridging the gap between colleagues you've met and those you haven't. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Utilize them for personalized email communication and AI-driven suggestions, crafting impactful 1-to-1 interactions. Leverage personality insights in meeting invites, empowering you to prepare in advance, supported by AI's tailored prompts. In virtual settings, these psychometric insights about team members can guide training, influence strategies, aid in onboarding new members, and foster cross-functional collaboration in ways unlike ever before There are many assessment tools and plenty of hybrid work technology out there that can help you identify great candidates, opportunities for manager and leadership development, or areas of strength and improvement for teams. However, not every tool can do all of these things in the same amount of time – unless it captures data in three key areas: behaviors, motivators, and work energizers – and then aggregates that data into actionable insights you can use to improve your teams. And we can help.

Read more
13 Ways to Work Effectively Across Teams
13 Ways to Work Effectively Across Teams

While it makes introverts and everyone who hated group projects in school cringe at the thought, collaboration in the workplace is essential. Still, working effectively across teams can sometimes be a challenge. Different teams may have varying priorities, communication styles, and work methods, all of which can impact how smoothly they work together. However, with the right strategies in place, teams can overcome these obstacles and work together harmoniously towards a common goal. In this article, we will explore the importance of working effectively across teams and share our top 13 tips for achieving success in cross-team collaboration. Why Cross-Team Collaboration is Important No team operates in isolation. In fact, many businesses are supported by distributed teams spread across different states or even around the world. According to a study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity and Rob Cross, the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Business at Babson College, high-performance organizations are up to 5.5x more likely than lower-performers to incentivize individual, team, and leader effectiveness in collaboration. The study of more than 1,100 companies—two-thirds of which include collaboration as a stated organizational value—found that the difference between productive and unproductive collaboration can be summed up in one word: purpose.  It’s the purposeful pursuit of collaboration that is the primary reason high-performance organizations, such as Patagonia, one of four companies highlighted in the study, can leverage collaboration to achieve desired business outcomes. Effective collaboration results from an effective company culture that is supported by management and embraces the entire organization. Simply think about the best team of which you’ve ever been a part. What made that team work? Was it the project? The people? The interpersonal dynamics? Did you enjoy being part of it? Did it bring out the best in you? Now think about the worst team you’ve ever been on. What made those experiences different? Collaborative teams equal enhanced productivity and results. When teams work, they work in the best of ways. But teamwork takes effort, and the reality is that teams can fall apart, break down and experience disruption for myriad reasons. In this post, we’ve combined the best ways to work within and across teams and put them all in one place so let's get to it. Be Strategic About Meetings to Improve Collaboration at WorkPrepare formal meeting agendas & keep communication styles in mind. If you’re leading a meeting or part of the team that called the meeting, keep in mind that some attendees might have a more reflective communication style, so if you want your meeting to be valuable and productive, proactively reach out to those team members ahead of the meeting to share specific topics in which you'd like them to contribute.  Defining a clear agenda for each meeting and considering the role of each person who is attending will help everyone involved understand how they can participate and what individual expectations entail. Not sure how to determine communication style?  No worries, there are tools for that.Observe and Model Best Practices for Building an Environment to Support Collaboration 2. Collaborate on the issue of collaboration. If the company culture dictates strong teams, take a look at the organization and see who else is doing it well. Talk to other managers about team dynamics, how they get people to collaborate and the behaviors they encourage. And make sure that you return the favor, sharing your own best practices and lessons learned. Don’t forget to look outside your company as well, talking with colleagues and mentors. You’d be surprised at how similar situations seem to come up across industries. 3. Create accountability around team performance, not just individual performance. This helps draw out the lone ranger team member and forces the team to work collaboratively toward common goals. If one person isn’t participating as a team member, the others won’t carry that person and a shift will start to take place. If there is one particular cynic, take that person aside and discover why there is conflict, too much independent work, or general derailing of teamwork. Depending on personality, you can either be very direct here or ask a series of “why” questions to get to the bottom of the situation. 4. Prioritize the employee experience. Seeing things from employees’ perspectives can help you learn a lot about work culture and some of the communication challenges that your company may be facing. Dedicating some time to explore employee experience and finding ways to improve both digital and physical work environments can go a long way towards making employees feel more satisfied and comfortable at work. 5. Create tech-driven collaboration spaces. Internet speeds and improvements in technology have made audio and video conferencing remarkably convenient these days. To foster more meaningful communication among employees, consider adding personalized communication insights to your meeting tools so everyone knows how best to communicate with one another. Making meetings more valuable for everyone involved goes a long way toward developing a strong collaborative work culture. 6. Promote learning and development.** **Many employees desire career advancement for the chance to apply their skills to new projects and learning opportunities, all of which contributes to effective and collaborative relationship building within the company. In fact, companies that encourage mindful risk-taking and learning from mistakes often realize greater innovation and workplace effectiveness. According to the July 2021 Monster Job Index:80% of professionals don’t think their current employer provides growth opportunities.  54% of employees fear they don’t have the skills they need to thrive in a workforce that emphasizes collaboration using technology.  49% of employees expect their employer to support career growth.How Leaders Can Improve Collaboration at Work 7. Set clear goals. Employees are more likely to collaborate with each other when they clearly understand their individual roles and the team goals that everyone is working toward. Well-defined goals give the entire team a sense of shared purpose and can help foster innovation and problem-solving. One clear sign of an effective team is one that can self-assess and identify issues that lead to meaningful improvements over time. 8. Provide team incentives. “The lack of incentives and rewards is the most common and powerful barrier to effective collaboration. Yet, most talent management systems are designed to reward individual achievement, not team accomplishments,” says Kevin Martin, Chief Research Officer, i4cp. “Finding ways to recognize and reward individuals, leaders, and teams who engage in productive collaborative behaviors can pay off in a big way.” 9. Communicate expectations for collaboration. It’s easy to be a cheerleader for collaboration, but without clear direction, it can be challenging for employees to understand what to do. From the start, set your expectation for collaboration as a minimum standard. Even better, it should be part of your onboarding process so that potential recruits know you prioritize teamwork. Employees' job descriptions should include details about their own individual roles, as well as roles they're expected to carry out collaboratively. By differentiating these, you're setting clear boundaries between what they should be taking personal responsibility for, and what they need to work on collectively. 10. Celebrate wins often. Especially when dealing with long-term or complex projects, it’s not always easy for employees to appreciate the achievements they are making along the way. Teams can benefit from taking time to celebrate wins and milestones together in a formal or informal setting. These celebrations can be small, as any chance to recognize and appreciate effective team collaboration is valuable. Focus on Communication to Improve Collaboration at Work 11. Encourage active listening. Part of the challenge in facilitating effective workplace communication is balancing discussions among different team members. This can be particularly difficult when dealing with different cultures, personalities, and challenging topics. Helping employees, and especially managers, develop their active listening skills can help everyone feel heard and more involved. 12. Don’t neglect asynchronous communication. Asynchronous communication involves information that is shared at different times. One example would be a post made on a company message board that others can respond to at any time. Many collaboration platforms include features that enable this form of communication. Asynchronous communication can be particularly effective for remote teams and those working across multiple time zones. 13. Adopt hybrid communication models. One of the best ways to foster communication and enhance collaboration is to give employees a number of tools to communicate with each other. Utilizing several tools such as email, chat or messaging, video, and a company intranet will allow employees to communicate information in a way that is effective for them. And if you have plug-in tools that provide specific tips or suggestions for collaborating with particular teammates, even better! This makes it easier for everyone to share insights at any time and contribute to an individual, team, or corporate discussion. In the end, whether your working within or across teams, following these tips will help you implement the right processes and technologies to enhance collaboration and incentivize effective collaboration among individuals, teams, and leaders. By establishing clear communication channels, fostering a culture of trust and mutual respect, and defining clear roles and responsibilities, organizations can leverage the unique strengths of each team, enhance collaboration, and achieve better results.

Read more