Communication

8 tips for having difficult conversations via videoconference

07/27/2021

Remote and hybrid work arrangements will almost certainly remain part of the management landscape in the months and years to come. That means it’s time to formalize ad hoc processes that emerged during the pandemic. Whether meeting with employees yourself or training supervisors how to interact with team members, these tips can make it easier to use Zoom for talking about matters that normally warrant face-to-face interactions.

How to keep remote workers engaged

07/22/2021

If you have any employees working remotely, it’s vital to take proactive steps to keep them engaged and connected to the organization. Here are steps that software provider Neocase implemented to help keep their remote employees engaged.

Less than half asked about return to work

06/24/2021

As organizations open their doors again, more workers say their employer has not asked for their feedback about return-to-work policies and procedures than those whose companies actually have asked.

Here, there, everywhere: Foster harmony and productivity with a hybrid workforce

04/22/2021

Flexible, hybrid arrangements allow for better safety precautions and relieve some of the chaos experienced by working parents with children e-learning at home. For managers, however, the set-up can prove a major headache. How can leaders improve the harmony of a hybrid workforce and perhaps save their own sanity?

Workplace unity: Keeping the peace amid strong opinions and emotions

02/12/2021

What can managers do to promote office peace and lessen the risk of threatening rhetoric occurring?

Using emojis in the workplace: A terrible idea?

01/28/2021

There’s a clear generational divide over whether it’s appropriate to use emojis in work communication.

It’s up to HR to foster workplace civility

12/03/2020

American society is as polarized as it has been in decades. We have just completed a bitterly divisive election. Public discourse and even private conversations are angry. That same coarseness can permeate the workplace unless employers intervene. But employers must be careful not to chill protected speech when they try to enforce civility.

Scuttlebutt may hold bits of truth

11/25/2020

Here’s a common situation: An employee informs you of a co-worker’s faults or misdeeds. Although most of the tale sounds like gossip, some details sound as though they could be true. Certainly you don’t want to support gossip, but you have to get at the truth. Try this approach.

Ensure remote work policy addresses tech

10/22/2020

About one in five employees works from home these days. Yet, too few employers have an effective telecommuting policy that addresses the technology issues that arise when employees use laptops and cell phones to work from home.

Managing pre- and post-election angst: 7 tips for HR

10/15/2020

Political discussions will happen among co-workers, just as they happen among families and friends. Thus, instead of trying to stop them, employers should be promoting ground rules that hold employees accountable for their behavior, focused around one key theme … civility.