Starting a new job always involves a "honeymoon" phase. This is a time when everything is wonderful, amazing and exciting. At some point the honeymoon ends and we are faced with the reality of our position.
Every job has it's ups and downs. The keys to more ups then downs are listed below. Some of you may agree with me and others may not. These are thing that I have observed along the way that have worked for me in creating an amazing work environment and retaining staff.
1. Take interest in your staff and co-workers ever day - As a boss take 2 min first thing in the morning to greet and interact with each staff member. Make them feel like a valuable member of the team and not just an "employee"
2. Have an "Open Door" policy - Keep your door open all the time and make yourself available to your staff.
3. Take a "time out" and do something out of the ordinary - Everyone can use a little stress management every now and again. Try a snowball fight in the winter, or bring treats for the morning coffee break... it's up to you
4. Take your lunch breaks - Create an environment of self care by setting the example. Encourage the staff to leave their offices to eat and enjoy the outdoors. Employees that practice self care are more productive.
5. Approve all Time off Requests - Better yet, create an environment of respect where by nobody asks for time off. The expectation is that ALL requests are approved. Now I know many of you are in strong disagreement with me. Here is the thing. Everyone has a personal life outside of work. Providing that proper notice is given, it is possible that everyone at some point will have to cover for another or "take one for the team" Employees that know that time off is never an issue will never have a reason to quit because of unapproved time off. I have personally implemented this strategy and found it highly successful when the environment is created that we all have to work together to cover for each other. It's worth a thought or two.
Most of all... HAVE FUN AND LAUGH AT WORK.
Now i know there are some of you thinking " too touchy feely for me.. I just want to go to work, do my job and go home...work is no place for friendships"
Well, my answer to that is, "You spend more time with your co-workers than you do your family. It is in your best interest to cultivate some sort of relationship with your coworkers. We work in a day and age that promotes a TEAM ENVIRONMENT. How can a team work together if they are not all on the same page??
Until Next time...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Who are you in a 1 liner?
There seems to be quite a few single people in my life all looking for their "special someone". Almost weekly I hear the words "Do you have any single friends?". This week I was asked for the first time to critique someones online dating profile. They asked me to provide feedback on their 1 liner to introduce themselves. I couldn't help but be just a little grateful that I am not "single and looking" as so many of my friends and family are.
I decided to enlist the help of my coworkers to come up with a good one liner. Although we are all in stable relationships, the focus quickly turned to what OUR one liners would be. Mine was "Gently Assertive, Slightly Dramatic and knows what she wants" What does that say to the dating world? We jokingly named our boss the "fiery red head with an iron fist" That was a good laugh. We spent a good 15 minutes joking about our online desirability based on one line.
Back to the friend and the profile..... The choice of website being used was not the best for an "urban professional who has the respect of a whole community" however I was told that is where the majority of people are. The website is a glorified online meat market but has the most singles for smaller cities.
Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but is this what it has come to? Meeting someone, talking to them for several weeks or months before having a face to face dinner? I guess I'm out of the loop. I've been with the same guy for over a decade. We met at summer camp as teenagers and had to write letters and make phone calls (before the days of unlimited long distance plans) . There was no text messaging or email or facebook (how did I ever survive?) but we got to know each other and after a few years got married and the rest was history. Do we txt and facebook now? All the time.. gotta keep up with romance somehow.
I have all the empathy in the world for the singles in my life.... better them than me.
I decided to enlist the help of my coworkers to come up with a good one liner. Although we are all in stable relationships, the focus quickly turned to what OUR one liners would be. Mine was "Gently Assertive, Slightly Dramatic and knows what she wants" What does that say to the dating world? We jokingly named our boss the "fiery red head with an iron fist" That was a good laugh. We spent a good 15 minutes joking about our online desirability based on one line.
Back to the friend and the profile..... The choice of website being used was not the best for an "urban professional who has the respect of a whole community" however I was told that is where the majority of people are. The website is a glorified online meat market but has the most singles for smaller cities.
Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but is this what it has come to? Meeting someone, talking to them for several weeks or months before having a face to face dinner? I guess I'm out of the loop. I've been with the same guy for over a decade. We met at summer camp as teenagers and had to write letters and make phone calls (before the days of unlimited long distance plans) . There was no text messaging or email or facebook (how did I ever survive?) but we got to know each other and after a few years got married and the rest was history. Do we txt and facebook now? All the time.. gotta keep up with romance somehow.
I have all the empathy in the world for the singles in my life.... better them than me.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Ladies in Society
I have just finished reading a contribution to Real Woman magazine by local Danielle Klooster and am again in awe by this woman. I personally know Danielle and she is definitely a beacon of light in my life. She stands for honesty, integrity and fairness in all areas of her life. She is absolutely one of the funniest people I have ever met. She has the most amazing ability to interject humor into any and all conversations and situations.
Prior to moving to Red Deer, I was a resident of Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray). In the time that I lived there I was given chances and opportunities that I would have never gotten in any other community. I was given the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream to help youth in creating a coffeehouse and youth centre. I was offered a spot in a community leadership program. Through those things I discovered my love for marketing and media. I was given the opportunity to work at a radio station and became a radio talk show host with a weekly talk show. I became a marketing & media machine and loved every minute of it. I developed a HUGE network of people in all sectors and was well known in the non profit sector.
Fast forward to Aug of 2008. We move to Red Deer. Red Deer is not Fort McMurray. The opportunities for informally trained individuals is near non existent. The only employment I could get here was cleaning houses for seniors. Not to downplay the importance of that role. It is in high demand in central Alberta. I wanted to be a community leader again. I wanted to be in the know.. I wanted my network back.. WAAAAA !!! As much as I grieved the loss of friends and family being close by, I grieved the loss of my life as I knew it.
Fast forward to today. I am slowly getting that back. A HUGE reason for that is Mrs. Danielle Klooster. When I struggled with mom / work balance she reminded me that my marketing and leadership abilities are God given. He gave them to me and I have a responsibility to use them. That does not make me a bad mother (something I somehow had convinced myself of) . So thanks Danielle for your in site and encouragement.
We all have the potential to do great things and impact peoples lives. What have you done today to improve the life of another?
Prior to moving to Red Deer, I was a resident of Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray). In the time that I lived there I was given chances and opportunities that I would have never gotten in any other community. I was given the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream to help youth in creating a coffeehouse and youth centre. I was offered a spot in a community leadership program. Through those things I discovered my love for marketing and media. I was given the opportunity to work at a radio station and became a radio talk show host with a weekly talk show. I became a marketing & media machine and loved every minute of it. I developed a HUGE network of people in all sectors and was well known in the non profit sector.
Fast forward to Aug of 2008. We move to Red Deer. Red Deer is not Fort McMurray. The opportunities for informally trained individuals is near non existent. The only employment I could get here was cleaning houses for seniors. Not to downplay the importance of that role. It is in high demand in central Alberta. I wanted to be a community leader again. I wanted to be in the know.. I wanted my network back.. WAAAAA !!! As much as I grieved the loss of friends and family being close by, I grieved the loss of my life as I knew it.
Fast forward to today. I am slowly getting that back. A HUGE reason for that is Mrs. Danielle Klooster. When I struggled with mom / work balance she reminded me that my marketing and leadership abilities are God given. He gave them to me and I have a responsibility to use them. That does not make me a bad mother (something I somehow had convinced myself of) . So thanks Danielle for your in site and encouragement.
We all have the potential to do great things and impact peoples lives. What have you done today to improve the life of another?
Friday, April 9, 2010
A Little Humor
So an organization I do some work with is in the process of putting together an annual review. Some recommendations for photos was emailed around and I thought I would share it with you.
Pictures. Many of your have provided exceptional pictures which I will happily include in the annual review. A few of you need a reminder of what makes an exceptional picture.
A person’s face is far more expressive than their back.
Random body parts, which do not belong to one of the participants in the photo are unusable.
The subject of a superb photo may look radiant and glowing- the person standing behind them making a funny face or standing with their eyes closed, draws all of the attention away from the radiant subject.
Out of focus, grainy, or distant photos are not pleasing to the eye.
Pictures which display body language which may be interpreted as sexually suggestive are not appropriate for a report to our stakeholders.
Pictures with hand/finger symbols (peace signs, etc) are not the types of pictures which are best displayed in an annual review. Expressions and emotions are quite welcome, within reason.
While a picture may say 1000 words, the picture should not say 1000 random words which do not convey a story. If a persons who was not at your event cannot tell what the picture is of/about than it is not a usable picture.
Pic 001.jpg doesn’t tell me when your picture was taken or what it is about. PLEASE follow the naming instructions
Well, not sure if you found this funny, however myself and a coworker found it very Witty.
Happy Friday
Pictures. Many of your have provided exceptional pictures which I will happily include in the annual review. A few of you need a reminder of what makes an exceptional picture.
A person’s face is far more expressive than their back.
Random body parts, which do not belong to one of the participants in the photo are unusable.
The subject of a superb photo may look radiant and glowing- the person standing behind them making a funny face or standing with their eyes closed, draws all of the attention away from the radiant subject.
Out of focus, grainy, or distant photos are not pleasing to the eye.
Pictures which display body language which may be interpreted as sexually suggestive are not appropriate for a report to our stakeholders.
Pictures with hand/finger symbols (peace signs, etc) are not the types of pictures which are best displayed in an annual review. Expressions and emotions are quite welcome, within reason.
While a picture may say 1000 words, the picture should not say 1000 random words which do not convey a story. If a persons who was not at your event cannot tell what the picture is of/about than it is not a usable picture.
Pic 001.jpg doesn’t tell me when your picture was taken or what it is about. PLEASE follow the naming instructions
Well, not sure if you found this funny, however myself and a coworker found it very Witty.
Happy Friday
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Culturally Relevant Marketing
So I spent the Easter long weekend in Fort McMurray. I lived there for 9 years prior to moving to Central Alberta. Every time I go back to visit there is always something different. The last time I went I noticed TONS of new landscaping all over the city and new benches and garbage bins. That was a huge improvement to the look of the city.
This time I noticed the most ingenious marketing on one of the local radio stations. It was so clever I have thought about it for a few days and decided it needed to be shared. Here are a few of the lines I heard on the radio
1. Fort McMurray, the city of half a million dollar trailers ... your listening to todays best music Mix 103.7
2. Fort McMurray, a city with more sleds and quads than people...
3. If you are in your vehicle chances are you are waiting for a coffee or a car wash ... keeping you company Mix 103.7
Unless you have lived or visited Fort McMurray these may not seem clever. However, I find it interesting how an isolated community has faced challenges and can poke fun and embrace those challenges and still wake up every morning smiling.
Here's to all those Fort McMurrayites who wake up every morning and embrace challenges with a smiling face :)
This time I noticed the most ingenious marketing on one of the local radio stations. It was so clever I have thought about it for a few days and decided it needed to be shared. Here are a few of the lines I heard on the radio
1. Fort McMurray, the city of half a million dollar trailers ... your listening to todays best music Mix 103.7
2. Fort McMurray, a city with more sleds and quads than people...
3. If you are in your vehicle chances are you are waiting for a coffee or a car wash ... keeping you company Mix 103.7
Unless you have lived or visited Fort McMurray these may not seem clever. However, I find it interesting how an isolated community has faced challenges and can poke fun and embrace those challenges and still wake up every morning smiling.
Here's to all those Fort McMurrayites who wake up every morning and embrace challenges with a smiling face :)
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