Word Count: 1,432Estimated Read Time: 6 Min. Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Ask any business owner or manager and they will likely agree that the hardest part of running a business is managing people.  After all, employees must be recruited, hired, … Continue reading →

Word Count: 1,577Estimated Read Time: 6 Min. Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing (NLP) There is so much buzz about AI that most everyone has heard warnings of how artificial intelligence is going to take over the world.  The concern … Continue reading →

AI is everywhere. It is impossible to avoid hearing about the arrival of Artificial Intelligence in technology and its applications across all industries and in all areas of society. There is a tsunami of articles, posts, podcasts, and programs focused on explaining what AI is and what AI platforms can do. And despite its novelty, AI platforms already abound as all Big Tech companies vie for the lead in what will surely be the ultimate game-changer for how the world creates, works, learns, plays and innovates. Given this tidal wave of information, how does a busy business owner capitalize on the benefits of AI now? It’s like the old question… how do you eat the elephant? One bite at a time. Here are some bite-sized morsels of how to reap the benefits of AI for your business today.

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Remote work or Work-From-Home (WFH) has not disappeared from the workplace landscape, even now — long after the end of Covid restrictions. About 40% of U.S. employees work remotely either all the time or part-time and well over 90% of workers want to work remotely in the future. WFH is not going away. But studies show that there are HR issues that arise with remote employees. Among them are increased isolation, lack of communication and dwindling motivation. These are issues that employees or employers tend to ignore until they are HR problems. For workplaces that accept that WFH is here to stay, there are ways to deal with these issues so that they never become problems.

Here’s how. Continue reading →

Remote work has persisted long after Covid restrictions were lifted. In August/September 2022, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that about 27% of U.S. employees still worked remotely at least part time. But, according to a survey by Forbes in mid 2023, 12.7% of US employees currently work full time from home and another 28.2% work a hybrid model. And, the percentage of full-time remote workers is expected to increase to 22% by 2025. More importantly, a staggering 98% of workers surveyed expressed a desire to work remotely at least part time. This overwhelming figure reflects the workforce’s growing affinity towards the flexibility, autonomy, and work-life balance that remote work offers. If ‘Work From Home’ isn’t going away, then employers must ensure that remote workers are efficient and effective. A good place to start is with Environmental Priming.

Here’s how. Continue reading →

Customer Service is not a department. And it is not a team of people assigned to handle customer concerns and complaints. Customer service is a behavior… it is what every employee in a company does to ensure that an organization’s customers are treated well and get what they need. The most successful companies truly understand this and provide the vision, mission and training to ensure all employees are dedicated to servicing their customer. That kind of service comes at a price. But not delivering that level of service has an even higher cost.

So what is the real cost of customer service? Continue reading →

Word Count: 1,599Estimated Read Time: 6 ½ Min. In sports, coaches are constantly telling athletes that they must embrace a winning mindset.  But this phrase is also heard in conference rooms and boardrooms throughout corporate America.  Leaders exhort their rainmakers, … Continue reading →

Ever had a big objective or goal that that was hard to achieve? Most people in that situation focus on the result they are trying to achieve and how the goal was tackled in the past. But perhaps that’s the problem. Instead of focusing on the outcome, researchers have found that it’s much more effective to focus on the actions most connected to achieving that goal. Just supercharge the actions on the front end most likely to achieve the ultimate goal.

It works. Here’s how. Continue reading →

Attracting and retaining labor is difficult. In a tight labor market, it’s even more challenging. And to hire top talent – the A Players who can really transform a company – requires companies to take their HR to a whole new level. It’s not enough to just do the basics like salary and typical benefits. The most qualified candidates are interviewing the company as much as the company is interviewing the candidates. And candidates want to see that the employer will invest in developing the employee as much as the employee will invest in the growing the company. What does that look like?

Here’s a sneak peek. Continue reading →

Leaders, do you want to reduce job turnover and create a culture of caring that makes employees want to stay at your workplace forever? Yes? Then it’s simple. Assign work that is meaningful and gives them a sense of purpose. It turns out that isn’t as simple as it sounds because what each person considers “meaningful work” varies. An employer is usually just focused on hiring staff who have the skills and ability to do a job that the organization needs done and will fit in with the rest of the team. Assigning work that is also meaningful and provides a sense of purpose to the employee can feel like a heavy burden – perhaps even unrealistic or absurd concern — for an employer. That may explain why staff turnover and job vacancies remain high. So how can leaders help employees find meaning and purpose in what they already do?

Here’s how. Continue reading →