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Archive for Leadership

Virtual Meeting Etiquette – Tips for Successful Connections

Video conferencing has become the new normal for team meetings. While virtual meetings offer many advantages – no commute, no need to dress up, a way to safely “see” team members – they do come with certain drawbacks. In fact, many people are finding themselves in more virtual meetings now than they were in in-person meetings in the past. “Zoom-fatigue” is a growing phenomenon. And as a result, many participants have relaxed their meeting behaviors.

So, as a leader, how do you keep your team engaged and make these virtual meetings more successful?

Here are some tips.

Set the example. Be fully engaged as you lead the meeting and when others are speaking. Remember that your facial expressions are always visible to all participants. Be courteous and mindful of words and expressions that may be misinterpreted. In a virtual setting, you don’t have the opportunity to clarify your intent in the hallway after the meeting.

Keep meetings to a reasonable length. Try to keep meetings to 45 minutes or less. If a longer session is needed, break it up. Add a short stretch break or move participants into breakout rooms so they can engage in smaller groups. Start and end on time. Have an agenda. Strive to engage participants by asking for feedback, questions, ideas.

Allow time for personal connections. Start with a “check in” or brief icebreaker. Many are feeling a sense of isolation during this challenging time. Watch for signs that a team member might be struggling and make a point of reaching out to them individually after the meeting. Also, encourage team members to connect individually outside of the full team meetings.

Be present and be positive. Remember to praise in public and criticize in private.

Vary the medium. Consider having every other meeting via teleconference instead of video conference. Or have a safe, socially-distanced group meeting outside.

Communication is key. Working remotely, team members may not feel as plugged in to what’s happening in the organization, with their other team members, or on a team project. As a result, they may disengage. Be as transparent as possible and give them the opportunity to ask questions and discuss their concerns or fears.

Promote balance. Studies indicate that productivity has increased with employees working at home. The downside of this is that it could lead to burnout. Give your team members periodic reminders that they should create a boundary between work and home life for their mental and physical health. Share how you do it to set the example.

Need support in leading during these challenging times? Contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com to learn about our Executive Coaching services.

Balancing Leadership and Management During COVID-19

The terms leadership and management are often used interchangeably, but each has its own set of skills. And both sets of skills are needed to effectively lead a team or organization.

So, what’s the difference between management and leadership?

Management skills are focused on organization, processes and achieving goals:

Planning
Budgeting
Allocating resources
Establishing policies and procedures
Hiring and firing
Performance management
Problem solving
“Doing things right”

Leadership skills are focused on creating a vision, developing talent, and inspiring action:

Communication
Strategic thinking
Clarifying the big picture
Empowering others
Building and growing teams
Developing relationships
Embracing change
“Doing the right things”

Leaders need to be able to “dial up” management or leadership skills as appropriate for the situation. For example, we are currently in a challenging, uncertain environment, with many teams working remotely. Leaders may need to be more focused on management – planning, allocating resources, and establishing processes around the new ways of working. What are the priorities? What equipment do team members need so they can continue to work at home? How do we efficiently track progress and performance?

While the focus may be more on management at this time, it’s also important to pull on those leadership skills that will help teams continue to be motivated and engaged. This includes open and honest communication, connecting with individual employees to assess how they’re doing (not just what they’re doing), and providing opportunities for team members to connect with each other.

If you need additional ideas on how to lead during these challenging times, please feel free to reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

“The real challenge is to combine strong leadership and strong management and use each to balance each other.” – John Kotter

Acting on Feedback is Key to Leadership Development

In my last blog I shared the benefits that a 360 Review Process can provide for leaders and their organizations. Leaders become more self-aware and identify areas for development, and organizations have a development roadmap to strengthen their leaders’ effectiveness.

This time I’d like to talk a little more specifically about the process, the resulting report and some examples of the insight the process provides.

I typically interview between seven and ten stakeholders including the subject’s immediate leader and others they identify. All stakeholders are asked the same questions which inquire about things like the person’s strengths, their leadership qualities, how effectively they communicate, key areas for development, biggest risk for derailment, etc.

I then consolidate and summarize the responses (keeping them anonymous) to identify:

Strengths
Blindspots/Possible Derailment Behaviors, and
Development Recommendations

The 360 report includes a narrative of the consolidated responses, themes identified, a chart indicating how they scored in various leadership competencies (including self-scoring), and development recommendations.

When the report is complete, I meet with the leader and with their immediate leader (individually) to review the feedback and talk about next steps. I think it’s important to note that the 360 Review is not a “report card,” but a development tool. It’s designed to provide the leader with a better picture of how he or she “shows up” in the workplace and illuminate a path to becoming a more effective leader.

What’s important is that the leader is willing to hear, acknowledge and act on the 360 feedback.

Since effective communication is such an important leadership competency, and so many issues can be attributed to the lack of it, it’s probably the most frequently identified “area for improvement.” An example is the blindspot a leader had around creating an environment that encouraged two-way communication. Stakeholders indicated that they didn’t feel “heard” when they offered feedback or expressed their ideas. Another example is a leader who didn’t realize that because of the words he used and his manner of speaking he was perceived as having an unconscious bias. In both these cases, once the leader became self-aware of the pattern indicated by the feedback, they wanted to know how to correct the behavior.

And that brings me to the next step in the process. Acting on the feedback. On the final page of the report I provide a list of development opportunities with specific behaviors that can be improved in each area to become a more effective leader. And this often leads to a conversation about coaching.

If you are interested finding out more about the 360 process for a leader in your organization or about my executive coaching service, please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Grow Your Leaders with a 360 Review Process

The best leaders continue to learn and grow. And one of the most effective tools that can contribute to their growth is feedback. Not just from their immediate leader, but also from others they interact with on a daily basis – their stakeholders. It’s called a 360 Review Process.

Most performance management programs focus on performance only. Did you achieve your goals? Were they completed on time? Are you fulfilling your job requirements? But here’s the thing. Leaders also need feedback on their strengths and development areas in behaviors that impact the performance of their team, e.g., communication, leadership, employee development, motivation, etc. And this feedback is more meaningful if it comes from a variety of sources – immediate leader, direct reports, colleagues, and business partners, for example.

People are often promoted into leadership roles because they performed well as an individual contributor. But being responsible for a team or organization requires a different set of skills and behavioral competencies. A 360 Review helps leaders build self-awareness by shedding light on how they come across to others. It points up strengths and illuminates blindspots that may be preventing them from becoming a more effective leader. When specific themes emerge based on feedback from several stakeholders rather than just their immediate leader it’s harder to dismiss that feedback.

I recommend that new leaders go through a 360 Review Process about midway through their first year of becoming a leader. This gives them some time to settle into their role and establish relationships yet is early enough in their tenure to prevent solidifying behaviors that are working against them.

In a typical 360 process the participating leader identifies several stakeholders who then give feedback (anonymously) via a set of questions. The same questions are answered by all stakeholders. Responses are then consolidated and summarized into a report that highlights strengths, development areas and any emerging themes.

The 360 process benefits both the leader and the organization by providing a foundation for the leader’s development to build on strengths and address any blindspots or areas for improvement. Often the next step is coaching to help with the leader’s development.

If you are interested finding out more about the 360 process for a leader in your organization, please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Diversity and Inclusion – How to Walk the Talk

As I shared in my last article, there are plenty of statistics that indicate the positive effect a diverse workforce can have on business results. Now the question is, how do you get there? It needs to be more than just saying you practice diversity. Or that you make sure you tick the EEO boxes in your hiring and firing practices. It needs to be a concerted effort – headed by leadership – to create a culture that considers all activities – communication, recruiting, hiring, promoting, company gatherings, team assignments, terminations, etc. – through a lens of diversity and inclusion.

You need to walk the talk. Here are some tips for doing that.

Demonstrate your commitment to diversity through the images on your website and in recruiting collateral. Be sure they are actual images of your workforce and not stock images.

Review job posting language through the lens of diversity and inclusion. Words matter. Terms such as “rockstar, “ninja” or “guru” may discourage some perfectly qualified people from applying. Use gender neutral language. Sometimes it’s as simple as changing “manage” to “develop.” A recent KQED article noted that “if you say manage a team, the applicants are primarily male. If you say develop a team, it tends to be female. And when you say lead a team, it tends to be neutral.”

Emphasize the impact of the role. Studies show that men will apply for jobs when they meet only 60% of the requirements, whereas women don’t feel confident to apply unless they meet 100% of the requirements. Consider only including the must-have requirements (versus adding all of the nice-to-haves) and focusing more on the impact the candidate would make in the position.

Confirm your commitment to diversity and inclusion on a regular basis by ensuring that teams, projects, promotions and other opportunities are open to the broader definition of diverse individuals – gender, ethnicity, points of view, sexual orientation, etc.

Encourage conversation to promote understanding. Consider organizing group conversations of diverse employees where participants share their different perspectives and experiences.

Build awareness around microaggressions. Often, seemingly innocuous statements or questions can make others feel uncomfortable. “Where are you from originally?” “Wow! You are so well-spoken.” “You’re strong for a girl.” Statements and questions that subtly imply assumptions based on gender or race do not promote inclusion.

Building a culture of diversity and inclusion takes time and effort. It’s about changing mindsets and creating an environment that allows all to feel welcome and to thrive. It begins with you, as the leader, walking the talk.

If you need help in incorporating diversity into your hiring practices and/or culture, please contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Reopening Your Business – It’s Important to Have a Plan

As of this month, many businesses that have been closed or operating remotely during our Shelter-in-Place order are now able to reopen. If you are able to reopen, are you ready?

Public health guidelines call for continued social distancing, facemasks, and enhanced sanitation procedures in order to open while maintaining the health of staff and customers. This requires a considerable amount of planning on the part of the business owner and new processes and procedures for employees.

The most frequent request I’m getting from leaders and business owners these days who call about my Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service is for help in creating a COVID-19 compliant reopening plan.

A recent Forbes article included a checklist of “the 5 most important things businesses must be able to do in order to return to work.”

Track and comply with evolving government and healthcare protocols.
Help keep employees safe.
Analyze the threat of new outbreaks.
Maintain the integrity of their supply chain.
Audit their processes to maintain compliance.

Each of these items requires planning as well as knowledge of where to find the most recent credible information about requirements and protocols. And that’s where advice from a Senior HR Consultant can be very helpful.

If you will be continuing to have some or all of your employees work remotely, it’s also important to strategize how to do that on a more permanent basis. Having employees work remotely for a few months is one thing, but when it becomes your standard business model there are many other things to consider. What additional equipment will employees need? How will you maintain team cohesiveness and workflow? How do you help remote employees maintain a balance between work-at-home and home-at-home so they don’t burn out?

It’s also important to think about how you will handle specific employee issues that may come up in light of the pandemic. Some questions clients have asked me are:

What if an employee is afraid of returning to work in case they’re exposed to the virus and then expose a vulnerable family member? How do we convince them that it’s safe?
How do we keep employees engaged when they’re working remotely?
What if we have another shutdown?

If you have questions or need help putting together your business reopening plan, contact me today to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to see how Just in Time 3-Hour HR Consulting Service can help you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/30-minute-consultation

If you know of a business owner who may need advice about reopening or any other HR issue, please share our Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service flyer with them. Thank you!

Answers to Your HR Questions – Just in Time

Managing the many aspects of the HR function can be challenging, especially if you are also trying to run the business or are new to HR operations. In small and medium sized companies, the “HR person,” whether it’s the business owner or someone dedicated to that role, is often flying solo with no one to consult about an HR issue or the details of a new compliance requirement. Trying to find answers via an online HR database can be frustrating and time consuming.

Now, as we look at returning to work following the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandate, business owners are faced with a new set of challenges:

How do we safely reopen?
What if someone does not want to come back to work?
What protective equipment do we need?
What are the new working guidelines?
How do I even get started?

Connect to HR’s Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service has the answers. With this service you can access up to 3 hours of “live” HR consulting support from a trusted, senior-level HR consultant by phone, email or in person. Our service is specifically designed for small to medium sized companies:

Owners/CEOs/Nonprofit Leaders
Those running the HR function
People new to HR operations

Whether you need a sounding board to discuss approaches to an employee relations issue, want tips on how to create a workforce plan, or have questions about implementing a social distancing protocol in the office, Connect to HR’s Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service is here to help.

You do not have to do it alone!

Contact us today for a FREE 30-minute consultation to see how our Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service can benefit you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/30-minute-consultation

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com. Click here to learn more about our Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service.

New Connect to HR Resource for Employers

In any given week, business owners carry out multiple employment related activities that they must be sure are compliant with current federal and state law, and relevant local ordinances. Hiring and firing. Approving leaves of absence. Displaying the most recent employment posters.

Keeping up with evolving rules and regulations is challenging in normal times, and even more so during our current health crisis. So where can employers go to quickly find the information they need?

Connect to HR is happy to announce a new resource for employers on our website. Our Employer Resource Page provides links to credible sources for information about federal and state laws relating to employment compliance, wage and hour requirements, family medical leave, workplace safety and much more.

Feeling overwhelmed or confused trying to navigate the flood of information about benefit changes related to COVID-19? We also have a section with links to sources for the latest information about the crisis and related requirements for employers. We’ve also included links to sources for financial relief for small businesses.

Additional resources include links to local law firms and the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) who also provide COVID-19 related information.

This page is meant to be a “living” resource so we will be updating it with additional topics and information. Please feel free to contact me at michelle@connecttohr if there’s a particular topic or resource you’d like to see included.

And check back often. We’ll soon be including a section with links to articles, podcasts and other resources related to growing as a leader.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F Kennedy

Access our Employer Resources page at: https://connecttohr.com/employer-resources/

Connect to HR is Celebrating its 10th Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since I decided to leverage my human resources experience and start my very own business – Connect to HR.

It hasn’t always been easy, as you business owners will know, but it has always been gratifying, educational and inspiring! Having my own business has been like getting an MBA. It’s been the best teacher and has pushed me outside of my comfort zone.

This is the first in a series of blogs about my journey as a small business owner. Along the way I’ll be sharing some tips and lessons learned – how to get off to a good start, how to stay motivated, how to deal with setbacks, how to evolve to meet client needs, and more.

Before Connect to HR

After years of working in senior-level positions for large corporations across a variety of industries, I decided to leave the corporate world in search of work-life balance and a different work environment. Shortly after leaving, I had the opportunity to do some consulting work. One of my consulting engagements was with Apple, who had been around for a while, but still had that “start-up” feel. I was fortunate to do three consulting projects around the time Apple was reinventing itself and launching its first versions of the Apple iPod, iPad and iPhone. In between these projects, I had an opportunity with a nonprofit that was looking for someone to set up their human resources fundamentals. They wanted someone who could work in a small organization, but who had the experience of a larger, more established environment. I went from being part of an HR team to an HR Department of one. It was challenging and exciting and really honed my ability to be resourceful to get things done.

Other consulting opportunities followed, and I realized two things: 1) There was a big need for compliance experience. We were just coming off the downturn, and many companies had neglected that aspect of HR. And 2) I no longer wanted to work through someone else and lose part of the profit from my consulting gigs.

It was time to start my own business. In 2010, Connect to HR was born.

Getting Started

Running your own business requires you to wear many hats – management, marketing/sales, finance, administration, accounting, IT the list is long – in addition to actually doing your core work. SCORE is a great resource for small business owners. They have workshops on a variety of business topics and even offer experienced businesspeople as mentors. I learned a lot from their small business fundamentals workshop, and later had the opportunity to present a workshop on HR fundamentals for small businesses at SCORE for 4 years.

The human resources function is pretty broad, so one of the first steps was for me to decide on my focus area. I had worked in all aspects of HR, but was particularly interested in the legal area. In fact, at one point I had contemplated attending law school. Also, in the consulting work I’d done it was clear that there was a demonstrated need for compliance.

I decided that these three areas: employee relations, compliance and policies and procedures (Employee Handbook) would be my starting point, and I was off to the races!

Tips for getting started: Learn the fundamentals of starting a business. Be clear about your focus.

Tune in next time when I’ll share about acting on inspiration.

Time to Review Your HR Year-End Checklist

There are just a few weeks left until the holidays and year end. Before you get caught up in all the festivities, it’s a good idea to set aside some time to make sure you have addressed any outstanding HR issues for 2019, and have finalized your plans for 2020 and the new decade.

Be sure you have made the appropriate adjustments to comply with recent legislation, specifically:

The deadline for harassment prevention training has been extended to January 1, 2021 for most California employees.

California has enacted a statute that makes it much more difficult to classify workers as independent contractors, effective January 1, 2020.

The federal minimum salary threshold for exempt employees is being increased, effective January 1, 2020.

California is increasing its minimum wage again as of January 1, 2020. Several cities within the state also are increasing their minimum wage.

Here’s a checklist of other items to complete before year end. Be sure to add any items relative to your particular business that you don’t see here.

Order any updated Federal and State Labor Law Posters
Review your Employee Handbook to identify any changes needed based on new laws, policies and/or procedures
Review and update employee addresses in preparation for W-2 distribution
Review and update job descriptions
Finalize the HR Budget for 2020
Finalize focal process for 2020
Finalize company goals
Determine dates of company holidays for 2020
Finalize and announce any new benefits/employee perks for 2020
Renew any annual memberships and subscriptions
Schedule annual reviews with employees
Deal with any lingering employee relations issues

In addition, think back over the year and reflect on what went well and what didn’t go well from an HR standpoint. Are your employees engaged and productive? If not, do you see any trends that you could work on turning around in 2020? Are there any employees who stand out as particularly high potential? How will you develop and retain them in 2020?

This is also a good time to look back over the past decade. Reflect on how your organization has changed and celebrate your accomplishments over the past decade. Also, consider what you want to usher into the next 10 years. If you don’t know where to start, consider conducting a SWOT analysis in the New Year. This way, you can become aware of trends both inside the company as well as in your industry.

Giving some thought to these things now, and then putting a plan in place to address them after the first of the year will get 2020 off to a good start!

I would love the opportunity to help you plan for 2020 and the next decade please contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com.