career growth Archives

Increasing Employee Engagement

August 15, 2016 by gswartz

Let’s face it, every manager in every organization wishes that all of their employees were engaged employees. The truly engaged employee is the one that arrives early, stays late, and truly gives 100% starting the minute they walk through the door. These employees are happy with their employment environment, compensation and benefits package, and even their management team, and have a genuine desire to excel at their place of employment.

A satisfied employee, on the other hand, simply goes through the motions in order to keep collecting a paycheck and to keep their medical insurance active. They don’t go the extra mile, and have no desire to achieve anything other than that which they already have. Turning these satisfied employees into engaged employees can have an enormous impact on an organizations employee retention, and help the overall bottom line. There are two main methods to turn a satisfied employee into an engaged employee:

Communication of Organizational Goals and Strategies: A 2013 Bless White study found that a whopping 25 percent of employees felt that they would have greater job satisfaction if they simply had a better relationship with their manager. As with any relationship, communication is key, and management communication is a must—both with their team members and with each member individually. This communication goes a long way in providing the individual team members a greater sense of being part of the team, and the organization, and can serve to give a sense of seeing the organizations bigger picture, and thus, a sense of belonging.

Empowerment through Training and Development: Five percent of the employees polled in the same study said that they would feel more engaged if they had more opportunities for training and development. Those satisfied employees may be turned around with the perception of being able to contribute more, and/or to have more responsibilities or varying responsibilities. Training and development does not always have to occur in formal classroom settings either. Mentorship programs, team collaborative efforts, and setting up a rotating team resource can serve to greatly motivate even the most stagnate employee.

Once the lines of communications are opened, it is important to ensure that they remain that way. It would be a wasted effort to engage these previously satisfied employees through greater opportunities for learning new tasks and ideas if things simply go back to the way they were prior to these changes being implemented. An open door policy works wonders for letting these employees express their concerns or any new ideas, and a continuing education and training can help an organization keep their team members engaged and productive.

Michael Klein is a premier writer and speaker on all aspects of human capital. As VP Operations for KDS Staffing, Inc., he has achieved industry-leading success. Michael was awarded, The New York State Small Business Growth Award; presented by Governor George Pataki. Additionally, Michael has successfully grown and sold multiple firms. If you or your organization would like to discuss hiring needs, contact Michael at 646-350-3015 or michael@kdsstaffing.com.

Developing a Learning Culture

February 1, 2016 by gswartz

Group Of Office Workers Meeting To Discuss Ideas

Learning is a lifelong activity. When we stop learning, we cease to grow. Promoting a corporate culture of learning has many benefits, both professionally and personally. To master anything new requires learning, and not just in a classroom setting.

While a classroom may be the traditional method of delivering information, many times concepts taught at training classes are not implemented when employees return to their jobs, and can quickly be lost. Putting the focus on education without translating that knowledge into actual experience is a waste of time and resources.

Adopting a learning-based culture in your organization will encourage team members to engage more, resulting in happier employees and increased productivity.

One of the easiest, most economical methods of developing a culture of learning in the workplace is by tapping into the knowledge and experience already present. This opens the door for cross-education to occur at all levels within an organization, increasing productivity.

One of the biggest pluses of cross-education is flexibility. Employees who are cross-trained can function in various capacities in times of expansion, vacancies, or for a specific project. This flexibility improves both morale and employee retention. The ability to work on different projects helps add interest and variety, and breaks up the monotony of doing the same thing every day. Pairing up employees from different departments for learning increases accountability and helps promote better working relationships.

People are diverse, and developing a culture of learning requires embracing different learning styles. Professional development options can include online videos or articles, face-to-face training, and hands on experiences. Promoting a learning-based culture in your organization will result in engaged, productive, satisfied team members.

David Klein is a leading Executive IT Recruiter & Headhunter with over 15 years industry experience. As Manager of Recruitment Strategy for KDS Staffing, Inc., he has achieved industry-leading success. David has successfully led, trained and introduced many in the art of Executive Recruitment and Headhunting. If you or your organization would like to discuss hiring needs, contact David at 646-650-2833 or david@kdsstaffing.com.

The Mindset of Success

October 19, 2015 by gswartz

What sets successful people apart from the unsuccessful? Is it genetics? Unique opportunities? Innate ability? Social connections? According to the experts, none of these factors have the final say in whether a person is successful. The key is what goes on between the ears. Even given every possible advantage, the wrong mindset can sabotage success for the most talented, intelligent, and connected individual.

So what is the mindset of success? A success mindset is a growth mindset. To be successful, we must believe that change and growth are possible, and that our talents and abilities can be developed over time, growing and gaining strength as we put in the necessary work. To quote renowned Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck,

“It’s all about your mindset. Successful people tend to focus on growth, solving problems, and self-improvement, while unsuccessful people think of their abilities as fixed assets and avoid challenges.”

In order to have a growth mindset and embrace challenges, you must be willing to stretch yourself and venture outside your comfort zone. Are you willing to risk failure in order to learn and grow? Are you okay with being confused and not having all the answers, all the time? Operating in your comfort zone is safe, but does not offer any opportunity for growth. If you want to grow, you have to be willing to make mistakes and learn from them.

Failing Forward

When a young person enlists in the armed forces, the first phase of training is known as boot camp, or basic training, and is designed to instill the fundamentals necessary to be a successful member of the military. Most of these raw recruits have never been exposed to the type of activity they experience during basic training. Finding themselves in an unfamiliar environment, they are challenged physically, mentally and emotionally.

A recruit with a fear of heights must scale a 50 foot wall and rappel down the other side or fail the exercise. In order to be successful, he must push past his fear and operate outside his comfort zone. He may make a mistake, or even fail at first. But, when he makes the choice to take on this challenge and persevere until he conquers it, there is triumph, success, and growth.

Do you have a growth mindset? Are you willing to take on new challenges, stretch yourself and step outside your comfort zone? KDS Staffing is looking for individuals with this mindset of success. We can present you with the opportunity to experience great growth and advancement in your career. Give us a call today, and let us show you what is possible.

Increasing Employee Engagement

Developing a Learning Culture

The Mindset of Success

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