Workplace Culture Archives - Page 2 of 2

Team Building During the Holiday Season (5 Easy Ways)

11.14.2018 by jsl_web_admin

As we entrench ourselves in the holiday season, and the close of yet another year approaches, many of us seek ways to build a stronger bond with those wonderful people we spend so much time away from our families with our “work family,” aka our co-workers. What better way to build comradery within your team than to celebrate the season by giving back to your local community.

Here are a few team building ideas that will benefit those who are less fortunate.

1. Volunteer at a local cause.

A useful resource for finding a non-profit to volunteer at near you is, VolunteerMatch. The website helps narrow down a list non-profits in need of volunteers based on location, interest, and has a sort filter that also allows you to specify organizations that accept groups to volunteer together. That is a great way to find something your whole team is passionate about.

Feed My Starving Children, for example, has a group volunteer program. The non-profit organization is committed to feeding hungry children across the globe. FMSC has (7) permanent packing facilities in IL, MN, and AZ with MobilePack Events scheduled in each state. In a span of as little as 2 hours, your team can make a difference and pack meals for starving children.

2. Collect, prepare and distribute bags of “essentials” to those less fortunate in your area.

Items such as socks, soap, hand sanitizer wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, mouthwash, floss, cup of noodles, bottles of water, lotion, sunscreen, energy bars, snack items can be purchased or donated, assembled into bags and hand-delivered to those in need.

3. Plan a contest.

Whether you are collecting blankets, socks, toys, canned food or money, decide on a worthwhile item that your team is passionate about. Let each department race to collect, purchase and donate the most items, including a status meter so everyone can see the progress. At the end of the contest, deliver your items to a local shelter, hospital or food bank for distribution. You can find a list of where to donate here.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of America opens doors to youth to offer them a great future. Your team can volunteer with them, adopt-a-family or collect gifts for the kids. You can find your local Boys and Girls Clubs here.

4. Adopt-a-family or child in your area for the holidays.

Provide food, clothing, gifts and holiday decorations for a family in need in your area. Visit Salvationarmy.org or call your local Salvation Army for information on their adopt-a-family and Christmas angel programs.

5. As a team, make hand-made Christmas and holiday cards.

They can be delivered to your local children’s hospital or mail to our military personnel serving overseas. You can find more information on how to do that with the Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes.

No matter which route you take, deciding as a team to give back and help those less fortunate, especially during the holiday season, builds bonds within your team and within yourself that will benefit each member in ways that fill the heart and spirit.

Happy Holidays from the SearchWide Global team!

SearchWide Global is a full service executive search firm, placing hundreds of executives, primarily for companies in the travel, tourism, hospitality, convention, trade association, venue management and experiential marketing industries. Specializing in C-Level and Director level executive searches for companies ranging in size from Fortune 500 corporations to mid-sized public and private companies and associations. Headquartered in St. Paul, MN, USA and with several regional offices, SearchWide Global is able to serve clients and candidates nationwide. Founded in 1999, they have remained focused on four core values for almost two decades: INTEGRITY, ETHICS, PASSION and RESPECT.

What Every Company Should Be Doing to Keep Their Employees Happy

7.20.2017 by jsl_web_admin

According to Glassdoor, top companies like Twitter, Edelman, Google and Facebook were named the top places to work based on company culture and values.

Twitter offers core values that drive the company to always be better. Meetings on the roof, teamwork, a friendly atmosphere, and an open dialogue with the executives is what employees like most about working there.

1. Physical space does matter:

Whether you work in a corporate office or remotely, physical space does matter.

The feeling of psychological privacy that comes with individual offices can enhance job performance. Open office layouts (cube farms) tend to have high noise levels. Studies have shown that even a small amount of background noise increases mental workload, which further contributes to employee stress and lowered productivity. Offering spaces where people can close the door and put their heads down to work without noise is what employees are looking for.

Physical enhancements such as:

Natural light – creativity depends on natural light. Integrating sunlight into office design, and making sure it shines on all employees is vital to creating the environments where creative ideas grow.

Plants – plants have been proven to lower workplace stress and increase productivity. Add them through the office space for all employees to see.

2. Work atmosphere and healthy well-being

Employers are now using decor to entice top talent, and as the lines between work and home are becoming blurred, many workplaces now feature treadmill desks, standing desks and lounge areas. Companies are even offering more opportunities for play. Dropbox has a music studio at its headquarters in San Francisco (take a peek at their headquarters here). YouTube’s office in San Bruno, California, has an indoor slide and putting green (see video tour below).

Healthier employees are happier and more productive, and companies with the best benefits packages recognize this.

At Salesforce, a cloud-computing company in San Francisco, employees receive a monthly reimbursement of $100 for nutrition counseling, yoga classes or massages. At the organic food producer Clif Bar & Company, employees receive 2 1/2 hours of paid workout time each week. Finding the space to work out is even easier for Clif Bar’s staff, since the company headquarters in Emeryville, California, has a dance studio, gym and rock-climbing wall (see video tour below).

Small and midsize companies have started to give their staff Fitbits and Apple Watches (SearchWide Global does!) or started programs to encourage their employees to become more active.

3. Perks vs. culture:

Top companies like Facebook, Google and LinkedIn offer an array of perks including on-site gym’s, car washes, free laundry, rock climbing walls, running trails and afternoon yoga (see Facebook’s video tour below). Other perks including flexible time off, competitive retirement and medical benefits can attract top talent. The employee perks are there to take the daily stress off employee’s lives so they can concentrate on doing their job. Glass Door did a recent blog on unique company perks in 2017 by some top companies. Here they are.

However, the company culture is what employees are most happy with. Having things does not define the organizational culture. Supportive management, good ideas, work that is appreciated and a company that makes decisions based on good principles is what defines the culture and what’s appreciated by staff.

Glass Door did a recent blog on unique company perks in 2017 by some top companies, we hope they are setting the stage for some of the smaller companies out there that might be looking for perks to include for their employees.

“Being able to be truly happy at work is one of the keys to being happy in life”, says Heidi Golledge, the CEO and co-founder of CareerBliss.

What are some factors that make you happy at work?

11 Crowd Pleasing Appetizer Recipes for the Holiday Potluck

12.12.2016 by jsl_web_admin

It’s that time of year again! December is here, and the holidays are quickly approaching. Your calendar is probably filling up with holiday parties, gift exchanges, tree decorating, ugly sweater parties, and of course, many of these get-togethers calls for a potluck!

What can you bring that’s easy to transport, easy to reheat, and still a crowd-pleasing dish? We’ve got 11 tasty recipes that seem to work well for the holiday potluck.

1. Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Ring

From Pillsbury.com

2. Loaded Cheesy Mashed Potato Balls

From Tablespoon.com

3. Goat Cheese Pesto Spread

From SkinnyMs.com

4. Spicy Asian Chicken Meatballs

From ThisGalCooks.com

5. Skinny Lasagna Rolls

From SkinnyMs.com

6. Chicken & Zucchini Poppers

From OneLovelyLife.com

7. Caramelized Pears and Walnut Topped Brie

From MyDailyRandomness.com

8. Crab Salad in Crisp Wonton Cups

From FoodNetwork.com

9. Slow Cooker Chilli Queso Dip

From lecremedelacrumb.com

10. Sweet Potato & Caramelized Onion Toast – Vegan

From SweetPotatoSoul.com

11. Grinch Kabobs

From NourishingMinimalism.com

Wishing everyone a cheerful holiday, and happy grazing!

Why Millennials Matter in the Workplace and How to Embrace Them

8.15.2016 by jsl_web_admin

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center,

By 2020, Millennials will form 50 percent of the global workforce.

That’s right, in four short years, half of the workforce will be those born from 1982 onward. Part of the generation of text messages and social media, and the world at immediate fingertips. With the number of Millennials in the workforce, it will certainly reshape the way both leaders and the workplace culture will be in the future. Baby Boomer and Gen X leaders will need to learn to embrace Millennials’ fast-moving, entrepreneurial spirit.

Here are a few ways Millennials will reform the workplace in a positive way.

Millennials want a revamp on organizational charts.

“Millennials don’t work for you; they work with you.” – Forbes.

Millennials want to work in an environment of mutual interest, rather than structured hierarchies. Unstructured hierarchies provide the opportunity for open and more frequent communication from people of different ages, experiences and walks of life. They believe in order to be successful there must be a true collaboration of thoughts and ideas over generational borders. Millennials seek training and development from those their senior in the workforce, but also want opportunities to take on challenging and important assignments. Sounds like a win-win.

Millennials want open communication.

“Unlike their professional predecessors, millennials display more socially tolerant attitudes and a preference for close, personal relationships. Although many view the millennial generation as only tech savvy micro-bloggers (who speak only through social networks), millennials actually value genuine and personal communications.” – Daily Business Review.

We’ve learned that Millennials would rather be given constructive criticism on a more frequent, causal basis, rather than during a quarterly review. Having mastered the short and concise texting dialect (LOL, G2G, TTYL) for years, Millennials like straightforwardness and directness.

Millennials want genuine relationships with coworkers. Millennials enjoy genuine relationships with coworkers. Happy hours, work retreats and team building activities have become more and more popular over the years, and Millennials don’t want that to change. They enjoy getting to know colleagues on a more personal level, so they can understand each other better on the professional level.

Millennials get connectedness and networking.

“When it comes to engagement, millennials have the advantage over previous generations. Millennials have grown up in a connected world. From the use of mobile and social technologies, immediately communicating, engaging and connecting is second nature for them.” – Daily Business Review.

Millennials have relationships with people through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, blogs, emails, in-person encounters – you name it, they’re on it. The core principles of networking and business development are more or less innate to Millennials.

Work-Life balance is important to Millennials.

“We’re becoming a workforce where the amount of time you spend in the [office] chair is not the issue, it’s the results of the work. It’s about what’s been achieved.” – U.S. News & World Report.

With technology advancing at such a rapid pace, Millennials prefer and see the benefits of fluid workweeks. And if employees work better in the early morning hours rather than the evenings, it can be mutually beneficial.

As Millennials become the dominant force in the workplace, companies will need to begin reevaluating and embracing this new generation of individuals. Soon, Millennials will be the majority of clients, customers and decision makers. We believe the future holds a mutually beneficial exchange of work experience and knowledge with communication and collaboration to create a fresh workplace intertwining generational borders.

Category: Workplace Culture