There’s no sting quite like being stood up. After exchanging various messages, scheduling in a date, and rigorously readying yourself the day of, it can be disappointing to discover that the other person is not coming.

While this sounds a lot like the makings of a romantic date, this is in fact in reference to those potential job candidates who ultimately don’t show up to their arranged interview. According to USA Today, various businesses report anywhere between 20% to 50% of their candidates are no-shows for interviews. One business owner even found that only 10% of his total applicants actually replied when he tried to schedule an interview, and of those who he did set one up with, only 5-10% showed up.

This can be disheartening for employers and their recruiters. Having to go through the process of narrowing down potential candidates only for them to ‘ghost’ the interview (which is just a Gen Z way of saying not show up despite being present during the initial hiring process) can result in a lot of wasted time and effort on the employer’s side.

In light of this, I wanted to look at what employers can be doing to mitigate the risk of potential no-shows:

• Get a sense of the candidate – on the first point of contact with the candidate, the best thing for a leader/recruiter to do is try to gauge the level of seriousness from the potential hire. This could simply be asking what they are looking for right now, as from this it can usually be understood whether they are passively looking or more actively looking for a role.
• Ask their preferred method of communication – with a multi-generational workforce at play, different people will prefer to be contacted in different ways. Whereas older candidates may lean more towards phone and email correspondence, younger workers typically incline towards communicating through text. Establishing their preferred method will heighten the chances of consistent responses.
• Share what the company’s timeline is – sometimes a deterrent for candidates is the amount of time a hiring process actually takes. If employers are being upfront and open from the offset and able to give a sense of how long this process will take shape to be, this is more likely to set realistic expectations for the candidate. But ideally, scheduling next steps as promptly as possible can help to avoid those lulls in between these processes and reduce the risk of a potential hire losing interest.
• Make time to babysit – it may sound strange, but recruitment should be making time to do some handholding in the lead up to the interview. This would take the form of consistent check-ins (asking them if they feel ready, if they’re still interested, this sort of thing) through their preferred method of communication. This will help reinforce that as an employer you are keen to interview them, and reduce the likelihood of ghosting.

There is no guaranteed way of avoiding those potential no-shows. An employer can take all these precautions and it can still occur, but at least this way they will be doing everything in their power to mitigate that outcome. The key thing to remember is that hiring is a two-way street; the type of respect an organization shows a candidate will be the type they are more likely to receive in return, so being transparent, honest, and communicative is the best way forward.

To discuss these strategies in more detail and how we can help optimize your hiring process, please get in touch with me at stephanie.rodriguez@orgshakers.com

It might surprise you to discover that according to estimates, half of all premature male deaths are considered preventable. This is largely influenced by the fact that men are up to 50% less likely to seek medical attention in comparison to women, and this normalization of neglect is reflected in a higher mortality rate.

And what’s even more alarming to learn is that the leading cause of death in men under 50 is suicide. All of these statistics highlight how men’s physical and mental health is still deeply rooted in outdated ideas of toxic masculinity – that you need to ‘man up’ and not cry as this is connotated as ‘weak’ and ‘feminine’.

But it goes further than this – while there is disparity between men and women when it comes to being neglectful, there are also disparities to be found amongst different groups of men and their health. Research has found that men who belong to racial and ethnic minority populations have the poorest health due to being exposed to a broad range of social and environmental factors that adversely affect their physical and mental health. So while for white men there is a culture of neglect around health, for those men of color, there is the added disproportion of accessibility to healthcare in general that leads to an increased likelihood of health issues.

So, what role can employers play in helping to tackle these taboos?

• Talk about it – it may sound simple, but talking about and acknowledging men’s health and the disparities within it is a great way of helping to normalize and address it properly. Having posters dotted around the office, for example, that act as little reminders to get prostates checked, are a great way of offering a small nudge without having to directly broach a potentially awkward conversation. But for more systemic issues, this would require actually highlighting that you are aware of these disparities and are actively trying to supply support that is more tailored to the individual rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
• Training and workshops – having external training arranged, and/or a workshop, for your managers will educate them around all facets of men’s health. This will also enable them to be able to correctly discuss and direct any concerns to the appropriate places, either in-house or to an external body. This is a great way of instilling this sense of openness into the workplace culture and breaking down the walls of stigma around men’s physical and mental health.
• Benefits – the benefits that an employer offers can help to promote a message of good health. This could take shape in the offering of health insurance – recent data has found a great disparity in people of color who have health insurance in comparison to their white counterparts. 19% of Hispanic people and 10.9% of black people are uninsured in the US, compared with only 7.2% of white people. Offering health insurance as a benefit is a great foundation for helping to tackle the systemic racism that exists in the healthcare system, while still prioritizing the health of all your employees.  An additional measure is to personalize the message to your Hispanic and black team members and encouraging them to take advantage of the preventive healthcare offered.  The data shows that these employee groups tend to under-participate in preventive healthcare. Moreover, employers could consider gym membership discounts, or there are also some great group life insurance companies that promote physical and mental wellbeing; YuLife is an example of this, as they use a gamified app which employees can use to complete challenges related to physical and mental health, and are awarded with gift vouchers of their choice. As well, having employee assistance programs to support the mental health of all employees is a great way of helping to reduce feelings of burnout, stress, and pressure that work can sometimes bring.
• Business Resource Groups – as an employer, it can be a great idea to reach out to your internal affinity groups and stress the importance of emphasizing healthcare disparities from a gender-based perspective and from a racial/ethnicity point of view as part of their annual educational offerings. This ensures that the topics are being addressed formally, and will see these groups strategizing with leaders to enact the best ways of embedding actions to overcome the disparities into the workplace culture.

The fact is, the health of employees should always be a concern for employers, as a healthier and happier workforce are a more productive and engaged one. It is equally important to challenge taboos around health issues that affect men and women in order to be able to properly support and optimize your employees to the best of their abilities. To discuss how OrgShakers can help you do this, please get in touch with me at marty@orgshakers.com

When I left the corporate world and started my own HR Consultancy, I had to adjust from being part of a team to working on my own. While I was excited to be taking this courageous step, I would find myself running out of steam as the afternoon progressed. I’d usually find myself ringing my husband at about 3:30pm to see what time he’d be home. I missed human interaction.

Now, several years later, I have strategies for preventing myself from becoming lonely. Ideally, I try to schedule my projects so that every few weeks I’m delivering a workshop in-person as that is what will really boost my energy!

As we head into Loneliness Awareness Week, I found myself reflecting on my experience as the pandemic and consequent remote or hybrid work models have brought the challenge of isolation to so many more people. I chose to work by myself; a lot of the people now feeling lonely did not choose this workplace environment.

And it’s not just a problem specific to remote working, in-person employees can also experience loneliness.

It’s easy to say that companies should focus on encouraging camaraderie in the workforce, but let’s not forget that everyone is different, so it’s hard to provide a simple solution. Even so, it’s worth organizations continuing to focus on this, as a recent survey by SHRM showed that 85% of workers say that having a close friend at work has positively impacted their career, and 76% say that this makes them more likely to remain at their employer.

A good first step is to ask people what they would like. Many leaders have realized by now that simply asking people how they are isn’t going to necessarily generate the insight that they are after. Instead ask something more specific, such as:

• What’s one thing that makes your day instantly better?
• What do you wish you did more of today?
• What non-work-related activity could we make time for as part of our next team meeting?

In addition to encouraging elements that focus on team building and social connection, there are also plenty of ways of building relationships through work tasks. These questions will also produce thoughts on those aspects.

I encourage leaders to explore approaches such as ensuring everyone has the chance to be a part of a cross-functional project, regularly celebrating successes (no matter how small) and encouraging mentoring and/or buddy relationships. If you have a multi-generational workforce, this last one can be particularly wonderful at supporting an inclusive workplace culture; multiple research results have shown that the combination of experience and new thinking leads to great outcomes and a less stressful workplace environment.

Above all, one thing I will always advocate for is leading by example. If you are a leader, make sure that you take the time to stop and engage in genuine, social conversations!

To discuss how we can help support you with this topic further, please get in touch with me at anya@orgshakers.com

Many workers are leading a double life that employers may not even know about.

Harvard Business School Professor Joseph Fuller conducted research which found that 73% of all American employees have some type of caregiving responsibility alongside their ‘day job’. However, due to a lack of support, benefits, and policies, this has resulted in US businesses losing $35 billion annually from failing to attract, support, and retain these working carers.  

And the data for the UK paints a similar picture; a report issued by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 72% of carers in the UK are providing care in addition to full-time paid work. And 28% of these full-time workers are supplying at least 30 hours of care a week – that’s 700,000 people working over 75 hours a week!

These double lives are causing these working carers to experience difficulty concentrating at work, as well as 36% of them refusing job offers and promotions – or just not applying for a job in the first place – because of their caring responsibilities.

It is clear from this that if employers know how to better support those employees who are doubling as carers, they can help increase attraction, retention, and overall engagement. So, what can companies be doing to optimize these team members?

• Encourage employees to identify themselves as carers – this starts from a cultural perspective. Ensuring that, as leaders, you are building a culture of honesty and openness that invites your staff to confide and seek support. As well as this, formally acknowledge that as an employer you are aware of this and actively want to help, so that employees can come to you privately to discuss what assistance they may need.
• Be flexible – with some workers essentially working a second full-time job with their caring duties, it is important to be as flexible and understanding to their time as possible. Scheduling meetings around potential appointments and offering ‘carers leave’ are great examples of how you can optimize your working carers and ensure that the time they can put in will be 100% focused. This will lead to higher engagement and stronger output overall.
• Training line-managers – having line-managers undergo a training course/workshop to be able to gain a deeper understanding of how they can recognise and support working carers on their teams. If employees know that their managers are well-versed in this area, they will feel much more inclined to confide in them and seek assistance.
• Mental health support – being a full-time worker and a part- or full-time carer can take its toll on anyone. As caring can sometimes be a sensitive topic, it’s not surprising that it may have an effect on the caregiver’s mental wellbeing. Making sure these employees know what mental health support is available to them, either in-house or externally, is a great way of demonstrating support.  

By striving to create policies and offer benefits that can help ease the weight of being a working carer, employers are able to get the best out of their employees while also helping to eradicate the taboo around caregiving.

To discuss the workshops, training, and policy crafting services that we can offer you, please get in touch with me at andy@orgshakers.com

Looming fears of a recession, as well as the effects from record high inflation rates, have seen a surge in layoffs over the last year. And while navigating the legalities and sensitivities that accompany laying off employees, employers also have to think about how they can effectively manage the ripple effects that these reductions to the force will have on their remaining team members.

If you are a company who finds themselves feeling the pinch and getting ready to downsize, there is a lot that will need to be considered. Having the proper HR support to help strategize with all the sensitivities that come with legal compliance, increased responsibilities, new leadership appointments, and anxiety over restructuring will ensure that your workforce remain informed, engaged and productive.

To do this, we divide the process of layoffs into three parts:

1. Executing the Layoff(s)

Conversations around layoffs are never easy, and it is important to approach them with as much care and compassion as possible. Employees may respond differently to this news, so it is important to know what to expect and how to respond appropriately. The legal implications then need to be considered: does the company offer a severance payment? Has the proper period of notice been given? Could this dismissal be at risk of infringing against a person’s right to not be discriminated against?

The legal compliance can be tricky, especially in the US. Aside from seven states, federal law says that a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) must be given to employees when a company has over 100 workers and is laying off 50 or more staff members during a 30 day period in a single location. There are some caveats to this, so it is important for organizations (especially larger ones) to know exactly what is expected of them to avoid any potential legal action, while also supporting their departing employee in every way they can and should be.

2. Communication Strategy

The period that directly follows a set of layoffs can be particularly sensitive, but with the right communication and planning strategies, this experience can be executed with delicacy and precision. Our biggest recommendation is transparency – with those remaining staff, leaders need to be open and honest about why these layoffs have taken place and how they are going to set the business up financially for the future.

This should then be followed up by highlighting the plan for moving forward, and taking care to ensure that each staff member understands if there have been any changes to their responsibilities and what support is available to help them adapt to those changes.

3. Supporting Your Remaining Employees

Speaking of available support, this is where employers need to be managing the potential long-term effects of layoffs. These can take shape in those employees who have absorbed the responsibilities of their departed colleagues, or those who have been placed in a new managerial role.

For the former, it is important to be clear about the new expectations of their role to avoid falling into the trap of ‘quiet promotions’. And to mitigate risk of burnout, ensure that these employees have a direct report who they can go to if they need support and further training to manage this increased workload. It is also very helpful to be able to offer a sense of how long they may have to do this, and whether or not it is for the time being until someone can be brought back on later down the line. Setting expectations is going to be key to keeping engagement and productivity levels up.

And for those who have been promoted to managerial roles, they may need to be rapidly upskilled to manage a group of people successfully. We would either align them with a coach, or facilitate training sessions on coaching, feedback, and performance development so that they feel prepared to manage and will do so effectively.

OrgShakers have a lot of experience in supporting clients through a layoff period, and so if you are an employer who finds themselves needing assistance in change management, please feel free to reach out to me at Brittany@orgshakers.com to discuss the services we can offer you.

With June comes the promise of sunshine (if you are situated over in the Northern hemisphere, that is), the longest day of the year, and, of course, international Pride Month!

As we all know, Pride is a celebration of inclusivity, aiming to recognise and celebrate all members of the LGBTQ+ community. In this month, it is important for employers to be demonstrating their support for this cause. Not only does it reinforce their stance as an ally to their LGBTQ+ employees, but it also offers opportunities for innovation and expansion into untapped markets.

It is proven that diverse teams are 70% more likely to capture and penetrate new markets. This is not surprising when you look at the current generation of consumers; they are significantly more morally conscious, and so will be much more likely to support companies whose social agenda aligns with their own.

So, how can employers celebrate Pride in the workplace?

• Inclusion Workshop/Training – Pride is the perfect time for employers to arrange inclusion workshops around LGBTQ+ topics to ensure everyone on the team knows how to make their queer colleagues feel accepted at work. They are also a great tool for tackling unconscious bias; although everyone in a company might be supportive of gay rights, many may be unaware of internal biases that have come about through systemic homophobia and transphobia. Having workshops to discuss and reflect on these issues are a powerful way of creating an inclusive workplace culture.
• Organizing a Fundraiser – this is a great way to demonstrate commitment to the cause. Many employers will no doubt give their logos a dash of rainbow throughout the month of June, which is a fantastic gesture, but it can also seem tokenistic. To avoid that, follow this with some good old fashioned corporate social responsibility by organizing a fundraiser to raise money for fantastic LGBTQ+ charities such as Stonewall and MindOut.
• Flexibility for Pride Events – another way for employers to show support for Pride Month is by being particularly flexible in June to allow employees to attend some Pride events (such as processions). Certain members of staff may feel very passionate about getting to raise awareness for Pride, and so employers who can be flexible to these needs are going to be the most attractive.
• Refresh Discrimination and Diversity Policies – All organizations will have policies around having a diverse workforce and not discriminating towards anyone, but these are policies that should be continually reviewed. The boundaries of acceptability are always shifting, and so with this comes the need to be diligently reviewing and refreshing current policies to ensure that they are reflective of your company’s values and beliefs.
• Get Colorful – Bringing a little color to your office (or your Zoom backgrounds for those remote workers!) is always a nice way of brightening up a space, as well as showing support for those LGBTQ+ members of staff.

Employers who make this conscious effort to truly highlight their support during Pride Month are creating a space for openness and honesty. A positive working environment allows employees to bring more of themselves to their job, which leads to opportunities for innovation and diverse thinking.

If you would like to discuss inclusion workshops, training and/or policy reviews to help you unlock the power of diversity and inclusion, please get in touch with us!

There are over 16 million Veterans in the US, as well as almost 2 million in the UK, and while many of them are of working age, the transition from special forces to the world of work can be a gaping and daunting one.

For those who are coming out of service, finding, applying, securing and doing a ‘regular’ nine-to-five job can be an arduous process – but with the right support, this group of people have an abundance of technical skills and power skills to offer to the corporate world that are productive, innovative, and profitable.

There is existing stigma around the recruitment of ex-military personnel – one survey found that almost a third (31%) of recruiters said they felt reluctant to employ someone who had previously served as they were more likely to struggle with mental health problems. However, if Veterans are properly supported in this transition, then the skills and experience they have to offer can be utilized and optimized by employers.

So, what can HR professionals be doing to offer support?

Firstly, helping with decision making. A noticeable leap from military to corporate is the fluidity and choice that one suddenly has. Veterans are used to having very rigid job descriptions and are offered set roles which remain consistent. Because of these set roles and guidelines, Veterans often struggle to connect and translate their service experience to other jobs on the civilian side (outside of contracting or law enforcement, for example). And upon leaving the forces, suddenly they are faced with having to actively seek out work, and this requires knowing where to look, how to look, and what to be looking for. In enabling Veterans to understand their skills from their past careers and translate them into a marketable corporate structure, we can help prepare them for their next mission. So in this sense, we would coach Veterans on how to approach this challenge, how to look at their experience in a different light, and aid in finding the right career for them.

This then brings us onto CVs. CVs can sometimes be a tricky thing for ex-military to grapple, as a military CV is vastly different from a corporate one, yet are the first thing an employer will base their opinion on. Veterans will be conditioned to having to write out in great detail all of their experience in the forces, and so resumes end up being pages and pages long. But in the working world, a CV has to be concise, distilled and to-the-point to even be considered. So, having support crafting a CV can be so beneficial, especially for those who have served for most of their lives and may not have a traditional education. Helping to identify and translate their leadership skills, their strengths, and polishing success stories from their time in the service in a “proper” civilian CV will concisely highlight what they can be offering to an employer.

Lastly, helping Veterans understand and follow ‘business etiquette’. For those of us who have worked everyday jobs, it is common knowledge that there are norms and values of most workplaces that most of us just come to know as we progress in our careers. But for those who have just emerged from the military, their norms are going to be wildly different. For example, in the forces there is less room for error, but more error is likely to occur, and so it is much more normalized and less reprimanded. Whereas in the world of work, repercussions for mistakes are instantaneous, and if they are recurring then you are more likely to lose your job.

But this is a great example of a mindset that employers can learn from, as making conscious room for error also creates space for learning and innovation. Those ex-military will already be wired into this mindset, they just need to be coached to have their skills translated to be applicable to a business setting. Each Veteran’s transition journey varies and can be both exciting and a little scary at first from not knowing what to expect. We hope by coaching through those unknowns, Veterans will be able to confidently enter the civilian working world in their next chapter.

It is no secret that the military are skilled organizers and project managers, and these are all transferrable into the workplace (not to mention greatly sought after by most employers). With the right support, those leaving the forces can make a fantastic impact on the world of work, and prove to be some of our best innovators and most productive workers. That’s why OrgShakers are very proud to soon be partnering with a specialized charity to help support and coach Veterans into the world of work. If you would like to discuss the details of this further, please get in contact with us.

A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is a neurodivergent individual who has been born with a genetic trait called Sensory Processing Sensitivity.

While being considered ‘highly sensitive’ often has negative connotations in a workplace setting, one survey found that those who tested as HSP were the best rated managers – however, they were also the most stressed. This highlights a significant finding – a company’s HSPs have the potential to be some of the best employees, but this potential can only be unlocked in the right environment.

So, how do you identify HSP traits and how do you create a workplace to optimize these traits?

Those who are HSP have a more reactive nervous system, and so this leads them to process things deeply, become easily overstimulated, feel emotions intensely, and pay extreme attention to detail. More recent research shows that HSPs have additional brain cell connections when compared to someone with a more neurotypical brain, and these extra cells are mostly found in the region of the brain that handles emotions and memories of emotions.

It is believed that this has developed as an evolutionary precaution to avoiding harm, as it involved thinking in a deep and detailed manner to pick up on potential ‘threats’ that others may have missed. Because of this, HSPs tend to overthink and become overstimulated, and some studies show that these people are more prone to developing anxiety disorders and having anxious thoughts.

However, employers can make adjustments in their culture and approaches in order to create an environment where the skillsets of HSPs are optimized. For one thing, HSPs thrive with structure and clarity, as this doesn’t leave a lot of space for them to overthink and become overstimulated. This means employers should ensure that the employee understands the scope and expectations of their role.

Another great tool for optimizing HSPs is by using psychometric profiling. We work in conjunction with SurePeople, whose WorkforceX program defines the personality traits of individual employees, and gives each of them the ability to compare their profile with other team members, highlighting how best to work with that specific individual. This not only assists with overall cohesion, but the clarity and precision of it removes the risk of a HSP overthinking, as they already know exactly what to expect and how best to work with someone.

And speaking of overthinking, try to offer HSP staff members the time to deliberate and formulate responses rather than putting them on the spot. Thinking things through is a hallmark of high sensitivity, and so giving them that extra time to do so will help to avoid any anxious flare-ups.

In addition, employers could make accommodations that can help to mitigate the risk of sensory overload. This can take the shape of having audio-only meetings (with cameras off), designating a day which has no meetings, or defining times which are ‘do not disturb’ periods. They could also encourage the use of noise-cancelling headphones and periodic screen breaks.

By shifting their perception of ‘sensitivity’ and making adjustments for it, employers are creating the opportunity for these neurodivergent employees to be leading voices in innovation, problem solving, and people strategy. They are highly skilled at identifying patterns and subtleties, as well as being emotionally intelligent. These power skills are becoming increasingly valued, especially in managerial roles, and so it is important for employers to be nurturing these skills.  

If you would like to discuss how to implement policies to support HSPs, please get in touch with us.

Sitting in the middle of cost-of-living crisis, enduring its seemingly never-ending impact, business leaders know as well as anybody the reality and real-time impact it is having on both financial and human capital. 

Whilst it’s a natural reflex reaction to protect the business bottom line by curtailing “non-essential” spending, there is a very good case to resist the propensity to reach for the laptop and delete the budget line for this year’s learning and development (L&D) provision. 

Keeping a tight grip on today’s escalating operational costs, as well as one eye on investing in future growth, is always a balancing act in any business. So it’s no surprise to read in the recent 2023 Q1 Labour Market Outlook report that the number of employees that received off-the-job-training has fallen to a two-decade low at 6.9% in late 2022. 

But in a labour market that’s tighter than ever, organisations still need to seek opportunities to build, invest, and capitalise on their talent. Yet research by IMC found that 92% of job candidates use L&D opportunities as a deciding factor when considering job offers, and 52 percent of employees had left a role due to lack of personal or professional development opportunities. This strongly indicates that talent development is an essential ingredient to attracting and retaining staff. 

No matter the size of your organisation, Learning and Development is key, so this begs the question: what should employers be focusing their L&D efforts on?

For one thing, keeping pace with technological change. This is an ever-present challenge for any and every organisation, currently emphasised by AI and its exponential shift into everyday life and the promise of the ‘future of work’.  

Whilst for many businesses AI may seem a little like “jam tomorrow”, with technology continuing to accelerate and AI’s potential expanding, akin to the emergence of smart phones in 2005, the limitations of today will give way to ground-breaking advancements. Focusing on and enabling your organisations talents and applying their strengths to keep pace and capitalise on the tech advancements is a major factor in business development. 

By shifting the focus of learning away from rigid competencies to a “business context focus”, employers are ensuring that the skills being developed within an organisation are in-step with business and environmental developments.

When considering the delivery of learning and development solutions, agility and flexibility are key enablers needed for any organisation to maximise its learning opportunities. Embracing a blend of “learning channels” whilst taking advantage of the wide availability of (internet-based) learning resources means learning can become more self-directed and more easily meet needs across the whole organisation. 

Whilst there is a natural predilection to focus on academia as a development solution, one of the most effective development tools sits within an organisation itself. Experience-based learning provides ideal career development opportunities through gaining experiences needed to excel in a specific role or function. 

By default, the outcomes needed to prove competence are already defined within a role or a project, it just requires a constructive approach and managerial support to capitalise on learning by exposure. 

In a similar vein, another proven form of L&D is the provision of opportunities for in-person mentoring and shadowing. Today, learning by proxy is often overlooked in favour of visual and auditory learning. However, with the rise of hybrid and remote working models, employees are spending less physical time with each other and the natural learning “osmosis” apparent in a physical work environment has waned.  

Restructuring the hybrid working environment can enable organisations to easily capitalise on the depth of experience held within it. One such way of doing so is by promoting a ‘learning in the flow of work (LITFOW)’ mindset. 

This learning habit comes from the idea that employees can find solutions and answers to things by using the resources they have e.g., asking colleagues or using search engines (and now AI technology).  

In an age of having information at our fingertips and working outside of the office, employees are given the space and opportunity to LITFOW. The key to doing this is actively coaching a LITFOW mindset, guiding and highlighting the correct resources available to employees. 

For development needs that require a more structured academic basis to enable progression, another often overlooked opportunity for enabling career progression is, dare I say it, an apprenticeship! 

Now before you scroll on, consider that today’s apprenticeships cover pretty much every business sector and education levels up to level 6 (degree level). Accordingly, they are available for any age 16+ (whether you’re 16 or 62, you can still start an apprenticeship), and in case you’re still not convinced, of the 195,600 apprenticeships started in 2023, 41% (82,130) of those who started were over the age of 25. 

Aside from the vastly improved quality, one of the main reasons for many small to medium sized organisations to start apprenticeships is that you should only have to pay (up to) 5% of the total training cost, with the rest funded by government grants. This makes apprenticeships a great value form of development for the staff you need to upskill.  

Even in these cash-strapped times, investing in L&D is an incredibly effective way of protecting and growing your organisation and its talent. Not only does it build learning mindsets into the fabric of your workplace culture, it also enables you to attract, develop and retain the talent you need. 

To discuss L&D strategies in more detail, please get in touch with me at gavin.jones@orgshakers.com 

Women comprise half of the workforce, with totals of 74 million working women in the US last year, and over 15 million in the UK. That’s why it is alarming that 81% of women reported feeling like they couldn’t speak up and expect reasonable adjustments to be made for their health by their employers. As an employer, knowing how to support women’s health results in a healthier work community. Not to mention higher productivity, greater retention and increased engagement – but this is only possible if employers understand these needs and how to begin actively eradicating the taboos surrounding them.

Here are just some of the health issues that employers need to know about:

• Fertility Treatment – it was recently discovered that 1 in 6 people worldwide struggle with their fertility, and so using fertility treatments (medical, surgical and assisted conception) is becoming increasingly common. And even those who don’t struggle, such as same-sex couples, will be using these treatments if they choose to have a child. Employers knowing the effects of treatments such as IVF will mean they can better support and be flexible to the needs of these staff members. This is especially important considering that a quarter (24%) of women who told their employer about their fertility treatment did not receive any support at work.  
• Pregnancy –  ensure that, as an employer, you have the right support and transition measures in place for female employees while they are pregnant, when they are returning back to work, and accommodating for needs such as breastfeeding and childcare.
• Menopause – three out of five (59%) working women between the ages of 45 and 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work. With menopause support just starting to become more discussed in a workplace setting due to a significant rise in midlife workers, it is now more important than ever to have menopause support policies in place to attract and retain this pool of skilled talent.
• Menstruation – recent research from Deloitte found that nearly a fifth of women who have taken time off for period pain did not share this as the reason with their employer. As well as this, 28% of those who suffer from endometriosis (a menstrual condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows outside of the uterus) said they had to change or leave their job as there was not enough support and/or the culture of the workplace wasn’t open enough for these issues to be discussed.
• Hormonal Treatment – it is very common for transgender women to have estrogen hormone therapy, and this requires having regular injections of estrogen. These can cause many side effects that are similar to that of menopause, including mood swings, hot flashes, anxiety, and migraines. Understanding the treatments that some trans women opt to use will allow you as an employer to gain a deeper understanding of how you can better support and optimize these staff members.  

These are just some of the health concerns that women find themselves dealing with, but there are so many others. And as an employer, it can sometimes be difficult to have a deep understanding of every single health issue that affects women. This is why it is imperative that leaders are striving to create a culture where their employees feel safe, valued, and able to express any needs or concerns they have. This allows for an employer to make the effort to seek guidance and training to assist and support where they can. This will result in a happier, healthier workforce who are going to be more engaged, more loyal, and more productive, and serve as a reminder that women should not be made to feel ashamed about their health.

If you would like to discuss training around these issues, as well as policy-making guidance and culture strategies, please get in touch with me at victoria.sprenger@orgshakers.com

I’m sure that it would be no surprise to hear that many of us do not grow up to be working in the career we had dreamed of as a child. In fact, only one in ten Americans say they are working their ‘dream job’.

And so, naturally, employees may indulge in a ‘what if…’ moment. What if I’d stuck with that hobby? What if I’d studied that degree? What if I chose that path instead of this one? The list goes on. Employers may not think that this happens often, but a recent study actually found that only 6% of participants reported never or almost never thinking about other paths they could have taken – that leaves a whopping 94% of employees wondering about those ‘what ifs’.

That same study also discovered that 21% of workers reported thinking about these questions often or almost always. Those who were somewhat ‘stuck in the past’ were more likely to be distracted or daydream, took more breaks and days off, were less engaged, and were more likely to search for other jobs.

It is easy to fall victim to this spiral of thoughts, as nowadays most of us are constantly being confronted with choices. A recent survey found that there had been a significant rise in the ‘apply anyway’ trend, with three quarters (73%) of recruiters citing a lack of qualified applicants for roles as the biggest challenge in the hiring process. This highlights that employees have such ease and accessibility to new job choices – LinkedIn’s Easy Apply option is a great example of this – that it’s no wonder they find themselves wondering about paths untaken.

This can all have an effect on engagement levels, and so it is important for employers to know what they can be doing to challenge these feelings of ‘what if’ and help employees turn them into creative and innovative output:

• Recognition – recognizing employee contributions goes a long way when trying to boost engagement. Quantum Workplace conducted research which discovered that when employees believe management will recognize their efforts, they are 2.7 times more likely to be highly engaged. Reminding employees of their value to the company, and making it clear how what they do for the business directly lends to the prosperity of it, is a great way of reaffirming that the job they do matters, and the choices that lead them there were for a reason.
• Role Flexibility – employers creating the opportunity for ‘job crafting’ where they can is a great way of lessening feelings of ‘what if’. This allows workers to be more innovative with their role and bring some of their personal passions into their job in order to help promote feelings of fulfilment. Managers should try to learn about these talents and passions and look to find creative ways to help employees embrace these parts of themselves at work. This can be a fantastic way of helping an employee feel that their identity aligns with their work and re-spark that fire of engagement.
• Internal Locus of Control – in psychology, having a high internal locus of control means that someone perceives themselves as having a lot of control over their behavior, and see’s things that happen to them as being a result of their own actions rather than outside of their control. Coaching staff to have this locus leads them to being more likely to respond productively to feelings of doubt associated with ‘what if’ thinking.

It‘s natural to wonder from time to time about what could have been. And while harmless reflection is always a nice thing, those who find themselves getting stuck in the past may need a helping hand getting unstuck. If you would like to discuss how we can help improve your employee engagement levels by optimizing the wonderment of ‘what if’, please get in touch with us.

At the beginning of February, I was fortunate enough to become the mother to a beautiful baby girl. Now, as my maternity leave has come to an end, I am also fortunate enough to be transitioning back into my work very smoothly.

A lot of employers may believe that supporting mothers returning to work starts the first day they get back, but this is a common misconception. Before returning, it is a great idea to be touching base with your employee – see how they’re feeling about coming back to work, how they’re feeling in general, and get a feel for how deep they want to dive back in upon their return. This mental health check-in can be so helpful for an employer to gain a real insight into what is going to be the best and smoothest way to support a mother as she transitions back into work mode.

This doesn’t mean, however, that employers should be consistently in contact. While a check-in should be essential, it is just as important to respect that time that the mother is away with their baby. Maternity leave can sometimes be misconstrued as vacation, but it isn’t by any means.

In terms of the actual period of return, the most important thing an employer can do is keep a open line of communication. Every mother is going to have a unique experience, and so the ability to offer flexibility is going to be so vital. Some mothers are going to need time to express if they are breastfeeding, and so it is important that for in-office work, there is a dedicated and private space for this to happen.

As well as this, it is fairly common for a mother’s mental health to be affected after giving birth. Around one in seven women can develop postpartum depression, and what is less talked about but is just as prevalent is that 10-15% of new mothers suffer from postpartum anxiety (which involves worrying all day, everyday that something is wrong or could be wrong with your baby, and this can lead to suffocating feelings of anxiety, panic attacks and the exhibition of agoraphobic tendencies). If an employer recognises signs of a new mother struggling with these conditions, or it has been communicated to them, it is important to have the right support in place – which could be an in-house employee assistance program – or to direct them to the right place for external support such as Mind and/or Postpartum Support International.

I think as a final point, employers must be vigilant to the biases and preconceived notions that come with a female worker becoming a mother. There is a shift that takes place, and it can sometimes feel like your identity and your place in a company enters a state of flux after returning from maternity leave. Opportunities can feel scarcer and harder to reach because of biases like, ‘oh, she won’t have time for that with the baby’ or ‘she’s got enough on her plate with the baby’. This is probably why 41% of working parents believed that being a parent was holding them back from a promotion at work. So, in this sense, it is important to look at the culture of an organization and ensure that these mindsets are not instilled or prevalent, and instead coach the perception that it is possible to exist as both a mother and a worker – the two are interlaced, they are not parallel.

Knowing how to properly support working parents means employers will know how to effectively optimize their performance and productivity right from the outset. The transition back to work is going to set a tone for the coming months, and so striving to make this smooth and easy for the mother (or parent) returning will pay off for both employer and employee. To discuss how to implement these strategies into your workplace, please get in touch with me at stephanie.rodriguez@orgshakers.com