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In today’s fast-paced, rapidly changing professional world, time is a precious commodity.
Balancing tight schedules and demanding workloads with the need for continuous personal development is a challenge that employees in high-demand roles face on a daily basis.
This is where microlearning can be a game-changer.
Microlearning is an innovative approach to education in corporate training. This method of learning delivers short, targeted learning sessions that help employees acquire new skills without lengthy time commitments.
For example, an employer using microlearning techniques might divide their training content into concise, manageable segments, each focusing on a specific skill or topic. These sessions will typically last a few minutes, and can take various formats such as videos, quizzes, or brief articles.
This approach aligns perfectly with busy schedules, offering employees the flexibility to learn during breaks or between tasks, ultimately improving their skillset in a succinct and digestible way.
So, how can employers start building microlearning strategies into their training programs?
However, it’s one thing to introduce microlearning techniques to your teams, but employers must also be committed to continuously gauge the success of the microlearning initiatives being used in order to continue to reap the benefits of increased knowledge, innovation, and productivity.
To do this, employers should be monitoring participation rates and general enthusiasm for microlearning programs (especially if using an app, as engagement with it can be measured easily). As well as this, consider conducting assessments to evaluate how well employees apply what they have learned, and be consistently gathering input from employees on how effective they believe the content is and what might make it more effective for them.
If you would like to discuss how we can help implement microlearning strategies into your training initiatives, please get in touch with us today!
The New Year is always a time for reflection, and more often than not, this can lead to us reevaluating what things have been bringing us purpose in our life and where in our lives this purpose can be found. This is where The Purpose Effect: Building Meaning in Yourself, Your Role and Your Organization by Dan Pontefract comes into play.
Dan is a leadership and culture change strategist, a keynote speaker with over two decades of experience at companies such as SAP, TELUS, and Business Objects, and an author to a number of bestselling books.
In his book The Purpose Effect, Dan combines his years of experience with swathes of research on employee engagement to create a work about the three crucial areas of purpose that result in the Purpose Effect: individual, workplace role, and organizational.
Purpose-driven organizations focus on more than just profits. They align personal, organizational, and role-based purposes, benefiting both employees and society. When these elements align, employees feel fulfilled and engaged, contributing towards better work. If there is a mismatch between an employee’s personal purpose and the organization’s goals, it can ultimately lead to dissatisfaction.
This is where the Purpose Effect comes in, and it arises from three main factors:
Dan’s book teaches employers how they can find what he dubs the ‘sweet spot’ – this is the intersection of personal, organizational, and role purposes. By achieving this alignment, leaders will be able to foster a community spirit within the organization that will lead to a more productive, motivated workforce, as a company without a clear purpose may struggle to attract and retain top talent.
If you would like to discuss how we can help implement the best strategies to achieve the Purpose Effect, please get in touch with us today!
In the meantime, be sure to grab a copy of The Purpose Effect – you can head over here for the US and here for the UK.
A staple of entering a new year is New Year’s Resolutions. Many of us will take a moment of self-reflection to look inside ourselves and identify a list of resolutions that we feel will improve us as a person in the year to come. The ‘new year, new me’ mindset will remerge across social media platforms like it always does and many of us will be begrudgingly attempting to lower alcohol and meat intake across Dry January and Veganuary.
And yet, despite this mindset seeming slightly performative, the idea of reflection and inciting change is actually a very positive thing to be doing – especially if you are a leader or executive in an organization.
For those in positions of power in the workplace, reflection on current working policies and practices is vital for ensuring that the cogs of your business continue to spin without any kinks. However, when things remain the same way for too long, these cogs can quickly start to rust…so, when it comes to the ‘new year, new me’ mindset in leaders, what are some things that leaders should be leaving behind in 2024 to ensure a prosperous 2025 for their organizations and for their people?
If leaders truly want to embrace a ‘new year, new me’ mindset, then they should start to consider the leadership practices which will propel them and their company forwards. This is where our Executive Action Series can help; a leadership development program that is laser-focused on supporting your senior leaders and executives with their strategic goals in order to yield long-term resilience and drive sustainability.
If you would like to discuss this service in more detail, please get in touch with us at anya@orgshakers.com or gordon.robinson@orgshakers.com
Last year, we asked the OrgShakers team what practices and ideologies they thought employers should be leaving behind as they ventured into the New Year.
Now, as another year comes to a close, we wanted to see what they believe should be left behind in 2024 in order to help propel sustainability and growth in the year to come:
If you would like to get in touch with us about any of the points raised by our team, or if you have a different concerns that you were hoping to leave in 2024 and need assistance in shedding it, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today!
Equally, if you want some on-demand advice and strategies, why not book in a 1-hour private consultation with one of our seasoned HR professionals? Take a look at our OrgShakers CL!CK service for more details!
From all of us at OrgShakers, we wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!
In the post pandemic era of flexible and remote working, global mobility is no longer just about relocating employees – it’s about driving organizational growth, fostering innovation, and building resilient, future-ready workforces.
Global mobility has evolved from being primarily a logistical function into a cornerstone of talent strategy, where mobility data analytics can be used to forecast talent needs, aligning mobility with business objectives, and ensuring that policies promote inclusivity and equity.
Global mobility inevitably creates challenges and requires the navigation of complex employer compliance obligations including tax, immigration, and local labour laws, not to mention the high costs which can be associated with employee relocations.
However, with the right policies, partners, and tech-enabled support it is possible to overcome these challenges without compromising the employee experience.
In today’s interconnected world, global mobility is not just an operational necessity – it’s a strategic enabler. And by leveraging mobility as a driver of innovation, agility, diversity, and talent development, business leaders can position their organizations to thrive on the international stage.
If you would like to discuss how we can support global talent mobility in your organization, please get in touch with us today.
There has always been this outdated idea that in order to climb the ranks and come out on top you have to be ruthless, cutthroat, and manipulative. But in reality, there isn’t much evidence that supports this – one longitudinal study conducted over 14 years found that those who were selfish, aggressive, and manipulative were actually less likely to move up the ranks. It was those who were generous, kind, and agreeable who were more likely to be promoted to a position of power.
So how might they continue to be their authentic, kind self when in a position of authority? We can already see that kindness is by no means a symbol of weakness, but with a leadership role comes a certain expectation of having to make the hard decisions, delegate tasks, and maintain a sense of authority that some may feel gets diluted by a kind demeanour. The secret is not blurring the lines between kindness and friendship.
Kwame Christian – known for his work around compassionate curiosity – discusses how the best advice he was ever given was that to be successful, you need to be respected rather than liked. And this notion is particularly poignant when it comes to balancing kindness and authority in a way that leads to the respect of your peers rather than their affection.
Leaders have to actively be reinforcing professional boundaries with their team; you don’t have to be friends with the people who work for you to know them and what’s important to them, both in and outside the workplace. It’s about having and fostering that benevolent concern for your team in a respectful way.
As with many aspects of communication, it’s important to check your intention. Leaders should always be taking a step back when making a decision and think about why they are deciding this. This can be incredibly helpful when having to deliver difficult decisions or an undesired outcome to an employee, as it offers them an insight into why you have come to this conclusion and why it is a necessary one for the wider health of the company.
What I have personally found to be particularly effective in these instances is having an insight into the workstyle preferences of the people I am working with. Years ago, I had a boss who would frequently change her mind on the direction she wanted something to go in, which would require consistent reworking from me to the point that I once ended up on version 37 of the draft! Whilst this was frustrating, I now realize that if my boss and I had undergone a process like SurePeople’s psychometric assessment, I would have seen from her Prism profile what kind of a leader she was and how her decision-making process worked. Having that insight would have helped me better understand how to work with her needs, just as her having access to my own profile would give her an insight into how I worked best. Leaders who have access to tools such as Prism will find it much more manageable to have those more difficult conversations with their team members.
Overall, it can be a tricky thing to be a leader who is nice and kind but whose authority is still respected. That’s why I believe it’s best to steer away from the notion of being the leader who wants to be pals with everyone and instead focus more on being the leader who offers everyone respect and expects this back in return.
If you would like to discuss the executive coaching services that we offer, or if you would like to get a deeper understanding into the Prism psychometric profiling technology, please get in touch with me at anya@orgshakers.com
This month, we have grabbed ourselves a copy of Naz Beheshti’s Pause. Breathe. Choose. Become the CEO of Your Well-Being.
When you prioritize your career over your well-being, you ultimately end up damaging both. That’s why Naz has published a debut designed to help employees restructure their lives to ensure that they are focusing on their physical and mental well-being in order to be their best selves at work.
Naz, who is an executive wellness coach and has worked for more than 20 years at various Fortune 500 companies, shares insights from her experience and years of expertise to create a guide to well-being that anyone and everyone needs to read.
People should not be constantly longing for the weekend, but rather they need to rethink how they approach work and life – to do this, Naz has invented the MAP Method.
The MAP Method has three key components: mastery of mindfulness, the Seven A’s of resilience and stress-management, and promotion to the role of “CEO of your well-being.”
Mastery of Mindfulness – mindfulness is not passive but proactive. It helps individuals face challenges and embrace change, which is crucial in both personal life and career. Simple practices like meditating daily or adopting the ‘Pause. Breathe. Choose.’ method can help develop mindfulness, which can then be applied to everyday tasks, resulting in improved decision-making and relationships.
Seven A’s of Resilience and Stress-Management – Naz introduces the Seven A’s – “adopt, allocate, avoid, alter, adapt, accept, and attend” – to manage stress and improve adaptability. These strategies are designed to promote healthier choices and balance between work and personal life.
Promotion to CEO of Your Well-Being – leaders play a crucial role in setting good examples for their teams. Modelling behaviors like taking breaks, using wellness programs, and allowing employees flexible schedules contributes to a more balanced and productive workplace where a focus on well-being is not just normalized, it’s encouraged.
Well-being is at the forefront of many employees’ minds, but it can be difficult to know how to prioritize it whilst also chasing career progression opportunities.
Naz’s book aims to help employees understand how to focus on personal growth, turn pain into learning experiences, and connect with others in order to lead meaningful lives. After all, balancing career goals with well-being creates a more fulfilling life and work environment, ultimately benefiting both the individual and the business.
If you would like to discuss how we can help implement sustainable and effective well-being strategies in your company, please get in touch with us today. Or, you can book in a 1-hour consultation with one of our seasoned HR professionals for instant advice through our OrgShakers CL!CK consultation service.
In the meantime, if you want to grab your own copy of Pause. Breathe. Choose. then head over here for the US and here for the UK.
You can do a lot in sixty minutes.
In 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright marked the dawn of aviation with FOUR successful powered flights in the space of just one hour!
In 2020 Mo Farah set a world record by running 21,330 meters in 60 minutes. That’s an average speed of over 13 mph, which is faster than most of us can run if we sprint just 100 meters. He just maintained that pace for a whole hour – try that on your next fun run!
Alternatively, you could make yourself a delicious meal of Beef Tacos with Homemade Guacamole. Our favorite recipe takes about an hour from ‘fridge to fork’.
What we see here is that while sixty minutes might not seem that long – the length of a team meeting, a workout at the gym, or an episode of your favorite podcast – it can also be incredibly productive and even transformative.
At OrgShakers, we believe in The Power of the Hour … 60-minutes where leaders can bounce around ideas, receive expert advice, or get the objective feedback they need to start something incredible. After all, every successful business we’ve come to know started with an idea – and someone who was willing to listen.
That’s why we’re excited to introduce our new consulting service: OrgShakers CL!CK.
OrgShakers CL!CK offers a one-hour, private and confidential online consultation with one of our experienced HR professionals. It’s perfect for those moments when you need advice to tackle a new challenge, to test and refine your HR strategy, or simply to try out new ideas to see what resonates.
With extensive global corporate experience, our team is equipped to provide guidance on any HR-related question, whether you’re dealing with everyday tactical issues or complex strategic concerns.
If you would like to learn more about this service and book in time with one of our team members, head over to https://orgshakers.com/orgshakers-click/
You can accomplish remarkable things in just sixty minutes.
In 1969, Neil Armstrong’s first steps and initial exploration on the moon took about an hour.
In 2020 Mo Farah set a world record by running 21,330 meters in 60 minutes. That’s an average speed of over 13 mph, which is faster than most of us can run if we sprint just 100 meters. He just maintained that pace for a whole hour – try that on your next fun run!
Alternatively, you could make yourself a delicious meal of Beef Tacos with Homemade Guacamole. Our favorite recipe takes about an hour from ‘fridge to fork.
What we see here is that while sixty minutes might not seem that long – the length of a team meeting, a workout at the gym, or an episode of your favorite podcast – it can also be incredibly productive and even transformative.
At OrgShakers, we champion The Power of the Hour … 60 minutes where leaders can brainstorm, gain expert insights, or get the unbiased feedback needed to spark something extraordinary. After all, every major breakthrough began with an idea and someone ready to listen.
That’s why we’re excited to introduce our new consulting service: OrgShakers CL!CK.
OrgShakers CL!CK offers a one-hour, private and confidential online consultation with one of our experienced HR professionals. It’s perfect for those moments when you need advice to tackle a new challenge, to test and refine your HR strategy, or simply to try out new ideas to see what resonates.
With extensive global corporate experience, our team is equipped to provide guidance on any HR-related question, whether you’re dealing with everyday tactical issues or complex strategic concerns.
If you would like to learn more about this service and book in time with one of our team members, head over to https://orgshakers.com/orgshakers-click/
As we look to 2025, enlightened organizations will be planning to invest in enhancing the capabilities of their senior leaders.
Why now?
Because across multiple areas of business, opportunities are emerging to gain significant competitive and commercial advantage – and smart companies know that seizing these opportunities means shaking things up: Appointing new leaders. Building new teams. Giving existing teams important new goals and objectives. Enabling and empowering executives to think and act differently. Strengthening working relationships across the senior leadership group.
And for these changes to be successfully implemented, the development of key executives is vital.
At the same time, cost management is at the forefront of the C-suite’s agenda, which is why we have created the Executive Action Series – a leadership development program which is laser-focused on the five areas that will create the greatest return on investment:
1. Customer Experience
Customers are the fuel that keeps the fire burning for organizations, and so 2025 needs to be all about driving customer experience. This means personalized marketing that delivers what someone needs when they need it, an easy setup and installation, and efficient problem resolution. The idea is that companies will be creating business strategies that promote a sense of individuality and value for each customer, making their experience unique to them and putting their specific needs at the forefront.
2. Generative AI
A recent survey from Access Partnership discovered that 93% of employers expect to use generative AI in the workplace in the next five years. While the presence of AI isn’t necessarily new, generative AI has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for organizations, and is seemingly the harbinger for the age of working smart. But in order to optimize its uses, business leaders need to have a deep understanding of generative AI to unlock its full potential.
3. Remote and Hybrid Working
The tug-of-war between employers issuing ‘return to office’ mandates and employees wanting flexible working arrangements has been going on since lockdown ended. But aside from flexibility being a strategy for attracting talent, the digitalization of the working world has seen the barriers of place and time evaporate, allowing organizations to gain access to the best talent on a global scale. Hybrid and remote work, if managed successfully, can play a huge role in a business’ economic strategy.
4. Skills-Based Hiring
Employers have increasingly relaxed their need for qualifications in favor of skills, aptitude, and attitude. Skills-based hiring continues to gain momentum, and by identifying areas where this can be woven into business strategy, employers will catalyze social mobility and foster a more diverse workforce.
5. Resilience
An organization that can foster resilience is going to be best prepared for disruptive events that can happen at any given moment (economic downturns, cyber-attacks, global pandemics, etc.). Having the knowledge to recognize, predict, and mitigate risk will be fundamental to the health and sustainability of a business.
The Executive Action Series is divided into five modules that are spread across the corporate calendar. Each module covers the theory behind best practices, and then brings these to life through a combination of case studies, real-world scenarios, and visits to organizations where these practices can be experienced first-hand. Participants will also hear directly from world-class subject matter experts, as well as collaborating with other leaders in their organization.
Each module will help equip leaders with a variety of new tools and knowledge that will create resilience and sustainability for the future:
Module #1: Leadership Portrait
We use comprehensive diagnostics, alongside personal and team reflection, to gain actionable insights into individual leadership brand and enhance contributions to team effectiveness. We also consider how the ensuing levels of trust allow leaders to leverage differences of opinions for enhanced outcomes.
Module #2: Shaping Strategy Through Customers, Diversity & AI
Together, we examine the impact on strategy of three levers that the research above identifies as critical to current success: customer experience, workforce diversity, and generative AI. Further, we introduce world-class thought leaders to facilitate discussions about key issues that will be important to future success.
Module #3: Activating Strategy
At this stage, we explore a range of powerful tools for activating strategy through operations, including effective leadership of large-scale change and the impact of operational choices on customer experience. We also introduce the concept of the Program Acceleration Office as a best practice for optimizing a portfolio of projects.
Module #4: Winning Through Talent
Knowing that 46% of CEOs have Talent in their Top-3 immediate priorities, we explore the evolution of the workplace and the talent strategies that will help us win the war for talent. What can senior leaders do to enable the recruitment, development, and retention of the right people across the right organization?
Module #5: Sustaining and Evolving a Resilient Strategy
To sustain success, we must smooth out the peaks and troughs that are typical of ongoing change. We explore the latest methods of building strength and flexibility throughout the organization to cultivate resilience across your workforce, your culture, and your strategy, and to help weather turbulent business cycles.
To ensure skills and insights gained from the program are applied when executives return to the workplace, Program Guides will provide virtual facilitation between modules and encourage ongoing collaboration through small group peer support coaching.
If you would like to discuss the Executive Action Series in more detail, please get in touch with us via gordon.robinson@orgshakers.com or anya@orgshakers.com
As we continue to navigate new technologies and advancements in AI, it can be challenging for employers to keep up with the rules of the working world when the rules are always changing. That’s why this month we’re recommending Gary A. Bolles’s The Next Rules of Work: The Mindset, Skillset and Toolset to Lead Your Organization Through Uncertainty.
Gary is the Chair for the Future of Work with Singularity University and a Partner in strategy consulting firm Charette, LLC. As a globally recognized expert on the future of work, he regularly consults with C-suite leaders of global companies, labor and education leaders from Brazil to Canada, and global non-profits.
This vast amount of experience and expertise has been channelled into his latest book, which acts as a guide for employers to thrive in the modern economy where the rules of work are changing almost as fast as people can learn them.
‘Old rules’ have long dominated modern companies – under this ethos, bosses embraced the idea of presenteeism and the basic hierarchical structure that leaders called the shots and workers obeyed. But the new way of working is shedding these old rules, and in its place the ‘Next Rules’ are emerging.
Those companies embracing these new rules are following a new mindset. Managers are not the source of all knowledge, but rather the guides who help workers achieve their goals and flow in the right direction. It’s about embracing innovation, creative thinking, and autonomy to result in a workplace that is fluid enough that it can take change in its stride whilst still growing in an upwards direction.
However, change has always been a tough pill to swallow, for employers and employees alike. But if employers are proactive about change and creating and implementing strategies to mitigate change fatigue, then those businesses can thrive under the new rules of work.
Gary’s book captures the notion of change and the mindsets that are needed to thrive from it expertly, pooling his own knowledge with psychological data and analytics to create a guide that all employers should read if they want their organization to not just survive, but thrive in a contemporary working world.
If you would like to discuss how we can help you strengthen your change management strategies, please get in touch with us today.
And in the meantime, make sure you grab a copy of The Next Rules of Work – you can purchase it here in the UK and here in the US.
You can do a lot in sixty minutes.
In 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright marked the dawn of aviation with their FOUR successful sustained human flights. All four of these happened in the space of just one hour!
In 2022, Filippo Ganna cycled 56.8km in one hour setting a new world record. To achieve this, he sustained an average speed of over 35mph for a full 60-minutes. Try matching that at your next spinning class!
And, today, it’s estimated that Jeff Bezos will be earing around $3.5 million an hour.
(So, Jeff, if you read the whole of this article it will have taken up just $120,000 of your valuable time which I’m sure you’ll agree is great value!)
What we are seeing here is that although 60-minites may seem like a relatively short amount of time – the length of a lunch break, the time it takes to travel home, the duration of an episode of TV – it’s also possible for an hour to be highly productive … and maybe even groundbreaking.
At OrgShakers, we believe in The Power of the Hour … 60-minutes where leaders can bounce around ideas, receive expert advice, or get the objective feedback they need to start something incredible. After all, every successful business we’ve come to know started with an idea – and someone who was willing to listen.
That’s why we have launched our brand-new consulting service: OrgShakers CL!CK.
OrgShakers CL!CK is a one-hour, private and confidential online consultation with one of our seasoned HR professionals. It offers instant advice and is designed specifically for those times when you need help figuring out how to overcome a challenge, when you need advice on your HR processes, or if you simply just want a sounding board for new ideas to see what sticks.
With years of first-hand corporate experience on a global scale, our team can advise you on any HR question you may have, whether that be the day-to-day tactical challenges or a complex strategic issue.
If you would like to learn more about this service and book in time with one of our team members, head over to https://orgshakers.com/orgshakers-click/