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“The greatest power source on earth is a team of people who are energized around a common goal,” Liz Ryan. Energized. Motivated. Inspired. That’s what every manager/supervisor is shooting for and striving toward and hoping he/she will end up with. What are the “Don’ts” that can get in the way of creating this go get ’em team? A ho-hum attitude from the top. If leadership isn’t enthusiastic about reaching goals and working as a team, the team will quickly lose its steam. Maybe things are going great, so you dial the enthusiasm down, take a break from being the cheerleader for just a bit. Not a good…

How can you be the motivational force that urges the team toward greatness? That boosts their efforts, nudges, and prods, but mostly encourages them to be all they can be? As the manager/department head/supervisor, you need to fill that role if you want your team to reach its maximum potential. And why wouldn’t you? There’s no way you put all that time and energy and effort into forming this particular group of employees into a cohesive team only to see them produce mediocre results. Here’s how you can motivate them to meld their combined energy, knowledge, and skills into an inspired force committed to reaching for the…

  As a management tool for employers and a roadmap for employees, the employee handbook shouldn’t be considered a “one and done” situation. Because it addresses all issues pertinent to the day-to-day operation of the company and ultimately, it’s success, it will require consistent review to remain the cutting-edge resource it needs to be. “The handbook is a living organism that needs to be changed constantly,” says employment attorney Albert Rizzo. Any number of situations can signal the need to review the handbook and make necessary changes. For instance, growth within the company can bring about the need to revamp conflict resolution procedures. When the inevitable skirmishes and other related blips, bumps, or snafus arise, the detailed plan outlined…

 It’s really a no-brainer. An effective employee handbook benefits both sides of the employment equation. In fact, it may well be the most important document your company creates. And the number one reason for that is this:  every area of any importance has to be hammered out before it can make the pages of the handbook. Policies have to be set; procedures worked through, decisions made. A meeting of the minds has to occur to figure out the tough stuff, rather than endlessly push to the back burner the issues that, though critical to the company’s success, are sometimes just plain difficult to iron out. Once the policies and procedures are in place, it’s…

If you think that by now something has certainly replaced the trusty employee handbook, think again. Even in today’s high-tech world, the need for this comprehensive document has not diminished. If anything, the techie-ness of our society has created a greater need for this compilation of information. By definition, the employee handbook is an assembling of the policies, procedures, working conditions, and behavioral expectations for any particular workplace. Its contents guide both employer and employee expectations and as well as actions. Simply put it lays out how the employer wants employees to be treated and how workers are expected to behave. “It’s an introduction to who we are,” says Julia Grafton, an HR generalist at Boston-based architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch. Effective employee…

Encouraging Unity While some may argue for letting each generation “do their own thing” the way they want to, undisturbed by the ways and thought processes of their older or younger co-workers, this path of least resistance will also be the path of least accomplishment. A culture that both embraces generational difference and mingles the generations themselves will yield much greater success. Why box in your potential when celebrating and embracing what each generation brings to the equation will provide a much greater yield. These strategies will help you get the most from the age diversity within your workforce. *…