Resolutions for a Decade

The dawn of a new decade can really make you realize that time passes quickly. With the technological innovations of this past decade, we have become accustomed to everything occurring instantly. But is that carrying over into our goal-setting and achievements as well?

Goodbye 2009, Welcome 2010!

We have had a difficult year. What can we expect for 2010?

Recession Recovery
The economic difficulties have been financially, emotionally, and professionally difficult, resulting in a paradigm-shifting aftermath.

Empowerment Plans

Each year, most companies do a performance appraisal that is generally tied to an Individual Development Plan (IDP). Once a year, performance expectations are set. Once a year, performance expectations are measured. But what is the value in assessing performance just once a year? We live in a fast-paced world where situations change, resources are re-allocated, and new challenges surface throughout the year. Why should we only formally deal with that once a year?

Learning: Doing More With Less

Traditionally, knowledge only existed in libraries, books, and within people’s minds. Today, quality research and thought leadership are available with the click of a mouse — for free. Now, information is readily accessible — too accessible, even. This widespread access to knowledge can be wasted … or it can be used to your advantage.

Retention Post-Recession

As hard times came, companies did what they had to do to make it through the recession – including layoffs. Over the past two years we have been through a record-breaking low market, layoffs, survival mode, and now we are looking towards recovery.

One of the concerns now is that the organization’s remaining human capital may leave as companies start hiring.

Memory and Decisions

At one point in time, memory was essential to learning something new. Memory allowed you to store information you learned and later, retrieve the information you needed – when you needed it. But, today, we have access to information — too much information. The amount of information that is being thrown at us each day is overwhelming. The time has come that, to be most productive, we should take note from IT professionals — don’t attempt to learn all the answers, but do learn how to find the answer.

Corporate Courage

Courage is a quality every great leader must possess. Courage is a quality every great employee must possess. Courage helps us endure hardships, deal with economic insecurity, and confront challenges.

Maximize Learning

Taking a one size fits all approach does not benefit all learners; people learn in different ways. Some people are more receptive to visual stimuli while others prefer to listen to the spoken word to acquire new information.

Outdated Outplacement

As companies across all industries downsize in these challenging economic times, the demand for outplacement services is growing. Providing outplacement support can help alleviate the stress of layoffs as severance alone is not enough.

But often times, financial, professional, and emotional challenges aren’t fully addressed with standard outplacement services.

The Layoffs Aftermath

Layoff survivors, those who are left at the company after a round of layoffs, are faced with a stressful situation. A recent study presented at a University of Cambridge conference announced results indicating that survivors of layoffs have similar anxiety and decline in well-being as those who have been laid off, but the feeling is more persistent and prolonged.