The employee referrals debate today Employee referrals programmes have been around throughout history. Research suggests that Julius Caesar created the first programme when he offered up to one-third of a soldier’s annual salary for referrals into the army. Employee referrals are a way of finding candidates for an open role by asking current employees for introductions…

The IKEA Effect in the workplace A research team Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School, Daniel Mochon of Yale, and Dan Ariely of Duke, first named the IKEA effect in 2011. They described the IKEA effect as “labor alone can be sufficient to induce greater liking for the fruits of one’s labor: even constructing a…

“Facts tell stories sell” is a piece of marketing and personal branding advice I see almost daily on social media, especially targeting job seekers. Like a lot of bumper sticker homilies, it can work some of the time, but it doesn’t work all of the time. Why? Because it lacks nuance, a topic which is…

How much attention do you pay to voice when you think of a leader or when you hear a speaker?  I cut my teeth on old school telephone interviewing so can confirm that voice  definitely plays a role in the assessment of someone. Voices are an integral part of our identity and we can all…

We are in the middle of a tumultuous convergence of three crises: health, economic and social justice. In some areas we need to layer on political upheaval. And we are not talking emerging markets here. The “Coronacoaster” as it has been named, is creating upheaval and uncertainty in most markets. Some have been decimated. Many…

A hot topic in the career sector is whether job seekers should declare on LinkedIn via a hashtag system or a green circle offered by LinkedIn, that they are #ONO (Open for New Opportunities) or saying they are “Open to Work.”  A significant number of people suggest this is a “sign of desperation” and are…

12 inclusion nudges to manage a remote team  – feedback from the teams! With enforced lockdowns in many geographies, organisations have had to switch quickly to remote working. In some cases, they have been scrambling around to get the tech in place and even hardware. Not all employees have a company lap top. I know…

Addressing the modern phenomenon of workplace loneliness We are all aware of the decline of civility in public discourse and interaction. Some of the world’s top leaders are openly abusive and guilty of bullying, mobbing and gaslighting. It’s hardly surprising that these behaviours and attitudes spill over into our workplaces. Employee engagement is at an…

What we can learn from the resistance to Unconscious Bias Training If you asked any corporate leader if they wanted their workplaces to be respectful, open-minded and psychologically secure for their employees most would say immediately “yes.” There would be a few who couldn’t care less but they are unlikely to admit that publicly. The…

And when did respect become political correctness? Have you ever noticed how people apologise for political correctness or pour scorn on it as somehow  it’s something we have to justify. We frequently hear sentences starting with “I know this is politically incorrect but…..”  They then go on to say something mildly or even extremely offensive.…