Every few months, the idea of the four-day workweek starts trending. And it’s not just making the rounds on TikTok, Twitter, and Reddit. Big publications like Forbes and Time also frequently cover the topic.

As more and more countries introduce bills advocating for the 4-day workweek and as more and more studies show the benefits of it, the clearer it becomes that this is not going anywhere anytime soon.

But why is that? Is the four-day workweek as good as people are saying? Is it something companies need to start adopting?

In this post, we will discuss:

• What is the four-day workweek?
• Where did the four-day workweek come from?
• Pros of the four-day workweek
• Cons of the four-day workweek
• Why you’re going to keep hearing about the four-day workweek

What is the four-day workweek?

The answer is in the name, really. The four-day workweek is a workweek that is four days instead of five. 

Most companies that adopt it opt for their employees to have a weekend from Friday to Sunday, but others go for Saturday to Monday. It doesn’t really matter what that third day is, the point is to make the weekend one day longer every week.

The idea is to give employees more time to themselves to do things like:

• Rest
• Spend time with friends and family
• Work on their hobbies
• Go to appointments
• Run errands

To many, it’s a radical idea. I mean, two days a week to do all that stuff is plenty, right? Well, as times change, people are beginning to argue that it simply isn’t.

Where did the four-day workweek come from?

Establishing the five-day workweek

You know, there was once a time when the five-day workweek was considered to be a crazy idea. During the Industrial Revolution, people were forced to work 10-12 hour days, six days a week. 

It wasn’t until Henry Ford fully adopted the 40-hour, five-day workweek in his factories in 1926 that changes started to be made. It was a massive upset in the labor world, which was still lacking a lot of important safety regulations. 

Of the policy, Ford’s son Edsal, the president of the company, said:

“Every man “Every man needs more than one day a week for rest and recreation….The Ford Company always has sought to promote [an] ideal home life for its employees. We believe that in order to live properly every man should have more time to spend with his family.”

However, it wasn’t until 1940 that Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to limit the workweek to 40 hours.

Let that sink in for a minute. The 40-hour workweek has only been around by law since 1940. It has barely been the standard for one generation of people.

A shorter workweek is not a new idea

Though the 40-hour week has only been with us since 1940, it feels like it’s been with us forever. It’s ingrained in our entire work culture. But even in countries that don’t abide by the 40 hours, like the many in Europe who work 35, the five-day workweek is the standard.

This mass advocacy for the four-day workweek may seem new, modern, and radical, but the truth is that the idea for a shorter workweek is far from it.

Back in 1928, the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that within a century, people would be working 15 hours per week. Then in 1965, a subcommittee of the US Senate predicted that by 2000, the workweek would be 14 hours long, and people would be guaranteed seven weeks of vacation.

And for any non-Americans reading this, most people in the US get two weeks of vacation per year, so the idea of seven weeks off is insane.

Unfortunately, due to several major events that rocked the United States, including

• The Great Depression
• World War II
• Bone-chilling fear around Communism (to some, less work = more Communism)
• Women entering the workforce (focusing on equality over working hours)

People began focusing on cutting work hours less and less. And as a result, nothing has yet to change. But it will soon.

Why it keeps coming back

As we entered the 21st century and tech companies began taking over the world, we began to see greater disruption in the status quo of work. They began to rethink the traditional 9-to-5 and since 2018 we have seen study after study of the four-day workweek yield some incredible results.

In 2018, a company out of New Zealand called Perpetual Guardian gave the four-day workweek a trial run and was so happy with the outcome that they made it permanent.

In 2019, Microsoft tested it out with its subsidiary in Japan, resulting in a 40% increase in productivity.

And then 2020 happened. Our working culture has never been disrupted like that before. The pandemic forced us all to reassess the most important things in our lives, including how we work.

For the first time, a lot of people were working fewer hours, working remotely, or perhaps not working at all. For some, it was a positive experience, for others it was very negative. But no matter which side of the line people fell on, people came to the same conclusion: The way we work needs to change.

We all learned the incredible importance of work-life balance. We learned how having more time to actually live and spending time with the people you care about improves the quality of your life immensely. 

So when people began returning to the office in 2021, they brought with them their demands for improved working hours. Company resistance to these demands was a massive contributor to the Great Resignation. 

But the reset that COVID gave us is the reason that now, years after the pandemic, the idea of the four-day workweek isn’t going anywhere. 

Pros of the four-day workweek

Despite what some Boomers and political pundits may say, the four-day workweek doesn’t just exist for people who don’t want to work. It actually has some incredible benefits for businesses as well as employees, as backed by numerous studies.

Let’s break them down. 

Lower business expenses

For those businesses that still have offices, energy savings can be massive. With Microsoft’s experiment in Japan, just having their offices closed one extra day out of the week saved them 20% in energy costs. 

They also saw a 60% reduction in the amount of printed paper they used, saving even more money as well as reducing their carbon footprint. 

Expenses are lowered for employees as well, who save on transportation costs by removing a day out of the week they need to be at the office.

Better productivity

For most businesses, the four-day workweek doesn’t reduce productivity, it either stays the same or increases, even if employees work fewer hours. But don’t just take my word for it. The studies speak for themselves.

The majority of the 61 companies that participated in the 2022 UK four-day workweek study found that they either maintained or increased their overall productivity. 33 of the companies even saw an increase in overall revenue.

A separate company from England that was not part of the study, Since Search Intelligence Ltd, did a trial of their own in 2022 and found that their productivity went up 25-30%. They were so happy with the results that they adopted the model permanently.

And it’s not just companies in the UK finding success in the four-day workweek. There have been studies conducted in Belgium, Spain, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand that have yielded similar results.

There’s something really important to note here. All of the companies mentioned, particularly in the UK trial, worked with reduced hours. They did not condense the 40-hour workweek into four 10-hour days. They reduced the working hours for their employees across the board. And even with doing that, they still maintained the same level of productivity.

Happier, more relaxed employees

Okay, it’s definitely not all about businesses. Employees see huge benefits, too. Looking back at the UK study, it’s clear that the vast majority of them much preferred the four-day week.

As part of the parameters of the study, employees received their full pay and benefits, so many saw the reduction in hours the same as a 25% pay bump. In fact, 42% of the participants said they would require a pay increase of 25-50% if they were asked to return to working 5 days. 

Some participants even said that they wouldn’t return to the five-day week for any amount of pay. The extra day they had for their personal lives every week was more valuable than money. 

Outside of work, employees were able to find more time for exercise and sleep problems went down by 8%. 

Additionally, employees became happier in their work. 67% of the participants reported less burnout and did not notice any significant increase in their workload. That made them feel happier when they were at work, which meant they did better work.

Cons of the four-day workweek

Of course, not everything is sunshine and rainbows. There are criticisms of the four-day workweek and some of them are valid.

Doesn’t work for every business

Not every sector of business can be closed for any length of time. Think healthcare and emergency services. They won’t save any money by adopting a four-day workweek. Actually, they may even see costs increase.

If the federal government set the maximum number of hours worked at 32 instead of 40, many hospitals and healthcare facilities would find themselves having to pay more for overtime as their employees tend to work longer hours. 

Scheduling issues

Even if industries such as healthcare adopted the four-day workweek for their employees, it wouldn’t look the same for everyone. Some might have every other day off, some may have Friday, Saturday, and Wednesday off. 

It likely wouldn’t be that they would all have three consecutive days off, which could mean they wouldn’t receive the same mental benefits as other workers. 

Even in more traditional environments, cutting out a day that everyone is working can mean that it’s difficult to set meetings or respond to customer concerns. This isn’t the end of the world, though. It would just take some finessing and time to get used to it. But it’s certainly a concern worth considering.

Less collaboration

For creative and tech industries where collaboration is essential, the four-day workweek can present a problem by cutting out time for it. 

This can lead to less overall creativity in a company if you’re not careful. Companies that rely on collaboration need to take special care to schedule time for it during the shortened workweek.

Why you’re going to keep hearing about the four-day workweek

The four-day workweek isn’t going anywhere. You’re going to keep hearing about it. With study after study from all parts of the world showing overwhelming success, it’s just inevitable.

Employees are going to start demanding it more, and companies who offer it will have a competitive advantage over the ones who don’t. Not only will they attract top talent, but they will have far better retention. Not to mention the possibility of increased profits.

It’s not unlikely that within a few years, those companies that don’t offer four-day workweeks will be considered old-fashioned, out of touch, and perhaps even a little exploitative. 

COVID gave workers a taste of what a better work-life balance is like and they are not going to give up on it. They understand their power and they are the ones who will change the culture. 

Has your company considered giving the four-day workweek a try? Tell us about why you decided to or not to in the comments below!

The post The Four-Day Workweek: Why It’s Here to Stay first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Spreadsheets are so outdated. 

C’mon, spreadsheets are the same awkward, frustrating tool that never quite does what you need it to that I first learned to use way back.

You end up spending more time inputting formulas to make your data work than entering the data itself – and that’s presuming there isn’t a mistake in the formula that screws up your whole day.

Sure, spreadsheets are okay for some things, but can’t we do better by our information? Can’t we do better for ourselves? Don’t we deserve more efficiency, better automation, and time for that extra cup of coffee Monday morning? 

Of course we do. And that’s why Process Street created data sets. 

Who says we can’t have nice things?

Here’s what we’ve got:

• So data sets are fancy spreadsheets?
• Data sets: A knowledge base of possibilities
• Power tips from Process Street
• Work smarter, not harder

So data sets are fancy spreadsheets?

Shut your mouth. We don’t talk like that in this blog. 

Sure, data sets can be used for data entry, but they’re also so, so much more. 

The most basic use of data sets is creating and editing records – the limit of spreadsheet functionality more or less. 

With data sets, however, you can do this manually or you can create those records automatically by pulling information from your workflows. All you have to do is match one of the data set fields with one of the workflow’s fields and bam! Data records in two places at once while you sit back and enjoy that extra cup of coffee.

You can also reverse the process and pull information into a workflow from the data set, allowing you to automatically fill fields or create dynamic drop-down menus.

But what about my spreadsheets?

I know it can be hard to let go, but everything comes to an end eventually. I’m sure your old spreadsheets would just want you to be happy about your new data entry opportunities. 

You’re probably thinking, I’ve already set up my spreadsheets. I have all that data in all those documents. I’ve spent weeks getting it to work sort of alright. Why would I start from scratch all over again?

See, this is where us Process Streeters are a little bit genius. We’re all about working smarter, not harder, so everything we do is designed with that in mind. 

Even data sets. You can take those spreadsheets and import them as a CSV. You can also export your data sets into a CSV file – or set up custom integrations with our Automations, Webhooks, and API.

You can even connect to other apps like Zapier, Make, and Google docs so if you really, really want to hold on to your spreadsheets, you can save them exactly where you want without fussing over a rogue typo that’s thrown every cell out of wack. 

It’s pretty cool when you get right down to it.

Data sets: A knowledge base of possibilities

Alright. It’s one thing knowing how a thing works but it’s an entirely different thing knowing what you can do with it. 

So let’s walk through some examples. 

Mailing list management

You have a regular newsletter that goes out to your subscribers but it can be difficult when people unsubscribe or need to change their information.

Your marketing department can create a data set where a list of all the newsletter subscribers is stored. There’s also a connected workflow set up with Automations to delete a data set record if a customer unsubscribes.

Completing that task – or the workflow run itself – deletes that subscriber’s record so they no longer receive the newsletter.

If you want to take it one step further, you can then use webhooks to listen in Zapier for when a subscriber’s record is deleted. That triggers a feedback workflow that gets sent to the subscriber to fill out. 

The TL;DR of that is when someone unsubscribes from your mailing list, their information is automatically removed from the data set and they’re asked for feedback about why they unsubscribed. 

Product inventory

Inventory management is the absolute least fun thing to do ever, am I right? But it has to be done – and it has to be done right or there can be very big problems. 

I mean, you really don’t want to miscount the number of medium-sized T-shirts you have on hand and end up confirming an order you can’t actually fill. Or lose track of damaged stock, products that haven’t arrived on time, or merchandise that just isn’t where it’s supposed to be. 

Once upon a time, I worked for a college merchandise store. We kept track of the total inventory of three stores and a warehouse all using a single spreadsheet. Oh, and there were the mail-order items, too. 

In theory, it should have been a simple process. You transfer a box from the warehouse to one of the stores, adjust the numbers on the spreadsheet, and you’re all done. 

Except that every employee in every location was working on the same spreadsheet at the same time – and it didn’t always update immediately. We used old computers, too, so sometimes they just froze and the data was lost. 

Add into that an employee who gets interrupted and forgets to save – well. Things go missing. Money gets lost. Customers are unhappy. You’re unhappy. That employee is probably pretty unhappy, too.

Data sets save automatically. 

You have an employee updating your inventory numbers. A customer has a question and the employee stops to help that customer find something. Everything that employee has already input will still be saved to the data set so no matter what happens in the meantime, that data is recorded. 

Did I mention that data sets save automatically?

Performance reviews

Employee performance reviews are another one of those things that must be done that we’d rather not do. 

You have the employee’s start date, ID number, and other information in a spreadsheet. Their last performance review is in another place. And the form you have to fill out is in yet another place. Maybe that one’s even on paper. 

Now picture this:

All of your important employee data is safely stored in a data set. You have a workflow connected that’s scheduled to run whenever that employee’s performance review is due.

Yeah, that’s a thing you can do.

The first task includes a drop-down menu with every employee’s name. All you have to do is select the right employee and all of their other information is pulled from the data set straight into the workflow. 

Your employee will be so impressed by the speed and efficiency they won’t even notice there won’t be any pay rises this year. 

Okay, maybe not that impressed, but anything can happen, right?

Power tips from Process Street

By now you’re probably like: Geeze this guy is really excited about data sets. And it’s true. As soon as our Product Team told us it was in the works, I started imagining all the different things I could do with it. 

I hate spreadsheets down to every last row and column. 

I love being able to automate things. And I’m not the only one. It’s kind of a thing we do here, automating. 

Check out how we’re using data sets:

Sales & CS: Client handoff

Once Sales has closed a deal with a new client, the next step is to connect that client with our Customer Success Team (CS). 

As you can imagine, this requires Sales to give CS a lot of details about the client so this handoff happens smoothly and our client has everything they need to get started. 

And you know how they do this? 

Yep. With data sets.

While finalizing a deal with a client, the Sales Team runs a workflow that covers the next steps – including bringing CS into the fold. 

When a Customer Success Manager (CSM) is assigned to that particular client, all of their details – name, calendar links, contact information – are pulled into the workflow so the client knows exactly who they’re working with and the CSM knows exactly what the client needs.

Product: Employee onboarding

One of the (many) practical uses our Product Team has found for data sets is in their employee onboarding. 

Similar to the performance review example I mentioned above (and may have shamelessly cannibalized from this actual process), data sets make it easy to automatically fill in all of an employee’s information at once. 

When it comes to employee onboarding, there are a lot of forms to fill out and all of them are incredibly important. The last thing you want to do is make a mistake on someone’s tax form or enter the wrong ID number. 

All departments have a specific team-focused onboarding process that runs alongside the general company onboarding. When the Product Team launches its onboarding workflow, they use data sets to pull that employee’s information from one workflow to another, ensuring that no mistakes are made in the transfer. 

Plus less tedious data entry so they have more time to build cool things for you to use. 

Marketing: Content topics

Saving the best for last, we jumped on the data sets bandwagon in Marketing as well. 

As you can imagine, in a company like Process Street, there are ideas happening everywhere. It can be difficult to keep track of and organize those ideas so data sets provide the perfect solution. 

The first thing we did when data sets were released was to create one for all of the company’s content ideas. 

Not only that, but we connected a very simple workflow that anyone can use that gives the Content Team all the extra info we need to do our thing while the person with the idea just has to write it down. 

Work smarter, not harder

There is a plethora of ways you can apply data sets to make your processes more efficient and productive. 

Whether you need to keep a database of clients, products, employees, or the exact number of ants in the world, you can create a data set for that. 

And if you’re still hesitant to leave your spreadsheets behind, try data sets out for yourself. 

Book a free demo with our process experts to see all the ways Process Street can make your business better. 

(It’s 20 quadrillion, by the way. The ants.)

The post The Benefits of Using Process Street Data Sets: A Closer Look at Their Impact on Your Business first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Being neurodivergent can mean many different things.

For me, it means struggling with anxiety and social interactions. For others, it could mean processing information differently than someone who is “neurotypical.”

In any case, being neurodivergent can influence our choices, decisions, and lifestyles.

This is especially true when it comes to career options. 

For example, I chose to be a writer for a reason. And it’s not only because I love to write! Pursuing this career allows me to express myself in a way I otherwise couldn’t. 

Unfortunately, not everyone gets the opportunity to do what they love, especially those in the neurodivergent community.

As it turns out, 79% of companies in the US believe that the need to train and support neurodivergent employees is much greater than their neurotypical counterparts. But around 80% of people with mental health problems and disabilities remain unemployed.

So if companies believe the support is needed, what are they doing about it?

In this article, I’m going to tackle the subject of how to effectively onboard and support neurodiverse individuals.

I’m also sharing some expert advice from Dr. Clare Mulligan-Foster, a chartered occupational psychologist with over 10 years of experience in the field.

So keep on reading!

• Challenges neurodivergent individuals face in the workplace (+ solutions)
• How to build a company culture that supports neurodiversity
• Tools to help neurodivergent employees
• Benefits of having a neurodivergent team
• What do neurodivergent people think?

Challenges neurodivergent employees face in the workplace (+ solutions)

Neurodivergent employees face a number of challenges in the workplace – and not all of them are things you might expect or notice. 

These challenges can include various things, such as compulsive behaviors, physical or verbal tics, and sensory sensitivities. 

In the following sections, I’ll cover some of the most common workplace challenges and potential solutions from neurodivergent employees based on first-hand experience.

Challenge 1: Communication

Whether it be verbal or written, communication can be problematic. Yet, communication is the number one skill employers are looking for in potential candidates.

But memorizing information and communicating effectively are often the two main challenges neurodivergent people face.

“Someone who is autistic may find social interaction elements difficult, therefore, may not be as able to show their strengths in an interview.”

Dr. Mulligan-Foster

Luckily, the solutions to these problems can be pretty straightforward. 

Solution: 

The best way to minimize confusion when first interacting with neurodivergent people is through, wait for it, communication! 

Yes, you read that right.

If you want to avoid miscommunication, you need to change the way you communicate.

And believe me, it sounds more complicated than it is!

All you have to do is follow these 5 steps:

1. Keep your conversations simple
2. Skip sarcasm and euphemisms (unless you notice the person you’re talking to uses them)
3. Give clear directions 
4. Repeat yourself if necessary (and don’t get irked by having to do that)
5. Pause on occasion to give the other person a chance to process what you’ve said to them

Dr. Mulligan-Foster believes that effective communication starts long before the interview process takes place, so during the job posting stage.

“Be clear about what skills you are looking for and then find ways of evidencing these skills.” 

She also suggests that some people

“My find an onboarding session with lots of group activities or role-plays overwhelming, so offer an alternative such as online or one-to-one sessions.” 

Ultimately, it’s up to you to make your employees feel welcome in your company, regardless of their mental health status. 

Encourage and support open communication and transparency in your workplace culture.

But adjusting how you communicate with people will help you in the long run.

Challenge 2: Lack of support

When onboarding neurodivergent employees, providing adequate support is crucial.

But more often than not, new hires won’t even speak up about their issues.

This is likely because of the stigma around mental health.

And understandably, many people aren’t comfortable disclosing their disabilities to their new manager.

Moreover, many employers believe in a “one size fits all” approach to onboarding. This prevents them from really getting to know their new employees and listening to their needs.

Solution

“Ask for preferences and allow flexibility in how you manage your recruitment or onboarding processes.”

Dr. Mulligan-Foster

Another great way to make onboarding more inclusive is through listening to feedback. 

So, make sure to provide your new hires with the opportunity to tell you what they need or find useful. 

You can also:

• Supply them with online help and resources
• Offer access to mental health services
• Schedule weekly 1:1 to find out how they’re getting on in their new role

After all, keeping your employees happy will increase their productivity and willingness to work. (read our guide to employee motivation and our 5 HR tips for management to find out more). 

It’s also worth knowing what portion of your workforce may be neurodivergent.

A quick, anonymous survey is a great way to find this out. Armed with this information, you’ll be able to adjust the working environment of your organization. In turn, helping people to feel safe and comfortable at work.

Challenge 3: Sensory sensitivities 

Sensory sensitivities are extremely common in people with ADHD, epilepsy, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 

“A person with ADHD may find it more challenging to screen out sensory input and become more distracted.”

Dr. Mulligan-Foster

This means they are more likely to respond negatively to:

1. Loud and/or unexpected noises
2. Being touched (even casually) 
3. Strong smells 
4. Bright lighting 

Some individuals are more sensitive than others, but it’s useful to be aware of this when onboarding neurodivergent employees.

Solution

According to Dr. Mulligan-Foster, it’s all about modifying the working environment and making it more inclusive: 

“Workplace design should be considered to think about the impact of open spaces, bright lights, etc. Allowing different areas for quieter working time or tools such as dictation software can help optimize a person’s performance.”

When asked about whether employers should make these adjustments to everyone, she responds:

“The key is to ask people what adjustments or access is required. Make a list of all resources you have available and share that to allow people to choose and add more [to the list]. So much of what an organization can offer may not be known to all staff. Make it clear from the start if you offer flexible/hybrid working, employee support, occupational health, or IT options.”

Keep reading, as I’ll soon suggest some amazing tools you can utilize when onboarding neurodivergent employees!

How to build a company culture that supports neurodiversity

Creating a supportive, comfortable, and fun working environment is as challenging as it is essential. 

But who wants to work in a place where they’re being misunderstood and micromanaged?

I know I don’t!

I could go on and on about how you could make your company an amazing workplace. 

But it really comes down to three main things: hiring, onboarding, and continuous support. 

Get them right, and your company will flourish. Get them wrong, and you risk building a culture from hell (and no one wants that).

So listen up, as I’m about to share some practical tips to help you build an inclusive company culture.

Hiring Processes

First of all, let’s build a foundation (you wouldn’t build a house without one, would you?).

Because it all starts with the hiring process, you’ll want to ensure it goes smoothly and effectively.

Let me share an example of a fantastic hiring process:

Job description 

Make it clear what and who you’re looking for. Keep to short paragraphs and avoid unnecessary jargon. Give as much information as you can without overwhelming the reader.

Screening candidates

Remember that behind every application you receive is a person full of hopes and dreams. Shortlist those you think fit best with your company, but don’t forget to inform those who are unsuccessful. 

Interview stage 

Don’t make it a one-way street. Yes, you want to find out how much potential they have, but they also want to know about you. 

Try to engage in a conversation with the candidates instead of firing questions at them.

Keep in mind that some people may need a little more time to answer your questions, and that’s okay!

Again, make sure to send a quick message to all those who didn’t make it further. 

Selection stage

When selecting the right person, it’s easy to make a decision based on bias.

Perhaps this lady reminds you too much of your ex-wife? Or maybe that guy seemed overly confident?

Whatever it is, try to be as unbiased as possible. 

Sometimes, those who take their time when answering a question turn out to be full of ideas. Sometimes that super-quiet girl just needs to come out of her shelf.

And sometimes, those can be the best and hardest working employees!

Onboarding: 

Now that we’ve built the foundations, let’s start building walls.

Onboarding neurodivergent employees can be tricky because you may not even know they are neurodivergent! The reason for that is masking, a term to describe people who camouflage their disability in social situations. In fact, over 70% of individuals mask!

So how do you create an inclusive onboarding program suitable for all your employees?

Here are the 3 steps to success:

1. Welcome your new employees: Send them a welcome email with all they need to know before their first day. This is especially important for neurodivergent individuals, as we want to know what’s coming! And don’t forget to include the contact details of someone who could help answer any questions.
2. Offer resources and training: Both online and in-person training can be useful. Some people learn better at their own pace, some are visual learners, and others like face-to-face interactions. In any case, try to offer comprehensive yet fun learning opportunities for all new employees. You could invest in a learning platform or design your own program.
3. Provide a buddy: I know from personal experience how amazing it feels to be able to talk to someone who is not in management. When I was offered a buddy at Process Street, I felt relieved. We talked about a lot of things besides work, too! She was my first point of contact during those crucial first 3 months at the company.

“Mentors or buddy schemes can help create psychologically safe places for questions and worries. Mentors with experience in the workplace may be able to offer guidance on how work can be done or access to knowledge about the support available.”  

Dr. Mulligan-Foster

And if you’re ready to take your onboarding to the next level, why not check out our free employee onboarding podcast? Our very own HR queens, Ashley and Erin, take you through all the steps to design a magical employee onboarding experience.

Continuous support

We’ve got the foundations. We’ve got the walls. Now it’s time for the roof.

Giving ongoing support is something that’s often overlooked. 

Because let’s face it. You’ve done all the work to find and onboard an employee. You’ve even delivered an outstanding training program. Surely, that’s enough, right?

Wrong!

Remember that 20% of new hires leave within the first 3 months. And I bet that many of those are neurodivergent.

Why? Because of the lack of support.

But how do you give continuous support?

• Through informal 1:1s (not interrogative meetings)
• Online resources, such as mental health advice
• Active listening and making reasonable workplace adjustments
• Being understanding and flexible with working hours and/or days

By doing those things, you’ll not only reduce new hire churn but also increase employee engagement and satisfaction.

“It is crucial that leaders understand the needs and support initiatives, so they are role modeling the culture that they want to develop.”

Dr. Mulligan-Foster

“There should be an awareness development initiative to understand neurodiversity and reduce any bias or stigma. Create a trusted/safe space to discuss what people need and what can be done to help them.”

Dr. Mulligan-Foster

Tools to help neurodivergent employees

“I feel like in all areas of diversity, there is not going to be a one size fits all solution.”

Dr. Mulligan-Foster

“The best advice is for employers to educate themselves on what neurodiversity means and raise their confidence and awareness of possible needs.”

Dr. Mulligan-Foster

When asked about what she means by “confidence,” she replies:

“Confidence can help in being able to ask questions concerning the accessibility needs and the help a person needs to be able to do their work.”

I asked Dr. Mulligan-Foster about the tools that she personally would recommend for employers to utilize.

“Checklists are useful for recruitment to remind the employers of the skills they are assessing, rather than relying on gut instinct.”

“Ask direct questions and allow time for answers. You could allow a person to bring a supporter to the interview to help with communication and provide comfort.”

And what about providing support during team workshops?

“If you have a workshop, allow time for breaks and ensure you clearly communicate key information that employees need. Certain colors and font sizes on slides can be easier to read, and written notes to support slides are good practice.”

So in line with Dr. Mulligan-Foster’s recommendations, I’ve created a list of the top 3 tools to help you onboard neurodivergent employees.

Here they are!

Tool 1: Onboarding software

Because onboarding can make or break a relationship with your new hire, it’s wise to shop around and choose the right kind.

There are many options out there, but I highly recommend Process Street. 

Why? 

Because it’s a tool that will allow you to completely personalize your onboarding experience. And this is something that many other products simply don’t offer (I’ve checked!).

I used Process Street during my onboarding, and it was a real game-changer. 

You know how stressful it is when starting a new job. So much to learn and so many things to check out. Well, thanks to Process Street, my onboarding was a breeze. I was able to tick things off from a pre-made list, and it made the whole process a lot easier and less stressful. 

Each week was clearly defined, and I felt on track with all tasks right from the get-go. And whenever I felt a little lost, I was able to go back to that checklist and go through my tasks for the day. Believe me when I say never before was I this thankful for a tick-off list!

So what is Process Street?

Well, it’s a platform that allows you to collaborate with an entire department. It contains embedded content for new hires and provides a structure from the get-go. 

But when onboarding new hires, a written list of things to complete can be too much. That’s why workflows and checklists are super-useful. 

Check out this employee onboarding template to see how easy and smooth onboarding can become!

Tool 2: Instant messaging services

Most remote workers are already familiar with Slack and Teams.

But such communication tools can also benefit those working in an office, especially your neurodivergent employees.

So, instead of talking to someone if they don’t feel comfortable, they can simply message them. This may diminish the levels of anxiety that comes from social interactions.

And instant messaging services can be handy tools for onboarding new hires. 

For example, you can add the new colleague to relevant Slack channels before their first day. 

This can let them get to know some of their workmates and learn more about your company. It can also allow them to say “hi” when they feel ready.

Tool 3: Assistive technology

This refers to any software and devices that assist people with disabilities.

This can range from noise-canceling headphones to text-to-speech apps (TTS). 

There is also a range of assistive features in popular software, such as a spell-checker in MS Word and optical character recognition in OneNote.

An added bonus is that most people will benefit from those tools, regardless of their mental health status.

Benefits of having a neurodivergent team

Onboarding neurodivergent employees will most likely bring amazing talent into your company.

In fact, many argue that being neurodivergent is a perk!

So how can having a neurodivergent team benefit your business?

Dr.Mulligan-Foster explains:

“The key benefit of a neurodiverse workforce is having different ways of looking at work, projects, and problems. New ways of looking at the way we work and what we produce are going to be an advantage for every organization!”

And if you’re still not convinced, here are some other benefits of having a neurodiverse team.

Advantage 1: Increased productivity

According to a 2021 report, neurodivergent employees in the tech sector can be up to 140% more productive than their neurotypical colleagues. 

This could be due to neurodivergent people being highly focused on their own interests and hobbies. So industries such as tech, robotics, architecture, and design are the go-to places for many individuals.

And did you know that Elon Musk is on the ASD spectrum? Say what you want about him, but this guy’s brain is massive!

Advantage 2: Enhance creativity

A neurodiverse workforce can be extremely creative.

Their ability to think differently or “outside the box” can be very useful when solving a problem.

The neurotypical brain doesn’t always see things that could be improved or a way out of a situation. Because a neurodivergent brain is more likely to question everything, they are also more likely to come up with new and innovative solutions.

Advantage 3: Loyalty 

Neurodiverse employees are also more loyal.

Those who are on the autistic spectrum tend to stay with the same company longer than those who are not on the spectrum.

And those on the spectrum are often unafraid to comment on how things are run. This can help your business to grow and improve over time.

What do neurodivergent people think?

I’ve asked some fellow Process Streeters to share with me their thought on being neurodivergent. Here is what they had to say.

“Going through a traditional onboarding as someone with ADD, it is nearly impossible to remember all of the details that are presented to me. The fear of messing something up or simply forgetting something important caused me great anxiety. When I was onboarded at Process Street, the checklist format allowed me to visually engage with the information at my own pace and know that I could always return to the information at any time.”

“I think the best [onboarding experience] was at Process Street because of the combination of people plus automated tools. Automated tools help to lower the anxiety of ‘what should I do’.”

“I depend heavily on tools to ensure that I don’t forget things. I like to make sure that information is readily passed where it needs to go, and I am able to do things efficiently. As a neurodivergent person, having to bounce between tools can be a huge issue as it opens the door for distraction.”

Let’s summarize!

Since we’ve come to the end of this article, let’s recap what we’ve learned about onboarding neurodivergent employees:

• As many as 80% of neurodivergent people are unemployed
• Some of the biggest challenges neurodivergent employees face in the workplace are communication issues, lack of support, and sensory sensitivities.
• All of those challenges can be easily overcome by clear communication, careful planning, and utilizing relevant technology.
• If you want to build an inclusive company culture, you should ensure your hiring processes and onboarding are well thought out. And don’t forget about providing continuous support.
• There are several tools that you can use to help your neurodivergent workforce. But make sure they provide as much structure as possible.
• Neurodivergent employees are more productive, more creative, and more loyal. So give them a chance!

Let me know in the comments what other tools you’re currently using that would benefit neurodivergent individuals in the workplace.

The post How To Onboard Neurodivergent Employees (According to a Psychologist) first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we’re thrilled to shine a spotlight on one of the incredible women leaders here at Process Street – Anne Perry, Director of Solutions Consulting. Anne is a true inspiration to all of us, not only for her remarkable professional achievements but also for the warmth and positivity she brings to our team every day.

As a leader, entrepreneur, business builder, dog-mom, and all-round superstar, Anne embodies everything we stand for here at Process Street. Her commitment to excellence, coupled with her unwavering passion for empowering teams to achieve their full potential, makes her an incredible asset to our organization.

In this blog post, we’ll take the opportunity to get to know Anne a bit better, explore her journey to becoming a leader in her field, and learn from her invaluable insights and experiences. So, without further ado, let’s dive in and celebrate the amazing woman that is Anne Perry!

• Introducing Anne Perry, Director of Solutions Consulting
• Anne’s professional background
• Anne’s role at Process Street
• As a woman in leadership
• Bonus questions!
• Words of love from Anne’s team

Introducing Anne Perry, Director of Solutions Consulting

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

I love designing houses, spaces, and furniture. I’ve designed two houses that my husband and I rented out on Airbnb and just recently sold. I’m gearing up for the next project back in Denver, my home town. I fall asleep re-arranging floor plans and designing rooms in my mind. 

Q: How do you unwind after a long day at work?

As for unwinding, I mostly just kick it with my husband and dog. I love to see friends when I can, and I recently signed up for roller skate fitness classes with my sister which I’m nervous and excited about.

Q: How do you start your morning?

I wake up slowly. My body wakes me up at roughly the same time every day so alarm clocks are no longer part of my life. I snuggle with my dog and my husband, I make some tea and a smoothie, and sometimes I put on regular pants for work.

Q: What is a fun fact that most people don’t know about you?

I’m obsessed with multi-functional anything. Murphy beds! Flip down wall desks! Credenzas that pull out into full-length dining tables! Bangs that can be parted in the middle OR side-swept! Sign me up for two-for-one use things all day every day.

Q: How do you stay motivated and focused when faced with challenging situations, both at work and in your personal life?

Regarding motivation, I always make sure that the larger decisions in my life are aligned with who I am and what lights me up.

The work I do, the person I married, and the projects I commit to are examples of those big decisions. I’m not afraid to say ‘no’ to an opportunity that isn’t aligned, and when I say ‘yes’ to something, I know I’m choosing it intentionally because it’s enriching my life.

That awareness gives me perspective that the challenges that arise are temporary obstacles. We all have up days and down days, so the big question is, ‘Is it worth it? Is this the journey I want to be on?’ If not, new big decisions need to be made.

If yes, then carry on because overcoming challenges is a natural part of the journey.

As far as focus, I have actually let go of the ambition to “stay focused.” I learned this lesson the hard way. I have had several of my own businesses and I drove myself to burnout doing what I thought was necessary to succeed. I would roll out of bed and go straight to the computer, work into the evening, work weekends, and then feel guilty that I “only” worked 6 hours on Saturday so I didn’t get as far ahead as I could have.

I had fallen hook line and sinker for this bizarre unspoken expectation in our society that we need to be productive 24-7. It was difficult to unlearn that impulse but I have learned that forcing focus doesn’t benefit anything and that rest and fun are productivity superpowers.

A wise friend of mine shared with me a metaphor that I think about often. She told me to think of productivity like an analog clock. If the hands are pointing up at 12:00, that is action time, go time, productive time. If the hands are pointing down at 6:00, that is rest time, pause time, reflective time.

We don’t expect it to always be 12:00, we don’t expect it to only be day time, we don’t expect it to always be summer. So why do we expect ourselves to always stay focused and productive?

The more we honor our cycles and rhythms that are inherent in every living thing, the more we can actually be in sync with how and what and why we are creating.

When we do that, we create with passion, the process is fulfilling, and the results are superior.

Regardless of how busy Anne is, she always makes herself available if needed. You can always count on Anne for support – she always ‘has your back’.

Jeff Bruck, Senior Solutions Consultant

Q: What do you consider to be your biggest strengths, and how have they helped you in your career and personal life?

A tangible skill I’ve developed that helps in every professional pursuit is optimizing business operations and streamlining processes. I can distill a mass of complicated, tangled up information and ideas into its simplest form, making it actionable and therefore achievable.

My dirty secret is that this is the flipside of one of my biggest weaknesses which is, without some kind of structure or roadmap, my brain gets overwhelmed and I have trouble taking action on anything. So, what started out as a necessity to just do the tasks in front of me has turned into one of my greatest professional assets.

A strength that is more of a quality than a skill, is that I’m resourceful and I tend to find alternative solutions that others don’t necessarily see. I credit this in part to growing up without a lot of money. There were things I wanted to do, have, and create, and using money to achieve them was off the table.

I’ve learned that when the front door is locked and the back door isn’t open either, there might be a side door and I’m gonna find it. I actually get a lot of joy from finding unconventional solutions hidden in plain sight.

Q: How do you approach personal and professional growth, and what steps do you take to continue learning and developing yourself?

Basically, if I’m not growing and learning, I will be bored. It might sound funny, but I can tolerate stretching myself, I can tolerate taking on challenges, and I can tolerate the mystery of big changes. But I honestly can’t tolerate sustained stagnation.

I’m more scared of being stagnant than I am scared of being scared. I’ve invested a lot of money and time into my personal and professional development with training, seminars, masterminds, and mentors, because I am drawn to continually expanding my overall capacity to bring in rich life experiences. I want to make the most of the time I have here in this lifetime.

Anne’s professional background

As our team has grown and more projects have been assigned, Anne has seen that organization is key in managing workload, so she spent many hours putting together a database in Airtable for better visibility on all team activities.

Beth Juliano, Solutions Consultant

Q: Can you give us a high level of your professional background before Process Street?

I started out in the nonprofit world as an executive assistant. I went on to get my Masters Degree in Nonprofit Management and, in my very last class, I learned about social enterprise – this class blew my mind and I realized I am an entrepreneur in spirit and ended up building several of my own businesses. 

My first full-time business was an energy healing practice. I later closed my practice to move to California with my little-did-I-know-would-become husband and, after a series of jobs, ended up doing business process management for professionals in the real estate, wellness, and nonprofit industries.

I found my way into the entrepreneurial scene and offered article marketing and copywriting for various content creators, course developers and internet marketers.

From there, I launched Business Heroine Magazine “for the entrepreneur who says she will and does.” Later, a membership site with resources for folks who choose to take alternative approaches to life, travel, and income-generation. 

My last business, before finding Process Street, was a vacation rental turnover business for short-term rental property owners.

Q: Important moments, catalysts, or turning points in your career?

When I did my first online launch for a Business Heroine program, it took every ounce of courage, grit and lifeforce I had. I was in a situation in which I needed this launch to succeed. I didn’t have a backup plan. I put together a perfectly planned launch program and funnel as I had been taught, did everything by the playbook and then on launch day I landed exactly… one sale.

Somehow it was worse than zero sales, because how was I going to explain to this lone student that she was the only person in the course?!

I ended up coming up with a Plan B launch, that I scrambled together in 3 days. That generated a few more sales. Still nowhere close to what needed to happen.

Finally, it was time for Plan C. I personally reached out to every single person that had participated in the launch and invited them to jump on a phone call with me. Those calls finally resulted in 25 students plus an unexpected private client. I had surpassed my goal, and this led to more private and group offerings. I ended up doubling my sales the next quarter and tripling those sales the following quarter. 

I can’t even explain how difficult this experience was. During that first launch I was anxiety-ridden to the point where I would actually start weeping the moment I woke up in the morning. It felt almost physically painful, as if my skin had been removed and a harsh wind was blowing directly on my nerve endings. Every self doubt thought that has ever existed ran rampant through my head and every time I clicked ‘send’ on an email I felt like throwing up. 

I don’t wish that torture on anyone. And yet, it was one of my most profound breakthroughs. I had to walk through a wall of fire to get to the other side. I learned how deep my inner resources go, I learned about sales, I learned about putting myself out there and not hiding behind a screen. I’m grateful for that breakthrough and, yes, still glad it’s over!

Anne is a master of managing multiple projects and priorities.

She’s able to shift to changing demands and align resources as priorities change.

Jeff Bruck

Q: How did you get started in customer support, and what motivated you to pursue a leadership position within the company?

I had just sold my vacation rental turnover business and honestly was feeling burnt out from running my own business. When I came across Process Street my first thought was “Where has this been all my life?” There was a software specifically built for streamlining workflow, my favorite aspect of business, and I knew this was the company I wanted to work with.

I was aware that objectively my years of entrepreneurial experience made me overqualified for an entry level position yet, at the same time, I had no experience in the tech industry or SaaS, I knew I would a learn ton, and this was a company I wanted to be involved in. So, I stalked, err I mean applied with Process Street and got the job. 

For the first six months I did nothing but answer support tickets. And, even though support is traditionally seen as an entry level position, don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy. When I started, not only did I not know the answers to most questions, I barely understood the questions! It was a powerful immersive learning experience that I’m still grateful for and has served me well in my current role.

My next step was becoming a Customer Success Manager, and my favorite part of the role was when I had the opportunity to help clients build their workflows in the best way for their needs and then see the streamlined results they were after. 

When I learned that, as a company, we were considering offering a service to build workflows for customers, I raised my hand high. Our Solutions Consulting department started out as a one-woman show in which I was both selling and delivering the services. Our built-for-you services were a hit, so we started hiring and I moved into the director role for the department.

This feels like the role I was meant for all along, it just didn’t exist until it did. If I could have invented my perfect-fit role in a perfect-fit company this would be it, and the road to get there was exactly what it needed to be.

Anne’s role at Process Street

Anne has a genuine desire for the success of our team and for the company.  This translates into genuine enthusiasm across everyone on the team.

Jeff Bruck

Q: How long have you been at Process Street?

4 years

Q: What is your current role at Process Street? 

Director of Solutions Consulting

Q: How do you think working remotely has impacted your career, and how have you managed to maintain a strong presence and connection with your team while working from anywhere?

I have worked remotely since 2010, about a decade before it became widely accepted. Throughout that time I have maintained close relationships with clients, established friendships with people I didn’t end up meeting in real life for years, and managed teams.

Working remotely is a non-negotiable in my life so I was thrilled when I learned Process Street was a fully distributed team from its inception. 

I will say, I almost got so used to working remotely that I forgot how much of a difference it does make to connect in person. I absolutely have loved the opportunities to meet my fellow Process Street team members at conferences we’ve attended together and at our company-wide retreat.

I also love visiting clients onsite. No matter how awesome technology is, subtle real life nuances can fall flat on Zoom, so I value the opportunity to integrate in-person connection with a flexible remote lifestyle.

Anne makes anyone joining Process Street feel welcome with her genuine and friendly demeanor. She radiates a calmness, good humor, and curiosity that makes people gravitate to her.

Beth Juliano

Q: What do you like most about working at Process Street? 

The work and the people. It’s really the best of both.

I absolutely love working with all sorts of businesses to improve their operations. I love designing our own internal operations so we can deliver the best services possible and keep things running smoothly for our team. I love collaborating with the leadership team on the strategic direction of the company. 

My team in solutions consulting is absolutely incredible. They are all so smart and dedicated, and just all around cool people. The company-wide team is equally amazing. Every single person is someone I respect and enjoy.

Q: What does it take to be successful at a company like Process Street?

One of our core values is “Act Like an Owner.”

I’ve noticed people excel when they take ownership of their role – This means not only being reliable and dedicated, but also willing to share their ideas both internally and with clients, as well as collaborating with others to achieve larger shared goals.

As a woman in leadership

Q: What advice would you give to women who aspire to be in leadership positions in their careers?

Know that you know your stuff. You do.

Get into a movement practice that gets you into your power. I recommend IshtaraBody.com

Bonus questions!

Q: What career advice would you give to your younger self when you were starting out in your career?

Master money management – You can make a lot of money and watch it all drain away if you don’t know how to manage it, and you can make a little money go a long way if you manage it well. This gives you breathing room to pursue what you love vs. pursuing what you think you have to in order to pay the bills. 

Make decisions based on your wise inner “no’s” and your inspired “yes’s” – Life is too short to be lived in obligation, so say no if it doesn’t feel right even if it comes in a shiny package. Trust your inspired yeses will lead to the next inspired yes and the next inspired yes, and now you’re living an inspired life.

Q: If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? 

Invest in creative real estate opportunities

Q: What’s the last book you read?

The 12 Week Year

Q: Binge-worthy show you’ve watched recently?

Pen15

Q: What is one place in the world you haven’t been to yet, but would love to visit?

Ireland

Words of love from Anne’s team

Anne encourages us through any struggles. She shows confidence in our abilities. And we know she has our back when needed.

Beth Juliano

During the years I’ve worked with Anne, she has consistently impressed me with her unfaltering focus and strong leadership, always going above and beyond to push the boundaries of what we’re capable of as a team while simultaneously supporting and encouraging a culture of interdepartmental communication and recognition.

Oliver Peterson, Head of Content

Anne is very clear on her expectations to be successful. She normalizes knowledge gaps while our team takes risks and learns new things which in turn creates a very supportive and continuous improvement team culture.

Anne’s trust in us allows us to feel independent in our daily tasks while also understanding there is still accountability and timely expectations on getting projects done.

Beth Juliano

Anne excels at utilizing tools and apps to track and manage projects and resources. 

She fosters an environment of sharing ideas and individual discoveries between team members. When everyone shares, the collective knowledge of the team grows. 

Anne is also great at making sure there is opportunity for each team member to grow in areas of their current interest(s), or where they would like to learn/grow in the future.

Jeff Bruck

The post Employee Spotlight: Anne Perry (Director, Solutions Consulting) first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to change how we work, whether we like it or not.

While some are afraid of the ways AI and automation are changing the fabric of work life, we at Process Street are excited by it. We see it as a way to improve our product and make our employees happier.

That’s why we’ve begun to use OpenAI within Zapier to create AI-generated automation to make workflows faster and easier than ever before.

In this post, I will walk you through how you can auto-generate your recruitment email process using Process Street and AI.

• What is intelligent automation?
• The value of intelligent automation
• Using AI to automatically generate recruitment emails
• How to set up the workflow
• Confused? No problem! We can do it for you

What is intelligent automation?

Intelligent automation (IA) is the process by which AI “streamlines and scales decision-making across organizations.” Basically, this means that it simplifies business processes in order to make operations more efficient and free up resources.

Intelligent automation is just one thing AI can do. All intelligent automation is AI, but not all AI is intelligent automation. IA also relies on business process management (BPM) and robotic process automation (RPA) – or bots – to power its abilities.

And getting an IA set up is not as daunting as it may seem. It’s no longer the crazy tech we only ever say in movies. It’s available to everyday people and businesses these days. Zapier now works with OpenAI to incorporate AI into automated workflows. 

The value of intelligent automation

But why should you invest time and money in setting up intelligent automation? Well, there are a few reasons.

Saves time

Using AI to automate tasks and auto-generate emails saves your company tons of time – as much as 90%. This freed-up time may be scary for employees who fear losing their jobs to AI, but most companies choose to instead redirect their team’s time to tasks of higher value. That can include things like managing client relations and forming business strategies.

Saves money

Time is money, and the time AI saves your company also equates to increased monetary savings. Management consulting company Roland Berger found that businesses could reduce the time spent on BPM by 40-70%, and in turn, that could save organizations 40% every year.

Reduces errors

Automating recurring tasks with AI greatly reduces the risk of human error. And if your company deals with a lot of data reducing errors becomes even more important because even the smallest mistake can have a major impact. If you set up the AI correctly, you should be able to eliminate mistakes in recurring tasks.

Increases job satisfaction

Nobody likes to do tedious, repetitive tasks. Intelligent automation of business processes takes those tasks away from employees, freeing them up for tasks that bring them more fulfillment. This, in turn, leads to greater job satisfaction and less overall churn in companies. Your team should be excited about what AI can do for them, not afraid of it.

Using AI to automatically generate recruitment emails

Process Street integrates with Zapier, which means it also integrates with OpenAI. 

Recently, one of our solutions consultants created a workflow for employee recruitment using this integration, and, to be frank, it’s really freaking awesome.

If you don’t want to read about it, you can watch the video she made here:

What the workflow does

In short, the workflow uses OpenAI vis Zapier to create recruitment emails and job offer letters. The whole process is automated and takes a ton of work out of the hiring process, which means you can hire someone faster.

Let’s break it down

In the first task, the form fields can be automatically filled in by integrating with a hiring website like Indeed. If your company doesn’t use hiring websites, the data can be entered manually in no time at all.

In the next task, you will first be asked if you wish to interview the candidate. 

If you say no, the AI will automatically draft a rejection email which you can send directly from the workflow.

If you say yes, you will then be prompted to add all the information about the interview.

From there, you can set up the interview by sending out the AI-generated email with the invitation.

After that, you will be able to confirm the interview. And if the applicant needs to reschedule, you can add that in as well. 

The next phase is to conduct the interview. You can input all your interview questions into the workflow as well as the applicant’s answers.

After the interview, you will be prompted with the option to either accept or reject the applicant. If you reject them, the AI tool will automatically generate a rejection letter which you can send right from the workflow.

If you accept the applicant, a different email will be created along with the offer letter, which will be automatically put in a PDF format.

Here’s what the offer letter will look like:

Now, all of this is how we set up the workflow. You can customize it to look however you want it to. 

We recommend playing around with OpenAI within Zapier to get everything just right so you don’t have to lift a finger for the hiring process again.

How to set up the workflow

Okay, so I showed you what the workflow does. And if you like it as is, you can use it by adding this template to your Process Street library.

But if you want to know how we did it so you can make something similar, follow me as I walk you through it.

Some pre-information

The solution consultant who made the Interview Questionnaire workflow used three zaps and one webhook to build it. She explains in great detail how she set up each of those in this community post on connecting OpenAI to Zapier. 

We would be here all day if I wrote out everything in the 11-minute video she made about it. So for the sake of time (and my sanity), I am only going to go into detail about one of the zaps.

All of the zaps she made with OpenAI follow the same pattern, so it makes more sense to focus on one in detail than to go into all of them.

Sound good? Okay, then let’s do this. 

Side note: If you don’t know how to create zaps in Process Street, read our walkthrough on integrating Zapier and Process Street. Everything from this point forward is going to operate under the assumption that you know how to make zaps.

Step 1: Create a zap in Interview Details

In this first step, you need to create a zap for the task labeled “Interview Details” in the Interview Questionnaire workflow.

The Event should be set for “New Task Checked,” so the zap is triggered when the task is completed.

Step 2: Set up Paths

Next, you need to set up the Paths. There will be two for this task, one for if you plan to reject the application (No) and one for if you wish to move forward with an interview (Yes).

For our purposes, we’re going to discuss how to set up the “Yes” Path for sending the email to request an interview. However, it works the same for the “No” Path to reject the application.

Step 3: Add Date/Time Formatter

So as you continue creating the “Yes” Path, you need to set a Date/Time format. 

When “Yes” is selected in the workflow, a prompt will be sent to the AI. Adding in the Date/Time Formatter ensures that the dates included in the AI-generated email are correct.

We don’t go into much detail in our video about Date/Time formats, but Zapier has a whole page with a video explaining it if you want to understand more.

Step 4: Send prompt to the AI

This is the most important step because this is where the AI comes in. 

You first need to set the Event to “Send Prompt.”

Next, you need to set up the action. This is where you tell the AI what to do. In this case, writing an email. You need to tell the AI what you want to be included in the email, particularly which form fields from the workflow need to be present. 

By doing this, you ensure that every email has the correct personal information and dates when the AI is triggered.

A cool feature of OpenAI is the ability to set the Temperature of the command. The Temperature is the level of creativity you allow the AI to write with. In our case, it was set to 0.7, which you can think of as 70% creative.

You can also set the length you want the email to be. It’s important to do that because if you don’t, the email could be much longer than you want it.

Pro tip: Be as specific as possible when writing the AI prompt. The more specific you are, the better the final product.

Once you’ve done all that, the AI will show you a draft of the email. Give it a read to make sure you like it. If you don’t, make edits at your leisure. If you do, make sure to send a test email so you know it works.

Step 5: Update the workflow

The final step is very simple: Update the workflow in Process Street.

Once you do that, it should be all ready to go! Head back into Process Street, refresh the workflow, and test the task to make sure everything works as you want it to. 

Confused? No problem! We can do it for you

If you’re confused, don’t worry. So am I. I may work for a tech company, but I’m a writer by profession and the intricacies of using AI tends to go right over my head.

Luckily, we have loads of way smarter people on our team who can hop on a call with you and walk you through how to do it. You’ll even have your questions answered in real-time.

Feel free to book a demo with us so we can help you!

And if you would prefer us to do it for you, we can! Our solutions consultants can do anything, they’re amazing. Just ask about it in your demo.

The post Automate Recruitment Emails with Process Street & AI first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Finding ways for remote teams to bond can be a real challenge. So much so that it’s often neglected by leadership.

However, it’s incredibly important to make team bonding a priority. It makes employees feel more engaged and increases morale. This goes for any company, but it’s especially true for remote companies where employees have little to no opportunity to meet in person.

We at Process Street had the chance to meet all together for the first time in 2022. The bonds we made on a three-day retreat were stronger than the ones we made after years of Zoom meetings. And those bonds have changed how we work together. 

In this post, I’m walking you through what team building is, how to do it successfully, and how we at Process Street were able to fly our team to Portugal for a team bonding retreat.

• What is team bonding?
• Why is team bonding important?
• Challenges of team bonding
• Bonding activities for remote teams
• Process Street’s Porto retreat
• What the retreat did for our company
• Start team bonding activities today

What is team bonding?

Team bonding is all about strengthening the relationship between your employees. It differs from team building, which focuses on increasing productivity.

Team bonding activities will help your team relax around each other, open up, and feel more comfortable communicating. 

On the flip side, the goal of any team-building activity is to have employees achieve a desired outcome or solve a problem together.

Basically, team bonding prioritizes personal connection over professional one.

Why is team bonding important?

Google searches about team bonding turn up a lot of pages about team building. It seems to be the more popular term and the more popular goal for a lot of companies.

And, yeah, team building is really important, but team bonding should not go ignored by any means, especially in a remote company.

Remote teams have very little opportunity to connect offline. Those of us who work remotely have probably felt lonely at one point or another. It comes with the territory. 

But can you come up with one benefit that a team of lonely people who don’t communicate with each other and build relationships can bring to a company? I’ll be impressed if you can.

When organizations invest in bonding, team members have the ability to build more trust and rapport with one another, and that only serves to benefit the company.

Traditional organizations might host mixers or send their employees out to dinner to encourage team bonding, but remote companies have to think outside the box.

But by doing that, you open your company up to greater opportunities. A bonded team is a team that works well together, leading to increased:

• Productivity
• Employee retention
• Cross-departmental collaboration
• Output
• Profits

As of right now, only about 20% of organizations offer off-sites for their employees, but we are starting to see an increase in the number of company retreats post-COVID.

Challenges of remote team bonding

The biggest challenge remote companies face when it comes to finding ways to get their teams to bond is figuring out time zones.

Remote companies like Process Street have employees in all corners of the world, and it can be extremely difficult to find a time when everyone is available to hang out. Someone is always going to miss out because the scheduled bonding time is in the middle of the night for them.

Because of this, company-wide bonding activities are all but impossible for us to achieve. 

Another challenge is finding variety in the bonding activities that we do. No one wants to do the same thing again and again, and it can be hard finding varied activities that a majority of people will enjoy.

Humans are social animals that crave connection with each other. In offices, you can easily slide over to your colleague’s desk to have a conversation when you have a lull. Or you can take a 10-minute break together in the kitchen.

I can’t exactly invite my work bestie based in England to my kitchen in Spain for some coffee in the middle of the day, can I?

This is where the importance of team bonding comes in. By giving your team an opportunity to take time out of their days to be social, you open up better lines of communication within your company. 

Bonding activities for remote teams

Challenges aside, there is a multitude of things you can do to help your team get closer.

At Process Street, we use a service called Donut to connect with one another on a weekly basis. 

It’s a Slack integration that groups you with two random people in the company every Monday. It suggests open times you all have in your schedules to organize a 30-minute call where you can hang out and shoot the breeze.

It’s great because it often pairs us with people outside of our departments, so we have the chance to interact with people we don’t normally get to spend time with.

Additionally, we have a Donut Slack channel that posts random questions for us to answer. The prompts have us share things like:

• Photos
• Funny stories
• Music 
• Movie/series recommendations

It’s a great way to make sure there’s a consistent connection between all of us.

Apart from Donut, our incredible HR team spends a lot of time finding fun, varied activities that as many people as possible can join. Some of these things include:

• A murder mystery event with Weve.co
• Try Mystery events (our favorite one had us draw caricatures)
• Games with Luna Park
• A company retreat to Porto, Portugal!

But there are plenty of free things you can do as well!

For example, we on the content creation team have an end-of-week social meeting scheduled every week. During that time we hang out, play games, and sometimes our editor makes trivia quizzes for us, and we have the opportunity to win prizes! It’s a great way for us to spend relaxed time together with the people we work with the most. 

Most departments do something similar so they can all stay connected. The important thing is that it’s regular. Consistency is key to maintaining strong bonds.

Then, we get to enjoy larger company events semi-regularly, like the murder mystery and caricature drawing. Doing those is just as important because it gives us the opportunity to relax and make more memories with colleagues from other departments.

If paying for team bonding activities isn’t in your budget, we recommend taking some time to organize an event yourself. Trivia, like what our blog editor makes, is a great place to start and is something most people enjoy! You can also find tons of free online games for your team to play.

Process Street’s Porto retreat

In October 2022, Process Street flew out our team from across the world so we could all meet in person for the first time in Porto, Portugal!

Since Process Street was founded in 2014, company meetups were small and mostly regional. Our team members occasionally got together with others who lived somewhat close by. 

Portugal was the first time ever that the whole Process Street team was able to meet in person. The retreat was originally planned for April 2020, but we all know how that worked out. 

Needless to say, after the pandemic we were all buzzing with excitement to get to Porto and meet one other.

While not everyone could make it, the majority of us found our way there, and we spent three amazing days together doing all kinds of different activities.

Our HR team organized a number of excursions for us to choose from, including:

• Food tours
• Segway tours
• Cooking classes
• Tile painting classes
• Paintball 
• Port wine tasting
• Surfing 
• Canyoning 
• A riverboat cruise

Not to mention organizing restaurants they found for us to eat at! And what made it even better is that we got to do these activities with team members from different departments so we were able to meet new people!

There’s nothing quite like meeting up in person and grabbing a beer. – Process Street Employee

– Process Street employee

The retreat focused a lot more on fun and connection than on work. There was some work done, but we spent a lot more time hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.

Even during our free time, we chose to spend time together and explore the beautiful city of Porto as opposed to doing it alone or spending time at the hotel.

It was also great to see those in leadership positions, including our CEO, hanging out with all of us as friends and enjoying themselves just as much as we were. It made everyone feel even more comfortable.

The highlight was the focus on activity and fun, and just building relationships vs. purely focusing on work.

– Process Street employee

The whole trip went by way too fast, and our team already started talking about the next retreat before it was even over. I would call that a success!

What the retreat did for our company

Meeting in person helped to break the ice in a way, and that made me feel a lot more comfortable around people now virtually than I did previously. – Process Street employee

Work hasn’t quite been the same since the Porto retreat. And I mean that in the best way possible. 

Being able to connect offline was truly special. We all became friends on the trip, and you can feel the difference in every Zoom call now. Everyone is just that bit more relaxed with each other. There are more inside jokes, fewer awkward pauses, and wonderful shared memories between all of us.

Since the retreat, we’ve seen greater interdepartmental collaboration. All of us now have friends in other departments that we want to spend more time with, and we accomplish that by coming up with creative ways to work together.

Just as an example, we in the marketing department now collaborate with the product team a lot more than we used to. And it’s the perfect excuse for me to ask one member of the product department about her pet cats and geese!

Zoom and online activities are great, but the level of bonding we experienced in Porto just cannot be replicated on the internet no matter how hard we try. The connections we made with each other are invaluable.

Our work culture was excellent before the Porto, but the retreat made it even better. We can see why Salesforce invested in a retreat center for its employees!

I found out that I work with some pretty cool people. And because of that, I want to work harder! – Process Street employee

We’ve all found that it’s easier to do your job well when you’re surrounded by inspiring, supportive, and talented people. As a remote company, we often forget that, but the Porto retreat showed us all just how wonderful our team really is. We all want to do better for these people who are now our friends as well as our colleagues. They deserve it

Start team bonding activities today

Retreats like the one we did in Portugal are expensive. It’s the harsh reality. If we had it our way, the Process Street team would meet two or three times a year, but we just don’t have the budget for that.

That’s okay, though! You can begin much smaller. Right now, if you want to!

The best way to get started with team bonding is to schedule social time for your teams. You can make it look like whatever you want it to.

If you can find it in your budget to organize in-person meetups, even if they are small and regional, we highly recommend it. Team bonding is never a waste of time or money.

It’s essential to make team bonding a regular part of your business operations. It will make your team happier, more relaxed and collaborative, and inspire them to work harder. Don’t skip it!

Do you have any special ways your remote team bonds? Tell us about it in the comments and let’s start a conversation!

The post Remote Team Bonding: How Process Street Connected in Portugal  first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Are you worried the upcoming recession will turn your business to dust? Then you might find this recession survival toolkit of some use.

With global growth predicted to slow down by 70%, millions of people are anxious about what’s to come.

But I’m here to offer a solution to your concerns: technology. 

This article will explore the best tools to use during a recession.

“Yeah, right! I don’t wanna be spending more during a recession!”

Well, if your goal is to retain your employees, satisfy customers, and improve business outcomes, you will have to spend some money. At first.

Once you’ve acquired the tools needed to scale, you’ll be able to put your feet up and reap the benefits for years to come.

So are you ready to find out how tech can help during a recession?

Then follow me as I take you through all you need to know to succeed during the economic downturn.

• How can technology help you withstand a recession?
• Benefits of using this recession survival toolkit
• Recession survival toolkit: The best tools to use
• In a recession, tech is the way to go

How can technology help you withstand a recession?

Making your business recession-proof can seem like an impossible task. There’s so much to take care of, yet the growing economic uncertainty can leave you and your employees feeling tired, inefficient, and full of doubt. 

Worse still, the money seems to be flying away from you as soon as the monthly paycheck lands in your account. And the same seems to be happening to your business. 

Luckily, there are several ways to leverage the situation. And tech is, without a doubt, one of the things you need.

So how to prepare for a recession? The answer is simple: Invest in tech.

Incorporating relevant technologies into your business will give you a massive boost, even if it sounds a little counterintuitive. Crisis often comes with new opportunities, so you want to be prepared for when that crisis is over.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at how technology will help you withstand a recession.

Increased efficiency and productivity

Technology streamlines processes and automates tasks, freeing everyone’s time to focus on more strategic work.

It’s been suggested that employees become more productive when new technologies are implemented. Things like automations are a great example of that.

Say you’re a manager in a large manufacturing company. You have to send hundreds of emails a day and issue multiple approvals every few hours.

If you were to do all this manually, it would likely take weeks. That’s where automations come in.

They allow you to preview all approvals from a single dashboard and, with a single click, either endorse or reject them.

What about all the emails that are yet to be written? 

With automations, you can create a few templates and then send them out in bulk. You can even customize them so that every recipient’s name appears at the top of the email. 

In summary, technologies such as automations will massively increase your productivity while making your business more efficient. 

Improved collaboration

Utilizing tools for a recession will encourage your team to work more effectively and motivate them to achieve their goals. This may be especially important if your team works remotely or is scattered across the globe.

There are several ways tech will improve collaboration in these cases. Here are some examples:

1. Video conferencing. Software such as Slack or Zoom enables remote teams to communicate and collaborate in real-time, regardless of their location.

2. Project management tools. Tools such as Asana, Trello, and Jira can help you keep track of projects and tasks, assign responsibilities, and coordinate easier.

3. Cloud-based file sharing. Storing business files in a secure and accessible place is vital. Platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive can prove useful, especially if you have a remote team.

4. Real-time collaboration. Tools such as Google Docs and SharePoint facilitate cooperation. They allow multiple people to work on the same document simultaneously, reducing errors.

5. Instant messaging. Apps such as WhatsApp can be valuable for communicating quickly and easily, fostering a more collaborative work environment.

6. Virtual whiteboards. Brainstorming, sketching, and planning projects in real-time can be tricky. By incorporating Google Jamboard, Microsoft Whiteboard, and Zoom Whiteboard, you’ll improve team collaboration and foster creativity.

Many of the software I mentioned provide a  great solution for remote work, collaboration, and attending meetings from anywhere. That’s not to say office workers won’t benefit! Most of these can be easily added to your tech arsenal, whatever your company’s working arrangements. 

Enhanced decision-making

You can use technology to gather and analyze data, make predictions, improve decision-making processes, and achieve better business outcomes:

• Data analytics tools collect and analyze vast amounts of data, providing insights and information about your competitors.
• AI-powered tools can aid you in identifying patterns and providing recommendations based on that data, reducing the time and effort required to make decisions.
• Predictive modeling software uses algorithms to predict future trends, helping you make good judgments based on data-driven insights.
• Business intelligence platforms provide real-time dashboards and reporting capabilities, giving decision-makers access to the data they need to make informed decisions.
• Machine learning software lets you identify hidden patterns in data, reducing the risk of errors.
• Collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Asana enable you to share information and ideas, provide feedback, and make decisions in a collaborative environment.

Increased competitiveness

By investing in technology, you’ll increase competitiveness and achieve greater success in the marketplace.

For example, technology can automate manual processes, reducing errors and freeing time for employees. They will then be able to focus on more pressing problems, resulting in greater work efficiency.

Many software tools will streamline your operations and reduce further costs while enriching the customer experience. Those will often come with data analysis functions, as well as security features to protect your data from cyber-attacks.

Improved customer experience

Technology allows companies to better understand customer needs and preferences and provide tailored products and services.

Increased flexibility 

Technology will increase your business’ flexibility and make you respond more quickly to changing market conditions and customer needs. 

It’ll also help with the following:

Remote work. The rise in cloud tools, video conferencing, and collaboration tools means employees can work from anywhere, providing greater business flexibility. This will also make it possible for you to tap into a global talent pool.

Automation. Automating routine tasks improves flexibility because it reduces the need for manual data entry.

Flexible working hours. Technology may help you offer flexible work hours to your team so they can work from home or outside traditional office hours. This will drastically improve their work-life balance and increase job satisfaction.

Mobile devices. Mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular for quick information sharing and communication between employees. These solutions may help your workers become much more flexible.

Cost savings

Cutting costs will never be as important as it is during a recession. And that’s where technology can really make a difference.

If you’re automating routines and repetitive tasks, such as data entry and invoicing, you’ll reduce the time and resources needed for these tasks. The result? Lowered operating costs.

To make further savings, you could move your data and applications to the cloud to reduce the costs associated with hardware, software, and maintenance.

And what about traveling for meetings? Virtual meetings will eliminate the need for travel, lowering expenses.

But what if your business relies on selling physical items to customers? Set up an e-commerce platform to reduce the costs of physical stores (such as rent and utilities).

Benefits of using this recession survival toolkit

If you’re determined to survive the recession, investing in tech can be your best bet. And here’s how to do it:

1. Improve efficiency

Embrace workflows and automation tools that will take away the burden of manual tasks and eliminate human error.

Workflow automation software, specifically, will make staying productive a breeze. 

2. Solidify relationships with customers

You can do this by giving discounts, offering product guides and tutorials, or simply sending informative emails. 

Always provide value to your customers and find new ways to keep them interested in your product or service.

3. Retain your people

Interestingly, retaining employees during a recession can be difficult. Many will look for better-paying jobs during this time.

To prevent your best talent from leaving your side, show them you care. If possible, propose hybrid or remote working, flexible hours, and work incentives. 

Recession survival toolkit: The best tools to use

During a recession, businesses must adapt to changing economic conditions and find ways to maintain competitiveness and productivity. 

By using relevant tools, you’ll be well-equipped to deal with all the challenges a recession can pose.

That’s why I’ve devised the ultimate list of the best tools to use during a recession. 

Here we go!

Recession survival tool #1: Workflows and automations

Workflows and automation software such as Process Street can streamline business processes and automate repetitive tasks. These tools will make your work more consistent and productive. They also come with comprehensive data analysis tools to help you navigate the changing economy. 

From making checklists to onboarding new employees successfully, workflow software can really enhance your business capabilities. 

And that’s not it. Process Street offers thousands of integrations so you can connect it to the apps you’re already using. 

Recession survival tool #2: Open banking

Using open banking can greatly reduce financial burdens.

What is open banking? It’s a way to move and manage money through the use of regulated financial services and apps. 

Open banking provides access to real-time financial data, enabling you to make informed decisions and better manage your business cash flow during uncertain times.

Process Street swapped all their invoices to go via Wise in a bid to save transactional costs. 

And it worked!

The result was greater operational efficiency thanks to lower conversion rates and fees.

Open banking platforms are also perfect for remote teams because they’ll allow you to pay your employees on time, wherever they are.

Recession survival tool #3: Cloud-based apps

Cloud-based tools allow businesses to work remotely and access data and applications from anywhere, providing flexibility and reducing the need for expensive IT infrastructure.

Talk about reducing costs.

Cloud-based apps promote team working and feedback-sharing while also offering robust security options.

If you need to work on a project as a team, apps such as Google Drive can make an incredible difference in communication and quality of work. 

Recession survival tool #4: AI chatbot

You’ve likely heard of ChatGPT. As nuanced as it is, the app can help you draft quick messages and emails. The basic version is free to use, although it’s often over capacity and can be unavailable for hours on end.

But there are other AI chatbots out there, such as Intercom. 

Intercom helpdesk-style technology can automate customer service and support, providing fast and cost-effective solutions for customers. They will save you money and allow buyers to access in-depth support.

Recession survival tool #5: Video conferencing 

Your team has probably already taken advantage of video conferencing technology during the COVID pandemic.

Being a quick and easy way to communicate and collaborate, tools like Zoom can reduce the need for travel and minimize the impact of social distancing measures.

Recession survival tool #6: Password managers and security software

Password managers and security software can protect sensitive files and documents, reducing the risk of data breaches and reputational damage.

Investing in robust security software is also important, so look for one that includes malware protection, file encryption, and monitoring tools. Some antivirus tools come with password managers already included, so that may also be of interest. 

Recession survival tool #7: Employee recognition tools and incentives

Everyone wants to feel recognized and cared for. And those who feel recognized will stay with you longer.

Employee recognition tools can help you engage and motivate employees during a recession, boosting morale and productivity.

Some other ways you can recognize your employees by using tech:

• Providing employee benefits
• Team getaways
• Shoutouts on designated Slack channels
• Giveaways, discounts, and vouchers
• Team bonding games with prizes

Recession survival tool #8: Data analytics

Data analytics apps like Python provide access to real-time business data so you can identify new opportunities and adapt to changing conditions.

Python is easy to learn and very versatile, making it a useful tool for beginners. It also comes with everything from data scraping to analysis and reporting. 

And the best part is that Python is open-source software, meaning that it’s completely free to use.

In a recession, tech is the way to go

Technology gives you the capacity to do more with less and maintain growth.

During a recession, it can help you become more efficient, reduce business costs, and increase productivity. 

This is especially important when there is a decrease in economic activity, and companies must find ways to remain competitive. 

So embrace technology and don’t be scared to invest in it. If you choose wisely and shop around, you’ll likely find amazing tools to boost your company’s progress.

And thanks to tech, not only will you survive in a recession, but you’ll thrive in it, too.

Do you think tech is the way to go during a recession? Let me know in the comments below!

The post Recession Survival Toolkit: Business Software to Stay Afloat first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Most businesses waste way too much time on mundane recurring tasks that detract from high-level work.

So what’s the solution? Use automation to eliminate as much recurring work as possible.

The result is improved productivity (as much as 20-25% according to McKinsey).

About 66% of businesses have automated at least one business process, and it is expected that about 69% of all managerial work will be completely automated by 2024. 

In line with all of this, our engineering wizards have been unleashing a torrent of exciting new updates, and in this blog post, I’ll take you on a tour of the world of webhooks – one of our latest, and most awe-inspiring, features yet!

In the right hands, webhooks are nothing short of a game-changer, packed with endless possibilities. Let’s start with a basic overview.

So what is a webhook?

You can think of webhooks as a way of sending messages between different SaaS products or applications.  It’s a technology (in the same way that email is a technology) that many different SaaS products support so they can interact with each other. And just like email, webhooks can be incoming or outgoing.

In other words, webhooks are a type of automation. They can help you save time by eliminating a lot of the repetitive manual tasks that are part of your core workflows and business processes.

For example, a webhook might trigger when a task is completed in Process Street. The webhook would then send a message (webhook) to Salesforce to create a record.

Or when an invoice is generated in Quickbooks, send a message (webhook) to Process Street to start a workflow.

Webhooks streamline the need for IT involvement or approval; if you have access to the platform (likely admin access) that you’d like to kick off a workflow run (and pre-populate data into the run) you don’t need to involve IT – you can just create the connection yourself.

Benefits of using webhooks to automate recurring work

If you’re looking for ways to improve your business operations, automation is a powerful tool that can have a big impact. And the benefits of automation don’t just stop at one or two areas. In fact, the more you look into it, the more you’ll see that automation can have a positive impact on multiple aspects of your operations.

Reduced human error

Let’s start with accuracy. By automating repetitive tasks, you’re reducing the risk of human error. This is especially important when you’re dealing with large amounts of data, as even a small mistake can have a big impact. So, by automating these tasks, you can enjoy greater accuracy in your results, and your customers will appreciate the attention to detail.

Higher capacity for higher-level work

But it’s not just accuracy that will benefit from automation. By taking these repetitive tasks off the plate of your employees, they’ll be free to focus on higher-level work that is more meaningful and fulfilling. 

Greater job satisfaction & motivation

This not only leads to improved job satisfaction, but it can also help to motivate your team, as they’re able to see the impact of their work more clearly.

More efficient costs

And let’s not forget about the cost savings. By streamlining tasks and reducing the amount of resources required to get the job done, you’ll be able to operate more efficiently. This can have a real impact on your bottom line, especially if you’re dealing with a high volume of manual tasks.

Improved productivity

Finally, all of these factors combined can result in increased productivity, making automation a valuable tool for any business looking to improve their operations. With its many benefits, automation is definitely worth considering if you want to take your business to the next level.

The most impactful webhooks use cases

Webhooks are like secret little helpers that make things easier for you. If you’re managing processes in your team, there’s probably a way you can use webhooks to drastically cut down on the amount of repetitive manual work you’re doing every day.

This makes your life easier, and leaves you with way more bandwidth to devote to the important tasks. No more doing things by hand, let webhooks take care of things for you!

36% of organizations are already using business process management software to automate workflows, and that number is only rising.

It’s simple: If you focus on automating the recurring tasks in your core processes, you stand to save a lot of time and money. That time and money can then be redirected into the work that actually matters. The work that will actually help your business succeed.

Let’s examine some of the best use cases for automating work with webhooks.

Faster, error-free data entry

Problem: Manually recording new data into the various internal silos can be time-consuming and prone to errors.

Solution: Automatically push and pull data into any relevant channel.

Result: Accurate and timely data entry without the need for repeat manual work.

Example process:

1. New lead information is captured on a landing page form and automatically sent to a spreadsheet or CRM.
2. The webhook listens for new data in the spreadsheet or CRM and sends it to all relevant channels. 
3. For example, the relevant data from a new lead could be automatically sent into a new workflow for a sales call.
4. A webhook could be used to send a notification to Slack if the lead meets certain criteria (e.g. over a certain size, specific niche, etc.)

Instant invoicing & payment processing

Problem: Manual and time-consuming invoicing and payment processing tasks, leading to errors and delays in receiving payments.

Solution: Integrating an invoicing platform with a payment gateway using a webhook and incorporating a workflow management software like Process Street streamlines the process, automating tasks and reducing the chances of errors.

Result: Improved accuracy and efficiency in invoicing and payment processing, resulting in faster and more reliable payment receipt.

Example process:

1. A new invoicing workflow is run, designed to clearly lay out each step of the invoicing process.
2. A task to generate the invoice is checked in the workflow.
3. A webhook triggers a new invoice to be generated in the invoicing platform.
4. A webhook listens for new invoices and triggers a pull of all of the relevant data from the invoice workflow.
5. A webhook automatically sends the invoice to the customer.
6. The customer makes a payment and the payment gateway sends a confirmation to the webhook.
7. The webhook updates the invoice status in the invoicing platform to show that payment has been received.

Improved customer satisfaction

Problem: Inefficient and disorganized customer communication leading to longer resolution times and unsatisfied customers.

Solution: Integrating email with a customer support platform and using a workflow management software like Process Street to automate and streamline communication processes.

Result: Improved customer satisfaction, reduced resolution times, and efficient organization of customer communication.

Example process:

1. A customer submits a support request.
2. The webhook listens for new support requests and triggers a new workflow based on the customer’s needs.
3. The workflow is used to guide the support agent through a specific solution to the customer problem, and includes all of the support request information.
4. The customer support team resolves the issue and marks the final workflow task as complete.
5. The webhook listens for updated tasks and triggers an email to send.
6. The resolution email is sent to the customer.

Real-time reporting and analytics insight

Problem: Inefficient manual reporting and analytics processes, leading to delayed decision-making and suboptimal results.

Solution: Automating reporting and analytics through webhooks that push real-time updates into a business intelligence platform, allowing for streamlined and efficient data analysis.

Result: Timely and accurate insights for decision-making, leading to improved business performance and results.

Example process:

1. A workflow for an ISO 9001 audit is run, and the audit is ongoing.
2. As various task milestones are checked, data is sent in real time to a central BI database via webhooks at each milestone task.
3. Once the audit is completed, an auto-formatted report is sent into Slack for internal visibility, with key stakeholders tagged, for review and decision-making.
4. The same task also pushes the results of the audit to the client via email, as well as the BI database.

Onboard new clients seamlessly

Problem: Onboarding new clients can be a time-consuming and manual process, leading to inefficiencies and a risk of errors.

Solution: Integrating a webhook with a workflow management software like Process Street can automate the onboarding process, triggering a predefined workflow when a new client is added.

Result: This results in a seamless and efficient onboarding process, leading to increased client retention and satisfaction.

Example process:

1. A new client signs up and is added to your customer database.
2. The webhook is triggered by the new client addition, and sends a notification to Process Street.
3. Process Street automatically launches the onboarding workflow, which includes all the necessary tasks and steps to onboard the new client.
4. The workflow ensures that all the required information is collected, and that all relevant stakeholders are notified.
5. The onboarding process is completed successfully, and the new client is fully integrated into your system.
6. Increased client retention is achieved through a seamless and efficient onboarding process, leading to higher satisfaction and a reduced risk of churn.

Generate workflows to guide support ticket resolution

Problem: Managing customer support tickets can be time-consuming and inefficient, leading to longer resolution times and potentially dissatisfied customers.

Solution: Integrating a customer support platform with a workflow management software like Process Street, using webhooks to trigger a workflow for each support ticket.

Result: Improved efficiency in resolving support tickets, leading to faster resolution times and increased customer satisfaction.

Example process:

1. A customer submits a support ticket through the customer support platform.
2. The webhook is triggered and creates a new workflow in Process Street for the specific support ticket.
3. The workflow provides clear and automated steps for the support team to follow, ensuring a consistent and efficient process for resolving the ticket.
4. The webhook updates the customer support platform with the resolution, closing the ticket and improving the overall customer experience.

Monitor & ensure compliance

Problem: Difficulty in monitoring and ensuring compliance with industry standards, company policies, and regulations.

Solution: Integrating a workflow management software like Process Street with a compliance tool using webhooks to automatically trigger compliance checks during workflow execution.

Result: Improved compliance, reduced risk of non-compliance and penalties, and increased customer trust and confidence.

Example process:

1. Define compliance check points within the workflow in Process Street.
2. Set up a webhook to trigger a compliance check when each check point is reached in the workflow.
3. The webhook sends the necessary data from Process Street to the compliance tool for review.
4. The compliance tool runs the check and returns the result to Process Street through the webhook.
5. Based on the compliance check result, the workflow continues or stops for further action and review.

The possibilities are endless!

These are just a few examples of how webhooks can bring new possibilities to your business. With webhooks, you can automate repetitive tasks and bring new levels of efficiency to your operations.

Start using webhooks today!

50% of business leaders say that they’re planning to accelerate the automation of repetitive tasks within their organization, and 86% of employees surveyed believe that automation will help them do their work more efficiently to improve productivity and growth.

Webhooks are one part of the bigger picture of automation, and as the trend accelerates into the 2020s, these kinds of tools will only get more and more powerful.

So, what do you say? Ready to see the power of webhooks for yourself? Book a demo with us today to get a hands-on understanding of how webhooks can streamline your processes and bring new possibilities to your business.

You can also check out our help doc for webhooks, as well as the guided video walkthrough below.

The post Unleash the Power of Automations: Killer Webhooks Examples first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

The definition of economic doom: Recession. 

It’s every homeowner, parent, investor, business owner, and employee’s greatest fear. Especially when you look at the lasting effects previous recessions have had on the economy. 

Recently, there’s been much speculation about whether or not another recession will be creeping into the economy soon, and how this one will pan out. And with speculation comes rising anxiety around the topic. Mass layouts. Sky-high inflation. Lower profit margins. It’s understandable while people might fear another recession. 

Is a recession really as bad as it seems? 

To answer this question, I’ve put together some of the recession myths and misconceptions still floating around today and debunked them for you. Take a look: 

• What makes a recession, a recession?
• Myths and misconceptions about a recession 
• Staying one step ahead of any recession

What makes a recession, a recession? 

It’s broadly understood that there’s a recession when the economy experiences declining gross domestic product (GDP) for at least two consecutive quarters. GPD is the monetary value of final goods and services produced each year within a country.

But it’s up to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to declare a recession.

Rather than using declining GDP, NBER declares a recession when there’s a significant decline in activity across all aspects of the economy and this decline lasts for more than a few months. 

Other indicators need to be looked at when deciding if a recession will come in the near future. These include: 

• Retail sales 
• Durable goods orders 
• Consumer Confidence and Consumer Sentiment
• Unemployment rates
• Non-farm payrolls
• Producer Price Index (PPI)
• Consumer Price Index (CPI)  

You can assume that there’ll be a recession if these indicators fall into negative numbers and remains there for two consecutive quarters. 

What causes a recession? 

Many reasons are to blame for a recession occurring. However, sudden economic shocks or imbalances (such as high personal debt/loaning and high consumption/low spending) are the prime culprits for a recession taking place. 

You can think of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 as an event that followed the bloated housing debt market crash. Or the COVID-19 recession, which happened after huge spending declines from economic shutdowns and job loss.  

On a practical basis, recessions happen when a series of events or a single event creates a fall in economic growth. Smaller business profit margins, decreased consumer spending, and rising unemployment all accompany the declined economic growth. 

Typically, these factors create a vicious cycle. Employees lose their jobs, so they don’t spend money, which then causes companies to see a fall in profits. Companies then need to cut their losses to make up for these lower profits by laying off employees. 

How long does a recession last?

No recession is ever the same. Some can last for a few weeks and others several years. The length of each recession depends on its cause, market conditions, and the government’s response. 

According to NBER, the average recession from 1854 to 2022 lasted 17 months. However, the average recession lasted only 10 months when you use data from recessions between WWII to today. But this is only an average and not a rule. This difference of seven months can be linked to the more informative approach goverment had in dealing with economic recessions between WWII and today. 

The Great Recession stuck around for 18 months between 2007 and 2009. You’ve also got the early 1980s recession that lasted 16 months. But then there’s the 2020 COVID-19 recession, which was the shortest ever recorded only lasting for two months. 

You might be wondering, “Well how can the shortest recession have only lasted two months when you just said it takes two consecutive quarters or six months of decline for there to be a recession?”

For the most part, six months is a rule when NBER identifies recessions. But the COVID-19 recession was one exception to this. Even though the spring of 2020 saw a dip in the economy for just two months, it was wide-reaching and severe enough for NBER to declare a recession.  

What factors play a role in a recession’s length? 

As I said above, a recession’s length depends on its underlying cause, the government’s initial response, and market conditions. 

If you look at the Great Recession, its catalyst was an overblown housing bubble. Millions of people were underwater with their property investments or were foreclosed upon. A gap of almost $1 trillion was created from GDP plunging over 4%. 

At the same time, you saw major banking institutions shut down because they were overrun by subprime loans. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is one example of that. The economic impacts of the Great Recession carried on for years even though it only lasted for 18 months.

On the other end of the spectrum, the COVID-19 recession began when governments decided to stop entire divisions of economies to prevent the pandemic from spreading. Many of these divisions were able to bounce back once the world reopened because these segments were strongly positioned before the pandemic’s outbreak. 

The US, along with other countries, had economic stimulus policies in place that helped the economy get into a more stable state. The job market has mostly recovered, but we’re still seeing impacts from the COVID-19 recession. 

Both rising corporate profits and supply chain snarls have caused inflation rates to skyrocket. The Federal Reserve has responded to this by steadily hiking interest rates throughout 2022 to try to calm down demand and prices. 

What about a recession in 2023?  

No recession is the same, and it’s difficult to predict exactly how a recession will span out or how it will affect the economy. Most economists do predict a mild recession taking place sometime within 2023. 

For the US, these economists believe that the recession will start in mid-2023. It’s said to last anywhere from a few months to over a year. But we can only know how this recession will react with the different economic divisions once it happens – if it even happens at all. 

Myths and misconceptions about a recession 

A recession has the power to frighten an entire community, country, or planet. The misconceptions and myths surrounding recessions only add fuel to the fire. Here are some debunked recession myths:  

Myth #1: Recessions happen all the time

It’s natural for local stock prices to drop at times. You might see these prices continuously drop for a few days. That doesn’t mean there’s trouble on the rise. Prices (and other elements of the economy) dropping and rising is an ordinary flow pattern. 

In the last 70 years, the US government has only been in an official recession for 15%. So, it isn’t as common as many people think. As I said at the beginning of this article, a recession is only present when there’s been a consistent decline in various economic indicators for at least two consecutive quarters (or six months). 

Myth #2: You shouldn’t invest money during a recession

Putting it lightly, the economy takes a massive dive when there’s a recession. For ordinary people, job security is threatened, and households tend to hold on tight to the money they’ve saved just in case they lose their job or part of their income. People don’t spend money during this time. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t or that it isn’t savvy to do so. 

Recessions offer unique investment opportunities. One popular investment type during a recession is real estate. Economic downturns tend to lower property prices. You might find that you can purchase an apartment or house that previously you couldn’t.

Of course, this isn’t for all people, especially those living paycheck-to-paycheck. But if your savings give you the ability to make this investment, it would be wise to do so. 

Recessions are bound to end, and when they do, the economy typically roars back to life and sees great economic highs. That means property prices will increase, and your investment opportunity will be lost. And if you do make this investment during the recession, you could make a good amount of profit if you sell the property.

Myth #3: Recessions are only caused by uncontrollable events 

The shortest recorded recession was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was an uncontrollable event. But that doesn’t mean all recessions are created from unpredictable circumstances. 

From 2007 to 2009, the world was plagued by the Great Recession. No large-scale natural disaster or pandemic caused the Great Recession. Instead, it was encouraged through a lack of government regulation in US property and financial markets. 

This lack of government oversight resulted in risky investments being made by financial institutions. Risky investment practices led to consumers being allowed to borrow too much money. All these events culminated together to collapse the US economy, which then extended to global economies. This means the Great Recession could have been avoided. 

Mild recessions are typically accepted as part of the economic journey, despite the pain they bring with them. But that doesn’t mean recessions can’t (for the most part) be prevented by effective financial management from governmental bodies. 

Myths #4: There isn’t any way to prepare for a recession 

History has shown that all economies need to go through recessions before they’re reset and can grow even more. 

One of the first steps to effective recession preparation is basic: Strengthen your understanding of recessions. If you can, save up for any unforeseeable challenges you might face – whether it be a recession or other economic challenges. 

From there, you also want to pay closer attention to economic indicators. 

Sometimes, NBER is slow to provide an official statement, as recessions can only become visible after some time of economic struggle. Being able to predict economic trouble soon will help you get ahead of the chaos before a recession occurs.  

To get ahead of the chaos, you want to examine your spending habits. If you’re well-prepared, you can use this time to make your finances more stable either in your business or personal life. 

On a personal level, that may be cutting down on expenses that you don’t exactly need to better your household’s bottom line. For your business, that might mean finding ways to increase the efficiency of your recurring work patterns and bettering the way you run business processes. 

Staying one step ahead of any recession 

Recessions bring a ton of economic pain with them for both your personal and business lives. But they can also be a time that brings financial rewards. 

You’re provided with a ton of unique and profitable investment opportunities during a recession that can become very advantageous once economic indicators start to rise again. 

Recessions aren’t forever, and once they’re over, the economy, historically, bounces back stronger. If you’re well-prepared, you can use this time to work on making your lives more prosperous. 

Do you think we’ll experience a recession in 2023? Let us know in the comments.

The post Recession 2023: Myths and Misconceptions Debunked first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the world completely changed for a period of time. While it’s a time most of us would happily forget, many of the shifts that came about are becoming permanent staples in our society moving forward, particularly with work.

When Covid shut everything down, suddenly those who work in offices found themselves having to adjust to working from home. Some hated it and couldn’t wait to get back to the office, and others loved it, wanting it to become their normal, even post-pandemic. 

While remote work peaked in 2020, working from home and hybrid working are still at much higher rates than they were pre-pandemic, and there’s no sign that will change anytime soon.

This sudden increase in remote work has given us the opportunity to measure how remote work compares to onsite work in terms of environmental impact. In a time where the fate of the planet rests on this generation’s shoulders, we need to find as many ways as possible to reduce CO2 emissions.

However, despite popular belief, is working remotely actually better for the planet than working in an office?

In this article, I will attempt to answer that question. We will cover:

• Environmental impacts of the workplace
• How remote work changes things
• What about a hybrid model?
• So what is the solution?

Environmental impacts of the workplace

I remember the news stories during lockdown in 2020 well. The canals of Venice became clear; New Delhi had the longest period of clean air ever recorded. Nature seemed to heal itself very quickly with the sudden absence of cars, planes, motorcycles, and just people in general.

So if most of the pollution we create is associated with going to and being at work, then switching to remote work must be far better for the environment, no?

Well, it’s difficult to say because it’s not that simple. But let’s take a look at the environmental impact commuting and workplaces have.

Commuting

Commuting is not necessarily one-size-fits-all. Americans reading this might associate commuting with driving, the Japanese might associate it with taking the train, and the Dutch might associate it with riding a bike. For our purposes, we will focus on commuting by car as it has the highest environmental impact.

Let’s look at the facts:

• In the UK, workers spend an average of 1 hour and 38 minutes commuting each day.
• In 2017, a survey showed that 90% of workers in the US commuted by car.
• Petrol cars produce 180g of CO2 per kilometer in the UK.
• Petrol cars produce 650g of CO2 per kilometer in the US.
• Personal vehicles make up more than half of the greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
• In 2020, CO2 emissions from transportation were reduced by 15%.
• In 2021, air pollution in New Delhi dropped by 42% from fewer vehicles being on the road.
• Emissions shot back up to pre-pandemic levels when people went back to the office.

There’s no denying the massive environmental impact commuting has. Cars also emit a lot of nitrous oxide, more than they do CO2. This is a big problem because nitrous oxide is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

It’s no wonder that when everyone started working from home, many of those who drive to work saw their personal emission drop by as much as 80%.

However, those who take public transportation or cycle to work did not see the same reduction in their emissions. In fact, some may have seen an increase in their total emissions, but we’ll get into the why of that later.

Energy used in the office

Was the reduction of cars on the road every day good for the environment? Yes, undoubtedly. Was the reduction of energy used in offices good for the environment? Not in every case.

Trigger warning: We’re about to do some math.

So, in California, an office space for a company with 90 employees generates roughly 234 tons of carbon dioxide per year. That works out to 2.6 tons per employee, not counting the additional emissions from commuting, which would, on average, add an additional 4.6 tons of CO2. This brings the total amount of emissions per employee to 7.2 tons per year.

That’s a staggering amount!

By comparison, the average three-resident household in California produces 4.17 tons of CO2 per year or 1.39 tons per resident. We can’t know exactly how much energy usage increases with people working from home, but it likely would not be as much as the 2.6 tons produced in an office setting. And with the reduction of emissions from commuting, in this example, working from home would be the more sustainable option.

However, as I said before, emissions are not always reduced when people transition into remote work.

How remote work changes things

Remote work certainly makes it easier for individuals to reduce their personal emissions. And companies as a whole can reduce their emissions by foregoing offices altogether. Of course, not every business can be fully remote, but most, if not all, of those who solely operate in the digital space, can. 

Moving to a fully remote model can save companies tons of money. McKesson, a medical supply company, found that by getting rid of their offices, they would save between $60 and $80 million per year.

The undeniable benefits

We’ve already confirmed the biggest environmental benefit of remote work sustainability: cutting out commutes. But let’s put the amount of energy this would save into a larger context.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) analyzed commuter trends and labor market data and found that if all employees were allowed to work from home one day a week, it would save 24 million tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to the amount emitted by Greater London.

That’s just one day a week!

Now I know what you’re thinking: Not everyone can work from home. That’s true, and I hear you.

Research suggests that 20% of all workers could work from home full-time without ever needing to be onsite. If that 20% of employees are allowed to work remotely, we could see the same environmental benefits as the IEA’s analysis suggests.

With the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, we would also see:

• Less plastic pollution
• Better air quality
• Less strain on infrastructure

How do we know this? Because we already saw it during the Covid lockdowns!

Why remote work isn’t always a positive for the environment

Things are rarely black and white. I wish this piece could just be onsite work bad, remote work good. But it’s not that simple.

“Remote working has not delivered the environmental benefits that some people expected.” –

Steve Sorrell, professor of energy policy at the University of Sussex

For our hypothetical Californian company, transitioning to remote work was ultimately better for the environment. But what about in places where people take public transportation or cycle to work? What about people who live in cold climates?

Emissions would increase for these individuals. Instead of heating one office building, every employee would heat their individual home. Salesforce’s head of emissions reduction, Amanda von Almen, said that during the pandemic the company’s emissions didn’t go down; they were just moved around as people began working from home.  

And then there are the big tech companies like Meta and Google, who have invested billions into their sustainable campuses. It’s safe to say that most of their thousands of employees don’t have homes that only run on solar. For companies like that, the benefit of reduced commutes is all but negated by people working from home. 

Not to mention the emissions that have been caused by people setting up home offices. Between April and June 2020 alone, orders for office chairs increased by 300%, and orders for desks went up by 438%. The production and shipping of home office furniture and supplies do little to reduce carbon emissions.

Remote work has also increased the demand for larger houses to accommodate the additional office space. There has been an increase in people moving away from cities to more rural areas, increasing the amount they have to drive if they ever do have to go into the office. As people spend more time at home, they desire more space to make that time more comfortable. While it’s understandable, it’s not exactly environmentally friendly.

With remote work, people tend to travel recreationally a lot more. Chasing that digital nomad lifestyle and whatnot. And no shade to the digital nomads of the world, but we can’t lie to ourselves and think that it’s a sustainable way to live and work. 

What about a hybrid model?

A hybrid working model seems like a great compromise for people seeking a better work-life balance. But how does it compare with onsite and remote work?

The shift to hybrid

Many companies have been wary of adopting a fully remote model. It could be that they don’t want to give up their offices or their employees don’t enjoy being fully remote. Or both, really.

A hybrid working model is great for employees who crave the increased flexibility it brings. Employees enjoy the freedom of being able to more or less choose the days they go into the office and the days they stay home. 

Hybrid work has been shown to improve employee retention and improve their mental health altogether. With benefits like that, it’s no wonder that more and more companies are shifting to a hybrid model instead of going fully remote. 

But is it better or worse for the environment?

Benefits and bottlenecks

The environmental benefits of a hybrid working model are few, I’m afraid. 

If people don’t move further away from where they work, then the one and only benefit we’ve seen so far is the reduction of commutes. However, with people moving further away from city centers and opting for larger houses, that benefit shrinks and shrinks.

Not to mention the extra energy it takes to power people’s homes when they’re there all day. With a hybrid model, people’s homes are consuming more energy and office buildings are consuming the same amount of energy as they were before. 

In 2021, Carbon Trust, a consultancy based out of the UK, wrote a report on remote work in which they stated:

“In a worst-case scenario, a hybrid working future could…create a world where buildings and homes are used inefficiently with a transport system that is unable to respond to changing demand and potentially more cars on roads.” 

Experts believe that an environmentally-friendly hybrid model could be possible, but that it’s still too early to know how to do it.

So what is the solution?

Often when it comes to environmental issues and challenges, we tend to oversimplify solutions. We might be tempted to say that remote work is the most environmentally-friendly way to work, but as we saw, that’s not the case for every company.

While it may be the best model for an all-remote, international company like Process Street, which has never had offices, the switch to remote isn’t the best option for others.

Hybrid working is really showing to be the worst for the environment overall, but again that’s a generalization. Some companies out there may be doing a great job of making hybrid work sustainable, and we just don’t know about it yet.

The point is, in order to decide what type of working model is the most sustainable for your company, there’s a calculator you can use to compare different working scenarios.

When the software company Buffer tested its own emissions and compared onsite vs. remote working for the company, they found that a remote model was the most sustainable option for them. You never know until you compare the numbers.

Ultimately, the climate crisis is by far the biggest thing affecting our future. Looking for more sustainable ways to live on the individual and small business levels is really great, but the reality is that it isn’t going to make a dent in the problem. We need sweeping and dramatic changes to combat the changing climate, as evidenced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in 2018.

Until homes and offices are all powered by renewable energy, the debate of which working model is best for the planet will keep going. For now, the best solution is to adopt the most sustainable option for your company. It may not be the perfect solution, but it’s the best we can do for now until the powers that be make the changes we really need. 

We would love to hear from you: which model your company uses, if you have changed it since the pandemic, and whether you feel your emissions have gone up or down. Feel free to comment below.

The post Remote Work Sustainability: Expectation vs Reality first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

If your processes are designed and run properly, you likely shouldn’t have any delays. 

But what i if the great processes that you’ve constructed to the nines are still delivering delayed outputs? Did you miss something? Is the process simply not good enough? 

NO. 

If your processes are good, there could be another reason for delays. The answer: Bottlenecks. 

Think of your processes as a sunny day at the beach. You’ve come prepared with sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, snacks, an umbrella, and tons of water. But in the middle of your beach day, you run out of the water screaming with a jellyfish attached to your leg. 

The jellyfish is the bottleneck, and trust me, it stings just as bad for your business when one of those babies wraps itself around your company processes. 

The only difference is you can’t plan for the jellyfish. You can plan for bottlenecks with an effective process management strategy. 

Here’s how: 

• What is a bottleneck? 
• Signs you have a bottleneck
• Types of bottlenecks 
• How to identify bottlenecks in a process
• How software tools can help with bottleneck management 
• Bottleneck management: Prevention is better than cure

What is a bottleneck? 

A bottleneck is a situation where you’re dealing with more requests than can be efficiently processed at maximum capacity. The best way to think of it is a wine bottle. 

Although being bottlenecked likely drives you to drink wine – at least it does for me – rather think of the narrowing of a wine bottle. Just like it takes longer for wine to pass through the neck of the bottle, workflow tasks can become backed up when there isn’t enough capacity. 

Things take longer to pass through your workflow, which incurs unnecessary operational expenses. Any bottlenecks in your processes need to be dealt with to prevent interruptions or timeline delays. All of these problems cause budget spikes, which is something you want to avoid. 

Signs you have a bottleneck

Bottlenecks are a real pain but many people treat them as a small bump in the road. You get so familiar with where that bump is that you simply brace yourself until you’re over it. 

News flash! 

That isn’t how the journey needs to be. And it can actually cause more damage to you later down the road – see what I did there? 

Ignoring a bottleneck in your process won’t make it go away. It will take a large toll on your profitability and productivity. Not to mention, your workforce will be impacted both mentally and physically.  

Here are some clear signs of bottlenecks in your processes: 

• A dissatisfied and unmotivated workforce
• Bad customer feedback 
• Recurring errors
• Overloaded backlogs
• Long delays 
• Decreased performance levels 

You should view one or more of these indications as a massive red flag. Get down to the root cause as soon as you spot these signs. This will help you smooth out the bottleneck and ensure for a more streamlined journey. 

Types of bottlenecks

Don’t you hate it when someone tells you to avoid something unavoidable without giving you a way to avoid it? 

Well, that’s not me

The first step is to understand what your bottleneck is. There are two types of bottlenecks you should watch out for: 

System-based bottlenecks

These system-based bottlenecks occur when an obsolete, slow, or outdated software or system is used to manage your workflows. Examples could include: 

• Manual archiving systems
• Slow printers
• Ill-fitting workflow management systems

When it comes to these system-based bottlenecks, upgrading your printing system or management tools might be all you need to get your efficiency back on track.  

Performer-based bottlenecks

Performer-based bottlenecks happen when a team member, or your entire team don’t achieve the expected performance level. In most instances, it isn’t your team’s fault for missing the performance level. The root problem could be a lack of clarity or resources given to the team. 

If you find you have a performer-based bottleneck, you should speak to the stakeholders involved in the entire process and see what is going wrong and where. The best way to find this out is by using the “5 Whys.”

The 5 Whys Method helps you get to the underlying root cause instead of only focusing on the problem. In this case: Your team/team member not meeting the performance level. 

You want to keep asking “why” to your problem until you no longer can. Typically, you’ll have your answer after asking up to 5 “whys” (hence the name). But you might need to continue if your problem is a little more tricky and you need deeper investigation. 

For example: 

Your team didn’t meet the performance level. 

Why? 

They didn’t complete all their tasks within the workflow. 

Why? 

There was a miscommunication about how to complete a specific task. 

Why? 

Not enough clarity was given in the workflow for them to complete the task. 

Why? 

The workflow is outdated and doesn’t amount for structure changes within the department. 

Solution: The workflow needs to be updated with new information about organizational structures, policies, and procedures. This will ensure employees can clearly understand how to complete each task. 

How to identify bottlenecks in a process

The 5 Why’s Method is a great way to get to the root problem of your bottleneck, but how do you really spot bottlenecks in your processes? Let’s face it: You have tons of workflow documentation to sift through in order to find your bottleneck. 

Bottleneck analysis, or root cause analysis, is an effective approach to spotting any bottlenecks and resolving them quickly. Three steps make up bottleneck analysis. These are:  

Step 1: Map out your process (and find what’s slowing you down)

Process mapping is the best way to identify and prevent bottlenecks. The most important thing you need to consider is having a bird’s eye view picture of your process’s workload. 

Process management software, like Process Street, allows you to clearly outline each stage of your process to help get a better overview of your work. 

A visual representation of a process helps with problem-solving as you can easily see the flow of work and any disruptions. From here, you can see where this bottleneck is located within your process and why it’s occurring. 

Step 2: List your solutions

Now that you know the cause of your bottleneck, you want to determine the best way to address it with an action plan. 

There are many options you can choose from when finding a solution and they all depend on the underlying circumstances. 

Here are some examples: 

Problem: The bottleneck is caused by an understaffed team 

Solution: If your team’s overloaded with work, you need to consider both a long-term and short-term solution. That might look like expanding deadlines, delegating, or outsourcing work that can be done through an agency. It’s important to consider what can fit your team’s specific needs and other circumstances. 

For a longer-term solution, you should reconsider the scheduling times or performance levels of these processes. Otherwise, expanding your team with new employees might be the best way to solve this understaffing bottleneck. 

Problem: The bottleneck is caused by clients’ slow responses

Solution: Your delivery process can become bottlenecked if you’re regularly waiting for client responses or feedback. To prevent this bottleneck from happening, you should get in contact with your client and find the best way of asking for feedback. 

Perhaps they miss your emails. Whatever it is, find your client’s reasoning for their late reponses and see how you can prevent it from happening. You might need to write urgent emails all in capital letters. Otherwise, your clients might prefer receiving deliverables.

Problem: The bottleneck is caused by outdated process management software 

Solution: Any outdated software is a massive issue. Whether it’s slow to load, has difficult navigation, or it doesn’t automatically save your progress, it’s a headache but it can be a quick fix. Just perform an easy ROI analysis to justify a process management software update. 

Problem: The bottleneck is caused by your team doing duplicate work

Solution: Duplicating work can cause frustration and friction within your department alongside slowing down the process. This is something you seriously want to avoid. You can use a workflow management tool to define what tasks each team member is responsible for.   

Problem: The bottleneck is caused by micromanagement 

Solution: A manager or any stakeholder who is interfering with a workflow will cause the process to slow down rapidly. If micromanaging is the reason for this bottleneck, you should have a meeting dedicated to setting boundaries and delegating tasks. 

A lot of the time, micromanaging isn’t deliberate or the result of a lack of trust. It could just be a poor design that asks for more oversight/approvals than is actually necessary. In which case, the meeting should figure out the why – are there unnecessary approvals or does the manager need to give employees more autonomy?

Step 3: Evaluate your improvements 

Once you’ve decided on a suitable solution and implemented it, you need to monitor and evaluate its performance. Track your process’s progress and see how it compares to the speed and quality of your previous process. 

This information also works as a great way to gather information for future bottleneck management and prevention. It’s always important to remember that you can’t necessarily prevent bottlenecks. 

When it comes to specific processes, these bottlenecks are inevitable. But it’s essential to have a proactive approach to identify and manage when bottlenecks do occur. And the best way to maintain this proactive approach is with effectively mapped out processes. This allows your team to become more flexible when congestion is spotted. 

How software tools can help with bottleneck management

Utilizing software to analyze your processes is an excellent way to address or avoid bottlenecks. You can easily see what needs to be addressed in your workflows by finding unpredictable areas within your workflow. These areas of uncertainty are where you’re most likely to find a bottleneck.  

Another great feature software tools have for bottleneck management is different visual layouts. You can view elements of your workflows as complete reports, overdue work, and as a timeline of tasks. This feature makes it straightforward to notice where work is piled up. 

Having all your steps of one workflow laid out in the form of a list helps you understand how all these tasks work together. From here, you can locate any areas vulnerable to congestion and find a way around it. Just like that, you can prevent any potential bottlenecks before running your processes. 

Bottleneck management: Prevention is better than cure 

Delays from piled up work can cause stress for any business. Being faced with a bottleneck means you’re losing money and working inefficiently.

You’re basically flushing valuable businesses resources down the drain every second you’ve got a bottleneck living inside your processes. 

The business world is competitive and this type of internal strain on your company is something you seriously want to avoid. Using workflow management software makes your life that much easier. 

You’re given a bird’s eye view of all your business processes to help you have complete visibility over what work is happening and where. Processes are clearly documented within your software tool, which helps you notice any areas of congestion from a mile away. 
Do you invest in any type of bottleneck management? What do you do to stop congestion from clogging up your processes? Let us know in the comments.

The post The Secret to Unblocking Your Business Bottleneck first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

We’re kicking off Season 2 of our Employee Onboarding Podcast with resident new hire onboarding experience experts Ashley Chain & Erin Rice discussing thought leadership in employee onboarding.

In this episode, Process Street’s Erin Rice (People Operations Coordinator) and Ashley Chain (Director of People & Operations) discuss the key components of what makes an awesome onboarding experience, as well as details and insights of Process Street’s own internal onboarding process.

Listen now (or read on) for intel on topics like:

• How to align company and departmental onboarding.
• Creating processes to wow new hires.
• Empowering new hires with actionable training material.
• What are the intangible aspects of new hire onboarding?
• How do you create a truly magical onboarding experience?

You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

Onboarding horror stories

Erin Rice

It was a long time ago, back when I was starting out at a new school. I was a teacher at the time, and they literally needed someone to teach – yesterday.

So when I showed up on my first day, I went straight into the classroom, no intro, no training, not even an employee handbook. But I did it! And later, when I moved on to an administrative position, I was able to really enhance the onboarding experience, so no-one ever felt like a fish out of water – like I did that day.

Ashley Chain

At my first “big girl job”, I came into the office to find a big binder on my desk. I was told to read through it. That was my onboarding.

It was a thick binder – and I’m not a skimmer – so I read that whole thing, and it was so boring. I was so excited to go in for my first day, but after that, I really wasn’t excited about working there, at all, and it really set the tone for my time there.

Process Street’s onboarding philosophy

Ashley

Right around the time you joined us, Erin, we made the decision to really ramp up our onboarding process, so we could strive to be thought leaders in this space. And as you know, we’ve put in a lot of time and effort into understanding employee onboarding, through our research and also talking to other thought leaders.

Set clear expectations

Erin

Being a fully remote company like Process Street, it’s important that our new hires know exactly what’s expected of them. I can’t imagine anything worse than starting on my first day and not knowing what I’m supposed to be doing or learning or who I’m supposed to be talking to.

We even go as far as laying it out, saying this Workflow is your top priority. So as new hires are getting trainings and meetings Scheduled, they always know those should come after their company onboarding Workflow.

Be welcoming, not overwhelming

Ashley

I think that goes hand in hand with another important part of onboarding and that’s being welcoming without being overwhelming, right?

So in our research and feedback that we gathered, being overwhelmed was a common theme. And so there’s a lot of information that needs to be digested, during those first days and weeks, but having everything laid out with due dates or with clear expectations kind of takes away that overwhelming aspect and it brings it down to a more manageable level.

Erin

Right – so new hires can move at their own pace. If they want to accomplish more and move faster than they expected due dates, that’s totally fine. But they’re given the baseline, so there’s something to anchor to.

This also gives us a way to check in early on. Hiring managers are often so excited to have their new teammate and they wanna teach them everything! If a new hire misses a deadline with their company onboarding, we can check in and make sure that they aren’t being overwhelmed with information coming from other places, and that they’re truly able to prioritize their company onboarding before their department onboarding.

Separate company and departmental onboarding

Ashley

Yeah, that’s a great point about hiring managers being so excited to have a new person and wanting to give them all the information, and making sure to have those clear expectations set.

Not just in terms of setting the pace for company onboarding, but also that this is the pace for company onboarding – even before you start your department onboarding.

We’ve gotten great feedback on making those separate, and making sure that priority is known.

Make it easy for new hires to access the resources they need

Ashley

Another important part of onboarding is having all of the information there in an organized and thoughtful way, so new hires don’t have to go looking for information or answers to questions.

But like I said before, you’re not just handing the new hire a big binder of information to read through. We’ve over-thought and iterated on our process so much that at this point, we really don’t get any additional questions after someone’s gone through their Workflow. And that’s been our goal all along.

Keep a well-documented onboarding process

Erin

I couldn’t agree more – Process Street does the organizing and the presentation for us, and that allows us to expand on the onboarding process by adding a level of personalization – which is my favorite part.

Because Process Street is dynamic, we can tailor the individual tasks to the person based on their job function, personality interests, etc.

For example, if they live in Europe, we can invite them to the #team-europe Slack channel. If they’re an avid surfer, we can invite them to the #casual-surfers channel. That personalization also allows the hiring manager to thoughtfully select people outside of their regular team to meet with.

Maybe they’re a person that they already know they have something in common with. Maybe they have other positions that they might be collaborating with. But this allows them to start to get a sense of the team really early on through that personalization.

Favorite things about our onboarding process

Erin

So I mentioned my favorite part of the onboarding process. I know you must have one too, Ashley!

Ashley

Of course, I do! I wouldn’t work here if I didn’t nerd out on a good process, you know?

How organized it is

Ashley

My favorite part is I love how organized it is – not only for the new hire’s experience (which we just talked about) but also for us on the back-end. For those of us that are actually running that process, it allows us to sit back and have it be pretty automated.

Like a lot of tech companies, we recently went through a period this summer where we paused our hiring and onboarding, even though we had been focused on it for the six months (at least) before that, it was kind of pushed to the back of our minds.

And when we did start hiring again in August, I was actually amazed with how little I remembered about our onboarding process.

Before the summer, I felt like I could onboard someone in my sleep. We were doing it so often and it was always the same, and set out in such a way that I thought “this is always going to be like riding a bike.“

But then when hiring started up again… I couldn’t remember all the steps. I couldn’t remember who was supposed to do what, or at what time.

Thankfully, Erin took the time to get our process set up in Process Street, including all of the features that Process Street has like Task Assignments. Who’s supposed to do this task? Oh, it’s already assigned to them, and it sends them a notification. When are they supposed to do it? That due date is based on the candidates start date. So we never have to worry about doing things like that manually.

So the whole process was automated for us, and we have everything we could possibly need documented in Process Street.

At this point, we really don’t have to think about anything. We did all of that over-thinking in the past and captured that into Process Street Workflows and Pages to make our lives easier.

More time to spend building connections with new hires

Erin

I love that – because we use Process Street, we can rely on it to remember all of those boring tasks and things that needs to be done. And that allows us to have more time to spend building connections with the new hire.

It gives us the time to play games and focused on who they are as an individual and what they bring to the team versus remembering the 101 tasks that need to be completed.

You know, let us be humans – not workers!

Ashley

Yeah. That’s a really good point. I love that we get to meet with each new hire.

Whether it’s individually or in a group, we meet with them at the end of their first week, like you mentioned, to play games, get to know them.

We chat about the highs and lows of their first week and it’s more of a conversation, and we also specifically ask for feedback around our onboarding process during those meetings.

So not only the Workflow that they’ve been given, but also the pace at which we set it, the amount of information that they were given, and that kind of starts that open discussion.

How we gathered feedback to improve our onboarding process

Ashley

And on that note, why don’t we move on to talk about getting feedback and implementing changes to our onboarding process?

Start gathering feedback early

Erin

Yeah, it’s important that they feel they are making contributions from day one by getting feedback early on in a new hires journey with us. They gain trust in us and our process. So when they see the changes that we’ve implemented because of that feedback, it helps to create a stronger company culture, which will in turn be impactful in the wrong long run.

They are going to have conflicts. They’re gonna have big ideas and they’re going to have everything in between. We want them to feel respected to share all of that on their journey.

Ashley

Yeah, I agree. And it shows new hires from the very beginning that their ideas are not only welcomed but they’re encouraged, they’re helpful and we’re open to change and improving and accepting those ideas.

Send a survey once the new hire is fully ramped up

Erin

Yeah. And that’s through their entire time with us. We also send a 60 day survey that allows the new hire some time to reflect on the onboarding process.

Once they’ve actually ramped up to their position, sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know, and the survey allows them time and space to capture that feedback when they are ready.

Ashley

Yeah, that’s a great point. We like to capture it right after the first week while it’s fresh in their mind.

But also giving them that space to see there was a gap here and maybe they even know like what would better fill that gap? And if they don’t that’s fine too. That’s our job to figure it out.

But kind of collecting feedback at two different points has proved really helpful. And getting our onboarding process to where we want it to be.

What we changed about our own onboarding process

Ashley

Now, do you wanna mention some of the changes that we’ve actually implemented over this last year from that feedback that we’ve received?

Improving the connection between managers and new hires

Erin

So although we all know this, it can be really intimidating meeting your manager on their first day even though you likely made a connection with them through the hiring process.

I mean, that’s probably why they joined the team! But still, it can be a little uncomfortable. So we thought “how can we grow this connection and make it even better?”

We started asking professional questions specifically related to their work, their personalities, and their work styles. This way the new hire can share things like how their managers will know they’re stressed, or what forms of appreciation are best recieved.

But not only did we share that from the new hire to their manager, but we also shared that same information from the manager to the new hire.

So already they’re finding things that they have in common or maybe don’t have in common and they can laugh about it in that first (sometimes a little awkward) meeting.

Ashley

Right, and it kind of creates an ice breaker for those meetings. It gives them something to talk about where they both know what’s going to be discussed. But it also gives really valuable information.

So it lets the new hire know like you said, their managers strengths and weaknesses, their management style, from their own words.

But it also lets the manager know from that first day that important information that you mentioned – like “what does it look like when you’re stressed?”, or “how do you best receive feedback or recognition?” And we’ve asked those questions directly so that there is nothing left up in the air.

It’s a way of communicating “this is me, this is how I receive information” and that is clearly set out for both of them. That’s been really helpful in building those connections from the very beginning.

Tailoring the first few days to a perfect fit for new hires

Erin

Yeah, definitely. Other feedback we received was that it can feel really overwhelming for some teammates to be given a lot of information on the first day.

Many of us with “Type A” styles like to spend a few minutes (or maybe a few hours) the day before preparing for the day. And so we started sending the onboarding Workflow the week before.

Because of this feedback, this allows the individual to decide how to best digest the information. Are they one of those people who likes to prepare a few days in advance, or is it more of a first day kind of thing?

We were very thoughtful about the note that we included with this Workflow to clarify that our intention wasn’t for them to start it right away, but it was available for them if they’re the kind of person that needed it.

Since then, every new hire has been a little different and it’s been helpful for us to learn another part of their workstyle ahead of time. Another nod to that personalization. My favorite part!

Ashley

Yeah, I love that. I was really nervous about sending it beforehand because I didn’t want anyone to think that anything was expected of them before their first day, but you’re right, clearly laying it out, setting those expectations. It really made it a non issue.

Building interdepartmental connections from day 1

Ashley

We also wanted to make sure from the feedback that we received that our new hires felt connected to their teammates from that first day. That’s why we started our cross functional buddy program.

That’s where a team mate from a different department meets with the new hire at least once a week during their first month (sometimes more).

So the new hire has someone to ask questions that they may not feel comfortable asking their manager or HR, those “stupid questions” that no one wants to ask.

They have a person saying, hey ask me those questions acknowledging out loud. Like I’m your person, come to me. There are no stupid questions.

We’ve gotten really good feedback from the new hires about that they have someone to go to and that always feels comfortable. But also from the buddies because it allows them to get to know someone better. And then they may not have known otherwise as quickly.

It’s harder in a remote company to get to know someone in a different department in their first few weeks from when they start. And so this allows for that connection right away.

Erin

Yeah, that’s right. And we took that even a step further by starting to ask “silly questions” and sharing them in a new Slack channel for other teammates to find things they have in common.

The questions are silly, like “what music do you still rock out to?” or “if you wrote a book, what it would be called?”.

So it gets the group interacting and laughing over things that other people might not really understand, like “a book called the best ways to waste your time” or “how our world would be better if dogs could talk“.

And you would not be surprised – we also ask our new hires for other questions to add to our silly ones, and they might be our best ones yet!

Ashley

Yeah. And that’s a great point about team members finding things they have in common with each other.

Especially for a remote company, it’s not as easy to have those kinds of casual conversations, where you get to know your team, maybe as you’re walking around together, or having lunch together.

So we have to be really intentional about how we set those conversations up – and it’s worked out really well!

Like you said, we have a separate Slack channel for that. So you come there to learn that information to share your own commonalities. I love going to that channel and seeing people connecting and finding things they have in common. It’s been really fun!

Erin

For sure. And that not only makes them feel immediately a part of the team, but it also gives them the competence that they made the right decision, accepting the position with the company and that’s probably the most important part.

Ashley

Right. I agree. We don’t want them to have that bad experience – like you had with your onboarding – of just being thrown in with no guidance, or like I had, where I was just told “here, read over all of this information“.

We want it to be fun. We want it to be magical. We want our onboarding to set the tone for new hires and make them even more excited after their first day, not feeling like, “oh no, what have I done!?”

The future of onboarding at Process Street

Erin

So, what do you see as the future of onboarding at Process Street?

Ashley

That’s a great question. Recently we’ve gone and made a lot of changes here. I’m very happy with where our onboarding process is at now, but I would say the future, we’re going to continue to focus and trust the process that we have built here.

We’ve put a lot of thought and effort into it, but we are always open to feedback. The feedback that we get from the people actually going through the process has been so helpful.

We hire the best people here who give the best constructive feedback. And so, I’m staying open to that – continuing to iterate as needed.

We like to say that the magic isn’t in the product or in our current process. It’s an it’s evolution.

Erin

I love that. I’m so excited to have a front row seat!

Ashley

I know, and I’m so excited to have a fellow nerd to work on it with!

Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with me about our mutual love of a good process and a magical candidate experience.

Erin

Thanks for having me Ashley, this was fun!

Check out season 1 of the Employee Onboarding Podcast!

This is a transcription of the first episode of Season 2 of our Employees Onboarding Podcast, bringing new insights and best practices from employees onboarding experts, and helping you to create an amazing onboarding experience.

Check out some choice selections from Season 1 below, and don’t forget to subscribe!

• Season 1 – Episode 1: Tim Sackett
• Season 1 – Episode 2: William Tincup
• Season 1 – Episode 3: Ben Eubanks

The post Creating a Magical New Hire Onboarding Experience (Employee Onboarding Podcast) first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

An employee feedback loop can be a great tool if you’re trying to improve the quality of your products or boost the satisfaction of your employees.

There are numerous benefits to gathering and utilizing feedback but there are also several key things to remember that will help you make your feedback loops as effective as possible.

We will look at the different types of feedback loops, how they can positively impact businesses, and the best practices for making them work the first time, every time.

What is the employee feedback loop?

A feedback loop is a way for a business to ‘loop’ the outputs of a system back into that system to be used as inputs. More specifically, it involves using customer and employee feedback to improve the quality of a product, service, or workplace.

Two types of feedback loop

There are two different types of feedback loops that a business can utilize. 

Positive feedback loop (both customer & employee feedback loop)

A positive feedback loop utilizes the constructive criticism or complaints of employees. It improves employee satisfaction and internal processes. A positive feedback loop can help to reduce employee turnover, and increase employee engagement, thereby improving productivity.

Negative feedback loop (both customer & employee feedback loop)

A negative feedback loop utilizes customer feedback to try and improve the products and services offered. A negative feedback loop can help increase customer satisfaction and loyalty and enhance brand image.

Benefits of having a feedback loop in your team

There are many potential benefits to implementing feedback loops within an organization.

An employee feedback loop will increase productivity

Employees who see that their feedback is being acknowledged are much more likely to feel valued by their employer. An employer who appears to want to genuinely improve the working conditions of their employees is looked upon much more favorably, leading to increased employee engagement, and hence increased productivity.

Increased productivity means that a company can generate more output from the same amount of resources. This is sure to be a benefit, regardless of whether you’re offering a cloud-based business phone system, or handmade greeting cards.

It will also boost profitability

If a business can create more output without increasing the amount they have to input, then the profitability of the business increases. Factors such as increased productivity and lower employee turnover can help contribute to this. By listening to feedback, businesses can identify problem areas, not only for their employees, but with their products and services, too. 

Providing a higher quality product and better customer service leads to less time spent trying to provide customer support, which can help reduce overheads and further increase profitability. One survey found that listening to customer feedback increased customer retention rates by anything from 56% to 87%. 

Studies show employee feedback loops improve workplace satisfaction

Fostering a feedback-driven culture, and listening to employee feedback, can help to create a better work environment for employees, which helps to increase employee satisfaction. More satisfied employees are proven to be more engaged in their work and are more productive as a result. 

Not only this, but satisfied employees are less likely to look for employment elsewhere, which reduces employee turnover and its associated costs. 41.2% of employees say they have left a job because they felt they weren’t being listened to. Not having to train new employees as often means that productivity remains high.

Improves communication and engagement

Allowing employees to voice their opinions fosters a feedback driven culture of open communication and overall transparency. It increases trust between employees and employers and encourages them to approach their managers with concerns, knowing that their feedback will be taken seriously.

Building an open and transparent work environment focused on clear communication increases employee engagement, helping to reduce absenteeism, turnover, and even safety incidents. All these factors help to increase productivity and profitability. 

Low employee turnover

Increasing employee retention is a great way to increase productivity, but it also helps to create a positive brand image. A company that inspires loyalty in its employees is more likely to impress positively on customers. 

Giving employees a platform to openly and honestly express their opinions without fear of reprisal is key to creating a positive work environment, which will help reduce employee turnover.

Improve customer service

Gathering customer feedback is a great way to improve customer service, whether you’re one of the largest cloud PBX providers or one of the smallest fashion retailers. 49% of customers surveyed said that asking for feedback after a purchase is a good way to make them feel valued.

Customers who feel valued by a company are more likely to shop with them again. This benefits the profitability of a brand greatly, as it can cost up to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one.

Increasing customer service also creates a positive brand image, making new customers more likely to trust the company and shop with them, especially after seeing positive feedback on independent review websites. If you’re a VOIP business communications provider, a great reputation in the industry will keep clients coming to your door when they’re looking for a Phone.com alternative.

How to set up & maintain a feedback loop in your team

Here are our top tips that will help implement feedback loops in your organization without hassle.

Run meetings whenever necessary

If you want to gather feedback from your employees, there’s no better way than speaking to them directly. By making your managers available for individual meetings with employees, you create an opportunity to gather open and honest feedback, while fostering trust among your teams. 

Make asking for feedback an essential aspect of employee reviews, so even if employees don’t seek you to give feedback, they still have ample opportunity to present you with it.

Assess pain points

Before asking employees for feedback, do some research to pinpoint the potential pain points your teams may encounter. Factors such as your company structure or employee demographics may give rise to specific challenges you should know.

Analyze the feedback and identify any recurring issues that affect your employees. For example, if development and testing of new software applications is taking up too much time for too many of your developers, you could look at investing in a new solution accelerator to help ease the workload.

Make sure your employee feedback loop is focused on relevant info

How you collect your feedback should be a crucial point of consideration. As discussed previously, one-on-one meetings are a great way to gather feedback, but they can sometimes be impractical, especially in larger organizations. 

Email surveys are an alternative method that can be used. These have the benefit of gathering feedback with a reduced time commitment. They can also be anonymous, which may encourage some employees to provide more honest feedback. 

Acknowledge and analyze feedback from your employee feedback loop

Once you’ve requested feedback, it’s important to do something with it. If employees feel that the information they’ve provided has just been ignored, they’re less likely to take the time to do it again. Ensure you analyze the feedback you’ve received for common issues and then communicate to your employees that you’re aware of specific pain points. You can then lay out plans for how you intend to tackle these issues.

If you gather feedback with no intention of acting upon it, employees will see it as an empty gesture executed to garner goodwill. It can often have negative effects on morale and employee satisfaction. 36.5% of employees left a job because they thought that feedback wasn’t taken seriously. 

Promote active listening

It’s important that employees feel that their voices are heard, and that they can provide open and honest feedback at any time, without having to be invited to do so first. You should therefore strive to create a culture of listening at your workplace.

A culture of listening in an organization can boost productivity and retention. Offering training to managers on how to achieve this should be a key focus, and should form part of the onboarding process for any new managers. 

Communicate regularly

You should ensure that you communicate regularly with your teams, offering them ample chances to provide feedback. Only around 20% of employees say that their employers ask them for feedback weekly, with the other 80% reporting they were asked less frequently.

Making gathering feedback a monthly, or even worse, yearly, occurrence, can give your employees the impression that you’re not going to take their feedback seriously. Gathering feedback regularly also allows you to catch problems as they arise.

Notify the team whenever there are changes

You should do your best to communicate any changes to your teams based upon their feedback. This will show that you have listened to and understood what they have said, and have been willing to make alterations based upon it.  

Pull the employee feedback loop tight

The feedback loop is an excellent tool that can help you to increase customer and employee satisfaction. This can lead to higher productivity, customer retention, and ultimately, higher profitability for your business. 

Gathering feedback from your employees can help you to identify pain points for your employees. You then have the opportunity to act on the feedback, whether that’s utilizing new team communication tools, or introducing new electronic signature software (check out PandaDoc’s guide on DocuSign competitors) to speed up contract exchanges for your teams.

Listening to your customer feedback can help your customers to feel valued, and can increase customer retention. And the same can be said for your employees. Put the feedback loop to use, establish yourself a business that your employers and your customers can trust, and reap the benefits.

What do you think is the most important part of a functional employee (or customer) feedback loop? Let us know in the comments.

This is a guest post from Jenna Bunnell, Senior Manager for Content Marketing at Dialpad. Jenna has written for other domains such as MacSecurity and CEO Blog Nation. You can find her on LinkedIn.

The post How to Tighten the Employee Feedback Loop & Reclaim Your Team’s Productivity first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

What if your business could establish a culture that harnesses quality as an operational weapon? What if you could make quality a repeatable, instinctive pattern of work that puts your company at the front of the pack?

The past couple of years haven’t been easy for businesses. The snail-paced unfolding of Brexit brought uncertainty and disruption for British and EU businesses, and anyone connected to them. 

Then the ravages of COVID-19 shut large swathes of the world economy down and brought the Great Resignation in its wake. And now, inflation is rocketing skyward, the ‘r’ word is on everyone’s lips, and the cheap debt of the last decade is set to be curtailed by the Federal Reserve’s hiking of interest rates. 

It’s clear that we’re in the middle of a rough patch. Businesses need to take measured, proactive steps now to weather the storm and make themselves as strong, healthy, and competitive as they can be.

In times like these, it can be tempting to reach for the nuclear option and take dramatic evasive action: diversification, cost-cutting, remodeling, and risk analysis are the order of the day. 

Culture doesn’t get much of a look-in. But here’s why that’s a mistake – and why focusing on quality, and how to graft it into the heart of your cultural DNA, is one of the best things your business can do to prepare for the next few years.

• What is a culture of quality?
• Why does a quality culture matter?
• The four corners of a quality culture
• The role of leadership in a culture of quality
• Choosing the right tools for a quality culture
• Conclusion: Make a quality culture your objective

What is a culture of quality?

Quality management used to be a tickbox exercise looked after by a single department: document procedures, audit processes, measure product output, get a certificate for the wall, rinse, and repeat.

Forward-thinking business leaders are realizing there’s a better way.

Adhering to international quality standards like ISO 9001 has always been important for highly regulated industries like food and life science. But the increasingly competitive and thorny macroeconomic environment means the emphasis is now shifting for all businesses. Quality is evolving from ‘bare minimum must-have’ to a business-wide enabler of growth, continuous improvement, and competition-busting.

And to that end, more and more companies are attempting to instill quality into the heart of their operational cultures.

Simply put, a culture of quality is one where all employees seamlessly integrate quality into their daily activities. Rather than a discrete quality management system checking and enforcing actions from afar, quality becomes automatically repeated and ‘lived’ by all colleagues.

The core ingredients of this day-to-day quality emphasis include:

• Customer centricity, with constant evaluation of their needs and responsive actions as a result;
• Consistent, collaborative evaluation of process effectiveness, with intentional communication of improvement opportunities;
• Constant awareness of how product and service quality connects to the individual day-to-day.

Savvy leaders are realizing that ‘culture’ – ‘the way we do things around here’ – will always prevail over artificial attempts to condition behavior with policies and procedures. Only by loading quality into the business culture can long-term competitive advantage be achieved.

Why does a quality culture matter?

Besides the obvious – bringing safe, compliant products to market and keeping them there for your customers to buy – a quality culture can have dramatic transformative effects for your business and your bottom line.

While Harvard Business Review found that companies with mature quality cultures spend around $350m less every year fixing mistakes than companies without them, a real quality culture:

• Maximizes customer satisfaction;
• Reduces churn;
• Opens your total accessible market;
• Encourages growth;
• Saves money with a right-first-time approach: the ‘1-10-100’ quality rule holds that $1 spent on preventing defects equals around $10 spent on quality review, and about $100 spent on fixing existing defects.

Marginal improvements, like a reduction in churn from higher-quality processes, can be transformational in the long run, as this graph shows:

Above all, a recent Qualio consumer survey found that the American public, specifically in a life science context, are acutely conscious of the quality and integrity of the products they access. 84% of consumers would factor an FDA ‘score’ of a company’s quality culture into their decision-making process, and 73% actively follow news and updates about healthcare products. 

The intense and often vitriolic clash of ‘vaxxers’ versus ‘anti-vaxxers’ in the wake of COVID-19 throws this into sharp relief: people care, strongly, about the safety and quality of the business processes lurking behind the products they use every day. 

Quality matters, and increasingly so. Your business culture needs to reflect that fact from top to bottom.

The four corners of a quality culture

Do you want to build a quality culture for your organization? Start with these four steps.

1. Planning

Who are your customers, and potential customers? What are their needs, and the needs of your broader stakeholders? How will you meet those needs, and adapt to future potential needs?

Answering these questions is crucial for the foundation of your quality culture; the needs of your stakeholders will govern how every layer of your business operates each day.

Take a close, objective look at any internal issues which might hamper your ability to meet these needs. Things to consider include:

• Relationship with your staff and stakeholders, including partners and suppliers;
• Resources and knowledge (capital, people, processes, and technologies);
• Risk appetite;
• Assets;
• The product/service(s) you offer;
• Current standards, guidelines, models, and ways of working;
• Information systems;

Then explore the external issues which might have a bearing on your business culture and impact the products and services you provide. Conduct a PESTLE analysis to pinpoint the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors at play for your business.

Then bring those internal and external issues together into a SWOT analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats you’ll need to address, harness, or suppress.

2. Assurance

As we’ve seen already, the ultimate objective of a quality culture is to make the meeting of customer needs the automatic, repeatable core of your entire company’s daily activities.

Designing easy-to-follow processes which make this happen isn’t easy. And the process needs to be collaborative: there’s no use designing complex, beautifully engineered business processes which look perfect on paper but which aren’t followed day to day.

In this context, you should beware of the ‘deviation spiral’. Your team will naturally look for the fastest, easiest way to complete things, and will ‘deviate’ from documented processes to meet this aim. Small deviations will be cautiously experimented with, and will then crystallize into ‘the way we do things’ before new deviations take place. 

Your quality culture needs to work with, not against, the people on the frontline of your business processes. Start with your stakeholder requirements and work your way through to the desired inputs and outputs which will structure your processes, making sure you gather feedback and suggestions as you go. 

Remember: the more your colleagues feel a sense of ownership of, and connection to, your ways of working, the more confident they’ll feel to suggest continuous improvement opportunities and the less chance of a deviation spiral unwinding behind your back.

Proper assurance that your operational goals can be achieved with minimal variation and error is a crucial component of any quality culture.

3. Control

Closely connected to assurance is control. The best quality cultures are the most introspective, giving all employees the chance to frequently reflect on their work and consider whether quality requirements are being fulfilled. 

Reviews and audits are crucial for this step. Be on the lookout for:

• Multiple systems handling one business process i.e. multiple document management areas, supplier databases, internal training systems;
• Confusion or ambiguity about process steps – ‘calls for help’;
• Duplicated work;
• Excessive numbers of processes;
• Customer feedback (customers are attuned more than anyone to quality issues!);
• Multiple sources of truth;
• Excessive data collection times for reporting;
• Spontaneous workarounds, ‘reinventing the wheel’ when things go wrong.

KPIs are also vital here. More KPIs isn’t necessarily better, though – thinking back to your stakeholder requirements, identify a handful of ‘North Star’ KPIs and encourage departments to stick to them with frequent check-ups.

Process KPIs might include:

• Average process age/time to complete tasks;
• % of processes where assigned resources exceeds planned number;
• Average process overdue time and % of overdue processes;
• Defects and non-conformances.

Service quality KPIs could be:

• Complaint resolution time;
• Number of complaints/escalations;
• NPS;
• Cycle time from customer request to delivery.

And broader quality and compliance KPIs could include:

• Non-conformances found in audits;
• Non-conformance resolution time;
• Cost of poor quality (COPQ);
• Frequency of reviews, audits, or inspections per quarter.

4. Improvement

Using these KPIs, continuous improvement should be at the heart of your quality culture and daily activities.

In the same way that relevant personnel should be involved in how processes are built and followed, they should also be consulted when considering opportunities for improvement and refinement.

‘As-Is’ thinking should be ingrained through careful training and communication, with processes which run across departments interrogated in the same way by those different departments.

A robust quality culture should encourage your employees to consider:

• ‘As Is’: How are current processes executed? Where are the areas of weakness/variation? What is working well, and why?

• ‘To Be’: How can processes be improved? How can steps, systems, and tasks be minimized and simplified?

• ‘To Do’: Who needs to be involved in the change? How should people be trained on the change? When does the change need to be actioned by?

The role of leadership in a culture of quality

The right environment must be created for a quality culture to flourish. And while every business is different, some typical components of a culture of quality are common and only consistent top-down leadership from the C-suite can get them in place. 

Where ‘management’ concerns itself with tangible, measurable capabilities like processes, ‘leadership’ in this context becomes something less objective and more focused around behavior.

Ultimately, a quality culture is about ensuring all layers of employees understand, and are motivated by, organizational goals and objectives, and how they contribute individually towards them. In a competitive, quality-focused business with a robust quality culture, organizational and quality goals should be one and the same.

Set challenging goals and targets. Couple them with an atmosphere of trust where employees feel comfortable coming forward with improvement suggestions, and empowered with the right training, resources, and autonomy to start actioning them.

Giving generous boundaries, forgiving mistakes, connecting employees to a shared single source of truth, and offering SMART-driven growth plans are all softer behavioral steps conducive to a quality culture.

Quality should be celebrated, too, so consider ways to reward teams and departments for their contributions. Set friendly competitions around quality KPIs and reward employees who suggest an improvement which is implemented. 

Business leaders should also:

• Ensure adequate resources for a strong, effective QMS, including digital tools for info-sharing and automation (more on that below);
• Promote risk- and opportunity-based thinking;
• Turn quality policies and objectives from tickbox audit requirements into operational ingredients aligned with the strategic direction of the business;
• Communicate the significance of quality and why everyone should participate;
• Lead by example.

Choosing the right tools for a quality culture

The data streams, tools, processes, and systems your business uses will determine how easy or difficult your quality cultural journey will be.

Legacy quality tools like paper, spreadsheets, and Dropbox folders offer a basic level of communicating and sharing information, but will creak and leak as your business grows. They also demand high levels of admin which can distract from value-adding activities. 

Dedicated tools like electronic quality management platforms are growing in popularity as a result of the push for a quality culture. They offer automation of time-heavy compliance and quality management tasks while allowing refocus on quality improvement and culture-building opportunities.

The FDA, for instance, demands that regulated businesses have properly organized and maintained electronic records and signatures in Part 11 of its Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations. Quality-centric organizations are therefore investing in dedicated 21 CFR Part 11 software which offers this capability at a stroke, eliminating the need to plan and maintain this activity and allowing quality cultural work to happen in its place.

Investing in new digital tools, especially cloud-based tools, doesn’t only free up time – it connects remotely distributed colleagues to centralized and harmonized sources of information wherever they are. This, in turn, instills uniformity and eliminates guesswork and ambiguity from day-to-day processes.

Leading software systems can even unlock trend visibility for quality events like defects and complaints, allowing smarter, data-driven corrective action to be taken and continuous improvement to become part and parcel of your daily operation.

For businesses looking to bring a real quality culture to life, it’s worth considering which tools and systems can make the journey simpler.

Conclusion: Make a quality culture your objective

Done properly, a culture of quality is your organization’s secret weapon for beating the competition and lifting the lid on customer-centric growth. 

Taking the time now to sow the seeds of a quality culture could be the difference between a good business and a great one!

What do you think is the most important element of a culture of quality? Let us know in the comments below!

Alex Pavlović has worked in the quality and compliance space for 5 years, producing a range of industry content to help Qualio web and blog visitors understand the complex and highly regulated environments of modern life science. He has produced training courses, webinars, whitepapers, blog posts, e-books and more on a range of life science quality topics, from GxP to ISO 13485.

The post Make Your Company a Competitive Heavy-Hitter with a Culture of Quality first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that over 47 million people in the United States have voluntarily quit jobs. This phenomenon has been labeled the Great Resignation.

Another survey found that most people who quit their jobs in 2021 did so because of low pay (63%), lack of opportunities for advancement (63%), and feeling disrespected at work (57%). At least a third of those who left say that each of these was a major reason.

So, you may be looking for strategies to reduce your company’s attrition rate and keep your best employees.

In today’s world of job-hopping and freelancing, it’s not easy to keep employees on board, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put in any effort.

If you’re looking to successfully get through the Great Resignation, here are some strategies you may consider implementing:

• Why employee retention is difficult during the Great Resignation
• The strategies you need to retain employees
• Benefits of catering to employees
• Employee retention strategies: Final thoughts

Why employee retention is difficult during the Great Resignation

Simply put, employee retention is difficult due to high job demands and decreased layoffs.

Here’s a quick look at the job demands in late 2021:

The economy’s resurgence contributes to the rising demand for talent, causing a huge demand-supply gap. The new jobs and roles open avenues for talent to shift to different positions and companies. Due to the increased competition for top talent, organizations are providing higher salaries, flexible work options, and more paid leaves.

While it is certainly challenging to retain employees, there are ways to overcome this hurdle, especially by implementing effective retention and recruitment strategies.

The strategies you need to retain employees

Although the Great Resignation presents challenges, it’s not something new that global businesses are facing for the first time. Many businesses have faced and overcome arguably more difficult challenges before. 

While you can’t apply solutions of previous crises to the Great Resignation, the most current shift in the corporate world is still manageable by following fundamental business principles.

With the Great Resignation looming, every company should ask how they can best keep their staff. Here, we’ll discuss some strategies for attracting and retaining top talent.

1. Refine your onboarding process

Onboarding reflects what your company is and ultimately leaves the first impression on new employees. A report indicates a 2.6 times increase in job satisfaction among new employees when they have a positive onboarding experience.

You can rely on learning management tools that streamline difficult or time-consuming procedures for companies to hire new employees. Leveraging a comprehensive learning platform allows you to create personalized onboarding experiences for new employees.

Extra steps need to be taken to make sure employees joining remotely feel integrated into their team. To achieve this, you could implement a virtual onboarding program that may utilize internal bots to help facilitate a more seamless connection within your team. Check for chatbot pricing and integrate an employee engagement bot within your onboarding activities to encourage icebreaker conversations.

An positive first impression would help your new employees feel part of a family, and encourage them to succeed in their new position. Each team member should have the necessary training, events, materials, and certifications at their disposal.

2. Offer more flexibility & better tools

Think of a change; like after-sales services are reinforced by using the right customer service software, your business has to adopt flexible tools as employees demand greater flexibility. 

Work-from-home success during the early days of a pandemic has made people realize that they can get the same amount of work done without commuting or even the need to stay tethered to a fixed location. The concept of employment flexibility also includes working hours with location to strike a perfect work-life balance. 

A survey by Slack suggests that 72% of employees prefer a hybrid arrangement that combines the home and the office.

There is a reluctance to “return to normal” when firms begin to bring their employees back to work. And there’s a solid explanation for it — a shift in priorities is taking place in the workplace. A larger workforce demands this flexibility, and bigger corporations are offering it.

Now its your time to provide the same. 

Some of your existing employees may be looking at the exit door and willing to join your competitor if they offer the flexibility of remote work. Among 1,022 professionals surveyed in a January 2021 poll, 29% said they would resign if they were no longer allowed to work from home.

Here are some of the key factors that a modern-day worker would consider when it comes to flexibility:

Time utilization

They might be doing 2 hours of commute for an 8-hour job (1/4th of their time). For the employee, this is wasted time that could otherwise be spent with friends and family.

Money

Working at an office comes with a slew of expenses (think: commuting, city rent, child care, etc.). Offering remote work flexibility would mean they could save some extra money while still being able to effectively do their job.

Flexibility

People have come to realize the true value of their time and relationships amidst the ups and downs of the pandemic. Providing work-shift flexibility coupled with remote work would enable an ideal work-life balance.

3. Prioritize employees’ progress

Your employees will prioritize your business if you prioritize them.

If we follow Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, your employees want to feel pride in being part of something bigger than themselves – the fourth stage of Esteem. 

Here, your employee’s friends, family, and coworkers are aware of and appreciate the company’s accomplishments. Employees want to know that coworkers and family members appreciate their effort and see their accomplishments recognized in public. As a result, they pivot growth so much that they may decide to quit their jobs out of the fear of falling behind in the competition.

According to the Balance Careers reports, employees under the age of 34 have an average tenure of 2.8 years. An employee’s ability to get a new job might be jeopardized if they feel behind the curve in their career.

49% of professionals want their employers to assist them in improving their careers. On the contrary, 80% of workers believe their employees are not taking enough steps to unlock their growth. One way to help them grow as your business evolves is to provide them with on-the-job training. 

This approach will help your team maintain its edge while grasping new industry standards. Investments in developing your existing team can help build trust and affinity that contributes to increased loyalty in the longer run.

Also, think of a different perspective to project your brand to employees. That is, attaching a stronger significance to your products/services with the help of an employee mission statement. This could help you better emotionally connect with employees.

Communicate your company’s employee mission in meetings, emails, and conferences to show how much your business values its staff’s growth and why they are an important part of the organization.

4. Incentivize with growth opportunities

One of the common ways to do away with hiring issues is to focus on your existing team. The rising competition for talent forces businesses to offer financial and educational incentives to attract candidates.

It’s therefore necessary to keep your staff happy and motivated, and provide them with the same benefits as your rivals. Try making your workplace fun and exciting by offering growth opportunities, motivating high-performers, and paying attention to what your employees have to say about the business.

Both lateral and vertical growth opportunities help boost employee retention. Employees will be more inclined to stay with your firm if they think they won’t be able to find a better opportunity elsewhere.

For instance, here’s what Deloitte found in a 2020 research on what motivates workers to hunt for new jobs:

It’s most common for employees to look for other opportunities because they believe there’s no room for growth in the company, regardless of salary or position.

Try implementing an ongoing pay boost plan to encourage employees to go above and beyond their duties. Instead of a yearly performance evaluation, try conducting the same every quarter and, depending on how well someone meets their goals, define their raise.

5. Build connections between employees

A survey by the Institute of Leadership and Management recorded that 77% of respondents said that the most significant aspect in determining job happiness was developing strong connections with coworkers. 

Building a trusting environment and keeping top talent requires a strong sense of community. This is especially crucial in a job when you are working from home.

Here are some of the key ways to ensure fostering a certain camaraderie between employees:

Make time for connection

Employees will appreciate your effort to get to know them better. When things are hectic, building trust amongst coworkers is critical. This includes taking a day out for lunch, indulging in team-building activities, and arranging other entertainment evenings to help employees bond.

Fostering collaboration

Small organizations may have difficulty blending in employees from various backgrounds or working remotely. For this, you can leverage tools, like Kahoot and Polly, that help conduct polls on Slack through quizzes and run icebreaker challenges. 

Encourage sharing of expertise

Employees are keen on learning from and helping each other. Empower employees by conducting expertise-driven knowledge-sharing sessions. Also, encourage others to come up and share their expertise to help others benefit.

6. Ensure employee recognition

The Great Resignation has raised employees’ expectations for higher incentives and recognition. Rewards and recognition significantly influence employee motivation and engagement because people appreciate knowing that their efforts aren’t going unnoticed.

A study by Octanner suggests that 79% of employees cite a lack of appreciation as a primary reason to quit their job. 

Here are some of the key ways to implement a highly effective reward program for employees:

• You can introduce a peer-to-peer recognition program, using tools like Culture Cloud, to encourage your staff to recognize one other’s hard work regularly. 
• If you want to keep your staff productive, make employee recognition a continual and integral part of business culture. Also, think of giving personalized recognition where you identify what works as the best motivation for which employee. This means you would link employees to purpose, achievement, and each other within the staff.
• You can establish certain milestones for employees, and make sure that achieving those milestones in a predetermined timeline makes them eligible for incentives as a part of your employee recognition program.
• On-floor appreciation and goodies can also go a long way in creating a sense of recognition amongst colleagues. Also, think of introducing a social component to employee recognition where you send them gifts and vouchers on work anniversaries, birthdays, marriage anniversaries, etc.

7. Build a culture of trust

A lot of your time and effort goes into finding the right people to work with you and trusting them to do their job. This creates a sense of belongingness where employees feel ‘trusted.’ Therefore, it’s better to avoid the urge to micromanage and instead provide them with all the possible resources they could need to carry out their tasks. 

If you have hired them for a certain position and task, trust them! This also speaks volumes of your confidence in your hiring choice.

Here are some key ways to ensure getting the job done by trusting your employees:

Keep everyone aligned

Ensure everyone in your organization knows what the other person is responsible for. This approach would need you to ensure visibility of cross-departmental tasks and activities that each team member makes. This way, you align your staff with others without departmental business and keep processes more transparent.

Prioritize output over hours

Gone are the days of factory workers who’d be paid based on the number of hours they put to work. Modern-day work involves completing certain time-bound tasks, organizing meetings, creating reports, and much more.

Therefore, if you’re still judging employees based on the number of hours they commit, it may put them off and get them to ultimately look for other companies that fit their philosophy of performance-based pay.

Promote task & hierarchy transparency

You can’t build trust without promoting transparency. It requires you to foster a culture where workers and supervisors are honest and open about their opinions.

Also, key stakeholders should openly discuss the company’s performance, share the P&L balance sheet, and communicate future goals to increase employee confidence. 

Benefits of catering to employees

Redirecting HR efforts from recruitment to employee development and retention drives employee satisfaction and prevents costly churn. 

It also boosts employees’ morale, increases camaraderie, and creates a happy work environment which focuses on employee engagement. Meaningful employee development offers them incentives to stick around and genuinely care about the company’s growth. 

Binding your employees’ long-term ambitions to your business goals helps build a stronger team that’s more likely to deliver outstanding results and boost business revenue.

Employee retention strategies: Final thoughts

The Great Resignation has pushed many businesses to rethink their work culture, policies, remuneration, and even working philosophy to attract and keep highly talented workers.

Implementing a mix of the techniques mentioned in this article can help retain your existing employees and attract top talent.

Make sure to take employees’ opinions on which policies they’d want to implement first to involve them in decision-making. When employees are happier and more productive, you will see your revenue and customer satisfaction grow.

Has the Great Resignation affected your organization? What strategies have worked for you and your team? Let us know in the comments below!

Steven Macdonald is a digital marketer based in Tallinn, Estonia. In the last 10 years, he’s helped e-commerce and B2B SaaS brands generate more than $100 million in new revenue through SEO, content and conversion optimization.

The post Employee Retention Strategies to Survive the Great Resignation first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Every business relies on different software applications to thrive in its niche or market. But if your business isn’t in tech, or if you don’t have any software development experience, odds are you’ll need to use pre-made software that doesn’t perfectly fit your business’s needs.

That is, of course, unless you write your own applications from scratch. But don’t you have to know a lot of programming languages or have coding experience to get the job done? Not with no-code platforms.

Today, let’s explore what no-code platforms are, how they work, and whether you should use a no-code platform for your enterprise’s applications and software solutions.

• What is a no-code platform, exactly? 
• Advantages of using a no-code platform
• Is a no-code platform right for your enterprise? 
• No code helps you get ahead without breaking the bank 

What is a no-code platform, exactly?

A no-code development platform or NCDP is a revolutionary bit of software. In a nutshell, NCDPs let both programmers and non-programmers alike make application software. But as their name suggests, you don’t have to use any coding or understand a programming language to get the job done.

Instead, you use graphical user interfaces or GUIs to put applications together. Here’s an analogy:

• If you’re a web developer, you can create a website from scratch by coding in HTML and putting different graphical components together.
• Alternatively, you can use a website builder platform, like SquareSpace, to make a website from predesigned templates and blocks that you “drag-and-drop” into the appropriate places.

A no-code platform is similar to a website builder platform. It allows those without any coding experience to make applications for their enterprises or other needs.

On top of that, no-code development platforms are distinct from so-called ‘low-code’ development platforms. The latter platforms do require you to have some coding knowledge; essentially, you stitch different chunks of code together to make a program or application.

No code development platforms don’t require any code writing whatsoever. They offer different prebuilt templates, features, widgets, and other functions you can combine in different ways, so your application perfectly suits your needs.

These days, no-code development platforms are becoming increasingly popular among both B2B and B2C businesses. Simply put, it’s oftentimes easier to put together a custom-tailored application or software solution using a no-code platform than it is to hire a web developer or agency. Plus, it’s often cheaper.

Advantages of using a no-code platform

It’s true that no-code platforms don’t allow you to create customized or exact software for your needs. This is compared to you writing the software yourself or if you hire an experienced software development agency. However, NCDPs do come with several distinct advantages, which make them attractive options for many enterprises.

Increased agility

For starters, no-code development platforms allow your enterprise to enjoy much greater agility. In fact, any NCDPs worth using are known for being nimble, agile, and flexible. Put in simpler terms, NCDPs are very easy to understand and easy to master.

Practically anyone on your team should be able to use a quality NCDP and put together good software for your organization, at least after a little practice. Even if you choose to include advanced features or automation workflows in your business application, the right no-code platform will let you do so without too much trouble.

This benefits your overall agility since:

• Your business can develop unique or specialized software solutions quickly
• You don’t need to dedicate too much time or resources to developing software for your business

On top of that, most NCDPs provide different templates or user interfaces and user experience functionalities. You should very easily be able to make workflows, data displays, forms, and other common functions and features within a few button presses.

Bottom line: the flexibility and ease of use offered by most no-code platforms make them excellent tools for bolstering your business agility across the board.

More workplace productivity

In keeping with the above, no-code platforms often lead to greater workplace productivity. With no-code tools, your business will have an edge over competitors in the same niche or industry.

Why? You don’t need to hire a dedicated IT team or software development agency to get the tools you need to get the job done. 

The right tools you make with your NCDP can then allow you to accomplish major workplace objectives or complete certain tasks more quickly and easily than ever before.

In addition, many of the best no-code platforms allow you to integrate automation workflows and tools into your software. This, in turn, can cut down on the time your staff has to spend completing busy work objectives, such as data entry, categorizing things, and other recurring tasks.

Of course, this is contingent on you developing a good software app for your business needs. Still, if you use a no-code platform properly, you’ll find that your workplace productivity skyrockets and that you are better able to meet your workplace objectives.

Affordability

In most cases, custom business applications are very pricey to order or write yourself. If you hire a software development agency, you can expect to spend several thousand dollars, at a bare minimum, to get the software tailored to your unique needs.

Even if you were to try to write a software app yourself, you would need to pay for that in terms of both money and time away from other aspects of your business.

No-code platforms and automation tools are increasingly popular because of their affordability. With these tools, you can get the software solutions you need ASAP without having to break the bank. Thus, these are excellent tools if your business is relatively young or if you don’t have much of a budget to develop custom software tools quite yet.

That said, you’ll want to compare multiple no-code platforms and see how much they cost relative to each other. Some NCDPs are certainly more affordable than others – take stock of what each platform offers and only pick the one that has what you need.

Easy integrations

Many of the best no-code platforms allow for simplified and very helpful integrations. Integrations with third-party tools and features are vital for most modern B2B and B2C business applications.

For example, maybe you have an email marketing tool that you use to send out marketing emails to your consumers regularly and consistently. Fortunately, if you make a software application with a no-code platform, you should be able to integrate that email marketing tool without too much difficulty.

Even better, many NCDPs allow you to integrate multiple apps and even create a workflow journey. It’s entirely feasible to create several different software solutions using your chosen no-code platform, then design them, so they interact and integrate with each other quickly and easily.

Add this to the automation capabilities offered by many NCDPs, and before you know it, you’ll have a smooth-running, well-oiled application with many different pieces that work perfectly together.

Accessible automation for your employees

Above, we’ve mentioned automation many times. That’s because automation tools are valuable timesavers and can increase productivity at your enterprise in more ways than one.

Fortunately, NCDPs oftentimes allow you to integrate automation tools and workflows without too much effort. The more automation you can weave into your customized software solutions, the better. 

Important tasks such as automating customer or patient communications, employee onboarding, data entry, and financial work are all possible with the right platform. 

This is even more important since employees are logging longer hours and doing much more work than before. Work that’s recurring and requires little effort. 

Luckily, the proliferation of business APIs and no-code software tools has allowed many workers to free up extra time and automate current tasks that don’t require their full attention or focus.

By providing accessible automation for your workers, your enterprise may further see improvements in workplace morale, employee productivity, and job satisfaction to name a few. 

Say that your team has been using an outdated bit of software for data logging and organization. This takes a ton of time out of each worker’s day. 

With a no-code development platform, you can make a modernized solution that automates some of the processes. This results in better, faster work, and happier employees overall.

Or you can automate the financial elements of your business. By utilizing a business bank account that allows automating financial transactions, you’ll save time and minimize the likelihood of experiencing an accounting error due to forcing an employee to input transactions over and over.

Feature-richness

While no code development platforms have a stigma of being overly simplistic and not altogether useful, this stigma is false. 

Modern no-code development tools and automation platforms now allow you to bootstrap feature-rich tools and software applications that can do almost anything you need them to.

Previously, NCDPs were limited to very basic application functions. However, modern tools now allow you to design, develop, and deploy apps that are tailored or specified to your business’s unique needs. 

Added to the above-mentioned easy integration capabilities, it’s clear that no code platforms are much more robust tools than they were previously.

Better security (in theory)

Lastly, no-code platforms may provide your brand with better security overall (at least in some circumstances). Simply put, because no code platforms use pre-checked chunks of code or apps that have been used many hundreds of times over at minimum, odds are those chunks of code or functions are more secure than any custom software you may write.

Look at it another way:

• You can use custom-written software for your organization that was just created by a software development agency.
• That custom-written software may have its own advantages, but it also hasn’t been used ‘in the wild’ before. Therefore, it may be vulnerable to modern malware threats or other digital intrusions.
• Or you can use the code provided by no-code platforms. The code used by NCDPs has been checked, double-checked, and triple-checked, plus been used by many different enterprises over the years.
• Any breaches or issues in that code have long been discovered and patched (presumably) by the no-code platform developer. In this way, there’s ironically less of a chance of a basic security breach affecting your business if you use a no-code platform compared to having software written by an expert for your organization.

Of course, cybersecurity isn’t just dependent on code. It’s also dependent on how your employees treat the software, who has access to sensitive data, when you run security audits, etc.

But even so, no code platforms can oftentimes lend your business greater digital security, especially if you use software apps developed exclusively by NCDPs. 

Is a no-code platform right for your enterprise?

As you can see, there are lots of reasons why a business might decide to use a no-code development platform. However, these tools aren’t the ideal solutions for every single business need. It can be tough to tell whether your enterprise will benefit from an NCDP or if you should hire a dedicated software development agency (or write customized code yourself).

No code platforms are great for the following businesses and circumstances:

• When you have a new business and need relatively specialized code to handle unique needs or objectives.
• When you have a new business and don’t have much of a budget to hire specialized developers or a software development agency, you still need a relatively customized software solution.
• When you want to increase automation in your organization, especially by getting rid of busywork or freeing up time for your employees.
• When you want to bolster business security by not using ‘one-size-fits-all’ programs that don’t provide your enterprise with the functionality it needs.
• When you want to make sure you have some control over the software apps your business uses without having to learn to program yourself or hire a software development agency.
• When your business needs to expand, but you don’t yet need software custom-written for your organization until you have more resources.

Take stock of your business’s needs, your budget, and what your ideal software needs to do, then decide whether a no-code development platform is a good idea.

No-code helps you get ahead without breaking the bank

Ultimately, a no-code software development platform could be the perfect solution for your enterprise and its application needs. 

When you need a specialized or customizable application for your business, you don’t have to hire an expensive agency or learn how to write code yourself. You or your employees can instead use a no-code platform and enjoy several ancillary benefits at the same time. 

Do you use a no-code platform in your business? What do you think is its most valuable benefit in your organization? 

Nahla Davies is a software developer and tech writer. Before devoting her work full-time to technical writing, she managed – among other intriguing things – to serve as a lead programmer at an Inc. 5,000 experiential branding organization whose clients include Samsung, Time Warner, Netflix, and Sony.

The post A Quick Guide to No Code Platforms first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

 It’s a competitive world out there. Your business is striving every day to outperform your competitors. 

That might mean lower pricing, better website design, or more engaging content. But it’s not easy to find new ideas that will differentiate you from the rest.

Maybe you’ve invested in excellent communications, including the best business VoIP plans. You may even have invested in better job-related training. 

But do your employees have the right skills for success? Not just hard skills like technical knowledge – we’re talking soft skills.

92% of talent professionals say that soft skills matter as much or more than hard skills when they’re hiring. 

80% also say soft skills are increasingly important to company success. 

And Deloitte forecasts that soft skill-intensive occupations will account for two-thirds of all jobs by 2030.

What does that all mean? If you’re not nurturing your employees’ soft skills, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity to make your business more successful. 

So, what can you do? 

• What are soft skills? 
• What are the soft skills you should be looking for? 
• 7 ways to develop soft skills in the workplace
• Soft skills help your business perform better 

What are soft skills? 

Hard skills refer to the job-related skills your staff have, from qualifications to vocational training and abilities. Soft skills are more about how employees work and interact with other people. In sociology, soft skills are often referred to as a person’s EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) rather than their IQ (intelligence quotient). 

A good way to think about soft skills is that they refer to who someone is, instead of what they know. But this doesn’t mean soft skills are set in stone. You can help someone to develop better soft skills than those they naturally have. 

As the world of business is so competitive, you need your staff to have a good balance between hard and soft skills. They know how to do their job efficiently, but they also need to know how to work as part of a team. And, how to interact positively with customers and other team members.

So, how exactly do you help your staff to develop these essential soft skills? We present 7 ways to help you to help them. 

Best soft skills to look for in an employee

Before looking at tangible ways to develop these skills, let’s consider the particular skills you want your staff to possess. These may vary according to your business model and what you need from your team, but having an idea of your goals can help you set out a plan. 

Personal attitude

The right attitude is essential for a harmonious workforce. Are your staff willing to go the extra mile to achieve company goals or help a colleague? How do they react when facing new challenges, people, and scenarios? How do they handle feedback?

Communication skills

Employees need to communicate well at every level, including speaking, listening, and presenting. As well as developing positive relationships with colleagues and customers, they may need to communicate with stakeholders and other businesses. 

Time management

Timekeeping is an important skill for an efficient business, from being punctual for work to completing tasks in the allotted time. You can also evaluate whether your staff is well-prepared for meetings, daily team tasks, and individual tasks. 

Problem-solving

Another useful soft skill is the ability to solve problems, especially when faced with new or difficult challenges. This extends to handling conflict or disagreements in the workplace. It’s best if staff can sort things out themselves, but know when it’s time to escalate the issue to a manager.

Teamwork

It’s important that staff have collaborative skills, enabling them to avoid silos and work well as a team. This may include cross-departmental teamwork. If they can learn how to work together, your projects will run much more smoothly.

Leadership skills

Every team needs a leader. Can you identify the staff members who would excel at leading others? Leadership also involves effective decision-making, whether alone or as part of a collaborative process. 

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list but gives you a good idea of the soft skills you should nurture and develop. You can prioritize the skills that will benefit your organization the most. 

For example, if your company is very sales-orientated, then you will want your sales team to be proficient at communications. 

7 ways to develop soft skills in the workplace 

So, you have your priority list. You know which skills you want to improve. How do you integrate development and learning into your workplace and see tangible results in your business’s performance?

1.  Assessment 

Before you begin building a training plan, you need to assess the needs of your workforce and identify gaps at the company and individual levels. Assessment should include perceptions from management/supervisors but also an element of self-perception, though staff may not always accurately identify skills gaps. 

Make sure you’re aware of any difference between your assessment and self-perception. This is essential if team members are to be ready to start the improvement journey. Having someone acknowledge that there is room for improvement is an essential part of the puzzle. 

Another crucial aspect is that no one should be exempt from this initial assessment process. It shouldn’t matter whether the person is the CFO or a junior assistant in the dispatch department. This is not just about improving a few individuals; it’s about improving your company. 

Of course, the next question is how do you assess? Many traditional methods used by your HR department for new hires are not as effective as you may think. Companies increasingly look to online tools, many of which are free. These tools can remove any bias or subjectivity from person-to-person assessment. 

2.  Create soft skill learning plans

You should now have two lists. One should contain the soft skills you want to prioritize, and the other should identify skills gaps across your workforce. Ideally, you want to build a learning plan that meets the needs of both these lists while not interfering with daily business operations. 

There are several essential criteria you should consider when developing any learning plan. Thanks to the multitude of online and remote learning opportunities now available, it should be relatively simple to achieve these criteria.

Tailored training

Different employees will have different skills gaps and thus different training needs. So, any learning plan should focus on the needs of each individual. There may be a good deal of crossover needs but generally, you will be looking at individual learning plans. 

Teach real skills that staff can use

There is little point in teaching soft skills in a way that is disconnected from how your business operates, so ensure there is a connection. For example, if you are teaching communication skills, make sure that they are taught in a way that relates to how they will use them, such as in sales. 

Knowledge retention

Don’t overload your staff with new ideas or processes. Construct a learning plan that not only allows them to learn at a pace that suits them but will also encourage knowledge retention so they can apply it in real-life scenarios. 

Good feedback loops

You may not get learning plans right the first time. And what people are learning may still sometimes be disconnected from what they need. Set up an actionable feedback loop so that staff can say what is working and what’s not, so that you, and they, can improve on every level.  

3.  Identify leaders and mentors

As part of your assessment process, and as part of the ongoing learning process, you will identify individuals with strong leadership qualities. Some of those individuals may be existing parts of your leadership structure. Others you may decide to earmark as future leaders. However, they can be utilized now as part of any continuous learning program. 

Having a mentorship process as part of your learning program can benefit several levels. For the mentors themselves, it can further develop those leadership skills and also instill confidence in their ability to lead. For the mentees, it can help them in areas of soft skill development where they may be struggling. Informal support may be just what they need. 

If you are a larger organization, the reality is that your workflows may be very fluid. Depending on a particular project, you may need to assign someone who has not been in a formal leadership role before. Identifying potential leaders as part of your soft skills development program means you could be able to improve workflow management later on. 

4.  Reflective practice

Reflective practice is a skill that has long been used in areas such as healthcare and social work but is being increasingly applied in other sectors too. By including the teaching of the reflective cycle in your soft skills program, you are enabling your staff to be better at self-assessment and self-improvement. 

When people make mistakes, they are often repeated if those mistakes are not pointed out to them. By utilizing reflection, people can see those mistakes themselves. They can give careful consideration to what those mistakes were, and how they could do things differently the next time they are undertaking a similar or identical task. 

While normally an exercise that people do themselves, it can be incorporated into one-on-one meetings with mentors, supervisors, or managers. This can be especially useful in the early stages of using reflection. People can find it easier to adapt to the reflective cycle when they are initially guided through it. 

5.  Outsource where possible

Unless you are a very large organization, you will not want to invest funds and resources in your soft skills program. For a start, you may not have staff members who have the skills needed to deliver such a program. Secondly, starting from scratch means you face a steep learning curve. 

There are now many organizations that focus on teaching soft skills. That teaching may take place in virtual environments, while some will conduct in-person teaching. Others may adopt a hybrid approach. Your choice is going to depend on your budget, your needs, and what is available in your area. 

A business such as a call center may have in-house training. After all, they very much depend on high proficiency in several soft skills as they are talking to customers, and potential customers, all day. There are many automated tools such as interactive voice response (IVR) that do some of their work for them. But ultimately the customer will usually want to talk to a real person. 

6.  Verbal vs. non-verbal

Communication is one of the most important soft skills your employees can work on. But it’s important to remember that not all communication is verbal. How much you rely on the other forms of communication will depend very much on: 

• The type of business you operate
• How your staff usually communicate with customers and suppliers. 

a.  Writing skills 

Focusing on writing skills may sound old-fashioned at first but the reality is that writing is an integral part of how we do business. This can cover everything from emails (replies to customers, queries to suppliers, etc.) to chat messages and notes to other team members or staff working remotely. Ensuring people can communicate promptly, politely, and clearly is essential. 

b. Body language

Your staff will likely participate in regular meetings. These could be team meetings, client meetings, supplier meetings, and so on. Some of these meetings may take place in the real world but many may take the form of video conferences. The format doesn’t matter; what does matter is that body language is a crucial part of business communications. You should be including some focus on this in any program. 

7. Regularly reassess 

It may well be the case that your initial soft skills program is very successful. However, you may have new staff onboarding and old staff leaving regularly. That means you shouldn’t carry out any development program in a vacuum but revisit it often.

This is not just about assessing new staff or looking at new angles. It’s also about reassessing existing staff. 

Have they maintained the skills you helped them develop? 

Have they retained the knowledge delivered to them? 

While you may not have to work with existing staff on the same level, regular ‘checks’ can ensure that your business has the same level of soft skill sets you were aiming for. 

Soft skills help your business perform better

Improving the soft skills of your workforce will make you a better, more efficient business. You might develop a training program in-house, outsource to an external provider, or utilize online learning. 

But the objective remains the same: Employees who have that perfect balance of hard and soft skills that can benefit your business. 

Having a solid base of soft skills across your workforce will help you produce better performance for your business.

What do you think is the most important soft skill in the workplace? Let us know in the comments.

Gerard D’Onofrio is the Country Manager for Dialpad Australia, an AI-equipped cloud-based phone system for businesses to better their communications at work. Gerard is experienced in discovering world-class developments and turning them into effective business advancements, wherever he goes. Here is his LinkedIn.

The post Soft Skills in the Workplace: 7 Ways to Earn Amazing Results first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Our homes are no longer homes, and our offices are no longer offices. 

The long-term impact of an abrupt shift to remote work means many employees struggle to adjust. But employees aren’t the only ones who have to adjust. 

Companies now need to find a “new normal.” Remote work has given employees a taste of great flexibility and they’re not ready to part with it. 

To prevent the Great Resignation, employers need to find a way to keep their business running efficiently while also promoting a healthy remote work-life balance. 

We’ll explore how to adapt to this new reality. We’ll also look at how it’s impacting our recruiting, hiring, and managing of employees.

• What is a Gray Zone? 
• How does remote work create the gray zone? 
• The importance of balancing work and wellbeing 
• Strategies for attracting, hiring, and managing remote employees 
• Best practices for managing remote employees 
• Adapting to a new era of work 

What is a Gray Zone?

While this term can mean different things in different contexts, we’re using it to define a home working space with few to no barriers between work and everything else. 

We live, work, sleep, eat, and try to relax in the same areas—the “gray zone.” Research from Craftjack found that 71% of remote workers are subjected to this gray zone and have to improvise in their working space at home. 

And how do they improvise? By carving out a small corner of their home to try and dedicate to work. Research found that rooms remote workers use the most are:

• A home office: 32%
• Their bedroom: 31%
• Living room: 23%
• Kitchen: 9% 
• Basement: 5%

Those of us thrown into remote work suddenly had to reorganize our homes to accommodate remote work as the shift took place. The lines between workspace and “living” space were quickly blurred, and have continued to stay blurred. 

Not everyone has the luxury of a separate office space in which to work – especially folks living in urban environments – and we’ve all had to make do with what we have available, for better or worse.

Before the pandemic, only 20% of employed adults in the US worked from home. Now—that figure has jumped to a huge 71%. This increase represents a huge shift in the way we work, with 54% of employees saying they didn’t want to return to a traditional office environment. 

Managers need to come to grips with recruiting and hiring a remote workforce, combined with helping their employees navigate the “new normal.”     

How does remote work create the gray zone?

When it comes to home working, many of us have to improvise. Workers who are lucky enough to have a spare room have repurposed these into home offices, while others have to make do with a corner of the kitchen or lounge.   

Pew Research discovered the main challenges for employees who suddenly had to transition to remote work included:

• Having the right technology or equipment 
• Meeting deadlines
• Having an adequate workspace 
• Being able to work without interruptions 
• Feeling motivated to complete tasks 

Employers must consider how to meet their employee’s needs best, whether through providing the right hardware and software or offering advice on how best to set up a home workspace where there isn’t always space for a dedicated office. 

Another thing employers need to be mindful of is their staff’s mental health and well-being.   

The importance of balancing work and wellbeing  

When the boundaries between work and home blur, the chances of employees suffering from burnout can increase. It is tempting for employees to allow workplace responsibilities to run over into all aspects of their day-to-day lives.

Balancing working from home and well-being is vital—and many remote employees don’t necessarily understand how. Try to offer support and advice around maintaining a sense of control over the working day. Also, encourage your team to build habits that maintain motivation and productivity and boost morale. 

While this will look different for every team member, it could include getting outside in nature, disconnecting from work in the gym, DIY, or anything else that helps your team feel replenished and refreshed after a long day.  

While the way managers need to support their employees has changed dramatically, so have the ways those employees are recruited, hired, and managed. 

Plenty of strategies are available to make this transition smoother for everyone. 

Strategies for attracting, hiring, and managing remote employees

While there are challenges to successfully navigating the world of remote work—it’s also opened up many new opportunities. When attracting, hiring, and managing new remote employees, managers need to shift their strategies to make the most of this new era of work.   

Attracting remote employees

One huge advantage of offering remote work to new employees is opening up a whole new pool of talent. New hires don’t have to be in your physical location. They can be anywhere in the world!

You want to look at your existing recruiting strategies to attract this new pool of talent. 

For example, you may need to expand the types of places you advertise your open roles to include both global and local platforms. 

Harnessing the power of social media can also help you tap into a new network of potential hires.  

Hiring remote employees

If you’re not expecting your new employees to work in an office location, they probably won’t have to make the trip there for an interview either. 

Many HR teams and hiring managers now use remote interview tools to assess candidates. These can be synchronous, asynchronous, or a blend of both. 

Hiring tools like SaaS platforms help HR managers see candidate status, so it’s easier to check in and optimize the hiring process.

This streamlined journey can help you secure the best talent by ensuring your time to hire is as short as possible. Across all industries, the average time to hire is between three and four weeks. But the top candidates expect an offer within just five days of their interview. 

If your hiring team takes too long to decide, that candidate will likely have accepted a role somewhere else by the time you get around to calling them.

Using video interview technology with integrated assessment tools or the ability to highlight key moments for the hiring team to review can drastically decrease the time it takes to make a decision. 

In addition, this technology helps you run inclusive and effective interviews that focus on key skills rather than subjective opinions.   

Managing remote employees  

It’s time to set a start date and begin the onboarding process once the new employee accepts an offer. It’s a nervy time both for employees and employers. 

Everyone’s having to adjust to bring things back to normal. Remote work can be isolating, especially for a new employee. That’s why it’s even more important to provide your new employees with support. 

Following a remote employee onboarding process can help you stay on top of things and ensure your new hire knows what they need to do and when to do it. 

Check out this pre-made remote onboarding template to help you get started! 

Best practices for managing remote employees

Here are our tips to help you successfully manage and retain remote employees: 

Prioritize mindfulness and productivity

Employees can quickly find the combination of constant distractions and never-ending notifications overwhelming. 

You also may need to invest in additional benefits, tools, and software that encourage mindfulness and productivity for asynchronous workers. 

These can be tailored to each employee’s work style to offer support where and when needed.  

Offer regular check-ins

While making sure your employees know they can always contact you, it’s also important to emphasize—and model—the importance of a healthy work-life balance. 

An example is making sure you don’t send emails outside of working hours or use a scheduling tool to send out emails at the start of the working day. 

For asynchronous teams, you can add an email signature stating something like ‘while it’s convenient for me to send this email now, I do not expect a reply outside your regular working hours.’ 

You may decide to open slots in your calendar for a brief catch-up call with employees who would like to connect regularly.  

Be flexible yet organized

Remote work can allow your employees to switch their day around and complete work during the afternoon and evening. 

Allowing employees to structure their working hours can improve morale and demonstrate trust in their abilities. However, you have to stay organized to balance deadlines and keep everything running smoothly. 

Communicate, communicate, communicate

Managing a team of remote employees can be a different challenge from working together in a physical office. But one of the main goals is still to maintain open lines of communication. 

A great strategy is to ask each employee the management style they prefer and meet them on their terms. While some employees may resent twice-daily check-ins, others will feel cut off if they don’t hear from you regularly. 

Choosing the right team communication tools and finding the balance between too much and too little communication can be a challenge, but it’s worth it.  

Listen to your team 

Remember that communication goes both ways—so make sure you take the time to listen to what your team thinks in addition to directing communications towards them. Informal surveys can be a good way of gauging your team’s morale. 

Anonymous surveys are particularly useful as often these can encourage employees to share their thoughts more freely. Remember if you’re asking for honest feedback, you need to take action on it! 

Tracking your employee net promoter score (NPS) is also a great metric to help you see if you’re on the right track in creating the kind of workplace your staff would recommend to others. 

Celebrate success 

It’s relatively easy to celebrate the small—and large—successes within an office environment. But it can be difficult to emulate the same informal celebrations within a remote setting. 

There are plenty of options to explore, including a short celebratory video you can share on LinkedIn, your website, and other channels. 

Some companies allow employees to nominate each other for a specific benefit, or you could arrange for a small parcel of treats to be delivered to an employee of the month. 

Choose something that will suit your employees and their work style, and they will always appreciate it! 

Adapting to a new era of work

The way we work has changed—probably forever. And for managers, that change brings with it new challenges. 

With many employees struggling to define a workspace within their homes, the boundaries between work and home are blurred. 

This “gray zone” can increase the risk of burnout. But there’s a huge potential for success when HR managers implement strategies around the recruitment, hiring, and managing of remote employees.

How does your company help you maintain a good remote work-life balance? Let us know in the comments.

John is a coffee-loving digital marketer who loves sharing his marketing, SEO, and entrepreneurship knowledge. When he’s not at work, he usually argues his findings and theories with his dog, Zeus.

The post A Complete Guide to Promoting a Healthy Remote Work-Life Balance first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

When I think of reverse mentoring, I think of summers with my grandparents as a teenager.

In 2011 they had recently replaced their dial-up with this neat little thing called “whiff-ee,” as my granddad pronounced it. But, as my grandparents grew up in the 1930s and 40s, they didn’t really understand how to use it. Thankfully, they had teenage tech support living in their guestroom for five weeks to help them with all their tech problems and to teach them how to connect all their devices.

I think many people have similar thoughts about reverse mentoring as I do. We think of the kids helping their grandparents with their smartphones and internet connections, setting them up with the simplest possible systems, but it is much more. 

As a younger Millennial/older Generation Z (seriously, no one knows where to put the kids born between 1995 and 1999), my generation has now entered the workforce, and our approach to working is different than that of the generations before us. 

34% of Generation Z believe opportunities for advancement are more important than their salary. If a significant portion of  Generation Z is less money motivated, how do you convince them to stay with your organization long-term?

Here are a few other problems you may often think of: the War for Talent, the Great Resignation, and an increase in older workers choosing early retirement. The answer to these problems is reverse mentoring. Please allow Process Street to explain how it works:

• What is reverse mentoring?
• How to use reverse mentoring
• The benefits of reverse mentoring
• The challenges of reverse mentoring

What is reverse mentoring?

In a nutshell, reverse mentoring is younger employees mentoring older employees. It really is that simple. However, making reverse mentoring work is not effortless. But that hasn’t stopped the idea from gaining popularity. The following organizations have successfully implemented reverse mentoring:

• Estée Lauder
• Microsoft
• The BBC

It’s widely believed that Jack Welch used reverse mentoring first at General Electric. Welch was the company’s CEO in 1999 when he asked younger employees to coach older employees on how to use the internet.

How to use reverse mentoring

Reverse mentoring is most useful for training in digital technology. For example, let’s say you’re planning an HR digital transformation. You’ll be looking at upskilling a percentage of your current workforce. 

Who will do the upskilling? Well, 60% of Generation Z have said they’d use virtual reality as it increases in accessibility; this makes it obvious they have great faith in technology and experience with it. 

With that in mind, Gen Z is ideal to lead the training. It will also benefit their self-esteem and give them clear intent. Consider that 42% of Gen Z want to be with an organization that offers them a sense of purpose more than money. That makes them the perfect mentor for willing mentees.

Consider a reverse mentoring framework

As well as the mentee learning from the mentor, the relationship must have a firm foundation. If the two parties are from different backgrounds, then reverse mentoring can involve not only the exchange of skills but also discussions centered around equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Reverse mentoring meetings should allow the participants to share a sense of purpose. Employee needs can be better understood, as can their beliefs about the organization that employs them. The participants can also discuss the organization’s values privately. If they are from different departments, this might also increase your organization’s productivity.

A well-structured plan for the mentoring process is essential. 

What would help to make this easier would be an online knowledge base. Employees can refer to documents and add their comments while sharing workflows with others involved in the mentoring exchange. If you’ve previously relied on paper documents, you can save time and money by shifting your processes online.

Reverse mentoring questions

One question you may have is to ask if reverse mentoring creates challenges. The answer would be yes, and the reason would be to do with working methods. Each generation has its strengths and weaknesses. Baby Boomers – those born between 1946 and 1964 – are generally less tech-savvy than later generations.

Also, 93% of Millennials own a smartphone compared to 68% of Baby Boomers. But it’s worth considering that voice recognition may transform our tech use and make it easy for older generations. It’s also worth noting that 70% of America’s disposable income belongs to baby Boomers.

Technology aside, Baby Boomers have also been accused of harshly judging younger generations. You’ve more than likely heard the term “Snowflake.” The label refers to younger generations that Baby Boomers see as overly sensitive and who believe themselves to be special.

A way to dispel these beliefs – and stop them from causing problems during reverse mentoring – is to use surveys. A set of questions would allow the participants to discuss their reservations about the mentoring process.

Online employee surveys can allow reverse mentoring participants to answer questions anonymously. Unless it is an open discussion, reverse mentoring may flounder under the weight of different expectations and misunderstandings.

At Process Street, our workflows, including surveys, can be edited. That way, our customers can tailor or create surveys to suit their needs. This ability benefits reverse mentoring and helps gauge workplace opinions on the subject. 

The benefits of reverse mentoring

If Gen Z can help to retrain your multigenerational workforce, older employees may rethink early retirement. In fact, research suggests that 68% of recently retired workers would consider returning to work. As well as schemes like returnships assisting employees back into work, reboarding could give them access to more skills and higher salaries.

You can even introduce online reverse mentoring during an employee’s preboarding period. We have some tips for you on how to make mentoring successful.

Here is how to use reverse mentoring and make it work:

1. Choose a mentor and mentee who will suit one another.
2. Make sure the mentor understands that they are in charge of the mentorship.
3. Start the mentoring process out of the office, particularly somewhere informal, like a coffee shop.
4. In reverse mentoring, try to use hands-on learning.
5. Contact the mentor and mentee separately at intervals to ask if the process is working.

Promotion of inclusivity

Diversity in the workplace is an issue close to Millennial and Gen Z hearts and one they largely assume older generations are resistant to. And when 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs are white men and a measly 1 in 5 boardroom members globally is a woman, the evidence to support the Millennial assumption is pretty damning. 

But diversity is no longer an issue older generations can ignore. Millennials are expected to become the majority and make up 75% of the workforce by 2025. If they are going to be the ones running things in the next few years, it’s important to make them happy. 

And with 74% of Millennials saying that they feel their organizations are better and more innovative when they nurture a culture of inclusivity, it is clear that this is not an issue they are going to back down from. 

Reverse mentoring can be a great tool to help build the kind of inclusivity Millennials crave so much, which would be a great workplace incentive for many. On average, Millennials change jobs every two years as they are less likely to give loyalty to a company where they feel underappreciated, or that doesn’t align with their values. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers implemented a reverse mentoring program to promote inclusivity in 2014 with great success. The program is ongoing and now boasts 122 Millennials mentoring 200 directors and partners. 

Mentors have expressed how they have enjoyed being able to share their experiences and ask the executives tough questions. By doing this, they have been able to challenge the executives’ views and, thus, have created a safer, more inclusive workplace.

Changing workplace culture

This may sound jarring at first, but hear me out. Estée Lauder’s reverse mentoring program began after the CEO, Fabrizio Freda, said that the company “had come to a place where the future could not be informed by the past.”

He recognized that his executives did not understand the new generation of consumers and how markets were changing enough to compete effectively. And the work culture at Estée Lauder wasn’t conducive to creating the type of collaborative environment necessary to make the changes they needed.

In their reverse mentoring program, the Millennial mentors taught the older executives about the power of social media and influencer marketing. This led to the mentors creating a knowledge-sharing portal called Dreamspace, which gave everyone a place to exchange ideas and knowledge. It helped create a more collaborative working culture that drew upon the expertise of both the older and younger generations.

They then took things a step further by distributing a bi-monthly report to all employees and executives going over the current leading topics in the portal to ensure everyone was always on the same page.

Reverse mentoring can bring a breath of fresh air to an otherwise stale work culture. It has the potential to change things in a way that benefits everyone, not only the older generation who has been with the organization the longest. And with Gen Z entering the workforce, it might be time to start reverse mentoring programs with them to offer yet another fresh perspective on workplace culture.

The challenges of reverse mentoring

The biggest challenge to starting a reverse mentoring program is resistance. Resistance of the older executives to listen to their younger subordinates and enact change. And the resistance of the younger generations to want to help the older executives for fear of being ignored and thus not changing anything.

This resistance can generally be overcome with a presentation of the benefits as well as proper training for both parties and making the right mentor/mentee pairing. Doing these things can help kickstart a great program, but the challenges don’t stop there.

Often the death of reverse mentoring programs is the lack of prioritization. Even if the program setup is done correctly, if the executives put their time with the mentor at the bottom of their priorities list, it is likely that the program won’t take long to fizzle out. 

Another common pitfall to watch out for is poor communication. If your organization’s mentors and mentees don’t have their roles clearly defined before they begin meeting, communication is likely to suffer.

Each party should understand their role and what is appropriate or inappropriate for them to say. Laying out the parameters for good communication ahead of time will help avoid problems with either party saying the wrong thing or not saying something they probably should. Like advice that might be tough to hear, for example.

The overall benefits of reverse mentoring far outweigh its challenges and should be considered by every organization that finds it difficult to retain Millennial and Gen Z employees. 

They are the future of your organization, so making them happy and using their expertise to create the type of work environment that suits them and the older generation will only make your organization stronger.

Does your company have a reverse mentoring program? Tell us all about it in the comments!

The post 5 Secrets to Hacking Reverse Mentoring first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Employee motivation is a complex thing and something most HR professionals have struggled with at some point. 

If you’re wondering how to increase employee satisfaction, productivity, and, in turn, business outcomes, you’re not alone.

Psychologists have long debated this topic, and their findings provide a gateway to effective employee management.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the psychology behind employee motivation and dive into the solutions that will make your employees thrive.

• Employee motivation theory
• HR tip #1: Communication supports recognition
• HR tip #2: Grow employee engagement with feedback
• HR tip #3: Share goal setting to fuel performance
• HR tip #4: Motivate remote employees
• HR tip #5: Awards and rewards

Employee motivation theory

To discover employee needs and what makes them tick, we should first look at the very root of motivation.

Frederick Herzberg came up with a Two-Factor Theory to help explain the very phenomenon of what motivates people to action. 

He found that specific job characteristics resulted in increased job satisfaction, while certain factors lead to job dissatisfaction:

Motivators:

1. Recognition
2. Job-status
3. Personal growth
4. Achievements
5. The work itself

Demotivators:

1. Relationship with managers
2. Salary
3. Policies and rules
4. Workspace
5. Working conditions 

Through his research, Herzberg found that recognition was one of the top reasons for employee motivation, and (negative) relationships with managers were one of the top demotivators. 

So, to increase job satisfaction and motivation, we should eliminate demotivators, right?

Wrong! 

According to Herzberg, simply removing any dissatisfying job factors won’t necessarily lead to enhanced performance. It will only, and possibly temporarily, placate the employee.

This is because satisfiers and dissatisfiers are dynamic and subject to constant change. 

However, the solution to this problem is more straightforward than it seems.

What you should do instead is concentrate on motivating via effective communication, recognition, and providing growth opportunities.

But what are the best ways for HR professionals to achieve these goals and enhance employee motivation? 

Let’s find out.

HR tip #1: Communication supports recognition

With only 15% of workers feeling motivated, the pressure on HR departments is high.

Unmotivated employees are also more likely to resign. In fact. 81% of them are already thinking about quitting their jobs. 

In contrast, workers who feel heard and allowed to speak their minds report being 4.6 times more likely to perform better than those whose ideas are ignored.

Employees are more likely to stick around if taken seriously and feel recognized by their organization.

And what all this data is telling us is that communicating successfully with management and colleagues supports employee retention.

In other words, effective communication between teams is crucial.

Luckily, an array of tools can help you create a thriving community of workers and allow them to be heard. 

All the tools you need

One way to tackle this could be implementing a digital system where employees can enter comments, ideas, and messages throughout a team or even an entire organization at any time.

Utilizing workflows is the easiest and most effective way to implement this.

They allow for transparency in collaboration, instant project approvals, and tracking of the progress of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. 

As an example, here at Process Street, our entire company relies heavily on communication.

We also understand the importance of creating an environment where everyone can be heard and recognized, regardless of their seniority.

By making all our internal processes easily accessible to the right people and allowing them to insert commentary, Process Street created a system that simply works. 

Our people’s voices are recognized, teamwork becomes more efficient, and all operations can be completed on time.

Ultimately, workflows reduce job dissatisfaction by increasing recognition and making the work more organized and easier to navigate.

Another way to expand remote workers’ communication is via apps like Slack or MS Teams. 

Create channels that permit your employees to exchange thoughts, photos, and work-unrelated things.

A simple ‘watercooler-chat’ channel can prove immensely popular.

The reason?

It mimics an office water cooler experience, conversations, and interactions, making remote work more fun. 

And if teams can have fun together, they become more productive, too! 

Lastly, remember the importance of effective employee onboarding.

With many employees leaving jobs within the first 3 months, onboarding becomes the starting point for new employee recognition.

Get it right, and employee motivation will skyrocket.

So, to summarize, here are our 5 tips for effective communication:

• Let your employees speak their mind
• Never ignore employee feedback and ideas
• Implement workflows to allow free communication and commentary
• Entertain employees by utilizing Slack and MS Team channels
• Execute effective onboarding strategies

HR tip #2: Grow employee engagement with feedback

As we mentioned earlier, employee motivation is closely linked with retention. But how do we even know if an employee is happy or whether they’re already shopping around for a shiny new job?

Well, this is where surveys come into play. 

By creating employee engagement surveys, you can find out some pretty interesting things not only about your employees but also about the effectiveness in which the company operates.

Surveys can help you find issues you may not be aware of and identify problems linked to particular departments, teams, and management.

Moreover, you can compare responses over time to track how metrics change if actions are taken.

Surveys also offer a tangible way of letting your employees know that you care about them and their well-being and that you are involved and willing to make improvements. 

This aids employee motivation because it engages people and makes them feel valued. 

And, as it turns out, global workforce engagement is staggeringly low, with 80% of employees not engaged at work.

Employee satisfaction and employee engagement

What is the link between employee satisfaction and employee engagement? 

Simply put, an engaged employee will generally be a satisfied one, according to William Kahn, who devised a concept known as ’employee engagement theory’, which reads: 

“In engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.”

William Kahn, Professor of Organizational Behavior

Therefore, employee satisfaction and engagement go hand in hand. The main difference is that a satisfied employee doesn’t have to be engaged with their job. 

So, where does this lead us?

By striving to produce employee engagement, we may end up with an employee who goes above and beyond, performs better, and achieves targets. 

Ensuring that your employees feel listened to and encouraged to provide feedback during onboarding can also make or break a new employee’s job satisfaction.

But deciding to send out surveys is only half the battle. The questions you include in the survey are even more critical.

Here is a selection of questions from an anonymous employee survey workflow Process Street has created:

1. My direct manager/supervisor is open and honest with me.
2. My manager communicates a clear picture of my team’s direction.
3. How aware are you of how the organization is performing versus its goals?
4. I am clear on the goals and objectives of the organization.
5. I am clear on what is expected of me.
6. Do you have any other comments on company communication practices?

These questions deal only with the level of communication within the company. 

To fully engage your employees in all aspects of the business, try adding other sections, such as these:

• Leadership
• Culture
• Rewards and Recognition
• Professional and Personal Growth
• Performance
• Vision and Values

The answers to these questions will provide insight into the company via the employee’s eyes and allow you to review the processes and operations.

HR tip #3: Share goal setting to fuel performance

We all like to set goals in our personal lives. But what about setting goals to fuel performance at work?

With annual reviews looming over many of us, setting goals (and achieving them) can be intimidating. But goal setting can also grow engagement. According to findings by Gallup, engaged teams significantly increase business profitability.

So how can you improve performance while keeping employees happy?

Connect employee goals with business targets

Your employees will be more motivated if they can see a clear link between their work and the company’s objectives. 

This goes back to “personal growth” in the Employee Motivation Theory. Employees want to grow with their company, progress within their roles, and receive salary increases.

And this can only be achieved if the company itself is growing and expanding.

Providing an employee with the knowledge of how they fit the bigger picture can also increase job satisfaction and better performance.

Utilize SMART

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. 

By constructing a SMART approach to goal setting, you will ensure your employees have a clear understanding of what’s expected and how to get there.

In other words, present employees with goals that are:

1. Detailed and focused
2. Measurable 
3. Achievable for them personally
4. Relevant to their job description
5. Doable in a specific time-frame

HR tip #4: Motivate remote employees

As many businesses continue to embrace hybrid and remote working, it’s useful to remember that the needs of remote workers differ from their office-based counterparts.

That said, keeping employees engaged and motivated remotely may seem more challenging than it is. 

Just by letting your staff work from home, you can significantly increase employee well-being and satisfaction.

Moreover, by being innovative and making use of relevant software, you’ll be supporting those who work remotely in a more fruitful way.

All while increasing employee motivation, may we add! 

Improve processes

Naturally, working in the comfort of your own home can foster both comfort and uncertainty. To counteract the latter, building a virtual office space fit for collaboration may be just what your employees need.

By using Pages, for instance, you can rest assured that all the company’s files and documents are easily accessible by the whole team, regardless of where they’re based.

Some ways in which you can use Pages are:

• To inform employees about annual leave policies and procedures
• To track business expenses 
• To teach company procurement policies and approvals
• To share training documents for each department or team

Cultivate human connection

In a world where human connection is lacking, provide your remote employees with ways to engage and cultivate a sense of belonging.  

By organizing virtual events, games, and team activities, you can make your employees less lonely and prevent the feeling of isolation. 

Here at Process Street, we all love to take part in escape rooms, Donut chats via Slack, or share a meme or two!

Above all, nurture autonomy

Putting trust in your employees to do their job without micromanaging every step may be the single most important component in building an effective employee motivation strategy.

Imagine sitting in your home-office space, working hard to achieve set goals and objectives, constantly bombarded with calls and messages from your manager.

Not very motivating! 

Granting people autonomy and believing in their abilities will not only contribute to job satisfaction but will improve overall performance, too.

HR tip #5: Awards and rewards

Everyone likes to be praised, and, as we already learned, achievements are up there on the Employee Motivation Theory list.

So to boost employee satisfaction and keep those endorphins flowing, think about how you could reward your hard-working staff.

We can think about a few to get you started, so keep on reading!

Employee recognition program

Since people are the most important asset in any company, recognizing their achievements can go a long way in employee retention and overall satisfaction.

By introducing a recognition program, you will:

1. Retain your employees for longer
2. Offer something to look forward to
3. Build a more productive workforce
4. Make them happier!

Offer workplace benefits

It goes without saying that providing your employees with benefits is important but consider your offering carefully.

For example, medical insurance may be more useful than pet insurance.

Some other trendy (and useful) employee benefits include:

• Life insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Paid vacation
• Paid medical leave
• Vision coverage
• Unlimited paid time off

Send Gifts

Sometimes, there’s nothing more motivating than receiving an unexpected gift.

If your team has worked hard and achieved or exceeded expectations, reward them with special home delivery.

This could be as simple as a thank you card or as fancy as a bottle of wine. Let your imagination run wild!

Say it out loud

A simple mention on the company Slack channel dedicated to employee recognition can motivate people to continue smashing those KPIs.

Especially if you let other employees like and leave their reactions underneath the post. 

Perhaps create a dedicated recognition page for all employees to leave their comments on a coworker’s dedication and excellent results.

And that’s it!

Creating an effective employee motivation strategy doesn’t have to be daunting. In fact, it can be fun to implement.

By following some of the tips we’ve just shared, you’ll soon be on your way to a happier and more productive workforce.

Which of our HR tips did you like the most? Let us know in the comments down below!

The post Employee Motivation 101: 5 HR Tips for Management first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.