Why being happy at work matters for businesses - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Why being happy at work matters for businesses - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog A grand old lady falls ill Irma is the grand old lady of Danish retail. The company was founded in 1870 and is the second oldest grocery chain in the world. Its a multi-million-dollar business with 70 locations in and around Copenhagen. But during the 1990s the lady was ailing the joke was that the only people who shopped there were little old ladies who did so mostly out of habit, because Irma was where theyd always shopped. Danes are very cost-conscious when it comes to food, (a less charitable description would be to call call us downright cheap), and most of Irmas customers had switched to the low-cost supermarkets that had spread all over the country. For a decade, Irma had been losing its owner a lot of money. Switching to cheaper products to compete with the discount stores didnt work. An attempt to expand from Copenhagen to the rest of Denmark proved downright disastrous and had to be abandoned. Advertising campaigns didnt work. The owner was on the verge of either selling of Irma, closing all the stores or converting them to their discount alternatives. In 1999 they went with a different solution and in one last gamble made Alfred Josefsen CEO. The soft-spoken, 42-year old, apointee had a plan to fix Irmas deep-set woes: Put the people first. Sure, he would improve purchasing, distribution, cost-cutting and advertising, but Alfred believed that if Irma could make its people happy at work, everything else would follow from that. To achieve this, Alfred focused on some specific areas: Leadership training all leaders go through leadership training focused on personal development, not on MBA skills Open communications Alfreds weekly newsletter to Irmas people has been instrumental. It is not a press release or a corporate memo its deeply personal and heartfelt and has fostered trust and openness between employees and management Celebrating good results whenever Irma needs to celebrate, all employees are invited to a huge party. Part of this involves top exeutives getting on stage and singing the company hymn badly but loudly! The results quickly followed. Today Irma is the fifth-best workplace in Denmark and the best retailer to work for in Europe. Irmas employees say things like: Working for Irma is an honor. We take care of each other. If a person seems to be doing badly, it isnt just ignored. Management has faith in us, that we can function independently. Irma is the best place I have ever worked. Additionally, in february of 2006 Irma proudly announced its best financial result ever in over 130 years of doing business. All of which is the result of happy people doing great work. Alfred has described the journey in his excellent book K?re Irma Its all about people (Dear Irma) which is unfortunately only available in Danish. The point in one simple graph If you take away only one thing from this chapter, I would like it to be this graph: The point of the graph is simple: Businesses dont have to choose between happiness and profits. Its not a matter of either/or. Happiness is inexctricably linked with profits. Even if you believe that the only point of a business is to make money, you must still look at the happiness of your people, because happy employees will make you more money! (Insert study here once I have permission) Even the founder of one of the worlds most successful companies is with me on this one. Soichiro Honda, the founder of (surprise) Honda once said: Each individual should work for himself. People will not sacrifice themselves for the company. They come to work at the company to enjoy themselves. And Honda hasnt done too badly :o) Gedankenexperiment Lets try a thought experiment. Imagine two different departments in the same company, department A and department B. They do pretty much the same work, work out of the same building and are comparable in most respects. The difference is this: Department A is mostly happy. Theyre not deliriously happy each and every day, but people do like their jobs, they like each other and look forward to coming to work most days. Department B is less hapy. Its not that they hate their jobs, its just that theyre not crazye about them, theyre not mad about each other and though they show up at work, its mostly for the pay-check. Heres my question to you: If department A (the happy one) needs 10 people to do their jobs, how many people do you need in department B to complete the same amount of work? Think about it for a second. Whenever I speak about happiness at work to groups of leaders I ask them this question. The answers range from 30 (that dept. B needs three times as many people) to 8 (dept. B is actually more efficient than dept. A because they dont waste time being happy). Typical answers are 11, 12 or 13. While this does not sound earth-shattering, it actually represents a productivity difference of 10-30% between happy and unhappy employees. Bonus question for managers: What is it like to be a leader in dept. A? And in dept. B? Where would it be easier for you as a leader to: Motivate people Initiate and implement changes Create good communication Create understanding for the companys objectives This question is left as an exercise to the reader :o) The success factor Lets look at it more broadly. Here?s a short list of just a few of the critical success factors in business today: Look familiar? Now ask yourself where all of this will come from. Machines? No. Business processes? Nah. New IT systems? Theyll help, but they?re not the source of innovation, customer service, motivation, etc. It?s clear what is: People! And not just people. but happy people! Alfred Josefsen was faced with having to improve Irma in each, single one of these areas. They needed innovation, they needed to cut costs, they needed to attract customers and improve service. And Alfred had no doubt what his main point of attack should be: If he could make his people happy, all of this, and more, would follow. And here?s why. Happy people will give a business many advantages: Higher productivity ? happy people achieve better results Higher quality ? because happy employees care about quality Lower absenteeism ? people actually want to go to work Less stress and burnout ? happy people are less prone to stress Attract and retain the best people ? people want to work for you Higher sales ? happy people are the best sales people Higher customer satisfaction ? happy employees are the best basis for good service More creativity and innovation ? happy people are more creative More adaptibility ? happy people are much more adaptive and open to change Better stock performance ? for all of the above reasons Higher profits ? for all of the above reasons Basically, happy companies have unhappy companies beat in every area, and studies have confirmed this again and again. Happy innovation When Poul Pabian was made CEO of a new tax office created by merging five independent departments, he faced a huge challenge. Theyd been through too many half-baked change processes already, and a certain cynicism was setting in, with employees saying Yeah, yeah, this is just one more crazy decision made over the top of our heads. If we ignore it, itll go away. With that attitude, its difficult to make a merger a success, so Poul knew that he needed to do something special, to get the employees to approach the merger with a positive attitude. His solution was simple: He took a one-hour chat with each of his 100 new employees. This wasnt a job interview, the only purpose was to get to know his people, and to let them meet him. He also organized for people themselves to paint their new offices not to save money, but as a team-building exercise and to promote ownership of the new building. People loved both ideas, and cynicism has been transformed to trust between management and employees. Recently the structure of the whole Danish tax service was changed, and Pabians office now faces new mergers. How did the employees react this time? Theyre saying A new merger? Sure, lets do it. The last time it was so easy, were sure we can do it again. Until recent years, all companies wanted from employees was their time. In a factory environment, the thinking went, all we really need from people is that they do as theyre told. Henry Ford is said to have complained: ?Why do workers come with a brain, when all I need is a pair of hands???? Today however, we need much more than hands. In a business climate where rapid change is the order of the day, we need employees to realize more of their potential. Most businesses know that their very survival depends on their ability to innovate and change rapidly. This is not possible as long as each employee comes to work only as ?a pair of hands???. In order to meet these demands, businesses need motivated, creative, fully engaged employees. And since its very difficult to be motivated, creative and engaged at work when youre unhappy the conlusion is this: Businesses need happy employees to innovate and change! The bottom line I know Im harping on this, but its crucial: There is no trade-off between happiness at work and the bottom line. This is not about sacrificing one for the other. It?s not a matter of either/or it?s both or neither. Businesses don?t have to choose between profits and happiness. The real choice is this: Do you want your business to be rich and happy or poor and unhappy. Tough choice, huh? :o) The very best Lets take it a step further: Making your business happy, is not just a good thing, its the best thing you can do for any business, because it enhances everything else. Happy people learn faster, communicate better and form more efficient teams. Plus happy people care about what happens to the business. Unhappy people dont give a damn. This means that happiness at work makes every other activity in the workplace more efficient. Expanding the business, introducing new business processes, signing new customers, dividing or merging whateveer your business neds to do, it can do so much more efficiently, when people are happy. The future belongs to the happy at work Lets take it even further: In a few years time, there will almost only be happy companies. Since happy businesses are so much more efficient than their unhappy competitors, they will beat them in the marketplace. The happy companies will beat the pants off their unhappy competition A wave of happiness is coming to the business world. Will you be on it or under it? Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. 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How to Modernize Your Executive Resume

How to Modernize Your Executive Resume The best executive resume format has gotten a modern upgrade. Just like how the search engine algorithms are constantly changing, methods of writing an effective resume are also prone to the latest trends. While the overall  best executive resume format  doesn’t shift much, there are elements of a resume that need to be adjusted to ensure you stand out. Your executive resume writer can help you modernize your resume so it attracts the attention you deserve. Implement Keywords Keywords aren’t just for creating website content and blog posts. Today, many employers run the resumes they receive through a search, looking for particular keywords that apply to the position. Look over any job postings carefully to pick out skills and responsibilities that may be effective keywords to use in your executive resume. Incorporate these into your resume for the best results. Customize Every Resume It’s no longer effective to write one resume to use for multiple positions. Even if the positions for which you are applying are similar, it’s important to customize each one for the company and the position you are trying to get. This means carefully researching each company and determining exactly what they’re looking for so you can showcase your skills and experience in the best light. Don’t Use a Photo A photo is no longer a critical part of the best executive resume format. You only have a few short seconds to capture the attention of a recruiter or hiring manager. You don’t want to waste that time with a picture. They are likely to see what you look like from your LinkedIn or other social media profile. You don’t need to report the information in your resume. Add Social Media Profiles Employers expect candidates to have a LinkedIn profile. This can be an easy way to provide additional information about your background, skills and experience without wasting valuable space on the page. Additionally, having a Facebook or Twitter account associated with your career shows employers you aren’t afraid of what you share online. Use Formatting Long blocks of text are no longer the best way to format your resume.  Writing an effective resume  requires the use of bullet points, bold text and other methods of breaking up the long blocks of print. This type of formatting makes it easy for employers to scan the resume and is more likely to capture their attention. The methods of writing an effective resume have changed over the years. As you continue your job search, you need to implement these new elements into your resume format. A good  executive resume writer  understands the value of modernizing your resume and can help you create the eye-catching resume employers are looking for. When you use the best executive resume format, you boost your chances of getting the job over the hundreds of other applicants.

What CanResume Examples Do For You?

What CanResume Examples Do For You?People often use resumes to advertise their self and career goals, but not all of these examples really seem to do the job. In some cases, a resume will have great results but it might not do much else.They need specific information that goes beyond just one paragraph of resume information. In this article, I will list a few things you should look for in an example resume.First of all, the best resume examples will include the name of the person as the lead recruiter and the person as the lead manager. The job title should also be part of the resume. For example, 'Managing Director' is a more professional resume than 'Human Resources'.Another tip to remember when using resume examples is that the listing of the resume will be inside of a cover letter. The cover letter should also include the name of the person who is providing the information. The purpose of this practice is to show that the company is giving a lot of thought into the individual hir ing process.Another tip that should be included in all of your writing is to make sure you give enough detail about the person. Don't just tell how long they have been working in the company or how much experience they have. Make sure you give other details about the individual as well.When you are using resume examples to improve your chances, don't expect it to have a lot of success. You should expect to have a different result every time you try this approach.Resume examples aren't going to produce the same results every time. You are going to have to read the individual resume and then look at the examples so you can get a better idea of what it will look like.

Pay Gap Women Work 39 Hours a Year More Than Men Do

Pay Gap Women Work 39 Hours a Year More Than Men Do Talk about insult to injury: Not only do women earn less than men for doing the same jobs, but a new study finds that they work longer hours, too. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016, women work nearly an hour longer every single day than men do when unpaid labor such as caregiving is included. Those 50 minutes a day add up to 39 days a year â€" that’s more than a month extra that women around the world log more than their male co-workers. That’s on top of earning $0.77 for every $1.00 a man earns. The global economic gap is significant and has actually gotten worse since last year, even though the gender gaps in educational attainment and health have nearly disappeared. “Disparities in skills and qualifications alone cannot solely account for these differential economic outcomes for women and men,” the WEF said. Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time  0:00/Duration  0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type  LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time  -0:00  SharePlayback Rate1xChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedAudio TrackFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal Dia logEnd of dialog window.PlayMuteCurrent Time  0:00/Duration  0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type  LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time  -0:00  Playback Rate1xFullscreenClose Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. This analysis of 144 countries found that women in India, Portugal and Estonia, respectively, log the most extra work time compared to men, the BBC notes. There are only six countries where women work less than men: Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark and Sweden. The report said that just 59% of the economic participation gap has been closed, compared to 95% and 96% for education and health, respectively. This marks, the WEF said, “a continued reversal on several years of progress and the lowest value measured by the Index since 2008.” The United States comes in 66th in the report’s wage equality ranking. This discouraging slide means that the report’s authors estimate it will take until the year 2186 for women to reach economic parity with men.

3 Concepts of Job-Search-Marketing Made Simple - Work It Daily

3 Concepts of Job-Search-Marketing Made Simple - Work It Daily By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Rob Taub Job-search-marketing is a lot of work, but is doesn’t have to be complicated. Comprehensive, yes; complicated, no, yet so many people cause themselves a lot of difficulty and stress. I’m going to try to make the concept of job search marketing simple for you to understand. I won’t be able to make it simple for you to undertake, however. It will always be hard work. Nevertheless, with understanding, maybe you won’t feel as though it’s an uphill battle. 1. Positioning Identifying your job search focus covers the role you want to play in the next job and the industry. With that you can define specific targets â€" the specific customers for your wares: Talents, background and qualifications, etc. Defining the focus of the job search (role and industry) is the first step in positioning. Detailing your interests, credentials, background, likes, dislikes, strengths, etc. is the second step. To do this effectively, you should interact with someone who knows you well and who can remain objective. You’d be surprised what deep, attentive, interactive discussion will reveal. The result is the clear-cut understanding of the best fit position, type of organization and also, why it’s a best fit for the employer, your customer as well. Now you know what the product has to offer and to whom, and thus forearmed with all the information you need to develop a marketing strategy. 2. Marketing This is the advertising, promotion and selling of your goods to create proper interest and be invited in to an opportunity. The marketing is accomplished via strong written and oral communications using a number of different tools, such as a resume and cover letter, an executive bio/summary, a proposal letter, or some other statement of value. Too, a variety of channels are combined as would be in any marketing campaign to touch as many potential customers in the shortest period of time â€" strength (and confidence) in numbers, yes? Enjoying this article? You could get the best career advice daily by subscribing to us via e-mail. 3. Exposure As in a product launch, implementation of a marketing communication strategy that targets your audience utilizing various channels, simultaneously, will gain you maximum exposure in your targeted market. The goal is to ensure in the end, your talents are bought by the right company at the right price. Implementation strategies and channels may include the following: Database reports Public speaking Joining discussion groups Joining business and trade associations Utilizing college career offices, recruiters and social media networking Writing articles Serving as an expert in online discussion groups Volunteerism with community/civic organizations As you can see, there are many avenues in the blueprint for getting exposure in the job marketplace. Clearly, it is a lot of work, and comprehensive, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. You are moving from point A to point B, so naturally you start with the end in mind, that is, Point B â€" the focus of your search, specifically, your customer. Once you are focused and have defined your customer, identifying what links you to that customer shouldn’t be all that difficult. The link is all the attributes that exemplify the fit between you and the customer, or… why they should want you and pay so much to get you. After the linkage is defined, it is a matter of developing your documents and presentations, or the marketing communications. These steps will provide you with the exposure you need to succeed in today’s job marketplace. I am hopeful understanding these concepts and how they neatly fit into your job search, combined with your hard work and determination, will help you reach the next step in your career! Did you enjoy this article? Read more articles by this expert here. Rob Taub, MBA, CCM (Credentialed Career Master) and CAREEREALISM Approved-Expert, is a 25-year veteran in the job searching and career marketing field, helping recent grads, young on-the-rise professionals, and mid- to senior-level managers and executives with individual job searches and career transitions. Rob is the Principal at Job Search Corner [www.JobSearchCorner.com] and creator of the blog Job Searching with Rob. The photo for this article is provided by Shutterstock. Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

5 Ways Your Company Can Advocate for Women this International Womens Day and Year Round

5 Ways Your Company Can Advocate for Women this International Womens Day and Year Round Each year on International Womens Day March 8 employers across industries make headlines by promoting their commitment to gender equality. Firms like Accenture and PwC publish timely reports and host events highlighting strategies for womens advancement in the workplace, while some companies develop campaigns and products honoring trailblazing women. At Fairygodboss, we love to landsee countless employers show up to draw attention to International Womens Day. That said, we also know that only 61 percent of women who review their company on Fairygodboss say that they are treated fairly, 63 percent would recommend their company to another women, and 21 percent suggest they were not promoted equally to men. Fortunately, those numbers are up from last year, when just 53 percent of women said that they were treated fairly, and 57 percent said they would recommend their company to another women.Still , we have a long way to go until we reach true gender parity. So this year on March 8, we are taking a look at how to translate the momentum around International Womens Day into real improvement for women in the workplace every day. Here are five strategies companies can exercise year-round to advance women in the workplace1. Set diversity targets.Companies that want to get serious about helping women will publicly announce diversity targets, just like Accenture has. By declaring that its workforce will reach true gender balance by 2025, Accenture is not only unternehmensverbund itself accountable, but its also inspiring other companies to follow suit.2. Do a compensation audit.Despite increased awareness of the gender pay gap, wage discrepancies persist within most companies. Employers who arent sure of how to fix this should take a hint from Salesforce, which conducted a compensation audit in 2015 to determine how to close the gap within its workforce. CEO Marc Benioff publicly an nounced the initiative, putting his companys reputation on the line moreover,when he discovered that there was indeed a pay gap, he put a plan in place (with $3 mio in funding) to fix it and then spent another $3 million to help close the gender pay gap this past spring. 3. Offer paid parental leave thats inclusive of all parents.The U.S. is the only developed nation that doesnt guarantee paid parental leave, so its critical that employers take responsibility and offer benefits that will help support employees and, in turn, retain them. The best policies are at least 12 weeks, are 100 percent paid, and are inclusive of all employees and all parents not just mothers.4. Invest in and support your womens ERG.If leveraged effectively, employee resource groups (ERGs) for women can be crucial tools to help get more women into management positions by encouraging and perhaps formalizing mentorship and sponsorship, by engaging executives and male allies, and to help enhance initiatives or parental leave benefits.5. Acknowledge that men and women have different workplace experiences.Fairygodboss research shows that men and women look for jobs differently and have distinct reasons for searching. While 36 percent of men leave their job for a higher salary, 47 percent of women leave their jobs due to changes in their personal life or because some aspect their current position just isnt working work-life balance tends to be paramount to their job satisfaction. Employers that are aware of womens specific needs and concerns will be most effective in attracting and retaining top talent.Finally, companies need to continue to make these conversations and initiatives central to their mission. By helping to increase awareness through discourse and then implementing concrete plans to bring their goals to fruition employers can do their part to support women at work every day of the year.

The Characteristics of Resume Writing Services Dallas

The Characteristics of Resume Writing Services Dallas Type of Resume Writing Services Dallas fruchtwein resume writing firms appear to specialize in writing a certain type of specialist document for a particular kind of candidate. After all, the very first thing you will need is to analyze the subject of the work and the center of the subject. The service is likely to make sure to format yur resume the direction you want it. For a great start, you can take a look at the next. Searching a deserving job can be a tough and complicated endeavor. Employing a resume service to compose your resume can end up being beneficial in many facets. Perfect Resume would be pleased to help. Whats Truly Happening with Resume Writing Services Dallas Despite the fact that a competent professional resume writer in Denver will typically execute most of the work, its essential that you try to supply the writer with some vital info. Even when youre a skilled writer with an advertising backgrou nd, you are going to be surprised by how good a professional resume writer can force you to look. A freelance professional resume writer may be a little mora affordable, but a writer backed by a dependable company will probably have more quality safeguards in place to ensure that you get exceptional resume services. An excellent method to be sure your resume is flawless is to enlist the help of a professional resume writer. The Resume Writing Services Dallas Game Not only resume writers, but the client also know very well that readers have zero opportunity to start looking into the resume in detail, they simply need to be aware of the important aspects of candidates that are related to the demands of vacancy. You dont need to list each job detail you performed or each and every accomplishment. Also, it is going to help you get ready for the true interview with the possible employer. Yes, acquiring a resume format that looks professional is essential, but it doesnt have to see m flashy or be full of colors and pictures to acquire a hiring managers interest. Its possible to choose such writers to compose your resume in rather economical budget. If youre open to several forms of jobs, let us know. The creative men and women need various forms of resumes, here are a few of the resume samples. How to Get Started with Resume Writing Services Dallas? To select the very best, you should look at the reputation and ranking of the service. If you want additional information, or when you have any comments or questions, then get in contact with our customer service department today. Thus its always best to try their service for obtaining a fantastic response. A superb approach to be sure youre dealing with a reliable service is to first check their BBB rating. Our customized paper writing service is genuinely among the best ever It is a gift that comes naturally. The type of essay youre looking for will be provided to you within the deadline provided to you. Writing an essay is a rather easy and very tough job, at the identical moment. Ideas, Formulas and Shortcuts for Resume Writing Services Dallas When occupation researching, you can wind up inquired in reservierung to publish the mail involving motives. To have a professional resume made, youll need to devote a significant sum of money. The very best writing businesses wont just utilize questionnaires to think of the resume. Our resumes have a superb success rate.