Team-building or Harassment?

Employers love to motivate their employees by using team-building activities and trust exercises so that everyone feels comfortable with one another and is motivated to work together. But what happens when team-building goes too far? Last week CNN featured an article about a lawsuit due to an extreme team-building exercise gone wrong.

Chad Hudgens sued his former employer when a fun and lighthearted team-building activity turned into a motivational tool previously used as an army technique. The trip became quite the “bonding” experience when Chad’s arms and legs were held down by co-workers while a gallon of water was poured into his mouth and nose so he couldn’t breathe. The president of the company said the exercise was meant to channel Socrates, who had been known to dunk a student’s head underwater to make a point about wanting to learn as bad as you wanted to breathe. Waterboarding is considered torture by most people, but to the president it was supposed to make Chad want to fight for sales as hard as he fought for air.

Team-building is about building trust, communication and tolerance with your co-workers. Are you building these values when you are being waterboarded? Or are you just the victim of a bullying technique? Unfortunately, employers can want the best for their company so bad that the results are negative. The team-building activity probably wasn’t planned as a malicious one, but the bottom line is that it hurt people in the end. Employers need to be very careful when it comes to these activities. They need to be safe and respect the participant’s dignity.

As an employer you need to always think about consequences and your employees’ wellbeing. Not only do you have to consider legal penalties but you also need to think about your company’s image and how employees will view you as a boss after such an incident. Try and think of fun and harmless team-building activities that won’t be detrimental to anyone in the company. Problem solving, role playing, and non-invasive trust exercises are great ways to build trust and friendship within a company. Think about your employees’ feelings and the results of your actions. Remember that you are trying to have people bond, not form lawsuits!

Churn Out Results by Following the 80/20 Rule

I learned about the 80/20 rule in one of my college classes and I thought it was the one of the most interesting concepts that can be applied to almost everything. The idea stems from a man named Vilfredo Pareto who observed the uneven distribution of wealth in his country, stating that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The principle has become a large part of the workforce and very important in terms of management. Bosses have utilized the 80/20 rule in order to deem what is most important and how to focus your employees and work in the most productive way possible.

To better understand the 80/20 rule, here are some examples. You wear 20 percent of your favorite clothes 80 percent of the time. At work, 20 percent of your staff will provide 80 percent of the production. And 80 percent of your sales will come from 20 percent of your staff. The 80 percent of results are produced by the 20 percent of effort. Managers use this principle in order to focus on what matters. They will delegate the most important work to the 20 percent of their superstar employees in order to produce the best results. As a manager you also need to be aware of your goals and your time management skills. If you don’t have time to complete a certain task, evaluate the assignment and see if it falls in the 20 percent category as a valuable asset to your company. Anything that falls outside the 20 percent group doesn’t have an ASAP tag on it and it can wait.

This principle is a great tool for managers who need help delegating or realizing where their responsibilities lie. Ultimately you are achieving more with less. The 80/20 rule should be a reminder to you on a daily basis where you are spending your time and energy. Learn how to work smart within the percentage that matters most.

Interview Tips for the Flip Side

Knowing what kind of questions to ask and what reactions to look for can put you ahead of the hiring game.

Some Tips

Avoid yes or no questions at all costs. By adequately reviewing an applicant’s résumé prior to the interview, you will have time to develop how and why questions which will give you a more broad understanding of their work history.

Don’t feel like you can’t turn up the heat. In any job there will be times when your employees will be stressed. It is important to see how well they react to stressful questions. Examples of these can range from “Why do you think you are the best candidate for this position?” to “What did you think of our company website?” These questions put them on the spot and force them to think critically, quickly to formulate a response.

Look beyond the obvious. Of course you are going to want to hire the most qualified candidate. However, beyond the résumé there lies a plethora of reasons why someone may or may not be the right fit. Evaluate their personality. Are they extremely outgoing and boisterous? They may not be the best fit for a soft-spoken team who could be easily distracted. Ask about their schedule as well. Are they an early riser who shows up at 7AM and leaves at 3 or are they more of a night owl? Think about what position you are trying to place and whether or not they fit in with the overall schedule of the team.

While there is no perfect hiring formula to follow, the aforementioned advice will get you pretty close to achieving it. Make sure to edit the steps to fit your particular business and keep checking Power Applications for more tips.

Relaxing Your Office Dress Code

The modern workplace had evolved in major ways within the last fifteen to twenty years. Gone are the days of smoky offices, shoulder pads, and power suits. Today’s “business casual” attire can be defined as jeans and a t-shirt, and yesterday’s khakis are now too formal for even casual Friday.

There are definitely some advantages to relaxing your office dress code. For one, many younger workers are going to be swayed by companies that practice lax dress code requirements. In order to influence those fresh faces to work for you versus the other guy, you might find that advocating jeans and flip-flops could work in your favor.

When doing so it is important to set boundaries. For example, on client contact days professional attire should be required. It is also necessary to determine how casual is too casual for your particular line of business. I work in an office where piercings and tattoos are not only permitted, but welcomed. We also happen to be a creative motley crew of writers, designers, and advertisers. Bankers and other financial employees, however, might find it difficult to be taken seriously with such casual dress.

Here’s a tip: when implementing a new dress code, start off more formal than necessary. It’s always easier to tone it down than to expect your employees to kick it back up.