The coronavirus pandemic presents a very real and disruptive change that affects our lives in comprehensive and penetrating ways.
The relevance of change management in these days of ongoing change and seemingly endless bad news brings us to key change adages:
· Change occurs, whether we want it or plan for it.
· We can choose how we respond to the change, but we can’t control all aspects of the change.
· We can plan and prepare for change and even embrace change.
Read MoreAcross the nation (and the world) both governments and private and public sector organizations are scrambling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the request of Maureen Leif, a board member of the Western Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement Council, I recently led an online workshop for WICSEC members on crisis communication strategy in an effort to help them in their response to the coronavirus pandemic.
As background, I am an accredited public relations practitioner with more than 25 years of experience working with clients in a broad range of industries including private sector, government and nonprofit organizations. I’ve helped my clients develop crisis plans and respond effectively to crises, and I’ve taught crisis communication management as part of my professional association’s accreditation program.
Read MoreDid you ever think you’d hear the words pandemic or “lock down” in your lifetime?
I think everyone is fluctuating between fear, anxiety, and simply being overwhelmed. Then, on top of the stress of not having supplies, worrying about your health and those you love, you’ve been told to work from home. All of a sudden you have to focus on that spreadsheet and that project plan and instead of the hum of your officemates you’ve got kids and pets and a phone that won’t stop buzzing with news updates.
Some of us have worked from home for a long time and have developed ways of making it work well for us and our jobs. But all of a sudden, we’re working from home with kids that also needing assistance (including with math that I can’t help with).
Read MoreAccording to Gallup News[1], young Americans aged 18-30 predict a younger retirement age than those older than 30. Why is this relevant? The older members of a company are working longer before retiring, creating more of an age gap and more generations in one given workplace than before. Now that may seem like an obvious statement, but what isn’t as obvious to people are the benefits from working in a multigenerational workplace.
Read MoreClients are now primarily using the internet to find products and services. With this technological reliance brings an increased emphasis on internet presence and innovative digital marketing techniques. A strong website and traffic to your website, is essential to ensure that people who are looking for help can locate the services they need. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a new technique used to stay ahead of digital marketing trends and improve the quality of your online information. In using this technique, public service agencies can better connect with and inform citizens about services they provide. Implementing an SEO program can be exactly what your agency needs.
Read MoreThis holiday season feels a little different for me. I have been reminded of how fragile life is and how this season isn’t joyous and happy for everyone. My beautiful young cousin contacted me on January 7th last year. I was in a ski lodge drinking a hot cocoa. She had news and not good news. She was diagnosed with stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer. From the beginning of her diagnosis, she was positive, determined, and a warrior. She was given a couple of months to live if she did nothing, but true to her nature, she fought. She fought hard.
Read MoreI can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent waiting on hold listening to bad elevator music, just to get a crabby worker give me sassy one-word answers to all of my inquires. My main purpose for calling might be resolved by the end of the conversation but I often leave the discussion angry, annoyed and sometimes feeling even more frustrated than I was before. When we feel that we aren’t truly cared for, or that our feelings are just inconveniences for others, we have less of an inclination to support that business again. However, when individuals walk away with their needs met and the feeling that their problems actually mattered to the person they communicated with, it fosters a positive attitude and increased interest in interacting with that company again.
Read MoreFor most of my life I have been a list maker. Even as a very young student I would keep a list of my assignments, lists of activities, lists of things to remember, or even lists of things I wanted. I can remember at age 12 having a list of all the cars I wanted to own. I need to find that list… But other than my wish lists, my list making has mostly been about keeping track of things that I need to do.
Read MoreWhether it be a new town, a new school, or a new workplace, we’ve all been the newbie. A certain level of nerves and concerns always come with these types of transitions; wondering if you’ll fit in and be accepted by the others. We all hope to quickly and smoothly be incorporated into an establishment. The way you act toward and integrate a new hire is crucial to establish the feelings they have towards their job for the remainder of their time at your company. It goes beyond just evaluations and lists. Equally important is the small, less obvious things you do for your new employee that make the difference.
Read MoreSometimes trying to improve performance means making some changes. Making necessary changes in the spirit of improving outcomes sounds simple enough. You may be trying to innovate and streamline old processes or hoping to enhance the customer’s experience. You can try and plan out every last detail of a new model. You may be thinking you have the best intentions so everything will fall into place. Being someone who has both undergone countless changes as well developed and implemented numerous changes, it is not as easy as it seems. In the end, how you handle change management can be the determining factor of the success of your new process.
Read MoreAs the temperature gets warmer and the days get longer, it is easy to fall into a pattern of dreaming that you’re sipping a Pina Colada on a beach instead of sitting in an office. We are trained from a young age that summer is for fun and relaxation and a break from the many months of hard work. Now that we are adults we have to face the fact that this is not true anymore, well not necessarily. As a result of this pre-programming, we tend to face a decline in productivity during the warmer months causing Summer Slump Syndrome. Don’t beat yourself up, it’s something we all fall victim to. While I can’t magically transport you to Bora Bora, I can give you a few tips on how to make the day a bit more constructive. Here are some ways to overcome that slump and still be as motivated to do your work during the summer season as you are the rest of the year:
Read MoreSome people dread going into work, they complain about presentation deadlines, back to back conference calls, and worst of all a boss breathing down their neck. You may have a similar experience, or you may not relate at all and be feeling lucky. Perhaps, you have similar deadlines, but you do not feel the same pressure. It generally has nothing to do with your luck and everything to do with the environment you work in.
Read MoreEven with a job as great as mine, staying motivated can sometimes be a challenge. We have all had those days where it’s tempting to stay in bed and see what happens, but that never really works out. For me, this time of year is always a little difficult to keep my motivation high. I can’t really pinpoint what it is. I know I need to check in with myself and make sure that I am taking time to ensure that I stay motived as well as my team.
Read MoreSocial media has become a part of most people’s everyday life. We use it to connect with friends and family, to listen to music and other entertainment, to get news and opinion and increasingly to interact with government agencies and other organizations. While there may not be much argument to the claim that our government officials would be better off refraining from late night tweets, and yes, I’m referring to the #covfefe incident and the like, there are many benefits to public sector use of Social Media. In particular, social service organizations and courts provide some excellent examples of this.
Read MoreThe dogs barking, the beeping, announcing yourselves, talking while on mute, hold music, can make conference calls feel painful. In this day of constant mobility, we are all on conference calls frequently. The more time we spend on them, the more important it becomes to find a way to make them the best they can be. Your conference calls do not need to be boring or dreaded, I have some ideas to help you take charge and make it a better experience for everyone.
Read MoreWhat an amazing experience it is to attend a conference surrounded by smart passionate people in your industry. Do you ever feel like you have the conference crash? It is the adult brain is not used to sitting in a classroom actively listening for 3 days? Is it that we are overloaded with how to come home and implement all the good ideas and not know where to start? Maybe a little lack of sleep and an extra cookie at the break do not help either. If you are like me I come home and feel exhausted and completely ecstatic at the same time.
Read MoreTake a moment to think about your organization’s vision. What are your short-term and long-term goals? In what ways are you struggling? What are you doing well? What mountain peak do you want to climb?
While these questions should be easy to answer, the direction they provide may be harder to figure out. Sometimes it is hard to know where to go next and what is going to help you achieve your goals.
Read MoreIt’s a snow day today in Central Ohio. I can remember when I was a kid going to sleep seeing snow falling and wishing for a day like this. At that time – the only way to find out if you had a snow day was to get up early, turn on the radio and listen to the alphabetical list of school districts being read. If you missed it – you had to wait 15 minutes or so (which seemed like an hour) until they read it again.
Read MoreCindy Dean, MS., Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Senior Consultant, Grays Peak Strategies
Years ago leaders of large companies seldom turned outside of the organization for help in solving problems. Today, however, with more and more diverse work forces, changing technology and global markets, leaders need help with many aspects of organizational day-to-day functions. The list of topics for which they seek help is endless and consultation within organizations is a fast growing enterprise. Whatever the topic, it is help that is being solicited and understanding how to help is important to any consultant.
Read MoreThere are a million platitudes about how to be a leader. As a self-admitted leadership junky, I am always interested in learning about different perspectives and ideas from books, Ted Talks, you name it. This summer at a child support leadership conference in Arizona, I learned that the greatest inspiration in leadership strength is surrounding yourself with mentors and great leaders. It started out as an interesting conversation at dinner about a friend’s son who recently attended blacksmith school. There were a lot of questions about what blacksmiths do today and what a lost art it is.
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