Email Bankruptcy In A Wealth of Distraction
| Many recent articles have mentioned the problem with too many emails. It appears to be so bad that a name has been given to the situation where workers are giving up and deleting whole inboxes: email bankruptcy. This proliferation is evidently making the problem with e-mail addiction worse. Many people are not able to stop peeking at their inbox, whether it is on their laptop, “crackberry”, or other device.
Distractions are a major problem with productivity, keeping workers from focusing on high-priority tasks for more than a few minutes. Studies show that it takes much longer than you think to refocus on a task after a distraction.
Companies are trying things like “no email Fridays” or using new software to help prioritize or clean workforce inboxes. Every option will have mixed results, unfortunately, until workers themselves are taught to manage their time and tasks in an environment where distractions are everywhere. This should be a basic skill for modern workers. |
Posted on: June 23, 2008 09:49 PM
| Permalink |
Comments (2)
Your Attention Needed for this Bad Workforce Trend
| So you don’t want to suffer the cultural Armageddon I described in my last post? Good for you.
But how do you keep these young ruffians (entry-level workers who “lack interpersonal skills, workplace etiquette and emotional intelligence”) from interfering with your project’s performance? Use two complimentary tactics.
Training . . . During your project Activation stage – Train Team step ensure entry-level workers get into some kind of interaction skills training. It will be a shock to them how socially retarded they are, but it’s a whack on the side of the head they need.
Project Values and Expectations . . . To seal the deal you have to communicate early and often that respect and good interactions are expected in your project. Monitor the work teams during the project to ensure that you are getting it! You are asking for behavioral change, which takes time but is much easier if the newbies can mirror the behavior of those with good interactions skills.
You’ll find many articles here on gantthead that describe the details of implementing these actions. You may have ignored them previously because you thought the concepts were not all that important. Well, now you have to deal with this new workforce trend. |
Posted on: June 17, 2008 10:58 PM
| Permalink |
Comments (1)
Really Bad Workforce Trend That Needs Attention
| Have you noticed a problem with your youngest workers? The Society for Human Resource Management is reporting (in a pdf) an unfortunate trend: “More and more entry-level workers lack interpersonal skills, workplace etiquette and emotional intelligence.”
I’m sure we can all speculate about what’s behind this trend (social trends in general, bad parenting, a childhood of interacting through technology rather than face to face, etc., etc.), but that’s not going to solve any problems. And there are problems. Here’s what may happen next:
So it is important to nip this in the bud. I’ll discuss what to do in my next post. |
Posted on: June 14, 2008 03:54 PM
| Permalink |
Comments (0)
Lawmakers Are Reading My Blog
| I’m flattered, actually. Just recently I have been writing about flexible work arrangements. Now there’s legislative action. Didn’t know I had that much power. Maybe it was also because I have been writing about the pending retirement of the Boomers.
Here’s what’s happening. Lawmakers are starting to see the evidence that mothers and “seasoned” workers in particular need flexibility before they will stay in the workforce. In the last seven months or so, bills have been introduced to enable workers to more easily arrange flexibility in when they work. Nothing really drastic for employers, but you should be ready for something to pass after the change in administration.
More pressure will come from continuing high gas prices, which will have people suggesting they work from home one day a week. Fridays maybe?
Get flexible in your projects if your organization is behind on this. Then you can share your best practices with other managers when they finally come around or are forced into action by a new law. Be sure to use your added prestige to eventually dominate the organization.
Then thank me because you read my blog. |
Posted on: June 11, 2008 09:45 PM
| Permalink |
Comments (0)
The Number 1 Driver of Training Investment - And Your Career
| According to a recent ASTD report, what is the number 1 driver of training investment?
As I have posted before, retention is certainly a critical issue. But it is not the major driver. My last post described the acceleration of the use of learning technologies to deliver training in recent years. Still, that is not the major driver according to training leaders in the survey.
The number 1 driver for training investment is to prepare leaders to fill constantly opening positions. There is real money being spent on this problem, showing that the realization has hit the highest levels of private and public organizations, which means that the realization is very late. My advice to ganttheads: Avail yourself of leadership training, and if it is not available through your organization, find good quality training elsewhere. The value of leadership skills will increase for the foreseeable future. And, to you, that is money in the bank.
|
Posted on: June 06, 2008 08:34 AM
| Permalink |
Comments (0)
