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Organisational Knowledge and Learning

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Organisational learning in companies nowadays is simply seen as sharing existing knowledge. But this should not take us by surprise given the fact that the primary focus of universities and MBAs is just that. This type of approach can be seen in training programmes and leadership development seminars as well. The modus operandi is straight forward: an expert passes on what he or she knows with people who do not possess that information already. This technique is supposed to be feasible in numerous and various situations and social contexts.

Due to this learning approach, the 1990’s have seen quite a boom in ‘knowledge management systems’. The obvious focus of these systems is clear: efficiency at scale – i.e. making existent knowledge more accessible to people who need it. In the case of employees, it could help them discover the relevant know-how in order to improve their performance.

In today’s culture of knowledge sharing, people often tend to forget about how enriching creating ‘new knowledge’ can be. Companies are struggling to cope with the increasing number of unexpected situations that obviously cannot be found in manuals or textbooks, thus compelling leaders to act on the spot, to improvise with approaches that haven’t been tested. Thankfully, due to this process, new knowledge is being developed regarding how things should or should not work in ‘clear-cut situations’.

Explicit knowledge vs. Tacit knowledge

Today’s business world everything revolves around efficiency and how can it be measured and scaled properly. Given this specific need, the documentation regarding this matter was created in great detail so that every known situation was handled by specific actions. The best example in this scenario is the idea that all employees supposed to follow.

Nowadays, information moves at the speed of light and everything is changing constantly. Basically, the new knowledge that could be acquired comes as tacit knowledge. In layman’s terms, tacit knowledge is the information that people already have but find it difficult to articulate to themselves much less to other individuals. This type of knowledge derives from our first-hand experiences when confronted with new situations and is exceptionally valuable. If organisations can create environments in which tacit knowledge can be created and developed, workers could confront and learn enormously from the new situations created.

Workgroups vs. Individuals

The best way in which to ensure the success of tacit knowledge is to create small workgroups. In this scenario, people from diverse backgrounds and with distinct skills and perspectives can create a powerful bond, based on trust in order for them to be comfortable to try out new things, to easily accept constructive criticism and collaboratively work towards the common good. The potential within small workgroups is tremendous. If two or more workgroups are connected through a network or project with other workgroups, seeking advice and confronting new circumstances can go beyond the experience offered by an individual workgroup.

Organisations may have an overwhelming proportion of smart people within their ranks, but managers should always take into account the fact that there are a lot of smart people out there, that do not work for them. It is imperative that employees gather experience through their own perception.

Learning and Unlearning

The general act of learning is seen as the accumulation of information over time. Basically, you are just pouring information over the pre-existing knowledge you already have acquired. But things are not that simple. In the ever-changing global market, it has become mandatory for people to be willing to unlearn and even develop such an ability. Our principles and ideas are being challenged on a daily basis so it is imperative that we understand that what may have worked in the past may no longer be relevant today. If we try to hold on strongly to these beliefs without questioning their relevance from time to time, then we will never be open to new ideas, approaches that may be more feasible for the foreseeable future.

Skills vs. Capabilities

Usually, when we start working at a new job we focus a lot on acquiring the necessary set of skills needed in order to perform at the desired level. The moment we are certain those skills have been integrated, productivity and success is just around the corner. However, everything around us sometimes feels like it is passing on fast-forward, thus skills have a shorter lifespan. While skills are important in order to progress and assure your professional success, it is recommended that the focus shifts towards acquiring capabilities that could accelerate the learning process. These capabilities range from willingness, imagination and creativity to curiosity, critical thinking and emotional intelligence. If organisations worldwide understand that new forms of learning are required to adapt. Re-thinking strategies and operations will be a must.

This is where Great People Inside comes to your aid. Our online platform offers the best solutions and tools for your company to thrive in every type of industry and any possible situation your organisation may find itself. In terms of lowering your employee turnover rates, we recommend our GR8 Full Spectrum assessment for hiring and 360° Survey for retention. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and a keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

https://hbr.org/1993/07/building-a-learning-organization

http://www.participatorymethods.org/method/organisational-learning

http://www.innovationmanagement.se/imtool-articles/35-ways-to-cultivate-innovation-and-organizational-learning/

https://hbr.org/2017/08/help-employees-create-knowledge-not-just-share-it

Workplace Diversity Training: How it Should be Done

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Nowadays, workplace diversity has become a must to any company that wishes to expand its reach. Organisations now take part in an ever-growing worldwide economy, are they must acknowledge the fact that they need to adapt towards a multicultural workplace environment and the many benefits they can have from workplace diversity.

This issue is most often than not addressed through the organisation of training programmes. However, research done on the effectiveness of such programmes has brought up mixed results. Some studies have suggested that diversity training is efficient, while others have shown that it may as well lead to backlash between employees. All of these inconclusive results have led to widespread pessimism towards diversity training.

It is common knowledge that people/employees coming from various cultural backgrounds have distinctive ways in which they interpret languages, signs and formalities. To be more precise, these differences can be seen in the way in which culturally diverse people communicate, approach conflict and make decisions. In layman terms, having a diverse work environment is beneficial for the organisation, due to advantages in areas such as return on investment, productivity, teamwork and employee engagement. More often than not when we think about diversity, the first few things that pop into our heads is ethnicity, religion, age and gender. Nonetheless, people need to understand that diversity in itself encompasses so much more than that. Diversity can bring to light qualities different from our own, perceptions that we may have developed of others, how our initial approach to interactions differs and many other traits that separate us from everyone else.

It has become abundantly clear to that employees do not have to love or like each other at work, but co-existing is a must. It is imperative they cooperate and communicate efficiently, despite their differences and their contrary beliefs regarding sensitive issues that may be brought up during diversity training. Whether we are talking about a half-a-day diversity programme, or an 8-hour programme, or even a 40-hour diversity programme, won’t change an employee who doesn’t want or is not ready to open his mind and definitely longer is not better.

The effectiveness of diversity training depends on the methods that are being used – whether we are talking about quizzes, small-group discussions, instructor-led discussions or even role-playing exercises – the personalities of the people who are being trained and, of course, the way in which the outcomes are being measured.

In a recent training exercise which was analysed and shows a lot of promise is perspective-taking. Basically, this type of programme represents the process of mentally walking in a stranger’s shoes. By taking the perspective of members of LGBT or racial minorities, people were asked to write a few sentences on what type of challenges a minority may face. The first effects could be seen almost immediately, with a rise in pro-diversity attitudes. In a follow-up done 8 months after the initial training the same effects were even more present and even some crossover effects. The people who took on the perspective of LGBT members have shown more positive attitudes and behaviours towards racial minorities and the other way around.

Another type of exercise that was successful is goal setting. Even though this exercise is more commonly used when managers wish to motivate or improve someone’s job performance, this strategy can be implemented with great success by asking participants to set specific, realistic and challenging goals in relation to workplace diversity. For example, one trainee sets the goal of challenging inappropriate comments about racial minorities when hearing them in the future – while also offering the trainee all the necessary information on how to handle such situations. The goal setting exercise proves to be successful with pro-diversity behaviours being shown three months after receiving the initial training and improved attitudes nine months from initial training. The effects are noticeable and notable, given the fact that diversity training is done once maybe twice a year.

Of course, for these training programmes to be as effective as possible personality characteristics must be taken into account, due to the fact that one type of exercise may be more effective for some employees than others. For example, perspective-taking is going to be more effective for people who lack empathy. Individuals who have a high level of empathy are more than willing to engage in their very own perspective-taking. People with low empathy levels require this training programme to act as a jump-start cable.

In conclusion, ensuring effective communication in culturally diverse organisations involves a deep understanding of cultural biases and social assimilation dynamics. Other than the language barrier, there are cultural perceptions and differences that make us different from one another. Organisations that want to have a strong competitive edge in this ever-changing marketplace must carry out effective training programmes that will enable their employees to work as a collective.

This is where Great People Inside comes to your aid. Our online platform offers the best solutions and tools for your company to thrive in every type of industry and any possible situation your organisation may find itself. In terms of lowering your employee turnover rates, we recommend our GR8 Full Spectrum assessment for hiring and 360° Survey for retention. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and a keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

https://www.trainingindustry.com/blog/blog-entries/multicultural-organizations-why-diversity-training-is-important-for-the-workplace.aspx

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-act-violence/201701/why-diversity-training-usually-fails-in-the-workplace

https://hbr.org/2017/07/two-types-of-diversity-training-that-really-work

Generational Diversity at the Workplace

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In the last couple of years, the workforce has begun changing dramatically due to the entrance of more and more millennials. Numerous companies are struggling to understand their needs and requirements. This struggle comes from a lack of communication and comments range from:

  • “Millennials don’t care about work or the company. We would train them and after a week they quit for a job with better pay.”
  • “The meaning of work doesn’t exist to them – they are always after rewards even though they do not work to properly earn them.”
  • “Their interests revolve around time off for vacation. It’s the only thing that matters to them.”

These complaints do not seem to match your average millennial student who is about the enter the workforce full-time. Most of them are very hard-working, doing internships and working after classes. They value the work that they put in. Although discovering something meaningful in work can be a bit of a challenge, interestingly enough, millennials’ answers do not revolve around time and money. This statement can change perceptions and make people see and understand what the underlying problem is. Due to the fact that they are a different generation altogether, millennials define meaningful work differently in comparison to past generations.

This merging of generations is happening amid an economic climate that has changed plans and altered expectations. In a recent research, employees from each generation were interviewed on a number of topics such as: the importance of meaningful work, what is meaningful at the job they currently have, ideal job and if they observed any generational differences in how people perceived meaningful work. In this research, generations are being defined in relation to their year of birth and their historical experiences that defined their formative years. From the following quotes, meaningful work will be explained through the eyes of each generation:

  • Traditionalists (1922-1945): “I can’t imagine going to a job that I didn’t think it had any value.”
  • Baby Boomers (1946-1964): “If there is no personal fulfilment in what I am doing well, I would be miserable putting so much time and effort into something.”
  • Generation X (1965-1983): “If my job has no meaning, why would I get out of bed?”
  • Millennials (1984-2002): “I would prefer doing nothing and enjoy going to work rather than making buckets of money and hate going to work on a daily basis.”

These results do not offer any new insight, given the fact that these comments are generally known. However, when people were put on the spot, each generation attributed different definitions to the term ‘meaningful work’. Traditionalists responded that meaning comes from work that challenges people and gives them the possibility of growth whilst also helping others. Baby boomers are known for their tendency of being goal-orientated, thus it comes as no surprise that the most common answer was “success at achieving my own personal goals, and if you’re working with other people, helping them to achieve their goals.”

Interestingly enough, even though generation X believes that accomplishing personal career goals is vital in achieving meaningful work, their focus shifted towards work-life balance. Last but not least, millennials’ desire revolves around having nice colleagues, helping others and the community they are part of “The most meaningful job is one of service – if you are doing something that benefits someone directly or indirectly, it can be extremely rewarding.”

Given all the data gathered, it can be concluded that, in general, generations mostly agree on what meaningful work is, so why is it that so many organisations struggle to reach a common denominator with millennials? One answer to this question can be extracted from the second part of the interview process and that is negative stereotypes. The research that had been conducted discovered that each generation thought that the others are in it just for the money, that they are lazy, their work is superficial and that they do not care about meaning altogether.

So it comes as no surprise that if every generation has this system of beliefs, automatically they treat each other differently. A change in mentality can be the solution in this case. If generations realise that they are all searching for a deep-seated meaning at work, the social and business climate would benefit greatly. Unfortunately, stereotypes at the workplace can lead to low performance, low engagement, low job satisfaction everything culminating into a high employee turnover rate. A lack of understanding across generations can have detrimental effects on communication and working relationships and undermine effective services.

But what can managers do to avoid these generational conflicts. Firstly, a better internal communication process through which employees can understand how their work influences the organisational mission and why every role is important. This is where the HR department can offer a lending hand by creating safe space areas in order to discuss these matters, workshops which sole purpose is to bring different generations together and share their experiences, thus leading to recognising the generational commonalities.

Although it’s always beneficial to gain awareness on workplace trends from generational research, but at the end of the day all management is individual, and effective managers understand that. The one-on-one employee-manager relationship represents the difference maker. Regardless of generation what matters most is how well you understand your employees as individuals and what drives their attitudes and engagement.

By implementing these possible solutions, managers will actually allow various definitions of meaning to rise rather than impose what is deemed to be meaningful. Hence, overcoming generational stereotypes would be easier if they grant people the possibility to develop their careers on their own terms. At the end of the day, every generation is searching for meaning, so why not do it together?

This is where Great People Inside comes to your aid. Our online platform offers the best solutions and tools for your company to thrive in every type of industry and any possible situation your organisation may find itself. In terms of lowering your employee turnover rates, we recommend our GR8 Full Spectrum assessment for hiring and 360° Survey for retention. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and a keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

http://www.hermanmiller.com/research/research-summaries/generations-at-work.html

http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun05/generational.aspx

https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2017/01/25/how-to-manage-generational-differences-in-the-workplace/#3093a9634cc4

https://hbr.org/2017/07/every-generation-wants-meaningful-work-but-thinks-other-age-groups-are-in-it-for-the-money

Unemployment: Blessing or Burden for HR?

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Normally, when the economy is growing in a constant manner, unemployment extensions should disappear. However, a study done in 2016 by the National Bureau of Economic Research has discovered that even though the economy has been progressing, high unemployment rates remained persistent due to these extensions. Long-term benefits offer workers the option of either to seek employment or to extend their benefit period. Due to these choices, HR departments may end up being forced to raise wages to encourage people to start working again. Consequently, business profits drop and job creation is proactively discouraged. The obvious conclusion here is that unemployment benefits extensions have a long-term unfavourable impact on the workforce market and it also helps to develop an unending cycle of reduced demand for workers.  Inherently, Americans take pride in their work and they generally prefer to have a job rather than collecting benefits. But this issue should not be considered insignificant, because HR recruitment has become one of the most important activities in most companies.

Long-Term Unemployment Stigma

To be perfectly clear, there are people who desire to work but cannot find anything near their area. In this type of scenario, the extensions do serve their purpose. But as the economy continues to grow and the recruitment process has started to generate some speed, long-term unemployed people find it difficult to get a job. If a person is out of work for more than 26 weeks, then their chances of employment drop considerably due to the fact that organisations are more and more reluctant on hiring such individuals. This is another issue that the HR department has to address. In general, recruiters or hiring managers follow their instinct and have somewhat fixed ideas of what makes a good candidate. Most of them believe that if the candidate is good at what they do, they should not be dealing with unemployment and thus stigma instils. HR needs to recognise this issue and solve it as soon as possible. Given the fact that numerous long-term unemployed candidates have a strong will and desire to work and succeed, they could represent a perfect fit for many companies.

Unemployment Compensation Costs

Organisations with a high employee turnover have to pay annual compensation costs to the employees they lose. Many of these companies believe it is the price of doing business, but they could not be any more wrong. The unemployment tax varies due to the number of claims an organisation receives. In layman’s terms, fewer claims mean a lower tax rate. HR managers can make sure these claims are handled with care or even reduce these unemployment costs. If the unemployment extension continues, it can become a serious burden to companies in the future as they will struggle to reduce costs and make ends meet. Unfortunately, as long as the debate is still held up in Congress, many Americans will continue to fight hard in order to get a job.

Downside of Low Unemployment
On a national level, the Department of Labor has discovered that unemployment levels have reached a 9-year low of only 4.6%, but given America’s population the number is continuously problematic. As the US economy has grown, more jobs have become available, but, at the same time, many unemployed workers have opted to stop looking for work. Interestingly enough, this will only make the rates go even further down given the fact the unemployment rate is only taking into consideration people who are actively searching for a job. Historically, low unemployment levels have impacted companies in various ways. As mentioned earlier, low rates of unemployment are associated with a strong growing economy, but there are plenty of downsides to all of this.

1. Reduced loyalty when problems arise – even with short-term problems this may affect your company. When unemployment is low, people feel that they can find a new place to work almost instantly. This leads to a high turnover and to many employees leaving giving shorter notices as they feel pressured to hit the ground running at the new workplace.

2. Harder to find replacements – Given the fact that there are fewer applicants for your empty position, this means it will take your organisation a longer period of time to find the right person who meets all the requirements.

3. The inability to fill available roles leads to customer dissatisfaction – Organisations may end up losing valuable business if proper solutions cannot be found in the necessary time frame. Consequently, companies may eventually have to turn down new business opportunities because they won’t be able to keep up with the rising demands.

4. Growth will slow down over time – There is a possibility that the unemployment levels are only artificially low due to the simple fact that many workers opted for jobs with fewer hours and less pay. This affects the natural growth of wages and it can also incapacitate the economic growth since employees are also customers and they spend less and less.

5. Bigger training budgets – The skill gap will certainly become a problem resulting from candidates who lack the prerequisite skills in order to do their jobs. Obviously, the profit margins will suffer.

The decrease in numbers in the labour market is also due to retired Baby Boomers. Plus, the changing times that we are all experiencing. In the past, young people have already begun work, but now they are focused on finishing their degrees. Which is not necessarily a bad thing given the fact that this translates into a highly skilled workforce for the future. All in all, the unemployment level is very peculiar and problematic. The short-term figures are at a historic low, whilst HR departments are facing major difficulties in recruiting which suggests the labour market is strained. In order for companies to progress, HR specialists have to innovate in terms of their respective recruitment processes in order for the labour market to stabilise.

This is where Great People Inside comes to your aid. Our online platform offers the best solutions and tools for your company to thrive in every type of industry and any possible situation your organisation may find itself. In terms of lowering your employee turnover rates we recommend our GR8 Full Spectrum assessment for hiring and 360° Survey for retention. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

 

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

http://www.hraffiliates.com/unemployment-extensions-and-how-it-affects-hrs/

http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2017/01/12/downsides-low-unemployments/

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/low-unemployment-rate-high-underemployment.aspxs

https://www.forbes.com/sites/louisefron/2014/08/20/tackling-the-real-unemployment-rate-12-6/#47b42c7e2473

How to Build a Strong Employee Value Proposition

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Numerous managers, HR specialists and entrepreneurs struggle with the meaning of Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Most of them even confuse it with Employer Brand. Just to set the record straight EVP represents the salary, benefits and compensation that an employer gives to his employees in order to get the best out of their skills, productivity and experience, thus encouraging the continuous development of the company’s values, mission, purpose and business goals. An organisation’s Employee Value Proposition works alongside the Employer Brand and is a crucial factor when talking about attracting, retaining or losing talent within a company.

Whether they are aware of it or not, every existing organisation has an EVP and it may or may not thoroughly defined.

Traditionally, the Employer Value Proposition can be divided in 3 parts: salary, compensation and benefits. Things get even more interesting when talking about benefits. They can come in 3 forms as well:

  • Supplementary compensation – These benefits can consist of: health insurance, dental plan, company car, gym membership, flexible working hours, etc.
  • Values, mission and purpose – They definitely represent benefits for employees. If they can relate to them on a personal level, performance levels may go through the roof.
  • People and culture – Usually, it is an overlooked benefit. Great people want to work with great people. No one wants to be surrounded by incompetent colleagues. If the HR department is doing its job well, great people will definitely attract great people. Although the brand starts the culture, it can only be brought to life by its employees.

Due to a more and more tightening labour market, it has become extremely difficult to attract and retain top talent, thus the re-emergence of the Employee Value Proposition.

EVP puts pressure on the organisation, not the employee

 Due to its unique concept, EVP puts the company in the position of developing a ‘proposition of value’ to the people they want. Hence, the Employee Value Proposition may very well be the solution of fixing the problems revolving around employee engagement. The existing research done on engagement has revealed that most employees are “engageable” and very willing to cooperate.

People who have helpful managers, are well paid and their merits are being properly recognised, do not experience burnout due to exaggerated to-do lists, have the opportunity to advance professionally, they become devoted employees. If they are being deprived of these experiences, frustration instils and they leave at a moment’s notice.

Up until now, the term ‘employee engagement’ was used to criticise disgruntled employees, thus enabling the organisation to put the burden on their workers. They were expected to be ‘engaged’ and if that did not happen, instead of the company questioning itself, employees were deemed flawed.

EVP analyses the company through the eyes of possible and former employees

Current engagement programmes are tailored around surveys designed for current employees. Unfortunately, the results of these surveys do not help much because there is no outside perception from the people that might be hired or have left.

In the case of compensation, this topic tends to be terribly underestimated in the survey analysis. This happens due to the fact that the people who have chosen to remain within the organisation are being properly remunerated, whilst the top talent has left the company in search for higher wages and they do not partake in the surveys because they are former employees.

Interestingly enough, people working in marketing do not have this type of mentality. They are continuously preoccupied with what consumers think and feel about a brand, why they shop at their competitors, etc. Due to the fact that EVP has its roots from the marketing concept of customer value proposition, the Employee Value Proposition pays special attention to the ‘employer brand’ in a way general employee engagement programmes never had. This idea is especially essential now that websites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor offer people the possibility of getting information from former and current employees.

If done properly, EVP leads to a focused approach on employee happiness

According to the research conducted by BI Worldwide, what employees cherish the most is happiness. This is hardly a new concept in employee performance analysis, because if organisations take a closer look, they do not want to engage employees but to make them happy. EVP stands for a strategic framework in which the organisation creates experiences that will trigger happiness into their employees. In layman’s terms, happiness represents the ultimate EVP.

EVP ensures success due to its roots and the responsibility it places on companies. Furthermore, in many industries, the demand for workers is so high nowadays that businesses tend to ignore this concept. In light of the fact of people spend most of their time at their job and their egos get so tangled in their work, companies should take the necessary steps in adopting EVP. The target should be that when employees think fondly of their work, their contributions and breakthroughs, their wonderful colleagues, their reliable manager, their great leaders and all the other small perks that are being offered it should result in the perfect workplace. People do not like settling for second best and organisations need to become aware of this, otherwise, their demise will be swift.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and a keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roddwagner/2017/01/23/an-employee-value-proposition-mindset-just-might-fix-employee-engagement/#4854e36f4c3d

https://www.willistowerswatson.com/en/insights/2016/09/employers-look-to-modernize-the-employee-value-proposition

https://www.socialtalent.co/blog/employee-value-proposition-what-does-it-all-means

The Role of HR in Cyber Security

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In a 2012 article in The Washington Post, it was reported that both the public and private sector will require 50,000 cyber security jobs in the immediate future. For example, the Pentagon has plans to expand their cyber security workforce from 900 to 4,900 military and civilian personnel in the next few years. In recent times, there have been countless efforts in order to increase students’ desire and interest in the field, due to the simple fact that cyber threats won’t wait until companies, agencies and countries are ready. From a HR perspective, the recruitment process of a cyber-professional is of the utmost importance.

Reconsider the status quo

Organisations as a whole have to rethink their hiring and development strategies. Based on the 2013 IT salary survey report done by Information Week, HR specialists will have to continuously educate themselves on how to identify, attract and retain cyber security professionals. Unfortunately, at the moment, degrees and certifications still hinder highly qualified people from even being considered for an interview, let alone the actual position.

Given the fact that most cyber-attacks are done by people who do not have the diplomas to actually confirm their expertise, maybe it is time to re-evaluate the recruitment process. More and more sophisticated attacks are being launched week after week and it is highly unlikely they are all done by university graduates. HR managers and their teams may have been looking at this issue all wrong; perhaps a more liberal and progressive approach to selection and recruitment will allow companies to hire the most competent candidates for the required positions.

Even though education plays a crucial part in forming fantastic generations of IT-savvy individuals, it should be noted that there are gamers and hackers out there who are majoring in totally unrelated subjects. There is definitely talent, interest and ability in many of these people and perhaps all they require is the right incentive to switch fields. Companies should be encouraged by this thought and take advantage of these circumstances and try and engage these students for a future collaboration and mutual benefits. For example, there are various cyber competitions which are held every year in high schools and universities. These gatherings are a fantastic opportunity to identify possible future employees. Ordinary prizes could fall behind the opportunity of dealing with intricate security problems or learning and developing new skills and techniques.

The role of human resources

A considerate number of cyber security problems occur because of the actions performed by a company’s own workforce. The number of cyber-attacks could be reduced with the joint help and collaboration of HR and IT professionals within an organisation. Specifically, HR departments hold some of the most private, important and sensitive information of them all. An HR database holds information such as: bank details, dates of birth, social security numbers, home addresses and many more. It is crucial that in this day and age HR departments not only understand how to protect their own data, but the organisation’s as well.
HR managers could play a centre role in preserving the security of the company in cyberspace. This can be done through a couple of easy steps.

  1. Ethical and practical security measures

Regular check-ups may stop employees from putting the company in harm’s way, but it has to be morally consistent with the way in which employees think and behave. Randomly generated passwords have been tried and tested but, unfortunately, given the multitude of technology surrounding us nowadays, it is hard to keep up with all of them. Some organisations have tried monitoring their employees’ activity, which almost immediately led to questions revolving around trust and how this practice is crossing the boundaries between personal and professional life. This is where the HR team needs to analyse and advise which course of action is best.

  1. Risk management and employees

Inside an organisation with a strong risk management strategy, HR departments have the opportunity to mediate the impact of employee turnover through monitoring and prevention. When an employee is bound to leave the company, the HR team can manage that exit keeping in mind the security aspect as well, thus greatly contributing at stopping any leaks. For example, in the United Kingdom there already is a guideline on how organisations should manage people, physical and cyber risks.

Due to the nature of cyber-security, the IT department cannot be held solely responsible. Technology has become ever present and is instilled in almost every aspect of the office life, thus making organisations vulnerable to all sorts of attacks.

When companies make sure they have one of the best security programmes in place, they can be sure that both internal and external information is safely secured, which of course it is in the best interest of both HR and the company.

According to data gathered by Heimdal Security, cyber-crime is costing the global economy an astounding $100 billion each year and that nearly 60% of fired employees steal valuable organisational data when they leave a company.

Although this issue may seem highly complex and problematic, HR specialists must deal with this situation through innovative workforce and development strategies. There are solutions, but they require immense thinking and planning ahead. Bold people and ideas could very well arise with the necessary means of fighting back these attacks.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

http://www.paconsulting.com/insights/putting-human-resources-at-the-heart-of-cyber-security/

http://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/why-hr-is-critical-in-cybersecurity-228188.aspx

https://hr.blr.com/whitepapers/HR-Administration/Employee-Privacy/Cybersecurity-threats-A-people-problem-HR-can-solv

http://www.ghrr.com/blog/2016/02/24/the-role-of-hr-in-mitigating-cyber-security-threatss/

The 5 Future Roles of HR

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It is clearly time for a massive change in the HR field, and industrial-organisational psychologists (I/O) working with HR professionals can help with the transition by tackling organisational problems and identifying ways through which to measure the value delivered by HR, whilst also running research related to human performance in the organisations of tomorrow. Nowadays, companies are focusing on being employee-centric in order to keep up with the changing times. As we all know, great people make a great company.

Because of these continuous changes, the HR department is under immense pressure and HR managers have probably already experienced it through budget cuts and internal processes being heavily criticised. Here are some harsh facts about the workforce. According to a Gallup Survey, a meagre 13% of worldwide employees happen to be engaged. In Europe, a study conducted by the European Working Conditions has discovered that 20% of employees claim to be experiencing poo mental wellbeing.

Moreover, talent has become increasingly difficult to attract and retain and have the power to actively change and influence the culture within a company. All these problems and changes can be solved only by a brand new and transformed HR team. This department is actively engaging with new technologies whilst also dealing with employee expectations and guaranteeing the company is productive. All in all there are five new roles that will help the HR department become as powerful as ever:

Employee Engagement Manager

Companies have already started shifting away from the outdated review processes that were used to measure and assess employee performance, happiness, and engagement. Organisations have also discovered that a proper conversation between leadership and teams is far more engaging and productive. As a result of proper existing employee engagement software, managers and teams can now benefit from a dynamic dialogue revolving around performance. Companies no longer have to wait for the 3, 6, or 12 month review sessions in order to assess performance and happiness around the workforce.

Just like in the case of social media which requires a manager, the HR team will depend upon a dedicated Employee Engagement Manager who will be responsible with creating a link between employees and their managers. His responsibilities will entail coming up with frequent surveys to gather feedback and analyse the health and happiness of the company’s workforce.
An Employee Engagement Manager will be responsible of both managing the technology needed to communicate across the company and designing the appropriate approach to internal engagement.

Learning Director

Competitive companies constantly train their workforce through various development programmes. We can all agree with the fact that technology will change, processes will change; and especially customers will change.
The Learning Director will be a crucial in organising and implementing constant education programmes for the workforce. The usual training programmes are infamously known for being disengaging, uninspiring, and a total waste of time for busy employees. The person who occupies this role will have to be knowledgeable in terms of the adult learning process, and will be essential for coming up with voluntary or mandatory training programmes.

Diversity Officer

Numerous studies have proved time and time again that a diverse workforce results in a prosperous company. Organisational success revolves around the cultivation of men and women of all backgrounds – whether we’re talking about gender, race and skillset.
The Diversity Officer will have to ensure that the staff contains talented people with various backgrounds. Just hiring candidates in order to ensure a diverse workforce won’t do because of the work that needs to be within the organisation post-hire. The Diversity Officer will have to work closely with both the Learning Director and Employee Engagement Manager to design the necessary inclusion training programmes that will promote a better understanding between different types of people and teams.
The role is aimed to encourage the benefits (both economic and psychological) of a workforce that’s made of diverse employees.

Talent Manager

Although talent recruitment is done by a hiring manager, a full-time dedicated Talent Manager will be the eyes and ears for specific industries. This particular manager will have to build great relationships with recruitment agencies and should also keep an eye on highly-rated business incubators and industry communities. The Talent Manager’s responsabilities also include following and analysing the latest trends that exist in the marketplace such as: new and fresh skillsets and salary expectations in order to offer the organisation they are working for the best possible competitive advantage through which top talents are attracted and retained.

Mindset Coach

An overworked workforce is definitely an unhappy one. Internal wellness programmes and policies within companies are powerful tools to keep employees healthy, focused and happy. The Mindset Coach will have to implement important programmes which will help individuals in creating good habits in their day-to-day activities. These habits go far beyond the sphere of everyday exercising and healthy eating.
Proper wellness programmes will entail work-life balance processes, stress management and therapy programmes, whilst also promoting an open dialogue policy around mental health in order to remove the stigma that usually appears in conversation and thought. Furthermore, the Mindset Coach will have to collaborate with the Employee Engagement Manager on how to craft the best programmes so that employees are encouraged to participate and create a general openness across members of staff.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kaviguppta/2016/06/30/5-roles-that-will-power-21st-century-human-resources-departments/#1dec737c51c2

http://www.siop.org/tip/backissues/tipjan98/may.aspx

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-future-roles-hr-david-ducheyne

Recruitment based on Organisational Culture

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Appointing leaders may seem to be easier said than done, but this is not the case at all. According to an academic research paper done by the American Psychological Association, the rate of successful hired leaders is around 30%. In the United States alone, 75% of employees have reported that their direct manager has been poorly chosen and it obstructs them from doing their work. Furthermore, 65% of them would accept lower salaries in order to change their manager with someone better equipped for the job.

There are numerous reasons why this situation occurs over and over again. Mostly, this is due to the over-reliance on intuition in the early stages of recruitment instead of using proper scientific validated selection tools. The problem that almost always arises when hiring new leaders is their incongruity with the organisation’s culture. Even though on paper the candidates may seem perfect and they tick all the boxes in terms of skills, leadership capabilities and expertise, organisations tend to overlook the congruence between their values and the candidate’s values. Consequently, leaders hired for their excellent skills and talents are often fired on the premise of poor cultural fit.

What Is Organisational Culture?

In layman’s terms, organisational culture revolves around the collective mindset and norms of employees, as well as palpable aspects revolving around the work environment which directly mirror these beliefs. The effectiveness of organisational culture relies upon the company’s workforce, business market and strategies. Moreover, given the fact that there are countless organisations around the world, organisational cultures are abundant and different altogether.

How Can Culture Be Related to Recruitment?

There is a close relation between the recruitment process and organisational culture due to their association to employee selection and retention. Attractiveness wise, culture represents everything ranging from brand image to company projects. There are organisations that hold culture in high regard and plan their recruiting accordingly. Due to this type of recruitment, only the right people are being targeted and attracted, whilst others are somewhat determined to look elsewhere for employment.

Primarily, experience and expertise are central characteristics to a leaders’ potential, but, unfortunately, they are unsatisfactory in determining leadership performance. To be more precise, personality traits such as: curiosity, self-awareness and integrity won’t help predict a proper leader to fit the role within the company. In order to properly evaluate how fit a leader is with an organisation, their motives and values should be analysed. These characteristics act as an inner compass, revealing how they would conduct activities, in what type of culture they would thrive and what kind of projects they will deem necessary or engaging.

For instance, if a leader truly values tradition he or she will have a strong opinion regarding right and wrong, will have an affinity for hierarchical companies and will exhibit a low tolerance for innovation. Simply put, these types of leaders would struggle in a creative environment. Leaders who value relationships will develop a strong bond with their staff and their focus will be on creating and maintaining collaborative work and social relations. If they are given a role within an individualistic organisational culture, which would isolate them, they will fail. Subsequently, we have altruistic leaders who focus on improving employees’ lives. If the organisations they work at are profit driven, their skills will be wasted.

Understanding the company’s organisational culture

It is absolutely essential for a company to know their own culture; otherwise knowing a leader’s motives and values becomes practically pointless. Regrettably, a vast majority of companies do not understand the importance of pinpointing their culture and generally tend to rely on clichés such as: ‘entrepreneurial’, ‘innovative’, ‘diverse’ and ‘results-oriented’. Of course, there is the off-chance a company hires a leader who can perform in any kind of environment. Unfortunately, these leaders are an exception, a rare breed, because in most cases potential in leadership depends greatly on context.

Although its significance, organisations don’t pay attention to culture, they just let it evolve from within. It is somewhat good news, due to the fact that if companies start recruiting with the idea of developing a proper organisational culture, it can vastly improve employee retention and performance which translates into growth and profits. Another argument for cultural-based recruitment is that while job demands may constantly change, culture will always be a constant within the company. Statistically, people being hired in part to their cultural fit are more likely to become a company asset.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

https://hbr.org/2017/06/when-leaders-are-hired-for-talent-but-fired-for-not-fitting-in

https://www.forbes.com/sites/propointgraphics/2016/11/13/hiring-for-smart-talent-not-direct-experience/#37b671f42dcf

https://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/strategic-workforce-planning/hire-for-the-organization.aspx

The Gender Pay Gap: An Everlasting Problem?

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It is crystal clear by now that women are being paid less than men, whether we are talking about low-skill or high-skill jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics from the United States has released the median weekly earnings of both women and men physicians and the differences are quite staggering:  $1,497 in comparison to $2,087. Moreover, in 2012, Forbes has analysed the average weekly wages data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and discovered that women earned less close to approximately 83% to every dollar men had made.

In the corporate world, climbing the ladder would normally guarantee a person a higher salary, but unfortunately, not an equitable one. In recent years, the media has focused their attention on what women can do on a personal level in order to close the pay gap. In terms of what women can do, it is pretty straight forward. First and foremost it is imperative they know their worth and after that they have to be really well prepared in terms of research and negotiation.

There is so much a woman can do, but organisations have to play their part here in order to tackle the systemic pay gap. Here is a list of just a few of the things that can be done for this issue to become obsolete:

  1. Salary Based on Qualifications

Companies need to determine the level of knowledge, value and responsibility required for each job to eliminate the pay gap between female-dominated and male-dominated jobs which are different but comparable in terms of complexity or physical threats. Managers should work alongside their HR personnel so that job offers are being evaluated based on the value the position brings to the company and not on what a candidate has earned previously. Because of this, it reduces the potential for women, especially those of colour, to be paid equally due to their past salary inequities.

  1. No Bias Recruitment and Promotions

During the recruiting process, it is difficult to spot and overcome biases due to the fact that many of them are subconscious and begin when a recruiter sees a candidate’s name. Due to these problems, unconventional methods should be expected to eliminate biases from recruiting. A very interesting approach that has been found practical was to briefly conceal identifying information such as names from applications until the applicants reached a certain point in the hiring process. Given the fact recruiters where forced to only look at qualifications, it had become nearly impossible to discriminate.

Organisations should monitor promotions and raises to establish a bias-free procedure. Everyone in the company with similar qualifications should have access to:

  • possible assigned jobs where pay and promotion opportunities are better.
  • recommendations towards opportunities that could increase skills that will affect advancement.
  • similar increases and add-ons to bonuses and so forth.
  1. Pay Transparency Implementation

If everyone knows what their colleagues are earning this would make women aware if they are making less than their male counterparts.  For example, after the Sony hack, it was revealed there was gender pay gap amongst the main actors. Consequently, Charlize Theron took action and corrected a $10 million discrepancy between her and her male co-star, Chris Hemsworth, in The Huntsman. This was a natural response. Everyone wants to be treated fairly and it would make the gender gap problem self-correcting.

There is no denying the fact that this would represent a bit of a headache for managers, especially in the early stages of implementation. Defending the pay of their employees should not necessarily mean disaster for a company, but it may actually work as a great incentive for employees to increase productivity. Organizations worldwide would have to establish a meritocracy. The most productive get paid accordingly. For example the U.S. Office of Personnel Management publishes the salary and wage range for each federal worker— and federal workers’ gender pay gap is only 11%, which is tremendously better than the national average (69%). Other companies publish the criteria and formula used to determine pay and bonuses. Whole Foods post the individual salaries of their employees on their intranet. Although it may seem like publishing individual salaries may be taking transparency  a step too far — knowing another employee’s salary without knowing the criteria and formula used to determine their pay can make salaries appear arbitrary. Having published the criteria and formula eliminates misconceptions and also provides a clear goal for employees to aspire to.

  1. No more Negotiations

Eliminating negotiation is another technique through which the gender pay gap may be reduced. There are numerous studies which have revealed that women do not perform as well as men in negotiations. More often than not women avoid negotiation altogether and accept the first offer they have been presented with by an employer. One study that focused its attention on graduating masters’ students has discovered that despite being urged by their respective university to negotiate; only 7% of women graduates tried negotiating for a higher salary, while 57% of men graduates asked for more money. To put in it simpler terms, this is 8 times as many men asking for more money. Unfortunately, many women have reported fear as their primary concern thinking they may appear aggressive in pursuing a bigger salary.

In an interesting experiment, researchers Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever have explained in layman’s terms how even one negotiation can be detrimental from a woman’s perspective. Two equally qualified man and woman are offered $25,000 at the tender age of 22. The man manages to use his skills in negotiation and raise it to $30,000, whilst the woman accepts the initial $25,000 offer. Up until they are both 60 years old, they receive 3% raises every year and by that time their salaries would be separated by $15,000.

The road to equal pay is long and tedious, with organisations being urged to correct their processes from top to bottom. Women make up almost 60% of university graduates, so it would be wise for organisations to level the ‘paying’ field and offer themselves a strong competitive advantage when recruiting top talent.

Great People Inside provides easy-to-use tools and processes to attract, assess, match, select, onboard, manage, develop, benchmark and maintain workforces anywhere in the world.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

https://hbr.org/2014/12/what-hr-can-do-to-fix-the-gender-pay-gap

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2015/11/19/two-solutions-for-the-gender-pay-gap-that-can-be-implemented-today/#191ae482d35a

http://www.hrpayrollsystems.net/hr-eliminating-gender-pay-gaps

The Basics of Nonverbal Communication (Part Two)

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There are many recruiters who decide whether or not a candidate is worthy due to their body language while they waiting in the lobby or walking towards the conference room where the interview takes place.

It is common knowledge that the recruitment process and employee turnover represent challenges in today’s global environment. There are many cases when nonverbal communication is more revealing than what a candidate says their previous experience or their references. It is that vital. Recruiters will pay close attention to a candidate’s nonverbal communication.

As a recruiter, your focus points are the signals regarding the candidate’s attitude, interests, hobbies, outlook and approach. As actions speak louder than words, so do nonverbal signals during an interview, due to the fact that an employer can determine a candidate’s references in regards to: the necessary skills to perform well at the job, cultural fit in the organisation and behavioural characteristics that may determine how successful a candidate is for the job.

Here are a few examples in which recruiters are as observant as possible in terms of nonverbal communication:

First Impressions

The first minutes of an interview are very important so much so that almost nothing else matters. Recruiters take a look at the candidate and note all of the nonverbal messages they are exhibiting. They form impressions ranging from a candidate’s posture, handshake, outfit, attentiveness, facial expressions and eye contact.

Handshake

Notice whether the candidate displays a firm and solid handshake. A confident, comfortable person uses the handshake as a positive nonverbal interaction. The handshake should assure the employer of the candidate’s desire for a positive first interaction and impression. Consequently, a limp handshake reveals low confidence and self-esteem. Last but not least, an excessively strong handshake tells the recruiter the candidate is overly aggressive or even trying to steamroll him or her.

 Posture and Space Usage

If the candidate is sitting comfortably and upright in his chair that means he’s most likely confident and comfortable with whom he or she is.  If their posture is slouchy it may very well mean that they do sloppy work and have a low self-esteem.  In general, posture which allows the individual to use an appropriate amount of space in the room reveals the security the applicant holds in his or hers abilities.

Clothing and general appearance

No matter how formal or informal the work environment is, it is adamant for a job applicant to wear a suit to the meeting. The accessories that accompany the candidate are equally important. If they show up with a briefcase, shined shoes, a leather-bound portfolio and so on, demonstrates the professionalism that lies within that person. It also reveals the fact that they wanted to make a proper first impression.

If the candidate sought out to look professional for the interview and it did not happen chances are that is as good as it’s ever going to get. In this scenario, the recruiter has to decide whether that person is a good fit for the company and hope at a change for the better in the near future.

Facial Expressions and Body Language

Nothing says more about a candidate than their facial expressions and body language.

Numerous books and research has been done on the science of facial expressions and body language. The key here is to discover whether a person’s facial expressions and body language match the words that are being said.

Facial expressions that do not match the spoken words clearly indicate discomfort or lying and these are not desired traits in any candidate. There are candidates who never make eye contact and stare at a spot behind the employer’s shoulder. This exhibits that they are uncomfortable and show a serious lack of confidence. Consistency between facial expressions and the words spoken is crucial.

Body language is similarly important. If the job applicant is leaning back in his seat and has his legs crossed, he’s too relaxed for an interview setting and may deal with costumers the same way. If they have occupied the entire table with their arms and various accessories, that displays aggressiveness and may turn out to be a difficult employee to manage after being hired.  Another good example is, if during a statement, the candidate looks away from the recruiter or is generally nervous, then he or she is probably not telling the truth. If candidates practically stare into the employer’s eyes as they’re talking that most likely means that what they are saying is 100% fabricated.

It is always going to be difficult to tell whether a candidate is being truthful or not, but the key here is “listen” carefully at what they are not saying.

Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation, can be a very challenging task. It requires deep knowledge of your own organisation’s culture and keen understanding of the candidate’s personality, strengths, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you find employees who can flourish and reach the highest performance required to constantly bring your company forward.

Request a free demo:

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Sources:

https://www.thebalance.com/nonverbal-communication-in-the-workplace-1918470

https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-use-nonverbal-communication-in-hiring-1919137

http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/nonverbal-communications-important-manager-17543.html