While numerous opportunities exist for leaders to grow and develop, my experience tells me that the following areas MUST be reviewed and refined periodically to ensure both the success of the leader and of the organization. These areas are:

• Delegation
• Mentoring and Coaching
• Time Management and Prioritization
• Leading Through Trust and Transparency

Let’s briefly touch on each of these critical skills.

Delegation

Delegation is a necessary skill for all leaders to master, as it allows you to then focus on the big-picture strategic tasks. In addition, delegation will empower employees to take responsibility, develop their skills, and prepare them for future opportunities.

Allow employees to make decisions—within boundaries—linked to their daily tasks. This builds trust and motivates employees to take the lead. You can’t do it all and most employees not only want to help, but it makes them feel good to be needed and trusted. Start with small tasks and duties, then as the employee grows and succeeds, continue to give them more. Keep in mind that the key is to build self-esteem and confidence, which will result in them taking ownership.

Mentoring and Coaching

Part of every leader’s day should be devoted to individual employee development. Recognize what each person is doing well, what they could be doing better, and what they need to stop doing. This is truly performance management at its best.

Assist them by having both yourself and other leaders share your experiences—both positive and negative—to allow the employees to relate and recognize their own areas for improvement.

It has been proven through study after study that employees who receive mentorship and coaching are more likely to feel valued and invested in their job, increasing both job satisfaction and retention. Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, has been quoted as saying, “If you ask any successful businessperson, they will always have had a great mentor at some point along the road.”

Time Management and Prioritization

Time management and prioritization involve a mixture of effective planning, educated implementation, and flexibility. Leaders who can manage their workload efficiently and direct their energy toward what truly matters will ultimately create a more balanced work-life structure. They will also create a culture that enables everyone to understand the need to work on what’s important not necessarily what is urgent.

Time management and prioritization are crucial for all business leaders, regardless of the size of your company. Doing so will help to maintain productivity, reduce stress and burnout, and focus on business growth through proper attention to the short- and long-term strategic plans.

Learning the importance of daily planning is essential to effective time management. Practice what you preach. Use available technology. And ensure that everyone in the organization is engaged in this daily process. As Steve Jobs once said, “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. That’s true for companies, and it’s true for products.”

Leading Through Trust and Transparency

Below are some suggestions on how to build trust and transparency in your organization, however all too often we fail to engage in these management/leadership behaviors and then wonder why our employees are not engaged.

• Be firm, be fair, and be consistent. Do not allow favoritism to exist inside of your organization.
• Encourage questions and feedback. Give both positive and constructive feedback as often as possible.
• Admit your mistakes and allow your employees to make mistakes but ensure that everyone learns from them. Create a freedom-to-fail-but-a-requirement-to-learn culture.
• Keep employees informed by scheduling updates and holding informational meetings with all employees. Make sure these meetings are not canceled unless it is completely unavoidable.

Leading with transparency creates a workplace where employees feel respected, engaged, and motivated. It nurtures loyalty and high morale and enhances all the other components previously mentioned that will enable your organization to sustain profitable growth for years to come.

By embracing the above-mentioned management and leadership practices, you and your team can build strong, trusting relationships that benefit your employees, the organization, and all stakeholders associated with your business.

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Author and HR expert Theresa Minton-Eversole strongly urges companies to perform audits, stating: “An HR compliance audit can help ensure that HR practices abide by the multitude of frequently changing laws and regulations. The compliance audit generally has two parts: an evaluation of the organization’s HR policies, practices and processes, and a review of current HR data. Indicators of potential problems include internal grievances filed, pending legal complaints, and turnover and absenteeism rates.”

Minton-Eversole goes on to state that most lawsuits can be traced to issues related to hiring, performance management, employee discipline, or termination. Other high-risk areas include:

• Misclassification of exempt and nonexempt jobs.
• Inadequately maintained personnel files.
• Prohibited attendance policies.
• Inaccurate wage and hour or time records.
• Form I-9 errors.
• Outdated federal and state labor and employment law posters.
• Insufficient record retention.

So what are the steps necessary to both protect your organization and to comply with regulations?

1. Research the requirements for the above-mentioned areas to establish the scope of the audit and to gather the necessary information. Then create action plans to address and/or mitigate the risks.
2. Conduct an internal audit to make certain that your organization is in compliance with regulations. It will also help identify any risks and ensure that you are creating long-term control systems. For an effective process, I recommend that organizations use internal audit checklist templates. These templates serve as a guide for the person conducting the audit, as many companies may not be in a position to have a full-time HR person on staff. These templates can be used to help the appointed person organize their tasks and ensure that all necessary areas of compliance are both up to date and being maintained. Keep in mind that these templates will need to be tailored to your organization’s specific needs based on the size and complexities of the business.
3. Once the critical needs have been focused on and fixed, it is strongly recommended to schedule audits of other HR functions to head off future problems. The beginning of each year is a great time to conduct new audits to ensure both continuing compliance and compliance with any new regulations.

“Define exactly what to audit and then ensure that the organization’s leaders support that process,” said Sarah L. Davis-Temple, SHRM-SCP, talent management business partner for Greenway Health in Tampa, Florida.��According to Davis-Temple, the best audits are the ones you control. The worst are those prompted by a dreaded letter from a government agency. And speaking from experience, you never want to be the one to open that letter!

Keep in mind that no company is perfect and there is always room for improvement, regardless of how long a company has been in business. In this case, it is NOT better to be lucky than good!

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According to Forbes, as of 2023, 12.7% of full-time employees work from home, while 28.2% work a hybrid model. By 2025, 32.6 million Americans will work remotely. Consequently, managers and leaders must not only embrace this fact but begin immediately to modify and adjust their management and leadership styles to accommodate the remote worker.

Leaders must refine their ability to direct employees in an environment that does not allow for face-to-face interaction on a minute-by-minute basis. As a result, we must be prepared to develop a clear and comprehensive focus on:

1. Effective communication.
2. A process for checking in.
3. Precise goals and expectations.

Equally important will be for leaders to be able to utilize the technology that is available to them to assist in this process.

While this is an area that is still very new to us as leaders, several practical ways exists to drive remote leadership skills.

• Hold regularly scheduled sessions to promote clear and concise communication. Keep these sacred, meaning they should not be canceled or rescheduled unless absolutely necessary.
• From day one, make sure everyone is on the same page by setting goals and expectations and defining specific tasks, duties, and responsibilities.
• Use all the technical tools that are available to ensure compliance and success for all parties.
• Schedule formal reviews and performance evaluations, but also plan on periodic, informal follow-ups.
• Prepare to review and discuss work-life balance. Specifically address the possible tendency to work too many hours and not succumb to diversions at home that can lead to poor productivity and performance.

A manager’s ability to lead with purpose will be critical to both the success of their team and their own success. Personally, I am spending more and more time asking (and challenging) my client owners to be sure they are defining and living a clear and meaningful vision that helps drive success for themselves and their employees. And proactive organizations are not only encouraging but requiring their leadership teams to seek out and engage in their own personal training and development so that they are better equipped to manage successfully their remote workers.

To date, the data and research highlighting what successful leaders are doing to engage remote workers revolves around one main theme: ensuring that all workers feel a sense of belonging. The ability to foster team cohesiveness, organize team building activities, provide constant feedback, and celebrate successes big and small will go a long way toward accomplishing this goal.

In the training and development arena, recognition is growing of the importance of going beyond the numbers, so to speak, and prioritizing employee well-being. Given the significant number of employees who are or will be working remotely, now more than ever, leaders need to use their purpose to both inspire and motivate their employees. As has always been the case, effective leadership is best exemplified through leading by example. When dealing with remote employees, leaders must be more flexible, more adaptable, and more available than ever before.

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Solovey and Mayer innovatively uncovered that human intelligence is not simply guided by our IQ but also by our emotional responses and individual social interactions. Their research led to a much better way for managers and leaders to both learn and understand how to define intelligence and, over time, realize that the standard IQ test could effectively be supplemented by accurate, quantifying tests measuring the social and emotional intelligence of an individual.

As EI evolved to become part of our concept of intelligence, there became a clear understanding that IQ alone is not enough to define and direct success, specifically in the business world where interaction with other human beings (in our case, all of our stakeholders) is the most crucial determinate of success or failure.

So, what is EI? It is the capacity to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions, and to empathize effectively with the emotions of others. In simpler terms, it’s about forging a deeper connection with our own emotions and those of others.

Daniel Goleman’s groundbreaking book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, quickly brought the concept of EI to the mainstream of business theory, as did his development of what he referred to as the Five Domains of Emotional Intelligence:

• Self-awareness—knowing what you are feeling at any given time and understanding the impact your moods have on others
• Self-regulation—controlling or redirecting your emotions; anticipating consequences before acting on impulse
• �Ѵdzپ������پ��Dz�—utilizing emotional factors to achieve your goals, enjoy the learning process, and persevere in the face of obstacles
• Empathy—sensing the emotions of others
• Social skills—managing relationships, inspiring others, and inducing desired responses from them.

Since the early years of research and practical applications of Goleman’s concepts, it has been proven time and time again that a high EI positively impacts and influences interpersonal relationships. Individuals who possess an entrenched ability to understand, show empathy, and react with refinement and reverence to even stressful situations don’t just facilitate respect and show leadership—they make others want to be like and/or near them.

Could this be a key to long-term retention of valuable employees in your organization? I think you know the answer to this question, without any hesitation.

In its simplest form, EI is all about how we manage ourselves and how we manage our relationships with others. As an human resources professional, I believe that we need to discover ways to not only increase our own EI but to identify the EI potential in job candidates.

Increasing your EI��is a process that involves refining and practicing specific behaviors that will enable you and your team to grow and prosper. According to an article by Indeed Career Guide, there are nine actionable steps to enhance your emotional intelligence:

1. Be more self-aware—know yourself and understand how you are feeling and why.
2. Recognize how others feel—gauge how others perceive your behavior and communication.
3. Practice active listening—really listen to others, not just hear.
4. Communicate clearly—be specific and be authentic.
5. Stay positive—maintain a positive attitude, even when negativity is around you.
6. Empathize—try to imagine yourself in others’ positions (not the same as being sympathetic).
7. Be open-minded—be considerate of other opinions that may be different than yours.
8. Listen to feedback—be open to feedback as a way to learn and grow professionally.
9. Stay calm under pressure—develop strategies to help you keep calm in stressful situations.

Keep in mind that the art of raising your EI is a never-ending process that will provide you with the most satisfying ROI possible—a healthy, happy, and highly motivated workforce and culture. Measure it today and then plan to increase it over the coming year.

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In a recent article from Harvard Business Review, the authors articulated that “Companies are increasingly emphasizing a corporate purpose beyond mere profitability. The success of this integration largely hinges on organizational culture. Leaders, spanning all tiers, need to genuinely exemplify and articulate the company’s values, as demonstrated by companies like Netflix and LUSH. It’s vital for employees to perceive their daily roles as contributing to this larger purpose…”

The article went on to say, “This is because culture provides the underlying assumptions, shared values, and norms that shape employee mindsets and behaviors. Companies may profess a commitment to purpose, but without a supportive culture aligned to that purpose, employees won’t be supported to enact these shared values in their work.” This type of culture emphasizes a shared sense of purpose beyond just financial goals and profits.

Further illustrating this concept, Edg, known for his tenure as a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, provides what is largely regarded in management and leadership circles as the most comprehensive definition of organizational culture in his book, “Organizational Culture and Leadership”:

“A pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration…. A product of joint learning.”

For years, forward-thinking businesses have been attempting to promote a culture that embodies Schein’s work. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that employees in today’s workplace require more. From every discipline and in every type of organization, employees are desiring purpose.

How can we continue to strive for performance while incorporating purpose as an equally critical component to sustaining growth and success in our organizations? My experience has been that every recognized leader or manager must consistently exhibit the following leadership traits:

1. Help every employee to feel that their job is important, that they are making a difference, and that their actions are in line with the stated purpose of the organization.
2. Don’t allow anyone to just “get by” or “sit on the sidelines.” Ask for their input and respect their opinions and ideas. Incorporate their suggestions as often as possible.
3. Expect that your employees will make decisions and that sometimes those decisions will not necessarily be the best ones. When this happens, communicate and provide support in correcting the shortcoming. This is critical! To enable continuous growth and alignment with purpose, team members and leaders should receive feedback on how their decisions relate to the corporate purpose.
4. Immediately begin to recognize and reward both performance- and purpose-driven behaviors that support a purpose-driven culture. Admittedly, it can be challenging to create processes and systems that encourage but do not improperly incentivize purpose-driven behaviors, while consistently enabling your team to achieve the company’s core purpose. But it can be done.

In summary, building a purpose-driven organization in today’s complex business market requires a deliberate and thoughtful combination of purpose- and performance-driven team members. This involves clearly communicating what the organization’s purpose is and requires leaders who actively demonstrate the values inherent within that purpose. Leaders should also be responsible for continually reminding everyone of the organization’s vision and mission. Finally, it’s important to develop incentives that encompass both monetary and nonmonetary reward systems that emphasize and reinforce purpose-oriented results.

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Could it be unnecessary interruptions or meetings? How about employees taking excessive breaks? Maybe it’s equipment malfunctions. Or the old water cooler discussions catching up on the latest gossip. While all these time wasters are still prevalent today, I would suggest none of them is the most significant time waster in most organizations. So, what is?

The use of personal social media during the normal workday.

According to a recent survey by online recruitment services company Zippia, the average employee spends 12% of their working hours using unproductive social applications. Their calculations conclude that’s about 52 minutes per day! Zippia’s survey also indicates that a whopping 77% of workers use social media at work.

A more recent survey from Monster Worldwide reports that 48% of U.S. employees spend up to four hours each day on social media for personal use during work hours.

Regardless of which survey you find more plausible, it’s safe to say that this is an issue that requires immediate attention in all our businesses.

While many of the organizations I work with have a social media policy in place, the policy often fails to address the personal use of social media such on sites as Facebook, Google, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and TikTok. As with the many challenges that we all face with 21st century technology in the workplace, there is no cookie cutter solution.

None of us would argue that the answers to this issue are simple. If, in fact, we develop a personal social media policy in our workplace (and I would suggest we MUST), there remains a number of questions that require thoughtful consideration. These include:

• How do we enforce such a policy?
• How detailed should we be with the policy?
• What are the limits to the use of personal social media sites during the workday?
• Who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the policy?
• Are we going to be prepared to discipline and in some instances terminate an employee (including those in management) for violating the policy?

In addition to the time being wasted, which results in poor overall productivity, organizational leaders need to be aware of other risks to the business when employees are engaging in personal social media during the workday. One of the most significant is exposing and compromising the company’s security. While visiting various social media sites on a company computer, those computers could be subject to malware—malicious software—that could damage or control the computer.

Another risk is the sharing of confidential information that could create a liability for the company as well as the individual. This issue has been at the forefront of human resources (HR) departments all across the country.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has recommended that an effective social networking policy generally does the following:

• Defines what the organization means when it refers to social networking.
• Establishes a clear and defined purpose for the policy.
• Communicates the benefits of social networking and of having a policy.
• Provides a clear platform for educating employees.
• Takes into consideration any legal consequences of not following laws.
• Refers to proprietary and confidential information at risk.
• Talks about productivity in terms of social networking.
• Establishes expected behavioral norms in the use of social networking.
• Provides guidance regarding social networking that could be associated with the organization, its employees, or customers. Some employers may prohibit posting company information on social networking sites without the employer’s explicit consent.
• Outlines disciplinary measures the employer will take if employees violate the social media policy.

I strongly urge you to take this issue seriously. Create, communicate, and distribute an appropriate social media policy to all your employees as soon as possible.

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We define KPIs as metrics used to measure a specific activity or operation a company performs. The metrics are generally measured over a period of time and then compared to a standard, predetermined benchmark to indicate success or failure. The criteria used to measure success should align with the company’s organizational goals.

Performance indicators should be used to track the company’s progress toward achieving its major business objectives. We adhere to the concept that performance indicators should be SMART:

Specific

Measurable (quantitatively)

Achievable within the time frame measured

Relevant to the success of the company and its organizational goals

Time-phased relative to the accuracy of the data measured.

While many, if not most, companies embrace and accept this view, the one area where I hear the most consternation from managers is human resources (HR). “How can we possibly measure the effectiveness of our HR function?”��

While most organizations struggle with HR analytics, those companies that shine in this area are more likely to benefit from a number of key advantages. According to Debbie McGrath, chief instigator and CEO of HR.com, “Measuring, tracking, and analyzing workforce data has become a must-have for today’s organizations to continue to use the insights from these analytics in order to build and incorporate more strategy in their HR decision making.”

��Why should you track HR effectiveness? By doing so, you’ll get information and signs of how well you’re using the company’s resources of money and time. Simply uncovering inefficiencies and potential areas of concern will enable managers and leaders to improve or eliminate them. What and how might be a bit more complex.��

My suggestion is to start by tracking the seven KPIs below, which will give you the greatest amount of information and data to accurately reflect the current state of your overall HR effectiveness. As you refine and become more comfortable with these, you can then expand to include measurements for other areas.

1. Absenteeism rate: Helps to evaluate how satisfied or dissatisfied employees are with their current position, department, and or/manager.

Formula: Workdays missed/total workdays scheduled x 100

2.��Retention rate:��The number of individuals who remain at the company within a specific time period.��Note: It is best not to include new hires for the period of time being measured.��

Formula: Number of employees staying across a time period/number of employees at the start of that time period x 100

3.��Training cost per employee:��How much does it cost to train each employee, and how much is being invested in workforce development? This should include everything possible, such as training courses, travel expenses, overtime, etc.

Formula: Total cost of training/number of employees

4.��Turnover rate:��The rate at which employees leave the company (regardless of the reasons) within a given year.

Formula: Number of departures during a specific time period/average number of employees during the same period x 100

5.��Overtime percentage:��Helps determine if the proper number of employees are in place and if the leadership/management team is maintaining an appropriate schedule.

Formula: Overtime pay amount/total payroll x 100

6. Cost per hire:��The average cost of hiring a new employee.��

Formula: Internal and external hiring costs/number of employees hired in a given period

7. Revenue per employee:��Helps to evaluate productivity and efficiency of the workforce.��

Formula: Total amount of revenue/total number of employees

This list should give you a good start at instituting measurements related to your HR effectiveness. Some numbers might surprise you, while others might confirm what you already assumed. Regardless, having specific numbers will allow you to target specific goals.

According to Cecile Alper-Leroux, vice president of human capital management innovation for Ultimate Software, the point is to “get past the ‘what’ and fully understand the ‘why.’ The benefit of using metrics is that the decisions are better-informed and backed by facts—rather than hunches—and thus make key people decisions far more ‘sellable’ to the business.”��

Make the decision today to begin developing KPIs associated with your HR functions, and I assure you, you will be ahead of the game and your competition.

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