Guest blog written by: Steve Graham Job titles serve a purpose. Titles identify roles and responsibilities within an organization. They should not define who you are. Many of my coaching clients have enjoyed successful careers, but they desire to make a change. Too often, my clients are defined by their title and this makes it harder for them to make the desired change. For example, a top performing sales professional may identify as, “only a sales person”, without understanding who they truly are. What makes them a top sales performer is more about who they are than a title. What
Guest blog written by: Kayla Riggs “What screws us up most in life is the picture in our head of how it’s supposed to be.” At 32 I was in a place to reevaluate my career, my wants, my life. I am a wife and a mother of two. I have been working in the traditional sense since I was 15. I worked during college, while taking a full course load. I got a job immediately following graduation. I worked up until the day I delivered my babies and took 7 weeks of maternity leave with both. That’s what was
Guest blog written by: Steve Graham In a recent study, conducted by the Work Institute, career development was identified as the top reason people leave or remain with organizations. In their study titled, 2017 Retention Report, 240,000 employees were interviewed about factors that were most influential in their decision to stay with or leave an organization. For decades, organizations that have invested in developing their people also experienced higher market shares and lower turnover than competitors. Despite the positive data to support career development, many organizations continue to fall short. Lack of growth is a common reason given during exit interviews
Written by guest blogger: Steve Graham In most businesses, an “Employee Engagement Survey” goes out once per year to determine how engaged employees are with their jobs. The survey seeks to determine whether a person finds their job rewarding, feels like they have a real stake and interest in the company and cares about the overall success of the company. And while these surveys are certainly a step in the right direction, they fail to create a holistic culture of engagement within a company. After all, if the subject of engagement is only broached once per year, it’s not going
Written by guest blogger: Steve Graham What role do employee-mentoring programs have? Mentoring programs have a tremendous impact on employee development, talent retention, and engagement. Employees crave feedback and often seek someone who has walked their path. Offering a formal mentoring program demonstrates the organizations commitment to talent development. It also allows for assistance in developing a career path, and answering the often-asked question, “How do I get where you are?”. One common reason for turnover is lack of professional growth. Mentoring offers a chance for an employee to discuss many of the same concerns their mentor once had. This