Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Jillian Miles Massey

3 Reasons to Give and Take Extended Leave
Today I’ve been back at work for one week. Back at work after four weeks of extended personal leave. I could write a full-length novel about the why, how, who, and what of my semi-sabbatical experience. The short version is: every employer should give extended paid leave, and every employee should take it. I’ll give you three reasons.

1. We are People First.

People First is the single most important Horizon Point mantra. We live it and breathe it every day. That’s how we got here – this place in time where each of our team members is taking 4+ weeks of extended leave for rest and renewal. Our Founder, Mary Ila, took one long look at us during a quarterly planning meeting and saw a team of women who had forgotten that we, ourselves, are People First. The buck stopped there.

Our boss got vulnerable with us about her physical, mental, and emotional health (all deteriorating), and we got vulnerable right back. All of us called to the foreground our very real symptoms of Too Much Syndrome. Too much COVID-19 uncertainty, too much schedule changing, too much brain fog, too much or not enough of everything else. In that quarterly planning meeting, we came back to ourselves, saw our very real burnout staring us in the face, and landed squarely on the realization that we are just people.

Workplaces are made of People who have basic needs and who will predictably burn out without periods of rest.

2. Extended leave clears the fog.

On my second day back at work, I attended a Mental Wellness workshop with a local entrepreneurial center that specializes in woman-owned small business creation and growth. This particular workshop focused on the brain science associated with stress and anxiety. Join me on the journey for a moment. How many of these physiological symptoms have you experienced in the last week?
- Taut muscles
- Fatigue
- Hasty decisions
- Foggy thinking
- Negativity
- Worrying
- Irritability
- Indifference
- Apprehension
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Restlessness
As I sat in that room, I thought back to that quarterly planning meeting. I thought back to snapshots of my personal and professional life and saw every. single. one. of these symptoms. That good ole 20/20 hindsight sure did hit differently this time.

When I look at this list today, only 2 or 3 resonate. My four weeks of paid leave literally gave me new life. The sun came out, and the fog lifted. I’m a better version of myself, which benefits me personally of course, but also benefits my work team. Giving employees an extended moment to clear the fog breathes life into the organization.

3. It’s time for a paradigm shift.

Some of you are ready to give and/or take extended leave. You’re willing and able and ready. Here are 6 Steps for Planning and Implementing Effective Extended Leave.

Some of you are not. I know that paid extended leave is a luxury. I’ve heard time and time again how lucky I am, how lucky my team is, to work for a company and a leader with such a philosophy.

The thing is, we shouldn’t be so lucky. Our company shouldn’t be so different, so unique. This model of People First and the option of paid extended leave should be commonplace. As workplace and community leaders, we can and should shift the paradigm. It has to start somewhere, so why shouldn’t it start with me and you?

A month ago, when asked, “How are you?”, I would’ve (not so jokingly) said, “I’m surviving, but not thriving! Haha.” Ask me today, and I’ll tell you how much I’m thriving. How much my mind has healed. How much better I’m sleeping. How much of my personality came back. How much healthier I feel, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Extended leave was a blessing for which I’m immeasurably grateful, and now I’m on fire about spreading the wealth to others. It takes a village. Will you join me?

If you are an employer, and you want to explore options for incorporating extended wellness leave into your workplace, let’s work together to shift the paradigm.
September 28, 2021
Your Local Wage Survey is a Gold Mine

Does your area have a local wage and/or benefit survey? Do you participate? You should! Here’s why and how.

National wage reports are helpful to study the big picture of economic growth, but these reports might not (probably don’t) reflect the small picture of your business in your community. Further, a 2021 study found that U.S. workers may get 19% less than federal estimates:

Some tools, like CompAnalyst and SHRM, offer comprehensive data (for a hefty fee) that can be helpful in determining pay ranges and comparing company wage data to industry benchmarks. We use resources like these for some larger compensation analysis projects. Even still, we use data from the local wage survey to further validate and strengthen our recommendations.

Community-based benchmarks are critical for organizations to attract and retain talent. Our area is heavy in aerospace and defense contractors, and the competition for talent is fierce. Many of these organizations rely almost entirely on the local wage and benefits survey to drive compensation decisions year-to-year. This year especially, organizations are looking for real-time information about how the wage and benefits landscape has changed in the last 6-12 months.

Now, I’ll drop a note here to acknowledge that companies with multiple locations throughout the U.S. and/or multinational operations might have more limited local decision-making power. We work with many multinational organizations in our community, and the local wage and benefits survey is the most impactful resource for local leaders to demonstrate the need for changes to their top leadership. It might take longer to move the needle, but starting with meaningful, local data goes a long way.

In support of my argument that local wage and benefit data is invaluable, we regularly receive questions from businesses, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, local governments, etc., about wage trends in our area. This data is not just for wage decisions in individual companies; this data is used in city and county economic and workforce development decisions.

Below is a snapshot from a report we recently provided for the local chamber. They wanted to know if there had been an increase in median hourly wages, particularly in manufacturing.

The wage and benefits survey we administer annually collects aggregate data for Production, Maintenance, and Warehouse positions. Comparing the local wage data as of 01/01/2020 with local wage data as of 01/01/2021, we were able to discern if and how much hourly wages grew for these job categories. This information helps business and community leaders make informed decisions to attract and retain people and their families.

So here’s my point: local wage surveys benefit you personally

…as an employee who wants to be paid fairly

…as an employer who wants to attract and retain talent

…as a citizen who wants to live in a thriving community

If you hold a role at your organization with influence over internal compensation decisions, or even if you don’t, I encourage you to participate in local wage surveys on behalf of your organization. When more businesses participate, the data is more robust and meaningful for individuals, organizations, and communities.

If you aren’t sure if your local community offers a wage/benefit survey, a good place to start is your local economic development agency (EDA) or chamber of commerce. For our readers in North Alabama, you can learn about our work with local wage and benefit surveys here.

August 31, 2021
5 Minute Memo for MOPs
Are you a MOP? MOPs are Managers of People, and whether you are leaning into long-term remote work or reacclimating to an in-person work environment, here’s a 5-minute memo to help you stay on track.
1. Go easy — on yourself and others. There’s been a shakeup. Remember that we are all People First. We are People First in the sense that we are not ______ first (insert managers, leaders, bosses, etc.), and we should be People First in the way we manage and lead others.
2. Be inclusive — Everyone has a different story. Remember to acknowledge, respect, welcome, and celebrate differences. Try these 4 Exercises with yourself, your team, and/or organization. Use your influence to create a psychologically safe workplace.
3. Be flexible — Have you ever needed to leave work early to pick up a child from school? Ever struggled to schedule a doctor’s appointment around your work hours? Do you or someone you know live with depression? Flexibility feeds physical and mental health for you and your team and directly supports organizational productivity and success.
4. Train, develop, coach — It can be easy for MOPs to be laser-focused on people management and miss opportunities for people development. Think of the old adage: You can’t see the forest for the trees. Let’s be mindful of the forest and dedicate some time to training and developing our team members.
5. Evaluate — Continuous improvement requires consistent, meaningful evaluation. What’s working well? What isn’t? Evaluation doesn’t have to be complex or formal; it can be as simple as stopping by a coworker’s desk and asking for feedback on a recent communication or project (note to self: time this right, when they’re not swamped, and depending on your work relationship, you may want to give them a heads up).
Looking for more resources for MOPs? Subscribe to The Point Blog
July 20, 2021
The Volunteer Venn

Q: How many volunteers does it take to plan and host a statewide HR conference?

A: Whatever number you’re thinking, add 10 more!

Volunteers are absolutely critical to the success of all organizations, not-for-profit or otherwise, but they are often overlooked and undervalued. Knowing this to be true, why do we volunteer?

I am absolutely certain that I owe much of my professional (and personal) success to volunteerism. I have been equally – if not more – challenged, encouraged, and developed in volunteer roles in comparison with paid roles. Some of my most significant growth moments were from volunteer projects. I literally would not be working in my current paid role without a volunteer connection. Every member of our professional team has served in volunteer leadership roles for community-based organizations and professional/trade associations, and each of us has gained invaluable interpersonal skills, project management experience, and so much more, specifically through volunteerism.

I just had the great pleasure of planning a conference with a committee of six for a statewide volunteer-led organization. We start with six for planning purposes, but on the day of, six becomes forty. Every year, almost the entire event is staffed by volunteers who give up work or personal time to stuff conference bags, hand out boxed lunches, direct people to restrooms, or whatever other tasks pop up. Mixed in with operational responsibilities, we talk and laugh and commiserate about life and work and dogs and sports. We refresh. We make connections. We learn.

So, the answer to the question about why we volunteer when we’re often overlooked and undervalued is really a three-part answer. I like a good visual, so here’s my homemade Volunteer Venn:

Through volunteer roles, we explore ourselves and grow as individual people, we experience the good and the human connection separate from paychecks and performance evaluations, and we also create and facilitate career opportunities for ourselves and others. We are better leaders at work, better family members, and better friends when we’ve learned to give of our time and resources freely and without strings.

Volunteers are a community. Some of my best relationships, personal and professional, were cultivated through volunteering, and I will forever be thankful for them.

What positive, life-changing volunteer experiences have you had? How can you start today?

May 11, 2021
Innovations in #CareerAdvice and Recruiting
Unemployment rates in Alabama are slowly falling and are on track to reach numbers from the pre-pandemic job boom. In the Huntsville/Madison area, there are more jobs than there are people to fill them. As a result of a volatile job market and the workplace changes in the last year, recruiters are working through some innovative ideas for 2021.

Would you be surprised to learn that videos with the hashtag #careeradvice have reached over 80 million views since the start of 2021? TikTok has evolved into a recruiting marketplace, where job seekers and potential employers connect in a creative way. Businesses are turning to TikTok for brand visibility and as a way to reach a broader candidate pool.

Organizations are also working internally to redesign jobs to be more adaptable and allow for built-in upskilling and cross-training. According to a Deloitte study, “41% of executives said that building workforce capability through upskilling, reskilling, and mobility is one of the most important actions they are taking to transform work”. Looking for some resources for upskilling and reskilling? Here are three:

Forbes – Why Employee Upskilling And Reskilling Is So Important Right Now

theHRDIRECTOR – Why Upskilling and Reskilling is essential to business survival

Indeed – Upskilling Your Employees: A Guide for Managers

We see these two questions as critical components of innovation for recruiters and organizations this year:
- How can we introduce new brand visibility and recruiting strategies to reach a larger candidate pool?
- How can we reimagine our organization chart, job descriptions, and talent management strategies to build in upskilling and reskilling?
We are currently working with an organization that found itself with fewer applicants and a low applicant-to-hire ratio. We looked closely at the hiring process, we looked at job descriptions, we looked at hiring best practices in the local market, and only then did we start to ask these same questions above.

You can get started now by mapping out your current strategy, reach, and impact. What’s working? What worked pre-pandemic, but doesn’t work now? How can you and your team innovate recruiting practices? Dig deep, then take the leap!
March 30, 2021