“$11.32 an hour,” she said. “That’s what many people can earn sitting on their couch. How am I supposed to encourage them to get off the couch when many of the jobs they qualify for don’t pay that?” This statement came from a frustrated state career center worker tasked with getting individuals off federal and state assistance through a job placement program. I could turn this conversation into a political post, but I won’t go there. Instead, I’d like to focus on how it illustrates a basic premise of motivation. I’m going to spend the next few weeks talking about
There is a lot of hype out there today, and there has been for quite of a few years, regarding generations in the workplace. It has become one of the key topics to focus on when it comes to interoffice dynamics and diversity issues in the workplace. And its fun to talk about it and classify people as such. While it is obvious that different events and cultural norms shape us all and these things can help define a generation of people (for example, who is dumb enough to think that 9/11 and the computer haven’t shaped the thought processes,
“This is why I’m not married anymore,” said a participant in a recent leadership training class. She was partly kidding, but it was obvious that the results of her personality assessment, which were being used to launch the leadership training series we were conducting for her company, had struck a cord. Her personality assessment showed that she was a highly dominant, take charge, get it done kind of person. These characteristics had served her well in her role in finance with the organization, but she realized that maybe her personality had impacted the success of her marriage. In another conversation
Out looking for a job or considering a discussion with your boss about a raise? If you are, you need to do your research to consider what the knowledge, skills and abilities you have are worth in the marketplace and to the company in which you work or are negotiating with. (Note: The best time to negotiate your worth is before you accept a job. Once you get locked in a job and a salary range, usually the only way to get a substantial raise is to switch jobs either through a promotion or a move to another organization.)
You’re worried you’re not attracting the right talent or that you aren’t able to keep good talent around for long and you think it might be because of your salary structure. Before you launch into a compensation structure overhaul (we’ll tell you how to do this next week on the blog), you need to: Know for sure that the reason you are having the problems you are having is in fact compensation related. It may be that all your supervisors are jerks and people may leave even if you paid them twice as much. Surveying employees, especially through exit