Horizon Point Consulting

Search results for: “productivity”

  • Entrepreneurs Give Back

    Entrepreneurs Give Back

    Many entrepreneurs find a path to entrepreneurship in their efforts to accomplish two things:

    1. Find personal fulfillment and satisfaction
    2. Give back to others and the communities in which they serve

    And the reality of it is that, oftentimes, number one is fulfilled because number two is constantly being sought.   Giving back creates the end that satisfies many other means.

    We’ve featured several of these like-minded entrepreneurs over the years, and wanted to remind you of their great stories to check out as inspiration:

    Ginny Pylant- Artist- Just Give it A Whirl

    Ben Eubanks– HR Pro

    Susan Ozier- Fitness Coach

    Who inspires you to be an entrepreneur?

  • How Millennials Like to Work and Run  

    How Millennials Like to Work and Run  

    Week 4

    Week 4 Mileage: 31

    Long Run Distance:  13

     

    I don’t just run to run, and I don’t just work to work.

    I run for the health benefits, which is probably the most common reason cited to run, but I also run for the social camaraderie,  for good conversations, and for the endorphins and productivity it produces. I’m sure there are more reasons, but for now, that will do. Oh, and because it provides good ideas for blog posts.

    I work, as many primarily do, in order to provide for my family along with my husband. But I also work to try to make a difference in people’s lives, for the social interaction, and if I’m honest with myself, to try to prove or justify my worth.  And it also provides for good blogging content.

    In reality though, I could combine my list for running and working into one, because I talk about work when I run and a talk about running when I work.  Many of the reasons overlap or are one in the same, and they all roll into how and why I do life the way I do.

    I happen to, also, (just barely) be a millennial. One of the stand-out features and values you will see in the literature about my generation is the need and desire for work-life balance, or what I would prefer to call work-life integration.

    In a Runner’s World article and another corresponding article in the print version of the magazine, a study about what millennial runners want emphasized the surge in millennials gravitating towards the half-marathon distance. Making up 43% of the running population, millennials run primarily as a way to stay fit, not primarily to compete, and as a way to do fun too with pre and post race parties and travel destinations. The half marathon distance is the perfect one to train well, have fun, and not let running take over your life. The Disney Princess race is cited as drawing the most attention for millennials, for all of these reasons. The article concludes by saying, “Here’s a plan for anyone who wants to train for 13.1 like a millennial- running without giving up other activities you love.”

    And just like millennials don’t want to sacrifice other parts of their life in order to be able to run and race, they also don’t want to sacrifice and segregate for the sake of work.

    Work isn’t and shouldn’t be stand-alone activity and running isn’t either.  It’s a way to incorporate and integrate.

    Here are some ideas for creating an integrated culture in the work place to help spark not only millennials’ engagement, but also your entire workforce:

    • Offer and make community service opportunities a part of work.
    • Set-up a mechanism for interest groups to form. Who knows, a running group may emerge.
    • Offer flexibility in scheduling in order for employees to structure their day that allows for integration of other life activities.
    • Larger employers offer one-stop services on-site like fitness centers, daycares, cafes and even dry cleaning and massage services on site.  For more on this and how it can be justified with the business bottom line, check out Work Rules!  for insights from inside Google.
    • And quite simply and most importantly, hire and train leaders who are focused on seeing employees first as people, with lives in and outside of work.  This promotes leaders to ask and care about people’s whole lives.

    You don’t necessarily have to create a princess race to draw engagement, but all of these things, if done right, lead to more engagement in the workplace, which has been tied time and time again to better results.

    What leads to more engagement for you in the workplace and in life?

     

    Like this Post?  You may also like:

    Millennials and Gen Z Prefer to Meet with Their Boss Face-to-Face

     

  • Nancy Washington Vaughn – Bio

    Nancy Washington Vaughn

    Nancy Washington Vaughn, Esq. SHRM-CP, PHR, President of Legal Advantage Human Resources Solutions, LLC, has more than a decade of experience advising private industry managers and government agency administrators on human resources and employment law matters. Ms. Vaughn founded Legal Advantage Human Resources, LLC in 2011 to provide clients with strategic human resources law and employment law representation and advice to enhance workplace productivity and minimize potential legal liability. Ms. Vaughn is an attorney and human resources legal advisor concentrating providing customized and quality human resources law and employment law representation and counseling to companies, non-profit entities, government agencies and educational institutions. Ms. Vaughn also drafts articles of incorporation, by-laws, and required documentation for start-up companies and non-profit entities. Additionally, Ms. Vaughn drafts, reviews, and negotiates business and employment contracts for businesses and individuals.  

    Ms. Vaughn has extensive experience in labor and employment law matters, including drafting and implementation of Human Resources (HR) Policies and Procedures; analyzing employment law matters governed by the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (federal anti- discrimination/harassment employment law), the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Occupational Safety & Health Administration regulations (OSHA), and the Service Contract Act (SCA). Ms. Vaughn is very experienced in responding to employee complaints and grievances filed with Federal and state agencies, including union/bargaining unit members. She is highly skilled in managing, analyzing and problem-solving a wide variety of HR matters, including employee discipline, reward and recognition, employee relations issues, personal development planning, recruiting of hourly and salaried personnel, performance management, compensation and diversity and inclusion. She is an experienced negotiator in general personnel matters and collective bargaining unit/union negotiations. Ms. Vaughn routinely creates and facilitates personnel and management training seminars for companies.

    Ms. Vaughn is an experienced employment law attorney and the former Director of Human Resources for an employer with approximately 1,000 employees. As an employment law attorney, she has defended clients in Federal and state administrative agency proceedings including matters before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Ms. Vaughn’s legal experience includes work as an associate specializing in commercial litigation at private law firms in Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC. Additionally, her legal experience includes work as an assistant general counsel for the Tennessee Board of Regents; association general counsel at a public university in Tennessee; and a staff attorney for a U.S. Department of Defense Department of the Army Command. Additionally, Ms. Vaughn has been an adjunct professor of undergraduate courses in tort law and education law. Ms. Vaughn has personal experience as a full-time telecommuter. She is the author of Telecommuting: From Here to There; From There to Here, Legal Issues to Beware which addresses legal and policy implications associated with employee telecommuting policies. The article was published by the National Association of College & University Attorneys in NACUANOTES Vol. 8, No. 9 in 2010. Ms. Vaughn is a recipient of the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service for her commendable service and achievement as a U.S. Department of Army civilian attorney.

    Ms. Vaughn has served as a District Director for the Alabama Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) State Council and on the Tennessee Valley Chapter of SHRM Board of Directors. She is a graduate of Leadership Huntsville/Madison County’s Connect Class 12, and she is a member of many professional and civic organizations. A native of Oak Ridge, TN, Ms. Vaughn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts, summa cum laude, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, summa cum laude, from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. She earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, TN. Ms. Vaughn is licensed to practice law in Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Tennessee. Ms. Vaughn is a certified human resources professional as recognized by the Society for Human Resource Management and the HR Certification Institute.

  • The name of the game is FREEDOM: How innovative companies motivate, get, and retain the best…

    The name of the game is FREEDOM: How innovative companies motivate, get, and retain the best…

    “The competition to hire the best will increase in the years ahead. Companies that give extra flexibility (freedom) to their employees will have the edge in this area.” Bill Gates

    I can’t neglect (since I missed the window over the 4th) to make sure to make a point about freedom during our nation’s birthday month. And as by coincidence or actually, by what really makes a whole lot of sense, you can’t talk about what drives innovation without talking about freedom. America is a country that was built around the concept of freedom.

    Despite a presidential campaign grounded on “Making America Great Again,” it is the most innovative country in the world as measured by producing goods and services that people value (as measured by GDP). It is also still a country where many desire to immigrate, and though I’m not citing fact now, I will venture to say that many of them desire to come here precisely because they will have freedom, including the freedom to innovate.

    And, since I can’t resist the urge to make a slight political commentary here, a country grounded in freedom is what gives Mr. Trump the freedom to say that America needs to be great again and gives citizens the right to show their support of this by their vote. This is precisely what makes America great. Not the idea of building a wall.

    And freedom is what grounds innovative organizations.

    Why? Because giving people freedom leads to this cycle:

    1. Trust. Freedom is the way you behaviorally demonstrate to people that you trust them.  When people are trusted, they feel free to:
    2. Experiment. A/B or split testing is something the most innovative companies do all the time.  Because everything can’t be known, trying it more than one way and seeing what works better- what the customer prefers- leads to better results.
    3. Fail (more often than not). If I saw anything across the literature that was vital to innovation it was room to fail because it leads people to:
    4. Learn. As the Innovator’s Dilemma emphasizes over and over again –  “The strategies and plans that managers formulate for confronting disruptive technological change, therefore, should be plans for learning and discovery rather than plans for execution.” Learning can also come from getting it right instead of failing, but often the biggest breakthroughs come through some kind of failure in the beginning.
    5. Grow. Growth occurs at the individual level and then collectively at the organizational level in terms of profits.

     

    Freedom1

    Much of the literature uses the word “autonomy” or “flexibility” for “freedom” and this autonomy, as you see in Drive couples with finding mastery and purpose in the workplace to create motivation.

    So how do we create this freedom in the workplace that allows for this cycle to take place, leading to innovation?

    Here are some ideas to create freedom from some of the best innovation hubs:

     

    How do you allow for freedom in the workplace?  What results have you seen?

    What scares you about giving people freedom in the workplace?  Why?

     

     

  • Case Study: Comprehensive Selection Process Revision

    Comprehensive Selection Process Revision

    Big Heart Pet Brands (now owned by Smuckers) is a large manufacturer with several locations across the U.S.  With concerns about keeping turnover low and reducing the time-to-hire at plants in Alabama and Kansas, Del Monte sought Horizon Point Consulting, Inc. to improve their selection process with two goals in mind:

    1. Make better hiring decisions, leading to low turnover and higher productivity
    2. Shorten the time to hire through pre-screening tools

    The project began with a job analysis of two key roles in the facility: Packaging and Warehouse Operator. To conduct this analysis, Horizon Point observed employees in both roles, documented required qualifications and characteristics for the job, and worked with management to rate the importance of each characteristic.

    The job analysis formed the basis for a new selection procedure with these deliverables:

    • New job descriptions and job postings
    • New objective interview formats
    • A training on interviewing techniques and dos and don’ts for supervisors and managers
    • A pre-screening assessment instrument to assess soft skills dimensions (such as teamwork and attention to detail) needed for the job
    • A validation of the assessment instrument that included data to show the assessment was a predictor of performance as well as demonstrating that the instrument did not adversely impact any protected class.
    • Coordination with the company’s ATS system to make the implementation of the process easy and efficient.

    The results of this project can be seen in meeting the goals of reduced time and cost to hire as seen in the below graphs:

    In addition, quality of hire has increased, with an estimated cost saving of $655,000 due to decreased turnover and absenteeism.

    Big Heart’s Human Resource Manager had this to say about working with Horizon Point Consulting, Inc.:

    “Horizon Point assisted our company with pre-employment screening and interview process for high turnover areas of the plant. After a year of using the process, our turnover decreased by 50% + for the year. The process has helped us to find candidates that share our corporate values and have a great work ethic. Horizon Point was easy to work with and very prompt. They always let us know what they needed to complete the next step of the process and were very thorough. I would highly recommend the services to any company out there looking to improve their screening process.”

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