Human Resources Archives - Sharon M Weinstein

May 22, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

Do you have/need a spine?

A spine. You need one to survive and thrive!

A lot of people are afraid to tell the truth, to say no. That’s where toughness comes into play. Toughness is not being a bully. It’s having backbone.

— Robert Kiyosaki

Have you ever felt used, abused, taken advantage of, insecure? Chances are we have all felt that way at one time or another, especially in childhood. I grew up with very little—if any—self-esteem, and yes, I was walked on—and over—many times. I gravitated to folks similar to me. One of my first boyfriends was a wonderful guy who would give you the shirt off of his back, and never ask for a thing in return. And everyone took advantage of his generosity and kind spirit.

Being known as Mr. Good Guy may work for a while, but it certainly cannot last forever. At some point, even the most generous of us will finally say, “Enough!” Chances are, when that does happen, things have come to more than enough, and we are at our wits’ end trying to decide how to get on with our lives and assert ourselves.

How much of a spine—or backbone—do you have?

To answer that question and determine where you stand and what you need to do to get out of your own way, ponder these questions. Respond honestly.

Is the whole world out to get you?
Do you moan and groan?
Do you worry too much about what other people think?
Do you avoid taking a stand?
Are you easily distracted from your goals?
Do you avoid all risks, even small ones?
Do you control what you will do each day, or do others control you and your behaviors?

If your responses are anything like mine were at one time, it may be a good time to grow that spine, get a life, and move on! There’s no time better than now!

April 5, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

Use Your Words…starting with “A”

How often have you told your kids to ‘use your words?’ When we were raising our now adult offspring, we really did not use that term. We noticed it when our kids became parents themselves, or when we watched the movie entitled, Parental Guidance with Bette Midler and Billy Crystal.

Whether we are raising kids, engaging employees, or collaborating with partners – we want to emphasize positive words. In comparison with good words, “angry words send alarm messages through the brain, and they partially shut down the logic-and-reasoning centers located in the frontal lobes,” write Newberg and Waldman in the book Words Can Change Your Brain.

So, I started with the letter “A” and I discovered these positive A words: ‘able, acceptance, accepting, action, activate, active, add, addition, adorable, advantage, affirm, ageless, agree, agreeable, aid, aim, abundance, accountability, accomplished, achieve, acknowledgement, adaptability, adventurous, agility, alertness, ambition, anticipation, appreciative, authentic, awesome, admirable, accommodating, ample, appreciative joy, actability, affable, alacrity, amiable, astounding, attractive, alive, achievable, acts of kindness, adaptable, adaptive, adequate, admirably, admiration, admired, adored, adoring, adoringly, advanced, advantageous, advantageously, affability, affably, affinity, affirmation, affirmative, affluence, affluent, afford, affordable, agile, agilely, agreeableness, agreeably, aligned, alluring, alluringly, altruistically, amaze, amazement, amazes, amazingly, amiability, amicability, amicable, amicably, amusing, appeal, appealing, applaud, appreciable, appreciated, appreciates, appreciation of beauty, appreciatively, appropriate, approval, approve, ardor, art of appreciation, art of stillness, art of well-being, assurance, a reason for being, accommodative, amiably, accolade, acumen, adjustable, admirer, admiring, admiringly, adorer, adroit, adroitly, adulated, adventuresome, and ambitious.’

Think about the words that you use on a daily basis. Are they positive or negative? How do you make others feel with your words?

Whether it is Parental Guidance or Words Can Change Your Brain…give positive words a chance. Use your words to reflect your attitude in parenting, in business, and in life!

February 9, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

E is for Engagement…

Nurses are the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and they are at the core of care delivery, safety, and outcomes. In today’s environment, we hear much about the patient experience but think about it – you cannot deliver a great patient experience without great employee engagement.

Are those responsible for providing care in your organization treated as well as those they serve? Engaged employees are energized, committed, action-oriented, problem-solvers, critical thinkers, and innovators. They have a voice, and their voices drive change within the organization. They see, touch, and feel it each and every day. Engagement is woven within the vision, mission, and goals of the institution, and your staff knows it.

A crisis exists today…and that crisis is stress. Regarding of the professional role, stress is usually work-related. We all have the same requisite number of hours in a day – only 24. And yet, we try to extend those hours and make them equal 36 or more. It is virtually impossible, and our productivity demonstrates our failure to adhere to the ‘work day’ as a somewhat normal work day.

A workplace is only as good as how it treats its workers. Today’s employers are constantly seeking ways to assist their workers in managing their job responsibilities and their personal responsibilities and needs. Strategies for work/life balance help create supportive, healthy work environments; strengthen employee commitment and loyalty, and result in more productive workplaces and improved patient outcomes. Nurses are at the heart and soul of healthcare, and yet, they sometimes do not have time for self-care and renewal activities – activities what would make them whole, enhance their well-being, and allow them to celebrate themselves.

Think about what drives engagement! “An analysis of Press Ganey’s national nurse engagement database Dempsey et al, 2015 identified drivers of nurse engagement. Key drivers of nurse engagement in 2015 included:

The organization provides high-quality care and service.
The organization treats employees with respect.
I like the work I do.
The environment makes employees in my work unit want to go above and beyond what’s expected of them.
My pay is fair compared to other health care employers in this area.
My job makes good use of my skills and abilities.
I get the tools and resources I need to provide the best care/service for our clients/patients.
The organization provides career development opportunities.
This organization conducts business in an ethical manner.
Patient safety is a priority in this organization.”

By giving nurses a voice; by providing a healthy work environment, including opportunities for professional advancement and personal growth, today’s health systems will put the E in Engagement – enhancing retention, empowering staff, and enriching the workplace.

January 8, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

Are You Managing Human Resources or Human Lives?

Do you want to be valued as a product or as a human being? Chances are that you have thought about this concept during an especially frustrating day at work, or after a long sequence of stressful experiences. Why does it matter? It matters because today, more than ever before, employees are feeling undervalued, less recognized, and overwhelmed. Employees are stressed, and at the core of much of this stress is the work environment. Within many industries, we have mastered the importance of a healing environment. How much attention do we give to lighting, lack of clutter, better views, privacy, HVAC, healthy plants, and art? Can the work environment be supportive and human-centered? Can it be less overwhelming?

Overwhelmed Employees

The concepts of work-life balance have been lost, thanks to a proliferation of technology and the breakdown in barriers between work and life. When your work life and personal life blend together under the guise of “multi-tasking,” both suffer. When you are at work, focus on the job to be done. When you are finished with work, don’t bring it home with you. Make time for your personal life. If your work materials are dispersed throughout nearly every room of your house, you have no place for a real retreat. You’re not spending high-quality time with friends or family members if you’re talking on your cell phone or checking your e-mail when you’re with family. The sheer complexity of our lives creates internal distress and can wreak havoc on our bodies. And, we do it in the name of being the ‘loyal employee’ also known as ‘human capital.’ It has become so intense that the focus on human capital management (HCM) has intensified.

Human Capital Management: the new HR

HCM is an approach to employee staffing that perceives people as assets whose current value can be measured and whose future value can be enhanced through investment. Have you given much thought to investing in your people, because according to master people manager, Sam Walton, “The way management treats associates is exactly how the associates will treat the customers.”

Think about HCM as a responsibility for attracting, developing and managing the firm’s biggest asset: people. Are you managing human capital/resources or human lives in your organization? An organization that supports HCM provides employees with clearly defined and consistently communicated performance expectations. Managers are responsible for rating, rewarding, and holding employees accountable for achieving specific business goals, creating innovation and supporting improvement. An organization that supports and manages human lives puts its people first and creates an experience for them. Let’s talk about your own expectations!

Expectation or Experience

Chances are that at one time you were an ‘employee.’ As an employee, did you want a job or an experience? And, if it was the job you were after, which by the way is often referred to as ‘just over broke,’ did it meet your expectations? Did you feel recognized, valued, appreciated, and were you a part of the team?

If it was the experience you were after, perhaps you joined an organization like Apple, where every day is just that – an experience! Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder, was famous for this statement, “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer had been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I knew I need to change something.”

Today’s human resources departments are so much more than a single representative, handling claims and pushing papers. Today’s human resources departments may be known as ‘Capital Management, or ‘Talent Management.’ And while much of today’s workforce is highly talented, is that talented pool taking up space or actually engaged in the work process? Nearly 40% of the US workforce now works part time. Baby boomers who lost their jobs are often out of work for 18-24 months. Millennials want more creative jobs and they want to work for startups (or for themselves). And everyone wants work to be easier, less punishing, and more meaningful. Yes, everyone, including you, wants something, and often that ‘something’ is to be valued as a person, and treated with respect.

Managing Lives

How do we define the relationship between employers and employees? How do we view the dedicated employee? If we follow the Sam Walton model, we know that how we treat the employee is how the employee will treat the customer or client. For years, in marketing programs across the country, we studied our internal and external customers. We knew that we had to add value to our internal customers if we wanted to succeed.

To start the process: