QUIT THE JUGGLING ACT: WHY MULTITASKING, FOR MOST OF US, IS A MYTH

Have you interviewed promising job candidates who talk up their skills as master multi-taskers? You might want to take a closer look at their true abilities to get things done — or to simply pay attention. In a recently released research paper from the University of Utah, psychologists David Strayer and David Sanbonmatsu throw cold water on the notion that multitasking is for overachievers.
The exhaustively reported study of over 300 college undergraduates (\”Who Multi-Tasks and Why? Multi-Tasking Ability, Perceived Multi-Tasking Ability, Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking\”) asserts that those who identify as strong multitaskers surprisingly tend to be impulsive, sensation-seeking and overconfident — and that they generally mutitask primarily as a means to win praise from colleagues — not to deliver results and meet higher-level goals. 

Attempting More, Doing Less

Psych 101 and brain research factor into the multitasking myth. \”There\’s a small number of people who are decent multitaskers,” explains Arthur Markman, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “But at best, it\’s maybe 10 percent of the population, so chances are, you\’re not one of them.\” Emotions play a role as well: Because workers believe they are getting more done by attempting more tasks, they receive an emotional boost. They may also engage, explain Strayer and Canbonmatsu, because, just grow bored of focusing on one thing at a time.
“Workers commonly listen to music or news while performing a boring job even though it may be distracting and detrimental to their performance,” the authors explain. “A personality trait that may be associated with multitasking because of the stimulation that multiple tasks afford is sensation seeking.” So while the work may suffer, multitaskers get a jolt from the feeling it provides — and the juggling act quickly becomes a bad habit. 

Breaking the Habit

Think your own habits might suggest the same? One way to keep yourself focused, writes Margaret Heffernan (author of Willful Blindness), is to place more value on production quality over time spent. “Make sure you\’re measured on output, not hours,” Heffernan explains on Inc.com. “If you are rewarded for the quality of the work you generate, then you can reasonably argue that how you get that work done is your business.” Another way to escape multitask insanity is to lead by example. If senior level executives make a point of leaving their phones at their desks during meetings or voice mono-task successes, employees will feel less expected to juggle so many assignments.
\”The people who are most likely to multitask harbor the illusion they are better than average at it,\” says Strayer, \”when in fact they are no better than average and often worse.\”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

A Taste of Place: 6 Traditional Oaxacan Recipes

The Oaxaca region is rich in culture, diverse topography, and fertile agricultural land. Teotitlán del Valle is a small weaving village outside of Oaxaca City, world famous for its artisanal rugs and natural wool products. Its weavers are internationally recognized masters. Their carpets, or tapetes, are hand-loomed from naturally dyed wool using local materials and methods that have been developed over hundreds of years or longer.
The town also boasts numerous artisans who specialize in elaborate candle-making. Their sculptural, museum-quality candles and wax flowers are found throughout the churches of the valleys.
The Teotitlán region is also renowned for its unique, flavorful cuisine. Many of the traditional dishes of the region require fresh ingredients that have been used throughout Oaxaca since pre-Hispanic times.
A group of Zapotec women who belong to a Women’s Weaving Cooperative, Vida Nueva in Teotitlan, generously shared with students of the UVM Semester in Oaxaca* the following six recipes, from mouth-watering Tamale Frijoles to the delectable Salsa Verde.

6 Oaxacan Recipes you can Try at Home

Tamale Chepil25 servings

Ingredients:
  • 8 corn husks
  • 3 c. water
  • 2 lbs. Masa or 2 lbs. dried maize (masa mix)
  • ½ lb. Asiento (lard)
  • ¼ c. fresh or dried chepil (herb)
  • 1 ½ t. salt or to taste
Directions:
  1. Cover corn husks in water and soak for 15-30 minutes.
  2. Separate husks into individual leaves and rinse using fresh water. Put corn husks aside.
  3. Then stir asiento into the masa. Slowly add water into mixture until the consistency looks like cottage cheese (it is possible that not all water will be used.)
  4. Add chepil and using your hands scrape the wall of the bowl with a scooping motion and press down in the center. Spread mixture into bottom half of corn husk.
  5. Fold right side of the husk in over the mixture and then the left side in on top of the right. Then fold the top down.
  6. Place finished tamales fold side down on a steamer for 40 minutes.

Mole Rojo

Ingredients:
  • 1.5 cups prepared black mole paste
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 4 t lard
  • 3 roasted tomatoes
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 t cumin
  • 4 avocado leaves
  • 8 mulato chiles
  • 8 pasilla mexicano chiles
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 t sesame seeds
Directions:
  1. Clean the dried chilies with a damp cloth. Open the chilies by making a lengthwise slit down one side of each. Take out the seeds, veins and stems.
  2. Heat 3 t of the lard in a saucepan, and then lightly fry the chilies in it.
  3. In another pan, heat the remaining lard and sauté the raisins in it until they puff up and brown a bit. Add sesame seeds and lightly brown.
  4. Roast until browned the tomatoes, onion and garlic on a cast iron frying pan without fat.
  5. Place the spices, tomato mixture, chicken broth, mole paste, chiles, and avocado leaves into the blender. Blend until smooth. Heat entire mixture in large saucepan over low/medium heat until thickened.
  6. Place in bowl. Season with salt to taste. Serve on cooked rice.

Tamale Frijoles25 servings

Ingredients:
  • 50 avocado leaves
  • 3 c. pureed black beans
  • 8 corn husks
  • 2 t. salt or to taste
  • 2 lbs. masa (masa mix)
  • 3 c. water
  • Plastic bag
Directions:
Soak corn husks in water for 15-30 minutes.
  1. Separate husks into individual leaves and rinse using fresh water. Then slowly add water into masa until it forms a moist dough.
  2. Form golf ball size balls of masa dough.
  3. Prepare the tortilla press by cutting the plastic bag at the zipper seam.
  4. Place the seam side of the plastic toward the hinge of the tortilla press.
  5. Place one ball of dough in between the plastic.
  6. Press down and then flip plastic with the tortilla and press again. Slowly peel off plastic.
  7. With tortilla resting in hand, place about 1 ½ tablespoons of bean puree and an avocado leaf inside the tortilla. Fold in sides to cover the puree.
  8. Flip the now formed tortilla. Using the bean puree as a side, put another avocado leaf on the backside. Place filled tortilla into corn husks.
  9. Proceed to fold sides over filling and the top down.
  10. Place fold side down on a steamer for 40 minutes.

FrijolesProduces around 3 Cups

Ingredients:
  • 2 ½ cups black beans
  • 1 cup reserved bean liquid
  • ½ small yellow onion diced
  • 4 arbol chilies
  • 3 avocado leaves
  • 1 garlic clove crushed
Directions
  1. Dice yellow onion and garlic clove.
  2. Blend all ingredients together in blender.
  3. Add bean liquid as necessary to achieve cake batter consistency.
  4. Serve as a side dish or use for the inside of tamales.

Salsa Verde (for the Sopa de Elote)

Ingredients:
  • 9 fresh green chiles de arbol (can substitute for serranos)
  • 5-6 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons water
Directions:
Dry roast the chilies until aromatic; avoid scorching the skin. Pour boiling water over chilies and allow them to soak for 5 minutes. Remove any scorched parts of the skin, stems, and seeds (optional: keep seeds for extra heat). Put chilies, garlic, and salt in a blender, adding water to facilitate blending. Serve in a small dish.

Quesadillas con Flor de Calabaza y EpazoteMakes approximately 16 quesadillas

Filling:
  • 16 squash blossom petals, torn into thirds
  • ¾ cup of epazote leaves, torn in halves
  • ¼ pound of Oaxacan string cheese (quesillo) thinly shredded
Tortillas:
  • Instant- Follow instructions for 1 pound of dough OR
  • Homemade- Go to your local tortilla factory and buy 1 pound of dough *(see below for further instructions) OR
  • Premade- Purchase 16 5″ tortillas
Heat griddle on med-high. Place uncooked tortilla on griddle and add a few petals of the squash blossom, a pinch of epazote and a handful of quesillo. Fold tortilla into a half-moon shape and let sit on griddle to let cook and melt cheese. Flip quesadilla. Cook approximately 5 minutes on each side, or until slightly brown.
This post was adapted from field journal collections by students of the Food Systems track of the UVM Oaxaca Semester Program.
*The University of Vermont offers a semester study abroad program in Oaxaca, a city located in the state of the same name about 300 miles south of Mexico City. The program offers three academic tracks: Arts & Sciences, Food Systems, and Global Health

About ResearchReady

ResearchReady teaches and assesses students’ critical thinking and research skills through its standards-aligned content. ResearchReady provides the tools to support students as they apply these skills through their research process.
Together these tools can prepare students for 21st-century critical thinking and research.

How to Run Effective Meetings

There are times when that “Meeting Monday” feeling lasts all week. Meetings can be time consuming and expensive, especially when you factor in salaries for the number of people around the table. Learning how to run meetings effectively is an import skill that is key to leadership development.
Using these 10 best practices, you’ll manage your meetings better, and bring people and ideas together in meaningful ways that meet deadlines and further your goals.
1. Understand your goals. This should be established before you set the agenda. Do you want participants to come to a decision? To generate ideas? Be clear about your overall goals before you set the agenda. Make sure the agenda items include only the most important and urgent items that need to be addressed.
2. Limit the agenda to 3-5 actionable items that match the mission or a goal shared by all members around the table. If the agenda item only matters to a subset of the group, save that conversation for a separate, specific meeting.
3. Share your objective-based agenda at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting to allow people to add necessary items, or think about how items fall within their frame of interests/values. Giving members advanced-notice enables more introverted people to share their ideas in ways that they may better be heard by the group. This will also prevent the same voices from dominating the conversation.
4. Check in with people at the start of the meeting. Use an open question to get to know people better and build trust. To build accountability and continuity over time, the question could relate to the goals established in the previous meeting. For regularly scheduled meetings, rotate the leader of the opening question to take attendees’ engagement to the next level.
5. Manage People and Time. If there are new faces at the table or if anyone is calling in via teleconference, be sure that everyone is familiar with the names and roles of people in the meeting. If certain voices are chiming in louder than others, be sure to ask for other opinions.
6. Set a time limit and focus on specific items that are urgent and important. Other “conversation” items can be addressed via email, phone, shared online documents, or in passing at the coffee machine. Effective meetings are as short as possible, while still engaging the attendants in meaningful ways and establishing clear, action-based outcomes.
7. Document the meeting clearly and effectively. Assign someone to take notes and email to the group or post to a shared content site so members can reflect back on the notes. This will also help you to track goals and understand how well you are achieving them over time.
8. Use action words and assign people with goals and deadlines. After an effective meeting people leave the room with a clear idea of their next steps and how their actions will support the overall project. These “next steps” should be noted in the meeting minutes in a clear and obvious way, with deadlines and responsibility delegated to specific people and/or particular teams.
9. Reflect actions/tasks back to overarching goals. Set action items that relate each person’s work to a goal. Even the most menial seeming tasks are critical to how well a project comes together.
10. Ask for Feedback. Employees will be more engaged with the work if they feel personally connected to the mission and the process. End the meeting by asking for feedback on two important metrics:
  • “How satisfied are you with what we accomplished during this meeting?” (scale 1-10)
  • “How satisfied are you with the way we accomplished these items?” (scale 1-10)
Follow these steps and you’ll enhance your skills as a leader. Being consistent and following these simple steps will increase the work you will be able to achieve during meetings and improve employee engagement in the process.

Want a Career that Helps People? Get a Criminal Justice Degree

There is no higher calling than helping others in need. A Criminal Justice Studies degree is one avenue towards becoming a victims’ advocate, and working as part of a societal solution. Students who enroll in the Criminal Justice Studies program at Bryant & Stratton College receive the education, preparation, and training required to work in a variety of career fields dedicated to protecting the rights of the innocent, as well as rehabilitating criminals who are often victims of their circumstances.
A Criminal Justice Studies degree, and related diplomas or certifications, will enhance your resume, and show prospective employers that you are dedicated to the field of victims’ advocacy. Here are examples of careers available to those with a degree in criminal justice. All median salary information, as well as projected job growth statistics through 2020, is provided by O*NET Online
Social and Human Services Assistant Jobs opportunities in social and human services often involve working with those who have been directly affected by the criminal justice system. You might work with convicted criminals and/or their family members through multiple support venues. Your work may involve child protective services, or connecting your clients with substance abuse programs, as well as job training and counseling services. Social and human services assistants also work inside the court systems as a child or court advocate. Projected job growth is higher than average.
Police Patrol Officers The primary duty of a police patrol officer is to protect the rights and safety of the general public. Police officers are usually the first responders to the scene, whether it pertains to a criminal act, an accident, or a situation involving human safety. At the scene, a police officer’s words and actions can restore the peace, create order out of chaos, and ensure medical aid and assistance is offered to those in need. They work closely with social and human services assistants to protect children and family members before, during, and after an arrest of a parent, spouse, or guardian has been made.
Correctional Officers and Jailers It is the responsibility of correctional officers and jailers to protect the rights of inmates and those who are being held on criminal charges. They must keep prison cells and common areas in good working order to ensure inmates are given access to secure housing, food, shelter, and exercise. They are also responsible for protecting the safety of civilian visitors and guests who enter the jail or prison facilities.
If you are interested in a rewarding career, dedicated to serving others, contact the Admissions Office at Bryant & Stratton College.

Questions to Ask in an Interview

Learn tips on the topics you should focus on when preparing questions that you will ask of a prospective employer during your next interview.
So, you have a job interview. You show up early in a well-pressed suit. You greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and friendly smile. You rattle off articulate and genuine answers to questions like “what are your top 3 strengths?”, “tell us about a time you failed and what you learned,” and highlight all your employability skills. You think you are in the clear and then the interviewer hits you with “do you have any questions for me?” And, you draw a blank.
Forgetting to spend some time preparing questions to ask during an interview is a common misstep job seekers at all levels make. It can seem inconsequential to say “I don’t have any questions,” but you\’re not only communicating a passive lack of interest to your prospective employer you are also missing a final opportunity to showcase why you are a good fit for the company.
Before your next interview, spend some time thinking of four or five questions to ask. If it’s your first interview, be sure to stay away from questions about salary, benefits or vacation (these are better discussed during a second interview or after an offer has been made) and opt for questions that highlight your knowledge about the company, passion, experience or cultural fit. Below are several types of interview questions that could impress a potential employer.
Show ‘em what you know
Doing some research on a company before you interview (as well as before you apply) is a great way to stand out. You can ask about a recent company announcement or product launch. Asking about competitors, company responses to new trends in the industry or company culture are also good options. By asking these types of career management questions you are able to learn more about the company and highlight how much you already know.
What about you?
Another option is to find out more about your interviewer. Asking the person interviewing you about why they joined the company or why they stayed will tell you about employee morale. Questions about their personal goals for the future and plans for the team (if they are the direct supervisor for the position) can also help you learn more about how the position you’re interviewing for may grow.
If I were hired
Along the same lines, questions that demonstrate you are serious about the job will help communicate your high level of interest. Asking questions like “What do you want the person in this position to accomplish in the first 30 days?” will show a prospective employer that you are ambitious and goal-oriented. Or, try asking about the qualifications of top performers in the company and use their answers to highlight your own similar characteristics.
Prospective employers want to know the candidates they are considering are interested in the position. By researching the company and asking good questions after an interview you’ll be able to show you will be an invested team member and are worth hiring.
Bryant & Stratton College aims to help students maximize their employability skills for career success through its Employability Series. This set of core competencies is integrated in to the College’s online degree programs, to complement occupation-specific training and help graduates get hired.
Interested in learning more about the online degree programs offered by Bryant & Stratton College? Call 1.888.447.3528 to speak with an admissions representative.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

WHAT SHOULD YOUR PTO POLICY LOOK LIKE?

Vacation, sick time, personal days—it\’s enough to make your head spin when you\’re trying to come up with a perfect paid time off (PTO) policy for your company. While there isn\’t a \”perfect\” solution that all businesses should adopt, there are some guidelines that will help you make the best PTO policy for your business.

What Do Your Competitors Do?

While it\’s important to look at your direct business competitors, what you really want to look at here is competitors for your talent. What businesses are your new hires coming from? When people quit, where are they going? People highly value vacation as one of their benefits. If your \”competitors\” are offering more vacation, or more flexibility, you\’re going to find it difficult to attract the best people.

Incentivized Yearly Vacation

This may seem an odd concept—we\’ll pay you to take time off!—but it\’s increasingly common for startups and tech companies. Why? People are more productive if they take a break once in a while, and investing in down time could prevent burnout, disengagement and turnover.

Separate Sick and Vacation Days or One PTO Bucket?

There are pros and cons to both systems. If you live in a state that has mandatory sick days, then you\’ll definitely want separate buckets. But, otherwise, it\’s up to you. People who don\’t get sick often really enjoy having the ability to use all their days off for fun things, but people who are prone to illness find it frustrating that they can never take a vacation because they\’ve used all PTO up for the flu. I come down firmly on the side of separate buckets, precisely because I want people who are sick to stay home and recover, rather than worrying that this illness will use up all their vacation days.

Unlimited PTO

Some businesses—most notably Netflix—have adopted an unlimited vacation day policy. The theory is, as long as you\’re getting your work done, you can take whatever time you want. In practice, this requires a high caliber of worker and a higher caliber of manager. How can you be sure everyone is getting things done and receiving the time off that they so desperately need? Some studies show that people with unlimited PTO take fewer vacation days than people who are under a strict limit.

Should Vacation Rollover?

Lots of government jobs allow people to accrue vacation with no limits. So, people do. When they quit they receive a huge vacation payout. This means your books are full of unpaid liabilities, which isn\’t good. Additionally, your employees never get the breaks that they need. Instead, limit the amount of time someone can rollover to the next year, and encourage everyone to use their vacation time
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Accounting Education Teaches Real World Skills

Accounting courses offer more than just a way to expand career options. They provide real world skills that will enhance both your personal and professional life. Included in a well-rounded accounting degree are classes that will cultivate organization, accountant ethics, macro and micro financial perspectives, budgeting and financial projection techniques, and hands-on experience with computer programs that are used in virtually every office, industrial warehouse, and corporation worldwide. Choosing to further your accounting acumen is a holistic way to improve your intellect and your practical knowledge base as well as learn accounting.
Accounting Programs Provide More than Just Job Training
Accountant requirements transfer to the real world in a more straightforward way than you might imagine. Here are some ways that your accountant studies relate to the everyday world.
Organization. A good accountant must be organized, and organization is one of those skills that transfers over into every aspect of your life. Your accounting classes will teach you how to keep up-to-date records in an efficient manner. You will learn a variety of filing systems, both paper and electronic, enabling you to select a method that works best for you. Part of being organized involves sticking to deadlines. Quarterly taxes, pay periods, and timely billing and payment practices help businesses run efficiently and profitably, whether that business is a multi-national corporation or a very busy family household.
Balanced Perspective. A good bookkeeper or accountant must be able to hold two visions at once: the small day-to-day financial responsibilities as well as the larger “big picture” financial perspective, which projects how today’s actions will affect tomorrow’s bottom line. In business, this can mean keeping track of inventory, creating cost cutting procedures, and ensuring paperwork is filed on time to avoid penalty fees or high interest rates. In the real world, this means learning to budget now to save for tomorrow. It can mean having the restraint to pay off credit cards before going out and applying for a new car loan. Having sound micro- and macro-perspectives leads to holistic financial well-being.
Budgeting. Many students who pursue accounting degrees are balancing school, work, and family life. That kind of juggling requires sharp budgeting skills or one can become quickly overwhelmed. Budgeting enables companies to do two things: do business within their means, and make projections into the future in order to make decisions about hiring new staff, or cutting back on superfluous labor costs. Creating a balanced budget allows companies to set realistic goals and determine where business practices could be improved in order to make those goals a reality. Accounting courses provide the resources and instruction to learn budgeting techniques and skills that will make you an asset in both your personal financial life as well as the business sector.
Technological Savvy. It is virtually impossible to get a job these days without a fundamental knowledge of basic computer skills. For accounting positions, these skills are even more important. This is why accounting courses offer training in the latest accounting and bookkeeping software applications. These skills allow you to pursue jobs with companies who apply the latest and greatest technology. It can also make you an asset for companies who are lagging and need a professional to help guide them into the modern era. With a solid background in accounting, you are qualified for a variety of professional capacities in which your technical skills will provide business solutions.
Ready to enhance your skills? Contact Bryant & Stratton College for more information about accounting education that will elevate your professional expertise to a new level and increase your marketability in the real world.
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Bryant & Stratton College Online Forms Student Veterans Group

Students create network to help online military students, veterans and their families find success in school and the workplace
BUFFALO, NY (May 31, 2011) – Bryant & Stratton College Online announced today the formation of Student Veterans of Bryant & Stratton College Online, a support network for students who have served in the U.S. military, are currently serving, their families and civilian supporters. The student-led group will focus on building upon available resources that make success in the classroom and workplace more attainable.
Military Solider saluting to flagThe group is being started by student and veteran Shay Leech, who served in the U.S. Navy. Leech saw the opportunity to start a peer-to-peer network that would provide resources, support and advocacy to her military classmates and their families. She is currently pursuing an Associate’s degree in Medical Reimbursement and Coding at Bryant & Stratton College Online.
 “Too often veterans who start college drop out because of a lack of support. While Bryant & Stratton College Online already provides resources to help military students and veterans continue with their education, I wanted to form a group so veterans and active duty students would have a community where we could support each other as well,” said Leech. “In my experience it is hard to be in college as a mother, but it is even harder to be a veteran, since it is difficult for others to relate to what you’ve been through unless they’ve gone through it too. Student Veterans of Bryant & Stratton College Online will provide that extra fellowship and understanding for students who know what it is like being active duty or veterans.”
The goal of Student Veterans of Bryant & Stratton College Online is to assist and guide military and veteran students through their education and career. The group’s meetings will focus on advocacy, social opportunities and recreational activities as a means of fostering camaraderie among the students. Student Veterans will also work with the college administration to meet the needs of current and prospective student veterans as well as increase community awareness of veterans’ experiences. Students interested in becoming members are encouraged to join the group on LinkedIn, which is where Student Veterans will be connecting online.
“We are committed to supporting our military and veteran students that have given so much for this country,” said Ed Dennis, Military Relations Manager at Bryant & Stratton College Online. “Student Veterans of Bryant & Stratton College Online will be a touchstone for these students, a support network they can count on to help them succeed.”
Once Student Veterans of Bryant & Stratton College Online is established, Leech plans to apply to make the group an official chapter of Student Veterans of America, a coalition of student veterans groups on college campuses across the United States. Bryant & Stratton College Online is proud to support the troops and their families. Last fall, G.I. Jobs Magazine named Bryant & Stratton College Online a 2011 Military Friendly School. As a member of the Service members Opportunities College (SOC) consortium*, Bryant & Stratton College is also an approved institution for the training of U.S. veterans and their family in accordance with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Bryant & Stratton College Online is CLEP, DANTES, ECE and other SOC Colleges approved. In April, Bryant & Stratton College Online launched www.SalutetoSpouses.com, a career and education information resource website for military spouses. SalutetoSpouses.com is the home of the college’s Salute to Spouses Scholarship, which awards $6,000 towards a Bryant & Stratton College Online degree to spouses of active duty military personnel. The expansion of the site builds on the success of the scholarship and increases the resources available to military spouses interested in earning their degree or building a sustainable career. 
The content on SalutetoSpouses.com, includes how to articles, tips, advice columns and personal accounts and is created and edited by military spouses. Bryant & Stratton College was founded in 1854 and is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. For more information about Bryant & Stratton College and its online degree programs, visit https://www.bryantstratton.edu/online-learning.
*The Bryant & Stratton College-Virginia Beach campus is also a SOCNAV and SOCAD consortium member. To view the full press release, click here.  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

How to Run Effective Meetings

There are times when that “Meeting Monday” feeling lasts all week. Meetings can be time consuming and expensive, especially when you factor in salaries for the number of people around the table. Learning how to run meetings effectively is an import skill that is key to leadership development.
Using these 10 best practices, you’ll manage your meetings better, and bring people and ideas together in meaningful ways that meet deadlines and further your goals.
1. Understand your goals. This should be established before you set the agenda. Do you want participants to come to a decision? To generate ideas? Be clear about your overall goals before you set the agenda. Make sure the agenda items include only the most important and urgent items that need to be addressed.
2. Limit the agenda to 3-5 actionable items that match the mission or a goal shared by all members around the table. If the agenda item only matters to a subset of the group, save that conversation for a separate, specific meeting.
3. Share your objective-based agenda at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting to allow people to add necessary items, or think about how items fall within their frame of interests/values. Giving members advanced-notice enables more introverted people to share their ideas in ways that they may better be heard by the group. This will also prevent the same voices from dominating the conversation.
4. Check in with people at the start of the meeting. Use an open question to get to know people better and build trust. To build accountability and continuity over time, the question could relate to the goals established in the previous meeting. For regularly scheduled meetings, rotate the leader of the opening question to take attendees’ engagement to the next level.
5. Manage People and Time. If there are new faces at the table or if anyone is calling in via teleconference, be sure that everyone is familiar with the names and roles of people in the meeting. If certain voices are chiming in louder than others, be sure to ask for other opinions.
6. Set a time limit and focus on specific items that are urgent and important. Other “conversation” items can be addressed via email, phone, shared online documents, or in passing at the coffee machine. Effective meetings are as short as possible, while still engaging the attendants in meaningful ways and establishing clear, action-based outcomes.
7. Document the meeting clearly and effectively. Assign someone to take notes and email to the group or post to a shared content site so members can reflect back on the notes. This will also help you to track goals and understand how well you are achieving them over time.
8. Use action words and assign people with goals and deadlines. After an effective meeting people leave the room with a clear idea of their next steps and how their actions will support the overall project. These “next steps” should be noted in the meeting minutes in a clear and obvious way, with deadlines and responsibility delegated to specific people and/or particular teams.
9. Reflect actions/tasks back to overarching goals. Set action items that relate each person’s work to a goal. Even the most menial seeming tasks are critical to how well a project comes together.
10. Ask for Feedback. Employees will be more engaged with the work if they feel personally connected to the mission and the process. End the meeting by asking for feedback on two important metrics:
  • “How satisfied are you with what we accomplished during this meeting?” (scale 1-10)
  • “How satisfied are you with the way we accomplished these items?” (scale 1-10)
Follow these steps and you’ll enhance your skills as a leader. Being consistent and following these simple steps will increase the work you will be able to achieve during meetings and improve employee engagement in the process.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Life After Graduation: A Day in the Life of a Police Officer

When Desiree Shealy was a child, she watched police officers in action on TV. And she loved what she saw.
She said watched them catch the bad guys, help the old lady get her purse back and ticket the speeder who was endangering everyone around him.
“I always thought it was so neat,” she said. “I always enjoyed the way people looked up to an officer as a friend, helper and protector.”
It was who she wanted to be. Now, thanks to her associate’s degree in Criminal Justice from Bryant & Stratton College, it is who she is.
Desiree is a corporal with the Newberry, S.C. police department.
But, is being an officer everything she hoped it would be?
“Best job ever,” Desiree said.
On the job, her daily routine is anything but routine. There is no so-called typical day, she said. Instead, she is responds to calls that are varied in both need and level of danger.
Last week, while she was on duty, she responded to a scene where two men were shot, and one died, the possible result of gang-related activity. The next day, she responded to shots fired into an apartment.
Not every moment is action packed, however. Desiree said she begins her shift as the sun wakes at 5:45 a.m. and doesn’t return home until 6 p.m., at the earliest. There is paperwork to be completed and maintenance on her patrol car to be done. Desiree and her fellow officers also deliver meals to older or disabled people throughout the day and have to appear in court once a week to follow up on individuals who have been charged. She also ferries inmates from the jail to the courtroom and back to their cells.
And, her job can be tough. Desiree said it’s a difficult decision to decide when to go lightly and when to prosecute to the fullest extent. Not all crimes are cut and dry.
“People have some good stories and lies, so sometimes it’s hard to believe what is the most accurate version of the truth,” she said.
She said it is also hard to “work for a public that sometimes appears to be ungrateful and working for a department that often puts the budget before the employees.”
So what makes it the best job ever?
“The fact that no matter what you think of the police, we are the first people you call for help, and we always come. No matter how bad it is, we show up to help,” she said.
Desiree suggested that current criminal justice take their coursework seriously, even the topics that might seem, boring. She said classes in ethics, culture and law have all proven useful on a daily basis in her work.
“Do not take lightly what you learn in school. It will only help you when it is time to go through the criminal justice academy,” she said.
And, she said, never give up.
“It may take years to get hired or graduate from the criminal justice academy, but if you want it, someone will give you a chance.”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HOW TO REINVENT THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

Every business needs an employee handbook, right? This contains all those fun legal things like the fact that you’re an at-will employee, that you need to comply with a code of conduct, and what the dress code is (among other things). So, it’s a really, really important document. Except that maybe that’s not true. Linda Itskovitz, VP of marketing for employee communications company GuideSpark, says the handbook is a very unimportant document.
Why? Because no one actually reads it. “The employee handbook, as a medium, is not important because the majority of employees never open their handbook in the first place, especially millennials,” Itskovitz says.
However, she clarifies, the information in the handbook is critical. “The information in the handbook, and the handbook as the traditional method, is one of the first things shared with new hires, and sets the first impression of a company to employees. It contains critical information — the expectations and code of conduct and culture for working within a specific company. Unfortunately, the current medium, the handbook, is not doing its job.”
I can personally verify what Itskovitz says: in all my years of work, I’ve never more than glanced at the handbook. I’ve signed receipts saying that I’ve received a copy, but received is about as far as it gets.
So, what can you do to make this critical information available and accessible to your employees?
Here are four ideas for making your handbook the best on the block.
1. Kill the paper. When was the last time you accessed information like this in hard-copy form? Do you telecommute? Are there changes that happen regularly? The answers to all these questions are: 2007, sometimes, and, of course there are. Handbooks have to be kept up to date and our state and federal governments spend half their time (this may be an exaggeration) changing employment laws. So, put everything on your intranet.
The advantage of this is that you can make the document easily searchable. Now Jane doesn’t have to go searching through stuff she got at new hire orientation to find out if she can wear sandals in the summer. She just logs on, clicks on search the handbook and looks for dress code. She’ll then find that she can wear sandals because only crazy companies forbid sandals (and companies with safety issues, like manufacturing, of course).
2. Make it interesting. Don’t use fancy-dancy legalese for your handbook. Sure, some of that is required by law, but make it interesting to read. Give examples of what it means to follow the code of conduct. For instance, give a couple scenarios when an employee should call the compliance hotline. It makes for better reading. And better reading means people might actually read it.
3. Add a video. GuideSpark specializes in videos that handle scenarios just like Jane’s sandal dilemma. You think your employees won’t want a video about dress codes? Well, it doesn’t sound thrilling, but Itskovitz points out that more than 6 billion (that’s with a B!) hours of video are watched each month. Your employees watch part of those videos, especially your millennial employees. They are used to gaining information via video.
4. Don’t overburden the employee. “Hi! Welcome to Acme Corp! Here’s your badge, your insurance forms, your handbook, your map of the campus, your job description, and a 6-month backlog of work because this position has been vacant a long time.” Right? That’s how the first day goes. It’s completely overwhelming and no wonder no one reads the employee handbook. Who on earth would do that when there are so many other things going on?
That other stuff is what GuideSpark refers to as “noise.” “When employees join a company, they are bombarded with information, and the information in the employee handbook, which is critical, gets lost in all the noise,” Itskovitz says. “They are also trying to learn about their jobs; and learning about the culture, the company, etc., is often lower in their priority list.”
Instead, make sure your new hires have access to the information — including the videos — before they show up at work.
What’s the benefit? Certainly, it’s easier to write a handbook that no one ever reads than it is to make engaging material your employees either want to read or videos that your employees want to watch. You’d be missing out on the benefits to a good experience and understanding handbooks. What are they? Itskovitz says, “There are a countless benefits to employees both knowing and understanding the information that has traditionally been distributed through the handbook. An employee that has a positive onboarding experience is more likely to stay with the company longer, is more aligned to the company’s code of conduct and culture, and is a positive reinforcement of your behaviors and values.”
Employee handbooks are never going to be Steven Spielberg dramas, but you can make them better than the boring unread tomes of years past. It’s worth it to your business.

Q&A WITH SARAH BRENNAN: THE FUTURE OF TALENT ACQUISITION IS ABOUT FINDING THE RIGHT CANDIDATE

From single tweets to Big Data analytics, the latest technologies are changing the way we approach talent acquisition – and for the better. Tools and strategies like social media, mobile technology and people analytics are expanding the ways in which employers can both source and engage with candidates — but while it’s becoming easier and easier to find talent, it’s becoming harder and harder to actually secure talent.
Sarah Brennan - Cornerstone OnDemand
In many ways, this trend is a force for good. With dropping unemployment rates and more job opportunities, employers are compelled to truly differentiate not only their business strategies, but their people strategies, too. Today, the best talent is constantly on the look for new opportunities, and employers need to offer more than basic benefits and a good salary to compete. Things like company culture and professional development can no longer be afterthoughts — instead, these aspects of your company need to be as strategic and clear as pay and benefits in order to land top talent.
At Cornerstone, we’re dedicated to helping companies predict and work with the future of work — not against it. That’s just one reason we’re excited to announce that Sarah Brennan, a veteran recruiting and HR tech analyst, is joining the company as Principal Consultant, Talent Acquisition on our Global Thought Leadership and Advisory Services (TLAS) team. We sat down with her recently to talk through the impact of analytics on talent acquisition, and how companies can find (and keep) the right talent.

Why has HR has been slow to adopt Big Data analytics compared to other departments, such as sales or marketing?

We’ve really just seen a shift in talent analytics within the last couple of years on a widespread level. The analytics that were available 10 or even just five years ago didn’t truly provide direction for business decision-making, driving results or actually making any type of strategic change. Today, the technology has advanced to a point where we can start looking at the impact—not only of new hires, but on every movement a person makes throughout their career within an organization.

“As talent increasingly becomes a key part of business strategy, with survey after survey of C-suite executives talking about talent as one of their top challenges, it’s creating demand for HR analytics starting with recruiting.” 

Historically, leadership didn’t think about analytics and HR—the expectation just wasn’t there. But as talent increasingly becomes a key part of business strategy, with survey after survey of C-suite executives talking about talent as one of their top challenges, it’s creating demand for HR analytics, starting with recruiting. Now, people are saying, “Wait a minute, why isn’t HR doing this when we have to have numbers and metrics for everything else?”

How will people analytics impact talent acquisition specifically?

When looking at business ROI, the biggest reason to have analytics isn’t just finding candidates, but finding the right candidates. With analytics, you’re able to see where your top candidates are coming from, how much each of those candidates cost, how much training they need to get onboarded, how engaged they are and how much success they have in the organization long-term. You can link all of these insights together and have a direct line of sight on the bottom line.

What other strategies can employers use to attract the right candidates?

Companies looking to make a real impact on hiring and retention should start with Employment Brand.  While the focus on employment branding started in the mid-2000s as websites and online applications became more popular, it has really evolved. For a long time, companies were creating employer brands that had nothing to do with their actual culture. They wanted to make their company look like it was the best place to work, but everything was generic and in the end the business ROI was poor. In the last few years, we’ve seen candidates pushing back a bit and wanting a little more honesty from companies so we have watched a shift towards employer brands being more authentic and truly representative of the culture of the organization.   There seems to be a broader understanding by companies of all sizes that it’s better to get the right people through the door from the start than be a company where everybody wants to work, but have really high turnover.

“It’s better to get the right people through the door than be a company where everybody wants to work, but have really high turnover.”

Your recruiting technology needs to reflect this, too. From the wording on your job postings to your social media to the applicant tracking systems and recruiting software you use, any investment you make needs to be supportive of your employment brand. For example, if a candidate follows a link on a mobile device to apply for a job and where they end up is not mobile friendly or auto-connected to social channels like LinkedIn to apply, you not only may lose that candidate, but it also gives the impression that your company is out of date with technology—and will likely be behind when it comes to the rest of your business strategy, too.

What can companies do to communicate their employer brand more effectively?

Be authentic and honest.  Not everyone wants to work for the same type of company culture so represent your company as is.  First, make sure your website tells a great story. Having a listing of benefits isn’t enough in today’s market.  Interviews and pictures of people that actually work there—not stock photos—are a great place to start, because it gives people a feel for the organization. Next, make sure that the application process is simple. Don’t ask for information that isn’t necessary at the early stages and support multiple devices for apply – like mobile.

“Make sure your website tells a great story.”

Then, think about your follow-up and make sure everything from auto-confirmations to personal emails are on message with your brand.  A “no” response is better than no response.  Last but not least, be found on social media. You don’t have to spend a ton of money or time focusing on social media for recruiting or hiring. Just make sure all you are doing isn’t just pushing your jobs out—share information to help people looking for jobs learn more.

What attracted you to Cornerstone when it comes to building the future of talent acquisition?

There are several product tenets that caught my eye, such as the new recruiting roadmap and how that was fitting in with the unified suite of products to provide real business value; but the real turning point was my conversation with Adam Miller, the CEO.  As an analyst, I looked at products and talked with the leadership often – I was fully convinced that the recruiting product wasn’t just about checking the box – it was about building a best in class solution to compete with the standalone products. It’s really a key initiative being driven from the top-down, and to be able to come in and contribute to a team that is striving to deliver a best-in-class ATS is amazing.

THE ART, SCIENCE AND IMPACT OF IMPLEMENTING DATA-DRIVEN HR IN 2017

Data has been the driving force behind innovation in finance, sales and marketing for years, while human resources has struggled to keep up. According to Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends report, 77 percent of companies believe that using “people analytics” is important, but the capabilities are lacking. In fact, just 8 percent believe their organization is “excellent” in this area. Figuring out how to successfully implement data-driven HR is a business challenge every company wanting to maintain or gain a competitive advantage will face in 2017.
For organizations that take the time to invest in data-driven HR, there is a huge opportunity to leverage employee and external data to improve shareholder value. A Bersin by Deloitte study found that companies using sophisticated people analytics see 30 percent higher stock market returns than the S&P 500, and HR teams are four times more likely to be respected by their counterparts for data-driven decision-making.
But for all the good that data-driven HR can do for business, there are still a lot of questions about what businesses need to do to successfully implement a data-driven HR program in the first place.
The reality is that implementing data-driven HR requires a new set of skills and tools not found in HR departments today. A Mercer survey found that 69 percent of business executives do not believe HR professionals possess an adequate skill level to perform more sophisticated analysis. HR professionals are generally very good at reporting and benchmarking, but not as good at more sophisticated analytics.

Source: US and EMEA 2012 Metrics and Analytics: Patterns of Use and Value Survey
These skills are necessary to understand crucial drivers of employee retention, employee productivity and overall return on human investment. So, how can HR work to fill the skills gap?
Becoming data-driven requires both art and science, but it doesn’t mean HR needs to know how to do pivot tables and chi-squares.
HR professionals need to be aware of how people analytics can impact the broader business.In order to have a data perspective, HR professionals first need to have the business acumen to ask the right questions. This means understanding the key drivers of their company’s performance and having the financial knowledge, marketing orientation and strategic perspective to know how they can match business priorities with talent priorities.
HR professionals need be able to communicate effectively through data. Once HR professionals are asking questions that align with their company’s priorities, they need the ability to hone in on what matters in a data stream and use that to prove their hypotheses. This data becomes a communication mechanism for HR to communicate their talent strategies in a way that executives understand and respect.
HR professionals need access to a multidisciplinary team. HR professionals need to have access and support from people who understand statistical analysis to help inform their hypothesis. For example, HR organizations have long screened out candidates who are frequent job hoppers, but through statistical analysis it was discovered that “frequency of job hopping” had no statistical bearing on longevity in a candidate’s next role. This means the development of the right structure and talent within an organization is crucial for data-driven HR to be successful. I often use the following graphic in my conversations with HR leaders to outline both the people you will need (on the left) and the broad and varied team skills required (on the right).  This is useful in describing how you build a team of people who think, develop and communicate in a data-driven way.
The good news is this doesn’t mean you necessarily need to restructure an entire team. Today’s gig economy means HR departments can “borrow” or buy the technology and/or people they need to get the job done.
Data-driven HR is the only way for HR pros to truly understand the connection between the work they are doing and the impact it is having on their company. Other business units have had this capability for years and their importance to the company has skyrocketed. The rise of the CMO is a great example. It’s HR’s turn, and the talent and tools are here today.

DO WE STILL NEED A BUSINESS CASE FOR A TALENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?

Do you remember the last time you wrote a business case for office supplies? Things such as pencils paper and envelopes? Neither do I, even though it’s apparent that we need these things to get work done. It’s been decades since we have needed a funding justification for simple office supplies. I would also suggest that other items in the more recent history of business technology fit in the same category.  For example, I don’t remember having to create a business case to provide a laptop to a new hire, depending on the industry of course. These are all just tools of the trade in our knowledge-based economy. I may find multiple providers that will deliver me an item at a more attractive cost than their competitors, however, that’s not the same as creating a business case.
A business case is exactly what the term describes. It records the justification for starting a project. It describes the benefits, costs and impact, plus a calculation of the financial case (which is often referred to as return on investment or ROI). So by extension, let me ask, do we still need a business case for a talent management system? Is there any scenario in the current state of our market that a talent management system is not required? Can we agree that a talent management system not only is beneficial but a critical imperative in conducting business?
Most likely if you’re reading this post, you have some opinion on whether or not a talent management system is a mission-critical application to any organization looking to be successful in the modern marketplace (I assume you agree). Yet, somehow, we find ourselves still engaging in business case creation, analysis and presentation to obtain funding. This is true for either new functionality acquisitions or for the more classic “system refresh” analysis, which occurs from time to time as we contemplate replacements of what we already have.
We want to ensure we are not placing an undue emphasis on whether a talent management system is required. I believe a talent management system needs to be categorized in the same way as papers, pencils and computers. Talent is mission-critical to conducting business.  Most recent research shows that two thirds of the average company’s market capitalization is “intangible assets”—in other words, intellectual property and people.

So Why Do We Do Still Do It?

Probably the best answer to this question would be the same answer that was present when we were looking to purchase computers for businesses in the early stages of their adoption: apprehension.  
People had anxiety about not realizing the potential or appreciating the impact that “it” all could have on our core business. .

Do We Really Need Computers for the Computer Department?

It was early in my career, the mid 80s, when I was given my first managerial job. I oversaw a multi-location roll-out of early Local Area Networking technology. I was still in my 20s and had little to no management, let alone leadership, skills or training to take on the project—however, the reason I was given this job was because I was the savviest when it came to utilizing computers in a connected capacity. I had a staff of 2, all of them with considerably more experience in the workplace than me. Yet, my depth and understanding of networking technology in this environment continued to give me the edge I needed to lead this small group.
As I built this department, the first thing I thought we needed, well, were computers and wires to connect them. First I explained the need for computers and their connectivity, but that appeared not to be sufficient. Next, I had to justify the expenses for the hardware. Still, little support. I was baffled by the situation. After all, I was hired specifically to do this job. How was I going to run a computer department with no computers?
One day, I decided to take a walk around the local building to see what other people and other departments did in this distribution company. As I walked the halls, I saw that most of the work being done by the call center operators and the warehouse fulfillment teams could be done faster, better and cheaper utilizing computers for communications. It was then that it dawned on me that it wasn’t about a business justification, but it was the fear that all these employees had. They used their own systems of telephones, pick sheets and paper logs—and they were afraid they were all going to be obsolete if we utilized computers.
From that day, my tack changed. I begin training the various teams on how to use the networks. I gave them tours of the operation center and allowed them all to familiarize themselves with this new way of communication, production and servicing their customers. I allowed them to ask questions. One warehouse manager trusted me enough to ask me how he could move his computer at home from one room to the other because he was fearful that the data would slip off the disc. It might be comical to read this, however, the reality is that fear can be a very powerful and immobilizing force. It was about a month later that all my budget requests for new computers and their connectivity were approved.

Moral of the Story

So, the next time you find yourself having to justify something as ubiquitous as a talent management system to senior management, remember it’s not about the cost, or its usefulness or whether it will have impact. It is most likely because of the lack of understanding of what a talent management system is and what it can do to improve an organization’s performance. Take the time to teach and familiarize others what this powerful and impactful technology can do for them.
DISCLAIMER:  This does not mean that you won’t be required to write a business case analysis when you find yourself in front of a budget committee or other decision making authority.  Often you will find yourself doing this as a competition for funding.  In this case, we have moved beyond “need” to “project prioritization”. 
Are you on the hook for a Talent Management business case?  Need to create a series of business impact statements or a compelling story?   Let me know via Twitter @bollinger — #businessimpact