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“New Tech employees may not be looking for another job right now, but they are not necessarily committed to staying with their company in the medium to long term.” CultureAmp.com 2015 New Tech Benchmark report A key driver of Employee Engagement: Leaders who demonstrate that people are important to the company’s success According to CultureAmp’s 2015 NewTech Benchmark report, Having Leaders who demonstrate that People are important to the company’s success is one of the top 5 Key Drivers of Employee Engagement in New Tech.  That begs the question, “What are you doing to send that message loud and clear to your team?”  Does your team feel that the leadership within your organization directly correlates the firm’s success to their valiant efforts?  Does your leadership speak to their valued contributions?  More importantly, what are you as a firm doing to demonstrate this to your people? If you are stumped by this line of questioning, don’t feel bad.  You are in good company with the majority of firms throughout the US.  But not for much longer, because you were smart enough to read this post!  The solution is not only easy, but it pays for itself time and time again through increased employee productivity, retention, and of course, employee engagement! Are you ready?! Give your employees what they value most – TIME.   TimeSquared Concierge is the personal errand service that corporations offer as an employee benefit.  We handle all of their running around so they can spend their limited amount of “free” time doing what they value most…and I guarantee you it is NOT battling the weekend crowds at Costco, WalMart or even Target as great as Nate Berkus’ home collection may be. We will stock their refrigerator, take their vehicles in for service, meet contractors at their homes; the

“Industrious” Okay, so, perhaps it is not the quality that you lead with when writing your Match.com profile.  What does that mean? Can she build a Hoverboard out of an old toaster oven? Mock if you want, but it is a word I use to describe myself, and I am, personally, quite fond of it.  Here is why. I always thought the World is a big place.  There will always be someone who is pretty or smarter or perhaps, easier to get along with than I.  Of course; you won’t have to search as long for the later as you would for the first two criteria.  However, I can always find a way to get shit done.  Now, it might get messy, painful, even hard to watch at times, but I Will Not, Can Not Quit….until “it” is done.  People say I am “resilient” and I quietly smile.  The truth is that I am not resilient.  I feel every setback like it is a knife to my heart.  I take everything personally.  At lightning speed, I can surmise 20 reasons how I “failed” in any given situation. Then, I pick myself back up and continue the quest. Why?  Quite honestly, I don’t think it even occurs to me that there is another option.  What is quitting? It is not even in my vocabulary much less my consciousness.  Try another way.  Approach the challenge from another angle. So, “industrious” – it fits my like my favorite pair of designer jeans.  I guess there is no doubt that my new company, TimeSquared Concierge, will succeed. Right?  Come along for the ride.  You won’t be disappointed.

As I look towards 2016, I can’t help but reflect on the many reasons why we do what we do.  I wanted to share just a couple of stories that I hope resonate with you as they do with me… One very busy day, we received an urgent request to purchase and deliver a stroller.  A member of the concierge team dropped everything and raced to the store.  Although, we don’t make a habit of questioning our clients, the concierge admitted that it seemed odd that a stroller would be “urgent”.  Did the customer’s stroller just break mid-walk? Did he/she not expect a baby to appear at their home?  The concierge arrived at the client’s house a bit flustered until she saw a vision that stopped her dead in her tracks.  The client, a high-powered female partner at a prestigious law firm, was seated under a tree in her front yard cradling a precious baby.  Happiness radiated from the woman’s face as she looked up to see her concierge with tears streaming down her face.  She proceeded to explain that she was afraid to fill her home with baby items as she waited for the call from the adoption agency.  She wanted a baby so badly that the cute, cuddly reminders would simply make her too sad.  The concierge promptly wiped away her tears and congratulated the proud new mommy and her new bundle of joy.  Then, in typical TimeSquared fashion, she proceeded to make a list of all of the other tasks that this client needed to off-load to us so that she could focus on her important new role.  We are so honored to play a small part in the most important journeys

Your employees work hard providing you with the services and products you need on an ongoing basis. As a result, your company is profitable and may even be growing and expanding. That's why it is so important to keep your employees happy. Many small businesses (and large ones, too) don't always see the opportunities for boosting employee morale or offering incentives because they believe these to be too expensive or not desired by the staff. Here are a few simple steps you can take that can make an immediate, positive impression on your employees…and, they do not have to cost a lot! #1: Give Your Employees Power Breaks One of the best ways to give your employees something they need - and will always appreciate - is by giving them a power break. According to TDS Connect’s March 2015 business blog entry aptly named, “Employee Appreciation: Unique perks and practices in retention”, studies show that 17-20 minute pause provides a refreshing break and yields increased productivity.   Recent surveys indicate that individuals who get 15 to 20-minute breaks throughout the workday are more productive than those who work hours on end without interruption. How can you do this? Encourage your employees to take a walk, lounge or even nap for 20 minutes in the late morning or early afternoon hours. That little bit of relaxation and peace - especially away from computers and phones - can transform them. #2: Give Them Concierge Services Help your employees focus on the job at hand by taking care of some of life’s more mundane tasks for them. For example, provide them with a concierge service that can handle their time-consuming research, like travel or event planning, take their vehicles in for service, or complete all of

According to this Entrepreneur Magazine article "Culture eats strategy for breakfast", Culture is today’s major performance differentiator, and I could not agree more!  This article gives details on some ways to build a great corporate culture, but we all know it is about inclusion, communication, and inspiration.  I remember when I started my first concierge service 20+ years ago, and every employee had to work a second job because the wages I could afford to pay were so low.  They willingly did so to be part of something bigger than themselves. They also did so for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our customers.  The impact was meaningful and impactful, and we continued to share these stories as the company grew rapidly across North America.  Soon we were so geographically disbursed that the employees didn’t even know what their co-workers looked like, but they felt connected in a profound way.  I am so thrilled for the opportunity to build the TimeSquared culture even better!

The Shoes have it!  Meeting Etiquette. I’ve been reading studies about the increased productivity of walking meetings as well as a recommendation for standing meetings (meetings where all participants remain standing during the meeting).  I can assure that if I’m wearing my Manolo Blanik’s – which I refer to as my “sitting shoes” – I will be distracted through the duration of the ever so brief meeting. We are over thinking this.  Meetings are simply too frequent, too long and too unproductive.  We need to get laser focused on the intended result, set a firm end time, reiterate the action items at the close of the meeting and end every meeting 5 minutes early. Lastly, we need to hold one another accountable to complete their required action items in order to move the process forward. I have found weekly status updates via email very productive.  I also am a proponent of set meetings with the same agenda so each party knows what they need to have prepared prior to attending and they know what to expect from the meeting.