Joanne Kaldy

Working on strategic plans is exciting. They hold so much promise for the future and can be very energizing. However, according to some studies, 60-90% of strategic plans never reach fruition. Why? There are four key reasons:

1. People don’t understand the problem. If you’re asking people to make some big changes, it is important to help them understand why. If you can’t explain this in detail with the evidence to back it up, maybe the change isn’t necessary.
2. Lack of understanding regarding the organization’s capabilities. Strategies are not likely to be productive is your teams don’t have the time, skills, tools, and resources to implement them. Make sure your strategies are realistic and do-able.
3. Misperceptions about immovable pressures. Realize that your leaders and teams have jobs to do while they’re working on strategic plan implementation. Be realistic about how much time your teams can dedicate to new strategies. If it will take more time than … [Read more...] about (6/27) 4 Common Reasons Strategies Fail

According to a new study, retired workers are coming back to work. For some, it’s a matter of necessity – inflation and rising costs are stretching their budgets thin. Others are being lured back by wages hikes and a plethora of job openings. Among the findings:

• 9% of Americans 65 and older are working currently; this is up from 19.5% this time last year.
• New Jersey saw the largest percentages of older workers returning to the workforce, up from 18.1% last year to 37% currently.
• In North Dakota, the percentage of older adults working actually dropped from 36% in 2021 to 25% this year.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s annual benefits survey, 93% of employers say they offer telemedicine or telehealth, up 20% from 2019. Among other findings:

• 91% of employers say they offer mental health coverage.
• 82% of employers offer retirement savings and planning benefits, up from 55% in 2020/2021.
• Most employers offer some type of retirement plan: 94% offer a traditional 401(k) and 68% offer a Roth 401(k). Just over half say they provide some type of employer match.
• 51% of employers say they automatically enroll new or existing employees in the company’s retirement plan.
• Nearly all employers offer paid vacation (99%) and sick leave (96%).
• The number of organizations offering paid maternity leave drops to 35% in 2022, down from 53% in 202. Paid maternity leave dropped to 27%, down from 44% in 2020.

Summer is here, and your employees likely are itching for some fun and rest. It’s not too late to institute some measure of summer hours to reward staff for their hard work and ease some of their stress and burnout. Of course, there are pros and cons. The pros include improved work-life balance, morale, and productivity. However, in senior living where you are counting on specific staffing levels to care for residents, flexibility can be problematic if it leaves you short-staffed at any time. However, there are some ways to institute summer hours in a way that works for your company and your workers. You can let workers work 12-hour shifts for 4 days a week, or you can let workers take alternate Friday afternoons off. If it possible for some workers to telecommute, let them do so a few days per week during the summer. Consider asking your employees with kids what kinds of schedules would help reduce summer childcare costs. Whatever you do, try to find ways to enable workers to … [Read more...] about (6/22) Summer Hours: Pros & Cons of Setting a Summer Schedule

  A bipartisan bill designed to help nursing homes improve their vetting and training of caregiving staff has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate. If passed, the legislation would:

• Provide senior living facilities with the necessary tools to hire experienced staff and continue to meet the high demand for workers without sacrificing quality.
• Amend what bill sponsors describe as “overly restrictive” regulations that keep some nursing homes from conducting training programs for in-house CNAs for two years after deficiencies such as poor working conditions or patient safety violations are discovered.
• Allow nursing homes that have been assessed a civil monetary penalty of more than $10,000 and prohibited from conducting CNA staff training programs for two to reinstate their training programs. They can do this if the facility has corrected a deficiency for which a civil monetary penalty was assessed, the deficiency didn’t result in immediate risk … [Read more...] about (6/21) Senators Re-Introduce Legislation to Improve Vetting, Training of Caregivers in Nursing Homes

Work isn’t always consistent and predictable. Instead, it can be “lumpy,” that is, it’s busy one day, slow the next or you have to juggle different tasks at different times. Lumpy workloads can be more challenging to handle because they’re harder to predict and plan for. However, there are a few ways to smooth out these bumps:

• Reorganize the workflow to restructure internal processes and make them more flexible.
• Resist the urge to create busy work during downtimes. Instead, use these as opportunities for training, education, and team building.
• Look for ways to make the workload more predictable. Determine if someone or something in your organization is creating lumpiness.
• Cross-training will enable workers to switch gears and chip in when help is needed in a different area or discipline.
• Consider the benefit of hiring seasonal or temporary workers. Try to plan and budget for these individuals.

People of all ages are participating in activism to make their voices heard, express their beliefs, and advocate for causes. It is important for HR and other leaders not to react or interfering inappropriately with employee activism. Don’t make these mistakes:

• Thinking the First Amendment prevents all speech. The First Amendment protects people against government overreach or punitive action. However, it doesn’t protect workers from offensive language or hate speech or involvement in hate groups.
• Believing the National Labor Relations Act applies only to unionized workplaces. This law protects the rights of workers to engage in concerted activity such as political activism and social justice issues.
• Skimping on management training. Make sure management at all levels know what your company will and won’t allow.

According to a new study, workers in the U.S. are falling behind on tech skills:

• The U.S. remained flat in overall skills proficiency. We are 29th, behind countries in Asia and Europe.
• Technology skills proficiency in the U.S. dropped from 69% in 2021 to 43% this year.
• People in the Northeast, upper Midwest, and along the Pacific Coast have the highest skills proficiency in business, while those in the South fell behind. Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin ranked highest in business proficiency overall in the U.S.
• Idaho has the highest level of technology skills in the country. People in the state also earned a perfect 100% proficiency for mobile development skills.
• There has been a greater focus on human skills amid rapid workforce changes in the U.S. This includes skills such as resilience, project management, decision making, planning, storytelling, and experimentation.
• The U.S. continues to be behind the curve in … [Read more...] about (6/16) Tech Skill Proficiency Dropped “Significantly’ in 2021, Report Says

At a time when stress is high and staffing is short, empathy – understanding your workers – is a significant way to increase engagement and retention. Consider these six ways to build a more empathetic organization:

1. Listen to your workers, ask questions, and respond. Address their concerns and insights in policies as appropriate.
2. Encourage genuine perspective-taking. Put yourself in employees’ shoes and apply this to problem-solving, conflict resolution, and driving innovation.
3. Cultivate compassion. Practice regular verbal encouragement and motivation that exemplifies compassion. Communicate transparently and clearly. Be aware of people’s emotions and thoughts. Remember that words can make or ruin someone’s day.
4. Organize empathy training. Make this consistent and ongoing. Include it in onboarding.
5. Tweak your hiring process. Look for empathy in job candidates.
6. Reward empathy. Recognize workers who exhibit … [Read more...] about (6/16) 6 Ways to Become a More Empathetic Organization

Your youngest workers don’t feel engaged. In fact, according to a new study, nearly half of young adults experienced mental health decline during the last half of the pandemic; and they’re having trouble interacting and connecting with others. You can help. Here’s how:

• Prioritize mental health. This needs to start at the top with investment in mental health programs that address stress management, resilience, and mindfulness.
• Infuse mental health throughout the organization. Make sure your benefits cover therapy or stipends from mental health services. Offer activities that promote good mental health and wellness. Publish newsletters that focus on mental health, highlighting resources such as support groups.
• Make onboarding a community-building effort. Focus onboarding on allowing new workers to get to know each other, ask questions, and get comfortable with their new work environment in a safe space.
• Offer coaching for young workers. … [Read more...] about (6/14) Gen Z Employees Are Feeling Disconnected. Here’s How Employers Can Help