Meghan M. Biro, Author at TalentCulture

Disability Etiquette: Be Considerate, Be Inclusive, Take Action

As we close out the month of October, there’s been no shortage of topics to focus on in the workplace. But October has also been National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). So, for many in the workplace, this month has been all about raising consciousness and improving conditions for American workers with disabilities — and speaking out about disability etiquette. Frankly, this is something we should all focus more on — year-round. Given that we’ve been operating since March within the context of a pandemic, it’s even more important to understand the challenges employees with disabilities face. Also important: What leaders

5 Tips for Maintaining Remote Worker Posting Compliance

The pivot toward remote work happened suddenly for many. A BLS survey (June 2020) found 31 percent of workers were teleworking or working from home. Stanford University research found that nearly twice as many U.S. employees (42%) were working from home full-time than were working on premises (26%) less than a month later. These work from home mandates have left organizations scrambling to understand posting compliance. Specifically, they seek to close the gaps in terms of laws, technology, communication, and administrative resources. As it becomes apparent remote working is here to stay, these challenges haven’t gone away. Key among them: The

Employee Burnout: How Leaders Can Help Right Now

I want you to look around at your employees — in person where possible, and on that Zoom call. Then, I want you to think about how they’re doing. 9 times out of 10, they’re at least a little burned out. One of the areas we’ve been focusing on a lot here at TalentCulture is employee wellness. What that means right now is we’re looking at an entire workforce that seems, well, exhausted. Employee burnout is on the rise. And chances are, dear reader, that may not be a surprise to you at all. There are certainly many external factors playing

#WorkTrends: The Power of Workplace Gratitude with Liz King

How do we best show workplace gratitude? How do we help employees and coworkers feel valued and appreciated? There’s no doubt: In 2020, the world seems pretty serious. All around me here in Oregon, and up and down the west coast, we’re dealing with unprecedented firestorms. A series of tropical storms seems ready to hit the southeastern US. And we’re all still grappling with a pandemic that has dramatically changed the workplace. With all this going on, many of us seek solace. We covet a moment of relaxation. And for the many of us working solo at home, we crave human

A Proven Strategy for Performance Management: 360º Feedback

2020 is changing the way we work, without question. As the nature of the workplace transforms, performance management faces new challenges. We’ve seen many workforces undergo a rapid shift to remote. A Gartner survey of 229 HR leaders in April 2020 revealed that 81% of their employees had shifted to working remotely. The study noted that even post-pandemic, remote work will not only continue, but increase. At the same time, workforces with employees deemed “essential” face additional pressure and stress. That stress includes how to stay safe, let alone engaged. The onus is on managers to keep up. The fundamentals of

#WorkTrends: Transforming the Healthcare Benefits Experience

Now more than ever, employers feel a mandate to take good care of their people. And that responsibility is bigger than how best to empower a remote workforce. It is more complex than deciding the right time to bring them back on-site. Today, how we enable our employees to take care of themselves, and their loved ones, is a front and center issue. You don’t want to miss a single episode of #WorkTrends… subscribe to the podcast now! Are we providing the wellness benefits our employees need? Do they have access to the right providers? Is preventative care and testing available?

The Power of a Purposeful Hashtag: #WorkTrends

If we’ve learned anything over the past decade, it is the power of a hashtag… #WorkTrends has been on quite an adventure. Over the past 10 years, TalentCulture’s signature podcast has introduced us to great minds in the HR space. We’ve produced over 700 episodes — packed with insights, future-casting and anticipated trends. We’ve had an incredible range of guests on #WorkTrends, from CEOs to technologists to practitioners, psychologists, data mavens and more. They’ve given us unparalleled perspectives and wisdom on so many subjects — leadership, recruiting, management, recognition, strategizing, coping, thriving. How, where, when, and even why we work is

#WorkTrends: Sexual Harassment In Virtual Workplaces

An ill-suited conversation. A moment of innuendo. Or a comment targeted at our gender, wardrobe choices, and even our hairstyles. Each, depending on context, are considered sexually harassing messages. And yet, especially in a remote working environment, identifying harassment often comes down to a feeling you get rather than something you can prove. You feel the other person’s behavior or comment was inappropriate. But was it sexual harassment? Don’t miss a single episode of #WorkTrends… subscribe to the podcast now! Under any circumstances, this is not an easy topic. Now, with many employees working from home, the degree of difficulty has

#WorkTrends: Hiring Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants (VA) offer young brands the flexibility to focus on other areas of the business. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss an episode. From multitasking between meetings and meal prep to the issues of internet and noise levels, many of us are still trying to adjust to this new normal. But we don’t have to do it alone. Big and small companies are hiring helpers to come to the rescue. These virtual assistants (VAs) and freelancers can take on the tasks that give employees a break and keep the business going. Nathan Hirsch, co-founder of

#WorkTrends: AI-Powered Financial Planning for Employees

Listen to the full conversation and see our questions for the upcoming #WorkTrends Twitter Chat. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss an episode. Money talks — especially in the middle of a pandemic. So does security, safety and health. Right now, the key challenge for employers and HR professionals is living, working, and surviving through and beyond these unstable times. But saving some (or more) money can help relieve some of the financial stress embedded in this uncertainty. So I invited my friend, Augie Smith, founder of Otherhood, to #WorkTrends to discuss how employees can

#WorkTrends: Aligning Around Performance Management: New Findings

Listen to the full conversation and see our questions for the upcoming #WorkTrends Twitter Chat. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss an episode. How, where, and when we work may have changed, but there still needs to be a way to manage performance. But do employees want that right now? Amid the uncertainty, the answer is yes. Employees are yearning for continuous feedback, according to a 2020 performance management benchmark report by Reflektive, which surveyed over 1,000 HR practitioners, business leaders, and employees. And the feedback process is bolstering the relationship between managers and employers.

5 Ways To Foster Belonging At Work

What’s the worst thing an employee can say on any given day? How about, “I don’t belong here?” The schism that takes place when an employee doesn’t feel connected with the work culture can have wide-ranging impacts across engagement, performance, team dynamics and the bottom line. Companies need to ensure they cultivate a workplace where employees feel a sense of belonging, whether that workplace is in-office or remote. As much as we talk about the power of employee experience and the dynamics of employee engagement, we first have to address the primary need to belong. That sense of true connection is

#WorkTrends: Navigating the Obstacles of Remote Work

Listen to the full conversation and see our questions for the upcoming #WorkTrends Twitter Chat. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss an episode. Working from home has been a learning experience for many of us. Maria Orozova and Scott Thomas, co-founders of MODintelechy, joined me on #WorkTrends to share their perspective on how to navigate the many obstacles of WFH, from kids to focus to time management — and how to reap the benefits of remote work. Maria and Scott are veterans of working from home — their strategies have proven invaluable for their hectic

#WorkTrends: Building Trust In Uncertain Times

Listen to the full conversation and see our questions for the upcoming #WorkTrends Twitter Chat. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss an episode. It’s safe to say uncertainty is universal these days. But how do we get past it and stay engaged in our work? Remember the T-word: trust. So I invited Iain Moffat, Chief Global Officer of MHR International, to #WorkTrends to share his best practices for building workplace trust during these uncertain times. Iain said we need to be better listeners to be better communicators. And organizations really need to step up their

The Contact Center Evolution Will be Remote

The pandemic has thrown nearly every industry into a state of rapid-fire transformation, and that includes contact centers. Chances are, nearly everyone reading this has reached a contact center and talked to an agent; during the pandemic, agents have become a direct and human — and welcome — point of contact. And if you’re an employee at a contact center, you’re likely experiencing a whole different way of working right now, on the virtual front lines, in some cases, and I have to say this directly: thank you for being there. Nearly overnight, as we launched into lockdown and work-from-home orders,

Empathy, Action: What HR Can Do Now

Recently I published an article on Forbes.com about the elephant in the room. It was one of those pieces I had to do. I had to go out on a limb and just say it. We talk about diversity all the time — and on TalentCulture we’ve published many articles on improving diversity and inclusion. One offered seven tips on “managing diversity” in the workplace, and included wisdom from people working on the front lines of diversity, including diversity and inclusion consultant and author La’Wana Harris and Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, CHRO at Symantec. The post listed ways to improve more than manage,

Closing Analytics Talent Gaps: College to Career

Nearly all organizations are struggling to find top talent and identify best practices for aligning college and career pathways. Moreover, there is a substantial talent gap when it comes to early-career hires. Recent research from Strada/Gallup found that while 95 percent of chief academic officers felt graduates were prepared, only 11 percent of business leaders felt that recent hires possessed the necessary skills to be successful at the start of their careers. The solution lies in getting all the components right, which means aligning the right skills, taught in the right academic programs, to the right students, who are ready to

Training Your Workforce for Data-Driven Decision-Making

The power of business driven by data insights is undeniable. But no matter how clear we are about the importance of being able to base key decisions on a clear framework of data analysis, actually applying this approach is another story for many organizations. From leaders to managers to workforces, what’s needed is a program that encompasses all the knowledge, skills and strategies to enable our people to become data-fluent and data-confident, so they can apply the right data to their decision-making across the board. Just why some organizations fall short on this is partially a matter of culture: we may

Make Remote Work Feel Human

Meghan M. Biro on why we need to infuse a sense of fun into our remote workplaces.

Keep Your Workforce Informed With Electronic Solutions

In any workplace, health and safety has to be top of mind. Complying with workplace laws takes a lot more effort when your workers are remote and are teams dispersed — as is happening in so many organizations. And right now, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, employee safety in any working environment is an ongoing concern for leaders and managers — and employers need to not only navigate new laws, but inform their people as well. The key lies in electronic solutions that provide clear guidelines and information to every employee, no matter where they are. Managing compliance means

Love Starts with Leadership

Around here we celebrate Valentine’s Day sentiments all the time. We tell each other how much we appreciate, cherish, are wowed by, awed by, impressed by, and value each other. It’s not in our culture deck (we don’t have one since we’re always flexing and morphing to grow and change with the world of work). It’s not in the rulebook and it’s not even in any of the job descriptions. It’s just in the ethos of TalentCulture. I’m showing you a glimpse of how we work to make a point: all that love? It’s up to me. Daily, I’m aware of

5 Pillars of a Great Candidate Experience for 2020

5 Ways to Build a Great Candidate Experience in 2020

Heading into a hiring spree for the new year? Last year, the Talent Board Candidate Experience Research Report found that if a prospective hire has a negative candidate experience, they’re increasingly willing to sever their relationship with that employer. This year? That report’s packed with good information to map to better strategies right now. With 61 million members of Gen Z beginning to join the workforce, companies need to bear it in mind. These digital natives have high expectations for work/life balance, inclusivity, technology and who they want to work for. And first impressions count. We know that a great candidate experience can

Why Big Tech is Losing Gen Z Hires

Remember when we were all trying to reach the hiring bar set by Amazon, Google, Facebook and other giants? No more. Toxic work cultures, questionable leadership and recent ethics scandals are tarnishing these once golden employers. The New York Times just reported that Gen Z are staying away. The techlash is real: by some estimates, Facebook’s down at least 40% in acceptance rates for full-time engineering job offers. Amazon’s losing its sway with poachable young stars from companies like Dropbox. Uber’s taken a $100 million hit in terms of lost talent. Google’s lost its credibility as a fair employer. When graduates

The Top Eleven Recruiting Tech Tools for 2020

What technologies are truly changing our recruiting capabilities for 2020? I’ve had so many great conversations with innovators in the recruiting and technology space about this. All of us agree we’re entering a new phase of evolution as the world of work gets used to a whole new way of hiring. It’s time to get comfortable with these tools. Learning how to best harness tech is also a matter of enabling it to do the heavy lifting — and I think the tools below are going to become the norm sooner rather than later. So happy 2020, and here are my

The Key to Engaging New Hires: Psychological Safety

For those of us who are students of engagement and team-building, we know how key trust, communication and leadership are. But when Google ran two-year study into what makes teams successful, it unlocked a surprising key to high performance and fertile collaboration. Dubbed Project Aristotle, the presented five key factors of great teams: psychological safety, dependability, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact. Of all of them, the most fundamental turned out to be psychological safety. Much has been made of each of the five factors — and certainly it’s no surprise that they all go into team success: they connect to

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Meghan M. Biro

Meghan M. Biro

Disability Etiquette: Be Considerate, Be Inclusive, Take Action

5 Tips for Maintaining Remote Worker Posting Compliance

Employee Burnout: How Leaders Can Help Right Now

#WorkTrends: The Power of Workplace Gratitude with Liz King

A Proven Strategy for Performance Management: 360º Feedback

#WorkTrends: Transforming the Healthcare Benefits Experience

#WorkTrends: Sexual Harassment In Virtual Workplaces

#WorkTrends: Hiring Virtual Assistants

#WorkTrends: AI-Powered Financial Planning for Employees

#WorkTrends: Aligning Around Performance Management: New Findings

5 Ways To Foster Belonging At Work

#WorkTrends: Navigating the Obstacles of Remote Work

#WorkTrends: Building Trust In Uncertain Times

The Contact Center Evolution Will be Remote

Empathy, Action: What HR Can Do Now

Closing Analytics Talent Gaps: College to Career

Training Your Workforce for Data-Driven Decision-Making

Make Remote Work Feel Human

Keep Your Workforce Informed With Electronic Solutions

Love Starts with Leadership

5 Ways to Build a Great Candidate Experience in 2020

Why Big Tech is Losing Gen Z Hires

The Top Eleven Recruiting Tech Tools for 2020

The Key to Engaging New Hires: Psychological Safety

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Meghan M. Biro

Meghan M. Biro

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