What are Emerging and Proven Techniques to Ensure Orientation to a Company from a Cultural and Tactical Perspective?

[Excerpt] According to a 2017 study of 588 global executives, only 29% of executives felt that their company properly onboarded for culture. More disappointingly the same study found that 69% of new leaders felt that they had a poor grasp on how the organization works. The need to create best in class orientations is clear. New employees must go from onboarding to integration with the company quickly and seamlessly. With the rise of digital platforms and an increasingly global and remote workforce, traditional orientation practices may not make as much sense as they once did. This report will include best practices for digital onboarding techniques, orientation best practices, and case studies around new and exciting innovations in orientation

What are the Associated Risks of Employee Engagement Surveys and How Can They Be Mitigated?

[Excerpt] Over 50% of employers around the world use employee engagement surveys. Companies implement these surveys for the purpose of measuring employee engagement and understanding whether change needs to occur. Survey data has the potential to transform an organization in terms of increased productivity, retention, and employee morale. However, many employers who use employee engagement surveys unintentionally run the risk of decreasing these outcomes. If a company fails to properly design a survey or respond appropriately to survey data, employees will feel their responses are being ignored by management. 82% of employees believe that managers will not effectively respond to survey data. Further, 47% of employers that do take action only spend minimal time addressing issues presented by the survey results. An overwhelming number of employees recognize that management will not drive change as they want, thus employees don’t see value in completing a survey. Without a holistic representation of employees’ feedback across different positions and levels of the company, the data becomes skewed. In order to prevent risks of a “failed survey,” companies should take action on these key considerations as they develop a strategic employee engagement survey

In a Highly Outsourced Environment, What are Companies Doing Around Staff Development or Their IT Workforce?

[Excerpt] IT skills are more necessary than ever for competitive strategic initiatives. With the rise of shadow IT (unauthorized IT within organizations) and the ever-increasing skills gap in the IT labor market, companies need to invest in training and developing their IT technicians’ skills, no matter where they sit. With IT workers being a large part of the contingent workforce, they are susceptible to becoming underdeveloped and often lack the skills required to succeed in their positions. Typically, organizations have been focused on hard skills, but soft skills have become a requirement for IT departments. In typical working arrangements, soft IT skills are learned through on the job experience. Experiences such as relevant training and mentoring mechanisms offer opportunities for IT professionals to develop and refine their soft and hard skills. However, in highly outsourced environments these skills are less likely to be developed. Furthermore, with the development of new and exciting fields such as cloud, AI, and blockchain, IT technicians must develop new, rare, and difficult skills. According to Gartner, 20% of companies will need to allocate 10% of their IT staff on AI-related projects by 2020. With very little available talent in this space, this need will be difficult to fill

What are Emerging and Proven Techniques to Ensure Orientation to a Company from a Cultural and Tactical Perspective?

[Excerpt] According to a 2017 study of 588 global executives, only 29% of executives felt that their company properly onboarded for culture. More disappointingly the same study found that 69% of new leaders felt that they had a poor grasp on how the organization works. The need to create best in class orientations is clear. New employees must go from onboarding to integration with the company quickly and seamlessly. With the rise of digital platforms and an increasingly global and remote workforce, traditional orientation practices may not make as much sense as they once did. This report will include best practices for digital onboarding techniques, orientation best practices, and case studies around new and exciting innovations in orientation.Techniques_to_Ensure_Orientation_to_a_Company_From_a_Cultural_Perspective.pdf: 89 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

What are the Associated Risks of Employee Engagement Surveys and How Can They Be Mitigated?

[Excerpt] Over 50% of employers around the world use employee engagement surveys. Companies implement these surveys for the purpose of measuring employee engagement and understanding whether change needs to occur. Survey data has the potential to transform an organization in terms of increased productivity, retention, and employee morale. However, many employers who use employee engagement surveys unintentionally run the risk of decreasing these outcomes. If a company fails to properly design a survey or respond appropriately to survey data, employees will feel their responses are being ignored by management. 82% of employees believe that managers will not effectively respond to survey data. Further, 47% of employers that do take action only spend minimal time addressing issues presented by the survey results. An overwhelming number of employees recognize that management will not drive change as they want, thus employees don’t see value in completing a survey. Without a holistic representation of employees’ feedback across different positions and levels of the company, the data becomes skewed. In order to prevent risks of a “failed survey,” companies should take action on these key considerations as they develop a strategic employee engagement survey.What_Are_the_Associated_Risks_of_Employee_Engagement_Surveys.pdf: 248 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

In a Highly Outsourced Environment, What are Companies Doing Around Staff Development or Their IT Workforce?

[Excerpt] IT skills are more necessary than ever for competitive strategic initiatives. With the rise of shadow IT (unauthorized IT within organizations) and the ever-increasing skills gap in the IT labor market, companies need to invest in training and developing their IT technicians’ skills, no matter where they sit. With IT workers being a large part of the contingent workforce, they are susceptible to becoming underdeveloped and often lack the skills required to succeed in their positions. Typically, organizations have been focused on hard skills, but soft skills have become a requirement for IT departments. In typical working arrangements, soft IT skills are learned through on the job experience. Experiences such as relevant training and mentoring mechanisms offer opportunities for IT professionals to develop and refine their soft and hard skills. However, in highly outsourced environments these skills are less likely to be developed. Furthermore, with the development of new and exciting fields such as cloud, AI, and blockchain, IT technicians must develop new, rare, and difficult skills. According to Gartner, 20% of companies will need to allocate 10% of their IT staff on AI-related projects by 2020. With very little available talent in this space, this need will be difficult to fill.In_an_Outsourced_Environment_What_Are_Companies_Doing_to_Develop_IT_Workforce.pdf: 70 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Heterogeneity in Short- and Long-Term Impacts of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) on Academic Outcomes, Behavioral Outcomes, and Criminal Activity

To address social and behavioral problems in schools, more than 26,000 schools around the world have implemented School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS). Previous studies have focused on the effects of SWPBS on short-term teacher-rated behavior such as office discipline referrals or academic outcomes, but no study has yet investigated effects on long-term student outcomes. We use population-wide longitudinal register data, including all Norwegian students that are exposed to SWPBS, and examine effects on short- and long-term academic outcomes, as well as long-term school behavior and youth crime. Both when we evaluate average program effects for all students and when looking at at-risk students only, we find no indications that the Norwegian SWPBS affected any of these outcomes