Here are three examples.
1. “Firm 40” workweeks. More small and mid-market companies are trying a “radical” management idea: a 40-hour work week. But the twist, The Wall Street Journal reported, is that they’re placing strict limits that encourage workers to focus fully on their jobs when they’re in the office and to unplug totally when they leave—in stark contrast to the “work-life integration” policies so in vogue as a way for a company to get its employees essentially on call full-time.
This “firm 40” philosophy includes demands that employees take no breaks for Facebook or online shopping, but also the expectation that they’ll leave promptly after an eight-hour day. “You give us 40,” Laura Lawson, chief people officer of United Shore Financial Services in Troy, Mich., told the Journal. “Everything else is yours.”
2. “Weekly vent reports”. A San Francisco-based app-development company has established these as a way to give employees a real voice in what the company does, so that their complaints and suggestions are heard. Once a week, management at Appster goes through the reports and the whole team discusses each comment together—out loud. Co-CEO Josiah Humphrey said that the practice “is really alleviating the pain of employees feeling unheard, as if their opinions don’t matter.”
3. “Sentiment-analysis software”. A new application of big data being used by a host of companies, including Intel, Twitter and IBM, is software that gauges how employees feel about everything from diversity efforts to their prospects for promotion. According to the Journal, such tools let HR managers analyze text such as internal comments on blog posts or responses to open-ended questions on employee-feedback surveys to get a reading of where management can make changes to improve the likelihood that employees will remain enthusiastic about the company and ultimately stay there.
“Making sure that we know what employees expect out of their experience at Twitter and the degree to which we’re living up to those expectations is incredibly important to us,” Shane McCauley, director of people systems and analytics, told the newspaper.
As hiring of knowledge workers picks up, expect such innovations to proliferate. And you’ll have to get creative if you want to hire and keep them going forward.
Chief Executive Group exists to improve the performance of U.S. CEOs, senior executives and public-company directors, helping you grow your companies, build your communities and strengthen society. Learn more at chiefexecutivegroup.com.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
