We couldn’t help it; we had to have ONE listicle to end the year. What better week than between Christmas and New Year’s? I’m sure many of us are wrapping up projects, finalizing details, and checking our to-do lists so frequently even Santa would be impressed. If you are lucky, you may be in that easy limbo of having work wrapped up, and you are taking a breath. Whatever your situation, we hope you’ll take a break with us and catch up on the topics that kept people coming back. Maybe you’ve visited these already, or perhaps they’re new to you. Either way, these articles are worth your time and can help you gear up for the new year!
5. Top 5 Reasons to Rehire a Previous Employee
In the current times, you may have had to furlough or lay off employees. Now that you’re able to hire again, you’re considering a rehire. You find yourself weighing the pros and cons of bringing previous employees back to your team. Will this decision be a good move, or is it better to start again?
Join us as we uncover the pros and cons of rehiring and offer food for thought as you thumb through applications.
4. How to Deliver a Painless 90-Day Employee Performance Evaluation
While it’s unlikely you’ll ever actually look forward to conducting a review, they’re a necessary part of the job that, if done correctly, can drive high performance. Part of an effective onboarding process is providing honest, actionable feedback. Without feedback, employees don’t know whether they’re doing a good job or how they could do a better job. According to a recent survey, 32 percent of employees must wait more than three months to get feedback from their manager. However, 96 percent felt that regular feedback was helpful. We offer a painless way to do just that.
3. Handling the Aggressive Manager
Suppose you work for an aggressive personality type. In that case, you probably need answers and solutions to help you get through the day. Why does your boss do what he does? Why is she so difficult? Is there an effective way to work with someone who can never be wrong? What if your aggressive manager is also hypersensitive to all criticism? We answer these questions and more in the article.
2. 10 Great Interview Questions to Identify Candidates’ Soft Skills
Soft skills were the MVP of the year. And we understand why! An employee’s soft skills can make or break their job performance, especially in leadership positions. Technical or “hard” skills are undoubtedly essential. However, having good soft skills — characteristics like agreeableness, empathy, the ability to influence and listen, likeability, and the ability to resolve conflict — can impact far more than the individuals’ daily tasks. Measuring soft skills will help determine whether an employee can enlist the necessary cooperation and buy-in from peers, direct reports, leadership, clients, and vendors. If your new hire will engage with anyone, it’s good to know which skills are innate and which may need coaching.
1. The 7 Soft Skills You Need to Be Successful
You may be a computer whiz, a scientific genius, or a Master of Mathematical Theories. However, to be successful, you need more than just expertise in your given specialty. You might need to hone your soft skills. Soft skills are broadly classified as a combination of personality traits, behaviors, and social attitudes that allow people to communicate effectively, collaborate, and successfully manage conflict. People with good soft skills tend to have strong situational awareness and emotional intelligence to navigate challenging work environments while still producing positive results. This is especially important for leadership positions. Good leadership is about managing people and directing their efforts toward the desired outcome, more so than applying specific technical skills.
So, there you have it. 2020 was a year of questions and answers, challenges, and solutions. We all had adjustments to make. Some people started new jobs, some may soon return to previous ones, and still, others are deciding what’s next. Most of us were handling new and unusual stressors, and because we’re human, we didn’t always get it right. And if there was one thing that made a difference across the board, it was leadership’s ability to leverage their soft skills.
