Author: Jim Hunter

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PeopleBest Launches ‘Work from Home’ Feature Positioning Employees for Productivity and Engagement

The mass exodus from the office challenged businesses’ flexibility, priorities and workplace culture. Beyond the initial adjustment of creating an at-home work space, workers had to establish communication with supervisors, teams and customers. And after the new norms took root, the focus shifted to sustaining or enhancing performance in a new and changing environment.

Recent PeopleBest research revealed the success factors of remote work. The resulting DNA profile measures the optimum set of competencies and behaviors that position employees to be productive and engaged when working remotely. The competency set includes: takes initiative; offers sustained, vigilant effort; drives results-driven engagement; and works independently.

Location may have shifted due to external realities but business goals remain. The disruption forced increased flexibility in how and where work is accomplished.  In turn, managers have had to rely more fully on managing work outcomes without close supervision. The PeopleBest ‘Work from Home’ feature provides valuable data and insights to inform talent decisions, giving leaders a leg up.

The ‘Work from Home’ model can also be tailored to an organization providing a precise “code of success” for remote workers. A group of employees take the assessment, relevant performance metrics are provided and correlated with the aggregate behavior scores.  The outcomes include setting desired score ranges reflecting high performance and the custom assessment is used in the hiring process with candidates or when evaluating employees for internal moves.  The profile result will also guide talent decisions for coaching, growth and motivating employees to achieve performance standards.

Managers can quickly identify an area that may sabotage performance of team members.  For example, if someone finds it difficult to take charge or assert themselves in certain situations, remote work can perpetuate their hesitancy. This self-awareness enables the employee to pivot by identifying new ways to mitigate their hesitancy. The supervisor can then reinforce the desired behavior and recognize progress.  Everybody wins!

Tech Specs:

Individuals take the PeopleBest assessment by responding to a series of statements.  The assessment gathers responses to score behavioral areas related to the “Work from Home” competencies.

Content Summary:

The location of work matters less than learning how to motivate, coach and develop employees. Knowing how to encourage staff flexibility, find their productivity footing and collaborate with coworkers in new ways will change the game.  What is the performance proficiency of your remote employees? Let the PeopleBest Talent System help you discover the “code of success.”

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Embrace neurodiversity by nixing rigid hiring practices

With World Autism Awareness Day just behind us on April 2, I want to take a moment to speak to a topic that’s often left out of discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion: Neurodiversity.

We as business leaders spend a lot of time considering how we can provide robust employment experiences to all employees, no matter their skin color, gender identity, sexual orientation or ability. It’s our duty to do so, and an effort many of us are set on improving.

But we don’t often discuss how our workplaces impact people with neurodevelopmental differences. I’d like to take a moment to do that today, to shed light on a topic integral to the DEI discussion and consider how we as employers can do better.

What is neurodiversity?

I’d like to think I can do justice to the term “neurodiversity,” but perhaps we should call in a couple of experts.

In an article for Harvard Health Publishing, Dr. Nicole Baumer and Dr. Julia Fresh hashed out the meaning of the term. “Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one ‘right’ way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.”

John Elder Robison, the Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence at the College of William & Mary, described his perception of neurodiversity as an autistic adult in an article for Psychology Today.

“To me, neurodiversity is the idea that neurological differences like autism and ADHD are the result of normal, natural variation in the human genome,” Robison wrote. “This represents a new and fundamentally different way of looking at conditions that were traditionally pathologized; it’s a viewpoint that is not universally accepted, although it is increasingly supported by science.”

Better workplaces, better work

How does the concept of neurodiversity translate to the workplace? A few high-profile businesses have committed to increasing neurodiversity among their ranks, experimenting with the best ways to provide neurodivergent folks — a community that encapsulates many — a great employment experience.

One of the best and most visible examples of such employers is SAP, a German IT and software company that pioneered Autism at Work. The program, launched in 2013, is designed to embrace neurodivergent workers by championing the unique gifts and skills they bring to the table.

“At SAP, we don’t ask our employees to change what makes them unique, we embrace it,” the company says on its website. “We want our employees to know they can be themselves at work and that we value their authentic identities. We encourage all of our employees to bring everything they are and become everything they want every day.”

The strategy has appeared to pay off in more ways than one. The corporation told the Wall Street Journal that its Autism at Work program boasts a 90% retention rate among employees on the autism spectrum. Take that, Great Resignation.

Nix rigidity and make change happen

Employers may not need to launch a global program to grow in diversity and inclusion of the neurodivergent community. In fact, we can start by stepping away from rigid practices that may eliminate neurodivergent applicants from our candidate pools.

For instance: Your company may want a candidate to charm her way to a job offer in an interview. But a candidate with autism may have trouble, for example, looking you in the eye while she explains her strengths and weaknesses. The same candidate, however, could wow you with her coding abilities and huge capacity for information retention.

The point is simple. Don’t throw out excellent candidates because they don’t fit the corporate norm. Instead of hunting for candidates who conform to accepted social standards, assess candidates for skills that are important to the role you’re hiring for. My point is this: We need to celebrate people for who they are by assessing them for their strengths and matching them with roles that cater to their capabilities.

To find out how PeopleBest can help your team embrace neurodiversity, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies

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Equal Payday and Beyond

March 31 marks Equal Pay Day. Ninety days into 2022, the date signifies how many days women must work to earn the amount of money men earned in 2021.

The day, set by the National Committee on Pay Equity each year, calls attention to the pay gap that exists between working men and women in the U.S. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women made 82% of men’s annual earnings in 2020.

A wider gap exists between the earnings of men and Black women, data shows. In fact, Equal Pay Day for Black women did not arrive until Aug. 3 last year.

As employers anticipate this year’s Equal Pay Day, we at PeopleBest want to consider what it means to provide equal compensation and how leaders can foster equality, in compensation and beyond.

Equal pay for equal work

The U.S. Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963. Its central requirement is this: Provide equal pay for equal work.
The law ensures employers compensate men and women working similar jobs the same amount of money. It does make room for factors that can rightfully affect compensation, such as experience.
But the law’s main purpose is to protect workers from gender-based pay discrimination. Still, complying with the Equal Pay Act is only the beginning of establishing pay equity.

A checklist for equality

Employers looking to make sure their business offers equitable compensation can consider a number of strategies:

  • Establish and publish salary ranges

  • Don’t ask candidates about salary history information

  • Conduct regular pay audits

These practices are becoming the status quo among many employers. Some businesses are attempting to adopt progressive practices that ensure they’re treating workers well. Others — regardless of their intent — are adding the policies because of a growing number of state and local laws mandating them.

Supporting women, 365 days a year

As employers look to ensure equality in their compensation practices, leaders must consider how their efforts are matched throughout their organization — not just in the payroll department. Leaders embarking on this endeavor need to question how well their organization understands the goals, strengths and gaps among their workers, women included.

Let’s consider a hypothetical situation to help illustrate this point. Perhaps you employ a woman called Rosa, an entry-level graphic designer. Rosa always reports to work on Monday with a new story to share about her adventurous weekend. Her manager soon learns she shows high levels of mobility — she’ll be thrilled to work toward a promotion, especially if her new role includes business travel.

When this information is brought to light, leaders and managers can understand what motivates their reports, and what holds them back. This intel can reveal areas where your organization can better equip women.

Here’s my challenge to you: Find out about each of your person on your team. As a leader, it is your privilege to maximize the potential of each person you lead. Dig in. Learn. And help each every worker — no matter their gender — excel.

To find out how PeopleBest can help your team identify the amazing aspects of women on your team. Ask us how so that, together, we can make a difference. Book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies

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How To Create An Inclusive Holiday Calendar

Organizations across the globe are attempting to be more inclusive. That’s a lofty and often nebulous goal, leaving many with a big question: Where do we start?

Consider taking a look at your organization’s list of recognized holidays. Many companies adopt the holiday schedule followed by the federal government or the one used by the New York Stock Exchange. While these plans make room for traditional Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter, they leave out days recognized by many other religions and cultures.

We’ve compiled a couple of tips that will help you make your holiday plan more inclusive. As you push your organization to grow more accepting and supportive, make sure your policies don’t alienate those celebrating holidays employers once left unnoticed.

Plan ahead

Now is the time to pull out your calendar. Perhaps you’ve worked with HR to chunk out time around holidays like President’s Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I assure you, no one will complain about having a few long weekends here and there, even if they don’t celebrate the holiday in question. But consider this: You may have groups of employees who have to use their personal days to take off for the holidays that mean most to them and their families. Or they may show up to work anyways.

As you contemplate your holiday schedule, take a look at the free resources available online to learn more about the holidays recognized by the world’s major religions. This interfaith calendar lists days celebrated by Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic and Jewish communities.

There are also cultural and historical holidays to think about. Many Asian communities celebrate the lunar new year. And President Joe Biden last year made Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Consider the floating holiday

At this point you’re probably starting to fret — you can’t give everyone the day off for all of these holidays! Many organizations have had this realization, and they’ve come up with a great solution: floating holidays.

West Virginia University Medicine, for example, offers its 17,000 employees a floating holiday to use in addition to its six standard paid holidays. So outside of New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, employees can take an extra paid day off each year at their discretion.

Shortly after Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday, some organizations instituted a floating holiday policy for the day. JPMorgan, for instance, gave U.S. workers the option of taking off June 19 or saving the day for later. It also told employees it would recognize the holiday in its regular holiday schedule in following years.

Other organizations use floating holidays to help with staffing. When smaller holidays roll around but operations need to continue, some staffers get the day off, while others come in but get a floating day to use whenever they want.

Celebrate awareness — together

As you open your holiday plans, you may end up learning more about your employees. Encourage workers to share about their beliefs, practices and traditions. This may be the time to institute a voluntary “show and tell” around the office.

Holiday planning is a great place to start on your journey toward inclusion. But it’s only one piece of the puzzle. To find out how PeopleBest can help your organization grow in diversity, equity and inclusion, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.

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Do you get me? Why it’s essential to understand your team.

I know you can name them. I know you can recite their titles. I know you’ve got a general idea of whether they’re a superstar or a headache. But that’s not really what I’m asking — I want to know if you actually get them.

In this era of employment, workers have all the power. Employees can walk away from gigs that disappoint and find a job that truly thrills them. You want to be that thrilling employer. That’s a tall order because thrilling requires more than a good salary, a choice benefits package and the requisite perks of modern employment.

You’ve got to wow. And to wow your workers, you’ve got to really get them.

Knowledge vs. knowing

Think of your team. Sally, she’s from New Mexico and has a degree in engineering from some university in Texas. And Dominic hails from Alaska and started his career in the military, though you forget which branch. Hugo is an interesting character — he spent the first 10 years of his work life abroad in Europe, if you remember correctly, but came here to… what was it exactly?

You can know a few facts about your workers to show that you paid a little attention during their interview and first-day-at-the-company lunch. But none of this information will help you discover who your workers are, why they show up to work and what type of person they want to become.

Take Sally, for instance: She is the first woman in her family to earn a degree in the STEM field, which is why she’s so proud that she attended Texas Tech. She’s got her eyes on a promotion to lead engineer to show her 10-year-old daughter what’s possible. She needs some additional training to get her ready, but the opportunity would only motivate her more.

What could you discover about Dominic and Hugo that would uncover their motivation and ambition?

Dig deeper

Employees’ stories will help you discover so much about what makes them tick. But their background may not give you all the information you need to help them succeed.

Behavior data will help decode human stories and reveal the path forward. You may want to help Sally work toward her promotion, but you need to know the strengths that will help her get there and the weaknesses that may hold her back.

Behavior data will provide the roadmap to Sally’s promotion. Sally scores high in learning — she’s ready to take on any challenge so long as she has the information she needs. She scores low in sociability, however, which explains why she wants a promotion that demands more technical skills over leadership capabilities.

Connect the dots

Current research is reporting that workers are facing a deep sense of loneliness as the pandemic drags on and remote work, hampered social gatherings and short-term quarantines continue. Workers crave connection — don’t be afraid to give it to them. As you learn about them, pair your growing knowledge with the hard data that will help you understand how they are wired to learn and grow.

To find out how PeopleBest can unlock the potential of your team, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.
PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies

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#BreakTheBias for Women in the Workplace

Today, March 8, marks International Women’s Day. According to the organization behind the day, International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 20th century. 

The United States first celebrated the day — then dubbed the National Woman’s Day — on Feb. 28, 1909. It was celebrated annually on the last Sunday of February in the U.S. until 1913, when the widely adopted Gregorian calendar appointed the celebration to March 8. The day grew in popularity around the globe for the next several centuries. The United Nations celebrated International Women’s Day for the first time in 1975.

Nearly half a century later, we’re celebrating International Women’s Day in a world that still carries many biases toward women. Accordingly, the IWD organization has asked those recognizing the day to consider a central theme: #BreakTheBias.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we want to discuss how workplaces can #BreakTheBias and help women thrive at work and beyond.

Workplace bias looms large

The U.S. banned sex discrimination in the workplace in 1964, when Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. While it’s safe to say employers have made progress since the sixties, the act has certainly not erased sexism from the workplace.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — the agency that enforces the Civil Rights Act and other federal anti-discrimination laws — received  67,448 charges of discrimination in fiscal year 2020. Charges involving sex discrimination amounted to 32% of those claims.

Those numbers tell us that sex discrimination is alive and well, even though laws banning it from the workplace have been in place for more than 50 years.

Fighting workplace discrimination

As employers grapple with the persistent force that sex discrimination is, a few best practices have emerged.

Above all, leaders must take all reports of sex discrimination seriously, investigating claims and implementing recourse as necessary. Other strategies include:

  • Creating applicant pools that feature as many women as men

  • Discluding pay history from compensation calculations

  • Normalizing mentorship and sponsorship opportunities

A challenge to support working women

Outside of these basic strategies, a company’s culture will do the heavy lifting in a company’s goal to #BreakTheBias. The pandemic highlighted this reality. Women left the workforce in droves when coronavirus caused schools and daycares. The companies who retained women were the companies who supported women with flexible working policies and ample time off.

Supporting women is not just about creating options for caregivers. Employers can also work to #BreakTheBias by highlighting women who rose to the top of their fields by creating opportunities for sponsorships and mentoring and by providing ample opportunities for advancement and learning for early career women.

To find out how PeopleBest can help your team #BreakTheBias and support your organization’s women workers, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies

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PeopleBest Features Culture Gauge Bespoke to Each Organization

Job seekers have more options to consider now more than ever, making the labor market a true challenge for employers. Information is abundant about companies, and candidates will compare and contrast job opportunities. As they search, they’ll assess for culture. 

Candidates are looking for workplaces that believe in values such as customer service, professional growth or collaboration. Leaders, meanwhile, have a vested interest in evaluating how well their employees connect to stated values.

PeopleBest offers a proprietary process that takes an organization’s existing set of values and builds a customized version, exactly to match those values. No two companies are the same, so why should their values look alike? When participants take the online assessment, results will generate key behavior insights to understand work environment differentiators. The findings can be viewed at the individual contributor, management, and leadership levels.

Results are displayed on a simple 1-99 scale featuring exact details as to where an individual aligns or departs from an organization’s culture. In addition, they identify traits that may be derailing success and those that are rock solid in anchoring a strong culture. PeopleBest generates valuable insights so that companies can better live their culture values.

Many clients assess both job specific competencies and culture values when considering candidates for a holistic picture of “fit.” One client discovered the primary reason why new hires had left within 6-12 months was the lack of culture fit. Having the needed skills is often not enough.

Tech specs: The client organization provides a list of values, definitions and background on the intentionality of the desired culture traits. PeopleBest maps relevant behavior traits to each value. Incumbents take the assessment; scores are compiled and ‘value’ percentiles are reported on a hundred-point scale. An organization can view results of the entire company or compare and contrast findings by groups such as hourly associates or sales & marketing staff or managers to understand both strengths and gaps.

Content Summary: A good reputation often attracts high caliber employees, and your culture is a big part of that perception. Be the organization of choice and the one that retains well suited employees. Your customers will notice consistency in service, friendliness and integrity, among other values. PeopleBest provides the roadmap of strengths and gap areas to build a strong culture.

How well do your employees connect with your values?

Let PeopleBest help you find out.

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This Employee Appreciation Day, make a plan to value your workers all year long

Employee appreciation day is Friday. Do you have a plan?

It’s an important question. Don’t let yourself be the workplace version of the poor saps standing in line for self checkout at 5 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, holding a sad bouquet of wilted roses. But there’s a more important question out there: How do you make sure your employees feel recognized for their effort when they head home for the weekend, not only this Friday, but every Friday?

Yes, it’s a good idea to throw a little party in recognition of your employees’ hard work. But it should be extra recognition — something that spices up an appreciation employees feel all year long. In this blog, we’ll discuss how a culture of appreciation fuels worker engagement and boosts retention, insulating your business from the forces of Great Resignation and the post-pandemic world.

Disengagement is a growing trend

Before we unpack how to make employee appreciation a hallmark of your office, let’s spend a little time understanding the realities of the American workplace. First, understand that employee engagement is up. This is good news. In 2018, Gallup reported that 34% of workers said they were engaged. As of this year, that figure rose by two points to 36%. There’s some bad news, too: Active disengagement is also on the rise. Gallup reported in 2018 that 13% of workers were actively disengaged; that figure is also up by two points this year.

Gallup summed it up like this: “Historically, Gallup research has found substantial differences in intentions to change employers as a function of the quality of the work environment. The importance of this finding is magnified in the current workforce’s ‘great resignation,’ which is possibly just getting started.”

Let me put that in simpler terms. Employees are more likely to jump ship when their work life sucks. Among Gallup participants who said they were actively disengaged this year, a whopping 74% said they were actively looking for new gigs or watching for openings. The same was true of 55% of unengaged employees and 30% of engaged ones. Yikes.

Getting to know you

If workers are more inclined to leave their jobs when they’re unengaged, the next question is obvious: How do we boost engagement?

Workplace experts tackled this question exactly in October for the Harvard Business Review. They concluded that employers increase engagement when they help employees connect what they do to what they care about.

This task requires sustained effort. It also requires a deep knowledge of employees. Consider your rockstar employees: Do you know what fuels them? Do you know what motivates them to show up each day and do their best? Do you know what challenges them?

Don’t limit employee appreciation to one day

Here’s my challenge to you: Plan your appreciation day — your cupcakes, your gift cards, your free vacation days — but put aside extra time to strategize how your organization will take appreciation to a new level.

The research pulls no punches. Employees will delve into their jobs when they feel connected to their work, when they sense they’re contributing to something bigger. Get to know your employees, build a culture that communicates how much you value them, and reap the rewards all year long.

To find out how PeopleBest can serve your team, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.

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Developing A Data Driven Talent System

Employers have shown heroic effort in the face of real and lasting challenges in the last two years. 

We’ve dealt with overnight transformation as the COVID-19 pandemic threw our operations out the window. We’ve installed plexiglass partitions, handed out masks and worried over vaccine policies. We’ve herded new employees in the door as tried and trusted staff took off for good. 

As the staffing situation gets more complicated, employers are realizing that the talent game is about more than filling roles. It’s about finding the right people and tending to them correctly. It’s a big task, and one that most organizations are botching. 

PeopleBest offers a path forward. In this white paper, we will explore three ways a holistic talent system powers your people decisions. 

  • Part 1 — Learn
    Envision your talent goals and learn how a system can help you achieve them.

  • Part 2 — Discover
    See how talent systems use data to generate insight. 

  • Part 3 — Find
    Learn to assess a talent system’s functions and judge for success.

If your talent strategies need a refresh, sign up here for this exclusive resource instantly
delivered to your inbox.


PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies

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The Disappearing Sick Day And Your Organization’s Health

Somehow, the COVID-19 pandemic put the sick day in danger.

That may sound impossible — it’s definitely ironic. But emerging research says it’s true. HR tech company Beamery recently reported that 39% of workers are more likely to work through sickness from home. And a quarter said they believe sick days themselves are a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, data from the U.K. revealed that the country’s sickness absence rate fell to 1.8% in 2020 — the lowest recorded level since the country began reporting the data in 1995.

Companies may be excited by this prospect: Workers are getting stuff done, even when they’ve got the sniffles. But encouraging workers to push through on their crummiest days may cost companies in the long run.

Burnout is contagious — and spreading fast

Workers are burned out. In a November 2021 survey from Eagle Hill, 56% of women and 51% of men said they are burned out at work. Among younger workers, reports of burnout are even higher; 62% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 said they are fatigued at work.

When workplaces encourage employees to forgo the occasional sick day — even if it’s for a mild head cold — they tell workers that their health comes second to their productivity. In a talent market that’s being bowled over by the Great Resignation, that’s not the message employers want to send.

Lead by example (no, really)


Employers need to pick a sick day policy and live by it. Maybe your company gives workers unlimited time off and trusts employees to take the time off when they need it. Works for me. Or maybe you tell workers they’ve got two weeks for sick time. It’s fine either way.

The important thing is to model the policy. Workers will not take the rules seriously if leaders and managers don’t model them. Your managers need to send out an offline notice when they’ve taken the day off to recover from food poisoning. They need to let their teams know when they need a mental health day.

Use behavior data to help the stragglers

Some workers won’t get this, even with perfect modeling from managers and leaders. When you run into these employees, it’s important to take a step back and look for broader issues. You may have a star performer who believes their success is rooted in perfection. If they have a hard time taking a sick day, they’re not likely to take any vacation either. Soon your best employee is burned out and considering a new gig.

Behavior data can help illuminate potential problems like this one. To find out how PeopleBest can flag great work and room for improvement on your team, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies