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People

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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People

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

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People

How behavior data can boost HR’s people analytics

People analytics is a term that has become buzzworthy in the last five years. People analytics? It’s essential. It’s game-changing. It’s the secret to HR’s success!

But what exactly is it?

Gartner puts it this way: “People analytics is the collection and application of talent data to improve critical talent and business outcomes.” This “talent data” generally measures a few different areas, from engagement and diversity to retention and recruiting.

People analytics is a good thing, and it can absolutely help HR departments get down to business. But datasets often lack one key element: Behavior. Information about employees’ habits will decode all of the other intel they report about their productivity, satisfaction and hang ups.

Add behavior — it just makes sense

Behavior data informs other areas of people analytics. Let’s consider how it can illuminate findings about company leaders.

Perhaps HR’s people analytics flag that there’s some frustration brewing in the engineering department, and many employees are reporting dissatisfaction with team leadership.

The analytics stop there.

HR pulls the performance reviews for engineering managers completed by the chief technology officer, but everyone has exceeded expectations. What does HR do now?

Behavior data lights the path forward. Behavior data can tell HR, for example, whether a manager’s leadership style is out of sync with a team’s preferences. A boss with micro-managing tendencies may irritate a group of workers who want to work hard on their long lists of tasks without a lot of interruption.
The situation could skew the other way, of course. A group of early career, entry level employees may falter without extra support from a hands-off boss.

Behavior data will tell you exactly how people are oriented. Regular people analytics? It won’t get you there.

You can’t count on lackluster data

With workers leaving their jobs in droves, employers must do whatever they can to recruit and retain the best talent. Data can help them do that, but the numbers have to reveal why people struggle or thrive in their roles.

When a dataset reports underwhelming results, employers are left guessing at their next move. But when the numbers flag the biggest issues and indicate the best response, HR knows the right path forward.

To find out how PeopleBest can provide the data to round out your people analytics, 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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People

Changing behavior with the help of a digital personality change intervention

It’s February, which means most people’s New Year’s resolutions are already out the window. The daily yoga challenge is a goner. The diet ended on January 8th. And that savings account — well, at least it didn’t shrink, right?

The point is: Change is hard. It’s a monumental task to shift our behaviors, especially when those behaviors have been with us for so long. Now imagine you’re not just trying to break a bad habit but transform elements of your very personality. Ouch.

But there’s hope. A recent study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined the effect of digital intervention tools on people’s efforts to change their behaviors. Here’s the exciting part: The tools worked.

And that’s a good sign for everyone who wants to do a little better in 2022.

What does the data say?

The PNAS study considered a group of 1,500 people who signed up for a personality coaching app. Participants were split up into two groups: One group got the greenlight to use the app, and the other was notified it had to wait one month before starting the program.

The first group showed greater self-reported changes compared to those in the second group. In fact, changes were significant for those who wanted to increase a certain behavioral trait and for those who wanted to decrease one.

What’s more, friends, family members, or partners of the participants observed personality changes in the desired direction, too — particularly for those who wanted to increase a trait.

Behavior is malleable

The study authors came to a striking conclusion: “Self- and observer-reported changes persisted until 3 months after the end of the intervention. This work provides the strongest evidence to date that normal personality traits can be changed through intervention in nonclinical samples.”

This news is positive. The study indicated that we can change our behaviors — personality doesn’t dictate our every move. It may sway us one way or the other, but behaviors put us in the driver’s seat.

For instance, say a digital tool reveals you score high for self responsibility — a trait typically defined as an individual’s ability to own a particular issue. Your high score translates to a likelihood that you take on too much too often. You might even gravitate toward the tasks that feel more valuable or important.

When you understand this inclination, you can set boundaries more easily and delegate more effectively. You’ll help others grow instead of doing the work for them.

Outcomes are possible

So what does all this mean for those of us with a resolution that’s been put on the back burner?
It means we need to focus on our choices, big and small.

To achieve change, we need one key ingredient: awareness. Without it, we can’t know which behaviors are holding us back and which are propelling us forward. But once we’re in the know, action becomes possible.

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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Product Features

PeopleBest Identifies Six Leadership Styles to Strengthen Agility and Confidence

Technological advancements, commercial innovations and disruptions spurred workplace change in the last decade. In turn, leaders adjusted the way they interact with their teams and honed the methods they use to succeed.

PeopleBest now measures the six leadership styles identified by Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence. The resulting insights equip organizations with the information they need to hire the best candidates and develop those they bring on board.

Leaders typically possess a natural style, but that doesn’t mean they’re confined to a singular approach. Leaders demonstrate great aptitude and potential when they are able to adjust their approach based on business challenges and employee dynamics.

Leadership styles are rooted in emotional intelligence. Each style offers different components of emotional intelligence encompassing self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills. These areas are supported by behaviors giving insight on individuals’ degree of strength and helps to prioritize development opportunities.

Tech Specs

Individuals take the PeopleBest assessment by responding to a series of statements. The assessment gathers responses to score behavioral areas supporting each leadership style. An organization can view an entire group of leaders to understand their predominant style and discover other style strengths they have to address changing situations and needs.

Content Summary:

Leadership styles have a direct impact on business success and the culture or atmosphere that employees experience.  In any given week, leaders’ style needs can vary based on the stakeholders they lead.  The more seamlessly a leader can discern what’s needed in real time and adjust accordingly, the more likely that bold progress can be made.

Do you find your organization in a turnaround? Is it encountering complex internal and external factors that require leaders to give specific and timely direction? The best style for this situation involves direct and specific communication. Perhaps your workforce needs a boost in morale. Managers who know how to mobilize employees toward a vision will make timely progress in boosting your culture.

Sign up today to discover how PeopleBest’s Leadership Styles feature provides the insight and impetus you need to prepare your leadership for tomorrow’s challenges.

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