In 2007, Daryl transitioned to the supplier side of our industry as the Director of Technology for ByDesign. His strategic contributions led to his appointment as President in 2015 and CEO in 2018.

Daryl Wurzbacher
Growing Corporate Culture in a Virtual Workplace

As we strive to grow and thrive during the world’s most extensive work from home experiment, we have an opportunity to think more broadly about how we can embrace technology to help bring people together in new and different ways.

We are hearing from CEO’s that they feel more connected today by doing video calls than they did when flying to each of their offices many times a year. This ability to maintain positive relationships and productivity while being out of our offices has created a new mindset for many leaders who previously did not support working from home. There is new confidence emerging that is driving conversations around the benefits of a blended workspace post-COVID-19 that provides options, flexibility, and increased balance for employees.

In this new world of work that converges home and business life into one, how do we best support our team members? One approach is to understand the interwoven relationship between motivation and a thriving corporate culture. The Harvard Business Review (HBR) identified motivation as a key performance indicator of success for remote workers in their article, How to Keep Your Team Motivated, Remotely. They also identified three specific motivators that promote enhanced work performance: Play, Purpose, and Potential.

Let’s look at each of these motivators individually and explore the activities companies use to promote these behaviors in their corporate culture.



PLAY

This might seem counterintuitive at first, but playing involves engaging in an activity for pure enjoyment. Parts of our work can become play when we enjoy the work or the job itself.  The tasks might be problem-solving, experimenting, exploring, or following a hunch and satisfying curiosity. Additionally, there are many “play” activities we can engage in as a company that facilitates emotional connections in our team.  While working remotely, it requires a bit more creativity to find fun ways to bring the team together. The extra effort is well worth the results.

Companies are hosting a wide variety of activities that target “Play”, such as:

• Virtual scavenger hunts
• Online book clubs
• Video lip synch/ Karaoke events
• Virtual wine tastings and happy hours
• Theme-based or costume video meetings

A few of the activities we’ve tried include:

• Logo Challenge – LEGO Masters (USA) on FOX inspired our team’s four-week challenge. Points were awarded to the top five weekly winners. At the end of the challenge, the contestant with the most points won a gift card.
• Virtual Crafting – We assembled the supplies and set up a contactless pick-up station. Employees came together on Zoom and learned how to make wood plank signs. Pinterest is an excellent resource for ideas on different craft workshops.
• Remote Work Bingo – We mixed things up by creating our Bingo card with different remote working experiences while also encouraging positive remote working behaviors like stretching or doing eye-strain relief exercises.

PURPOSE

Purpose is the why of work.  This example demonstrates the power of purpose: During a tour of NASA in 1962, President John F. Kennedy walked over to a janitor and said, “Hi, I’m Jack Kennedy. What are you doing?” “Well, Mr. President,” the man responded, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” By helping employees engage, and feel part of the bigger picture, it makes both the mundane and difficult tasks much more meaningful.

Companies are hosting a wide variety of activities that target a sense of “Purpose”, such as:

• Creating opportunities to grow and learn by adopting mentoring programs that facilitate talent development and retention.
• Offering employees fitness trackers like Fitbit to create effective wellness programs that keep employees happy, healthy and engaged.
• Sending dinner to a remote employee and their family in appreciation of working late to meet a deadline.

A few of the activities we’ve tried include:

• A weekly All-Hands Video Meeting that begins with peer-recognition and connects what employees do with the benefits it brings to our clients.
• Pay it Forward – We wanted to empower our employees to create a ripple of selflessness throughout their communities. Every employee received money to help alleviate some of the hardships that have come with the pandemic for someone in their community. Our goal was to pay it forward with the hope that it will inspire others to be kind and thoughtful.
• Anniversary Celebrations – While we haven’t been able to come together as a company to celebrate anniversaries, we’ve still made it a priority to celebrate our employees by having their favorite pizza delivered. Another ByDesign tradition is that I write a card to each employee on their anniversary; I am still writing these personal messages and mailing them to each employee.

POTENTIAL

Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. In companies where employees can step outside of their traditional role and take on a challenging new task or project, it adds value to both the employee and the company. When you invest in developing employees, you create a pathway for good employees to grow their skillsets to become great.

Companies are hosting a wide variety of activities that target the development of “Potential”, such as:

• Using job rotations to help develop and cross-train employees to groom them for additional responsibilities, promotions, or management positions.
• Hosting innovation days to inspire employees to share ideas and collaborate on new approaches that can take a business and employee skill sets to the next level.
• Creating individual development plans to provide a roadmap for employees, including measurable goals and a realistic time frame for achieving each goal.

A few of the activities we’ve tried include:

• Participate in the Culture Index to facilitate greater self-awareness and personal/professional development.
• OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) foster employee collaboration into the planning process and alignment on the projects they will be focused on during the quarter.
• Online training modules are available in a wide range of topics, and compensation is awarded for each “competency” that is completed.

There are many ways to incorporate play, purpose, and potential into your culture while fostering autonomy and ownership. I hope these examples provide inspiration and motivation for your team.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post Growing Corporate Culture in a Virtual Workplace appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

Michele McDonough
Exploring A New Workforce in 2020!

One of the predicted trends for 2020 by Futurist Judy Galloway, G-group Market Research, suggests the need to be creative in order to meet the desires and needs of the various demographics found in today’s and near-future workforce.

Not only will you be looking for superior hard skills, but critical personal skills including collegiality, teamwork, creativity, empathy, and leadership to complete your organizational needs. With any of those important components missing, your culture will not necessarily suffer greatly, but employee retention and staffing costs might become a major issue in 2020.

Another ever-evolving aspect of today’s work climate is the option of “alternative” work environments … which for many years was referred to as contract work! How do you support and grow your workforce in today’s workforce evolution? What does it take? Here are a few of the ideas trending now:

• Outsourced Teams
• Contractors (full-time and part-time)
• Freelancers
• Gig Workers
• Outsourced Networkers

Times are telling us that alternative workers are essential for organizations to be successful in the future. Alternative workers can help organizations improve critical areas of the business such as productivity, speed, and costs. And we all want long-term employee retention, right?

Based on your organization’s needs, budgets, and objectives, stay current by considering what the entire workforce mix should look like, including full-time employees, alternative workers, contractors, and outsourcing!

Empower your Human Resource Department to support sourcing alternative workers by negotiating alternative working arrangements, benefits management, and onboarding techniques.

Determine how the organization can incorporate remote and dispersed workers through technology such as video conferencing, digital collaborative workspaces, internal portals, and communication tools. While companies must evaluate and determine their optimal mix of talent, those that leverage alternative talent effectively can expect more than just achieving and exceeding the goals of the enterprise. Those that do can set themselves apart as distinct industry leaders.

For 2020, be open-minded and explore alternative workforces along with innovative talent acquisition techniques. Attention and creativity applied to these details will help you prepare for the future and grow your business in an ever-evolving world!

Another trend to look at in 2020 is the demographics of the workforce (what’s it going to look like), and always creating compelling employee experiences including incorporating artificial intelligence. According to the 2020 workplace theory, over 36% of the workforce will consist of people born after the baby boomer generation. How can you best prepare for some of the upcoming trends?

Employees are projected to stay longer in the workforce in the coming years, which means that basically five generations of workers from diverse backgrounds will work together in collaborative teams.

Cultural diversity will eventually mean that businesses will need to incorporate a broader set of values than today. This means that companies will have to radically rethink all their internal interactions, especially those involving their human capital: namely how to approach, deploy, develop and retain people. In order to ensure that your business adapts and thrives, you need to learn to be flexible. Let’s explore what you need to change to keep up with the demands of the workforce that are currently reshaping the business landscape.

What Does Creating Compelling Employee Experiences Look like?

Unlike previous generations, millennials look further than job stability, competitive salaries and benefits to be committed and loyal to a company. They are driven by a sense of shared purpose, which means that they need to have a strong sense of their part in the ‘bigger picture’ to bring their best results to the workplace.

Currently, there is a significant gap between millennial workforce needs and what the workplace offers. If companies want to harness the massive potential of the future workforce, they need to start incorporating the tools and technologies that enable their productivity. This is all fine and well, but what do you need to do in practice to keep up with the workplace trends that are speeding towards us all?

The first thing is to work on a personalized relationship with your employees. Human Resource Departments are now turning to research principles, such as design thinking and sentiment analysis to better understand and serve the needs of the 2020 workforce.

Millennials are all about convenience, connectivity, and functionality. They expect to learn and work the same way that they entertain themselves – online. Giving them fast and easy access to a system where they can receive the training and mentoring, they need on demand will help them (and your business) thrive in the 2020 workplace. Include Artificial Intelligence elements in a blended workforce.

Technology is changing our lives in fundamental, profound ways. No news here, of course. We’ve known this for over two decades. However, with the rise of artificial intelligence and the proliferation of big data as a driver for business decisions (not to mention an important part of A.I. training), the changes are reaching all areas of the workforce.

So, as the global workplace is being reshaped this very moment, adapt, prepare, empower the ever-evolving workforce and what it brings to your organization!

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post Exploring A New Workforce in 2020! appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

Guest post by Sean Eggert
2020 Vision: Executive Hiring for Direct Selling

The new year is fast-approaching and we’re excited to see what 2020 has in store. As you map out new marketing and sales strategies and determine when and where to invest for the highest returns, remember to factor in the addition of new personnel to help support company growth.

Because of our industry’s unique nature, we’re often forced to “fish from the same pool” — many companies are hiring for the same roles and competition can get intense. To stay ahead of the game, you must be mindful about your hiring strategy and ensure that you’re well-prepared for effective hiring throughout the year.

To help you properly plan for next year’s endeavors, here are a few items to consider when developing your hiring strategy.

Goals/Plans

As a leader of an organization, I know you’ve been brewing up new ideas and are probably itching to see them through. And knowing just how much the industry is shifting due to technology, the next generations, never-before-seen products and services, etc., you’ve got to be open to bringing on new people that can help you execute on these ideas. Once you determine the goals that your team can start working towards, you can pinpoint what kind of talent you’ll need.



Budget

It goes without saying but your budget is usually what sets the parameters for everything else. Consider your cash flow, normal expenditures, cutting any fat, and of course, how to incorporate your new business plans. You know you need to hire the right people, which takes quite some time and effort, so be sure to set aside funds for those specific hires, as well as any potential unplanned hires. Keep this thought in mind: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.”

Areas of Improvement

It’s time to take an honest look in the mirror. What are you doing that isn’t working? What could be done better? You may already ask yourself and your team these questions but dig deep into what can be done more effectively and efficiently, and determine how any changes can be implemented.

Consider bringing in a consultant that can dive into your organization and provide feedback from a third-party perspective. Oftentimes, the discoveries made by this approach end up saving a company from serious future issues.

Geographic Expansion

This could possibly be on your list of 2020 goals, and if so, it needs to be done right. Not only do you need the knowledge of the new market for your company’s products, you also need to be aware of any guidelines and differences compared to your current market(s).

Planning and strategizing the expansion from HQ requires a lot of resources and experts. It also requires having people with their boots on the ground in the new territory. In addition to setting up operations, office spaces and logistics, these people must have a full understanding of the new market inside and out, along with the idiosyncrasies of the industry.

Outsourcing

There are times when it just makes sense to partner up and outsource certain tasks. For example, your company’s growing need for customer and distributor support could be resolved by hiring a staffing firm. Since the tasks and nuances are being handled by this team, you can keep your focus on the big picture projects and reduce the chances of things slipping through the cracks. Having a responsive and knowledgeable customer support staff ensures that your customers are receiving the care they deserve and allows you to sleep better at night.



Process, Process, Process

It’s not always easy, but putting processes together and making necessary adjustments to existing processes is crucial for your company to stay on track and grow. If a formalized process doesn’t exist within your hiring strategy, you’re going to feel the pain. And once you start the hiring steps, candidates will quickly notice the speed bumps and inconsistencies, therefore reducing the likelihood of them coming on board with you.

Not everyone has a good sense for hiring. Some hiring managers have a better track record than others, so putting a formal process in place helps you ensure you’re not making unnecessary and costly hires.

It’s my sincere hope that all direct selling companies are able to continue impacting lives on a daily basis and truly hold up the integrity of this industry. It’s our responsibility to be intentional with our plans for the future, as they touch so many people. Having the right strategy and people in place is essential and gives you better odds of assembling your dream team.

SHARE THIS:

The post 2020 Vision: Executive Hiring for Direct Selling appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.