March 9, 2022
This Sunday, donât forget to wish a happy U.S. Daylight Savings Time to everyone except Arizona and Hawaii. (Hey, we admire their gumption.)
In this weekâs edition:
WHO RUN THE WORLD?Â
Happy Womenâs History Month!
In honor of International Womenâs Day, we sat down with five incredible female business leaders. They shared their experiences as entrepreneurs, the highs and lows of being women in the business world, and their advice for other females who want to make that entrepreneurial leap.
âOn the most important characteristics a leader can have:
Alicia Guerrieri, owner and founder of iSearchDecor: âIâm always willing to do what I ask anyone to do. Iâll jump in and help wherever I need to help, and I feel like that grows a great bond with your employees. Because they know that I understand their role and what they go through.â
Katherine Perez Hernandez, web and graphic designer and owner of All The Kewt Stickers: âOne of the most important characteristics a leader can have is empathy. You need to understand everyone elseâs point of view. Knowing everyone is multifaceted and everything is combined together. You want to be there for them.â
On the sacrifices it took to become an entrepreneur and a leader as a woman:
Jennifer Ruiz, president of United Circuits: âBefore, I used to feel like wearing makeup and a cute outfit made me feel more powerful. But I notice not wanting to dress a certain way or put makeup on. I felt that I didnât want people to look at my face or my clothes; I just wanted to talk about the business at hand.â
On the advice they would give to other women looking to start their own business:
Melissa Pruett, owner and founder of Melt by Melissa: âOne of the big takeaways in business is from a mentor of mine, Robin Sharma, and his quote says, âAll change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.â
That has really stuck with me because in business and in life, we are always changing. And thatâs what makes entrepreneurship so exciting.â
Brenda Schmidt, founder and executive chairman of Solera Health: âDonât tie up your identity with the company, so much that if the company fails, you feel like a failure. Keep the perspective that your entrepreneurial endeavor is like a child, but itâs not indicative of your total success as a person. Keeping that balance is really important from an identity perspective.â
đ Find more nuggets of wisdom.
#COMMUTELIFE
The news:
As of last week, both NYC and LA County ended their indoor mask mandates. And some are taking this move as a sign that U.S. pandemic restrictions will soon be coming to an end.Â
That group includes some bigwig businesses. Twitter, Google, and Meta are just some of the companies that have recently released their return-to-office plans.
Thatâs a good thing, right?
Depends on who you ask. For some businesses, office reopening plans have been stop-and-go since the pandemic started, so theyâll be happy to finally welcome back employees in person.
That being said, not all employees are keen to return to full-time office life. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 78% of people who currently work from home want to continue when the pandemic is over. And 63% of job seekers are prioritizing companies with remote work opportunities.
Okay, so whatâs the best move for my business?
If youâre a business leader whoâs thinking about your own return-to-office plans, there are a few things youâll want to consider:
Whatever you choose, communicate the decision to your employees. And have answers for the big questions, like⌠if sweatpants are now appropriate office wear.
TRAINING DAY
âIâm back.â
Thatâs the gist of an in-office memo from a team member who left for greener pastures. AKA the boomerang employee, or someone whoâs been rehired by the same company. Â
In a recent Workhuman research report, nearly two-thirds of employees said theyâd return to work for a former employer in the future. And with the Great Resignation still in full swing, chances are, you might be looking to bring back a former rockstar â or considering hiring one whoâs decided that the grass is definitively not greener in another office. Â
Is that really a great idea, though?
Sure is. Welcoming back a former team member can save time and money through reduced onboarding needs. Boomerang employees also come with the added bonus of having an existing understanding of your companyâs inner clockwork, processes, and work culture.
But if weâre going to play devilâs advocateâŚ
Like Maroon 5 says, it isnât all rainbows and butterflies. Rehiring a former employee means they could possibly leave your company again (theyâve done it once, soâŚ), resurface past grievances or issues, or just be out of step with your current work culture and policies.â
Overall, thoughâŚ
The pros outweigh the cons. And once youâve committed to hiring a boomerang employee, youâll want to consider how to better tailor the onboarding process so that itâs efficient and beneficial for both you and your new hire.Â
Hereâs a step-by-step guide to onboarding a boomerang employee:
đ Read all 6 steps.
WHATâS THE DIFFERENCE?
Whatâs a performance gap?
Essentially, itâs the difference between your teamâs performance to date and their desired performance (or the performance you expect them to achieve).
Letâs say you expect your sales team to stay completely up to date on changes to your product â something they should research every week. Instead, they collectively know a little over half of the product changes that have happened this year. Oof.Â
The difference in the âexpectation versus realityâ here is your performance gap.â
If we have them, is it that big of a deal?
Absolutely. The sooner you identify a performance gap and take actionable steps to address the root of the problem, the more effective your organization is likely to be.Â
If you identify performance gaps, donât panic! After all, they tell you every expectation that still needs to be documented in your business playbook (AKA your collection of company processes, policies, and procedures).Â
You need to know which of your expectations arenât being met. That way, you can make a plan to get things back on track.Â
How to close your performance gap:
In order to set your team up for success, youâll need to identify and close any and all performance gaps. So we broke it down into five simple steps:
đ See all 5 steps.
TL; DR