Best HX of Work Articles ~ July 2023
1. HXWize News
New Partnership with Smaply!?
We are happy to announce our new partnership with Smaply - the world's premier mapping platform. In our 7 years helping global companies, Smaply 3.0 (coming soon) is by far the best tool we’ve seen to organize & access your decision data.
Here’s a short video with more from Marc Stickdorn - co-founder of Smaply & Elliott Nelson, founder of HXWize: https://lnkd.in/eJQ7BrA8
2. Employee Experience (EX) / Work Experience (WX)
Has America Ignored the Workplace for Too Long?
"Working", a captivating limited series now available on Netflix, is an exploration of the American workforce through the lens of the Obamas' production company, Higher Ground. It draws inspiration from Studs Terkel’s renowned 1974 oral history, "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do." Spanning over four insightful episodes, it places under the spotlight workers from all walks of life at three diverse companies, contrasting experiences from the boardroom to the housekeeping department. Much like Terkel, it delves into the dreams, hopes, and complexities of everyday working people.
5 Factors That Make for a Great Employee Experience
As per a Salesforce research, businesses could increase their revenue by up to 50% by enhancing employee experience. The key drivers of a superior employee experience include mutual trust, C-suite accountability, alignment of values, recognition of success, and seamless technology. By balancing these elements, companies can not only prevent a talent exodus but also unlock significant growth and competitiveness.
Why the Remote-Work Debate Stays So Heated
Research shows hybrid work doesn't lead to productivity loss and can help with recruitment and retention. Yet, there's a disconnect between employee and manager perceptions of remote productivity, with workers reporting increased productivity and managers seeing a decrease. While remote mentorship can work, the spontaneous, casual interactions found in an office setting are often missing online.
Three COVID-era lessons to help support employee wellbeing in times of crisis
The pandemic has taught us important lessons about managing crises, particularly how to protect employee wellbeing. Recent research by leading universities suggests three key strategies.
1?? Building Trust: Employees reporting higher wellbeing trusted their senior leadership’s pandemic response. Transparent communication, sincerity, and integrity during crises are critical.
2?? Leveraging Social Support: Both formal and informal support systems within the organization, and external help from family and friends, have proven vital. Organizations must ensure these mechanisms are accessible to everyone.
3?? Promoting Adaptation: Encourage employees to thrive rather than just survive. Regular discussions, goal-setting activities, and fostering a resilient, optimistic outlook can help employees adapt effectively.
No universal solution exists for mental health, hence empathizing with employees and understanding their individual needs is paramount. Let's apply these lessons to protect and enhance employee wellbeing during future crises.
Airbnb employee says returning to office would be a ‘hard sell’ after Work From Anywhere travel in South America. Here’s what it was like
At Airbnb, the 'Work from Anywhere' program is transforming the employee experience. This innovative model, offering unparalleled flexibility, allows Airbnb's employees to work from any location, without changing their job title or compensation. CEO Brian Chesky believes in the significant competitive edge it gives Airbnb by expanding their talent pool beyond the commuting radius. Employees like Bergen Kay have not only enjoyed the unique opportunity to explore new environments but also experienced an increase in productivity and overall well-being. By embracing this transformative approach, Airbnb is leading the way in recognizing that the 'Work from Anywhere' concept is more than a temporary solution; it's a more sustainable, inclusive, and productive future of work.
Managers say 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is now a work 'dead zone.' Employees run errands and take care of kids before logging on later to finish
The traditional 9-to-5 workday is being reshaped, leading to a new "triple-peak" work schedule, fueled by the pandemic and shift in work dynamics. Employees are often logging off during the late afternoon and returning to work later in the evening, providing opportunities for improved work-life balance and flexibility for personal tasks. However, this shift also presents challenges in collaboration and blurs the boundaries between personal and professional life. As we navigate these changes, it's essential to ensure our colleagues' flexibility doesn't become our burden and to create space for everyone to contribute in a way that aligns with their personal context.
3. Human-Centered Design
Product Design and UX Design Roles: Unveiling the Differences
Understanding the differences between #ProductDesigners and #UXDesigners is key. Product designers focus on the overall product lifecycle, aligning business goals with user needs and ensuring market viability. They navigate from conceptualization to the finished product, integrating all aspects like aesthetics, functionality, and strategy. Conversely, UX designers concentrate primarily on the user experience. They research user behavior, create personas, and optimize the interaction between the user and the product, emphasizing usability and user satisfaction. Collaboration between these roles is crucial for successful, user-friendly products, each bringing their unique perspective and set of skills. Whether choosing a career or hiring, consider these differences and the distinct impact they have on the end product.
Critical Lens Protocol 1.2 by Stanford dschool
Great innovative tool designed by K12 Lab Stanford d.school to foster inclusivity and equity within design teams. It aids in reviewing prototypes with a keen focus on cultural relevance, advancing equity for a variety of social groups. Building on existing protocols and emphasizing ongoing learning and reflection, it helps identify and tackle biases, thus improving our work quality. This tool facilitates brave, constructive conversations about equity, identity, and privilege, and can be customized to fit different contexts. Good facilitation and adherence to protocol can drive successful dialogues.
Towards Better 1-On-1s: An Awkward Manifesto
Effective management starts with truly caring for your team and maintaining an open line of communication. Weekly 1-on-1s are an invaluable tool, not only to understand your team's goals and levels of burnout but also to listen, learn and address their concerns. Investing in an organized agenda and incorporating an open-ended question generator can lead to meaningful conversations and improved team dynamics. Remember, the secret to successful 1-on-1s isn't just the structure, but the genuine interest you show in your people.?
4. Agile
Drawing as a versatile cognitive tool
New research published in Nature Psychology Review provides interesting insights on how drawing, a unique cognitive tool, influences our learning and memory. It suggests that drawing - a form of visual language - is versatile due to the various cognitive processes at play, from core visual processing to perception and memory.?
It's fascinating to note that the act of drawing aids communication and learning, by crafting external representations that focus on useful abstractions. This has significant implications for workplaces, fostering an environment of improved learning and understanding.?
The study challenges us to explore innovative avenues, like incorporating drawing into our work habits, as a method to boost cognitive engagement, learning and communication. Just imagine, a doodle today could be the key to tomorrow's great ideas!
Six Tips To Increase Project Management ROI And Lower Costs In A Tight Economy
In uncertain times emphasis on operational efficiency is shifting? Project Management Offices (PMOs) challenges to do more with less, without causing employee burnout. By implementing well-structured project intake, efficient scenario planning, and streamlined communication, PMOs can make tasks more manageable and less stressful for employees. Adopting automated reporting and consolidated tools can reduce administrative work, freeing up time for more impactful tasks. These adjustments also enhance employee experience by reducing stress and providing clearer direction in their work. In this way, companies not only survive but thrive, with happier, more productive teams driving improved ROI and profitability.
5. Artificial Intelligence / Software
The Key Ingredient To AI Success: Our Values
In a thought-provoking article, @Bruce Temkin argues that the conversation around AI should shift from 'Ethical AI' to 'Values-Driven AI' (VDAI). Noting that ethics are subjective and grounded in values, the author advocates for a four-step VDAI process: Values Clarifying, Values Nurturing, Values Sharing, and Values Maintaining. It's crucial to establish and teach these values to AI, emphasizing transparency in their application and regularly reassessing them to stay current. There's a need for robust AI governance models within organizations, aimed at steering AI developments to align with human values, privacy concerns, and future role changes.
Here’s what quantum computing is—and how it’s going to impact the future of work, according to a software engineer
Quantum computing's impending revolution will profoundly influence the employee experience. With its massive computational power, it will not only reshape job functions but also demand new skill sets. Employees will need to be equipped with the latest knowledge on quantum computing, encouraging firms to invest in training and development. It will also transform work processes, leading to faster and more accurate data analysis and decision-making. As businesses prepare for this shift, creating an environment that fosters learning and adaptability will be paramount.?
6. People Analytics – Labor Market Data & Tendencies
The Value of Not Commuting for Work
There's nothing like a good calculation to put all minds at rest considering working remotely versus returning to the office. Based on economist Paul Krugman’s estimations combined with John Whitehead's figures we are able to explore this phenomenon in real terms thanks to a crafted tool using cutting-edge AI technology. Unique opportunity to measure the actual dollar value of the benefits of reduced commuting for workers.?
How a Vast Demographic Shift Will Reshape the World
Demographic aspects are clearly underestimated when it comes to understanding the dynamics of the future of work. As per a compelling interactive essay in the New York Times, we might be overlooking a vital component – the sheer numbers of people who are actually available to take on jobs.
The economic development of nations appears to correlate closely with demographic decline, presenting us with a complex challenge.?
This highlights a debate we can't afford to ignore any longer. As our economies grow and evolve, so must our understanding and management of the workforce. We must delve deeper into demographic data to ensure a robust, sustainable talent pipeline for the future.
12 Employer Branding Metrics for HR to Track
The Employer brand can be a magnet for top talent, but understanding its impact requires consistent tracking and refinement. Key metrics such as Candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS), Employee Referral Rate, and Cost per Hire provide valuable insights into our branding efforts and guide their optimization. Monitoring our social engagement, open applications, and career page analytics can inform if our brand resonates with job seekers and employees alike. Lastly, an accurate ROI calculation helps us substantiate the costs and reveal the true value of our employer branding strategy.?
PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2023: Is your workforce reinvention ready?
The latest PwC Global Workforce survey underlines the importance of reinventing our work cultures to meet the evolving aspirations of the workforce. The data points towards a significant mismatch between the readiness of employees to embrace AI, learn new skills and the companies' ability to support this. Employees' financial stress is intensifying, affecting their productivity and willingness to stay. With a significant portion of the workforce contemplating job changes, business leaders must pay attention to fostering cultures of innovation and upskilling, especially for roles that don't require specialized skills.
Anywhere Workers (study by Fiverr Workspace)
Embracing the 'Anywhere Office': new well-presented research from micro-tasking site Fiverr who surveyed their people on remote work. The majority of surveyed remote workers enjoy the nomadic lifestyle, with over half working fully remote. The digital age has brought on tools like Slack, transforming our approach to communication and connectivity. This flexibility also sees pay raises and income growth, even with challenges like the gender gap persisting. Despite minor downsides, such as occasional feelings of isolation, remote work popularity continues to surge, illustrating that the future of work may indeed be 'anywhere'.
ThriveMap's Industry Report 2023: What candidates really think of current pre-hire assessments and recruitment processes, and why they are quitting
ThriveMap's Industry Report 2023 uncovers a concerning "Candidate Expectations Gap" in recruitment processes. Shockingly, 48% of employees surveyed left their jobs due to unmet expectations, while 30% quit due to cultural mismatch. Despite post-pandemic changes, the gap has widened, draining resources and causing dissatisfaction. Over half of candidates feel misled by recruiters about their job roles, and only 46% were informed about Covid-19-induced changes in job responsibilities during hiring. However, there is a silver lining, as 55% now find job-relevant assessments fair and accurate, while the dislike for online assessments has decreased by 55% since 2019.?