Jan. 3, 2017 "Travel makes employees happier and more efficient": Today I found this article by Gabrielle Nydam in the Globe and Mail:
President of Contiki Canada, arranging social travel for 18– to 35-year-olds.
Ask a lot of young Canadians in the workforce about the vacations they're taking, and you'll probably be surprised by the answer: they're not taking any. That's right. Despite being part of a generation that supposedly only ever shares photos of themselves on pristine beaches or shopping along European cobblestoned streets, young professionals are just not taking advantage of their vacation hours.
Whether it's a feeling of guilt for not "pulling their weight" or a fear of missing out on opportunities of advancement, studies have shown that Canadian millennials aren't spending a lot of time away from the office – the most recent poll suggested almost half of them are not taking their full allotment of vacation days.
As soon as I gained independence as a young adult, I found my own ways to explore the world, from taking a year off before university to live in the British Virgin Islands, to living in Vienna for a semester. I wanted to create my own adventures and see new places.
I carried this love to travel through my professional life, and I learned more about myself and the world every time I got away. It's a shame more young professionals don't think this way, since travel has been shown to increase productivity at work and helps build confidence through broader life experiences.
I carried this love to travel through my professional life, and I learned more about myself and the world every time I got away. It's a shame more young professionals don't think this way, since travel has been shown to increase productivity at work and helps build confidence through broader life experiences.
To uncover the incredible impact travel has on young, working Canadians, Contiki recently conducted extensive research, polling young people from across Canada, in hopes of exploring the powerful and lasting effects travel has on making them the best versions of themselves.
The results of The Power of Travel study are amazing. Almost 75 per cent of young travellers said they feel more confident and feel they can multi-task more efficiently, while almost 60 per cent are more likely to be satisfied with their employment.
The results of The Power of Travel study are amazing. Almost 75 per cent of young travellers said they feel more confident and feel they can multi-task more efficiently, while almost 60 per cent are more likely to be satisfied with their employment.
It's critical for companies to create a culture around travel and reap some of these benefits.
Here's how you too can see an upswing in the morale and productivity of employees who might feel discouraged about travelling.
Here's how you too can see an upswing in the morale and productivity of employees who might feel discouraged about travelling.
Offer unlimited vacation as a work perk
This sounds daunting and as though offices will be deserted, with only rolling tumbleweeds to check e-mails, but trust me. While this option might not be feasible for every industry, you'd be surprised how few employees will actually partake on a never-ending jaunt around the world.
The mere mention of unlimited vacation time will be enough to send their spirits through the roof, with their productivity following closely behind. Using vacation days for travel should be seen as an investment in one's personal growth by the employee and their employers, because that's how it will manifest itself noticeably.
The mere mention of unlimited vacation time will be enough to send their spirits through the roof, with their productivity following closely behind. Using vacation days for travel should be seen as an investment in one's personal growth by the employee and their employers, because that's how it will manifest itself noticeably.
Offer a fully-paid vacation for a top performance
What's that old saying about a horse and water? Sometimes, employees need a little bit of a push to really take advantage of vacation time. So, instead of doling out the usual tidy sum to a top-rate worker, why not force their hand with a truly wonderful trip where all expenses are taken care of?
Letting an employee knock a destination off their bucket list is one of the easiest ways to let them know how much they are appreciated and how much you encourage them taking a well-deserved break. In a week's time, you'll be welcoming back a well-rested employee determined to earn another trip through hard work and dedication.
Letting an employee knock a destination off their bucket list is one of the easiest ways to let them know how much they are appreciated and how much you encourage them taking a well-deserved break. In a week's time, you'll be welcoming back a well-rested employee determined to earn another trip through hard work and dedication.
Integrate an program offering discounted packages
Not all vacations need to take a chunk out of a person's bank account, especially a millennial new to the workforce. Breathtaking vacations can be achieved at a fraction of the cost thanks to partnerships with companies such as Venngo or Perkopolis that offer an array of discounts from movie tickets, to hotels, to trips to Europe.
Offering discounted packages will encourage young employees to turn off Netflix and actually spend a few days away from the grind. Watercooler chatter will be elevated from the sighs of a staycation wasted, to the excited exclamations of a week spent enjoying a life-changing experience in Italy at a discounted price.
Offering discounted packages will encourage young employees to turn off Netflix and actually spend a few days away from the grind. Watercooler chatter will be elevated from the sighs of a staycation wasted, to the excited exclamations of a week spent enjoying a life-changing experience in Italy at a discounted price.
Use an in-house agency for maximized vacations
Even with fantastic vacation packages, some young workers might be hesitant to take days off if a trip doesn't seem worth it, or if their spending will far outweigh the money they're earning. By partnering up with a travel agency, you'll be able to ensure that your young employees will get the best travel advice possible and will be maximizing both their time and money for the best trip they've ever taken.
Ensure that only the happiest and most satisfied workers come back from their vacation by providing them with the tools they need to make it happen.
Ensure that only the happiest and most satisfied workers come back from their vacation by providing them with the tools they need to make it happen.
While it's exciting to think of the different strategies companies can choose to implement, creating an office culture that encourages breaks, time off, and taking all of one's vacation time is what's important. This will make employees feel supported about stepping away from work and will lead to a more engaged and healthier workforce.
Jan. 6, 2018 "Gaining nerves of steel": Today I found this article by Denise Deveau in the Edmonton Journal. I can't copy and paste the article. It is a good article about not getting nervous when doing a presentation for work.
Jan. 9, 2018 "How random coffee dates with staff transformed my company's culture": Today I found this article by Ryan Holmes in the Edmonton Journal. However, I can't copy and paste it so you have to read it here:
"Five hacks that will help start your office culture on the right foot": He does write a part about it in this article:
When I started my first tech company in Vancouver, one of the only things it had going for it was culture. It was in my loft apartment. There wasn’t a fancy coffee machine or a foosball table or even a real desk to work at. But there was a rooftop patio — a little space where my tiny team and I could retreat to after work, to have a drink and admire the view.
Building culture doesn’t always have to entail a huge cost or commitment. In fact, some of the most powerful culture-building tools are essentially DIY hacks. Hootsuite now has about 1,000 employees and we help more than 800 of the Fortune 1000 companies manage their social media. Pretty much everything has changed since those early days, but one constant has been finding creative ways to cultivate a sense of community, without breaking the bank.
With 2017 around the corner, let’s look at some effective tools for building culture, while keeping the budget in check.
A space to unwind
After my first rooftop patio, I was hooked. My second office had one, and so did my third. These weren’t fancy spots, but they did offer a place to retreat to that wasn’t a workspace.
After my first rooftop patio, I was hooked. My second office had one, and so did my third. These weren’t fancy spots, but they did offer a place to retreat to that wasn’t a workspace.
The rooftops became the scene of impromptu lunches and after-work beers. They offered a refuge from the pressures of growing a company and a place to let off steam. I was recently reminded how important this principle is, when our London office finally graduated to a new space with an expansive rooftop patio. Suddenly, the staff was hanging out after work and gelling as a team.
The power of food
Food is a natural bridge builder. But company dinners, especially when you grow to a certain size, can get prohibitively expensive. And when you’re stuck at a table it can be a challenge to mix and mingle, which kind of defeats the purpose. We overcame this with a pot-luck-style strategy: the guac-off.
Food is a natural bridge builder. But company dinners, especially when you grow to a certain size, can get prohibitively expensive. And when you’re stuck at a table it can be a challenge to mix and mingle, which kind of defeats the purpose. We overcame this with a pot-luck-style strategy: the guac-off.
Our first guac-off in the company’s early years featured 11 competitors and three simple rules: No pre-made guacamole mixes, contestants have to prepare their creations live, and everyone has to have fun. Since then, it’s become an annual tradition. There’s nothing revolutionary going on here, but it shows that breaking bread together (or tortilla chips, to be precise) doesn’t have to entail huge expense.
Connecting over random coffees
One of the biggest challenges in fast-growing companies is the inadvertent creation of silos. Imaginary walls spring up between departments. Before you know it, the sales team and the engineering team, for instance, feel like two different companies. This lack of co-ordination inevitably hurts the final product and the customer’s experience.
This is a huge problem and there’s really no easy fix. But one hack we discovered — to at least break the ice — is a random-coffee program. Employees sign up and are paired with a peer, blind-date style, from another department. They set up a time that suits them to meet over a coffee break. It turns out this can be just the nudge needed to open a connection with other teams.
Company swag that actually looks decent
Lots of companies pump out t-shirts, hats and stickers with their name and logo on them. Nine times out of 10, this swag is ugly, poorly made and discarded as soon as it’s handed out. We found that taking an entirely different approach can be an effective differentiator and culture builder.
Lots of companies pump out t-shirts, hats and stickers with their name and logo on them. Nine times out of 10, this swag is ugly, poorly made and discarded as soon as it’s handed out. We found that taking an entirely different approach can be an effective differentiator and culture builder.
For starters, we handed the creative process to our own graphic designers. We emphasized that the goal was to create t-shirts, hoodies, even socks, that people wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen in. The result: company clothes people actually want to wear. This isn’t a costly measure, but putting a little style in your swag reinforces the feeling that there’s something special going on and something worth being part of.
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