The Singer Group: Blog
Change Happens, and You Are In Charge!
Posted: 26/02/18Albert Einstein said “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” Change happens. Sometimes it comes from within our organizations, our families, or even ourselves. Continue reading
Emotional Intelligence and Leadership
Posted: 26/02/18You know that person in your office? The one who always says the right thing and who can “sense” the mood and feelings in any group of people? The one who can take that knowledge and build strong, effective teams? Continue reading
Lactation Rooms: Supporting Nursing Moms
Posted: 25/02/18Increasingly, companies are creating lactation rooms as a helpful way to support nursing mothers as they return to work after the birth of a child. The idea for lactation rooms came from new moms who needed a private, safe, and clean room to express breast milk. Continue reading
Onboarding for Success: Creating the Right Environment for New Employees
Posted: 25/01/18You spend a lot of time on hiring practices, making sure you select just the right employees. It is equally important to invest in “onboarding,” or bringing new hires into their jobs with enthusiasm, engagement, and commitment. This process isn’t just making them feel comfortable on the first day. It begins when your job offer is accepted. Ben Peterson, CEO of Bamboo HR, says “if we don’t worry about onboarding before the employee starts, then we’re way behind.” Continue reading
Coaching Mid-Career Employees – Because Everyone Should Love Their Job
Posted: 25/01/18How fast the time goes! You hired a new employee who was passionate and ready to change your organizational world. You have both done all the right things, but eventually, almost every employee settles into what the Harvard Business Review calls “Middlescence,” or mid-career restlessness. Continue reading
Recruiting Gen Z – Meet the Millennials’ Younger Siblings!
Posted: 15/12/17The Millennials’ younger siblings are coming! The first “Gen Z” graduates and interns are appearing this year and, though they are a smaller cohort than their older Millennial counterparts, they will have an important impact on recruitment and retention in the workplace. Their internal culture is different. Each year, Beloit College publishes a “Mindset List” of what its entering freshmen assume “has always been that way.” This year’s list, for the graduating class of 2020, gives us insight into the Gen Z world view. Continue reading
Gender Identity in the Workplace: Diversity and Commitment
Posted: 10/12/17Think about the last time you filled out a standard form. Maybe it was at work, at a medical office, or an organization you support. There it is, the almost ubiquitous question: check the box for male or female. Checking that box might be so automatic you don’t think about it; however, for your transgender coworkers, friends, family or neighbors that question can be complex and frightening. Even those who are accepting and inclusive may have difficulty understanding the daily dilemmas encountered by someone whose gender identity is not easily articulated. Continue reading
Creating Civility in an Uncivil World
Posted: 05/12/17We live in a country deeply divided politically and culturally. Civility in daily life, including the workplace, seems ever harder to find. Conflict has always been a part of human culture. However, deeply held beliefs are being challenged on all sides and exacerbated by a constant bombardment of instant communication, anonymous social media, and a 24/7 news cycle. Continue reading
Put Me In, Coach! Guiding Your Employees To New Heights
Posted: 31/05/17It’s the season to talk about coaching success, from the Super Bowl to the NCAA Basketball Tournament to the opening of the baseball season. In any successful endeavor from the playing field to the Board Room, it is the coach who guides the talented players on the team to winning seasons—and winning careers. Continue reading
It’s Your Workday – Make it Count!
Posted: 25/08/16It’s 8:00 a.m. Another day is starting. Are you refreshed and ready to leap into a day full of accomplishments? Or is your desk filled with leftover tasks, unanswered memos and unread professional journals? Continue reading
Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials—Oh My!
Posted: 26/07/16Look around your office or workplace. Who are your coworkers? Can you guess their generation, and does that matter in a work environment? People have throughout history defined themselves by their generation or their historical or cultural cohort, leading to both cohesion and challenge. Individuals, of course, are infinitely variable in belief and achievement but it is possible to use generational characteristics to motivate and build the best teams for your organization. Continue reading
Do You Ever Kick Yourself (Metaphorically) With What You Should Have Said After a Meeting?
Posted: 08/06/16“Eighteenth-century French philosopher and writer Denis Diderot was at a dinner party, engaged in debate over a topic that he knew well. But perhaps he wasn’t himself on that evening — a bit self-conscious, distracted, worried about looking foolish. When challenged on some point, Diderot found himself at a loss for words, incapable of cobbling together a clever response. Soon after, Continue reading
What Do the New Overtime Rules to the FLSA Mean for You?
Posted: 08/06/16On May 18th, the DOL finally released the long-awaited details of the new overtime rules to the FLSA. This final rule will automatically extend overtime eligibility to 4.2 million workers.
Here are the key provisions of their final rule. It: Continue reading
Work/Life Balance: Practice Won’t Make Perfect – But Keep Trying!
Posted: 30/03/16At the end of life, few people regret spending too much time with family and friends. On the other hand, workaholics lament missed opportunities to enjoy time with loved ones. Bill Gates recently revealed his own difficulties in making time for life outside of work during an interview with the BBC, reported in the Leadership section of Forbes. Gates admitted to his own early, self-professed ‘fanaticism’ about work, noting that he never took vacations, often worked throughout nights, and stayed at the office on most weekends. After meeting his wife, Gates slowed down considerably; yet by that time, his company had tripled in growth and was already generating unprecedented revenues and record productivity. Continue reading
Millennials: Exaggerated Mythology
Posted: 21/12/15What do millennials really want from work? How do we engage them?
We have all heard the stereotypes of millennials: the horror stories from the workplace, the self-entitled attitudes that breed laziness and poor work ethic. A survey by CareerBuilder.com found that more than 85% of hiring managers and human-resource executives feel that millennials have a stronger sense of entitlement than older workers. Continue reading
Getting REAL Feedback as an Executive Director or CEO
Posted: 09/06/15If you are the Executive Director or CEO of an organization, the following may sound familiar: It’s “evaluation time” and the Board President meets with you for a perfunctory, check-off-the-box meeting that lasts maybe 10 minutes, in which the he/she tells you that everything is going well, that the Board members are pleased, and that a new compensation figure has been approved. The end. Continue reading
Money, Money, Money, Money!!
Posted: 14/04/15Traditional research showed that money is not the prime motivator for employee engagement or loyalty. However, since the economic downturn and slow recovery, money has inched back to the top of the list of key factors for attracting and retaining a high quality, motivated workforce. What are the best and brightest organizations doing to use their human capital dollars creatively? Read on to find out! Continue reading
The Tangible Value of Gratitude at Work
Posted: 17/03/15There is much research to prove that recognition and rewards have quite an impact on employee engagement, which, in turn, has a substantial impact on everything that’s meaningful to organizations: productivity, profitability, customer satisfaction, the list goes on.
If you’d like to see the numbers, here’s an article by Forbes contributor Kevin Kruse, citing statistics from 28 studies. Continue reading
Women in Negotiations: You’ll Never Know Until you Ask, but How You Ask is Very Important
Posted: 03/09/14It is fairly common knowledge that women are more hesitant to negotiate salary than men. Recent trends have encouraged women to be more confident in negotiations, built on the knowledge that you won’t know what you can get unless you ask. Many women in the workplace have been pleasantly surprised by the outcome of such discussions, either at the time of hire or after some time on the job. Continue reading
Future of Libraries Summit: Reflections from Behind the Marker (Part Two)
Posted: 15/07/14In early May The Singer Group provided me with a great opportunity to act as a table facilitator at the American Library Association’s Future of Libraries Summit held at the Library of Congress. Last month we provided the first of the top 10 reflections on the Summit. Here are the remaining 5! Continue reading
Future of Libraries Summit: Reflections from Behind the Marker (Part One)
Posted: 08/07/14By Katy Berube
In early May The Singer Group provided me with a great opportunity to act as a table facilitator at the American Library Association’s Future of Libraries Summit held at the Library of Congress. As a table facilitator my experience of the summit was slightly different than that of a participant. Paula Singer, CEO of The Singer Group and lead facilitator, worked with myself and my seven other colleagues to ensure the deftly designed two day meeting process worked in the room with the participants enabling engaging participation while ensuring summit objectives remained on target. Continue reading
Re-Cap of the Future of Libraries Summit: Cliff Notes for Quick Access!
Posted: 17/06/14In early May The Singer Group enjoyed leading and engaging a team of facilitators in support of the American Library Association’s Future of Libraries Summit held at the Library of Congress. Continue reading
Creating a Winning Team!
Posted: 28/04/14There is a lot of research about how to create effective and successful teams. A critical first step is something we already believe in strongly for successful organizations as a whole: make sure every team member understands their role and how it fits in with and aligns to the bigger picture of what you are trying to achieve. For a team, this might be a project or discrete set of outcomes. For the organization, this means alignment with a strategic plan that everyone not only knows exists but understands and is committed to. Continue reading
Motivating vs Engaging: The Myth and the Reality
Posted: 08/04/14Judy Vogel, Guest Columnist
President, Vogel/Glaser & Associates, Inc.
Since the middle of the last century, leaders and managers have been told that one of their primary responsibilities is to motivate their employees. This is a myth! People can only motivate themselves – no one can do it for another person! Continue reading
Job Descriptions: How to Make Them Work for You — Part 3 of 3
Posted: 08/04/14We’ve talked about how to write job descriptions and the critical components that should be included. But how do you get the information you need to create up-to-date and accurate job descriptions for your organization? Continue reading
Engaging the Elusive Non-User | ALA 2013
Posted: 11/03/14By Meredith Schwartz on July 1, 2013
Article originally published on LibraryJournal.com
Download Copy
Library consultants Donna Fletcher of Donna E. Fletcher Consulting and Paula Singer of The Singer Group shared their tips and tricks for reaching citizens that don’t use the library to a packed house at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual conference in Chicago. They were joined by librarians Su Bochenski, director of Lincolnwood Public Library, IL, as well as Elizabeth Stearns, Assistant Director, Community Services, and Carmen Patlan, Community Engagement & Outreach Manager, Waukegan Public Library, IL. Continue reading
Job Descriptions: How to Make Them Work for You – Part 2 of 3
Posted: 28/02/14Accurate and up-to-date job descriptions are integral parts of successful human resources initiatives in organizations, including recruitment, compensation and classification programs, performance management, development of competencies, retention efforts, employee on-boarding, succession planning and organizational development. With an impact on this many areas within an organization, you’d better be able to actually write one of these things! Continue reading
Job Descriptions: How to Make Them Work for You – Part 1 of 3
Posted: 28/01/14Are you responsible for writing or updating job descriptions for your organization? Do you think your organization’s job descriptions are up to date and accurate? Do you find job descriptions to be helpful or useful to you? This month we share the 411 on job descriptions and explain why their accuracy is a critical part of any successful organization’s HR tool kit. Continue reading
Putting Competencies into Action!
Posted: 11/06/13Accurate and up-to-date job descriptions are integral parts of successful human resources initiatives in organizations, including recruitment, compensation and classification programs, performance management, development of competencies, retention efforts, employee on-boarding, succession planning and organizational development. With an impact on this many areas within an organization, you’d better be able to actually write one of these things! Continue reading
How Competencies Can Drive Success!
Posted: 06/05/13When describing competencies to employees, we talk about competencies being how they work. Job description responsibilities and goals they may be working to accomplish are what they do; competencies are how they do it. Competencies are not special skills or knowledge, which just qualify a person to do a particular job. Competencies are the qualities that distinguish outstanding from average performers in any job. Their presence can be determined by the behaviors excellent performers engage in: Continue reading
Emotional Intelligence: The Ever-Evolving Leader
Posted: 08/04/13Everything we’ve covered in our first two leadership articles (five practices of progressive leadership and self awareness and authenticity), make one thing perfectly clear:
When it comes to leadership, how book smart you are doesn’t determine success.
So, what does?
Research over the last decade or so has shown that while IQ is valuable to organizations in many ways, what really gets results, and what’s needed far more than smarts or even genius, is EQ or Emotional Intelligence. Continue reading
Self Awareness & Authenticity:
The Making of a Progressive Leader
Posted: 05/03/13The five practices of progressive leadership provide much insight into the leadership behaviors required for high-functioning organizations in today’s world. But truly embracing and modeling the five practices requires more than learning a set of behaviors. It requires a fundamental shift from a focus on doing to a focus on being. Continue reading
Helping Compensation Catch up
Five Practices for Getting Progressive About Pay
Posted: 02/03/13It’s not news that the working world has changed dramatically in the last five decades. But despite significant shifts in management philosophies, perspectives and practices within public sector organizations, the model for employee compensation has largely remained stuck in the past. While there are many reasons this arena of human resources management has not kept pace, there’s clearly greater urgency than ever before to change that fact. Continue reading
The 5 Practices of Progressive Leaders
Posted: 12/02/13Today, many organizations are not only at risk financially, but are at risk of losing their relevance, of becoming the dinosaurs of our modern world.
We can talk all we want about needed change, but unless we have progressive leaders who are willing to think in new ways and venture into new territory, our organizations are likely to stay stuck in the status quo. Continue reading
Culture plays a BIG part in recruiting!
Posted: 03/01/13As the economy ekes out a recovery, public sector employers, particularly at the state and local levels, are still feeling the brunt of the recession, experiencing historic budget shortfalls while dealing with the rising costs of benefits. As a result, job losses are still occurring in force at all levels of public sector employment. Over 2.5 percent of government jobs have been lost since 2009, which, according to the Roosevelt Institute (http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/sites/all/files/GOPProjectSlashingPublicWorkforce.pdf ) makes that the “greatest reduction in history.” More government jobs were lost last year (approximately 265,000) than in 2010 (approximately 221,000). Continue reading
Telework? Or Just Work?
Posted: 23/10/12Though telecommuting or teleworking are not new concepts, organizations are starting to see their because of the shifting work habits of the next generation work force. The lines between personal and professional time continue to be blurred as the ease of staying connected and accessible increases. Continue reading
Leading firms use strategic HR to define and change cultures.
Posted: 20/09/12Leading firms use strategic HR to define and change cultures. Continue reading
Stuck in Place
Posted: 19/09/12As employers, you may often find yourselves faced with staff members who are “stuck in place;” those who have been with the organization for awhile and continue to do the same job, in the same way, for years, with no extra effort, and no signs of growth or ambition while those around them are passing them on the organizational ladder. As consultants we have had this conversation many times with our clients, who ask, “What can orshouldwe do about these people?” Continue reading
Success of the New Executive Director
Posted: 19/09/12We’ve recently been involved in some satisfyingly successful executive search projects, so this article from Board Café caught our eye (http://blueavocado.org/category/topic/board-cafe). Finding the executive that fits your organization perfectly is only half the battle. After a long search, you now have a great new Executive Director for your organization. Now what? Following are some helpful hints for paving the way for a smooth transition: Continue reading
Tips on calculating cost per hire
Posted: 18/09/12Cost per Hire is critical but don’t be intimidated. It’s clear and easy to calculate. This article shows organizations how to develop this metric with consideration for industry and size of organization. Continue reading
Are you using social media for recruiting?
Posted: 13/09/12The need for organizations to develop formal or informal social media policies for recruiting techniques is increasing as social media becomes a growing and useful tool for connecting with potential employees. Continue reading
Insights on flexible work options
Posted: 11/09/12If you are considering the implementation of flexible work options, this article provides some interesting insights to help your planning and decision making, including just how important these types of plans are to your employees. Continue reading
Have you adopted the “New Executive Director” Stance?
Posted: 06/09/12This article illustrates the Old Executive Director Stance vs. the New Executive Director Stance – applicable to nonprofits and other organizations. It is a great reminder of ways the Executive Director of today can have greater impact on their organization. Continue reading
Have you found the right workforce balance?
Posted: 04/09/12Finding the right workforce balance (employees and contingent workers) to accomplish today’s workload is one of the latest challenges for organizations in the new economy. Continue reading
Inspirations from Sally Ride
Posted: 14/08/12Learning from leaders before us. Continue reading
Surveys for HR
Posted: 09/08/12Surveys have been long considered strong marketing tools but outside-the-box thinking applies the same principles internally to gather a better understanding of the experience staff members have within our organizations. Continue reading
Outcomes Based Incentives
Posted: 08/08/12With increased health care costs and the requirements of the new healthcare law, creative and engaging solutions become more important. Here are some tips for organizations considering Outcomes Based Incentives in their health/ welfare benefits packages. Read More Continue reading
So you have the right employees, can you keep them?
Posted: 26/07/12Not every effective employee retention method requires a significant investment. Check out the top reasons staff members choose to leave and 10 ideas to avoid it. Read More Continue reading
Is your staff suffering from the “Talent Crunch”?
Posted: 24/07/12Despite the high unemployment rate, results from this study confirm that companies continue to be challenged to find the exact fit for the positions they have open. In the mean time, current staff suffer from burn out and become less effective and efficient. A shift in thinking is required to solve the Talent Crunch and the high level of unemployment. Continue reading
Strategic Workforce Planning Survey — Released April 2012
Posted: 29/05/12Released in April 2012, the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and AARP’s Strategic Workforce Planning Survey provides some interesting insight into the future of workforce planning for all types of employers. Approximately 400 organizations across the country were surveyed, and participants include employers in the private, nonprofit and government sectors. Continue reading
Musings from the Field: Implementing Pay for Performance Programs
Posted: 27/03/12We’ve recently been working with several clients on developing pay-for-performance employee evaluation programs. It’s a trend we love, by the way. Never big fans of automatic, because-you-were-here-another-year increases, we’re all in favor of rewarding employees for their performance and really rewarding the outstanding performers. Continue reading
What’s in Your Handbook? 7 Things that MUST be There!
Posted: 29/02/12Like snowflakes, no two organizations are exactly alike – and neither are any two employee handbooks. Nevertheless, here are seven key policies/topics that your employee handbook should contain. Continue reading
Saying “Yes” to the Community
Posted: 23/01/12When we began our work with Durham County Library (NC) on their strategic planning project the Library was going through a major transformation with unprecedented growth, changing demographics, and the creation of new Regional libraries. This transformation and the resulting strategic plan were built around the following keystone philosophy: Continue reading
What Will Happen When I’m Gone?
Posted: 04/01/12How to Transfer Knowledge Successfully
The full webinar on this topic is available here.
What do your organization and Drew Barrymore from 50 First Dates have in common? Both can suffer from acute memory loss brought on by lack of knowledge transfer. Institutional knowledge loss is a problem for organizations who get stuck in certain ways of doing things – and then forgetting why they do them that way! While Barrymore had a reliable Adam Sandler to remind her of all the important details every day, your organization may not have the same luxury when someone with key knowledge retires. Continue reading
Last Night I Dreamed I was Driving a Bookmobile – Hiring, Engaging and Keeping Your Best Employees
Posted: 01/06/11Last night I dreamed I was driving a bookmobile.
I’ve yet to parse the Freudian implications, but in the dream I was in full charge of that big boy – a hefty white truck filled with books, a few helpers and a really comfy and modern seating area. Furthermore, the Dreamland Library System had thoughtfully installed a conveyor belt in the parking garage that automatically parked the vehicle. All I had to do was align the truck’s front wheels with the conveyor belt’s tracks, like at a carwash, and the belt would automatically pull the bookmobile up this high-tech ramp . . . Continue reading
Passing the Baton – Who Will Take it Next?
Posted: 25/05/11Too often succession planning efforts focus only on the process: the presentations, forms, charts, and checklists. Though these are all important, remember that they are only precursors to what succession planning is really about: development. Effective succession planning requires that you put the plans in place and then execute them diligently. Get each successor the development opportunities and experiences that he or she needs. And don’t stop at opportunities either. Continue reading
Last Night I Caught My Husband Apologizing to a Librarian – The Library’s Position as the Information Resource in a Google World
Posted: 18/05/11Last night I caught my husband apologizing to a librarian.
That’s right, he did it (twice, actually), and I caught him red-handed.
He was updating his resume and – being a chef and not the kind of person who keeps track of old newspaper clippings – he was missing an important review from a local magazine. We looked online but this particular magazine didn’t have old issues archived on their website. Continue reading
SLOW DOWN – Timely Suggestions for Careful Hiring
Posted: 15/05/11Though careful hiring is always an imperative, the current economic environment requires a new look at some of your practices in this area. Many of today’s job hunters have been out of work for several months or even a year or more. Through application processes and interviews, these folks may have learned how to tell you just what you want or need to hear. In the best of circumstances, hiring can be tricky—whether you need to fill a vacancy due to a long-planned retirement or to very quickly fill a critical position in your organization due to unforeseen circumstances. These points are in no way meant to discourage organizations from hiring someone who may have been laid off due to the economy, but rather to describe a few situations and suggestions to help you make the best and smartest hiring decisions. Continue reading
Pay Equity: It’s More than Loving Being a Librarian!
Posted: 05/05/11To assess pay equity in North Carolina, the North Carolina Library Association (NCLA) recently completed an ambitious undertaking—a salary survey of every public and academic library in the state. The survey also included every local government and institute of higher education in North Carolina.
The result of this large-scale project in North Carolina was an impressive set of searchable and customizable databases of all survey findings, available to each and every participating organization. According to the findings, pay equity remains a problem in North Carolina. Findings from this project can be extrapolated for other libraries to more effectively seek out and advocate for funding for salaries. Findings from two other pay equity studies are highlighted as well. Continue reading
