Striking a Harmony Between Professional Commitments and Personal Well-Being

Integrating your hobbies and interests into your work is essential for a more balanced and rewarding life. When you derive pleasure from what you do, it becomes less of a chore and more of a fulfilling experience. I enjoy reading and writing in my leisure time and can also utilize these skills in my job. It makes me appreciate my work more and gives me a sense of purpose and satisfaction in my personal life. Therefore, if you cherish a passion or hobby, don't hesitate to incorporate it into your profession. You'll be astounded at how positively it can impact your personal and professional life.

Achieving a Healthy Work-Life Balance:

After the pandemic, mental and emotional breakdown cases continue to be a problem at work and even in our homes. The inability to cope with life's challenges may be attributed to the volatility and uncertainties brought about by our environment and the increasing economic difficulties due to inflation and the high prices of commodities. Many companies and organizations cannot grant salary increases because they are still trying to recover from the loss incurred during the pandemic. Being mindful of our health mentally and physically should be kept from being set aside, however busy we are with our work.

Finding a balance between work and personal life is crucial to avoid burnout and ensure overall well-being. You can accomplish this by scheduling specific times for work and personal activities and sticking to them as closely as possible. Furthermore, incorporating your interests and hobbies into your work can bring satisfaction and reduce stress. I enjoy my work writing, researching, designing training programs, and facilitating. However, it can be stressful if the loads pile up as we try to catch up with the growing needs of our cooperative members. My way to ease stress is through painting. Physically though, it can tax my arms and wrists. Thus, it is still essential to be mindful of our health. I make sure to find rest hours whenever I can.

Remember to take breaks when needed and prioritize your mental health and happiness. Though it may require some trial and error, achieving a healthy balance is worthwhile for improving your overall quality of life. Developing a habit may be the key to these. Of course, there may be times when one feels sluggish and not on the move. I found out that watching inspirational movies or dramas inspires me. Just lately, I have been watching the success stories of Stephen Curry in Underrated and Magic Johnson's series on apple tv. One common thing among these exemplary basketball players is their passion for their work. Their interest and passion become synonymous with breathing. Thus, work becomes play, and playing becomes their livelihood. Finding our interests and learning to love what we do would help us find a balance between work and health.

To attain balance in our lives, we can adopt these five tips to assist in upholding a satisfying and harmonious way of living:

1. Set Boundaries and Prioritize: Clearly define your work hours and stick to them as much as possible. Communicate these boundaries to your colleagues and clients to manage their expectations. Prioritize your tasks and focus on the most important ones, allowing you to manage your time effectively.

2. Take Regular Breaks: Avoid overworking by taking regular daily breaks. Step away from your desk, go for a short walk, or practice some relaxation techniques. Vacations can help refresh your mind, reduce stress, and boost your productivity when you return to work.

3. Create a Dedicated Workspace: Set up a separate workspace at home or make your office environment more comfortable and inspiring. Having a designated area for work can help you mentally switch between work and personal life, promoting better focus during working hours and a more precise separation when you're done.

4. Learn to Say No: It's crucial to know your limits and not overcommit yourself. Learn to say no to additional projects or tasks when your plate is full. This will prevent burnout and allow you to dedicate time to your personal life and activities that matter most to you.

5. Engage in Activities Outside of Work: Make time for hobbies, exercise, spending quality time with family and friends, or pursuing personal interests. Engaging in activities outside of work can help you recharge, reduce stress, and provide a sense of fulfillment beyond your professional life.

Remember, achieving work-life balance is an ongoing process that occasionally requires adjustments. Be patient and willing to adapt your routine to find what works best. Prioritizing your well-being and finding harmony between work and personal life will lead to a more satisfying and healthier lifestyle.

How Can we Ensure Employees' Loyalty to the Organization?

 

Source:  Shilton Symon's LinkedIn account 

I came across this post by Shilton Symon, a Group Tax and Compliance manager and LinkedIn influencer. I got curious and looked at the comments, and many did agree with him. One remark even mentioned that he has been with one company for several years and has been giving his best to the company. But whenever it's time for the company to return its efforts, there are always the same excuses... and so on (I guess you get the picture).  Work life realities, there are still many organizations struggling to put together an equitable reward system.

As an HR practitioner, this can be tough to handle if you have no reward program in place. Also, this can happen if your performance management is not aligned with a well-designed reward system for the employees. The kind of leadership that an organization has, and the effectiveness of its HR management strategies play a vital role in employees' satisfaction.

Shilton Symon redefined "Employees' Loyalty" by aligning it with the current scenario or trend in workforce management. We cannot expect this generation to stay longer in an organization if their needs are not met. Sad to say, today's generation is a smart generation. They are not martyrs, or the culture has changed -- they know what they are entitled to and they will give you their best, provided that you acknowledge that they are acknowledged as partners in meeting organizational objectives.

With this change in culture and workforce demand, the Human resources management team should be able to communicate to executives and organizational leaders how to sustain exceptional employees. With a very good combination of HR programs, demoralization may not be an issue, and we can expect loyalty from our employees. We would rather maintain efficient, effective, and exceptional workers than have meager, long-staying employees who just stay with us because of the regularity of their salary.

WHAT CAN WE DO AND HOW SHOULD WE DO IT?

Start with the basics, meet employees' needs

If we are leaders of our respective organizations, we should see to it that the employees are well compensated and that their effort equates to their market value. When we hire, we have high expectations for the position. The question is: is your compensation and benefits package competitive enough and at least meet the minimum range for the job's market value?

Salary increases yearly as the minimum wage order increases yearly in our country. However, there are some employees who have been with us whose salary may have moved minimally as well. The incoming employees may ask for higher salaries compared to the incumbent employees. If you offer higher salaries to new employees, it would surely impact the morale of long-staying employees in the same position. Check if you consciously adjust your salary structure as wage order increases the minimum wage for the lower ranks.

Also, have you promised salary increases to your employees? Is it written in your policy? Some organizations forgot to honor this promise to their employees. The problem of not meeting the targets and not being able to have enough funds for salary increases becomes a regular excuse for the organization. Note that this is an indication of organizational inefficiency, if this occurs before the pandemic, and still the same case or result after the pandemic. As the leader in your respective industry, you have the obligation to honor your promises to the employees.

Ensure that you have an effective Employee Relations program

When an organization is still small, communication is much more open. However, as the organization expands and grows, communication becomes complicated.  

The role of HR plays a big role here. When there are more employees, it is imperative that communication with employees is open and fluid. The first-line managers have the responsibility to communicate with their subordinates and determine if they are faring well with their jobs. The first-line managers should have skills in coaching and mentoring, as well as providing guidance to their second-liners. HR, in turn, should ensure that supervisors and managers understand and practice this leadership skill - employee relations. If supervisors and managers are not skilled in cascading policies, processes, and standards to employees, the bigger problem would be for HR. HR may be blamed, though it's not within their jurisdiction.

HR is expected to have a feel for every employee. They are the consultants for the leaders and the managers in terms of handling employees. Their tools are the HR programs like performance management systems, compensation & benefits packages, learning and development plans, job evaluation, and talent management programs.  

Performance Management System

Performance management serves as a platform for immediate superiors to give feedback to their subordinates, whether they are meeting the organizational expectations. It allows the managers to check on each employee that they manage, and provide the mentoring if necessary. It also serves as a platform to commend employees for a job well done.

The performance result should be aligned with the reward system. It is common for some organizations to give incentives and bonuses across the board. Though it may seem fair to give equal benefits, actually it is not fair for performing employees. They may feel that since everybody receives the same monetary benefits whatever their performance (may it be poor or outstanding), what is the use of giving extra effort? Average performance may become the standard of the organization if this is the case. But if incentives, training, and other forms of rewards are aligned with their performance, then employees will get the message that if they want to travel and be more noticed for promotions, they would have to perform more than the average.

Performance is not always equated with income or profit. Do not forget that the support services also contribute to the achievement of organizational objectives. Without the help of support services, the operations people will not be able to perform their functions well.

Learning and Development Programs

Check if each employee is growing in the organization. As a case, an employee who entered an organization as an expert, bringing in a lot of improvements and resources to our organization, does not mean he or she doesn't have any training needs. They can only be at their best if there's continuous development. They can only give what they have.  

Also, those who are not involved in the operations, may not be able to bring clear income to the organization. But if you look at what they have contributed to the realization of the organization, should be accessed and be given equivalent compensations. Being negligent of their expertise may result in losing hard-to-find talents.  

Job Evaluation and Compensation-Benefit Programs

Check the important job or functions in your organization. Usually, leadership posts and high-risk posts are the hardest to place. Job evaluation should be conducted regularly to ensure that you have an aligned compensation-benefit package with its market value. Competition for specialized skills is becoming severe, especially for posts that involve critical-thinking skills, management skills, and leadership skills. Routine jobs are now becoming obsolete as technology and AI addresses them. Mental skills are even challenged by AI. It can generate responses by consolidating available information on the web. But higher skills like critical thinking, analysis, and curation of information will stay.

Consistency in the implementation of compensation standards speaks loudly to employees.  Timely delivery of services, clarity of policies, and equitable treatment provide security to employees.  If not done efficiently, and effectively, employees can be unforgiving because today's consumerism bothers everyone.  Gone are the days that we are secured to have enough.  That's the same reason why insurance and emergency funds become significant to every household.  As HR, it is our responsibility to ensure that the salaries and benefits are released on time and accurately.

Other non-monetary benefits add value to our organizations.  Especially if these benefits would address the current needs of our employees.  After the pandemic, we realized the value of HMO cards and mental hygiene programs.  Current workforces are also looking at the newer working conditions such as the "working from home" setup, due to the increasing difficulties of commuting or the need to be present at home for their families.  Note that several platforms have sprouted for online WFH jobs or freelancing.

If this article makes sense, please share.  If you have some comments or questions, feel free to message me using the comment or feedback form.

How HR or Recruiters Process Your Application?

Photo source:  Getty Images

There are so many job vacancies in the market. And there are much more applicants not finding a job.  

Are you an applicant?  Why are you looking for a job?  A job is not a career.  Are you looking for a career? 

When applying, we need to determine our personal objectives.  Human Resource (HR) or recruiters are eager to find the right candidates but there's a formula to finding the right fit for the position.  HR don't just hire applicants who finished a college fit for the post.  They are also looking for the right attitude, potentials, and cultural fit.  How you state your personal objective in finding a job tells the HR that you know what career path you want to make or how you will carry out yourself in a work setup.

A Well Written Resume is Never Enough to Land you a Job.  Yes, your curriculum vitae (CV) is the gateway for HR to see if you have the skills, knowledge and experiences necessary for the position.  Work life realities, above your resume, HR would have to see your decision-making skills and so they ask you situational questions to determine how you think.  

Nowadays, there are several online tools and resume-writing services to help you prepare your CV. They can align your resume to the job requirement by adding information that determines your skills and competencies. Your job is to prove that what you have written in your resume is true and correct. HR, through interviews, validates this information. There are also some assessments that measure your skills. So be honest with your resume. Have confidence in selling yourself and do not feel frustrated if you fail, because it's for your good and the company. If you are not fit for a post, you may find yourself struggling very hard during the probationary phase. You may lose time, effort, and confidence if you think of it as a trial-and-error venue. That is why I always advise new graduates during career talks that if they are going to apply for a position in a company, prior to applying, try to study more about the organization, and see if they meet the minimum criteria for the job.

Companies are looking for employees who would stay long.  This is the reason why HR or recruiters ask "Where do you see yourself 3 years or 5 years from now". They are gauging you if you are a keeper. Though this is not fixed, and the employee may change their mind later on, still if you have a mindset that you just need to get experience for a year to find your dream job, this will be reflected in your actions and answers. Your sincerity during interviews will show.

Your Entry Job may not be your Career plan, but it surely is your 1st step on the ladder.  Learn well what kind of organization you will apply for. The 1st Job you'll get from that company may not really be your target career. But know that within that organization, the career that you are aspiring for may open its doors for you in the future. Do your job well and you will have higher chances of getting your dream job when opportunities come. Companies now are very conscious that they need to show the career path plan to their employees so that they will not jump off the board or resign. Employees may transfer from one position to another and through this, the company would be able to keep the knowledge resources. It is more costly to hire constantly than to retain employees. The risk lies in operational delays that resulted from retraining, and adjustments needed by new employees.

Let me end my tips here so that you will not have information overload. My last word is carefully plan for your application. Be ready for the interview by keeping yourself informed about the position and the organization.

 

Why is it necessary for Credit Unions to conduct process reviews?

 Work life realities... Shortcuts may be fast, but if you want quality outputs, take the long road by understanding the principles behind why we need to go through processes.

As managers of our respective functions, there are times that we have to sacrifice some meetings and prioritize preventive measures to bring everybody to the same page, particularly if it has something to do with our major goals and objectives. Just this morning, we skipped our usual Monday devotion and had a separate meeting to discuss our report for the balanced scorecard. We zoom in on our major programs and projects so that we will be able to see where we are in our annual plans.

During the BSC (Balance Score Card) deliberation, we saw that there were some activities that we haven't attended yet. So, we have to review which processes were missed and address them ASAP.  

After our BSC meeting, another meeting ensues. It's the orientation on the ISO Process evaluation plan to align us with the process review objectives. Many may say that too many meetings hamper operations, resulting in delays and missed deadlines. But process review and evaluation is one meeting that we should not miss.  

If you are a new manager or supervisor, these are what we need to understand why process review is very important for the achievement of our strategic objectives:

1. Decision Making: Process evaluation offers insightful information and useful insights that can aid in making well-informed decisions. credit unions can spot trends, patterns, and areas for improvement by examining key performance indicators. Strategic choices, resource allocation, and initiatives for process change can all be influenced by this information.
2. Members' Satisfaction: Regularly reviewing and evaluating processes helps credit unions understand the needs and expectations of stakeholders, including members, employees, and partners. By aligning processes with their requirements, credit unions can enhance satisfaction levels, improve relationships, and foster a positive reputation.
3. Performance Improvement: Recognizing areas that are inefficient, ineffective, or out-of-date is made easier by routinely assessing and evaluating procedures. Credit unions can find possibilities for improvement, streamline workflows, and increase overall performance by examining the current processes.
4. Quality Assurance: Process review and evaluation ensure that established procedures and standards are followed consistently. Credit unions can uncover deviations, non-compliance, or potential quality issues by evaluating the effectiveness of processes. This aids in preserving quality service and fulfilling members' expectations.
5. Risk Management: Process review and evaluation help identify potential risks and vulnerabilities in existing processes. Credit unions can find gaps and put the right safeguards in place to reduce risks by evaluating the effectiveness of control mechanisms. This contributes to improved risk management and ensures compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
6. Cost Optimization: Evaluating processes allows credit unions to identify areas of unnecessary duplication, resource wastage, or inefficient practices. Credit unions can save costs, increase resource efficiency, and improve operational effectiveness by simplifying processes, removing bottlenecks, and cutting out unnecessary stages.
7. Continuous Improvement: The idea of continuous improvement is fundamentally based on reviewing and evaluating processes. By regularly assessing processes, credit unions can foster a culture of learning, adaptability, and innovation. Processes can be improved, new ideas can be tried out, and improvements can be made over time using feedback from evaluations.

Overall, process review and evaluation give credit unions the tools they need to find areas for growth, maximize performance, control risks, and manage hazards. It is a crucial procedure for credit unions seeking operational excellence and maintaining their competitiveness in a fast-paced financial market.

Why Training Need Analysis is Essential before Sending Employees to Training?

It was one Saturday morning when I received an inquiry about training programs that I could conduct for managers and employees. It would be easy for me to just give the person a list of what I can run, but instead, I asked if they had specific training needs identified. Unfortunately, they don't have. They are asking because an audit is coming very soon and they need to send their employees to training for compliance purposes.

This is a sad story for an HR practitioner like me. Just sending our employees to public training is not so practical and would be a waste of money. The person who attends training that is not aligned with their interests and developmental needs will take the training for granted.  

Training needs may be identified through job evaluation, performance evaluation, or specifically through the conduct of a training needs assessment (TNA). TNA is a process where you identify competency gaps and the career development interests of the employees. If done properly, it will help the organization save costs and improve the efficiency of the employees. It is the very first step to take before designing a training program.

 

How does training need analysis help the organization?  

Strategically speaking, a TNA provides you with a view of probable causes for employees' inefficiency in the performance of their functions. Compare the job expectations to the current skills of the employees, and you will be able to see the skill gaps. By addressing the gaps, you may be able to design a program for how the employee would be able to meet the company's expectations. You may send them to a training program specific to the gaps, or you may find a resource person to mentor and coach them. If there are common skill gaps among your employees, then it will be less costly to find a resource person to conduct the training, than to send them individually to public program offerings.

Another point, training may not always be the answer to identified gaps. The gaps or inefficiency of personnel may be due to misaligned expectations of the employees' performances or maybe a lack of interest in the position they applied for. If this is the case, we recommend that HR interview the employees to determine their interests, career goals, and commitment to staying with the organization.

TNA should also be able to give you a view of how much developmental programming is needed to design and budget your training programs. If there's a wide variety of training needs, it shows that we need to improve our recruitment process. Through recruitment, we make sure that we find the right person for the job openings. However, if the job vacancies are not well defined, it will be very difficult to select candidates that best fit the organization.

In the next article, I will share with you how to conduct a training need analysis. Follow us to receive announcements when new articles are published.