One of the cornerstones of the success of any organization or business is the people behind it. And one of the most reliable ways to guarantee productivity and growth is keeping employee engagement up. A handful of research and statistics show that actively engaged employees perform much better, more likely to go the extra mile, and less likely to take paid time off, or even leave the company when they’re engaged in their work.

Disengaged employees often only do what’s in the job description and usually do not show initiative to better their performance. So, employee engagement is crucial to the morale and productivity of any business. Keeping employees engaged may sound simple, but it is a nuanced subject that needs careful consideration and conscious attention. 

Join Dawn Shuler for an insightful discussion on employee engagement, its impact on your company and employees, and how it can benefit your organization.

Other podcast episodes referenced: Positivity in teams, Positivity vs. negativity, Why employee engagement is something that you must focus on, and Collaborative employee engagement model

The post Episode 172 – Employee engagement, employee happiness, and the choice to make first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

In organizations/companies, training is something that we go through regularly. Be it for operations or human resources, held by the company you’re working on or an external firm, we all experience training in one form or another. Management training, diversity and inclusion training, compliance training may seem superfluous, but we shouldn’t take these for granted.

Often these are treated just like checking a box; we only go through it because it’s required, and then set it aside after and get on with our day.

However, there is a reason why such training exists, and there are valuable things to pick up from it. If you’re attending training, either virtually or in person, an important thing you can do is to figure out the “Deeper Why” and ask yourself these questions, “How can I integrate what I’ve learned into practice?” and “How can I implement these to my daily work-life?” 

Listen in as Dawn Shuler shares the importance of training and why we need to pay a bit more attention to it.

Other podcast episodes referenced: The Deeper Why in everything.

The post Episode 171 – Is your training just checking a box? first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

In a business or professional setting, the best way to get things done correctly and efficiently is through communication. For a business to succeed, communication efforts should be the driving force with whatever situation you’re facing. Not communicating can give out impressions of apathy, callousness, and carelessness. To put it simply, good communication = productivity.

For owners, professionals, and/or employees, here’s a couple of questions to ponder on: Do you effectively communicate? Are you proactively making efforts to communicate? 

Tune in for another informative episode of the Dawn Shuler When People Thrive, Companies Thrive podcast.

Other podcast episodes to reference: You must respond. You must communicate. and Don’t make me hunt you down

The post Episode 170 – Are you willing to communicate? first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

The way we communicate now is very different. With modern technology, the way we communicate from 8 months ago has changed dramatically because of COVID-19. Before, we could lightly knock and poke our heads in a colleague’s office doors; now communication is mostly done digitally, usually in the form of emails, direct messages, text messages, and the like. As a result, much of the way we communicate is forcibly done through writing.

So what we can all take away from this? Each person has a preferred way of communicating, and not everyone is suited to communicating through text. A good question to ask ourselves is, “What unconscious habits have I created? Because of these changes, are there things that we need to take into consideration?”

Tune in as Dawn Shuler presents an enlightening episode about communication during these times.

The post Episode 169 – Communication is different now first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

Our lives look far different now than they were about a year ago. If there’s anything to learn from events this year, it’s the crucial importance of self-care. Every day we’re faced with situations that can mentally or physically take its toll.

I’ve talked before about energy units and how they’re finite. Some of us wake up with fewer energy units because of what’s going on. The social distancing, staying at home, missing important events from family and friends, all these seemingly little things can add up and drain us. We’re constantly facing circumstances that can take energy units away from us. So what do we do to mitigate this?

Tune in as Dawn discusses self-care, compassion, and how we can manage our energy units for a stable and healthy life.

Other podcast episodes referenced: We’re at capacity, Still at capacity, Navigating turmoil, and Crisis and compassion.

The post Episode 168 – Energy units, self-care, and compassion first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

It was a delight interviewing Lisa Niser of Taking On Taxes Together. We had an insightful discussion about taxes, finances, and subjects like:

One reason why I think you should listen to this interview… the in-depth talk about properly handling your taxes,  invaluable information delivered in an accessible and non-intimidating manner.

Lisa Niser has been doing taxes for 25 years, first with Big Four accounting firms and for the past 18 years, on her own.  She is often told she is not “the typical accountant” and that her warm, judgment-free style makes dealing with taxes a lot more enjoyable.  Lisa works with individuals, families, and small business owners from all walks of life, taking time to listen, to ask questions, and to help clients understand how taxes in a way that won’t make their brain hurt. Her goal is not to make clients into tax experts but rather to create awareness so they can make decisions that fit their priorities and move them towards meeting or maintaining their goals.

Website: http://www.lisaniser.com/

The post Episode 167 – Interview with Lisa Niser on Financial Health for Employees first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

There’s a lot going on…. no denying it.  If we continue on with our fast thinking, we’ll keep responding out of fear.  So how do we combat that? We need to slow down and go to that place of Be, Do, Have… rather than Have, Do, Be.  What would your higher and wiser self do? Can you channel that slower thinking and peaceful self and make decisions from there?

Listen in as Dawn Shuler discusses how we get caught up in the whirlwind… as well as how we can disengage from the whirlwind and make decision from a place of strategy, logic, and, yes, even peace.

Other podcast episodes referenced:  Are you caught up in fast thinking?

The post Episode 166 – We’re caught up in the whirlwind first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

If there is anything this recent election has taught us is that we all have a voice.  It’s important that we stand up and share it.

That isn’t only true in politics. It’s also true in your organization.  You have a voice. Are you taking advantage of opportunities to use it?

Listen in as Dawn Shuler shares instances where people do – and do not – use their voice in their organizations.

Special bonus:  a favorite scene from one of Dawn’s favorite movies, The King’s Speech.

The post Episode 165 – You have a voice first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

Years ago, I read the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  One concept that greatly impacted me was that each of us is running our own movie in our heads.  In that movie, we are the writer, director, producer, and main star.  Everyone else is a supporting cast member in our movies.

Here’s the kicker:  everyone else is also running their own movie in their heads, and we are but supporting cast members in their movies.

How do the individual movies impact one another?  Listen in as I share stories and examples as well as how we can become more conscious of our movies as well as others’.

The post Episode 164 – How do I fit into your movie? first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.

A couple of years ago, we were interviewing individual employees as part of our Company Climate Inventory with a client.  During this interview, I asked the gentleman about his strengths and gifts, especially with regard to managing others.  He said, “Managing good people is easy.”

“What makes someone ‘good’?” I asked.

“Not lazy,” was his response.

Is that really all that it is?  Just someone doing their job, and therefore managing that person is effortless?

No, it takes more than that.  Listen in as I go a little deeper into defining good managers and good employees.

Other podcast episodes referenced:  the Deeper Why in everything, Are you purpose-driven?, Passionate about forward motion, and Do you send your managers to training?

Photo credit: RoyalAnwar

The post Episode 163 – Managing good people is easy first appeared on The Shuler Group LLC.