Layoffs have lost their stigma, going viral | NY considers hiring migrants for hard-to-fill jobs | 5 reasons you may not want to lead like Tesla's Musk
Being laid off, which used to be kept private, is now shared on social media by the former employees who speak candidly about their experiences. HR leaders call it a paradigm shift that began with the mass layoffs earlier during the COVID-19 pandemic and has removed the stigma of losing a job.
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New York state is evaluating a program under which it would hire migrants and asylum-seekers who are authorized to work in the US for entry-level positions for which there are very few applicants. The state has found about 4,000 jobs that the migrants could perform with a little training and support while they overcome any shortcomings in the skills they need for the jobs.
Employers looking to attract and retain talent need to be strategic and innovative with their benefit offerings so they stand out from other companies and organizations, writes Cheri Wheeler, vice president for Kelly Benefits Strategies. Options to consider include enhanced medical coverage, homeowner assistance, student loan repayment help, an employer-assisted housing program, family-centered benefits to improve work-life balance, and broader help with retirement saving, Wheeler writes.
Minnesota is investing $2.4 million to help underserved adults train for the workforce. The grants will go to 24 organizations working with women and people of color to develop skills for long-term employment in nontraditional fields.
Hybrid work models that focus on flexibility, collaboration and engagement are effective at companies such as ParkMobile, which only requires employees to be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Model N, which offers Coffee Fridays to help remote employees engage with each other, HR leaders say. "We found that giving employees the freedom of choice to decide when, where and how they work has improved performance," says Dena Upton, chief people officer at Drift, which emphasizes productivity instead of hours worked.
I want to continue the conversation I introduced yesterday about career trajectories and personal narratives.
Rick Stamberger is the former CEO and co-founder of SmartBrief (he sold the company in 2019 to Future PLC, our parent company.) Those who follow this column know how much I respect Rick and enjoyed working for him. Yesterday, I found a story about his career trajectory that he wrote almost a year ago. I knew some of his story, but not all of it. Rick is a natural storyteller, so the article had me riveted. Here are the lessons I pulled from it.
Pay attention to what you discover about yourself. Rick’s father, a sales manager at a steel company, got tangled in some internal politics and wound up taking early retirement. The experience left a bad taste in Rick’s mouth, and he decided he never wanted to work in a large organization.
Read, read, read. Rick is a reader. I learned that early in my time at SmartBrief. He reads newspapers, magazines, newsletters, books, you name it. And it shows. He has a sharp intelligence and deep knowledge of many subjects.
But I also think reading fueled Rick’s enjoyment of his work. In this article, he talks about how Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms To Fail was the blueprint he used to build SmartBrief. I sense that Christensen’s book fired up Rick’s creative engines. It energized him to create a company that served an important need for business professionals.
People are the key. People were pivotal to Rick’s success. He credits several mentors and peers for helping him learn, risk, grow and flourish. They sharpened him and kept him honest.
Rick also believed in hiring smart people. "I’ve won by surrounding myself with people who are smarter than me. You can never be the smartest at everything,” he wrote.
This wasn’t lip service for Rick. He knew he didn’t have all the answers. But he believed that if he hired smart, creative people -- and then gave them resources and tools -- they would build products that would soar. And he was right.
What’s your career story? What lessons do you have to share with others? We are in the process of developing a new story series called “Next” focusing on people’s career histories -- where they started, where they are now, lessons they learned along the way, and how they have navigated the tricky areas of their work lives. We are looking for folks who would be willing to share their story. If this is you, let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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