When times are hard or things are busy, companies tend to stop onboarding. Yet these are the times it’s most important to get new hires engaged and immersed in the culture quickly.  It used to be standard to wait 30 days to check in on a new employee. We...

When can we start holding people accountable again? This is a question I frequently receive. It does not mean that there is no accountability. What it does mean is that due to staff shortages, leaders are tending to lower the bar on expectations and...

I have spent three decades utilizing surveys. They help provide opportunities for recognition and/or opportunities to learn and improve. A few weeks ago, for example, I shared a column on why companies should periodically “take the temperature” of their...

I spend a lot of time thinking, writing, and speaking on how working in healthcare is a calling. And around graduation time, I tend to think about the notion of “callings” in general. After the past couple of tough years, this subject resonates more than ever. I would...

It’s the time of year for clearing out the old to make room for the fresh and new. We typically think in terms of decluttering our homes or removing dead growth from our outdoor and garden spaces—but it’s just as important to spring clean our minds and renew our...

So many companies are struggling to find workers. It is everywhere. It seems that on most retail store doors, there’s a “hiring” sign posted. At a recent event, a person who works for a county government came up to me and said, “There are no people.” I agree totally...

The critical step in building and sustaining a great organization is the selection of talent. Yet having so many job openings and so few people to fill them can lead to not taking the best steps in hiring. Leaders face so much pressure. Often when we feel...

Do past experiences impact your actions today? The answer is most likely yes. Based on my own experience and learnings, people carry baggage from the past that they may not even be aware of. Then in certain situations, their response is influenced by an event or...

Quite often managers ask for things: more staff, new equipment, implementation of a new process or procedure that they believe will improve the performance of the department. Asking for things that the manager feels are needed is a good thing. At times the...

Burnout has been a hot topic for quite some time—and it’s only getting hotter. There have always been pockets of burnout, especially in high-stress industries like healthcare, but over the past two years, the condition has reached an all-time high. So is it easy to...