The word “culture” alone is hard enough to define.

So when it comes to “workplace culture”, those trying to pin down its exact meaning have their work cut out for them.

What makes your quest harder is that “workplace culture” has become somewhat of a buzzword in the business world, muddying the waters of its true definition and making it harder to uncover and understand.

In this post, I’m going to explain the specific what’s, why’s, and how’s of workplace culture, on top of discussing why instilling a positive, forward-thinking workplace culture is not only commendable, but critical to success. (Companies with strong workplace cultures have employees who are 12% more productive, in addition to seeing a 20% increase in sales and 21% expansion in overall profitability.)

Read through the following sections to understand workplace culture thoroughly:

• What’s the definition of workplace culture?
• Workplace culture examples
• Ways to better your company’s culture in the workplace
• Resources for strengthening your company’s culture

Let’s dive straight in.

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The following is a guest post by Eric Lawton. Eric has been part of the Human Resources sector for most of his career. During this period, he has learnt how to create and tweak hiring strategies to choose specific industries and companies. These days, he prefers to share his experience and knowledge with other people in the business.

The main goal of any workplace is to be as efficient as possible. The more efficient employees are, the more productive they become. This, in the end, leads to greater profits.

Therefore, it stands to reason that you should eliminate any obstacles hindering this process. If you feel that this is easier said than done, though, you are not alone. Most employers have a tough time identifying what the real productivity killers are.

Fortunately, there is quite a lot of research conducted on this topic. As a result, this article contains the relevant statistics and details you need to be aware of. This will make it a lot easier for you to make some real changes in your own workplace.

So, without further ado, here are the efficiency destroyers that you must watch out for:

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Jennifer Lockman graduated from UCLA majoring in Journalism. Now she works as a writer. Her expertise includes general education, e-learning, business, writing, and lifestyle.

Being a manager often puts you in a difficult position.

It isn’t always about smiling and cheering for your employees. It also means that you have to right the wrongs, and come face to face with unpleasant situations.

While there are countless ways to motivate the team and encourage them to attain success, when it comes to tackling the hurdles along the way not all managers have the knack for it.

Of course, one could try to instigate the fear of getting fired if you displease the manager, but that might not be the most effective way to approach a conflict with an employee. Nor is letting them assume that the manager is a pushover.

So if you are dreading that meeting you should have had a long time ago, we are here to tell you what to avoid and how to approach the situation. With adequate communication, a confrontation could help build stronger relationships in the office and boost performance.

In this Process Street article, we’ll cover 11 common mistakes managers make when confronting their employees and provide you with a host of process templates to try to make your life easier!

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Workplace diversity is more than a buzzword. It’s also more than a passing phenomenon.

Whether it’s findings from MIT proving that having an equal gender balance increases revenue, or McKinsey’s discovery that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity have a 35% increase in financial returns above the national average, diversity positively affects both a company’s culture and bottom-line.

At Process Street, we recognize the importance of diversity, but we also understand that improving diversity in the workplace isn’t an easy task for HR teams.

That’s why we’ve created these 8 free templates:

• Diversity Questions Survey
• Diversity Hiring Process
• Employee Complaint Procedure
• Diversity Training Process
• Diversity Management Monthly Audit
• Unconscious Bias Training Guide
• Diversity Initiatives Quarterly Improvement Process
• Code of Conduct Policy Adherence Process

However, before deep-diving into the templates, it’s crucial to have a solid understanding of exactly what diversity in the workplace is, and why it’s profoundly important. This will help you get the maximum possible value from our templates.

With that being said, let’s get started!

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“What is employee engagement?“

I’d been explaining the ins-and-outs of my job to my family for a while but here I had to stop to give more detail. That’s when it hit me.

To most people, employee engagement is jargon.

They see it as an airy concept that doesn’t have a solid definition – it’s something that marketers point at to sell products and nothing more.

The reality couldn’t be further from that.

Employee engagement is a vital statistic which can show the overall health of a business at every level. If you can affect it, it can result in massive benefits such as a 67% lower employee turnover rate and 21% higher productivity.

It’s time to learn what employee engagement is, how to measure it, and what you can do about it.

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“Push through this week and you can take it easy when things ease off.”

I’ve made the mistake of working up to and beyond the point of burnout. In my first few months with Process Street I worked so much that I almost quit through exhaustion.

It shouldn’t have to get that bad before we recognize that burnout is a very real danger for any and every employee.

“Skyrocketing blood pressure and a lowered immune system are common signs of burnout. A cold might knock you down for two weeks instead of two days“, Tony Robbins on the effect of stress and burnout on physical health, How to Recognize Burnout Symptoms Before It’s Too Late

Anyone can suffer from burnout, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted, compounding other small issues into impassable roadblocks, killing productivity and even making them more vulnerable to illness.

Then, if the stress is high or the burnout consistent enough, they’ll quit.

Hiring is expensive, let alone the bad press you’ll get for a team member quitting due to preventable work stress and burnout. Heck, that’s not even counting the productivity loss while the employee is still with you.

Don’t let that happen.

From my own personal experience and the stories of others, I’ve put together this post to show you exactly what burnout is, how to fight it and how to prevent it whether you’re an individual or a team.

Let’s get stuck in.

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Becky Holton is a journalist and a blogger at BestEssays. She is interested in education technologies, best term papers and is always ready to support informative speaking at Brill Assignment. Follow her on Twitter.

Today, we are experiencing unexpected and surprising rise in artificial intelligence. At this point, AI and automation are slowly taking over every industry we have, shaking all our departments, and automating almost everything.

Machines have replaced humans in so many tasks, but simultaneously created various new job opportunities.

The changes happen so fast, it’s really hard to keep track of them. However, by following the progress of AI and using it to our advantage, we can do masterful things with its help, even in the HR department.

Artificial intelligence today

Just think of how far we’ve progressed in this area by now. Automation has taken over the lengthiest administrative assignments that took HR managers hours of every day. AI helps us manage and recruit people, and the myriad of modern automation resources grows by the minute.

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Employees are the vital force driving any organization, and as such making sure that employee information is properly stored and managed is of utmost importance.

Despite the importance of employee data, many HR departments are still filing away paper forms and documents. This is not only inefficient and cumbersome, it is also not the most secure option available.

Organizations must turn to software solutions for managing the efficiency of their internal HR procedures, while being sure to maintain the integrity of dealing with sensitive employee data.

In HR departments, poorly established and implemented policies and procedures directly impact the quality of life of employees within the organization. By tracking HR performance in a reliable way, businesses can improve efficiency and effectiveness of their business practices.

In this article, I’ll take a look at the reasoning for implementing a human resources information system, or HRIS, in your business, and break down:

• What is a HRIS?
• HRIS or HRMS?
• Benefits and solutions offered by a HRIS
• Key things to consider when looking for a HRIS
• HRIS features
• Best HRIS software
• More tools to streamline your HR department

What is a HRIS?

HRIS stands for human resource information system. This is a wordy way of saying that it’s a tool to help keep employee data in order.

Think of it as using a combination of information technology and HR software to improve processes to achieve more goals and objectives in a HR department.

“The key goal for Human Resources is to lead the rest of the organization in creating an open, honest and high performing workplace” – HRM Handbook

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It is by no means easy for any organization to establish a strong identity.

It takes excellent leadership from the get-go to clearly define values, goals, and objectives that stakeholders can stand by and employees feel motivated to forward with consistent high-quality performance.

This is proving increasingly challenging for businesses as there is no clear solution, no clear method to getting it right.

But it’s time serious measures were taken to do something about it.

According to research by Deloitte, culture and engagement is the most important issue companies face around the world, with 87% of organizations citing culture and engagement as one of their top challenges, and 50% call the problem “very important.”

The importance of company culture has become increasingly important over the last couple of decades, as younger generations demand a work environment that feels nurturing, encourages collaboration, and offers challenges that keep them engaged and present opportunities to make a notable impact in some way.

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Humans are unrivaled as the most complex and important component of any business.

We are the creators of ideas and are able to make them a reality in the world of commerce through a collaborative effort. Yes, of course, we can get things done on our own, but scaling a business requires a joint effort between many stakeholders.

This necessity for effective teamwork means that companies need to find, train, and retain employees that fit the workplace environment, gel with other team members, and feel motivated to consistently produce their best work.

While this is the responsibility of managers in all departments, the human resources department is on the front line, and need to have effective systems in place to execute core HR functions, in particular hiring and onboarding processes that set a solid foundation for happy and productive employees.

In this post, we’re going to take a close look at the giant of HR management when it comes to software: Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS).

As company culture, employee satisfaction and productivity have become increasingly important due to the proliferation of job opportunities and demand from younger generations to engage in meaningful work, HRMS has become widely considered as a necessity for HR departments, for SMBs as well as enterprises.

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