“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 to show the overall health of a business at every level. If you can better this statistic, it can result in massive benefits such as a 67% lower employee turnover rate and 21% higher productivity.

In this Process Street post, I’m taking you through what employee engagement is, how to measure it, and what you can do about it to get those lower employee turnover and higher productivity levels. 

• What is employee engagement?
• Reaping the benefits of an engaged employee
• Employee engagement: Can you put a number to it? 
• How to improve job satisfaction and increase employee engagement
• Stop, drop, engage! 

Let’s go!

The larger an organization gets, the more complex it is. More people pulling in different directions creates bottlenecks and slows down an organization’s productivity.

Ideally, human resource departments should be the ones that keep everyone working toward the same goals. Unfortunately, for many companies, HR isn’t working.

According to McKinsey’s 2012 State of Human Capital Report:

• 42% of HR professionals are not taking action against priority areas;
• 65% of HR professionals are not pursuing innovative approaches;
• and 68% don’t have confidence in their strategy.

That’s why, in this Process Street article, we’re going to take this problem seriously and look at:

• What is human resource management?
• The 12 primary focus areas for human resource management
• Automation & data-driven HR
• Modern process management for modern human resources

Let’s get to it.
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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’s also not the most secure option available.

Organizations must turn to software solutions for managing the efficiency of their internal HR procedures, while making 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 Process Street 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?
• Benefits and solutions offered by a HRIS
• Key things to consider when looking for a HRIS
• HRIS features
• Best HRIS software

Let’s get started!
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I play video games at work.

It’s the remote manager’s nightmare: A wayward employee who does whatever they want because they lack the strict supervision of the office to keep them in line. Critics of remote work would seize on this very scenario as proof that remote workers are merely lazy and entitled.

Should employees’ web activity be tracked to make sure they’re putting in a solid eight hours of work time?

For those remote workers who don’t have designated space or equipment that is “work use only,” why should they agree to be surveilled in their homes and on their personal devices?

How do you guarantee that both your clients and your employees can feel secure that what is meant to be private will not be made public?

Most importantly, if the deliverables are delivered when they should be, does it matter how they got there?

In this Process Street post, I’m going to (attempt) to provide answers to some of those questions, discuss the issues employers need to consider before monitoring employees, and look at some “soft surveillance” alternatives to hard data collection.

• The case for workplace monitoring
• In defense of employee autonomy
• Creating a sustainable balance between monitoring & autonomy

Read on!
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“I really must go to the third floor,” Renfield insists over the other employees’ protests. “I’ve been asked to consult with the head of people management about creating an analytics team. They’re expecting me.”

One of the nearby workers grabs Renfield’s lapels and pulls him close. “You don’t understand,” the man says. “We here in the office believe that people management is…” He glances around, nervously, leans closer and whispers, “We believe they’re really… human resources!”

“Oh, that’s just assistants’ gossips,” Renfield says. “Now, really, you must let me through. I have an appointment.”

“Wait!” The office manager pushes through the crowd, waving a form above her head. “If you won’t listen, then take this W-2. It’ll protect you.” She thrusts the form into Renfield’s hand and adds, “It’s riddled with mistakes.”

The third floor is dimly lit, offices still only partially constructed, furniture still draped in plastic. No signs indicate where he should go and a sense of abandonment clings to the scent of still-wet paint. “Hello?” he calls.

A figure appears, the light flickering around them. “I bid you welcome,” they say, and Renfield notices the tappity-tap-tap of many fingers rushing over keyboards. “Listen to them, the collectors of data. What music they make! Come along,” the People Team leader instructs, gliding down the hallway toward a single shaft of light Renfield can swear wasn’t there a moment ago. “Data is the life, Mr. Renfield.”

Wait. Why are you talking about vampires again, Leks?

There is a reason, and I assure you it’s not merely a way to shamelessly shoehorn my side interests into work-related topics. (Mostly.)

For contemporary businesses, data really is the lifeblood of your company. It’s what keeps everything moving from making sure there are paper clips in the supply cabinet to getting your product into the hands of the right user. Without accurate, up-to-date data, your organization isn’t even in the running to be a successful company.

While gathering quality consumer data is essential for the contemporary organization, data analytics has another equally important role to play: people management.

There are four main categories you need to think about for an effective analytics framework: Enablers, Deliverables, Stakeholder Management, and Governance.

In this Process Street post, I’ll explain what they are, how to use them, and how to not be creepy about it. Before you know it, you’ll wonder how you ever made HR decisions before people analytics came along.

• Will you be an HR hero or an HR hooligan?
• Is it time for you to form a people analytics team?
• Isson & Harriot’s 7 Pillars of People Analytics Success
• The 4 ingredient categories of the People Analytics Effectiveness Wheel
• Power tools for your people analytics team
• A word of caution on people analytics procedures

Let’s analyze some data!
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Unless you work with small children or large animals, the expectation of staying dry at work is pretty high. I know my workstation is very not water-resistant.

So when Blake Thorne (our product marketing manager) pitched me an article about DRY, I had no idea what he was talking about. According to our three wise men in engineering, that’s to be expected. The DRY principle is almost exclusively used in software development; those of us outside don’t have much cause to consider it.

Or do we?

And this is what Blake wanted to get at. “It’s the principle of ‘don’t repeat yourself,’” he explained. “Cut out all the unnecessary, repetitious code.”

“But one of our values is to overcommunicate,” I countered. “Everything. Twice, even. Don’t those two concepts cancel each other out?”

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But what if they actually don’t?”

I am a sucker for a good what-if.

Here I’ll go over the principle of DRY – plus WET and AHA (oh, those rascally devs) – and how here at Process Street we manage to overcommunicate without repeating ourselves. Because I’m such a nice guy, I’ll also point out the 4 best features to get you on the same path.

• The 3 principles of programming (when you’re not a programmer)
• Process Street’s DRY-est features
• At the risk of repeating myself…

Let’s get to it!
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Joanne Camarce is a digital marketing expert specializing in SEO, eCommerce, and social media. She loves meeting new people and embraces unique challenges. When she’s not wearing her marketing hat, you’ll find Joanne fine-tuning her art and music skills.

80% of consumers say that customer experience is just as important as the products or services that a company provides.

Employees and new hires must have the skills to create positive experiences that bring customers back and get them to spread the word about your brand.

This is where people intelligence comes in.

People intelligence isn’t just a buzzword or a passing fad. 71% of organizations now see it as a high priority.

But what does people intelligence mean, and how can you apply it in your company?

In this Process Street blog post, we’ll look at the following:

• What is people intelligence?
• How can you apply people intelligence
• How can improving customer service boost your bottom line?
• Tips for building your company’s people intelligence

Let’s dive in!
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Mike Nemeroff is the co-founder and CEO of RushOrderTees. An entrepreneur from an early age, Mike and his siblings started a small screen printing business in their garage as teens and RushOrderTees was born. Under Mike’s leadership, the business has grown into the $75 million dollar ecommerce company that it is today with more than 225 employees.

Everyone wants to have a successful business, but getting there can be a challenge. Your team can make or break a project. For that reason, you need to surround yourself with individuals who can provide an added boost to your production levels.

Who should you choose for your team?

It takes all personality types to successfully manage a team and pull them towards your objectives. You need to find the right people who can work together and motivate others to meet your business needs.

The best types of team members give your business the right momentum and direction while providing open communication. Running a business can be difficult, but finding the most qualified people to fill those vital roles is even more complicated. You need to choose individuals who are willing to support, guide, and even challenge your ideas.

This Process Street post will walk through the four best personalities that can help run a successful organization:

• Workplace personality #1: The Leader
• Workplace personality #2: The Task Manager
• Workplace personality #3: The Abstract Thinker
• Workplace personality #4: The Champion

Let’s dive in!
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This guest post is written by Andriy Zapisotskyi. Andriy is founder and CEO of GrowthMate and writes from his experience helping teams communicate clearly with customers.

Customer success communications are the conversations that help customers understand a product, resolve problems, and keep moving toward the outcome they expected. Good etiquette makes those conversations clear, accountable, and easy to act on, from the first acknowledgement to the final confirmation.

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Does anyone have the number for Jeff Bezos?

He owes me over $10,000.

Thanks to his 1-Click checkout, I must’ve purchased at least $10,000 worth of stuff that I didn’t need or want. He’s made it way too easy to purchase from Amazon and it’s got to stop.

So, yeah if you have his number I will…Wait… What’s that?

Bezos didn’t come up with the 1-Click checkout idea? It wasn’t his idea to make it possible to buy a Tibetan Buddhist necklace worth $169,000 in one single click?

Well, if it wasn’t entrepreneurial Bezos, the innovator and founder of Amazon and the Blue Origin spaceship, then who on earth was it?

Regular Amazon employee, programmer, and intrapreneur: Peri Hartman.

Thanks to Peri’s pioneering checkout idea and Amazon’s unwavering belief in intrapreneurship (harnessing the power of innovation from within the workplace), the 1-Click checkout gave Amazon a huge competitive advantage, re-wrote the entire book on eCommerce, and ruined my life. They also made a cool $177bn by slapping a patent on it and licensing the idea out to others.

But despite this example, many companies fail to harness the power of their existing internal innovators. Preferring instead to hire external resources to execute ground-breaking ideas, boost competitor advantage, and improve ways of working.

So, taking more intrapreneurial examples from the likes of Apple, Facebook, and Google, this Process Street post will help you understand the importance of intrapreneurship and shine a light on the hidden entrepreneurial resources that lie within your company:

• Are intrapreneurs just shy entrepreneurs waiting for their big break?
• Proof that encouraging intrapreneurship is good for business
• How to recognize intrapreneurs and nurture intrapreneurship within your organization

Ready to see what’s right in front of your nose?

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