Recent Posts by Jason Richmond

The right culture makes or breaks an organization’s success. It’s as critical as business, operational, or financial strategy. So why do organization leaders and senior executives ignore the signs of culture erosion? We can assume that they do because (according to Dynamic Signal, an employee communication and engagement company), 51 percent of the US workforce is disengaged, causing massive losses in productivity—between $450 billion and $500 billion a year. Juggernauts like O...

The workplace of today is not your father’s (or mother’s) workplace.  Change is so rapid it may not even be your older sibling’s workplace. The rapid advance of technology and the millennial generation’s rise into management positions have opened up immense opportunities. But they are opportunities that also bring a whole new set of challenges. For employees, the benefits go beyond no longer being tethered to a desk and no longer forced to endure long commutes...

A century and a half ago, when a person wanted to be remembered (what marketers today call “being top of mind”), it was customary to leave a card whenever one went out “calling.” In those days, you couldn’t pick up a phone and call your friends or send them an email to check in. You personally visited the homes of friends, family, and social peers; you would leave a calling card if the person wasn’t home. A calling card was similar to a business card. It displayed the person’s...

Growth via mergers and acquisitions are on the mind of many small-to-medium business (SMB) executives these days, judging by their frequency. Since 2015, mergers and acquisitions have been happening at record-setting levels. The global value of M&A deals exceeded $3.6 trillion in 2017 - the fourth consecutive year to exceed $3 trillion. In fact, with nearly 50,000 deals announced worldwide, it was the strongest year for mergers and acquisitions since record-keeping began in...

What’s more important during recruiting—culture fit or skills? As unemployment dips below 4 percent, this question is a critical one for employers that want to attract and retain the best people. The truth is, both are important. However, if you had to choose, cultural fit should win out. That’s because while you can train for skills, you can’t train for fit. Cultural fit is innate; it’s more about a candidate’s outlook on life than anything you’ll find in a textbook,...

Culture is becoming increasingly important to a company’s ability to attract and retain top talent. And that means that recruiters must be adept at communicating effectively about their culture to prospective employees. In short, they must be able to create and communicate compelling culture stories. Why Culture Stories Matter to Today’s Talent So what’s a culture story? It’s the story of what matters to your organization, told from the perspective of its people. Once upon a...

We hear a lot these days about millennials in the workforce; how many there are, how different their values and approach to work are from other generations. I made a similar observation in a past post about How Culture Can Unify—or Divide—Your Workforce.  But are the generations (and their values) really so different in the workplace? Or does the generation gap have less to do with the different generations’ values and more to do with their approach to living out those...

Let’s say you’re doing a lot of things right when it comes to culture. However, whenever a new employee joins your company, the way they are welcomed may undermine all your efforts. If you’re like most employers, your onboarding processes may not reflect the culture you’re trying to build. Many employers lack a formal process to help new employees become a part of the team. The hope seems to be that—over time—employees will simply acclimate. Unfortunately, this...

Culture, or the shared experiences, beliefs and values that make each organization unique, has the power to unify people around a common purpose, or divide individuals in a way that undermines it. Culture provides a sense of belonging that supports your organization’s mission. When a unifying culture is missing, the resulting conflict can take a heavy toll on the organization, its customers, and its partners. If your organization is seeking to bring your people together...