Happier at work with employee trust

Aoife O’Brien runs the Happier At Work podcast. She does a tremendous job curating ideas that contribute to the concept on workplace satisfaction, employee engagement and productivity.

I was honoured when Aoife invited me to be part of her leadership series. In the podcast we discuss why it is in the interest of any share- and stakeholder that organisations focus on trust. We talk about why trust matters, how high levels of trust impact every metric measured in the business, and how leadership can actively work on improving trust.

Listen to the podcast with Aoife O’Brien and Timen Baart below:

If you’d like to discuss podcast or speaking opportunities, or learn more about how you can improve trust, visit www.trustxp.com or reach out to me directly at tb@timenbaart.com.

Will the world see a baby-boom post Covid-19?

With the world in quarantaine, will we see a baby-boom in 8-10 months? After famous large power-outages, or any other form of restriction of movement (basically locking people into their homes, leaving few options for leisure) articles appear about expected surges in newborn babies.

It’d be a logic expectation to have, as it seems that being locked in a small space with your significant other will trigger nothing less than your most extreme fantasies. However, research of the world’s most famous power outages has shown nothing of the like.

“It is evidently pleasing to many people to fantasy that when people are trapped by some immobilizing event which deprives them of their usual activities, most will turn to copulation,” demographer J. Richard Udry wrote in an article published in 1970 on the effects to the New York City blackout on births.

An article published on Snopes.com, a fact-checking reference site, makes a similar point: “Nine months after such events — blackouts, blizzards, earthquakes, erupting volcanoes, ice storms, and even strikes by professional football players — reports about ‘baby booms’ in local hospitals invariably appear in the media,” the article stated. “However, these ‘booms’ typically prove to be nothing more than natural fluctuations in the birth rate (or, in many cases, no variation in the birth rate at all).”

Of course, expanding your family has never been more rational. Besides physical attraction, family planning is something that has never played a bigger part in the decision to create new life. Financial freedom, as well as a secure future, will be considered when taking the decision. The insecurity that Covid-19 brings is unparalleled to the modern world. Will the global pandemic be over in a few weeks, or will several waves of new cases continue to hunt humans over months to come? Will it trigger future parents to hold back putting a newborn into the world?

Maybe this time it’s different. Whatever the outcome might be, Newborn24 will be well equipped to reap any benefits if the population numbers do surge at the end of 2020.

Why should we hire a consultant?

Why should you hire a consultant? An excellent question, with a diverse set of possible answers.

I was asked this question recently, and decided to respond with a comparison that many people can relate to in their personal life. It convinced my prospect, and can maybe help you to make a considered decision.

See a consultant as a coach, or a personal trainer. The personal trainer in the gym is an individual with extreme expertise in one area of work. For a few hours per week, you might require this individual to assist you. Her specific knowledge will help you be much more effective during those rough hours in the gym.

A personal trainer can also work as a doctor. If you don’t know where the issue is, or how to solve it, let a professional with specific knowledge of the matter look at it. And possibly, hopefully, you don’t see this person for a while.

Or what about painting the house? If there is a job you definitely don’t want to do, or you don’t consider it core to your own capabilities, then why not hire a painter to do the work for you? It could be a one-off, or it could be on a continuous basis, like a cleaner.

TLDR; Consultants are like coaches. They have expertise in a specific area, and can help your business to improve. If the required expertise is core to your business, then hire the person on a full-time basis. If it isn’t core, but important to be fixed, then hire a consultant.

Me and my team are experts in motivation, employee engagement, overall business performance, and measurement and improvement of trust.
If you need a consultant (or just very smart tools), do reach out to me at tb@timenbaart.com.

 

Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash