Asserting yourself at work is a core skill to master to uphold both your well-being and self-esteem. 

Having healthy boundaries on both a personal and professional level sets you up for success, to perform better, be healthier, command greater respect, and boost your inner confidence and belief in yourself.

Yet, upholding boundaries, saying ‘No’ and generally honouring your own needs at work can be fraught with feelings of guilt, fear and not feeling good enough. 

We don’t want to be seen as ‘work-shy’, lazy, unhelpful, or not a team player.  However, taking on more work or doing something you don't feel is right leads to being stretched and stressed, causes you to feel frustrated, and means you’re less able to do a great job. 

The Ultimate Guide to Employee Retention: It's All About The Communications Experience

Saying ‘yes’ when deep down you know you need to say ‘No’ is bad for you, bad for those around you, and bad for your organization.

Assertiveness, and having the confidence to say ‘No’ when you need to, is something we all need to master.  Here are ways you can do it effectively, for everyone’s greatest good:

Firstly, notice and learn what your triggers are. Reflect back to see where you’ve overstretched yourself, gone against your better personal judgment, or felt frustrated. 

Are there any patterns, perhaps related to a specific colleague, situation, or time-point? Or is it a general theme underpinned by a belief that you can’t (or shouldn’t) push back? 

The more you can understand where and when you fail to listen to yourself, your inner knowing, the more self-aware and prepared you can become.

Failure to assert your own opinions or honor your needs is often grounded in a fear of the consequences of upholding those boundaries. If you say ‘No’ then you worry something bad will happen or the other person will be upset in some way. 

But remember your time and well-being are equally as precious as another person’s.  Don’t make assumptions that they’ll not be supportive, treat you differently, or be annoyed.  You’ve really nothing to lose.  Plus you’ll likely command more respect for being open and honest and inspire them to honor their own needs too.

Start to give yourself some time before you respond to requests and fully commit.  This bit of space will ensure you say ‘Yes’ to the right things, take on the right work for the right reasons and save hours of potential stress and frustration in the long run. 

You’ll also take the pressure off yourself and be able to assess your workload, the requirements etc with a calmer frame of mind in order to make the right decision, unfuelled by pressure or emotion. 

Say you’ll come back to them in a given (appropriate) timeframe with your answer and make sure you do.  Even having a few minutes to think it through might be enough.

If you decide that ‘No’ is the way to go then you’ll likely have to ride the inner uncomfortableness and call up a dose of courage. 

Honoring yourself and upholding boundaries isn’t something you’re used to doing which is why it feels awkward and difficult, but give yourself time and you’ll soon feel more confident and empowered, especially when you begin to feel the benefits and reduce your frustration and stress levels.

Show the other person empathy and understanding for their situation when you give your answer, perhaps explain why you’re saying ‘No’ (although by all means don’t feel you have to justify it!) and have options ready to explore. 

Could this work or request be reprioritized, taken on by someone else if it is a priority, swapped with other less time-critical work, or delayed to another date?  Perhaps you could play a supportive, but smaller role in the work instead?

Discussing options isn’t just another route to getting you to go back to your original position however and end up saying ‘Yes’.  Be firm, but kind. 

How you say ‘No’ is important.  Be assertive, yet understanding and solution-focussed.  Don’t give the other person false hope you might be able to do it after all, all in the name of being too nice.  It serves nobody well and undermines your integrity.

Know that it’s impossible to please everyone all of the time.  Some people will totally understand and respect your decisions, others will be aggrieved, but that’s just how it is. 

If their response is negative, don’t read too much into it.  It’s not personal, and they’re entitled to feel frustrated or annoyed, but that doesn’t mean your needs or opinions shouldn’t be respected or honored.

Practice makes perfect, it’s said.  Getting confident at saying ‘No’ or pushing back takes time and practice. You might even practice at home or role-play it with a friend or trusted colleague. 

It’s a learned skill and one you can master. You might even be surprised at how people respect you more—because what you’re actually doing is respecting yourself more and thus commanding respect. 

It also develops trust in you that when you commit you’ve considered it fully and then are fully committed to doing a good job - you’re not just an easy target who’ll always say ‘Yes’ and please others.

At the end of the day if you want to feel better at work AND do a better job, saying ‘No’ for the right reasons and in the right way has to be part of your skillset.

How to Say 'No' to Your Stakeholders With Confidence

It’s early on a Monday morning. Your mind is easing its way toward work, yet you’re resistant, still enjoying the freshness and quiet of your walk.

Ping! You hear the familiar text message alert from work. So early, you think, grimacing as you pull out your phone to see who or what it might be. It’s from our CEO, David Levin. It must be something very important indeed! 

So, you respond, at least initially, before ghosting “David” once you realize what’s happening.

The screenshot above is a real and recent example of “smishing” which, along with “phishing,” is a type of “social engineering.” 

What Millennials and Gen Z Want: And What Companies Can Do to Keep Them

In the realm of cyber security, social engineering involves an attempt on the part of a “bad actor” to persuade someone to provide their personal or confidential information for purposes of fraud (including maliciously gaining entry to a company’s network). 

The perpetrator might use a phone call, an email or text message, or even an in-person visit to psychologically manipulate the recipient into taking some action—by means of, for example, invoking authority, urgency, fear, or other emotion. 

(Social Engineering and its complexities will be the topic of a future blog.)

This popular scam (requesting purchase of gift cards) is probably familiar to many, but certainly not to all. In this instance the bad actor is using “authority” to try to manipulate the recipient into carrying out their request; after all, it’s hard to say no to the boss.

What happens if you do decide to assist? Maybe it’s near the end of the quarter and you’re aware that many folks in the company are busy trying to land that last deal. 

Depicted in the screenshots below is a part of a recent exchange between “Andrew O’Shaughnessy” (not the real Andrew, founder of Poppulo, of course) and an employee. “Andrew” initially emailed the employee, requesting their What’s App number.

Here, “Andrew” leverages not only “authority” but also “urgency” in his quest to manipulate the employee into purchasing iTunes cards “right away.” Why he would need these for a “presentation in a few minutes” is unclear, but the employee takes the request seriously. 

As the conversation continues, “Andrew” provides the number and denomination of electronic cards he needs. When the employee states they don’t have the necessary funds in their bank account, “Andrew” pushes harder: “you need to find a way to get this done…. I will advise you to get a loan from a friend or relatives,” adding that he’ll reimburse the employee immediately upon completion of the task.

Again, luckily, as in the scenario noted earlier, this employee had doubts about the request and contacted their manager prior to taking any further steps. 

It’s easy to see, though, how one might become caught up in the moment and respond to the authority and urgency invoked in the request.

What, then, should you do when you receive a smishing (or a phishing) request—whether from a bad actor pretending to be your “boss,” “co-worker,” someone outside the workplace, such as your “uncle” who lost his wallet while visiting NYC, or a bank or government rep? 

They might ask for gift cards, or for something else of current or potential monetary value, including cryptocurrency, a wire transfer, your credit card or Social Security number. 

If possible, contact the requestor directly using another means of communication (telephone, Facebook, Twitter, and so on) to confirm their identity. Check the requestor’s number against your existing Contact entry if you have one. If the initiator is a business, contact it directly or log into your account separately. 

Check with a co-worker or friend for their opinion on the logic of the request. Don’t click on any links in the message or provide personal information until you’re sure the request is legitimate and not a scam – even if the requestor states you “must do it right now”—or else.

Social engineering attacks, including smishing and phishing are on the rise, according to cyber security professionals and researchers.

Rather than reacting quickly to a smishing (or phishing) message you receive, take a moment to put on your critical thinking cap, assess the sender, phone number, or email address, and the logic of the demand or request.

Additional information on smishing and other types of social engineering:

https://www.getsafeonline.org/personal/articles/smishing/

https://infosec.ucf.edu/awareness/phishing/gift-card-scam/

Red Alert, Your CEO is Texting You. But Don't Fall For The Smishing Trap

Companies around the world are re-opening offices and welcoming back employees after what ended up being

 an impromptu, but perhaps very necessary upending of the world of work. 

It’s exciting, a bit stressful, and kind of weird to see people outside of a laptop screen and, certainly, not everyone is on board with the whole idea. 

BIPOC workers have experienced significant benefits in WFH.

The Great Resignation is also still far from over, and the desire for flexibility is still top of mind.

Employee Communicators: How to Increase Your Business Value & Influence

This makes Return to Office (RTO) a huge opportunity for companies. This is their chance to truly embrace a brave, new world and fundamentally re-imagine the purpose of the office and how it can help to create employee experience and enhance culture.

What if getting to go to the office was the coolest thing ever? What if people looked forward to being there, and felt inspired and energized by spending time in an actual work-related building?

To achieve this, we need to re-think our approach to employee experience and draw on some of the same inspiration that informs our customer experience. 

Recall the iconic luxury department stores

 of yesteryear – every touchpoint from the doorman to the displays was deliberate and designed to delight the patron. 

Walking into that building was, from start to finish, a sensory experience that evoked feelings of aspiration and well-being.

Fast forward to the retail trends of today

. In an age in which they can buy anything online, Gen Z still craves "experientalism": the sounds, smells and feelings that come with being in an actual store—and a seamless blend of their physical and virtual worlds.

Why can’t we apply the same principles of care and curation to our employees’ experience of coming to the office? How do we make the office magnetic? The key is in the shift from the companies’ perception of the office as a place where "work gets done" to the office as an experience —

a place we get to go that is like nowhere else.

For many workers, deep thinking work is still best done at home, or another quiet place that enables concentration and focus. This place is rarely a noisy cubicle farm.

The office, on the other hand, lends itself best to activities where spontaneity, serendipity, and the creative collision of ideas thrive. Employees are then able to harness this energy into helping to achieve an organization’s goals.

Some aspects of great work that most benefit from being done synchronously and IRL include, but are not limited to:

  Brainstorming, idea generation, connecting the dots, and real-time problem-solving. This process is organic and needs time, space and trust

Connecting deeply with human colleagues, and building psychological safety with colleagues

While the benefits of WFH for BIOPC employees have been significant

, employee wellbeing is often enhanced by the sense of community and identity that comes from spending time with co-workers

 Face time with key stakeholders is an important aspect of career growth. If a senior leader doesn’t happen to hop into your Teams call, your great work is less likely to be visible to them

 Understanding the social and professional norms of an organization is harder on a Zoom call and is often communicated walking to a meeting with a colleague or eating lunch with your team.

Create an immersive experience that takes employees out of the every day, and transports them to a world with its own rhythm, rituals, and routine. This might be a working destination retreat or a multi-day project event at the office

the most constructive and culture-building principles of gamification

 into the office and in-person events to create strong bonds and maximize productivity outcomes

 Create themes for specific times when people are in the office – focus employees’ attention and energy on the purpose of their time together.

Integrate external customer and internal employee events giving teams an opportunity to connect with how their work fits into the big picture

Prioritize strengthening relationships and enhancing personal and professional development when you’re together. Tending to employees’ overall well-being is a powerful way to create a positive association with being in the office

Leverage your leaders – employees wanting to grow their careers crave opportunities to increase their visibility, showcase their work, and build their brand with decision makers

The truth is that none of these ideas work as well implemented ad hoc as they do when woven into an overarching employee experience and communications strategy. 

Creating this new world of work requires creativity and innovation. We need our best big picture thinkers, storytellers, and strategists leading the charge; best in class communications professionals, and a cross-functional team of experience design and implementation experts, including HR, IT, Operations, Change Management, DEI, and senior leaders.

The role of the office may be changing, but one thing hasn’t—employees need to feel seen, heard, and valued in order to do their best work.

Return to Office is About More Than Desks. It's an Opportunity to Re-Imagine the World of Work

We are living in an era where accurate and timely information is mission-critical. This coincides with an ever-increasing volume of information coming from anywhere and everywhere within an organization. 

A lack of oversight and coordination can affect the entire 

—resulting in confusion, lack of impact, lost productivity, and may even have very serious health and safety implications.

In a highly competitive talent market, organizations must treat the Employee Experience as a business imperative. Those involved in communicating with employees need to step up to the challenge, working cross-functionally in new ways, and especially with other internal-facing teams. 

But who leads this challenge, and how do we collectively go about it? 

The Great Resignation: Time to Rip Up the Employee Communications Playbook

First, let’s look at some of the ways that different teams communicate and contribute to the Employee Experience:

is generally the bastion of culture. The function focuses on bringing an organization's vision and values to life as well as important operational matters such as onboarding, performance, development, health and safety, wellbeing, pay and leave.

is essential for providing the platforms employees use for their daily activities and through which they communicate. IT is essential to provide insights into employee sentiment, provide relevant targeted experiences, or support employees at scale. Not to mention looking after cybersecurity, data management, and outage issues that can have major impacts on our work.

 manage the physical environment and may need to communicate on the use of internal spaces, environmental, building issues, or local community activities.

ensure employees understand the organization’s strategic direction and defend against misinformation. This function is usually closely connected to the CEO and their voice within the organization.

may need to review communication related to policy or sensitive matters. (Sometimes it’s hard to ensure these ‘legalized’ messages are easily understood by the general employee).

 teams provide messaging on the organization’s role in the community, and what they are doing to grow the organization and enhance the brand. This messaging can improve employee retention and recruitment.

 can have their own operating rhythms, communication channels, and bespoke versions of the above. They are often the employee’s source of truth and main daily interaction.

Clearly, all this information creates organizational noise. Not only that, the messages are pumped out to employees not just by email, mobile, and digital signage,  but from HR portals, company systems like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Yammer, Facebook and you have to think about chatbots, real-time video, facilities notifications, meetings, Town Halls and more. 

, this presents an “experience design” issue.

Furthermore, when employees are asked about the effectiveness of communication at their organization, they are not thinking about whether they are owned or delivered by Corporate Communications, HR, their department, or any other area, for them it’s all just stuff coming at them. We, therefore, need to take a more holistic look at employee communications. But how to go about this? 

Let’s be honest, sometimes there can be tension between these teams, particularly where there are dependencies on each other for messages or platforms in tight timeframes, without line accountability. 

Teams can go ‘rogue’, blindsiding Communicators and foiling efforts for alignment. Or, there can be a lack of clarity about who owns the Employee Experience and where responsibilities start and stop. But what unites all these areas is the desire to do the right thing by employees.

In many ways, the pandemic enabled a more holistic approach. It elevated the importance of the Employee Experience and brought people together in new ways to solve problems at speed. 

Those in communication roles were joining the dots between leadership communication (strategic response), the Health and Safety team (wellbeing, practical instructions, Covid case reporting), Property (building occupancy, social distancing, and signage), IT (distribution and access to urgent comms through new channels), in a way they hadn’t been able to before.

This unified approach resulted in greater clarity and understanding of important messages. Of course, to do it required a massive team effort, a coordinated crisis response team, and for leaders to empower their people to get things done quickly. But with cross-functional crisis teams starting to move back to business as usual, how does this integration continue?

There is an increasing call for Employee Communications to take the lead. By virtue of their role, Communicators often have the advantage of a bird’s eye view across the organization, making it possible to connect the dots and create a more seamless experience for the employee. 

It doesn’t mean Communicators take sole responsibility, but as Joanna Hall describes in her 

, they are ideally placed because “…they’re naturally employee-centric in their thinking, have the ability to connect with all staff across the business, the ear of leaders, the strategic alignment, the relationships with HR and IT and the wellbeing of employees at heart.”

Regardless of who takes the lead, the solution calls for a very people-centric approach, requiring a change in the way all support functions co-operate with each other. It is grounded in the understanding that Employee Experience is not an HR initiative. It is all about actively listening and designing solutions around the needs of employees.

Here are some thoughts on the key ingredients needed:

A clear vision for the overall Employee Experience. This should reinforce the culture and vision you are trying to realize, which is different for every organization—so be deliberate and selective.

Put the employee at the center and design experiences around the activities in their day. Create “personas’ and use scenarios to do this.

Articulate the benefits of working more holistically together. It’s going to be more appealing if it’s helping to solve collective problems.

Establish governance—proper oversight reduces communication noise, improves messaging alignment, and increases the impact of communications. People go ‘rogue’ when they are not clear on how to engage or it’s too difficult. Be very clear on where responsibilities for Employee Experience stop and start between each team. 

To achieve greater alignment, Employee Communication teams should take the lead in establishing and developing communication partners in other functions.

The CEO and the entire Executive team need to champion the Employee Experience. It requires active cooperation between every single team.

The Employee Experience matters across the entire organization. It can be substantially improved by reducing noise, increasing alignment, and enabling messages to have more impact. In the latest battle for talent, organizations that can provide the best experience will be the winners. 

How Communicators Can Work Cross-Functionally to Solve Employee Experience Issues

The past two years have been two of the most significant years in living memory. Communication professionals worldwide have rapidly taken action to ensure their organization’s employees are safe and well informed.

Now, more than ever before, is the time for the communication profession to be firmly recognized for the vital strategic business function it is. 

But it’s also been a brutal time for many. “Stressed”, “anxious”, “frustrated”, and “concerned”, are just some of the ways communication professionals collectively described how they’re feeling through the global 

Employee Well-Being: What we Can Learn From Behavioral Science

First things first. I’m not a mental well-being expert. I’m a communication professional just like you. 

Even before the pandemic, I noticed I was having more and more conversations with my peers, colleagues, and clients about mental well-being. Our conversations would center around burnout, fatigue, workloads, time, or lack of, and frustration.

In 2020 I met mental wellbeing consultant and Mental Health First Aid Instructor, 

to assist communication professionals and business leaders to take a leadership role in helping their organizations’ workforces cope with mental health and wellbeing issues, recover and thrive in a post-COVID-19 world.

Later the same year, I hosted a virtual discussion about the mental health challenges communication professionals were facing during the height of the pandemic. 

I invited experts to talk about how to manage stress and anxiety, avoid burnout, and create a safe working space. I walked away with some valuable self-care strategies, but it left me thinking: Why aren’t we talking more about this and what it’s doing to communication professionals?

During the discussion one of my colleagues said: “Hard work is valued in our profession and worn like a medal”. “Yes, but we need to remember how to be human,” said another. This hit me like a tonne of bricks, and my mind was made up. We need to talk about this, and we need to do it now.

Communication is critical to the success of any organization, institution, or individual and should be treated with respect. That is why this research is important to me and the 

Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence

—the company I co-own and operate—because we want to play our part in advocating, supporting, and enabling organizations and individuals through work-life challenges.

As communication professionals, we are limited in our ability to rise to the challenges if we’re suffering.

I can’t wait to share the results of this global study at Poppulo’s upcoming 

 conference next month. The study includes insights from almost 800 communication professionals around the world about how they’re feeling about their mental well-being—to identify the barriers to improving it and gain insights that employers, leaders, and our profession’s associations can use to help ease the pressure.

The study, which includes the results of the survey and seven case studies developed through interviews with communication leaders around the world, highlights the fact that supporting the mental well-being of communication professionals is not just a “nice-to-have”. In this global race for talent, it has become a business imperative and a strategic advantage.

Not surprisingly, two-thirds of respondents said their mental well-being has declined since the beginning of the pandemic and more than half have considered leaving our profession because of this. 

What struck me most is that less than half of the respondents are optimistic about their mental well-being going into 2022. This is cause for considerable concern and needs to be addressed as a matter of some urgency.

The upside is that communication professionals are taking action to help support their personal mental well-being. Even so, workload expectations and work-life balance are negatively impacting them. 

And while many organizations provide leave, one in three communication professionals don’t believe they can take time-out to support their mental wellbeing.

At an organizational level, there is room for improvement. Three-quarters of respondents believe their organization should do more to support mental well-being in the workplace. 

There is also a significant gap between what organizations provide to support mental wellbeing versus what communication professionals actually want.

These results highlight an incredible opportunity for communication professionals to collectively influence what comes next and help create the type of environment where they feel respected, accepted, and comfortable being themselves Essentially, workplaces where we thrive, flourish, and do our best work. 

Because we really are stronger together. See you at 

The State of Well-Being in the Internal Communication Profession

Talk to any business leader right now and they’ll tell you the same thing: They’re struggling to retain employees and attract new talent. 

Rates of employees resigning are so high that it’s being variously called: the Great Resignation or the Great Attrition. No matter what it’s called, the result is the same. Workers are quitting their jobs at unprecedented levels, leaving companies struggling to excel. In order to retain workers and attract talented new ones, employers need to change their approach.

Improving the overall employee experience is how companies can remain competitive. Gallup found that 

The Ultimate Guide to Employee Retention—It's All About the Communications Experience

2020 survey conducted by Future Workplace,

 the No. 1 initiative ranked by HR and business leaders was putting a “greater focus on employee experience".

But how can a company realistically hope to engage and offer employees the workplace experience they want—and increasingly demand—if communication is poor? Just as in life, communication at work is the beating heart of everything.

In this landscape, we need to find creative ways to reach our employees, meet them where they are and ultimately make them feel as though they’re part of a community.

We’ve been challenged by a pandemic that has caused continuing instability and changes in how we work. According to Gartner Inc., 

88% of organizations had employees working remotely during the pandemic.

 With new variants and changing policies, some companies—especially major tech companies—continue to have the majority of employees working from home.

Along with these changes, or perhaps because of them, there’s been a dilution of workplace ties and a reduced sense of employee belonging. As a result, some employees are leaving even without another opportunity lined up. 

Others are leaving for competitors or new opportunities as they rethink their careers. That’s why the Great Resignation is also now being called the 

Although the current state of retention and talent acquisition is challenging, the future doesn’t have to be bleak. In fact, those who seize the opportunity to develop a retention and talent acquisition strategy will be better positioned to outstrip competitors.

In a landscape where employee experience and engagement matter so much, you’ll need an employee-centric approach. You’ll need to view your employees as customers. Just as you would for an external customer, it’s your responsibility to serve, find solutions to problems, and create a product—an environment—that helps them thrive. 

First things first: Why are your employees leaving? You might have an answer, but are you sure? Research last year by 

 showed “there’s a clear disconnect between why employers think their employees are leaving and the actual reasons behind employee exits.”

Here’s how to find out where your employees stand:

Question your assumptions. Although you might have ideas about why employees are leaving, it can be difficult to know for sure. Research shows 

employees are not always candid in exit interviews

. Don’t take anything at face value. Question your assumptions and explore potential reasons.

Take a data-driven approach. Use anonymous employee surveys to find out what employees are thinking, relying on quantitative data to give you a sense of where they stand. Keep in mind that some may not be completely honest and that there may be a selection bias. Those who are willing to fill out the survey may be happier at work, for example.

Actually, talk to them. Routinely ask employees how they are doing, hold focus groups and check in with close co-workers when someone leaves. Any steps you can take to actually sit down and talk with employees, listening closely so that you can understand the nuances of their decisions, will give you a better sense of why retention is a challenge.

It’s essential to learn the real reasons employees are leaving. Then, you can develop a communications strategy to increase engagement, providing a better overall experience and increasing the odds your employees will stick around.

Increase engagement via omnichannel communications.

To better engage employees, it’s wise to create and implement a strategic omnichannel communications strategy. 

Omnichannel means more than simply sending out messages on email, mobile, and various other channels. It means the strategy is completely integrated with comms tailored for the relevant employees wherever they work, on the channels and devices they prefer to receive them, via the same platform. 

how to get started with an omnichannel strategy

Conduct an audit of your existing strategy.

Segment and group employees based on their needs.

Measure overall engagement and effectiveness.

Of course, an omnichannel communications strategy on its own can never be a silver bullet for employee retention when other significant factors are in play. 

You likely still need to address compensation packages, professional development opportunities, location (though this has become less of a factor since the pandemic), culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

But what the adoption of an omnichannel approach does—because it means putting your people front and center and viewing them just like valuable external customers, giving them the information they want and need and enabling them to consume it how and when they choose—is it creates a positive, holistic, communications experience that directly influences the overall experience your people have at work. 

And providing a better overall work experience increases the odds your employees will stick around.

If You Want to Retain Valuable Employees, Make Communication & Listening a Priority

“Our people are physically, emotionally, and spiritually tired”— this is what a client said to me last week and it made me stop and think....

As the clock has whirred forward from March 2020, when the world was plunged into lockdown and companies made the mad scramble to get as many employees online as possible, we can see a clear shift in corporate perception of internal communication from a nice-to-have to a must-have.

So, as organizations are refining their work location model—hybrid or otherwise—there are many changes that we can expect in the coming year. 

The question is… as internal communication professionals, are we poised to seize the day and carve out new areas of expertise or will we be relegated to the covid-comms squad or the return to office fun police?

Now is the time to streamline, regroup and reset so we can continue to make a worthwhile impact. Let’s look at team, projects, and organizational communication priorities for the coming months.

The Great Resignation—Time to Rip Up The Comms Playbook

First, check-in on yourself and your team. Where are you right now? 

survey shows that our mental health as communicators has suffered over the past year with 66% reporting a decline in mental health since the start of the pandemic.

Check-in with your team (and yourself) to see if they need a refresh, a switch in role, a holiday, or a new project. There is more organizational change on the horizon and we need to make sure that we are fit, regroup and reset to tackle the new challenges coming our way.

If we don’t take care of ourselves and our team, how can we deliver to our people and our clients?

The diversity, inclusion, and sense of belonging mindset. This does not mean focusing on gender etc. but rather looking at a sense of belonging in all aspects of the workplace, regardless of where or what time of day someone works.

Doing even more with less. This means prioritization and equipping your internal clients to serve themselves whenever possible. 

An internal communication audit—big or small, but preferably quickly—will help identify your problem spots and how you can streamline. You can get an external consultant to do this for you.

Focus on the projects that matter now, not yesterday

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