Category: UP! for Work

Motivation is a funny thing. It has two opposite ends with varying degrees in between.

On one end, we are motivated when we are on a roll and things are going so well we want more of the same.

On the other end, we are motivated when our backs are against the wall and we have no choice but to do something about it.

Either way, we are moved to act; to either get more of the same or to make a change. And in between, are less intense feelings of motivation.

As a business leader, you can’t motivate other people. They have to motivate themselves. However, you can create an environment where people feel their own internal desire to achieve. That said, it’s important for you to understand what drives you because it has a major impact on the motivation of your team. Do you realize you have so much impact?

Have you ever worked with someone who you just couldn’t connect with? You didn’t know how to get through and no matter what you said or did, you still couldn’t get the results you felt this person could achieve. One way to build connection is by working with the Everything DiSC® model. It helps you to understand yourself and what your people may need in their environment to thrive.

Where does motivation come from?

People are motivated by different things. What energizes one employee may frustrate another. One person may be motivated by a challenge and the opportunity to win, while someone else may value stability, recognition, collaboration or getting the details right. As a leader, the goal is not to figure out how to “make” someone motivated. It is to understand what helps them do their best work and create more of those conditions where you can inspire. That is where understanding behavioral styles can be useful.

Understanding your self and what motivates you will encourage your own drive while knowing what motivates others will help you connect with them. Understanding what motivates people starts with understanding how they naturally tend to work, communicate and respond.

The Everything DiSC® model

Everything DiSC® is a simple way to better understand how people tend to communicate, respond to challenges, make decisions and work with others. The full model includes 12 styles, which gives us a more detailed picture of individual preferences. However, for simplicity, I focus on the four main styles: D, i, S and C.

D – Dominance tends to be direct, decisive and results-focused. i – Influence tends to be enthusiastic, outgoing and relationship-focused.

S – Steadiness tends to be patient, supportive and dependable. C – Conscientiousness tends to be thoughtful, analytical and quality-focused.

There is no good or bad DiSC® style, and most of us aren’t only one style. We are a blend. The benefit of understanding our style and those around us is recognizing how we naturally behave and understanding that other people may respond to the same situation very differently.

That awareness can make a big difference in the workplace. Instead of thinking, why do they do it that way?, we can start asking, what do they need from me to communicate and work together more effectively?

DiSC® isn’t about labelling people. It’s about understanding the people on your team.

Tips to motivate each style.

Employees with the D style have the drive to win. They are competitive, quick movers and want to make an impact. If you are working with a D style, focus on their individual results, goals achieved and compliment them on their impact. This fuels the D’s fire to win.

Employees with the i style are like the D style in that they move quickly however, they are collaborative in nature and will look to work with others in high-energy environments where innovation is valued. To help motivate an i style, let them work with others. Allow them some spontaneity but be mindful of important procedures they need to follow. Provide public praise for their best work, recognize with rewards. The i style tends to appreciate the accolades and symbols of achievement.

The S style tends to prefer a calm, predictable environment. They like to connect and work collaboratively without being rushed. It’s a good idea to stay away from competitions with S styles. That is more of a demotivator. Instead, let the S’s work with others, be clear on their tasks and provide plenty of time to complete the tasks. If things need to change, give them as much notice as possible and time to adjust. Validate their strengths, provide sincere praise in a one-on-one environment. You will find that as you increase your trust in them and provide support, they will rise to your expectations.

Those employees with the C style work at a moderate pace because they like to weigh all their options, gather facts and analyze ideas before moving forward. Accuracy is very important so the C style tends to prefer to work alone. To motivate a C style, provide clear direction, explain the purpose of the work, allow them to define quality standards, and reward quality work, logic and analysis.

Identifying the Styles

You may already be able to guess the styles of each of the people on your team but without asking them to take the Everything DiSC® assessment, how can you make an educated guess? Review how they work and what they focus on. There are 2 key questions to ask yourself about each member of your team.

1. Is this person faster-paced and more direct, or slower-paced and more thoughtful?

Faster paced: D or i

Slower paced: S or C

2. Is this person more focused on people and connection, or on tasks, process and results?

People and connection: i or S

Tasks, process and results: D or C

That gives you the four main styles:

Fast + Task = D

Fast + People = i

Slow + People = S

Slow + Process = C

Remember, whether a person processes their ideas quickly or more thoughtfully is not right or wrong. People who have S and C tendencies tend to be more introspective. It is not that they are slow, they just take the time to internally think through issues.

If you find yourself wondering how you can create an environment that inspires each member of your team, start by asking:

How do they like to work?

How do they prefer to communicate?

And what kind of recognition do they value?

When you take the time to understand those differences, you can build stronger connections, create more trust, loyalty and help people do their best work.

Curious about the Everything DiSC® assessments for your team? Send an email to shannon@unleashintpotentialhr.com with the word DiSC in the subject line and we can talk about the benefits of understanding styles in your workplace.

Everything DiSC® and DiSC® are registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

I was talking with a business owner, let’s call him Mark for privacy. He runs a small landscaping company. Fourteen employees, three trucks, a season that runs flat out from May to October. Last summer his family planned a week at the lake for the first real vacation in three years. He took his laptop. He said it was “just in case.”

The “vacation” didn’t go well as he got sucked in to checking emails, answering calls and missing out on some family activities. He came home more tired than when he left plus feeling bad his time with family was over and he didn’t feel any more connected to them.

I asked him what he thought would happen if he did not check his email for a week. He thought about it for a long moment. Then he said, “Honestly, I don’t know. Nothing has ever gone wrong before. I have just never let it not go wrong without me there.”

That answer says everything about why so many of us struggle to rest. It is not really about the workload. It is about what we believe will happen if we step back and let someone else carry it for a while.

Rest is not something you earn

Somewhere along the way, a lot of business owners, some employees too, picked up the idea that time off has to be justified. You work hard enough, you hit your numbers, then maybe you get to rest. Until then, rest feels indulgent.

That belief does not hold up. Rest is not a reward for good behavior. It is what allows a person to keep showing up as a good leader, a good parent, a good version of themselves. Without it, something gives. Usually, it is patience first. Then energy. Then the quality of the decisions you make on behalf of your business and the people who depend on you.

Was the situation with Mark ever really about the business surviving a week without him? Or was it about Mark believing he was the only thing holding it together?

The guilt is not really about the team

The guilt we feel about taking time off rarely has much to do with the team. It has to do with identity. When your whole sense of worth is tied to being needed every single hour of every single day, stepping away feels like losing something or you’re letting others down by not being available.

It usually is not true. The teams I have worked with are almost always more capable than their leader gives them credit for. Given the chance, people rise. Denied the chance, they stay dependent, and so does the leader.

What rest actually does for you

This is not just a feel-good idea. Real recovery time changes how your brain and body function. A rested mind solves problems faster and sees connections a tired mind misses entirely. That is not a coincidence. When you step away from constant input, your brain gets the space it needs to process, sort, and make sense of things in the background. Some of your best ideas will show up on a walk or in the shower, not at your desk. That is your brain doing the work you gave it no room to do while you were plugged in.

The physical side matters just as much. Chronic stress keeps your body in a low-grade fight or flight state, and that state is expensive. It shows up as poor sleep, a shorter fuse, a weaker immune system, and a body that never quite gets to rest even when you finally lie down. Time away lowers cortisol, restores sleep quality, and gives your nervous system a chance to settle. A well rested person is not just more fun to be around. They are physically healthier.

And here is the part I want you to think about. Rested people are happier people. Happier people are more creative, more patient, and easier to be around. That is true for you, and it is just as true for your staff.

I have talked to employees who feel guilty using their vacation days, the same way Mark felt guilty using his. They worry a manager will think less of them, or that the workload will pile up and become someone else’s burden, or that asking for time off makes them look less committed. That guilt does not make them harder workers. It makes them tired ones. A person that never fully unplugs will run on fumes and risk burnout leading to expensive medical leaves.

If you want a workplace known for good ideas and low turnover, permission to rest cannot stop with you. It has to be something every person on your team believes applies to them too.

Set your team up before you go

Taking time off without guilt does not mean disappearing without a plan. It means preparing well enough that your absence does not create a mess for the people who stayed behind. That preparation is what makes real rest possible.

Here are your action items:

Name a decision maker. Someone specific, not “the team.” One person who knows they have the authority to make calls while you are gone. Ambiguity is what causes people to text you while you’re away. Clarity is what stops it.

Write down the three things that would actually require you. Not everything is urgent. Most things can wait five days. Figure out the short list of situations where someone should genuinely interrupt your time off and be honest, that the list is shorter than you think.

Tell your team what “off” means for you. Do you check email once a day? Not at all? Say it out loud. People cannot respect a boundary they do not know exists.

Practice on a smaller scale first. If a full week feels impossible, start with a weekend. Turn off notifications from Friday night to Monday morning. See what happens. Usually the answer is nothing, and that is the point.

The people who matter are waiting

Last fall, Mark took a second trip, a long weekend this time, no laptop. He told me later that his daughter asked him to teach her how to fish, something she had asked twice before, and he ran out of time both times. He finally said yes.

That is the real cost of never disconnecting. It is not the missed emails on your end. It is the missed moments on theirs. The people who matter to you are not asking you to work less because they doubt your value. They are asking because they want more of your time, not more of your effort.

What can you do this month to make it possible to hand things off, even for a few days? Not because the business does not need you. Because the people around you, at work and at home, need to see that you trust them, and need to see you rested enough to be fully present when you are with them.

Creating a people-centered workplace begins with remembering there is a person running the business too.

If this hit close to home, the guilt around taking time off is often tangled up with a bigger worry: losing good people while you are not watching. Grab my free guide, “How to Stop Good Employees from Quitting,” and build a team you can trust to hold things down while you rest.

A few years ago, I was in a group discussion with business owners on how to prevent their good employees from leaving. They were frustrated because they seemed to be doing all the things right; paying fair wages, providing good benefits and some offered group lunches once a month. They needed help because it is hard to attract new employees to fill vacancies left by others, not to mention all the training and low productivity left in their wake.

I commend these business owners on trying to offer a great employee experience, but what was not obvious to this group was how they may be contributing to the issue. They were not unkind and had good intentions, but what they could not see was that they were not particularly invested in the human side of running their business. This is not uncommon. The people side of business is often the most overlooked and the hardest to get right.

If you are seeing low morale or a disengaged team, there are things you can do. It starts with the conditions you create as a leader. Building a positive workplace where people want to show up and do good work is your job. The good news is that it is not complicated, it is just not automatic either.

Start With Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is a buzz word that gets tossed around but it is the foundation of every high-functioning team. It means your people feel safe to speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes, and bring real ideas to the table without fear of embarrassment or retaliation. Without it, you get quiet compliance and box tickers. You get people doing the minimum and keeping their heads down.

Creating a psychologically safe work environment does not require a workshop or a policy. It starts with how you respond when someone brings you bad news or an idea you don’t agree with. Do you listen? Do you get defensive? Do you immediately say no? Do you make them regret saying anything? Your reaction in those small moments sets the tone for everything else.

Be honest with yourself. Do the people on your team feel safe to tell you when something is not working? If you are not sure, that is your answer.

Earning Trust Is Not Optional

Avoiding micromanagement, delegating, and celebrating wins all signal to your team that you believe in them. But trust is a two-way street. Real leadership trust is earned, not assumed. It does not come with your title.

Model the behaviour you want to see. You cannot ask your team to own their mistakes if you never own yours. You cannot ask for honesty if you punish it. Walking your talk is how you build trust.

What are you doing, specifically, to earn the trust of the people who work for you?

Communicate Like a Human Being

The most effective communication is not the most polished. Speaking in plain language, showing the human side of who you are, will go farther than any perfectly worded memo. People connect with people. They do not connect with a role or a title.

Be transparent. Be direct. Stick to what is relevant and say it plainly. Understanding what the other person actually needs to hear, and leading with that, is what builds the kind of rapport that makes a team want to follow you.

Connect People to the Why

If your team only knows what they are supposed to do and not why it matters, you are leaving a lot of unknowns on the table. Work becomes transactional. People commit more deeply when they understand the purpose behind the work. Not just the business case. Make the connection with the real reason the work matters to the people you serve.

Share that with them. You will be surprised what they are willing to give when they believe what you believe.

Let People Actually Do Their Jobs

Empowering people is one of those phrases that gets used so often it has nearly lost its meaning. What it actually looks like is that you trust someone to make a decision within their role and you let them make it. You do not hover. You do not undo it. You let them learn.

That is hard for a lot of leaders, especially if you have done the role yourself. You know how to do it, and you think you know the best way. You may be right and letting go feels risky. But when your team knows you trust them, they work harder, take more ownership, and stay longer. The positive workplace you are trying to build depends on this. Plus, they just might find a more efficient way to do something that you never thought of.

Challenge What Is Not Working

“We have always done it this way” is not a reason. It is a habit. Encourage your team to question processes that are not serving anyone. When someone asks why something is done a certain way, take the question seriously. Empower them to help find a better answer. That kind of environment, where people feel safe to question and improve things, is exactly what psychological safety looks like in practice.

The Bottom Line

Being a likeable boss comes down to connecting with your people, give them room to grow, and build the kind of mutual trust that makes people want to stay. A positive workplace does not happen by accident or with the right policies. It is built, with intention, one interaction at a time, by leaders who are willing to look honestly at the role they play.

You have more influence over your team’s experience than you probably realize. That is worth something. Use it well.

For a starting point on what to have in your business to build a positive work environment, download the free guide on How to Stop Good Employees From Quitting

For years, business owners have asked me, “How can I guarantee my good employees will stay?” I’ve been answering this question since one of my first Facebook videos back in 2016. The truth is you can’t force employees to stay. What you can control is creating an environment where they want to.

As a leader, you get to decide how you show up in your role and for your team. That means, you get to impact the experience your team has in the workplace.

In each interaction, you are either creating a stay moment or a leave moment.

These are the moments where your behaviour either supports the employee staying or encourages them to leave. This reminds me of the concept of emotional bank accounts Steven Covey introduces in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Emotional Bank Accounts are a metaphor in which you are either adding to or taking from the account. In every positive interaction, like being kind, giving the benefit of the doubt, following through and having an employee’s back, adds to the balance, which builds trust. On the flip side, actions like ignoring, blaming or degrading the other person, takes away from the balance of the account and erodes trust. When the positives outweigh the negatives, relationships feel strong, confident and psychologically safe. These relationships can typically weather any storm. When the negatives outweigh the positives even small issues can become bigger issues because people don’t feel safe and there is no trust in the relationship. This idea of the Emotional Bank Account reinforces how your action or inaction is what builds or erodes trust and loyalty thus impacting retention.

Let’s go through two scenarios to demonstrate between adding to or taking from the emotional bank account.

Encouraging Employees to Leave

A manager calls a team meeting after a project misses the mark. Without asking questions, the manager immediately points out mistakes, accuses the team of little effort, and compares this outcome to past failures. When someone tries to explain a challenge they ran into, the manager cuts them off, dismisses any conversation and warns the employees to improve or else. The group leaves the room feeling deflated, hesitant to speak up next time, and less motivated to go the extra mile. They turn on each other, complain about the job, co-workers and their manager.

Encouraging Employees to Stay

After a similar project setback, the leader brings the team together and starts by acknowledging the effort and time everyone put in. The leader asks open questions to understand what got in the way and genuinely listens without interrupting. They share their own responsibility in the outcome and invite ideas for improving next time. The team leaves feeling respected, heard, and more committed to finding a better path forward together. They start brainstorming ways to improve for next time and support each other in achieving the goals.

These scenarios might sound extreme, but let me assure you, they are not. Encouraging employees to leave happens more often than we want to admit.

 

Warning signs of an employee on their way out

There are behavioral indicators that signal an employee could leave. Notice what is happening to your group:

• • Reduced participation in team meetings and discussion

• • Less initiative, stops volunteering ideas

• • Withdrawal from the group

• • Increased absenteeism

• • Stops disagreeing, investing in relationships and asking about the future.

If you notice one of your employees start to disengage, it can be harder to turn things around. Of course there could be other things going on with the employee, but it is something to be aware of.

Retention Needs to be Intentional

Focussing on retention is made up of small decisions every day. It is on-going with each member of your team that consists of compounded stay moments that adds to the culture overtime.

Leadership behaviours, supported by the organization’s HR foundations, impacts the employee experience which has a direct correlation to retention.

Six Ways to Encourage Employees to Stay

Connect with your people.

Set one on one time with each of your team and fiercely protect it, even when it’s busy. Ask about career plans, check in after a difficult situation, ask questions beyond task updates. Listen and value their perspective.

Small gestures carry big weight.

Checking in, sending a “way to go” card, remembering a small detail can build trust. Set reminders to send a thoughtful text or make a phone call to check in on someone. Letting someone else know you are thinking of them and any challenges they may be experiencing opens the door to further communication.

Doing what you say you will.

Being reliable builds trust. Even if you can’t fully do what you said, communicate the reason why and what you tried. When we demonstrate following through, we show the other person we care enough to get back to them. This builds trust.

Be clear on expectations.

When there is a gap between what is expected and what the other person understands the expectation to be, that creates frustration. Communicating clearly the expectations to reduce the gap avoids any misunderstandings that could create a toxic work environment and damage the relationship.

Doing what’s right even if it is uncomfortable.

Trust is built through compounded right actions of honesty and integrity. Choosing to do the right thing, even when no one is watching, adds to our reliability, credibility and shows others you can be counted on.

Be human and show it.

We all make mistakes. We all feel like we need to fake it sometimes. Learning to be vulnerable, admit mistakes and even apologize can go a long way in showing we value the relationship enough to own our mistakes. Plus, it leads the way for others to own their shortcomings as well.

The short answer to the question, “how do I guarantee my good employees will stay” is you can’t. You can’t guarantee your good employees will stay. But you can influence their decision every single day. The way you lead, communicate, and follow through all adds up, that’s what builds a workplace people choose to stay in.

If this has you thinking about your own team, I’ve created a free guide, How to Stop a Good Employee from Quitting. It breaks down three practical areas you can focus on to create more stay moments in your workplace. Get it here.

For more practical HR tips and leadership ideas, join the monthly Up! Date newsletter and keep building a healthier, more engaged workplace.

Have you ever had someone on your team that you knew was a problem, but you didn’t want to address it because the conversation felt uncomfortable?

You know the one…
The underperformer everyone else sees.
The toxic employee people avoid.
The once-great employee who is slowly disengaging.

Avoiding the conversation to address the issue because it is difficult or uncomfortable will do more damage to the culture of your work environment than having the conversation. Business leaders talk a lot about holding people accountable, but they often don’t recognize when or how to do it effectively.

When issues are ignored, it is just avoidance and teaches your team that rules don’t matter.

When issues are recognized but excused, they don’t improve, they get enabled.

When your first response is taking corrective action and writing someone up, trust erodes. Employees stop feeling safe enough to admit mistakes.

When issues are recognized and the employee is given ways to improve, that is where long term transformation can happen. This is the level we strive for.

When Do We Give Feedback?

Feedback isn’t just something that happens at annual reviews. Feedback should happen daily. Every interaction either strengthens or weakens the relationship.

1. Coaching Conversations

These are the informal, everyday conversations. A coaching approach helps employees think and come to their own solutions.

2. Development Conversations

These can happen during formal performance reviews or in the flow of the day. You’re giving guidance while allowing them to grow.

3. Difficult Conversations

This is where leaders can struggle. Some people dislike calling others out. Others have no problem correcting behaviour. Understanding your own edge of where discomfort shows up for you, is key. Leadership growth starts at the edge of discomfort, not when you’re comfortable.

The Real Cost of Avoidance

You may think avoiding a difficult conversation keeps the peace. What it actually does is quietly chip away at your culture.

It Creates Resentment

Your team notices what is tolerated. High performers especially notice when low performance is allowed to continue and may eventually change their quality of work. Resentment isn’t obvious, but there are signs. It shows up as disengagement and lower effort. Attitudes of “Why should I bother giving my best effort?” may start to creep in. Eventually, your strongest employees may leave, not because of the workload, but because their frustration and what you allowed.

It Erodes Trust

When you don’t address issues, you lose credibility with your team. If leaders won’t address issues, employees lose confidence. Your team will feel you don’t have their back and support is lacking.

Your team starts wondering:

• Do the rules really matter?
• Are expectations consistent?
• Will leadership step in when needed?

According to Patrick Lencioni in the The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the first dysfunction is the absence of trust. Without trust, it is almost impossible to build a cohesive, thriving workplace. Trust is built by being clear and consistent.

It Creates Confusion

If you say accountability matters but don’t enforce it, your team receives mixed messages. When values aren’t upheld through your actions, they become just words on a wall. Confusion creates inconsistency and inconsistency creates chaos. Clarity, on the other hand, creates confidence.

Why Leaders Avoid Difficult Conversations

There are many reasons we avoid holding people accountable.

• We don’t like conflict.
• We might have people-pleasing tendencies.
• We worry the employee will quit.
• We’re unsure what to say.
• We’re concerned about saying the wrong thing and creating legal risk.

The fear is real and is a concern. But isn’t it better to deal with the situation than let it fester until it explodes? Often creating a bigger problem than the original.

Keep Brené Brown in mind and reframe your mindset.

“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”

Avoiding the conversation may feel kind in the moment, but long term, it is not.

How to Have a Difficult Conversation, without Damaging Trust

You don’t need to be perfect, but you do need to be prepared. Here’s a few simple tips to follow the next time you need to have an uncomfortable conversation.

1. Get Yourself Ready

Give yourself time so you aren’t rushed and avoid being reactive. And yes, make sure you’re not hangry. Keep your frame of mind positive.

2. State the Facts

Describe what you observed without laying blame.  For example, instead of pointing fingers and saying
“You’re careless.” Try to use a factual statement such as, “I noticed there were errors on the financial summary.” By sticking to observable facts, it avoids anyone becoming defensive and keeps communication open.

3. Explain the Impact

Help them understand why it matters. I find this makes a difference when a person understands the reasons. For example, “When the financial summary has errors, it delays decision-making and impacts the rest of the team.” Now it’s about the business and not about the person.

4. Ask for Their Perspective

Instead of being accusing, ask a question first.  Hear from them on why they may behave the way they do or made the decision they did.  A quick question, such as “Can you walk me through what happened?” will give them an opportunity to provide their perspective. Then you need to listen. There may be more going on than you see on the surface.

5. Agree on Clear Next Steps

These conversations do not need to be long and dragged out. Avoid bringing up a laundry list of your frustrations. Focus on one issue and how to improve. Agree together what success will look like and ask how you can support.

6. Close with Alignment

Paraphrase a summary of the conversation and what was discussed. Thank them for the work they do and let them get back to work.

7. Make notes

After the conversation, make some bullet points on the conversation.  Write down the date and who was present. Include what was said from both sides and the actions going forward. Conversations should be documented as you never know when you may need to use them.  Even if you think you have a great memory, take notes.  File it in your employee file.

Having difficult conversations and holding people accountable isn’t about control. It’s about being clear on expectations. When you address issues early, respectfully, and directly, you:

• Protect your culture
• Reinforce expectations
• Develop your people
• Reduce long-term stress

Having uncomfortable conversations may never feel easy. That’s normal. It is like building a leadership muscle.  Leadership does not grow when you are comfortable. It grows when you push yourself and do things you don’t want to do but know you need to. Your team doesn’t need you to have all the answers, they just need you to be consistent and clear.  

The labour market is very tight, and predictions are that it’s only going to get harder to find qualified workers. As employers, what can you do to attract someone who has:

• A great work ethic
• An understanding of how to get along with others
• A willingness to learn and dig in to help, regardless of the job

And that’s before we even talk about the hard skills needed to actually do the work.

In a perfect world, the ideal employee shows up with all the boxes checked:

• Great work ethic.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• The exact experience you’re looking for.
• Ready to be productive within the first month.

Sigh… if only it were that easy.

Hire for Character, Train for Skill (When You Can)

I’ve always believed that hard skills are trainable—to a point. Of course, there are roles that absolutely require specific knowledge and experience just to be considered. But for many entry to mid-level roles, you may want to weigh character more heavily than background experience.

You can teach systems.
You can train processes.
It’s much harder to teach attitude, work ethic, and how to be a decent human at work.

Want help assessing character during interviews?
Download my free Interview Questions Guide.

So What Actually Attracts Good Candidates?

If you want to attract great employees, focus on the employee experience. And that starts before you even think about hiring.

First: Take Care of Your Current Employees

Your employee experience is how both current employees and future candidates perceive your organization as an employer. That experience is shaped by things like:

Compensation & Perks
Compensation needs to be fair and equitable. When possible, consider health benefits, a pension, flexible perks, or even company swag. These things signal that you value your people.

Onboarding
Onboarding isn’t just paperwork—it’s your first real impression. A thoughtful, personable onboarding experience lays the foundation for the employee-employer relationship and directly impacts performance, job satisfaction, and retention.

Clear Communication
Share information about the business. Vision. Mission. Values. Policies. Job expectations. People want clarity, not guesswork.

Involvement & Development
Involve employees in decisions where you can. Delegate responsibility. Help them build skills and confidence. Talk about career paths—even if that path looks different for everyone.

Feedback & Coaching
Provide praise when it’s earned. Give performance feedback regularly. Offer developmental coaching, not just correction when something goes wrong.

Team Cohesiveness
Strong teams build trust. When employees feel safe, respected, and connected, they can relax and focus on doing good work—without fear of constant reprimand.

Happy Employees Attract Other Good People

When your existing employees are engaged and genuinely enjoy where they work, they talk.
They refer friends.
They recommend people with similar work ethic and attitudes.

That’s how you attract candidates who already resonate with what you offer—and who are far more likely to succeed in your organization.

Your Job Posting Should Reflect Your Culture

When you do post a job, don’t just list tasks and requirements. Build into your job postings:

• What you offer
• How employees are supported
• What it’s like to work there
• Why someone would want to be part of your team

Focus on what the employee will receive, not just what you expect them to give.

The Long Game (Because There’s No Easy Button)

Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic fix that suddenly fills your inbox with highly qualified candidates overnight. Attracting great employees is a long game.

It’s about:

• Building a healthy workplace culture
• Providing what employees truly need
• Creating clarity and consistency
• And letting your reputation do the talking

Good people don’t just look for jobs. They look for places where they can belong, contribute, and grow.

And that starts from the inside out.

Struggling to identify candidates with the right work ethic and attitude?

If resumes aren’t telling you what you really need to know, I’ve got you covered.

Download my free Interview Questions Guide to help you assess:

• Work ethic and accountability
• How candidates collaborate and handle challenges
• Trainability and willingness to pitch in
• Overall fit for your workplace culture

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There are several changes made to the Saskatchewan Employment Act effective January 1, 2026. Included is a summary of what is changing.  Please do your own research and adjust for your own business.  To ensure your business is compliant, Action Items are included to help guide what to do.

Work Schedules & Overtime

As an employer, you can choose whether a “workday” is a calendar day (midnight–midnight) or a 24-hour period for scheduling and overtime calculations.

Action Items:

• Decide how your company defines a workday (calendar day vs. 24-hour period)
• Confirm overtime calculations align with what you decide
• Update scheduling or payroll procedures if needed
• Update appropriate policies on schedules and overtime
• Communicate with all staff the definition of workday for your business

Tips & Gratuities

Employers can no longer withhold, deduct, or reclaim employee tips. Tip pooling can happen, but only under regulated conditions. The Amendment isn’t clear on what the regulated conditions are so if this applies to you, further research is needed.

Action Items:

• Review what you are currently doing with tips and tip pooling
• Confirm no deductions, withholding, or reclaiming of tips
• Document how tips are distributed and communicate to your staff

Sick Notes & Absences

Regarding an employee’s absence due to illness or injury or illness or injury of a member of the employee’s immediate family who is dependent on the employee, an employer cannot take discriminatory action against an employee for the above absences. You can only ask for a medical note when the employee has been off more than five consecutive workdays or has had two separate absences of two or more days in the past 12 months.

Action Items:

• Update policies on when medical notes are allowed and train managers who have direct reports
• Tighten up absence tracking to reflect the new standards
• Ensure procedures of “automatic sick note” practices no longer happen

Expanded Leave Provisions

Several statutory leaves are being expanded or clarified. Review the Amendment along with the full Saskatchewan Employment Act.

Long term illness or injury leave is extended from 12 weeks to 27 weeks in a 52-week period. That means, for a serious illness or injury, an employee’s job is protected for up to 27 weeks in any rolling 52-week period. Exceptions were added if an employee is on Worker’s Compensation Benefits as well. .

Interpersonal/sexual violence leave is expanded to include unpaid leave of up to 16 weeks for one continuous period or the current 10 days which the employee can take intermittently.  

Bereavement leave is more flexible and includes pregnancy loss. An employee can take up to five days for the death of an immediate family member or someone to be like immediate family, including the death of a pregnancy. The leave can be taken up to six months after a death.

Action Items:

• Revise current illness/injury leave policy to reflect the new entitlements
• Update bereavement leave timing and eligibility
• Update interpersonal/sexual violence leave provisions
• Add pregnancy loss to personal leave policy

Other changes made to the Act:

• The Director of Employment Standards can now order reinstatement and compensation if an employer takes discriminatory action against someone for using their employment rights such as taking a leave. 
• The threshold for group termination notice increases from 10 employees to 25 employees.

Reference is directly from the Government of Saskatchewan website summarizing the changes.  You can search for the publication and get a free PDF copy of the Amendments to the Act. Supporting Businesses and Workers Through Amendments to Employment Standards | News and Media | Government of Saskatchewan

I have experienced firsthand what it is like to be on an effective team.  Unfortunately, I also know what it feels like to be on a team that is not so effective.  There are common traits that are present in high-performing teams and missing one or all the traits can be detrimental to the effectiveness of the team. There are things you can do to foster a team that works well together producing great results.

1. Set expectations from the beginning. 

When you are clear on what is expected, people know what they are working toward. Not only for goals but how you want them to BE at work. Lay the foundation of how you expect your team to behave and then hold them accountable every time they try to lag.   Communicate your expectations and hold them capable to the results. Understanding what they are working toward helps guide behaviour.

For example, when a team member comes to you giving up on finding a solution, ask open ended questions to ensure they understand the task but do not take the task back.  If you expect your team to be independent thinkers, problem solvers and solution seekers, it is critically important they are given the opportunity to persevere to find the solution on their own and if that means making a mistake or doing it differently than you, so be it.  We all learn best by doing.  If we continue to find solutions for them, we will keep ourselves in the overwhelm of doing too much rather than developing others to help carry the load.  The team will become complacent, and we will end up becoming bitter and resent those around us.  But in essence, we created the situation. I am guilty of thinking it’s easier if I just do the task myself.  I’ll get it done faster.  But in the end, I continue to struggle with not having enough time to do the work that only I can do. Keeping myself accountable to develop those around me will help me save time in the end, plus develop another person.

2. Create a culture where it is okay to make mistakes

When people feel safe at work, physically and psychologically, it allows the team to settle in to experiment with best solutions without the fear of reprimand.  If intentions are pure to find the best solution, there should be no worry of getting yelled at or belittled.  I believe there are no such things as mistakes but only learning opportunities.  If something does not work out, it is a learning experience and something not to do again.  If however, there is a threat of being yelled at from our boss, that will definitely inhibit us from trying something new to create the best solution.  This limits our creative solutions which limits our ability to problem solve.  Allowing our team to be creative, to think outside of the box can lead to solutions we may not have thought of before. When we are comfortable at work to bring ideas forward or make mistakes, it builds trust.

3. Build the team approach

Have you heard the saying “we win as a team and lose as a team”?  What about “we are stronger together”?  When we reduce negative competition amongst our team, but rather create positive collaboration, the whole team, and those we serve, wins.  Being clear on common goals the entire team is striving for, will instill a sense of belonging. It is a human psychological need to feel connected to others.  When we feel connected, the natural tendency is to strive for the common good of the team.

So what’s the secret?

The secret is there is no secret. The underpinning of all these qualities is clear communication, trust and collaboration.  High performing teams are based on relationships.  Being clear with our communication, creating a psychologically safe work environment, having trust in each other knowing we have each other’s back increases the effectiveness of what we can accomplish.  If you want a high-performing team, what are the ways you can help create it?

Lately, I’ve had some interesting conversations with business leaders about the younger generation and their work ethic. They expressed frustration with the younger generation’s lack of drive. We talked about when we were growing up, work often meant doing what we were told, not questioning authority, and working as much as possible. It seems that isn’t the case with those entering the workforce now. This shift is creating a fascinating discussion about motivation in today’s workplace.

Today, things may look a little different.  To some who have been in the workforce awhile, “kids these days” don’t seem to have the same drive or motivation we had when we started working. But before jumping to stereotypes, let’s acknowledge that times have changed, and so have the factors shaping work ethic. While I won’t dive into all those factors here, I want to share some practical tips to help you motivate your team—because as the leader, the tone starts with you.

As humans, we feel first and think second. To truly influence and inspire others, we must appeal to their emotions rather than relying solely on logic. Maya Angelou said it best: “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This rings especially true when it comes to motivating people at work.

To get the best from your team, it’s crucial to connect with them on a human level. This isn’t about checking a box or having one good conversation—it’s about building meaningful relationships over time. Developing the relationship with the intent to build trust naturally increases the team to go above expectations. Below are five actionable ways to foster connection and improve employee motivation.

Step 1: Develop Your Leadership Skills

It all starts with you. Self-awareness is a cornerstone of great leadership. By understanding yourself—your triggers, strengths, and growth areas—you’re better equipped to respond thoughtfully in challenging situations. This builds trust and creates a positive work environment.

Improving your self-awareness also lays the foundation for developing emotional intelligence (EQ), which some argue is even more impactful than IQ. Leaders with high EQ create stronger connections, handle stress well, and inspire greater loyalty from their teams.

Step 2: Cultivate Empathy

Empathy isn’t sympathy or pity; it’s about understanding someone else’s perspective and feeling with them on some level. It’s a powerful tool for deepening connections and building trust.

When you’re socially aware, you can better appreciate your team’s challenges and successes. Understanding someone from their perspective breaks down barriers and increases connection. This helps foster a positive work environment, where employees feel valued and committed to their roles. A little empathy goes a long way toward boosting morale and motivation.

Step 3: Improve Communication

Good communication is at the heart of every great relationship. Active listening, clear language, and tailoring your approach to each person’s style are essential skills for leaders.

When you communicate effectively, you can:

• Set clear expectations.
• Provide constructive feedback.
• Navigate tough conversations with ease.
• Recognize and appreciate your team’s efforts.

Clear and meaningful communication fosters a sense of purpose and alignment with common goals, sparking greater motivation.

Step 4: Give Praise and Recognition

Acknowledging your team’s efforts, even in small ways, can have a big impact. A simple pat on the back can indicate you recognize their efforts.  A “good job” goes a long way in showing you value your team. It may sound like common sense, but some leaders do not see the need to recognize a job well done, however, it does make a difference.

Celebrate successes, both big and small. Even when goals are missed, a pep talk can inspire your team to try again. Personalized recognition boosts morale, increases job satisfaction, and motivates employees to give their best. When mistakes are made, people don’t need anyone yelling or finger pointing but coaching on where they went wrong. Praise the effort and recognize a job well done while coaching on development.

Step 5: Get to Know Your Team

Every employee is unique. By understanding each team member’s behavior, strengths, and growth areas, you can tailor your approach to what motivates them most. Some people thrive under pressure; others need more guidance and reassurance.

Taking the time to truly get to know the people on your team builds trust and connection. It also allows you to challenge employees in ways that inspire growth without overwhelming them. When your team feels seen and valued for who they are, they’re more likely to rise to the occasion.

Final Thoughts

Motivating today’s workforce might look different than it did a few decades ago, but the fundamentals remain the same: connection, trust, and communication. As a leader, it’s up to you to create an environment where your team feels inspired to bring their best selves to work every day. By focusing on your own growth and genuinely investing in your team, you’ll not only motivate them—you’ll build a culture where everyone thrives.