Latest news with #employeeengagement
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
AI Isn't Paying Off—Yet: 5 Fast Fixes To Finally See Results
AI Isn't Paying Off—Yet: 5 Fast Fixes to Finally See Results getty This week, McKinsey reported something shocking: 'Nearly eight in ten respondents we surveyed say their companies use gen AI—yet just as many say they've seen no significant bottom-line impact.' In other words, AI is everywhere—except on the P&L. And yesterday, I saw this disconnect play out in real time. On a call with the founder and CEO of a diversified multinational (with business units in machine manufacturing, chemistry, construction, and more), I heard deep frustration. He had just left a meeting with his company's AI Implementation Committee. Their update? 'Despite every effort, nearly nobody across our business units wants to take on AI. The most common reason? 'Everything is already working as it is.'' Sound familiar? This resistance to change isn't new—but today, it's amplified by something even more dangerous: burnout and disengagement. Gallup's freshly released 2025 State of the Global Workplace report shows: 'Global employee engagement declined to 21% in 2024, with managers experiencing the largest drop. This marks only the second decline in engagement in the past 12 years — a worrying sign for organizations already struggling with productivity.' Let's pause on that: 79% of employees are disengaged. So here we are, trying to introduce a new technological era inside companies full of exhausted, change-weary humans. No wonder AI isn't paying off—yet. But it can. And it doesn't require billion-dollar labs or moonshot strategies. Here are 5 fast, proven ways to unlock real value from AI—starting right now: Want employees to embrace AI at work? Start by helping them use it in their lives. Show them how to meal-plan with ChatGPT. Help them write a vacation itinerary. Let them summarize a podcast or generate ideas for their kid's birthday party. It's the personal use of AI that builds confidence and curiosity. Once people experience how AI can reduce stress in their daily lives, they're far more likely to see potential in the workplace. As I wrote in my recent article 'Surviving Uncertainty: 5 Strategies To Stay Sane, Sharp And Financially Sound', the most powerful tools we have are the ones we feel personally connected to. The same is true for AI. Think of it as a proof-of-concept movement—one person at a time. #2 - Solve Burnout, Not Just Bottlenecks Leaders love to talk about how AI can speed things up. But what your employees often want most… is to slow things down. Instead of pitching AI as an efficiency tool, try presenting it as an energy tool. • 'Let's use this to cut your weekly reporting time by 50%.' • 'Let's find a way to never start from scratch again.' • 'Let's automate your most soul-sucking tasks.' AI isn't just a productivity story—it's a wellness story. When you frame AI as a path to less stress, you'll see more engagement. #3 - Create AI Champions, Not Committees Most 'AI committees' become black holes for innovation. Replace them with a small squad of internal AI champions—early adopters from various departments who can experiment, share learnings, and support their peers. People trust people they already work with. When adoption is peer-driven, resistance drops. Peer influence beats policy every time. #4 - Swap Mandates for Micro-Wins Top-down AI rollouts almost always trigger resistance. The alternative? Low-risk experiments with clear, measurable wins. • Let one team automate meeting notes. • Let another create AI-powered customer responses. • Let a third run a competitor analysis in minutes. Then, showcase results. Make the micro-wins visible. You're not just building a business case—you're building a movement. This kind of approach is what I call 'swarming leadership'—a concept I explored in 'Swarming Leadership: Are You Leading the Hive or Getting Stung?'. In fast-changing environments, top-down control fails. Swarming wins. #5 - Teach AI Through Real-Life Roles, Not Job Titles Forget abstract AI training sessions. Instead, build persona-based learning journeys: • For marketers: How to use AI to create 10 subject line variations in seconds. • For finance teams: How to turn raw data into dashboards, instantly. • For customer support: How to draft responses or FAQs on the fly. The goal isn't to teach 'AI' as a generic concept—it's to make it feel like a helpful assistant in their specific context. When training connects directly to day-to-day tasks, engagement goes up—and fear goes down. The Bottom Line AI is not failing because of the tech. It's failing because of people—burnt out, disengaged, unsure of where to start. But that's also the opportunity. We don't need more AI strategy decks. We need human-centered rollout strategies that meet people where they are. • Make it personal • Start small • Show results • Build culture from the inside out Because the AI era isn't just coming—it's already here. And the payoff belongs to those ready to roll it out right.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
I told my boss I'd reply to his email once the weekend was over. What followed was a text blow-up I NEVER saw coming...
A heated exchange between a boss and his employee over weekend work expectations has ignited a firestorm online, with many condemning the manager's outdated views on work-life balance. The controversy began when the boss sent a message to his employee: 'Hey, did you see my email?' The employee responded, 'Hi, I noticed the email notification, but it's the weekend. I'll get to it first thing Monday morning.' Unimpressed, the boss replied, 'I wouldn't send an email at the weekend that wasn't important. I do expect a quick response to things like this, regardless of the day.' The employee, seeking to maintain personal boundaries, explained, 'Oh ok, sorry. It's been a long week, and I could really do with keeping my weekend separate if that's ok. I am out at the moment, is there any way I can look at it on Monday?' The boss's response was scathing: 'Honestly, I am so bored of hearing lines like this from your generation. Like seriously? What happened to just putting in a bit of effort and taking their career seriously? 'It's just take, take, take with you lot. I am fed up. Men used to work every hour of the day, seven days a week. I need a response today on that email.' The employee, attempting to de-escalate, replied, 'It's not about taking, I am just exhausted from the week. I am out at the moment, but I will try and look at it later on this evening if I have a chance.' The boss concluded, 'This is beyond disappointing. We are talking about one small email response, it isn't like I am asking for the world. We'll talk on Monday.' Workplace expert Ben Askins shared the exchange on TikTok, criticising the boss' approach. He questioned, 'Are you paying them for seven days of work? Because you actually get to control the time that you're paying them. 'And the time that they're not being paid, that's actually nothing to do with you.' Askins highlighted the unrealistic expectations some employers have. 'This misunderstanding of 'I pay you for five days a week, therefore I should get seven days of 24 hours of your time' is such a weird concept people have that we have got to cut out.' He also pointed out the potential consequences of such management styles, noting, 'The reason he's so burnt out is because he's not enjoying his job and he's not having a very good work environment.' Addressing the broader issue, Askins emphasised, 'The reason is you have to work for 30, 40, 50 years of your life, right? 'So if you burn yourself out in three to four years and cause yourself to completely fall apart, you're not going to make it. It's a marathon, not a sprint.' The exchange has sparked widespread discussion about generational differences in work culture and the importance of respecting employees' personal time. Askins concluded, 'The amount of red flags in this one tiny message is mind-blowing. The generation the boss is from had it the easiest out of everyone.' Hundreds weighed in on the discussion. 'But realistically older generations didn't have email or mobiles, so couldn't be harassed in this way. It's not a decent comparison,' one said. 'The initial text should have been ignored until Monday morning too,' another added. A worker shared, 'My boss messages me out of hours all the time. I leave him on unread until 10am on a Monday. My level of pettiness grows weekly with every message he sends from Friday night onwards.' On the other side of the argument, a woman said: 'Am I the only one that would just read the email and reply? It might of been something so minor or a basic answer that makes everything easier or closes a sale or solves a huge problem. Give and take.' The incident serves as a reminder of the evolving expectations in the modern workplace and the need for employers to adapt to foster a healthy work environment.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Newsweek Names Help at Home One of America's Greatest Workplaces 2025
Company's second consecutive year recognized nationally as industry-leading workplace CHICAGO, June 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Help at Home, the leading national provider of high-quality, relationship-based home care, today announced it has been named to Newsweek's 2025 list of America's Greatest Workplaces —a prestigious recognition that highlights the company's commitment to building an exceptional workplace culture during its landmark 50th anniversary year. 'To be named by Newsweek as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for the second consecutive year -- and at a time when we're celebrating our 50th anniversary is a proud moment,' said Help at Home's Chief Executive Officer Chris Hocevar. 'For five decades, we've been committed to our culture of caring and focused on continuous best practice improvements to train, support and equip our care workforce to help them provide quality care. This recognition affirms that we've created an environment where employees feel valued, connected and proud of the meaningful difference they make in the purpose-driven work that helps vulnerable populations age-in-place in their own homes.' Help at Home's culture of caring approach has yielded higher than industry average retention rates and NPS scores. Regular feedback mechanisms and listening forums are embedded throughout the organization, driving improvements in training, technology, and day-to-day support, and ensuring the company's employees feel – and are – heard. These efforts have resulted in an industry-leading NPS score and a caregiver workforce that has grown by nearly 50% since 2020. Rina, a dedicated employee of more than 30 years, explains, 'Our mission hasn't changed—we're here to care for people. I believe in what we do, and I see the impact we make every single day.' Her words exemplify the culture of quality, compassion and trust that defines Help at Home. The company also fosters meaningful career pathways and invests in recognition, from local events to its dedicated Help at Home Community Foundation that provides grants and support to care team members in need. These initiatives reflect Help at Home's deeply rooted commitment to care excellence and employee well-being. According to Newsweek, this is the third-annual ranking of America's Greatest Workplaces that recognizes the companies where employee engagement comes naturally. The companies highlighted demonstrate how prioritizing workplace satisfaction can prove advantageous both for their employees and themselves. The ranking involved an assessment of publicly accessible data, over 400,000 employee interviews and 4.9 million comprehensive company reviews. Respondents provided insights and experiences on corporate culture, working conditions and other aspects of their current employer and other companies they know. This latest recognition joins Help at Home's growing portfolio of national accolades, including Newsweek's Greatest Workplaces for Women, Diversity, Parents, and Mental Well-being, as well as Forbes' Best Employers by State and for New Graduates. About Help at Home Help at Home is the leading national provider of high-quality home care services offering innovative programs designed to help seniors and underserved complex chronic populations remain healthy in their homes. As of January 2025, Help at Home operated more than 200 branch locations across 11 states and provided in-home personal care and extended care services to 70,000 clients with the help of more than 60,000 highly trained and compassionate caregivers. Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Chicago, Ill., Help at Home has 50 years of operating experience in the home care industry. For more information about Help at Home, visit Contact: Kristen Trenaman Vice President of Public Relations and Brand [email protected] 502-445-4126 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Help at Home
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Are Your Best Employees The Ones Most Likely To Leave?
Are Your Best Employees The Ones Most Likely To Leave? A Leadership IQ study reveals that managers believe only 36% of employees are delivering great work. And an even more dangerous discovery shows these high performers are often less engaged than their underperforming colleagues, creating a dangerous cycle that threatens the entire workforce. These studies deliver a sobering wake-up call for companies: The small group of employees carrying the heaviest load, solving the toughest problems, and driving organizational success are sometimes the most likely to be looking for the exit. The Champions Who Carry the Load In most organizations, the 36% who deliver great work aren't just performing their own jobs exceptionally, they're compensating for the 64% who aren't. They stay late fixing problems created by others, take on extra projects when deadlines loom, and serve as the unofficial mentors and problem-solvers their colleagues depend on. While adequate performers complete assigned tasks, great performers take that crucial extra step: they help colleagues succeed, volunteer for challenging assignments, and turn problems into learning opportunities for entire teams. But when only one-third of employees operate at this level, those high performers become organizational life support systems. And life support systems, no matter how strong, eventually break down under constant pressure. The Recognition Paradox One cause of this is the recognition paradox. High performers report that their exceptional work is often viewed as "expected" rather than celebrated, while low performers receive disproportionate positive attention because managers spend more time coaching struggling employees. This creates a perverse incentive structure where mediocrity gets attention and excellence gets taken for granted. High performers begin to feel invisible despite carrying disproportionate responsibility, a recipe for disengagement and eventual departure. The Accountability Vacuum Another critical factor is the absence of accountability for poor performance. When low performers face no consequences for substandard work, high performers become the default solution for every problem. This dynamic creates a "performance subsidization" where high performers unknowingly subsidize low performance by cleaning up messes, covering gaps, and ensuring organizational objectives get met despite widespread mediocrity. High performers consistently report low confidence that leadership holds people accountable for their performance. They watch colleagues deliver subpar work without consequences while simultaneously handling increased workloads to compensate for others' shortcomings. The Career Control Crisis Also alarming is the finding that high performers increasingly feel their career success depends on factors beyond their control. Despite consistently delivering excellent results, they see advancement opportunities going to less qualified candidates, witness poor performers receiving the same raises, and observe organizational decisions that seem to ignore merit entirely. This loss of what psychologists call "internal locus of control" is a powerful predictor of turnover. When high performers conclude that excellence doesn't drive career outcomes, they typically decide that excellence isn't worth the effort or they find organizations where it is. The Multiplication Effect The 36% problem becomes exponentially worse when these champions start leaving. High performers don't just take their individual contributions with them, they remove the stabilizing force that enables the other 64% to maintain even adequate performance. Projects they were quietly shepherding suddenly face delays, quality standards they maintained through informal leadership begin to slip, colleagues who relied on their expertise struggle with complex problems, and remaining high performers face even greater workloads and pressure. Organizations can quickly spiral from having 36% great performers to having 20% or fewer, as the burden on remaining champions becomes unsustainable. Breaking the Cycle Any number of interventions can reverse this pattern. Organizations need behavioral recognition systems to identify and celebrate the specific behaviors that distinguish high performers. This means creating formal processes to recognize not just what great performers achieve, but how they achieve it, i.e., the extra steps that create exceptional results. Performance differentiation requires establishing meaningful consequences for both excellent and poor performance. High performers need to see that excellence leads to different outcomes than mediocrity. And this demands honestly auditing what actually happens to your highest and lowest performers in terms of recognition, advancement, compensation, and opportunities. Another option, career clarity, involves providing transparent pathways that directly reward continued excellence. When advancement seems random or political, high performers lose motivation to maintain exceptional standards. Organizations must show top performers specific examples of how excellence has led to advancement within the company. And workload management means resisting the temptation to overload high performers simply because they can handle more. This requires either improving the performance of others or redistributing work more strategically, including auditing high performers' actual workloads and identifying which tasks could be redistributed or eliminated. The Strategic Imperative These findings reveal a critical challenge: organizations are simultaneously under-utilizing their workforce potential while burning out their most valuable contributors. The 36% who deliver great work aren't statistical outliers, they're organizational lifelines. Losing them doesn't just reduce performance; it can trigger a performance collapse as the remaining workforce loses the informal support system that enabled their performance. Companies that solve this paradox will gain enormous competitive advantages. They'll not only retain their champions but create conditions where the other 64% can rise to higher performance levels. The question isn't whether organizations can afford to address the engagement gap among high performers, it's whether they can afford not to, especially when their future success depends on the very people who are increasingly questioning whether their excellence is worth the effort. The 36% champions aren't asking for special treatment. They're asking for organizational systems that value excellence as much as they do.
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Quill Communications certified as one of the Best Places to Work in the UAE
Dubai-UAE: Quill Communications, the integrated marketing and communications agency with a presence across the UAE, KSA, and Lebanon, has been officially certified as one of the Best Places to Work in the UAE for 2025. This prestigious certification comes as a result of an in-depth evaluation that included anonymous employee surveys and a comprehensive assessment of the agency's workplace practices, culture, and people development strategies. While Quill Communications is touted for delivering bold ideas and strategic storytelling across dynamic markets, its defining strength is its people culture—rooted in empathy, inclusion, and empowerment. The agency's approach to building a strong internal community includes regular team-building retreats, celebration of cultural moments, and structured coaching to support both personal and professional growth. Maan Bou Dargham, CEO, Quill Communications, said: 'We've always believed that Quill is more than just an agency. It's a culture, a family, and a collective of people who care. This recognition is a testament to the environment we've built together, through trust, openness, and ambition. It confirms that when you create space for people to be themselves, they're empowered to do their best work.' Lilian Al Kadi, HR Director, Quill MENA, added: 'The certification process gave us a valuable opportunity to reflect, listen, and grow. We see culture not as a benefit but as a business imperative. Embedding people-first thinking into our strategy has allowed us to create an environment where creativity flourishes and individuals are supported in their journey. This recognition strengthens our belief that investing in our people is the most important investment we can make.' As Quill celebrates this milestone, it does so with its eyes on the future—committed to creating a modern workplace where people feel seen, supported, and empowered to do their best work every day. About Quill Communications Quill Communications is an integrated marketing and communications agency known for its regional expertise and innovative approaches, with offices in the UAE, KSA, and Lebanon. With a strong belief that 'ordinary' is not an option, Quill specialises in transforming businesses across various sectors through strategies that engage audiences at every touchpoint. With expertise in social media management, digital marketing, public relations, event and experience management, strategic counsel, production and creative studio as well as brand and consumer research, Quill delivers tailored solutions that drive meaningful results for high-profile clients across GCC.
