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Hiring (and firing) mark the bookends of the employment life cycle, but recognizing and rewarding in the midst of the process can help you as a manager avoid unpleasant endings. Activate HCG has compiled a top ten tips for managers who hire, fire, recognize, and reward their employees.

"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it." -H.E. Luccock Composers throughout history – the Beethoven’s, Mozart’s, and Tchaikovski’s of the world – have created some of the greatest works of art known to humankind, lasting pieces of music still revered, played, and taught today. But their artistry and orchestration might not have had its impact if not for highly sophisticated levels of teamwork via collaboration between them and the musicians who ...

#GreatResignation, It’s a trending hashtag on LinkedIn, but what is it and why should organizations prepare for it? Hypothesized by Dr. Anthony Klotz, a Professor at Texas A&M University (WHOOP!), The “Great Resignation” is an idea that seeks to make sense of the tides of turnover. More specifically, Dr. Klotz’s work on the Great Resignation argues that employees planning on leaving their jobs are deterred by uncertainty. That’s something most of us can identify with, right? With the ong...

Passionate. Committed. Invested in your company’s mission. When you reach burnout, NONE of these words likely describe you. So, what can we DO about burnout? What does the return path look like? Hold up. What exactly is an engaged employee? An employee’s level of engagement represents the level of discretionary effort they’re willing to put into their work. Engaged employees are emotionally and rationally attached to their organizations and are eager to go above and beyond to help their com...

Effective communication in the workplace can make the difference between smooth sailing on the high seas and jumping ship when you hit an iceberg. In every workplace, clear expectations come from open, clear, and concise communication. Oftentimes there are five major boundaries to communication between leaders and employees. Once leaders recognize the pitfalls that can interfere with effective communication, simple changes can be made to ensure everyone is on the same page and the office atmosph...

For many years, employers have been providing employees with yearly surveys to gauge their satisfaction. While satisfaction surveys can be a good tool for an organization, understanding the difference between a satisfaction survey and an employee engagement survey can really help to set your organization apart and ensure your employees are not only happy with their work environment, but are engaged in it.

From the first prehistoric hunter to employ someone as saber-toothed tiger bait to today's modern leadership issues, we have learned two big lessons. Employee safety has clearly (and mercifully) become more important. People who don't like their job probably don't do a very good job. 

Most will calculate about 60% of the person's salary and some training to determine their cost of turnover. When was the last time you calculated the other costs such as lower Productivity & Product Quality + lower Employee Morale + lower Customer Service and Profit Margin + lower Return on Investment for Marketing?

Today’s organizations are looking for ways to get a leg up on the competition. The lean movement refined processes but process improvement can only move an organization so far. After all of the functional pieces have been addressed, the last lever that an organization can pull for increased performance is the people lever.