Years (and years) ago, I was working as a document editor at a mortgage company. I progressed quickly and found myself just three years later leading a department of 21 people. It was around this time that I had the privilege of attending a week-long 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® workshop. This course was one of those monumental growth experiences that I mark as a milestone in my career. I learned to focus on putting first things first and the importance of sharpening the saw. But, my biggest takeaway was this quote by Stephen Covey:

“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.”

When we first started understanding the value of good onboarding, I began compiling all kinds of research and data on the subject. I now have a massive repository of information filled with statistics and best practices—all to help companies be better at welcoming and acclimating their new team members. I compiled my learnings into an issue of RecogNation  and we have also segmented a part of the Baudville Blog to this meaty topic. Along the way, a funny thing happened: I stumbled on an article written by a faraway connection, who has, in the past, enthusiastically contributed to our blog. She had a different take: how to help employees be better at onboarding themselves.

Change. Transition. These words can mean so many things – many times people perceive them as nasty four-letter words. When is the last time that you made a change in your professional life? How did you handle the ups and downs? What were your fears and joys? After five years of leading the Baudville Outbound Sales team, I took a leap of faith. Looking more toward my future and what I wanted out of my career, I decided to make a change. Here is my story…

At 11:30 on the Sunday night before last, I stepped off a plane after a whirlwind weekend in New York City. Then, just four days later, my parents pulled in my driveway and I hopped in their car for a road trip to Iowa. Talk about two ends of the spectrum: sky-high buildings, swarming streets, and foreign accents were replaced with top hat-high corn, long stretches of desolation, and mid-western drawls. Now I’m back at work trying to make sense of it all.

The dog days are over! That is, if you strategically saved a stash of your PTO for the summer months (AKA: When everybody wants to be outdoors enjoying the sun instead of looking at it from thier desk.) But, if you didn’t, and your employees are in the same boat, you’re in luck. I’ve come up with a handful of ideas to keep you and your team productive when the struggle is real and the drag between the 4^th and Labor Day feels like an eternity. We all know the importance of employee engagement and employee motivation, so I’ll get right to it: