Latest news with #companyCulture
Forbes
28-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Stuck In Your Current Role? How To Grow Your Career Without A Promotion
Stuck In Your Current Role? How To Grow Your Career Without A Promotion How does a high performer continue to grow in their career when the company values them in the role they are currently in instead of training for a promotion? – Project Manager, Creative Agency Sometimes you can be too good to promote. You're too valuable in the role you do, and it's better for the company to keep you there. Or your manager doesn't want the hassle of having to replace you. Or your company is relatively flat, and there aren't bigger jobs to give you. Or maybe this project manager isn't as high performing as they think they are. Or their manager has been lobbying to promote them, but isn't influential enough to advance you. Or the company isn't doing well enough financially to afford your promotion. As you can see, there are multiple reasons why a promotion doesn't get through, so confirm why you are hearing No. Check out the company financials and recent promotion and hiring history to see if they're spending money on people, and if so, what roles. Have a candid conversation with your manager about your promotion worthiness specifically, not just how you're doing. Your performance reviews are about how you're doing in your current job, not necessarily your career potential. Take a long, hard look at the support you have from your manager, your skip-level manager (manager's manager) and other senior leaders – do you have the right people advocating for you. One popular reason for wanting a promotion is to grow your responsibilities and opportunities. However, you can DIY your own leadership development. Use previous performance reviews for ideas on what skills you need to learn, what qualities you need to develop and what experience you need. Check out your company's tuition reimbursement benefits and what classes you can take to fill gaps. Work with your manager on restructuring your role for stretch assignments. Look for opportunities to add emerging trends, such as AI, to your day-to-day. Another reason for wanting a promotion is the chance to manage people or budget. You can grow your career without being a manager. Manage a part of a project, if not the whole thing. Ask your manager if you can take something off their to do list – they'll be grateful, and you'll get exposure to part of their world. Volunteer for something that gives you hands-on management experience. For example, join a nonprofit board, lead a committee in your professional association or offer to organize an event or fundraiser in your community. Making more money is a top reason for wanting a promotion, but moving up isn't the only way to increase your income. Grow a side business – it will flex different skills than your day job and bring in extra money. Review your investments to see how you can improve returns on the money you save – e.g., consider rental real estate, look for higher yielding bank accounts. A small mindset shift from asking for a promotion to negotiating your promotion can remind you that this is a back-and-forth dialogue, not a one-time request. Prepare to negotiate by confirming what you want (e.g., title, raise, profit-sharing, which responsibilities, what resources), preemptively thinking about what your manager, their manager and other decision-makers might argue, and creatively thinking about a win-win for both sides. Schedule a separate meeting dedicated to your promotion discussion. Ask again, even if you initially hear No, and prepare to overcome objections.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spotify executives banned a common phrase from their weekly 3-hour meeting
A key rule at Spotify's weekly executive meeting: Do not say "We'll take that offline." "You're not allowed to say the word 'offline' or 'later' — because that person is in the room," said the co-president. Executives aren't allowed to bring direct reports, either. Every Tuesday afternoon, Spotify's top brass — all of its vice presidents — pile into a room for a standing three-hour meeting with a key rule. "You're not allowed to say the word 'offline' or 'later' — because that person is in the room," said Gustav Söderström, Spotify's co-president, on an episode of the "Invest Like The Best" podcast published Tuesday. At other companies, when conversations get uncomfortable or someone hasn't delivered, people tend to punt the issue. But that's not Spotify's ethos, Söderström, who also leads tech and product, said. Instead of circling back, people are expected to hash things out. "It's real-time resolution — very simple in theory but incredibly powerful in practice. Most companies don't do it," he said. Another rule: No bringing direct reports. Everyone in the room is expected to know the discussion's details. "I'm trying to literally force the VPs to solve it themselves because I want them to be in the details. So, you're not allowed to bring anyone else in to explain your thing," Söderström said. "You have to be on top of it enough to explain it to yourself," he added. Without direct reports coming and going, the same group shows up each week. Over time, it becomes a tight-knit, high-trust team, Söderström said. Spotify and Söderström did not respond to a request for comment. The marathon Tuesday sessions are part of what Spotify calls its "bets" process — a structured way of deciding what the company builds next. Every six months, each VP pitches a bet. "It's very much like a startup process," Söderström said. "You don't get to use the fact that Gustav or Alex or Daniel may like you. This is like a VC meeting, you have to convince us." After the pitches, the leaders "stack rank" the 30 to 50 pitches. Teams then allocate resources based on that list and execute what makes the cut over the next six months. "It's a good mix of bottom-up innovation," Söderström said. Instead of relying on the company's top executives, Spotify brings in ideas from across its leadership and "all the layers below." "You're going to be much better at delivering something if you were the one who said, 'I can do this,' than if your boss said you can do this," Söderström said. The company's stock is up nearly 116% in the last year. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
‘We've got to nurture each other'
There is no silver bullet to ensure employee wellbeing – but a mix of dogged hard work, a company-wide commitment and some deft use of technology can certainly help. From colleague shout-outs through to menopause groups and wellbeing cafes, a raft of imaginative initiatives can help set the tone of company culture. So says Rachel Nicholls, CEO of Inspire Education Group (IEG), an organisation dedicated to providing further education. 'It's not as simple as waving a magic wand,' she adds. 'We try to employ a whole range of different strategies and mechanisms to support people with their wellbeing, their welfare and their mental health.' While every business today will declare staff are its greatest asset, IEG is walking the walk. And with good reason, since its 1,300-strong workforce is responsible for the education and wellbeing of some 11,000 diverse students across colleges in Lincolnshire, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire. So what are the secrets to championing wellbeing at work? People first 'As leaders, we really focus on how we create the right environment so people can thrive,' she says. 'Our people turn plans into reality and deliver for the communities we serve, and they need to feel valued, empowered and have the space to take risks.' Whatever it is IEG is doing, it's working. Staff across all levels were commended by Ofsted in March for their passionate commitment to the wellbeing of students, and in 2023 they were commended by the Association of Colleges (AOC Beacon Awards 2024/24) for their commitment to the wellbeing and mental health of staff and students. 'It's really important to look at what staff genuinely need and what will genuinely help,' says Sarah Young, IEG's vice principal, student and staff experience, who chairs the mental health and wellbeing group within the organisation. How do they do it? By prioritising the creation of a thriving workforce and spelling out their caring values. Individuals know they can ask for help when times are tough – personal upsets can spill over into professional lives, and simple acts of kindness among colleagues can be transformative. 'Since the pandemic there's been a blurring of lines between work and home,' says Nicholls, 'another reason why welfare is so important.' Nurturing employees and giving them space to voice worries is something that leading HR, payroll and finance provider MHR enables with dedicated technology – if staff don't thrive, a company will lose valuable talent. Its People First platform helps everybody, from employees to people managers and HR teams, find the best opportunities to suit individuals and offers well-designed feedback loops to connect employees, all of which helps support wellbeing. Embedding wellbeing Setting the tone from the top down is also critical, says Nicholls, and IEG has signed up to the AOC's mental health charter and reinforces these values through leadership training. 'It's really important that we talk about that from the word go,' she says, pointing to the fact that new managers are specifically trained in recognising the importance of mental health and wellbeing when they join the company. ''Let's look out for each other and be kind' is a really important part of our communication,' she adds. Mental health champions work across IEG's campuses. 'They are trained to listen and to help signpost staff to a range of support,' says Young. There are also pop-up cafes – with tea and cake – where staff can have open conversations. And each year, the company dedicates a day of its development week to wellbeing, featuring activities based on the NHS's Five Ways to Wellbeing guidelines for good mental health. Some initiatives at IEG have come from staff themselves – there's a cancer support group formed after employees affected by the disease welcomed a space where they could talk and support each other. Another group supports women with menopause and endometriosis. And IEG seeks to be a menopause-friendly employer. 'It's really important to look at what staff genuinely need and how we can support them,' says Nicholls. From big to small One of the most popular initiatives is a tech-enabled 'high five' on IEG's digital wellbeing platform, which allows staff to recognise and thank colleagues – which can include anything from helping with a troublesome task to receipt of good feedback from parents. 'It's just that act of kindness and its ripple effect that's so lovely,' says Young. 'It's essential for fostering a supportive community.' Colleague recognition matters in healthy organisations. Using MHR's People First platform, staff can recognise good work and share success stories with ease. As well as celebrating each other, managers can use the software to set individual goals and enable employees to see the impact of their work. IEG also offers free activities for staff – this term it's yoga and badminton – and round-the-clock advice and counselling. All students and staff across the colleges are invited to enjoy a free breakfast. 'We firmly believe that coming together with colleagues before the day starts has such benefits,' says Sarah Young. If this culture spreads beyond the confines of IEG's colleges, the entire sector will benefit, and there are a host of organisations doing some great things within further education, says Nicholls – and this offers hope for the future. 'Let's just do more of it, let's learn from each other. The humanity that we show as individuals in the organisation is so important…we have to nurture and value each other.'
Irish Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Why closing the gender gap needs more than pink socks, tacos and rainbows
Many moons ago, I worked at a place that had a novel way of celebrating women. The top guy wore pink socks (possibly the same pair) for a week. To be fair, the company was raising funds for a women's charity but, as a woman I would have preferred better working conditions, a pay rise and a promotion. Most women on the team viewed this stunt as performative nonsense and seethed quietly with rage. Although we were senior staffers, none of us had been informed about the campaign, included in it or even consulted on what we thought might work best. It was a plan dreamed up by the commercial team to highlight the senior leadership, who all happened to be men. Sadly, these tokenistic actions are very common. READ MORE To help workers feel included and engaged, companies often encourage employees to set up volunteer-led employee resource groups, sometimes called staff networks. The goal is to bring together underrepresented employees who have shared identities and interests. Typically, there are groups for women, LGBTQI+, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour), those with disabilities, and even groups based on hobbies or professional development goals. Although it's an excellent staff engagement strategy, if your employee resource group or staff network is not funded, not linked to company strategy and not the responsibility of a senior executive or board member then it's not being taken seriously. Effective networks focus on the advancement, promotion or personal/ professional/ social development goals of those within the group and increase their sense of belonging. Disengaged Energy and focus at work come from feeling valued and respected daily, no matter who you are and where you are in the hierarchy. When companies focus on their external image instead of what's needed to get the most from historically underutilised members of the team then it is highly destructive for staff morale and engagement. Would you feel happy working for a place that thinks smelly pink socks = women? Or a company that does one thing a year to make you feel visible or celebrate who you are (International Women's Day, Pride, Black History Month, International Food Day, Young Leaders' Forum)? A young woman I knew worked in the Middle East for a top international consultancy group headquartered in a different time zone. Sarah (not her real name), along with her team of female colleagues, stayed late at work to watch the latest 'all hands' event featuring the chief executive and leadership team. After an hour watching six white, heterosexual, native English speaking men deliver 'inspirational' speeches, they were deflated. They turned off their computers before the event ended and headed home. Soon after, she started looking for an employer who actually promoted women to the top jobs and valued her skills and dedication. Businesses constantly look for ways to increase profit, maintain relevance and keep employees engaged, but they have an inexplicable blind spot. Decades of research proves that one particular course of action solves it, brings them closer to customers, reduces risk, increases innovation and opens them up to new markets. Often they'll shrug and imply: 'You got anything else?' Diversity is that low hanging fruit. I'm sick of shouting about it to be honest because it's not rocket science, it's just good business. Industries and companies that ignore this will lose money because they'll become irrelevant to the majority of the population. For many, it's already too late as these talented workers and profitable customers have found others who appreciate them. In the United States , where the Trump administration is waging war on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), at least 26 companies have held firm against concerted efforts by pressure groups and hostile shareholders who have tried to force its removal. These companies know diversity in all its forms helps the bottom line and competitiveness. They include Apple , Ben & Jerry's, Cisco , Coca-Cola , Delta Air Lines, Disney, Goldman Sachs , Hasbro , Levi Strauss, Lush, Marriott Hotels, the NFL, Pinterest, Patagonia, Procter & Gamble , Sephora and Southwest Airlines. Data tell the story Unsurprisingly, workers tend to be most interested in organisations that help them advance, pay them properly and treat them fairly. Ireland is not the US and thankfully the European Union has made some progress towards ensuring greater transparency by requiring gender pay gap reporting since 2022 for companies with more than 250 employees. From June, employers with 50 or more employees are required to report the data in November. Gender pay gap reporting looks at average pay across a number of areas to uncover hidden inequalities or imbalances in an organisation. The gender pay gap is the difference in average gross hourly earnings between women and men. It is based on salaries paid directly to employees before income tax and social insurance contributions are deducted. The gap is calculated in two ways: a mean (the average of all the values) and a median (the middle value). The mean reflects the entire pay range in an organisation and, although it gives an idea of the midpoint of a data set, it can be distorted by unusually high or low individual salaries. The median is less likely to be distorted by an unusually large or small value, so can sometimes be a better representation of the general pay gap in a company. When Ireland's first gender pay gap reports were published in 2022, there was one very large problem: our Government hadn't built a central reporting tool or portal, said Jen Keane, a citizen data scientist. Companies use a variety of reporting tools, a mishmash of PDFs, Excel files and Word documents buried on individual company websites. Without a standardised form, it's almost impossible to digest the data easily. There's also no central portal for accessing it so you have to look at individual company websites. In her free time, Keane read every single report and built as a public service. She believes that everyone has the right to know how women and men fare in terms of promotion and bonuses at companies. Of the 733 companies Keane analysed in 2024, 30 had mean hourly pay gaps above 35 per cent and 21 had median hourly pay gaps above 35 per cent. This compares unfavourably with the EU 'average' gap of 12.3 per cent in 2023. What do the other numbers in database tell us? Although the mean figure is most commonly cited, Keane says that quartiles are the most important number for progression because it highlights whether the company has women in senior leadership or not. 'It shows you who is in the room and it also indicates which companies have better policies, better employee retention because it's not just a bunch of dudes making the decisions,' Keane said. In nine of those companies with mean or median hourly pay gaps above 35 per cent, women account for fewer than one in 10 staff in the upper quartile of earners in the fourth quarter of last year: ABB Ireland (9 per cent female), Breedon Mining (5 per cent), , the Irish Aviation Authority (6 per cent), JJ Rhatigan (5 per cent), John Paul Construction (8 per cent), LotusWorks (5 per cent), SIG Susquehanna International Group (9 per cent), Walls Construction (3 per cent) and Winthrop Technologies (9 per cent). Closing the gender pay gap needs more than pink socks, tacos and rainbows. It requires companies to change their strategy, key metrics and culture to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to reach their potential. See to find out how your company is doing. Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy. margaret@
Fast Company
07-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
The corporate retreat is getting a makeover
When Katie Hammel arrived at her company's offsite in Cabo San Lucas, she expected the usual formula: long meetings, awkward icebreakers, and a packed agenda that left little room to breathe. What she experienced instead was something different—a thoughtfully curated, empowering, and inclusive retreat. 'There was a little wrap-up at the end of each day,' says Hammel, director of content at travel rewards booking platform 'At first I thought it was going to be kind of corny, and I actually ended up really loving it. Hearing what surprised people, what they learned—it just really crystallized the day.' Hammel, who's attended nine retreats while working at four different companies, has witnessed firsthand how offsites have evolved. 'Early retreats were like, 'Let's rent a cabin and figure it out.' Now, they're much more intentional. It's something you need to invest time and money and real deep thought into planning so that you can make the most of that time.' As remote and hybrid work have become more permanent, companies are rethinking the role of retreats. What used to be a perk is now a necessity: a way to reinforce culture, rebuild trust, and create connection in the absence of daily in-office interactions. But simply gathering people in a room (or on a beach) isn't enough. Today's distributed teams require something more thoughtful, more inclusive, and more strategic.
