Michelle Ray

Business and Leadership Keynote Speaker

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Employee Motivation

“Dead Wood” Employees

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This article was originally posted on November 9, 2016, and has been updated.

“I’m done.” If an employee is telling you this, it means she has reached her limit. For one reason or another.

It could have nothing to do with low morale, lack of opportunity, or a dislike of her job.

She may be ready to move up, move on or begin a new chapter in her life.

All perfectly reasonable reasons to leave a position.

However, she may have shut down or become apathetic. Or maybe she is sucking the life out of her co-workers by being negative day in and day out.

Also known as a “dead wood employee”.

[Read more…] about “Dead Wood” Employees

What is Leadership Development?

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So what is leadership development, and why is it important to your organization and the success of your business? Some people might say, “We’ve got to get more customers, we’ve got to find the best talent, the best employees.” In my view, all that is critically important. However, nothing matters as much as who you decide to develop as a leader, because it is the leaders that create the atmosphere, that mentoring your team that are making ideally the best decisions that have incredible influence on whether or not people feel motivated to stay in a job.

If your leaders don’t have the essential competencies to be successful, it really does start with you to make the best decisions and the best choices in terms of who you decide to put in those roles, and how you develop them.If you put the wrong people into the wrong role especially, thinking that they have the ability to be a great leader, that is going to cost you down the line. It’s going to cost you in terms of talent retention. It’s going to cost you in terms of lose productivity. It’s going to cost you in terms of low morale. So you need to make sure that you understand that you have the right people in place, and that when you decide to develop them, you’re investing wisely in your time, in your energy and everything associated with creating the best leaders that you can.

This article is a transcript from What is Leadership Development? YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

The Impact of Leadership on Talent Retention (Part 2)

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Imagine investing time, money and energy to attract and recruit top talent at career fairs, and ultimately failing to plan for your new hires first days, weeks and even months at your organization. If you’re not doing all you can to inspire an individual to perform at his or her best at the outset, the chances are high that you’ve not only wasted your time and efforts attracting them, you’ve sown the seeds for disengagement and disenchantment from the first days on the job.

A Korn Ferry Future Step Survey conducted last year revealed that although almost all executives agreed that talent retention and mentorship are critical, about 25% of new hires will leave within the first six months, and the main reason for that is that their role wasn’t what they expected. What’s interesting is that 69% of companies surveyed say they have a formal onboarding program in place for all their new employees. However from the employee’s perspective, nearly a quarter of them say that their program lasted only one day, and about a third said they lasted only for a week. How inspiring is that?

The onboarding phase, this is a critically important period for a new employee. They need to receive purposeful, well thought out orientation and it needs to happen within the first 90 to 120 days. So ask yourself, do you have a strategy in place to welcome new recruits? Because during that time, this is what should happen, it’s a period where you’re establishing benchmarks. This is also a time where they get to connect with key personnel, it’s the time where you want to be able to provide them with hands on training and support, and that’s how they’re able to acclimatize to the culture. Remember, those first 60 to 90 days are critical, we cannot expect people to just fend for themselves.

In summary, your onboarding strategy has to be well thought out and intentional. When your organization fails to setup a new hire for success in the early stages of his or her career, job dissatisfaction and ongoing turnover are likely consequences. So let’s realize that talent retention can be improved by practicing preventative maintenance, making the appropriate arrangements for new employees to flourish right from the first day.

This article is a transcript of Talent Management Ep.2 – The Impact of Leadership on Talent Retention on YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Three Ways To Have More Fun At Work

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“It’s not fun anymore”… words I was not expecting to hear from the CEO of a highly successful enterprise. Was he referencing the state of his industry or the workplace in general…or both? The CEO was lamenting the fact that everything has changed: Shareholder expectations, demanding clients and a new generation of employees. Sadly, he was losing his passion and belief that work could once again be as enjoyable as his first five, ten, or twenty years had been. Please don’t suggest that he “should” retire. There are many individuals at every level of an organization who feel similarly, regardless of one’s age or position. [Read more…] about Three Ways To Have More Fun At Work

How To Increase Employee Accountability

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How do you increase employee accountability? Despite the efforts of well-intended HR departments and leaders to create clearly defined job descriptions, confusion persists regarding specific roles and responsibilities in almost every industry, public sector, as well enterprises of all sizes and descriptions. When mistakes are made, deadlines are missed, or communication goes haywire, the blame game, finger-pointing and excuse-making escalates.

Any of these scenarios beg the question: “Who is responsible?” [Read more…] about How To Increase Employee Accountability

Three Ways To Sustain An Extraordinary Workplace Culture

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How often does one hear a president of a company open an event for his leadership team with the words: “Mom and Dad, I want to thank you for all you do”. Not only were his Mom and Dad in the audience, they were interacting with everyone throughout the entire meeting, from start to finish. The Founder (aka “Dad”) joined both his sons on stage to answer questions from attendees, holding nothing back. More than 300 people hung on his every word; laughing and at times moved to tears, as Dad told stories about the early days, his reasons for starting the company, as well has his vision for future success.  As I witnessed the smiles and animated conversations that ensued during coffee breaks, lunch and the reception afterwards, it was clear that this was no ordinary company. What made it so special? In a word: Culture.

The ability to sustain an extraordinary workplace culture while growing at an unprecedented rate is a scenario that many organizations would like to have. At the same time, preserving the unique attributes that make an enterprise successful can present its own set of challenges. The solution to maintaining an outstanding culture lies in consistently applying the following principles: [Read more…] about Three Ways To Sustain An Extraordinary Workplace Culture