Create a Learn-At-Lunch Program for Your Employees

Create a Learn-At-Lunch Program for Your EmployeesCreate a Learn-At-Lunch Program for Your EmployeesMany firms successfully employ a learn-at-lunch approach to supplementemployee training and development activities. Some call them brown bag sessions in honor of the bags in which we used to carry our lunches, and others reverse the phrase, calling them Lunch-and-Learn events. Regardless of the name, the use of an occasional lunch hour for education or training can stimulate employee engagement and extend the companys development program. This article offers ideas on how to start, sustain, and succeed in strengthening employee learning with a Learn-at-Lunch program. Time Is Always Key When youre running a business, there never seems to be enough timeto get everything done. The typical training dilemmasuggests you cantspare people to go to training because theresso much work to be done, but you also cant neglect their training and development if you want your business to thrive. Whi le individuals value their lunch periods as an opportunity to reset for the afternoon, an education program that occasionally taps into this period can be interesting and invigorating for everyone involved. What Learn-At-Lunch Is At its simplest, a Learn-at-Lunch program is a training or development event occasionally scheduled during the lunch hour or lunch period.Many firms offer incentives such asfree lunches to encourage attendance and involvement. After all, theyre asking employees to give up personal time. Learn-at-Lunch training is usually less formal and less structured than traditional training events. The topics must be interesting to make the time investment worthwhile for employees, and conducive to short, hour-long sprints delivered over a period of days or weeks. Typical Learn-at-Lunch training programs include Cross-Training A cross-training program can range from teaching customer service reps how to answer the phone correctly to providing leadership training to first-line managers. Product Training A programcan help all employees better understand product differences and specifications if your company offers many products or services. It is also a good way to introduce new products or services to your employees. Employee-Led Professional Development Give people an opportunity to learn about the responsibilities ofemployeesin other departments.Do you have someone in IT who could teach a course in programming basics or someone in accounting who could explain howfinancial forecasting works? Maybe someone in HR could teach a session on how to interview better. Personal Development A learn-at-lunch program does not have to be strictly business. Some firms use these opportunities to offer non-work-related learning opportunities in topics ranging fromwood carving to painting or drawing. Diversity Activities Many firms sponsor diversity teams and councils, and the lunch period is a great time to invite guest speakers or showcase cross-cultural ed ucation. Life Skills Other options for leveraging Learn-at-Lunch programs include focusing on important life skills such as retirement planning, budgeting, or physical fitness. What Learn-At-Lunch Is Not Learn-at-Lunch sessions should only be voluntary. This is not the time toperformtraining thats required either by law or by the company. Dont use Learn-at-Lunch programs for anything that requires you tokeep track of who attends. Itsnot a good time to train employees on serious subjects like ethics or harassment. 15 Ideas to Help Start a Learn-At-Lunch Program Learn-at-Lunch programs have many variations. Here are some suggestions to help you get started. Gain support from your boss, executive, and appropriate human resources personnel, or training and development professionals.Choose interesting, relevant topics.Tailor topics for different audiences in the workplace.Establish learning objectives for each topic andlunchtime training session.Consider offering light, healthy l unch foods, snacks, and beverages as part of the program.Communicate the schedule in advance.Provide light, advance reading or materials whenever appropriate.Invite employees to submit ideas for work or life-related topics. Encourage employees to consider leading these programs by offering their own skills.Measure participant satisfaction with each session and refine the program as needed based on the feedback you receive.Select a location that supports both training and eating.Consider the needs of remote employees who may wantto attend. Offer optional video or audio conferencing support, and if you include a free lunch for local employees, extend a voucher or offer limited reimbursement for those who work away from the office. Record and make the sessions available for those who areunable to attend.Be sensitive to the reality that many employees appreciate their lunch period as an opportunity to decompress. Strike a balance between your eagerness to schedule these events and the n eeds of your employees for time away from their daily jobs.Make attendance optional and focus on content that helps individuals improve their professional skills or an ability to navigate lifes challenges.Be sure to promote the event. That means talking about it, posting up flyers around the office, scheduling it into calendars and sending emails. It wont work well if you dont market your event properly, even to your staff. Benefits of Learn-At-Lunch Programs A learn-at-lunch program provides employees with an interesting alternative to a typical lunch break. These events will grow in popularity ifthe topics are carefully selected. An assortment of programs offers an opportunity to improve employee engagement and involvement in the business in an informal manner. By alternating the types of get-togethers you have you will also appeal to a wider group of employees. For the fruchtwein part, the trainers enjoy the chance to be in the spotlight. People like to share their expertise and interests with others in the company. Also, employees get a chance to spend time with one another in a non-work environment, something they may not otherwise be able to do. Potential Risks and Pitfalls Mandating participation will reduce interest and enjoyment in these learning events.Your goal is to have some of your employees say to others, Oh, you should have been there Not offering a wide variety of subjects risks boring the participants and reducing involvement over time. Dont forget about the employees in the field. You may potentially alienate valuable professionals if you fail to offer a facility for remote employees. Finally, if you schedule too many of these events, yourisk annoying employees who value their lunch period as a time to get away from their desks and decompress, exercise, or run errands. The Bottom Line Successful organizations invest in supporting employee development. Althoughtraining can be expensive and the impact sometimes questionable, Learn -at-Lunch programs offer a non-threatening and fun method for extending learning and stimulating the energy and creativity in the workplace. Updated by Art Petty

What Your LinkedIn Picture Says About You

What Your LinkedIn Picture Says About YouWhat Your LinkedIn Picture Says About YouThe old saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. And in the case of your LinkedIn picture, that could translate into thousands of dollars, as potential employers review your pic to see if youre hireable or elend.JDP, a pre-employment prescreening company, analyzed 2,000 LinkedIn profiles spanning 11 industries to see which segments of the workforce are getting it right- and whos getting it wrong.Overall, industries such as real estate, HR, recruiting, marketing, advertising, and PR all scored an A. abverkauf and business development, along with health, wellness, and fitness, snagged a B. People working in the finance/banking sectors, along with IT and computer science, got a C. Healthcare and education workers got a bad grade- a D. And finally, those in government and retail got a big fat F.As for showing their pearly whites, more than three-quarters of people (75%) flashed a full smile, wh ile 12% managed a tight-lipped smile and 12% werent smiling at all.What to WearAccording to the infographic, 42% of all the LinkedIn profiles reviewed featured people wearing business casual clothes. Slightly more than one-quarter (26%) were socially dressed, while 24% went the formal route, and 8% opted to be completely casual with their clothing.People who were formally dressed were in the following fields finance, banking, real estate, and government.Business casual clothing adopters were in marketing, advertising, PR, IT, computer science, HR, and recruiting.Social people were in retail, health, wellness, fitness, and healthcare.Quality of prestigeA lot goes into the making of a good LinkedIn profile photo. These industries got the highest scores (15 = a perfect score), based on framing, lighting, and resolution.Marketing/Advertising/PR 11.8Real Estate 10.6HR/Recruiting 10.3Overall, professionals in the marketing, advertising, and PR industries scored the highest in terms of the ir profile pictures. Government workers and retail employees scored lowest, in terms of photo quality and finesse.If all this info has you questioning your own LinkedIn picture, learn how to strike a pose- and get hired for the job- with these tipsCut out the crop.You look fab in a photo with your family and want to make it your LinkedIn profile. Unless you can crop the photo so its not obvious that youre eliminating your uncle, try to find a pic thats just of you alone. Cropped photos ranked poorly in the infographic.Dress to impress.People who wore business casual clothing ranked higher than those sporting stuffy suits or sunglasses and flip flops. No matter what industry youre in, make sure that youre dressed to look your best.Smile genuinely.A fake or forced smile can come across as untrustworthy, which is not a good first impression for a potential employer. So be sure to smile in your LinkedIn pic, even if you are more of a closed-mouth smiler. Appearing friendly is very impor tant when an employer considers contacting you for a job interview.Skip the selfie.Sure, you might be the selfie queen, but theres a time and a place for those kinds of pics. If your outfit is amazing, and youre having a good hair day, resist the urge to reverse the camera and have someone take your photo instead.Look to the light.Lighting can make or break any photo. Make sure that your photo is well lit so that a recruiter can see exactly what you look like. Save the moody or harsh lighting for your personal (and private) social media accounts.

Are leggings appropriate United Airlines steps into dress-code debate

Are leggings appropriate United Airlines steps into dress-code debateAre leggings appropriate United Airlines steps into dress-code debateLeggings are they real clothes?You may laugh, but this is a matter of heated debate. As more offices embrace casual clothing, the boundaries of comfort are something every office-worker has wondered about what does appropriate office clothing mean?It depends heavily on the workplace, of course, in the way that hoodies are standard at Google but rare at IBM or McKinsey.United Airlines stepped right into the center of the controversy this weekend when a customer, Shannon Watts, noted young girls boarding in Denver being pulled aside and asked to change their clothes before they were allowed on the airplane. The girls were wearing leggings, according to Watts. Their father, wearing shorts, was not asked to change his clothes.After hours of outrage, the reason emerged the girls and their father were flying as friends and family of United staff, and the airline keeps a dress code in place for those passholders. Here is the policyThe disclosure of the policy did very little to soothe the outrage, as many noted that banning leggings (most likely under the rubric of form-fitting spandex in the policy above) is hardly suited to world in which leggings are considered actual, respectable clothes.In its public replies to irritated passengers (and would-be customers), United doubled down on its policy.The airline clarified that the rules did not apply to paying customers - only to pass holders, who were presumably thought to be representing the company even when off-duty. Even so, United hit upon the paradox many companies face dress codes that may considered regressive.In a Medium post, Watts said the policy was not a good one I was outraged and disappointed by the lack of respect and customer-oriented strategy from United Airlinesas a frequent traveler and a mother of four daughters who live and work in yoga pants, I couldnt help but w onder why the father?- ?who was wearing shorts?- ?was allowed to board the plane showing so much leg. How many times has United stopped young boys or men for improper clothing?Watts objections highlight a trend in recent years of resistance to strict office dress codes. A recent example of against such company policies is the case of Nicola Thorp, who refused to wear high heels to her office despite the dress-code requirement - and, in the words of one newspaper, ignited a rebellion. Even JP Morgan, one of the oldest and largest banks in the country, has embraced business casual for every day, according to a memo last year. The banks new dress code allows polo shirts, casual pants, capris, and dress sandals.JP Morgan, does, however, still ban leggings - which makes us ask, what do corporate HR departments have against leggings?People always seem to want to put a haftungsausschluss on their leggings-wearing. In any discussion about leggings, someone will inevitably croak that theyr e not pants. Fashion publications, including ours, often note that theyre more comfortable than truly fashionable - but if Beyonc and Gigi Hadid can pull them off, why cant we? asked Refinery29s Natalie Gontcharova, who wore leggings to work every day for a year.Theres no question that leggings have moved up in the world. Once considered lazy weekend wear, or good only for jogging, the legging has upgraded. The legging has become a catch-all term for stretchy pants for women, and guess what stretchy pants for women are everywhere.Upscale retailer Nordstrom has an entire section devoted to leggings you can wear to work. There aredesigner pairs of work-appropriate leggings that cost $450, and in cool workplaces, leather leggings or the leggings-plus-blazercombo is a chic option. Shoe designer Tamara Mellon has even made boots that are just really long leggings.Just because something is available, of course, doesnt necessarily mean its appropriate. But high-ranking women have embraced leggings as appropriate work wear. St. Louis-based entrepreneur Erica Harris told The Today Show that she regularly wears leggings to work, dressed up with a nice sweater. Glamour magazine advocates pairing leggings with brogues or military jackets for work.Variations of leggings are also office-appropriate in many places, from jeggings to the trousers produced by one company, BetaBrand yoga pants that look like office-worthy dress pants. The brand WhoWhatWear has written about how to accessorize leggings for office-appropriate looks.Yes, we know not all leggings are a good look, as one of our Twitter correspondents pointed out with this simple Google search.But there are good leggings out there, and we suggest its time to finally liberate the legging for work. Sweatpants are irredeemable, but the legging has really made an effort to fit in at the office. Now its just time for companies like United and JP Morgan to catch up.

3 Ways To Get Hired Faster At Age 50+ (Part III)

3 Ways To Get Hired Faster At Age 50+ (Part III)3 Ways To Get Hired Faster At Age 50+ (Part III)Getting hired faster requires doing something different. Dont waste time doing the same job search moves today as you did the last time. Sorry, but as you get older, and more millennials take on leadership roles in the workforce, I want you to make sure you have the language you need. This is going to be key to you getting responses, landing interviews, moving through the interview process, and hearing offers for the roles you really want. Find out how former jobseekers used this and even more actionable advice to get employed at the jobs they wanted in record time. Pam got adouble-digit salary increase.Brent snagged a 38% pay bump. Debra got hired in 30 days. You need to be next. Learn what they did in our live master class. Register here.

Life, Death and Resume Word Templates

Life, Death and Resume Word Templates Life After Resume Word Templates Instead you might want to include things like an expert summary that states what you need to provide the employer for a candidate, instead of what youre searching for. The more complicated The position and pay grade, the less probable that therell be other applicants so that you can go at your own pace and make a targeted in the event the position is supervisory and above. A complete alternative for candidates with a great verstndigung im strafverfahren of experience who want to have a really good one-page resume vorlage. If you get a particular skillset youre potential candidate to fit desired position. Its simple to use and absolutely yours for free for your private use By employing a resume template absolutely free of clutter, youll only consist of relevant details. Have a peek at these examples to select which format is right for you. There are lots of free resume templates readily available online but sometimes it can be very challenging to pick the best one that is fruchtwein suited to you. The Good, the Bad and Resume Word Templates Resume templates exist to create your life simpler. In order to produce the perfect resume for yourself, its very important to experience various resume templates word and after that decide which fits your requirements. For those reasons listed above, you are going to want to begin with a resume template. A template is able to help you craft the ideal nursing resume to submit to a possible employer.Its high-quality PSD file is totally customizable. Microsoft Word resume templates are the most often used tool in the work hunting. Youve worked hard to develop your impressive portfolio but if you place it together in a Microsoft Word File with clunky looking default formatting, its only going to appear dull and boring. Hiring managers are busy people and should they scan your resume and cant locate some information or skills fast you arent t he one, whod find a call today Resumes do not need to be boring. They provide the all important first impressions to an employer that an applicant cannot give during the earliest phase of the application process. Employers analyze the info written in the resume to find out whether the applicant is qualified for a specific position. Also make certain that you tailor the document to the job youre applying for. The job youre applying for. Virtually every job, company, or firm where you would like to apply would request a CV or resume. Details of Resume Word Templates Searching for a new organization to work for is never quick. For a basic resume, it is important to put precise details as you are simply starting out. You may never underestimate the ability of a good resume format, especially if you are searching for employment. Our creative templates permit you to stick out from the crowd. A good pack of four page resume templates with lots of customization possibility. The n it may be time to bring some style to your resume There are lots of beautiful resume templates out there, but nevertheless, it can be simple to feel as a lot of the greatest cost a ridiculous quantity of money, require special design programs in order to edit, or both.A traditional style resume template is also simple to customize. You may also pick and select a resume from a variety of option created by various resume creators. Resume templates are one method to guarantee structure behind your resume. Each one of our creative style templates provide a perfectly balanced mixture of personality, professionalism and some style. No matter if its your very first job resume or not, it is necessary to know that any resume should have 5 important elements. If youre having trouble getting attention, be certain you have a look at our tips to receive your resume noticed. How well you layout your resume is important to increasing your likelihood of getting hired. Also think of if th eres anything else you can do to assist your resume stand out.

New Custom Welcome Video Feature to Enhance Online Interview Experience - Spark Hire

New Custom Welcome Video Feature to Enhance Online Interview Experience - Spark HireCompanies understandably put much of their focus on finding the best candidate possible when they have an open position that needs to be filled. However, they shouldnt forget to consider the candidate experience during the interview process. The job candidates comfort should be given priority.At Spark Hire, were consistently working to enhance ur services to benefit everyone who uses the platform companies and job seekers alike. With the recent launch of ourCustom Welcome Video feature, companies now have the opportunity to personalize their One-Way video interviews and further ensure that they are making the interview process a positive experience for candidates.The Custom Welcome Video, which appears before the candidate starts their interview, is an opportunity for companies to introduce themselves to the candidate and give a little more information about their business and the position the candid ate is interviewing for. Up to 5 videos can be recorded/embedded for Silver accounts and unlimited for Gold accounts.Companies can also take this opportunity to engage the candidate early in the interview process and get them excited for whats to comeWant to set up a Custom Welcome Video for your interviews on Spark Hire? Current customers should contact our Customer Success Teamwhile other interested parties should drop us a line here.