Striking the right balance between praise and punishment with employees is a challenge for most leaders. The term to sharpen your carrots is Groove Management’s way of helping leaders to remember to strike the right balance.

For the past several years Groove Management’s founder, Brian Formato has been a columnist for HR Insights Magazine. This is a compilation of his articles.

Churnover is a repetitive turnover issue with the same position. There is usually a root cause to the same position turning over multiple times.

Understanding why people quit jobs is critical to building a positively charged talent magnet for your organization. Managers who invest in their people and understand the drivers of engagement attract rather than repel talent. How do your managers stack up? We offer some tactics to drive positive talent magnetism.

An investment in the team provides the greatest ROI for a small investment. Choosing how to spend limited resources to create the greatest leverage is the job of every business leader.

Employee engagement is critical during a crisis. This is the time for leaders to step up. Driving employee engagement during the Coronovirus requires a focus on communications, empathy and true leadership.

Executive assistants are the unsung heroes of many organizations, but hiring amazing support is often a challenge. We have found the secret ingredient is discretionary effort and we have an approach to interview for that skill.

Too many organizations focus on employee retention when the goal should be employee engagement.

With so many people out there frustrated with their jobs, I wonder if it is the job or just work in general that people dislike?

Cost cutting has become a standard operating procedure for many organizations, but there are hidden costs in cutting costs.  Culture suffers the most and the cost to a culture might be ireparable.

Stop trying to block the exit door. Instead, focus on getting your employees engaged in opening new doors within your organization.

Most companies have come to recognize that there is a direct correlation between employee engagement and financial results.  Employees who are engaged give discretionary effort and do the right things for their employers.  That translates into better business results.  However, too many companies fail at effectively measuring employee engagement.  In working with several clients on their culture and employee engagement, we have found that companies often confuse employee satisfaction with employee engagement.  The two terms are used synonymously, yet their definitions are quite different. 

An engaged workforce can dramatically improve an organization's performance and conversely disengaged employees can be the poison that ruins an organization.  Many organizations, especially large ones run an annual or bi-annual employee engagement survey to measure the level of engagement in their organization.  If designed properly and administered well these tools can provide a good gauge of employee engagement.  

Recognizing employees for a job well done is a key to being a great manager. Positive recognition brings out the best in people and it can be equally rewarding for the manager doing the recognizing.

Keeping employees informed will go a long way towards keeping them engaged. Too much silence leads to rumor and speculation. Better to be transparent and tell it like it is, just keep the message focused on the positive and the future. Your employees will reward you by working harder and getting your organization through these tough times if you keep them focused on creating a brighter future.