• |

    Linked: A Data-Driven Approach to Identifying — and Retaining — Top Employees

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Of course, the reality is, and everyone who has ever been passed over for recognition and promotion by someone who “looked” like they were getting a lot done when they really weren’t, know this, most managers who relied on “seeing” their reports while walking around were never really that good at identifying who is doing the best job.

    But now, that people will continue to work all over the place, and using collaborative workspaces that have data available about who is doing what, and who is communicating with whom, it’s going to be all about the data. The tools are there. Will managers use them, and get better at managing talent?

  • Mental Health in the Workplace Round Up for May 2021

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 4 minutes

    I know, I’m asking you to follow a few links and do a bit of reading here, but this is important. Not just because supporting employees is key to attracting and retaining the best talent, nor because employees who can bring themselves honestly to the workplace are likely to be more engaged and passionate about the job, but because those people who work for you are human beings. The workplace is where they will spend so much of their day to day lives, even when that workplace is virtual. They’ll spend more time interacting with each other than most other people in their lives. If we can’t look out for each other in that space, we’re doing a massive disservice to each other.

  • |

    Linked: The Future of Remote Work is the Opposite of Lonely

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there scaring people into thinking that if they don’t get back to the office, they’ll have a very lonely life with no friends. After all, most adults make most of their friends in the workplace nowadays. I know I’ve made plenty myself. But, part of that is because we spend so much time in the office, and nowhere else, that we struggle to maintain any relationships outside of work.

    Who has time? Between our 9-10 work day, another hour commuting, and all the extra work we do at night and on weekends, what time are we going to spend with other people?

    It doesn’t have to be that way though. Many of us can get our work done from elsewhere, and spend more time in a location that is more conducive to keeping in touch with our friends. That’s the ultimate promise of remote work, and something that employees, and employers, should be considering when we think about what our office policies are going to look like.

  • | |

    Linked: Attorneys’ Remote All-Nighters Are Fueling an E-Discovery Hiring Spree

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

    But, should that mean that eDiscovery companies need to be on call to assist with anything beyond an emergency during those late hour sessions? I’m not sure what the answer is, but I know the expectation will definitely be that support is available, which creates a problem for vendors, notably they owe their employees some work-life balance as well. If I’m a project manager on this review, I shouldn’t be expected to be available for all of the variations of work schedules that will exist among a team of lawyers. Thankfully, this is something our industry has started to move away from, but truly moving away from it means hiring more staff to cover those odd hours.

    In the absence of that staff being on board though, we are all risking massive turnover if we expect to have 24×7 coverage for these projects.

    Is it worth it to set that expectation? Or should we consider something else?

  • | |

    Linked: Your Car Is Spying on You. A CBP Contract Shows the Risks.

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 1 minute

    Hmm, looks like Customs and Border Protection is taking aim at cars, and all the various information stored within: According to statements by Berla’s own founder, part of the draw of vacuuming data out of cars is that so many drivers are oblivious to the fact that their cars are generating so much data in…