COURSE DESCRIPTION: Uncertainty – and there’s plenty of it around these days – is bad for employee morale. Workers need security. Their productivity – and maybe even your ability to retain them – depends on how firmly they believe your company is going to be all right, their jobs are safe, and their career is on track.
In the past maybe you could get by with regular pats on the back and occasional words of encouragement. No more. These are exceptional times and companies need to proactively manage morale like never before.
For starters, HR and top management need to sharpen their leadership skills and provide a clear picture of the company’s financial situation in an honest yet hopeful manner; acknowledging employee fears yet providing specific direction for how the company will prosper.
But top management can’t do it alone. Line managers must understand THEIR critical role. Bosses interact day-to-day with their direct reports. They’re in a better position than anyone at the company to pick up on gossip and misinformation that fuels fears, poisons morale and hurts productivity. And they’re well-positioned to apply what speaker Valerie Grubb calls “Advanced morale boosting” skills that can keep your workforce engaged, productive and upbeat even in bad times.
This 60-minute conference will lay out the five most common mistakes companies make that kill employee morale in difficult financial times. And it will give you a blueprint for how to realign employees and get them back on track to focusing on company goals.
Topics to be covered include:
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Valerie Grubb is a rising star in the field of HR and leadership training. She was a featured speaker at SHRM’s Annual Conference in 2007 and 2008 and at SHRM’s Leadership Conference in November 2008. She was also a featured speaker for both RIMS (Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc.) and the National Association of Insurance Women. Valerie is a member of Women in Cable Television (WICT); serving as a Prime Access Mentor in both 2007 and 2008. She is an also active member of the Dean’s Council at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She sits on two other boards at IU: MBA Sports and Entertainment Academy Board and the Supply Chain and Global Management Academy.
Valerie previously served as the Vice President of Strategic Operations & Initiatives at NBC Universal, where she oversaw business development. She was promoted to this position after NBCU purchased Oxygen Media, where she served as the Vice President of Operations. At Oxygen, Valerie had a wide array of responsibilities including HR, Risk Management and Training. Valerie worked as a Vice President of Operations for Barry Diller at InterActive, Corp., where she contributed to the company’s aggressive acquisitions strategy.
HRCI CERTIFICATION: This program has been approved for 1.0 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage.
