Workplace trends

What’s the ROI of covering employee childcare?

The returns on providing employees with childcare benefits can be as high as 425%, according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group. The data suggests that corporations that prioritize childcare coverage see a significant surge in both popularity and retention. UPS, for example, initiated an on-site childcare program in a warehouse in California and saw retention rates increase from 69% to 96%, per the report. In contrast, companies with insufficient childcare benefits grapple with greater turnover, which often winds up costing more than the childcare itself. In fact, 63% of surveyed parents changed careers to afford childcare, costing companies upwards of $13 billion a year, according to the report. Experts conclude that such benefits not only enable employees to remain physically present at work, but they also foster a greater sense of loyalty towards the companies investing in their well-being.

For single women in America, retirement poses far more challenges

Those who live longer, earn less, or have no spouse are at a greater risk of running out of retirement money. That’s why, for millions of single women, the concern is especially high since they often meet the criteria for all three. Not only do women earn less than men on average, but they are also more than twice as likely to leave the workforce for a period of time for maternity leave or to care for an aging parent, according to a recent Goldman Sachs survey. The result? Women have roughly 44% less money saved by the time they reach retirement age than their male counterparts. And with women typically living longer than men, they often have to spread their already smaller savings across more years.

The AI corner

Even tech giants can’t keep up with the AI talent war

The fight for AI talent is reaching new heights, with a number of tech companies offering AI experts compensation packages of more than $1 million dollars a year. Even tech giants like Meta are losing AI researchers to competitors like OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind who are reportedly paying $5 million to $10 million a year to their top AI experts. To better compete, Meta is making some drastic moves like offering jobs to candidates before interviewing them and having Mark Zuckerberg personally reach out to top-tier AI candidates. With layoffs still ongoing across the tech industry, the fight for AI talent reflects a significant shift in focus and priority among corporations. All this said, it’s no wonder tech workers are flocking to add AI experience to their resumes in an effort to get in on the AI talent bid.

Companies aren’t waiting around for AI regulations

It’s taking time for countries to enact AI legislation, with the EU only approving the world’s first comprehensive AI law last month. But companies aren’t waiting around and risking having to derail their operations when further regulations inevitably come into effect. Rather, many are proactively trying to be compliant by combining best practices around customer data and implementing a good amount of guesswork. Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Telekom, for example, have taken anticipatory steps, establishing an AI committee and independent internal guidelines for their use of AI. Others like KeyBank are forbidding the use of AI tools like ChatGPT inside the organization in order to monitor all uses of AI and avoid any data issues or unintended consequences.

When is it time to let an employee go?

By monday.com

While in an ideal world, as a manager, you’d hire the perfect talent each and every time, and all of your employees would be strong performers with great attitudes, in reality, it doesn’t always work out that way, and certain flags may only show up later on. Whether it’s an issue with someone’s attitude, behavior, performance, relationships, or any other factor that may influence their fit within the team and company, at some point in time, you will likely confront one of the hardest parts about being a manager: deciding when it’s time to let someone go.

How do you determine when your team member’s behavior or performance is simply no longer the right fit for the company? How many chances should you give someone before making the call?

Here are some tips for navigating this difficult question:

Check in with yourself

First and foremost, when you’re having doubts about a certain team member, it’s important to check in with yourself. Consider how long you’ve been feeling this way to ensure the decision isn’t rash or reactive, and try to determine whether or not you’ve actually given them the feedback and tools they need to address your concerns and improve. If your employee would be shocked to find out that you feel like things aren’t working, you likely haven’t given them the direction and guidance they would need to make things better. On the other hand, if you’ve done everything you can on your end to fix things, and things still haven’t changed, it’s a pretty solid indication that things aren’t going to improve.

Do some digging

Check in with additional stakeholders at your organization who work closely with the team member you’re having doubts about in order to get a feel for how others see this person and their work. Try to specifically reach out to people more senior than the individual in question to ensure there’s no ego involved and you don’t put anyone in an uncomfortable position. Of course, if a team member at their level brings the person up to you in conversation, use it as an opportunity to hear their perspective.

Additionally, recognize that what you ask should vary according to your specific concerns. For example, if you feel like an individual is underperforming, your questions should be regarding their work output and deliverables. On the other hand, if you believe they’re bringing poor attitudes and harming the group dynamic, you should focus your questions on their communication skills and collaboration experiences. These conversations are a great way to understand the various issues that may exist and piece together certain themes. It also enables you to come to the team member with a more well-rounded picture and clearer feedback.

Have a transparent conversation

Schedule a meeting to have the difficult but necessary conversation about your current concerns. Come prepared with feedback, context, and examples – making sure to preface examples by emphasizing these are simply examples to help convey the point in order to ensure the team member doesn’t linger on a specific instance or focus too heavily on defending a single moment. Additionally, be gentle with your phrasing while still being intentional about sending a clear message that their future at the company is in question.

In this conversation, it’s important to give your team member the opportunity to share how they’re feeling and where they think the gaps are coming from. Perhaps there is something going on in their personal life that you didn’t know about or they were having issues at work that you weren’t aware of. Regardless, let them be open with you, and honestly ask them what they need from you to ensure things improve. As a manager, it’s important to recognize that 70% of the variance in employee engagement is determined solely by the manager, according to a Gallup study, so while you can’t control everything, you do certainly influence the employee experience – and changes might be helpful on your end as well.

Assess reactions

The way in which your team member responds throughout this challenging conversation – from their openness to improve to their attitude towards feedback – can provide tremendous insight into how to move forward. So, pay attention to their reactions during the conversation and then take a moment after the fact to ask yourself:
Were they receptive to your feedback?
Do they seem motivated to correct things or more frustrated and withdrawn?
Did they take responsibility for their shortcomings or simply try to place the blame on others?
How do I feel now after this conversation? Better? The same? Worse?
The answers to all of these questions can help guide your next steps forward. If you were happy with how they navigated the conversation, your concerns may be fixable. However, if you didn’t feel like they handled the conversation well, it unfortunately may be a sign that things aren’t going to change.

Align expectations

Explicitly convey to your team members what they need to do in order to ease your current concerns. At some organizations, this step is called a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), which formally outlines an employee’s performance deficiencies, and provides a timeline and goal-oriented plan to help them improve. Regardless of what you call it, this process is meant to align expectations and set shared timelines between you, your employee, and a relevant HR team member, for when you expect to see real changes in order to ensure that your employee understands what’s expected from them going forward and that nothing comes as a shock later on.

Trust your gut

While it’s never an easy decision to make, if after all of this you’re still not feeling satisfied with your employee’s role on your team, it’s unfortunately time to let the person go. Trust your gut as the manager, and recognize that sometimes it’s better to move on than try to fight for someone who isn’t ultimately right for your team anymore. That said, make sure you’ve done everything you can on your part to support the team member and end on respectful terms because even after leaving, this person is still a brand ambassador for your organization.

Stay tuned for next week’s tips on how to navigate the process of letting someone go!

Water cooler chatter

Krispy Kreme is coming to McDonald’s. The world’s largest fast-food chain will soon be selling Krispy Kreme’s three most popular donuts all day long in restaurants across the U.S. In response to the news, Krispy Kreme’s stock soared 40%, because who doesn’t love donuts and burgers?

Florida has banned social media for those under 14. Under the new law, companies are now required to close social media accounts belonging to minors and wipe out all of their information. The law is set to come into effect in January 2025.

Question of the week

Last week’s answer: 4.43 billion

This week’s question: What percent of US teens use ChatGPT for schoolwork?

Just for laughs