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Harmonious Collaboration with E.B. Providers Advantageous for International Companies
Why a harmonious collaboration with Employee Benefits Providers can be advantageous for International Companies A long-term perspective is key In today‘s world of fast flows of information and increased striving for transparency, it became natural to source products and services from distant markets and change providers/vendors regularly. Often the main reason for repeated changes of providers is price. While in many moments in private and business life providers are
Employee Benefits: How to Deal with Data Chaos in E.B.
In the previous articles of this series, we examined the importance of gaining control over employee benefits (EB) costs and management. As a foundation for action, the Head Office should consider its data acquisition and evaluation. In practice, this is much more complicated than it sounds. The biggest challenge is that EB data flows from different sources (Benefits Networks, insurers, brokers, TPAs, accountants etc.) to subsidiaries and then to
How To Approach EB Challenges at the International Level, Part II
In our previous article in this series (see Part I here) we examined a case in the Netherlands that demonstrates how the head office of an organization can help subsidiaries with an international approach. We will now analyse another example in which an international solution added value to local employee benefits (EB) provision. Maintaining the example of the German Group, we are assessing a subsidiary located in the United
How To Approach EB Challenges at the International Level, Part I
In the previous articles of this series (Article I & Article II), we discussed the importance of knowing the insurable employee benefits (EB) specific to your organisation, so as to understand the total costs associated with providing benefits to employees. With this knowledge gathered centrally in the head office of your organisation, your central Finance and Benefits managers will be able to seek possibilities of optimisation at a local
Costs & Benefits: Do You Know the Connection?
t is well known that companies with operations in multiple countries are in the best position when their employee benefits (EB) plans are controlled centrally. The largest companies have implemented a central function within their HQ that is responsible for EB management. However, in medium-size companies with international operations (i.e., 1’000 – 5’000 employees), this level of control and management is still often non-existent. The key to gaining control
Dreams vs Reality in Employee Benefits Management
. ithin the head offices of many organisations, employee benefits (EB) come as a concern to a variety of C-level decision makers. The responsibility of ensuring suitable employee benefits for an organisation’s workforce is linked closely to a manager’s capacity to meet specific targets. However, to meet those targets, companies require the ideal employee benefits scenario – the ‘dream.’ As a result of operational limitations, the ‘dream’ EB scenario
OW SERIES: Day 40 – How to structure a burnout sufferer’s return to work?
We are currently seeing a lot of interest around managing burnout within teams. The difficulty employees face in trying to maintain a good balance in life, carry very heavy loads (work, mental and emotional) – especially in companies that have had to maintain normal productivity, and the lack of effective social support largely explain the phenomenon. Preparing these people for a return to work cannot be improvised. That’s why
OW SERIES: Day 39 – A new hero is born: the “positive deviant”
Troubled times give birth to individuals with valuable personality profiles: the “positive deviants”. They are known to transgress the rules and push past established norms for the good of all. They contribute enormously to innovation by deviating from existing habits without knowing much about why they were so ineffective. The period we are going through gives us the opportunity to innovate around our approach to work. But we don’t
OW SERIES: Day 38 – The RARE approach to managing teams after lockdown
I’ve often been asked if I have any advice on how to structure the psychological approach to post-lockdown. I hereby invite you to utilise the “RARE” method: – Recognize: sensitize teams to be able to detect weak signs shown by people in psychological distress (a secondary prevention technique) – Act: teach teams how to start a conversation with someone showing signs of distress – using the right tone –
OW SERIES: Day 37 – Why surface acting won’t make it all better
Many people will be experiencing painful emotions in the times to come. For some this will manifest as fear and guilt; for others, shame at not being able to meet performance expectations. Asking these people to “make an effort” or “smile a little” has a name in psychology: surface acting. Very damaging, this request to act “as if” everything was going well creates emotional dissonance and weakens commitment, well-being
OW SERIES: Day 36 – Taking the right approach to guilt
At the end of a webinar a manager told me: “Some of my employees feel guilty for not being able to manage everything at once: teleworking, their children, household tasks… I would like to help them, but I don’t know how”. Guilt is an emotion that is as unpleasant as it is useful: it appears when we feel we have caused harm and urges us to remedy it. However,
OW SERIES: Day 35 – How superordinate goals keep people together
We haven’t all experienced lockdown in the same way. Some have felt indispensable, others useless. And others have lacked recognition because teleworking has rendered their contribution invisible. These differences naturally give rise to tensions like mutual stereotyping, disintegration of teams and declining performance. How can these be avoided? Psychology’s solution is the “superordinate goal”, i.e. a goal that can only be achieved through the active participation of each member
OW SERIES: Day 34 – Overcoming the ‘bystander effect’
Have you ever heard of the “bystander effect”? In psychology it is the phenomenon that the more people there are in a place, the less likely any one individual is to help someone in trouble. It is basically due to a dilution of responsibility (there are lots of people; someone else is bound to help on my behalf). When coming out of lockdown, many employees will experience bouts of
OW SERIES: Day 33 – How our locus of control helps us explain events
Are you familiar with the concept “locus of control”? In psychology, it’s the way we determine the cause of what happens to us. We can divide ourselves into two categories: – The “internals”: what happens to me depends on me… if I fail it’s my fault. These people progress more quickly in their careers but go through intense phases of guilt and self-questioning. – The “externals”: what happens to
OW SERIES: Day 32 – Extending leniency to managers
The current situation is exceptional for everyone and that includes managers. Assuming one’s managerial responsibility means explaining the reasoning behind decisions that are misunderstood or poorly received by one’s colleagues whenever possible, and apologizing wherever mistakes have been made. While it is normally legitimate to expect exemplary behaviour from managers, calls for excellence in the current crisis are as futile as examples of leniency are essential.
OW SERIES: Day 31 – Making sense of different experiences
We’re not all going to come back with the same emotional charge at the end of lockdown. Some will have spent their time enjoying the first rays of spring sunshine while others will have been cooped up with their children and stifling workload. Still others will have been exposed on the front-line on a daily basis. Taking time out at the end of lockdown to ensure a coordinated response
OW SERIES: Day 30 – Looking beyond the here and now
Imagining life after Covid-19 is not easy. One may feel rather stuck in this exceptional period and emotionally depleted. The situation calls for us to forgo a cognitive bias called “availability heuristics”; that is our tendency to have our thoughts consumed by which is directly in front of us. Indulging our availability heuristic inhibits both present-day creativity and positive future projections. The good news is that you just have
OW SERIES: Day 29 – A sense of coherence
Do you know what it means to have a “sense of coherence”? In psychology, it is a characteristic of people who are healthy, live longer, are happier in the different spheres of their lives and perform better at work. People with this characteristic are defined as follows: – they perceive the world as understandable – they have confidence in their resources (physical, psychological, social…) to cope with difficulties –
OW SERIES: Day 28 – Toxic handlers
Are you familiar with “toxic handlers”? These are people who have the ability to “absorb” the stress triggered by crises and limit the impact of it on their colleagues. These empathetic qualities will prove essential in the transition out of lock-down, enabling these people to: – quickly identify colleagues in difficulty – listen and soothe with compassion and respect – take action around finding effective solutions How do you
OW SERIES: Day 27 – Anticipatory anxiety
Do you know what anticipatory anxiety is? In psychology it is the pervasive fear of an event to come. At the moment, many employees are apprehensive about coming out of isolation and returning to work because of the risks of contamination. Avoidance behaviours will appear such as refusal to shake hands, refusal to take the elevator together, self-isolation in open spaces etc. These are all essential subjects to raise
OW SERIES: Day 26 – Making sense of an exceptional situation
Together with his team, the “sensemaker” manager will intentionally try to make sense of the exceptional situation. To transform the crisis into an opportunity for growth, he differentiates 3 dimensions of sense. These are: – A feeling: what did we feel? – A meaning: what does it mean for us? – A direction: where do we go from here? In the “sensemaker managers” workshops that I lead, we learn
OW SERIES: Day 25 – Three types of managers post-lockdown: which one will you be?
Three types of managers will emerge at the end of lockdown: – The aggressive type: he’ll discredit the difficulties experienced by everyone by demanding a focus on performance alone: “no more twiddling your thumbs, I want everyone 100% on sales.” He will come out looking brutal and will be despised by his team. – The avoidant type: he’ll pretend that nothing happened for fear of delving into the real
OW SERIES: Day 24 – How to manage during exceptional times
Attempting to manage a team through an exceptional situation using conventional management methods will lead to great disappointment. Sensemaking invites us to uncover symbols within each person’s experience to bring collective meaning to this event. Don’t: say things like “the past is the past; now it’s time to focus on the numbers so we can catch up.” This deprives the team of an opportunity to create a stronger sense
OW SERIES: Day 23 – Welcome to sensemaking
Do you know the term “sensemaking”? In psychology it is one of the most effective techniques for restoring well-being and performance after an exceptional crisis. It is based on a particular form of management used to facilitate a healthy return to work. Let’s begin with phase 1: recognize that what happened was an ordeal for all members of your team. Don’t: joke around, such as by saying: “how was
OW SERIES: Day 22 – Why we feel lonely around others
There is no greater loneliness than the loneliness we feel in the presence of others, especially when those others are our loved ones. Almost everyone has experienced this feeling of strangeness in a familiar universe and it is frightening. It’s actually a sign of a temporary anxiety that psychologists call depersonalization or derealization. Don’t panic if it happens to you. We are living in an exceptional period of uncertainty,
OW SERIES: Day 21 – How to manage remotely
Remote management is complicated, especially when it comes to detecting an employee in difficulty. Here is a simple technique to identify employees who are in trouble – the “3i” rule: – Isolation: when employees are less present at meetings and check-ins with their managers, or don’t speak as much as usual. – Irritability: when they quickly become tense and show increased sensitivity as manifested by anger, crying or annoyance.
OW SERIES: Day 20 – Four types of justice at work
Psychology distinguishes four types of justice at work. The one that creates the most altruistic and performance-enhancing behaviour is procedural justice: I understand and am involved in decisions that have an impact on my daily life. How do you bring this about? By actively participating in decision-making rather than participating in decisions that have already been made! Putting an end to purely ‘formal’ consultations requires a little effort but