What You Need to Know About the 2015 Flu Season
The 2015 Flu season is still a few months away, but now is a great time to start getting prepared. Every year the United States experiences an epidemic of seasonal flu. While flu season peaks in the winter months, flu outbreaks can happen as early as October and can last all the way into May. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends a yearly flu vaccination for everyone 6 months of age and older. This is the first and most important step to protecting oneself from this very serious disease. People should start getting vaccinated as soon as the flu shot becomes available. Many flu shot providers receive the vaccine as early as July or August. The CDC encourages getting the shot preferably by October. But as long as the flu virus is spreading, it’s not too late to get vaccinated. The flu shot has become easy to obtain. Even without insurance or appointment, CVS/pharmacy offers adolescent, adult, & senior flu shots right in the store while CVS/minute clinic locations offer all that and pediatric flu shots as well. All vaccines are administered by a certified immunizing pharmacist or through a nurse practitioner or physician assistant at Minute Clinic locations.
Create Employee Loyalty: What Do They Want?
It's often a conundrum for most employers to create employee loyalty within their company. Figuring out how to motivate employees, keep them happy and prevent them for looking for other employment is a major concern, especially given the diverse interest and priorities between Baby Boomers and Millennials. Where do you start? What would the budget look like, if there even is one? Maybe this will help. Towergate Insurance performed a recent study and created an infographic to try to answer the question,
3 Ways to Help Millennials in the Workplace
Millennials are an increasing portion of the workforce in America. But employers aren’t sure quite how to handle millennials in the workplace, and often times they can be misunderstood. They are often viewed as job hoppers (but it might just be because they have a constant fear of being let go), they are viewed as overconfident (but they’ve actually had more experience prior to graduation than any previous generation) and employers have a hard time helping them reach their full potential. Fast Company has offers strategies to help millennials in the workplace in their article, How to Bridge the Gap Between Potential and Performance. Here are my top three:
Employee Recognition Programs Reflect Company Values
In today's workforce, employee recognition is more than just a "nice to have"—it’s a critical driver for retention, engagement, and embodying company culture. As companies grapple with rising turnover and a more competitive talent market, recognition programs are essential in communicating core values while maintaining employee satisfaction. Modern organizations have come to realize that a well-executed recognition program goes beyond sporadic rewards and speaks directly to the heart of a company’s mission.
3 Tips for Gamification in the Workplace
As HR departments struggle to figure out how to motivate employees, integrating gamification in the workplace remains a popular option. Fast Company article, What the Future of Gamification in the Workplace Looks Like, discusses the importance of realizing that simple, one-size-fits-all solutions will not work.