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Building a Resilient IT Workforce: Adapting to Rapid Technological Advancements

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Building a resilient IT workforce helps your company adapt to rapid technological advancements. Because ongoing change impacts your business, you must be able to keep up to maintain your competitive edge.

The ability to maintain an agile, resilient workforce supports effective business operations. Your workforce can prioritize digital solutions that fill your company’s current needs while creating a platform for innovation. Then, your workforce can evolve to fit your changing business needs.

Implement these tips to build a resilient IT workforce to adapt to rapid technological advancements.

Focus on Digital Transformation

Determine which technologies and cybersecurity strategies are required to support a remote or hybrid workforce. Also, decide how you can use technology to promote a human-centered workplace. These approaches impact how your IT team helps support management practices that align with business strategies.

Embrace Cloud Technology

Take advantage of cloud technology to increase the agility of your business platform. This agility lets you add the capabilities and functionality needed to adapt to new technologies. This adaptation lets your company add capabilities to its tech stack to increase its competitive edge.

For instance, you might increase the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve efficiencies. You also could increase cybersecurity to improve your competitive edge.

Automate Decision-Making

Use AI and ML to create thresholds that indicate when an automated process requires human input. Increasing automation elevates efficiency in business operations for stronger customer management and product or service innovation.

For instance, you can use customer relationship tools to predict and flag your customers who are likely to stop making purchases. Then, you can take steps to encourage customer loyalty through discounts or related actions.

Drive Innovation

Use cloud capabilities to scale and support research and development. For instance, use AI and data analytics to reinforce discovery, modeling, and prediction for faster prototyping and testing with lower risk. Leveraging shared knowledge and data insights drives workforce and company performance.

Accelerate Your Ecosystem

Move to standardized architectures and cloud solutions that support the cocreation of performance and innovation. Examples include common services, application programming interfaces (APIs), reusability, and extensibility.

For instance, you might decompose your technology stacks for the continuous integration and delivery of new capabilities. Or, you could make it easier to share data and knowledge for greater insight and innovation along your value chain.

Establish Agile Targets

Clarify how your workforce should evolve to support new technologies and operating models. Include the diversity, skills, and experiences you want to attain. Then, provide relevant resources and incentives to reach business goals.

Do You Need Help with Building a Resilient IT Workforce?

Work with RightStone for help with increasing the resilience of your IT workforce. Find out more today.

5 Ways to Help Keep Communication Channels Open

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Maintaining open communication with your employees encourages them to share their ideas to improve the organization. Open communication also notifies you of problems, conflicts, questions, and concerns that must be resolved.

Encouraging open communication with your team promotes engagement, productivity, and collaboration. It also elevates job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention.

Implement these five tips to maintain open communication with your team.

1. Focus on the End Goal

Maintaining open communication with your team lets you know about problems as they arise. This helps you resolve the issues and minimize their impact.

Open communication makes you aware of ideas to improve your team. This may include increasing efficiency in workflows.

Openly communicating with your team helps improve your leadership skills. You can learn your employees’ strengths, talents, motivations, and goals. Then, you can use this information to increase your team’s engagement, productivity, and collaboration. This elevates job satisfaction, team morale, and employee retention.

2. Be Present

Stay in the moment when communicating with your team. Actively listening to your employees encourages them to talk about their ideas, issues, questions, and concerns.

Look at the employee who is speaking with you. Show they have your complete attention.

Nod, gesture, and use facial expressions throughout the conversation. Include responses such as “yes” and “uh huh” to show you are listening. Ask follow-up questions to gather more information.

Paraphrase what you are hearing to ensure you understand it correctly. You may want to say, “What I am hearing is…” or “Am I correct in thinking…”.

Wait until your employee is done speaking. Then, respond appropriately.

3. Encourage Team and Individual Communication

Although communicating with your entire team is important, there may be times when your employees prefer to talk with you one-on-one. They may feel more comfortable privately discussing a personal matter than sharing the details with the team.

Encourage your team to request individual discussions when needed. They may want to share an opinion that differs from the team’s opinions on how to proceed with a project. Or, there may be a family issue that could affect your employee’s work performance.

Show empathy and support during these private discussions. Work with your employee to resolve the issue however you can.

4. Acknowledge Employee Accomplishments

Give your team credit for their work. This includes when an employee’s idea is successfully implemented or a finished project attains the desired results.

Openly acknowledging your employees’ contributions and impact on the organization shows they are valuable members of your team. This promotes feelings of trust and respect. It also increases team collaboration and cohesion.

5. Request Constructive Feedback

Ask your team for input on your performance. Include what you are doing well and specific ways you can improve.

Talk more in-depth about the answers you need clarification on. The greater your understanding of an issue, the more effectively you can resolve it.

Implement the feedback you feel would be most beneficial. Regularly follow up with your team to discuss your progress.

Looking for Help Hiring?

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Tips to Be an Effective Listener for Your Contract Employees

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Do you want to develop better relationships and improve productivity among your contract employees? Would you like to reduce misunderstandings and conflicts as well?

One of the best ways to accomplish these objectives is by actively listening. This involves consciously understanding the words your contract employees use and the message they provide. It also includes checking your understanding before replying.

Actively listening during conversations builds trust and credibility between you and your contract employees. The more you learn from these conversations, the more you can show you want to understand and support your contract employees.

Contract employees who feel listened to and respected typically perform their best. They also are likely to want to return to your company for future opportunities after the end of their contracts.

Implement these tips to more effectively listen to your contract employees.

Give the Speaker Your Complete Attention

Focus entirely on what your contract employee is saying.

  • Look at the person who is talking.
  • Pay attention to the speaker’s body language to determine how they may feel.
  • Mentally repeat the words you are hearing.
  • Focus on the words and emotions being shared.
  • Ignore the distractions around you.
  • Wait until the speaker is done to reply.

Display Proper Body Language

Show you are engaged in what the contract employee is discussing.

  • Maintain an open, interested posture.
  • Smile and use other expressions.
  • Nod and gesture when appropriate.
  • Include “yes,” “uh huh”, and other verbal comments.

Clarify Your Understanding

Reflect on what you believe your contract employee is telling you.

  • Paraphrase with “It sounds like you are saying…” or “What I am hearing is…” to ensure you understand the message.
  • Periodically sum up the speaker’s comments.
  • Ask questions to gather additional information.
  • Remain non-judgmental and patient.
  • Manage your emotions.

Reply Appropriately

Be open, honest, and candid with your response.

  • Take a moment to think before you speak.
  • Stay open-minded and patient as you consider different aspects of the situation.
  • Remain clear, empathetic, and respectful.
  • Be open to further discussion.

Looking for Contract IT Employees?

Contact RightStone to fill your contract IT staffing needs. Reach out today.

Work-Related Team-Building Activities That Enhance Morale

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Employee morale consists of the attitudes, satisfaction levels, and overall outlooks that employees have while working for a company.  Employees who are satisfied and motivated at work tend to have high morale. They typically stay engaged and productive throughout the day.

Employee morale is an important part of company culture. A positive collective attitude creates a positive work environment. This helps increase employee retention.

As an IT manager, employee morale impacts your bottom line. This is why you need to do what you can to keep morale as high as possible.

One way to accomplish this is by organizing work-related team-building activities. Employees who participate in shared experiences tend to increase their engagement and connection in the workplace. This typically elevates collaboration. The more effectively your employees work together, the more they contribute to your organization’s success.

Choose among these remote and in-person team-building activities to improve morale.

Remote Team-Building Activities

Eat Around the World

Learn something new as you explore different cuisines. Cooking shares part of a culture, enhances taste buds, and teaches new culinary skills.

You may want to create a bowl of the Korean rice dish bibimbap. You might make the Senegal rice dish jollof. Or, you could bake the Breton cake kouign-amann. This activity is best for up to 10 people.

Themed Trivia Night

Improve collaboration by dividing everyone into teams with people they normally don’t work with. You may choose ‘90s music or classic movies for the trivia theme. Or, you could educate everyone with a theme like Black history or financial wellness. This activity is best for up to 40 people.

Guided Mindfulness Session

Help everyone relax and unwind through meditation. Organizing a group session is an effective way to introduce everyone to this calming practice.

This activity is best for any number of people.

In-Person Team-Building Activities

Improv Workshop

Help everyone improve the way they work together. Teach them how more effectively communicate and read social cues.

This activity is best for up to 25 people.

Guided Hike

Learn something new while relaxing in nature. Organize a guided hike at a state park. Discover more about the area you live in while spending time together.

This activity is best for up to 15 people.

Wellness Day

Provide the time and space to completely unplug from work. You may want to begin with a group yoga session and end with a gong bath. These peaceful activities can spark meaningful conversations and organic connections with others.

This activity is best for up to 40 people.

Looking for Help Hiring?

RightStone can provide support every step of the way when hiring IT talent. Find out more today.

What Employees Really Want from Managers

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As an IT manager, your relationship with your team is important. It impacts important issues like employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Understanding what your employees are looking for from you helps improve their performance. The more effectively you lead your team, the more your employees will do to positively impact the bottom line.

Discover five areas to focus on to fill your IT team’s needs and maximize performance.

1. Personal Interest

Get to know your employees on a personal level. For instance, talk about their families, hobbies, and interests outside of work. Also, find commonalities that you can have more in-depth discussions about. Additionally, follow up to see how your employees’ weekend activities were.

Having casual conversations with your employees shows you care about them as people. It also helps them see you as a person rather than just a manager. This helps enhance the employee experience. The more your team members enjoy their jobs, the longer they should perform their best and remain with your company.

2. Connection

Engage with your employees through individual conversations. For instance, recognize and celebrate each employee’s successes. Also, ask your employees what they feel they are doing well and what they believe they could do better. Additionally, provide constructive feedback to help your employees improve their performance.

Encourage your employees to share what is important to them and what they may be struggling with. Actively listen to what your employees say. Show that you support them. Offer to help as needed.

Enhancing individual connections with your team helps build respect for you as their leader.

3. Acknowledgment of Strengths

Regularly acknowledge each employee’s strengths. Focus on a 3 to 1 ratio when sharing what each employee did well and what they could improve on. This helps provide the motivation to continue to improve their performance. It also increases employee confidence and engagement.

4. Purpose and Impact

Help your employees understand how their contributions impact the company and carry out its mission. Your employees want to know how their efforts help reach the organization’s strategic goals. This shows how your team individually and collectively impacts the business.

Providing a sense of purpose and impact for your employees helps build feelings of belonging and job satisfaction. Your team should remain proactive and engaged while moving toward success.

5. Career Development

Develop a career plan with each of your employees. This shows how they can advance within the organization.

Be sure to offer opportunities to develop the skills needed for promotions. You might do this through training, delegation, or stretch assignments. The more you help your employees grow professionally, the longer they should remain with your company.

Need Help Finding Employees?

Work with RightStone to find qualified employees to join your IT team. Talk with us today.

What Does It Take to Manage with Transparency?

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As a manager, employee engagement is among your top priorities. When your team members are engaged in their work, they remain productive. This increases the likelihood that your employees will reach their goals.

One of the most effective ways to increase engagement is by managing with transparency. Some of the benefits include clear expectations, better project management, and shared accountability.

When your employees understand each other’s roles in projects, they tend to help more because they understand the shared impact of their actions. Because your team members know what needs to be accomplished, they can provide solutions and take ownership of the process.

The following strategies can help you manage with transparency.

Outline Projects and Goals

Communicate your team projects and their objectives. This helps your employees understand what their role is and what they should accomplish. Based on the situation, you may want to cover the topics by an individual conversation, email, or team meeting.

Share Financial Data

Depending on the circumstances, you may want to share budgetary information about a project your employees are working on. This may include the translation of funds allotted into the project timeframe. Your employees can structure their daily tasks to stay on track and complete the project within or under budget.

Encourage Teamwork

Promote open communication among your employees as they collaborate on projects. This helps them understand the status of the project and the reasons for their next actions. Open communication also helps your employees identify and fix problems before they impact the course or cost of the project. Plus, it helps you and your employees understand the connection between tasks and the direction and progress of your team.

Provide Feedback

Let your employees know on a regular basis how they are performing. Include specific examples of what they are doing well and how they can improve. Provide the resources and support needed to implement the feedback. Your employees are likely to increase their efficiency and effectiveness when they receive honest input on their performance.

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Communication Strategies to Improve Team Collaboration

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Effective communication and collaboration skills are important for your team. Your team members need to share, develop, and implement their ideas in order to solve problems and complete projects. This is why it is important for you to provide the appropriate tools and support to facilitate communication and collaboration among your team. The following examples can help reach this goal.

These four strategies can promote communication and collaboration among your IT team.

1. Provide an Agile Collaboration Tool

An agile collaboration tool facilitates team communication and incremental steps to finish projects. It lets your team members assign and prioritize tasks. This lets your team know what needs to done right away and what can wait. It also keeps them informed about individual and team objectives, due dates, and milestones. It also keeps your team on track and working toward the same goal.

Your team members can share information, see their progress, and determine whether there are any issues to resolve. They also can provide feedback and measure performance. Because the project is delivered in increments, there should be faster movement and more flexibility for planning and responding to change.

2. Use a Messaging Hub

A messaging hub collects your company’s digital messages and stores them in a cloud database. This includes emails, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone calls, Tweets, and more.

Your team can access the information from anywhere without having to streamline their operating systems or devices. They also can more easily navigate their emails to determine which messages to pay attention to and which messages can wait. Plus, your team can search for the information or files they need and determine whether multiple messages are related. This helps reduce information overload, especially when your team is remote or hybrid.

3. Encourage Instant Messaging

Your team can use instant messaging for casual conversations. This helps your team members get to know each other and find common interests. They can stay current on the latest events in others’ lives and share what is going on in their own life. These interactions promote trust, camaraderie, and cohesion. They also make it easier for your team to have serious or difficult conversations centered around work.

4. Set Limits for Your Meetings

Invite to your meetings only the team members who truly need to attend. Keep the number of topics on the agenda to a minimum as well. These actions help keep the conversation focused.

Encourage the attendees to collaborate on the agenda. This helps them understand their part in sharing relevant information or leading discussion topics. Hold the attendees accountable for delivering their materials or insights to keep the agenda moving forward. These actions help improve collaboration.

Want Help with Hiring?

RightStone can provide the skilled IT candidates you need to reach business goals. Find out more today.

6 Steps to Resolve Workplace Conflicts

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As a manager, part of your job is to resolve team conflicts. Using honest dialog and modeling what it means to be a team player are key parts of the process. Involving your employees in finding a resolution encourages them to work together to find common ground and move forward.

Use these six steps as guidelines to resolve workplace conflicts.

1. Identify the Conflict

Find out what the problem is and when it began. Include which employees are involved, their beliefs about the issue, and which needs are not being met. The more details you uncover, the more you can help solve the problem.

2. Actively Listen to the Employees

Find a safe space for your staff members to talk about the conflict. Uncover why they are upset and what they would like done. Clarify what needs to be discussed and how everyone must be treated with respect. Emphasize the importance of honesty and finding a shared solution. Get to the root of the issue to avoid repeating it later.

3. Reflect on What You Heard

Think about what you learned regarding the issue. If you have questions or need additional clarification, have follow-up conversations with your staff members. Encourage them to talk with you if they think of anything else.

4. Create Common Goals

Encourage your employees to work together to find solutions to the problem. Have everyone share their ideas to move beyond the issue and not have it resurface.

5. Resolve the Problem

Find out which solution your staff members feel is best. It should include enough common ground to satisfy everyone. Include each staff member’s responsibility in carrying out the resolution. Have your team implement the answer to begin moving forward.

6. Follow Up

Set a time to get together to determine the effectiveness of the solution. Talk about whether the problem has been fully resolved or there are remaining issues to discuss. Take steps to find permanent answers and preventative strategies for the future.

Looking for IT Talent?

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Improve Employee Engagement with Feedback

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Feedback plays an important role in employee engagement. Your team members need to know what they are doing well, what needs improvement, and specific ways to do better. Having clear guidance that is broken down into simple steps makes it easier to take action. This encourages improved work performance.

Follow these guidelines to provide feedback that enhances engagement among your IT team.

Provide Feedback Channels

Different methods should be available to deliver feedback. The method chosen should be based on what the employee feels comfortable with or what the situation calls for. Examples include attributed or anonymous feedback, 1-on-1 or 360-degree feedback, individual or group feedback, and face-to-face or written feedback.

Clarify Expectations

Set standards for what feedback should look like and achieve. Consistently convey this message throughout the organization. Include who should give and receive feedback, how often it should occur, how feedback should be delivered, and what the goal should be. In addition, focus on giving both positive and corrective feedback in equal amounts to each employee.

Train on Feedback

Provide training and resources for appropriate ways to give and receive feedback. This may include watching videos with examples of effective and ineffective feedback interactions. In addition, you could involve your team in role-playing best practices for sharing and implementing feedback. Plus, consider training your staff to ask questions, request examples, and clarify meanings when being given feedback.

Lead by Example

Consistently demonstrate appropriate ways to provide and accept feedback. Because your team members typically behave in line with your actions, they are likely to handle feedback similar to how you do. Be sure you reinforce the actions you want to see from them.

Show the Results

When feedback is used to make a management decision, share the information with your team. Focus on what was brought up, why it was important, and how the information benefitted the company. Show that what your employees have to say makes a difference. This encourages them to continue to provide and implement feedback.

Include Feedback in Culture

Make feedback part of your company culture. This encourages employees to provide and accept feedback on a regular basis. Typical results include enhanced honesty, transparency, and work performance.

Find IT Employees

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Manager Focus: How to Improve Your Management Skills

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Whether you are a new or seasoned IT manager, there are always ways to improve your skills. The more effective you are in your role, the higher your job satisfaction. And, the more impact you have on your team, the greater your chances of being promoted.

Implement these 7 tips to improve your skills as an IT manager.

1. Get to Know Your Team

Learn all you can about your team members both personally and professionally. This includes their personal interests, strengths, skills, work styles, and motivations. Use this information to talk about common interests, assign tasks, and encourage productivity. This promotes engagement and trust, resulting in a positive work environment.

2. Align Roles with Business Goals

Point out how each team member’s contributions impact company goals. Create a sense of shared responsibility in the team by explaining how and why their work is making a difference. This improves engagement and productivity.

3. Share Key Performance Indicators

Let your team know exactly how success will be measured when taking on a new project or initiative. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to show what each team member should accomplish when the work should be done by, and what the results should look like. Use this information to determine whether your team is staying on track or needs to be guided back to reach the next milestone.

4. Adhere to Processes

Make sure your team members follow the processes in place to complete their tasks. Explain each step of the process and why it should be followed. Using the same method each time creates positive outcomes in an efficient and effective manner.

5. Increase Efficiencies

Involve your team in continuously finding ways to improve processes and workflows. Because things change over time, the way tasks are completed should evolve as well. Updating processes and workflows can increase their efficiency. This helps your team get more done in less time.

6. Encourage Innovation

Emphasize the importance of developing and enhancing your company’s products and services. For instance, regularly set aside time for your team to come up with ideas, discuss the most viable ones, and choose one to develop and implement. This increases engagement, job satisfaction, and retention.

7. Communicate with Your Superiors

Maintain regular contact with the leaders above you. This helps you better align with their goals. For instance, discuss whether their expectations for a project or initiative are feasible. If not, share your insight into what is possible given the current circumstances and the desired outcome. The leaders can either adjust their expectations or provide additional resources to reach their intended goals. Also, if unexpected events cause productivity to slow down, explain how the circumstances impacted the timeline and when the final result should be created.

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