How To Finish The Year On A High And Relax!

You know it’s coming.

You can literally feel the change of season in the air.

Yet somehow, the end of the year always has a habit of sneaking up on us.

We get so caught up in doing all the things throughout the year, that suddenly it comes as a surprise that we are going to stop for a bit.

The good news is that it is almost time to relax and celebrate the end of another year.

Keep reading to see how you can do that in a positive way and appreciate your team for all the hard work they have put in.

Let’s get into it.

How To Finish The Year On A High

Show Appreciation

Every day your team members ideally show up and work their hardest. The end of the year is the perfect time to show your appreciation for their dedication. The great thing is, there are plenty of ways that you can express your gratitude.

Here are a few ideas:

  • Gifts: Probably the most traditional form of showing gratitude is giving a gift. Choose something thoughtful that is both practical and appropriate. Gift cards, personalised choices, or something that aligns with their hobbies will show that you appreciate and respect what they do.
  • Personalised Notes: You don’t have to spend up large to show your appreciation. A handwritten, personalised note can be a lovely way to highlight the individual achievements or qualities you respect about each of your team members.
  • Gratitude Day: You could offer each of your team members a bonus day of paid leave as a special gesture of appreciation for all of their hard work throughout the year.
  • Appreciation Meal: Hosting a special meal simply to show thanks will give you a special space to highlight and acknowledge the individual contributions your team has made.
  • Gratitude Wall: Share the love around your workplace by setting up a physical Gratitude Wall where your team members can leave messages of appreciation for each other. Not only does this show your thanks, but it also helps to promote a positive team culture.
  • Awards Ceremony: Host a fun Awards evening or afternoon where everyone gets to dress up and receive their very own certificates for performance, innovation, teamwork, or being the one in the office who empties the kitchen bin the most!

Celebrate Successes

Celebrating the achievements that your team have made during the year is an awesome way to maintain a positive work culture. While you will (hopefully) have acknowledged the successes at the time they occurred, it can be fun and rewarding for the team to recap the greatest hits of the year.

You can do this in any way you feel is appropriate. It can be done at an end of year celebration, during a team meeting, or individual personalised messages to each team member.

You should also encourage everyone to share their own success stories, and give recognition to their peers and colleagues where appropriate. Using a holistic approach where everyone shares will really make it a meaningful experience for all.

End Of Year Celebration

The term “Office Christmas Party” can be a loaded one! So, let’s scrap the traditional terminology and bring everyone together for an end of year celebration instead. That way, you don’t have to worry about the cheesy connotations or potential bad behaviour!

Instead, you can focus on the main purpose of the event – to celebrate a job well done together.

This is particularly important in the post-Covid work environment where people might not all be in the workplace together at one time. Remote working, flexible hours, and multi-location working are all wonderful additions for your team, but it might mean that they don’t get to spend the same amount of time in each other’s company that they did previously.

An end of year celebration can be the perfect time to reconnect, interact, and generally enjoy a fun experience together.

Planning Your Celebration

While in the workplace, your team will be very conscious of displaying their professional persona. But, the great thing about an end of year celebration is that they get to relax and be themselves. Your team might even get to learn a bit more about themselves and see some personalities shine through.

In order for that to happen, you need to build a fun and interactive environment. Holding your celebration away from the workspace is a great way to encourage this as you can literally leave the work behind!

Choose something that all of your team can participate in and enjoy. You can choose anything! Here are some fun ideas:

  • Beach BBQ
  • Family Day Out
  • Spa Day
  • Canvas Painting Session
  • Cocktail Mixing
  • Cooking Classes
  • Go Karting
  • Bowling
  • Mini Golf
  • Escape Room
  • Arcade Afternoon
  • Ropes Course
  • Rock Climbing
  • Comedy Club, Show or Concert
  • Team Lunch or Dinner

The whole idea is to create a positive vibe that they can carry into their holidays and the new year.

Creating A Holiday Vibe

While it is exciting to close off for the end of the year, there is still the last of your year’s tasks to finish before that can happen. December can be an exceptionally stressful time as there are plenty of deadlines to meet, lots of jobs to tidy up before the holiday break not to mention the end of year family commitments to fit in!

Here are some ways you can keep the stress levels down and the productivity flowing:

  • Prioritise: help your team manage their workload by prioritising their tasks, setting realistic goals about what can be achieved and ditching the things that can wait for the new year.
  • Communication: open and clear communication about expectations, deadlines and priorities is essential in the busy season. Quickly advise of any changes in schedules or tasks too.
  • Flexibility: if possible, offer flexible working times and locations so that your team can balance their work and personal commitments.
  • Support Wellbeing: the end of the year is the prime time for burnout, so encourage self-care practices amongst your team. Help them with stress management, mindfulness and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
  • Encourage Collaboration: emphasise the power of teamwork, collaboration and sharing responsibilities to get things done. Have your team support each other so that no one has to feel stressed and isolated.
  • Embrace Holiday Spirit: create a festive atmosphere and get people in the mood for the holidays by decorating for Christmas, playing holiday themed music, and organising a Secret Santa. These fun things can keep morale high and build a positive vibe.

Call For Help

If there is anything your team cannot manage, then make sure you call in the experts to help. Here at Spice HR, we want you to roll into the end of the year feeling accomplished, relaxed and productive. So, we are on hand to help with any of your HR related inquiries both now and into the new year.

Get in touch with the Spice Gals now if we can help with anything related to your people-focused solutions.

Extended DISC®: The Secret To A Better Workplace Environment

Wouldn’t it be great if you could have insight into who your team members really are?

To understand their behaviours and how you can make them gel as a harmonious team.

Well good news, Extended DISC® can provide you with this information and more.

A form of psychometric testing carried out through a simple self-survey process, you can learn everything you need to create a fantastic working environment as well as establish how new candidates might fit into that dynamic.

Nope, it’s not witchcraft. Such a tool does exist!

Read on to find out more about it.

Extended DISC®: The Secret To A Better Workplace Environment

What Is Extended DISC®?

Extended DISC® personality assessments can help you maximise the performance of your business by giving you a greater understanding of the personalities within your team and how they might work together. Sounds pretty fancy, right?

As Extended DISC® practitioners, we can help you delve into who your people are and how they approach their work. Using a short self-assessment tool, current or potential employees answer a number of questions. The answers to those questions will reveal helpful insight into their unconscious behaviours and the adjusted conscious traits they have in the workplace.

Knowing more about your team’s personalities can help you manage them better and maximise the key skills they possess. DISC profiling can also be helpful as a recruitment tool to give an indication of how someone might fit into your existing team dynamic.

What Does DISC Mean?

DISC is an acronym created by the four primary personality types that the psychometric testing reveals. It stands for:

D – Dominance

When individuals present with the Dominance characteristic, it means that they show assertiveness, competitiveness, and are direct in their communication and decision making. Many D type personalities are results oriented and like to be the ones in charge.

I – Influence

If Influence is the main characteristic of someone’s personality, then they are people oriented, sociable, enthusiastic and persuasive. They love to make social connections in the workplace and often relish collaborative opportunities where they can work with others.

S – Steadiness

Having Steadiness produces individuals who are patient and dependable, preferring stability in their working lives. They tend to be very loyal and trustworthy team players who can listen well and work autonomously. They have a good balance between being task oriented and people oriented.

C – Compliance

If Compliance is the main trait, then people tend to be analytical, logical, and conscientious. That means they like structure and rules! But they are also excellent problem solvers, able to think deeply about challenges and issues that arise.

While most people will have a dominant trait, they will also have signs of the other traits in their working behaviour too. That’s why DISC reports can be so insightful.

Where Can Extended DISC® help?

The Extended DISC® process is really helpful in two main areas of your business:

Recruitment

One of the biggest challenges of recruitment is establishing whether a candidate is going to be a good fit for your existing team. They might have the right skills and experience on paper, but paper doesn’t tell you about their personality. Well, unless that piece of paper is a printout of a DISC report!

By understanding the behaviours of candidates or internal applicants, you can ensure they are placed in the right roles within your company. Set them up to succeed in the role and you will enjoy greater staff retention and better productivity from your whole team.

Ongoing Business

When you understand your team better, you can achieve more. Communication, conflict resolution, development, and workplace culture can all be improved with greater insight into your team’s behaviours. You can even enhance sales and customer service strategies by adapting them to appropriately fit the behaviours of your sales and service teams.

The Benefits Of Using DISC

Better Recruitment

Truly establish who is the best fit for the role by having the Spice Gals link your Job Description to an Extended DISC® Recruitment Report. This can help you to shortlist the right candidates by measuring the values and competencies that are non-negotiable for your business during the recruitment phase.

Couple that with other assessments like skill and cognitive ability testing, along with matching their job-relevant competencies based on their personality traits, and you will position yourself to find the ideal candidate every time.

Better Team Culture

When everyone understands each other better, it helps to create a positive team culture. People feel more valued, so become more invested in their roles and in creating good outcomes for the business. This positivity reduces conflict and creates a better working environment. And when people are happy in their work, they are more productive and give a consistently better performance.

All of this adds up to increased staff retention, better engagement from individuals, and an overall positive team culture.

Better Development

Ongoing development is essential for good business performance. DISC can help you identify the areas of development that are going to be most beneficial for your individual team members.

Not only can you help your team develop better communication and increase their skill and knowledge base with ongoing learning, coaching and leadership development, but you can also boost team dynamics.

Finally, you can be consciously aware of the common stress triggers for each of your team, allowing better leadership development and people management.

Time To Be Better?

Extended DISC® can help your business be better in so many ways. And if you’d like access to this amazing tool, we can bring it to you.

As Extended DISC® Accredited Practitioners, we can use the Extended DISC® system to help with recruitment, personal growth, team building and leadership at your workplace.

We have a number of different DISC reports that can give you the insight we’ve just discussed. So, we’d love to get to know you and your business better so that we can recommend the best option for your organisation.

Chat with the Spice Gals today.

How To Create Inclusion With Cultural Diversity In The Workplace

The world is an amazing place. Packed full of rich cultures, there are people from every corner of the world who have something unique and beautiful to offer. 

Which is why celebrating the richness of the world’s cultures is the focus of World Cultural Diversity Day. Held every year on 21 May, its purpose is to generate social cohesion and promote intercultural dialogue to help achieve peace and sustainable development.  

So, with this important day looming, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to explore the importance of embracing cultural diversity in the workplace. 

Let’s look at what workplace cultural diversity is, why it is beneficial for your business and how you can create an inclusive workplace culture for all. 

How To Create Inclusion With Cultural Diversity In The Workplace 

Recognising Cultural Diversity In The Workplace 

New Zealand is an incredibly diverse place. We have a large range of cultures, ethnicities and religions living in our beautiful country. Recognising this cultural diversity in the workplace is not only essential, but it can also be very beneficial! 

Employees from different cultural backgrounds work alongside each other every day. So, it’s imperative to recognise the needs and values of the different cultures, ethnicities and nationalities amongst your team.  

Successful businesses are increasingly those that recognise the importance of promoting cultural diversity in the workplace and who take deliberate steps to create inclusive environments, allowing team members of all backgrounds to thrive. 

What Embracing Diversity Can Do For Business 

There are many reasons to embrace cultural diversity in your workplace. Firstly, as we’ve already mentioned, we live in a diverse society, so any number of cultures can be represented in a workplace. Recognising and embracing that allows people to be comfortable in their workplace and allows them to be at their best every day. 

When people are comfortable, they thrive. Being part of a diverse and inclusive environment creates increased creativity and innovation, improved problem-solving abilities, and a better understanding of different perspectives and ideas. Creating a welcoming workplace culture that values diversity promotes a place of respect for all team members. 

Aside from the team culture aspect, it is important to note that many younger employees (who make up a growing proportion of workers) hesitate to join organisations with poor ethics and diversity. So, it could actually be detrimental to your business to ignore the diversity that no doubt exists in your workplace! 

The Benefits Of Workplace Cultural Diversity 

Cultural diversity can bring many benefits for both employers and employees. Some of the key benefits are: 

  • Better understanding: Working with people from different cultural backgrounds brings the opportunity to learn from each other and gain a better understanding of different customs, beliefs, and values. This can lead to an overall greater cultural awareness and more sensitivity, which can improve communication and collaboration. 
  • Improved customer service: Having employees who understand and can relate to different cultural groups can be a real advantage in terms of customer service. Customers will feel more comfortable and valued when they encounter employees who share their cultural background or are sensitive to different cultural needs. 
  • Greater innovation: A diverse workplace brings together people with different backgrounds, skills, experiences, and perspectives. This can lead to greater creativity and innovation as employees are consistently exposed to new ideas and ways of thinking. 
  • Improved problem solving: As well as innovation, diverse teams are often better equipped to solve complex problems. That is because they bring different perspectives and approaches to the table. This can result in more effective problem-solving and decision-making company-wide, giving your business a competitive advantage. 
  • Employee retention: When employees feel valued and respected for their unique contributions and perspectives, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work. This can lead to higher levels of job satisfaction and lower turnover rates
  • Increased profits: Being known as a culturally diverse company earns you a great reputation, both as an employer and as a company of choice for customers. People who align with your company values will choose to shop with you, potentially leading to increased profits. 

How To Embrace Cultural Diversity In The Workplace 

Creating a harmonious, culturally diverse workplace doesn’t have to be hard. Here are some of our best tips to make it happen: 

Company Values 

Consider ways that you can tie your organisation’s core values to your employee’s personal principles. This will give them a strong connection with your business. Not only does this help to create cultural diversity in the workplace, but it can also increase engagement within your team and improve staff retention. 

Conscious Recruitment 

When you recruit consciously, you are aligning your hiring process with your organisation’s mission and long-term goals. It involves looking at each candidate in depth, not only to assess their skills, but also how they would fit into your organisation as a whole and whether they believe in your mission and align with your values.  

The great thing about recruiting in this way is that you can share your values around cultural diversity to avoid bias when hiring. 

Celebrate Different Cultures 

We can all learn a lot from each other whether it be skills, knowledge or cultural experience. By celebrating different cultures in your workplace, you can integrate and recognise other cultural values and points of view for greater understanding and communication. 

Encourage inclusion by hosting shared cultural lunches and recognising specific festivals or other significant dates. Not only are you promoting learning and acceptance, but you can all have a great time while doing it! 

Adopt Flexibility 

You may find that people from different cultures have different needs in the workplace. So, adopting flexibility will allow you to cater for everyone. Get to know your team members and ask them what their individual needs are. Then, come up with a way that each employee can maximise their opportunities while still adhering to their culture. Remember, one size does not have to fit all! 

Encourage Communication 

We may not all speak the same native language, but we can all still achieve excellent levels of communication. Ensure you have a workplace that creates spaces for open and honest conversations. Address conflict as soon as it arises and encourage awareness and respect amongst your team. 

Consider Cross-Cultural Awareness 

You may even choose to undertake a cross-cultural awareness programme within your organisation. This is a form of training that helps all your team understand and respect the cultural diversity that exists within their workplace. It helps address language barriers, and specific cultural communication styles while promoting being open to the differences in each culture without stereotyping or bias.  

Embracing Cultural Diversity 

Diversity is part of what makes the world a fascinating place and promoting inclusion in your workplace can have many benefits for employers and employees. 

So, if you are ready to embrace diversity in your workplace, we are ready to help you do it. Chat to the Spice Gals today about how to create an environment of inclusion. 

Effective Onboarding: What It Is And How To Do It

Got a new person joining your team?

Then you’ll want to make sure you have an onboarding plan in place.

Onboarding is a vital aspect of making sure a hire is successful long term. Having a plan in place can help your new team member feel welcome and comfortable from day one.

Of course, that will mean great things for the relationship they have with your business long term and the impact they can have on the workplace as a whole.

So, how do you master onboarding?

Well, first you need to understand how important it is, then you need to know how to effectively create an onboarding plan. Luckily, we are covering both of those things in this blog. So, just keep reading!

Effective Onboarding: What It Is And How To Do It

The Importance Of Effective Employee Onboarding

Every successful hire starts with a good onboarding programme! Why? Well, not only is onboarding the way to introduce your new team member to the environment they will be working in, but it is a critical part of the settling-in stage and helps set both employee and business up for overall success.

Here are some of the ways onboarding can help:

Improved Engagement

A well-designed onboarding process helps your new team member feel valued and supported. In turn, this can increase their engagement and satisfaction with their role (and your company). Of course, this is all round good news for you and the new employee, as you will both be getting the most out of the working relationship.

Increased Performance

Effective onboarding can help your new team member to understand their role and responsibilities. But, more than that, it also helps to clarify what is expected of them and what they should expect from your organisation. Having this clear grounding can lead to higher levels of productivity and better job performance as your new team member will have a complete understanding of how things work.

Reduced Turnover

Once you go through all the trouble of hiring awesome talent, you want to make sure you keep them! Effective onboarding can help retain your new hire by providing them with a positive first impression of your business and setting clear expectations from the outset.

Better Cultural Fit

We all know that a successful hire does not rely on skills alone. Cultural fit is a huge factor also. Onboarding helps new team members understand and align with your company’s values, culture, and norms. Having a cause to champion and collective goals to work towards creates a more positive work environment for everyone.

Ticking the Legal Boxes

Depending on the industry you work within, there will be legal requirements to meet with each role. Onboarding can help to ensure that new hires are aware of and understand important policies and regulations. Once they have a good understanding of the legalities, it reduces the risk of non-compliance and potential legal issues.

How To Onboard A New Team Member

Now that we know how valuable onboarding can be, let’s explore how to effectively onboard a new employee so that they can hit the ground running and you can maximise their impact!

Here’s the steps to follow:

1: Be Prepared

While you can follow the same basic format for onboarding new team members, the actual onboarding plan should be tailored to each role and each successful candidate. That way, you can acknowledge the different experiences and strengths that each person brings. Plus, you can ensure the specifics of each role are covered.

2: Set Up

Before your new employee arrives, ensure their workstation is set up with any necessary, equipment or supplies – that includes a desk, chair, computer, stationery, phone, tools etc. They should also have logons and access to all the software systems they will use along with any specific resources or uniform items.

3: Welcome!

Starting a role with a new company can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking. So, make sure their first day is a good one. Start on the right foot by warmly welcoming them and introducing them to their team. You’ll also want to conduct Manager meet and greets and explain the chain of command.

4: Comprehensive Orientation

Your new employee might know a little about your organisation already, but they won’t necessarily know about the parts that matter – the culture and your key values. Providing a comprehensive orientation that includes an overview of the company, its culture, policies and procedures, as well as an introduction to their role and responsibilities will set them up for success.

5: Assign a Mentor or Buddy

Consider pairing your new employee with a mentor or buddy who can provide support and guidance as they settle into their new role. It doesn’t have to be a manager or direct colleague. It’s better to get the right personal fit so that everyone feels comfortable.

6: Go on Tour

Now it’s time to go on a comprehensive tour of the workplace. This should include facilities like the bathroom and lunchroom, along with key areas within the company. Don’t forget, there will be a lot for your new hire to remember, so refreshers on where everything is, can be invaluable. If you work remotely or have a hybrid dynamic to your work environment, then your tour should be focused around the communication tools, channels and processes you as a business use to ensure success. In person is best so jump online and share your screen to ensure an interactive experience!

7: Training Material

Explain how their training programme will take place and make sure you include information about where the training material, Standard Operating Procedures, Health and Safety information and other resources can be found. Have an onboarding checklist ready to work through so that nothing gets missed.

8: Set Clear Expectations

Clearly communicate expectations for performance, working hours, and any other important details related to the role. This is also the opportunity to discuss flexible working conditions and locations, potential paths for advancement, and what the plan is for ongoing development.

9: 30, 60, 90 Day Touchpoints

Onboarding does not end once your new employee has been trained for the job. Schedule regular check-ins to ensure the new hire is settling in well and provide opportunities for feedback and support. Scheduling 30, 60 and 90 day check ins helps to provide a comms point during the ‘cone of silence’ gap when people are working out their trial period.

10: Encourage Feedback

Encourage your new employee to ask questions, provide feedback, and communicate any concerns they may have. This will help them to feel more involved in the business and can also help to point out any gaps you might have in your onboarding process.

Remember that plans are living documents and should be continually updated based on employee experience and feedback.

Want to ensure your new employees feel supported and valued when they start their new role? Then, chat with the Spice Gals about devising an effective and comprehensive onboarding programme now.


How To Perfect The Hybrid Working Experience

There aren’t too many good things that came out of the pandemic. But, there is one thing in particular that was positive – and that is an evolution of thinking about the way we work.

By being forced to stay in our homes throughout the lockdown period, we proved that we didn’t necessarily have to be in an office space to work effectively.

And as the restrictions eased, hybrid working became a thing.

Now, more than a year on from lockdown, people are still embracing hybrid working to achieve better balance and to better utilise company resources.

With a new way of working on the table, you have probably had to examine your traditional processes. Hybrid working is here to stay, so it’s time to perfect the experience for your team and your organisation. Here’s how you can do it.

A New Way Of Working

What is hybrid working? Well, you’re probably already doing it with your teams without using the fancy term!

Hybrid working is a flexible working arrangement where your staff work some of the time in a traditional office space and some of the time at a remote location, usually their home. The degree of flexibility should be based on the needs of the organisation and the individual workers.

It is this varying level of flexibility that makes hybrid working so amazing … and also quite hard to manage – especially if everyone is operating on different hours and days!

That’s why it is vital that you master and perfect the hybrid working experience so that it operates well for your business and for your employees. Here’s the steps to follow to do that:

Step 1: Review Current Arrangements

If you are like most New Zealand businesses, you probably threw together some basic hybrid working parameters back in 2020 and have been weathering the storm ever since. Chances are, those hastily set up working arrangements could do with some updating by now.

The first step is to review what you already have in place and assess how it has been functioning. Is it serving your business well and are your employees benefitting from the flexibility? What’s working really well and what could do with some refining?

Have a chat with key management and some of the employees who are using the flexibility of hybrid working to get their input. That way, you’ll have information from both sides of the working arrangement – business and individuals.

Step 2: Make A Plan

Now that you have your feedback, it’s time to create some clear guidelines about how hybrid working will function going forward. While the specifics might be slightly different for the individual depending on their role and level of responsibility, having some guidelines lets everyone know what the expectations are.

Remember that you want to create an arrangement that works for both the business and your employees. You want your employees to still feel like they have autonomy over their workload, but at the same time, working hours need to be productive and produce the right results for the business.

Step 3: Document It All

Once you have created your plan, it is important to document the hybrid working parameters so that they are widely understood and can be enforced.

Things that should be discussed and documented are start and finish times/working hours, the locations used for working (and if team members have all the resources they need at each location), and expectations around how working from home should be – dress standards for meetings, digital security etc.

Other Considerations

Another thing you might want to offer your team is ‘Flexications’. Working from home is one thing, but could your team work from a different country? A Flexication is the opportunity to work from anywhere in the world, mixing holidaying with work. It allows location-independent work conditions so that your employees can work from literally anywhere, completing their work obligations while adventuring in their downtime.

In terms of remote working, a Flexication doesn’t have to be much different to working from home from a business perspective. You just need to be clear on employee expectations like time zones and how this will be managed, ensure they are covered by Health and Safety procedures, that reliable WiFi and server access is available, and that privacy policies are met.

Why Go To The Trouble?

Setting up hybrid working parameters may feel like a lot of work. And you might wonder if it is worth all the trouble. We can assure you, it is if you do it right.

Offering hybrid working can help your staff to feel valued and respected. This often means that they are more engaged in their work and ultimately, more productive. It also helps you to be recognised as an employer of choice and encourages great staff retention. All of these things help to create great results for your business.

Perfecting Hybrid Working

To harness all of the positive aspects of hybrid working, you need to make sure you address the potential negative aspects. With people in the office at different times throughout the week, it can have a negative impact on company culture and how your team interact with each other.

It’s important to keep your employees engaged despite the distance. You can do this by planning deliberate social connections such as regular virtual or on-site team meetings and regular one-to-one check ins. Encourage collaboration with cloud based communication and document sharing tools to actively keep teams connected.

Make mental health a priority as it is easy to feel isolated when you are predominantly working remotely.

Also, ensure the current workspace is an enticing place to return to so that your staff actually want to be in the office as opposed to the comfort of their own homes.

Hybrid Help Is Here

Here at Spice HR HQ, we embrace hybrid working for our team. So, we’ve personally been through the process of setting hybrid working parameters that suit everyone, but still generate great company results.

So, if it’s time to review your current hybrid working arrangements, you can count on the Spice Gals to help you create parameters that are good for your business as well as your team.

Reach out to us today to chat about perfecting hybrid working at your place.

Christmas Is Coming: Let’s Wrap The Year Up Positively

 

Christmas is just around the corner. 

While you might not be ready for it yet, the silly season will stop for no one!

That means there is only so much time to get everything wrapped up before the end of the year. But there is also a silver lining to the situation. 

The good news is that Christmas creates a great opportunity to celebrate the successes of the year and signals an appropriate time for a well-deserved break.  

So, how do you make sure everything is wrapped up in time and you are ready for Christmas? 

We’ve got all the info you need right here. 

Celebrate the Year 

As the year draws to a close, it is the perfect time to celebrate all the great things that have happened in the last 12 months. These achievements don’t all have to be enormous ones, it is appropriate to celebrate all the small things as well. 

Thank your team for all that they have done this year. After all, it hasn’t been an easy one. With the pressures of Covid, rising inflation, and the ongoing navigation of a new normal after the last couple of years, they deserve a giant thank you! 

Don’t worry about it feeling cheesy. Sometimes a bit of cheese is worth it! Especially as it will remind your team that they are respected and valued by you.  

It is also vital that you create the right kind of feel moving into the new year. It’s time to look forward with a positive outlook. So, finishing this year on a positive and celebratory note will help set your team up for a great year ahead.  

A cool way to do this is to help your team members set goals to work on in the new year. They should be positive goals that focus on moving forward – perhaps career progression, training and development, or project work. 

Is it Time to Party? 

The annual Christmas party used to be a staple in everyone’s calendar. Then, 2020 rolled around, and the obligatory Christmas party took a backseat. You can revive it again this year or take a different approach to bring everyone together. 

We know budgets are tight, so it doesn’t have to be an expensive event. A casual team BBQ, a potluck dinner, a round of mini golf, or a trip to the bowling alley can all be fun. It’s simply about marking the end of the year and giving your team the chance to connect socially. If your team enjoy some time together in a relaxed and neutral setting, it will only help to build great morale and teamwork in the workplace. 

Don’t forget those team members who are working remotely. Round everyone up and regroup with an end of year get-together. And if it’s not possible to get everyone together in one location, what about an online Christmas party via video conference? Take your party connections to the next level by delivering little gift boxes of treats that can be opened and enjoyed while everyone is “partying”. 

Wellbeing Check 

After a draining year, it is timely to check in with all the members of your team to see how they are really doing. Christmas might not necessarily be a merry time for everyone. So, it is a great opportunity for a wellness check with your team. 

We spend such a large portion of our lives working, so it is important that your team feel mentally safe and valued at work so they can perform at their best. A wellness check can help you determine if that is the case for your people. 

This process is about honest and open conversations, as well as actively listening to what your team members are saying and what they might be reluctant to say. Remind your team of available support options – like speaking with HR, anonymous feedback, or any EAP avenues. 

Christmas Break 

Many businesses will choose to close for a period over Christmas. Will your business be one of them? If so, you will need to ensure you notify all your employees of the closure at least 14 days in advance. 

As part of that conversation, it is helpful to communicate what options your team have for leave. Obviously, they can take this as annual leave if they have enough available. But it is important to provide options for those without an adequate leave balance. You may choose to let them take leave in advance or require leave without pay. 

You can find more information about how to handle an annual closedown period here

The Christmas holidays also mean there are plenty of public holidays to observe. You’ll need to make sure you are following the correct public holiday guidelines for your staff in terms of wages and rostering. This applies regardless of whether you are having an annual closedown period or not. Make sure you are following the rules by checking out the public holiday guideline info here.  

Ready to close the book on 2022? You are not alone there! And if you need help tying up any loose ends or planning for a productive 2023, then the Spice Gals are here for you. 

We can help you navigate the guidelines around public holidays and annual closures or set up the ultimate wellness program for the new year ahead. For any and all HR queries, get in touch with our Spicey team! 

Beginning A Different Kind of New Year

New years roll around at an alarming pace.

The year only just seems to start and then before you know it, you are singing Auld Lang Syne, raising a glass, reviewing the year that has been and preparing your business for another trip around the sun.  

But this new year feels unlike the others we have experienced before. 

2021 was meant to be our fresh start after a rather trying 2020. Then, it pulled a total fast one on us and turned out to be worse!  

So, as we cautiously begin 2022, we have none of the lofty ambitions of last year. This will not be our year to return to life as it was before COVID. 

This will be a different kind of new year. But, we are no less optimistic about it! 

Let’s explore how you can make the most of another uncertain new year and prepare your team for the next 12 months. 

 

Beginning A Different Kind Of New Year 

Acknowledge The Year That Was 

It is pretty tempting to sweep the events of 2021 under the rug and pretend that they didn’t happen. Not only were we dealing with potential threats to our health, but we all had an additional layer of stress created by working from home. Juggling home schooling, the endless quest for uninterrupted work time, worries about job security and toilet paper shortages were no joke! 

So, now is the time to congratulate your whole team for making it out the other side. 

Look back on the year and celebrate the things that went well. Thank your team for their dedication in tough times and congratulate yourselves for making it work. While the year was hard, it taught many businesses that work conditions could be flexible. Now, we can continue that flexibility and use it to our advantage. Allowing your team to continue embracing flexible hours and working locations where practical, will be a great morale booster. 

 

Maintaining Mindset 

All the stresses of the last two years might have had a negative impact on your staff morale. And when morale is low, so too is productivity and output.  

Helping your team maintain a positive mindset despite everything that has happened is an essential new year task. The right mindset will boost productivity, increase employee engagement, and help to retain valuable team members. 

With a new protection framework now in place, we should hopefully see fewer disruptions to life and business operations. So, capitalise on that positivity by allowing your team to work when they are most productive.  

Physical safety has been a huge focus in the last two years and we have the masks and hand sanitiser to prove it. But, mental wellbeing and safety are just as important. Help your team manage their schedules to prevent burnout, connect with each individual to check how they are coping, and encourage the whole team to take their breaks and holidays. 

 

Keep The Comms Flowing 

Your team have dealt with a lot of uncertainty lately and we are not out of the woods yet. It would appear COVID is here to stay, so make sure you are communicating well and often with your team. 

Give them as much information as you possibly can as this will reduce some stress and build an important level of trust. While targets might move, dates might change and the goalposts might shift, your team will appreciate the transparency of regular updates and receiving up to date information. 

By establishing open lines of communication from your side, your team will also feel as though they can share concerns or suggestions they might have. This allows them to feel as if they have some control over an uncertain situation. Of course, that will only mean good things for their overall morale! 

 

Unifying Under A Collective Vision 

No one can possibly predict what will happen this year, the last two years have certainly proven that! Yet, you can establish a vision for how you want your business to operate, the characteristics you value and the impact you want to make. 

By creating this vision, you are providing your whole team with a roadmap for the year. While there might be some unexpected potholes to navigate or bridges to build, the end destination remains the same. 

By unifying your team under a collective vision they will feel valued, important and part of something bigger than just themselves. It will help you all to move forward and stay optimistic, regardless of what the year might bring. 

 

Make Time for Fun 

In the midst of a global pandemic, it is easy for work and home life to feel very serious. With restrictions to adhere to, daily news reports to read, mandates to follow and ever-increasing stress levels, things can get negative quickly. 

But, they really don’t have to. Just because there is some serious stuff going on in the outside world, it doesn’t mean your team can’t make time for fun.  

Connecting with each other in a social way can lighten the mood and build a great team culture. Whether you choose to have a monthly quiz night over Zoom or Microsoft Teams, a picnic in the park with the cricket bat and beverages, or a family friendly game of Never Have I Ever, your team will be able to blow off steam and connect. 

Laughter is the best medicine, so keep things fun and lighthearted where appropriate. 

 

Looking Ahead 

Rather than looking back on everything you have been through, look forward towards the amazing things you could achieve this year. That will keep your whole team focused on the future and optimistic about what the year will bring. 

While things might remain uncertain, you can keep your team moving forward and unified under a clear vision and collective goals. This will ensure they maintain a positive mindset and together you can overcome any future challenges. 

Want some more practical ways to maintain great staff morale during a very different kind of new year? Then we can help you do it. Full of Spice and practical, actionable strategies, our team will help your team remain strong in the year ahead. Contact us today 

The Importance Of End Of Year Workplace Celebrations (Even This Year!)

Release the virtual balloons, pop the champagne (or cider), and get the chips and dip ready to roll. The year is rapidly coming to an end, and believe it or not, there are many reasons to celebrate!

Workplace celebrations are important at any time, but after surviving another year of uncertainty and stress, it’s even more important to recognise the wins for your business – big and small.

We know you probably just want to get this year over with and move on to brighter times, but before you write 2021 off completely, take a moment to recognise your fantastic team.

Let’s chat about why workplace celebrations are so valuable to you and your team at the end of the year.

The Importance Of End Of Year Workplace Celebrations (Even This Year!)

The Value Of Workplace Celebrations

Teams that celebrate together thrive together – truly! While it’s important to celebrate success throughout the year, the end of the year is the perfect time to bring everyone together and look at what you and your team have achieved over the last 12 months.

Here’s how workplace celebrations benefit your business:

  • They motivate – recognition is an organic motivator that inspires people to continue being successful.
  • They unify and reinforce company culture and values – celebrations have a way of bringing people together, particularly if they follow times of challenge.
  • They build momentum – recognising the small goals provides momentum to carry on and achieve the bigger goals.
  • They boost positivity – it’s easy to get caught up in everything that’s going wrong and forget about what’s going right. Workplace celebrations shift the focus back onto the good things.
  • They reward – recognition and reward are essential to keep your team engaged and motivated. The end of year celebrations are a lovely reward for hard work after a year of trials and tribulations.
  • They encourage team bonding – it’s been a year of distancing, which can be hard when working in a team. Coming back together (even virtually) helps rebuild those bonds.
  • They provide a timeout – after a tough year, your team need space to breathe and step back from work mode so they can start the new year fresh. A workplace celebration is a great way to farewell the old and welcome the new.

What Should You Celebrate?

Feel like this year didn’t bring much worth celebrating? Think again! Even if your business has faced challenges in the last 12 months and couldn’t thrive as well as you’d like, there are plenty of things to celebrate.

Success doesn’t always have to be about reaching a goal. It can be about the process, too.

Love the way your team supported one another during turbulent times? Celebrate that!

Proud of how people pivoted to different work conditions? Celebrate their adaptability!

Did someone come up with a great way to bring in revenue even during lockdown or connect with customers even when your doors were closed? Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!

 

Safely Celebrating With Your Team

Just like many things this year, Christmas workplace celebrations may look a little different for your team. But that doesn’t mean they can’t still be happen!

Even as we enter the Traffic Light system, it’s crucial to plan your holiday festivities to be safe, and have a backup plan in place just in case things escalate before your team party rolls around!

Depending on where you are, you may be able to meet outdoors for a meal, or you might have to take the happy hour drinks online.

Whatever you do, make sure your entire team are considered, and make it casual and simple, because we’ve all had enough stress this year to last the next decade!

Think virtual happy hour, a socially distanced scavenger hunt, a game night, or virtual escape rooms. Most importantly, allow people time to connect, laugh, and reflect on the year’s successes because that’s what it’s all about.

 

Spare A Thought For The Coming Months

Nobody likes a Debbie downer, but as much as we need to let loose and celebrate, it’s also important to look ahead to what’s coming next.

As we prepare to wind down for the holidays, we also enter the next COVID framework Traffic Light phase , so it’s vital to be prepared to hit the ground running in January 2022.

The government recently announced new support for businesses transitioning into the new framework. This includes some fantastic packages around business advice and mental health support.

For many businesses, this is the light at the end of a very long tunnel. We now have a pathway out of lockdown; things are looking up, and that’s definitely worth celebrating.

Of course, new pathways bring changes. If you need help exploring what those changes look like for your people, then get in touch with us here at Spice HR. People are our speciality and we would love to help your business make easy transitions that don’t interrupt your team culture.

How To Find The Elusive Work Life Balance

How To Find The Elusive Work Life Balance

 Rollercoasters can be a lot of fun, but imagine if you were forced to ride one when you weren’t really in the mood for excitement.

You’d probably be more stressed than excited, but you’d tolerate it, dust yourself off and move on.

But what if someone forced you onto that rollercoaster again and again, never giving you time to prepare and never telling you how many times you’d have to go around the loop-de-loop before you were allowed to disembark.

Even a resilient lover of thrill rides would tire of that vicious cycle, becoming worn out, anxious, and just plain over it.

That’s where we’re at, folks. We’ve been riding the COVID rollercoaster for nearly two years. And even though New Zealand had a pretty decent break, we find ourselves thrust back onto the ride, whether we like it or not.

So, what can we do?

How To Find The Elusive Work Life Balance

Prioritising What’s Important

Uncertainty takes a toll on our ability to work, parent or even just do what needs to be done around the home. That’s why mental wellbeing is more essential now than ever – and finding work life balance plays a significant role in our mental health.

Let’s talk about why it’s so important to switch off from work and how to separate home and work life.

We’ll also share some valuable mental wellbeing resources to help you and your team survive the COVID rollercoaster together.

Climb aboard and buckle up!

Why Finding The Work Life Balance Is More Important Than Ever

If your resilience and tolerance are wearing thin (or long gone), it’s understandable. The uncertainty of being in and out of lockdown, working from home, parenting from home, and living under social restrictions is stressful for everyone.

Work life balance has been a hot topic for years, but in the current pandemic climate, it’s a lot more complicated than it once was.

The lines between work and home are becoming increasingly blurred. While that’s particularly true for those working from home, it’s still relevant for essential workers who need to leave the house.

Partners or flatmates may be working from home, changing the home environment completely, and if you have kids, the juggle struggle is real, regardless of whether you work from home or not.

On top of all this, we’re trying to cope with worries and fears about illness, sick friends and family, and an uncertain future – both personally and professionally.

That’s an awful lot to deal with.

The Mental Wellness Discussion

With everything that is currently going on, mental wellness has become a crucial conversation.

If we don’t prioritise work life balance and take care of our mental health, we’ll find it hard to cope with any aspect of life.

The ongoing stress can result in unproductivity, loss of motivation, depression, and anxiety. And if we don’t find ways to mitigate the demands of work and home, we’re likely to experience that stress physically, too, with fatigue, headaches, digestive issues, and long-term health issues.

Not only do we need to take responsibility for our own mental health, but we need to support those around us too – our friends, family, colleagues and employees.

It may have been said so much that it’s become something of a cheesy cliché, but we are all in this together!

How To Separate Home And Work When Working From Home

How’s the productivity going now that you’ve been working from home for a while? Should be a piece of cake, right? Do you have your routine sorted? Do you knock off on time every day? Are you more productive than ever?

If the answer is yes, then virtual high five for you – you’ve nailed the demands of WFH.

But for so many workers, the struggle continues. Working from home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and it can be hard to separate home and work.

If that’s you, here are some tips to help you regain that work life balance.

Stick to a morning routine

Resist the temptation to get straight on the laptop to start work the minute you wake up. Try to stick to the same kind of routine you had before COVID. Maybe you’re a morning person and used to exercise and shower before heading to work. Or perhaps you grabbed a coffee at the gas station and sat in traffic every day.

Either way, create some kind of routine to separate your home life from your work life. Get up, get ready, walk around the block, then arrive in the “office” and get to work.

Create a dedicated workspace

If possible, devote an area of your home to your workspace. Resist working from the bed or couch – it’s too distracting (and horrendous for your back!). If you have a separate room to work in, fantastic! Set that area aside and only use it for work.

If not, make do with what you have, but make it your designated work area. You may have to work at the dining room table, but choose a special chair or cushion, and only use that for work and nothing else.

Leave the Office at the End of the Day

Create an end of work routine to separate your workday from home. Don’t sit and browse your laptop once you are finished. Instead, get up and leave – even if it’s just to walk around the garden!

Establish boundaries – and stick to them

Make sure you, your manager, your colleagues (or clients) are clear on your work hours. Agree that work emails or phone calls only happen between those times, and resist the temptation to fire off a “quick” email outside of those hours.

Don’t forget to set boundaries with your family or housemates too. Let them know that when you’re working, that’s work time, and you’re not available for chores or chats. The best way to get the time you need is to communicate that you need it.

Take breaks

Schedule a lunch break and stick to it. Don’t spend that lunch break on your computer – step away! Go outside and take some deep breaths, grab a book to read while you eat, or chat with the family. Take regular breaks away from your workspace during the day, too.

Ask your employer for support

If you’re struggling to cope, be open with your employer. The best organisations will have strategies to address health and wellness. Ask for resources to help you manage overwhelm.

Go easy on yourself

You know those people you see on social media who are nailing their careers, baking delicious meals, home schooling their kids and doing yoga every day? Forget about them.

Even if their posts accurately reflect their lives (and chances are, they don’t), you are not them. You don’t have to do everything perfectly. It’s ok just to cope. It’s ok if you’re not coping. Give yourself a break and focus on what you are achieving instead of what you’re not.

Take care of your physical health

Your physical health directly impacts your mental health, and vice versa. It’s important to prioritise habits and activities that improve both. That means finding time to exercise (even if it’s dancing around the house) and eat well.

Oh, and don’t forget to laugh! Find things that make you smile and forget about the rollercoaster for a while.

Health And Wellbeing Resources

Rather than you having to trawl the internet for resources that might be helpful, we have compiled a handy list:

Mentemia

App and Website – Tried and tested tools to help promote and manage well being. Free for general use, but with tailored options available to businesses.

Mental Health Foundation

Practical wellbeing tips and advice based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing.

Working Well Guide

Resources for workplace wellbeing.

Getting Through Together

A pool of resources, tips and inspirational stories focused on health and wellbeing during COVID-19.

Working Well

A guide to mental health in the workplace.

Staying on Track

A free e-therapy course teaching you practical coping strategies for the COVID rollercoaster.

Small Steps

Digitally-based tools to help you maintain mental wellness.

Whakatui Mai – The Wellbeing Sessions

Free virtual community events aimed at supporting well being in real-time.

A Mental Health Guide for New Zealand Leaders

Comprehensive document aimed at leaders and managers to help them support the mental wellbeing of their teams.

And, of course, if you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed or unsure of how you can support your team with creating a good work life balance, then get in touch with the Spice Gals today. We can help you create a plan that supports your team remotely or in-person.

Let’s Talk! Who Is Spice HR?

Who Is Spice HR?

Let’s Talk! Who Is Spice HR?

In the vast, wonderful, and limitless world of the internet, it’s easy to forget that there are living, breathing, real people behind the blogs you read, the photos you double-tap, and the posts you like – and yes, even the dreaded comment section! As much as technology seems to dominate the world, humans are still the ones behind it all, and connecting human to human is the core of what Spice HR is all about.

So, what better way to start connecting than by having a chat and giving you a behind the veil glimpse of who we are and what we do!

So come on in, put your feet up, and get to know us – the Spice Gals.

Meet The Spice Gals

No, not the Spice Girls – we are the kiwi-based, business-focused HR version of the famous girl band. And while we might not be able to sing or dance quite as well as the famous five, we do know our stuff when it comes to managing people.

Our duo (featuring Nicole Griffiths and Nichola Gold) started with a power walk, believe it or not! On that fateful day, we talked about our talents and values and realised we both had very complementary skills in the HR world. We ducked into a coffee shop, and by the end of our first latte, we had crafted a plan for Spice HR.

A Facebook page was born, bookings began to come in, and our business began!

The Spice Philosophy

HR has a reputation for being dull and dreary – a tick the boxes, soulless kind of activity.

However, we are pretty much the opposite of what you think you know about HR! Yes, we are HR professionals with vast skillsets, but we are also authentic, spicy, and full of energy and enthusiasm for what we do.

We work closely with businesses to help them do the right thing for staff and improve staff performance. Of course, every organisation – and every individual – is unique, so we tailor our approach to partner with you on your specifics.

We go into a business, get to know the culture and the people, and make decisions around the things that work for them. We are there to back you up, to partner with you, and add the right blend of spice to your business.

Every successful business should be clear on their values, and Spice HR is no different. Our philosophy is literally in our name:

Service – tailored to your business needs.

People – the essential business ingredient

Ideas – we don’t do bland

Culture – no two spices are the same

Engagement – spice it up!

 

Our Passions

Human resources is a fascinating area to work in. It’s not just about forms, handbooks, and employment agreements (although paperwork is certainly a large part of what we do).

It’s about people.

How they work, how they think, and what they value. Nobody starts a new job with a bad attitude and zero engagement. Most of us are excited, eager to learn, and fully engaged. It’s what happens later that changes things!

Our passions revolve around the following areas:

Engagement And Retention

Staff engagement is one of the most undervalued areas of managing people. Engaged staff allow you to work on your business, not in your business. If your staff are ambivalent – or worse, disengaged – you are too busy putting out fires and doing the work they are not. It’s a huge time waster and not good for anyone!

There are so many ways to increase engagement, and they don’t have to cost money. Nothing is ever broken, and often, only a simple fix is needed. Nine times out of ten, it’s about communication, and ten times out of ten, we can help!

Training And Development

People love to feel as if they are progressing, upskilling, and growing in their jobs. Training and development is an enormous part of that, and an area that we love to explore.

For training to be effective, it must involve a behavioural change. We use professional tools and platforms that can transform your team.

Wellbeing

Remember, people want to go to work and be happy! If they are not, their wellbeing suffers, right along with your workplace culture and business overall. The health and wellbeing of your team is vital, and we have loads of ways for you to improve workplace wellbeing effectively and simply.

Providing Feedback

Giving timely, relevant and useful feedback is the key to all the above areas, but it doesn’t come easily for many managers. We can help you figure out the right way to provide feedback for your business and integrate it into your workplace culture.

Once you’ve got that part down, the engagement, development and wellbeing of your people will flow.

How Are You Doing?

So, that’s us, but no conversation is complete unless both parties have had a chance to speak.

So how are you doing?

How have you and your business navigated the COVID climate? Have you evolved and adapted and learned new skills, or are you still struggling to find your way through? Are your people engaged – are you engaged? What’s missing in your business?

As always, we’d love to hear how you are doing out there, and always welcome the chance for a chat to see if we can help you fine-tune, problem solve, or brainstorm a solution for what ails you.

Thanks for the talk, let’s do it again soon,

Nicole and Nichola – the Spice Gals.