An Interview with Phil La Duke — When people aren’t working together in person, the emotional factors of their experience can be amplified. For example, if a team member is criticized or corrected by their manager in person, they have more clues to determine the emotions or tone behind what is being said. When people occupy the…

An Interview with Phil La Duke — Create a strong, tangible vision that your employees can get behind. At WorkWave, we recently went through an exercise to identify who we are as a company, and why we do what we do. This helped us to identify our vision and pull out the importance of what we do…

An Interview with Phil La Duke — Have a vision larger than yourself and tell your team about it all the time. Elon Musk is constantly talking about how his companies are saving the human race. Whether you believe him or not, Tesla and SpaceX have very strong employment brands and have far less trouble finding people…

An Interview with Phil La Duke — Be the ball, Danny (Caddyshack) — Resolve to be the company that you would like to work for regardless of your position within the company. Solicit ideas from your employees on what ideas they have to become that company. …

An Interview with Phil La Duke — Be sure that prospective employees understand the “why” behind what they will do as part of your team. As noted, at Anderson Center for Autism, we make sure that every candidate knows that they can be part of something very meaningful right out of the gate; we communicate our mission…

An Interview With Phil La Duke — At the end of the day, our word and commitment are fundamental for elements that either build trust or tear down trust one interaction and conversation at a time. As part of my series about people who stepped up to make a difference during the COVID19 Pandemic, I had the…

An Interview with Phil La Duke — Implement a skills-first approach to hiring and advancement. I cannot stress enough the importance of this enough. There is a wealth of genius and talent among the U.S. workforce who don’t have four-year college degrees but are exceptionally skilled. I once worked for an employer who hired a welder who…

An Interview with Phil La Duke — Focus on Mental Health and Employee Well-Being: Business owners can no longer simply focus on supporting their employees’ physical upkeep through healthcare benefits alone. Instead, modern companies require an approach that takes into consideration the physical, mental, social, and financial well-being of their employees. The pandemic has allowed people to…

An Interview with Phil La Duke — Listen more. Our younger employees like the flexibility and comfort of remote work at home. As a result, they do not want to return to a traditional work office and schedule. While some of this may be to the detriment of their development, we must listen to what they are…