Articles
Does Pay Determine Worth?
It is no secret that equal pay does not consistently exist in our country. To this day, women still earn less than an equal male counterpart regardless of the industry! On average women earn 77 percent of a man’s pay, according to Census statistics released in September 2011. To put this in perspective, fifty years ago, women earned 61 percent of what men earned. While it is not equal, it is progress!To break it out further, in 2010, African American women were at 67 percent of all men's earning…
The Power of Aloha Customer Service Is Unconditional Friendship and Trust
I have lost count of all of the different “types” of customer service and sayings about what customer service should be. Oh, and we can also add the different words for customer service and the actual customer! In the end, they all say the same thing, be nice to the people or companies that give you money.
When I was in Hawai’i, Oahu to be exact—and just so you know, there is no ‘w’ in O’ahu. I was there for a speaking gig and then magically it into a vacation. It was my first time there and wh…
Differences of Diversity
Diversity simply addresses differences. It doesn’t specify what is different, how it’s different, or why it matters that it is different, it just simply is different. These differences can come in the form of religion, sexual orientation, language, age, race, communications styles, gender identification, social class, mental abilities, or even looks.
Senior leadership and a company’s employees bring these qualities and characteristics to work every day—whether you want them to or not. These are…
Women in Construction: What Should I Wear Today?
This has become a “chick” question.
The female stereotype is that we obsess over this question every day and every time we need to change our outfit. But in reality, it is a question that we all ask ourselves every time we get ready to leave the house. Men tend to ask it subconsciously; women give it more conscious thought. Working in a male-dominated industry makes this question even more stressful!
As a minority, you are constantly under a microscope for things that are relevant and irreleva…
The Attitude of Diversity
- Diversity is about things that you and your employees cannot leave at home: race, religion, sexual orientation, age, and looks. These traits affect the experiences people have in life.
- Differences between people can create barriers that affect a business’s bottom-line. When we are aware of the barriers and accepting others’ differences are encouraged in your company culture, people grow which means your company will gr…
Perception or Communication - Who Will Win?
The bell rings to start the fight! The crowd is roaring to cheer on the contender they want to win, Perception or Communication. They are evenly challenged though their strengths reside in different areas, this will be a good fight!Perception leads the way in affecting emotions, capitalizing on the senses and influencing word of mouth. Communication leads the way in providing information, exchanging ideas, involves all parts of the body, and is a part of every form of media.
Perception has the ab…
Are Legos Sexist?
I don’t know if you have noticed, but Lego has been taking a beating lately with claims of the company being sexist in their marketing and who they target their products to. It is no secret that generally speaking, boys are more interested in science and engineering. It is also no secret that the media and toy companies have decided that all girls must love dolls and pink.So what’s the problem?
The problem is we are creatures of conditioning. How we raise our children and what we expose them to s…
How to Effectively Communicate With Your Clients Easily
Communication is key to every relationship . . . open communication that is. As technologies change so do the ways, styles, and expectations of communication. This is particularly true with clients. As a business, you can make executive decisions about how your employees are to communicate with each other, but with clients . . . well that is a different story. In many cases, they tell you what works best for them, and communicating with them in their style of preference usually makes communicati…
The Right Words for Marketing
“A culture of trust that encourages empowerment and innovation, we provide people with the freedom, flexibility and opportunity to do great things for our company, employees and customers.”
This quote and others similar always accompany a business receiving an award for best work place. The other time you hear this or some version of it is when companies are going through or need to go through a major cultural change.One of the first construction conferences I presented at, I was having a drink …
How to Navigate FTC Regulations: The Secrets to Effective Testimonials and Endorsements
For some, testimonials are what sell their business. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is finally catching up to the constantly evolving digital world. For the better part of a decade, the agency lagged a full Internet generation behind advertisers who saw online communications evolving faster than laws governing their fair use. Now the FTC is codifying and enforcing what were once only unwritten rules. As a result, companies caught crossing the bounds of appropriate online behavior now face ha…