Kerry Alison Wekelo Blog

3 Ways to Attract and Engage Top Talent

11/25/2019

When you’re searching to fill new positions in your organization, it can be a daunting task. Even when you find someone who might be a good match for your team, there’s no guarantee that the sentiment is reciprocated. In order to attract and engage top talent, it’s important to stand out. Here are 3 ways that have worked for us at Actualize Consulting:

1. Leading by Example: At Actualize, we are really adamant about creating a good work environment for our employees, and that isn’t just a facade. Really, truly, at every level, we care about the health, wellness, and lives of our employees. That’s the reason we make work/life balance a priority. And when the leadership at your firm practices what they preach, it trickles down to mean that employees are happy and that they say great things about our company from word-of-mouth. It isn’t ever a struggle to hire people; people want to be a part of our culture.

2. Asking employees for help recruiting: Our consultants are some of the most talented individuals in the financial services sector. Odds are, they know others in the field who would make a great fit for our company.

3. Using social media: The way we use social media at our firm is a bit different than how other firms use it. We like to tell the story of our firm, what we’re up to, and where we are growing, but we also like to showcase the great things going on at the individual level. When you visit our feed, we want you to see our employees and get to know them and how they are using their passion and talent to make strides in the industry. Each of our employees is so skilled; it’s awesome to use our platform to demonstrate how lucky we are to have them.
How do you engage and attract top talent in your organization?

This is an excerpt from an article previously published on Medium.
https://medium.com/authority-magazine/how-to-identify-and-retain-fantastic-talent-with-kerry-wekelo-of-actualize-consulting-and-kage-spatz-75921d3f0a1a

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Time to Move One

9/16/2019

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Have you ever had to say goodbye to a valuable team member? There are usually mixed emotions for all parties involved — this includes the person leaving and the team hearing about the departure. Just as someone should resign in a professional manner, a company and especially leadership should handle the resignation professionally. Let this be a time that you extend your philosophies and culture even further as you support your departing employee.

I forge bonds with each of our team members, and it can be challenging for me when someone leaves the firm. Luckily, with low turnover and high tenure rates, I don’t have to deal with it that often. When it is time to move on, I return to our core principles of gratitude. When I focus on having gratitude for their time spent with us, it shifts the energy of the loss into a positive revitalized feeling.

Below are some ideas on how to wish departing team members well as they begin their new chapter.

Send a handwritten letter of gratitude and be specific in why you are grateful for their service. In one such letter, I cited a project I had worked on with the person leaving. I stated how much I appreciated the careful nurturing attitude he shared while working with a sensitive client.
Send a gift of gratitude. When my long-term internal team member left, I sent a package filled with elements that represented some of her favorite things. The beach, horses, and shopping were all included.
Offer to give a positive reference. This shows the person that you appreciate their hard work and that you are willing to share your experience with future employers.
Host a going away lunch, dinner, or happy hour. Taking time out of our busy schedules to honor their time and celebrate their upcoming adventure is very meaningful. Bringing the team together keeps things transparent and supports current and future connections.
Compile a list of gratitude from other team members. Whether a card or a poster board, having multiple messages of appreciation from co-workers will leave a lasting impact.

Think about the person leaving and tailor the way you honor them to meet what would best suit them. By taking an elevated approach, the transition will be one filled with kindness. We never know when we can cross paths again, so focusing on gratitude and honoring employee departures is always a win scenario.

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Positivity in Action

8/19/2019

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Recently I hiked the Camino de Santiago, or The Way of Saint James, which is an ancient pilgrimage route dating back to the 9th century to Santiago, Spain. It is believed that St. James is buried in the Cathedral of Santiago. You can start walking in France, Portugal, or Spain and the total route is over 800 km. It was an enriching cultural and spiritual experience to travel to the countryside on foot, but it is extremely tiring. On average, we walked around 12-15 miles a day.

One day, we were scheduled to walk 20 miles. Although it was a strenuous task, I had already made up my mind that I would make it through the day. When I reached the 20-mile mark, I realized we had 3 miles left to get to our destination for the night. My feet were aching, and I knew something was wrong with them. I kept thinking, I only accounted for 20 miles, how am I going to do 3 more miles?

I was in pain and wanted to stop, but I looked inward for a solution and used my 3P method (pause to pivot to the positive). I knew I had to keep going, and negativity simply wasn’t going to help me get to my destination. “If walking hurts, why not run?” I thought to myself. So, I ran the last 3 miles.

When I passed other people on the trail, they called me a champion and asked me why I was running. Bolstered by their cheers, I felt like Rocky as I ran up the last hill into town. When I took off my shoes, I realized the pain was being caused by a really bad heat rash and two blisters. While these battle scars took a month to fully heal, I was left with a victory that still stays with me: it’s all perspective, I realized. I was in pain, but I only had three more miles to go. I knew I could make it and so I did.

When I returned home, I read the book The Happiness Advantage, written by Shawn Achor. It ended up driving the message home even more: the book explains that mindset is the difference between success and failure. Positive brains actually have a biological advantage over brains that are neutral or negative. Being positive in the present means we are less likely to burnout and more likely to be productive and resilient… and finish the last three miles of the Camino.

This week, I ask you this: What is your Camino? How can changing your mindset help you to finish your last three miles?

Here is the video I shared with my team while I was running my last 3 miles.

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Juggling at Work? Add Balls....Literally

7/24/2019

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Hands are used for talking, grasping, feeling, clapping, gesturing, typing, and even stopping traffic. We use our arms and hands all day; but besides washing them, how often do we stretch and take care of them? Here are simple exercises that can improve your mobility and keep your arms and hands healthy.

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Approach Your Mouse with Wellness

7/24/2019

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Do you have a mouse on your desk? I have 3 that I use throughout the day as part of my wellness strategy. When I started experiencing numbness in my right hand and tendinitis, I knew it was time to change the way I approached work at my desk. In order to heal and set myself up for success, I focused on balancing the usage of both my hands. Check out the video below to see the three different mouses and how they've helped me:

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Aging and Everything but The Kitchen Sink

3/18/2019

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Can you remember a time when you wanted to give up on a goal you set for yourself? Perhaps you were close to your goals around work, fitness or finances?

As I was going into my 44th birthday this year, I set a lofty goal to be in my best shape possible, both physically and mentally. One of the principles in my Culture Infusion program is to Prioritize Personal Wellness. I know from experience that I am at my best when I am healthy and moving. I feel better physically and mentally at work as most of my creative ideas come to me when I am active, not sitting in front of my computer.

My lofty goal needed an end game so I signed up to walk the Camino in May, which will entail 12-mile-long daily hikes. With aging, I have realized to effectively push myself physically, I must take everything but the kitchen sink into consideration to keep my body, mind, and spirit functioning properly. Gone are the days that I recover from an intense work-out quickly or that I can eat that pint of ice cream without weight gain.

I wanted to share some of the tips that have helped me to maintain a more strenuous work-out regimen and still stay motivated to keep going.

1.)   Green Shakes. In my article Add, Don’t Subtract, I mentioned how I was adding green shakes with wheat grass. I do not have as much energy nor does my body feel as good on the days, I do not have a green shake. My favorite is wheat grass, protein powder, a few pieces of frozen fruit (pineapple is my favorite), handful of spinach, and then I rotate with flax seed and chia seeds.

2.)   Massage. I invested in PUREWAVE which is a hand massager that allows for self-deep tissue massage. I also use a foam roller as well for hard to reach places like back and shoulder blades. This extra attention to sore muscles allows me to keep up with high intensity work-outs.

3.)   Dri-Fit Clothes. My mom used to say cotton kills. As I typically must work-out in multiple sessions, having the right clothes makes a huge difference.

4.)   Shoes. Don’t skimp here, be sure to test out your shoes. For the upcoming long trail walk, I tested over 5 pairs of shoes before landing on trail running shoes versus heavy boots.

5.)   Balms/Salt Baths. With my PUREWAVE massager, I use muscle balms such as Solavedi and Arnica gel. In water Epsom salt breaks down into magnesium and sulfate. The theory is that when you soak in an Epsom salt bath, these get into your body through your skin and help relax muscles and loosen stiff joints.

6.)   Diversity. Each day, I do something different and at 44, I have not been in such good shape since I was in high school playing organized sports. To train for 12 miles, I am doing high mileage with a combination of walking and running. I will walk/run one day, run the next and walk the following to keep a mix. Additionally, I practice yoga at least two days. And I am a huge fan of Jillian Michael’s fitness appas she has a diverse range of work-outs that I can easily access on my phone for $99 a year. It even has meal plans and recipes.

7.)   Stretching and More Stretching. As I mentioned above, I practice yoga regularly, yet stretching after each work-out and before bed has enabled my body to keep up with the extra work.

8.)   Quiet Time. Taking time to simply be quiet, in a calm environment, is an important daily practice. This is a way to give yourself a break from the outside world. You can choose to do this while sitting or even while moving and not listening to music or a podcast, just in silence.

As you consider your own personal well-being, it is important to remember that you create your life and how you feel. Change starts at the individual level. Where can you add something to your routine to start making your personal wellness a priority?

Jillian explaining her fitness app.

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Creative Ideas for Employee Appreciation

2/24/2019

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Do you remember the last time you felt truly appreciated? You might think we don’t need to hear words of appreciation, but psychologist and physician William James said, “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” Giving and receiving feelings of gratitude and appreciation can elevate dopamine levels increasing motivation, focus, and mood.

When a team member puts extra effort into a project, and it goes unnoticed it can leave them feeling flat. A simple thank you can go a long way but putting extra effort into giving a creative show of appreciation can be even more meaningful. The first Friday in March is Employee Appreciation Day, which falls on March 1st for 2019. Below are some creative ways to show your appreciation for your team members:

Create Categories of Appreciation. Share your appreciation publicly on social media and internally. For example, at Actualize Consulting, we are thanking our team members in various consulting categories to include:

Expert: for those with tenure over 10 years.
Pro: for tenure of less than 10 years.
International: for our consultants traveling abroad.
Inventive: for team members that have helped to develop a product.

Give Star Player Awards. Allow team members to recognize their co-workers for exceptional performance. Employees may nominate anyone within the firm for any act or initiative that they feel should be recognized and celebrated. This can be an ingenious solution to a problem or simply exceptional teamwork.

Assist with Career Planning. Include career planning as part of your team’s goal setting process. Having a goals document ensures each supervisor is discovering the aspirations that will light up their personnel. Other benefits of career planning are that each person feels they are being listened to and supported on their career aspirations. If we know someone wants to be promoted, we can guide them to success.

Encourage Team Connection. Getting together as a firm helps to reduce stress and build closer relationships, which in turn promotes better teamwork and greater work satisfaction. Survey your team on what activities they would like to do outside of work both for fun and cause-related. For example, in the pictures above we got together to play ping pong, make sandwiches for the homeless, and paint. The team that plays together, stays together.

Handwritten and verbal appreciation go a long way and benefit all parties involved - it simply makes you feel good. Positive, appreciative energy is a great boost for the organization, improving collaboration, communication, and overall performance. How can you show your appreciation to your team?

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Moving with Gratitude a Wellness Challenge

1/28/2019

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Getting together as a firm helps to reduce stress and build closer relationships, which in turn promotes better teamwork and greater work satisfaction. In the video below, we share our interactive wellness challenge titled "Moving with Gratitude."

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More Time in the Pause

11/6/2018

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Pause, pause…pause…pivot! Do you know how long to pause, when you have a challenge with another person or need to reach a resolution?

One of the principles in my book Culture Infusion is to handle challenges and conflict openly, directly, and immediately. I use a strategy to Pause to Pivot to the Positive. In this video, I share how many times, we need to spend more time in the pause, before we can move forward.

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The Power of Empathy at Work

10/11/2018

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Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and see things from their perspective. Carl Rogers, a 20th-century humanist psychologist and the founder of a person-centered psychotherapy, eloquently discussed in his theories, "Empathy is a special way of coming to know another and ourselves, a kind of attuning and understanding. When empathy is extended, it satisfies our needs and wish for intimacy, it rescues us from our feelings of aloneness."

In this video, I share "how" my internal team and I have been sharing in the circle of empathy.