HR Resolutions June 2018

J UNE 2 0 1 8 #DramaFreeHR News

WHAT KIND OF PERSON IS YOUR BRAND? H ow to M ake an U nforgettable I mpression

FROM THE DESK OF Karen

Hopefully, by the time you read this, spring really will have sprung. What a frustrating season this has been! We had the opportunity to spend some time in the South in March, and it was cold; I wore shorts one day out of 17 just to say I wore shorts in March. Little League has gotten underway in our lives. Barry coaches both the 12-year-old and the T-baller (age 6) and is enjoying spending time with two of the three grandsons. “Gammie” (me) is a warm weather spectator, so I do not get to the games until later in their season. We’ve been traveling so much and so far this year that it will be nice to be home for a few weeks. What about you? I’d like to highly recommend that you sit down right now and decide when you’ll be taking a break from the day-to-day of your email and desk. Let me know about your summer vacation plans. You know what they say, “All work and no play …”

“What’s in a name?” is perhaps one of the most memorable Shakespeare quotes. When he penned this line in “Romeo and Juliet,” I’m sure he didn’t mean for it to have direct applications to branding in the 21st century. But there is perhaps nothing more important to your company than its name. The name of a business is so much more than just its identifier. It carries a distinct persona that elicits an emotional reaction. It implies an experience. It invites interpretation and judgment. The way your name is regarded should stem from a precise interaction with the paradigm of the potential customer (a fancy way of saying it should be controlled by you rather than left to chance). The good news is that this interaction can be shaped and molded to fit the very goals your company aims to achieve. That’s where branding comes in. WHAT MAKES A GOOD BRAND? Picture your company as a person. What does that person look like? How do they present themselves to the world? How do they speak? How do other people interact with them? Branding encompasses all parts of your business and makes it available to the public. But just as humans can make a bad impression, so can corporations. Bad brands ignore two crucial parts of branding:

1. The nitty-gritty details

Brands need to approach every detail of their company with careful attention. Let’s continue to use the analogy of your brand as a person, only now they’re going on a date with a potential consumer. When your company sits down for dinner, do you want it to come off as sloppy, ungroomed, and unprepared?

- Karen Young

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MOLDING YOUR BRAND The best part about branding is that you have complete control over it. You can portray the exact image you want and shape the way your brand is viewed. Your logo, your colors, your website, and your typography can build an unforgettable impression. From there, your marketing channel can grow consensus and establish credibility. BRAND DIFFERENTIATION As the concept of branding begins to perpetuate itself on a larger scale, the tools, systems, and approaches businesses use slowly become more formulaic. What was once exciting and new has become washed- out. Brands are starting to look more similar, and companies are ignoring trends. The harsh reality that the shelf life of a trend has dropped significantly — what used to last years only hangs around for months now. The immediacy of information, combined with technological changes, has created a culture where businesses are finding it more difficult to deliver a “wow.”

Even though it’s difficult to make an impression, that doesn’t mean your company shouldn’t try — just the opposite, in fact. In today’s business world, it’s imperative to separate yourself. Picture the crowd of brands as a pack of automatons from a sci-fi movie; they dress the same, speak the same, act the same, and look the same. In a world full of look-alikes, it’s essential to have your brand fight for individuality. It needs to be different and express itself in a way that isn’t’ robotic or plastic. What’s the best way to do this? Well, as cheesy as it sounds, be yourself. The most authentic way to create a brand that is different is to mold an interpretation that directly reflects your business’s core values. If your company is a person, you need to find out who that person is. When push comes to shove, our brands are unique individuals, and they should be celebrated.

No. Odds are you want every hair in place, every tooth shiny and white, every piece of clothing pressed, ready to make their date have the time of their life. Branding is like that, only every minute of every day, with millions of microinteractions.

2. How consensus shapes interpretation

Think about some of the most significant brands out there, such as Apple, Google, and Levi’s. These businesses have garnered the respect of the masses, partially because of their products, but primarily due to how the general public clings to them. The more people you have following your brand, the more credibility it has. Remember when you were in high school? Odds are there were some trendsetters a lot of people looked up to (or at least tried to mimic). They created waves of popularity, and everyone latched on to the movement. These people often gained instant credibility based on the fact they were liked or trusted.

Bearer of Bad News What to Tell Your Team When Someone Is Fired

HAVE AN OPEN-DOOR POLICY

So, it finally happened: There were too many problems you couldn’t overcome, and you had to let an employee go. Firing someone is one of the hardest things managers have to do, but the trouble doesn’t end after the former employee leaves the building. Even if the termination is not a surprise to you or the employee, it can be a surprise to your team. Handle this next stage carefully, or you might create more problems than you solve.

If the former employee was close to their coworkers, remaining members of your team may be upset by the departure. Let your team know that they can come talk to you if they have questions. If an employee gossips about the termination, nip this in the bud by inviting them to your office to ask you questions directly. Remind them that you cannot discuss the details of the other employee’s termination, but ask what concerns they have and address those concerns to the best of your abilities. It would be nice if you never had to fire anyone, but those odds are slim. The best thing to do is stay calm, have a plan in place, and address each situation with respect, for the sake of your team.

CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY

AVOID THE CONE OF SILENCE

While it’s important to be as transparent as possible, your former employee has a right to privacy, and you don’t want to leave yourself open to legal action or be viewed as unprofessional. Resist the urge to criticize, and share only the facts. Consider saying something like“Kevin’s last day was yesterday. We will look for someone to fill the position right away, but for the time being, his work will be spread between Jasper and Victoria. If you have any questions, you can speak to your direct manager.”

“Out of sight, out of mind” never works. If you try to sweep a termination under the rug, you’ll only encourage gossip, which will erode your team’s trust in management. Remaining employees may worry about their job security and look for employment elsewhere. Communicate with the rest of your team quickly. Within 24 hours, you should hold a small meeting or send an email explaining the situation.

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The Importance of Website Accessibility How to Create a Website Everyone Can Use

Use a font color that contrasts with the background so it’s easy to read.

While most entrepreneurs are familiar with the accommodations businesses must make in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), many business owners don’t realize that ADA guidelines can apply to the virtual world as well. In theory, websites should be just as accessible to people with disabilities as ATMs, elevators, terminals, and bathrooms are. Your website should be accessible to anyone on a laptop, desktop, tablet, or mobile phone. Websites that are not accessible make for poor experiences for consumers with physical limitations. If your website isn’t accessible, you’re missing out on a large population of potential customers. Here is what you can do to increase customer accessibility on your website. VISION Use designs that are friendly to people who are blind or visually impaired. Text is generally accessible with the use of a screen reader or Braille peripheral, but if a webpage is crammed with images, screen readers have a hard time translating, and the message of your website may be lost. • Use alternative text (aka“alt text”) to describe any part of your website that isn’t text-based, such as images and videos. Keep these descriptions short and sweet. • Provide transcripts of videos. • Design your page to flow logically so that it can be interpreted correctly. Don’t be afraid to use headers!

NAVIGATION Not all consumers can (or want to) use a mouse; some people navigate websites with a touchpad, switch, or keyboard. Optimize your website design to make navigation easy with a variety of equipment. • Create clear headings with HTML tags to help users move around a page. • Use the same page structure from section to section to make navigation more efficient. • Pair hyperlinks with descriptive anchor text rather than generic phrases like “click here” or “read more.” Fortunately, testing the accessibility of a website is straightforward and usually free. The best way to test your content and structure is to have a screen reader read the pages to you. You can also use a web-based accessibility checker like WAVE to vet structural and visual issues. Designing a user-friendly website isn’t just good business; it creates a culture of accessibility and compliance. Visit w3.org to view the World Wide Web Consortium’s web content accessibility guidelines and get your site up to speed.

Take a Break!

Oatmeal Cookie

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Ingredients

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1 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

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1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter 1 1/2 ounces store-bought waffle cones, lightly crushed

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1 large egg yolk

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1 1/2 cups oats

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 pints ice cream (any flavor) low. Once integrated, slowly add browned butter; blend until dough forms a solid mass around blades. and place 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten balls and bake 12–15 minutes or until edges begin to brown. 6. Let cool, then spread ice cream between cookies to make sandwiches. 7. Freeze for up to 5 days — or enjoy today! 5. Form dough into 26 balls

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F. While oven is heating, cook butter in saucepan over medium heat until browned, 5–8 minutes. Scrape browned butter into a heatproof measuring glass. 2. Pulse waffle cones, oats, flour, and salt in a food processor or blender. Once cones are finely ground, add brown sugar and pulse again. 3. Whisk egg yolk, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. 4. Add egg mixture to food processor while spinning on

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Karen PAGE 1 Who Is Your Brand? PAGE 1 How to Maintain TeamMorale After a Termination PAGE 2 Is Your Website Accessible? PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches PAGE 3 Cut Down on Flight Costs WithThis Simple Rule PAGE 4

THE BEST TIME TO BOOK A FLIGHT Save Big on Airfare With This Simple Rule

Reporting Corporation say that Sunday is the way to go, based on data from billions of flights. Tuesday and Wednesday are usually the cheapest days to actually fly, though. The CheapAir.com study also pinpoints the absolute best windows for specific seasons: 54 days for winter trips, 75 days for spring, 76 days for summer, and 45 days for fall. Of course, these are averages, but if you stick to these

each shift. When you purchase your flight is nearly as important as where you’re going. But how do you choose a booking window that will maximize your savings? According to the CheapAir.com study, in which they evaluated 921 million airfares, the best time to book is 21–105 days in advance of your flight, on average. If you want to get even more specific, try to book 55–75 days out, and book on a Sunday. Many travelers swear by Tuesday and Wednesday bookings, but as Condé Nast Traveler reports, Expedia and the Airlines

In case you haven’t noticed, traveling is expensive . It can feel like you’re signing away your soul when you sit down to plan a vacation. But when it comes to flights, there’s good news: They’re getting cheaper! According to a 2017 report published by online travel company ODIGEO, long- distance trips across Europe fell 7 percent last year. Luckily, the same trend is reflected in North American airlines as they engage in a price war to woo a growing base of ultrafrugal travelers.

rules and check fares regularly on sites like

Kayak.com, SkyScanner. com, Momondo.com, and

Still, a $600 summer flight to Honolulu isn’t exactly pocket change. What’s worse, flight prices are slippery; CheapAir.com’s 2017

on the handy app Hopper, you can rest easy knowing you’re getting close to the best price possible.

Annual Airfare Study determined that the fares for any given trip go up or down an average of 71 times, about $33

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