Take a sneak peek of our content on company culture, and more…

We’re really thrilled to have been featured in a great Wall Street Journal article about the AI-driven apps that help new managers grow into confident leaders.

The story focuses on how AI-driven coaching apps are “democratizing leadership training,” making it more accessible for new leaders — especially digital-native millennials — to fill the training gaps in their careers.

Butterfly came to be after our founders first became managers, pushed into leadership with no training and no guidance.

Now, our feedback-driven tools are using machine learning and AI to ensure other managers don’t experience the same stresses to the detriment of their teams.

“The app tracks feedback from users’ employees and uses machine learning to serve up curated tips and articles, says David Mendlewicz, co-founder and CEO of the New York-based company.”

The article helps reiterate how valuable tools like Butterfly are for new managers:

• Nearly half (49%) of employees would rather receive training on the job as needed instead of in a broad-strokes formal class.
• Repetition and reminders are effective at helping people learn new material or develop new skills, like leadership and management.

Read the full article to see the breadth of technologies redefining how managers hone their skills and develop into full-fledged leaders.

[Read The Story]

Employee Happiness Leads to Business Success
Findings from The World Happiness Report and How You Can Apply Them

The World Happiness Report was recently released, citing strong evidence that an increase in workplace well-being brings about a 10% increase in productivity, on average.

Within a dedicated section, researchers conducted a meta-analysis of Gallup research to help validate the strong correlation between employee happiness and productivity. Butterfly is featured in one of the report’s supporting case studies.  This report was conducted by the Workplace Well-being Committee, of which our CEO, David Mendlewicz, is a founding corporate member.

Here are a few top findings:

1. One study in the report issued simple daily surveys (like those Butterfly offers) to call center employees, which helped them see that an employee’s mood when they clocked in had an affect on their productivity. Companies can use our tools to communicate easily and regularly with hourly employees and keep pulse on employee mood.

Employee satisfaction showed strong correlations to profitability, productivity and loyalty in three key industries:

—Satisfied employees drove a 42% gain in profitability in the manufacturing sector
—Satisfied employees drove a 28% increase in customer loyalty in the retail industry
—Satisfied employees drove a 21% uptick in productivity in the services industry

2. This clearly indicates the importance of employee satisfaction as a direct contributor to performance. At Butterfly, our suite of tools closely aligns with this finding. We are making it simpler for managers and leadership teams to improve employee satisfaction and increase profitability.

3. The study also looked at how employee well-being affected stock market performance, studying employees working at top-rated companies alongside the long-run stock returns for those companies. They found that stock returns were higher for companies with happier employees.

Many of the factors that are considered in naming a company one of America’s best places to work — job satisfaction, attitudes toward management, company culture, etc. — can be measured using Butterfly’s pulse surveys.

4. Butterfly supported the report’s findings with a case study that showed that mood improved when surveys were given regularly. This suggests that providing outlets for feedback regularly could lead to a happier, more engaged workplace.

Overall, the report provides good anecdotal and statistical evidence that there are huge productivity and profitability benefits to keeping employees — especially hourly ones — satisfied and happy at work.

We’ll share a more in-depth analysis of the findings soon. Send us an email at info@butterfly.ai if you’d like to receive it, or if you’re ready to set up a demo.

Earlier this week, our CEO and co-founder David Mendlewicz participated in a panel on Artificial Intelligence, discussing the different ways it is transforming the Human Resources industry.

The panel, hosted by the French American Chamber of Commerce, touched on how to use AI and machine learning to improve operations on HR teams as well as turn feedback into leadership coaching opportunities.

David shared insight on how Butterfly’s pulse survey and dashboard tools can make those things happen. His insight touched especially on more blue-collar industries, where HR teams often overlook supply chain and frontline employee engagement.

Using data gathered through systematic and regular feedback, Butterfly uses machine learning to assist and teach managers how to improve and become better leaders. The panel also noted the importance of structured data in developing soft skills. Because Butterfly pulse surveys are powered by engagement drivers, the data collected is especially useful for managerial leadership development.

Get in touch if you’re interested in learning more about how Butterfly uses AI and machine learning to enrich the feedback loop: info@butterfly.ai

We’re honored to share that Butterfly will once again be joining an exclusive network of global leaders at this year’s World Government Summit as the Global Happiness Council unveils its 2019 World Happiness Report.

The summit, which takes place in Dubai from February 10–13, 2019, brings together world leaders, policy makers, academics, and key representatives from international organizations to help shape the future of governments worldwide .

The Global Dialogue for Happiness and Wellbeing has been a key forum at the summit for three years, and Butterfly co-founder David Mendlewicz has participated since the beginning. For two days of the broader summit, attendees will discuss how healthy and positive conditions enable societies — and workplaces — to thrive.

At Butterfly, we believe that developing tomorrow’s great business leaders is critical to fostering a more engaged, more productive workforce. Since 2017, we released our first Happiness Index report which explored workplace happiness and engagement trends across companies with 5,000+ employees in the U.S. and EMEA. We look forward to being a part of the discussion with the other 3,000 representatives — from the tech world and beyond — to share ideas and inspiration to help corporations and governments bring happiness to the world.

The World Government Summit is a global platform dedicated to the enhancement of governments around the world. The summit brings together world leaders, policy makers, academics and key representatives from international organizations from over 130 countries, creating an exciting opportunity to exchange innovations and experiences, and building strong networks of collaboration.

The events are in partnership with key international organizations including the United Nations, World Bank, IMF, OECD and the World Economic Forum. For more information, see https://www.worldgovernmentsummit.org

We will share highlights from the forum and the report here and on Twitter @butterfly_AI_

The beginning of the year is a perfect time to review your processes, try out new things and find what sticks.

As a leader within an organization the constant need to improve should drive you to try new things that’ll help you be a better manager and member of an organization.

Here are 4 small things that you can to do be a better leader this year.

Face-To-Face Communication

Fred Dust, CEO of Ideo, argued that face-to-face engagement is a dwindling art. He believes that the way we communicate with each other at work is unproductive, as it’s more talking at each other then with each other.

To make matters worse, we are now taking the easy route when communicating, opting to use emails, texts or tools like Slack to shoot out messages and “talk.” Though easy, it might not be as effective as simply going up to somebody to ask a question, make a request or even settle a dispute.

The empathy shown when people communicate face-to-face allows people to bond, and the interactions help bring an understanding that people are aiming to reach the same goal.

There are a couple of other things that face-to-face chats help with, like:

• Putting an end to “Cyber Miscommunication”
• Coming up with solutions faster
• Enabling more creativity between the two people.

Make time this year to chat with your employees. It can be about work or it can help you get to know them a bit more. Start a conversation and talk with them, not at them.

More Effective Meetings

Unproductive meetings waste more that $37 Billion per year and the average employee spends more than 4 hours a week just preparing for meetings.

As a leader, it’s your job to make sure that people are getting the most out of their meetings. Do your best to make them informative, brief and productive for all the people attending.

The best thing you can do to run effective meetings is to set a goal for the meeting and share it with the team beforehand. Try to include it in the agenda. This will (hopefully) allow people to understand what the purpose of the meeting is and reach that common goal together.

A couple of other quick tips for better meetings:

• Keep meetings short — 30 minutes (maximum)
• Only invite people that need to be there
• Have a notetaker
• Have the notetaker assign action items as you go

There are dozens of other ways to make meetings run better, but find what works for you and your team, then continue to improve on it.

More Transparency

There are three things that employees would like to have: job security, career advancement opportunities and transparency at work.

Transparency is nothing more than the exchange of trust between the employer and the employee. Having a culture of transparency creates more trust throughout the office.

As a leader, being more transparent with employees will help them learn to trust you more. It will also help you communicate more effectively with them and create a better office environment.

If your company culture isn’t already transparent, see how others are doing it. Buffer has almost perfected transparent culture: They have a list of every single thing that they do, buy and read — as well as a list of all their employees’ salaries — available publicly online.

Their co-founder, Leo Widrich, said in a speech that the transparent culture not only improved the morale of the office, but made people so engaged and happy that it reflected on the product:

TNW NYC 2016 | Leo Widrich – Co-founder & COO, Buffer

The more information that is spread with employees, the more devoted to the company or person they become. Consider sharing more information and letting employees know that they are an important part of why the company continues to grow.

Raise The Bar, But Embrace Failure

If you’re looking to improve, stop going after small modest goals and aim to have big, fat, hairy, audacious goals. The value in going after big goals is worth the risk, as they make us stretch what we believe is possible and get us working harder to reach new heights.  

Risk-averse organizations tend to go after modest goals that make them look successful. But growth-oriented organizations thrive on ambitious goals, as they allow them to find new, innovative ways to grow and learn.

The only trade off: you may (probably will) fail a few times. Embrace it! Utilize an OKR/KPI system that will set the framework toward hitting the goal. At the end of every quarter aim to have a retrospective meeting that’ll help you figure out how can things be improved moving forward, and adapt accordingly from there.

What Are You Planning To Improve On This Year?

Are you looking to be a better manager, leader, person, all the above? Leave us some of your suggestions to help become a better manager in the comment section below.

Start the new year off right by downloading our e-book “Your First 50 Days”.

It highlights some of the things that you can do to improve as a manager. And it’s absolutely free. Check it out by clicking here

In our new series, Work & Roam, we’ll be following our Product and Solutions Analyst John Williams as he travels the world, working remotely from 5 countries. Tune in to see what worked (and what didn’t) for John during each stop, and to dig into how working remotely affects both the worker and the team back home.

“Lots of fresh produce available at this street market in Ljubljana”

Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Timezone: GMT +1 (NYC +6)

What was the thing I could experience, that I wouldn’t be able to in NYC?

This was a great week to get back on a regular schedule and work with our developer team in Ljubljana. I have finally got into the habit of getting up early to get some exercise, explore and also take a break to read at local coffee shops. This made my life feel much more balanced.

What worked great this week?

Ljubljana is a great city to work remotely. Co-working spaces are easily accessible  and coffee shops have reliable Wi-Fi. I took morning hikes through the wooded parks and found a balance that I had not quite figured out in Lisbon or Italy. It has also been really nice to spend time and bond with our team here.

What didn’t go so great this week?

Portugal and Italy, felt like a whirlwind with the drastic change in timezone and week with my family shortly after. I still have the issue of working later hours, but I finally feel like I am starting to figure out how to make that work. We will see how this works out in Vienna next week.

“The Austrian National Library in Vienna  was supposedly the inspiration for the library in Beauty and the Beast.”

Location: Vienna and  Budapest

Timezone: GMT +1 (NYC +6)

What was the thing I could experience, that I wouldn’t be able to in NYC?

This week was a short one and my girlfriend was visiting. I had the opportunity to take a step back and actually get a few days of vacation, which was really nice. We got to enjoy the Christmas markets in Vienna and the bathhouses in Budapest.

What worked great this week?

I had an amazing time exploring Budapest. Of the cities I have visited during this experiment, Budapest may be the one most built for remote work. There are coffee shops with great internet on every block, plenty of co-working spaces, cheap places to live and eat, and plenty of entertainment.

What didn’t go so great this week?

I still found it difficult to fully disconnect during my time off and ended up working for a few hours each day. I was still able to enjoy my vacation time, but always had work in the back of my mind.

Thoughts on Vienna vs. Budapest?

Vienna is very beautiful but did not seem like it was built for remote work. coffee shops with internet were available, but you would need to plan in advance, as they were not as apparent as in other cities i’ve visited. In Budapest you can walk in almost any direction and find the perfect place to work.

Right now Budapest and Mexico City are tied for my best remote working experience so far!

Tomorrow I head back to Vienna for a night to fly to my last destination: Dubrovnik, Croatia

“My last post from Dubrovnik. I can’t believe I just finished 3 months of traveling. Now I’m on my way to Alabama for the holidays.”

Location: Dubrovnik

Timezone: GMT+1 (NYC + 6)

What was the thing I could experience, that I wouldn’t be able to in NYC?

Dubrovnik is a beautiful town on the Mediterranean (and also Kings Landing for you Game of Thrones fans!) Since I decided to go during an off season, I got to have the normally crowded and touristy town, all to myself!

What worked great this week

Since this was an off season here in Dubrovnik, I had very little distractions from work. This really allowed me to focus. I also got to enjoy my last bit of pleasant weather before heading back to chilly NYC.

What didn’t go so great this week

While Dubrovnik is a great vacation city, it is not designed for remote work. There are very few coffee shops and absolutely zero co-working spaces to work from, meaning i had to spend the majority of my week working out of my apartment.

Thoughts on working in Dubrovnik?

During this time of year most of the restaurants, bars and shops are closed and there is very little to do. I Although I enjoyed my time here, would not recommend anyone come here to work.

I am currently back in New York so this will be my last weekly post abroad. Next time in my  final post I will take a will have a chance to sit back and take a grander look at what I have learned along the way.

Happy New Year!

Until Next Time

“Bridging the Gap: Maintaining Culture During High Growth” brought together HR professionals of varying seniority, perspectives and individuals from companies with a few hundred employees to several thousand.”

Culture is a priority that impacts an organization’s entire ecosystem. From welcoming new team members to nurturing existing ones, there is always a delicate balance. When your company is experiencing fast growth, culture can’t fall by the wayside.

Instead, ask what are the most critical aspects of culture to address? How can my organization grow rapidly without sacrificing its unique culture?

Our panel, “Bridging the Gap: Maintaining Culture During High Growth,” examined the topic from the perspectives of academia, human resources and management. Panelists discussed the science behind maintaining culture and shared tips on how to apply these ideas in the workplace now.

Here, we summed up our top three takeaways
from the robust discussion:

1. Always keep in mind the vision of your organization, your “North Star”.
This will help you see where outside talent could bring value.

2. Be rigorous about hiring for the culture you want.
Find people who will elevate your business, embrace flexibility and be able to work in ambiguity—key elements to success at startups.

3. Work with local leadership to ensure that everyone—whether abroad, working remotely or in the office—feels included in celebrations, reorganizations, strategic decisions and more. Communication is key.

In our new series, Work & Roam, we’ll be following our Product and Solutions Analyst John Williams as he travels the world, working remotely from 5 countries. Tune in to see what worked (and what didn’t) for John during each stop, and to dig into how working remotely affects both the worker and the team back home.

“The doors in Lisbon are way cooler than ours back home. I’m off to Bologna tomorrow and then on the train to Parma the next day. Anyone know of anything to do in either place?”

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Timezone: GMT (NYC + 5)

What was the thing I could experience, that I wouldn’t be able to in NYC?

I hear it’s been cold in NYC so I have been enjoying the 60 degree weather and have had some great morning walks along the Tagus River. I also had an amazing dinner last night at Sol e Pesca, a restaurant that specializes in preserved seafood (lots of canned fish) which was pretty unique!

What worked great this week?

After some searching, I found some great coffee shops in Lisbon with strong Wi-Fi. I am compiling a list of work friendly coffee shops i’ve frequented, which could help anyone else coming to work in these cities.

I believe that this is something that would have been very helpful to me.

What didn’t go so great this week?

I don’t think that getting work done is that much more difficult here in Portugal than it was in Mexico, however, it has been a much bigger challenge to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

|Time Difference|

While in Mexico, the time difference from New York was only an hour or two. I was able to start and finish my work days early enough to get a few hours of sunlight in the evening before calling it a night. (which was great for balance.) This meant that after working I could read/exercise/explore the city.

In Portugal, I am scheduled to start work at 11am. Instinctively, I tend to wake up earlier and check my email, meaning that start earlier and work even longer — sometimes until 8 PM.

It’s also worth mentioning that, since traveling, my internal body clock has shifted tremendously and I notice that I am frequently tired. This is something that will hopefully improve as I spend more time here.

|Wi-Fi Options|

Lisbon is a much smaller city than Mexico City (with a Population of 23mil against .5mil) and it does not have the same coffee shop/work culture that I am used to in New York.

Many of the Lisbon’s coffee shops do not have Wi-Fi, meaning that I am limited to the few places I have found. Many of the coffee shops that do have Wi-Fi close early, some as early as 4pm.

Once again, i stress, having usable Wi-Fi at my apartment has been important!

General Thoughts

I don’t think that getting work done is more difficult in Lisbon than it would be anywhere else; I do however, think that you have to be much more proactive to maintain any healthy work/life balance.(something that I have not quite mastered yet.)

For this post I wrote more about what did not work than i did for what did, but I don’t want that to paint a negative picture of my experiences.

I am working in a beautiful new city eating amazing food and enjoying myself. I just have different challenges here that I haven’t quite figured out how to navigate yet.

“Since i’ve been traveling alone for the past six weeks I am excited to spend the holiday with family!”

Location: Italy (Parma, Santa Margarita, Milan)

Timezone: GMT (NYC + 5)

What was the thing I could experience, that I wouldn’t be able to in NYC?

Thanksgiving was Thursday so this work week was a short one. My sister actually attended culinary school in Parma and we got to go visit her old campus.

What worked great this week

My parents and sister are visiting so we can spend the Holiday together and family visits definitely have there perks! I was able to stay in great hotels and eat out at fancy restaurants! Having access to nicer accommodations guaranteed that I had access to consistent Wi-Fi no matter where I stayed.

What didn’t go so great this week

While it was great having my family in town, it made getting work done much more difficult. I think their expectations were to adhere to their schedule. The big timezone change meant that I had to work into the night, which made things like dinner hard to plan. Overall I really enjoyed having them here, but it’s much easier to work when I only have to worry about my own schedule.

General Thoughts

Italy has been amazing for food/wine/scenery, but because I have had the convenience of working from hotels, I didn’t have the need to search for a co-working space or coffee shop with Wi-Fi.

Because of this luxury I really don’t have a great idea of what it is like to work remotely from Italy. I haven’t seen a lot of people working on laptops in coffee shops, so it may not be easy. I would guess, similarly to Portugal, you would need to find your few reliable spots and stick to them.

Next week I am off to Slovenia, where Butterfly has team members located and working remotely. I am excited to see what they’re up to and see how their experiences parallel with my own.

Ciao!

In our new series, Work & Roam, we’ll be following our Product and Solutions Analyst John Williams as he travels the world, working remotely from 5 countries.

Tune in to see what worked (and what didn’t) for John during each stop, and to dig into how working remotely affects both the worker and the team back home.

Stay tuned!

Final Week In Mexico: Mexico City —
Roma Norte Neighborhood

Timezone: Central Time

Take Aways from Mexico City:

The time difference between Mexico City and New York is minimal, which makes communication really easy. But on the other hand, NOTHING is open before 9 a.m.! This includes co-working spaces and coffee shops, so if you have a call or a meeting before 9:00 a.m., it’ll have to be done where you’re staying. This makes a decent home Wi-Fi signal even more important. I now know to send a message to all of my prospective Airbnb hosts before I book to double check.

Mexico City really is wonderful and I can’t recommend it enough. Recently, the depiction of Mexico in the United States has been pretty warped, as if its some violent and dirty place. It is every bit as clean and safe as New York, Paris, or really any major metropolitan city.

I am noticeably more healthy here than I am in NYC. I don’t have as many distractions and don’t know too many people here, so I can finish my work and go for a walk or read for a while in the afternoon. I also have been exercising and going to bed early. The fresh food helps, too!

If I were to do one thing differently it would be to move around less. In the past month, I have stayed in 6 different apartments and hostels. It was nice to see different parts of the city, but I the added stress of moving and planning was worth it.

The real challenges will start next week. I fly to Lisbon, Portugal, and will be working 5 hours ahead of my team in New York.

Butterfly Index

Roles and Responsibilities: 8/10

I still don’t think remote work has affected this as my responsibilities have not really changed.

Collaboration: 7/10

I have dropped this score a little bit, but it is still not a major factor in my experience. It’s not that collaboration has been any more difficult than it is working in the office, it just has to be planned. In the office, If I have an idea I can quickly have a conversation with a co-worker right next to me. But, while remote, I have to wait for a next meeting or reach out to a co-worker on Slack. Slack is certainly helpful, but personally I am less likely to express my thoughts if I have to take the time to type them out in a message to someone.

Career Growth: ?/10

This is still the most difficult driver to measure, because I think a lot of it has to do with how I am perceived by others in the company. Am I less visible and more likely to miss opportunities for more responsibilities and growth? This is not something I worry about on a daily basis, but it pops into my head from time to time.

Impact: 9/10

I actually increased my score for this driver up from my previous blog post. Since I am traveling alone I have the time to fully focus on my projects and have very little distraction. This surge in my personal productivity has been one of the greatest perks of working remotely.

Transparency: 7/10

This is very similar to my Collaboration score. Being abroad does not make transparency impossible, it simply puts the burden on your shoulders instead of it happening passively.

I will be in Lisbon, Portugal for my next blog post.

Tune in again to see how that change goes. Until next time,
Adios!

In our new series, Work & Roam, we’ll be following our Product and Solutions Analyst John Williams as he travels the world, working remotely from 5 countries.

Tune in to see what worked (and what didn’t) for John during each stop, and to dig into how working remotely affects both the worker and the team back home.

Stay tuned!

Week 1: Mexico City — La Condesa Neighborhood

Timezone: Central Time

What was one thing I experienced, that I would not have in NYC?

The feeling of being lost in a new city with almost no way to communicate with anyone. That sounds scary, but it is more exciting and motivating than scary. It is certainly a unique feeling that I could not have experienced in NYC.

I also got to meet one of my favorite jazz musicians, Adrián Terrazas-González!

What worked out well for you this week?

The coworking space setup was extremely convenient. While in Mexico I’ve been working at IOS, which I was able to book through the app Upflex. IOS has great internet, free coffee and plenty of space.

I will say, the dress code for workers in a coworking space in Mexico is pretty formal — much more so than in Brooklyn. I was the only person there not wearing a tucked-in, button-down shirt!

My Spanish has also increased dramatically as a result of my first week in Mexico: I went from understanding absolutely nothing to understanding practically nothing. Just kidding — I find that I am able to communicate daily and don’t really feel out of the loop. I am in constant dialogue, which helps. Before this trip, I didn’t take any classes to learn the language, but I am currently taking a few Duolingo lessons a day.

What didn’t work out so well for you this week?

Well… I got sick. As my colleague David predicted, I spent about half of my first week inside the apartment. (I don’t really have any tips for this one!). Luckily I was in an Airbnb and not a shared hostel.

I also got lost while looking for my coworking space on my first day and ended up wandering around a hospital for 30 minutes. If I’d had an important call planned during that time, I would have missed it. Next time, I will be locating my coworking space the day before I need to be there — not by map, but in person!

Any tips for your future self?

Besides finding my coworking space before I need to be there, I’ve discovered that strong Wi-Fi in my living space is very important. The initial Wi-Fi setup was almost unusable and I would have been screwed had I needed to use the internet at my apartment. I have calls as early as 7 a.m. and my co-working space does not open until 9 a.m. I luckily found a hotspot that made my early-morning work possible.

Butterfly Index

Roles and Responsibilities: 8/10

I don’t think this was affected at all by my location.

Collaboration: 9/10

This is what I assume most people will worry the most about while working remotely, but I felt great about it this week. The fact that it was my first week abroad and we made sure to over communicate made this easy. We will see how this transforms over time.

Personal Growth: 10/10

I am enjoying a completely new experience.

Career Growth: ?/10

This is something that should be paid attention to. The worry is that I could miss out on growth opportunities since I am not as visible in the office.

Impact: 8/10

I don’t think this was affected by my location.

Transparency: 6/10

This is something that I do think is affected. It’s not that I don’t have access to what is going on within the company, I just have to make an effort to ask. When I am in the office, I usually have some understanding about what everyone around me is working on.

My next update will be my last from Mexico City, so stay tuned to see what I’m up to.

Until next week,
Adios!

The World Happiness Report shows that Scandinavia is filled with happy, working people. How can we follow in their footsteps to create better workplaces?

Scandinavia has done it again, leading the world in progressive ideas Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Norway fall in 3 of the most fortunate categories for the well being of their citizens and GDP.

These four respective countries are ranked in the Top 15 of the worlds happiest, best workers and interestingly enough, they also have the most generous social welfare program. The correlation is clear folks, social responsibility pushes countries and companies forward fiscally. Across country borders and successful company lines workers are said to work the hardest, be the happiest, and work-related stress is down.

1. Social Welfare
“When it comes down to it, these companies assist their employees with life outside of work so that those burdens are not over their head when it is time to be productive for the company.”

Google, Business insiders #1 place to work, reported that their experienced median pay is $140,000. Not only that but, the company provides workers with perks like nap pods, laundry services, and free food at no cost to the employees. And for a cost, the company provides on-campus car and bike repairs. Business Insider also reports that 86% of Google employees say that they are either exceedingly satisfied or relatively satisfied with their job.

Tech companies aren’t the only ones looking out for their employees, Goldman Sachs, a company not thought to be a pillar of liberal ideals, has shown its commitment to the LGBTQ community, offering coverage for gender reassignment surgery since 2008.

Starbucks offers full tuition reimbursement for employees taking on more education, investing in the futures of their employees leaves them appreciative and in a spirit of working harder for their company.

When it comes down to it, these companies assist their employees with life outside of work so that those burdens are not over their head when it is time to be productive for the company. That is, the more you do for your employees the more you can extract out of them.

2. Culture Matters
“Company culture not lining up with the values of the employee is responsible for nearly ¼ of the reasons why employees begin looking for new jobs.”

According to a Korn Ferry poll of just about 5,000 professionals, company culture not lining up with the values of the employee is responsible for nearly ¼ of the reasons why employees begin looking for new jobs. In a United States where 62 percent of citizens want federal government to ensure health care for all, 53 percent of all Americans say that raising the minimum wage will help workers, 62 percent of Americans favor free college tuition, combined with growing visibility of how much income inequality, it is easy to see if these things are not reflected in their work lives why they would look for employment elsewhere.

3. Workplace That Works for Women
“Gender-diverse business units in the hospitality company show 19% higher average quarterly net profit”

First of all, hire more women. Studies have shown that gender diversity provides stronger financial dividends. According to Gallup, “Gender-diverse business units in the hospitality company show 19% higher average quarterly net profit”. The perspectives and viewpoints between women and men differ, so, diversity naturally will produce various ideas.

The obvious and hot button topic of equal pay probably shouldn’t have to be said but, here we are. White women make 77 cent on the dollar of what white men make and women of color make even less than. Simply, pay women what they’re worth, equally and consistent over time with their male counter parts.

The most successful countries can serve as a guide for companies. Countries that decided that the old ways of working weren’t good for its citizens and in turn good for their country made changes and successful countries that want to grow even more will follow in their footsteps.

What plans do you have to make you company more socially responsible?

By Danae Floyd & Katelyn Trela
Published: Dec 13th 2018

Share: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

The National Research Business Institute found that 23 percent of the reason that employees leave their place of employment is due to the lack of development opportunities and training. This obviously affects the costs associated with losing talent, productivity, and recruitment expenses.

“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.”  – Henry Ford

The fact that learning and development is still a pressing issue is almost nonsensical. Companies, managers, employees, all have access to unlimited amount of information and can invest in learning management systems to help improve an employees skillset, even management decisions.
The benefits of e-learning for employee training and development are endless, but it’ll have to start with leadership to be proactive in getting a system that can address help employees grow. Here is how it can benefit a company:

Benefits of E-Learning

It’s an uber-competitive job market, and corporations are making the switch from hiring for experience to hiring people with growth mindsets. The reason being is that the world of work is progressing so fast, with all the new system and technologies out there, that it’s important to keep up with the competition.
We, as a society, have truly become a knowledge economy in every sense of the term. The majority of the work that we do is being done is for to incorporate human knowledge into machines. This fact has led to a rise in education tools for enterprises, leading us to have smarter, more innovative employees that are changing industries.
Having a knowledgeable group of employees and managers is a legitimate competitive advantage over other companies. You are embracing a growth mindset as an organization, and you are welcoming the exchange of information and proposal of new ideas; making you a more progressive and forward-thinking organization.
Aside from having a competitive advantage, studies found that companies that invest in training and development had increased employee loyalty. This stems from the employees feeling like the organization is investing in them — this decreases employee turnover and engagement.
The downside? If learning and development aren’t prioritized, employees will feel stagnant, making them feel disengaged. If you’d like to get a deeper understanding of why challenging an employee to learn new things is a good thing, here’s a simplified chart that explains how high skill and high challenge tasks create flow:

See, if a person is not being tested, they’ll quickly get bored with their work; employers have the responsibility to assist their employees with developing their skills and give them challenging tasks that allow them to grow as employees and help the company solve complex problems.

How E-Learning Impacts Employee Engagement

Engaged employees drive innovation and push the organization forward. They will be the catalysts for change and help come up with new ideas for the organization.
When you invest in training and e-learning systems for these engaged employees, they’ll be able to improve processes, be more efficient, and obviously use the training to develop their skills, and hopefully, teach their peers.
This small investment pays dividends, as employees become both knowledgeable and happier.

How To Choose an E-Learning Program

Right now several companies offer learning platforms for enterprises.
On average, companies that have learning and development departments tend to spend about $100 a month, per employee, to help train their employees.
Before doing more research, I’d strongly recommend you read this by the folks over at Linkedin, as they make their case for E-Learning:

As far as budgeting goes, it’s worth spending a significant portion of an L&D budget on a learning management tool, but you should make the decision based off of the needs that you’re looking to address.
For employees, you should definitely invest in having e-learning tools that will primarily focus on developing their hard skills and helping them grow as workers.
For managers, it’s important that they focus on soft skills, as their interpersonal skills will be a big factor for the success of their department and their relationship with their employees.

E-learning to Train Employees

Right now, e-learning is being used to work on employees’ hard skills.
Services like Coursera, Skillshare, and hundreds of industry-specific learning tools (think Codeacademy) are being used to help people work on their skills.
When selecting an e-learning tool for an employee, think of their job description, the upcoming challenges that the business will face, and straight up ask your employees if they would be interested in learning the skill.
You can always customize a quick survey to see if there’s a skill or course that would benefit all the employees of a department and have them all take it together.
There are plenty of ways to approach an e-learning selection, but the main thing to do is just ask employees what they would like to learn, and as long as it has potential to help the company and department out, let them have at it.

E-learning to Train Managers

The type of e-learning tools that you should pick for managers should be one that has general management topics, to perfect their soft skills as leaders.
Management is obviously more reliant on soft skills, so teaching managers to handle rough situations and preparing them for the worst is probably best.
For example, Linkedin Learning’s management courses offer content around a wide variety of different management topics.
The next phase of Butterfly is to use artificial intelligence as a coaching tool for managers.
Right now, we serve as a pulse survey tool and have some content being pushed out to managers, but we intend on opening the floodgates and having content sent to managers as certain data trends from the pulse surveys start catching different trends.
Example: If employees, as a whole, are disgruntled and the data around employee happiness is trending downwards, we will proactively send a manager content (based off of the engagement sub driver) that addresses the issue at the office.

E-Learning Could Be The Future Of Executive Coaching

Right now, executive coaching is very niche. Companies hire independent consultants, or coaches, that come in and help executives or high-value employees to help gain self-awareness.
This is usually done through a lot of investigative work, 360-degree feedback, and the coaches act as a therapist of sorts, to find out what is making the executive stressed.
The future of executive coaching will be a bit more proactive than reactive. Instead of having to reach out to consultants to help an executive out, there will be enough data, through pulse surveys and cloud-based 360-degree surveys that’ll enable us to virtually coach high-level executives with content.
Right now, e-learning for executive coaching isn’t widely embraced, but if the success and rise of e-learning for managers and employees are indicative of anything, it’s that the next step of online learning is to teach executives how to run successful, transparent, employee-centric organizations.

Do You Believe in the Benefits of E-learning for Employee Training and Development?

Have you instituted an e-learning system at your office yet? If not, is it something that your company is looking to invest in? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments below!

The modern day workplace is becoming people-centric, meaning that companies are putting more emphasis on improving things like work-life balance and employee engagement.
Why? There are two main reasons: one is that it affects a company’s bottom line; making a company more innovative, productive, and helping its bottom line. The other is the fact that modern-day employee is looking for a job that is fulfilling that can help them grow as people.
With all this, what feels like sudden change going on, is your company truly doing its best to adapt to the times? Sure, it might be tough to get new engagement and work-life balance initiatives going, but they can help your organization prosper. Here’s how and why you should look into it:

Why Work-Life Balance Is Important

Last year, France passed a law stating that companies with over 50 employees are required to guarantee employees a “right to disconnect” from their e-mails/work outside of their office hours.
The minister of labor, Myriam El Khomri, took note that employees are more connected during hours outside of the office and that there are no boundaries between personal and professional life — she went on to justify the new law by citing the country’s burnout, stress, and turnover problems as one of the main reasons why this law was needed.
Unless your country has laws set in place to encourage balance, it’s important, as an organization to make these changes. There are a lot of business reasons why starting work-life balance initiatives makes sense, but let’s start off with the primary factor of why it’s essential. The people.
Work-life balance affects the overall well-being of employees.
When an employee can balance things out with their work and life, they’ll be able to allot more times to their personal interests and needs. This makes people less susceptible to burnout, put more focus on the things that matter (both at work and in life), and lessens stress — allowing employees to be healthier, both mentally and physically.
Here’s a small video describing the benefits of balance:

Yes, some employees can focus on work-life balance around their company’s schedule, but employers are assisting with promoting balance.

Work-Life Balance Leads Increases Productivity

A survey conducted by the Corporate Executive Board, representing over 80% of Fortune 500 companies, found that employees that believe they have good work-life balance worked 21% harder than those who don’t after researching 50,000 global workers.
Another interesting point from that study is that the research found that “boosting workforce productivity doesn’t hinge on employees actually participating in the work-life services offered by their employer. Employees just need to be reassured that the service is there and they have the option to participate if they want to.”
There is a psychological effect that occurs when employees feel as if their company cares about their well-being. It leads them to work more efficiently and actually leads them to perform better. Here’s a quick presentation by the folks at Engage For Success that explains how:

As far as on the recruitment and retention side: it’s proven that 1 in 4 employees who don’t have the support of a work/life balance plan from their employer, plan to leave the company within the next two years.
All this data proves is one thing, that simply assisting employees with their lives improves their productivity and makes them want to stay at your company.

Initiatives To Help Employees Achieve Work-Life Balance

Technology companies are setting the bar high for work-life perks, and larger enterprises are (slowly) starting to follow suit.
Though some of the more progressive perks may not be able to work in most workplaces (ex: a lawyer isn’t going to be able to go to trial remotely … yet?), it’s still worth seeing what some of the companies that are rated some of the best places to work are doing to keep their employees happy.
Here are a couple of ways to help employees achieve work-life balance

• Flexible Work Schedule
• Remote Working
• Unlimited Paid Time Off — trust me, it’s not as crazy as it seems.
• Extended Paternal and Maternal leave
• Wellness Stipends

There are dozens and dozens of other perks that an employer can offer in order to improve work-life balance and increase happiness and engagement; just make sure to keep it as simple as possible, give employees autonomy to complete their work, how they want.
Why is all this stuff important to begin with? It’s quite simple: to improve employee engagement.

Why Employee Engagement Important

Every now and then it’s easy to forget that employees will always be the lifeblood of an enterprise. They are going to help an organization come up with products, services, close sales, execute ideas, they literally keep the company running.
With this said, low employee engagement in a global problem, as over 70% of employees consider themselves to be disengaged. This is causing up to $450B in lost productivity in the U.S. alone.
Which begs the question: How come employee disengagement is still a problem and why aren’t companies doing anything to solve the problem?
Well, instituting a work-life balance policy is one major step in the right direction. Giving employees autonomy, balance, and having a transparent culture, makes them feel more engaged and improves their output.

Engaged Employees Influence the Bottom Line

The role of an HR department is going to evolve into something different within the coming years. They won’t just be focused on hiring and retention, they’ll blossom into a data-driven labor optimization department.
Why is that? Well, companies with high levels of employee engagement tend to improve their operating income by at least 20%. A lot of this information can come from employee pulse survey tools that can provide you with metrics and analytics on engagement, happiness, and productivity levels of your company.
A lot of tools, like Butterfly.ai, include customizable forms that’ll allow you to ask questions to help delve deeper into some of the problems within your organization:

High Engagement’s Influences Creativity and Innovation

According to a study published by Gallup, 59% of engaged employees say that their job “brings out their most creative ideas.”  Of the surveyed employees who were disengaged only 3% said the same.
Of course, it doesn’t take a large study to find out that the happier an employee is, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their work and engaged enough to offer new ideas and suggestion.
 
Just remember one thing: engagement influences innovation and innovation influences engagement. If you have the type of environment that is collaborative, innovative, and transparent, you’ll able to have an engaged office, and vice versa.
So take a step in the right direction and offer work-life balance perks. It’s a major factor in improving employee engagement, and, as you’ve learned, a great way to improve your bottom-line and innovation.

What Are You Doing To Improve Work-Life Balance and Employee Engagement At Your Office?

Are you planning on implementing a work-life balance initiative/s to improve engagement? Let us know in the comments below, and we can provide some insights and help!

In 2011, the Financial Times released an important article that had helped reveal an interesting fact. Hedge funds and private equity firms weren’t just looking for new innovative companies — for research, they began looking at something more interesting: a company’s Glassdoor rating.
That’s right, Glassdoor is not just job seekers, analysts are looking at it as a way to find trends in hiring, growth, management stability, executive leadership, and company culture.
To put it frankly, having a good culture isn’t just a great way to get the best job-seekers, but it could add value to your business.
Improving the culture and shifting the psychology, or the dynamic, of your work environment isn’t an overnight thing, and it requires a deeper understanding of workplace psychology. Which is why we went in and did a bit research to help you manage your office a bit better. Here are some takeaways:

How Does Organizational Culture Play a Role in Workplace Psychology?

It is undeniable that the culture at the office influences the work environment, and it’s up to leadership to set the tone for how employees are going to be treated and how transparent they’ll be with them.
That’s right, managers have to be the ones that set a precedent and lead their office to have an engaging and positive atmosphere. More times than not, employees are just going to be riding the wave — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but, as having a good culture and engaging environment is good for business; it’s important to train managers to have a good management style that will create a good atmosphere.

Influences The Atmosphere

A great culture influences the atmosphere and is a driver for productivity and employee engagement.
Engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound bond with their company, not just that, but they help drive innovation forward.
A couple of tips to help managers improve the atmosphere:

• Have managers focus on individuals over rules, policies, and procedures
• Recognize employees for wins, big or small.
• Remind employees that the work that they do is vital for the company/team’s growth
• Start practicing more positive psychology

All these small steps will help you become a better manager, and start shifting the culture at your workplace.

Makes it Easier To Hire and Retain Talent

A positive atmosphere, a workplace that prides itself on getting things done,  and good leaders; will keep employees engaged, motivated, and it’ll retain employees. 
People leave managers, not companies. When managers aren’t doing a great job of motivating their employees, they will leave.
An ideal organization will make sure to focus on having good manager-employee relations, which is why they’ll invest in pulse survey tools in order to get constant feedback from their employees.
Retaining employees and keeping them engaged is important, but just as important is showcasing the atmosphere to potential new hires and job-seekers.
When hiring, go into an interview knowing that the person has already vetted your organization, and like most, they’ve probably read all the reviews about your company online.
For better or for worse, it’s your job to not only make sure that you pitch what it’s like to work for your company but what it takes to work there. The psychology, the motivation, the core values and mission of your organization should be an integral part of an interview.
To sum it up: the culture of your company is going to influence the psychology of your workplace; it’ll directly affect the atmosphere, the productivity, the retention, and the hiring of talented new employees. It’s up to you as a manager to start being proactive and do a lot of reflection on what can be done in order to make you and the people around you better.

Ways To Bring Positive Psychology To Your Workplace

There is a “trickle-down” effect when it comes to leadership, managers have to set the precedent and set a theme, or affirmation around what they want to push toward their employee.

A perfect example of trickle-down leadership is the story of Alcoa.

Before he was Secretary of the Treasury for the United States, Paul H. O’Neill was the CEO of Alcoa. During his first meeting, he didn’t talk about profit margins, no fancy presentations, his mission was to change the culture of the company by having one goal, making the company, an aluminum company, the safest place to work.
This affirmation — what would later become known as a “keystone habit” — became the internal mantra of the company. Everything that the company did; meetings, calls, having employee suggestion boxes, surveys, everything was done with the goal of creating the safest places to work. This one mission became so ingrained in the culture that employees and managers did whatever they could to look out for one another improved productivity and employee happiness.
As for Alcoa’s bottom-line? Within 5 years, the company’s profits hit record highs, and when O’Neill stepped down to retire, Alcoa’s annual net income was five times higher than when he started.
So what can you do to create this kind of similar change within your organization?

Have An Affirmation

Have one affirmation, or mantra, to tie your leadership goal with.
Like O’Neill’s safety affirmation, use something that people can get behind and strive toward. It doesn’t have to be too concrete, and it doesn’t even have to be a quantifiable metric. Just one goal that everyone in your department can get behind.

Ego Is The Enemy

Never claim employees’ success as your success. Give people all the praise and credit for their hard work and don’t make it about you.
True leaders should view organizational success as the main goal and be servants, as opposed to bosses.
And whether it is at work, or in your personal life, just remember that ego is the enemy:

Be A Courteous Leader

The average workplace of the information era is a bit destructive and has a lot of people wanting to prove that they know the best. This causes rifts between employees, managers, and leads to disengagement.
The best way to avoid having a “destructive” work environment is to make sure that you are leading by example and being courteous. Give credit to those that are doing outstanding work. Praise people for the jobs that they do. Be proactive and try to approach people about promotions or career advancement opportunities.
Managers have the opportunity to change the psychology of an office and get people invested in their businesses’ goals. Implementing these small changes to a work environment influences the company’s bottom line; so why not start working on improving your office today?

How Are You Improving The Culture At Your Office?

What are some things that you are doing to create a better environment and have more positive psychology within your workplace? Do you have any tips to give to other managers? Let us know in the comments below.

This past week the 2018 Devies was hosted at the Oakland Convention Center.
The ceremony, held annually during DeveloperWeek, celebrates the companies that are pushing boundaries in the tech scene. Previous winners include companies like Microsoft, IBM, Docusign, GitLab, and plenty of more.
To obtain a “Devie” you must have —

1. Technology that garners press attention
2. Be well-regarded by the developer community
3. Be a leader in a sector for innovativeness

Out of the hundreds of companies that were nominated, we at Butterfly are extremely fortunate to have stood out and received recognition from our peers. We are glad to have won the award for Best Innovation in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning.
 

“Developers are becoming key influencers in their companies because what technologies they use will matter more and more to their business’s operations. Butterfly is a great example of a new era of technologies that are empowering developers to have a greater impact on products and IT.” Said Geoff Domoracki, Founder of DeveloperWeek.
Though our company’s best days are in front of us we are glad to receive this recognition and we look forward to continue utilizing artificial intelligence in order to create better workplaces.
The features that we are working on releasing this year will improve the current product and also do a better job to help train managers and gather more feedback from employees in order to create a transparent workplace.
We look forward to building out Butterfly and continue using machine learning and AI to help solve issues in workplaces around the globe.
We hope that this is the beginning of more good things to come!

The beginning of the year is a perfect time to review your processes, try new things out, and find what sticks.
As a leader within an organization, the constant need to improve should drive you to try new things that’ll help you be a better manager and member of a team.
We’ve done some research on some of the leadership trends that are taking the workforce by storm in order to help you out at your office. Here are a couple of small things that you can to do be a better leader this year.

Face-To-Face Communication

Fred Dust, CEO of Ideo, argued that face-to-face engagement is a dwindling art. He believes that the way we communicate with each other at work is unproductive, as it’s more talking at each other than with each other.
To make matters worse, we are now taking the easy route when communicating, as we’re opting to use emails, texts, or tools like Slack, to shoot out messages and “talk.” Though easy, it might not be as effective as simply going up to somebody to ask a question, make a request, or even settle a dispute.
The empathy shown when people communicate face-to-face allows people to bond, and the interactions help bring an understanding that people are aiming to reach the same goal.
There are a couple of other things that face-to-face chats help with, like:

• Putting an end to “Cyber Miscommunication”
• Coming up with solutions faster
• Enables more creativity between the two people.

Make time this year to chat with your employees, it can be about work, or it can be just getting to know them a bit more, whatever the case, just make sure to start a conversation and talk with them, not at them.

Running Effective Meetings

Unproductive meetings waste more than $37 Billion Per Year and the average employee spends over 4 hours a week just preparing for meetings.
As a leader, it’s your job to make sure that people are getting the most out of their meetings, so do your best to make them informative, brief, and productive for all the people attending.
The best thing you can do to run effective meetings is to set a goal for the meeting and sharing it with the team before the session starts (try to include it on the agenda). This will (hopefully) allow people to understand what the purpose of the meeting is and reach that common goal together.
A couple of other quick tips:

• Keep meetings short — 30 minutes (maximum)
• Only invite people that need to be there
• Have a notetaker
• Have the notetaker assign action items as you go

There are dozens of other ways to make meetings run better, but find what works for you and your team, and continue to improve on it.

Being More Transparent

There are three things that employees would like to have, job security, career advancement opportunities, and they’d want to work for a company that values transparency.
Transparency is nothing more than the exchange of trust between the employer and the employee, and having a culture of transparency creates more trust throughout the office.
As a leader, being more transparent with employees will enable you to not only have more trust from them, but it’ll help you communicate more efficiently and create a better office environment.
If you aren’t a transparent culture already you may want to do some research on a company like Buffer, who has perfected their transparent culture — So much so that they have a list of every single thing that they do, buy, read, and even their employees’ salary all available on the web.
In a speech given by their co-founder Leo Widrich, he says that a transparent culture not only improved the morale of the office, but people were so engaged and happy that it reflected on the product:
To sum it up, the more information that is spread with employees, the more devoted to the company/person they become. Consider sharing more information and letting employees know that they are an important part of why the company continues to grow.

Raise The Bar, But Embrace Failure

If you’re looking to improve, stop going after small, modest goals and aim to have big, fat, hairy, audacious goals. The value of going after big goals is worth the risk, as they make us stretch what we believe is possible and get us working harder to reach new heights.
Risk-averse organizations tend to go after modest goals and appear to be successful, whereas growth-oriented organization thrive off of having ambitious goals; as it allows them to find new, innovative ways to grow and learn.
The only trade-off: you’ll have to deal with the fact that you’re probably going to fail at hitting the goals you set.
So embrace the fact that you’re probably going to fail, and utilize an OKR/KPI system that will set the framework for hitting the goal. Then at the end of every quarter aim to have a retrospective meeting that’ll help you figure out how can things be improved moving forward and adapt accordingly.

Any Leadership Trends or Traits That We Missed?

Are you looking to be a better manager, leader, person, all the above? Leave us some of suggestions to becoming a better manager in the comment section below.
Would also recommend that you start the new year off right by downloading our e-book “Your First 50 Days,” as it highlights some of the things that you can do to improve as a manager. The best part is it’s absolutely free. Check it out by clicking here

As much as the brutally honest truth can sting, this discomfort is nothing compared to the pain of being blindsided by the culmination of a negative workplace trend.
People can feel dissatisfied and at work for a great number of reasons, and if this dissatisfaction persists, it will always transform into disengagement. Disengagement is what makes the wheels fall off of organizations: resulting in lower productivity, higher turnover and a company culture that makes everyone dread coming into work.
This employee satisfaction survey has been designed to let your employees be brutally honest about the policies, practices or people that are causing them to be dissatisfied, and sharing it throughout your company will be an eye-opening experience.

How to Take the Brutally Honest Employee Satisfaction Survey

By answering these employee satisfaction survey questions in a brutally honest way, you can help your company change the things that aren’t working about work, before you and your most skilled colleagues become disengaged.
Big Picture Satisfaction
Please be brutally honest as possible when answering these employee survey questions about the big picture of working at your company.
Company Culture Strengths

1. What about your company’s culture makes you excited to come to work?
2. What are some of the workplace policies that reflect the strengths of your company’s culture?
3. Who are some of the people that make your company’s culture fun and unique and how are they doing this?
4. What are some of the positive differences between your company’s culture and the culture of companies you’ve worked for in the past?

Company Culture Weaknesses

1. What about your company’s culture makes you dread coming to work?
2. What are some of the workplace policies that reflect the weaknesses of your company’s culture?
3. Who are some of the people who make your company’s culture unpleasant or uninspiring and how are they doing this?
4. What are some of the negative differences between your company’s culture and the culture of companies you’ve worked for in the past?

Company Leadership Strengths

1. How do your company’s leaders positively impact your company’s culture?
2. Who are the friendliest and/or most inspiring leaders at your company and why do you like working for them?
3. What are some of the actions taken by leaders that made you feel like they cared about their employees or had your back?

Company Leadership Weaknesses

1. How do your company’s leaders negatively impact your company’s culture?
2. Who are the least friendly and least inspiring leaders at your company and why don’t you like working for them?
3. What are some of the actions taken by leaders that made you feel like they didn’t care about their employees or didn’t have your back?

If I had to be Brutally Honest…
If I had to be brutally honest about my company’s culture, here are the top 3 things that are off or just plain wrong with our culture:
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If I had to be brutally honest about my company’s leaders, here are the top 3 things that are off or just plain wrong about the way that leaders are running this company:
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Team Satisfaction
Please be brutally honest as possible when answering these employee survey questions about the team you work with.
Team Culture Strengths

1. How would you sum up the culture of your team and what about this culture helps your team members to work well together and enjoy each other’s company while working?
2. What are some of examples of moments or periods of time that reflect what is strong about your team’s cultural dynamic?
3. Who are some of the team members who help make your team’s culture strong and how are they doing this?

Team Culture Weaknesses

1. How would you sum up the parts of your team’s culture that can make it difficult to work well together or make you not enjoy their company?
2. What are some of examples of moments or periods of time that reflect what is weak about your team’s cultural dynamic?
3. Who are some of the team members who bring out the weaknesses of your team’s culture and how are they doing this?

Team Performance Strengths

1. What is an example of a situation that demonstrates the performance and competency strengths of the team you work with?
2. What is an example of a project that brought your team closer together?

Team Performance Weaknesses

1. What is an example of a situation that demonstrates the performance and competency weaknesses of the team you work with?
2. What is an example of a project that pushed members of your team further apart?

If I Had to Be Brutally Honest…
If I had to be brutally honest, these are the top 3 things that make my team’s culture unpleasant to be a part of:
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If I had to be brutally honest, these are the top 3 competency or performance weak spots of the team that I work with:
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Direct Manager Satisfaction
Please be brutally honest as possible when answering these employee survey questions about your direct manager.
Management Style Strengths

1. How does your manager help you to grow your skills and develop in your career?
2. What was a situation where your manager’s management style achieved great results for you or a team member?
3. What are your manager’s strengths when it comes to listening and communication?
4. How does your manager’s management style positively contribute to your team’s cultural dynamic and daily working life?

Management Style Weaknesses

1. How does your manager hold you back from growing in your skills or developing in your career?
2. What was a situation where your manager’s management style got terrible results for you or a team member?
3. What are your manager’s weaknesses when it comes to listening and communication?
4. Are there any ways in which your manager’s management style detracts from your or your team’s ability to work, cooperate or communicate?

Manager Leadership Strengths

1. What is a quality that you find to be admirable or inspirational about your direct manager?
2. What is a situation in which your direct manager helped to hold your team together and overcome an obstacle or challenge?
3. What makes an ideal manager, and how does your manager resemble this ideal?

Manager Leadership Weaknesses

1. What is a quality that you find to be difficult, discouraging or downright weak about your manager?
2. What was a situation in which your direct manager let you, a team member or your entire team down?
3. What makes an ideal manager, and how does your manager fail to live up to this ideal?

Manager Competency Strengths

1. What are some of the strongest technical skills that your manager possesses?
2. How has your manager used their expertise in a technical skill to help you, a team member or your team?

Manager Competency Weaknesses

1. What are some of the technical skills that your direct manager should improve?
2. What was a situation where you felt more qualified than your direct manager to solve a problem they “should” have been able to solve?

If I had to be Brutally Honest…
If I had to be brutally honest, these are the top 3 aspects of my manager’s management style that make them hard to work with or make them a less-than-perfect manager:
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If I had to be brutally honest, these are the top 3 ways in which my manager can be lacking as an effective leader:
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If I had to be brutally honest, these are the top 3 ways in which my manager’s skills are lacking:
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Job Satisfaction
Please be brutally honest as possible when answering these employee survey questions about your satisfaction with your job and the work you do.  
Workflow Strengths

1. What are some of the most efficient aspects of the workflow of your job?
2. Who helps the workflow of your job to be as smooth and efficient as possible and how do they do this?

Workflow Weaknesses

1. What are some of the most inefficient aspects of the workflow of your job?
2. Who causes the workflow of your job to be delayed or more difficult than it has to be and how do they do this?

Workload Strengths

1. What was a project or period of time that demonstrated a balanced, manageable workload?
2. What are some of the ways that your workload, the way work is assigned or the way it is required to be done that help support a healthy work/life balance?

Workload Weaknesses

1. What was a project or period of time that demonstrated an unbalanced or unrealistic workload?
2. What are some of the ways that your workload, the way work is assigned or the way it is required to be done that do not support a healthy work/life balance?

If I Had to be Brutally Honest…
If I had to be brutally honest, these are the top 3 ways that the workflow of my job makes my work harder and/or take longer to complete:
1.
2.
3.
 
If I had to be brutally honest, these are the top 3 ways that my workload or the way that this load is distributed makes my job harder than it needs to be:
1.
2.
3.

Today, we’re excited to announce the successful closing of our seed round investment of $2.5 million, which will be put to immediate use evolving our product and building out our team to support increased client and product demand.
Participating in the oversubscribed round are: Daphni (lead), Tectonic Ventures and Precursor Ventures. Angel investors include Laurent Schwartz, co-founder of ALTEN, a multinational technology and engineering consulting company and Brandon Evans, the founder of Crowdtap (representing FoundersGuild, a global founder investor group).
With the seed round, Marie Ekeland, co-founder of Daphni, will join Butterfly’s Board of Directors. Shareholders from previous rounds include Keith Teare, Founder of Accelerated Digital Ventures and co-founder of TechCrunch , and Jeremy Le Van, co-founder of Sunrise Calendar (acquired by Microsoft).
When we launched Butterfly, we set out to address a universal challenge facing organizations around the world: New managers lack training and support when it comes to soft skills and people development, leading to a palpable leadership gap that has contributed to unhealthy cultures at companies big and small.
The Harvard Business Review reports that most companies wait more than a decade to provide executive coaching in any form, and as we all know, that’s simply too late in a landscape where millennials are rising through the ranks faster than ever and people are increasingly leaving their jobs as a direct result of poor management.
We passionately believe that the secret to healthy work cultures is strong leadership, which includes managers at every level—not just those in the corner office. We also believe that emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, can be a tremendous resource when it comes to helping HR teams shift their focus from talent support to talent development.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our team for all their hard work, especially during the past several months of growth, as well as our early partners and investors. We look forward to evolving our product and our team to shape the next generation of corporate leadership in the months ahead.

Developing your employees means providing opportunities for growth beyond their current job functions. As a manager, you have to assess how you are supporting a well-rounded education for each of your team members. This includes education in their specific industry and in the overall professional world.

So, here are some tips, via our e-book Your First 50 days, to help you promote ongoing learning for your team:

1. Make room in your team’s budget for an education stipend. Encourage your employees to use this resource to attend conferences or enroll in relevant courses.
2. Share paid subscription login information for magazines and other online resources.
3. Encourage employees to lead mini-tutorials on specific topics and skills at team-wide meetings. This can elevate the individual’s talents, as well as benefit the whole team.
4. Invest in a team-wide Coursera or Lynda account.
5. And continuously educate your team about any company learning and development programs.

Pro-tip
“The job of the leader is to grow more leaders.”
– Robin Sharma, Bestselling Author & Leadership Expert

To further reading, download our e-book! 

With the help of mobile technology, it’s much easier to help your team with their work/life balance. Rachel Ritlop, via Forbes, discusses some great apps that you can share and encourage!

Productivity

ATracker: This app tracks how long an individual spends on each item of business. Consider implementing this at work meetings and encouraging employees to use this for personal assignments.
Pocket/Instapaper: These apps offer integrated bookmakers to save any article or video online for later viewing, and “they strip the content to text-only format.” This can help your employees when they’re researching work-related information.
Zapier: With this, connect more than 140+ apps together (i.e. Slack, MailChimp) to “automate repetitive tasks in the background.” Having your team members use this will allow them to focus their time and energy on more other important projects.

Health

Headspace: Headspace is a wonderful mindfulness app. With meditation and wellness tools, it promotes happiness and compassion. This is especially useful for any team members who experience burnout and stress in the workplace.

General life management

Week Plan: This is a calendar and to-do list in one. Schedule tasks simply into the app (with reminders), and check off each as they are completed. Your employees can ensure they have time for activities that matter to them.
Google Calendar Goals: This new feature allows an individual to choose a goal, and the app will schedule time for that goal based on availability. And there are options to decide how long to spend on that task, which day, how often, etc. This is great for your employees who have non-work-related goals they want to accomplish in their busy schedule.
You can access the full article here.

How well do you communicate responsibilities to your team? How you speak with each of your team members directly affects their performance. The Butterfly Team, via our e-book Your First 50 Days, shares insights on how to improve communication skills with your employees.
In proactive communication (when you initiate a conversation), think about the outcome you desire. For example, what if you want an employee to understand how important it is to finish a task by the end of the week? You would want to clearly define the steps, and possibly repeat them for assurance. For example, you could say, “Just to be clear, the deadline is Friday 5 PM, so you’ll need to send the file by then.”
What if you want one of your team members to feel empowered by a specific task? You should motivate her. You could say, for example, “I know that your skills are the right match for this project, so I am confident that you’ll excel!”
Now, here are a few more tips you can implement to “up your employee communication game”:
1. Exude confidence, but don’t be arrogant.
To receive respect from your team, show that you are knowledgeable and ready to lead. But, never talk down to your employees; respect goes both ways.
2. Be cognizant of timing.
How and when you communicate something to your team can be just as important as the actual message. Timing and context are key!
3. Always listen!
Those who are the best listeners are also the best communicators. By actively listening, you can understand your employees’ motives much more, and empathize with their concerns.
For further reading, check out our new e-book Your First 50 Days, available for download!

“Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.”
Even though this is a popular way of thinking, this is a toxic philosophy for managers. With this approach, your team will not only feel uncomfortable coming to you with bad news, but it also provides a negative workspace culture. You have to be accessible to your team, and be open to lend a helping hand in the process. Sabina Nawaz, via HBR, shares her tips on how to assist in problem solving:

1. Make it safe

Remind your team that they can always come to you with bad news. This way, you can help tackle problems early on. After your team addresses a concern to you, be sure to paraphrase it, and ask follow-up questions about it.  By doing so, you can better understand the problem at hand, and it shows that you are actively listening to your employees.

2. Require problem statements from your team in lieu of complaints

Unlike complaints, problem statements are objective and consider every team member’s role in the situation. For example, a problem statement from an employee could be along the lines of, “Group A missed the deadline the past four times. In one case, we were unprepared. In the other cases, however, we were prepared, and had to work on the weekends to fill in for Group A’s late work.” With problem statements, you can figure out if there are any patterns, and find the cause of an issue. As well, everyone involved can have a part in the problem-solving process.

3. Find the right person(s) to solve the problem

Who is best person to tackle this challenge? Is it a bigger issue where you need to involve yourself more? In some cases, the employee who brings forth the problem to you can handle it on their own, but just needs your coaching (or approval). In any problem-solving situation, have your employees stretch their abilities. 
When you are open to helping with problems, your team can not only reach solutions much faster, but they also feel more empowered.
You can access the full article here.

On August 29, Butterfly.ai joined forces with Dataiku for a meetup to discuss employee turnover and effective management. Our presenters shared their expertise on the tools that managers should use to better engage their workforce.

Dataiku: Predicting Employee Behavior

Guilherme de Oliveira, Data Scientist at Dataiku, presented a machine learning tool that assesses data from employees in order to predict which ones are more likely to either quit or stay at their job. The data analytics reinforced what we intuitively expect in employee behavior. For example, the data showed that employees who were not happy with their performance reviews tend to quit. Interestingly, however, some employees with a high satisfaction score in their data set quit, too. This may be because they were high performers who found better opportunities elsewhere.  And although these analytics were incredibly useful, predictions could not always be right. In these cases, Guilhereme mentioned how they needed to alter the algorithms to increase accuracy.

Butterfly: Management Tools

Simon Rakosi, one of our Co-Founders, spoke about the keys to being a great manager. He explained that managers must be “self-aware” by creating an environment that welcomes feedback. He also shared that leaning on your team is just as important as supporting them. Remember: you are only one person — you can’t do it all alone. Simon then described the importance of finding your “North Star” — or in other words,  your mission statement. For Simon, his purpose for leadership is to “help others go beyond.” By knowing your aspirations first, you can build your team and leadership from there. Then, it will be easy to set a self-training plan for yourself to accomplish these goals.
To learn more management lessons and advice from leadership experts, download our new e-book Your First 50 Days. 

Beginning a leadership position is an exhilarating and courageous move. However, it can also be a challenging one; that’s why we created the e-book Your First 50 Days. This is the essential guide for any new business leader who is ready to follow the steps to become a great manager.
Your First 50 Days provides a smooth transition for up-and-coming managers. Each day, you’ll acquire a new skill or mindset that you can immediately put into action. Also, it contains pro-tips from business pioneers, such as Robin Sharma, Indra Nooyi, and Daniel H. Pink.
We check-in on your progress periodically as you read, and provide checklists to make sure you’re accountable for what you’re learning. By the end of the book, you’ll be feeling confident as ever.
If you’re ready to take the leap, download it for free here. Also, check out our Media Kit.

How happy are your employees? How effective is your leadership as a manager? If you’ve been thinking of these questions, then you should join our upcoming meetup with Dataiku, as our experts share their insights on management.
Representing Dataiku, Data Scientist Guilherme de Oliveira will discuss how you can use data sets to predict which employees will most likely stay or leave. From this, managers can better understand the important factors that explain employee decisions.
Butterfly’s Co-Founder Simon Rakosi will share what it takes to be a great manager, as well as explain the specific, scientifically-backed drivers that influence how you lead your employees. By knowing these, you’ll learn the analytics to develop a happy and engaged team, and strengthen your leadership.
Ready to learn from our experts? Join us at our meetup, taking place at 26 Broadway, New York, NY on August 29th, 6:00 PM. Sign up here!

We’ve previously discussed how leadership development is beyond the classroom. In that same vein, great management is also about knowing your true self, and directing your team accordingly. Kathleen Taylor-Gadsby, via Forbes, shares some questions to ask yourself as you develop your leadership and manage your team.
1. What gets you up in the morning?
What are your motivations? Aspirations? Do your actions coincide with the purpose you have set for yourself? This will help you determine if you’re in the right role, or even in the right company. This will also determine what’s hindering you from accomplishing your goals. And if your passions are aligned with your work, this can help you when your company is facing difficult times. Once you figure out what drives you and makes you happy, it’ll be much easier to guide team to where you want them to be and what you want them to accomplish .
2. What principles or beliefs guide your life?
What are the values you have set for yourself? Your principles affect the decisions you make and the actions you take. And these values can determine how you shape and direct your company. For example, someone who highly values service may uphold this principle in her for-profit business by focusing on and helping marginalized communities. It’s also important to see how your values can affect work culture. For example, if overt prejudice is something you can’t stand, you could consider implementing policies of inclusivity and tolerance in your company.
Without knowing your motivations, strengths, and principles that guide your life, you can’t go very far as a manager. Leadership involves finding your inner self, and bringing your energy to what you love and care about. This is how you’ll create a team that achieves goals and sees results.
To read more, access the full article here.
 

You can positively affect your work environment by employing technology that will benefit the health and wellness of your team. Ariel Parrella-Aureli, via Workforce, shares some companies that are using this technology effectively.
Health equipment
Hull & Knarr, for example, implemented an eco-friendly room with company-owned bikes for employees to use at their leisure. This brightly-lit room also includes lockers that contain bike accessories and showers. Roughly half of their workforce use the bikes on a daily basis. And the equipment is usually used for commutes to work and lunch trips. The purpose is to not only make healthy options more accessible, but to also encourage team bonding outside of the office. And as you know, a happier team equals a more productive team. Consider dedicating equipment for your employees to promote activity, i.e. bikes, yoga mats, etc.
Smart lockers and vending machines 
Smart lockers are another way to help your team balance their personal wellness and work. Employees can use these lockers to get healthy snacks, office supplies, or even IT help. Some tech companies also use smart vending machines to provide PC accessories for their team members when they need it. Facebook employees use these machines to buy bike parts, which saves them time and encourages cycling. WESCO implements their smart machines in utility facilities to distribute safety equipment (i.e. suits, googles). And soon, they’ll include fire extinguishers.
Smart lockers and machines don’t just give your team the tools to do their job. They also help to create a safer and healthier workplace. Vending machines “are going to be prevalent throughout all industries.” Consider using these innovations, or just provide affordable and/or free equipment that will help your team. With technology, you can create much more accessible and productive work environments.

You can read the full article here.

Business school can give you a great foundation of leadership skills that are necessary to grow a company. However, there is more to leadership than what you learn in a classroom.  Many of these skills are acquired through experience and over time. Growth Marketer Sujan Patel, via Entrepreneur, shares 4 of these leadership lessons for business starters.
Tip #1: Scale slowly and organically
If you’re working towards growing your business, don’t be concerned about having a strict structure. Pay more attention to automating processes in your business. For example, producing a training video for new employees makes the onboarding process faster. In turn, this gives you more time to focus on other tasks, such as building relationships with your clients. Scaling this way reduces the risk of your business falling apart.
Tip #2: Get ready to sacrifice
Starting a company is never an easy journey. Every business leader will have to sacrifice something in order to reach the results they desire. Business mogul Barbara Corcoran shared how in her early career, she had to to take up a job that she didn’t want in order to pay off her debts. But, this decision ultimately saved her company. So, remember: temporary sacrifices lead to long-term success.
Tip #3: Diversify early and often
Business school might teach you to “monetize early,” but it’s more important to “diversify early.” This means to get involved with side projects to sustain your business. Especially for entrepreneurs that may not get the best funding in the early phases, side gigs can help keep your company running. In example, a software developer could speak at events and instruct coding courses, while maintaining her core business. Exploring different projects can also open the door to future business opportunities.
Tip #4: Practice gratitude
Showing gratitude to your employees builds better relationships with them, which is integral for success in a company. Practicing gratitude helps you emotionally by alleviating stress, as well as “helps you gain a foothold on the work-life balance” that every worker needs.
Don’t just rely on what you learn in school; leadership is beyond the classroom. Focus on connecting with mentors that can help guide you as you develop and strengthen these skills. For further reading, access the full article here.

As a manager, success isn’t calculated by how many problems you fix. It’s about how you build a team that can solve problems themselves. Having to deal with low-priority problems is not only costly to your time, but also weakens your team. Best-selling author Joseph Grenny explains, via HBR, when it’s best to assist in or step out of your team’s problem solving.
Question 1: Who should own this problem?
Before you step in to solve an issue, think about how it will affect your team’s future behavior. It’s important that your team knows that they are able to “hold boundaries” in your absence. For example, instead of your team having you deal with an irate customer because you’re an authority, you can teach them how to handle it, instead.
Question 2: Do it now or do it right?
Sometimes, it’s better for the manager to take care of a situation if it’s time-sensitive. However, even when you fix the problem, be sure to engage your team in the process so that they know what to do in a similar situation in the future.
Question 3: What is the least I can do?
If you have the step in, “find the lowest level of initiative for yourself,” yet ensure that your team acts at their highest level. This offers them a teaching moment, so they will need less of your assistance as they move forward. For example, you can have an employee CC you on certain emails for you to review and provide feedback. Later on, after practice, they should be able to take you off the CC and handle those communications on their own.
Question 4: What type of problem is it?
If it’s a content or pattern problem, employees can typically solve them on their own. A content problem is when the immediate concern is the issue itself, and a pattern problem is when the issue is recurring. If you have a healthy company, your employees should be able to solve these problems both internally (within their own team) and externally (with other departments).
Last thought: It takes two to escalate.
Before you help your team, ensure that everyone involved agrees that they need you to assist. This is coined as “mutually-agreed escalation.” This way, you are used as a last resort. Of course, if there is a difference in power between employees, then it’s best for you to step in. In a peer-level problem, however, it’s typically better for those employees to have a dialogue with each other.
One of the key factors to a high-performance team is peer accountability. Sometimes, it’s better to take a step back and allow your team to address and solve issues on their own.  You can access the full article here.

As a manager, it’s essential to forge a leadership style that is personal and adjustable for your given workplace and team members. AudienceBloom CEO Jayson DeMers discusses 5 styles that rarely ever work, via Entrepreneur.
1. Reactive
It’s always wise to think in advance and prepare for anything (proactive), rather than just waiting to see what can happen (reactive). What sounds better: telling your client beforehand that you expect a shipment to be delayed, or apologizing afterwards for the delay and mitigating the problem? Definitely the first option.
2. Unreasonably Optimistic
Being optimistic is generally beneficial for employee performance and productivity. However, it is crucial to “control your optimism.” Optimists may be inclined to agree with a decision that shows signs of failure, or trust people that are typically unreliable. Managers should balance their optimism with a pragmatic attitude to ensure both high morale and success in their companies.
3. Controlling
While a manager should always have control of their office, don’t make a habit of micromanaging. Trying to oversee every little thing, consequently, can push your employees away. You hired your team because you know you can trust them, so allow them the space to do their job.
4. Distant
While giving your team the space and freedom to work is integral to good management, you can’t be too distant from your employees. What if your team members need your expertise or assistance on a project or an idea? What if someone has a pressing concern? You have to be available to field questions and to set your team in the right direction. Regular interaction and communication are key.
5. Narcissistic 
A selfish, individualistic person will never prosper as a manager. A great leader will be sure to acknowledge the efforts of their team, and give credit when it’s due. A successful manager knows that every success is a team’s success, not just the manager’s. In turn, employees will be much happier and more productive in their workplace.
As you continue to grow and mold your own leadership model, be mindful of falling into any of these 5 bad styles. You can read DeMers’ full article here.

Butterfly co-founder Simon Rakosi talked to DigitalNYC about the hurdles start-ups face as they grow, which for many includes maintaining a strong leadership.
Here are his top 5 strategies to make sure management is adequately supported:
Broaden HR’s responsibility
Acquiring the right talent is paramount to a start-up’s success. So, be sure to include your Head of Talent Management in important conversations, and offer them “a seat at the table.”
Make management coaching a priority 
Start-ups are usually full of very young managers that find themselves propelled to the world of management without ever having received any coaching. With the help of technology, executive coaching and training programs are much more accessible and affordable for managers (ex: Butterfly.ai!).
Implement a feedback system
Employees should be able to give feedback on their managers and every aspect of the company in an anonymous space. Be sure to provide one for them.
Use employee data to drive decision making
Use the data you receive from your feedback system (see point above), and take action based upon what it reveals.
Lead with actions over words
It will mean so much more to your employees if you back up your words with actions — and when implementing change based on their feedback, make sure they know it!
➡ Catch the full article here, and be sure to let us know what you think!

It is an unfortunate fact that most companies do not respect their human resources departments as much as other operations. Butterfly’s Co-Founder David Mendlewciz, via Workforce, debunks the negative perceptions that people have of HR.
Myth: “HR doesn’t contribute to the bottom line.”
Truth: How productive a team is heavily depends on how happy its employees are. Engaged employees are 22 percent more productive than disconnected ones. Therefore, the impact and revenue that a business can earn links right back to HR, since they are the ones responsible for keeping a strong company culture.
Myth: “HR makes things harder than they need to be.”
Truth: While HR is the “bearer of bad news” sometimes, it exists to make the lives of employees much easier. Human resources helps people feel better about their roles and teams, and uses employee feedback to put solutions into action. And with the use of technology (e.g. Butterfly), HR can get this feedback anonymously to make effective change.
Myth: “HR primarily focuses on admin tasks and do not have a strategic function.”
Truth: Yes, human resources is responsible for typical management operations (i.e. payroll), but their main focus is people development. HR should be a team of visionaries that know how to educate employees, seek and grow talent, and build a transparent culture within a company. This is why some businesses, like Slice, have defined human resources differently with new titles, such as “Heads of People.” Businessman Ram Charan shared the idea that human resources can potentially split into 2 parts, an administrative one while the other focuses on development and leadership.
If talent distinguishes good companies from great ones, and human resources is responsible for talent, then companies must ensure that their HR teams are taken more seriously.  You can access the full article here.

This week, our Butterfly Co-Founder Marcus Perezi-Tormos discusses how companies can help their Millennials boost their managerial skills, for Recruiter.com.
A recent study revealed that 41 percent of Millennials have at least four direct employees—yet these same managers will have to wait an average of 10 years before they receive their first coaching sessions.
Here are some of the other ways companies are failing their young managers—and what you should do about them.

• The “Just Wing-It” Mentality

Managers don’t always know where their gaps in skills and knowledge lie.
How to fix it: Implement a company-wide feedback system, between managers and their employees. Make sure to make it anonymous—you want feedback to be as honest as possible.

• Antiquated, Sporadic Coaching

Although coaches can be very knowledgeable, they do not know your managers on a personal level, and will not be aware of the very unique dynamics present throughout their teams.
How to fix it: Technological advancements are making receiving feedback on a personal scale easier than ever before. Butterfly.ai does just this, using an AI coach to push training materials to managers, based on the feedback their teams are giving.

• Failing to See the Business Value of Strong Leadership

HR teams across companies are usually trying to out-do other companies, by offering a plethora of perks to their incoming employees. However, our data revealed (gathered from our platform and a sample of 5,000 employees who use it) that having a strong team was far more positively correlated with happiness at work that perks were.
How to fix it: Invest in your managers and you will have a leg up on your competitors. You’ll see your employee engagement rise, and your teams become more productive.
Check out the full article here.
 

Butterfly co-founder Simon Rakosi attended the 2017 World Government Summit and is now honored to provide his perspective on the organization’s blog. In this article, he explains what lessons the public sector can learn from the private. 
Here’s a handy summary of his tips:
Tracking employee engagement
Employee engagement is not just a new HR buzzword. It translates into employees who are satisfied at work, and thus more productive. The government could learn from this, and start tracking a similar metric. How about “civic engagement”?
Transparent communications channels
Companies are using engagement software that gather employee feedback on a regular basis (just like Butterfly does!). Although a company obviously differs from a government, they could both adopt the same attitude.
Formalize employee happiness
Countries are waking up to the fact that the happiness of their citizens should be made a top priority. To this end, governments should be spending more resources on people’s development.
A data-driven society for good
Politicians tend to look at the big picture data is giving them, without ever considering the trends happening at an individual level. Citizens should have the ability to give elected officials their pulse on the contemporary circumstances on a frequent basis.
Read the full article here.
 

Talent management is especially important for new companies as building strong leaders can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage. Butterfly’s Co-Founder Simon Rakosi recently shared with BuiltinNYC what start-ups can do to keep employees motivated during tough times. Here are the recommendations:
Lead with the positive
Being open in your communication towards employees is key during tough times.  So, be sure to explain why these tough times are necessary. Usually they will be caused by accelerated growth which in the long term is definitely a great thing!
Over-communicate
Be sure that the challenge you are facing, it’s solution, and the way to get there, are crystal clear for your employees. They should all understand where they fit in the big picture. If you expect transparency within your teams – you need to reciprocate.

Give props

If your employees are giving it their all in face of the new challenge  be sure to let them know how much you appreciate their hard work. Give praise often and publicly every time you reach a small milestone on your roadmap.

Show the light at the end of the tunnel

Remind your employees of what work will be like after your challenge is overcome, and the new positive effects that will be here to stay. And when the storm has passed? Recap what you have all learned  and you’ll be fully armed to address your next challenge.

You can read to the full article here.

Butterfly’s co-founders David Mendlewicz, Simon Rakosi, and Marcus Perezi-Tormos were recently guests on the Positive Phil Show, a top business podcast.
Here are some of our favorite quotes from the 30-minute show:
On the Butterfly name
“We feel that we are changing the world one manager at the time, and driving that positive change is something that goes back to the idea for the name of our company. The idea came form the idea of an animal going through a drastic, but positive, change – that is, moving from a caterpillar to a butterfly.”
“Butterfly focuses on the managers: those individuals that need to be supported, developed, and trained. This is the exact gap we are filling so that companies are not just investing in development of senior executives, but every single manager at every level in the company.”
On being “married” to the mission
“We see ourselves as being problem solvers and we like to solve problems that make people feel better and have a positive impact on society. Knowing that 70 percent of employees are disengaged at work, to us, is an opportunity to change the world.”
“The relationship between co-founders is like a marriage, and like in every marriage, communication is key, so we are very open and transparent with each other.”
On what inspires the product
“We have a lot of exchanges with our partners/customers to know exactly what is working for them, and what might be missing. We open up the discussion to new ideas and have sessions to discover tool requirements and develop a pipeline of ideas.”
“It’s also about knowing what is available out there when it comes to artificial intelligence. It is important to always keep a pulse on what is going on given that AI is a very dynamic field with great algorithms and technologies to be leveraged by companies like ours.”
On building an engaged team
“We aim to build a culture from the ground up by promoting concepts of transparency, positivity and happiness in the core value of the team… What is really great is that everyone here knows the impact they have and how they fit into the product and the overall mission.”
On defining success
“Success is mostly achieved when you can get yourself to a state of happiness…nothing to do with money, but more on a personal level – reaching a very sustainable state of happiness. In terms of our clients, success is seeing the company achieve better and greater engagement.” 
You can listen to the full interview here.
 

We’re excited to announce that Butterfly has been named one of the top five messaging apps in the world by the Webby Awards. This year’s nominees reflect the top nine percent of all work and companies entered.

For more than twenty years, the Webby Awards have been the leading international program honoring excellence in the internet sphere. This year, the Webby Awards received 13,000 entries from nearly all 50 states and 70 countries worldwide.

The eventual Webby winners are determined in two ways. The first is through formal judging by members of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a global organization comprised of industry experts and technology innovators. The second factors in a “popular vote,” and allows the global community can make their voice heard by voting a nominee as their Webby’s People’s Voice winner.
Butterfly joins the likes of Nike, Hipmunk and Giphy as finalists in the Messaging category. Given our mission to empower the next generation of corporate leadership, we’re proud to be recognized for our anonymous messaging product, which brings managers closer to their teams and creates more transparent and engaged corporate cultures.

Winners will be announced April 25 and celebrated at the 21st Annual Webby Awards Show in May. People’s Voice voting will remain open until Thursday, April 20.

Please take a moment and give us your vote!

Last week, Butterfly was fortunate to attend one of the most exclusive global conferences in the world, alongside Elon Musk, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman and some 4,000 of the brightest and most influential leaders and policymakers from the public and private sectors.
It was a humbling experience, to say the least, but we were honored to be invited as thought leaders on the subject of happiness—a subject so important for the planners of the World Government Summit that they devoted an entire day in the schedule to it.
The Global Dialogue for Happiness brought together 300 minds to discuss the state of happiness across a range of topics, including how to facilitate workplace happiness, our realm of expertise as creators of a technology designed to train managers to build stronger, more engaged teams.
With optimism as the unifying thread of the WGS and dedicated Happiness Dialogue, here are eight pieces of wisdom from which all managers and HR teams can benefit.

Be brave in your willingness to hear tough feedback.

In one of the most anticipated talks of the event, an impassioned Elon Musk pondered what governments will do in the face of mass unemployment that will unfold in the future, and suggested that a universal basic income might be considered. When asked about his advice to future generations, Musk stressed the importance of candid feedback. Critical feedback is valuable, he said, especially when it comes from close friends.

Rethink your feedback loop.

On the subject of feedback, Thomas Koulopoulos, author of “The Gen Z Effect,” said that corporations should implement “reverse” mentoring in which younger employees become advisors to their more senior colleagues. He also suggested that companies employ short bursts of fast-feedback on a daily basis, rather than collecting their input over longer cycles.

Value failures for their educational upsides.

Tech entrepreneur and LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman said that while Silicon Valley “doesn’t celebrate” failures and missteps, entrepreneurs should see them as opportunities for growth. “Failure is an opportunity to learn,” he said.

Employ inclusivity as competitive advantage.

John Chambers, former CEO and Executive Chairman of Cisco Systems, noted that some Western nations have failed at leadership by not including their citizens and failing to rally diverse populations under a single vision. The same might be said of corporations. Chambers predicted that within a decade, 40 percent of enterprise companies will “disappear.”

Cherish your interpersonal relationships.

Dr. Robert Waldinger, a Harvard Medical School professor made famous for his TED talk entitled, “What Makes for a Good Life?”, said that people are more likely to compare our material goods with other people than we are to share our experiences, thus revealing a clear and widespread “lack of happiness.” He continued by arguing that the attention we give to other human beings is the single “greatest gift we have to offer one another today.”

Train around soft skills to improve “people development.”

At the Global Dialogue for Happiness, we participated in a roundtable on the subject of organizational happiness. During our conversation with policymakers and business minds from the private sector, participants discussed the need to include “softer sciences,” like psychology and organizational behavior, in training curriculums to prepare incoming generations for the jobs of the future.

Improve education to fuel happier, higher-performing communities.

The physician and anthropologist Jim Yong King urged policymakers in attendance to adapt their education systems with more urgency to address 21st century skill gaps. When it comes to education, he said, there is no time to waste. If the private sector is the engine of growth and the government is the driver, then education should be viewed as the fuel that feeds the engine.

Finally, there’s no time like the present.

We’ve all heard countless business aphorisms to the degree of “Done is better than perfect” or “Speed kills.” Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar built on these ideas, stating that “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago–and the second best is now.”
With research indicating that only 13 percent of U.S. employees are engaged at work and growing concerns around the impact of job automation on our future economies, the business world’s notion of “happiness” must shift from an idealistic objective to a measurable tactic for retaining and developing talent while driving business impact.

In just a few weeks, Butterfly will be taking the stage at Social Media Week NY, one of the largest digital conferences in the world that attracts thousands of entrepreneurs and marketers each year.
Two of our co-founders, David Mendlewicz and Simon Rakosi, will be leading sessions on the future of work and employee engagement. They join fellow speakers from some of the most influential media and tech companies in the world, including Facebook, Buzzfeed, Refinery29 and the The New York Times.
Social Media Week’s mission is to bring together minds from diverse backgrounds to explore the impact of technology on marketing, culture and work. This global theme for 2017 is “The Invisible Hand: Hidden Forces of Technology & How We Can Harness Them for Good.”
If you haven’t already purchased your conference badge, we are happy to offer a 25 percent discount code for friends of Butterfly. Apply the code nyc17bfly5tx8 at check-out.
Here is some more information on our sessions:

Millennial Manager Bootcamp at #SMWNYC

Weds. March 1 at 11:00 a.m.  | Convene
Millennials comprise the largest share of the U.S. workforce and nearly a third of them (and growing) are in management positions. So, why is it that most organizations wait up to ten years to provide leadership training to managers?
As innovation and entrepreneurialism seep into even the most established, “old school” organizations—CB Insights recently cited 50+ such programs in a recent report—young managers are taking on larger responsibilities and teams earlier in their careers. It’s time to face this leadership gap head-on and equip our the leaders of tomorrow with the tools and support they need to develop talent and drive business impact.
In this 60-minute bootcamp, you’ll learn the essential traits of a strong leader and what tools and support are needed to develop your talents over time.

• Moderator: David Mendlewicz, Co-Founder, Butterfly with
• Tiffany Pham, Founder & CEO, Mogul
• Brian Wong, Founder & CEO, Kiip

The Future of Work is Now: Can Emerging Technology Lead to Smarter, Happier Employees?

Friday, March 2 at 11:00 a.m. | The Times Center, Stage 2
Gallup research has found that a staggering 70 percent of the U.S. workforce is “not engaged” at work. Why? Though there are undoubtedly a variety of factors at play, a big reason is that millennials now comprise the lion’s share of the labor force and a occupy a growing segment of managerial posts. These employees have expectations, beliefs and behaviors that are entirely new when compared to the generations that came before them—and yet, many organizations have been slow to adapt their employee engagement and development processes for a new generation of talent.
In this session you’ll learn how companies from large, multinational organizations to lean startups can use technology to empower employees to make their voice heard

• Moderator: Simon Rakosi, Co-Founder, Butterfly with
• Laura Plato, President & COO, Causecast
• Shayna Pilnick, VP of Client Services & Operations, Laundry Service
• Benjamin Snyers, Partner & Managing Director, Social.Lab

We’re honored to share that Butterfly has been invited to join an exclusive network of global leaders at this year’s World Government Summit. Held in Dubai, the global conference brings together world leaders, policy makers and experts from more than 130 countries in order to explore innovation and technology’s role in strengthening and shaping future governments and improve the lives of citizens worldwide.
A major global event, previous summit speakers include President Barack Obama, Kathy Calvin (President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation), Dr. Neil Degrasse Tyson and many more.
Butterfly co-founders David Mendlewicz and Simon Rakosi have been invited as esteemed thought leaders on the subject of happiness, which is a core theme at this year’s event. In fact, the conference kicks off with a one-day “Global Dialogue for Happiness,” held on Feb. 11, in which speakers and attendees will discuss how healthy and positive conditions enable societies—and workplaces—to thrive.
At Butterfly, we believe that developing tomorrow’s great business leaders is critical to fostering a more engaged, more productive workforce. Last year, we released our first Happiness Index report, which explored workplace happiness and engagement trends across 5,000 employees in the U.S. and EMEA. We look forward to meeting the other 3,000 representatives, hailing both inside and outside of the tech world, to share ideas and get inspired.
We’re delighted to attend this year’s World Government Summit from Feb. 11 to Feb. 14. You can follow our updates here and on Twitter (@bttrflapp).

Did you know that employees aren’t the only ones who dread annual performance reviews? This week, we learned that more than 60 percent of managers would do away with them if they could. Read on for more management tips and insights from the past week.
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Adobe has released the findings of a comprehensive study exploring the efficacy of annual performance reviews. Per the report, which surveyed 1,500 employees and managers, the vast majority of people agree that the established review process is outdated and ineffective. What’s more, 80 percent of employees said they’d prefer ongoing, iterative feedback with managers to once-a-year reviews that reflect feedback that’s collected over several months.

Read more

Fast Company asked several managers to share their tips for inspiring creativity from their teams. One founder recommended to “lead by questioning,” that is, to open the conversation up to the team’s ideas before presenting your own. The simple act of asking an employee, “What do you think?” can go a long way in terms of empowering people to speak up and be bold when it comes to proactively bringing new ideas to the table.

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As a manager, productivity is the name of the game. Beyond managing your own workload, you are responsible for ensuring your team has everything they need to be as efficient and productive as possible. Proven productivity hacks include establishing a morning routine (and sticking to it!) and viewing the day in minutes—not hours.

Read more

Earlier this week, Strategy+Business published an excellent long-read highlighting the differences between confidence and hubris. Among executives and managers, humility is the single most important trait when it comes to indicating future success. As a team leader, confidence is a positive and necessary quality, but it should not come at the expense of having an open mind and demonstrating a willingness to accept responsibility.

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If you’re looking to improve your public speaking skills, look no further than outgoing President Barack Obama. Per Inc., Obama’s use of strategic pauses during his speeches demonstrate his strong grasp of the best practices of effective communication. Up your game instantly with this quick tip: instead of leaning on cognitive fillers (like, um, uh, etc.), simply pause as you collect your thoughts between words and phrases.

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Performance reviews are utilized by many companies to create an established cadence of goal setting and feedback once or twice a year, but a comprehensive study from Adobe is contesting this convention.
The study, which surveyed 1,500 U.S. employees, concluded that annual performance reviews are outdated and unnecessarily time consuming. In fact, the findings were so convincing that Adobe’s EVP of Customer & Employee Experience recently announced that the company would be doing away with them completely in 2017.
Why? Here’s what they found.
While the vast majority of people surveyed (88 percent) participate in traditional performance reviews, 64 percent of workers and managers agree that performance reviews as they exist today are outdated. What’s more, three-fourths of millennial managers—a growing population within leadership ranks—say performance reviews negatively impact their ability to do their job.
Annual performance reviews are stressful. Half of the employees surveyed says this type of feedback, all at once and collected via lengthy documents, can add to their stress. As it turns out, managers are on the side of their teams: 61 percent would do away with annual reviews entirely if it were up to them.
So, what’s the solution? According to survey, most people want feedback iteratively and in the moment instead of all at one time. Four in five employees surveyed said they want immediate feedback.
You can browse the full study here.

Becoming a better manager is an ongoing journey that requires a commitment to learning. That in mind, we’re kicking off a new series that will recap the most interesting and thought-provoking articles on leadership each week. This week’s roundup features quick tips for improving positivity, landmark work/life legislation from France and best practices for when to take tough conversations offline.
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First Round Review published its “30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2017” and a few of the insights touched on leadership best practices. One of the most quotable lines suggested that managers lead through enablement and empowerment instead of through enforcement: “Being a good manager is not about avoiding failure – it’s about enabling as many different paths forward as possible for as long as possible.”

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France passed legislation designed to promote improved work/life balance for employees who increasingly feel tethered to their smartphones during off hours. Dubbed the “right to disconnect,” the bill got people talking about tech as a double-edged sword.

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Nobody likes awkward conversations, but a new study shows just how costly communication failures can be. According to the report, companies that waste time skirting around difficult issues (such as a colleague failing to adhere to company processes) can experience thousands of dollars in losses every single week.

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Fast Company published a list of five top HR trends to watch in 2017, in which the publication writes that today, performance management is “an information game.” Citing large companies who have ditched the twice-a-year review cycle, breaking the mold and implementing more iterative, real-time methods for collecting and acting on employee feedback.

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2016 will go down in infamy as a “negative year” for some people, but not to worry: Forbes has offered some scientifically-backed tips for infusing positivity into your routine at the start of the new year. Something as simple as breathing in and out for five seconds or scheduling self-care routines can improve your outlook, which can tend to have a trickle-down effect on your team.

Read more

Managers rely on email and channels like Slack to optimize the way they communicate with teams, but as Northwestern Mutual’s SVP of HR points out, some of these conversations are better in person. Her three rules: Speak in person when something is about to change; when providing constructive criticism; and (of course) when letting someone go.

Read more

Want some more brain food? Head over to Inc. to see their 10 must-read business books for 2017.

France deserves kudos for addressing what everyone else ignores: The blurring of work and home life is messing us up. We carry our work with us everywhere, via laptops and smartphones and WiFi. And while that’s made some things easier, it has simultaneously forced us to be instantly and always accessible. This “forever on” culture leaves little time to disconnect and reboot, leading to increased levels of worker burnout, stress, and damaged relationships.

While it’s unlikely that we will be ignoring our smartphones anytime soon, managers can do their part by promoting a culture that espouses a healthy and transparent work/life balance. Since what’s “healthy” can vary by team, role and individual, maintaining ongoing conversations with your employees about their stress levels and workload is critical to keeping teams happy and engaged.

Set your manager New Year Resolutions now!

Becoming a manager for the first-time is an exciting and significant career milestone. It means your organization has instilled confidence in you as a subject matter expert and individual team player – so much so that they’re banking on your ability to scale your talents across a broader team.
One of the biggest mistakes first-time managers make is to emphasize delegation over team development. It’s an easy misstep that many people take due to lack of training in soft skills and leadership best practices. In fact, the Harvard Business Review found that most managers are a decade or more into their management career before receiving formal leadership coaching from their employer.
Fortunately, the Internet and technological advancements have democratized executive leadership coaching, bringing forth unlimited resources for young managers to proactively educate themselves and stay connected with their teams. Here are a few resolutions for first-time managers to keep in mind as we head into the New Year.
Practice team time management. Personal time management is challenging as is – studies have shown that “workload” is the No. 1 cause of workplace stress. As the manager of your team, you’re not only responsible for managing your own tasks, but also how those who report to you are managing their own.
We recently surveyed 5,000 employees across the U.S. and EMEA and found that “work/life balance” was the job-related driver most correlated to overall employee happiness – above team dynamics, office environment and – believe it or not – upper management. Frequent, informal check-ins can go a long way when it comes to ensuring team members are challenged without feeling overwhelmed.
Track team engagement in addition to output. As manager of your team, you’re responsible for promoting efficient output that ripples into business and/or organizational impact. Team efficiency is closely related to employee engagement, so managing how your team members are feeling on a regular basis and making necessary adjustments is an important aspect of being a manager.
As a manager, you should create avenues for both long and short-term engagement. In the long-term, work with each employee on individual career plans and goal setting. Use formalized review windows and check-ins to demonstrate your commitment over time. Moreover, infrequent check-ins in the form of a simple Slack message (e.g. “How are you feeling about Project XYZ? Is there anything you need from me?”) serve to reinforce your desire to keep employees happy and engaged on an ongoing basis.
Use EQ to tailor your management style. It has been said that in business, emotional intelligence (EQ) can be just as important if not more important than IQ. Managers with a high EQ know how to read the individual personalities of their team members and manage their own style to better fit the dynamics of the team.
One way to gather this information is to host ongoing conversations, both formally and informally, to understand what motivates your team members. Many HR teams have also begun to implement mandatory “personality” testing (a la Myers-Briggs or DiSC) to reveal behavioral differences. If your organization hosts such assessments, dig into what your employees’ profiles mean for your management style and adapt accordingly.
Exercise transparency. First time managers in particular can struggle with balancing established work habits with newly-minted positions of authority. Upon becoming a manager, you might feel as though you need to act a certain way – and you do. Managers are important role models within an organization.
Engendering trust will be one of the first hurdles you face as a manager. A study from the American Psychological Association recently found that a quarter of U.S. workers do not trust their managers, and only half of the respondents believed their employer is upfront and honest with them. Given this, it’s important to keep in mind that with a greater focus on professionalism should come a greater focus on transparency. Whenever possible, provide context into the ways in which an individual team member’s contributions manifest within the team and the broader company vision.
Be an active listener. Capturing team feedback is only as good as your ability to distill what you are hearing and turn those insights into action. Far too many managers rely on weekly “stand up” meetings to give employees’ a platform for providing feedback. The problem with these types of settings is that they can be overrun by dominant personalities, or worse, seen as an unnecessary time suck.
Good leaders know how to instill a culture of feedback and listening into the fiber of the team. Great leaders know how to take what they hear and – when it makes sense – use those insights to affect positive change. Reinforcing the value of feedback with both words and action show employees that their voice matters.
Give praise generously. Dale Carnegie famously wrote that the best leaders frequently give “honest, sincere appreciation.” Many first-time managers fall victim to thinking that delivering criticism or finding flaws is the main responsibility of the manager. Indeed, course-correcting inefficient behaviors or poor working habits is part of a manager’s credo – but more importantly, a manager’s job is to take an active and eager role in the development of each team member.
Be proactive in your own career development. Many organizations do not prioritize management training for mid-level managers, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important at this stage of your career. In fact, becoming a more effective leader is as important to your own career as it is to the well-being of the company.
Be curious in your pursuit of becoming a stronger leader, and actively seek out ways to improve your craft. This could be as simple as picking up some literature or subscribing to a few magazines, or it could be as involved as asking your employer to undersign the cost of a training or seminar.
Find a management mentor. Of course, the best way to learn is by shadowing someone you admire. Consider senior leaders within your organization – or even outside of it – who inspire you to be a better manager and ask them to grab a brief cup of coffee. In your initial meeting, specify that you are seeking management guidance and demonstrate your commitment to learning. Odds are, they will be flattered by the gesture and eager to share their wisdom with you.

A new study has found that companies who fail to build cultures that espouse open communication – that is, those environments in which employees are afraid to “speak up” – can bleed thousands of dollars a week in lost time and resources.
The survey was led by Joseph Grenny and David Maxfield, co-authors of the New York Times bestseller, “Crucial Conversations.” By studying more than 1,000 employees, the researchers found that more than 70 percent of workers reported being too afraid to speak up when a colleague was failing to pull their weight on a team, 68 percent did not report incidents of “disrespect” and 57 percent did not flag co-workers who failed to comply with company policy.
The researchers then asked respondents to estimate how much these avoided conversations ultimately cost their organizations per week. The average estimate for that prompt: $7,500 in lost time and resources – per week.
It is not surprising that avoiding difficult conversations is commonplace in many work environments; in fact, one in three people surveyed for this study said that their culture does not support “holding crucial conversations.” Most people do not feel comfortable rocking the boat or earning the moniker of “office tattle-tale.” That said, failing to address challenges head on can lead to weeks of wasted time “ruminating” about what might be relatively minor issues.
Beyond the financial cost associated, avoiding tough conversations can also have detrimental effects on morale and engagement. The solution for managers: Promote environments where transparency and open communication are the norm, and lead by example. Instead of non-constructive finger-pointing, create a system for providing solutions-based feedback to peers in which fixing an issue is prioritized above assigning blame.
You can learn more about this study at Recruiter.com.