In this episode, Scott and Nelsa discuss habits to leave behind and cultivating new behaviors as 2020 approaches the fourth quarter. Also, find out about the "Buy-Up" option at CAS in order to give the most value to your employees who use the People Are Everything platform. Join us bi-weekly as we analyze key tactics and trends in employee engagement, YOS, and safety programs, while we discuss relevant news topics affecting your workforce. Listen to the episode below or continue reading for a full transcript.
[00:00:07] Welcome to the CA Short all-in employee podcast. And I'm your host, R. Scott Russell, with Nelsa Webber. We're so glad that you've joined us today. Let's dive in.
[00:00:26] All right now, so our next set today is ideas and habits that we're leaving behind after the pandemic.
[00:00:34] Doesn't that feel like a lot? As if we're at New Year's already. That feels like a resolution. It does. So I'm going to read some of these off and I just thought we'd get our ideas on them, right? And we'll just kind of burn through them and give a little thought. I feel like I need a buzzer. An obsession with busy-ness. Oh, yes.
[00:00:55] Yes. You are leaving that one behind.
[00:00:59] In fact, when we had to do remote for, and I won't take too long on this, but we had to go remote when COVID-19 first broke out in March and were figuring out what things are doing.
[00:01:10] I had to learn to get quiet and still with myself and be alone away from people. And so it was a really good time to learn how to be efficient with my time. To stop just doing stuff for the sake of just moving around. It was a good, like, meditative quality. And I loved it and I kind of missed that a little bit, honestly. So that busy-ness - yes, I'm leaving that behind, Scott. I totally agree.
[00:01:38] Alright, yes, well for me, I mean, that's obviously my - I started kayaking and started doing some other things, but it's a little difficult for me. I found that I used to think I was the easiest person to chill, and now I find myself - I'll be sitting there and then I start talking to myself. I do talk to myself in case any of you ever hear that, that's how I work out everything. Right?
[00:01:56] I practice speeches. I will simply - I'll not even have a meeting. I'll talk myself out of it because I'll just kind of go through it and realize, oh, I don't need to meet with so-and-so. And so I can do that and I'll do it.
[00:02:07] Sometimes I'm just sitting there watching television and I start talking and I realize I'm going through a work-oriented situation and I just need to chill for a minute. So I need to work on that a little bit more. All right. Parenting guilt. Now, this has to be for you. I'm the doggie parent, but you're the parent-parent.
[00:02:24] I think I did that before the pandemic. I was working through that prior to. So I don't really have a lot of that. I think I've raised two very independent, very free-thinking daughters who come to me when they have issues, but they've learned how to work through their stuff. But I think for parents it's very important because you're spending so much more time with your kids because of remote learning. And I think it's come to where you've learned - spending time, and I've always felt this way, spending time and having memories with my children was the most important thing to me where I didn't feel like I had to buy their love. I didn't have to give them everything they wanted. And, you know, holidays and birthdays- it wasn't always so over the top because we really did a lot of things together all year long. But I think the pandemic has really strengthened that bond between us where, you know, we talk a lot and we share experiences a lot. And I think for parents who, maybe new parents especially, who you feel like you were working so much that you really weren't spending a lot of time with your children. This pandemic has been a real blessing to family bonds. I think if, you know, we're not talking about a dysfunctional family, but a pretty, you know, fairly healthy- Yeah divorce is up by the way, but that's a whole different story.
[00:03:51] People-pleasing. Oh, I let that go too before the pandemic. But it's a good time to do that as well, because if you can't go over to a cookout because you don't feel comfortable being with a lot of people, you shouldn't do it. This is a great time to practice "No" and that's for your health. "No" is a complete sentence.
[00:04:07] Yeah, I love this quote. This is from Joanne Buckhalter from Auburn, Alabama and she says: "I've always been the person that would go along just to get along." Right, and now it's changing.
[00:04:19] Yeah, that's the busy-ness too. I don't think I - yeah, I think I left that beforehand. So I think they get the idea that movement requires a membership.
[00:04:27] Oh, definitely. Definitely. I can buy it. We are doing our thing. Yeah.
[00:04:32] Now I talked to somebody the other day about this, there are things I like though, about a gym. I mean I'm just a person. Like for me, I don't get motivated enough to do weights and things like that at home. Right. I like to look around the room and see somebody else powering through and it pushes me to do the same. Exactly. So there is something I like to that, but I've definitely got, you know - Jeff's wife is a Peloton rider and stuff like that. So some people just have that motivation and they can just do it. But I will say I don't anymore. I do think that I'd let go. I don't have to have that.
[00:05:08] I can't do other things. Right. The pressure to always have it together at work.
[00:05:14] Oooh, that definitely is a good one for me because I feel like I was one of those people who wasn't a leader in my previous profession. I always felt like I needed to have it together for the sake of the group. I didn't always, but I felt that way.
[00:05:29] And so here and through the pandemic, I do feel like there's this collective thought process of "we're in this together." I sort of feel like we're kind of on Gilligan's Island if anybody remembers that old show where, you know, we kind of all have to put together our brainpower and our physical resources to kind of make it through this time.
[00:05:47] Not a three-hour tour. I know, right?
[00:05:49] Three-hour tour they lasted however many years on the island, so I kind of feel like we're on an island and can't get off.
[00:05:56] You know, I just think about, you know, used to - think about this, before the pandemic when you had to do a video conference, it was so specific and you needed to be on and you needed to this. Wear your shirt and tie, with jeans on underneath.
[00:06:12] And we sat through recently and It just made me laugh, but I've been on so many that you do see things happen. And so we were actually on a demo recently with a potential client and our teammate's dog burst into the room and unplugged his computer- like ran in, hit the chords and unplugged everything.
[00:06:31] And we lost him for a few minutes. And then he came back. And you're like, that's just the way things are now, right? That is exactly how it is. Right. There's no way we have to, I think, let go of the fact that we are not always in 100 percent control of anything, anything, and we're human. And how better to be human? I think it allows the employee to even be more all-in when they can be themselves and be human. Right. Take the mask off.
[00:06:57] All right, let's see here. A nonstop hustle. I'm leaving behind the grind- is what this one person said.
[00:07:06] I think that makes some people feel uncomfortable, maybe in leadership, though. I think people have been so used to seeing, since the Industrial Revolution workers, where they are constantly doing something. They only clock out for this. Clock out for that. But again, brain research will tell people that the way we're moving and trending is sometimes a healthier, more holistic view of work where we have natural rhythms with our sleep. We have natural rhythms with our food. And work has a rhythm like we're not meant to work 60, 70, 80 hours in a week and never take vacations and never have time off.
[00:07:41] And I think the pandemic has really slowed the world down. I honestly love this- does Jeff know that?
[00:07:47] No, don't. We love our CEO.
[00:07:52] We do, but that big box store mentality of being open 24 hours and the TV not ever going off like to me, I love seeing that people are getting to leave and go to their families and have balance.
[00:08:03] I have several days off.
[00:08:04] Did you see in the news where this is the first year in years that I think Target, Wal-Mart, some of those aren't going to be open on Thanksgiving.
[00:08:12] Right? Yay!
[00:08:12] I am such a huge fan. I just think that's - yeah it's awful. I think we need to monitor time with our families and sorry if you're any of those people listening. It's nothing against you.
[00:08:25] Well and that really is the next one. We've hit two there because the other one is putting work before family. Right. So, you know, I think there's a nice blend. You have to have your work, it's how you support your family. Exactly, but being sure to make time for your family as things happen. And you need to have those moments. Right.
[00:08:42] Remember and you get sick. Is work going to take care of you? I mean, hopefully, your insurance will. But yeah, who are the people that are going to be the ones to have to take care of you if something goes wrong? And I think if you haven't put that time in, you're not going to get that investment out.
[00:08:55] Right. And I think companies who really engage with their employees, they - one of the ways best to do that is to have that family involvement and show the support for the family. Another one, trying to have total control.
[00:09:10] I have had to really look at myself in the mirror on that one. So I think that would be a good one for me to leave behind, because, as you said, we really - it's an illusion. We really don't have control over anything hardly other than maybe what we think sometimes. So I'm definitely working on that one.
[00:09:25] The inner critic. Yeah.
[00:09:29] And right now, it's not over yet. You are stepping on my toes, stop it, Scott. Stop it. Let me take this quote.
[00:09:37] This is from Lori Milner. She's an author and speaker in Johannesburg, South Africa. And she says, "The one belief I will never go back to is that my self-worth should be linked to achievement only."
[00:09:52] Yes, Lori just smacked me. Thank you, Lori in South Africa. Yeah, and I think work is one of those places where it's an extension of school, where if you wanted to hit the mark high, you wanted to be a high performer, your identity got tied up like mine did, often in external things. And your - there's this affirmation by Tony Jones. I love her, and she says, "My worth ethic is no longer tied to my work at the end." That's a good quote.
[00:10:24] And it's about - your worth is not externally driven. And I think we get better engagement from our employees when people know their value to us beyond what they do for the company. Who you are and how you show up in the world is of so much more value and adds value to what you do in your workplace when you know that it stands alone.
[00:10:50] I wonder how we're all going to be able to let go of all these shows we've all been watching and have been sucked into. I've done this so much.
[00:10:55] I know, I get on like I want to go back to know when we are going back to normal. How am I going to keep up with all that?
[00:11:00] But this may be our new normal and it there may be no going back.
[00:11:04] And that was from, you know, this information we were just talking about, that was the head of Content Development at Thrive Global, who I follow. And that was Marina, I'm not going to say it right, but Dekle is what it sounds like.
[00:11:17] But I love that article. Yeah. About what are we going to change? What are we going to let go of? What do we decide?
[00:11:22] Well, I'll give you one. My Sunday mornings are now on the water. Perfect. Instead of, to be honest, instead of sleeping in now and getting up late or whatever I'm doing, I am getting up at six-thirty. It takes me a little bit to have some coffee and get it together on a Sunday morning. But then I'm on the water and I've been pretty consistent because I really need that time. It's peaceful, my self-care. I love it. And so I think I will be leaving behind a little bit of laziness. I'm going to try to have a little bit of take-care-of-me time.
[00:11:57] Well, maybe not laziness so much as you're redirecting your focus like you have a different focus for your health and self-care.
[00:12:04] And that time on the water, you know, may be more beneficial for you in letting go and unplugging as opposed to you waking up, you're in the bed and your mind starts racing. If it's like mine.
[00:12:15] So, we're going to talk about one more thing when we come back. Then we'll wrap up today's show then. Great.
[00:12:46] All right, now, so we're back and we're gonna talk about just one more thing before we wrap today's show. So something I wanted to share. You know, we were talking about airlines earlier and some difficulty, but, you know, airlines, hotels, a lot of the things you do when you're shopping, they have those loyalty programs. Right. And you can get points and you can use those points. I travel a lot. I use my points. Right. One of the coolest things I've always loved and it really kind of showed up in the last few years, especially with I'll get some shout outs out there. It's like Hilton and Marriott and stuff, like with Hilton. I can now do points in cash.
[00:13:19] I can take the points I have, but if I don't have enough I can just pay the difference. OK, well something cool we're doing here at CA Short in our new engagement recognition programs is we have the option to do what we call is Buy Up. Nice. And so what you can do, so let's say you've experienced work, you've done great work, you've been recognized and appreciated, and you have achieved some points and you've been banking points in your program, and there's something that you really want. But we know maybe COVID has slowed down that reward. Right. Like you, you're not going to get there when you thought you were gonna get there, or something like that. Right? Well, now, if your company chooses, you can have the option to buy up the difference. OK, and I think we're one of the first people to do it in our industry. And I'm really excited about that because I think, not only will it open the door for you to be able to redeem and recognize yourself for those things that you want, or it doesn't have to be things right? It could be an experience or could be anything. But if you're so close and you just want it, it's something you really want. I think you'll work that much harder. Right. You're going to be that much more appreciative. Yeah. But what's nice is, you know, you could pay $10 bucks more and you could have that new 75-inch television you've dying for or maybe you're only one-hundred points away. And you just can't get there.
[00:14:45] That's another great way, Scott, of engaging your employees because you're still giving them more flexibility. You're giving them more options, flexibility, and more ways to still say we appreciate you and we want to make things easier for you. Well, if you think about it, I gave you the hotel example or the airline.
[00:15:00] I mean, how frustrating did it used to be when I would have 18,000 points in the hotel room out of 19,000 and I can't use it. Right. And I got to go spend all that money again. And now see, I can just do that little bit of difference while we're doing the same exact kind of model. And really, though it's not a loyalty program, it's an employee loyalty benefit. It is to help your employee achieve the goals that they're after and the things that they're doing in their program. And instead of penalizing them or saying, hey, you know what, maybe you've reduced a little bit of your program this year. Right. And so now somebody can say, wow, I don't have to wait another year until I get my years of service points or take whatever I can go on and get that grill for the family and I'm this close.
[00:15:45] Now I can just use my points and I can buy up the difference. Perfect. And we have information on our website about our program, cashort.com is where to go to look for that. And if your company needs someone to walk through the program, how to get you set up, PAE - people are everything. Those are some great tools to have that come in to help build engagement programs as well.
[00:16:08] You know, we'll do it, we'll do it for you. We will do it for you virtually. Well, in-person when we can fly again.
[00:16:16] I know. And hopefully, our dogs won't come through, and I don't have a dog though, but my kids will come through and trip on the chord. Well, it's been another great episode, a great day.
[00:16:26] And like I said, I'm going to be taking off next week. Enjoy your vacation. I'm going to attempt to go off the grid.
[00:16:33] Oh, my. I wish I could have it all off the grid. Yes. I don't know if it's going to work, but I'm going to do my best at least one day or one hour a day. Yeah, and work your way up. Yeah. I might have a glass of wine. And so, you know, I don't like to make decisions. I mean they call me from work. I'm having a little bit of wine, they're asking me something important. I'm like this might not be the best time. Definitely not. So yeah, I'm going to hopefully enjoy it.
[00:16:58] And I hope you have a great-it's a holiday week here, whenever you listen to this, it might not be, but it's a holiday week coming up. We hope you have a good one. And then we'll come back together for our next episode. I think it's about time we need a guest. Yes. I think we're gonna need a guest. I'm going to get us one. All right, we will grab one and be ready for the next episode. All right. Have a great day.
[00:17:26] Thank you for joining us on the CA Short all-in employee podcast. Scott and I will see you next time.
