Motivation is tricky. Many great blogs like Doris Tirone’s post talk about the dangers of believing a supervisor alone can motivate someone to be more efficient. External (extrinsic) motivators like money or praise are helpful, but internal (intrinsic) motivators are stronger and salient. One of the tools I have found most useful to understanding intrinsicRead… Read more »
How many of you are supervisors who wish you were giving more feedback and recognition to your staffs? How many of you are employees who wish you were getting more feedback and recognition from your boss? Whatever side of the question you fall on, manager and employee engagement through feedback and recognition is an essentialRead… Read more »
Shutdown, furloughs, pay cuts – oh my! Last year was basically Groundhog Day for feds, each day an endless cycle of bad news – at least, that’s what it felt like. But how bad was it, really? A new survey tries to capture the data. In the new report, “Embracing Change: CHCOs Rising to theRead… Read more »
“High-quality web content that’s useful, usable, and enjoyable is one of the greatest competitive advantages you can create for yourself online.” ― Kristina Halvorson, Content Strategy for the Web Government agencies rely on websites and other online tools with the view of informing, educating and engaging citizens. But how do we know if we’re actuallyRead… Read more »
In the virtual workplace of the future many high-performing millennials will be empowered by employers to decide when, where and how they work. These employees will be responsible for setting their own hours, as well as deciding if and when to physically commute to a traditional brick-and-mortar office. That is, assuming one still exists inRead… Read more »
In 2013 alone, there were 253 cyber breaches of major organizations and over 552 million identities were exposed. 2013: it quickly became known as the year of the Mega Breach. Earlier this week, GovLoop hosted an online training with leaders in the cybertech industry to discuss today’s cyberthreat environment. Kevin Haley, director of security responseRead… Read more »
Often when we think about government, we think of a slow, bureaucratic system that cannot adopt quickly to change. But many government organizations have fought through these stereotypes and transformed their agencies into lean and agile institutions, able to meet the complex demands of public sector service delivery. How? Transformative organizations understand that the keyRead… Read more »
I wrote last week about the more automated kinds of feedback so here are some thoughts and ideas on direct user feedback. There are a number of approaches that we have followed so far: Usability testing In March we ran two days of user testing with people who use the NAO website. Many people wouldRead… Read more »
“Now, try not to be overwhelmed by all this technology,” Joan tells new secretary Peggy Olson, showing her to a Selectric typewriter in the series opening of Mad Men. While humorous to the viewer, actual secretaries in the 1960s had a substantial learning curve when getting a new and improved typewriter. Since then, things haveRead… Read more »
“The first cut is the deepest” is a lyric from a popular Sheryl Crowe song – but it could also easily be the mantra for any employee struggling with an abusive boss. Many bosses (not mine, thankfully) like to employ the fear tactic to inspire their employees to work harder and stay on task. ButRead… Read more »