My Portfolio

A Look at Some of My Recently Published Work

Here's a more detailed list of my writing credits. 

And a look at some examples of blog writing I've done for various clients.

HR Daily Advisor: Contributing Editor

2022

Contributing content on learning and development, HR/employee relations and employee communication issues.

Entrepreneur: Contributing Editor

2022

Contributing articles on human resource management, employee relations, learning and development, benefit administration, and more.

Why You Need an Enterprise-Level Marketing Taxonomy

January 2022

Marketers today benefit from a wide range of data available to them literally at their fingertips. Theoretically, that data should provide them with insights to help improve their marketing efforts and maximize profitability.

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But data can be misleading, and the decisions made based on that data can be flawed.

Benefit Packages in 2022

January 2022

In a hybrid work environment, trendy perks like on-site fitness centers, ping-pong tables, meditation gardens, etc., have lost some of their allure. Even traditional benefits like time off have taken on new meaning—employees working from home have been less likely to use up their sick or PTO time.

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As employers and their benefit advisors look ahead to 2022 they’re considering, and making, some shift in what and how they offer benefits to their employees.

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One primary area of focus driven by pandemic experiences—appreciating the value of time.

Using Trending Conversations and Popular Hashtags to Build Your Brand, Part 1

January 2022

Hashtags allow marketers to tag their content to attract
the attention of users who may be interested
in a certain topic; additionally, users are able to follow
hashtags related to their personal areas of interest. They
can be generic terms such as #love, brand-specific terms such
as #CocaCola, or ambiguous terms (which social media users
really need to click on to determine their specific meaning)
such as #smilingfood. Hashtags are common on a number of
social media sites, most notably Twitter, Instagram, TikTok,
Facebook, and LinkedIn.

With U.S. Paid Leave Laws in Limbo, Employers Fill the Gap

December 2021

The United States (U.S.) is one of the wealthiest and most advanced countries on the planet, yet it has no formal paid family leave laws or policies in place to ensure employers are supportive of their employees beyond the 12-weeks of unpaid time off for parents “at all public agencies, all public and private schools and at all companies with 50 or more employees," according to ABC News.

Substance Abuse Got Worse Amid the Pandemic and Remote Work

December 2021

Amid the pandemic, mental health and substance use disorders have worsened, in some cases significantly. Of particular concern is the rising rate of opioid addiction and related deaths.

Recruiting Retirees: Opportunities, Barriers and Best Practices

December 2021

We are now in one of the tightest labor markets in memory, and all industries are feeling the pressure. Companies are getting increasingly desperate, but desperation can spark new ways of thinking about how to fill vacancies. Often overlooked are retirees, who represent a largely untapped source of promising talent to help stem the impacts of the Great Resignation.

The 100 Year History of the Human Resources Department

December 2021

The HR function is relatively new in the world of work and, given its relatively brief tenure, it’s undergone remarkable change over the years—especially during the past 10 to 20 years and, of course, even more so over the past 18+ months as companies of all types and sizes have grappled with the pandemic and how to serve employees, customers, and other key stakeholders in new ways.

Technology to Automate and Refine the Recruitment Process

December 2021

In the marketing world, they're known as customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. In HR, they're referred to in other ways—for example, candidate relationship management or employee relationship management (ERM) platforms—and often integrated with an applicant tracking system (ATS), but the concept is the same. They're platforms that leverage technology to connect with an audience—in this case potential employees—in ways that drive talent acquisition and retention.

Shameka Young: A Difference Maker in the D&I Space

December 2021

A key element of diversity, equity, and inclusion is finding ways to not only hire more diverse workers but also elevate them within their organization. For Shameka Young, VP and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) at Cognizant, leveraging the company’s focus on affinity groups, targeted hiring, and other practices have been key factors in the success of its diversity initiatives.

Using Navigation Platforms to Boost Health Care Decisions

December 2021

Workers with employer-sponsored health care often struggle to understand the benefits available to them. They seek support both for choosing appropriate benefits plans and for navigating through the health care system with their coverage.

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Ill-informed health care decisions drive up health care costs and are detrimental to employees' health and well-being. Online health care navigation platforms aim to help employees make better health care choices.

Your Virtual HR Assistant

December 2021

Fueled by the pandemic and the challenges faced by employers to find and retain staff, virtual human resources assistants are seeing a resurgence. Having good tech tools can be like having extra HR staff members on hand to do administrative tasks. This lets leaders tackle higher-level, more strategic priorities.

Filling the Pipeline to Boost DEI in the C-Suite and Beyond

November 2021

One of the many obstacles that get in the way of greater diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the corporate world is what is known as the pipeline problem. While there is controversy over whether the problem is a significant impediment to D&I efforts or simply a convenient excuse, the general premise is that diversity at the highest levels of organizations is lacking because there isn’t enough diversity at the lower levels of organizations. The reason there isn’t sufficient diversity in organizations generally is because there isn’t enough diversity in a particular field at the higher education level.

How Content Marketers are Using AI for Content Development

November 2021

Wouldn’t it be great if technology could play a significant
role in helping create copy to meet a seemingly
insatiable demand for more content? It can,
kind of. AI tools and natural-language generation are being
used by a growing number—and range—of content developers.

Tips for Building Wallet Share to Gain Market Share

November 2021

Companies talk a lot about market share and engage in a wide range of activities designed to build or increase it. But there’s another important “share” on which they should also be focused—wallet share or share of wallet (SOW). It can be a leading indicator of market share and can be a metric to identify opportunities to impact customer satisfaction, but it has important relevance of its own.

Personal Life Experiences Drive Passion for DEI

November 2021

As the American population continues to diversify, so, too, does the distribution of wealth and business ownership. Potential depositors and borrowers are increasingly likely to be people of color. Banks that don’t look like or think like this emerging audience are less likely to attract diverse clientele than those that meaningfully embrace diversity. Mike Sebring gets it.

Technology Can Assist When Accommodating Employees with Disabilities

November 2021

The ability to work from home is a big boon for many employees with disabilities. They may still face barriers, though, during the talent acquisition process and beyond. Those barriers can lead to costly lawsuits—and reputational damage.

What Can Credit Union Leaders Do to Mitigate 'The Turnover Tsunami'?

November 2021

A predicted massive outflux of employees is already beginning to be felt in some organizations. Employees of all kinds from companies of all sorts have gotten a taste of the flexibility and work/life balance that working from home has provided. Many are loathe to return to the physical workplace. Many have also had plenty of time to think about their careers and the companies they work for—what they like, what they don’t—and what they would rather be doing.

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This has created an environment in which employers, including credit unions, are scrambling to find—and keep—talent.

Who Is Training the Next Generation of Managers?

November 2021

Another effect of the pandemic and the Great Resignation is starting to bubble up: a woeful lack of trained leaders ready to manage in the future. Why? One of the biggest reasons is that the traditional way of training up future leaders isn’t quite jibing with our new-normal way of hybrid working—in other words, it’s nigh impossible to shadow someone when they’re in a different time zone. There are emerging ways of filling this leadership-training gap, however, and it starts with a power shift.

How Employers Can Respond to ‘Two-Timing’ Workers

October 2021

Imagine this: One of your employees, now working from home, has established three side businesses that do the same type of work your company does and serve the same types of customers. They're running their businesses during the hours you're paying them to work for you. They're using your databases to access information to help them sell their services online. Worse, they've actually contracted with some of your other employees to help them run these businesses.

What's a "Mouse Wiggler?" Or, How to Manage People in a Hybrid Work Environment

October 2021

Suspicious employers and their managers who still ascribe to the “out of sight and out of mind” concerns about managing a remote workforce and seek to use Machiavellian measures to monitor remote work performance may be turning off employees and sending them looking for job opportunities elsewhere in an already tight labor market.
So how can companies effectively manage productivity in a hybrid workforce?

Wellness Portals Help Fill Employee Need

October 2021

Employers have long recognized the role they can play in providing resources and support for employee wellness—initially to manage rising health care costs, but there are other impacts as well. Successfully managing employee wellness can positively impact absenteeism, productivity and turnover.

Taking Another Look at Cafeteria Plans

October 2021

Cafeteria plans are getting new attention during the pandemic as a way to let employees select—and fund with pretax dollars—optional insurance benefits and spending accounts that meet their health and caregiving needs.

Compensation Rises Despite Uncertainty

October 2021

It's fair to say that 2020 was a year like no other. Not a single individual in the U.S.–or, in truth, much of the world–was not impacted in some way by COVID-19. It's against that backdrop that the 2021 CUES Executive Compensation Survey was conducted. Like the previous year's report, the 2021 report shows steadily increasing salaries for credit union leaders.

Which Market Research Platform is Right For You?

September 2021

The digital environment is rich with real-time communication and consumer sentiment across a wide array of topics, industries, and geographies. But what if companies could cultivate, synthesize, analyze, and draw conclusions from these sentiments to improve their marketing communication and CRM efforts?

Five Key Questions About Video Marketing Answered

September 2021

There’s an old saying: A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s so trite, but it’s true, especially for moving pictures (i.e., videos). However, not all content marketers are equally adept at communicating via video. And their
experience level varies widely. In this column, I take a look at some commonly asked questions and provide insights from experienced video marketers.   

HR Leaders Agree—People Matters Are at the Heart of Business Success

September 2021

In most organizations, the human resources (HR) department tends to be thought of as “owning” the employee experience and everything related to employee engagement, satisfaction, productivity, etc. In truth, though, people issues are everyone’s responsibility, from senior leaders through front line supervisors.

Mobile Apps for HR Communication

September 2021

In the current digital environment, there are many options for mobile apps that can help streamline communications and ensure that employees and managers stay connected with their teams, colleagues and others. From enterprise tools like Slack, to free apps and plug-ins, HR professionals are making use of a wide range of apps as they continue to navigate a new work reality.

Quick Fixes for Common UX Mistakes

September 2021

If the user experience (UX) on your website isn’t optimal, you could be missing out on visitors and engagement—and revenue. What are the top pain points when it comes to engaging users who come to your site? What are the biggest barriers or turnoffs? How can you discover what may not be working well on your site? What should you do to improve your site’s performance? Can you take a DIY approach, or should you hire a UX firm? When searching for external assistance, what should you look for and look out for? In this column, experts weigh in on best practices for ensuring the best UX for your website visitors.

Return-to-Work for New Hires

September 2021

As the COVID-19 delta variant raises new virus concerns, some employers are moving forward with plans to bring employees back to the worksite, while others are putting those decisions on hold. Many organizations are using some form of hybrid design for the foreseeable future—if not forever.

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There's one group of workers that deserves special consideration: those who were hired during the pandemic and have never been physically present at the worksite, nor engaged face-to-face with their colleagues or managers.

Adopting New Tech for Sourcing and Engaging Employees

September 2021

In days gone by, recruiting at schools, advertising in trade publications, and mining personal networks were often the only avenues recruiters had to find those who might be right for their open jobs. The Internet and rapidly advancing technologies, of course, have changed all of this.

Top 6 Reasons People re Quitting Their Jobs (and How to Keep Them)

August 2021

SHRM and others have predicted a “turnover tsunami” that is expected to unfold over the next several months as employers begin to call workers back into their physical settings. Visier’s research also supports the likelihood of this exodus which has already begun to be felt at many organizations. Over the past several months employees have gotten a taste of the freedom and flexibility that working from home can provide. During this time they’ve also had ample time for reflection. Many have decided that what they’ve been doing just isn’t what they want to continue doing in the future—or they’ve decided they’d prefer to do it for a different company.

Managing Paid Leave During the Pandemic and Beyond

August 2021

As working from home continues during the pandemic, employers and employees are identifying the need to adopt new practices, such as rethinking paid time off (PTO).
Even prior to the pandemic, many organizations told employees to stay home if they were ill, to avoid infecting others. Now, the need to do so is imperative.

Many Roles Lead to Multiple Impacts

August 2021

Tauhidah Shakir is Vice President of HR and CDO at Paylocity, but people development and DEI weren’t always her primary passions.

The Big Quit—Who’s Leaving and Where Are They Going?

July 2021

By now we’ve heard of the mass exodus of employees in all industries and the resignation numbers are alarming—95% of employees say they’re ready to leave their organizations; four million Americans have quit since April; 68% say they’ll leave if they have to return to the office; and three million women have already left because they simply can’t “do it all.” So who’s leaving? Where are they going? Which organizations are likely to be the hardest hit? Here we take a look at the issue and implications for employers of all types and sizes.

Not All AI is Really AI: What You Need to Know

July 2021

A wide range of technology solutions purport to be "driven by AI," or artificial intelligence. But are they really? Not everything labeled artificial intelligence really is. The technology, in reality, has not advanced nearly far enough to actually be "intelligent."

Small Businesses Face Hiring Challenges

July 2021

Many small businesses are struggling not only with finding great candidates, but also with thinking strategically about their overall talent strategy and how to address important topics like diversity and inclusion, which are very much top of mind these days.

7 Ways the Gig Economy Changed During COVID-19

July 2021

The gig economy was already exploding prior to the pandemic, but the gig economy changed during COVID in ways that are likely to continue well into the future. Businesses that previously thought face-to-face interactions were the only way they could conduct business had to suddenly pivot and become more open-minded and innovative about how they would interact with customers—and employees.

The Top Marketing Trends: AI and Automation Drive Digital Interactions

July 2021

The marketing lessons learned during COVID-19 are likely to last. Here we take a look at some of the top trends and technologies that have emerged over the past several months and what the future is likely to hold.

How Content Marketers Are Using Zapier and Other Automation Tools

June 2021

Input from content marketers,
analysts, and experts on the role that automation
can play to streamline processes for content
marketers. What types of automation are being used? What
best practices have content marketers discovered? What tools
do they prefer? What are the pros and cons of these various
options?

Aligning Marketing and Sales

June 2021

There is often tension between marketing and sales in many organizations. But why? Shouldn’t these two functions be closely aligned to most effectively achieve the revenue and ROI goals of the organization? What causes this tension, why is alignment important, and what steps can you take to bring these two important organizational functions closer together?

Shining a Light on the Dark Funnel

March 2021

The dark funnel is a concept that has been making the rounds for some time now in sales circles. The term refers to the often-veiled insights marketers might fail to uncover as they attempt to understand the customer journey. While the digital marketing environment yields some powerful insights into consumer actions, some of these actions, like visits to other websites, research conducted through third-party sites, social media impacts, etc., might be hidden from marketers.

Changes in SEO Strategy

November/December 2020

SEO has long been the holy grail for internet marketers—
and content creators—of all kinds. Attracting
eyeballs, and website visitors, was job number one.
While that’s still the case to a large degree, SEO has become
less of a numbers game and more of a driver for creating
high-quality, relevant content.

Work Tourism: A New Employee Perk During the Pandemic?

September 2020

As employees are adjusting to a new normal at work, some have identified an unexpected potential perk of the ability to work remotely—the opportunity to travel to distant locations for extended periods.

Influencer Marketing in 2020: What App Marketers Need to Know

August 2020

App engagement is a challenge for most developers; putting the power of influencers behind your app can help. But the influencer market is in flux and increasingly under the watchful eye of regulators. Meanwhile, the nature — and value — of influencers during the pandemic is shifting.
What do app developers need to know to fully and successfully leverage the power of influencers?

The Top Marketing Trends: Automation and AI Are the 'New Normal'

July 2020

Marketing has always been a fast-paced industry, with the pace quickened constantly by readily available and rapidly developing technology. But the COVID-19 pandemic and its worldwide impact was, arguably, the most disruptive force that marketers have seen in a long time.
As we move beyond the pandemic, though, we can expect to see a continuation of some of the trends that were taking shape before COVID-19 and many more that have been fueled by COVID-19.

Trends in Influencer Marketing

May/June 2020

While it may seem like it’s a 21st-century thing, influencer marketing has been around since the early 20th century. One of the earliest influencers was Santa Claus, a character modernized and reinvented by Coca-Cola. Today’s influencers tend to be real people— PewDiePie, Logan Paul, Zoella, and others—many who leapt to fame thanks to the wide reach of social media channels, such as YouTube and Instagram. But influencers today come in a lot of forms depending on the target audience. Businesses, products, and services of all types leverage the audience, reach, and endorsement power of influencers to grow awareness and preference for what they have to offer.