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This portion of the AlphaMeasure site is a compilation of short stories based on first hand experiences in the corporate world. Some of the stories are funny and some of the stories are thought provoking, many of the stories are both.
 A New Manager's Tale
The old adage that "people leave their managers, not organizations" is often true. Of all the workplace stressors, a bad immediate manager is one of the worst and will directly impact the emotional health, productivity, and retention of an employee. This article tells the story of a new manager's search for wise advice that will lead him to a successful career with a new company.
A View from the Top at Sunset: Senior Management Musings
AlphaMeasure defines senior management as the team of individuals at the highest level who have the day-to-day responsibilities of operating the organization. This competency covers topics such as strategic leadership, corporate vision, and corporate direction. The following short story illustrates how one senior manager, on the brink of retirement, views the changes in management-employee relationships over the years.
Adapting Human Resource Functions
Adapting Human Resource Functions: A human resource department that is properly informed of employee issues, demonstrates a high integrity level, and communicates effectively with staff and management supports a high level of confidence in the company, throughout the workforce. This article comments on the changing roles of human resource departments as companies change with the times.
Career Opportunity and Employee Retention
Studies show that lack of career opportunity is one of the top reasons why employees leave an organization. Also, continually hiring open positions from outside the organization can be detrimental to morale when a qualified candidate is available internally. This article shows how one company changed procedures to offer new kinds of career opportunities to its workers and improve overall employee retention.
Coworkers Collaborate to Complete
This article relates to the Coworkers competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of a company that relied on the skills and efforts of various departments, containing people who might not otherwise work together, to launch and complete a successful company wide performance improvement initiative. While the Team Dynamics competency focuses on relationships within a single group, this competency targets coworker topics spanning the entire organization over multiple work units. This competency investigates your organization's ability to successfully work in partnership on projects with one another and between groups to reach the common goals of the organization.
Creating a Culture of Empowerment
Corporate climate is displayed by the effect an organization has on the employees, while culture refers more to the acceptable behaviors, attitudes, and habits of the organization as a whole. Some relevant topics include employee values, attitudes, and morale throughout the organization. This short story tells about the effects of a negative culture on nursing home residents and what was done to turn things around and create a better culture and climate in the workplace.
Employee Ideas Achieve Work Life Balance
Employee Ideas Achieve Work Life Balance Organizations that enjoy a high satisfaction level in the area of Work/Life Balance will normally exhibit a low rate of absenteeism and experience higher employee retention. This article illustrates how one group of employees worked together to find new ways to achieve a healthy balance between the demands of work and personal or family life.
Team Dynamics and Communication
Team Dynamics and Communications: In today's marketplace, in order for organizations to operate efficiently, it is essential that they understand how to create and utilize effective work teams at all levels of the organization. Well-managed teams improve productivity, innovation, and the likelihood of success. This article explores the sensitivity of team dynamics and the importance of keeping balance among members.
The Best Incentives are Free
The Best Incentives Are Free: Studies show that employees who receive regular recognition and praise are more likely to increase their individual productivity levels, increase engagement with their colleagues, and stay longer at the organization. This article illustrates the value of praise and recognition as a powerful, cost-effective motivator available to managers on a daily basis.
The Organizational Structure of Our Growing Business
The Organizational Structure of our Growing Business A healthy organizational structure is one that arranges the activities of the enterprise in such a way that they contribute to the goals of the organization. Specifically, this competency looks to see if your employees clearly understand who they report to, as well as measure their sense of accountability to the organization. This article illustrates how business growth affects every employee in the organization and lists some signals that a review and revision of organizational structure is necessary.
The Role of Character in Leadership
Senior management is often defined as the team of individuals at the highest level of management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of operating the organization, as well as for the development and implementation of the corporate vision and direction strategies. This article illustrates the importance of having a senior management team that has the character to abandon unsuccessful strategies, admit failure, and move on.
Workplace Ethics: Reaching the Highest Standard
Ethical behavior and sound values are an integral part of managing any organization. This article provides insight into one organization's efforts to establish and maintain the highest possible standard of ethics in the workplace.
Choosing an Effective Employee Recognition Program
Choosing an Effective Employee Recognition Program Studies show that employees who receive regular recognition and praise are more likely to increase their individual productivity levels, increase engagement with their colleagues, and stay longer at the organization. This story tells how one company found the right recognition program by paying attention to employee feedback.
Going International and Learning about Cultural Diversity
Research shows that an organization can create a success-oriented, cooperative and caring work environment that draws intellectual strength and produces innovative solutions from the synergy of its people. However, a diverse workforce means that the managers within your organization must be capable of capitalizing on the mixture of genders, cultural backgrounds, ages, and lifestyles present in your staff to respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively. Today's multinational business environment presents new challenges for workers around the globe. This article provides insight and advice for successful communication between employees from different countries and diverse cultural backgrounds.
The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package
A fair and attractive compensation and benefits package is critical for hiring and retaining quality employees. This article illustrates how one company discovered the importance of evaluating its wage and benefits package and adjusting it to stay competitive and attract new employees.
An Unexpected Benefit
A fair and attractive compensation and benefits package is critical for hiring and retaining quality employees. This article illustrates how one company offered a new benefit to its employees, solved the problem of lagging productivity, and boosted morale at the same time.
Coworker and Caretaker
Coworker performance affects cooperation, collaboration, and communication between the employees within an organization. This article illustrates how one coworker's knowledge, compassion, and dedication to the common goals of her company made getting the job done a joy for her entire work team.
The Beauty of Work/Life Balance
Organizations that enjoy a high satisfaction level with the handling of work/life balance will normally show a low absenteeism rate and experience higher employee retention. This article illustrates how even a temporary lack of balance can affect the health and well being of members of the workforce. Companies can benefit from preserving this balance, otherwise they risk high turnover, low productivity and absenteeism as a result.
Diversity in the Workplace
This short story relates to the AlphaMeasure core competency Diversity in the Workplace. It demonstrates the positive role workplace diversity can play in career development.
Diversity ---and Success, in the Workplace
Research shows that an organization can create a success-oriented, cooperative and caring work environment that draws intellectual strength and produces innovative solutions from the synergy of its people. However, a diverse workforce means that the managers within your organization must be capable of capitalizing on the mixture of genders, cultural backgrounds, ages, and lifestyles present in your staff to respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively. This article illustrates how one manager recognized and used a diverse team to achieve the best possible work product for the company, and win new business as well.
Diversity in the Workplace: Diversity in the Workplace - Ethnic Considerations
Research shows that an organization can create a success-oriented, cooperative and caring work environment that draws intellectual strength and produces innovative solutions from the synergy of its people. However, a diverse workforce means that the managers within your organization must be capable of capitalizing on the mixture of genders, cultural backgrounds, ages, and lifestyles present in your staff to respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively. This article illustrates how decisions made by large companies can have unintended morale consequences at the local level.
Finding the Perfect Balance
Organizations that enjoy a high satisfaction level in the area of Work/Life Balance will normally exhibit a low rate of absenteeism and experience higher employee retention. This article illustrates how one employee's evolving life circumstances required him to make some career changes in order to achieve a healthy balance between the demands of work and personal or family life.
The Heart of the Company
A human resource department that is properly informed of employee issues, demonstrates a high integrity level, and communicates effectively with staff and management supports a high level of confidence in the company, throughout the workforce. This article compares the human resource departments of three different companies - their varying structures, styles of operation and the attitudes of the employees served.
Human Resources at Work
A human resource department that is properly informed of employee issues, demonstrates a high integrity level, and communicates effectively with staff and management should expect high marks from the employees they serve when carrying out Human Resource functions. This article illustrates how a competent, compassionate staff can, in the course of everyday duties, really make a difference in the lives of employees, creating goodwill that spreads throughout the workplace.
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
In today's often volatile or contingent labor market, it's crucial to understand the level of security your employees feel about maintaining their jobs. Studies show that employees who do not feel secure in their jobs are less likely to be committed to best assisting customers. This article illustrates how a group of employees who survived downsizing dealt with their own fear and uncertainty and received help from management to get back on track and move forward.
Ideas for Training
Growing an organization's internal knowledge base is crucial to the success of any business and ensuring a growing knowledge base means investing in the training of your employees. This article illustrates how one department, under training budget constraints, found creative, low cost ways to use communication as an effective training tool.
The Importance of Organizational Structure
A healthy organizational structure is one that arranges the activities of the enterprise in such a way that they contribute to the goals of the organization. Specifically, this competency looks to see if your employees clearly understand who they report to, as well as measure their sense of accountability to the organization. This article illustrates how upheavals in organizational order interfere with the flow of work and how important it is to address problems immediately.
My Best Manager/Supervisor
The old adage that “people leave their managers, not organizations” is often true. Read about one manager who, through her performance, made certain that her employees stayed. This article illustrates how the qualities of an excellent manager are manifested in the workplace and how these qualities can affect the attitude and level of engagement of employees.
The Pop Tart Incident
This short story takes a somewhat comical look at the core competency Safety in the Workplace.
Providing Career Opportunities
Studies show that a lack of career opportunity is one of the top reasons why employees leave an organization. Also, continually hiring open positions from outside the organization can be detrimental to morale when a qualified candidate is available internally. This article illustrates how employers can offer career opportunity to their employees by using a well-planned career development strategy, and reap the benefits of a knowledgeable and dedicated workforce.
Recognizing Excellence
Studies show that employees who receive regular recognition and praise are more likely to increase their individual productivity levels, increase engagement with their colleagues, and stay longer at the organization. This article illustrates how employee engagement and productivity improved when one company began to recognize and show appreciation for the excellence of its workforce.
The Responsibility for Job Security
In today's often volatile or contingent labor market, it's crucial to understand the level of security your employees feel about maintaining their jobs. Studies show that employees who do not feel secure in their jobs are less likely to be committed to best assisting customers. This short narrative tells the story of two employees-with two completely different ideas of what to expect from their company in terms of employment security.
Shifting Culture and Climate in Today’s Corporate World
Corporate climate is displayed by the effect an organization has on the employees, while culture refers more to the acceptable behaviors, attitudes, and habits of the organization as a whole. Some relevant topics include employee values, attitudes, and morale throughout the organization. This short story chronicles the shift in climate & culture that occurs when a company changes ownership, the corresponding changes in employee morale and engagement, and a possible outcome.
A Tale of Two Teams
In today's marketplace, in order for organizations to operate efficiently, it is essential that they understand how to create and utilize effective work teams at all levels of the organization. Well managed teams improve productivity, innovation, and the likelihood of success. This article explores the role of open membership and volunteer participation in supplying new ideas that keep team motivation fresh and vital.
Training is in the Eye of the Beholder
Growing an organization's internal knowledge base is crucial to the success of any business and ensuring a growing knowledge base means investing in the training of your employees. A Gallup poll conducted in 1998 reported that eight out of 10 employees said they would be more likely to stay with their present employer if they were offered more or better training. This article conveys the value of corporate training programs to employees, as well as the benefits companies enjoy when they put forth the extra effort and expense and provide high-quality training programs for the workforce.
Try, Try, Again
Studies show that lack of career opportunity is one of the top reasons why employees leave an organization. Also, continually hiring open positions from outside the organization can be detrimental to morale when a qualified candidate is available internally. This article takes a lighthearted look at the career planning methods of some coworkers, and outlines one company's solid strategy for career development.
Work Ethics and the Customer
Read about the experiences of one customer and how employees and customers consider ethical behavior and sound values an integral part of your organization. This short story covers a variety of topics like customer treatment, employee professionalism, and expected/acceptable organizational behaviors. It provides a view from the customer's side of the counter that might inspire you to rethink the old phrase "the customer is king".
The Worth of Health Insurance
A fair and attractive compensation and benefits package is critical for hiring and retaining quality employees. If your company excels in this area, it means that your compensation structure and benefits package are fair, balanced, and understood by your present employees. This article focuses specifically on the value of employer provided health insurance to employees in today's workplace and economic climate.
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