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Hi,

Are you enjoying the glorious weather? Those of us in the northeast are really getting treated to warm spring days and cool evenings. I’m finally able to get out on my (electric-assist) bike after hip pain/hip replacement surgery last year. Feels so good to be on the trails again. Very grateful for medical tech and fantastic doctors.

These are the stories that I want to share with you as you strive to maintain your positive, powerful mindset to lead with compassion:

  • You learn a lot when you put yourself in your employees’ shoes. A. Whole. Lot. Just ask Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, who used a pseudonym and got behind the wheel of a secondhand car to experience what Uber’s drivers have been telling corporate for years. It was, to say the least, eye opening, and led to real change. Are there aspects of this experiment that could be helpful to you and your team?
  • Bad News/Good News: according to this article from Fast Company, 167 CEOs resigned in February of this year, up 49% from January 2023. That 167 is 11% higher than the first two months of 2022 according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 The Wayback Machine: Internet Archive 🌟

This nonprofit is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. It’s fabulous when you need to reference an older version of a website. The kicker is that they allow you to do it for free. See more about what they do and how you can help: The Wayback Machine.

  • I’m starting to think overall health really stems from a good night’s sleep, and this from Byrdie suggests I’m not wrong. This piece by Ariane Resnick, CNC, talks about what happens when you don’t get the rest you need. It’s easy to understand and makes you want to do everything you can to get those zzzz’s in.
  • Research done by Georgetown professor Christine Porath indicates that 98% of people report experiencing incivility at work at some point in their careers. As a leader, how do you help increase courtesy in your workplace while ensuring people are dealing with stressors in a healthy way? This from Harvard Business Review offers tips that may be helpful to your employees and you too.
  • If you suspect that values are changing in the U.S. and want some validation, here’s a chart from a Wall Street Journal poll of 1,019 adults conducted in March 2023. How does this information affect your hiring, marketing, product development, etc.?

Noteworthy 🖋
Insperity

PEO stands for “professional employer organization.” They can take on payroll, HR, and benefits administration for their client companies, including 401K and workers comp. The employees of the client organizations are paid under the PEO’s tax ID number, not the employers, so they handle tax reporting too.

Some are CPEOs, the “C” standing for “certified,” meaning they have passed specific IRS requirements.

I have talked with several PEOs over the years as the CEO of my digital agency. Recently, I met Chris Apelian from Insperity, via The Connective. Insperity is a CPEO with great success and longevity. Based on our conversations, I want to share a bit about them here today in case your company, or a company you work with, would benefit from their services.

Insperity helps protect its client companies through the co-employment model, with a company entering into an agreement to establish a relationship between the company, its employees, and Insperity. Then Insperity helps manage the company’s employer liabilities by sharing or absorbing many of the employer-related responsibilities and risks.

PEOs or even CPEOs aren’t right for every business, but they can be very beneficial to businesses where HR administration takes up a disproportionate amount of time for company managers. Having all or some of the HR-related work managed by outsourced experts can help leaders focus what they do best.

I am intrigued by Insperity’s SHRM-certified support team (not call-center approach) and the flexibility of their model, customized to map to the needs of each client. Here’s their website and here’s how to reach Chris Apelian. Please let them know you learned about Insperity from Niki’s Notes.

  • Here’s a trend I hadn’t noticed, have you? Across the U.S., parking lots are being turned into housing. Speaking of housing growth, have you been to Hoboken lately? As you come off the NJ Turnpike towards the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, turn left and you’re in Hoboken. The change in the last 2 years is astounding–many of the old factories that were just so…ugly…are now beautiful buildings housing people. The city has such an upbeat vibe.
  • You like app shortcuts? This one’s for Microsoft Excel 2013 and later, Windows and Mac. Ready? Flash Fill. I know. You’re welcome 😊.

That’s it for this week. I’m seeing friends Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday for brunch. Feels good to be out and about, enjoying the weather and time with good people. Wishing the same for you—enjoy!

Niki

Niki’s Notes for Better Workplaces

Weekly news and insights on the compassionate workplace movement with commentary, spotlights on innovative companies, and not-for-profits that deserve extra love! Edited by A Better Paradigm Founder, Niki.