Bob Nelson, Ph.D.

With the nationwide move to have employees work from home to limit social distancing in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, many managers are faced with virtually managing their employees for the first time. Already 50 percent of today’s employees work virtually as of 2020 and many more would like to: 36 percent of employees would give up a pay raise for the ability to work remotely; 40 percent would be willing to take a pay cut for that option.  Find out what it takes to successfully manage virtual workers, learn the pitfalls and successful tools and techniques other organizations are successfully using on this topic, and increase your confidence for effectively getting work done through workers who are not in the office. Topics include: 

• The growing importance of virtual work and the virtual worker
• Setting clear goals, expectations and control for virtual workers
• Building trust, teams and accountability with virtual workers
• Technology tools and strategies for extraordinary communication
• Promoting inclusion and collaboration with virtual workers
• Virtual recognition and rewards for remote workers

Objectives attendees will learn include:

1. Recent research, trends and practices shaping the virtual workforce
2. Work challenges & opportunities in the use of remote workers
3. Successful strategies & techniques in managing virtual employees

By allowing greater worker autonomy and flexibility, companies can greatly expand their potential pool of talent, which is especially important in light of the increasing shortage of skilled labor facing all organizations today and in the years to come. 

 Each registered attendee will receive a copy of The Virtual Manager along with Dr. Bob’s latest  book –– 1,001  Ways to Engage Employees. 

Attendees receive Business CEU Credit by HRCI and Professional Development Credit by SHRM.

Most employees today feel overworked and underappreciated. During challenging economic times and times of change when we are asking them to do more with less, they report feeling less valued and more stressed for their efforts than ever before. Bob Nelson, Ph.D., multi-million copy best-selling author of 1,001 Ways to Reward Employees will expand your thinking of how best to leverage the potential of your staff — even with little time, resources or budget. This session will focus on core researched-based elements found in strong cultures of engagement that inspire employees to new levels of performance and help to create an exciting, positive work environment and competitive people advantage for the organization even in tough, challenging times. Based on Dr. Nelson’s research, six dimensions emerged that any manager/organization can implement to create a more motivating work environment for their employees today.

• Create a Clear and Compelling Direction

• Direct, Open and Honest Communication

• Involve Employees and Encourage Initiative

• Increase Employee Autonomy, Flexibility and Support

• Continued Focus on Career Growth and Development

• Recognize and Reward High Performance

This session will be filled with specific real-life examples and techniques that can be immediately applied back on the job by attendees to systematically leverage, build and sustain a culture of engagement in their workplace.

Attendees receive Business CEU Credit by HRCI and Professional Development Credit by SHRM.

Learning Objectives

As a result of attending this session attendees will:

1. Learn recent research as to what’s working best to increase employee engagement in current times.

1. Obtain specific examples and Best Practices that companies are currently being used by leading organizations.

1. Gain practical insights, ideas and strategies for enhancing employee engagement back in their organization.

Each registered attendee will receive a copy of Keeping Up in a Down Economy: What the Best Companies do to Get Results in Tough Times which was voted the Top Business Book of 2009 when originally published. 

An Overview of the Leading Labor Trends that Will Affect All Organizations in the Upcoming Years (1-2 hours)
Much has been said about the need for HR to play an integral role in the strategic leadership of their organization with the executive team.  This need is no longer an option in any organization.  The emerging Human Resources trends will now dominate the competitive success of every organization.  In this session, leading authority and international best-selling author, Dr. Bob Nelson will share his research and insights on the emerging workforce trends as described in his upcoming (March 2012) book 1501 Ways to Reward Employees (the new edition of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees that sold 1.6 million copies).  The trends that will be presented are:

•  The Pending Shortage of Skilled Workers
•  The Rise of the Millennial Generation
•  The Expansion of Contingent Workers
•  The Evolving Role of Virtual Employees
•  The Globalization of the Labor Market

Dr. Bob will present current research and data about the above trends and specifically address what HR professionals need to do to help create a sense of urgency in leading their executive team to proactively address these issues before they become problems for the organization and its ability to compete.  Attendees will leave with a broader perspective on the leading labor trends impacting human resources and practical strategies for addressing those trends in their workplace.

How to Increase Employee Engagement in Challenging Recessionary Times (1-2 hours)
Most employees today feel overworked and underappreciated and the Great Recession has added to this burden. During times of change when we are asking them to do more with less, they report feeling less valued and more stressed for their efforts than ever before. Based on his award-winning book (named as the #1 Business Book of 2009): Keeping Up in a Down Economy: What the Best Companies Do to Get Results in Tough Times, Dr. Bob will expand your thinking of how best to leverage the potential of your staff — even with little time, resources or budget. This session will focus on core researched-based elements found in strong cultures of engagement that inspire employees to new levels of performance and help to create an exciting, positive work environment and competitive people advantage for the organization even in tough, challenging and recessionary times. Based on recent engagement research, six dimensions will be presented with examples that any manager/organization can implement to create a more motivating work environment for their employees today:

•  Create a Clear and Compelling Direction
•  Direct, Open and Honest Communication
•  Involve Employees and Encourage Initiative
•  Increase Employee Autonomy, Flexibility and Support
•  Continued Focus on Career Growth and Development
• Recognize and Reward High Performance

Dr. Bob will show how these elements can be brought to bear through specific techniques and applications, drawing upon his own research and doctoral work as well as experience in working with hundreds of organizations on the topic. He will show how the best companies take a focused and long-term strategic view of their employee resource that systematically integrates the engagement practices into the daily work practices of its managers, identifying and acting on opportunities in timely and specific ways. This session will be filled with specific real-life examples and techniques that can be immediately applied back on the job by attendees to systematically leverage, build and sustain a culture of engagement in their workplace.

Learn how best to identify, develop and retain your High Potential talent—before you lose them as the economy improves. (1-2 hours)

Organizations have dedicated and invested millions of dollars in identifying and developing High Potentials within their workforce.  This cream-of-the-crop top talent is often pegged for leadership roles early on in their careers and are the first to participate in innovative leadership development programs.  Despite the considerable amount of time and effort companies put into guiding them, studies show that many High Potentials remain unengaged in their work and continue to actively pursue other opportunities. In the last 12 months, 30% of High Potentials have changed jobs, a number that is expected to increase as the economy improves.  Over 50% of executives feel their organizations are ineffective at managing and keeping top talent and 90% of CEOs rank a retention plan for the organization’s High Potentials as a top priority for HR.  This session will cover the following topics:

•  The Need to Better Focus on High Potentials
•  How to Identify Your High Potentials
•  The Current Challenges with this Group of Top Performers
•  Six Strategies to Increase High Potential Engagement
•  A Case Study in Developing High Potentials

Discover the best practices of leading organizations as they seek to motivate and empower their High Potential population. Learn skills you can apply to your own workforce, from how best to identify High Potentials to keeping them engaged and invested in their work so that they can continue to perform at top levels. The time to get focused on this special performers is before they are leaving your organization!

Tap into the Initiative of Every Employee, Spark Employee Ideas and Innovation, Make Jobs More Fulfilling. (1-2 hours)
Do you want to inspire exceptional performance? In this presentation, Dr. Bob will share his research and strategies for getting all employees to take initiative and be more innovative in the workplace today as based on two of his books: Please Don’t Just Do What I Tell You to Do—Do What Needs to Be Done! and 1001 Ways to Take Initiative at Work. He will show you how to overcome obstacles that employees are likely to encounter when pursuing new ideas and persevere with those ideas they most believe in. He will focus on the small things that can be done to start to make a BIG difference in your workplace as well as strategies employees can use for “keeping commitment to their commitment.” Attendees will leave this session with a practical plan and techniques for immediate implementation back on the job. Dr. Bob shows how organizations today can create a competitive advantage through its employees by tapping into the energy, ideas and creativity of every member of the organization. In this session you’ll learn:

•  The Benefits of Increased Initiative to Employees and the Organization
•  The Ultimate Expectation: Getting Employees to Focus on What Needs to Be Done
•  The 4 Ps of Initiative: Positive Accountability, Preparation, Presentation & Persistence
•  Overcoming Obstacles to Taking Initiative at Work
•  I-Power: A Proven System for Harnessing the Power of Employee Suggestions

Understanding, Attracting, Motivating and Keeping the Youngest Generation that is Entering the Workplace (1-2 hours)
As recently featured in a CBS 60-Minutes interview with Morley Safer—Dr. Bob shares his insights on the latest generation to enter the workforce, the Millennials, and how members of that generation differ in their outlook, values and expectations from previous generations in the workplace today. The Millennial Generation, those individuals born between 1980 and 2000 will soon dominate the world of work in both number and attitude.  These 90 million individuals are unique from any previous generation in both their technical abilities, attitudes, outlook and expectations of work and, as such, companies will need to realign their strategic priorities to reshape the work environment to meet the expressed needs of this generation.  Failure to do so will significantly limit a company’s ability to hire these younger workers at a time when they already will be experiencing a shortfall of qualified candidates needed to replace the 70 million retiring Baby Boomers in the decade ahead.  Success in adapting to this new breed of worker will allow organizations to access and leverage the potential of the younger generation in a way that will create a significant competitive advantage for the company in achieving its mission in the marketplace.

This generation of workers with the skills and aptitudes that every employer will need are not interested in “paying their dues” and conforming to fit the expectations of them by their employers, but rather will cause companies to reassess and strategically realign all aspects of the employment contract to wrap around the life experiences and expectations unique to this generation.  The subsequent changes will affect all workers — even those not a part of this generation — as work rules about how work gets done (eg, telecommuting/ working hours, group processes/collaboration, enhanced efficiencies via technology, world perspectives and social issues, etc) are permanently redefined.  In this session, Dr. Bob will lay out the impact of this predominant shift in worker demographics, the assets and liabilities this generation brings to the workplace and show managers and executives (most of whom are Baby Boomers) how to strategically adapt to and align with the needs and expectations of these younger workers.  Topics covered will include:

•  Profile of the Millennials & What Makes Them Tick?
•  Key Personal & Cultural Influences
•  Events That Shaped the Millennial Perspective
•  Millennial Work Attributes & How to Maximize Each
•  Management Techniques for Motivating & Retaining Millennials

Build Recognition into the Strategies and Behaviors of the Organization, Transform Your Workplace into an Employer of Choice (1-3 hours)

Recognition for performance represents the single most validated principle for driving desired behavior and performance in today’s challenging economic times.  The primary reason why managers don’t use recognition is because they report “they aren’t sure how to do it well,” according to doctoral research by Dr. Bob Nelson, the primary thought leader on this topic and an international best-selling author of the multi-million copy 1001 Ways to Reward Employees(now in its 58th printing) – just released in a new edition entitled 1501 Ways to Reward Employees.  Dr. Bob will show you how to create a culture of recognition, regardless of the size or type of business you are in. Compared to the average company, employees in a recognition-focused company are 5 times more likely to feel valued, 7 times more likely to stay, and 11 times more likely to feel completely committed to their jobs and mission of the organization. This presentation will expand your thinking of what recognition really means and what you can do to build it into your culture. Far from being a “fuzzy feel-good notion,” Dr. Bob will show you practical ways as to   how you can get your managers to treat employees in a way that maximizes their willingness to use their best efforts on a daily basis to create an exciting, positive work environment that produces more focused, competitive employees that better serve the strategies of the firm. Attendees will learn:

•  The business case for recognition; why it’s the smart business thing to do, not just the nice thing
•  Recent research about what most motivates today’s workers in tight, recessionary times
•  How to leverage and maximize the effectiveness of recognition – even with little time or resources
•  How to get managers on board in both supporting and doing more recognition
•  How to harness the power of best practices from other organizations, as well as your own
•  How to build and sustain progress, keeping your recognition efforts fresh and relevant
•  The researched-based seven core elements found in strong cultures of recognition

Inspire a Greater Sense of Purpose, Connectedness and Unity Among Your Team Members (1-2 hours)

Multi-million copy best-selling author Dr. Bob Nelson (1001 Ways to Reward Employees)  shares his expertise and energy to show managers and organizations how to obtain new levels of focus, excitement and results in any work environment through the principles of Ubuntu as based on the parable he co-authored with Dr. Stephen Lundin (co-author of the mega-million copy best-selling Fish! series).  Dr. Bob delivers a passionate, inspiring, high-energy multi-media program that intertwines fun & creativity, learning & application, and numerous examples and best practices from business, sports, politics & music in applying this traditional African principle of connectedness and unity to the world of work today. He draws upon his own research and doctoral work as well as experience in working with hundreds of organizations on the topic of employee motivation and high-performing teams to show how any organization or work group can incorporate the principles of Ubuntu. This session will be filled with specific real-life examples and techniques that can be immediately applied back on the job by attendees to systematically leverage, build and sustain a culture of teamwork, motivation and engagement in their workplace.  Learning objectives include:

•  The Core Principles & Philosophy of Ubuntu
•  Creating a Shared Vision and Sense of Purpose
•  Inspiring Others to Greatness at Work
•  Creating Greater Rapport from Shared Experiences at Work
•  Harnessing Individual Strengths to Create Stronger Teams
•  Creative Ways to Recognize Team Effort and Results