6 Signs Your Job Is at Risk

6 Signs Your Job Is at Risk6 Signs Your Job Is at RiskDont wait for the ax to fall. Learn how to read the signs that your jobs on the line.Even the best employees worry about their job security from time to time. In fact, a recent Gallup poll found that only 58 percent of U.S. full- and part-time workers are completely satisfied with their job security. Sadly, this represents the highest level recorded since the Great Recession (2009 96 2013) when about 50 percent felt secure in their jobs. While feelings of job security may be on the rise, its clear that many professionals across the U.S. are still kept up at night worrying about their jobs.If your trefflich is telling you something is off at the office, dont ignore it. Look for the following signs to determine if your job may be in danger.People are steering clear of you.The chatter around the water cooler goes quiet when you walk by. Your colleagues stop inviting you to lunch. If you get the sense that people are avoiding you arou nd the office, they may know something you dont. Start ramping up your networking activities outside of the office.Your role is shrinking. Instead of taking on new assignments, your list of responsibilities continues to shrink. Youre getting passed over for assignments, even after voicing your concerns with your manager. Its not your imagination your job is being phased out. Take some time to brainstorm your next career move.Your manager is shutting you out. You asked to sit down with your boss but she keeps postponing the conversation and dodging your calls. You requested a salary review but were immediately turned down without any explanation. If your manager seems to be giving you the cold shoulder, dont ignore it. Your job is likely at jeopardy.Youve received a demotion or pay cut.If your pay is reduced, youve officially received a demotion or youve been moved to a department with less responsibility or importance, take heed this is never a good sign. Start scoping out the curre nt market so you know your worth.Youre frequently receiving negative feedback .If the tone of your annual review or weekly check-ins with your manager becomes sour, be cautious. This is especially true if you suddenly start receiving emails from your direct manager, citing how youve caused the company to lose money or productivity. Managers are encouraged to document an employees poor performance to support their case for termination.Theres a new sheriff in town. Whenever a management team undergoes changes, theres sure to be some added stress at the office. However, if your new boss has settled in and the tension persists, remain alert. Its not uncommon for a new manager to join a company and clean house. If your boss is spending a lot of time behind closed doors with HR, begin to update your resume as a precaution.In the end.Trust your gut. If you get the sense that your job is at risk, it probably is. Dont close your eyes to the situation and hope it disappears. Jumpstart your j ob-search now so youre prepared for whatever comes your way.

6 Data Challenges Managers and Organizations Face

6 Data Challenges Managers and Organizations Face6 Data Challenges Managers and Organizations FaceWe work in a data-centric world. Managers are bombarded with data via reports, dashboards, and systems. Were regularly reminded to make data-driven decisions. Senior leaders salivate at the promise of Big Data for developing a competitive edge, yet most struggle to agree on what it is, much less describe the expected tangible benefits. The role of data scientist is in hot demand with projected shortfalls in this emerging, important role expected for years. Organizations are spending a fortune every year installing software to capture, store and analyze data. Marketing departments are increasingly filled with technical, data-savvy professionals at the expense of creative roles. The world of geschftliches miteinander is a data-focused world, yet it is important to recognize that data is not an end unto itself. Like everything else we draw upon in ur work, data is a tool filled with promise . In the right hands with the proper approaches, the potential for data to support decision-making is remarkable. However, dont get lulled into the false belief that acquiring and analyzing data is without risk. Lets rub a bit of the polish off of the idea of data as business savior and help identify some of the potential pitfalls this new resurce presents for all of us. Forewarned is forearmed. Poor Data Quality While we are accustomed to thinking about quality in the context of physical objects or products, it turns out data quality is a material issue for every firm all of the time. Data stored in structured databases or repositories is often incomplete, inconsistent or out-of-date. It is likely you have been on the receiving end of a simple example of a data quality issue. Most of us can recall receiving duplicate mailings from marketers addressed to slightly different or radically different versions of our actual name. The marketers database contains duplicate records with our address and different, often erroneous spellings or variations of our name. We recycle the duplicate mail as junk, and the marketer incurs excess costs in the form of printing and mailing all due to a simple data quality issue. Amplify this mistake by many hundreds or thousands of records and this small data quality error turns costly. The issue of data quality grows in importance as we strive to make decisions on strategies, markets, and marketing in near real time. While software and solutions exist to help monitor and improve the quality of structured (formatted) data, the real solution is a significant, organization-wide commitment to treating data as a valuable asset. In practice, this is difficult to achieve and requires extraordinary discipline and leadership support. Drowning in Data Data is everywhere in an organization. Consider customer data. Most organizations have become skilled at capturing information about customers and prospects. Marketing collects data from people who attend live or web events or who download content.Executives use data to support or define new strategies.Sales collect data about customers involved in the sales process.Customer Support captures information about calls and chats.Management teams draw upon data and key metrics for scorecards.Customer data is used in accounting for billing purposes and by quality and customer insight teams for monitoring customer satisfaction. We capture customer information in a variety of different software systems, and we store the data in a variety of data repositories. One Global Fortune 100 firm recognized as much as 10-percent of their customer data was held locally by employees on their computers in spreadsheets. Another organization regularly polls their sales representatives for business card data before running marketing campaigns. Much like the ocean-going sailor stranded in a lifeboat after his ship sunk, theres water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. We have the saatkorn phenomenon in our businesses. Data is everywhere, and increasingly data is available from social and search feeds in real time. If the data is not easily accessible or, if we have duplicate or incomplete data, we are unable to leverage it for its intended purpose. Increasingly organizations are integrating their disparate software applications and simplifying the process of collecting and aggregating data across the enterprise. Along with data quality, however, this effort is expensive, time-consuming and it never ends. Growing Data Volumes We are making more and more data at a pace that is difficult to comprehend. Experts suggest that every two years (and shrinking) we are creating more data than existed on the planet earth for all of civilization. Most of this new data is unstructured, versus that type of data that is neatly entered into our software and database applications. For example, all of the tweets about your product or brand represent a potential treasure trove of i nsights, yet this data is unstructured, increasing the complexity of capturing and analyzing it. While there are many software offerings to help with this challenge, the unstructured data represents a new torrent of raw material for processing, with all of the inherent complexity and quality issues discussed in this article. Garbage-In, Garbage-Out Data analytic software is only as good as the data feeding it. The common thread in this issue of leveraging data for advantage is quality. While many firms invest significant dollars in powerful new data-crunching applications, crunching dirty data leads to flawed decisions. Beware of blindly trusting the output of data analysis endeavors. You must be confident that you can trust the data used in the analysis. Data Analyses Are Not Conclusive We accept the output of data analyses as conclusive, but it is not. In reality, data analysis most often showcases correlation, not causation It is easy to fall into the trap of trusting t he output of data analyses and confusing correlation with causation. Correlation showcases a relationship, but it in no way implies that A causes B. Establishing a causal relationship is nirvana for making accurate, insightful decisions. It is also incredibly difficult to prove. If you inordinately trust an output and assume a causal relationship where none exists, your decisions will be fatally flawed. Amplified Biases Our cognitive biases are amplified when it comes to evaluating data. As one wise data scientist once intoned, At the end of the most complicated and exhaustive analysis of data, a human being still has to draw an inference and make a decision. And when we reach that point where we have to assess the meaning of the data analysis, our biases come into play. Many of us tend to trust or rely on data that supports our positions and expectations and suppress data that does the opposite. We also trust data from sources we like or, we rely on data that is the most recent . All of these biases contribute to the challenges and potential for mistakes from our data analyses. How to Begin to Tame the Data for Your Use as a Manager Developing an enterprise-wide data strategy is critical for every business, yet is beyond the scope of this article. Instead, here are seven ideas you can use as a manager to improve your use of data in your daily decision-making. Recognize Biases Recognize and mitigate the potential for biases. Seek out data that expands the picture or conflicts with the data in front of you. Encourage an external observer to evaluate your assumptions around data. Data Management Strengthen your understanding of data management. There are ample free sources of insights on the web, and many organizations offer seminars or workshops on data analytics and business intelligence. Many universities have added courses for this booming field. Keep sharpening your skills. Complete Data Ask yourself or your team, What data do we need to make this decision? Too often, we rely on the data at hand and ignore the need to seek more data to complete the picture. Correlation and Causation Be critically aware of the difference between correlation and causation. As described earlier, confusing these two is a potentially dangerous pitfall for decision-making. Quality-Check Your Data If your firm does not have a data quality or master data management commitment, invest the time to evaluate your data for obvious errors, including duplicate, incomplete or erroneous records. There are many commercially available software applications or to support this activity, and many firms draw upon the expertise of data experts to query and assess the data quality. Also, consider external tafelgeschirr providers who can help cleanse the data for you. Importantly, focus on continuously improving the quality of your data. Data Quality Advocate for stronger data quality and management efforts across your firm. This work has often been the domain of IT or technical professionals, yet data has the potential to serve as a strategic asset. Every manager must care about the firms ability to better leverage data for decision-making and strategy execution. Technical and Data-Savvy Talent Add technical and data-savvy talent to your team. Sales and marketing departments understand the power of engaging individuals skilled in the latest technologies and competent at navigating many of the data challenges outlined in this article. Technology and data are no longer the domain or responsibility of a single function in an enterprise. The Bottom Line The firms and managers who learn to leverage data for improved decision-making will win in the marketplace. These organizations will be able to monitor and respond to changing conditions, and emerging customer needs faster than their data challenged competitors. They will be the first to glean insights from social media dialog, and they will win the battle to know and engage customers at a deeper level- all based on data. This is not a fad, but rather a new reality of managing and competing in todays world. Just watch out for the pitfalls on this journey.

7 times when giving up on a work goal is the healthiest decision

7 times when giving up on a work goal is the healthiest decision7 times when giving up on a work goal is the healthiest decisionThe idea that we should work towardsa specific career goalis drilled into our heads starting at a young age, when peoplestart asking uswhat we want to be when we grow up. Our aims usually evolve - otherwise there would be far more astronauts and ballerinas - but the idea ofworking towards a goal(or five) is a constant in most of our lives.But heres the thing about ansicht goals Theyre elend all realistic, worthwhile, or healthy. They may not even be your own, but rather something youthoughtyou had to work toward. All of this is to say that whilesome goals are wonderful and productive, others simply arent worth it, and once we let them go, we realize that wereactually much happier without them. This could meanbeing less stressedbecause youre no longer trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, happier because you have more free time topursue things that re ally matterto you, or more successfulbeing on a pathyou truly believe in.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreWe asked the Thrive Community to share thecareer goals- big or small - they have given up that have ultimately benefited them. Here are some of our favoritesBeing in total control of everythingOne thing I had to give up to get when I wanted to be as a business owner was total control. Ive finally started to outsource some of my work and its given me the mental space to focus on building my business to the next level. Onwards and upwards- Wendy Y., copywriter, Manchester, U.K.Wearing one hatHaving a variety of interests, early in my career, well-meaning friends and colleagues would tell me that I should narrow in Choose one thing and get really good at it. Ive tried wearing one hat, but always find myself taking on other projects - paid, or pro bono - to keep my creativit y fresh. I have given up the idea of being one thing.- Stephanie Thoma, networking strategist, San Francisco, CAAligning your identity with past work accomplishmentsQuitting work to stay home with my kids was easy. Giving up talking about my career was not. I was terrified that I wouldnt stay relevant and that I would be dismissed as a stay-at-home mom. It took me years to (mostly) stop bringing up my past accomplishments in conversation, but it was worth it. I enjoyed meaningful exchanges, discovered a softer side of myself and became more comfortable showing up anywhere as who I am, without tying my value into what I do.- Karen Gurwitz, author, New York, NYTaking a job solely for the salaryA career goal I had given up is taking jobs solely based on salary. Ive had numerous jobs over the years, where the salaries have varied. I have learned that if you are not fully enjoying what you do, serving others with passion and inspiration, then the money is not worth it. When we take a job solely for the money, we are slaves to the wage. Oddly, when I had given this up a job came along that offered freedom, creativity, and surprisingly wealth.- Tricia Wolanin, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, Mildenhall, U.K.Sticking to a set pathI moved to Asheville, NC to begin a career in the mental health industry, thinking I wanted to become a therapist. After two years, although I learned so much about myself both personally and professionally, I knew this was not the path for me. Now, I am shifting my focus to larger-scale social work and hopefully one day public policy. My dream is to work at the forefront of social and environmental justice. It is intimidating to move in a new direction but everything feels in better alignment and my anxiety is way down- Allison Hackman, social service professional and ESL teacher, Philadelphia, PALofty sales goalsIve let go of trying to constantly exceed sales goals and instead have focused on just taking care of the client in front of me. I t hink when we come from a place of service instead of sales, its a win-win. When we do whats right for the client with compassion and empathy for their needs (not ours), it benefits the client and ultimately helps our bottom line as well. Acting from our hearts will always result in a better outcome.- Camille Sacco, bank manager and certified meditation instructor, Winter Park, FLHiding in the security of the knownIn my late 20s, I was in an interview. I dont remember the interviewers name or company that she worked for, but I do remember one simple statement that she made. She said, If you want to do this the rest of your life I have no recollection of what she said after that. I instantly knew that I didnt want to do that the rest of my life. I walked out of the interview and it was like a 500 lbs. weight had been lifted. I enrolled in graduate school five days later - changing the trajectory of my career. Acknowledging my gut and cognitively responding has been one of the biggest assets in my career. Sometimes, you just have to walk away from the security of the known to the possibilities of the unknown.- Kristin Sajadi, social awareness entrepreneur, Lexington, KYThis article originally appeared on Thrive Global.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from kleinstes Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people