GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

I was working with a group of new supervisors last month and reviewing this thing we call coaching. I asked them to reflect on their willingness to dig in to the coaching role. 

Regarded as one of the most established and distinguished Portland bakeries for over 30 years, this Cascade member infuses joy and love into every product they make. Did you know…

It’s been said that “80% of success in life is just showing up.” But, in the world of work, we know it takes more than just clocking in to develop strong, effective, sustainable teams.

Research tells us that the things workplace managers do before and after the training event are far more important in the transfer of information.

This nonprofit’s vision is an Oregon where every child can read and is empowered to succeed. Did you know…

There are many ways to brighten up the workday, but holidays provide the perfect occasion to engage employees and show them work can be fun, too! Halloween offers more than one way to inspire your employees to be creative and gives you the chance to frighten some holiday spirit into them.

Workplaces have known for a long time that Performance Reviews are rarely popular, but how deep does this dislike go?

Whether a target-date retirement fund is the best choice for an investor depends on a few different factors, including the degree to which the investor wants to manage his or her own retirement portfolio. Below are some pros and cons of using target-date funds.

From hops to hazelnuts to seed crops and a variety of vegetables, for the Coleman family, farming has always been more than a livelihood – it’s a way of life. Did you know…

We’ve all been there: new job, new co-workers, new expectations. We walked in on our first day, sat down, and were bombarded with a stack of paperwork and policies we were expected to read and familiarize ourselves with. As the hours ticked by, we couldn’t wait until the dreaded “first day” was over and we could move forward and do the job we were hired to do.

It was three years ago that a casual kitchen table conversation turned into an adventure, an adventure that gave me the opportunity to live on an island in Alaska and relearn some lessons that workplaces have been teaching me now for decades.

According to a brand new EZ survey of 402 CEOs from 11 countries, together running companies worth $2.6 trillion in sales, 68% felt they were not fully prepared for their leadership position.

Today, there are so many laws protecting employees and their jobs that a lot of employers feel they have no means to address attendance issues without risking a claim. Not only do we have the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but here in Oregon we have the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA).

Google the term “employee performance review” and you will quickly realize that the latest business trend is to ditch them entirely. But removing performance reviews entirely … is that really a smart business move for the majority of organizations?

Approaching retirement with too little money is unfortunate. Furthermore, getting sucked into the daily hype that has people jumping in and out of the stock market can be disastrous. The market will inevitably go down once in a while, but history proves that despite this, the long-term trend for the market is up. Taking that into account, the earlier an individual begins to invest, the better.

Continually evolving as an agency that is a person-centered provider of services to individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, this nonprofit is relentless in bringing dreams to life. 

In times of need, there are always people who will step up and offer to help. One of the many ways people help others is offering to donate their paid time off to a co-worker who may be struggling with a personal emergency.

Cascade Employers Association is pleased to present key findings from the 2018 Nonprofit Pay and Benefits Survey report. Data for this survey was collected between March and May of 2018, with 176 nonprofit organizations participating throughout Oregon and SW Washington.

Is it too early to start planning for retirement in your 20s? The answer is no. As life expectancy continues to increase, planning early can ensure a comfortable retirement. While planning for retirement at this age may be the last thing on your mind, the earlier you start the better chance you have of achieving your retirement goal. An early start also allows more time for your investment to grow through compound interest.

For nearly six decades Cascade Employers Association has offered group health insurance to qualifying members through its sponsored Pacific Northwest Employers Life, Health Insurance Trust. And we’ve just taken that offering to a new level.

Unfortunately, the U.S. isn’t in the World Cup this time, but that doesn’t mean your employees aren’t still crazed for the action taking place over the next couple of weeks. Just like the Super Bowl or March Madness, these big sporting events can impact productivity in the workplace. While it can be a distraction, it might also be an opportunity for employees to connect.

Every business has, at some point, struggled with recruitment. The inability to find applicants means that sometimes you hire someone just to get a “warm body” in the seat, and hope they can complete the duties well enough to get by. In cases like these, staffing agencies may be utilized to help fill those roles that are harder to fill, or keep filled.

The Willamette Valley is the heart of Oregon wines, thus it’s fitting to feature one of the region’s leading wineries. 

If you currently have policies to prevent the use of social media in your place of work, it might be time to start thinking of ways to incorporate, rather than restrict, the use of social media in your offices. 

According to the annual 2017 Alamo Family Vacation Survey, nearly half of American workers feel guilty when planning or taking a vacation, with an equivalent amount not using the vacation time they are given. Respondents claim they feel “shamed” by other co-workers who make them feel guilty for taking time off.