Congratulations to those organizations recently honored for building a “culture of intention”! Being named a Helios Apollo Awardee, a Best Places to Work, or an Outstanding Corporate Citizen, is a testament to the level of impact your leadership is making on your organization, your team and the community.

Workplace bullying is a problem that has gotten a great deal of attention lately because of the NFL case involving a Miami Dolphins player who walked away from the team due to alleged harassment from his peers, and co-workers in October 2013. An independent investigation was recently completed and released verifying the player’s claims that he was in fact bullied by his teammates.

So, you are at the end of your recruitment and ready to make the move to hire a qualified candidate. Not so fast! You need to check those references! Have you thought about what to ask and the topics you would like to cover when speaking with the references? Let’s take a little time to address some topics and questions for you to speak about.

How many of you are already thinking about your summer vacation? My colleagues are buzzing about where they will go and how they will spend the coveted time away from work. Some will go to the beach, others are going to the mountains, and some are staying local for a "stay-cation." What I have also noticed is the trend as evidenced by the number of my colleagues concerned about internet accessibility while away from the office. This made me curious. I wondered: "Is it possible for an employee to take a vacation?" and "As a manager, what can I do to ensure my employee has the opportunity to decompress and relax?"

At Helios, our mission is to support enlightened leaders in attracting, retaining and engaging their workforce. By engaging employees, organization leaders are creating an environment where everyone is at work because they want to be. Employee engagement is not only beneficial to productivity, but also has a direct correlation to improved morale. So, how do you engage your employees?

Have you ever given feedback to someone and questioned why you needed to re-state what you thought should have been obvious in the first place? The reality is our employees are all individuals working as part of our larger team. What may seem obvious to us is not always clear to others.