Recently, I attended the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Gov Con Symposium in Tysons. My favorite session was a panel about Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and how expanding M&A activity has and will continue to reinvigorate the industry. Throughout the session, we heard a lot about the books of business, competencies, and relationships that made sense for the two organizations as they related to whether or not to move forward with a transaction.

Culture develops in every organization. Employers can intentionally guide the environment with visible, well-developed values. Integral to creating a cohesive and collaborative environment in the face of change and conflict, particularly with mergers and acquisitions is an honest assessment of the current climate. Whether organizations are looking to enhance morale, or address a systemic issue, taking the time to develop your organizational identity is critical. To get started, ask some important questions about your organization…

All joking aside, there are lots of reasons why our clients call us to help them conduct an employee survey: they want to know why turnover is so high; they want to know the satisfaction levels of employees with regards to their jobs and benefits offered; they want to know what training they should be offering; and many call us because they are looking to improve what they believe is already a great culture with high employee engagement. Regardless of the reason, they all have one thing in common: they chose to use a third party to conduct the survey.

It’s Wednesday morning and we have heard from three clients this week alone who have been victims of a W-2 Phishing Scam. Unfortunately, in these situations, here at Helios, we were contacted to help with the aftermath. We would much prefer to be a part of the proactive solution. Here is more information about this particular scam and what you can do to protect yourself and your company.

Often times when an organization is approaching a new direction that impacts individuals and teams, HR is tasked with the responsibility of change management. Change management can be something as small as a new process or policy change to a larger scale approach such as a new strategy, executive leadership or an acquisition. It tends to involve development, planning, communications and full-scale implementation, along with keeping a pulse check on the behaviors and beliefs of the employees experiencing change.

You have an exciting work environment...people are running around like crazy, lots of energy and enthusiasm all over the place, and everyone is having a great time...except for one employee who doesn’t “get into that”. This employee is sitting at the desk, quietly doing his/her work. And you notice when you are in meetings, this employee rarely speaks up. Do you see them as a hindrance to your organization? Hopefully not!