Overcoming HRs Engagement Barrier A Simple Formula for Effective Internal Communication

Overcoming HRs Engagement Barrier A Simple Formula for Effective Internal Communication Every day in HR departments, failures of communication and engagement stymie our best efforts to be the conscience of the organization. The benefits, programs, and support we strive to offer fall on deaf ears or never reach their intended audiences. We can capture this dilemma with a formula from the Six Sigma worldQuality x Acceptance = Effectiveness (Q x A = E)Quality refers to the product, process, or program in question. Acceptance captures what you do to communicate the program, raise awareness, and manage change such that people want what you offer. A high-quality, well-accepted program is going to be effective, but a program lacking in quality, acceptance, or both will struggle.A synonym for effectiveness in the HR world is employee engagement, whichrefers to employees willingness to listen and take action accordingly. The action could be to change their app roach to a project, develop a new skill set, sign up for open enrollment, or do anything else that stems from gaining awareness.In HR, we take pride in offering great benefits and programs, but we often struggle to communicate their value in a way that earns acceptance from employees. There are many potential reasons for that. Some internal communicators write dense, confusing emails that no one reads. Many send the saatkorn HR emails to everyone in the organization without regard to location, role, age, or tenure. Recipients dont relate to the information and start to tune out HR communications. How can we get a better outcome?Winning at Q x A = EI cant know precisely what challenges your HR team faces. That said, I can offer some principles that may help you gain acceptance, which is usually the weak point in Q x A = E.1. Think in Campaigns and JourneysIf you tell 1,000 employees its time for performance reviews, theyre going to be indifferent at best and fearful at worst. A journ ey of communications must explain what a performance review really is, why it matters, how its used, whats being evaluated, and so on. That requires HR people to question the digital-era gospel that content is king.Acceptance cant necessarily be earned with one email or one video. If a new HR program is the Q in Q x A = E, then communication is the A. And if content is king, its missing a queen, which is the campaign-style, long-term delivery of emails, social posts, portals, and other experiences that cause people to listen and act. Its also the multiplication of content into different messages for different personas to help people find relevance in communications.For moreexpert HR insights, check out the latest issue of Recruiter.com Magazine2. Kill PowerPointCarefully manicured PowerPoint presentations have long contained the wealth of benefits and HR programs employees are supposed to engage in. They dont work. Neither do handouts and booklets.Its hard to imagine anything worse at gaining acceptance than 80 slides (or pages) of jargon and stock photography that could be condensed to a single page of bullets. No employees curiosity or self-interest is strong enough to suffer through the slides.Point being, no more PowerPoint. Switch to bite-sized content delivered in videos, interactive portals, mobile apps, and other places where millennials and iGenworkers will pay attention. Its not a coincidence that YouTube advertisements are 15 seconds long and tweets are capped at 280 characters.3. Have a StrategyWhatever merits a campaign whether its open enrollment, a new performance management program, or a change initiative like integrating new employees from an acquisition you can model the strategy similarlyDefine your communication goals. Whats the intended outcome and how do you measure it? For example, can you track what percentage of employees obtained insurance during open enrollment and compare the rate to previous years?Identify and segment the audienc e. Based on geographical location, age, gender, and roles, who needs what information? The more the campaign is personalized to the recipients, the more likely they are to listen.Create the campaign content. What web experiences, videos, infographics, blog posts, etc., do your audiences and campaign strategy demand?Define the delivery-channel strategy. Where are employees likely to notice and engage with campaign content? Do they have access to desktop computers, or mobile devices only? In which channels can you measure open, read, and click-through rates?Measure results, analyze, and iterate. Based on the goals and corresponding metrics you defined, examine how you performed. Which channels and content worked best? What would you repeat or change? By tracking the same data over time, you can analyze your progress against a baseline.Remember the big picture. Ultimately, benefits and programs are meant to increase employee satisfaction and retention. Gauge the impact of your campaign s by conducting satisfaction surveys before and after, being sure to ask questions about your new offerings. In addition, examine how retention changes after introducing these programs. Can you show that investments in rewards programs translate into increased retention (and therefore big savings)?Q x A = E is a formula that HR can always come back to. Its a reminder that our best intentions are known only to us, unless we choose to communicate them with clarity, purpose, and authenticity.Its hard to imagine that HR communications can become something employees are eager to receive, but theres no penalty for striving toward that possibility.Colleen Blake is SVP of People at GuideSpark.

Seven Marketing Tactics for Business Success

Seven Marketing Tactics for Business SuccessSeven Marketing Tactics for Business SuccessSeven Marketing Tactics for Business SuccessExcerpted from THE COMMITMENT ENGINE Making Work Worth Itby John Jantsch. Published by Portfolio/Penguin. Copyright (c) John Jantsch, 2012.fruchtwein companies invest in employee handbooks. These valuable resources detail rules, regulations, mission statements, policies, and expected conduct. But they often ignore what might be the most important company knowledge absatzwirtschaft.Any employee who comes into contact with a customer or client is performing a absatzwirtschaft function. Do they know how to represent the organization accurately and positively?Business owners should add marketing training to the ongoing development of every staff member. Teach new hires and conduct routine, perhaps quarterly, all-hands sessions.Here are the seven things to work into training your staff in marketing.1. This is whom we work with.Write a paragraph that paints a vivid picture of the kind of client you seek to serve. Include the problems or challenges that make your company the right one for them to do business with.Until you narrowly define the exact person or business that is your ideal client (or problem that client has), your business will fall prey to the marketing tactic of the week.2. This makes us unique.Give your staff a simple yet compelling way to introduce what your firm does thats unique. This is your core marketing message. It communicates why your product or serviceproduces greater value than every other option.Have employees practice this by role-playing until they are comfortable delivering it authentically.3. This is what our clients worry about.People rarely walk around saying they need your product or service.But they do lament the lack of something. They talk about specific problems or voice an aspiration.Instead of saying I wish I had some new accounting software they say things like I cant ever get a handle on my rece ivables.Your entire staff should know the most common things people say that indicate they could be an ideal prospect.4. This is how we keep our brand true.Your marketing department probably spends time and money on getting the color and font of your marketing materials just right. But everyone else in the business just wings it in their communications.If employees dont practice consistency, how will your clients recognize your company brand?The best way to adhere to brand standards is to make them internal as well as external. Train everyone on the use of color, type, and images and demand that they adhere to these standards in their communications. This will ensure that everyone is consistent with the visual elements of your marketing.5. This is what we are saying right now.Show off your latest ads, mock-ups for the next direct-mail piece, and offers that are going out in every medium. Make sure that your entire staff can talk about your current promotions.When your staff is bedrn gnis able to comfortably answer questions about what is going on with your business, its bad for your company. Keeping them in the loop will make them feel even more engaged in marketing. It will also give them the confidence to better serve your customers.6. This is how we take care of our customers.Make sure the entire staff reads the company blog, understands the educational content, attends your online training, and routinely takes a shift answering customer service calls. Have your staff view the content you produce from the clients perspective.7. This is how we all win.Give your staff a way to know if the company is winning the game.Share the key strategic indicators your organization uses to measure success. Teach them what these indicators mean and help them find a way to tie what they do to one or more of these numbers.If every employee realizes the way their day-to-day contribution adds to a key indicator of success, and ultimately to the overall success of the organizatio n, you give them a way to connect everything they do with success.With this understanding, they know that cutting costs in their department can contribute to lowering the client-acquisition cost.Every business is a marketing business, and all employees trained this way can become contributing members of the marketing team, no matter what their job titleis.Read an interview with John JantschAuthor BioJohn Jantsch is a marketing and digital technology consultant, an award-winning social media publisher, and the acclaimed author of Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine. His most recent book is THE COMMITMENT ENGINE Making Work Worth It.He blogs at ducktapemarketing.comand lives in Kansas City, Missori.

Important Finance Skills That Employers Value

Important Finance Skills That Employers ValueImportant Finance Skills That Employers ValueAccounting and finance professionals can find career opportunities in many different industries. Whether youre applying to be a CFO, financial analyst,financial planner,orinvestment counselor, youllfindthatthese punkts have certain functions and terminologies in common. To get into the field and land any of these positions, you will need at least a bachelors degree, although you have afew choices of majors that qualify. There are degree programs in finance, accounting, and economics. Some professionals alsoconsider coursework in communications to be useful for this type of work. Depending on which field you enter and which positions you wish to applyfor, you may need to complete a specialized training program and earn one or mora certifications or licenses. What Kind of Skills Do You Need to Be a Finance Professional? Because many different roles and positions exist within the world of finan ce, thenecessary skills can vary a lot. Accounting and finance professionals must have excellent analytical abilityand interpersonal skills and a sharp understanding of industry technology. As someone who manages money, an organizations most important commodity, financial professionals bear a great deal of responsibility. So being trustworthy and able to perform well under pressure are incredibly important traits. Review Finance Resume and Cover Letter SamplesFinance Resume ExamplesEntry-Level Finance Resume and Cover Letter Types of Finance Skills When interviewing for any finance or accounting-related position, you will need to demonstrate several skills, both technical and soft, in order to land a job. Many of the most sought-after skills for finance jobs are also important in other fields. You may well have more relevant experience than you think. Accounting Accounting skillsinclude the knowledge necessary to record accounting transactionsand a strong understanding of t heapplicable accounting regulations. You may or may not be preparing financial statements and budgets directly, depending on your position. You dontneed to be an expert accountant because you may have an expert accountant on your team assisting you. But you will need to be entirely comfortable reading and discussing financial statements in order to give financial advice. AccountingAccounting PrinciplesAccounting StandardsAccounting TechniquesAveragingBudgetingCalculationsCash Flow ManagementComputerConcentrationCost AnalysisCost ReductionData ProcessingFinancial DataFinancial ManagementGAAPGeneral LedgerJournal EntryMathematicsMS ExcelProfit and LossQuantitative DataReconciliationsReconciling Balance StatementsReportingSortingTax FilingTax PlanningTax ReportingTrial BalanceWorking with Numbers Analytical Analytical thinkingmeans looking at a situation accurately, understanding how it works, interpreting what it means, and then coming up with a thoughtful, intelligent response. T his skill has technical applications, such as data analysis or financial analysis, as well as wider applications, such as generalized problem-solving. You will need both. Analyzing DataDecision MakingEconomizeEstimationFinancial AnalysisFinancial PlanningForecastingLogicPlanningPrioritizationProblem-SolvingProjecting Fiscal BalancesQuantitative AnalysisRankingRecognizing ProblemsRestructuringRisk AnalysisRisk ManagementStrategic PlanningSolving EquationsSolving ProblemsUsing Analysis on Financial ScenariosValuationsValue Added Analysis Technology Modern technology makes it much easier and faster to find, sort, and process the bulk of the information you need to work in finance or accounting. The downside is that you need to understand that technology in order to use it. Because the available tools continue to change and evolve, a detailed list oftechnical skillsin this area would be quickly out of date. But if you ground yourself in modern information technology and then rigorou sly keep yourself up to date, youll be in a good position to succeed. At a minimum, in-depth experience with a spreadsheet program is a must. Financial EngineeringFinancial ModelingFinancial SystemsHyperionIT SoftwareMicrosoft OfficeMobile ApplicationsQuickBooksSAPSecuritiesSoftwareSQLTechnology Written and Verbal Communication Not only do you have to be able tocommunicate clearly to give financial advice, but you also need to inspire trust and develop a strong rapportwithpeople.Otherwise, no one will trust you with their money. This is not a matter of putting on a trustworthy front while some people misrepresent themselves in order to attract business, such practices are both morally wrong and usually less effective. You must actually have integrity and good judgment. If you cant communicate well on all levels, other people wont be able to tell that youre a trustworthy person. The finance industry can be both financially rewarding and personally satisfying because, in certain p ositions, you get to spend your time helping people. Like many other fields, you will have to apply yourself and work hard to succeed in this kind of demanding career, but the potential for success is worth it. CommunicationFinancial AdvisingFinancial ConceptsFinancial ReportingInterpersonalLeadershipManagementNonverbal CommunicationPerformance ManagementPersuadingPractice ManagementPresentingProject ManagementRelationship ManagementTranslating Data More Finance Skills ComplianceDecision MakingDexterityEstate PlanningHandling Detailed WorkHandling MoneyInvestmentsInvestment PrinciplesMarketingMergersMBAOrganizationalPerformance MeasuringPortfolio Performance ReportsSalesTaxationWealth ManagementWorking under Stress How to Make Your Skills Stand Out ADD YOUR MOST RELEVANT SKILLS TO YOUR RESUME Review lists of the top skills employers look for when evaluating job applicants and the best skills to put on your resume to help you get hired. You do not need to mention every single ski ll just be sure to pick a few from each section to show that you are well-rounded.HIGHLIGHT YOUR SKILLS IN YOUR COVER LETTER Use your cover letter to show the hiring manager thatyoure a strong match for the jobby mentioning how your qualifications fit the job requirements.MENTION YOUR SKILLS DURING JOB INTERVIEWS You can also mention these words in your jobinterviews. Each job will require different skills and experiences, so make sure you read thejob descriptioncarefully and focus on the skills listed by the employer.

Heres whos taking your annoying behavior at work straight to the boss

Here's who's taking your annoying behavior at work straight to the boss Here's who's taking your annoying behavior at work straight to the boss New research from Olivet Nazarene University  finds that while 100% of people surveyed reported feeling “annoyed” in the office sometimes, Baby Boomers are least likely to tell the person who is making them feel this way upfront - but most likely to bring it straight to their manager.Meanwhile, more than three-quarters of respondents, 76%, say they’ve never kept annoying someone after being made aware that they’re bothering them - while 24% admit to actually continuing annoying behavior after being notified.The research team surveyed 2,000 U.S. employees. Here are some more  of the findings.Here’s what people say they hate dealing with at workThe research found that nearly half of respondents - 49% â€" have been the most annoyed at work by coworkers’ “loudness and complaining,” followed by 32% who picked “gossip and bullying,” and 12% who selected “bathroom or eating habits.”Just 6% said “email or meeting habits,” and 1% said “personal hygiene.”The research found that there’s a tendency for leaders to be seen as irritating at work, with those in “senior or managerial” roles being 34% “more likely to identify as the source of someone’s annoyance.”Thirty-six percent of people said they’ve actually switched jobs because of annoying colleagues.Here’s just how annoyed people say they’ve been feelingWhen asked, “how many coworkers annoy you on a regular basis?” 21% said just one, 73% said two to five, 4% said six to ten, and 2% said 10 or more.While 78% of people report having “confronted” a colleague about what’s been driving them up the wall, 22% say they have not.But of the ones who did confront their annoying coworkers, 47% did so via another person they work with, 30% did it directly, 18% relied on the support of their boss or supervisor, 2% took things up with HR, and 3% actually say they’ve gotten “the entire office” involved.

Unearthing Yourself from a Crushing Pile of Debt

Unearthing Yourself from a Crushing Pile of Debt Unearthing Yourself from a Crushing Pile of Debt Unemployment combined with bills and credit cards can add up to unwieldy debt. How can you get out?1. Take stock. Make a list of whom you owe money to, how much you owe, and what rate of interest you're paying on each of those debts. Your credit card(s) are probably giving you the most trouble; deal with those with the highest rate first. 2. Get a lower rate. Call your credit card company and ask if they can lower your rate. Then try to combine all your debt onto one card with a lower rate than what your other cards are charging you. This allows you to lower your monthly payments and therefore pay off this debt more quickly.3. Know your credit score. A high credit score can qualify you for cards with lower rates. Anything over 660 is good, and a score over 720 is great. If it's below 660, you'll need to spend a few months improving it before you can get a lower interest rate. You can improve your score by doing the following: Pay every bill on time. Even one late or missed payment c an dramatically decrease your score. Pay off the cards with balances closest to the maximum first. You'll get points deducted from your score anytime you charge more than 50 percent of the limit on any kind of credit card. Do not cancel. Closing credit card accounts can actually hurt your score. As ridiculous as it is, you're scored based on the percentage of credit you have available that you're using. If you close some accounts, your overall credit limit will decrease and you'll owe a higher percentage of the total. Check your score again in six months. That's enough time to see a 50: If your electric bill is higher than usual because of a recent heat wave, you can pay and then spend a little less during the rest of the month to compensate for the increased cost. 7. Plan way-ahead for the holiday season. If you know that, come December, youll wind up spending quite a bit on gift, buy them throughout the year and do so with only what you can pay out of pocket. In addition to avo iding a giant post-holiday credit card bill, you can save by buying things when theyre on sale and youll avoid the Thanksgiving to Christmas rush.Posted by Sophie Friedman, Vault Web Content Intern

How to Influence an Interviewer With a Thank-You Letter

How to Influence an Interviewer With a Thank-You Letter How to Influence an Interviewer With a Thank-You Letter Youve done all you could to prepare for the most commonly asked interview questions, but you need to make a lasting impression even after you leave the potential employer. Its always great to write a good thank-you note after an  interview, but you should also consider sending a letter that will help influence the hiring manager to choose you for the job, henceforth called an influence letter. Its hard to know how to move on from job rejection, but confront any doubts you think might have been raised during the interview and stress the ways in which youve performed in the past and how you can successfully fill this employers position. Additionally, if you think any extra persuasion is necessary post-interview, an influence letter highlighting your qualifications and skills will carry much more weight than a simple thank you letter. Heres an example of an influence letter sent by email. Influence Letter Example Subject Line:  Sales Representative PositionDear Mr. Williamson,It was a pleasure meeting you last week and discussing the sales representative position at XYZ Financial Company. Thank you for introducing me to Mr. James and Mr. White, with whom I would be working.I am glad I had the opportunity to explain to you my exemplary sales record, which I believe would make me an asset on your team. I realize you expressed that the ideal candidate for the position should be experienced in team sales; while most of my experience has been as an individual salesman, I thrive in collaborative settings. As a sales representative at ABC Company, I met weekly with the other 20 sales representatives to collaboratively develop sales strategies and troubleshoot various sales issues. I flourish in this collective setting and would love the opportunity to bring my passion for teamwork to your company.I also have a history of developing and maintaining long-lasting relationships with both clients and col leagues. At ABC Company, I maintained more than 75 percent of my clients for my entire tenure as a sales representative. Im confident that my ability to develop strong relationships will also make me a strong team salesman.I hope this illustration of my collaborative skills will instill confidence that I am the ideal candidate for the sales position. Thank you again for taking the time to speak with me and if you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you about this position.Best regards,[First Name Last Name] Expand Influence Letter Example After Job Rejection You can send a standard follow-up email after a job rejection, but its even better to send a strong influence letter if youve been rejected for a position. This letter would address whatever issues the interviewer noted when he turned you down for the job. For example, maybe you lacked experience or didnt have a certain set of skills. Communicate to the employer that youre not afraid of challenges and can step up to the plate if given another chance. While one influence letter probably wont win you the job, it will tell the employer that you are confident and persistent: two traits that are sure to impress and may keep you on a short list for future job openings. Influence Letter After Reject Example Subject Line:  Marketing Assistant PositionDear Ms. Snow,Thank you so much for taking the time to inform me that you have hired another candidate for the Marketing Assistant position with IceBreakers Inc. While I am, of course, disappointed that I was not selected for this role, I am very grateful that you took the time to interview me twice.It was good to learn that you chose your new Marketing Assistant because they had slightly more experience than I did and possessed a greater knowledge of how to create original graphic designs on the multiple Adobe Creative Cloud platforms (Adobe InDesign and Illustrator). Realizing my limitations in the use of this software, I’ve just enrolled in a certification course at Valley View Community College so that I will soon be able to add digital design skills to my professional toolbelt. I know that this training will significantly extend my effectiveness in social media management, public relations, and marketing communications!Again, thanks f or making our interviews so collegial and informative. I was truly impressed by IceBreakers’ office culture, and I would be grateful if you would consider me for future appropriate positions that may open with your company.Best regards,[First Name Last Name] Expand

Research report How to have a happy family in 7 steps

Research report How to have a happy family in 7 steps Research report How to have a happy family in 7 steps 1) Having dinner together mattersKids who have dinner with their families do better across pretty much every conceivable metric.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:A recent wave of research shows that  children who eat dinner with their families are less likely to drink, smoke, do drugs, get pregnant, commit suicide, and develop eating disorders. Additional research found that children who enjoy family meals have larger vocabularies, better manners, healthier diets, and higher self-esteem.  The most comprehensive survey done on this topic, a University of Michigan report that examined how American children spent their time between 1981 and 1997, discovered that  the amount of time children spent eating meals at home was the single  biggest predictor of better academic achievement and fewer behavioral problems.  Mealtime was more influential than time spent in school, studying, attending religi ous services, or playing sports.Doesn’t work for your family’s schedule? It doesn’t have to be dinner. And it doesn’t have to be every night.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:Many of the benefits of family mealtime can be enjoyed without sitting down together every night.  Even the folks at Columbia University’s center on addiction, the ones responsible for a lot of the research on family dinner, say  having joint meals as infrequently as once a week makes a difference.  2) Share the family historyChildren who know the stories of those who came before them have higher self-esteem and a sense of control over their lives.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:Marshall and Robyn asked those questions of four dozen families in the summer of 2001, and also taped several of their dinner table conver sations. They then compared the children’s results to a battery of psychological tests and reached some overwhelming conclusions.  The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.I’ve posted many times about  the power of story. Having a family narrative is great for children.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:“The most healthful narrative,” Marshall continued, “…It’s called the oscillating family narrative.  â€˜Dear, let me tell you, we’ve had ups and downs in our family. We built a family business. Your  grandfather was a pillar of the community. Your mother was on the board of the hospital. But we also had setbacks. You had an uncle who was once arrested. We had a house burn down. Your father lost a job.  But no matter what happened, we always stuck together as a family.’ ” Marshall says that children who have the most balance and self-confidence in their lives do so because of what he and Robyn call a strong “intergenerational self.” They know they belong to something bigger than themselves.  3) Reduce stressNot easy, I know, but it’s what kids want from their parents  more than anything else.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:In a survey of a thousand families, Ellen Galinsky, the head of the Families and Work Institute and the author of  Mind in the Making,  asked children, “If you were granted one wish  about your parents, what would it be?”  Most parents predicted their kids would say spending more time with them. They were wrong.  The kids’ number one wish was that their parents were less tired and less stressed. …Studies have shown that parental stress weakens children’s brains, depletes their immune systems, and increases their risk of obesity, mental illness, diabetes, allergies, even tooth decay.Here’s  how to reduce stress.  4) Be part of a larger communityTons of research shows religious families are  happier. Why is that?Further study has shown  it’s the friends that a religious community provides.  A community of ten supportive friends makes families happier.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:The most comprehensive study ever done on this topic, in 2010, gives some clues about why this might be. After examining studies of more than three thousand adults, Chaeyoon Lin and Robert Putnam found that what religion you practice or however close you feel to God makes no difference in your overall life satisfaction.  What matters is the number of friends you have in your religious community. T en is the magic number; if you have that many, you’ll be  happier. Religious people, in other words, are happier because they feel connected to a community of like-minded people.  5) Use checklistsI’ve posted before about  the amazing power of a simple checklist, as described in Atul Gawande’s  The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right.Bruce Feiler applies the same research to helping families.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:I was interested in applying his technique to the problems families face when leaving home for a trip. He gave me a number of recommendations. 1.  Create different lists for different times in the process. “Checklists have to be linked in time and space,” Pronovost said. “So I have a checklist for ICU admissions, and another for blood transfusions. You should have a checklist for one week before the trip. Then two days before you’ll likely need another. Then one more for when you’re walking out the door. But you always need time to recover, so if you have one for when you’re at the airport, it’s too late.” 2.  Make it specific. “A checklist should take less than a minute to complete,” he said. “Each item should be a very specific behavior. Avoid vague language.” 3. Killer items only.  â€œTarget your checklist on things that commonly go wrong,”  he told me. “If you put down things you don’t fail at, you’ll drive people crazy. This has been borne out  in aviation, where accidents have been caused by checklist fatigue.” 4. The rule of seven.  â€œI have a rule that checklists can be only seven items,”  Pronovost said. “It’s the same reason our telephone numbers are seven digits. Otherwise, people will take shortcuts and items will get missed.” 5.  Include the kids.  â€œI would sit down with them and say, ‘Hey, girls, I’m trying to improve how we travel, so I made a checklist. Does this make sense to you? What else can you add?’ ”  6) Empower the childrenDown with parental dictatorship!  Kids do better when they make plans themselves or at least have a say.You should even allow them to pick their own punishments. It creates greater motivation to obey the rules.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:Scientists at the University of California and elsewhere found that  kids who plan their own time, set weekly goals, and evaluate their own work build up their prefrontal cortex and other parts of the brain that help them exert greater cognitive control over their lives.  These so-called executive skills aid children with self-discipline, avoiding distractions, and weighing the pros and cons of their choices. By picking their own punishments, children become more internally driven to  avoid them. By choosing their own rewards, children become more intrinsically motivated to achieve them. Let your kids take a greater role in raising themselves.  7) Grandmoms have superpowersScores of studies show the incredible benefits that grandmom brings, like teaching kids to cooperate and to be compassionate.Children who spend time with their grandparents are more social, do better in school and show more concern for others.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:Countless studies have shown the  extraordinary benefits grandmothers have on contemporary families.  A meta-analysis of sixty-six studies completed in 1992 found that mothers who have more support from grandmothers have less stress and more well-adjusted children… So what are these grandmothers actually doing?  They’re teaching children core social skills like how to cooperate, how to be compassionate, how to be considerate.  Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah interviewed 408 adolescents about their relationship with their grandparents.  When grandparents are involved, the study found, the children are more social, more involved in school, and more likely to show concern for others.I hope this post helps your family be happier.Join 300,000 readers.  Get a free weekly update via email  here.Related posts:Parent myths: How much of what your parents told you was crap?Important Life Lessons: What’s The Most Important Life Lesson Older People Feel You Must Know?What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?This column first appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree. Research report How to have a happy family in 7 steps 1) Having dinner together mattersKids who have dinner with their families do better across pretty much every conceivable metric.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:A recent wave of research shows that  children who eat dinner with their families are less likely to drink, smoke, do drugs, get pregnant, commit suicide, and develop eating disorders. Additional research found that children who enjoy family meals have larger vocabularies, better manners, healthier diets, and higher self-esteem.  The most comprehensive survey done on this topic, a University of Michigan report that examined how American children spent their time between 1981 and 1997, discovered that  the amount of time children spent eating meals at home was the single  biggest predictor of better academic achievement and fewer behavioral problems.  Mealtime was more influential than time spent in school, studying, attending religi ous services, or playing sports.Doesn’t work for your family’s schedule? It doesn’t have to be dinner. And it doesn’t have to be every night.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:Many of the benefits of family mealtime can be enjoyed without sitting down together every night.  Even the folks at Columbia University’s center on addiction, the ones responsible for a lot of the research on family dinner, say  having joint meals as infrequently as once a week makes a difference.  2) Share the family historyChildren who know the stories of those who came before them have higher self-esteem and a sense of control over their lives.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:Marshall and Robyn asked those questions of four dozen families in the summer of 2001, and also taped several of their dinner table conver sations. They then compared the children’s results to a battery of psychological tests and reached some overwhelming conclusions.  The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.I’ve posted many times about  the power of story. Having a family narrative is great for children.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:“The most healthful narrative,” Marshall continued, “…It’s called the oscillating family narrative.  â€˜Dear, let me tell you, we’ve had ups and downs in our family. We built a family business. Your  grandfather was a pillar of the community. Your mother was on the board of the hospital. But we also had setbacks. You had an uncle who was once arrested. We had a house burn down. Your father lost a job.  But no matter what happened, we always stuck together as a family.’ ” Marshall says that children who have the most balance and self-confidence in their lives do so because of what he and Robyn call a strong “intergenerational self.” They know they belong to something bigger than themselves.  3) Reduce stressNot easy, I know, but it’s what kids want from their parents  more than anything else.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:In a survey of a thousand families, Ellen Galinsky, the head of the Families and Work Institute and the author of  Mind in the Making,  asked children, “If you were granted one wish  about your parents, what would it be?”  Most parents predicted their kids would say spending more time with them. They were wrong.  The kids’ number one wish was that their parents were less tired and less stressed. …Studies have shown that parental stress weakens children’s brains, depletes their immune systems, and increases their risk of obesity, mental illness, diabetes, allergies, even tooth decay.Here’s  how to reduce stress.  4) Be part of a larger communityTons of research shows religious families are  happier. Why is that?Further study has shown  it’s the friends that a religious community provides.  A community of ten supportive friends makes families happier.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:The most comprehensive study ever done on this topic, in 2010, gives some clues about why this might be. After examining studies of more than three thousand adults, Chaeyoon Lin and Robert Putnam found that what religion you practice or however close you feel to God makes no difference in your overall life satisfaction.  What matters is the number of friends you have in your religious community. T en is the magic number; if you have that many, you’ll be  happier. Religious people, in other words, are happier because they feel connected to a community of like-minded people.  5) Use checklistsI’ve posted before about  the amazing power of a simple checklist, as described in Atul Gawande’s  The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right.Bruce Feiler applies the same research to helping families.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:I was interested in applying his technique to the problems families face when leaving home for a trip. He gave me a number of recommendations. 1.  Create different lists for different times in the process. “Checklists have to be linked in time and space,” Pronovost said. “So I have a checklist for ICU admissions, and another for blood transfusions. You should have a checklist for one week before the trip. Then two days before you’ll likely need another. Then one more for when you’re walking out the door. But you always need time to recover, so if you have one for when you’re at the airport, it’s too late.” 2.  Make it specific. “A checklist should take less than a minute to complete,” he said. “Each item should be a very specific behavior. Avoid vague language.” 3. Killer items only.  â€œTarget your checklist on things that commonly go wrong,”  he told me. “If you put down things you don’t fail at, you’ll drive people crazy. This has been borne out  in aviation, where accidents have been caused by checklist fatigue.” 4. The rule of seven.  â€œI have a rule that checklists can be only seven items,”  Pronovost said. “It’s the same reason our telephone numbers are seven digits. Otherwise, people will take shortcuts and items will get missed.” 5.  Include the kids.  â€œI would sit down with them and say, ‘Hey, girls, I’m trying to improve how we travel, so I made a checklist. Does this make sense to you? What else can you add?’ ”  6) Empower the childrenDown with parental dictatorship!  Kids do better when they make plans themselves or at least have a say.You should even allow them to pick their own punishments. It creates greater motivation to obey the rules.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:Scientists at the University of California and elsewhere found that  kids who plan their own time, set weekly goals, and evaluate their own work build up their prefrontal cortex and other parts of the brain that help them exert greater cognitive control over their lives.  These so-called executive skills aid children with self-discipline, avoiding distractions, and weighing the pros and cons of their choices. By picking their own punishments, children become more internally driven to  avoid them. By choosing their own rewards, children become more intrinsically motivated to achieve them. Let your kids take a greater role in raising themselves.  7) Grandmoms have superpowersScores of studies show the incredible benefits that grandmom brings, like teaching kids to cooperate and to be compassionate.Children who spend time with their grandparents are more social, do better in school and show more concern for others.Via  The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More:Countless studies have shown the  extraordinary benefits grandmothers have on contemporary families.  A meta-analysis of sixty-six studies completed in 1992 found that mothers who have more support from grandmothers have less stress and more well-adjusted children… So what are these grandmothers actually doing?  They’re teaching children core social skills like how to cooperate, how to be compassionate, how to be considerate.  Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah interviewed 408 adolescents about their relationship with their grandparents.  When grandparents are involved, the study found, the children are more social, more involved in school, and more likely to show concern for others.I hope this post helps your family be happier.Join 300,000 readers.  Get a free weekly update via email  here.Related posts:Parent myths: How much of what your parents told you was crap?Important Life Lessons: What’s The Most Important Life Lesson Older People Feel You Must Know?What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?This column first appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.