#worklifebalance

Marco Juarez

Money Doesn’t Make You Better Off

Having worked all over the country with workers from all walks of life, I can attest to the fact that not everyone – a large part of the American population – do not view the trappings of high-income, high-rent areas as amenities. And on top of that, money is not often the primary motivator for most people. You have only to look at the Millennial Generation to prove that point. I have interviewed and surveyed thousands of people over the past 20 years. I have had highly train

Marco Juarez

Unlocking Efficiency and Job Satisfaction at Marvin Windows

Employees in the small town of Warroad, Minnesota were working six days a week, alternating every two weeks from days to nights. With very little predictable time off, employees were exhausted and morale was low. Because Marvin Windows was one of the biggest employers in this small town, many parents were working opposite shifts and hardly saw eachother. Coleman Consulting Group was hired to help with retention, and immediately recognized the need for change, knowing that the

Marco Juarez

Alternative Work Schedules can give employees more days off and the same pay.

With a traditional eight hour workday, employees typically get 13 weekends off per year. But Coleman Consulting Group has overhauled schedules to such a degree that California employees are able to get up to 26 weekends off, the equivalent to 3 months a year, with no decrease in pay or drop in company productivity. “Our job is to help companies save money and make their employees happier,” Juarez said. Listen to the podcast to hear real examples of Coleman Consulting Group’s

Marco Juarez

Move Beyond Traditional Work Schedules and Create Employee Lifestyles

#worklifebalance #employeeengagement #DisruptHR #employeescheduling

Frank Pereira

That's what I call "a buen Camino"!

When my daughter Victoria graduated from college two years ago, we were able to spend three days together on the Camino de Santiago. “The Camino” is one of the oldest pilgrimages in the Western World, with roots stretching back to the early middle ages and the time of Charlemagne. Most pilgrims start in Southern France and take over a month to complete the journey. But since Victoria was about to start her first job as a project engineer, she had not earned any paid vacation

Marco Juarez

Scheduling the Holidays

Every holiday season I see people villainize retailers, manufacturers, and many businesses for their holiday work practices. “They should let their employees enjoy time at home during the holidays!” That is generally the message people convey. I don’t have an opinion for or against the practice of working on holidays – there are already so many shift workers that are essential to the functioning of our society working on holidays that I see there are many ways to help employe

Marco Juarez

Holiday Work/Life Balance – A Non-Traditional, Traditional Thanksgiving

I have really had to learn to bring balance to my life. I admit that not so long ago I was a workaholic. I still am to some extent, but I have done a much better job of finding ways to step away and shut down work – especially when there is fun to be had with the family. Thanksgiving is no different. I typically enjoy being the cook for Thanksgiving day. With a family of eight children, and adding their friends as they have gotten older, means cooking for two or three dozen p

Frank Pereira

What do the "Three Circles" mean?

The "Three Circles" represent the three key elements required to design the best schedule successfully. These elements also reflect Coleman Consulting Groups definition of a schedule: Business Needs - "a system for deploying capital and personnel." Employee Desires - "with employee buy-in." Health & Safety - "specific work, pay, and coverage policies." Our consultants are experts in the field of scheduling and resource optimization. They work across multiple industries to ide

Ron Higgs LCDR (Ret.)

"Thank You for Your Service"

Veterans Day is celebrated nationwide on November 11th as a day to honor those who served in the military. The words "thank you for your service" may seem inadequate, but to me, those words have more meaning than those who haven't served will ever understand. The very first time someone said it to me, I didn't know how to respond. "You're welcome" didn't seem appropriate, so I remained speechless as a fellow American thanked me for my service and sacrifices. After that, I tho

Marco Juarez

When Is Overtime Good for Business?

That may sound like a strange question. Many people are conditioned to believe that overtime is never good for a business. The reality is that overtime can be extremely cost effective and even build morale under the following conditions: Overtime is used to meet a short-term increase in demand (a short-term need) Overtime levels or use does not become excessive Policies favor people that prefer to work overtime, while those that do not want overtime can avoid it When overtime

Frank Pereira

Employee Retention is Sometimes About Just Listening

This week I visited with managers from one of our multi-site customers. Spread across North America, this organization provides services from over twenty locations in three countries. Staffed to cover many non-standard hours, turnover had been a growing problem. Engagement surveys and exit interviews continue to point to employee schedules as one of the central themes causing dissatisfaction. Another issue has been upper management neglecting to listen to employees. Earlier

Frank Pereira

Back to school thoughts on Work/Life balance

Now that the summer is nearly over, many parents are getting ready for school. For many people, this tends to be a high demand period where we "bend" our schedules to make sure we are there at the right times for drop off, pickup, and to support all the afterschool demands. Work schedules that allow people to meet those demands can make a big difference for many employees. A segment of the population that continues to grow is the dual income families with kids that manage th

Frank Pereira and Marco Juarez

9-1-1: We Have a Hiring Problem

A recent Wall Street Journal Article discussed the difficulty in finding workers for 911 call centers. As the labor market tightens, all organizations, not just 911 call centers are having trouble acquiring and keeping qualified employees. This situation reminds me of the “Bear in the Woods” story – no not that one, the other bear story. Two hunters are in the woods when a bear jumps out of the bushes. The first one starts running. The second one sits down to put on this tra

Frank Pereira

I "Worked" the Night Shift in Alaska

Our bodies body’s Circadian Rhythm, or biological clock, is controlled by a bundle of cells (the hypothalamus) atop the bridge of the nose in your head. It tells a person when to wake up, when to go to sleep, and when to use the bathroom among other things. Circa means “about”, and dian means “daily,” so these are daily rhythms and they are the products of the biological clock. When the biological clock is in sync with the clock on the wall, everything works smoothly. Whe

Marco Juarez

We are heading to #SHRM18

Are you going to SHRM 2018 Annual Conference & Exposition in Chicago?

Marco Juarez

Ann Crowell Benefit Dinner

Gentle Beginnings Birth Center (GBBC), a past client of CCG, was the vision of Ann Crowell, a gifted and highly respected midwife. She made an amazing impact on her North Texas community and beyond. We lost Ann in August 2016, but Birth Texas (BirthTexas.org) and GBBC have continued to carry on her work. On April 20th, 2018 a memorial fundraiser for Birth Texas was held in her honor to raise funds to help midwives across the state of Texas offer Pro Bono services for low inco

Marco Juarez

Giving Employees Rest and Lunch Breaks is Costing Millions

Before you jump to conclusions, the title of this blog post isn’t implying that employees shouldn’t be given rest and lunch breaks. Yes, providing rest and lunch breaks costs money. It is an investment. It is an investment that is made to ensure the welfare – the health and safety – of employees is maintained. Ultimately, the health of a company is directly related to the health of its employees. So, what am I talking about? The bottom line is that rest and lunch breaks are

Frank Pereira and Marco Juarez

The Power of the Right Schedule

Over the years, many of the employees I meet have said, “I work to live, not live to work.” I think that is true of most people. We work to earn money to feed our families, buy a house, and live a good life. For most people, this simple statement means that living life is more important than making money. Too often, however, I see companies use pay as a way to modify behavior. A common example is paying a “shift differential” to encourage people to work an undesired schedule

Marco Juarez

"Today" is the Golden Age

Hang around a group of older employees long enough, and the conversation will at some point turn to complaining about the work ethic of the current generation. Boomers talk about how none of the young generation is loyal; Gen Xer’s complain that the new generations are too unfocused, and so on down the line. And they all complain that the work ethic of the next generation is nothing like the work ethic of their generation. So many times – and I have fallen into this trap – pe

Marco Juarez

A Conversation with Our Managing Partner

#worklifebalance #shiftwork #businessneeds #threecircles #employeedesires #shiftlength

BEYOND YOUR TYPICAL SCHEDULING