Ken Wheeler’s Post

🎉 A Month of Milestones: Celebrating Our Team's Anniversaries at Lucida! June marks a special time at Lucida as we celebrate the anniversaries of several key team members. Each year, these milestones remind us of the talent and dedication that thrive within our walls. From those marking their first year, bringing fresh perspectives and enthusiasm, to those who have been with us for much longer, each plays a pivotal role in our collective achievements. Join us as we applaud their dedication and contributions to our firm's success. Erica Erdenee - 1 Year, Staff Auditor, Brookfield Efficient and precise, Erica is a valued member of our audit team. Joel Balazar - 1 Year, Staff Accountant, Madison Joel's keen analysis greatly enhances our accounting capabilities. Scott Albrecht - 2 Years, Audit Manager, Brookfield Scott’s expertise in auditing consistently drives our operational excellence. Michele Jones - 4 Years, Payroll Manager, Brookfield Michele ensures our payroll processes are seamless and reliable. Monica Stellpflug - 4 Years, Admin Team Monica provides indispensable support, keeping our team organized and effective. Steve Myerson - 17 Years, Principal, Mequon Steve’s leadership has been instrumental in our firm’s path to success. As we celebrate these significant career milestones, we are reminded of how our diverse experiences and backgrounds contribute to the robust fabric of Lucida. Here’s to many more years of success and innovation together! #WorkAnniversary #EmployeeAppreciation #TeamLucida #Leadership #ProfessionalGrowth

🌟 Employee Spotlight 🌟 Meet Shane, our Human Resources Manager, and a true example of "stick-to-it-iveness"! Shane first joined MNS back in April 2010 and has since held various roles within the company, including Account Representative, Reimbursement Specialist, Customer Service Representative, and Human Resource Assistant. In January 2023, Shane was promoted to his current position. As our Human Resources Manager, Shane has introduced numerous new ideas and programs benefiting our associates. Some of his accomplishments include: ✨ Automatic enrollment for all new associates into the MNS 401k program ✨ Spearheading the new HR/Employee Policy Manual ✨ Implementing the Employee Satisfaction Survey and the Employee Spotlight program ✨ Involvement in our Health Care Benefits reviews ✨ Drafting the Volunteer Time Off policy and PTO donation policy ✨ Establishing Black Friday as a new MNS Holiday ✨ Introducing the Halloween Scavenger Hunt In his downtime, Shane has researched several thousand resumes, helping MNS succeed in hiring and onboarding new associates for our teams. Looking forward, Shane intends to return to school and further his development as a Human Resource Professional. Outside of work, Shane's main focus is on his family and friends. He enjoys home remodeling, spending time with his family, and staying up to date on his "to do" list. Let's get to know Shane a little better: 🌟 Three wishes: For my son to always be happy, financial security for my family, and to lose weight whenever I wanted. 🎵 Music: Anything really, but mainly 50s-70s. 📺 Binge-watching/Reading: Shane enjoys any movie from the early 80s and 90s. 😊 Favorite part of working at MNS: The flexibility and knowing that MNS is very family-oriented. 🤔 Fun Fact: Shane was once a carpenter and spends the majority of his free time doing home remodeling/carpentry. Join us in thanking Shane for his dedication and hard work! #EmployeeSpotlight #MNSManagedCare #MeetTheTeam

A token of appreciation from my supervisor ahead of Administrative Professional’s Day. 🌺 Things I’ve learned in the last 6 months: • There are employers out there who actually care about their employees, and don’t just talk the talk. • A simple, yet genuine “thank you” without the follow-up statement of “but here’s how you can be doing more” goes a long way. • Caring about your employees growth, asking for their input, and putting that into action, is HUGE, and is what will keep your employees with you longer and always putting their best foot forward for you. Truly grateful for the work I get to do and the group of people that I get to work with every day! #administrativeprofessionalsday #appreciationpost

Recognition matters more than salary. But are you giving enough of it? There are many ways and reasons to celebrate your colleague, employee or client. My favourite way is through meaningful gifts. Sometimes you don't even need a reason to give a gift. 🙂 But if you do, here are some good ones: 🤩 Onboarding a new team member 🤷♂️ Laying off a not so new team member 🤩 Completing a successful project 🤷♂️ Enjoy your sabbatical 🤩 Birthdays and anniversaries 🤷♂️ Saying sorry for unexpected happenings 🤩 Thank you for exceptional work 🤷♂️ Get well soon 🤩 Celebrating weddings 🤷♂️ Celebrating new born babies 🤩 Christmas celebration 🤷♂️ National Tequila day 🤩 A well-deserved promotion 🤷♂️ A well-deserved parental leave You see, gifts are not only for Christmas. Celebrations and gifts bring people together. 😇 And remind them of their value. The best part is - it does NOT have to be difficult. You can make gifting easy and enjoyable. ----- Hey, I'm Konrad, Some call me the Corporate Gifting Pro. 😎 Because I help companies increase webinar attendance and employee satisfaction through automated gifting systems. Reach out to me, and I'll make gifting easy for you!

🎅 Ready to hit pause for the holiday break? 🎄 If your business shuts down over Christmas and New Year, now’s the time to plan (and avoid last-minute surprises!). Depending on your Award, you’ll need to give 28 days to 2 months’ written notice—yep, that’s now-ish! And here’s the sticky part: not everyone will have enough annual leave to cover it. So, you’ve got options: offer leave in advance or leave without pay, but only if they agree. The Awards are pretty clear on this – employees can’t be made to take unpaid leave. So, check your Award, set your dates, and let everyone know what’s coming. A bit of prep now means a smoother, stress-free start to the new year (and more time to relax). 🥂 🌊 🎁 Anyone else counting down? ⏳

🕑 As I mark two years at THIRTY4/7 Communications, I was asked to give my thoughts on how planning and politics has changed in that time: 🗳 'Since I started at T47, the political landscape has changed significantly. We have had three UK prime ministers, two monarchs, two first ministers of Wales and Scotland respectively, Welsh local elections, and two (nearing three) sets of English local elections. And if that weren’t enough, we are months away from a general election which might lead to a change of government for the first time since 2010. 🏗 The election will take place with both major parties having swapped positions on planning and development. Previously, under Boris Johnson’s government, the Conservatives placed growth at the heart of their economic agenda, pledging to ‘Level Up’ the nations and regions with investment and infrastructure. Johnson himself also championed the need to ‘build better and build greener but…also build faster’. In response, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party then warned voters that ‘The Conservatives’ developers’ charter would sell off and sell out our communities.’, in an appeal to those concerned at the prospect of overdevelopment. 🏡 Come 2024, and the position of both parties has reversed. Rishi Sunak has sounded a more cautious note around development, notably ditching national housing targets and watering down net zero legislation. Keir Starmer, on the other hand, has placed economic growth at the heart of his programme for government, with commitments on undertaking planning reform, achieving 100% clean power by 2030, and delivering 1.5 million new homes across the next Parliament. Starmer even recently acknowledged that Johnson’s policy had ‘struck a chord’ with voters, conceding that ‘Levelling-up is a good ambition for Britain’ and committing to delivering the policy in its totality. 🗣 Politics, after all, is driven by competing coalitions of voters and certain fluidity is to be expected, though with Labour anticipated to form the next government, perhaps there is growing evidence that voters wish to see growth and development at the forefront of the policy debate.' #politics #policy #development #Keir #Starmer #Boris #Johnson #Rishi #Sunak #Labour #Conservatives #communications

“For us, it was really the case that we didn’t do the work to know about better deals out there. Now it’s like having a personal PA for the switching process.” I swear our customers are better at putting Nous into words than we are. This is how Dyra, a resourcing manager and mother of two, described her experience of joining Nous through her employer, Yonder Consulting. She told us she knew she could save money on her bills – but struggled to find the time and headspace to get it done. Within weeks of signing up, we switched her energy and mobile bills to fairer deals, saving her more than £250. But it wasn’t just the money saved that mattered to Dyra. It was the stress and time she no longer had to spend managing her bills. The scary thing is, research shows that people spend 13 days a year tackling life admin. As Dyra put it, “Nobody tells you about all this life admin that you need to do when you grow up.” And she’s not the only one. We hear from countless customers that the biggest benefit we provide is not just financial. It’s the peace of mind that comes from knowing they’re always getting the best deal—without the hassle. These success stories make it all worthwhile, because no one should be dealing with the cost-of-living crisis alone. What would saving time and stress on life admin look like for you?

Just as Thanksgiving, a time for gratitude, precedes the season of giving at Christmas, employees must feel valued at work to perform their best as a form of appreciation. So what exactly makes us Grateful to our Employers enabling us to offer our best work? Remuneration: Feeling valued by our employers is crucial, and this often comes from fair compensation. Whether it’s market rate salaries, commissions above a draw, or commission-only arrangements where we receive the majority of the invoice, these reflect our worth and expertise. Without feeling valued in our roles, it’s difficult to feel gratitude or deliver our best work. Career investment development is also key: Recognition, validation, and value can be felt through ongoing training, leadership opportunities, mentoring, and promotions. Such investments by employers make us feel appreciated and motivate us to excel in our roles. Flexibility and Culture: The concept of “partnership” is often considered the most effective way to manage. The best leaders and coaches are those who work alongside their teams and support them actively. When leaders demonstrate that they have our backs and collaborate closely, it fosters gratitude among team members. Offering flexibility—whether in terms of work-life balance or options like additional work-from-home days without financial penalties—shows that employers value and trust us. This gratitude and understanding from our employers encourage us to deliver our best work. When we gather with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, let’s take a moment to reflect on what aspects of our current roles we are grateful for, ensuring that we are contributing our utmost effort and excellence to our jobs. As the year draws to a close, I encourage you to schedule a meeting with us to discuss your career journey. Let’s identify what might be lacking in terms of gratitude in your current role that’s holding you back from delivering your best work and realizing your full potential. Together, we can set the stage for your future success and a strong 2025! #thanksgiving #GratitudeAtWork #CareerGrowth

Do you fear taking unpaid leave from your company? A person who doesn’t showcase authority by decorating it in flowers and wrapping it in a bright, attractive, eye-catching box, rather they showcase authority by giving controlled freedom. The controlled freedom given to you by your manager, where you subconsciously know the boundaries set, what rules to follow, what not to do. A freedom that’s felt in your gut, known deep inside your heart, and hid under wraps in your mind. This openness is only provided by a Leader and not by a manager. A Leader earns the team’s respect, therefore earns the authority and the position to lead from. He won’t use conventional phrases like “You are expected to…” “You need to…” “I want you to….” “Submit before …”, rather he will take a unique approach. He tells you what should “We” deliver to the client, what part of the work will be done by you, when is our last date and what’s the strategic approach we will be taking.  (Bonus point: If your leader lets you pick what you want to do) He will ask for any better solutions or ways for you to finish the project on time, making sure that everyone’s on the same page, he will also take up a certain portion of the work, because “Everyone is on the same Team”. A Leader always uses a certain set of keywords that are understood by the entire team, meaning it helps in determining the gravity of the situation by the team. These key phrases used by the leader are deeply embedded into the team, that after working on a few projects, they understand the situation, the workload, the mood setting and the way they will work, just by the phrases used by their leader. Being a leader and a manager, is a scale with both being on the opposite ends. The best managers aren’t the best leaders and vice versa. It’s a two way road, where a manager has to become a leader and a leader has to become a manager, and the in-between is difficult to be. It’s a culmination of attitudes, beliefs, values, and understanding of people that sets leaders and managers on the scale of leading people efficiently.

A benefits fair can be a great opportunity to engage and educate your employees on their benefits — especially those who may not be as engaged outside of open enrollment season. Make the most of your next benefits fair with these pro tips -