Avoiding Workplace Harassment Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Everyone in the workplace contributes to the culture of the environment. This is especially true when it comes to harassment and bullying. While unpleasant behavior from a coworker might not rise to the level of being illegal, it can definitely strongly affect the mood at work, which can lead to lower productivity, depressed morale and even losing talented people. When it comes to nipping harassing behavior before it grows, we all have a role to play.
Is It Me?
Most of us would likely shake our heads fervently if someone asked us if we were the problem. But, obviously, in a harassment or bullying situation, someone IS the instigator, even if they feel like they’re just “having fun” or the other person is just “being sensitive.” It’s important to note that intent doesn’t always matter. You might think you’re making a funny joke or that hugging shows you care or provides comfort to another person. If your behavior, however good-intentioned it may be, causes discomfort to a colleague, you’ll want to change course.
Here are things to avoid:
- Making untoward comments or jokes about someone’s appearance, religion, nationality, gender or disability
- These are protected characteristics that are legally safeguarded in many work environments
- Touching someone, even if it feels like a minor gesture, without knowing if the other person is OK with it
- Using aggressive language, making threats or trying to control someone’s actions
- Repeatedly asking someone out for a date after they’ve said no
Be sure to respect others’ requests to stop certain behaviors. Also, focus on how your actions make another person feel, rather than putting all the weight on your own intentions.
No, It’s You
LRN specializes in building ethical business cultures. In a blog post about harassment in the workplace, they wrote that more than a quarter of office workers in the US and the UK have reported experiencing bullying or harassment at some point in their careers. Zippia, a job placement company, found between 54% and 81% of women report experiencing sexual harassment at work, but many don’t escalate it to a manager.
How do you know if you’re being harassed? Consider these questions:
- Does going to work make you feel uncomfortable, especially knowing you’ll be working with a particular person or group?
- Have you said things like, “I don’t like it when you hug me,” or “Please stop making those jokes around me,” yet the behavior is downplayed or continues?
- Have you reported specific behavior to management, but nothing happens?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces harassment laws. Isolated incidents, simple teasing and offhand comments do not rise to the level of legal action unless they are very serious or occur frequently. However, the EEOC recommends telling a manager even after one occurrence if it made you feel uncomfortable.
Inspired eLearning suggests the following steps to take if you’re experiencing harassment:
- Talk to the perpetrator and try to resolve it through clear communication
- If the harassment continues, report it to a supervisor or HR representative
- If it still isn’t resolved, you can reach out to the EEOC to report it
What Did I Just See?
Harassing or bullying behavior can include and affect people outside the victim and the offender. If you witness worrying behavior, you can absolutely take steps to help correct it. The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights encourages bystanders to take responsible actions.
- Document it, including the date, the people involved and specifics about what you heard or saw
- If you feel comfortable talking to the victim, tell them you witnessed it and are willing to describe what you saw
- Talk to a manager about your concerns
Bystanders can also talk to the perpetrator, giving them an outside perspective on what they witnessed. Sometimes this is enough to stop future poor behavior. Third parties can also diffuse a situation as it’s happening by stepping in actively to say, “This is not cool,” or subtly by pulling either party away with a request for immediate help on something. A bystander’s presence alone can sometimes mitigate the situation without needing to say a word.
A Team Effort
Harassing behavior is always unwarranted, unwanted, and can be unlawful. It affects not only the victim, but the company culture. Managers need to be mindful of encouraging an open-door policy and following up on reported incidents. Colleagues should feel like they can take a positive role in resolving bad behavior. Victims need to have a clear course of action to report harassment, either through a manager or HR department. Finally, we all must self-reflect to make sure we aren’t causing undue stress on our colleagues through our words or actions.
Get to Know ME with Sheri Racine
It’s time to get to know one of our newer colleagues! Sheri Racine started in June of 2024, getting several months of training from our long-time Merchandise Buyer, before retiring. We’re happy to have Sheri take on the role and bring a new perspective to the team. Please read on, and watch her short video, to learn about her passion outside of work and what she loves doing with her family. Thanks Sheri for participating in our Get to Know ME segment this month!
What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?
I am the Merchandise Buyer and I started four months ago, in June 2024. I am new to the incentive industry and excited to be here!
What do you like about your job?
The people I work with, both internally as well as our suppliers. Everyone is so willing to step in and assist.
What’s something you want to share about the people you work with at Motivation Excellence?
They are all amazing. Truly like a family.
What’s a defining moment in your life?
I created a successful product for a previous employer, and ten years later I was on a plane with my family, and it was in the Skymall catalog! It was fun to be able to show it to my children.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
Home Renovations. I love seeing something in a room that can transform it into something completely different and wonderful.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
My children do. I always strive to be someone they look up to. Showing them that you can have a family and work is important.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
Quick witted people.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love attending concerts with my family. We love exposing our children to a wide array of genres.
What’s a bucket list item you can’t wait to cross off?
A trip to Italy – hoping to go soon.
This month, our theme for social media is “Workplace Harassment Awareness/Prevention.” Is this important to you? Why or why not?
Yes, I think it’s very important. Everyone should feel comfortable in the workplace.
Know Your Learning Style for Best Results in Life
We really never stop learning. There’s always a trendy gadget to understand or a change in work policy to incorporate or new slang in use…so truly, whether you consider yourself a lifelong learner or not, we are all forced to learn big and little things throughout life. Knowing how you learn best is critical to digesting new information and putting it to good use. Knowing how your colleagues, employees and clients prefer to learn will give you a nice roadmap to follow when you’re the one teaching the lesson.
Know How You Prefer to Learn
There are four widely recognized styles of learning:
- Auditory
- Visual
- Verbal
- Kinesthetic
Each one lends itself to preferred methods of taking in new information.
| Learning Style | Preferred Method of Intake |
| Auditory | Traditional lecture type presentation |
| Visual | Needs to see it in graphs, diagrams, photos, etc. |
| Verbal (reading/writing) | Likes taking notes and reading on own |
| Kinesthetic | Wants to be hands-on, immersed in subject |
It’s important to know where on this spectrum you thrive. You can have a combination of preferred learning styles too. It’s OK to mix and match to find the right fit. For instance, when learning a language, you might prefer to hear others speak while reading along. For car maintenance, you might need to literally get your hands dirty while watching a DIY YouTube video.
To see where you fall, take a VARK (Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, Kinesthetic) assessment.
Know How Others Prefer to Learn
It’s just as important to know how others like to learn, if you’re the teacher. Insperity offers a way to figure out someone else’s learning style from listening to their questions.
| Learning Style | Questions Others Will Ask |
| Auditory | Can you tell me…? |
| Visual | Can you demonstrate that for me? |
| Verbal (reading/writing) | Is there a manual on this? |
| Kinesthetic | Can I try it myself? |
Once you’ve pinpointed your teammates’ learning styles, providing an environment where each can succeed as they absorb new information is important. Cornerstone on Demand defines workplace learning styles slightly differently than VARK and suggests the environment best suited to each type.
| Learning Style | Best Environment |
| Student (visual and verbal) | Learns best seeing presentations and writing notes |
| The Independent | Prefers learning alone than in a group setting |
| The Conversationalist | Likes background noise and talking through things |
| Hands-on Learner | Wants a calm environment and be allowed trial and error time |
Cornerstone adds that when looking at diversity in the workplace, learning style is absolutely part of the equation.
Using a Variety of Methods
At the end of the day, we all prefer to learn in ways unique to our personality and level of self-awareness. Be conscious of that when you’re presenting to a client or selling to a customer. Interactions on your company website will benefit from accommodating a variety of information intake methods: page text, videos, webinars, blogs, summary graphics, full-blown case studies and podcasts.
And if you are someone who prides themselves on tackling new topics, languages, sports or hobbies, know how best to set yourself up for success right from the beginning. Just because you’re out of school, doesn’t mean you don’t have a lot more to learn!
Get to Know ME with Iris Huisman
If you want to have a talk with a calming personality, look no further than Iris Huisman (pronounced Ear-ess House-man). No wonder she excels in the sometimes hectic incentive, meetings and events industry; she’s cool under pressure and makes you feel like “everything is going to be alright.” Thank you Iris for participating in our Get to Know ME segment. Read on, and watch her video, to get to know her better.
What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?
I am a Program Manager as part of the Travel Department at Motivation Excellence. I started my career in the M&IT industry as a graduate trainee in England way back in 1997. I have had many roles in the industry since then, both on the client side as well as for a DMC and of course many years on the agency side. Wearing many different hats has given me a unique perspective when helping clients find the best solutions for their meetings and incentive programs.
What do you like about your job?
I love the variety this work provides and seeing the end result when lots of planning and creative thinking comes to fruition. Of course, the opportunity to travel is nice too; I am fortunate to have experienced many great destinations all over the world.
What’s something you want to share about the people you work with at Motivation Excellence?
The people I work with on my team at Motivation Excellence care a lot about doing what is right for our clients and providing the best service. But more than that, the team really cares about each other, and that is something that I think makes this a great place to work.
What’s a specific moment in your history that always stands out as a defining moment, and why?
Wow, that is a tough question. There have been quite a few pivotal moments in my life: moving to England when I was 18 with the plan to stay for only a year, and staying for almost 13, moving to the United States in 2006, dealing with the loss of my dad, stepdad and mum all in quick succession; all of these moments have had a profound impact on shaping me into the person I am today.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I wish I could say that I inherited my dad’s musical talent. He was a musician all his life, but no amount of piano and flute lessons could ever get me to come even close.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
Maybe cheesy, but my kids are my biggest motivator – showing up for them and everything they want to achieve in life has been driving me forward toward bigger and better things. I want them to know that their mum has done, is doing, and will do her best to support them.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love hiking and taking in the beauty that is all around us here in North Georgia (when it is not 100 degrees 😊). I love to run and play tennis. And if I had my way, I would live somewhere where I could go skiing regularly. I also like to read – Ken Follett has been a favorite of mine recently.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
Good comedy! I love Bill Burr and Ricky Gervais; their sense of humor speaks to me.
What’s a bucket list item you can’t wait to cross off?
I am really hoping to have the opportunity to take my kids on safari in Africa. I was fortunate to plan and operate a few programs on the African continent and it has left a lasting impression on me; I want them to have that experience too.
This month, our theme for social media is “Learning Styles.” Do you prefer to learn in a certain way? How do you make sure you’re digesting work information in the best way for you?
I think my learning style is a mixture of things; I am more of a kinesthetic than an auditory learner, but for some things, logical/analytical learning works better. To digest certain information, I am still a little old school and like to print certain documents out, so I can take notes while learning the material.
Effective Delegation Brings Liberation to Your Workday
Are you ready to cross some items off your to-do list? Jot this at the top: “Learn how to delegate.” Then keep reading, and by the end you’ll be ready to draw a line straight through it!
The Many Benefits of Delegation
Delegation does not mean pushing your work onto someone else. It doesn’t mean you’re lazy or uninvested in a project. It does mean you’re ready to empower your team, build trust with them and be better at your own time management. There are likely tasks you must do; but just as likely, there are many jobs you can entrust to others in your organization.
Delegation offers benefits to both parties.
For you:
- Eases stress
- Frees time for other needs
- Shows trust
- Boosts engagement
- Increases productivity
For them:
- Provides skill development
- Raises confidence
- Increases teamwork
- Builds leadership
- Gives a sense of achievement
In addition, delegation can boost overall morale, improve efficiency and enable innovation. Everyone can benefit from proper allocation of tasks.
How to Delegate
Figuring out when to assign projects, big or small, is the first step to delegation success. The University of Sussex outlines nine things to think about, including:
- Defining the parameters of the job
- Clearly stating the desired results
- Agreeing on timeline and metrics of progress
- Providing feedback and open communication
What to Delegate
According to the Leadership Team article on LinkedIn, the Eisenhower Matrix is an excellent way to determine which jobs to move from your plate to another’s. Very simply, it’s suggested you group and delegate tasks that are either urgent but not important, or important but not urgent.
Urgent tasks require immediate attention. Surely you can tackle it, but if there’s someone else on your team with the skill set and flexibility, it could make more sense to ask them to take it on. Too many urgent tasks can lead to elevated stress and burn-out, so spreading them around keeps everyone fresh.
Important tasks help achieve long-term goals. These projects might require thoughtful planning and end up taking a good deal of time over a long period. As a leader, you may feel this belongs squarely in your jurisdiction, or you may know a team member who excels at this type of project management. With regularly scheduled updates, you can keep up on the progress without getting mired in the details.
The aforementioned Eisenhower Matrix link is filled with tips and strategies to keep your to-do list short and sweet.
To Whom to Delegate
This can be the very crux of eventual success. Once you’ve determined that you can move a to-do off your list, figuring out who can take it on is important. Vital Learning encourages leaders to look at a few factors when deciding to whom to give a job.
- Capabilities
- Enthusiasm
- Level of attention to details
Workload should always be a consideration too. When in doubt, given a standard level of skills, you can always ask for a volunteer. Overall, it’s important to make sure no one is being underutilized or overburdened in order to get all the benefits of delegation to fall into place.
So, now… are you ready to cross “Learn to delegate” off your list? We hope so, and good luck!
Recognizing Stellar Teamwork at Work; Our Internal Program at Motivation Excellence
At Motivation Excellence our core values are Respect, Integrity, Trust and Exceeding Expectations, or RITE2. As a leader in the incentive industry, we like to live what we recommend to others. Showing the people who matter most to your business that they matter to you is critical to increased engagement, loyalty and longevity, whether you’re talking about employees or partners outside your business. When people are more engaged with your company, they work harder to help you reach your goals.
We have an internal recognition program based on RITE2 that allows colleagues to recognize each other for exemplifying one of our core values. Everyone gets an award point balance they can use each month to reward one or more teammates. For really special recognition, they can ask a manager for a bigger award point reward. Enter Debbie and Josee.
Debbie, a 27-year veteran of our office, had a serious medical condition that required her to take several months off. Debbie is one of our jill-of-all-trades team members. Among many other things, she has a hand in quoting our creative services, purchasing supplies, working with print vendors and organizing mailings out of our on-site warehouse. She’s one of those people who you don’t realize all she does until she’s not there.
When Debbie left, Josee, our travel mailing coordinator, didn’t ask what she could do to help fill the void. She just did it. Knowing the ins and outs of the warehouse and how mailings work already, Josee stepped up to make sure all mailings, including those outside the travel department, stayed on schedule, had the proper packaging and personally assembled and shipped every one to an exacting standard. She coordinated with both internal teams and external vendors to keep the flow of work right on schedule. And then, Debbie says, she did even more.
“When time was available Josee again took it upon herself to give the warehouse a good cleaning. All the materials in stock have been organized and labeled for easy access in the future. She donated items we no longer were using so we could help others in the community,” wrote Debbie in her Exceeding Expectations award nomination.
In response, company leadership recently lifted up Josee as an example to celebrate our Exceeding Expectations core value. For Josee, she was surprised, but honored.
“She’s my friend. I’m just glad she’s healthy again. I didn’t want her to worry about anything at work. She absolutely would’ve done that for me. We all do that here. We show up to get the work done,” said Josee.
Josee plans to use her reward to make an upcoming mother-son adventure to Italy even more special. Sharing the appreciation with family makes it that much more meaningful and memorable!
Get to Know ME with Melissa Nazareno
It’s time to get to know Melissa Nazareno, our Accounting Manager. As you can read below, she sees the fun in numbers and systems, which makes her a perfect fit for her role! Read on to learn about her passions for space exploration, delegation and solving challenges. Thanks, Melissa, for participating in our Get to Know ME segment this month!
What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?
My current title is Accounting Manager, and I’ve been in the incentive industry for 1 year with Motivation Excellence.
What do you like about your job?
I love my job because it allows me to solve business challenges and optimize operations by transforming digital and financial infrastructures. Motivation Excellence has built a supportive culture that allows for growth. I can geek out on numbers, play with systems, and have strategic impact. My job is fun, and I’m excited for our future.
What’s something you want to share about the people you work with at Motivation Excellence?
I’m surrounded by fun-loving people who have built careers around making others happy and driving positive change. Our team strives to deliver exceptional incentive experiences and innovative technology for our clients. Coming from an audit role where clients weren’t always thrilled to see me, I greatly appreciate this industry.
What’s a specific moment in your history that always stands out as a defining moment, and why?
I’ve had a collection of moments which led to a pivotal understanding: time is precious. With whom and how I spend it is sacred. I’m big on process improvement and continually work to streamline my life with this in mind.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I’m amazing at talking to engineers and translating what they said to non-engineers. Specifically odd, but very handy in solving cross-functional challenges and troubleshooting. I’ve worked in systems implementations and my spouse is an engineer, so I’ve had a ton of practice!
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
The pursuit of truth and the quest for knowledge propels me. I love learning and trying new things to find out more about myself. Life is a sandbox, and I seek out adventure.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Being an executive assistant to three little ones means mastering the art of multitasking. While I love spending time with them, I also cherish my daily runs, accompanied by a podcast at 2x speed – it’s meditative.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
Non-sequiturs and deadpan humor.
What’s a bucket list item you can’t wait to cross off?
I’d love to watch a rocket launch – or even better, travel to space.
This month, our theme for social media is “Effective Delegation.” What are your tips on delegation?
I’m passionate about this topic. Simply being the best at something doesn’t mean you should always do it. I believe in passing on the value you can create to others, empowering them by matching the right tasks to the right people. The goal is to help someone progress from being task-focused to taking ownership. One of the most overlooked aspects of effective delegation is recruiting and maintaining a pipeline of talented people for value creation. I love lifting others up and watching them grow.
Looking Ahead with Confidence & Optimism as We Celebrate an Anniversary
There’s nothing like an anniversary that gets you to look back and forward at the same time. We celebrate 39 years in the incentive industry in September. David Jobes was part of that history for 32 years, until he passed away in July. Our company will remain owned by the Jobes family. In a recent company-wide meeting they expressed their commitment to the company, calling the team a second family, and saying the company is stronger than ever as two members of the leadership team step up to run the business.
Bob Graham and Michelle Ebner, both Vice Presidents on the leadership team, are now co-CEOs and co-Presidents. Graham has a long history in the incentive industry and at Motivation Excellence, most recently serving as VP, Client Solutions and Technology. He will focus on operations and sales, while Ebner, formally VP, Finance, will concentrate on corporate finance and human resources.
“The foundations of Motivation Excellence, which include our culture and exceeding our clients’ expectations, are solid. Michelle and I are focusing attention on running things even more efficiently so we can serve our clients at the highest standard and maximize the company’s growth potential. David had a strategic vision for the company, and we plan to keep that going,” said Graham.
The existing leadership team will remain intact and includes longtime veterans of the industry. Brad Hecht is the Sr. VP of Travel & Chief Travel Strategist, Rhonda Brewer is VP, Sales and Kelli Robb is VP, Travel Operations. All three are deeply involved with our group travel and award point program clients.
“We will honor David’s legacy by continuing our high level of service. He built an amazing culture with our clients and our internal teams, and it’s a priority to keep that alive,” remarked Ebner.
It’s heartwarming to keep Motivation Excellence within the Jobes family, and especially wonderful to have people from our work family take the reins going forward. We will continue to Inspire Extraordinary Performance through our motivating B2B and employee incentive programs and aspirational rewards solutions.
Manage Risk to Maximize Your Possibilities
We live with risk, every day, in multiple ways. Many we know about, like, running with scissors, crossing the road without looking both ways, and eating too much sugar. We make choices to avoid potentially disastrous outcomes: holding the scissors in a safe manner while walking, using a traffic light to cross the street, and hopefully, quitting bad habits that can lead to poor health.
If you’re reading this blog, you’ve already led a life full of risk management, perhaps without knowing it. Maybe you’re ready to step it up a level so that in the end, you can feel more comfortable taking calculated risks that have tantalizing rewards tied to them.
Creating a Safety Net
Business leaders often have to think ahead to try and visualize all the outcomes in a given scenario. It’s when they don’t see a potential danger that things can spin out of control quickly. An unforeseen threat can lead to a loss in profits, personal injury, a tarnished brand or worse. Outside the business environment, we also look for potential hazards. That’s why we push kids to wear helmets while riding bikes and why most states made it a law to wear seatbelts in motor vehicles.
Investopedia.com has an article that lays out five well-known strategies for managing risk. They include:
- Avoidance – not participating in harmful activities
- Saying no to the hang-gliding adventure, or shady investment
- Retention – acknowledging the inevitability of certain risks and accepting the responsibility
- Assuming a deductible, or not insuring something at all because the cost to replace doesn’t warrant it
- Loss prevention & reduction – recognizing you can minimize, but not eliminate all risks
- Installing a camera doorbell, or putting a locking bar on your car’s steering wheel
California State University, Fullerton expounds on the management strategy of sharing or spreading risk in their write-up. To thin out a risk, like losing an important document, make sure to save it in multiple places so if a computer gets damaged or a filing cabinet gets soaked with water, the information has been spread, or shared, to another location. They also suggest looking at the likelihood and severity of risks as a way to determine how much effort, and money, is put toward potential management.
In the incentive market, business leaders might choose to use Motivation Excellence’s experienced team to lessen risks associated with planning and executing an incentive program for their channel partners or sales team. Hiring an expert in any field is a great way to mitigate potential risks in areas not familiar to your own team while maximizing return on investment.
Linking Risk and Reward
There are risks we simply want to avoid, and then there are ones that tempt us with the potential for greatness! Indeed, the beauty of a well-calculated risk is in the payoff if it succeeds. In fact, Skillcast.com writes that it’s important to recognize not all risks are negative. Sometimes taking a chance enables us to take advantage of an opportunity.
On top of a positive outcome, FloQast, a finance and accounting company, states employing risk management strategies can have other positive effects, like:
- Saving you money
- Improving quality of decision-making
- Increasing productivity
Consider the risk-reward ratio too. Is the potential reward worth the potential risk?
Taking the Smart Risk
There is more than one successful business owner who says the biggest risk you can take is to NOT take any risks at all. But of course, gambling blindly and going in with a well-thought-out strategy are wildly different. You could always get lucky with the former, but odds of success are higher over the long run with the latter. Keep these bullets in mind as you set out to manage risk in your life:
- Identify risks early
- Know what you can control
- Mitigate when possible
- Monitor and adjust as needed
And when you’re not playing with someone’s life savings or health and safety, perhaps risk-taking can be a double-edged sword of positive outcomes. If you succeed, you can lead others down the same path. If you fail, you can teach others from your mistakes. Here’s hoping all your risks pay off in the end!
Remembering David Jobes, Owner & CEO
This is a hard blog to write. The passing of David Jobes leaves a huge hole for us as his work family. Please follow this link to view the official company press release. Continue reading here to get the personal side of David’s impact on all of us at Motivation Excellence.
David was hired by our founder, Greg Lewis, seven years after the company started. In his 32 years here, he steadfastly rose to become an influential leader. He was the long-time President before buying the company in 2018.
Company culture was very important to David. Recognizing everyone’s contributions, hosting regular company gatherings, placing an emphasis on charity, supporting each other outside of work, and having a philosophy of autonomy all helped create a collaborative and respectful work environment. His door was open to anyone in the company who needed to chat on a personal or professional level. We truly do consider ourselves a family here at Motivation Excellence, and he paved the way for that.
When he built-out our headquarters he took great care to create a space that invited collaboration, creativity and social interaction. He hated cubicles. He was happiest on the days everyone was in the office, laughing and working together. He was also dedicated to being respectful of our natural resources. Much of our office space is made up of eco-friendly and vegan materials, from the ceiling tiles to the coasters.
Above all, David was committed to making sure our clients were being served with the most elevated level of standards. He was quick to provide resources to help exceed our clients’ expectations. He gave his leadership team the ability, trust and freedom to run their individual departments in the best way to accomplish this goal. He truly worked hard to Inspire Extraordinary Performance for our clients’ participants, as well as each of us.
We will surely miss his positive energy, passion for excellence and unwavering devotion to the Cubs. He was quick to laugh, share a smile or lend a helping hand both inside and outside work. He has inspired those of us who have worked with him and that’s why we know his legacy will continue to be strong within Motivation Excellence.
