If you had a major stake in a business, would you employ someone who is not engaged with the role they are applying for? The bleeding obvious answer would seem to be a big fat NO. However, the sad fact is that the overwhelming majority of employees are precisely that kind. The inter office email where you announce the employment of the best and the brightest candidate is more likely to become a source for sarcastic office jokes. Everyone knows that productivity is tightly connected to a person’s own emotional and intellectual inner life; in most cases probably more so than their brilliantly worded CV and stand out LinkedIn profile. The remedy is not a top grade military secret. So many things can be done to ensure that productivity goes up and the bottom line is improved if we make that simplest of all business decisions … being serious!

This week’s selection of recommended reading touches on some of those factors. ROADMENDER’s slight bias towards collaboration is understandable but not at all without real merit.

Sincere thanks to those who have suggested articles for this edition of Roadmender Recommends.

We Embrace Collaboration, So Should You

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) may be facing one of its biggest challenges yet. With thousands of employees scattered across 28 countries, the high-security, intergovernmental organization is feeling the strain of siloed departments and increased turnover, and has turned to enterprise social collaboration for help. Working with Swedish company Incentive, providers of enterprise collaboration software with additional headquarters in Los Angeles, NATO hopes to make it easier for teams across offices and nations to work to…READ ON

Prioritizing Collaboration: 5 Questions to Ask

63% of CEOs cite “creating a collaborative environment” as a top factor in drawing the most out of their employees. However, the very word “collaboration” means different things to different people. It could mean simply gathering around a whiteboard to brainstorm ideas; working closely on a document or project with one or more colleagues; meeting online with global stakeholders on video conferences or sharing document revisions through a team workspace or file, sync and share service. And these definitions are just the tip of the iceberg. Regardless of what the word means to you, collaboration is everything to the modern business. Success doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Whether it’s internally across departmental lines or with external customers or…READ ON

Why Happy Employees Are 12% More Productive

Conventional wisdom holds that if only we pay workers enough, they’ll be productive. There may be more to it, though. Recent research hints there’s a link between employees’ happiness and their productivity at work. Some companies are taking note—and already seeing the payoff. A recent study by economists at the University of Warwick found that happiness led to a 12% spike in productivity, while unhappy workers proved 10% less productive. As the research team put it, “We find that human happiness has large and positive causal effects on productivity. Positive emotions appear to invigorate human beings.”…READ ON

Bajaj-KTM Collaboration Helps Both Companies Increase Profits

The Bajaj-KTM partnership has been one of the most talked about joint ventures in recent times that has mutually benefitted both the parties involved in more ways than one. The Pune based automaker’s gamble to purchase 48 percent stake in the debt-ridden KTM back in 2008 has worked extremely well for the company with sales and profits growing like clockwork. Since KTM’s operations commenced in India in 2012, the company has been able to progressively increase sales and market share globally thanks to a steady 25 percent annual volume growth…READ ON

The surprising way Goldman Sachs employees maintain their ‘competitive edge’

In 2009, during the throes of the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs made a key change to its employee wellness programming. Instead of focusing exclusively on traditional stress management, the company also started teaching employees a new skill that would help them cope in trying times: resilience. Now, resiliency programming, which includes lectures and one-on-one coaching, happens year-round at Goldman Sachs offices across the globe. Overall, more than 5,500 employees participated last year. Managers undergo resiliency training on a quarterly basis, and every other year the company holds “Resilience Week,” in which keynote speakers present on topics like happiness…READ ON

Tech Tip: Set the Tone for Collaboration

Whether you are working with a small group of students, planning with your colleagues, or training a group of teachers, it can be a challenge to get everybody on the same page — Web page that is. Enter Google Tone. An extension of the Google Chrome browser, Google Tone lets users share URLs using sound. Now getting everyone on the same page as simple as clicking a button. Here’s what you do:…READ ON