How to Be a Good Manager Why do people really quit their jobs? Before you say "salary," "benefits," or "workload," take a second to think about the worst boss you've ever had. Were they bad at giving feedback, not helpful, or just plain mean? Did they have you feeling unmotivated, too nervous to offer ideas, or fearing that you'd lose your job with the slightest miss-step? Once you let those memories sink in, you probably won't second guess the statement: "People quit their managers, not their jobs." Over the years, this fact hasn't changed. Study after study has emphasized that companies need good managers to retain good employees. But what makes for a good manager? And what skills or strategies can you develop to ensure you're considered a good one?  To explore this issue, we polled people and asked them to check off all the qualities they felt were most important for a great manager.  Recipients listed "they trust me to work autonomously", "They are empathetic and understanding", and "They give me useful, clear feedback", as the three most important qualities a good manager needs to have.  Along with this data, I consulted my colleagues to get their thoughts on what makes a people manager effective. Regardless of whether you're interested in managing a team, or just want to know if a prospective boss is actually a good manager, here are 7 crucial qualities of a great team leader. 7 Skills People Managers Must Master, According to...

Fewer Women Than Men Asked For Raises During COVID-19, Especially in Marketing Asking for a raise or promotion can be scary, especially when your company is going through shifts related to world events. In early 2021, Fishbowl conducted a survey that shed some light on the gender wage gap, which continued if not grew in 2020. The survey of nearly 17,000 professionals revealed that 63% of respondents have avoided asking for a raise following "changes related to the pandemic." When splitting the whopping number of respondents by gender, 42.4% of them were women, while just 31.79% were men. Image Source When diving into the industries that saw the least raise or promotion requests, marketing was at the top of the list. About 54.5% of marketing professionals did not ask for a raise or promotion in the last year due to the pandemic. While some might be shocked by this data, many aren't. After all, marketing departments have been known to get the least budget, smaller headcounts, and less overall investments. Meanwhile, women have been seen to negotiate less and apply for lower-level roles than men with the same experience. In a recent LinkedIn post, Femme Pallette CEO Lucy Nuemanova shed more light on why women generally don't negotiate as often as men. "Many women avoid having these conversations because they don’t want to be perceived as ungrateful, or greedy, or needy by management, and therefore many times women tend to wait to be rewarded," Nuemanova explained. If you're a woman in the...

34 of the Best Office Pranks & Practical Jokes to Use at Work If you've watched the TV show "The Office" as religiously as I have, the classic "stapler in Jell-O" trick surely sounds familiar. It's pretty much what the name describes: Simply make a batch of Jell-O, but make sure your colleague's stapler is hidden inside the mold. It's a classic prank. But what other, less conventional pranks are out there to add some kicks to an otherwise average day at the office? We asked our friends and combed the internet for more examples of some of the funniest office pranks, and pulled together this list to serve as inspiration for your own work pranks. Every company has a story about that funny office prank of yore. Whether you're doing some early April Fool's Day research, or just feeling a little tricksy, it's time to get a prank of your own in the books. Here are some ideas. Funny Office Pranks to Pull on Your Coworkers 1. Caramel Onions When Halloween is around the corner, these caramel onions are no match for other tricks (or treats). Dip each onion in caramel -- maybe some red food coloring first, if you need to further disguise them -- and stick popsicle sticks down the center. Your colleagues won't know the difference, but they will wonder why these caramel apples are making them cry so much... Source: Instructables 2. Nicolas Cage Toilet Seat Speaking of Halloween, here's what nightmares are truly made...

The 5 Key Steps for a Successful Transition into a Marketing Role Nowadays, significant career shifts are as prevalent as they've ever been. Some people want to assume a different degree of responsibility. Some want to pursue a passion they've put on hold for too long. And some flat-out need a change of pace. It's a popular course that comes with a host of challenges, several potential pitfalls, plenty of barriers of entry, and a lot of requisite hard work — especially when it comes to transitioning to a role in marketing. And if you're making that leap, you'll need all the help and insight you can get, so we've provided some tips and tricks to consider if you want to shift your career trajectory and become a marketer. 1. Study, study, and study some more on your own time. This one might go without saying, but you can't expect to smoothly transition into a marketing role if you have no concept of what marketing entails. One of the best ways to make your job search and ultimate career shift more viable and straightforward is to study marketing on your own. Learn as much as possible on your time. Check out some books on the subject. Follow marketing influencers. Conduct independent research, and if you have the necessary time and motivation, complete some online courses to help bolster your marketing knowledge and relevant skillset. Employers are rarely interested in new marketing candidates who haven't demonstrated the interest and...

How COVID-19 Changed the Way We Think About Office Technology The recent COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we think about a lot of things. From the size of our weddings and special events to the comfort level of our pajamas and stay-at-home clothes, we’ve reconsidered the size, shape, and necessity of many, many elements in our lives. Work is one of these elements, if not the main one. We’ve asked ourselves (and our employers) questions like: “Can I get as much done at home as I would in the office?” “How do I stay connected to my team if we’re all remote?”, and “Is it really necessary to have as many meetings as I did before?” While we’ve all found different answers to these questions, one thing is consistent: COVID-19 has forced us to learn how to stay connected, motivated, and productive in new ways. Canva + HubSpot Marketing Survey In October, we teamed up with Canva to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected marketing leaders, their resources, and their teams. We surveyed 502 marketing leaders (mostly senior-level marketing managers, directors, VPs, and CMOs) from across the United States and asked them how COVID-19 has affected their teams, processes, and priorities. The results are in, and our findings are pointing towards a new way of thinking about work — especially the tools and technologies we use to get stuff done. Download the research here, and keep reading to unpack some of...

How to Host a Virtual Holiday Party & Bond With Your Team Throughout my career, I've worked at a company that was fully remote, a company that was partially remote, and several fully in-person organizations. Each company approached holiday parties differently. In fact, most of the remote organizations didn't even offer team bonding activities. While we've all probably participated in various holiday parties and team bonding events, those might not have been virtual. Hosting a virtual team bonding or holiday party can seem daunting. How can you plan activities online? What logistics are involved? If you're planning a virtual holiday party this year, don't stress. Let's review some tips from HubSpot's remote workforce on how to host a virtual holiday party. 1. Use a spreadsheet to organize your activities. Planning a virtual holiday party requires plenty of logistics. That's why you should use a spreadsheet to stay organized. Kara Korosec, a remote senior customer success manager at HubSpot, says, "I used to coordinate Secret Santa at my last company, a 100% remote company. I set up a spreadsheet where everyone listed some of their interests, then we used a random generator to assign secret Santas. Everyone had a budget of $50 and used the spreadsheet as inspiration for what to get. After the gifts were mailed, we had a Zoom where we shared our gifts and guessed who our secret Santa was." Regardless of the activity you're doing, it's important to stay organized so it's clear who's running...

Cultural Competence: What Is It and How To Develop It At Your Company When I went to college, it was the first time I truly interacted with a bunch of people who were completely different from me. I grew up in Orange County, an almost infamously undiverse, homogeneous place. It was during college that I was able to broaden my horizons and I quickly realized how important diversity is to every area of life whether it be education, or even business. In fact, did you know that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns greater than their industry mean? Additionally, findings show that diverse teams make better business decisions 87% of the time. As business leaders, it's impossible to ignore those stats. But, if you have a similar background (or lack thereof) in diversity as I did growing up, you might not know how to develop cultural competence and cultivate a diverse team. To help, I talked to a wide range of experts on diversity, inclusion, and belonging, from both internal HubSpot employees to external thought leaders. In this post, we'll learn what cultural competence is, why it's important, and how to develop it at your company. It's important to discuss that cultural competence isn't about hitting a diversity quota. It's about facilitating an environment of open and honest communication in a diverse setting. If you aren't culturally competent, you might not attract the best talent for...

25 Stats That Prove Why Workplaces Need to Embrace Diversity As a legally blind person who's held roles that involve editing, design, and highly visual tasks, I thought I had it easier than a lot of other visually impaired people in my field. I'd never been blatantly discriminated against or felt like I didn't receive an offer due to my vision. In fact, I've been lucky enough to work on teams run by women or diverse leaders. However, as I got older, I realized that I hadn't completely evaded misjudgments related to my eyesight. While I've had a handful of great experiences, I've run into a few subtle job interview scenarios that seem more and more unacceptable each time I reflect on them. In my first job search after college, I realized that disclosing my blindness would always result in a look of concern or an incredibly awkward series of questions from a hiring manager. Many of these questions didn't even have to do with the job role I was interviewing for. Sometimes, an interviewer would try to hide a look of concern. Then, they'd make things even more awkward by trying to relate to me with statements like, "My second cousin is blind too! I should ask her what she has." Ultimately, I followed my instincts and didn't work for any of these people. However, even after I built a list of glowing recommendations from past employers, those uncomfortable interview memories stuck with me. Because of how...

40 Remote Work Stats to Know in 2020 In 2020, workplaces are embracing remote work options more than ever before. This is definitely apparent at HubSpot, where we have a quickly growing fleet of more than 300 full-time remote employees as well as partial remote options for those who work in our offices. As someone who'd never really understood the perks of remote work, my time at HubSpot has allowed me to embrace this work style. While I primarily work in office, I usually spend one or two days a week working from home. During this time, I'm able to build out content strategies, take time for analytics reporting, and churn out hefty blog posts with limited interruption. I'm not the only one who's discovered the benefits of working from home. In fact, nearly half of my incredibly talented team works from a different state. This enables them to live closer to their families or stay in a state they love without relocating for work. As a team, it enables the in-office employees to benefit from the diverse ideas of out-of-office colleagues that we wouldn't have had if our company didn't allow remote work. But, despite the perks and countless remote work testimonials, the idea of remote work can seem scary at first. Like with any emerging work style, those who've had more traditional, in-office job experiences might feel skeptical about remote work. This skepticism is understandable. As a manager, you may wonder what your employee is doing...

5 Remote Work Myths to Leave Behind in 2020 When you Google image search remote work, you'll find photos that tell fascinating stories about the work style. For example, you might find a relaxing image of a woman working with her laptop on the beach -- without a care that sand or water could destroy her hard drive. Or, you might discover a scene where a man logs into a team video chat after a treacherous climb to the top of a mountain. As you get deeper into the results, the visual narrative gets more mystifying. You might even find a scene from sci-fi drama where a remote employee ventures to the moon just to avoid his colleagues. But, as HubSpot Marketing VP Kieran Flanagan likes to point out in his tweets -- this is not the reality of remote work: While some stock image companies might like to assume that all remote employees are introverts who work antisocially from the Moon, this is far from the truth. And although more traditional employers might worry that remote employees aren't as productive as their in-office counterparts, this work style is being implemented more heavily around the world because it provides so many benefits to employees and companies. Not only do remote workers save companies money, but remote work opportunities increase job retention and allow employers to globally hire diverse or innovative employees that they couldn't have otherwise due to location limitations. Not to...