Monday, September 12, 2022
Fall air travel season shaping up as less crowded than summer, but just as fraught - Marketplace
If you’ve traveled at all this summer, especially by air, then you know it’s been kinda crazy out there. The travel industry scrambled to ramp up again just as Americans scrambled to finally go on vacation or visit family after two years of hunkering down at home — only to be greeted with packed terminals and flights, delays and cancellations.
So, with Labor Day weekend almost behind us, what’s in store for the fall travel season?
Some delays and other frustrations are likely to continue well into the fall, said Lindsey Roeschke at research firm Morning Consult. That’s because the industry’s still seeking workers to fill its ranks.
But at least the crowds may thin as high prices tamp down demand.
“Everything is more expensive and will likely continue to be more expensive because airlines are cutting back on routes,” she said.
While people are less worried these days about catching COVID on a plane or train, anxieties about travel still run pretty high, according to travel risk consultant Dan Richards.
“When they leave their house, there’s just a level of uncertainty that I think wasn’t there before. And this goes for whether they’re going to the grocery store or going on vacation halfway around the world.”
Until recently, travelers’ No. 1 concern was whether they could get their money back if a trip was interrupted or canceled. Now, it’s whether they have access to emergency medical and evacuation services — for anything from illness to civil unrest.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
source https://4awesome.streamstorecloud.com/fall-air-travel-season-shaping-up-as-less-crowded-than-summer-but-just-as-fraught-marketplace/?feed_id=2016&_unique_id=631f7ef74f3c9
Sunday, September 11, 2022
Financial management course gives pros the tools they need to run a business - Construction Dive
The course aims to target “accidental” professionals, said Jonny Finity, senior content manager at Levelset.
The term refers to people in the construction industry whose job includes financial and accounting tasks, but who do not possess formal training or education in those subjects. That’s a norm in the construction industry, especially for small businesses, said Finity.
About 83% of construction businesses in the U.S. have fewer than 10 employees, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Small construction companies frequently turn to family or friends to run the office, do bookkeeping and perform general accounting tasks, without particular concern for their level of financial education or training, said Finity.
ZipRecruiter shows around 8,600 open jobs for construction office managers, and almost none require a bachelor’s degree in any field. About 58% of women in construction agreed with the statement “I studied or received training that prepared me for my current job,” according to a 2021 Levelset survey.
That sparked the idea to bring on Steven J. Peterson, licensed professional engineer and professor of construction management at Weber State University, to teach the financial management course for construction professionals. Most accounting books, for example, do not cover the unique aspects of accounting specifically for the construction industry, such as long term contracts, retention and progress payments, to name a few, said Peterson.
Major takeaways from the course include how to understand a construction company’s financial statements, including the unique differences between what you would see in a traditional statement and in construction, said Peterson. That includes different terminology and categorizations, and being able to determine whether a client is really creditworthy.
“I want to teach people to take a look at a construction statement, and be able to take those human characteristics into account, look at the financial ratios and be able to interpret the health of a company like a doctor would report tests and interpret your health,” said Peterson. “We’re gearing this towards the accidental professional because the entry barriers in the field have dropped significantly.”
About 200 students have signed up for the class already, said Finity. Students can complete the class at their own pace, with an average completion time of just three to five hours.
“We’re taking what has been used widely by universities to train the next generation of construction leaders,” said Peterson. “We’re taking about a quarter of that course, condensed it down from about four weeks to this three to five hour course, to develop, prepare and give people a introduction to that topic.”
Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts
Topics covered: commercial, infrastructure, design, green, regulation, multifamily construction, and more.
He said, she said: Sparks fly over how best to serve project owners, the American Institute of Architects found.
The construction industry is relying on tech solutions now more than ever, as it faces a skilled labor crisis and global pandemic.
Subscribe to Construction Dive for top news, trends & analysis
Topics covered: commercial, infrastructure, design, green, regulation, multifamily construction, and more.
Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts
Topics covered: commercial, infrastructure, design, green, regulation, multifamily construction, and more.
He said, she said: Sparks fly over how best to serve project owners, the American Institute of Architects found.
The construction industry is relying on tech solutions now more than ever, as it faces a skilled labor crisis and global pandemic.
The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines
Topics covered: commercial, infrastructure, design, green, regulation, multifamily construction, and more.
source https://1home.streamstorecloud.com/financial-management-course-gives-pros-the-tools-they-need-to-run-a-business-construction-dive/?feed_id=1925&_unique_id=631e462672740
The term refers to people in the construction industry whose job includes financial and accounting tasks, but who do not possess formal training or education in those subjects. That’s a norm in the construction industry, especially for small businesses, said Finity.
About 83% of construction businesses in the U.S. have fewer than 10 employees, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Small construction companies frequently turn to family or friends to run the office, do bookkeeping and perform general accounting tasks, without particular concern for their level of financial education or training, said Finity.
ZipRecruiter shows around 8,600 open jobs for construction office managers, and almost none require a bachelor’s degree in any field. About 58% of women in construction agreed with the statement “I studied or received training that prepared me for my current job,” according to a 2021 Levelset survey.
That sparked the idea to bring on Steven J. Peterson, licensed professional engineer and professor of construction management at Weber State University, to teach the financial management course for construction professionals. Most accounting books, for example, do not cover the unique aspects of accounting specifically for the construction industry, such as long term contracts, retention and progress payments, to name a few, said Peterson.
Major takeaways from the course include how to understand a construction company’s financial statements, including the unique differences between what you would see in a traditional statement and in construction, said Peterson. That includes different terminology and categorizations, and being able to determine whether a client is really creditworthy.
“I want to teach people to take a look at a construction statement, and be able to take those human characteristics into account, look at the financial ratios and be able to interpret the health of a company like a doctor would report tests and interpret your health,” said Peterson. “We’re gearing this towards the accidental professional because the entry barriers in the field have dropped significantly.”
About 200 students have signed up for the class already, said Finity. Students can complete the class at their own pace, with an average completion time of just three to five hours.
“We’re taking what has been used widely by universities to train the next generation of construction leaders,” said Peterson. “We’re taking about a quarter of that course, condensed it down from about four weeks to this three to five hour course, to develop, prepare and give people a introduction to that topic.”
Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts
Topics covered: commercial, infrastructure, design, green, regulation, multifamily construction, and more.
He said, she said: Sparks fly over how best to serve project owners, the American Institute of Architects found.
The construction industry is relying on tech solutions now more than ever, as it faces a skilled labor crisis and global pandemic.
Subscribe to Construction Dive for top news, trends & analysis
Topics covered: commercial, infrastructure, design, green, regulation, multifamily construction, and more.
Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts
Topics covered: commercial, infrastructure, design, green, regulation, multifamily construction, and more.
He said, she said: Sparks fly over how best to serve project owners, the American Institute of Architects found.
The construction industry is relying on tech solutions now more than ever, as it faces a skilled labor crisis and global pandemic.
The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines
Topics covered: commercial, infrastructure, design, green, regulation, multifamily construction, and more.
source https://1home.streamstorecloud.com/financial-management-course-gives-pros-the-tools-they-need-to-run-a-business-construction-dive/?feed_id=1925&_unique_id=631e462672740
Security Light Bulbs
Indoor and Outdoor
A product in demand for efficiency, value and security
https://1home.streamstorecloud.com/security-light-bulbs/?feed_id=1881&_unique_id=631df0d39e6d0Security Light Bulbs
Indoor and Outdoor
A product in demand for efficiency, value and security
https://1home.streamstorecloud.com/security-light-bulbs/?feed_id=1874&_unique_id=631df0775c862Team-Building Activities and Exercises (Part 4) - Gallup
Jaclynn Robinson, Learning Development Consultant at Gallup, was our guest on a recent Called to Coach -- the fourth in our series on managers and teams. Jaclynn and Jim Collison exchanged ideas about exercises and activities -- including the team grid, the CliftonStrengths Team Activities Guide, and Theme Insight Cards, but also some less formal activities -- that teams can use to build collaboration and maximize how they apply their talents in the workplace.
Download a free sample activity from the CliftonStrengths Team Activities Guide.
Below is a full transcript of the conversation, including time stamps. Full audio and video are posted above.
We've created the ultimate guide to improving teamwork in the workplace!
Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison and live from the Gallup Studios here in Omaha, Nebraska, this is Gallup's Called to Coach, recorded on January 17, 2020.
Jim Collison 0:20
Called to Coach is a resource for those who want to help others discover and use their strengths. We have Gallup experts and independent strengths coaches share tactics, insights and strategies to help maximize the talent of individuals, teams and organizations around the world. If you're listening live, love to have you join us in our chat room right above. There's a link to it on our live page in the YouTube instance. And we'd love to have you join us in the chat room. Many of you have, and we'd also -- if you have questions after the fact, send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Don't forget to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app, YouTube, all those places -- get it done; subscribe to us. We want to thank you for doing that as well. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Learning and Development Consultant here at Gallup with me. Jaclynn, it's great to have you and welcome back to Called to Coach.
Jaclynn Robinson 1:02
Thanks for having me.
Jim Collison 1:03
Yeah, good to have you. We spent some time ...
Jaclynn Robinson 1:04
It's great being here.
Jim Collison 1:05
We spent some time in the prior session, in Session 3, kind of really talking about building a better team. So we talked about recognition and conflict in that, which seem opposite, but are actually, I think, maybe not opposites in that.
Jaclynn Robinson 1:20
Yes, that brings brings people together.
Jim Collison 1:23
It does. And so Part 4 is, I think, a natural conclusion to the series, as we talk about some very practical kind of activities, and some things will continue a little bit in the flavor of what we were talking about in Session 3, but maybe even with some more details. As we, as we think about activities and exercises that help teams get better. I'm going to hold your feet to the fire, so to speak, to say, not just about how to do the activities, but why are we doing, right, what we're doing in this. So I think the natural place to start with this is a team grid, and and everybody like, we, right, we ...
Jaclynn Robinson 1:59
People love that.
Jim Collison 2:00
People love those things. So beyond putting it together, like, however that gets done -- do you get, do you get to a point where you get a team grid -- the grid itself, as an activity, what have you seen work well and where can we start with, once we have everybody's Top 5, all 34, whatever, put together in a team grid?
Jaclynn Robinson 2:18
Well, after the manager has reviewed the team grid as well -- so we're all on the same page moving into that team session -- I think it's a beautiful thing when you've got the grid posted. It's on a PowerPoint or it's, it's enlarged, or you just hand it out piece by piece to individuals. I think the power comes when they can look at the grid and start thinking about, are we Relationship Builders? Are we Executers? Are we Strategic Thinkers? Are we Influencers? And then having individuals look at the grid and start to say, what are our Top 5 that we start to see? Which starts getting them thinking about the culture, and that might be a question I pose too if they're just simply looking at the Top 5 to say, Oh, we have a lot of Positivity here; we're high Individualization. Let's talk about that a little bit more. How does that -- whenever you think about the culture of the team, how do you see that play into it?
Jaclynn Robinson 3:09
And then, alternatively, I like to throw questions at them, and have them think about, what are we doing really well as a team? So they're starting to see the value that they're bringing to themselves, but then expanding that, on the macro level, what's the value we're bringing to those other teams that we cross-collaborate with frequently? Or maybe we feel pretty siloed, and we want to actually be a little bit more influential in the workplace. What's the value we bring? And how can we then propose that and, and pitch that to other teams or start, you know, connecting with other teams?
Jaclynn Robinson 3:44
And then, going to that flip side, to say, OK, let's talk about some challenges you've had over this past year or the past quarter. Is this shedding light on that for you all, and let's talk about that, and bringing forth that feedback. And how do we account for that? If they're having some challenges based on what you're seeing in your grid, how do we account for that individually? How are you going to contribute towards that? But then as a team, how are we going to, going to rectify that without hiring new people? Because that's what people want to go to first, right? We have no Influencing; we've gotta hire Influencers. And that's, that's simply not the case. What we might say is, What can you use instead? Or what's another team that you actively cross-collaborate with? And maybe they're that partner for your your team. I think that's the value of the team grids.
Jim Collison 4:34
Boy, that's a -- that's a great point you just made, is sometimes we create these -- and I haven't heard a lot of teams doing this -- but we create these team grids. So whatever your team size is; we'll say 10 or 15. And then you isolate yourself in the organization, and you don't say, Oh, wait a minute, who do we work with the closest, and how are they made up? Like and have cross-team collaboration, right. Have you seen that work inside organizations where the teams are doing that? And what's some best practices or what have you seen work really well in that area?
Jaclynn Robinson 5:05
I've seen some where they're -- they're a group of Strategic Thinkers. And then they're working with a team that has some high Influencing. So for them, it's it's been a fantastic partnership, because they're coming up with all these valuable ideas and resources and systems that might be able to put in place, and then you've got their other team that's influencing people to get behind them and create action around it.
Jaclynn Robinson 5:28
And then for some teams, I think they they recognize why there might even be conflict between them at times. So going right back to that healthy conflict, and what that might look like or bringing it forth. No wonder! We're a team of Executers; they're a team of Thinkers. We could actually work really well together. But no wonder at times we get frustrated because they might be internally processing and we feel like they're sitting on things more, and we just want to go and get things done. But actually looking at their, their team dynamics, they're seeing that they can actually be quite effective. And oh, we need your, your thoughts and your thinking process. And we're just those individuals that can carry it out. So we've got the cart and the horse, as they say. Yeah.
Jim Collison 6:12
Yeah. I want to put a pitch in for Season 6 of Theme Thursday. Maika and I are talking a bunch in context of, and I think, an enormous amount of resources this season for this team grid conversation. In other words, and let me ask you, because this happens all the time: Teams get a hold of the grid, and they're missing something or they're, they're "all something," right. And we tend to -- why do we, why, with individual themes, do we tend to -- we always say, tell people, Hey, focus on what you're best at. But teams want to go right to the bottom. How have you seen or what kind of advice would you give to teams to keep them from immediately going to the bottom and saying, "We need ..." instead of, "We are awesome at ... "? What kind of advice would you give there?
Jaclynn Robinson 6:57
Yeah, and that's the power of having that conversation with the manager ahead of time to start hypothesizing what the team might say and in collaborating together. Or if you're the facilitator or the coach that's going into that team session, to be able to say, It's not about what you don't have; what might you be using instead? So you don't see that you've got Individualization; no one has that. Your high Relator? How, how are you building those relationships using Relator? How do you start to connect with individuals and see what's unique within them?
Jaclynn Robinson 7:29
And that might be something, obviously, I'd want them to call that out themselves. But that's what you want to bring them back to is, Just because you don't have that theme doesn't mean that you're not figuring out a different method of getting to that same outcome. Let's talk about what you do have. And that did actually come up with a team before where they had no Context. But they were high Learner and Input, and that's a question I presented to them was, "How do you think you might be receiving information when you need to learn more about the past?" And their eyes went right to Learner and Input to say, well, that's, that's what we do; we, you know, we go down, we go down the Google rabbit hole, and we start learning about what we need to know, in order to inform us.
Jim Collison 8:12
Might be the best use of the domains that I've seen yet is when you're -- when we're looking at a specific theme, and it doesn't exist. How do we look at the other 7 themes in that domain, and then ask that question? OK, we don't have this; how, you know, we may be short on Executing, but we got a ton of Belief. How are we going to -- how are we going to use that that fits into that domain? Or, I think even sometimes, Maika is famous for saying this, and the fact that she sees domains as more of a curtain than a wall. Right? And so how can we start having these conversations of how can I turn my Woo or how can I turn my Input on to act like those things? I think that gives us some great solutions, right? It doesn't have to be exactly nailed down to the theme, right? But it's that discussion around how can I fill in, right?
Jaclynn Robinson 9:01
It is! And even going back to domains, it's a great point you bring up. Because not only are we looking at gaps in themes -- is that something that teams often do when they look at the team grid, but they'll look at the domain and say, oh, we're missing Influencing. Uh-oh. But maybe they're high Relationship Builders. And so might you be Influencing people because they simply like you? They know that you're genuine, you're authentic, that you're true to your word and your bond and, and that relationship they have with you is meaningful, and they want to make sure that they -- they're doing what's best for you and for the team. And so maybe that's how you're Influencing people. So sometimes as a coach, a facilitator or a manager, we have to also help them see some other sides of how they might be, you know, accounting for a domain that seems to have quite a wide gap in it with something else that they're using.
Jim Collison 9:52
We've, we've talked -- in this team grid concept, you know, people make posters out of them, they post them. But there are other ways to do gridlike activities without, without having a team grid. And I think about our nametags being posted here, publicly, where everyone can see them -- like, that's a function of a team grid without it necessarily being a team grid, right?
Jaclynn Robinson 10:17
Yes, I encourage that all the time. That people -- one of the easiest ways and quickest ways you can implement CliftonStrengths from a team level is to start putting it in the signature of your email or to have your, your, your table placard that's got your name on it with your Top 5 on there, or have it posted on your office window so people can see it. But it starts to create that conversation. And I think when it creates a conversation, and you're starting to talk about your themes, as a, as a, as a colleague, now you can look at that person and say, Oh, you're actually a pretty good potential partner. I'm struggling with something at the moment and I see you have Ideation high. And now that I see that, I actually want to -- I'm going to switch topics here and I want to pick your brain about something for a moment. So I think that's, it can be so effective and so easy -- to your point, it's a simple way of starting to talk themes.
Jim Collison 11:09
And I think even having conversations -- I do this maybe twice a day now, where I'm talking with someone, and in the middle of the conversation, I'll say, "Hey, wait a minute. Tell me your Top 5?" Like, just because I'm trying to understand where that's coming from. I have a benefit that here at Gallup, like it's hard not to know your your Top 5, right? We've -- we've all pretty much got them memorized. And we spend a lot of time talking about them. But it is one of those, I think, one of those little tricks is to be asking from time to time, "Just tell me, like, remind me?" even if they need to look. I've had new employees go out and look at their name tag just because they want to they want to get the right order.
Jim Collison 11:46
And so it gives us an opportunity, right, beyond, kind of beyond the team grid, so to speak, of getting the things out in front. I saw -- one of our tech teams one time did a, kind of did a retreat for the teams, all day long. And they bought T-shirts for them that had their No. 1 theme on the T-shirts. So they ...
Jaclynn Robinson 12:04
Oh, how neat is that!
Jim Collison 12:05
... through the day, right, their theme and then all these exercises was kind of built around really maximize -- are we maximizing everybody's No. 1 theme? And it was super easy then to see, You know, we do placards, but those are sometimes hard to see when it's just, you know, when it's just on the shirt. What else have you seen -- have you seen any other, when we think about activities, and we think about making this real every day, what other activities have you seen that have worked?
Jaclynn Robinson 12:28
Another one that I love, and it's so creative, is coming up with your own strengths slogan. So choosing, it could be your No. 1 theme or it could be any of your themes in your Top 5. But what would your strengths slogan be? And then posting that on your desk or in the break room where everyone has their strengths slogan. So what's my theme? And what's my slogan? So for, you know, for Maximizer, it might be about, you know, I want to focus on excellence, or I'm here for the excellent work, or give me your excellent projects. So it's just, it's just whatever you want to do that's most creative, that, that resonates with you, but the team can start to identify that value as well.
Jaclynn Robinson 12:28
One is just to have each individual on the team, if you've got that large Post-it note paper that you can put on the wall, each individual writes down the one theme they feel contributes the most to the team. And then you've got people that go and take pictures of it because now that's embedded in their phone. So if they're on the road, or they work remote, or maybe they're not in the office at the same time, they've got that picture favorited and they can go and see who they can talk to that has high Communication or who they can talk to you with high Woo.
Jim Collison 13:39
We, during last season, I discovered my Maximizer theme -- when you talk about having a slogan -- my slogan became, "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." And having that -- knowing that in my own mind, and I've repeated that dozens, maybe hundreds, of times to my coworkers around me. So we'll be in the midst of doing something, and I'll be like, Look, you know me, whatever is worth doing is worth overdoing. And it's funny that connection that starts, right, at that, at that level. That -- that'd be interesting to think about how could I do that for each of my Top 5? And people having those little, those little statements. If you were, if you were going to lead an exercise -- and I'm going to put you on the spot here a little bit, so we'll see how good you are at this -- so if we were going to do a little exercise where we encouraged people to come up with those slogans, maybe one or two, how would you encourage a manager or a coach to kind of approach that conversation with people? And what kind of resources might you bring in to help with some kind of activity like that?
Jaclynn Robinson 14:38
Off the bat, the Theme Insight Cards; the Theme Insight Cards because they have the words and phrases that's going to help everyone start to identify the subtle nuances about their themes. So I love, I bring, I you know, dislike -- this is a metaphor that, that describes me. And I think that helps trigger people to go, "Oh, that's what this theme is about!" And then sometimes I'll even ask them, once they've looked over the Theme Insight Cards, think about songs or quotes or poetry that you've got around you. How do you see your theme tied into that? Because oftentimes, you just offered up a perfect example with Maximizer. It's a slogan, but it's got that catchy quote to it. For Maximizer, for me, I always think of Jim -- they say it comes from Jim Rohn, I'm not sure -- but "Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best." I say it all the time. And then for me it connected. Oh, my gosh, that's coming from my Maximizer theme. So I think, if you're using Theme Insight Cards, and they can look at words and phrases that resonate with them, or they start to think about their favorite quotes or stories, or, or, or poetry or movies and how do you see your themes incorporated? It can help them start to come up with that, that strengths slogan for themselves.
Jim Collison 15:55
Behind me, on the wall here, let's see, on this side, right there, is actually my family's Top 5. And so a little art that was made for me. My wife put that together when we moved to the old studio. And, but even a team and this is a Wordle, which is kind of an old concept, right? We've, we've been to Wordles, we've done those. But I think getting, getting some team frequencies outside of the grid a little bit, and getting them kind of brought together and maybe the team puts together some slogans like, What does it mean, you have in the 9 of us in my family, we have Adaptability super high. You know, so we could, you know, go anywhere, do anything, anytime, all the time, right? I mean, that could become, that, that could become a slogan for the family. And that we have this kind of family mantra. I'd kind of love to see teams have their own slogan, right? Have you ever seen anybody put team slogans together, something like that, where they, because as teams work with teams, they have that same experience. Right?
Jaclynn Robinson 16:54
Yes. I love that. I'm stealing it! I haven't -- I haven't had a team do that yet. So I'm stealing it as a best practice. And I love the idea that you tied that in also to your personal life. Because if we think about our personal and professional wellbeing, our family life, they're, they're a team. Or if we're students, those around us or team or they might be in a fraternity or sorority. So again, thinking about all those close connections that impact you outside of work that can enhance your wellbeing so that you feel even better within the workplace, or vice versa.
Jim Collison 17:28
Some dynamite activities we've talked about. Jaclynn, what else would you add? What else would you add to this conversation as we're thinking about things that teams can do to build better strengths and stronger strengths?
Jaclynn Robinson 17:39
One I like is, If you were a superhero, who would you be? I think that's a good one. And why? Because you start to hear the talent themes come out. And I think that's even more powerful if they've got their Top 5 in front of them. Because now the team can start to see, Oh, I see where that's coming from. So, case in point, I love -- Achiever's my No. 1. Wonder Woman is my favorite of all time. So for me, Wonder Woman!
Jim Collison 18:06
Listen, there's nobody cooler ...
Jaclynn Robinson 18:07
She powers through; she's so cool. She's so cool. And you know, Maximizer, Positivity. She's just, she's focused on, on the good of humans and wanting to fight for humans to make the world a better place. So she would be my favorite. But I think that's a creative and fun way where it doesn't feel like a more formalized activity and it breaks the ice and gets people talking, especially if you are starting to create some team activities and you want people to loosen up and they're not going, "What's going on here?"
Jaclynn Robinson 18:42
I've also seen some people round-robin and they say, "What are you grateful for today?" And that opens up a world of understanding as you learn about gratitude and what, again, kind of what motivates people; what that value might be; or what, what sparks them in terms of what they're grateful for. If you were a movie, what would you be? One that Jacque Merritt likes to use, if you all know her, is, you know, "If you were in a bookstore, what section would you be in?" Self-help, psychology, action? And again, Why? And so, creative ways once more to start looping in your themes and having other people see a more personal and creative side of you, but also how your themes influence who you are and the personality that you bring to the table.
Jim Collison 19:29
One of the effective ones I've seen, and we've talked about this before, but our -- is this deck of, of pictures. Listen, there's no magic in the pictures. This has maybe been the one of the most misunderstood -- a lot of folks are like, you know, Oh, these -- you know, especially overseas, like -- these are tough to ship. They're on paper, right? But really, they're just pictures. You could create your own set, your own deck of cards that are just pictures that you do.
Jim Collison 19:53
One of the things I want to challenge folks is, especially as we, you know, we've had Adam Hickman on here a bunch talking about remote teams. How do you do these things remotely? Well, this exercise fits in nicely remote, because you can go get a bunch of pictures, make them digital, and then share those across whatever medium you're using, right, in a virtual sense. And have -- share them that way. Like, go here and see this deck; I put this Pinterest deck together. Let's -- Pinterest would be great for this, by the way -- let's go and look at these and then let's have some discussions and we can talk about them all in real time in the same way. Are -- the cards we do in training are blank on the back; the ones we sell actually have some questions that you can, you can ask the teams or ask the individuals. But these roll up nicely to a team, right?
Jaclynn Robinson 20:41
They do. Yes. And and that really is effective with those that work remotely and want to feel like they're tapped in and tuned in to the team that might be on site. And yeah, people will put that in a zip file; they'll send it over. So I think that's a fantastic activity. It reminds me of the Powerful Partnerships -- the large poster we have that we offer; it comes in a packet. But it's the poster, it's got Powerful Partnership cards, and then it's a group activity. So you've got all the team together; you partner individuals off; it's got their name, it's got their Top 5. And then on the back, the person writes, "The value that you bring to the team is ..." and they fill that out. And then "This is how we can support you." And then that's read off in front of the room.
Jaclynn Robinson 21:31
So it's almost like a partnership ceremony. But everyone can hear that person's name, their Top 5, the value they're bringing, how they can support that person. And then there's stickers, and they look just like those picture cards that you just showed, Jim. And it's the partner that chooses a sticker that best represents that individual on the team. So I think that's so unique because then you get the perception of what others think about you. And the value is that sticker with the person's name and Top 5 is going on the poster. Now you've got basically this pictograph of every person on the team. And when you put that in a break room, it just creates a lot of energy and enthusiasm because you just -- you've got a visual of the person, for one. And you also see that -- every person on the team's Top 5.
Jim Collison 22:16
I have a Marines son who's stationed overseas right now. And for Christmas, we put -- we did the 12 Days of Christmas, and we created 12 cards for him to open. And we started the exercise with a pilot. When you said, "Stickers," this kind of just -- we, we started with just a pile of stickers and some blank cards. And everyone created those cards with the stickers and whatever else they wanted to do. And you know, that can be another, just like another exercise, where you get -- instead of starting with a picture, you start with a blank card and a whole bunch of stickers. Now stickers are cheap, right? And you can find them everywhere. And, and allow people to tell their story through the stickers they find. And they stick on these cards and then they have -- it's both a representation of whatever you want it to be, however you want to do that, right? And it gets some artistic -- they get to have the input in it, right, at that point. They get to kind of dictate what it says. They're not being put in a box, but it gives them an opportunity to kind of work that thing out. So I've never seen that done. But I, I think that could be kind of -- you guys can have that for free, by the way.
Jaclynn Robinson 23:20
No charge.
Jim Collison 23:21
Yeah, no, kind of. Jaclynn, we have maybe 1 more minute left. Anything else you'd throw in here as we think about activities?
Jaclynn Robinson 23:28
Yes. If you're doing a lot of activities, or you just want a book to help you, we did just come out with one last year, I believe. And it's, it's a strengths-based Team-building Activities Guide. So we give you 100 activities that you can do -- I think it's 100 -- activities that you can do. It's a book full, and it's based on are you trying to strengths build? Are you, are you just trying to get your team to understand one another? Are you taking it to the next level with the team grid? So there's a number of different activities that you can just pull from, based on what you're looking for in that particular situation or that point in time. But wonderful guidance -- at Gallup, we still refer to that oftentimes when we want to shake it up and do something a little bit more creative in workspaces.
Jim Collison 24:14
Yeah, no, right on, I think it's a great opportunity to get some ideas. I am -- I honestly, I'm a huge fan of -- I kind of take ideas from things I found, and I make them my own. And then, just like the sticker idea, it's kind of one of those things that are like, you know, I don't, I'm not good at following rules. Maybe that's the, maybe that's it, and I want to kind of break the rules and do it on my own.
Jaclynn Robinson 24:35
It's your Adaptability.
Jaclynn Robinson 24:36
Thank you. And thank everyone for listening in.
Jim Collison 24:36
So it is; it is indeed, and a little bit of Woo. Like I want to influence, and then, you know, there's there's all those themes in there that want to -- I never do the same thing twice, although I have created about 800 of these things. So I -- apparently there's something in there that works that way. But they're all different, right? And so for me, I like it to be a different experience each time. I like to kind of custom build those. There are others who like to buy it and follow it by the rules and do it by the book. And that's great too, right? That, that kind of works as well. So, Jaclynn, thanks for taking the time today to sit down and record 3 and 4 for us. We now have a complete package of -- for teams and managers, 4-part series, about an hour worth of material. If you just caught 4, we have 1, 2, and 3 that's available for you as well, either on YouTube, you can download it through the Called to Coach webcast, but we'd love to have you do that as well. Jaclynn, thanks for taking the time to do this with us today.
Jim Collison 24:58
It was it was fun. You hang tight for me one second, we'll answer a few questions in the post-show. With that, we will remind everyone to take full advantages of all the resources we have available at the -- now our new Gallup Access. It's easiest -- for strengths folks, it's easiest to access that through gallup.com/cliftonstrengths. And we have tons of resources for you. Not just your Top 5, but there's a bunch on the tool and then on the /cliftonstrengths page, there is a ton -- an enormous amount; I can't even cover it here of resources that are available for you. So head out there, explore it; there's an About tab up there. If you click on that there's 5 sections that you should spend an afternoon on just by yourself, making sure you know what's in those sections. So lot of resources for you, as well. As I mentioned, YouTube, you can find us on YouTube, just search "CliftonStrengths." If you go to any podcast app, you can find this by searching "Gallup Webcasts." Love to have you go ahead and subscribe, while you're out there, so you make sure everything -- every time we post something new, you get it automatically. For every program we do, including this one, we do a post on gallup.com. And it has the complete transcripts. Some of you have asked for those. So you can search for -- anytime Jaclynn said "Teams," you could find that in there if you wanted to. At the very bottom of that, you can sign up for our new CliftonStrengths newsletter, available for you for free every month. We'll just send you reminders of some of these great tips as well. So get, get signed up for that as well. If your organization is struggling to implement any of these things, or you just have some questions for us, you can send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. You can also see a complete list of our courses that are available. We do offer those on site and some virtual; they're available on our courses page: courses.gallup.com. We'd love to have you come out for the summer and join us June 3, no, 1, 2, and 3. Listen, Omaha in June -- it's no L.A.; it's better than L.A.! I'm just going to say that. OK, maybe not, but it's pretty close.
Jaclynn Robinson 27:23
You've got a great downtown space. Come join us at the summit!
Jim Collison 27:27
We'd love to have you: gallupatwork.com. That is the way to get there and get signed up and just join us. Join us on our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/calledtocoach, all one word. On LinkedIn, search for CliftonStrengths Trained Coaches and I'll let you in. You don't have to be a coach to be there. You don't even need to be a trained coach. That's our public space on LinkedIn. We'd love to have you join us as well. Thanks for joining us. If you found this useful, we'd ask that you'd share it, and join us for another Called to Coach. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.
Jaclynn Robinson's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity and Relator.
February 4, 2020
Gallup https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/284303/team-building-activities-exercises-part.aspx
Gallup World Headquarters, 901 F Street, Washington, D.C., 20001, U.S.A
+1 202.715.3030
source https://4awesome.streamstorecloud.com/team-building-activities-and-exercises-part-4-gallup/?feed_id=1862&_unique_id=631dedae9817f
Download a free sample activity from the CliftonStrengths Team Activities Guide.
Below is a full transcript of the conversation, including time stamps. Full audio and video are posted above.
We've created the ultimate guide to improving teamwork in the workplace!
Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison and live from the Gallup Studios here in Omaha, Nebraska, this is Gallup's Called to Coach, recorded on January 17, 2020.
Jim Collison 0:20
Called to Coach is a resource for those who want to help others discover and use their strengths. We have Gallup experts and independent strengths coaches share tactics, insights and strategies to help maximize the talent of individuals, teams and organizations around the world. If you're listening live, love to have you join us in our chat room right above. There's a link to it on our live page in the YouTube instance. And we'd love to have you join us in the chat room. Many of you have, and we'd also -- if you have questions after the fact, send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Don't forget to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app, YouTube, all those places -- get it done; subscribe to us. We want to thank you for doing that as well. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Learning and Development Consultant here at Gallup with me. Jaclynn, it's great to have you and welcome back to Called to Coach.
Jaclynn Robinson 1:02
Thanks for having me.
Jim Collison 1:03
Yeah, good to have you. We spent some time ...
Jaclynn Robinson 1:04
It's great being here.
Jim Collison 1:05
We spent some time in the prior session, in Session 3, kind of really talking about building a better team. So we talked about recognition and conflict in that, which seem opposite, but are actually, I think, maybe not opposites in that.
Jaclynn Robinson 1:20
Yes, that brings brings people together.
Jim Collison 1:23
It does. And so Part 4 is, I think, a natural conclusion to the series, as we talk about some very practical kind of activities, and some things will continue a little bit in the flavor of what we were talking about in Session 3, but maybe even with some more details. As we, as we think about activities and exercises that help teams get better. I'm going to hold your feet to the fire, so to speak, to say, not just about how to do the activities, but why are we doing, right, what we're doing in this. So I think the natural place to start with this is a team grid, and and everybody like, we, right, we ...
Jaclynn Robinson 1:59
People love that.
Jim Collison 2:00
People love those things. So beyond putting it together, like, however that gets done -- do you get, do you get to a point where you get a team grid -- the grid itself, as an activity, what have you seen work well and where can we start with, once we have everybody's Top 5, all 34, whatever, put together in a team grid?
Jaclynn Robinson 2:18
Well, after the manager has reviewed the team grid as well -- so we're all on the same page moving into that team session -- I think it's a beautiful thing when you've got the grid posted. It's on a PowerPoint or it's, it's enlarged, or you just hand it out piece by piece to individuals. I think the power comes when they can look at the grid and start thinking about, are we Relationship Builders? Are we Executers? Are we Strategic Thinkers? Are we Influencers? And then having individuals look at the grid and start to say, what are our Top 5 that we start to see? Which starts getting them thinking about the culture, and that might be a question I pose too if they're just simply looking at the Top 5 to say, Oh, we have a lot of Positivity here; we're high Individualization. Let's talk about that a little bit more. How does that -- whenever you think about the culture of the team, how do you see that play into it?
Jaclynn Robinson 3:09
And then, alternatively, I like to throw questions at them, and have them think about, what are we doing really well as a team? So they're starting to see the value that they're bringing to themselves, but then expanding that, on the macro level, what's the value we're bringing to those other teams that we cross-collaborate with frequently? Or maybe we feel pretty siloed, and we want to actually be a little bit more influential in the workplace. What's the value we bring? And how can we then propose that and, and pitch that to other teams or start, you know, connecting with other teams?
Jaclynn Robinson 3:44
And then, going to that flip side, to say, OK, let's talk about some challenges you've had over this past year or the past quarter. Is this shedding light on that for you all, and let's talk about that, and bringing forth that feedback. And how do we account for that? If they're having some challenges based on what you're seeing in your grid, how do we account for that individually? How are you going to contribute towards that? But then as a team, how are we going to, going to rectify that without hiring new people? Because that's what people want to go to first, right? We have no Influencing; we've gotta hire Influencers. And that's, that's simply not the case. What we might say is, What can you use instead? Or what's another team that you actively cross-collaborate with? And maybe they're that partner for your your team. I think that's the value of the team grids.
Jim Collison 4:34
Boy, that's a -- that's a great point you just made, is sometimes we create these -- and I haven't heard a lot of teams doing this -- but we create these team grids. So whatever your team size is; we'll say 10 or 15. And then you isolate yourself in the organization, and you don't say, Oh, wait a minute, who do we work with the closest, and how are they made up? Like and have cross-team collaboration, right. Have you seen that work inside organizations where the teams are doing that? And what's some best practices or what have you seen work really well in that area?
Jaclynn Robinson 5:05
I've seen some where they're -- they're a group of Strategic Thinkers. And then they're working with a team that has some high Influencing. So for them, it's it's been a fantastic partnership, because they're coming up with all these valuable ideas and resources and systems that might be able to put in place, and then you've got their other team that's influencing people to get behind them and create action around it.
Jaclynn Robinson 5:28
And then for some teams, I think they they recognize why there might even be conflict between them at times. So going right back to that healthy conflict, and what that might look like or bringing it forth. No wonder! We're a team of Executers; they're a team of Thinkers. We could actually work really well together. But no wonder at times we get frustrated because they might be internally processing and we feel like they're sitting on things more, and we just want to go and get things done. But actually looking at their, their team dynamics, they're seeing that they can actually be quite effective. And oh, we need your, your thoughts and your thinking process. And we're just those individuals that can carry it out. So we've got the cart and the horse, as they say. Yeah.
Jim Collison 6:12
Yeah. I want to put a pitch in for Season 6 of Theme Thursday. Maika and I are talking a bunch in context of, and I think, an enormous amount of resources this season for this team grid conversation. In other words, and let me ask you, because this happens all the time: Teams get a hold of the grid, and they're missing something or they're, they're "all something," right. And we tend to -- why do we, why, with individual themes, do we tend to -- we always say, tell people, Hey, focus on what you're best at. But teams want to go right to the bottom. How have you seen or what kind of advice would you give to teams to keep them from immediately going to the bottom and saying, "We need ..." instead of, "We are awesome at ... "? What kind of advice would you give there?
Jaclynn Robinson 6:57
Yeah, and that's the power of having that conversation with the manager ahead of time to start hypothesizing what the team might say and in collaborating together. Or if you're the facilitator or the coach that's going into that team session, to be able to say, It's not about what you don't have; what might you be using instead? So you don't see that you've got Individualization; no one has that. Your high Relator? How, how are you building those relationships using Relator? How do you start to connect with individuals and see what's unique within them?
Jaclynn Robinson 7:29
And that might be something, obviously, I'd want them to call that out themselves. But that's what you want to bring them back to is, Just because you don't have that theme doesn't mean that you're not figuring out a different method of getting to that same outcome. Let's talk about what you do have. And that did actually come up with a team before where they had no Context. But they were high Learner and Input, and that's a question I presented to them was, "How do you think you might be receiving information when you need to learn more about the past?" And their eyes went right to Learner and Input to say, well, that's, that's what we do; we, you know, we go down, we go down the Google rabbit hole, and we start learning about what we need to know, in order to inform us.
Jim Collison 8:12
Might be the best use of the domains that I've seen yet is when you're -- when we're looking at a specific theme, and it doesn't exist. How do we look at the other 7 themes in that domain, and then ask that question? OK, we don't have this; how, you know, we may be short on Executing, but we got a ton of Belief. How are we going to -- how are we going to use that that fits into that domain? Or, I think even sometimes, Maika is famous for saying this, and the fact that she sees domains as more of a curtain than a wall. Right? And so how can we start having these conversations of how can I turn my Woo or how can I turn my Input on to act like those things? I think that gives us some great solutions, right? It doesn't have to be exactly nailed down to the theme, right? But it's that discussion around how can I fill in, right?
Jaclynn Robinson 9:01
It is! And even going back to domains, it's a great point you bring up. Because not only are we looking at gaps in themes -- is that something that teams often do when they look at the team grid, but they'll look at the domain and say, oh, we're missing Influencing. Uh-oh. But maybe they're high Relationship Builders. And so might you be Influencing people because they simply like you? They know that you're genuine, you're authentic, that you're true to your word and your bond and, and that relationship they have with you is meaningful, and they want to make sure that they -- they're doing what's best for you and for the team. And so maybe that's how you're Influencing people. So sometimes as a coach, a facilitator or a manager, we have to also help them see some other sides of how they might be, you know, accounting for a domain that seems to have quite a wide gap in it with something else that they're using.
Jim Collison 9:52
We've, we've talked -- in this team grid concept, you know, people make posters out of them, they post them. But there are other ways to do gridlike activities without, without having a team grid. And I think about our nametags being posted here, publicly, where everyone can see them -- like, that's a function of a team grid without it necessarily being a team grid, right?
Jaclynn Robinson 10:17
Yes, I encourage that all the time. That people -- one of the easiest ways and quickest ways you can implement CliftonStrengths from a team level is to start putting it in the signature of your email or to have your, your, your table placard that's got your name on it with your Top 5 on there, or have it posted on your office window so people can see it. But it starts to create that conversation. And I think when it creates a conversation, and you're starting to talk about your themes, as a, as a, as a colleague, now you can look at that person and say, Oh, you're actually a pretty good potential partner. I'm struggling with something at the moment and I see you have Ideation high. And now that I see that, I actually want to -- I'm going to switch topics here and I want to pick your brain about something for a moment. So I think that's, it can be so effective and so easy -- to your point, it's a simple way of starting to talk themes.
Jim Collison 11:09
And I think even having conversations -- I do this maybe twice a day now, where I'm talking with someone, and in the middle of the conversation, I'll say, "Hey, wait a minute. Tell me your Top 5?" Like, just because I'm trying to understand where that's coming from. I have a benefit that here at Gallup, like it's hard not to know your your Top 5, right? We've -- we've all pretty much got them memorized. And we spend a lot of time talking about them. But it is one of those, I think, one of those little tricks is to be asking from time to time, "Just tell me, like, remind me?" even if they need to look. I've had new employees go out and look at their name tag just because they want to they want to get the right order.
Jim Collison 11:46
And so it gives us an opportunity, right, beyond, kind of beyond the team grid, so to speak, of getting the things out in front. I saw -- one of our tech teams one time did a, kind of did a retreat for the teams, all day long. And they bought T-shirts for them that had their No. 1 theme on the T-shirts. So they ...
Jaclynn Robinson 12:04
Oh, how neat is that!
Jim Collison 12:05
... through the day, right, their theme and then all these exercises was kind of built around really maximize -- are we maximizing everybody's No. 1 theme? And it was super easy then to see, You know, we do placards, but those are sometimes hard to see when it's just, you know, when it's just on the shirt. What else have you seen -- have you seen any other, when we think about activities, and we think about making this real every day, what other activities have you seen that have worked?
Jaclynn Robinson 12:28
Another one that I love, and it's so creative, is coming up with your own strengths slogan. So choosing, it could be your No. 1 theme or it could be any of your themes in your Top 5. But what would your strengths slogan be? And then posting that on your desk or in the break room where everyone has their strengths slogan. So what's my theme? And what's my slogan? So for, you know, for Maximizer, it might be about, you know, I want to focus on excellence, or I'm here for the excellent work, or give me your excellent projects. So it's just, it's just whatever you want to do that's most creative, that, that resonates with you, but the team can start to identify that value as well.
Jaclynn Robinson 12:28
One is just to have each individual on the team, if you've got that large Post-it note paper that you can put on the wall, each individual writes down the one theme they feel contributes the most to the team. And then you've got people that go and take pictures of it because now that's embedded in their phone. So if they're on the road, or they work remote, or maybe they're not in the office at the same time, they've got that picture favorited and they can go and see who they can talk to that has high Communication or who they can talk to you with high Woo.
Jim Collison 13:39
We, during last season, I discovered my Maximizer theme -- when you talk about having a slogan -- my slogan became, "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." And having that -- knowing that in my own mind, and I've repeated that dozens, maybe hundreds, of times to my coworkers around me. So we'll be in the midst of doing something, and I'll be like, Look, you know me, whatever is worth doing is worth overdoing. And it's funny that connection that starts, right, at that, at that level. That -- that'd be interesting to think about how could I do that for each of my Top 5? And people having those little, those little statements. If you were, if you were going to lead an exercise -- and I'm going to put you on the spot here a little bit, so we'll see how good you are at this -- so if we were going to do a little exercise where we encouraged people to come up with those slogans, maybe one or two, how would you encourage a manager or a coach to kind of approach that conversation with people? And what kind of resources might you bring in to help with some kind of activity like that?
Jaclynn Robinson 14:38
Off the bat, the Theme Insight Cards; the Theme Insight Cards because they have the words and phrases that's going to help everyone start to identify the subtle nuances about their themes. So I love, I bring, I you know, dislike -- this is a metaphor that, that describes me. And I think that helps trigger people to go, "Oh, that's what this theme is about!" And then sometimes I'll even ask them, once they've looked over the Theme Insight Cards, think about songs or quotes or poetry that you've got around you. How do you see your theme tied into that? Because oftentimes, you just offered up a perfect example with Maximizer. It's a slogan, but it's got that catchy quote to it. For Maximizer, for me, I always think of Jim -- they say it comes from Jim Rohn, I'm not sure -- but "Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best." I say it all the time. And then for me it connected. Oh, my gosh, that's coming from my Maximizer theme. So I think, if you're using Theme Insight Cards, and they can look at words and phrases that resonate with them, or they start to think about their favorite quotes or stories, or, or, or poetry or movies and how do you see your themes incorporated? It can help them start to come up with that, that strengths slogan for themselves.
Jim Collison 15:55
Behind me, on the wall here, let's see, on this side, right there, is actually my family's Top 5. And so a little art that was made for me. My wife put that together when we moved to the old studio. And, but even a team and this is a Wordle, which is kind of an old concept, right? We've, we've been to Wordles, we've done those. But I think getting, getting some team frequencies outside of the grid a little bit, and getting them kind of brought together and maybe the team puts together some slogans like, What does it mean, you have in the 9 of us in my family, we have Adaptability super high. You know, so we could, you know, go anywhere, do anything, anytime, all the time, right? I mean, that could become, that, that could become a slogan for the family. And that we have this kind of family mantra. I'd kind of love to see teams have their own slogan, right? Have you ever seen anybody put team slogans together, something like that, where they, because as teams work with teams, they have that same experience. Right?
Jaclynn Robinson 16:54
Yes. I love that. I'm stealing it! I haven't -- I haven't had a team do that yet. So I'm stealing it as a best practice. And I love the idea that you tied that in also to your personal life. Because if we think about our personal and professional wellbeing, our family life, they're, they're a team. Or if we're students, those around us or team or they might be in a fraternity or sorority. So again, thinking about all those close connections that impact you outside of work that can enhance your wellbeing so that you feel even better within the workplace, or vice versa.
Jim Collison 17:28
Some dynamite activities we've talked about. Jaclynn, what else would you add? What else would you add to this conversation as we're thinking about things that teams can do to build better strengths and stronger strengths?
Jaclynn Robinson 17:39
One I like is, If you were a superhero, who would you be? I think that's a good one. And why? Because you start to hear the talent themes come out. And I think that's even more powerful if they've got their Top 5 in front of them. Because now the team can start to see, Oh, I see where that's coming from. So, case in point, I love -- Achiever's my No. 1. Wonder Woman is my favorite of all time. So for me, Wonder Woman!
Jim Collison 18:06
Listen, there's nobody cooler ...
Jaclynn Robinson 18:07
She powers through; she's so cool. She's so cool. And you know, Maximizer, Positivity. She's just, she's focused on, on the good of humans and wanting to fight for humans to make the world a better place. So she would be my favorite. But I think that's a creative and fun way where it doesn't feel like a more formalized activity and it breaks the ice and gets people talking, especially if you are starting to create some team activities and you want people to loosen up and they're not going, "What's going on here?"
Jaclynn Robinson 18:42
I've also seen some people round-robin and they say, "What are you grateful for today?" And that opens up a world of understanding as you learn about gratitude and what, again, kind of what motivates people; what that value might be; or what, what sparks them in terms of what they're grateful for. If you were a movie, what would you be? One that Jacque Merritt likes to use, if you all know her, is, you know, "If you were in a bookstore, what section would you be in?" Self-help, psychology, action? And again, Why? And so, creative ways once more to start looping in your themes and having other people see a more personal and creative side of you, but also how your themes influence who you are and the personality that you bring to the table.
Jim Collison 19:29
One of the effective ones I've seen, and we've talked about this before, but our -- is this deck of, of pictures. Listen, there's no magic in the pictures. This has maybe been the one of the most misunderstood -- a lot of folks are like, you know, Oh, these -- you know, especially overseas, like -- these are tough to ship. They're on paper, right? But really, they're just pictures. You could create your own set, your own deck of cards that are just pictures that you do.
Jim Collison 19:53
One of the things I want to challenge folks is, especially as we, you know, we've had Adam Hickman on here a bunch talking about remote teams. How do you do these things remotely? Well, this exercise fits in nicely remote, because you can go get a bunch of pictures, make them digital, and then share those across whatever medium you're using, right, in a virtual sense. And have -- share them that way. Like, go here and see this deck; I put this Pinterest deck together. Let's -- Pinterest would be great for this, by the way -- let's go and look at these and then let's have some discussions and we can talk about them all in real time in the same way. Are -- the cards we do in training are blank on the back; the ones we sell actually have some questions that you can, you can ask the teams or ask the individuals. But these roll up nicely to a team, right?
Jaclynn Robinson 20:41
They do. Yes. And and that really is effective with those that work remotely and want to feel like they're tapped in and tuned in to the team that might be on site. And yeah, people will put that in a zip file; they'll send it over. So I think that's a fantastic activity. It reminds me of the Powerful Partnerships -- the large poster we have that we offer; it comes in a packet. But it's the poster, it's got Powerful Partnership cards, and then it's a group activity. So you've got all the team together; you partner individuals off; it's got their name, it's got their Top 5. And then on the back, the person writes, "The value that you bring to the team is ..." and they fill that out. And then "This is how we can support you." And then that's read off in front of the room.
Jaclynn Robinson 21:31
So it's almost like a partnership ceremony. But everyone can hear that person's name, their Top 5, the value they're bringing, how they can support that person. And then there's stickers, and they look just like those picture cards that you just showed, Jim. And it's the partner that chooses a sticker that best represents that individual on the team. So I think that's so unique because then you get the perception of what others think about you. And the value is that sticker with the person's name and Top 5 is going on the poster. Now you've got basically this pictograph of every person on the team. And when you put that in a break room, it just creates a lot of energy and enthusiasm because you just -- you've got a visual of the person, for one. And you also see that -- every person on the team's Top 5.
Jim Collison 22:16
I have a Marines son who's stationed overseas right now. And for Christmas, we put -- we did the 12 Days of Christmas, and we created 12 cards for him to open. And we started the exercise with a pilot. When you said, "Stickers," this kind of just -- we, we started with just a pile of stickers and some blank cards. And everyone created those cards with the stickers and whatever else they wanted to do. And you know, that can be another, just like another exercise, where you get -- instead of starting with a picture, you start with a blank card and a whole bunch of stickers. Now stickers are cheap, right? And you can find them everywhere. And, and allow people to tell their story through the stickers they find. And they stick on these cards and then they have -- it's both a representation of whatever you want it to be, however you want to do that, right? And it gets some artistic -- they get to have the input in it, right, at that point. They get to kind of dictate what it says. They're not being put in a box, but it gives them an opportunity to kind of work that thing out. So I've never seen that done. But I, I think that could be kind of -- you guys can have that for free, by the way.
Jaclynn Robinson 23:20
No charge.
Jim Collison 23:21
Yeah, no, kind of. Jaclynn, we have maybe 1 more minute left. Anything else you'd throw in here as we think about activities?
Jaclynn Robinson 23:28
Yes. If you're doing a lot of activities, or you just want a book to help you, we did just come out with one last year, I believe. And it's, it's a strengths-based Team-building Activities Guide. So we give you 100 activities that you can do -- I think it's 100 -- activities that you can do. It's a book full, and it's based on are you trying to strengths build? Are you, are you just trying to get your team to understand one another? Are you taking it to the next level with the team grid? So there's a number of different activities that you can just pull from, based on what you're looking for in that particular situation or that point in time. But wonderful guidance -- at Gallup, we still refer to that oftentimes when we want to shake it up and do something a little bit more creative in workspaces.
Jim Collison 24:14
Yeah, no, right on, I think it's a great opportunity to get some ideas. I am -- I honestly, I'm a huge fan of -- I kind of take ideas from things I found, and I make them my own. And then, just like the sticker idea, it's kind of one of those things that are like, you know, I don't, I'm not good at following rules. Maybe that's the, maybe that's it, and I want to kind of break the rules and do it on my own.
Jaclynn Robinson 24:35
It's your Adaptability.
Jaclynn Robinson 24:36
Thank you. And thank everyone for listening in.
Jim Collison 24:36
So it is; it is indeed, and a little bit of Woo. Like I want to influence, and then, you know, there's there's all those themes in there that want to -- I never do the same thing twice, although I have created about 800 of these things. So I -- apparently there's something in there that works that way. But they're all different, right? And so for me, I like it to be a different experience each time. I like to kind of custom build those. There are others who like to buy it and follow it by the rules and do it by the book. And that's great too, right? That, that kind of works as well. So, Jaclynn, thanks for taking the time today to sit down and record 3 and 4 for us. We now have a complete package of -- for teams and managers, 4-part series, about an hour worth of material. If you just caught 4, we have 1, 2, and 3 that's available for you as well, either on YouTube, you can download it through the Called to Coach webcast, but we'd love to have you do that as well. Jaclynn, thanks for taking the time to do this with us today.
Jim Collison 24:58
It was it was fun. You hang tight for me one second, we'll answer a few questions in the post-show. With that, we will remind everyone to take full advantages of all the resources we have available at the -- now our new Gallup Access. It's easiest -- for strengths folks, it's easiest to access that through gallup.com/cliftonstrengths. And we have tons of resources for you. Not just your Top 5, but there's a bunch on the tool and then on the /cliftonstrengths page, there is a ton -- an enormous amount; I can't even cover it here of resources that are available for you. So head out there, explore it; there's an About tab up there. If you click on that there's 5 sections that you should spend an afternoon on just by yourself, making sure you know what's in those sections. So lot of resources for you, as well. As I mentioned, YouTube, you can find us on YouTube, just search "CliftonStrengths." If you go to any podcast app, you can find this by searching "Gallup Webcasts." Love to have you go ahead and subscribe, while you're out there, so you make sure everything -- every time we post something new, you get it automatically. For every program we do, including this one, we do a post on gallup.com. And it has the complete transcripts. Some of you have asked for those. So you can search for -- anytime Jaclynn said "Teams," you could find that in there if you wanted to. At the very bottom of that, you can sign up for our new CliftonStrengths newsletter, available for you for free every month. We'll just send you reminders of some of these great tips as well. So get, get signed up for that as well. If your organization is struggling to implement any of these things, or you just have some questions for us, you can send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. You can also see a complete list of our courses that are available. We do offer those on site and some virtual; they're available on our courses page: courses.gallup.com. We'd love to have you come out for the summer and join us June 3, no, 1, 2, and 3. Listen, Omaha in June -- it's no L.A.; it's better than L.A.! I'm just going to say that. OK, maybe not, but it's pretty close.
Jaclynn Robinson 27:23
You've got a great downtown space. Come join us at the summit!
Jim Collison 27:27
We'd love to have you: gallupatwork.com. That is the way to get there and get signed up and just join us. Join us on our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/calledtocoach, all one word. On LinkedIn, search for CliftonStrengths Trained Coaches and I'll let you in. You don't have to be a coach to be there. You don't even need to be a trained coach. That's our public space on LinkedIn. We'd love to have you join us as well. Thanks for joining us. If you found this useful, we'd ask that you'd share it, and join us for another Called to Coach. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.
Jaclynn Robinson's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity and Relator.
February 4, 2020
Gallup https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/284303/team-building-activities-exercises-part.aspx
Gallup World Headquarters, 901 F Street, Washington, D.C., 20001, U.S.A
+1 202.715.3030
source https://4awesome.streamstorecloud.com/team-building-activities-and-exercises-part-4-gallup/?feed_id=1862&_unique_id=631dedae9817f
Saturday, September 10, 2022
When To Save Or Splurge On Appliances - Bankrate.com
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
Buying a home
Refinancing your existing loan
Finding the right lender
Additional Resources
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Compare accounts
Use calculators
Get advice
Bank reviews
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Compare by category
Compare by credit needed
Compare by issuer
Get advice
Looking for the perfect credit card?
Narrow your search with CardMatch™
Personal Loans
Student Loans
Auto Loans
Loan calculators
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Best of
Brokerages and robo-advisors
Learn the basics
Additional resources
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Get the best rates
Lender reviews
Use calculators
Knowledge base
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Car insurance
Homeowners insurance
Other insurance
Company reviews
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Retirement plans & accounts
Learn the basics
Retirement calculators
Additional resources
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here’s an explanation for
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
Whether you’re buying a refrigerator or a clothes dryer, shopping for home appliances can be overwhelming — especially if it’s been years since your last foray. Appliance tags spout features you’ve never heard of and aren’t sure you even need. Add in the choice of size, color, manufacturer, energy efficiency ratings, rebate availability and apps, and it’s enough to confuse anyone.
So which features should you splurge on, and where can you save?
“What it boils down to is for you to know your lifestyle, what’s valuable or important to you,” says Julie Wood, a senior director at General Electric Appliances.
For example, some features that cost more are purely aesthetic, such as stainless steel exteriors. “Stainless steel is more of a premium appearance, and it really is all about style, it’s not about function,” Wood says. For a side-by-side refrigerator, for example, you’ll pay around $200 more for a model in stainless steel, rather than the usual black or white.
When it comes to functionality, though, saving or splurging can make a big difference. Here are tips for shopping for several of the most popular new home appliances.
The process of drying clothes hasn’t changed much since the dryer was invented in the early 1900s. The machine heats up air and blows it through the drum, raising the water temperature in the clothes and removing it (as steam) through a vent. Dryers now come with a wide array of settings, cycles and touchpads, and some offer more features than you really need. That said, some features — like ones that add steam to release wrinkles or sense the remaining moisture to determine the right length of drying cycle — can be worth the added cost.
Washers, on the other hand, have changed a lot from the top-loading agitators of yesteryear. Clothes washers today can be “engineered to stay fresh and clean by using technology to help prevent the growth of odor-causing bacteria and eliminate the need for owners to wipe down their machine or leave the door open after each load,” explains Stephanie Greene, a senior manager at GE Appliances. And that’s just one example. Some washers also include a secondary, smaller door to add items you forgot once the cycle is already running or customization options so you can create your ideal wash cycle.
When to save: Unless you really want your laundry appliances to ping your phone when a cycle is finished, you can probably skip the smart (WiFi-enabled) ones, at least for now. And if you’re truly looking to keep costs low, stick with knobs instead of electronic controls. They serve the same function, but you’ll pay 10 percent to 15 percent more for the electronic touchpad, which tells you where you are in the drying cycle. You can still estimate that from the knob position.
When to splurge: It’s worth paying more for high-efficiency washers and dryers up front, because they’ll help you cut utilities bills in the long run. Choosing an ENERGY STAR-rated washer means using 33 percent less water, while an ENERGY STAR-rated dryer uses 25 percent less energy, which can save you hundreds of dollars over the life of the appliance.
Stabilization features can add 10 percent to the dryer’s cost, but that means a quieter machine. A steam feature might also save you money in the long run. It reduces wrinkles, saving the hassle of ironing button-down shirts or other garments you might otherwise send out for professional laundering or dry cleaning. Expect to pay an extra $50 to $100 for a steamer function, says Wood.
Shopping tip: “Consider ergonomics (e.g., front load can be easier to reach into), washer capacity and size based on how much laundry you are doing and where the washer/dryer will be set up in your home,” Greene advises.
When shopping for a stovetop and an oven range, you’ll need to first decide if you want them together or separate. From there, you also need to choose if you want one or two oven cavities and whether you want it built-in or free-standing. You’ll pay extra for the built-in look. If you choose to separate the cooktop and oven, too, you’ll pay more because you’re technically purchasing two separate appliances.
When to save: “Consider how much oven capacity you need based on your lifestyle,” Greene urges. Double-wall ovens are popular for frequent entertainers or big households: It’s nice during holidays to cook a turkey or roast in one oven and side dishes in another. But if the bird only trots out on Thanksgiving, save some money and stick with a freestanding range, with burners on top and an oven below. Some ranges offer two smaller ovens instead of one large one. While more costly than single-cavity ranges, they are often less expensive than built-in units, says David VanderWaal, head of marketing at LG Electronics North America.
If you’ve a choice in fuel, know that gas ranges fall on the lower-cost end of the stove top spectrum. Many cooks prefer gas stoves to electric or induction cooktops, because they feel the open flame gives them more control over the heat, although this type is generally harder to clean.
When to splurge: If you have an electric range and hate the length of time it takes for the coils to heat and cool, choose an induction range. It costs 20 to 30 percent more, but the food cooks faster and it uses less energy. But be careful. Induction relies on magnetic energy transfer, so pots and pans have to be flat-bottomed and made of cast iron or stainless steel. “It does require certain cookware,” says VanderWaal.
Shopping tip: General Electric estimates that 80 percent of all cooking happens on the range versus in the oven. “You’ll see a lot of features there because that’s where people spend more of their time,” says Wood. Look for a design you like that’s easy to clean.
You might not want to heat up your oven for a smaller dish, and you don’t need to. With toaster ovens (aka countertop ovens), you get compact kitchen appliances that can prepare or reheat your food.
When to save: “It’s important for consumers to think about how they live now and how they expect to live in the future to determine what features are best for them,” Greene says. If you only need your toaster oven to reheat some pizza or prep a frozen meal, you can probably opt for a fairly straightforward, no-frills model. This is especially true if you have one full-size oven in your inventory of kitchen appliances.
When to splurge: If you don’t have an oven (here’s to you, studio dwellers), it’s worth spending more to get a countertop oven that can do more for you. Often dubbed “multi-function ovens,” their cooking methods are indeed many: They can toast, proof, roast, bake, broil, dehydrate, air fry, steam, and/or keep your food warm, for example. Some also feature convection cooking or offer specialty settings for foods like bagels, toast and pizza — and many are smart, meaning you can operate them remotely via your phone. It’s worth splurging if any of these features directly align with how you plan to use the appliance.
Shopping tip: There’s no standard size for countertop ovens, so Greene advises, “Consider the countertop space that you have and the oven features that you want.” You might also want to measure the length of the cord since a lot of countertop ovens come with short ones. If you want easy cleaning, choose an appliance with a non-stick coating and a removable crumb tray, too.
Water heaters are rarely a planned purchase: The vast majority of consumers buy them when their current water heater breaks down. Before plunking down your credit card, do some research on this seemingly simple appliance because it uses roughly 20 percent of your home energy — the second-highest home energy hog, behind the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.
When to save: Most people replace their heaters with a style similar to their old ones. But if the kids have moved out, you may be able to get by with a smaller-capacity (read: less expensive) tank. A gas-powered storage tank will be your most affordable option here.
When to splurge: If you want lower energy bills and can afford to spend a little more, opt for a tankless, heat pump or solar water heater. Plus, while they exist for ENERGY STAR-rated gas storage water heaters, rebates for these more efficient types of water heaters are usually much higher (think: $300 instead of $100).
Shopping tip: Before you go shopping, look for available rebates online: You can use this ENERGY STAR rebate finder to get started. Professionally installing the water heater can cost as much or more than the appliance itself, but it’s probably not feasible for DIYers to do.
When it comes to narrowing down the best fridge, a lot hinges on how much refrigerator storage you actually need. A family of six will want something different than a pair of empty nesters who frequently dine out. Think about what you will store in it, too. A French-door refrigerator — with two doors that open outward and a split in the middle — can hold wide trays and pizza boxes, but a side-by-side cannot.
When to save: “French-door refrigerators are considered the premium of the refrigerator market,” says Wood. And that premium style costs more. If your main concern is just keeping things cold, stick with a side-by-side or top or bottom-freezer unit. Top and bottom freezers are the bread and butter of the industry, with many sizes, fewer bells and whistles and lower prices overall. Side-by-side units still have upscale features, but they’re more economical than a French-door model.
When to splurge: If you’re renovating a kitchen, consider spending about 15 percent more for a counter-depth refrigerator. What you lose in space (7 to 8 inches in depth), you’ll make up for in room flow and aesthetics (an appliance almost flush with the cabinets). “It’s more for someone who is design- or style-focused; it’s more of a high-end appearance,” says Wood. Her colleague Greene also recommends exploring newer quad-door configurations, for the ultimate in organization and storage flexibility — some high-end models have sections that can switch from freezer to regular fridge.
Shopping tip: If kitchen space is tight, pay attention to a refrigerator’s measurement with the door open 90 degrees. Features such as adjustable and split shelves allow more customized storage options.
Every dishwasher has to meet a minimum performance level — national- and state-set standards, says Wood. When you spend more, you’re paying for things such as energy efficiency, upgraded filtration, additional wash arms, rack styles and noise reduction.
When to save: Higher-end dishwashers are integrated, with no buttons on the front. Instead they’re hidden on the door top. This only affects function if you’re prone to leaning on the dishwasher and setting it off. If you’re more careful and don’t mind the look of dishwasher buttons, you’ll save 20 percent by avoiding these models. You can also skip dishwashers with a heated dry cycle to save on your electricity bill. A dishwasher with condensation drying will dry dishes more energy efficiently, or you can simply turn off your dishwasher’s heated dry cycle to slash the electrical cost to run it in half.
When to splurge: If a quiet machine is important to you — you don’t want your dishwasher drowning out conversation or interrupting your sleep — splurge on a dishwasher with a stainless steel interior, which costs 10 percent to 15 percent more. Not only is it quieter than one with a plastic lining, it will be better sealed, smell better and won’t get cuts in the lining. You may also want to explore newer drawer-like dishwashers that pull out from the surrounding counter. Some of these dishwashers feature two separate compartments so you can wash smaller loads of dishes without wasting water and energy.
Shopping tip: Pay attention to the model’s decibel rating — the lower the better, of course. And if you’re looking for a way to keep the cost of running your dishwasher down, the best appliances for you will be ENERGY STAR-certified.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. Bankrate is compensated in exchange for featured placement of sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. This compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear. Bankrate.com does not include all companies or all available products.
Bankrate, LLC NMLS ID# 1427381 | NMLS Consumer Access
BR Tech Services, Inc. NMLS ID #1743443 | NMLS Consumer Access
© 2022 Bankrate, LLC. A Red Ventures company. All Rights Reserved.
source https://1home.streamstorecloud.com/when-to-save-or-splurge-on-appliances-bankrate-com/?feed_id=1818&_unique_id=631cf38a57781
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
Buying a home
Refinancing your existing loan
Finding the right lender
Additional Resources
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Compare accounts
Use calculators
Get advice
Bank reviews
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Compare by category
Compare by credit needed
Compare by issuer
Get advice
Looking for the perfect credit card?
Narrow your search with CardMatch™
Personal Loans
Student Loans
Auto Loans
Loan calculators
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Best of
Brokerages and robo-advisors
Learn the basics
Additional resources
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Get the best rates
Lender reviews
Use calculators
Knowledge base
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Car insurance
Homeowners insurance
Other insurance
Company reviews
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
Retirement plans & accounts
Learn the basics
Retirement calculators
Additional resources
Elevate your Bankrate experience
Get insider access to our best financial tools and content
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here’s an explanation for
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
Whether you’re buying a refrigerator or a clothes dryer, shopping for home appliances can be overwhelming — especially if it’s been years since your last foray. Appliance tags spout features you’ve never heard of and aren’t sure you even need. Add in the choice of size, color, manufacturer, energy efficiency ratings, rebate availability and apps, and it’s enough to confuse anyone.
So which features should you splurge on, and where can you save?
“What it boils down to is for you to know your lifestyle, what’s valuable or important to you,” says Julie Wood, a senior director at General Electric Appliances.
For example, some features that cost more are purely aesthetic, such as stainless steel exteriors. “Stainless steel is more of a premium appearance, and it really is all about style, it’s not about function,” Wood says. For a side-by-side refrigerator, for example, you’ll pay around $200 more for a model in stainless steel, rather than the usual black or white.
When it comes to functionality, though, saving or splurging can make a big difference. Here are tips for shopping for several of the most popular new home appliances.
The process of drying clothes hasn’t changed much since the dryer was invented in the early 1900s. The machine heats up air and blows it through the drum, raising the water temperature in the clothes and removing it (as steam) through a vent. Dryers now come with a wide array of settings, cycles and touchpads, and some offer more features than you really need. That said, some features — like ones that add steam to release wrinkles or sense the remaining moisture to determine the right length of drying cycle — can be worth the added cost.
Washers, on the other hand, have changed a lot from the top-loading agitators of yesteryear. Clothes washers today can be “engineered to stay fresh and clean by using technology to help prevent the growth of odor-causing bacteria and eliminate the need for owners to wipe down their machine or leave the door open after each load,” explains Stephanie Greene, a senior manager at GE Appliances. And that’s just one example. Some washers also include a secondary, smaller door to add items you forgot once the cycle is already running or customization options so you can create your ideal wash cycle.
When to save: Unless you really want your laundry appliances to ping your phone when a cycle is finished, you can probably skip the smart (WiFi-enabled) ones, at least for now. And if you’re truly looking to keep costs low, stick with knobs instead of electronic controls. They serve the same function, but you’ll pay 10 percent to 15 percent more for the electronic touchpad, which tells you where you are in the drying cycle. You can still estimate that from the knob position.
When to splurge: It’s worth paying more for high-efficiency washers and dryers up front, because they’ll help you cut utilities bills in the long run. Choosing an ENERGY STAR-rated washer means using 33 percent less water, while an ENERGY STAR-rated dryer uses 25 percent less energy, which can save you hundreds of dollars over the life of the appliance.
Stabilization features can add 10 percent to the dryer’s cost, but that means a quieter machine. A steam feature might also save you money in the long run. It reduces wrinkles, saving the hassle of ironing button-down shirts or other garments you might otherwise send out for professional laundering or dry cleaning. Expect to pay an extra $50 to $100 for a steamer function, says Wood.
Shopping tip: “Consider ergonomics (e.g., front load can be easier to reach into), washer capacity and size based on how much laundry you are doing and where the washer/dryer will be set up in your home,” Greene advises.
When shopping for a stovetop and an oven range, you’ll need to first decide if you want them together or separate. From there, you also need to choose if you want one or two oven cavities and whether you want it built-in or free-standing. You’ll pay extra for the built-in look. If you choose to separate the cooktop and oven, too, you’ll pay more because you’re technically purchasing two separate appliances.
When to save: “Consider how much oven capacity you need based on your lifestyle,” Greene urges. Double-wall ovens are popular for frequent entertainers or big households: It’s nice during holidays to cook a turkey or roast in one oven and side dishes in another. But if the bird only trots out on Thanksgiving, save some money and stick with a freestanding range, with burners on top and an oven below. Some ranges offer two smaller ovens instead of one large one. While more costly than single-cavity ranges, they are often less expensive than built-in units, says David VanderWaal, head of marketing at LG Electronics North America.
If you’ve a choice in fuel, know that gas ranges fall on the lower-cost end of the stove top spectrum. Many cooks prefer gas stoves to electric or induction cooktops, because they feel the open flame gives them more control over the heat, although this type is generally harder to clean.
When to splurge: If you have an electric range and hate the length of time it takes for the coils to heat and cool, choose an induction range. It costs 20 to 30 percent more, but the food cooks faster and it uses less energy. But be careful. Induction relies on magnetic energy transfer, so pots and pans have to be flat-bottomed and made of cast iron or stainless steel. “It does require certain cookware,” says VanderWaal.
Shopping tip: General Electric estimates that 80 percent of all cooking happens on the range versus in the oven. “You’ll see a lot of features there because that’s where people spend more of their time,” says Wood. Look for a design you like that’s easy to clean.
You might not want to heat up your oven for a smaller dish, and you don’t need to. With toaster ovens (aka countertop ovens), you get compact kitchen appliances that can prepare or reheat your food.
When to save: “It’s important for consumers to think about how they live now and how they expect to live in the future to determine what features are best for them,” Greene says. If you only need your toaster oven to reheat some pizza or prep a frozen meal, you can probably opt for a fairly straightforward, no-frills model. This is especially true if you have one full-size oven in your inventory of kitchen appliances.
When to splurge: If you don’t have an oven (here’s to you, studio dwellers), it’s worth spending more to get a countertop oven that can do more for you. Often dubbed “multi-function ovens,” their cooking methods are indeed many: They can toast, proof, roast, bake, broil, dehydrate, air fry, steam, and/or keep your food warm, for example. Some also feature convection cooking or offer specialty settings for foods like bagels, toast and pizza — and many are smart, meaning you can operate them remotely via your phone. It’s worth splurging if any of these features directly align with how you plan to use the appliance.
Shopping tip: There’s no standard size for countertop ovens, so Greene advises, “Consider the countertop space that you have and the oven features that you want.” You might also want to measure the length of the cord since a lot of countertop ovens come with short ones. If you want easy cleaning, choose an appliance with a non-stick coating and a removable crumb tray, too.
Water heaters are rarely a planned purchase: The vast majority of consumers buy them when their current water heater breaks down. Before plunking down your credit card, do some research on this seemingly simple appliance because it uses roughly 20 percent of your home energy — the second-highest home energy hog, behind the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.
When to save: Most people replace their heaters with a style similar to their old ones. But if the kids have moved out, you may be able to get by with a smaller-capacity (read: less expensive) tank. A gas-powered storage tank will be your most affordable option here.
When to splurge: If you want lower energy bills and can afford to spend a little more, opt for a tankless, heat pump or solar water heater. Plus, while they exist for ENERGY STAR-rated gas storage water heaters, rebates for these more efficient types of water heaters are usually much higher (think: $300 instead of $100).
Shopping tip: Before you go shopping, look for available rebates online: You can use this ENERGY STAR rebate finder to get started. Professionally installing the water heater can cost as much or more than the appliance itself, but it’s probably not feasible for DIYers to do.
When it comes to narrowing down the best fridge, a lot hinges on how much refrigerator storage you actually need. A family of six will want something different than a pair of empty nesters who frequently dine out. Think about what you will store in it, too. A French-door refrigerator — with two doors that open outward and a split in the middle — can hold wide trays and pizza boxes, but a side-by-side cannot.
When to save: “French-door refrigerators are considered the premium of the refrigerator market,” says Wood. And that premium style costs more. If your main concern is just keeping things cold, stick with a side-by-side or top or bottom-freezer unit. Top and bottom freezers are the bread and butter of the industry, with many sizes, fewer bells and whistles and lower prices overall. Side-by-side units still have upscale features, but they’re more economical than a French-door model.
When to splurge: If you’re renovating a kitchen, consider spending about 15 percent more for a counter-depth refrigerator. What you lose in space (7 to 8 inches in depth), you’ll make up for in room flow and aesthetics (an appliance almost flush with the cabinets). “It’s more for someone who is design- or style-focused; it’s more of a high-end appearance,” says Wood. Her colleague Greene also recommends exploring newer quad-door configurations, for the ultimate in organization and storage flexibility — some high-end models have sections that can switch from freezer to regular fridge.
Shopping tip: If kitchen space is tight, pay attention to a refrigerator’s measurement with the door open 90 degrees. Features such as adjustable and split shelves allow more customized storage options.
Every dishwasher has to meet a minimum performance level — national- and state-set standards, says Wood. When you spend more, you’re paying for things such as energy efficiency, upgraded filtration, additional wash arms, rack styles and noise reduction.
When to save: Higher-end dishwashers are integrated, with no buttons on the front. Instead they’re hidden on the door top. This only affects function if you’re prone to leaning on the dishwasher and setting it off. If you’re more careful and don’t mind the look of dishwasher buttons, you’ll save 20 percent by avoiding these models. You can also skip dishwashers with a heated dry cycle to save on your electricity bill. A dishwasher with condensation drying will dry dishes more energy efficiently, or you can simply turn off your dishwasher’s heated dry cycle to slash the electrical cost to run it in half.
When to splurge: If a quiet machine is important to you — you don’t want your dishwasher drowning out conversation or interrupting your sleep — splurge on a dishwasher with a stainless steel interior, which costs 10 percent to 15 percent more. Not only is it quieter than one with a plastic lining, it will be better sealed, smell better and won’t get cuts in the lining. You may also want to explore newer drawer-like dishwashers that pull out from the surrounding counter. Some of these dishwashers feature two separate compartments so you can wash smaller loads of dishes without wasting water and energy.
Shopping tip: Pay attention to the model’s decibel rating — the lower the better, of course. And if you’re looking for a way to keep the cost of running your dishwasher down, the best appliances for you will be ENERGY STAR-certified.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. Bankrate is compensated in exchange for featured placement of sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. This compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear. Bankrate.com does not include all companies or all available products.
Bankrate, LLC NMLS ID# 1427381 | NMLS Consumer Access
BR Tech Services, Inc. NMLS ID #1743443 | NMLS Consumer Access
© 2022 Bankrate, LLC. A Red Ventures company. All Rights Reserved.
source https://1home.streamstorecloud.com/when-to-save-or-splurge-on-appliances-bankrate-com/?feed_id=1818&_unique_id=631cf38a57781
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)