Staff Matters: People-Focused Solutions for the Ultimate New Workplace

Description:

Unfiltered conversations with staff at every level. In their words—walking in their shoes.

The Staff. They are called the backbone, right arms, eyes, ears, face, lifeblood, heart, and even the soul of their organizations. If these indispensable people are so vital to the running of companies, why is our modern workplace broken? And most importantly, how can it be fixed and by whom?

Staff Matters answers these questions by pulling back the curtain on the hard truths and offering solutions to the workplace’s toughest challenges. From communication breakdowns and siloed staff to dysfunctional systems, toxic work environments, and inadequate training, common issues are complicated by the rise of a remote workforce. In the fragmented post-pandemic world, staff do not feel safe to speak their minds about what they are seeing, hearing, and experiencing, and yet, they have front row seats for almost everything that happens.

This book shines a light on their stories, offering case studies and real-world examples to make workplace issues come alive, and provides actionable tools for staff on all levels to use in approaching these challenges head-on. With this knowledge, leaders and staff can move forward together to build a respectful workplace that is highly productive, has strong employee satisfaction and retention, and is consistently profitable—a place where people want to work, led by leaders who care about them.

Developed through the author’s more than fifteen hundred conversations with Executives, HR professionals, Recruiters, Executive Assistants, and leadership experts, there is no other book that provides this unique perspective of firsthand insight into the workplace. The staff is finding their voice—and the stakes have never been higher in a global workplace where no one knows what new crisis may confront us tomorrow. Are you ready for a revolutionary, people-focused approach to fix what’s broken?

Editorial Reviews:

Review

“Yes, staff matters. An important must-read that offers an excellent framework for thinking strategically about hiring, managing, and leading staff and creating a respectful culture that ensures their voices are heard.”

—Lynn Perry Wooten, President, Simmons University

“At a time when the world of work is recreating itself, there has never been a more important time to reexamine not just what the future of work looks like but what matters most to our most important resource—our employees. Staff Matters not only lifts the lid on what leaders need to know; Bonnie Low-Kramen has created a road map of clarity and vision for what the world of work needs to become.”

—Lucy Brazier OBE, CEO, Executive Support Magazine

“Drawing from her deep well of experience and candor, Bonnie Low-Kramen expertly lays out a comprehensive, research-based guide for making smart and durable workforce decisions to ensure your staff matters—now and in the future workplace.”

—Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and CEO, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

“This book contains the important back-channel information that every leader needs to know before being given even one direct report. Bonnie takes a fresh and profoundly honest look at what is really going on with the staff and how we can build a better workplace using that information.”

—Deanna Mulligan, CEO, Purposeful

“Staff Matters is chock-full of practical advice that is normally acquired only via the School of Hard Knocks. This book is a gift for leaders, Executive Assistants, HR, and recruiters. The author goes granular on important issues that are too often ignored.”

—Jack Zenger, coauthor of The New Extraordinary Leader

“Finally. As a Celebrity Assistant and C-suite Executive Assistant for over twenty-five years, I can confidently share that Staff Matters bravely states what employees wish their leaders knew but are too afraid to tell them. Bonnie has walked the talk and has now written the truth about what is really going on in the workplace. Amen.”

—Angelica Canales, Executive Assistant to Deanna Mulligan; President, NYCA

“Staff Matters provides examples of courageous leaders putting themselves out there for the world to see and measure, making all of us stronger, together. The book offers a practical yet heartfelt approach to moral courage, with Bonnie’s research highlighting a universal and basic leadership truth: your team is the key to every success. As a twenty-six-year member of the Canadian military, I know she is right. The book is a solution-filled guide—for tactical, strategic, and institutional levels of leadership.”

—Simon Kardynal, Master Warrant Officer, CD, MA, Royal Canadian Air Force

“Staff Matters addresses the biggest elephant in the biggest room in business today—the fear, frustration, and chaos that reign supreme in far too many companies. Bonnie has produced a work of depth, experience, and wisdom that offers actionable hope to business leaders, HR, recruiters, and the staff. She has thoroughly and carefully broken down the elephant into small, nourishing bites that offer clarity and a road map for positive change in the workplace. I highly recommend this book to all who want to help create a more conscious and productive workplace.”

—Leni Miller, President, EASearch

“As a business and communication strategist for over twenty years, I now consider Staff Matters the ultimate guide for my clients. The author’s extraordinary knowledge and experience provide actionable and crystal-clear methods to leaders struggling to bring order to their chaotic and fragmented workplaces.”

—Shelly Berman-Rubera, President and Founder, Small Business Results

“This book is going to be epic for so many people all over the world, especially young entrepreneurs and business students. It is written as the solution to our global workplaces’ biggest problems. Bonnie has done this with heart, rare authenticity, and rock-solid data. I highly recommend it.”

—Jeff Hoffman, Chairman of the Board, Global Entrepreneurship Network

“For seventeen years, I’ve had a backstage pass to what led Bonnie to write this book. I have witnessed what she cares about most—the people of our workplace. Bonnie loves hearing their stories, every single one. All over the world, I’ve watched Bonnie change lives before my eyes. This book will seriously matter for every employee and for those who hire, manage, and lead them.”

—Vickie Sokol Evans, CEO, RedCape Company

About the Author:

For twenty-five years, Bonnie Low-Kramen worked as the personal assistant to Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis. From there, she became a sought-after author and TEDx speaker on workplace issues. Her new book, Staff Matters: People-Focused Solutions for the Ultimate New Workplace, is a revolutionary and thoughtful approach to bridging the gaps between all staff in the post-pandemic world.

Through her writing, workshops, and speaking engagements in thirteen countries, Bonnie strives to bring the voice of the staff to the forefront to build an ultimate new workplace for our children and grandchildren, the staff of the future.