Most companies have some form of dedicated IT management. According to a workforce survey, the common IT to non-technical staff ratio is typically around 4% of all personnel.

These IT individuals and departments often need to communicate with the other staffers throughout a company. From basic day-to-day activities to long-term collaborations, meeting deadlines and maintaining security, it’s important that the relationship between IT and the non-technical workforce is not just existent but effective.

If you’re aware of a lack of quality in your IT-related inter-departmental collaborations, here are four ways to enhance communication and build better professional relationships between technical and non-technical teams.

1. Establish and promote healthy communication

Communication cannot be overlooked in any business setting. As the workforce becomes more geographically diversified by distance and time zones, it’s important to maintain communication, not just with teams but between departments. This is ground zero, especially in an isolated area like IT.

One way to enhance communication is through regular cross-team meetings. Many companies hold recurring meetings where everyone comes together to hear company-wide updates and generally realign themselves. If the thought of a full company meeting sounds like a mammoth, intimidating and time-sucking use of resources, never fear. There are multiple ways you can implement this concept efficiently.

For instance, Zappos holds its well-known all-hands meetings three times a year. Spacing out these larger communal moments helps make them special.

If meeting is a problem in any quantity, you can go a different route: pre-recorded messages. If you choose this option, though, be warned that simple video messaging can become just as confusing and lengthy as a meeting. Instead, look for tools that help you send purposeful, value-centered messages.

Marketing platform Drift, for instance, used the communications tool Zight to improve its internal communication. The company used screen recorder technology to send annotated, knowledge-based videos to their employees. This organized and enhanced the purpose of each message, making it easier to reference later on without rewatching the entire thing.

The takeaway? Invest in some form of healthy cross-departmental communication that fits with your workflow.

Related: Effective Communication Is Vital in Today’s Diverse Workforce. Here’s How to Make Sure Your Message Is Clear.

2. Use jargon-free language

Removing jargon and technical terms from basic inter-departmental communication starts at the top. IT leaders must demonstrate how to remove dense language when talking, recording, typing and otherwise engaging with coworkers.

This isn’t just because leading by example is effective. It’s also because workplace jargon often finds its largest adherents in the upper echelons of a business. One study from MyPerfectResume found that 33% of those asked considered upper management to be the most likely to overuse workplace jargon.

Even worse? A third of those asked had also used jargon that they didn’t even understand. Use jargon-free language. It keeps communication transparent and avoids peer pressure and embarrassment from undermining effective understanding between IT and other teams.

Related: Here’s Why You Absolutely Have to Stop Using Jargon at Work

3. Bridge knowledge gaps with cross-functional training

Specialization and niche knowledge are defining factors for IT teams. Tech workers’ value comes from their ability to bridge the gap between humans and machines. However, this expertise isn’t as effective if the communication gap between IT staff and other personnel widens too far.

One way to keep all staff on the same playing field is to engage in cross-functional training. This is the process of educating employees from various departments in disciplines that are complementary to their own focus. It emphasizes shared knowledge and helps teams both respect and understand their respective duties in the larger context of business operations.

Google has mastered the art of cross-departmental training. On the one hand, the company famously used its whisper courses — a series of micro-lessons in email form — to teach small teamwork lessons. In addition, the search engine giant encourages employee-to-employee training. This shares knowledge in a peer-to-peer fashion and maintains a culture of learning.

Again, the takeaway here is that you don’t have to follow a formula for cross-departmental training. Find something that works for your setup, and then invest in it.

4. Cultivate a culture of inclusivity

Inclusivity is a common workplace culture goal. It emphasizes making all members of a workforce feel welcome. It seeks to embrace gender, age and other demographic differences and to incorporate the strengths of each individual and team into a company’s operations.

This is a powerful way to keep IT and non-technical personnel connected and respectful of one another’s contributions. As a central focus of how a company operates, an emphasis on empathy and respect helps keep those all-important communication channels open and healthy.

No company has demonstrated genuine, effective inclusivity in business activity quite as well as Pixar. The media company is famous for its ability to develop high-quality ideas and, at the same time, make sure everyone feels welcome and part of the conversation.

The company’s “Notes Days” are a poignant example. These are days when the entire company shuts down and comes together to collectively brainstorm. The result is some of the best inter-departmental collaboration in modern history.

If you want your tech and non-tech teams to connect, make them feel included.

Related: How to Build an Inclusive Culture That Permeates All Levels of the Organization

Breaking down barriers between IT and the rest of the professional work world

The IT department has become an integral part of most modern businesses. But it cannot operate in a vacuum. Miscommunications can lead to confused expectations, missed deadlines and even compromised safety and security.

It’s essential that leaders make an effort to align their IT and non-technical teams. This keeps everyone informed and up-to-date as you work together to achieve the same goal as a business.

Reddit grew for nearly two decades before going public in March at around a $6.5 billion valuation. Though the social media forum site now boasts 91 million daily active users, its success was not a certainty. In fact, Reddit’s co-founders were rejected by startup accelerator Y Combinator at the start of their entrepreneurial journey.

“So, Alexis [Ohanian], my co-founder, college roommate at the time, he and I applied to Y Combinator,” Reddit CEO Steve Huffman told LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman on Thursday. Their initial idea was to create a way to order food from cell phones — which wasn’t the norm in 2005.

Y Combinator rejected the idea but asked Ohanian and Huffman, who were 22 and 21 years old at the time, to work on something else. They came up with Reddit, which Y Combinator funded with a $12,000 check.

The idea for Reddit came about from two websites: Delicious and Slashdot. Delicious was a website that let users store and share bookmarks; Yahoo acquired it in 2007. Slashdot.org still exists as a social news site covering science and tech news; Reddit’s co-founders were drawn to the community it had but wanted to expand beyond tech.

Reddit “was kind of a Delicious plus Slashdot, but make both of them better,” Huffman said. “Honestly, I think that’s pretty much what we built. But for 19 years, we’ve been iterating on this and tweaking it, and kind of following our users and adding features.”

Related: ‘A Huge Opportunity:’ Reddit CEO Aims to Bring AI to 1 Billion Reddit Searches

For example, Huffman pointed out that Reddit’s “most important feature,” or the power it gives users to create their own communities, was introduced three years after launch.

^{Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images}

Since going public, Reddit has posted earnings that beat expectations for two consecutive quarters. The company inked AI licensing deals with Google and OpenAI earlier this year, allowing Google’s Gemini AI and OpenAI’s ChatGPT to use Reddit posts in their training data.

Huffman said there is “a tremendous amount of opportunity” with AI.

“I’m very proud that Reddit has played a role in the development of these technologies,” he said.

Related: Reddit Traffic Nearly Triples in 8 Months, Posts Rise to the Top of Google Search

In the hustle of today’s online business world, time can be your biggest asset. Between managing operations, engaging with customers, and strategizing for growth, there’s little room left for the creative tasks that help set your business apart—like generating engaging content, captivating visuals, and compelling voice-overs.

That’s where Scribbyo can help. It offers a powerful, all-in-one AI solution designed to streamline your creative processes and save you valuable time. A lifetime subscription is also just $59.97 (reg. $684) for a limited time only.

Scribbyo isn’t just another AI tool—it’s a comprehensive suite that combines content writing, image creation, transcription, chatbot access, and voice-over generation, all powered by advanced AI technology. For just $59.97, you’ll have access to an array of features that can help you produce high-quality content across multiple channels without the usual time-consuming stress and without ongoing monthly fees.

Whether you’re crafting blog posts, website copy, or social media updates, Scribbyo’s AI-powered writing tools ensure your content is engaging, relevant, and aligned with your brand’s voice. And with support for 33 international languages, you can effortlessly connect with a global audience. It even has a chatbot so you can generate content freely without using templates.

Create stunning visuals to accompany your copy to help capture your audience’s attention. Whether you’re designing a blog header, a social media post, or a website banner, Scribbyo’s image generator makes it easy to produce professional-quality graphics without needing to hire a designer.

Need to add a voice to your content? Scribbyo’s AI voice-over generator offers 60,000 characters per month, allowing you to create realistic human voices from any text. With 540 male and female voices in 140 accents and languages, your audio content can be as diverse and dynamic as your written work.

Don’t waste half your day trying to craft the perfect content. Lean on Sribbyo to help support your efforts.

A lifetime subscription to Scribbyo is just $59.97 (reg. $684) through September 3.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Age 30 is the prime of your career in many professions — unless you happen to be a professional athlete. “It’s like they experience life backward,” says Loop Capital founder and CEO Jim Reynolds, whose career includes a nine-year partnership with Magic Johnson Enterprises. “They make their peak money when they’re exceptionally young, whereas in business, you typically don’t start accumulating real wealth until your 50s.”

The average NBA player retires at the age of 29, which sounds enviable if you ignore the fact that nearly 60% of them face serious financial hardships after retirement. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Although most retired players can’t jump like they used to, bringing them into the business world can still be a slam dunk for business executives like Jim Reynolds, who recognize their transferable skills like tactical smarts and an insatiable competitive drive.

Related: They Showed Up to Apple With a Product They Built in Their Dorm Room. Now These Entrepreneurs Are on the Way to Changing the Way Fans Watch Sports.

Reynolds is currently CEO of Coco5, a fitness drink company he co-owns with an NBA dream team that includes Devin Booker, D’Angelo Russell, Derrick Rose, and the Morris twins, Marcus and Markeiff. The company made headlines this spring after partnering with the American Cancer Society to raise money for research and promote early detection.

Tech entrepreneur Julian Aiken, a former DII point guard, is also no stranger to professional sports. His uncle, Bob McCann, played in the NBA for five years, and many of his high school friends grew up to be professional athletes. Aiken is the founder and CEO of Brunswick Sports Management, a firm that helps athletes transition to business. Recently, alongside the NBA trifecta of Michael Carter-Williams (retired), Mo Harkless (retired), and Andre Drummond (active), Aiken founded his latest endeavor: Special Teams Real Estate, a property venture that converts vacant commercial buildings into residential ones.

Here are some of the universal principles that these elite athletes and their business partners say transfer from the sports arena to entrepreneurship.

Get a Little Better Every Day

In basketball, if you spend enough time alone shooting free throws, you’ll eventually make more of them in games. As Carter-Williams notes, though, there are no free throws in business. There are no predetermined rules. So for him, the first step in upping his business game was developing a self-starter mentality. In place of a rigorous schedule of physical drills assigned by a trainer, he now prioritizes strengthening his mind every day.

Related: How Carolyn Tisch Blodgett Is Striving to Change the Game for Women’s Sports

“Some days, I just force myself to do something or learn something to help me succeed,” he says. “It could be as simple as going on YouTube to learn about zoning laws. Or studying some complicated book about real estate.” His business partner, Aiken, shares that growth mindset and emphasizes that improvement doesn’t mean going from 0 to 100% overnight. Instead, the trick is to get 1% better every day.

“We don’t expect Mike or anyone else to complete an entire project immediately. But can you learn enough to complete a small percentage of it? And can you complete a little more next time? And so on.”

A slight percent increase won’t appear in Carter-Williams’ box score like in his NBA days. He notices his progress in new ways, like his growing comfortability in meetings and comprehension of real estate jargon.

“If I can understand more and answer questions I couldn’t answer two weeks earlier, I take those as my small wins,” Carter-Williams says. While Carter-Williams still has more to learn about the real estate game, his NBA background comes with a built-in advantage: premium access to other professional athletes.

“Not everyone is willing to listen to somebody like me that hasn’t been in those locker rooms,” Aiken says.

“But if Mike can walk in there and say. ‘I’ve grown a sustainable business that lasts way longer than an NBA career; here’s how I did it.’ Every NBA player will at least hear him out.”

Embrace Your Role

In basketball, a role player is an athlete with a specific skill and a willingness to put team success over personal glory. They might not score the most points or have the flashiest highlights, but they understand their strengths and weaknesses and get the job done. Having spent over a decade each as role players in the NBA, Marcus and Markieff Morris understand the importance of knowing your specific strength and using it to complement your teammates. It’s a skill that has translated seamlessly to their roles at Coco5.

Related: LeBron James Is Now a Billionaire — Here’s How He Makes and Spends His Money

As active NBA players, the Morris twins have delivered a product placement slam dunk by bringing Coco5 straight into some high-profile NBA locker rooms, they’ve also leveraged their status in some high-pressure conference rooms. During meetings, the twins often regale prospective investors with tales of their NBA journey, using their roles as athletes to gain respect, trust, and — more often than not — new accounts.

“People love the idea of having connections to professional athletes,” Markieff says. “We can get in certain doors by just being NBA players.”

Play the Long Game

In basketball, thinking ahead and anticipating where you need to be next is crucial. For Michael Carter-Williams, pivoting on the court is a good metaphor for pivoting once you step off. You always want to be thinking about the next move. It’s a lesson he laments not learning earlier.

“Do I wish I had reached out sooner to more people in the professional world? Do I wish I gained more investment knowledge as a rookie and a sophomore? Of course.” It’s a big part of the reason why Carter-Williams is so passionate about helping the next generation of hoopers. As NBA liaison for Special Teams Real Estate, he now makes it his mission to prepare athletes for their next chapters, bridging the gap between current players, former players, and business executives like Aiken. During a recent meeting at his friend (and former Orlando Magic teammate) Cole Anthony’s house, for example, he drew on his personal experience to discuss — minus the jargon — the importance of investing in your financial future earlier than you might think.

Jim Reynolds also knows something about playing the long game. For him, it boils down to one goal: owning equity. For young players like Coco5 partners Booker (27) and Russell (28), owning a piece of the company could be more lucrative than basketball long term.

“By the time they’re 45, they’ll have equity in a cash-flowing business, years of professional experience, and celebrity names to build on,” he points out. “The richest people in America own equity. It’s how Magic Johnson became a billionaire.”

SportsCenter was ESPN’s flagship show; its first episode aired when the network launched in September 1979. Now Disney, which owns 80% of ESPN, is taking its oldest offering and adding AI to its sports news, recaps, and analyses to catch the attention of a younger streaming generation.

ESPN chairperson Jimmy Pitaro stated Wednesday that SportsCenter would become its own app for the first time next year.

The tech will be able to match content to the interests of each viewer and “obviously, help significantly,” when it comes to personalizing the app, generating clips, and narrating them, Pitaro said.

Related: Listen to ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ Read By Dorothy Herself Thanks to a New AI App That Cloned Judy Garland’s Voice

^{Jimmy Pitaro. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images}

ESPN is already using AI to narrate investigative news. Pitaro said he listens to these AI-spoken pieces on his commute.

The move is part of a broader strategy to adapt to changing viewership tastes. Over 40% of television usage in June and a record-high 41.4% in July, was from streaming, according to Nielsen reports. In contrast, cable and broadcast accounted for around 26% and 20% of total TV viewership, respectively, in July.

Now that the legacy sports network is faced with growing interest in streaming, ESPN is amplifying it through its social media presence.

“We need to set up this company to be relevant for the next generation of sports fans,” ESPN’s content president Burke Magnus said on Wednesday.

Related: Is ESPN Cutting Its Own Cord?

Pitaro became ESPN chairman in February 2023 and is now one of four Disney executives in the running to replace CEO Bob Iger in 2026. ESPN brought in $16 billion in revenue for Disney in 2022.

The five weeks between the Republican and Democratic conventions could have been a lifetime, as a brand-new Democratic ticket formed in record speed. As always, the International Franchise Association (IFA) is neutral in presidential elections and we will work with whoever is in the White House for the betterment of our model. Just as we were in Milwaukee for the RNC, we were on the ground in Chicago, educating candidates and campaigns about all the good franchising provides, especially for minority-owned businesses.

More highlights from championing franchising with lawmakers in Chicago at the #DNC2024. IFA is proud to work with members across the aisle on policies that support the franchise business model and its 9M employees in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/vexxskHpuK

— IFA (@Franchising411) August 21, 2024

Like many Americans, the franchise community is interested in learning more about Vice President Harris’ vision and policy priorities, which she characterized in her acceptance speech as an Opportunity Agenda. It is encouraging that one of her early commercials features her time working at McDonald’s. In fact, if elected, Harris, along with her husband Doug Emhoff, will share a common thread with the 1 in 8 Americans
who have worked at McDonald’s. To genuinely support the franchise business model, here are five concrete ways Vice President Harris can appeal to the franchise community.

Related: Considering franchise ownership? Get started now to find your personalized list of franchises that match your lifestyle, interests and budget.

Be a champion for franchising

First, Vice President Harris should be a champion for franchising and use every day on the campaign trail to visit franchises and meet their employees in swing states — and everywhere in between. Doing so will unlock franchising as a component of the Opportunity Agenda, including the unique benefits of franchising for all stakeholders involved in the model.

Those stakeholders are substantial — from the nearly 9 million employees who work for America’s 800,000 franchise businesses (and earn higher wages and better benefits than non-franchised employees) to the franchise owners themselves, who are more diverse in race and gender than non-franchises.

Related: The Critical First 100 Days of Onboarding — What You’re Likely Overlooking That Could Make or Break Your New Hire

Abandon an expanded joint employer rule

Second, Vice President Harris talked at the DNC about working with business and labor. Yet, one of labor’s top priorities has been a joint employer rule that would effectively destroy franchising. A Harris administration that wants to support small business creation must abandon efforts to implement an expanded joint employer rule.

Bipartisan majorities in congress and a federal court have rejected expanding the joint employer test to include reserved and indirect control. Even Democratic supermajorities in the California legislature, and her home-state Governor Gavin Newsom, rejected joint employer liability. This created a pathway to negotiate a bill with organized labor that preserved franchisee equity in their business, and creating predictable increases in the minimum wage.

Related: A Franchise Attorney and 20-Year Industry Expert Weighs in on How the Election Will Impact Small Businesses

Call for pro-small business tax policies

Third, Vice President Harris should call for pro-small business tax policies, given the expired and expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA). These include extending the qualified business income deduction (QBID), also known as the section 199A deduction, and restoring a pro-growth interest deductibility standard that expired at the end of 2022.

Extending the 199A deduction, along with passing the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act — which garnered overwhelming bipartisan support in the House this year — would greatly benefit franchise owners. This legislation would increase the amount of interest owners can deduct from their income taxes, offer temporary bonus depreciation for the purchase of equipment and short-lived capital assets and include other pro-business and pro-worker provisions.

These actions would provide small business entrepreneurs with a competitive edge over large corporations and demonstrate that Vice President Harris is committed to addressing the needs of the small business community. She can chart a new path and extend an open hand to the business community by putting the politics aside and commit to extending a policy they have come to rely on. Without action, every business owner in country wakes up on January 1, 2026, facing a tax increase.

Related: Learn the Secrets of Running 20+ Businesses as a Side Hustle — Finding and Nurturing Your ‘STIC People’

Increase lending limits at the SBA

Fourth, increase lending limits at the Small Business Association (SBA) and boost access to the 7(a) Working Capital Pilot (WCP) program. During her acceptance speech, Harris pledged to, “provide access to capital for small-business owners and entrepreneurs and founders.” Launched earlier this year, WCP is a line of credit product that features an annual guaranty fee structure that works to offer greater flexibility than a traditional term loan to meet specific business needs.

Accessing capital is increasingly challenging in such a high-interest rate environment. The SBA pitched the concept as a means of breaking down barriers seeking to start their own pathway to entrepreneurship, where the franchise model is poised to continue playing a major role.

Related: Find Out Which Brands Have Ranked on the Franchise 500 for Longest, Earning a Spot In our New ‘Hall of Fame’

Outline a future for the Federal Trade Commission

Finally, Harris should outline a future for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that includes a modernization of the Franchise Rule, a federal regulation solely enforced by the FTC that governs the sale of a franchise. Currently under review by the FTC, the Franchise Rule hasn’t been updated since 2007 — the same year the first iPhone was introduced.

Research published in the Wall Street Journal showed it took more than 20 years of education to understand a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), and a federal investigation found many prospective franchisees did not read the disclosures at all. This needs to change, especially during the pre-sale process when a prospective franchisee is deciding whether to invest significant financial resources in a franchise.

A Harris administration would be wise to course-correct the FTC to foster entrepreneurial development in franchising and double-down on the true mission of the FTC — to protect consumers and prospective franchisees. The franchise business model encourages workforce development and small business formulation in local communities, we look forward to working with any administration and any political party toward that important goal.

Related: Is Franchising Right For You? Ask Yourself These 9 Questions to Find Out.

Matt Haller is the President and CEO of the International Franchise Association (IFA). Greg Flynn is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Flynn Group and Flynn Properties, and an IFA Board Member. With 2,700+ Applebee’s, Taco Bells, Paneras, Arby’s, Pizza Huts, Wendy’s and Planet Fitness units generating $4.7+ billion in sales and employing 75,000+ people in 44 states and 3 countries, Flynn Group is the largest franchise operator in the world.

Your business may be running on Windows 10, but that operating system has practically run its course. Come October 2025, Microsoft is discontinuing support for Windows 10, but you have a chance to upgrade in advance ahead of your competitors.

The Ultimte Microsoft Bunde is your way of staying ahead of the curve and giving your budget a break. This Microsoft Bundle comes with Windows 11 Pro and a lifetime license to Microsoft Office 2021 Pro for Windows, so you can upgrade your system and cancel that costly Microsof 365 subscription, and it’s only $49.97 for the whole bundle.

Why change what works?

Windows 11 Pro gives you a streamlined, user-friendly interface with features like snap layouts and virtual desktops, which improve multitasking and help organize your workspace more effectively. This operating system includes advanced security features like BitLocker encryption for safeguarding your data, Windows Defender for real-time threat protection, and Secure Boot to prevent unauthorized access.

For professionals, Windows 11 Pro also supports remote desktop connections and integration with Azure Active Directory, providing secure access to your business network from anywhere. With a lifetime license for both Office 2021 and Windows 11 Pro, this bundle is a valuable investment that ensures your business operations are efficient, secure, and future-proof.

Microsoft Office 2021 Professional is a powerful suite that includes essential applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, Onenote, Publisher, and Acces. Word offers advanced editing and formatting tools to create detailed and polished documents, while Excel’s enhanced data analysis features include advanced formulas, pivot tables, and data visualization options to streamline financial analysis and reporting.

The ribbon-based interface facilitates easy navigation and customization, allowing for efficient workflow and document management. Install each of these apps on one device one time with no recurring costs or subscription fees.

Get a Lifetime License to Microsoft Office Pro 2021 for Windows and Windows 11 Pro for $49.97.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Looking for a new role or career that aligns with your personality? A recent report from Resume Genius takes common personality types and maps them to job options using wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Resume Genius used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test, which separates people into 16 different types based on a combination of eight traits: introversion (I) and extroversion (E), sensing (S) and intuition (N), thinking (T) and feeling (F), and judging (J) and perceiving (P). An INTJ personality type, for example, would identify more with introversion than extroversion, and associate more with intuition, thinking, and judging.

Even though the Myers-Briggs test has been criticized for being vague, general, and pseudoscience, 88 of the Fortune 100 have still used it for staff development. Marriott, Ernst & Young, and the U.S. Air Force have all tapped into it, according to Myers-Briggs.

“By using your Myers-Briggs personality as a factor in your career exploration and decisions, you are much more likely to find work that aligns with your natural ways of deriving energy, noticing the world around you, making decisions, and engaging with the world around you,” Helen Roy, Certified MBTI Professional and HR Total Rewards Senior Consultant at SAP stated in the report.

Related: This Couple’s Weekend Side Hustle Began With a $50 Facebook Marketplace Purchase — Now It Earns Millions of Dollars a Year: ‘You Don’t Need Money to Start’

Though the report claims to find the highest-paying job by personality type, the salaries range considerably, from $239,200 to $52,910. The option recommended by the study may not be the end-all-be-all highest job you can find with a certain personality type — but could be a good starting point.

“Whether you’re introverted or extroverted, the key is to find positions that match your strengths and allow you to contribute meaningfully,” Resume Genius executive director Ed Huang stated in the report, adding that “top-earning jobs exist for every personality type.”

Here are the jobs with the highest median wage for every personality type.

1. ISTJ — Doctor

Annual median wage: $239,200

Number of jobs (2022): 816,900

2. ESTJ — Lawyer

Annual median wage: $145,760

Number of jobs (2022): 826,300

3. INTP — Information security analyst

Annual median wage: $120,360

Number of jobs (2022): 168,900

4. ENTJ — CEO

Annual median wage: $103,840

Number of jobs (2022): 3,787,800

5. ENFJ — Sociologist

Annual median wage: $101,770

Number of jobs (2022): 3,300

6. INTJ — Architect

Annual median wage: $93,310

Number of jobs (2022): 123,700

7. INFJ — Psychologist

Annual median wage: $92,740

Number of jobs (2022): 196,000

8. ISFJ — Nurse

Annual median wage: $86,070

Number of jobs (2022): 3,172,500

9. ENTP — Industrial designer

Annual median wage: $76,250

Number of jobs (2022): 32,400

10. ISTP — Detective

Annual median wage: $74,910

Number of jobs (2022): 808,700

11. INFP — Author

Annual median wage: $73,690

Number of jobs (2022): 151,200

12. ESFJ — High school teacher

Annual median wage: $65,220

Number of jobs (2022): 1,072,300

13. ESTP — Firefighter

Annual median wage: $57,120

Number of jobs (2022): 334,200

14. ISFP — Artist

Annual median wage: $52,910

Number of jobs (2022): 54,600

It’s a common perception of company culture; images of trendy startups with perks like swag, free snacks and nap pods often come to mind — a scene reminiscent of Google’s early days. However, for us at Market Veep, the value of “give generously” wasn’t initially formally part of our core ethos. It wasn’t until several years into our growth journey that we recognized something crucial was missing.

Here’s how we stumbled upon this realization: hiring experiences. We brought several individuals on board; it became swiftly apparent that their inclination towards generosity — be it with their time, knowledge or support for colleagues and clients — fell short of our expectations. It became a constant conversation, and we kept thinking, “shouldn’t this just be the standard of how people work with each other?” There was no denying that their values differed greatly from the company’s. It did not make them bad people, but they were not a company culture fit. That’s when it hit us: we needed to make “give generously” a core value formally. It’s now interwoven throughout our entire ecosystem..

One of my favorite interview questions is, “What is the last nice thing someone has done for you — and on the flip side, what is the last nice thing you have done to brighten someone else’s day?” Some things people have said that made my heart grow three sizes:

• Made homemade soup for their sick neighbor.
• They brought their roommate a lunch they had forgotten at home.
• Spent time with their elderly grandparents cleaning their house.
• Donating time to the local shelter.

For me, it’s not about the big gestures. It’s about the small details, the accumulation of many small “cares” that add to an embodiment of kindness and freely giving it. Similar to anniversaries, birthdays and holidays, they come around a couple of times a year — but wouldn’t you feel so special if every day felt like your birthday? Many companies we talk to say I’d love to do that, but I don’t have the budget for that. I’ll tell you a secret: it’s not about the money.

When we had no budget, we did things such as :

• Smiley balloons on employee appreciation day on everyone’s chair as a surprise when they come in.
• Post it notes on their computers.
• Take off your birthday paid time off.
• Bike rides around the complex.
• Pumpkin painting.
• Halloween contest.
• Valentine’s Day cards as a team to the people who lived at the senior center.

Here’s the beauty of it: many times, it’s the free things or minimal expenses that people end up valuing more, finding more profound connections with and building memories off of. There is a huge misconception about saving up to do one to two big things to show your team you love them, but think about all the time in between, months on end, without telling them you care. Would you not tell your kids you love them every day?

Now, things are different than before pandemic. We had a physical office, so the sky was the limit. Once the pandemic happened, it was a whole new evolution, and learning how to build a team, create happiness and give to them generously without physically being able to hand them something. It also introduced a new obstacle to measuring happiness through a computer screen. It’s a lot easier when you can read body language in person, notice if they are quieter throughout the day, etc., but when we started hiring all over the country, it made it a challenge. The pandemic taught us a lot about generosity and gratitude. As much as it was one of my most challenging times as a leader, it was also, by far, a period that taught me the most. I’ve seen the amazing character of people and their mental strength. Their ability to bind together to find solutions to difficult problems. Their kindness when there are difficult conversations. Their giving spirit when organizations barely had enough for themselves but still continued to support others.

Even when unsure of what would happen, we promised to continue giving generously because kindness always wins. Someone is always worse off, has more struggles, and needs something you may take for granted daily. Giving generously helps us stay humble and focus on others’ needs above our own. It reminds us we are fortunate.

• What it looks like now
  • Flexible hours.
  • 45 days off a year.
  • Sabbatical and a bonus for longevity.
  • Half-day Fridays.
  • Cookies in the mail for spotlight moments.
  • A 401k match.
  • Bereavement.
  • Personal time.
  • Happy hour Fridays.
  • Paid volunteer time off.
  • Medical, dental, eye.
  • Life insurance.
  • Health advocate services.
  • Work-from-home stipend.
  • Paid training and certifications.
  • Meditation as a team before the day starts.

It’s not always about presents — it’s also about understanding where someone is in life. Your team shows up to help each other and the company, but it is not the driving factor of their life. When you see someone struggling, it’s more impactful to say, “Hey, how can I help? It seems like you have a lot going on. It’s just work. We’re not heart surgeons. Please get offline and take care of XYZ.” We’ve had people want to come in a day after a family member passed away, work from their family vacation or take meetings from a hospital. Respect and protect your team’s time, mental health, and boundaries. Give generously to them, and they give generously to your company, your team and your clients. Be their advocate even when they think work is more important.

Have you considered what your team needs to live a generous life? What makes them feel appreciated? How can your company build deeper relationships and help them live their best lives? Think about the moments in your life where you felt the most cared for, supported and ultimately most appreciated. Because no one ever says, “I want to work someplace where I don’t feel appreciated.” Then, take it one step further and ask your team. Start a dialogue, and you’ll be amazed at how creative and thoughtful the ideas will be. Keep your focus on giving generously, and you can’t go wrong.