A Sudbury author is releasing her second book at a northern college this month. Carrie-Lynn Hotson, an author, professor and business owner, says her latest work will help all kinds of businesses. “My new book is called VISH,” she said. “We need to value, inspire, support and hear our employees because it is essential to a business’s success.” Hotson said if business owners want to see increased productivity, retain employees and resolve internal issues, they need to value, inspire, support and hear (VISH) from workers. Employees must buy in “As business owners, we want to see a return on investment,” she said. “If we are going to spend some time or money, we want to know that it is valuable.” She added it is important that employees buy in, not only to work harder, but smarter, for the betterment of the firm. “I consider myself an organizational coach,” Hotson said. “I’ve been working with companies, teams and leaders for the last three years, and so I put a lot of their examples in the book.” The author said that each employee is different, with different needs depending upon their age and where they are in their job. “For one worker they may say I feel valued if you give me a fair wage,” Hotson said. “For someone is who has been working for you for a long time and at the top of the pay scale, valuing me might be including me in that upper management team meeting so I get to share what I think we should do.” She added that it’s important for companies to engage workers in the conversation so all parties can move the firm forward. “It is important for employees to have their own voice,” she said. “When I asked an employee if they told their employer their concerns, they said no … Employees cannot say they should know. We need to figure out what we need to share with them, and how to do it.” Hotson is rolling out her new book at Cambrian College’s eDome May 12 from 1-3 p.m. She is also holding a free workshop and people in attendance might win a free workshop.
