As an employer, it is always difficult to say goodbye to great people. These are the people that not only contribute to the success of your company, but more importantly make the work fulfilling and enjoyable.

I have been very lucky. I have hired some fantastic people – people who have always delivered, been creative, energetic and committed. The fact that I have worked with these people has enriched my life and for that I feel very privileged.

It is interesting that in all the talk about employee engagement many employers fail to recognize that sometimes it is better for your best people, if they leave. Did I say that?

What am I talking about?  The best people should leave if:

1. They feel there is no longer room for growth and development. While every employer tries to create opportunities to grow and develop their people sometimes there just aren’t enough opportunities to develop and grow your best people further. Sadly, if this is the case, it is better for the individual to seek employment where they can continue to grow and flourish.
2. The firm is not heading in a direction that inspires the individual. Often firms have to shift direction under pressure. They move from a focus on growth to a focus on cost-cutting. This unfortunately can leave the best people feeling unfulfilled or de-motivated. Certainly, it is not good for either party if the work is not inspiring, fulfilling or motivating.
3. The work becomes mundane and effortful. Yes, it is true – sometimes a company must take work that is not interesting or shall I same mundane. While, every employer will seek to ensure their best people are receiving work that inspires them – in an economy such as this companies are often forced into positions where their best people end up doing assignments that don’t engage and inspire them.
4. The person needs a change. Sometimes change is good. In large companies it is often easy to provide individuals with the change and role that they yearn for. But in smaller companies it is more difficult to provide everyone with the change they may desire. If this is the case the individual should seek an environment that enables them to seek the change they desire.

While, I am certainly NOT advocating that a company should set itself up to lose its best people. That would be completely contrary to everything I believe. Having said that, sometimes, like our children, we have to let our employees go and find the fulfillment, passion and change they desire.

Thoughts?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I have subscribed to the most interesting blog called the Marketer Who Went Off Consumption. Why would Gaurav Mishra a twenty-something, single, eligible, IIM-educated, upwardly mobile marketer on the corporate fast-track in India’s business capital decide to go ‘off consumption’ for a year?  

Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I know academics have been talking about the talent crisis for what seems like years but the power shift is coming. We are starting to see a subtle shift of power from employer back to the employee.

Over the years, we have spent a great deal of hours speaking with employees. We often talk about how engaged they are in their work and what they expect from a company and its leaders. What is particularly interesting is that what employees often focus on is how they perceive themselves to be treated by the senior leaders at the company. Below I cite some examples of what employees have complained about to our team…

Posted by Judy McLeish at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It is interesting that the companies are still having trouble finding ways to engage Gen Y. I know we have been harping on this reality for quite sometime – but I can’t help but wonder whether or not companies are really listening to employees.

I am the worst kind of vendor – a consultant! But having said that, I can certainly tell a lot about the level of employee engagement and the quality of the customer experience by the way your employees treat me – as a vendor.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Nearly every organization is focused on trying to engage employees. Many are focused on the traditional levers of engagement, but how many are focused on helping employees create positive and meaningful lives?

What am I talking about? Did you know that in an average day the average person runs about sixty thousand thoughts through his or her mind! What is really amazing about this statistic is that nearly 95 percent of those thoughts are the same as the ones that the individual thought of the day before. And what is more interesting about this statistic is that a majority of these thoughts are negative.

Some of these thoughts include fretting over their families or childhood slights. Others are work related with the individual replaying interactions with co-workers or managers over and over in their heads. The individual constantly runs over negative scenarios in their head and replays them over and over. For example, they ask themselves: what did my Manager mean by that? Why did I get passed over for a promotion? What if I had done this? Why did my co-worker ignore me? Why didn’t that Leader say hello this morning.

We all know engagement is a two-way street. From the employers’ perspective, it is about getting the most out of their employees. From the employees’ perspective it is about being accountable to themselves and to the organization in which they work.

This article will focus on the fact that employees must be accountable. So what does it mean to be accountable? Accountability means having the responsibility and authority to act and fully accepting the natural and logical consequences for the results of those actions.

Contrary to popular belief, accountability is not something that you make people do. Rather, people must buy into being accountable and responsible. That’s right – it starts with the employee themselves!

Employees should look at accountability as a statement of personal promise. A pledge or an obligation to themselves and to others to deliver specific, defined results as defined by their role and responsibilities within their workplace.

So how can employees start to become more accountable?

• Hold yourself accountable to a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never make excuses for yourself and always strive to be and deliver more than is expected.
• Be an ambassador of your company both inside and outside of the workplace. As an employee part of being accountable means that you will take the time to understand what your brand stands for and how you can accurately represent it every time you interact with your colleagues and your customers.
• Take personal responsibility for your role and responsibilities within your organization. One of the most important elements of accountability is that as an employee you understand your role, responsibilities and how you will be measured. So take the time to understand what is expected of you, review your performance plan and talk about what success looks like with your Manager.
• Take accountability for managing your own career. Only you can decide what your future will be. It is up to you to plan your career path so that in the not so distant future you will be where you want to be. Along the way, you must be responsible for ensuring that you grow, learn and acquire the new skills and knowledge that you will need to reach your career goals. Remember, there are NO excuses – it is up to you.
• Ask yourself the following questions: “Do I always take personal responsibility, especially when things do not go well?” or “Do I tend to blame others first or the extenuating circumstances when things do not go well?”  Being responsible means that you have to take the bad with the good and remember, you can learn from your mistakes and celebrate your successes.
  

Posted by Judy McLeish at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) released a very interesting report titled China Vs the World. The ILM research featured in this reported explored some fundamentally important questions about management across the globe.

It put a range of key questions to managers in four of the world’s leading economies – the UK, US, France and China. What makes a great manager? What are managers good and bad at? How well do you understand managers in other countries? How good are your fellow managers? What improvements would make you a better manager?

The research findings are very interesting.

• Western Managers views of the Chinese Managers are still rooted in the past. When asked they often portray China as an authoritarian, sweat shop economy, fond of bending rules, such as those on intellectual capital and property rights and with scant regard for the environment or concepts such as corporate social responsibility.
• The research paints a very different picture of the Chinese Manager. Chinese Managers have a high regard for rules, are customer focused, and concerned about safety and their impact on the environment. They are ethical, principled and value team work. Above all they value wisdom and knowledge, and while willing to acknowledge weaknesses are also determined to correct them.
• The ideal manager as revealed by the research is – determined to get things done, has good communication skills, good general knowledge, wisdom and the ability to learn, takes responsibility and enjoys good relationships with others.
• Western Managers appear to be growing complacent in both critical self appraisal of their competencies and their approach to management education.
• Reflection and self-awareness are essential ingredients for managers who want to get better at what they do. Worryingly, over 65% of the managers questioned in the UK, US, and France were unable to identify management weaknesses in the business that they felt could be holding back development. The Chinese managers were very clear about the areas in which they needed to improve.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Jennifer Kelly:

While there is little doubt a workplace that fosters democracy by giving employees a voice and a stake in the outcome of their work engages employees. However, there is a great deal of debate as to whether organization democracy is a realistic and achievable goal in the workplace.   

Democratic governments throughout the world have at one time or another struggled with the best way to implement a “government for the people, by the people” so it shouldn’t be too surprising that there is a resistance to the concept within the corporate world. 

James Hayton wrote a very interesting blog post on the type of things that may make an employee say “I have a great employer”. He uses the example of Little Miss Matched a company that has turned sock buying into something remarkable.

By Jennifer Kelly 

According to recent study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the Center of WorkLife Law at the University of California, both Canada and the U.S. lag behind the majority of developed nations when it comes to having statutes in place to allow for flexible work arrangements. 

This means that neither country has federal legislation related to flexibility around work hours.  Sometimes referred to as “family-time” legislation, the idea is to provide parents and caregivers (employees caring for elderly parents or someone disabled) options related adjusting their work hours.  Examples include allowing parents/caregivers to move to part-time work, adjust the time they start/finish work or refuse overtime because of childcare/caregiver responsibilities.
  
Governments overseas cite falling birthrates and the pending retirement of older workers as one of the main drivers for introducing legislation to make it easier for caregivers to reduce their work hours.  While there is no hard evidence to support a co-relation, during the past 10 years, the number of female workers in the U.S. aged 25 to 54 has stalled.  However, 19 of the 20 other countries surveyed (which do have legislation) saw an increase in women workers in the same age bracket during the same period.  In the U.S., the issue has become so mainstream that both Democratic presidential nominee contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton voiced their support for legislation allowing flexible work hours during their respective nomination campaigns. 

There is a great article in the Globe & Mail this morning about benefits and the value to the individual receiving them. The article describes an Executive who received a golf club membership from his company, but hated golf and wanted either the cash or to join a curling club. The company refused his request.

By Jennifer Kelly 

Customers Are Guests NOT Passengers

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)