It's Hard to Say Goodbye to Great Employees!

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:

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.
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.
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.
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)

Marketer Sets Out To Experience Consumption-Free Living!

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?

What will a year off consumption do? Leave him ill-equipped to handle life and work in Mumbai or leave him with invaluable insights about what drives our consumption? My feeling it will be the latter. Today, he will do something radical to start off his journey to a consumption-free world. He will walk out of his house with a few bags and will give away everything else he owns to someone for free! Well not exactly free, the person must tell an interesting story about what they will do with his “stuff”.

Have I caught your attention? He goes on to say that we actually derive our sense of identity basically in four ways — from the things we own, from the experiences we have, from the people we relate to, and from the things we create.

Sometimes, all the four elements of our identity are in sync (and we are happy). Often, the things we own enable us to have meaningful experiences with the people we relate to. Sometimes, the things we own even become the tools with which we create things and discover meaning.

There are times, though, when there are trade-offs, when the things we own stop us from experiencing life, relating to people, or creating meaning (and we are unhappy). Two such related trade-offs are the time/ money trade-off and the experiencing/ owning trade-off.

So why not give it all away and eliminate the experiencing/owning trade-off and the time/money trade-off. That is exactly what will happen today – July 20^th when he selects ONE lucky winner.

To read more about this interesting story click here. But please before clicking, think about what he is saying. How many of us have really thought about what he is saying? After reading his blog, I certainly thought more about what I own; the experiences that I have; the people I relate to; and the things I create…

Thanks for the inspiration!

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

Power Shifts to the Employee! Are You Ready?

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.

What are we talking about? Take the recent class action suit launched in Canada by a teller from CIBC. Dara Fresco, who earns in a year what CIBC’s president makes in a day, launched a class action suit against the bank for unpaid overtime. While this trend is not new – what is new is that HR departments in nearly every company are working overtime combing through time sheets, worried that they too, could face costly legal battles from what they have traditionally not valued – the frontline worker!

The dirty little overtime secret is rearing its ugly head….what else can companies fear as the little person recognizes that they have the power to launch class action suits against what were once considered untouchable employers like Walmart, IBM, KPMG, Scotiabank, and so on.

What is the point of this article?

We have been focused on driving employee engagement as a company for quite sometime. We have talked about showing employees appreciation, giving them career opportunities, showing that you care for them and a variety of other drivers that all contribute to having an engaged workforce.

But what companies can’t overlook is the #1 rule. Treat employees fairly, justly and consistently first and foremost.

As Dara Fresco correctly points out - she believes she is entitled to more than a simple thank you from the bank. She believes she should be fairly and equitably compensated for all of the hours that she works. And frankly why shouldn’t she be? To drive engagement employees must be treated fairly and consistently – it’s just that simple.

Companies should watch these cases carefully. What were once considered low-paid, replaceable frontline employees may just become a thorn in their employers’ bottom line!

The power shift is coming. We are starting to see evidence of it and it will become even more pronounced as the baby boomers exit the workforce. Employers may face increased demands from these once replaceable employees who will be NOT only demanding to be paid for overtime hours, more flexible hours, more vacation time and even higher salaries….

Are you ready?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Are You Showing Employees That You Care?

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…

The CEO didn’t send a condolence card or flowers to his secretary when her mother died;

Two senior executives walked by an employee who had a flat tire in the parking lot and didn’t offer to help;

Senior executives often ride up in the elevator or walk the hall and don’t acknowledge us, their employees, with a warm hello or even a nod.

The executive didn’t thank me for my efforts or recognize me for my work. Doesn’t he know how much effort I put into making this project a success?

It is interesting that in this day and age – companies haven’t figured out that one of the main things our employees are looking for is to feel cared for by the senior executives they work for.

For years, companies have focused on enhancing perks such as pay raises, performance bonuses and even extra vacation time. But dangling these types of incentives hasn’t moved the needle on engagement. According to Towers Perrin, employees are looking for senior management to be sincerely interested in his or her well being. I can certainly attest to the fact that employees are looking for senior executives to show they care about them based on the many conversations I have had with employees over the years.

What is interesting is that so few executives really understand that they can make or break their employees’ day, week or career. Executives are really a powerful determinant of how employees feel about themselves and their company – day-in and day-out.

If I was giving advice to the senior leadership team, I would tell them to:

Recognize that employees are watching their every move. If you pass an employee in the parking lot with a flat tire – they will feel that you don’t care about them personally. If you don’t say hello in the morning or when you see your employees – you can deflate their energy and enthusiasm to go the extra mile for your company.
Get to know as many employees as you can. Do you know the names of the spouses of your employees? Their children’s names? Their goals, dreams, stressors, what excites them and how they define success? There are NO excuses. Show an interest in their well-being - believe me it will make a difference.
Be visible and accessible. It is interesting. When asked so many leaders state that they are accessible to every employee. Yet just 44 percent of employees believe that senior management is both visible and accessible. Imagine less than half of your most valuable assets believe that executives are accessible and visible…it certainly makes me wonder what is going on in the executive suite?
Don’t lose touch with your employees. We know you are busy, but far too many executives have people take their calls, screen their email, drive them places, run errands for them, etc. They live in their corner office, travel in first class, and stay at five-star hotels. They have worked hard for these privileges; few would suggest that they don't deserve them – but far too many executives lose sight of what it is really like to be a struggling employee working for the company they are leading. Are you an executive who has lost touch?
Treat employees like they are valuable assets. Words are cheap. Too many times companies state in their annual report that their employees are their most valuable assets. However, when asked about 10 percent of employees actually believe the rhetoric and more than 50 percent believe they are treated like they are just something else to manage – that they really don’t matter.
Match your words and your actions. Sounds simple enough – walk the walk or talk the talk. But less than half of employees really believe that senior executives do what they say they will do. How can any company expect to compete and win, if their employees can’t trust what they say?
And my last bit of advice is that executives should never forget the fact that your greatest assets walk out the door every night, and what you have to hope is that they return the next morning.

Are you showing your employees that you care about them?

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

Gen Y's Want Change - What Can Firms Do?

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.

We all know that Gen Yers want change. We know that they don’t want to stay too long on any one assignment or at job for that matter. Yet, so many companies continue to fail to listen or think of innovative ways to address this reality. Talent Managers still seem shocked when a Gen Y employee walks out the door.

I had a very interesting lunch with a Gen Y the other day. This individual had been employed at Deloitte consulting and was going to pursue an MBA. After our lunch he was having his exit meeting. What I found so interesting was that even Deloitte was still trying to figure out how to manage the vast group of Gen Y’s that work for them. What is even more interesting is that Deloitte is helping other companies figure out how to engage their employees and hasn’t even figured it out for themselves…

As he rightly pointed out - how hard can it be? He proceeded to go on and suggest some very simple things that a consulting company could do to address the fact that Gen Y employees don’t want to stay in any one assignment for too long, they want change and they want to learn. As he said in our meeting, consulting firms hire people that have a high appetite for learning, are flexible and smart and then they trap them in the same role, company and assignment for years and then wonder why they walk out the door!

So what can a consulting firm (or other company) do to retain the Gen Ys?

Meet with employees every six months. Recognize the fact that after six months the employer must take the time to ask an employee how they are doing on a job assignment and whether or not they need a change.

Rotate roles within a job assignment. We know that this concept is rather foreign to consulting companies who are utlization focused. But companies need to make sure that their employees continue to learn and feel inspired and engaged by what they are doing by giving them new roles and challenges within an assignment.

Be prepared to move people around – even if it is not the most cost effective method. If an employee wants to change roles or assignments have another employee shadow them in their role for a week to ensure a seamless transition – then move the employee to something new to revitalize them.

Keep the pace fast and interesting. The worst thing for an employee is to master the role and feel that the opportunities for challenge and learning is limited. Make sure you think of ways to change the role and create new ways for the employee to learn.

Listen, listen, listen. We bet many of your employees say that they don’t matter to the firm. That it is simply utilization that you are after. If you want to retain good Gen Ys then you must learn to listen, be flexible, and offer continuous opportunities to learn.

If you aren’t willing to listen, change and innovate than don’t be surprised with this group of employees continues to walk out the door looking for the next challenge!!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

To Engage Employees - Focus on Helping them Manage Their Minds!

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.

What is interesting about these negative thoughts is that they actually prevent the individual from focusing on what is truly important – achieving their goals, objectives.

In our opinion, too many of us don’t have control over our thoughts. We let negative scenarios inhibit us from achieving more meaningful and fulfilling work and personal lives. In fact, the key to success is to be able to cut out the negative thoughts that consume so many of us.

We would argue then that in order for employees to become engaged in their work – in other words to be emotionally and psychologically engaged – they must be able to manage their minds to achieve their live long goals and aspirations. If an organization really wants engaged employees they must help their employees find meaning and fulfillment. They can do this by finding ways to help their employees:

Manage their minds;
Experience and celebrate all of the events in their lives;
Search for the positive in every circumstance whether it is in the workplace or in their personal life;
Learn and grow from their experiences and mistakes.

If you really want engaged employees maybe we need to find ways to help them erase the 95 percent of their thoughts that are being replayed over and over in their heads – most of which are useless or negative!

What do you think?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chinese Managers are a Formidable Cadre of Executives – Western Managers Beware!

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.

Click here to view the report.

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

Can Organizational Democracy Build Employee Engagement?

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.

According to WorldBlu which publishes “The WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™”, organizational democracy is “achieved when an organization uses the principles of democracy to design the way it operates daily, cultivating a workplace that enhances employee potential achieving its business goals and positively impacting the community.” As Traci Fenton, WorldBlu CEO explains, “it’s not about everyone voting, but everyone having a vote”. In other words, it’s not about employees always being able to decide what should be done - it’s about including employees in decisions about HOW things should be done. When top management makes a strategic decision, there are often many different ways of executing the strategy.

Employees who are close to a product, service or customer can provide invaluable input and information in terms of deciding how to implement a strategy. Employees are also more likely to buy in to a specific implementation plan if they own it – in other words, if they have helped to develop it.

Notable examples of companies that have embraced organizational democracy, or at least significant aspects, of it include; Southwest Airlines, Whole Foods, GE Durham Plant, Linden Lab, 1-800-GOT-JUNK and Semco, a manufacturing company in Brazil. These companies understand that organizational democracy is a key component of employee engagement and a powerful way to attract and retain top talent, stimulate innovation, and boost the bottom line.
Of the 25 companies selected for WorldBlu’s 2008 Most Democratic Workplaces:

Over half the organizations on the WorldBlu List are headed by CEOs 40 and younger.
All major industries, including manufacturing, technology, telecommunication, healthcare, media, retail and services, made this year's List.
Fourteen of the organizations sustained their place on the WorldBlu List for the second year in a row.
The entire WorldBlu List represents over $8 billion in annual sales.

WorldBlu’s goal is to see the creation of 10,000 democratic organizations around the world by 2020. Will your organization be one of them?

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

Does HR Need More Miss Matched Socks?

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.

He then goes on to ask the question:

Do we want HR functions to be remarkable or predictable and reliable?
Or do we want some combination of reliability with remarkable?

I believe we want the later. I think that we want HR to offer us something reliable and remarkable.

Here are examples of four companies that are adding a “little remarkable” to HR.

Google is world renowned for its benefits.
Deloitte & Touche ran a contest with its employees to create videos answering the question, "What's your Deloitte?" They received over 400 submissions from employees and have posted 14 videos on a Deloitte Film Fest YouTube page.
eBay provides perks like golf lessons, bike repair, and a dentist, plus prayer and meditation rooms. Four-week paid sabbaticals every five years are also offered.
Microsoft looks for innovative ways to use the web to build tighter recruiting connections between the company, current employees, and their target candidates. Some of the projects include Microsoft’s JobsBlog, View<myWorld>, and the Workin’ it at MSFT Facebook page, and SpreadtheLove, which is an internal-only site. The goal is to give prospective candidates a realistic view of what it’s really like to work at Microsoft. And the best way to do that is often through their employees’ own voices.

I agree with James, we need to see more mismatched socks!

Any thoughts?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Should Flexible Work Hours Be Legislated?

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.

While there can be little doubt surrounding the benefits of providing employees with flexible work arrangements, my question is do we really need governments to do what organizations should be doing themselves? If organizations aren’t forward thinking enough to incorporate some level of work hour flexibility into their culture, what does that say about the organization? Yes, it takes planning and coordination and it’s not always easy or convenient to do but if you allow employees flexibility around their work hours, employees will generally do the right thing for an organization - if the organization does the right thing for them. What do you think?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Are Your Company Benefits Perceived as Benefits?

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.

The individual reluctantly took the “so called” benefit until the Canadian Revenue Agency reassessed his taxes and included the golf club fee on his income. The individual fought the CRA and won. Click here to read the article.

What does this example show us?

Companies far too often determine what constitutes a benefit to an employee, which may or may not be perceived as a benefit.
A one-size fits all benefits plan is out-dated and threatens to alienate employees who receive benefits that they either do not appreciate or don’t want.
Benefits should be selected by the individual employee and they alone should determine whether or not they want to take a “taxable benefit”.
Employee engagement will only be realized when companies start to really understand the needs, wants and dreams of their employees at the individual level and start to tailor benefits packages accordingly.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

How to Build Great WOM? It's All in the Language...

By Jennifer Kelly

As part of the Word of Mouth conference I wrote about last week, I had the opportunity to hear Richard Bartrem, the VP of Culture and Communication for WestJet speak about driving WOM through Employee Empowerment and Engagement. Richard kicked off his keynote presentation by telling us that if we heard something we liked to “rip us off” so I’m sure he won’t mind if I share some of WestJet’s unique insights and ideas.

Most people are familiar with WestJet and its “Why do WestJetters care so much? Because we’re also WestJet owners.” marketing campaign. The little airline that could has managed to do what many other airlines haven’t; success and thrive in a very competitive, highly regulated, turbulent industry. To give you an idea of just how tough an industry it is, in Canada alone, 63+ airlines have gone out of business over the past few decades. In the U.S., the number is even higher at 205+. So what is it that WestJet is doing that enables it grow and continually post positive percentage earnings?
Well, according to Richard Bartrem, in addition to WestJet’s creative and effective low lost business model, a lot of it has to do with WOM and a lot of that WOM has to do with the people who work at WestJet.

WestJet believes that one of the best sources of internal as well as external word of mouth marketing is their people. If you want to get people talking, you have to do the unexpected (ideally in a good way) for your customers as well as for your employees. Here are some examples of the WestJet philosophy.

People Want Leaders Not Supervisors

It’s a simple notation – nobody really likes to be supervised. No one wants to feel that someone is looking over their back or watching their every move. People look to leaders not supervisors for guidance, motivation, inspiration. After all, have you ever heard of a spiritual supervisor or a ‘supervisor” who will take us into the next decade or century? Regardless of whether you’re a Boomer, Gen X or Gen Y - the concept of leadership versus supervision seems to resonate and can result in a work environment that is more productive, creative and harmonious environment.

WestJetter’s NOT Employees

Call it the anti-widget movement. WestJet feels that words like “employee” “widgetizes” them. That’s why everyone who works for WestJet is a “WestJetter” not an employee and that’s why they have a People Department instead of a Human Resources Department.

Do What Makes Sense Based on the Situation

WestJet follows a “loose & tight” philosophy. They are tight where they need to be (anything related to safety) and loose where they can be. Because there aren’t a lot of hard and fast rules, WestJetter’s are empowered to make decisions. The general guideline that WestJetters follow when making a decision – does it make sense based on the particular situation?

WestJetters are encouraged to use their best judgment depending on the circumstances. As an example, CSA’s (Customer Service Agents) have full and complete authority to decide whether or not to charge an excess baggage fee.

As owners (yes, they really are owners), WestJetter’s have a vested interest in doing what’s right for the company as well as their guests, so 93% of the time CSA’s do charge for excess luggage. WestJet really believes you need to get out of the way and let people do their jobs. Sometimes they’ll get it wrong but most of time they’ll get it right. Most importantly, they don’t follow a policy to tell how to do what’s right and what makes sense.

Customers Are Guests NOT Passengers

In a continuation of the “anti-widget” theme, WestJet does not have passengers – they have guests. Passengers are like cargo, something that go from point A to point B. By contrast, guests are people. A guest is someone we invite and welcome into our homes. There is a mindset that goes with thinking of someone as a guest rather then a passenger.

The above examples illustrate how the simple use of language can have enormous impact on the way people think and talk about a company.

Perhaps the best testament to this is the story of a WestJetter who was attending a function and was asked what is was really like to work at WestJet to which he replied, “Whatever you’re heard about working at WestJet – it’s 10 times better.” Who could ask for better word of mouth then that?

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

Maybe Work Engagement is Also Tied to Pay?

Interesting article in Portfolio.com today…

In April, at the Brookings Institute in Washington, two economists from Wharton, Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers addressed the age-old question of what money can and can’t buy. Drawing on a wide range of surveys, the economists claimed that rich people are far happier than poor people, rich countries are happier than poor countries and as countries get richer they get happier.

Why all the fuss? These findings run counter to a large body of evidence that suggests that especially in rich countries, economic growth has failed to translate into greater subjective well-being.

There findings suggest that “economic growth is a very powerful force for raising well-being. It is not true that only income matters, but on average it looks like economic growth is good for happiness, even in rich countries.”

The article goes on to say – that as people and countries grow richer, each extra dollar of income buys less and less additional happiness.

I think these economists are onto something very interesting, especially when it comes to the work environment and employee engagement.

The other day we were pitching a client on our new employee engagement program. They loved the program and what it could tell them about how engaged each of their employees are with the work environment. But, what did they ask us to pull out of the program? That’s right the measure on remuneration. Why? Because they claimed that they have no room to improve any dissatisfaction related to this particular measure. Interesting, these are the lowest paid employees in the company. These are the people making minimum wage struggling to survive.

Thinking about it – wouldn’t we expect that these low wage earners would be happier if they weren’t forced to worry about money and whether or not they would continue to earn enough to feed and clothe their families….

I think the answer would be a definite yes. Maybe, we also need these economists to test some of the theories related to remuneration and happiness in the work place as well…..

Posted by Judy McLeish at 07:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Will the iPhone Revolutionize Social Media in the Workplace?

Apple recently announced the long awaited launch of its popular iPhone in Canada. Set to go on sale July 11, 2008, the new iPhone 3G will provide fast access to the “real” internet (not your cell phone providers abridged version of the internet). Users will be able to surf the web, download email, get directions, and watch video (including YouTube), even when they are on a call.

So why do organizations need to pay attention to iPhone and its capabilities? Because the iPhone takes PDA’s to a whole different level – think of a supercharged, super cool Blackberry - only better. Now think about employees bringing these supercharged, super cool devices to work with them. Employees who have previously had restricted or no access to the internet will soon be able to access it anytime, anywhere via an iPhone. Right about now, you’re probably thinking, what’s new about that? Anyone with a PDA already has the potential to access the internet (or at least parts of it) anytime, anywhere. But have you ever tried doing it? Connectivity is slow and navigation is cumbersome making accessing the internet via a PDA an unappealing option. The iPhone’s new 3G technology changes all that. Access to the internet will be quick and users will be able to log onto familiar sites such as YouTube and iTunes and receive email from multiple exchange systems like Yahoo! Mail, GMail, and AOL. Online social networking, blogs and microblogs will be at their fingertips.

Will people really use their iPhones to connect to internet? You bet. A survey by Viewpoints.com, a rating and review site, found:

48% of iPhone users frequently use their iPhones to look up specific information online, compared with 5% of other cell phone users.
45% of iPhone owners frequently use their phones to browse online, compared with only 6% of users of other brands of cell phones.

Viewpoints Network CEO Matt Moog explained that “Our research shows that the iPhone is seen more as an extension of a computer than it is of a phone.” With these statistics, it’s a sure bet that employees will be using their iPhones to access the internet and stay connected to their social networks at some point during the day.

So, what can organizations do short of banning iPhone’s in the workplace (definitely not a recommended step in relation to fostering employee engagement)?

Well, now might be a good time to take a serious look at social media and start creating some strategies and guidelines around its use.

Find a way for employees to participate and utilize the various social media outlets. Social media isn’t going away so the best thing companies can do is recognize the enormous potential and impact it can have on marketing, brand, customer experience and employee engagement and incorporate it into their strategies.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Maybe the Traditional Approach to Engagement is All Wrong? Part II

Yesterday, we had a great discussion about the notion that companies should focus their time and resources on engaging their leaders first. Why? The facts suggest that the traditional method of focusing on engaging the entire employee population has failed to yield either the desired or expected results.

If we are going to challenge the traditional methods of creating an engaged workforce, then why not also focus energy and resources on actively disengaged and poor performing employees. Why should we focus our attention here?

Every organization has between 11 – 16 percent of their workforce that can classified as poor performing employees. Many recent surveys indicate that as many as a quarter of employees can be actively disengaged. These are the employees, who for whatever reason behave as though coming to work is a fate worse than death. These are the workers that tend to spread discontent. They pull down productivity, increase churn and darken the mood and morale of everyone around them. In fact, many organizations have compared these workers to a cancer that spreads throughout the entire workplace.

We would argue that these workers are a barrier to achieving an engaged workforce. Why? Employees want these negative, bad apples dealt with. In fact, not dealing with these employees is having a direct impact on an organization’s ability to retain and engage their workforce. A failure to deal with these individual is perceived as unfair to the great majority of employees who consistently work hard at their jobs.

Effective performance management is the foundation of employee engagement. It drives accountability and demonstrates to everyone that the organization lives by its espoused values. In fact, few things are more disengaging to an employee population than a leader who fails to effectively deal with an actively disengaged employee or a poor performer.

So what can a company do to ensure that they don’t alienate their best employees by failing to deal with their most challenging ones?

Give managers the help they need to manage the disengaged and poor performers. Almost one-third of managers are regarded as lacking the ability to manage poor performers. “Managers find it easy to manage top-performing employees but are not so adept when it comes to improving poorer performers. Some of the greatest opportunities for improved organizational performance lie in helping managers raise the bar for moderate and poorer performers but it appears from our study that few employers are doing a good job of this.” Watson Wyatt
Deal with the problem immediately. Managers need to move quickly to deal with these employees because the negativity of just one individual is pervasive and destructive and can quickly spread.
Get to the root cause. To address the issue, the employer must understand the root cause. Is it a lack of skills, poor work attitude, inability to learn new tasks, or personal problems?
Put a plan in place and communicate clearly. Managers must communicate clear and precise performance expectations and standards. Review the employee’s current level of productivity and performance in relation to the established goals and develop a plan to help them improve.
Follow-up frequently. Establish a specific improvement period and follow-up. Management needs either to help employees understand they must pull their own weight and coach them to improve, or let them go.
Give timely feedback. Provide frequent, timely and relevant feedback to ensure underperformers are kept on track.
Hold leaders accountable. An organization must be willing to hold leaders accountable for dealing with individuals who affect performance, morale or employee engagement.

So remember, as you are building a plan to increase engagement - “A company’s failure to deal effectively with its few workers who are consistently disengaged or poor performers may decrease the extent to which other employees are engaged in their jobs and their companies.”

Let us know your thoughts.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

From Growing Up Online to Disconnected at Work!

A Frontline news and video report on kids growing up online is a must see. What struck me about the chapters is that something was missing. What was missing? What happens when these hyper-connected kids, who have grown up online enter the workforce? How do we keep them engaged?

We are already seeing it today. Managers are struggling with Gen Y – the most tech-savvy generation that has ever entered the workforce. But, we are now facing Gen Z – the iGeneration. And frankly, if your work environment is struggling with Gen Y – you might as well forget about being able to engage Gen Z unless you radically change the way you are operating!

These kids are always on the Internet. They have five windows open at once and are talking to three people at the same time. They are living their lives online and use the Internet and social networking sites to connect with their friends. In fact, the Internet and social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are the hub of their social life. Now imagine they enter the workplace. They are used to being online. They want to be entertained and have immediate access to information. They want to create, to have their views listened to. And yes, they want to connect constantly to their friends during working hours! Yet, far too many companies are still operating in the same way they did in the 1970s – restricting access to the Internet and the hub of their social life -facebook and MySpace. They continue to communicate with type written memos, boring newsletters, procedural documents. They aren’t creative and often default to the leadership hierarchy for innovative ideas.

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Maybe the Traditional Approach to Engagement is All Wrong? Part II

From Growing Up Online to Disconnected at Work!