Tag: books

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Engagement

Free Gifts for Nonprofit Managers

Here are several resources you can use now and in the New Year to help advance your organization’s mission:

These are gifts that are meant to be shared … enjoy!

 

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing Training & Development

What Still Matters: Three Years Later

I’ve been so busy traveling the past few weeks, I forgot to celebrate the third anniversary of my book’s release. Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care was published in October 2007, and sales are still going strong – despite the economy and because of it. As companies struggle to hold onto their business in this downturn, employee and customer engagement are more critical than ever.

In the past three years I traveled coast–to-coast to speak with business and nonprofit professionals who want to strengthen this engagement through internal marketing. What surprised me most is that while I met with marketing and human resources staff (as expected), my audiences were also filled with engineers, nonprofit managers, social workers, association executives, healthcare practice managers, municipal administrators, educators, and software consultants. They willingly shared “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of workplace engagement. (Little shocks me anymore … at the same time, I continue to be encouraged to hear what works.)

Looking back over the past three years, here’s what I’ve learned from these diverse audiences:

  1. Engaging employees and customers with internal marketing is intuitive, but not intentional enough – managers need reminders to “take care of employees to take care of customers.”
  2. Even with restructuring/downsizing/hierarchical flattening, too many organizational silos remain – employees continue to feel disconnected and disenfranchised.
  3. Management-by-wandering-around (MBWA) is making a comeback – while this practice isn’t as popular as it used to be, it hasn’t gone out of style.

Employees want and need to feel their work matters. Together with customers, they want to know that they are respected and valued.Why is this so difficult?

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Categories
Engagement

“The Art of Engagement”

I scout out and read a lot of employee engagements books to recommend in this blog and my workshops. My latest recommendation is The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gaps between People and Possibilities by Jim Haudan, CEO, Root Learning. This book provides a framework to bridge the great divide that exists between organizational strategy and execution: specifically, how to effectively implement strategy “through” (rather than “despite”) people by ensuring that people actually understand and embrace a company’s business strategy. (What a concept!)

Setting the foundation for his engagement framework, Haudan explores the roots of engagement as being based on four qualities that people want:

  1. to be part of something big, something special, so that their work is associated with a “sense of substance, importance, pride, and direction”
  2. to feel a sense of belonging, a sense of connection
  3. to go on a meaningful journey, so that their work is invested in something that matters
  4. and to know that their contributions make a significant impact or difference, that their efforts matter.

He also uncovers the reasons for disengagement and disconnection based on listening to employee “voices from the trenches.” Employees can’t be or stay engaged when they:

  1. feel overwhelmed with too many or conflicting directives from management
  2. don’t understand what the business is all about, what’s expected of them
  3. are afraid that their work isn’t valued or don’t feel it’s safe to speak up
  4. don’t see how the various parts of the business connect (“the big picture”)
  5. don’t have a sense of ownership of business issues and aren’t fully involved in problem-solving and offering ideas.

Haudan recognizes that every organization has major gaps (“canyons”) between its leaders (“who see what need to be done but don’t have their hands on the levers of change”), its workforce (“who have their hands on the levers of change but can’t see the big picture”), and its managers (“hopelessly caught in the middle”). Here’s a great description of the situation:

In reality, leaders almost always conceptually outrun their engagement and execution supply lines. … Leaders spend months and months developing a strategy – considering, contemplating, contrasting, and dismissing all the alternatives and possibilities for future success. When they’re finally done, they usually craft this into a “strategy-in-a-box” and ship it off to their people. Then the leaders wonder why their employees don’t get excited about it immediately. Their employees can’t realize how critical the strategy is because they have no idea what went into its creation.”

So, how do you bridge these canyons? Haudan provides specific recommendations for leaders, managers, and individuals that include:

  1. creating a “line of sight” that links organizational strategy to employee efforts
  2. connecting individual – team – and organizational goals
  3. developing capabilities at all levels of the company so it can execute strategy.

These recommendations involve helping employees understand the organization’s reality by creating visual “learning maps” of the company’s internal and external pressures – so they can better see and connect to the “big picture” of where the company is and what it needs to move forward, building employee ownership in the process.

Categories
Engagement

Questions on Employee Engagement

Before you can find the right answers, you need to ask the right questions. And that’s just what you get in this free e-book, Engaging Questions: The Question is the Answer, from the Employee Engagement Network.

Whether you need to begin the dialog or explore a specific issue related to employee engagement in your workplace, this e-book is a great source of more than 100 thought-provoking and starter questions.

Here’s a sample:

  • Who is responsible for employee engagement? (from Art Bingham, p. 22)
  • What would you need to see from management, so you would know that they were as engaged as they want you to be? (from Christine Dunn, p. 39)
  • What things do people in your work group do that make you feel connected to your company? (from Tim Houlihan, p. 26)
  • When we hire new employees, how can our onboarding process maintain the enthusiasm they have when they accept a position? (from Peggy Foster, p. 8)
  • Beyond knowing how many employees work in the company, do top managers know many employees are actually contributing to the company’s success? And what can they do to ensure the second number equals the first? (my question, p. 15).
Categories
Engagement

“Re-Engage” Book Giveaway


 I have an extra copy of the new Re-Engage book that I’m happy to give away to someone in the U.S. or Canada. Just post a comment here as to why you’re interested in this book, and I’ll choose a winner (subjectively, of course).

Here are the details for this book giveaway:

  • Post a comment on this blog entry by April 30, 2010, in response to completing this statement: “I want to read this book because …”
  • I’ll select the winner based on what I think is the best response and will notify him/her by email on May 3, 2010, with a request for a delivery address for the book. If I do not receive an email reply with contact info by May 10, 2010, I will choose an alternate winner.
  • I’ll post a follow up comment here announcing the winner’s name.
  • Due to mailing costs, this book giveaway is only available for residents in the U.S. or Canada.

I look forward to your entries. Good luck!

Categories
Engagement

How to Re-Engage Employees

“It’s sad, really, how a negative workplace can impact our lives and the way we feel about ourselves. The situation is reaching pandemic heights – most people go to work at jobs they dislike, supervised by people who don’t care about them, and directed by senior leaders who are often clueless about where to take the company.”  – Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld

But there is hope! And you can find it in Branham & Hirschfeld’s new book, Re-Engage: How America’s Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times. The authors analyzed millions of surveys from more than 10,000 employers in Quantum Workplace’s massive database used to identify the “Best Paces to Work.” They share the critical clues and insights they found that distinguish what some companies are doing to create and maintain a winning workplace despite a chaotic business climate.

Their analysis revealed six universal drivers of employee engagement:

  • Caring, competent and engaging senior leaders
  • Effective managers who keep employees aligned and engaged
  • Effective teamwork at all levels
  • Job enrichment and professional growth
  • Valuing employee contributions
  • Concern for employee well-being.

Each driver is described in depth and illustrated by winning companies that exemplify these drivers. The authors also share the “voice” of employees working in positive and negative situations with quotes about what employees like and what frustrates them on the job.

What makes Re-Engage particularly relevant is that the authors also provide guidance in the wake of major challenges to workplace engagement, particularly:

  • when a company grows in size (“diseconomies of scale”)
  • increasing workforce age diversity (“generational diversity”)
  • the continuing economic crisis (“turbulent times”).

Recognizing that workplace engagement is not the sole responsibility of managers, Branham & Hirschfeld also devote a chapter to what employees can do for their own self-engagement.

Every once in a while, you find a business book that’s truly rich in insight and guidance – Re-Engage is one such book, and I highly recommend it.

 

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing Spotlight: SNVC (Part 2)

This post continues my interview with Beth Miller-Herholtz, SNVC’s VP of Corporate Communications, about how her company handles employee engagement and recognition.

QSM: What is your biggest challenge in maintaining a strong organizational culture?

Beth: I think the biggest challenge is also one of our biggest strengths. We have eight unique contracts, and that means eight unique clients … So when we look at our organization culture, we have to consider how our initiatives will be received in the different client cultures.

QSM: How do you effectively engage employees when they spend most of their time working at the client site?

Beth: In our industry, where most of our personnel are onsite with our government client, it’s very easy to build loyalty to the client and forget about the company behind you. To help answer our questions, we turned to Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton’s book, The Carrot Principle, for some insight and guidance. It became the basis for our Awards and Recognition Program. We began to emphasize, both in words and in actions, that the total value of a career is a comprehensive package that includes competitive compensation and benefits along with career development, work/life balance, and an environment that welcomes everyone with talent and determination to be the best. The Recognition Program provides the means to put our words into action — action that celebrates and rewards talent, determination, and innovation.

We incorporated awards to recognize people in key areas – Thought Leadership, Career Service, Professional Development, Innovation, and Special Incentives – all of which contribute to personal growth and corporate growth. Our program is peer-based, so anyone can recommend someone for doing great work or going the extra mile. It incorporates flexibility in that the rewards can be gift cards, W2 compensation/bonuses, or leave hours. Recognition of the individual is done as quickly as possible; in fact, that is a metric we track – how close to the action that deserved the recognition can we say “thanks” or “well done”. Where possible, we engage our client in the recognition, too, so that they see the company behind the employee who is providing that outstanding support. In addition, we announce awards in our monthly e-newsletter, which often includes photos and videos of the event.

QSM: I appreciate your sharing SNVC’s model of engaging employees through recruitment, retention, and recognition. It’s obvious you take great pride in your work at SNVC. Any closing comments?

Beth: Ultimately, our corporate values of Leadership, Commitment, and Integrity are the same three values that laid the foundation for the company back in 1998. Our culture embraces the fact that we remain focused on service to our nation, knowing that our end user is the warfighter, the defender of our homeland. Of that, I think I am most proud.

QSM: Thanks, Beth!

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Employee Engagement Advice for Managers

The new Employee Engagement e-book is now available to help managers and business leaders who want to better engage their employees. It features a compilation of concise advice and helpful tips written by members of the Employee Engagement Network. I was happy to contribute to the book (see page 22), although it was a challenge to select and share engagement advice in a single sentence!

Like its companion book on Employee Engagement, this book is free. So what are you waiting for? Download your free copy and circulate the advice. We need all the help we can get to try to reverse the decline in job satisfaction.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Whatever Happened to Job Satisfaction?

The latest Conference Board report on job satisfaction isn’t good – only 45% of those surveyed say they’re satisfied with their jobs (based on a sample of 5000 US households).

Not a shocker considering the current economy. I know many people unhappy with their work – due to constant downsizing of resources (one can only ‘do more with less’ for so long) and lack of leadership in uncertain times. These folks are just waiting to bolt when the economy improves and better jobs become available.

What surprised me, however, is this latest survey shows an overall decline in job satisfaction over the past 20 years – including times when the economy was robust.

According to The Conference Board:

“The drop in job satisfaction between 1987 [the first year of this survey] and 2009 covers all categories in the survey, from interest in work to job security and crosses all four of the key drivers of employee engagement: job design, organizational health, managerial quality, and extrinsic rewards.”

On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. For more than 30 years now I’ve been advocating internal marketing as a way to engage employees and customers.

I’m not sure what the answer is … perhaps growing attention to the study of employee engagement will help reverse this trend. In the meantime, I try to find and learn from the folks who enjoy their workplace. And when that seems to be a challenge, I page through Zappos’ Culture Book to keep from getting discouraged.

 

 

Categories
Musings

What a Decade!

All the media’s Best/Worst lists of the previous decade prompted my own look back at 2000-2009. It was a great decade for me professionally and a mixed one personally.

Professional Highlights

  • My book on internal marketing, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care, was published in 2007 by WME Books.
  • My business, Quality Service Marketing, reached a milestone in 2008 – 20 years in business!
  • I met wonderful people who attended my speaking engagements & training workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada. This travel also enabled me to reconnect with many dear friends and colleagues.
  • I started this business blog in 2005 as my first foray into social media, and it allowed me to establish new relationships around the globe.
  • I expanded my learning and expertise from my work with terrific clients and support from colleagues.

Personal Highlights

  • The profound loss of my beloved parents, brother, and father-in-law (April 2006 through December 2007)
  • Celebrating 35 years of marriage with my husband Michael in 2009, and I’m looking forward to the next 35 years with him!
  • Son Jason’s college graduation in 2004 (even with his moving back home) and his recent engagement to Ashley (which means we’ll return to empty-nest status sometime soon?!)