New employees are easy to engage given the fair amount of attention they receive at the outset. They’re likely to be welcomed with open arms and treated to meetings with executives who explain the company’s mission, vision and goals; reinforce their value to the company; and introduce them to their respective departments to meet their managers
As we start the new year, I was struck by the following words of the late comedic actor, writer, and producer Harold Ramis. They’re from a speech he gave during a Thanksgiving service at Am Shalom back in 2006, and his message is still relevant today. (Special thanks to Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein for his permission to share it here.) “When
Unlike his more whimsical writing, here’s a special Dr. Seuss poem. (It’s one of my favorites.) A Prayer for a Child by Dr. Seuss From here on earth, From my small place I ask of You Way out in space: Please tell all men In every land What You and I Both understand … Please tell
He’s a writer of a popular blog, a book author, and sports freak. He’s cofounder of a growing nonprofit that helps others live better. He’s an in-demand speaker for audiences that range from elementary schools to universities to pharmaceutical companies. He loves to travel with his girlfriend and his family. He’s Shane Burcaw, and his
“What a good helper you are!” my mother would say to a young child carefully handing boxes of cereal from the grocery shopping cart to be placed on the check-out counter. I’ll never forget the smiles on the child’s and parents’ faces when my mother would compliment them. Similarly, smiling at the cashier and fellow
Need to create an engaged workplace? While workshops, webinars, and articles abound on the subject, it takes more than just buying into the value and practice of engagement to be effective. It’s also important to understand who is actually responsible for engagement in the workplace. Engagement is a responsibility shared by both employees and employers: Employees are
In honor of National Customer Service Week (observed the first week in October), here are three amazing stories told by customers — all marketing professionals — who experienced and analyzed them. They represent different situations that share a common theme. Customer experience #1: “I walked into an Eckerd Drug Store to buy a sympathy card. Before
My recent post about Zoltan Merszei‘s message on organizational strategy included developing a “vision of what’s to come” as “the ultimate insurance of success.” Articulating and sharing a well thought out vision certainly contributes to success, but it’s not enough. It also takes a leader who knows how to effectively engage and connect employees with the leader’s
The yellowing, decades-old piece of paper I found in my files featured this striking advice from Zoltan Merszei, former executive at Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Dow Chemical Company. Merszei wrote it “as a reminder that we need to protect people from too much organization, while never destroying the organization itself.” His message is still relevant: Always
Picture this: a well-known brokerage firm recovering from a major scandal is faced with increasing losses and decreasing brand confidence. A well-intentioned attempt to rally its “dispirited” employees backfires and results in further disengagement. Here’s the true and sad story as told to me recently by a former employee. “I remember sitting at my mahogany