Categories
Engagement

Re-charging Employee Morale: Team Tips

This is the second in a series of three posts in which I feature coaching tips from business consultant-coach-authors Michelle Gall, Dawn Lennon, and Phil Gerbyshak on how to cope in this chaotic climate.

Today I feature Michelle Gall, executive coach and the author of Keep Your WITS About You: Work Smart, Be Happy, Feel Great. Here’s what Michelle had to say in response to the question:

In organizations where employees are experiencing low morale, low motivation, general malaise, etc. – due to workplace pressures and current economic conditions – what do you suggest to help people re-energize themselves and their co-workers? 

“You’ve heard it all. The market value of everyone’s retirement savings has plummeted while insomnia has soared to new heights. The economic meltdown has ridden roughshod over college funds, nest eggs, and employee morale. Just a year ago, employees had their sights set on upward mobility and corner offices, but now they’re hanging on by their fingernails just to keep what they have. Everyone knows someone who has been fired or laid-off in the last year; if you don’t, you either travel in rarefied circles or you’re out-of-touch with the American workplace.

“It’s easy to have a good attitude when things are going well, but it takes someone special to stay positive during trying times. Not just anyone can turn lemons into lemonade. That’s why bad times call for good people. You don’t need a lot of money to have fun –– just the right people. Here are a few of my favorite tips for building camaraderie and improving workplace morale:

  • Cookie Exchange: Everyone brings in a plate of one dozen homemade cookies and a paper bag. Employees then fill their paper bags with one dozen different cookies (each cookie from a different plate). In this way, employees arrive with their own cookies, but they leave with an assortment of different cookies baked by their colleagues. Everyone gives and receives. The only rule: everyone leaves with a full bag so that there are no leftover cookies.
  • Thank You Notes: This team-building exercise is a more meaningful version of “Secret Santa,” where everyone ends up with positive feedback. Each employee writes his/her name on a piece of paper and drops it into a large manila envelope. Each person then reaches into the manila envelope and picks out a colleague’s name at random. The employee then has 24 hours to write a thank you note to the colleague for behaviors and actions that s/he appreciates in that person. It’s extra convenient and fun if a variety of blank note cards are available to employees for this exercise. The notes can be unsigned and typed if desired to preserve anonymity. The next day, all the thank you cards are placed in a large manila envelope, retrieved randomly, and distributed to each employee by name for their reading pleasure.
  • Catch ‘Em Doing Something Good: The two exercises described above reward everyone, but perhaps you prefer to reward only those employees who demonstrate a particular desired behavior. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center faced this challenge when it wanted to increase hand-washing among its doctors. Their solution? The hospital empowered a posse of nurses to award a $10 Starbucks card to every physician they caught in the act of hand-washing. It may be hard to believe, but this low-cost incentive increased hand-hygiene compliance from 65% to 80%. If a $10 Starbucks card can reinforce good behavior in high-paid doctors, just think how effective it could be with lesser-paid employees at your organization for whom a stop at Starbucks is now a rare treat. [Here’s more info about the Cedars-Sinai case.]

“There are lots of variations on the above team-building exercises, and you can adjust or tailor them easily to fit your particular industry or workplace norms. These morale-boosters deliver a big bang for the buck. They cost little or nothing, and they’re easy to implement. What’s more, they also offer employees the opportunity to be creative and have fun, which helps reduce stress and enhance morale. Bad times call for good people. Be one of the good guys.”

Thanks, Michelle!

I’ll have more tips in next week’s post …

 

Categories
Engagement

Re-charging Employee Morale: Individual Tips

How can employees stay motivated in today’s chaotic business climate? I asked business consultant-coach-authors Phil Gerbyshak, Michelle Gall, and Dawn Lennon to share their suggestions for coping strategies in the workplace.

I’ll start with Phil Gerbyshak, management and identity consultant, who is also the author of 10 Ways to Make it Great! and the Slacker Manager blog. Following is his response to my question:

In organizations where employees are experiencing low morale, low motivation, general malaise, etc. – due to workplace pressures and current economic conditions – what do you suggest to help people re-energize themselves and their co-workers? 

“First, avoid commiserating with co-workers who are not energized. Negative people will suck the absolute life out of you. Instead, invest your time on the folks who lift you up, who breath life into you, and who are willing to lend a hand when you need it.

“Second, focus on what you can control and not what you can’t, and encourage others to do the same. You can’t fix the economy by yourself, you can’t make your 401(k) suddenly go up the 40% you lost last year, and you can’t make the news broadcast positive stuff instead of always focusing on the negative. What you can do is bring a lunch to work one more day a week to save a few dollars, you can bring coffee from home, you can contact a financial planner to make sure you are still investing the right way, and you can turn off the TV and stop buying the newspaper.

“Last but not least, find something new that you’ve always wanted to learn about and check out a book from the library about it. Dedicate one hour a week to learning more about this new thing, and at the end of the year, you’ll be 52 hours closer to being an expert in whatever you chose to study.

“Things may stink right now, but remember: it’s always darkest before the dawn. If you make a few small changes now, to your thinking, and to your life, when things get better, you’ll be well positioned to make your life GREAT!”

Thanks, Phil!

Stay tuned for more great advice in my next two posts …

 

 

Categories
Customer service

“Take Their Breath Away” New Customer Service Guide

Want to develop devoted customers? There’s a new book out that can help you.

Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers, by Chip Bell and John R. Patterson, describes twelve strategies and tactics to enhance your service delivery and extend customer loyalty to customer devotion. These strategies – including “Camouflage” (seamlessly inserting magic into the customer experience) … “Decoration” (engaging customers with thematic and sensory embellishments) … “Air” and “Air Defense” (critical reminders that service fundamentals can’t be taken for granted) – are packaged and presented informatively and entertainingly.

In addition to detailed descriptions and examples of each Take Their Breath Away strategy, the authors provide suggestions on how to execute these strategies to maximize competitive advantage. I particularly like their segmentation model of companies with customer service levels ranging from “customer centric” to “customer indifference.” (Too many of us have had the misfortune of dealing with companies on the lower end of this spectrum.)

While Bell and Patterson mention the importance of engaging employees in creating devoted customers (such as instilling a service vision, listening to employees, and recognizing outstanding service providers), I would have liked to have seen more depth on this topic. Nonetheless, this book is a solid guide for new customer service providers; it’s also a great reference that offers new insight for more experienced service providers.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Who is More Engaged: Nonprofit or Forprofit Employees?

An interesting question that I’m finding is a challenge to answer. My initial presumption was nonprofit staff would be more engaged because their work is mission-driven. However, I’ve also known nonprofit employees who are minimally engaged because their workplace situation turned out to be negative. So I started a quest to find research on nonprofit employment engagement and discovered there’s not much out there.

What I was able to find came from Gallup, and it surprised me. Jessica Tyler, Practice Manager in Employee Engagement, shared comparative data from Gallup’s global database with results showing employees in the nonprofit segment were actually less “engaged” and slightly more “actively disengaged” than employees in the overall database.

Commenting on this, Gallup consultant Bill McEwen noted: “It certainly appears that the employees of not-for-profit organizations, while perhaps attracted by a strong sense of mission, are often less (rather than more) engaged than the average employee. Of course, this varies by organization … as some of them are super in recognizing and energizing those who work for them, while others may pay great attention to their mission and relatively little attention to the people called upon to fulfill it.”

As Jessica aptly noted: “Connecting to the mission is just one of the [many] critical elements involved in a person or team’s engagement.” But it’s clearly not enough.

[Thanks, Jessica and Bill, for your help with this post.]

Special request

While most employee engagement research seems to include the healthcare and government sectors, I haven’t found data on other nonprofits that include social & human services, arts & cultural organizations, professional associations, education, and membership-based organizations. If you’re aware of any, please let me know.

Categories
Engagement

Employee Engagement Levels & Segmentation

What’s the difference between employees who are engaged and those who are not?

” … engaged employees stay for what they give (they like their work) [whereas] disengaged employees stay for what they get (favorable job conditions, growth opportunities, job security).”

This excerpt is from research firm BlessingWhite’s  2008 Employee Engagement Report, specifically its North American findings. (Note: You can also find highlights of their global research in the UK/Ireland, Germany, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions on their website.)

Levels of Engagement

BlessingWhite’s research also describes five employee segments that vary by the level of contribution to a company’s success and the employee’s job satisfaction:

  • The Engaged– high contribution & high satisfaction. A most desirable group, yet one that still needs attention. Employers must keep these workers engaged or risk them falling into one of the next three segments.
  • Almost Engaged– medium to high contribution & satisfaction. A valuable group within reach of full engagement.
  • Honeymooners and Hamsters– medium to high satisfaction, but low contribution. Being relatively new to the company, Honeymooners are happy to be there although they haven’t yet figured out how best to contribute. Hamsters, however, may be working hard, yet contribute little to the success of the company; i.e., spinning their wheels.
  • Crash & Burners– medium to high contribution, but low satisfaction. These workers perform well, but are disillusioned and dissatisfied with the company. They have the potential to become totally disengaged while negatively influencing other employees.
  • The Disengaged – low to medium contribution & satisfaction. This group is “the most disconnected from organizational priorities, often feel underutilized, and are clearly not getting what they need from work.” If these workers can’t be coached to higher levels of engagement, an exit strategy would benefit both employee and the company.

To learn more, check out BlessingWhite’s 2008 Employee Engagement Report that also contains management tips on how to effectively engage employees. My favorite is the one that asks managers to reflect where they find themselves on the engagement spectrum. It’s a fascinating question: how long can a manager continue to inspire and engage others when his/her own job satisfaction and contribution are below par?

Categories
Musings

Still Celebrating Administrative Professionals Day?

Next week office workers will be honored as part of Administrative Professionals Week, an event that includes Administrative Professionals Day (April 22, 2009).

Wondering how the current economic situation is affecting this holiday, I asked a friend what his office was doing for this event and he replied, “Nothing.” After watching my jaw drop, he quickly explained that he demonstrated his appreciation for his office staff year round – publicly praising them for jobs well done and taking them out to lunch or dinner to celebrate completion of a major project – and that his staff didn’t feel the need to participate in this designated event.

I found a mixed bag of responses in my unscientific poll of other friends. Several said they’ll continue to observe this “holiday” by taking their staff out to lunch (paid for out-of-pocket, not company funds) or giving a small gift of a plant or gift card. One colleague told me her office does not participate because company policy does not allow them to single out certain groups (non-exempt vs. exempt employees). Another colleague spoke with pride about how her office finds the event a good excuse to honor the office manager who provides exceptional service; she was also quick to add her firm recognizes staff (when deserved) year-round, not just during this event.

If you’ve participated in Administrative Professionals Day/Week in the past and plan to continue, what adjustments, if any, will you make this year?

Happy Birthday, Dilbert!

I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the significance of this week when Dilbert turns 20. Scott Adams unleashed this gang of comic cubicle characters to the masses on April 16, 1989. Thanks, Scott, for helping us laugh at the absurdities that (unfortunately) still exist in the workplace.

Categories
Musings

Engaging Peeps

In time for Easter, I couldn’t resist sharing these Peep links. Yes, I’m talking about THE Peeps (not the abbreviated form of “people” used today, but the confection), manufactured by Just Born in the Lehigh Valley, PA.

Disclaimer: My husband is head of the Lehigh Valley Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, and Kim Lilly, VP Marketing, wrote this fantastic Peeps post on their blog.

Because they’re manufactured here, I’m used to seeing all sorts of Peep stuff, ranging from our local newspaper’s Peeps decorating contest to Just Born’s bright yellow Peep Mobile (pictured below) …and sometimes I forget that they’re part of pop culture.  (Did you know that you can now buy Lenox Peeps?)

Whether you consume your Peeps fresh or slightly stale (which is how my husband and I prefer them) or you like to get creative with them, I hope you enjoy them!

Categories
Engagement

Gather Round: A Staff Meeting Template that Works

With e-mail dominating internal communications, staff meetings are becoming a lost art form. Here’s a meeting template that helps engage employees and minimize their passive participation.

A little background: I developed this template for a marketing communications firm that needed to bring together its creatives and administrators (aka “the suits”). With the account execs out on client or media visits and the creative staff at their desks, casual internal communications was no longer effective for this group of 12 employees.

The following hour long agenda was used in staff meetings held twice a month. This template can be adapted by other organizations to suit their needs.

  1. What’s going on – agency principals share strategies, policies, and organizational updates (approx. 10 minutes)
  2. Business development – briefly sharing information (approx. 20 minutes) on:
    1. new clients and prospects (including which account execs were involved so staff knew who to go to if a new client or prospect called)
    2. client opportunities (ideas/suggestions on “what else” can be done or offered to help clients achieve their marketing & sales goals)
    3. analysis of lost business (what happened)
  3. Campaigns in progress – brief sharing of new creative work and, if needed, existing campaign updates (approx. 15 minutes)
  4. Lessons Learned – one or two employees voluntarily share a recent work-related experience (approx. 5 minutes):
    1. Favorite Mistakes (things we did that we don’t want to repeat)
    2. Favorite Catches (good things we did that we hope to do again)
  5. Wrap up/next steps – summarizing any follow up action items (approx. 5 minutes).

The result of the new meetings was a more informed and cohesive staff who better understood the firm’s business.They also expressed a better appreciation for how their individual and collective efforts contributed to client service and satisfaction.

Categories
Engagement

From Fish to Fireside: Making Time for Employee Communications

You’d think that internal communications would be easier with company layoffs since there are fewer people to communicate with. But with the remaining employees expected to do more with less (including time), how do you maintain internal communications?

Here are several small group communications approaches & motifs that companies use:

  • “Sardine seminars” – employees share specialized skills or knowledge with each other in a condensed time frame. Think brown-bag lunches or designate a prescribed time (ranging from 20 minutes to an hour) to conduct such a session that will help bridge organizational silos.
  • Fireside chats – an informal gathering where managers can listen to employee concerns and issues. (Set up a computer screen with a burning yule log for atmosphere … and don’t forget the coffee, tea & sweets!)
  • “Studio Executive Coffee Series” – The Walt Disney Studios hosts these in which small groups of employees get to meet with senior executives to learn about what they’re working on. (You can read more about Disney’s internal communications on Melcrum’s The Source for Communicators.)

I’d love to hear about other ways companies “package” internal communications among employees as well as between management and employees. (Speed meetings, anyone?) Your ideas are welcome!

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Interview with Barry Nelson on Employee Communications & Commitment

Corporate communications expert Barry Nelson, retired founder of The Story Board, is a strong advocate of workplace journalism – a business communications approach that addresses employee concerns along with business concerns. With economic turmoil taking a toll on employee engagement, I wanted to get Barry’s perspective on how we can use employee communications to make a difference.

QSM: What’s the most important message that companies need to send to their employees to minimize disengagement?

Barry: The whole trick of getting through hard and trying change with your people still behind you emotionally is to establish a mutually caring human connection with them. Business reasoning and economic motivation aren’t unimportant, they’re just not the most powerful tools. To establish such a connection, the company can’t simply tell, but must show its staff that the company’s top management cares about them as human beings, not just work assets. That means a company must set up institutional infrastructure — policies, systems, programs — that average workers can recognize as promoting their welfare. This goodwill toward workers can’t be whimsical or dependent on the style of a boss who may be gone tomorrow — it has to emanate from and be embedded in the company itself.

A well validated body of research shows that companies where employees believe their organization (not just their direct supervisor) supports their best interests, are overwhelmingly more likely to enjoy high, across-the-board levels of employee loyalty and commitment than those where that perception is lacking. But for employees to get and maintain such a perception, they need a continuing stream of evidence that it’s so. This presents an opportunity for internal communication programs to systematically provide the needed evidence. That’s why I’ve always urged that at least a portion of the content in ongoing internal communications should be about issues employees experience in the work environment, and what the employer is doing to help. It can’t be all about management’s view of the world.

QSM: What internal communication trends do you see emerging in the coming year (or two)?

Barry: Really hard to say, but I would hope that the immensely more difficult job of maintaining employee commitment in these hard times, when work-force and perhaps pay reductions may be unavoidable, might drive our more resourceful colleagues toward more empathetic, less management-centric forms of communication. The rise of social media clearly offers that potential, as overall communication becomes more multi-directional and democratic. But without an underlying philosophy that management doesn’t have all the answers, that employee views matter greatly, even on issues not perceived from the top as central to the strategic agenda (but which could be disrupting efficiency and sapping worker vitality) — without this more humble institutional mindset, the mere implementation of new communication toys won’t do much good.

QSM: What advice do you have for smaller organizations who don’t have anyone formally responsible for employee communications?

Barry: Such an organization these days is almost surely one with a small enough work force that a high level of personal contact by the top leaders is either happening or at least possible. I’d advise those leaders, and the HR or administrative staff who support them, to remember that you lead people mainly by their feelings. And those feelings won’t run in your favor unless you show your people, often and sometimes very deliberately — going out of your way if necessary — that you genuinely care about them. There’s no more powerful communication, or one more likely to be repaid, than an act or expression of love. You don’t need a communication degree to send that message. But you do need to really feel it.

QSM: This is great advice for every manager and business communicator. Thank you, Barry!