Tag: employee engagement

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Engagement Marketing

Workplace Success Starts Here

A strong culture depends on leaders who strive for success from the inside out. They truly recognize and respect their employees and are diligent in engaging and partnering with them. Unfortunately, some CEOs only recognize their people as a “most valued asset” in the company’s annual report.

Note: Debra Semans and I will address how to build a strong workplace culture at the Internal Branding & Internal Marketing: Strategic Integration for Market Leadership program we’re presenting this week in San Francisco and again in Atlanta in February 2011.

“Companies that had a strong culture going into this terrible time over the last 18 months and companies that really do care for their employees are the ones that did much better through this difficult time.” 
– Diana Oreck, VP-Ritz-Carlton Hotel Global Learning & Leadership Center,
Marketing News interview

Re-Engage authors Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld said it best:

“If you begin your branding process by declaring an ‘aspirational brand’ without aligning it with the reality of employees’ daily work experience, you are in danger of writing a check your culture can’t cash.”

 

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Engagement

Engaging Employees in a Market-Focused Culture: Interview with Chris Brown (Part 2)

Here’s the continuation of my interview with Chris Brown, MarketCulture Strategies.

QSM: Cross-functional collaboration and support are also necessary for employee engagement. Do you find the lack of collaboration in companies is related more to the organizational structure itself, especially those with entrenched silos? Or is it with problems related to internal communications – lack of management communications training, internal politics that impede information sharing, etc.?

Chris: Poor internal collaboration results directly from poor organizational structures: rigid groupings, polarizing reward systems, competing interests, etc. Employees work and live within these structures. Their behaviors reflect them, not the other way around. It is management’s job to build and shape these structures in a way that creates adequate collaboration.

For example, W. L. Gore, the maker of GoreTex™ fabric and other specialized materials, has largely done away with formal structures. It’s one of the 200 largest private firms in the U.S., but outside the c-suite, employees do not have official titles. Work sites are kept small, below 200 employees. In lieu of formal structures, employees build informal relationship lattices to get work done across the organization. It’s a lot of work, especially for leadership, but it results in rampant collaboration by employees. To borrow a line from the “Field of Dreams”, if you build it, it (collaboration) will come.

QSM: What are some creative approaches to improving internal collaboration?

Chris: It’s a mixture of informal and collaborative structures. For example:

  • Creating cross-functional meeting structures that require regular interaction
  • Rotating employees for short periods of time to allow them to live in the other “silo”
  • Mixing functions and groups during breaks, lunches, and in the workplace layout
  • Engineering cross-functional/cross-group interdependence into reward and evaluation systems
  • Group newsletters/circulars/blogs.

Collaboration like everything else needs to be designed on purpose. It is up to the leadership to work out how to create the right conditions for it to flourish.

QSM: These are great ideas, Chris. Thanks for taking the time to share a bit of your expertise with us!

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Engagement

Engaging Employees in a Market-Focused Culture: Interview with Chris Brown (Part 1)

I’m delighted to feature Chris Brown, CEO of MarketCulture Strategies, who works with companies to create customer-focused cultures. I met Chris recently and was intrigued with his company’s mission (“Help leaders measure, enhance and maintain a strong market culture as a means of competitive advantage”) and vision (“Spark and sustain a cultural revolution that inspires employees, delights customers & rewards shareholders”).

MarketCulture offers the Market Responsiveness Index, a web-based benchmarking tool that evaluates companies on key characteristics of business performance and competitive advantage. Two of these characteristics are critical to employee engagement:

  • Strategic Alignment – how well employees “understand and enact the vision, mission, objectives and strategic direction of the company”
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration – how well employees “interact, share information, work with, and assist colleagues from other work groups.”

[Note: this is the first of a two-part interview that focuses on corporate culture and strategic alignment.]

QSM: Chris, let’s start with the big picture. How does corporate culture impact a firm’s success?

Chris: Corporate culture shapes what we do (behavior) and how we do it (performance). Culture is a tough concept for many people to get their hands around, so a simple way to think about it is ‘the way we do things around here.’ Ultimately, it is like an invisible but powerful set of expectations that influences the way people work in organizations.

QSM: Engaging employees requires that they have a clear “line of sight” to the company’s strategy, goals, and objectives. In your experience, what do you find is the biggest obstacle to achieving this strategic alignment?

Chris: The reason alignment can be an issue is simply because of change. The dynamic nature of markets means that companies need to change quickly to lead or adapt to market shifts. Strategic alignment is illusive for most because our success breeds failure. It’s human (and organizational) nature to rely on what has worked in the past. When we are successful, we don’t want to change what we are doing. Instead, focus is often shifted inward toward maximizing dollars from our current alignment. But then once the market shifts, we’re stuck focused inwardly. We’re not ready to respond, so we miss the boat.

[Note: This interview continues in my next post with Chris sharing ideas on effective internal collaboration.]

 

 

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Engagement

Observing Boss’s Day: Celebratory Lunch or Lawsuit?

Just in time for National Boss’s Day, October 16, 2010 – I know of an insurance company and law firm who are co-presenting a seminar entitled: “Suing the Boss – A Guide for Prevention.” This timely topic is based on an increase in employee-employer lawsuits spurred by the recession.

Despite all the “how-to-be-the-best-in-business” books, workshops, and executive coaches available, there are still many bad bosses. (Maybe that’s why we have all those books, workshops, and coaches?!)

Consider this conversation about a boss pushing back on the subject of employee engagement.

Boss: “It’s not my job to make my employees happy!”
Consultant: “It’s not your job to make them miserable either!”

My suggestion to the bad bosses out there: get your act together – if not because it’s the right thing to do, at least to minimize your liability.

And my suggestion to those employees fortunate to work for good bosses – let them know you appreciate them every day, not just Boss’s Day.

[Source of boss-consultant conversation adapted from Re-Engage by Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld.]

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Engagement

The New Strategic Imperative: Stop Before You Start

“Leaders don’t stop. Leaders don’t remove. Leaders just add to the things they expect to be done, and then are surprised that people feel hopeless and disengaged.”  – Jim Haudan, author of The Art of Engagement

I’ve seen this situation in many organizations – both for-profit and nonprofit. Struggling to do more with less to cope with economic pressures (including with fewer employees), management tends to keep adding strategic directives without taking any away. The combination of increased workload, information overload, and multi-tasking to keep up with it all, is a dangerous condition resulting in employees feeling overwhelmed at not making any progress. Is it any wonder that they disengage before they withdraw or implode?

In some organizations, management seems to have a limitedattention span as it follows a strategy-du-jour. In some nonprofits, the situation may also stem from initiatives that seem to take on a life of their own, in which management continues to automatically sink resources in such programs/events/activities without stepping back to address “Why are we doing this? Is it still relevant to our mission and our market?”

The best way I know to help prevent piling on strategic initiatives is to STOP – FOCUS – and LISTEN.

  • Before initiating any new strategies, take the time to STOP and consider what you’re asking of your employees. For example: Are our new plans realistic given our organization’s resources and capacity? Will our employees be able to handle the organization’s new initiatives without undue burden?
  • FOCUS your strategic intent by asking: What resources and/or trade-offs are necessary to secure employee commitment? If we weren’t already doing this [existing program or activity], would we start now?
  • LISTEN and take into account employee ideas and concerns: Do employees clearly understand our new direction and the rationale behind it? What ideas/suggestions do our employees have to effectively execute the new plan(s)?

So “do not pass ‘Go’ and do not collect $200” if you’re not prepared to STOP-FOCUS-and LISTEN …  unless you want a “monopoly” of employee disengagement and burnout.

 

Categories
Engagement

The Legacy of Poor Management Communications

How long lasting are the effects of poor management communications? They may be longer than you think.

That was the takeaway from a recent executive retreat I facilitated for a client. The current management team is relatively new – comprised of a few VPs who came from outside the organization and several who came up through the ranks and had reported to members of the previous administration. During the retreat, this “new” team focused on improving internal communications.

In their discussions, they acknowledged their frustration in continuing to deal with the erosion of trust and related fallout from poor communications by previous administrations that tended to play politics with each other to achieve personal agendas. Some of the former VPs were also inconsistent in sharing information with their respective divisions. I recall one former VP who proudly declared he shared limited information on a “need to know” basis only – so his employees were left to fend for themselves when it came to learning most top-down information.

The cumulative result of poor management communications is that the current management team is challenged in dealing with the “working wounded” (including some of the VPs themselves). Among the problematic issues they face, they cited:

  • employees’ reluctance to express their opinions or ask questions
  • inconsistent sharing of information between and within departments
  • “political fiefdoms pushing agendas,” and employees’ lack of understanding of how the new management team operates (different from the old guard’s penchant for playing politics).

How will they meet this challenge? By working to create a “safe place” for discussion … being willing to engage employees in discussion … listening and responding to employee ideas and concerns … and demonstrating trust and respect in all their communications with employees and each other.

Knowing my client’s commitment to improving organizational communications, I’m confident members of the current administration will be able to turn the situation around. They’re also smart enough to know that it won’t happen overnight – re-building trust takes time and patience.

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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.

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Engagement

Employee Recognition & Engagement: Interview with Jon Dubbs

I’m delighted to feature my colleague, whom I’ve known and worked with for many years, in this interview. Jon Dubbs is a promotional marketing and recognition specialist who was CEO of The Dubbs Company (an Allentown, PA-based innovative marketing company) and a former Vice Chairman of Promotional Products Association International. He was among the first to attain the industry’s Master Advertising Specialist designation and recently completed his certification as a Certified Recognition Professional from Recognition Professionals International.

As the promotion landscape and market changed, so did Jon’s focus. He’s now applying his experience at RecIgnition LLC, a new company he founded that specializes in helping management teams develop and execute recognition strategies to improve organizational culture and employee engagement for competitive advantage.

QSM: Given lower engagement levels in the workplace, how can recognition help?

Jon: Recognition is a key component of building and maintaining employee engagement – particularly as a means of expressing appreciation for positive performance and significant contributions. As such, it affirms the person’s value to the enterprise. Proof of the relationship between recognition and high engagement can be seen in the companies that are recognized as being the best places to work. These are strong growth organizations with high shareholder value and where employees want to work.

QSM: In your experience, what do you find is the biggest obstacle faced by organizations interested in employee recognition? 

Jon: In a word, management. It is typically the lack of understanding by business owners and those in the C-suite at larger organizations of the real value of recognition and its deliverables: productivity, profitability, employee retention, safe work, reductions in reject rate of production, and the list goes on. All of these significantly affect bottom line results (either way) but some managers still regard recognition as being too soft.

The second biggest obstacle is the lack of communication planning and the critical importance of establishing a communication structure. A recognition initiative needs to be created by representatives from all divisions, product groups, and levels of employees (for example: production, sales, marketing HR, risk management, finance, distribution, communications, security, and unions) – who work together to understand the needs and ways that consistent accomplishments and fanfare can be shared. Without a communication plan, established broad buy-in, and a schedule for execution, the best recognition initiative will not have the potential high ROI and benefits that management needs.

Lastly, as Marc Drizin (author of Designing Employee Recognition Programs) says, “Employee recognition cannot be an unfunded mandate.”

QSM: Not all employees are comfortable receiving recognition in the workplace, yet some companies still approach recognition programs as a one-size-fits-all effort. How do you address this?

Jon:  While all employees like and need acknowledgment of their value and contributions, it is how the recognition is given that may create some hesitation, fear, and embarrassment. Supervisors and managers need to discuss with all direct reports how they would like to be recognized including avoiding ways that are absolutely intimidating.

It’s also important to understand and respect that some people’s ethnic cultures do not encourage public recognition. Some do not allow for individuals to be singled out above the group, and some do not appreciate individual recognition. Today, with multi-national companies having employee work exchanges, programs need to be built and managed with a keen awareness of and sensitivity to multiculturalism.

QSM: Thank you, Jon!

 

 

Categories
Customer service Engagement Training & Development

Reaching the Breaking Point: A Lesson from JetBlue

Back from my summer blog break, I want to address the recent JetBlue flight attendant incident. For those who may have tuned out while vacationing the week of August 9th, here’s the condensed version: Flight attendant Steve Slater snaps after dealing with uncooperative, unruly passenger; launches into an expletive-laced speech on the plane’s intercom; and then opens and slides down the emergency evacuation chute to head home where he’s later arrested. A rather unique display of “take-this-job-and-shove-it” that generated a media frenzy and had people weighing in: those who hailed the flight attendant as a workplace “hero” for standing up to customer abuse vs. those who faulted him for not doing a better job of maintaining his cool as a customer service professional. (There was another group somewhere in the middle. A friend of mine commented, “He shouldn’t have done it, but damn!, what a hoot that he did.”)

Many factors contribute to customer frustration and rage – economic pressures, customer-unfriendly policies (not limited to the airline industry), poor customer service, even weather – as this summer’s heat wave made people cranky. Employees aren’t immune to these same factors in addition to dealing with demanding customers and/or employers.

How do you cope with workplace stress?
The owner of a small service-based business told me about her experience dealing with difficult customers – sharing what she refers to as her “call of last resort.” A customer called about a service bill he received, complaining the price was too high; this was after the work was completed. The business owner calmly explained that the price was based on the materials and labor involved, and that the customer’s wife had been given an estimate of the work in advance and agreed to it. The customer repeatedly complained about the price and would not listen to the business owner. She finally ended the call by saying, “Sir, your time is valuable; so is mine. We’ve reached the end of this conversation, and there is nothing more to say. Have a good day. Goodbye.” While she says this respectfully and sincerely, she admits it’s satisfying to have the last word.

Customer interactions vary by industry and may call for different responses to difficult situations. But how can they be handled without reaching the breaking point?

Start here
JetBlue’s incident can serve as a springboard to review your organization’s approach to difficult and/or abusive customers. I suggest engaging employees in thoughtful discussions based on the following questions:

  • What IS an acceptable way to handle difficult customers?
  • How can we deal with such customers while preserving our brand’s integrity?
  • What (if any) of our current policies contribute to customer frustration?  What can be changed to minimize this frustration?
  • What are our options when customers become abusive?
  • What coping strategies or healthy ways can employees use to deal with this stress?
  • Does the company have guidelines to help employees with this? If so, do they know what the guidelines are? And do employees have the necessary training and skills to apply them?

This discussion list is not exhaustive; additional questions are most welcome. I also invite you to share your experiences in helping employees deal with difficult customer situations before they exit the emergency chute.

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).