Tag: quotes

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Engagement Marketing Training & Development

My Top 7 Blog Posts

Reviewing my blog’s top posts over the past few years, I was surprised with the popularity of my “favorite employee engagement quotes” posts. So I’ll continue to share the best quotes on workplace engagement compiled from both current and classic articles on the subject.

Here are Quality Service Marketing’s top seven blog posts:

A special thank you to my many blog readers for your continued encouragement and support!

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Engagement

Amazon’s Workplace Culture Takes a Hit

Amazon’s culture has made the rounds of the press and blogosphere, based on a recent NY Times article, “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace.” Sadly, I’m not surprised as I live near the Amazon warehouse in PA where employees suffered during a heat wave due to insufficient air conditioning. There were also complaints during the winter when employees, who were evacuated for a fire alarm, had to wait outside the warehouse in freezing temperatures. These workers were not allowed to retrieve their coats or warm up in their cars, possibly for reasons of theft prevention.

There are pro’s and con’s to every workplace; it’s all relative based on the industry and the culture set by senior executives. These quotes [cited in the NYT article] from former Amazon white-collar employees reinforce an ambitious, yet callous culture:

“Amazon is where overachievers go to feel bad about themselves.”

“A lot of people there feel this tension: It’s the greatest place I hate to work.”

There are also Amazon employees who disagree with the article, including CEO Jeff Bezos who defends its culture.

As an advocate of an engaged workplace, I’m wary of organizations that still use forced ranking for employee performance. What I find most discomfiting is the fact that Amazon owns Zappos, well-known for its uniquely positive culture. Realistically, no workplace is perfect – not even Zappos.

My takeaway from all this? We now have a scale of workplace engagement from A to Z: with Amazon at the lower end and Zappos at the upper end. Where on this scale would you want to work?

 

 

 

 

Categories
Engagement

People to People: Favorite Quotes on Collaboration

From important historical figures and contemporary business leaders, here are my favorite quotes on how working together makes a difference.

“The value in human interaction is greater collective wisdom as a result of improved communication and collaboration.” Michael Katz

“In speaking, we humanize ourselves. In listening, we bring our worlds together. In learning, we create understanding.” Yvonne DiVita

“More people would rather enjoy the camaraderie of smart collaboration than be lead, persuaded or managed.” Kare Anderson

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

“Never do anything about me without me.” David Zinger

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Engagement

Foundation for a Decent Workplace

In my research on dysfunctional workplace cultures, a LinkedIn connection shared the following “Ten Commandments of the Workplace” that can be honored by both employees and employers. [Special thanks to James Dodds for bringing this to my attention.]

Ten Commandments of the Workplace

  1. You have the right to be treated with respect and the responsibility to respect others.
  2. You have the right to be treated fairly and the responsibility to treat others fairly.
  3. You have the responsibility to respect the rights and needs of others.
  4. You have the right to a work environment that is free of distractions.
  5. You acknowledge that change is difficult and necessary.
  6. You acknowledge that errors are often the symptoms of a larger problem, and not the problem itself, and work to find better solutions.
  7. You acknowledge that employees are part of the solution, not the problem.
  8. You acknowledge that while blame is easy, finding the right answer is hard.
  9. You acknowledge that finding the best answer often requires everyone being involved.
  10. You acknowledge that while customers come first, they may not always be right.

Source: The Three Legged Table: Why Every Employee Matters by Brian James.

If you find yourself needing to fix a dysfunctional work environment, this is a good place to start.

 

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Engagement

Enlightenment for Those Entering the Workforce

Whether you’re starting a new job or career, here is sage advice to keep in mind.

“Do work with your whole heart and you will succeed — there is so little competition.” – Elbert Hubbard

“Your mindset will be one of the most important predictors of success, not the career or leadership path you’ve chosen.” – Gayle Lantz, excerpt from Graduation Advice for Leaders

“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” – Betty Reese

“You can earn an MBA and go on to become a CEO, but it doesn’t prepare you for the life choices you’ll have to make. And, no amount of schooling can really prepare you for dealing with clients, customers, vendors, family, etc. People being unpredictable, and all. Instead, it helps to figure out what your “personal core purpose” is — to give you some solid ground to stand on.” – Yvonne DiVita

“Q: Is there a more important decision in life than the choice of a career or the choice of a spouse? A: Yes. The choice of which one is going to come first.” – Marilyn vos Savant

 

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Customer service Engagement Marketing Training & Development

Best Quotes on Customers

Customers – love ’em or sometimes hate ’em – if you’re in business, you can’t live without them. True customer-focus means understanding, respecting, and serving customers as the basis of your business rather than considering them a necessary evil.

Following are several of my favorite quotes about customers and their importance. Think of them as customer-focused words to live by. You can also incorporate them in your customer service training.

“Consumers are statistics. Customers are people.” Stanley Marcus

“If you respect the customer as a human being, and truly honor their right to be treated fairly and honestly, everything else is much easier.” Doug Smith

“You can forget about an over-satisfied customer, but an unsatisfied customer is one of the most expensive problems you can have.” Jan Carlzon

“Anyone who thinks the customer is not important should try doing without him [or her].” Unknown

“It’s very easy to think that you are the expert on your own product. But in many ways, that’s a myth. The true experts are your customers.” Jamie Wong

“Customer feedback is free until you don’t listen, then it gets very expensive in the form of lawsuits, poor word-of-mouth advertising, and adverse publicity.” John O’Malley

“Isn’t it really ‘customer helping’ rather than customer service? And wouldn’t you deliver better service if you thought of it that way?” Jeffrey Gitomer

And when it comes to hiring and training the employees who serve customers:

“The customer-facing organization with the fewest assholes wins.” Olivier Blanchard

 

 

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

Management Communication Basics: Engaging Employees in Staff Briefings

With company e-mail dominating internal communications, staff meetings are becoming an endangered organizational activity. Yet managers and employees still need to get together to stay informed on what’s happening in the organization and how it impacts their work, including the opportunity to voice their concerns.

Why a staff briefing?

The purpose of  periodic staff briefings is to keep employees connected and get them “on the same page.” It is not intended to focus on problem-solving or detailed planning. Here’s a sample meeting template that helps engage employees and minimize passive participation.

  1. An aerial view of what’s going on – share new top-down information such as organizational strategies, operational updates, policy changes, etc., including the rationale behind any changes or direction. Employees need to understand the “why” as well as the “what” of executive decisions in the context of the company’s mission and goals. Allow time to address employee questions and concerns.
  2. New business/project/program development – overview of any new initiatives that support and/or impact departmental goals, including who is involved so staff know who to contact with questions.
  3. Current projects/programs – employee share progress updates, results.
  4. Teachable moments – employees can take turns reporting on business topics of interest to the group or share lessons learned from a recent work-related situation.
  5. Wrap up/next steps – acknowledge employee participation; agree on any follow-up action items.

Food and face time

In a positive work environment, face-to-face staff briefings serve employees’ needs for information-sharing, learning, and connecting with each other.  Consider providing food and/or beverage depending on what time the meeting is held. Refreshments can be a strong draw and serve to create a hospitable meeting environment, but they should not be the main attraction.

Email and other forms of digital communication are expedient and timely in keeping employees informed. However, face-to-face is better for periodic staff briefings because:

  • people are wholly present (for the most part)
  • there are fewer distractions in a focused meeting setting
  • actual body language and tone of voice minimize misinterpretations
  • feedback and clarification are immediate.

“Nothing replaces being in the same room, face-to-face, breathing the same air and reading and feeling each other’s micro-expressions.” Peter Guber

[Source: Peter Guber. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2015. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/peter_guber.html, accessed April 7, 2015.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/citation/quotes/authors/p/peter_guber.html#Ksbj93R6pceeLx7o.99]

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Engagement

Coping with the Credibility Gap in Employee Engagement

“Our current practices and approaches to employee engagement are failing. They are failing to achieve organizational results and most employees fail to experience the benefits of their own engagement.”  Excerpt from David Zinger’s 21-Point Employee Engagement Manifesto.

A disheartening statement, but not surprising as employee engagement gets more intention than action. In my workshops, I frequently hear managers lament about being told to initiate engagement and/or recognition programs with insufficient commitment and resources needed to support their efforts. Then when these programs don’t work, the well-meaning but clueless-in-charge look for other quick-fix workplace remedies.

Frustrated by wasting precious resources on “flavor-of-the-month” engagement initiatives, employee cynicism continues and top management’s credibility gap widens. If this describes your workplace, here are several tips to help you preserve whatever sanity you have left.

Help for hanging in there

  • Keep in mind that across your life’s spectrum this situation is only temporary.
  • Another important perspective is your workplace isn’t all that unique – the world is filled with Dilbert-like organizations. While “misery loves company,” refrain from wallowing in a victim mentality.
  • Until you can change jobs, or if you’re unable to make the switch, look for whatever positive, fulfilling aspects of your workplace you can find such as making a difference through the work you do, helping customers, enjoying some of the people you work with, and yes, even getting a steady paycheck.
  • Find healthy ways to de-stress and maintain your mental and physical health – it’s the most precious resource you have.
  • Consider the opportunity you have to learn what works and what doesn’t work in dealing with people in the workplace. You can apply “lessons learned” in your next job and any community activities you may be involved in as a volunteer. (Note: the practice of engaging employees is similar to that of engaging volunteers.)

It’s important to remember that engagement is a two-way proposition between employers and employees. While the management team is responsible for creating an engaging workplace, employees are responsible for showing up each day ready and willing to engage in their work. The absence of the former may mitigate–but doesn’t preclude–the latter.

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

More Favorite Employee Engagement Quotes

Here are more great quotes that apply to workplace engagement – some relatively new, some from a century or two ago. You can use these or other quotes as conversation-starters in management development training by asking participants to choose and briefly discuss which quote(s) they find most meaningful.

“Just as there are no little people or unimportant lives, there is no insignificant work.” Elena Bonner

“Correction does much, but encouragement does more.” Goethe

“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.” Albert Einstein

“It’s easy to get good players. Gettin’ them to play together, that’s the hard part.” Casey Stengel

“Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.” Robert Half 

“Pay peanuts and you get monkeys.” Anonymous

“When people thrive, companies thrive.” Bob Chapman

 

Categories
Engagement

Engaging Employees in Responsibility

This special post is an excerpt from Ken Blanchard’s classic book, The Heart of a Leader, and is reprinted with permission. His message to managers is also key to engaging employees in their work.

“If you want your people to be responsible, be responsive to their needs.”

“The traditional hierarchy is okay for goal setting. People look to the head of their department and to the top of the organization for direction. But once goals are clear, the pyramid should in essence be turned upside down. This way the customers are at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the customer contact people, while the president and chairman of the board are at the bottom.

“When this philosophy is implemented, your role as a leader changes from being ‘responsible’ to ‘responsive.’ Your job becomes to work with your people rather than having them work for you. Being responsive to your people’s needs sets them free to be responsible (able to respond) to getting the job done.

“Make your people responsible for doing high-quality work by responding to their needs and supporting them. That places the responsibility at the appropriate level–with the people who do the work.”

© 1999 Ken Blanchard. The Heart of a Leader is published by David C. Cook. All rights reserved.