Because there are so many great articles on employee engagement and creating a culture of appreciation in the workplace, I want to share the best of these resources with you. Here are my favorites for this week. I have included some of my thoughts on these gratitude strategies (“Grategies”) and would like to hear your comments too.
WSU study: Gratitude rates high in workplace by Becky Wright
(Standard Examiner) “Over time, if employees are not thanked, employers are more likely to lose them,” Beck said — and that means money will have to be spent hiring and training new employees.
My Thoughts: I enjoyed the fact that this student won an award for her gratitude research. I also found some of the information and comments surprising – verbal appreciation ranked at the top and written notes were at the bottom of the list. Interesting take on how employees want to feel appreciated.
Singing the Praises of Praises by Ken Blanchard, Vicki Stanford, and David Witt
(Workforce.com) “Ask most people how they know they are doing a good job at work and they’ll often say, ‘Because no one has yelled at me lately.’”
My Thoughts: Praise costs nothing to give and can make a world of difference in how hard employees work and how committed they are to the organization. Yes, giving praise effectively may be seen as a “soft skill,” but you can’t ignore the research and positive results.
There’s a link between employee engagement and customer loyalty by Bill Hanifin
(Retailwire) “…customers may not be “the only stakeholders to focus on when the goal is to improve customer loyalty.” The implication was that employees are equally critical.”
My Thoughts: When your frontline employees are not enthusiastic about your business, how in the world are they going to inspire your customers to keep coming back? This article has some good tips for addressing disengaged employees and bring them back into the fold.
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Lisa Ryan, creator of Grategy® is a gratitude expert, professional speaker and bestselling author. For more information contact (216) 225-8027. For information on Grategy® programs please visit http://www.grategy.com. Follow on Twitter: @Grategy
