Here are my favorite articles for the week on employee engagement and creating a culture of appreciation. Feel free to share your comments.
Reality Check: 5 Things You Need to Realize About Your Employees by Andre Lavoie
(Entrepreneur.com) “Employees are on the hunt for a new job. Employees might appear happy in their current positions, but what employers don’t know is that many employees are actively searching for new work. According to LinkedIn’s 2015 Talent Trends survey of more than 20,000 employed professionals worldwide, nearly one in three said they are actively looking for a new job.”
My Thoughts: What if you were to offer employees new jobs/responsibilities within your organization? You give them opportunities to grow and develop – and you’ll keep them around longer.
How 12 Companies Make Meetings Memorable, Effective, and Short by Stephanie Vozza
(FastCompany.com) “Business development consulting firm Just Fearless also sets a time limit for meetings—usually 30 minutes. Founder Kisha Mays says if the meeting runs long, the chairs are removed and everyone must stand until the end. “This keeps meetings from being drawn out and without a set purpose and agenda,” says Mays. “Whether we’re in the office or meeting in a public place, the rule still applies. My staff tends to stay on time because no one wants to stand—especially in a public place with those nearby seated and staring.’”
My Thoughts: When meetings have a hard start and a hard stop, employees are more likely to feel that their time is respected by the management team. This standing exercise is a great way to make meetings end when they are supposed to.
It’s time to stop thinking about vacation time as a benefit by Mike Cook
(Bellingham Business Journal) “I started thinking about the necessity for knowledge workers to regularly and intentionally involve themselves in the practice of refreshment. I am not talking about the worn out conversation around “using all your vacation time.” I mean an intentional practice of unplugging, shutting down the commercial part of our brains and just playing at something.”
My thoughts: Because our lives are so darn full, it’s important to be able to recharge and unplug. You may not be able to give employees all the vacation time they want, but you can encourage them to take all of the vacation time they have – and leave work at work for the entire time they’re gone.
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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