Here are my favorite articles for the week on employee engagement and creating a culture of appreciation. Feel free to share your comments.
A Quick Guide To Effective Employee Engagement by Rob Wormley
(Business2Community) “There’s a famous saying about investing in employees: an executive says, “Why should we invest in our employees? What if they leave?” Another employee looks right at him and says “what if we don’t, and they stay?” The point? Investing in professional development is good for your employees– and for the business.
My Thoughts: As a personal development junkie and a professional speaker/trainer – I know how much training makes a difference. It helps your employees personally AND professionally. Remember, when you send an employee to a training program, propose it as an opportunity for the employee, NOT as punishment for their bad behavior.
What are the business benefits of being more transparent? by Simon Hayward
(TheGuardian.com) “Open and transparent relationships are the foundation of trust and collaboration. Successful leaders today no longer tell others what to do. They act more as coordinators and facilitators, using influence and relationship building to ensure consistent, positive behaviour. In this environment, leaders can devolve decision-making authority to others to make things happen. This is particularly welcomed by the generation of millennials who seek and expect a level of influence that challenges traditional hierarchy.”
My Thoughts: If you don’t tell your employees what is going on in the organization, chances are good that they will make things up. Since the grapevine is always worse than reality, why not keep your employees in the loop.
How to Talk About the Future of Work by Kavi Guppta
(Forbes.com) “Employee Engagement: The traditional employee performance review process has become outdated. The time has come to throw away paper-based review forms and annual review cycles. The new normal is to offer your employees feedback as often as possible–once a week at minimum through responsive technology that allows teams to react and improve immediately. The experiments taking place in this space are helping to create a more productive workforce through mobile-first services. It’s forcing leadership to pay closer attention to their employees, and to rethink the reward structure in place for a job well done.”
My thoughts: Radical transparency, remote workplace, digital nomads, etc. – these are a few of the trends that businesses are facing today. Keeping an open mind, and expecting change at a rapid pace are just part of doing business today.
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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