Here are my favorite articles for the week on employee engagement and creating a culture of appreciation. Feel free to share your comments.
New Management Research Analyzes How Recognition Affects Retention by Victor Lipman
(Forbes.com) “Feeling appreciated improves employee relationships – a survey conducted by TINYPulse emphasized the importance of peer relationships in the workplace. As the report noted, “Employees want to recognize their peers. When someone feels valued, they’re more likely to rate their colleague with a higher score.” 70% of employees felt their peers were the most important factor in creating “an engaging environment.” In contrast, official perks “such as work functions, parties, or amenities” received only an 8% score. The bottom line is that goodwill is contagious; appropriately high levels of management recognition can have a positive ripple effect.”
My Thoughts: Once again, research by TINYPulse shows that peer-to-peer recognition is important to create a culture of appreciation. What are you doing to help your employees acknowledge the good works of each other?
Improve outcomes by connecting the employee and customer experience by Eric Berridge
(ComputerWorld.com) “Companies need to put more accountability, authority and information into the hands of employees who are closest to their products and customers. When employees have access to tools that improve the quality of their work lives, can service clients in the moment, and have opportunities that incentivize and reward their hard work, barriers that prevent deeper engagement at work and with customers are reduced.”
My Thoughts: The better you treat your employees, the better they will treat your customers. In other words, the customer is NOT #1 – your employee is.
3 Keys to Happy, Motivated Employees by Amanda McGuinness
(Business2Community.com) “Another good way to get employees more involved is through social media posts. Have employees come up with creative company posts for Facebook and Twitter pages. Maureen Hochdorf notes that employees feel a stronger connection to the company and will gain more companywide traction for social posts because they are deriving from employees.”
My thoughts: If you are still afraid of your employees posting on social media on your behalf, it’s probably time to get over that. Letting your employees share their experiences online will, in many cases, do more for your positive reputation than your marketing firm.
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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
