A conversation today with a client raised this question– Is employee engagement look and feel the same in every company? Another way that question could be asked is: can we take our cookie cutter and apply success across lots of employers?
We all are looking for “best practices” from other employers, particularly those that have been successful in creating a great workplace. But I hope we can all agree that how certain engagement practices are embraced and used in one setting may be very different from another.
Just last month I had the pleasure of talking with the CEO of a company that is known for their outstanding culture and engaged employee group, which over the last ten years has accounted for, in his view, a great deal of their success. Being a technology company with a younger employee population, there are some efforts they’ve found successful that may not work well in another environment.
Let’s make sure we keep our wits about us when it comes to taking what might be a great idea in one comopan and making implementing it in our place of work.
- Does the practice feel right for us?
- How would the practice fit with our history, management style and culture?
- Are the elements of the practice that might work, while other elements should be ignored?
Mark Hirschfeld 
This is exactly the reason research should be done before a company implements dramatic changes of any kind. To avoid engagement failure a company should either do research themselves or hire a consulting firm to come in and make expert recommendations.
Thank you for your comment. I hope we can continue to discover how each organization can find their unique “signature” that marks their employment brand– keep the cookie cutters where they belong– in the kitchen!