One of the outstanding employers we profile in our book Re-Engage! is Joie de Vivre Hotels. Here’s a recent interview of founder Chip Conley talking about how to help people find true and endearing meaning, a calling if you will, in their work. Worth a listen:
Excellent interview in the New York Times of Gary E. McCullough, president and chief executive of the Career Education Corporation. The entire interview is worth a read. Here are two sections I found particularly instructive, the first on the value of senior leaders paying attention to the needs of staff and how even seemingly small gestures can make a big difference:
Q. What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?
A. The biggest one I learned, and I learned it early on in my tenure in the Army, is the importance of small gestures. As you become more senior, those small gestures and little things become sometimes more important than the grand ones. Little things like saying “please” and “thank you” — just the basic respect that people are due, or sending personal notes. I spend a lot of time sending personal notes.
I’ll never forget one of the interactions we had with my commanding general of the division in which I was a platoon leader. We were at Fort Bragg, N.C. We had miserable weather. It was February and not as warm as you would think it would be in North Carolina. It had been raining for about a week, and the commanding general came around to review some of the platoons in the field. He went to one of my vehicle drivers and he asked him what he thought of the exercise we were on. To which the young private said, “Sir, it stinks.” I saw my short career flash before my eyes at that point.
He asked why, and the private said: “There are people who think this is great weather for doing infantry operations. I personally think 75 and partly cloudy is better.”
And so the commanding general said, “What can I do to make it better for you?” And the private said, “Sir, I sure could use a Snickers bar.” So a couple days later we were still moving through some really lousy weather, and a box showed up for the private. And that box was filled with 38 Snickers bars, which is the number of people in my platoon. And there was a handwritten note from the commanding general of our division that said, “I can’t do anything about the weather, but I hope this makes your day a bit brighter, and please share these with your buddies.”
And on that day, at that time, we would’ve followed that general anywhere. It was a very small thing, and he didn’t need to do it, but it impressed upon me that small gestures are hugely important.
And a wonderful illustration of how staff judge your actions, your “comportment” as they used to say, and what you can do to develop deep and abiding relationships that will make a big difference in you people perceive you as a leader:
There was a woman named Rosemary who long ago retired from Procter & Gamble. Rosemary was a cafeteria worker, and at the time at P. & G., we actually had a cart that would come around at 7, 7:30 in the morning. They would ring a bell and you’d go get a cup of coffee and a doughnut or a bagel or something to start off your day.And Rosemary had an uncanny ability to discern who was going to make it and who wasn’t going to make it. And I remember, when I was probably almost a year into the organization, she told me I was going to be O.K. But she also told me some of my classmates who were with the company weren’t going to make it. And she was more accurate than the H.R. organization was.
When I talked to her, I said, “How’d you know?” She could tell just by the way they treated people. In her mind, everybody was going to drop the ball at some point, and then she said: “You know you’re going to drop the ball at some point, and I see that you’re good with people and people like you and you treat them right. They’re going to pick up the ball for you, and they’re going to run and they’re going to score a touchdown for you. But if they don’t like you, they’re going to let that ball lie there and you’re going to get in trouble.”
Again, I think it’s those intangible things. I had taken the time to get to know Rosemary and know that her husband’s name was Floyd and know the thing that they did in their off-time was bowling. So, it is all those little intangible things that you see, not when you’re sitting around a table in a conference room, but what you see in other ways.
Kudos to Mr. McCullough for being the kind of leader that seems in short supply these days– one who has willing followers.
One term that is tossed about in our world of employee engagement is “discretionary effort”, the notion that a more engaged employee will choose to take on extra duties or go the extra mile. I’ve often thought of it as “work employees choose to do even when nobody is looking”.
If this term seems unclear to you, take seven minutes from you day to watch the following video from Southwest Airlines. This IS discretionary effort! Importantly, the “link” between a more engaged workforce and more loyal customers is crystal clear– why can’t more folks see this?
I recently analyzed employee engagement surveys for two different employers. In both cases I found a group of employees who had significantly lower results than the rest of the company. As I dug deeper into the results, including the anecdotal comments, the same problem in both employers become clear:
Bad, rogue management.
What sickened me most was what these rogue managers were doing to “motivate” employees in the midst of this economic crisis. In both cases they were telling employees:
“you better keep your nose to the grindstone, because if you don’t I can hire a dozen others just like you who don’t have a job. And don’t making any demands, because I’m in charge here.”
Could someone please tell me why ANYONE would think this strategy is going to make sense for these businesses now or, importantly, in the future?
Nauseating.
Our research tells us there are other employers who are not subscribing to this kind of fear mongering and are, in fact, managing in a more engaging manner and, in doing so, achieving outstanding results.
The “you-bet-your-job” attitude on the part of some so-called leaders isn’t the cure to our economic woes.
For more information on what some outstanding employers are doing to engage employee in difficult economic times please read Beating the Bear Market with Engaged Employees
Very good article today at TheStar.com about taking care of employees through the transition period to economic recovery. The article states:
And even though it could take up to two years for a real labour market revival, it would be a mistake for companies to assume they have the upper hand over their staff. In fact, businesses should be taking action now to ensure their best workers remain engaged, says Terry Power, president of staffing firm Randstad Canada.
“When you’re in a recession, the trend typically becomes one of `do more with less.’ And inevitably that means a little more stress on your people,” Power said.
“The people in those situations that tend to step up and do the most for you … are your best people. And often times, though, that gets kind of taken for granted.”
That means managers should not simply assume their star employees are coping well with weighty issues such as heavier workloads or the loss of colleagues through layoffs. Although many businesses are squeezing their staff through painful cost controls right now, good quality companies will also take the initiative to provide some sort of longer-term payoff – even if it is not a cash-based reward.
This is the time to invest in your people. I know the economy is a challenge for many businesses, but there are creative ways we can help our associates grow and know they are valued. The employers that engage their employees now will have a much better chance of coming out of this recession with those valued employee still on board instead of working for the competition.
Excellent post by Susan M. Heathfield at About.Com if you are one of the so-called “survivors” of a layoff. Please read carefully and share with those who may find themselves in this situation. We often worry (as we should) about those who lose their jobs, but should also consider what can be done to assist those who may have more work on their desk because of the reduction and are wondering when the pink slip will hit their desk:
- Recognize that your emotions are legitimate and that time passing is necessary for the intensity of your current emotional response to die down. In organizations where managers recognize and acknowledge this emotional component in a downsizing, employees return to productivity much sooner.
- Recognize that you may need to experience each of the stages of loss described in Kubler-Ross’s groundbreaking studies about grief.
- Seek access to your supervisor; assuming your supervisor is readily available and perceived by you as concerned about employees, and honest, reliable and competent, your time with your supervisor should help you feel reassured.
- Attempt to recreate the daily patterns you experienced prior to the layoffs. While much time in an office is invested by employees in talking about the situation after layoffs, the sooner you can recreate your prior patterns, the better for your mental health.
- Treat yourself with kindness. Now is the time to eat a portion of your favorite comfort food. Got chocolate? Share with coworkers. Bring in a casserole or cookies that coworkers can share. Small gestures mean a lot in the post layoffs workplace.
- Talk out your feelings with coworkers who are likely experiencing loss just as you are. You can comfort one another. Your significant others outside of your workplace make good sounding boards, too.
- Pay attention to the needs of the coworkers who were laid off. These are your friends and they are experiencing serious issues with self-worth and loss, too. So many people tie up so much of their identity and self esteem in what they do for a living that a layoff is a major blow to their sense of themselves, their competence and self worth. You do them a kindness, and you will feel better, too, if you continue your weekly lunch date with your laid off coworker. Let your laid off former coworker vent and listen to see how you can lend support. Sometimes, active listening is all they need.
- You will feel as if you have a proactive mission and purpose when you connect your laid off coworkers to your connections on Facebook, LinkedIn, and the other online social networks. Anything you can do to help them expand their networks and effectively job search will be valued by your friends.
- Communication is critical following a layoff. But, remember that the middle managers who would generally communicate are also experiencing loss and concern about their own jobs. (Often managers are the first to be laid off.) If you are not receiving the communication you need from your manager, seek it out by asking questions and spending time with him or her. Go after what you need; don’t wait for communication to flow downwards.
- Hopefully, your organization has recognized the importance of valuing the remaining employees. But, if the opportunities for reward, recognition and valuing seem slim, volunteer to head up an employee morale committee. The committee can do much to bring fun and motivation back into the workplace following layoffs. Think ice cream socials, popcorn machines, and potluck lunches; the activities don’t need to be expensive.
- If you are taking these steps but you are feeling increasingly worried and depressed, seek professional assistance through your Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) or use your private insurance to cover counseling.
In an earlier post I offered my defintion of employee engagement. Researchers at Hewitt have arrived at a similar conclusion. Findings reported in Business Standard indicate they see three behaviors:
Engaged employees stay — they have an intense desire to be a member of the organisation; say — they are passionate advocates for their workplace and speak positively about the organisation to co-workers, potential employees and customers; and strive — they go beyond what is minimally required to produce extraordinary service and results for customers and colleagues.
Look at this example of how P&G employees act like an owner of the company, treating the company’s assets as their own. During a period of heavy rain which had caused severe flooding, the government declared a holiday for all its offices, but a lot of P&G material was awaiting clearance at the customs office. The plant engineer had valid reasons to wait for a day, but he took the initiative: He braved the rains to pick up a customs official from his house and took him to his office to authorise its clearance. He then made sure that all the raw materials were delivered to the plant on the same day. As a result, the production lines didn’t have to stop.
Would your employees go to such lengths to help your business achieve its goals? If the answer is yes, you have done your job as an employer. If not, take the Kelly survey seriously before it’s too late.
I think we’re getting some consensus around this idea of employee engagement– that’s good. More importantly, we’re hearing examples, such the one cited above, of specific behavior we can clearly observe that shows us when employees are engaged. Would love to hear your stories of engagement and disengagement.
Graphic courtesy www.lumaxart.com
A report published in Business Week shows an opportunity waiting for business to seize right now– underutilized talent:
According to a winter 2008 Accenture (ACN) survey, which BusinessWeek has an exclusive first look at, 46% of women and 49% of men worldwide believe they are insufficiently challenged in their jobs.
“What this means for companies is that they have a huge opportunity with the talent they own to get more return [out of these] same people, if they just know how to ask them and how to engage them,” says Armelle Carminati, Managing Director of Human Capital and Diversity at Accenture. “Your employees are eager to do more. They are capable of doing more. They want to do more. This is a great competitive advantage for you as a company because you don’t have to hire new talent in a challenging environment—you have the talent in place.”
Consider:
I was just looking at a question on LinkedIn, which asked respondents to offer their definition of employee engagement. It occurred to me that I’ve been writing this blog for the last several weeks and have never offered up what I think… my bad. There are a number of terrific “academic” defintions out there, but here’s more of the “friendly, Midwestern” version. I see four identifiable, measurable, factors:
Do you see these things in yourself? In others on your work team? If so, you’re probably in that category of “engaged”. If not, it’s probably time to do some serious thinking.
This video is twenty-five minutes long, but worth your time. Southwest’s long-time president “schoolin us”…
Mark Hirschfeld 