Delaware Employment Law Blog

An engaged workforce doesn't occur by accident.  It requires a lot of work and a lot of attention.  At the end of the day, it's the front-line managers who can make the biggest difference in spreading the passion and enthusiasm required for engagement.  What follows after the jump are the 10 best ways managers can ensure that they're doing their part to achieve the ideal conditions suitable for an engaged workforce.

Continue reading "Top 10 Ways Managers Can Engage Employees" »

Leadership blogger, Ed Brenegar, of Leading Questions, is a finalist in the Johnny Bunko 7th lesson contest.  If you aren't familiar with the contest, it's a big deal. To become a finalist, Ed submitted his vision on the relationship dynamic in the professional work environment.  The concept is called, To Say Thanks Every Day and it can be described as the revolution of the "thank you."

Voting is only open through Thursday, January 15, so visit the Johnny Bunko contest website to register your vote.  While you're there, be sure to have a look at some of the more than 50 entries for the contest.  Don't know who or what Johnny Bunko is?  Oh no!  How about Daniel Pink?  BusinessWeek Best Seller?  How about that?  The book, Johnny Bunko, written by Daniel Pink, was a literary phenomenon in 2008 in the business world.  From the book's website:

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is America’s first business book in manga and the last career guide you’ll ever need. 

The book, which you can read in an hour, tells the story of Johnny Bunko, a beleaguered Everyman toiling away at the Boggs Corp. 

One night Johnny meets Diana, a magical and butt-kicking adviser who teaches Johnny -- and you -- the six lessons of satisfying, productive careers:

1. There is no plan.

2. Think strengths, not weaknesses

3. It’s not about you.

4. Persistence trumps talent.

5. Make excellent mistakes

6. Leave an imprint.

The book could be described as "the revolution of the Everyman."  Revolutions all around!  Check out Ed's entry on the real value of saying "thank you," as well as the other top contenders.  Then be sure to pick up the Johnny Bunko book and give yourself the sixty (or ninety) minutes it takes to read it cover to cover.  Enjoy the revolution.

Employers can build employee morale in countless ways. The most effective, though, are often overlooked because they're not as glossy as others.  For my nickel, the most effective employee-engagement strategies also are the lowest cost strategies.  Training, for example, can be a low-cost (or free!) way to motivate employees at any time.  It costs nothing to take a moment to recognize a job well done.  As Ken Blanchard would call it, "One-Minute Recognition."

The most costly employee-engagement strategies, on the other hand, can be the least effective.  Wally Block at Three Star Leadership posted about a recent N.Y. Times article that asserts the very same claim. In the article, Kelley Holland proposes that employers can't engage employees with "team-building" activities--at least not the traditional team-building that we know.  And I certainly do agree.  Strongly.

Can we all agree that a round of the Egg-Drop Game at the annual retreat simply is not sufficient to build any kind of team?  And why not?  If it's not obvious, the egg-drop game and it's corporate-sponsored brother, the Wilderness Adventure, cannot build true employee engagement because they're insincere.  Give your employees a little more credit than that, already. 

Insincerity is a poison and it's an obvious one.  It's easy to spot a lame, once-annual attempt to corral the worker bees together over hamburgers and s'mores, put on a happy face, and calling it "team building."  Your employees don't buy it.  When they return to work on Monday, they know that there is no change on the horizon.  Everything returns to normal and no team is ever formed.

Instead of spending money on these external programs and getting no results, try something different.  Try something that costs nothing and is far more effective.  Try saying "thank you."  Try greeting your direct reports and colleagues with a friendly, "Good morning" instead of gruffing past them into your office, closing the door behind you. 

Take a minute to appreciate the extra efforts of a team member--and let them know that you noticed.  Even if this means that you need to schedule time to be nice.  Fine, do it. 

Put it on your calendar--three times a day, in 5-minute increments--"Engage Employees."  When the "appointment" arrives, just look up.  Catch someone doing something right--or even almost right--and tell them that you noticed.  Be sincere.  You'll be amazed at the results.

Do you have a New Year's resolution? Truth be told, I actually don't make any resolutions for the new year.  I'm a hyperactive overachiever with a mild case of OCD who sets [too many] goals throughout the year.  I'm never short on "things to accomplish" come January.  But I'm a sucker for ambitious to-do lists, so I'm posting about resolutions anyway. 

What resolutions do you expect to hear around the water cooler during the first few weeks of the year?  Based on the most popular topics on this blog in 2008, I bet we could guess what the most popular resolutions might be for 2009.

In no particular order, here are the topics and the corresponding resolutions:

1. Work-Life Balance:  Spend more family time.
2. Wellness Programs:  Get more exercise.
3. Jerks at Work:  Make new friends.
4. Going Green:  Implement eco-friendly policies at work.
5. Alternative Work Schedules:  Ask to try a four-day work week. 

We're all guilty of torturing our beloved IT staff.  As smart as we are most of the time, there is something about technology that makes our brains shut down, rendering us unable to remember to "power down and reboot" before we call the Help Desk and ask for assistance.  I suppose it's a love-hate relationship.  We love them when they fix it and we hate it if they take a second too long to do it. 

Here's a humorous video giving the beloved IT workers across the universe a little recognition of the tough job they do so well.  Have a look and send a laugh and then send a "thank you" to your favorite IT guy or gal.  (Be sure to watch through to the end to find out what the code "I.D. ten-T" stands for.)

Employee engagement differs between younger and older employees.  Employers are trying to navigate the needs of Gen Y and, to some extent, Gen X employees.  Learning how to attract and retain younger generation employees means understanding what it is about a workplace that these employees desire most.  And, conversely, what things are most likely to be so unfavorable that they actually drive away the recruits you're trying to attract. 

Here are just a few of the differences between younger and older employees to keep in mind.  Ask yourself whether your organization is making efforts to satisfy younger employees and keep them engaged.

• Younger employees tend to be more optimistic about opportunities for continued learning and growth in their employment.  This requires employers to prevent their youthfully optimistic hopes from being stamped out by the embattled bitter employee who can quickly poison the environment with repeated cynicism and distrust.

• Employees of every age crave recognition.  Study after study shows that employers that master the skill of providing timely, accurate, and regular feedback rate the highest in employee engagement.  The generational difference, though, is the amount of recognition that will satisfy younger versus older employees.  Gen Y is known as a "needy" generation for a reason.  One study showed that, for every piece of constructive criticism offered (and note that we're not talking about negative criticism), the Gen Y employee requires seven pieces of positive feedback if there's any chance that they'll even hear the constructive one.  That's a whole lot of pats on the back.  So many, in fact, that positive feedback almost has to be scheduled into the daily calendar of managers if they hope to ever really give a sufficient amount of compliments.

• Younger employees also tend to take more pride in working for their employer and are more likely to recommend their employer to a job seeker.  This gives employers a great opportunity to promote their organization and  their product to potential employees and to customers.  There is no better marketing tool than sincere praise passed along by word of mouth.

• Informal interactions are their preferred methods for "team-building," as opposed to the more formal, structured methods used in the past.  This means no more formal "team-building" exercises at the yearly retreat.  The otherwise positive and upbeat Gen Y employee will see these efforts as weak attempts to parse together relationships that don't truly exist.

• Younger employees place a premium value on a sense of "belonging."  If they do not feel that they are truly part of the organization, they quickly become disengaged and begin to look for new work.  If, on the other hand, they feel connected to others in the workplace, they have one more reason to work a little harder.  Gen Y employees were raised, remember, by Boomers, who played (and likely are still playing) an integral role in their development.  Gen Y loves to please others; hence the need for immediate recognition when they do something right.  If they don't feel that they're connected to others, then there is no one for them to try to please, and no one from whom they can expect regular positive feedback.  Ah, it's a vicious circle, isn't it?

Every workplace has a standard cast of characters. They're mirrored in sitcoms and movies and are humorous because they're based on truth. The office jokester, the mother hen, the imposing father figure, the meddlesome middle child.  All of these personalities can be seen in just about any workplace.  Some employers have tried to tap into this dynamic as a way to better organize teams and to tackle inter-office personality conflicts.  Recently, T-Mobile commissioned an organizational psychiatrist to delve deeper into its own personality types. 

The resulting data, compiled in the T-Mobile Workplace Motivation Report, concluded that 15% of those interviewed found the "office joker" was an un-motivating influence in the workplace, while 25% said that the can-do attitude has a positive effect on morale.  The NYT recently reported that some companies have retained experts to help executives understand the role that birth order may have in their office politics.  First-borns, for example, have dominant personalities and have a more difficult time accepting directions from others.  Middle children, on the other hand, tend to be peace-makers and often compromise their own needs for the sake of keeping others satisfied.

Pardon me for saying so but, Duh!  Is this really a new insight to Corporate America?  I can't believe it.  If you didn't know that personality types play as big a role on the unofficial (and official) workplace hierarchy, then shame on you.  The workplace is the closest you can get to recreating the annual holiday scene, where all of the extended relatives are gathered together to drive one another totally bonkers--in a good way, of course. 

This is Employee Training Week, in case you didn't already know.  I've posted several times before on the link between employee engagement and workplace training and development.  I believe there is a direct correlation between job satisfaction and the amount of regular, interactive, and applicable training employees are given.  And, the better and more relevant the training, the better and more engaged the employees. 

This principle is especially true for an organization's best performers because they are the ones who crave constant growth and regular achievement.  Without a steady path forward and access to new skills, the best employees will quickly grow bored and disillusioned and leave the organization. (The principle also extends to Gen Y employees, in case you were wondering).

Workplace Learning Today, a group blog by Brandon Hall Research, highlights the training-happiness connection.  And, if you're interested in working towards a better training and development program in your own organization, there's no time like the present, especially in light of the fact that this week is specially dedicated to Employee Training. If you need some resources to get you started, be sure to check out the Blogroll at Workplace Learning Today--you can't ask for a more complete listing of resources from the U.S. and around the globe. 

The office rumor-mill and water-cooler talk are two of the most annoying workplace behaviors.  But they can be difficult temptations to avoid--especially if you want to drive your coworkers crazy.  (Which, admit it, you do from time to time).  Don't lower your standards ever again!  Stand proud and refrain from perpetuating the gossip chain.  Thanks to some  clever researches at Oxford, there is, at last, an alternative. 

Oxford scholars have released the top 10 most irritating phrases.  The phrases were at the top of the list after the researchers aggregated overused phrases in books, magazines, broadcast, online media and other sources. 

So, the next time you're at that meeting that just will not end and you're feeling a little feisty, throw out as many of the top 10 most irritating phrases as you can possibly stomach.  Maybe the individual conducting the meeting will be moved to adjourn by sheer annoyance at having to listen to you even one minute longer.  Here they are, write them down and save them for a rainy day:

1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science

[H/T to Roy Jacobsen at Writing, Clear and Simple, and his catch of the original article at Wired.com]

Tuition assistance is used as a talent-management strategy. The idea is that employees will not stay unless they are challenged. They will be challenged only if they are learning new skills. So employers assist employees in obtaining the new skills. In the economic downturn, though, some employers are struggling to justify the capital cost these programs can require. I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the HR Committee of a local industry-based organization. The meeting was hosted by Right Management. Kathleen Voss, the speaker, is a Right Management consultant and spoke on employee retention. During the meeting, she referred us to a report on the same topic.

The report, Strategies for Talent Management 2008, was prepared by the CEO Council for Growth in partnership with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. The report looks closely at the successful ways organizations are developing and managing their talent and, in particular, how tuition assistance is part of their talent-management initiatives.

The survey identifies 11 exemplary practices and profiles several companies in the Greater Philadelphia Region using the practices as criteria. The 11 exemplary practices in the use of tuition assistance as an effective employee-retention strategy include:

1. Prepay tuition for employees
2. Provide tuition assistance to part-time employees
3. Re-evaluate tuition caps
4. Form partnerships with educational institutions
5. Provide assistance for individual courses and for degree programs
6. Provide assistance for certificate programs
7. Promote assessment before the education program begins
8. Recognize the academic achievements of employees in the program
9. Provide educational advising to employees
10. Establish metrics
11. Communicate impact

None of the five employers reported that they were recognizing the successes of employees in the educational program. None had established metrics to measure the success of the tuition-assistance program and, as a result, none had been communicating any results of the program.

But 4 of the 5 did extend tuition assistance to part-time workers, as well as permitting tuition reimbursement or individual courses.

Generational differences have transformed the concept of workplace management.  Ground rules that once seemed obvious and implied to many of today's managers have been flipped upside down.  And, often, there seems to be no common ground to be found among a workforce that now spans across four generations.  There is much to understand about each of the generations' perspectives, values, and priorities, and the differences among them.  Armed with an improved knowledge of the motivators and disincentives that drive its employees, an organization is more likely to develop the recruitment and retention strategies that others only dream about.  This post is not about any of that. 

This post does not discuss the differences between the Baby Boomers and Matures as compared to Gen X and Millennials.  But not because there is no value in that knowledge--there undoubtedly is.  If you understand the "why," it is infinitely easier to understand the "how," (as in how to respond/react/prevent, etc.)  Putting aside the value in being well versed in these sociological and psychological concepts, there is a way to press "fast forward" and jump straight to the playbook.  In other words, there are a number of programs and policies that employers can implement that will silently effectuate improved relationships between generations--without the employer even having known about it in the first place.  Although there are several such programs that come to mind, I will limit this post to just one--reverse mentoring.

What Is Reverse Mentoring?

Reverse mentoring is a type of workplace-mentor relationship.  The mentor in a reverse-mentor relationship is younger than his or her mentee with substantially less seniority in the organization.  Conversely, the mentee is the older of the two and is well-established in his or her position within the company.  Reverse mentoring works in all industries but may demonstrate the most effective results in professional fields where technology is an integral part of the work environment but is not the central focus of the work.  This environment is conducive to knowledge sharing between mentor and mentee using the mentor's deeply engrained familiarity and comfort with basic computer skills.  Of course, many would agree that there is no industry in which the new would not have something to teach the not-so new.

What Is the Subject of the Mentoring Relationship?

Reverse mentoring works in all industries but may demonstrate the most effective results in professional fields where technology is an integral part of the work environment but is not the central focus of the work.  This environment is conducive to knowledge sharing between mentor and mentee using the mentor's deeply engrained familiarity and comfort with basic computer skills.  Of course, many would agree that there is no industry in which the new would not have something to teach the not-so new. 

So, exactly what the topic is for the mentoring relationship will depend, in large part, on what it is that the mentor is knowledgeable about but the mentee is not.  As long as those two requirements are satisfied, the topics are unlimited. Most commonly, the mentor offers to share his or her technological know-how and the mentee returns the favor by sharing broader-picture lessons that can be formulated only after a full career of participating and observing one's self and others in the workplace.

What Does Reverse Mentoring Involve?

As with any mentor program, there are no clearly defined requirements for an effective relationship.  But there are guidelines that should be followed in order to receive the best results.  First, there must be a clear set of objectives and they must be communicated to and understood by both persons.  They can define the objectives themselves--no corporate branding required--but they must both come to the relationship with a defined target and set of goals.

Also, as in any relationship, both inside and outside the work environment, time matters.  There must be a mutually acceptable time commitment to both parties if the relationship can be expected to produce real results.  And the more time, the better.  Up to once weekly or as little as once every quarter can be effective. The key, though, is to set expectations in advance and to meet them every time. 

Why Is Reverse Monitoring Effective?

Reverse mentoring is a "win-win" relationship.  The mentee gets to learn skills or obtains access to information that otherwise would be unavailable or unattainable.  The learning environment is non-threatening, which means that it is much more likely to stick.  The mentor has no incentive to make the experience a hostile or showmanship-like event.  Not only does the student rank substantially higher than the teacher in the organization, but the student gets direct fulfillment from the relationship, as well. 

The mentee is given a direct line to someone who is willing to share valuable insight, which Generations X and Y deeply value.  The mentee is also given an opportunity to demonstrate his or her particular skill set, which, especially for the most junior employee, doesn't happen very often--usually because the skill set hasn't yet developed.  Once the bond has been forged, both parties are more likely to an active interest in the success of the other. 

For additional information on employee engagement through peer-to-peer training, see these prior posts:

As Further Proof that Training Is Key to Employee Engagement . . .

Why Top Performers Are So Hard To Please

The Connection Between Training and Employee Retention, According to Gen Y

In my current mission to call some well-deserved attention to fellow bloggers who consistently generate posts about the workplace.  Here are a few worthy reads.

Effortless HR Blog takes an in-depth look at one of the most challenging types of compensation structures--commission-based employees.  And then takes it to an even deeper level by discussing what many employers seem not to understand--that Commissions Should Produce Sales.

Alison Green, from the Ask a Manager blog, readily agrees that she likes working with recent graduates.  And, because of her general affection for the generation that is destined to revolutionize the workplace as we know it, she helps them avoid the 7 Mistakes that Recent Grads Made at Work in her post at U.S. News.

And, in case you missed the opportunity to wish your boss Happy Boss's Day today, there are a few worthwhile comments to soothe your woes. Start your journey at the Blogging Boss blog, where there are some tips for What to Say on Boss's Day.  Management Craft Blog has a very clever post on Poems for Boss's Day--for the sensitive employees in the group.  Finally, be sure to check out the well-timed Carnival of HR at Totally Consumed for a great mashup of HR and leadership blog posts.

Every employer would like to know the secret of employee engagement. Satisfied and loyal employees who are motivated by a sense of ownership can turn a good business into a true success. Winning Workplaces and The Wall Street Journal combined forces to create the 2008 Top Small Workplaces Competition to give credit where credit is due.  

After all, according to the WSJ's Executive Summary of the awards:

Small businesses, 25 million strong in the United States, remain the backbone of our nation's economy. According to the Small Business Administration, they account for 50 percent of the country's private gross national product, create between 60 and 80 percent of the net new jobs and are 14 times more innovative per employee as large firms.

Competing for the coveted award were the more-than 780 nominated small organizations and the 406 organizations that completed applications.  The WSJ provides an executive summary to online readers, which extracts some of the commonalities among winners.  This data is very revealing--it's a short-form description of the features and benefits offered by the best small business employers in the country. what it takes to be the best.  There are many more factors worthy of reviewing but here are a few that are of particular interest:

1.  In these small businesses, some things don't change--employees.  These companies each displayed a high retention rate.

• Average employee tenure is 6 years with an average turn-over rate of 13%.
• Average CEO tenure is 17 years.
• 14 of the 15 firms practice open-book management and 10 provide structured training on financial literacy to employees.

2.  These businesses each subscribe to the mantra that healthy employees are the way to a happy employer.

• Employees receive generous medical benefits--on average, nearly 90% of medical-insurance premiums and 72% of dependents' premiums were paid for by the firm.
• 14 firms offer benefits to part-time employees who work at least 21 hours per week.
• 11 firms offer employee-wellness programs

3.  In line with the current employment trend, these employers believe that flexibility is a benefit. 

• 13 firms offer some kind of flexible work options.

4.  And, last but not least, one of my personal favorites--these employers put a premium value on training as a way to engage employees.  

• 13 firms have a structured tuition assistance program for employees, on average, $3,500 per employee / per year.

In time for National Work and Family Month, Families and Work Institute (FWI) released today full notes from conference calls it convened in September with policy leaders from Senator Obama's and Senator McCain’s campaigns.  

The calls focused on how, if elected, the two candidates would address work life issues ranging from sick leave to health care to early education and child care. “This is the first ever Presidential campaign in which both nominees have formally articulated their positions in this arena,” according to Ellen Galinski, President of FWI. While much has been written about how Vice Presidential candidates Biden and Palin manage their own work and family lives, and where Palin and Biden have been affected by work-life issues in the past, these calls move us from their personal to their policy stands on these issues. 

Among the questions addressed by the campaigns during the calls were:

• What are the work and family life issues the candidate feels are most important to address?

• What is the candidate’s position on workplace flexibility? What are the roles of the government, employers and employees in providing workplace flexibility?

• Should the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) be changed? In what ways? Should it be paid? By whom? Should sick leave be established and paid? By whom and for whom?

• How would the candidate address issues of the time famine that so many employees experience?

• How does each candidate plan to address the impact of the gas crisis on commuting employees?  

• How can work life issues help address the spiraling cost of health care?

• What would each candidate do to help the low-wage working family? And how would your candidate address narrowing the gap between men and women’s pay for all workers, especially for older workers?

• What is the candidate’s position on education and care for the first three years of life for those families who need and want to work- and on universal pre-K?  What proposals does each candidate have for after-school care?

• What if anything, does either party plan to do to support the 45% of employees taking care of our growing elderly population?  

The full notes from the call with Senator Obama's campaign and with Senator McCain's campaign are linked here in pdf format.  These notes provide great insight into the positions of the candidates on work-life and work-family issues. 

Employees cannot be fully committed to their work, i.e., "fully engaged" unless they find the work challenging.  And, as employees continue to learn and develop, how they define "challenging" is bound to change.  This means that, in order to foster employee engagement at its maximum capacity, employers must continue to provide employees with new skills so they can, in turn, take on new challenges. 

In short, training is key to employee engagement.  (As I've posted previously, training can be a great way to facilitate retention of key employees, as well). 

This theory has some new support in the form of a recent survey of workers in the UK.  According to Outlaw.com, which reported on the survey, more than 70% of British workers would welcome a legal right to request paid time off for training. 

The survey also reports:

• 71% of working people would like to have the right to claim paid time off
• 53% would be likely to use such a right.

The Trades Union Congress, which conducted the survey, expressed concern that, despite an apparent eagerness to learn new skills, low-skilled workers are the least likely to receive training at work, with only 9% of employees without formal qualifications having participated in job-related training in the last three months, compared to 38% of graduates.

Just more support for the importance of giving employees access to the right training at the right time.

Training is directly connected to employee retention.  Many employees view adequate training as an essential element of a satisfying workplace.  Gen Y sees continuing training as particularly important.  This could be, in part, because of the high priority the Millenial Generation places on making a valuable contribution to the workplace.  And it could be because the average Generation Y employee stays at a job for just 2 years, making continued learning even more important to keeping their skills sharp. 

But how Gen Y defines training is as different as the high value they assign to its importance.  The most recent generation to join the workforce demands access to "knowledge in chunks."  Given their familiarity with YouTube, podcasts, and online tutorials, Gen Y is used to jumping online and having immediate access to on-demand learning whenever it is convenient for them. 

Their older coworkers, on the other hand, are more likely to turn towards the traditional paper manual.  They are also more comfortable with classroom training and will request reimbursement for academic tuition fees-not the cable internet bill.

The same casual approach that characterizes Generation Y's workplace attire carries over to their approach to knowledge sharing.  They are not shy and have no qualms about asking their more knowledgeable coworkers for the answer they need.  And, given that casual attitude, they're more likely to just "holler across the cubicle walls" to a colleague.  Boomers, who have spent a career in a much more formal and structured workplace, are less than comfortable with this casual interaction.

So what's the lesson for employers?  For one, if you haven't already adapted a training and learning approach that fits the Gen Y model, get moving!  Your best Gen Ys may already be "googling" their next career opportunity!!

Why are the best employees also the hardest employees to retain? In short, because they care the most and, in turn, are the most easily disappointed and frustrated. All-star employees have high standards. They demand a great deal from themselves and from others—including their employers. The details that the average employee may not even notice can become major sticking points for the best employee. 

In a survey of 1,200 U.S. Army rangers, Thomas Britt of Clemson University found that the obstacles to high performance such as work overload resulted in lower levels of morale and job satisfaction. These effects were greatest for the most highly engaged soldiers. “The most committed and personally invested rangers, the ones who ranked work-relevant values as the most important, ranked morale and job satisfaction lower in the face of insurmountable impediments.” In other words, the rangers who cared most about their work were the most demoralized when they were prevented from doing their best.

One of the most common source of frustration for high performers is insufficient resources, such as time, technology, and support staff. Unless they are given the tools that they need to do their work at an optimum level of quality, top performers will feel stymied and frustrated, causing them to leave the organization if not resolved quickly.

Another source of frustration is found in the type of work assigned. Everyone wants to do work that utilizes their strongest skills. But for top performers, this is critical. Top performers quickly become disengaged if assigned to work that someone else could do more effectively and efficiently. To prevent this, employers must assign the right type of work to their best employees. And this can be done only if you understand what the “right” type of work is. How is this accomplished? Only with frequent interaction, monitoring, and feedback. The employee may be able to tell you what he or she is best suited to do. But he may not. It may be that he needs some coaching and one-on-one guidance from his manager to be able to articulate the areas where his talents lie.

The Action Plan

Goal: Retention of the organization’s best performers.

Obstacle: Deeply rooted disengagement

Cause: Inability to perform work that utilizes the employee’s specific skill set.

Solution: Regular interactions with the employee to determine what aspects of his current workload give him the most satisfaction and what institutional roadblocks are preventing him from performing at his maximum level.

Delaware is all a-frenzy with the announcement of our very own Senator Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee for vice president. If you’ve seen The News Journal over the several days, you’ve seen the almost front-to-back coverage of Joe. With Barack Obama still fighting to win over many Hillary Clinton’s women supporters, there’s been considerable focus in the media already as to Joe Biden’s record on women’s and work-life balance issues.

We’ve previously posted on Barack Obama’s position on women’s and work-life balance issues. What kind of work-and-family experience has Joe Biden had, both in his personal life and as a policy maker?

The Wall Street Journal’s blog “The Juggle” noted Biden’s personal family tragedy: the 1972 car accident which killed his wife and infant daughter and left his two sons badly injured. To care for them while continuing his political career, he commuted daily by train between Wilmington, Del., and Washington, never securing a Washington residence.

As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991, some alleged that he was too easy on Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and too hard on Anita Hill, a former co-worker of Thomas' who had accused the federal judge of sexual harassment. Some even maintain that "he very self-consciously tried to shore up his support from women voters after the Anita Hill episode."

Although Biden is perhaps best known for his focus on foreign policy, he has also had a hand in legislation targeting work-and-family issues. According to a cached version of Biden’s senatorial campaign Website (which since this weekend has automatically referred visitors to the Obama-Biden campaign site), the Senator is a co-sponsor of the Healthy Families Act, which would require employers with more than 15 employees to offer seven paid sick days a year. In the 1990s, he was the primary sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act and supported the Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a family member.

Ah, the poetic insolence of the bitter employee.  We all know the song by heart.  Sarcastic and   , they lie in wait for their next prey.  All employees are potential targets.  No one is immune from being swallowed whole, the sole of a well-polished Johnston & Murphy shoe the last image of what was once a pleasant co-worker.  Gulp.  

It could be the always-chipper Janet from Food Service--what's she got to be so happy about, anyway?  Or maybe Chad the Summer Intern, in his daily uniform of light-colored khaki pants, light blue, long-sleeved shirt, cuffs rolled, of course, and one of the four ties he's currently got in rotation.  Chad is powerless, really, and too concerned with making a stellar impression to sound like a whiner if he were to complain about the snide, jabbing comments of the bitter employee.  You know who they are. 

And so do they.  Just ask The Angry Receptionist.  She's working very hard--though not at her job duties.  Instead, she has blogged her way to the top of the disengaged-employee list by branding herself as the champion of bitter employees everywhere.  In her words:

I'm a receptionist at a mid-sized corporate office. When I first started here, I was very nice. It took about a week for everyone to try to take advantage of my good will in every awful way possible.
I'm not nice anymore.

And she's good at what she does.  Her blog has attracted lots of attention in the blogosphere. She is fully committed to her efforts, too.  In fact, she has all of the qualities of a potentially outstanding employee.  Except that she holds her cards too long.  If the workplace is as dreadful as she describes, why is she there?  You've gotta' know when to fold 'em, you know? 

For more on the impact of employees blogging at work or about work, see Blogs In the Workplace

Work-life balance, toxic bosses, and generation gaps.  Three of our favorite topics at the Delaware Employment Law Blog.  They're also the focus of a Special Edition of Businessweek.  The magazine, on stands Monday, has a feature called Business@Work.  The workplace special report was created, really, by readers.  In surveys, blogs, and polls, readers talked about their top concerns at work and their strategies and practical tips for how they deal with it all.  The topics covered include, in addition to the ones above, how to stay creative and entrepreneurial in uncertain economic times, time management, and managing the bureaucracy of Corporate America.

There were lots of fascinating tidbits among the nine pages of text.  One of the main articles deals with the initiatives being taken by employers that focus on their employees' "happiness."   Go figure.  A "happiness initiative" is not necessarily a new idea.  After all, that's what employee benefits are, for the most part.  But some of the efforts being made by companies like Safeco, IBM, and BMW N. America, are new to me. 

How would your employees like the idea of being flown to Disneyland for the day--families included.  (If you like it enough to transfer, you'd want to apply at the L.A. office of law firm DLA Piper).  Or maybe you'd be interested in hiring a Chief Happiness Officer, who, if he's like the CHO at London ad agency, iris Worldwide, is in charge of managing regular pub crawls.  And for the academics in the group, there is happiness learning just around the corner.  Companies including Qantas and Sanofi-Aventis have called in experts to assess the emotional health of their employees. 

So are these "perks" really seen as perks by the employees who receive them?  Or does the fact that they occur during working time with coworkers and monitored by management make them any less enticing?

Work-life balance, toxic bosses, and generation gaps.  Three of our favorite topics at the Delaware Employment Law Blog.  They're also the focus of a Special Edition of Businessweek.  The magazine, on stands Monday, has a feature called Business@Work.  The workplace special report was created, really, by readers.  In surveys, blogs, and polls, readers talked about their top concerns at work and their strategies and practical tips for how they deal with it all.  The topics covered include, in addition to the ones above, how to stay creative and entrepreneurial in uncertain economic times, time management, and managing the bureaucracy of Corporate America.

There were lots of fascinating tidbits among the nine pages of text.  One of the main articles deals with the initiatives being taken by employers that focus on their employees' "happiness."   Go figure.  A "happiness initiative" is not necessarily a new idea.  After all, that's what employee benefits are, for the most part.  But some of the efforts being made by companies like Safeco, IBM, and BMW N. America, are new to me. 

How would your employees like the idea of being flown to Disneyland for the day--families included.  (If you like it enough to transfer, you'd want to apply at the L.A. office of law firm DLA Piper).  Or maybe you'd be interested in hiring a Chief Happiness Officer, who, if he's like the CHO at London ad agency, iris Worldwide, is in charge of managing regular pub crawls.  And for the academics in the group, there is happiness learning just around the corner.  Companies including Qantas and Sanofi-Aventis have called in experts to assess the emotional health of their employees. 

So are these "perks" really seen as perks by the employees who receive them?  Or does the fact that they occur during working time with coworkers and monitored by management make them any less enticing?

Employers are always looking for new ways to offer their employees perks and benefits.  Perks can be a double-edged sword.  On one hand, many think that employee retention can be directly correlated to the perks offered.  On the other hand, in difficult economic times, employers worry that they'll have to chose between keeping costly perks or keeping employees.  And to take away perks is an absolute morale killer.  (See The Real Price of Pulling Perks and 5 Free Ways to Reward Employees).

So what's an employer to do? We've talked before about some of the free perks that employers can use to keep employees.  Here's another type of perk that isn't free but that will give you a real return on your investment.  Training.

Yes, that's what I said, training.  Employees, especially Gen Y employees) want to know that they are making a contribution to their workforce.  Employees who are able to participate in meaningful work, as opposed to mind-numbing "busy" or "filler" work are far more likely to get engaged and have the sense of ownership that employers value so highly. 

Without continued development, employees are destined to get bored and lose their enthusiasm.  Unless employees are given continuous opportunities to develop new skills or to deepen their understanding of skills they already have.

This is a win-win for employers, too.  What more could you want?  Engaged and highly skilled employees?  Maybe it's more of an employer perk.

Want to know what it takes to be voted best place to work?  Ask the healthy employees of Wilmington, Delaware-based internet bank, ING Direct.  The healthy-factor is no coincidence.  ING takes its employees' wellness very seriously.

The bank has a full-time doctor and nurse in the building for employees' immediate access.  And employees can use the company's full-scale gym.  Known as The Energy Zone, the gym offers a variety of group fitness classes such as yoga and spinning, and even organizes a running club.  For $10 per month, employees can use the gym before, during, and after work--including weekends.  The Wellness Center offers weight-loss programs, access to personal trainers and cholesterol monitoring. 

According to the respondents, the good stuff doesn't stop at the doors of the Wellness Center, though.  81% think they have a great physical work environment.  And 85% feel their benefits package is good compared to others in their industry.  92% said they are proud to work for ING and 81% said they are motivated to give their best.  86% believe in the mission and the strategy--reporting that they feel that the company is moving in the right direction.

The bank is known for doing things its own way, which has turned out to be a very effective way for ING.  Since it opened in 2000, the bank has grown to more than 6.8 million account holders.  All without a single branch.  ING also prides itself in treating all of its 1,108 employees equally.  Instead of formal titles, employees work in a certain department--where managers sit in cubicles next to their direct reports.

Innovation is working for ING--and for its healthy employees.

Good employees are hard to find.  And employers know it.  So, to attract and retain the best talent, employers have implemented benefits and perks in every shape and size.  Wellness Programs

have been lauded as a way to offer employees additional perks at work while, at the same time, producing a healthier, happier, and less expensive workforce.

But wellness programs aren't the only type of benefit offered in addition to the standard health-care plan. A company car, employer-subsidized day care, and the like are all pitched as benefits that employers hope will attract the best of the best.  But what happens when times are tough and employers need to make cut-backs?  These benefits are often the first in line at the chopping block.  As it turns out, though, this may not be the best plan of attack.

Reneging on an offered benefit is the equivalent of a breach of the employee-loyalty contract; and it can have serious consequences on employee morale.  When an employer eliminates an employee-perk, employees often feel as if they've been "tricked."  Unfairness is another common product of the decision to remove perks that the workforce has come to associate as an integral part of the compensation package. 

But, at the same time, employers know that the modern employee expects these kind of benefits.  They are what has landed Google on Fortune 500's "Best Places to Work" list for the last two years. Competition for top producing employees requires employers to offer something.  So what to do?  There is a middle ground.  Especially in periods of economic hardship, employers must be creative to ensure that they remain competitive while avoiding the counterproductive effect sure to occur when perks are pulled.

Here are a few examples of benefits that, because of their low-cost, carry a similarly low risk of being cut at the first sign of hard times. 

1. Peer recognition.  Think of this as an Employee-of-the-Month program with a twist.  Instead of having management nominate an employee for exceptional work, which often results in little more than embarrassment and ostracism for the recipient, have employees do the nominating.  Non-winners take pride in their nominee and the nominee is more likely to value the award when it comes from his peers.
2. Casual or Dress-down Fridays.  These don't have to happen every week.  Instead, try once a quarter.  If it is something different, employees are more likely to be excited about it.
3. Professional Speakers.  Professionals will often come to your organization and present to your employees at little or no cost.  The benefit to the speaker is the potential business and networking opportunities.  Financial advisors, for example, can offer your employees valuable and practical information. 
4. Placement Incentives.  Offer employees a reward, whether cash or time off, if they refer a job candidate who is hired and stays at the organization for six months.
5. Teach the Teacher.  When an employee has a particularly notable success, have him share the key processes with others in the group.  He'll be pleased with the recognition and his peers will appreciate the insight.

The best way to reward employees is one you already know--saying "thank you."  Showing gratitude regularly is the single best way to develop a positive relationship with your workforce and to build employee engagement.  And that is always free.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Employee retention has garnered a great deal of attention as a result of the notoriously short stints of Generation Y employees.  The battle for talent requires more strategic tactics than ever.  But, as many employers have learned, getting them to stick around after they arrive is just as difficult.  As a result, more and more employers are spending more and more resources on employee perks of every variety.  But are some jobs just so unbearable that no perk can entice employees to stay?

BNet has a recent article explaining the "five telltale signs that recession is putting your organization in a chokehold, and possibly making your job unbearable."

Four of the five signs that your organization is in trouble and that your job is about to get "crummy:"

1.  Loyalty goes out the window. Employees, who normally work to please others, with whom they've developed an emotional relationship, instead become transaction-oriented.  Instead of wanting to satisfy those people in the workplace who are important to them, employees turn inward and do the minimum required to satisfy their obligations.

2.  Bad news comes from the top.  Middle managers get stuck with giving bad news that they didn't create or relaying tough decisions that they did not make.  This makes them an undeserving target.

3.  Office politics get as heated as any campaign season.  When employees smell the fear of layoffs, they switch from the defensive to an offensive approach.  To avoid the chopping block, they start pointing fingers as others, hoping to divert attention away from themselves.

4.  Innovations come to a stop.  There is no room for change, so goes the line of thinking during tough financial times.  Inhibiting creative thinking is stifling to many of the best employees.  And those who aren't stifled stand to suffer even more because the ideas they do offer are shot down, leading to hurt feelings. 

There's no prediction of a sudden economic upswing.  Until there is, employers should be on the lookout for signs that employees are becoming dissatisfied.  As much effort should be made to prevent layoffs as goes towards preventing employee disengagement.

Employee retention has garnered a great deal of attention as a result of the notoriously short stints of Generation Y employees.  The battle for talent requires more strategic tactics than ever.  But, as many employers have learned, getting them to stick around after they arrive is just as difficult.  As a result, more and more employers are spending more and more resources on employee perks of every variety.  But are some jobs just so unbearable that no perk can entice employees to stay?

BNet has a recent article explaining the "five telltale signs that recession is putting your organization in a chokehold, and possibly making your job unbearable."

Four of the five signs that your organization is in trouble and that your job is about to get "crummy:"

1.  Loyalty goes out the window. Employees, who normally work to please others, with whom they've developed an emotional relationship, instead become transaction-oriented.  Instead of wanting to satisfy those people in the workplace who are important to them, employees turn inward and do the minimum required to satisfy their obligations.

2.  Bad news comes from the top.  Middle managers get stuck with giving bad news that they didn't create or relaying tough decisions that they did not make.  This makes them an undeserving target.

3.  Office politics get as heated as any campaign season.  When employees smell the fear of layoffs, they switch from the defensive to an offensive approach.  To avoid the chopping block, they start pointing fingers as others, hoping to divert attention away from themselves.

4.  Innovations come to a stop.  There is no room for change, so goes the line of thinking during tough financial times.  Inhibiting creative thinking is stifling to many of the best employees.  And those who aren't stifled stand to suffer even more because the ideas they do offer are shot down, leading to hurt feelings. 

There's no prediction of a sudden economic upswing.  Until there is, employers should be on the lookout for signs that employees are becoming dissatisfied.  As much effort should be made to prevent layoffs as goes towards preventing employee disengagement.

Employers who offer subsidized and on-site day care as part of their employee-benefits plan are very popular.  Employer-sponsored day care is a high-demand employee perk.  It is also a very difficult and costly benefit to implement. Google has recently learned this first-hand.

According to to a Joe Nocera of the New York Times, in an article titled, On Day Care, Google Makes a Rare Fumble, there has been a recent brouhaha about this very topic.  According to the article, Google has implemented a five-quarter plan to raise the cost of company-subsidized day care by approximately 75%.  [Gulp!]

Subsidized and on-site day care certainly aren't yet common but they've been around for more than a decade at many large organizations.  Google's own experience with day care has been a unique one.  Google began offering day care more than three years ago.  After devoting substantial efforts to it, the program offered only 200 (highly coveted) day care spots with a wait list of more than 700--resulting in a two-year wait for new parents and employees.  And the cost was no small thing.  Nocera writes that the cost to the company was $37,000 per child per year, as compared with the industry standard of $12,000 per year. 

The hyperinflation in cost will certainly reduce that waiting list. And if it doesn't, Google's recent practice of charging people several hundred dollars to stay on the waiting list should do the trick.  As a back-up, though, Google is opening new facilities, which should add another 300 spots. 

100 great blogs all in one place!!  Is it possible? Well, of course.  Right here at Delaware Employment Law Blog! Under the "Resources" tab at the top right of our home page, the "Blog List" gives you access to more than 160 blogs, all in one place.

HR World has done the same thing, so double your blog intake. 

Here are some of my own favorites from each of the categories:

Leadership:  Wally Block's 3-Star Leadership Blog has always regularly updated and sophisticated content on a broad range of topics relating to leadership and business management. 

Creativity & Inspiration:  I've mentioned before my admiration for David Zinger, who's responsible for the Slacker Manager blog.

Self-Awareness:  Be sure to check out the blog of Marshall Goldsmith, executive consultant and author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There.  But don't forget Seth Godin's Blog, which is wildly popular and only getting hotter,  or David Maister's Passion, People, and Principles.

Development, Marketing and Finance:  Managing Leadership, The Strategic Role of the Senior Executive, is a recent addition to my blogroll with insightful and intelligent commentary. 

Using Technology:  The Web Worker Daily is always content-rich--in quantity and in quality.

Getting Results:  Smart Talk on Conversation by Susan Bird focuses on employee and customer engagement with word-of-mouth marketing, interactive dialogue, and social networks.

Branding:  The Engaging Brand Blog: Employee-management tips permeate this blog by Anna Farmery, speaker and social-media coach.

Women:  The Power of the Purse: Fara Warner finesses on how companies can cater to “the world’s most important consumers”— women.

Sunday night, I had a meeting with about 10 people at my office.  When I arrived a few minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin, it was clear that the air conditioning was not operating correctly.  For those not familiar with Delaware summers, no air condition is not a good thing.   The conference room was stuffy already and bound to get worse. I immediately adjusted the thermostat on the wall, no response.  A call to the night desk for assistance brought the bad news -- "the air-conditioning system is shutdown at 6 o'clock on Sundays until the next morning." 

The guard at the desk then added, "it's hot down here too."  Misery loves company.

As I suffered through the meeting, with the lights dimmed to keep the conference room as tolerable as possible, my mind began to wonder.  I began thinking about how office temperature is a very frequent topic in our office.  Somebody is always complaining that it's either too hot or too cold.

After the meeting, I did some quick surfing of the Internet.  Turns out that the Sunday New York Times has an article on the topic of office temperature.  The article explores why some workers (usually female) are more likely to be cold and why some (usually male) employees complain that the office is hot.  It also cites a Cornell University professor who says that raising the office temperature from a chilly 64 to a balmy 77 increases productivity and lowers mistakes. 

As I type this post, everything has returned to normal. The thermostat in my office is appropriately turned down to 65 and the office is becoming nicely chilled.  It won't belong before someone enters with the familiar refrain "what do you have this thing set at?"  In the past, my usual response has been, "I don't know, I didn't touch it."  

But maybe a new response is appropriate, given my obsession with going green at work and at home, and my new-found knowledge about the correlation between office temperature and employee productivity?  . . . Naaaaaah.

Employee satisfaction is a complex science. What it takes to retain top talent has been the subject of countless studies, focus groups, and informal discussions.  Julia Kirby, at the Harvard Business Review posted about the importance of Making Sure You're Engaging Your Top Talent.  She writes about two recent studies that show that new employees become jaded after just six months on the job, followed by a decline in morale for the next four years of employment.

These statistics beg the questions, why does this happen and how can it be prevented?

Of course, I wouldn't pretend to offer answers to either question--both surely will be the topic of countless case studies and research projects for years to come.  But here's what I will offer--what I believe to be the most fundamental necessity that any organization must provide in order to retain great employees and to make good employees become great ones--honesty.

You don't hire employees because you think they're particularly dopey.  You hire employees who you believe are the best and brightest, the smartest, and most innovative candidates out there.

Just don't forget it once they start working for you.

Employees are not fooled by empty promises.  So don't pretend that you are going to fix X, Y, or Z problem if you know you'll never take any tangible steps in keeping that promise.  It's very easy to become jaded when you feel that you've been duped by your employer.  Think of the parent who answers every request with "maybe," or "We'll see." 

Everyone knows that what the parent really is saying is "N-O."  So be a straight shooter.  Give employees a valuable answer to their questions and, whenever possible, explain why.  Employees in the know are more likely to be sympathetic to the choices of the organization even if it doesn't give them the result they prefer.

In these difficult economic times, it is not uncommon for an employer to have serious concerns about the financial health of the organization.  So, if the company's annual summer picnic is cut to save money, don't feed employees a bogus story about the reasons for the decision.  It won't be good enough.  They'll resent you for canceling the party and they'll interpret the decision as a negative reflection of management's lack of understanding or appreciation of employees.  They'll secretly suspect that management is trying to give them a not-so-subtle hint that they are not doing a good job.

Instead, be honest.  Explain that the party has been canceled because it is a costly event and, in difficult times, the company has the duty to protect the overall fiscal health of the company and can't risk long-term security in the name of the summer picnic.  Offer specific examples of the cost-benefit analysis you used to reach the decision.  If you spent some time and energy to reach the decision, then you'll be able to articulate that to others. 

And sometimes, that's all it takes.  A little honesty.

Employment litigation involves high-state emotions and personal investment.  Delaware employers who find themselves in employment litigation can utilize the highly successful and very accessible mediation services of our two federal court magistrate judges. 

The success rate of mediation can, in large part, be attributed to the value of a face-to-face meeting of the parties.  Facilitated by two highly regarded judges who have the ability to coax the parties into reasonable positions, it is it not uncommon to reach settlement in a case once the emotions have subsided.  But what if there was a way to cool emotions before litigation ever ensued? 

The Workplace Fairness Blog picked up an article from the N.Y. Times, Doctors Say "I'm Sorry" Before "See You in Court."  According to the article, there is a trend in the medical profession to disclose medical errors more promptly, followed by a sincere apology and fair compensation.  The article indicates positive results with one hospital reporting a decline in existing claims and lawsuits from 262 in 2001 to 83 in 2007.

The post wonders whether this "full disclosure and apology" policy could or should be transferred to the employment context.  In other words, would a heartfelt "I'm sorry" prevent litigation brought by employees?  The concludes that it likely would. 

How to Cut Off Liability With a Face-to-Face Meeting

I concur.  Often, I will get a call from a client worried about an employee who, it is suspected, may be considering a lawsuit.  When I inquire what happened or is happening that would cause the employee to consider suing, there usually is a clear and definable answer.  Maybe the employee was passed over for a promotion that she feels she deserved, for example.

As we flesh it out, there are often good reasons, from the employee's perspective, to feel slighted.  Employees don't get all of the information that go into any given decision.  So, based on the information that they have available to them, the situation very well might seem unfair or biased. 

If that is the case but the employer has legitimate, articulable, and, preferably documented reasons for the decision, then we're off to a good start.  But we're not at the finish line because those legitimate reasons are unknown to the employee.  So what's an employer to do?

The answer is not necessarily to disclose every justification to the employee.  There are plenty of reasons that you may not want to share your decision-making process.  For one, it might lead to a sense of entitlement among direct reports.  And you don't need a line of employees demanding to know "why?" every time a decision is made that they don't like. 

Provide a Meaningful Opportunity to Be Heard

But there are middle grounds.  I counsel employers to, at the least, bring the employee in and ask them what's going on--and then listen to the answer.  Sometimes, just feeling that you are being heard is enough to put the employee back on your team. 

Once they've had an opportunity to say their piece, the manager should acknowledge that the employee's position is a sincere one (though not necessarily correct or justified, but at least sincere).  Then reinforce the employer's commitment to the employee and his or her continued satisfaction.  You hired him because you believed in the valuable contribution he makes to the team and this has not changed. 

I don't know that I'd call this an "apology."  But I would call it confirmation of commitment.  And I think that goes a long way.  Just a confirmation that you are still on the same side. 

Good management is learned.  No one is born a good manager.  But we learn as we go. Well, at least some of us do. Others maybe haven't gotten that far.  And how do you know which one of the two categories you're in?  For one Post Office manager, the signs are pretty clear.

Earlier this month, about 100 postal workers put up a lively picket line that stretched half a block long.  And what were they protesting?  Their boss.

That's right, the employees had established an informational picket demanding that an abusive supervisor be removed.  Their signs read, "Ron Malig Is Hostile and Cruel," "It's Impossible to Work With Ron Malig."

A press release issued by the picketers read: "His behavior there was chronically abusive and resulted in numerous grievances and EEO complaints and a petition to Congressional representatives."

I think it's safe to say that Mr. Malig could use some additional training. 

Source: San Francisco Indybay.org, "San Francisco Postal Workers Call for Removal of Abusive Boss."

Human Resource specialist, management professionals, and leadership consultants and coaches make up the nearly 300 members of the Employee Engagement Network. The network was started in January 2008 by David Zinger, the author of the popular leadership blog, Slacker Manager. 

If you are interested in management and leadership topics, the art of employee retention, or general principles of productivity, there is a good chance that you’ll find something worth a read at the EEN website. And now, thanks to Zinger and 11 co-authors, there is another reason to visit.  Zinger et al. have published an e-book containing 300 ideas for employee engagement. It’s been so popular that it was featured on the front pages of the New York Times and BNet's web-based newsletter. It’s a rare treat to find a learning tool with such practical, real-world advice.  But it gets even better--the book is free! Oh, the wondrous world wide web.

Visit the Slacker Manager blog to download the Employee Engagement in pdf and, while you're there, thank David for yet another great contribution.

Leaders and those who are charged with leadership development can consider this informative comparison.  Harvard Business contributor and coach, Marshall Goldsmith posted a compelling article titled, Management Advice from Buddha.  The premise of his article is that the fundamental principles of good leadership are largely parallel to the Buddhist principle of non-attachment. 

Non-attachment, at its heart, is the practice of letting go.  People who have a permanent hunger for personal learning are people who welcome change; in fact, they embrace change.  And those who look forward to seeing a new practice or idea have an easier time letting go. 

Leaders must be comfortable with the idea of change.  Those who are threatened by it cannot successfully manage.

According to Goldsmith:

Buddha suggested that his followers only do what he taught if it worked in the context of their own lives. He encouraged people to listen to his ideas, think about his suggestions, try out what made sense – keep doing what worked – and to just "let go" of what did not work.

Similarly, I teach my clients to ask their key stakeholders for suggestions on they can become more effective leaders then listen to these ideas, think about the suggestions, try out what makes sense – keep doing what works – and let go of what does not.

When our stakeholders give us suggestions on how we can become more effective, we can look at these suggestions as gifts – and treat our stakeholders as gift-givers. When someone gives you a gift you wouldn’t say, “Stinky gift!” “Bad gift!” or “I already have this stupid gift!” You would say, “Thank you.”

If you can use the gift – use it. If you don’t want to use the gift, put it in the closet and "let it go."

You would not insult the person who is trying to be nice by giving you a gift. In the same way, when our stakeholders give us ideas, we don’t want to insult them or their ideas. We can just learn to say, “Thank you.”

We cannot promise to do everything that people suggest we should do. We can promise to listen to our key stakeholders, think about their ideas, and do what we can. This is all that we can promise – and this is all that they expect.

Dr.Goldsmith is the author of the New York Times best seller, What Got You Here Won't Get You There. He has worked with more than 80 CEOs and their management teams and been recognized as one of the world's leading executive educators and coaches in Forbes, Business Week, and The Economist, among others.

Dr. Goldsmith has a fabulous website, which he calls a "Library" filled with videos, lots of free resources, and other articles.

This year’s hot democratic primary has plunged politics into the workplace more than ever. Today’s News Journal ran an article on the subject, “Talking politics at the office: Employers, managers must walk fine line on what to allow”

Our own Sheldon Sandler was quoted on the issue of whether it is advisable to prohibit political discussion in the workplace altogether. Although these discussions poses some risks, Sheldon suggested that banning such discussion outright is not a good idea.

From Obama’s stirring speech on race, to whether or not he wore a flag pin, this year’s election has raised some hot topics for watercooler debate – not likely to slow anytime soon at Delaware workplaces.

Engaged employee. Engaged workforce. Management and leadership gurus love these words. Employers don't care what you call it--they just want to achieve it. If you're discouraged about your attempts to motivate employees, here's a story to lift your spirits. Hopefully, you have had more success than this young woman's managers.

Employers at the top of the game know the value of a workforce full of engaged employees.--employees who take ownership of their work. Well, if there ever was a story to demonstrate what an engaged employee is not, this is it.

An Iowa Administrative Judge denied unemployment benefits to Emmalee Bauer, 25. Bauer was formerly employed by Sheraton as a sales coordinator. Apparently, she did not do much coordinating, though. Instead, she spent her time at work scribing heart-felt journal entries she hopes may someday be published. But this is not the journal you might picture.

Her journal was devoted entirely to her work-avoidance strategies.

That's right. Every day, throughout her shift, she journaled away. And, by the time the Sheraton gig was over, she'd created a 300-page, single-spaced Manifesto of a Slacker.

I'm only here for the money, and, lately, for the printer access. I haven't really accomplished anything in a long while . . . and I am still getting paid more than at any job I ever had before.

I am going to sit right here and play Elf Bowling or some other nonsense. Once lunch is over, I will come right back to writing to piddle away the rest of the afternoon.

The judge who denied Bauer's unemployment appeal, said that the journal demonstrated Bauer's refusal to work as well as her "amusement of getting away with it."

If there was ever a case where an employer should be able to sue an employee to recoup the money it lost by employing her, this sure seems to be the one. Can you say "refund"?

[Hat tip to the Manpower Employment Blawg]

A downward economy is the perfect time to motivate employees and reward worker bees.

With the slowed financial landscape, not all companies can raise salaries and offer big bonuses this year. In a recent report by msn.com, employees stated that their biggest concerns included the price of fuel, and they’ve sacrificed going out to dinner and the movies in order to make ends meet.

Employers, this is your big opening. Instead of waiting until the end of your fiscal year to boost morale, why not get a jump on it now? Although a gift card cannot replace cold, hard, cash, keep in mind that one of a company’s most important resources are its people. If you can keep your talented employees happy during less-than-steller economic times, you can certainly keep them during an economic boon.

Here are some suggestions to reward your best performers:

(1) Time. Employees increasingly complain that they cannot balance life and work. Here’s your opportunity to improve the balance. When an employee has just finished an overtime project (perhaps without the overtime pay?) give them flex-time off. This gesture accomplishes several goals: your employee feels like their hard work has been acknowledged, they realize that “the man” remembers employees have lives outside of work, and you can promote how your company favors a work-life balance.

(2) Cake. Yes, Marie, let them eat cake. This one is simple. Each month, purchase cake to recognize employment anniversaries, birthdays, whatever. Just let your employees take a break for a piece of cake. Trust me, if you get a good baker, everyone will look forward to this month’s “cake day.”

(3) Gift cards. Who said there was no free lunch? An easy way to recognize an employee’s performance is with an inexpensive gift card to the movies, dinner, or your local gas station. Remember, these were on the list of things employees were most concerned about- the cost of fuel and giving up entertainment to make ends meet.

Now, not everyone will appreciate your efforts. National Public Radio recently reported on the growing number of “happiness committees” cropping up at large companies. The committee’s purpose was to surprise employees (a.k.a. worker bees) with unexpected milkshakes and cookies to entice employees to work late that day, or to reward them for working late the day before. Not all of the bees appreciated the effort, and some said they would rather the company take the Happiness Committee’s budget, divide it among the bees, and send a check appropriate for people. In any event, working towards keeping employees happy is never bad for business.

How loyal are your employees? Really, how loyal? How about $276 million dollars worth of loyalty?

Apparently, the Tax Office at the Monogalia County Sheriff's Department in Charleston, West Virginia is doing something right because that is exactly how loyal their employees are. Eight employees of the Tax office claimed a winning Powerball ticket worth $276.3 million on Tuesday, having seen their numbers selected during the Saturday night drawing. But that was only after they reported to work on Monday, business as usual.

The "Lucky Eight" range in length of service at the Tax Office from 1 yr to 35 years. But they all went back to work, though Linda Fominko, who bought the winning ticket, said that they weren't necessarily going to work forever and some may consider retiring early. But not right away she said, "Who knows, down the line, in a few months or a year?"

After taxes, each woman will take home $11.9 million. Yet each of them felt passionately enough about the work that they do and about the community that they believe relies on them, to return to work on Monday morning. Obviously, these individuals are pretty level-headed to reserve the major celebrations for after they check in with financial planners, attorneys, and the like. But level-headed or not, their extreme loyalty to their work must say something about their working environment and, likely, their employer.