employee enagagement data

8/2/2019 Employee Enagagement Data

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Gratitude starts at the top. If you're the owner, manager, or supervisor, it's importantto let your employees know when they've excelled at their job. A culture of 'thankyou' will take a company much farther than one where employees harbor quiet

resentment and distrust. If you're looking for genuine ways to thank your employees,consider these suggestions:

1. Give Them Something They Really WantGifts don't have to be just for the holidays, and sometimes a thoughtful itemcan be more effective from a management standpoint than even a smallbonus on a paycheck. Do you have a salesperson who is always excitedabout the office March Madness basketball pool? The next time he closes adeal, get him a pair of tickets to his team's next home game. Is everyonealways raving about one employee's homemade lunches in the break room?Surprise your foodie employee with a gift card to that buzzed-about new

restaurant.

Gifts can be more than just a generic, obligatory thank you. Personalize yourgratitude. Which brings us to tip two:

2. Get to Know Your EmployeesYears ago, on my second or third day of a new job, the company ownerappeared at my desk and handed me two tickets to a new night club's grandopening. He said he'd be there and hoped I could come. Of course I made theeffort, enjoying an open bar and free dinner, not to mention getting to knowmy new boss in a comfortable atmosphere.

In the three years that I worked there, we also went fishing together andplayed golf. When the company took a downturn and a large chunk of thestaff, including myself, had to be laid off, I knew it was an agonizing decisionfor him. Although we weren't 'friends' like I am with my college buddies, weunderstood each other and I knew he cared about helping me find a new job.

It's important to know the people you work with. If you don't even know anemployee's name, how can they believe it when you say 'thank you?' Learnthe basics. Ask about their family and their hobbies. When a person knowsyou care about them, they'll work harder because they know you appreciate it.

3. Have Contests, but Don't DiscriminateAn employee of the month program can be a great motivator, but chancesare, one or two 'teacher's pets' will end up always being the stand-outs. Havea 'once a year' policy for the winners if you go this route.

For sales teams, goals and rewards are a great way to motivate. If your entirestaff has a motivator beyond their usual commission to sell the most productin a period of time, you'll undoubtedly see higher sales figures than you wouldwithout the additional incentive.

4. Take Them Out On the Town


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Food is a universal currency. It's amazing how a treat in the break room canchange your employees' day. Donuts and muffins are the easy go-to items inthe morning, but consider being a little more thoughtful. Did a new BBQrestaurant just open down the street? Surprise everyone on Friday with acatered lunch. Did you have a particularly strong quarter? After-work happy

hour (with the boss picking up the tab) is a huge morale booster, and it bringsyour staff closer together.

5. Set the MoodWe can't get every employee a corner office with wall-to-wall windows, but afew small items can improve the aura of any workplace. First on the prioritylist? Plants. The simple presence of our living green counterparts seems tosooth the soul, especially in otherwise sterile, fluorescent-lit environments. Ifspace allows, create a break room with comfortable seating and space tocongregate. Finally, consider letting employees be casual in their dress. Ifclients don't come by the office, letting them know it's okay to take their shoes

off at their desk can add to comfort levels. Casual Friday is always a plus.Taking any sort of initiative to increase worker comfort shows that you'rethinking about their best interest and grateful for their hard work.

Everyone wants to feel appreciated, and a good business leader will recognize thevalue of happy employees. Let your staff know you're thankful for all they do, and therewards will come back tenfold.

Related: To see these tips and others in use at an Ohio-based communicationsfirm,click here.

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BNET Column: Employee Engagement Vital toRetention, Recovery-Spurred RecruitingFriday, October 28, 2011 byMark Harbeke

Did you catch this rare bit of good news about the economythis week? Reutersreportedthat based on increasedconsumer spending, U.S. gross domestic product grew at a2.5% annual rate in the third quarter, up from a 1.3% in thesecond quarter.

If a strong or even stronger fourth quarter follows, willcompanies dip into their historic profits to hire in a manner thatwill be meaningful in terms of making a dent in the highunemployment rate in early 2012? That's anyone's guess atthis point, but what is known is that eventually -- as the

recovery comes or continues to happen, depending on your perspective -- recruitingefforts will need to pick back up.
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And, as leadership educator, executive coach, and speaker John Baldoni argues inhisnew columnon BNET this week, companies need to cope presently with aworkforce that, in large part, is and has been doing more with less.

He cites a new People Metrics report in making the case that employee

engagement best practices matter because they enable workers to feelpositive about their organization (the fact that their firm is still in business being acontributing factor in their engagement level).

What's more, as hiring picks up in tandem with an improving economy, it maymake an even bigger impact on your current workforce. Baldoni notes that inthis scenario, employees know that their options have expanded, so the extent towhich their employer's people practices make them feel integral to the team andchart a tangible path for their growth and development within the organizationbecome "a critical factor in whether an employee stays or leaves."

As Winning Workplaces advised in aneditorialon our website in July 2009 --ironically at the same time that manyeconomists later saidwe were out of the "GreatRecession" -- businesses would do well for their long-term prospects if theypurposefully shared the rewards of recovery with their workers as both anacknowledgement of their taking the hard journey with leadership, andas a means ofencouraging continued commitment and camaraderie to maintain a productiveworkplace culture.

Next Step: Whether you are in a hiring mode now or waiting to do so based on howyour sales forecast plays out and how the economy as a whole continues to perform,thisguest poston our blog provides great tips to motivate your workers, including

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Better PR for Math and Science to Help CompaniesFill Skills Gap - And Our EconomyWednesday, October 26, 2011 byMark Harbeke

Much of the high-level discussion about education in theU.S. lately has centered on whether or not thegovernment (and ultimately taxpayers) should investinhiring construction workersto fix our crumbling schoolsin many states.

This discussion has merit, of course, but maybe it is abig opportunity talk about not just what schools will looklike after this kind of action, but how they will better
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serve students. Specifically, I'm thinking of how educators as well as parents,companies, and the media can all make it more hip for kids to learn and usemath and science.

The problem is that, as amajor studyof an increasing number of industrialized

countries shows every three years, U.S. students rank poorly in math and science aswell as reading. But the opportunity is great: this newSeven Daysarticle, titled"Seeking Geeks," provides a Vermont-focused peek at an increasing nationwideneed for companies: qualified technical workers.

To the extent that companies can hire these workers among a pool of increasinglyeducated Americans, everyone benefits. Companies may be more confident overallto hire, and more Americans working means both more disposable income to spendin our economy anda reduced drain on federal and state unemployment benefitfunds.

Looking at the specific company need of technical workers, I did a quick review ofthe small firms we have profiled that are in thehigh tech/software/systemssector(organizations which, since 2003, have wonour awardfocused on the payoffof employee engagement and workplace team building). Of the 19 firms in thissector for which we've shared their successful people practices, 14 are still operatingindependently, four have been acquired, and one went out of business. Of the 14independent operators, 12 are currently hiring -- many for at least one technical role.

This, of course, doesn't even take into account the large number of our smallworkplace award winners in othersectors that are currently hiring for tech and otherroles, several of which Itweeted aboutthis week.

The government and the media periodically remind us of the importance ofencouraging kids to learn their ABCs and 123s ("The More You Know," anyone?).Because it is to their benefit as well as society's, I think more non-media

companies should get in the game of making these reminders front andcenter. After all, while there is talk that globalization and other factors have perhapsled some jobs away from the U.S.for good, the jobs I mentioned above are here --and need filling -- now.

Image credit:Learning Technologies

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A Winning Workplace-Reinforcing Social MediaPolicy FrameworkFriday, October 21, 2011 byMark Harbeke

Some of our past posts have stressed that it's a goodidea for you to improve employee engagement and
http://www.forsythnews.com/section/8/article/10568/http://www.forsythnews.com/section/8/article/10568/http://www.forsythnews.com/section/8/article/10568/http://www.7dvt.com/2011vermont-tech-job-recruitmenthttp://www.7dvt.com/2011vermont-tech-job-recruitmenthttp://www.7dvt.com/2011vermont-tech-job-recruitmenthttp://www.7dvt.com/2011vermont-tech-job-recruitmenthttp://www.winningworkplaces.org/library/success/cat_high_technology_softwar.phphttp://www.winningworkplaces.org/library/success/cat_high_technology_softwar.phphttp://www.winningworkplaces.org/library/success/cat_high_technology_softwar.phphttp://www.winningworkplaces.org/library/success/cat_high_technology_softwar.phphttp://www.winningworkplaces.org/topsmallbiz/http://www.winningworkplaces.org/topsmallbiz/http://www.winningworkplaces.org/topsmallbiz/http://twitter.com/winningwp/status/128493402030481408http://twitter.com/winningwp/status/128493402030481408http://twitter.com/winningwp/status/128493402030481408http://www.themoreyouknow.com/http://www.themoreyouknow.com/http://www.themoreyouknow.com/http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/1019/A-long-steep-drop-for-Americans-standard-of-livinghttp://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/1019/A-long-steep-drop-for-Americans-standard-of-livinghttp://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/1019/A-long-steep-drop-for-Americans-standard-of-livinghttp://www.burlesonisd.net/learntech/?p=589http://www.burlesonisd.net/learntech/?p=589http://www.burlesonisd.net/learntech/?p=589http://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbeke/better-pr-for-math-and-science-to-help-companies-fill-skills-gap-and-our-economyhttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbeke/better-pr-for-math-and-science-to-help-companies-fill-skills-gap-and-our-economyhttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbeke/a-winning-workplace-reinforcing-social-media-policy-frameworkhttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbeke/a-winning-workplace-reinforcing-social-media-policy-frameworkhttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbekehttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbekehttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbekehttp://twitter.com/home?status=RT%20@winningwp%20A%20Winning%20Workplace-Reinforcing%20Social%20Media%20Policy%20Framework%20http://bit.ly/qzEJgRhttp://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20http://twitter.com/home?status=RT%20@winningwp%20A%20Winning%20Workplace-Reinforcing%20Social%20Media%20Policy%20Framework%20http://bit.ly/qzEJgRhttp://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20http://twitter.com/home?status=RT%20@winningwp%20A%20Winning%20Workplace-Reinforcing%20Social%20Media%20Policy%20Framework%20http://bit.ly/qzEJgRhttp://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20http://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbekehttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbeke/a-winning-workplace-reinforcing-social-media-policy-frameworkhttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbeke/a-winning-workplace-reinforcing-social-media-policy-frameworkhttp://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/mark-harbeke/better-pr-for-math-and-science-to-help-companies-fill-skills-gap-and-our-economyhttp://www.burlesonisd.net/learntech/?p=589http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/1019/A-long-steep-drop-for-Americans-standard-of-livinghttp://www.themoreyouknow.com/http://twitter.com/winningwp/status/128493402030481408http://www.winningworkplaces.org/topsmallbiz/http://www.winningworkplaces.org/library/success/cat_high_technology_softwar.phphttp://www.winningworkplaces.org/library/success/cat_high_technology_softwar.phphttp://www.7dvt.com/2011vermont-tech-job-recruitmenthttp://www.forsythnews.com/section/8/article/10568/


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other people practices in your organization by adding a formal social media policy.Reasons for taking this step include enhancing your ability toengage both existing

and potential customersas well aspromoting better cross-generationalcommunicationamong your workforce andavoiding employee litigation.

But what does a comprehensive and effective social media policy look like? Dr.Sarah Elaine Eaton of Eaton International Consulting shed a lot of light on this lastweek ina postfor Social Media Today. Based on her review of over 150 suchpolicies for a wide range of firms, including both for- and not-for-profits, she shared16 dimensions in a "lessons learned" context.

What I find especially noteworthy about a number of Eaton's policyconsiderations is how they align with thebuilding blocksof a WinningWorkplace. For instance:

"Encourage honesty and transparency" and "Respect others" promote Trust,

Respect and Fairness "Encourage a conversational tone" and "Seek permission and ask for help"

promote Open Communications and Learning and Development "Discourage disputes" promotes Teamwork and Involvement "Time allocation" promotes Work/Life Balance

Asour researchandthat of otherswho study highly productive workplace culturesshow, to the extent that companies can reinforce great-workplace characteristics intheir policies and procedures, they tend to enjoy better business results as theyinform, enrich, and empower their people. Eaton's social media policy framework isone example of this phenomenon in action.

Related: We recently sharedthis videoby social media marketing expert LauraRoeder on ourFacebook page, in which she argues that you will best engageexisting and potential customers (and convert that engagement to sales) by turningto current employees. This approach, of course, hinges on having in place a usefulsocial media policy.

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Three Steps to Building a Healthy Work Culture inConstructionThursday, October 20, 2011 byMark Harbeke

The following is a guest post by Drake MacDonald. Drake'sbrief experience in construction introduced him to the field'smany shortcomings. As an online writer and editor, he worksto promote construction management education in the hopesof improving industry standards of communication and

organization.
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In the construction business, it is crucial for supervisors and employees tohave a symbiotic relationship in order to build a healthy work culture.However, in order to create such an environment, each constructionmanagement company must consider what can be done to develop asupportive workplace, how to inspire trust and leadership within the team, and

how barriers that may inhibit productive transactions can be removed. Whilethis process sounds complicated, in actuality it is fairly easy to implement.Simply utilizing the following ideas will allow you to establish a workenvironment that is not only healthy, but efficient and productive at every level.

The first step in creating a healthy work culture is for both employees andsupervisors to be open to hearing and utilizing the ideas of any member of theconstruction team. To ensure that all ideas are being heard, constructionowners can encourage workers and supervisors to submit their ideas formallyto the construction office. Company owners should also encourageemployees to share their ideas with their supervisors and other team

members.

Secondly, although purpose is important to construction, it is also importantthat supervisors and employees utilize a process approach to managing eachconstruction site. When construction management is focused on process,team members are much more likely to meet the expected standards andcomplete each stage of construction with success. Furthermore, the processapproach allows construction work to be completed with greater efficiency andquality.

Thirdly, it is important that team members on the construction site have peer

support and trust during the building process. This can be facilitated byfollowing through with all work orders and process standards. Likewise, allmembers of the construction team should learn to cooperate and collaboratewith each other on a day-to-day basis. This means that each team memberneeds to be accountable for their work and must treat other members of theteam with respect. However, even with the most agreeable team, itsinevitable that issues will arise that interfere with the construction process.When such an instance occurs, it is crucial that the issue is addressedpromptly with the entire team.

Ultimately if you incorporate collaborative behaviors, open communication,

and a process approach into your construction company, you can easily builda healthy and profitable workplace culture. Remember that constructionteams can also focus on creating healthy work environments by utilizingeconomically green tools and materials that benefit the industry, workers, andclients. With such a culture, construction safety is inevitable. Furthermore,when you utilize these techniques, you can be confident that your team isgiving their best.

Related: For even more employee engagement and team building strategies aimedat increasing job satisfaction and overall performance within the constructionsector,click here.

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Report Reaffirms Link Between Healthy Workplacesand Competitive AdvantageFriday, October 14, 2011 byMark Harbeke

Talk about fulfilling a need! Check out thisfromNewswiseyesterday:

In Kentucky -- which ranks 49th among all states inGallup's national index of well-being, has the 2ndhighest prevalence of heart attacks in the countryand the 5th highest prevalence of diabetes --

innovative solutions have become a businessimperative.

A new research report, "Creating Healthy Organizations: Promising Practicesin Kentucky," released today by the University of Kentucky's Institute forWorkplace Innovation (iwin), hopes to provide organizations in Kentucky andbeyond with new ways to improve employee health and well-being while alsoimproving the bottom line.

While the report focuses on health and wellness related people practices in midsizeand larger companies -- and not the smaller firms that Winning Workplaceshones in

on-- its conclusion is the same as what we and others in the employee engagementresearch space have been saying: organizations provide a win for their bottomline by implementing these practices and achieving greater productivity whiletypically reducing their long-term health care costs, as well asa win for theirworkers because they become better physically able to tackle all their commitmentsoutside of work.

This report, with its publisher and subject matter both based in Kentucky,immediately made me think of our 2008 Top Small Workplace award winnerThePaducah Bank & Trust Company, based in the Kentucky city of the same name.When the bank won our award, many of its competitors had lost 20-40% of their

stock value due to the mortgage bubble beginning to burst. Yet, Paducah Bank'sstock value increased by 8.2% in 2007, and in 2008 earnings were up 24%. Thebank achieved this competitive advantage in part through benefits such as itsemployee wellness/fitness program, which includes the following components:

Reduction in health club fees Financial incentive for visiting the gym Smoking cessation kits Flu shots On-site health screenings

Although Kentucky and other states are facing moderate to severe health care crisesamong their populations, I love that these types of intra-company, employee-
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centered initiatives have the power to turn those trends around whilemakingAmerican companies more competitive in the long run.

Related Articles:

On this blog:Nine Organizational Activities for Wellness Coordinators andTheir ROI On our website:Wellness Initiatives Are a Hip Way to Engage Employees,

Save in Long-term Health Care Costs

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New Employee Turnover Cost Calculator for Your

BusinessThursday, October 13, 2011 byMark Harbeke

A newemployee turnover cost calculatorprovided bythe Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and theCenter for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)currently has 28 "likes" onFacebook. I'm writing this tospread the word about it so it gets a lot more, as it looksto provide high value to many businesses, especially

small ones.The calculator looks like a tax return, and it's pretty slickin terms of walking you through variables to plug in based on whether you want todetermine turnover cost for salaried or hourly workers. The form tells you both thecost per employee, and the total cost.

The introductory verbiage at the top of the form sets the stage for why you shouldtake time out of your busy day to use this calculator to determine your costs (orto get a second opinion if you already track this internally): investing in yourworkplace in things like paid sick days (as CEPR mentions) among other benefits, as

well as in employee leadership development initiatives pays for your businessbecause often the cost of turnover is more than the cost of retention broughtabout by these and other people practices.

I'd love to read your thoughts about the CLASP-CEPR turnover calculator in thecomments. Do the totals come close to what you've seen in practice?

Related:

Nick Churchill covered CLASP in anarticle on our websiteon the push forpaid sick leave, and

I mentioned CEPR inthis poston California's paid family leave program.

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Promoting Good Communication in the WorkplaceFriday, September 30, 2011 byMark Harbeke

In the following guest post, Elaine Hirsch shareseffective communications team building strategies andwhy they're both good for workers and help create amore productive workplace. Enjoy!

Managers spend75 to 80 percent of their jobsengagedin some form of written or oral communication. Twothirds of all salaried employees have some type of

writing responsibilities, and nearly 80 percent ofcompanies assess writing skills prior to hiring anemployee. However, many managers and CEOs don'tutilize this tool effectively. Perhaps it's because they lacked something in theireducation, such as going toschool onlineand not talking aloud, but judging by thefocus on communication, the success of a company may depend upon employees'ability to communicate productively. Here are some helpful tips to improvecommunication in your company.

Why is Good Communication Important?

Idea Generation, Product Development, and Sales. Studies haveshowncollaborative environments with open communication are more successfulthan organizations where ideas aren't valued or communicated. These companies'products and services are profitable and make a difference in the lives of theircustomers. Articulation is instrumental in conveying complex ideas and producinginnovative products.

Motivational communication is also critical in convincing coworkers and uppermanagement to embrace an idea. Before a product may be sold to the public, itmust first meet the needs of people within the organization. If coworkers aren'tconvinced the product will be successful, then the product will probably not sell to the

general public.

Motivate Employees. Good managers can motivate employees to improve andperform well even during difficult times. When the company is going throughmanagement changes, reorganization, or bankruptcy, managers can motivateemployees by keeping them in the loop. This encourages employees to feel a senseof ownership of the company and give extra effort if they are motivated througheffective communication and incentives.

Conflict Resolution. When conflict arises between coworkers, active listening andcommunication become invaluable. Communication in situations of conflict requirestact, patience, and the ability to negotiate possible solutions. When the environmentis tension-filled and people are afraid to communicate with upper management and
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other employees, the company becomes ineffective. Good ideas that couldpotentially be lucrative are lost because of the lack of communication.

Misunderstandings. Simple misunderstandings may erupt into full-blownarguments if communication isn't encouraged. Many people allow issues to fester

rather than tactfully addressing them with the other person. Polite directness willdiffuse the misunderstanding and help both parties work towards a solution.

Which Communication Modality is Most Effective?

Both written and oral communication skills are essential in any workplace fordifferent circumstances. Employees must be prepared to communicate effectivelyregardless of the modality. In some situations, face-to-face communication isnecessary. An employee may have an idea and only a few minutes to pitch it to asenior manager in the elevator. The company may also hold a conference tocommunicate ideas in person rather than through written correspondence.

Written communication may be required when documentation is needed of theconversation. If there's any concern the recipient may misplace or forget what youneed to convey, written communication is best. Printed materials may be preferablewhen visuals are needed to convey your point.

Tips for Effective Communication

Use Audio-Visual Aids. As the old adage goes: "A picture is worth a thousandwords." A chart, pie graph, or other visual representation can greatly augment theeffectiveness of a presentation or explanation. The less an audience has to puzzleover your ideas, the more readily they can understand their value.

Ask Rather than Blame. If you suspect coworkers of unpleasant behavior, bring itup with them and ask about the situation. Present the evidence that led you tobelieve they may be involved in the behavior and listen to their response.

Actively Listen Before a Response. After a confrontation, listen to the other pointof view. Make note of key points without interrupting the response. Incorporatethose points in your reply to show that you acknowledge the other point of view.

Focus on the Positive Rather than the Negative. Always try to note a positivebefore addressing the negative. This will show others you value some aspects oftheir behavior in cases of criticism.

Keep the Conversation Brief. Set a time limit on each response or rebuttal to giveeach side the opportunity to respond and make a point.

Communication is essential to any environment. Employees who follow these tipswill promote effective communication in their workplaces, much to their own benefitas well as that of their coworkers.

Related: For more people practices and insights, check out the latest survey write-


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up and archived summaries in theOpen Communications areaof the ResearchStudies section of our website.

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10 Nontraditional Practices in Celebration ofNational Work and Family MonthMonday, September 26, 2011 byMark Harbeke

Did you know that National Work and Family Month, as designated byCongress, is fast approaching? October has been that month since

2003 more information on it and what it's about is availablehere.

As part of a blog fest around this month-long event, WinningWorkplaces was pleased to be asked to contribute an article onstaff engagement activities that businesses can use to help their peoplestrike a better balance between work and home life to The HuffingtonPost. Here's what I shared:

Since 2003, the nonprofit I work for, Winning Workplaces, has sponsored an awardhonoring small businesses whose innovative employee practices drive businessgrowth. (It used to be called Best Bosses, and now it's known as Top Small

Company Workplaces.)

Every year that we have run this competition, we have seen a link between usingpractices designed to help employees balance their work and personal lives, andbetter bottom-line results. For example, our latest award cycle earlier this year --which generated close to 350 applications from across North America -- revealedthat companies that use one or more flexible work arrangements had 25% loweraverage turnover in 2010 compared to those that don't use any, and their averageemployee tenure is 43% greater.

Many of the practices these progressive small firms employ have gotten more media

attention in recent years -- things like flexible shift start and end times, getting timeoff for community service, job sharing, summer hours and, as WFC Resources'Susan Seitel recently addressed as part of National Work and Family Month,telework.

Just as noteworthy, perhaps, is the following list of less traditional flex work practicesour award-based research uncovered this year. Small business leaders, especially,can use this as a springboard to better balance keeping their workers happy,energized and most productive with managing costs.

1. Employees, at all levels, manage their own schedules and work hours to be most

conducive to their personal lives, as long as these altered schedules do not impacttheir ability to deliver to clients or to support their coworkers.
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2. With advance notice, all holidays are "floating," meaning that employees can shiftor consolidate "traditional" days off such as Memorial Day or Labor Day.

Read the rest of our articlehere.

Related: Dig even deeper into the possibilities for your people practices and thepayoff of employee engagement by reading these additional articles on TheHuffington Postthat also help elevate and celebrate National Work and FamilyMonth: 12 Tips for Making Your Telework Arrangement Succeed Confessions of an Undercover Working Mom The ABCs of Workplace Flexibility

If you're on Twitter, you can also follow all the insights and related events in Octoberby searching the hash tag#NWFM.

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Separating Employee from Marketplace Innovationin Slate ArticleThursday, September 22, 2011 byMark Harbeke

Slate has anew articleon its website this week byAnnie Lowrey entitled "Why Small Busiensses Aren'tInnovative." In it, based on new research by theUniversity of Chicago, she argues,

The bulk of small businesses being created, in short,are not particularly innovative ones. Few spend anymoney on research or development, getting a patent, orotherwise trademarking a new idea. Most simply helpprovide already-crowded markets with familiar goods such as legal work or gas ornearby groceries. Nor are they growing businesses either.

My reaction to Lowrey's article is that I think it's important to separate internalinnovation involving team building and other people practices from the kindsof external, marketplace-driven innovation she addresses. As we know from ourlatest employee engagement research the nearly 350 applications received duringour 2011Top Small Company Workplaces competition the diverse cross section ofsmall firms we surveyed are most definitely innovative when it comes to how theyengage their people for best financial results. As I've shared in past posts on thissurvey sample: They do a wide array of things ranging fromleadership and supervision, to

performance management and employee development, to compensation and

benefitsto maximize staff retention.
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To both retain as well as attract top quality talent, they also embraceflexiblework arrangementsandrecognition programsin a big way.

Notably, theyrank ahead of 14% of the world's richest countries in paidannual leave(with the big benefits to companies being workers who are farless likely to be burned out, and thus are more productive and less prone to

leaving).I used the word "diverse" above when describing this sample of small businessespurposely. Here are some statistics on them, which suggest the vast majority ofthem are those Lowrey points to in her article and in her quote I pulled out above: From 42 U.S. states and territories. Represent more than 27 industries. Range in age from 3 to 99 years old 50% are 10 years old or younger. Have 4 to 443 employees 73% have 100 or fewer employees. They're also small when it comes to annual revenue: in 2010 they ranged

from $200,000 to $404 million though 96% of them had revenue under $100million.

This point I think is especially important when considering Lowrey's claim thatthe bulk of small businesses aren't growing: our 2011 award applicantsincreased headcounts 22% from 2009 to 2010, going from 74 to 90employees on average.

I'd like to close by saying that it's not that I don't like Lowrey's article she's mostlyjust extrapolating on U of C's research. I just think that some in small businesscircles, including HR professionals, OD consultants, and even CEOs, think ofinnovation not strictly in terms of what customers, vendors, VCs, the media, andother stakeholders see day to day. In other words, what's going on "under the hood"also drives an enterprise's ability to be a game changer.

Your thoughts?

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Payoff of Employee Engagement More VisibleThanks to The Colbert ReportMonday, September 19, 2011 byMark Harbeke

How did I miss this? Last week the University of North Carolina Kenan-FlaglerBusiness School bloglinked to an interviewofZapposCEO Tony Hsieh that airedon The Colbert Reportat the start of August. I'm embedding the interview below, asit's short and worth a view:

(Click hereif you can't see the video in your RSS feed)

As I'm sure many of our readers are aware, promoting the payoff of employeeengagement, including progressive strategies designed to build a more productive
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workplace to drive better bottom line results, can be an uphill battle. For alltheemerging researchwhich points to better engaged and satisfied employees as ameans for long-term competitive advantage, there is a prevailing view, includingwhat is still taught in many MBA programs, of "profits before people."

What I like most about this video is how Hsieh, in characteristic fashion, pivotsfrom Stephen Colbert's questions about how the company "delivers Wow" and profitson the customer side, to what the company does as part of its internal peoplepractices to make "Wow" possible. This includes core values such as empoweringemployees at all levels to make key decisions, and even leveraging their expertisewhen it comes to whom to hire forbest cultural fit.

The Colbert Reportand its primetime lead-in, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,nightly draw an average of between 600,000 and 1 million viewers. And the videohas been viewed more than 20,000 times on The Colbert Report's website. So eventhough Hsieh got a big opportunity to talk to a lot of existing and potential customers,

I think the big winner in this is staff engagement activities as a revenue generator.

Related Posts: An Innovative, Cost-Effective Advertising Strategy (Bonus: It Builds Goodwill) There's Strength in (Offbeat) Numbers

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Incubation is a Progressive Small Business FocusTuesday, September 13, 2011 byMark Harbeke

Incubation the practice of companies, academicinstitutions, and other groups working to spawn viablenew enterprises is highly important in the currenteconomic climate, in which many organizations arewaiting for more stability in their markets before theyinvest in new product development or expansion. Or, in

hiring.

Highlighting the importance of business incubators isthis contrast: while theSBA reportsthat over half ofsmall businesses fail in the first 5 years, the businessincubators trade association,NBIA, saysthat close to 90% of its graduates are still inbusiness 3 years after completing their program.

So the extent to which small businesses can be involved in the incubation process isa net gain for the economy, helping to increase innovation and expand jobopportunities. This week, anew article on Inc.com(Inc. Magazine is our media

partner for ourTop Small Company Workplaces award) tells the story about how our2010 award-winning firm,Tasty Catering, has become an incubator in its home
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state of Illinois on several fronts.

This made me curious about how companies who applied for our most recent TopSmall Company Workplaces award, earlier this year, have made incubation a focus and particularly how workplace team building and employee engagement drive

it. Here are two more examples:1. One of our 50 winners,TRX(health industry, based in California, 132

employees), shared with us in their award application that, to use peoplepractices to improve organizational performance, they sent their Director ofEducation to several, week-long athletic training mentorships to learn bestpractices in running athletic education courses. At these workshops shegained a better understanding of running an incubated business,management and team development, and industry standard benchmarks. Asa result of this investment TRX's Education business has thrived, especiallyinternationally.

2. I also found a noteworthy account from one of our applicants,Starmount Life

Insurance Company(insurance industry, based in Louisiana, 176employees), that they submitted in answer to our question on employeeleadership development training for new and existing managers andsupervisors. Starmount says a key priority is at their Team Leader level, thefirst level supervisory role in their organization. Not only are they typicallynew to a leadership role, but they may encounter challenges shifting from apeer to supervisory relationship. Team Leaders participate in a "ManagementIncubator" program which utilizes competency-based leadershipassessments, experiential learning, leadership coaching, and developmentplanning. This program appears to have had a big impact on Starmount'ssuccess post Katrina and Rita: their relocation-related initial turnover quicklystabilized, in 2009 they broke ground on a new headquarters in Baton Rouge,and in 2010 they launched two new major product lines.

Related: Like Tasty Catering, another of our 2010 award-winning small workplacesthat encourages employees to spur viable new businesses is Pennsylvania-basedMAYA Design. Learn more about themhere.

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Further Evidence That Hiring for Cultural Fit is GoodBusinessFriday, September 9, 2011 byMark Harbeke

Last October Icitedemployee engagement research byRandstad which found that a majority of working adultsbelieve that when companies hire for attitude and fit, it'sbetter for business because the workplace culture ismore productive.

Last week, WorldatWorksharednew research which finds an outcome of companies
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not taking this approach: HireRight's 2011 Employment Screening BenchmarkingReport finds that second only to cost cutting, businesses' biggest challenge isfinding and retaining quality talent. Forty-nine percent of the nearly 1,800 HR,talent management, and other professionals from companies with up to 25,000employees in 20 industries surveyed cited this and in fact other common

challenges like emerging competitors and access to credit ranked far lower, at 16%and 8%, respectively.

This tells me that despite a historically large population that is either unemployed orunderemployed right now many of whom would be qualified to come on board andfill these critical roles this major organizational concern has not been alleviated.

Here's a very different picture to share with you: As we outlined inthis articleonour website based on an annual economic survey we do of ouraward-winning smallbusinesses, as of Q4 2010 the top action they reported taking out of a list of 10common options we presented was "Invest in training and staff development to

ensure we're ready for growth."

They are doing this, and are in a position to do so, becausethey made thecommitment and investment on the front end to hire not only for skills, but for attitudeand fit so that their overall workforce effectiveness and camaraderie could beimproved.

This is borne out by the fact that among the applicants for Winning Workplaces' 2010Top Small Company Workplace award, 7 out of every 28 average job openings percompany (25%) were filled from within. (We did not ask this question in our mostrecent/2011 award application.) Could they have done this and in the processtackled in part the number-one business challenge cited in the new HireRight survey,cost cutting if they didn't have this intense a focus on employee leadershipdevelopment for the long term?

My ultimate takeaway is that small firms that have done this work are nowbenefitting in myriad ways in a poor economy, from retaining their knowledge base,to keeping client relations and customer service strong, to investing moneyelsewhere that their competitors are now spending, or poised to spend soon, on newhiring and training.

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Winning Workplaces Provide Assistance AfterHurricane IreneThursday, September 1, 2011 byMark Harbeke
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A key building block of a Winning Workplace is peoplepractices supporting a focus on Teamwork &Involvement (more about the other 5 building blocks webelieve in, and have seen in practice among the greatsmall firms we've studied and recognized,here).

This involves team building strategies, of course, but italso relates to the extent that an organization acts as ameans to empower its employees to improve thecommunities in which they live, and supports them during crises. Our recentSuccessStory on Van Meter Industrial, a 2010 winner of our Top Small Company Workplaceaward, addressed this in detail related to the historic flood that hit its headquarterscity Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2008.

We've just weathered an even larger-scale natural disaster Hurricane Irene, whichdevastated many East Coast states this past weekend. True to form, many of the

small businesses we've honored withboth of our awardsare offeringassistance to individuals and businesses that were affected by it. Here's asnapshot of what they're doing:

1-800-GOT-JUNK?(2005 Best Boss - Brian Scudamore)As their business is based on junk removal, they're doing what they do best andclearing out flooded basements and storm debris. Their call center and websitehave been slammed, and their northeastern U.S. franchise partners tell them thattheir schedules are packed. Luckily, they work directly with insurance companies, soit takes some stress out of the process of mopping up after such a destructive storm.

Bersin & Associates(2011 Top Small Company Workplace)Since many of their employees work remotely from the East Coast they're based inCalifornia they've helped them out in several ways: 1. Paying for one employee'smonthly rent increase while they move into a new neighborhood 2. IT staff is helpingpeople get their computers back up and running 3. Offered to help each employeefinancially with power outage issues.

Dealer.com(2010 Top Small Company Workplace)This Burlington, Vermont-based firm shared on their Facebook page (which as over2,200 fans) that much of Southern and Central Vermont has been hit hard and is indesperate need of help. They also shared a link to a blog that's been set up to help

Vermonters assist their fellow citizens.

Dyn Inc.(2011 Top Small Company Workplace)Tom Daly, President and CTO of this Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) company,provided a checklist on their blog to help ensure that company data centers areprepared for major weather events. They then shared this on their Facebook page,which has over 4,700 fans.

Firespring(2011 Top Small Company Workplace)Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Firespring, a comprehensive marketingsolutions provider, instituted a policy allowing any client to essentially "freeze" their

account and suspend payments until they were able to get back to business asusual. Yet, by their own admission, they failed to recognize that many clients were
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utilizing their online file transfer and job submission utilities that automatically purgedold data. Since many of their clients went without power for several months, theylost valuable data when Firespring's system did its job. When Hurricane Irene hit lastweek, it affected hundreds of their clients. For the past several days, they have beenclosely analyzing data to ensure that all of them are still able to access their files and

are actively engaged using their other web tools. They were prepared this time.Their support staff is also reaching out to clients to see if there is anything else theycan do to help them.

Northeast Delta Dental(2005 Best Boss - Tom Raffio)This dental insurance provider has invited employees and their families withoutelectricity to use their facilities, and they are prepared to initiate fundraisers throughtheir Helping Hands program as they learn about employees whose homes weredamaged. They have also activated their ListServ capabilities for their boardmembers, resulting in an exchange of offers to help one another within the tri-states,which has proven immeasurable for their colleagues in Vermont who experienced

extremely high flood waters and washed out roadways eliminating access to evenbasic services.

One Call Now(2011 Top Small Company Workplace)This Ohio-based enterprise, which delivers automated phone messages to improvecommunication between and among organizations, has emailed their customers inthe states affected by the hurricane. They offered them free upgrades to theirexisting service, ranging from free texting for 30 days free weather alerts untilNovember 1, when hurricane season is over. In addition, organizations whocoordinate relief for the affected areas can get free call credits added to theiraccounts to help with their work.

Seventh Generation(2006 Best Boss - Jeffrey Hollender)The marketer of environmentally responsible household products is donating someof them to make 1200 green cleaning kits for hurricane victims. They've partneredwith the Vermont Foodbank to build and deliver the kits to communities most inneed. And they shared news of this on their Facebook page, which has over 260,000fans.

Next Step: Review the above examples is there anything you can do or adapt fromthem to provide better value to youremployees, customers, or localcommunities/states? (Or get set to do for a future disaster affecting your area?) And

how can employee engagement be a catalyst, or improved, through these efforts?

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Videos - Contrasts Between a Bad and a GreatWorkplace in the Carwash IndustryWednesday, August 31, 2011 byMark

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