What drives employees to be engaged in their worksplace ?

I recently read an article published on fierceinc.com that reinforces a belief held by myself for a long time on what helps win the hearts and minds of employees.

Sometime ago I attended a T.E.C. ( Vistage in the USA ) annual conference of chairs in Orange County, California and one of workshop leaders was Susan Scott. Susan wrote the book Fierce Conversations which I reckon is recommended reading for business leaders.

Susan’s company Fierceinc has conducted a survey of some 800 business people and it highlighted that employees crave transparency within their workplace. My experience is that most private and large companies I have worked with very rarely display  open sharing of information and have a policy of transparency. They might say they do in their vision and mission statements, but the reality is the opposite. However, generally key information that should be shared is closely held within the top inner circle. Trust in the workplace is built through sharing information and giving employees the knowledge they require to help you and your organisation achieve your vision of the future.  Our employees are doing things in their private lives such as sitting on committees at schools and sporting or charitable organisations and handling complex family issues etc .Why do we treat them as is they have left their brains at home when they come to work ?

I challenge you to take stock in your business and question how you share information. Is all behind closed doors ? You cannot win the hearts and minds of your team if you treat them as mushrooms.

How can you hold people accountable if you  give out message that you do not trust them.?

Fixing Broken Lives

This morning I attended the launch of the Slavos Red Shield appeal in Geelong where they have set a target of $300,000.
Given they spend a few million dollars in the region every year on support services it is a small contribution to the overall budget.

The competition for funds by charity groups all over is fierce and the needs are many. I have never really taken a close look at the ground activity that the Salvos do. Over the years I have been involved in many Rotary projects which are generally at arms length. What  I heard today was the one-on-one activity that goes on with individuals and families who are broken. And the objective is to fix them, one at a time.

If you are a business owner and you make your money from a geographical community, what are you doing to help those in that community who need help ?

Sometimes we have to raise our head above the daily grind and realise that there are many who cannot help themselves and that’s where groups such as the Salvos help and are out there working in the suburban trenches.

When I talk to business owners and assist with their future strategy and planning I always ask them what they are doing to give back to the community

Motivation comes from vision, not from fear

My Flip Chart Stand is as Valuable as my Lap Top

I always carry a portable flip chart/whiteboard in the boot of my car. It has proven to be a valuable business tool.

On numerous occassions I have gone into meetings carrying this with me and always end up using it effectively to brainstorm a concept or issue we are discussing. I defy anyone to convince me that brainstorming is not an effective method of identifying the key issue around any subject you are discussing.

I have recently been in meetings were everyone is using IPads to follow the agenda and its interesting to see the time taken while finding the relevant content. Also everyone has their head in a computer screen and not looking at the individual talking to the subject.

Some of my friends suggest that using a flip chart or white board to develop concepts at a meeting is out-of-date. I hate power point presentations that are full of words and each page is hard to read and, the presenter talks to the screen. I can guarantee that using a flip chart or white board is the most productive method to create interaction with your audience.

Try it and see the results at your next internal meeting. Ban all electronic devices at your meeting and get everyone involved. Those who say they must have their mobile or such with them are not going to be productive, as you know they are watching their phone all the time and sending messages with the phone under the table.
Before you start calling me a ludite, I too have my lap top , my IPhone, my IPad and my kindle in my bag but I do not bring them out at a meeting. That’s an insult to the others at the meeting.

Without a Clear Vision of the Future Your Business Why Would Anyone Work There ?

One thing that has been lost in the post election comments is that the people of Queensland had been painted a vision of the future under the NLP. They could see a picture of what the future could be under a change of Government.

If I worked for you in your business, would I understand what you and your business are striving for and, would it inspire me to get on board and help everyone get there?

I often come across business situations where the management do not share their goals and aspirations with all employees. Everything is a secret and very little is shared, especially the key numbers. It’s like playing in a football team but not being allowed to see the score. Does not make any sense does it ?

We drive our kids through school and sport on achieving targets and we set them a vision of what they can do at the end of year twelve.
However, now they are adults and working for you, they are assumed to have left their brains at home. Go and talk to your employees one-on-one and you will discover that they are doing wonderful things in their private lives by being engaged in their community through their church, sporting clubs, school groups etc. I bet that each of these group have a shared vision that enables all participants to achieve a desired end result.

Enabling employees at all level to be engaged in their workplace can only happen if you are upfront and able to behave and communicate in way that wins hearts and minds.

I am remindered of a quote from Joel Barker: Vision Without Action is Merely a Dream.

But first you must have a Vision for what the end result looks like, then you can aim for it.

Improving Board Member’s Performance

I believe that, no matter the size of your company, the overall culture of the business is lead from the board. This also applies to the strategic direction of the business.

I have seen many articles on the subject on who is repsonsible for setting the strategic direction of a company and I subscribe to the concept that it’s the company directors who set the future direction. Given that directors have real responsibilities and accountabilities under the Corporations Act in Australia they cannot abdicate their fundamental responsibility the long term viability of the company.

This raises the question of the diversity of skills and experience of those sitting on the board. I recommend that all boards should have a program of continuous improvement for each board member. I also recommend an effective strategy by ensuring that all board members attend two to three workshops each year at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. The board should set a budget for this and it must be a KPI for board performance.

I would make it not negotiable.

What Does ” Employer of Choice” Mean ?

“Employer of Choice”

How often have you heard people say this or read the statement on a company website or in a company’s literature? I turn off when I hear this comment as I believe its just a buzz phrase and you often find those companies are the opposite and the exisiting employees are busting to find another place of employment. The real question is to really find out if your employees are actually engaged at work and on board with the company’s vision and understand why the business exists.

Would your employees recommend your workplace to their family, friends as a great place to work?

If you want an example of an internal culture that has produced the vision and KPIs set over a five year time period, go to the Geelong Cats web site and look for the link under corporate and click on “Good to Great”

Why is it that most other AFL clubs are looking to find the Cats key success factors that have made them so successful ? If you read the detail in their Good To Great document you might undertsand why and, could you say that your business has a set of values, core purpose, and clear vision and mission as is detailed  in this document ?

If you want to be the so-called employer of choice can you win the hearts and minds of all your stakeholders and be a place that talented and motivated individuals would love to work for ?

Now, before the dream stealers out there tell me that the Good to Great concept as first detailed by Jim Collins in his book is old hat, I challenge you to show me how its not relevant in any business today. I would suggest that some of those companies announcing  employee layoffs around Australia today have failed to challenge their business model and their bus has a confused destination on the front and the people in the business are the wrong ones.

That’s why the board and the CEO of Qantas are making the right decisions as they understand that their past vision or future destination has changed they have to make changes. Their bus has a new sign on the front and some of those sitting in the seats should get off and let those who want to go in the same direction take their place.