Here are my favorite articles for the week on employee engagement and creating a culture of appreciation. Feel free to share your comments.
6 Traits of An Engaged Employee by Margaret Jacoby
(business2community.com) “Focused and Keen to Take Up Challenges: An engaged employee is wholly attentive and knows when to take action and why. He or she is excited to take on a new challenge in order to crack the existing problem in the organization as well acquire new skills and knowledge. In fact, they are also enthusiastic to learn new things that would help in widening their horizon. This is because they feel more contented and acknowledged for who they are at the workplace than those with low engagement levels.”
My Thoughts: Your employees WANT to be challenged, to grow and develop their skills, and to learn new things. Give them the opportunity – they will surprise you.
Culture, Brand, Engagement: How Benefits Support HR’s Three-Legged Stool by Meghan M. Biro
(Forbes.com) “Successful organizations like Netflix make the connection between employer brand and HR — including benefits. Logically, a new breed of workplace needs a new approach to talent, so it created one. In terms of recruitment, it made sure to include its approach to benefits as part of the brand. In terms of firing, it turns a loss into a mutual gain: if someone is let go, a generous severance may help her regroup, retrain and further their career — which possibly means she circles back to the company with more training and experience (on someone else’s dime).”
My Thoughts: Turning the firing of an employee into a win/win for both parties – what a terrific idea!
7 Ways to Improve Employee Development Programs by Keith Ferrazzi
(Harvard Business Review – hbr.org) “Teach employees to own their career development. Highly-structured, one-size-fits-all learning programs don’t work anymore. Individuals must own, self-direct, and control their learning futures. Yet they can’t do it alone, nor do you want them to. The development and growth of your talent is vital to your ongoing success, ability to innovate, and overall productivity.”
My thoughts: And PLEASE don’t use training as punishment or as a way to “fix a broken employee.” Let your employees know that your investment in training for them is to help them develop personally and professionally for their future.
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Lisa Ryan, creator of Grategy® is a gratitude expert, professional speaker and bestselling author. For more information contact (216) 225-8027. For information on Grategy® programs please visit http://www.grategy.com. Follow on Twitter: @Grategy