engagement Archives - Page 2 of 2

03
Jul 19
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Building Workplace Interest and Engagement

Tags : compelling engagement interest workplace

Are you seeking more engagement from your workplace teams? Are you building workplace interest or just rolling through each day?

Things only roll one way, downhill.

Choice of Engagement

Looking at my well used desktop keyboard, I notice that many keys are polished, some even missing the letter representation. Yet there is an entire row of shortcut keys that I have never touched.

Recently, I drove a friend to lunch. He complimented my car. I mentioned that it is just short of ten years old. He thought it was newer. Later I realized that in nearly ten years I’ve never explored all the electronic features.

There are millions of groups on social media channels. Business or pleasure, hobbies or special interests, yet millions of users never engage.

Some people never take public transportation. Some never go to the visitor attractions in their own town.

Why?

Engagement at Work

In the workplace we have similar attention challenges. There is talk about change, what will work better, and how to have less waste.

Yet, many will never engage.

They’ll never touch the shortcut keys, they’ll never check out all the features, and they’ll never get involved in optional groups.

Building Workplace Interest

Workplace leaders often try to push. They use polite forms of force to apply pressure for engagement. Backs turned, there is often little or no interest in doing anything new or different.

The challenge does not involve pushing harder. The challenge is creating a compelling environment where the people are pulled. When you gain more true followers there is more reason to join the movement.

The word spreads. The features work, they make life easier, and the engagement keeps paying off.

Engagement by force is a short-run game.

Building more interest feels harder than applying force. It requires careful thought, effort, and transparency. The risk is different, bad ideas don’t sell.

Illustrating why is much more powerful than commanding why.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

10
Jun 19
-

The High Cost of Leadership Ego

Tags : engagement leadership ego loyalty respect

Ego has many faces. Sometimes it is blunt and obvious, other times it is disguised as a workplace objective.

Sometimes it goes unrecognized. Simple acts that derail workplace engagement, disable loyalty, and disregard simple respect. Is leadership ego getting in the way?

Leadership Ego

Here are some leadership actions that should speak louder than words:

Hiring low or under skilled employees. Apparent because there is no succession planning within the organization. Employees are tools.
Never getting your hands dirty. (It’s a metaphor.)
A new organizational leader bringing in talent from a previous employer. Often to illustrate that everyone wanted out and will gladly follow for a new (better) opportunity.
Introductions that include, “He works for me.”
Rules only apply if you get caught. Especially true for harassment, diversity, and ethics.

Some employees only want paychecks. Yet, humans are surprisingly motivated by purpose. Yes, a paycheck can be a purpose, but likely it is not the organizational purpose.

Ego Derails Respect

People are problem solvers. They want to fix, repair, and accomplish. They also have a universal truth, they want respect. Respect may be defined differently by everyone, but without respect they’re only working for a paycheck.

Perhaps nothing derails loyalty more. Show your employees that you don’t respect them and they won’t care about you or the organization. Their underground rule will be, “Every person for themselves.”

Leadership is not about authority. Yes, authority matters and can be helpful. No, authority is not what makes you a leader.

Employee turnover, lawsuits, and disengaged employees cost organizations millions each year. In addition, stuck organizations or those with very limited frames often cannot get out of their own way. Look to leadership and culture as a potential problematic area.

What costs more, good leadership or bad?

-DEG

07
Jun 19
-

Respected Employees are Engaged

Tags : engagement motivation respect self-assessment

Based on data from numerous surveys the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has often reported about the importance of respect in the workplace. Are respected employees more engaged?

Motivation and Engagement

When you start the discussion about motivation, positivity, and employee engagement you often hear about the money factor. Yes, money matters, and no, money is not everything.

The next factor that comes into play is the conversation about motivation being intrinsic or extrinsic. Does it come from within or does it come externally? If you really want to dig deep, you’ll also entertain the discussion point about the fundamental attribution error.

Cutting right to it, if you are a workplace leader you will assume some responsibility for a motivated and engaged workforce. Your team is not just motivated or not. The workplace climate and culture will matter.

Respected Employees

People are motivated by results, by a sense of accomplishment, pride, and how they are perceived by others. These and many other factors are directly linked to respect. There is more to motivation but respect is often overlooked or taken for granted.

Leadership egos sometimes get in the way of respect. This happens when leaders need (and take) credit for the work accomplished by their teams. It happens when the leader flexes her muscle by reminding others about their pecking order.

I’ve turned this organization around.

This is my secretary.

He works for me.

When you start to wonder about worker engagement you should start to question the impact of leadership egos. One of the most important aspects of leadership is effective self-assessment. Awareness is the first step for change.

Does respect matter to you?

-DEG

Do you need help bringing respect back into your workplace? Contact me.

22
Feb 19
-

Workplace Engagement Starts with Respect

Tags : engagement leadership respect workplace

The chicken or the egg? Everyone wonders. Workplace engagement isn’t as challenging, but it may not always start in the manner that you think.

I didn’t like green beans as a kid, probably because they weren’t sweet enough. Today, I value their importance in a well-balanced diet and I’m sure to eat a few.

When it comes to the work at hand, people are often not sure whether they will like it or not. Can there be situations where after they explore it, check it out, and give it a try, they’re interested to do more?

Workplace Engagement

Engagement doesn’t always start with the notion that it will be fun and engaging, sometimes people grow into it.

It’s common for someone to dislike the new software release. “It’s awkward. Where is my old screen that showed everything near the top?”

The same is often true for the process change. “We’ve never done it this way. I don’t think this is going to work.”

Engagement doesn’t always start by making it attractive enough. It doesn’t always begin with confidence and a roaring stream of energy.

Sometimes engagement develops by getting ingrained in the process. Passion develops from the understood purpose. The feeling of accomplishment.

Many people want to understand that their work will make a difference, that it matters, and as people, they are needed and valued because it does.

Connect with Respect

Dressing up or sugar coating that there is work to be done and let’s get motivated about it doesn’t guarantee engagement. In fact, once that excitement wears off, people are waiting for you to excite them again. And bigger this time.

Respect will go a long way towards the gratitude of the offer for work to be done. Consider, “We could sure use your expertise on this one.”

Engagement forms when there is a connection to the contribution. It all starts with respect.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

08
Feb 18
-

The Incredible Power Of Momentum

Tags : engagement momentum organizational development training

Jokes often center on New Year resolutions. We hear about the fitness program, the special diet, or the financial savings program. Correcting our bad habits, our vices, and even the worn out tradition will stand a better chance of success with momentum.

Incredible Power

One of the best metaphors for momentum is what I call the train story.

The story is a nickel placed on the track in front of the wheel of a train before it starts moving will make it very difficult to get started. However, a nickel placed on the rail long in advance of the on-coming train and the train will crush it as if it isn’t even there.

Momentum is powerful. Get things rolling and sometimes they are hard to stop.

Momentum does require some energy though, and often care. You have to care enough about the fitness program, the special diet, or financial savings.

On The Job

The same is true for the momentum of anything in our workplace. This is especially true for organizational development endeavors, things such as training programs, coaching, and other developmental activities.

Imagine if we exercised only once every two months, or imagine if we insisted that we were on a special diet but only followed it one day a week. What would our results look like? Simple right, the results would be less than desirable.

When people think about career development, it isn’t a one and done. Anyone progressive is always continuing to learn, practice, and grow. The same is true for employee development.

Momentum

Sure, we can send someone to the workshop or seminar where all the tips and techniques are carefully delivered by an expert. However, if the employee doesn’t practice, doesn’t follow up, or doesn’t commit to continuous improvement not much changes for the long-term.

So many people and organizations treat training and development as an information source. The idea is that we need the information, so tell us. This is often true, and results do occur. Often great results. The biggest struggle though is not the knowledge transfer, it is the continuation of the effort.

We should remember that the power of momentum is not so much about knowing, it is much more about doing.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

16
May 17
-

Customer Service Dance Appreciative Strategies

Customer Service Dance Might Work

Tags : customer service dance engagement experience loyalty

Have you ever asked someone, “Who is the customer?” Your best answer may be, “Everyone!” Is the customer service dance appropriate for your business?

It seems ironic or a good example of karma. If you forget about your customers, they’ll likely forget about you.

Dancing with your customers is not about fast moves, quick diversions, or peddling snake oil.

Just like with real dancing you won’t go far with two left feet. You’ll have to get out there and make something happen. Even if you feel the rhythm but your body just moves weirdly.

Customer Service Dance

The best customer service of all might happen when you allow dancing. The customer service dance might be the ultimate form of feedback. The best of the best in the customer experience. It all happens because you’re doing it together.

Businesses that get this right have customer engagement like few others. They’re inviting customers to participate. Customers try product, test examples, work with prototypes, debug software, and co-create everything that happens. In the end, the customer wins.

This model of customer service doesn’t promise perfect, it promises an on-going effort to improve. Information is free flowing and engagement means loyalty. This valued customer couldn’t possibly do better elsewhere because they’re building it along with you.

When more people join in the experience it doesn’t get worse, it gets even better. No one needs a special invitation and it catches on. It’s a viral experience. It’s a club, a membership, or an entire culture.

Forgotten Customers

Most businesses would tell you that they are doing this, but few actually do. It’s not so much that they lack effort or desire. It’s mostly because they’ve forgotten who the customer is.

They’re either dancing alone or standing on the side watching others have all the fun.

Best Dancers

Who are the best dancers?

Harley Davidson, Dollar Shave Club, and Amazon, your secret is out.

Thanks for the dance.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

19
Apr 17
-

workforce engagement appreciative strategies

Give and Get of Workforce Engagement

Tags : engagement leadership organizational culture workforce

You’ve heard it before, “Attitudes are contagious.” Yes, most workforce professionals would likely agree, but does attitude condition workforce engagement?

Sometimes when I’m speaking or presenting to groups I will try to throw out a little bit of humor. I’m certainly not a humorist speaker, but most people like to have a little fun. Occasionally, I’ll throw out a zinger and only one or two persons will laugh. I’ll follow that with, “Thank you. Now could you move around and act like a crowd.”

It is all intended for some fun. Usually it works. More people join in the laughter.

Following the Crowd

Unfortunately the opposite is also true. People who oppose circumstances or situations can also develop a following. At times they may not completely understand what they are for, or against, but they’re following the crowd.

Sometimes we might call it atmosphere, others might suggest it is the environment, and yet others might label it as the organizational culture.

Many people believe that what you give is what you get.

If you are looking for a way to inappropriately challenge the process you’ll find it. When you listen only to respond, others will do the same. If you fold your arms, scowl, and send the message that you don’t want to be there, others will follow.

Workforce Engagement

Be careful about what you give. If you give the message of, “I don’t care about you.” chances are good you’ll get that back.

This is often how the pay check only employees develop. You know the ones. They care very little about anything other than their pay check. Typically this develops when they feel disrespected or devalued. It’s reactionary and sometimes becomes a crowd.

You might only get what you give.

It’s true for management and it’s true for the front line.

Do you want workforce engagement?

Give out what you want to get back.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

27
Jan 17
-

Customer Needs, Understand Them or Wish That You Had

Tags : customer service engagement listening needs assessment

Knowing exactly what they want might be better stated as, “I think I know exactly what they want.” Fast, friendly, and courteous are all things that are synonymous with exceptional customer service. Understanding customer needs might not always be so simple.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who insists on finishing your sentences? I know I have, and I know I’ve been the one finishing the sentence for others from time-to-time.

Usually it isn’t so much that we believe we know it all, it is probably more about demonstrating we are on the same page. At least, that might be what we tell ourselves.

Ride a bike, lift some weights, run, jog, or walk, exercise takes energy. The same is true for being a great listener, having extreme concentration, and even for reading a book.

Do you work hard to understand your customer’s needs?

Customer Needs

If you’re going to understand your customer, you’re going to have to listen, and therefore you’re going to have work hard to understand. Finishing a sentence might signal you’re on the same page or it might signal that you don’t have time to listen.

If you’re going to understand what the customer wants or needs you should consider doing more of this:

Make time. Being hurried seldom helps. Signal that you have the time or will make the time.
Arrive. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you are first or last, what will matter the most is that you arrive. Mentally and sometimes physically.
Be patient. Not everyone wears their emotions or thoughts on their sleeves. Allow for expressions of pain points. Practice patience.
Assume nothing. Thinking you know the immediate answer to their problem sometimes works, it also sometimes doesn’t. Assume less often.
No anger. Anger never helps. Passion is good but getting emotional probably isn’t going to help you learn more about their needs.

Engage with your customers, do the math, get on the same page. Use your energy because understanding customer needs isn’t always about a race, nor is it necessarily about being first. In addition, it’s almost never about being rushed or hurried.

Sometimes trying to be first just might make you last, or in the eyes of the customer, to not exist at all.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

24
Jan 17
-

A Bad Mood Ruins Everything, Lose It!

Tags : emotional intelligence engagement focus positive

Do you notice when someone is in a bad mood? Do you notice when people appear to be in a good mood?

You’ve probably heard it before, “Attitudes are contagious!” The same might be true for people who are in a bad mood.

People often find what they are looking for. Are you looking for an argument, you’ll probably find one. Are you looking for others just as angry as you are, you’ll probably find some. Stop.

A bad mood ruins everything.

In my profession, I hear about people with bad moods often. If you want to stifle workplace energy and motivation throw someone with a bad mood into the mix.

Can we change our mood? Absolutely, and it often begins with understanding a little about emotional intelligence. How we perceive our workplace environment, the culture, and other people will typically have a big impact on our mood.

Here are a few tips to help replace a bad mood, with a good one.

Focus on tasks at hand. Bad moods often develop by reliving a negative experience. Stop dwelling on it and move forward. You’ve got work to do, stay focused.
Recognize benefits. What are the benefits of being in a bad mood? I can’t think of any. What are the benefits of being in a good mood? More relaxed, less stress, helps others, and so many more!
Stop comparing. Many people feel that someone else has it better. A better life, better relationships, and a better job. Stop comparing yourself to others. Instead compare yourself to your next goal.
Realize that life is short. If you’re often in a bad mood at work or about work consider that as a person you only have so much time, why waste even a minute of it being in a bad mood. Be thankful for your job or find a new one.
Look for good mood people. Have a sense of curiosity and appreciation for good mood people. They’re out there but you might have to change your own mood first. Next, find two or three of them and then act like a crowd.

Perhaps nothing will zap your energy, give you a headache, cause you harmful stress and burn you out faster than when you are in a bad mood.

Good moods mean everything.

You might consider that moods happen, but you’ll decide if you stay with it. One answer is to grow your levels of emotional intelligence allowing you to spot the negativity and replace it with positivity before it brings you or others down.

You might not be able to control what happens in your environment but you can control how you react to it.

Put yourself in a good mood.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

06
Jan 17
2

Should Your Employee Satisfaction Survey Be Anonymous?

Tags : anonymous employee satisfaction engagement leadership survey

The question to survey employees anonymously or with identifiers is an interesting one. Like many things in life there are probably some pros and cons, but an employee satisfaction survey should be focused on collecting data that will help improve satisfaction, but will it?

Some quick internet research shows some mixed points of view on this subject and so I would like to suggest you pause and ask yourself a few questions. Questions such as, what do you intend to do with the data? What are you striving for? What are the desired outcomes?

Why Satisfaction Survey

We have customer satisfaction surveys, employee satisfaction surveys, and many other forms of evaluations and surveys. Are evaluations and surveys the same thing?

Technically no, the term evaluation and survey are often used within our language interchangeably, but there are some differences. You might evaluate employee performance, a training program, or the success of a project, but surveys are typically used for data collection or to gather more information about a subject or topic.

So are you interested to know if your employees are satisfied or to know if their boss is doing a good job as a manager? There is a difference.

When we consider the concept behind an employee satisfaction survey we should be looking for data or input on what keeps employees energized, engaged, and bragging about the place where they work.

Yes, we may also have some interest in knowing more about what isn’t working and trouble spots, but if that is your primary interest you should stop reading this and look up something about employee dissatisfaction surveys.

Identifiers or Anonymous

Supporters of identifiers will argue that they can’t address or fix problems if they don’t know who said what, they won’t be able to understand the context of responses and best of all (sarcasm), they won’t know who to hold accountable.

Those who support the concept of anonymity will likely argue that people won’t be honest if they are required to identify themselves, that there will be harsh or negative repercussions for responses that aren’t favorable, and that the data will not be as valid and reliable if identifiers are required.

Perhaps in either case there are some assumptions being made, but most of the challenge arises from fear.

Common management or leadership fears:

Someone will point out my weaknesses
I don’t like being criticized
I’ll be “voted” out of my job
We’ll lose control

Common fears of respondents:

There will be repercussions if my responses aren’t favorable
It will ruin my relationship with my boss
What if my responses are very different from others
How will this come back to haunt me

There is not much room for doubt when you consider that fear is an obstacle with data collection on an employee satisfaction survey. Chances are great that the majority of respondents don’t want identifiers and in contrast chances are also great that some of the management or leadership team will strongly favor requiring personal identifiers.

Bottom Line

Let’s circle back to the idea of why you are doing this. You want the data, right? Your reason should be focused on improving employee satisfaction so you want to know more about what keeps employees satisfied. Your survey needs to be designed to focus on satisfaction characteristics and not on those that drive dissatisfaction.

You’ll want to know from employees:

What keeps you coming back day after day?
What do you like most about our culture?
What’s working and what should we do more of?

What you shouldn’t be focused on:

What are your biggest problems with working here?
What makes people feel unhappy?
What makes you feel like quitting?

Can you see the difference? You could probably argue that with a proper focus and a well-constructed survey instrument that it wouldn’t matter that much about identifiers or anonymity.

Certainly the data validity and reliability argument can go either way, but if you want your team to feel that their input is valued, respected, and trusted, you should probably make it anonymous.

How you follow up and what you do after the survey is also important, but I see no justification for requiring personal identifiers when you’re trying to improve the culture of your workplace.

Collect your data, learn to do more of what keeps people motivated and engaged, after all, it seems to me that your desired outcome is to improve satisfaction not create turmoil.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Newer posts→

Tag Archives: engagement

Jul 19

-

Choice of Engagement

Engagement at Work

Building Workplace Interest

Jun 19

-

Leadership Ego

Ego Derails Respect

Jun 19

-

Motivation and Engagement

Respected Employees

Feb 19

-

Workplace Engagement

Connect with Respect

Feb 18

-

Incredible Power

On The Job

Momentum

May 17

-

Customer Service Dance

Forgotten Customers

Best Dancers

Apr 17

-

Following the Crowd

Workforce Engagement

Jan 17

-

Customer Needs

Jan 17

-

A bad mood ruins everything.

Good moods mean everything.

Jan 17

Why Satisfaction Survey

Identifiers or Anonymous

Bottom Line

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