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Do We Need More Happiness at Work?

Recognize This! – Serious research is building a compelling business case for a positivity-filled workplace.

I have been in Berlin this past week speaking at the Pan-Euro HR conference on a favourite topic — new social technologies that can drive a high performance culture and workforce. No prizes for guessing one of these new technologies is Social Recognition, the other is the Social/ Crowdsourced Performance Review.

Conversations with attendees quickly reminded me of the hard time employees in Europe are continuing to have, with much talk of continued recession on the continent and the need to do more with less. Then, the same day, I picked up the Financial Times…and read the solution (well, part of it at any rate). We need more happiness at work!

In this great article, Della Bradshaw summarizes how serious research and study are proving the link: Happy employees will overcome all sorts of challenges, think more creatively and be generally in much better shape to tackle everything a reluctant-to-leave recession can throw at them.

“Happiness makes good business sense. Moreover, employers and policy makers need to consider the happiness factor if they are to promote strong economies and profitable companies…

“Triggers for individual employees, too, are about more than just financial gain, [Michael Norton, associate professor at Harvard Business School,] says. Indeed there is real evidence that doing things for other people makes you happier. Prof Norton cites his research in Europe with a company bonus scheme. A sample group from the company were told to spend their €15 bonus on other employees rather than themselves. Those that did so were much happier than the control group, he says.”

This is no surprise to me really, as for the past decade, time and again I’ve seen how employees will walk on coals (well, almost) if given genuine, positive feedback and encouragement for their daily work.

Europe, it’s time to pause the negative button, let’s focus on the positive! Bring more positive feedback and recognition into the workplace, and we could lift the mood enough to tip us out of this recessionary cycle. Celebrate the small wins, the progress made – it’s happening every day.

Are you happy at work? What does your organization do to help encourage happiness?

Don’t Think Retention Is an Issue? Here’s Why You Should Reconsider

Recognize This! – Traditional approaches to retention may no longer be enough.

Granted, the recover from the recession has been mediocre at best. In this reality, many company leaders have become complacent in regards to talent, assuming employees don’t have good options elsewhere so they’ll continue to stay put.

Those days are rapidly coming to an end. John Hollon, editor of TLNT, offers a brilliant summary of survey results recently released by OI Partners. Just glance at the chart below and you can quickly see the changing dynamics of retention in the workplace.

	Report Higher Turnover Today	Concerned about Turnover
Front-line workers	51%	78%
High-potentials	34%	63%
Senior executives	29%	51%
Middle managers	27%	43%

With numbers like this, it’s no surprise the same survey shows retaining talent (70%) is the top HR challenge this year, closely followed by recruiting the right talent (65%).

So, what do you do to find and retain these top people. Unsurprisingly, the survey also cites coaching as the primary retention strategy, followed by better compensation and benefits. I’m glad to hear the latter, as too many employees took a hit on their pay and benefits during the recession and have yet to see those values restored as the economy continues to improve.

Yet, I’m also concerned that improving employee recognition and appreciation isn’t discussed as a major means of improving retention and recruitment. Indeed, our own Workforce Mood Tracker Survey found that 60% of those who don’t feel appreciated plan to look for a new job (vs. only 20% of those who do feel appreciated). Recognizing employees for their valuable contributions helps them see how they contribute to achieving a greater mission, a key element of both retention and employee engagement.

On the recruitment front, I can do no better than to point you to today’s post on the Globoforce blog in which my colleague, Darcy Jacobsen, says in part:

“All the same, employer brands can’t be ignored. Different from a marketing brand, an employer brand is the impression candidates have of your company and what it might be like to work for you. They have become a critical differentiating tool for attracting candidates. In fact, according to a recent Monster/Unum study of job seekers, culture trumps all. A full 87 percent of employees said they want a company that they believe “truly cares about the well-being of its employees.” Only 66 percent of respondents rated a high base salary as very important. This is why creating a great culture, and a great employer brand as a reflection of that culture, matters so much. It lets you put your best foot forward, and attracts the best candidates to your company.”

Retention can no longer be relegated to the back burner. Look closely at what you’re doing to ensure your employees are highly valued, recognized and appreciated in your organization.

How concerned are you about retention of key employees? What are you doing about it?

3 Reasons Why All Employees Must Be Company Strategists

Recognize This! – Strategy can only be executed by those who intimately understand strategic objectives and their role in it.

Strategy is one of my passions. I’m fortunate that helping clients formulate strategy is also my job. Indeed, my title is Vice President, Client Strategy and Consulting. I greatly enjoy my work helping organizations of all stripes develop a strategy for proactive management of their company culture. Yet, I also believe that everyone is (or should be) strategist in their organization.

Two pieces on strategy I read last week helped me coalesce my thinking. First, from Strategy + Business comes the ideas of Cynthia Montgomery, Timken Professor of Business Administration and former chair of the strategy unit at Harvard Business School. The article describes Montgomery’s approach to strategy this way:

“When you look at strategy as a frame of mind to be cultivated, rather than as a plan to be executed, you are far more likely to succeed over the long run… To Montgomery, a business strategist is not primarily an analyst of position, or of resources; nor is the strategist purely adaptive, responding reactively to the vagaries of fate. He or she is someone who engages in a conversation about the purpose of a company. The company rises or falls on the quality of that conversation and the way it is used to make decisions about the ongoing work of the enterprise.”

Then, this article discussed the results of a survey of employees to see how many could identify their own company’s corporate strategy when presented with options that included the corporate strategy of their competitors. Employees failed abysmally.

“Overall, we found that only 29.3% of employees could correctly match their company to its publicly espoused strategy… There’s no doubt that training matters. Firms with more direct training initiatives seem to have employees who are better able to recognise what the firm views as its goals. What matters most is documentation that outlines clearly how more vaguely articulated strategies are to be implemented — note that these are not mission statements, statements of value or codes of conduct but actual ‘how to’ manuals.”

I see three new ways to rethink corporate strategy in these articles:

1) Everyone must own the company strategy for the company to succeed.

People who feel ownership over their own direction and personal success are also more committed to helping realize desired outcomes. “Strategists” must not be envisioned as a lofty position that all do not have some sense of direct, personal contribution to.

2) Strategy must be an ongoing conversation, not a point in time.

Three and five year strategic plans have a role, but often fail when those plans are codified, introduced, then never mentioned again. Strategy must become part of the daily effort and understanding of the work.

3) Strategic ideas must be made concrete in daily tasks of all employees.

Employees need to understand how their daily efforts contribute to achieving the bigger strategic objectives. After all, if their work is not aligned with the strategy, why are they doing that work in the first place? Help employees understand how their efforts contribute to the strategy by recognizing and rewarding them very specifically for efforts that reflect, reinforce or help achieve strategic plan.

I can already hear the arguments: “But don’t we need doers, not just thinkers?” I argue we are all must better doers when we know the thinking behind our actions. Or in the terms of the researchers in the second study I referenced:

“If we are to avoid employee cynicism and truly motivate individuals to do well for both their companies and our society, then managers need to work harder not just in crafting these strategies, but ensuring employees have the enthusiasm and instruction to implement and execute them as well.”

Do you know your company’s strategy and, critically, how you contribute to its achievement every day? What percentage of people in your organization do you think could correctly select your strategy from among your competitors?

Why Most Companies Fail at Innovation (And What to Do Instead)

Recognize This! – Innovation is not just the big, market-transforming end result, but the little ideas along the way.

What’s the most powerful word in business today? Innovation.

Read any blog, any news source, any prospectus and you will quickly stumble over “innovation.” How the company pursues innovation, how innovative the products are, how “innovation” is a core value of the company. And this is all well and good – innovation truly is what propels industries and markets ever forward.

But the real question smart companies should be encouraging every employee, in every role, to ask is: “What can I do, in what I do every day, to be more innovative? How can I innovate our product, our service approach, to better serve our customers, change the market, or push the company forward?”

Unfortunately, too many people think innovation is too big for them or “not in my job description.” I believe that’s because we as leaders have failed to explain what real innovation actually looks like. David Steinberg, chief executive of XL Marketing, gives a much better definition of innovation in a recent New York Times “Corner Office” column:

“Innovation to me doesn’t have to be about creating the light bulb or the telegraph. Innovation can be very important small changes to something that’s already working. That’s the stuff that’s overlooked, and it can take things to the next level.”

Innovation is the perseverance to keep searching, to keep tweaking, to keep making something better. In reality, it’s usually many small innovations over time that result in a huge “new” innovation that gets all the press.

Kaihan Krippendorff explains it as committing to continually looking for the fourth option:

“The ‘fourth option’ is the option others don’t see and don’t expect. Your competitors contemplate three choices and feel satisfied that they are considering enough. But the strategic innovator is not satisfied. She asks, what else? What other option are people overlooking?”

So, back to my original question – how do you encourage all employees to seek the fourth option, to pursue the small changes for continuous improvement?

You must help employees see and understand what this looks like in their daily work. The quickest, most positive, and most effective way to do so is through strategic recognition. Every time an employee demonstrates an attribute of innovation in this way, recognize them for it. Say, “John, thank you for contributing to our goal of continuous innovation with your diligence on the Suarez project. The way in which you kept asking the next question to drive to not just our standard solution, but a truly unique approach in this situation not only solved the client need, but gave us an avenue to advance our solution and meet an unexpected market need going forward. Well done!”

That specificity makes the difference for John by letting him know what exactly “innovation” looks like in his daily work. When publicized through an internal social newsfeed, it also serves as an excellent training mechanism for other employees who can see why John was recognized and emulate that behavior in their own work.

How is innovation encouraged in your organization? How are you innovative in your own work?

Today on Compensation Cafe: What the Oreo CookieTeaches Us about Global Employee Recognition

Recognize This! – Never assume the local approach for employee recognition and rewards will work equally well globally.

Today on Compensation Cafe, I discuss why HR and recognition pros must seek to understand the local wants and needs of their globally distributed employees. I share an example of the Oreo cookie and how it nearly failed in the Chinese market until Oreo producers Mondelez International changed the cookie formulation to change the shape, sweetness and filling flavour (green tea is most popular in China) to align with local tastes. Now, Oreo sales in China account for nearly half of all global sales of the iconic cookie.

Click over to Compensation Cafe for the full story and how you can apply the lessons of the Oreo cookie to your global employee recognition and rewards programs.

Recognize This! – Never assume the local approach for employee recognition and rewards will work equally well globally.

What Does “Meaningful Work” Really Mean?

Recognize This! – Only the employee can define what is meaningful work to them. Leaders, however, are critical for helping them catch the vision.

Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of engaging in meaningful work for employees. But what, exactly, does “meaningful work” mean? As I was catching up on my (admittedly large) backlog of news and blogs in my reader, I found this nugget from the Switch & Shift blog (which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite daily reads):

“Managers cannot make work meaningful for employees. Managers, however, can shape the workplace environment to let meaningful work become possible for employees. With a context set to let meaning be experienced, employees can leverage the environment to derive meaning from their work.

“Meaningful work is vague. What exactly is it? Assuredly it begins quite selfishly. But this is out of necessity. For work to be meaningful, it is the employee who must label it so. This requires a belief that meaningful work is a desired outcome from managements’ actions. And employees believe managements’ intentions and see actions aimed to let meaning emerge.”

This reminds me of the possibly apocryphal story of the senior military leader touring NASA Space Center during the early days of the space race. The leader noticed a janitor cleaning an area of mission control and asked, “What are you doing?” The janitor didn’t reply with the obvious, “I’m sweeping the floor.” No, he said, “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.”

In this story, the employee knew and understood the greater purpose of his efforts. Keeping a neat and clean work environment would help to eliminate distractions for the scientists and engineers in mission control, thereby helping to contribute to the greater space mission. This employee knew the meaning of his work.

Personally, I don’t lead a group of strategy consultants. I help companies change their cultures to ones of appreciation and recognition.

What do you do for work? What’s the real meaning of your work?

3 Tips to Become the Manager Employees Never Want to Leave

Recognize This! – People leave bosses, not companies. Good managers make sure their employees succeed before themselves.

We’ve all heard the truism that people quit managers not jobs. If retention of top performers and key talent is a priority for you, then one of the first places you should look for improvement is in the relationship between managers and employees. This recent article, for example, points to a recent survey showing 20% of people say their bosses hurt their career. Half of employees, on the other hand, said the boss had a positive impact.

The article goes on to share common advice we’ve all likely heard before: End micro-managing and help bosses learn the art of delegation. Help bosses feel secure in their role and the importance of leading a team so they are confident and comfortable in giving team members credit where credit is due instead of snatching it for themselves.

While that advice is quite true and valuable, I’m far more interested in why these managerial tactics work. It all boils down to these three points (supported by reams of research conducted by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer in The Progress Principle).

Employees need meaningful work.
Busy work kills the spirit. Yes, some work tasks are menial, repetitive and just have to get done. But doesn’t mean they aren’t meaningful. Good managers help employees see the greater value of even the most menial, repetitive tasks. Help your employees see how their efforts help move the greater mission forward.
Employees need to make progress in meaningful work.
But meaningful work isn’t enough. Employees also need to know they are getting somewhere. Good managers cast a vision for the future and help employees see where they are on the path to achieving that vision. Help employees see forward progress toward big goals by recognizing them for smaller achievements along the way.
Employees need recognition of efforts and achievements that make an impact.
All of this boils down to employees’ need for recognition. Don’t misunderstand me. This is not a grab for another trophy or a gold star. Employees simply need to know what they do matters within a bigger picture. Indeed, our Spring 2012 Workforce Mood Tracker survey showed 78% of employees said they would work harder if their efforts were better recognized.

Instead of micromanaging, micro-appreciate. Hone in on what your team members are doing and recognize smaller achievements and progress towards bigger goals. Instead of snatching credit for yourself, be the one to give credit to your team for success and let the entire company see how much you all achieve together.

What other attributes do you see in good managers? What made your best manager so good?

Can Money Buy You Happiness? Find Out on Compensation Cafe

Recognize This! – Don’t ignore the importance of correct compensation in Total Rewards.

Today on Compensation Café I tackle a topic many regular readers might find unusual for me – how money can buy you happiness. The answer lies in how and for what reason you use money.

Check out my post for the three lessons I offer on the importance of correct, balanced compensation, reward choice and the importance of time – and how all this ties back to recent research showing the link between money and happiness.

Useless Unless…

Recognize This! – Don’t forget the key ingredients to employee engagement and excellence.

I’ve written a few blog posts in the last couple of months where I noticed I used these two words in conjunction – Useless Unless. Two little letters of difference, yet a tremendous differentiator.

Think of the ramifications in real life:

The fastest car in the world is useless unless you put fuel in the tank.
The best education is useless unless you put it to work.
The most talented basketball player is useless unless you give him a basketball (and committed team) to play with.
An incredibly delicious dinner party is useless unless you have friends and family to invite and share it with.
Talented, high-potential employees are useless unless they know the end goal and how to help achieve it.

What’s missing that’s most important? “E”

Encourage – We need encouragement at work. Encouragement isn’t just something to be given in tough times, but also to let people know they’re on the right track – their work has greater meaning and purpose in achieving the bigger picture.
Extoll – Don’t forget the praise. Recognize people when they go above and beyond. Shout their achievements and contributions from the rooftops. Make sure they know their efforts are noticed, appreciated and valued.
Engage – If you Encourage and Extol, you’ve taken a giant step forward in creating a work environment in which people choose to engage. And engaged employees are more productive, more easily retained and more beneficial to the bottom line.

What else is useless unless… ?

3 Lessons for Employee Engagement through Recognition from XL Axiata

Recognize This! – Learning from others’ success can enhance our own efforts for engagement.

I enjoy Abhishek Mittal’s Mumblr blog. Abhishek is a senior consultant for Towers Watson based in Singapore. Recently he shared a case study on XL Axiata, an Indonesian mobile services operator and division of Axiata Group. In the case study, Xl Axiata explains four key steps they took to create an engaging work environment for employees, including a Performance-Based Culture:

“XL Axiata knew that if it wanted the employees to display the right behaviours, it had to recognize and reward these behaviours. The leaders shaped a culture where people and performance are talked about in the same breath. Employees who were creating value for the company were being recognized through company-wide emails and there was a focus on celebrating small successes in the long journey to achieve the vision. It also placed a higher emphasis on differentiating rewards based on performance. Mittal says,These initiatives helped employees build a clear line of sight to the company goals and sent a clear message that the company values high performance above everything.”

From this one focus alone, I see three clear lessons for employee engagement:

Recognize and Reward the How not just the What
Results (the What) can be achieved in many ways, not all of them positive (think Enron or any of the other recent scandals were the end was more important than the means). By focusing recognition and rewards on the right behaviours, XL Axiata is reinforcing that how the work is accomplished is as important as what is accomplished.
Celebrate progress on the way to the big win
While everyone must understand and work toward the ultimate vision and “big win,” small successes and progress along the way make the big win ultimately possible. Research conducted by Harvard Business School and reported in the book The Progress Principle by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer proved the single greatest motivator for employees is making progress in meaningful work. Doing so increases engagement.
Offer multiple, differentiated awards
Recognition and rewards must be differentiated based on several factors including level of effort, contribution and results achieved. Offering the same level of recognition to someone who came up with an innovative idea that could transform product direction as you also offer to someone who contributed as part of a team to a lesser initiative merely serves to demotivate those who achieve great ambitions. Offering differentiated awards (awards at various levels) ensures both proper recognition and reward activity as well as eliminating any concerns around recognition becoming expected or run-of-the-mill.

What major initiatives has your organization undertaken to encourage employee engagement?

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