Culture to Engage

This Week's C.O.R.E.

Value to the C.O.R.E.

I had great fun assembling this week's four C.O.R.E. ideas.

Here are my wrap-up thoughts:

Figures prove that about 1/4 of an employee population actively engages in the work to be performed and the situation in which to perform.

Interviews and surveys demonstrate that the primary stimulus for engagement--esp. for those employees who do not come to the table ready to engage--is the manager and her/his interaction with the employee.

My C.O.R.E. concept is that four factors contribute to a manager's ability and success in such interaction.

Communication -- Opportunity -- Resources -- Engagement (her/himself)

These last three week's I've traced that sequence, offering one specific C, O, R, or E tactic each day.

Feel free to review them. Feel free to contact me with your additional thoughts.

Have a great weekend.

This week's C.O.R.E.

Communication

Opportunity

Resources

Engagement

For more info: You don't want to miss next week. We'll look at the connection(s) between Creativity and Employee Engagement. Lots of suggestions!

Resource quickie: the R in C.O.R.E. of Engagement

I recommend a real expert, of course.

A little outside resource can add oomph to your employee engagement efforts. Here's an easy way to corrall such resources.

Visiting Experts

Last week I suggested you check your locality and select from the abundance of experts. This week I suggest you go beyond that.

Check your business news for individuals with specific expertise that fits the results you want from your employees' engagement.

• Contact your area Chamber of Commerce.
• Contact the Convention and Visitors Bureau for your area's scheduled association conferences.
• Then contact those associations' offices to find out who's speaking.

I promise you, just about any speaker from out of town loves increasing his or her "platform time." And you can probably have them for a song...or less.

Consider inviting the visiting expert to dinner and taking members of your business team with you. How engaging is that?

For more info: So far we've looked at Communication and Opportunity--the first 2 parts of C.O.R.E. of Engagement, this week. Tomorrow we'll round it out with a look at Engagement (by the manager!).

C.O.R.E. of Engagement: O, as in Opportunity

Individuals interview one another...

Moving on to the O (that's opportunity) in C.O.R.E. of Engagement...

Talk about Success!

This idea takes the one above to a more formal "opportunity" level.

When you create a regular event, the purpose of which is individuals sharing their successes, the engagement that creates those successes becomes a more valued behavior.

People are sometimes uncomfortable "bragging" on themselves.You want to minimize the discomfort and maximize the ease with which every participant tells of some success s/he has experienced at work.

Good facilitation will have you helping participants clearly see the links between engagement and success.

Here's one easy suggestion.

• Invite individuals to interview one another, regarding individual successes. (This will flow more freely if you begin with an ice breaker activity that puts everyone at ease.)
• Tell the entire group that each interviewer is to prepare an informative and entertaining summary of the interviewee's success.
• These summaries are then presented to the entire group, the interviewee being somewhat formally introduced to the group after her/his success is shared.

You can (and will!) increase your employees' engagement by providing opportunities to engage, such as this one.

This week's C.O.R.E. wrap-up

The C.O.R.E. is not always to toss out.

We've looked at each element of the C.O.R.E. of employee engagement this week.

I encourage you to click on any/all of these, review them, revise them, and implement the ones that will benefit your business as you increase your employee engagement.

Communication: a  short, lively, focused Meeting-A-Day.

Opportunity: a Neighborhood gathering bringing together various teams, departments, units.

Resource: look to teleseminars as quick, low-cost ways to support your employees' desire to engage by learning.

Engagement: a partnering-up recommendation to help you (both) synergize your engagement learning and efforts.

Have a wonderful weekend.

I'm looking forward to next week.

Opportunity 2: digging deeper into the C.O.R.E. of employee engagement

Sharing their learning...

Opportunity: Shared Learning

Here are two facts:

Everyone is proud when s/he learns something new.

Individuals have different levels of comfort when it comes to sharing what they've learned.

With an easy amount of planning you and your team (let them help; that's engagement, too!) can plan and host a Shared Learning Event. Here are the key things to remember:

1) The event is multi-purposed. It engages people in learning and sharing their learning. It engages employees in interaction with one another, interaction that complements their work functions. It stimulates appreciation and communication regarding learning. Several studies state that people readily engage in companies that provide positive opportunities to learn.

2) The number of people involved determines the format for your event. Round table discussions. Brief presentations. "Trade show booths." Mini-workshops. Here's the real key to engaging your employees.

BONUS HINT: Do not view Shared Learning as a one-time event. Assuming success (I do and you should), allow it to become a repeat occurrence. Watch it become more and more anticipated by employees.

For more info: Please remember we're taking a trip through the C.O.R.E. of Engagement. Yesterday was Communication (2); tomorrow we'll take a second look at Resource. And don't forget all of last week's entries: Communication, Opportunity, Resource, and Engagement.