Culture to Engage

5 Reasons for More Engaged Employees

A good idea is not old hat if it's still worth saying, hearing, thinking, and believing.

Engaged employees are good for business. So, more engaged employees are better for business.

Here are 5 reasons you want more engaged employees:

Engaged employees satisfy and stimulate your business's stakeholders. These include customers, suppliers, employees, community. Everyone who has a stake in doing business with your company is more eager to do more business.

Engaged employees attract talented employment candidates to your business. Talented people choose to work in places high in energy, enthusiasm, intensity, and creativity. These are characteristics of engaged employees.

Engaged employees stay with you longer. Engagement causes satisfaction. Most reported causes of engagement include management, communication, learning opportunities, and challenging assignments.

Engaged employees improve their performance. The desire to do is directly lined to the desire to do better.

Engaged employees seek opportunities to increase knowledge and improve skills that strengthen their engagement.

Engaged employees generate positive ROI. Evidence supports that companies with more engaged employees have greater Return on Assets, Profitability, and Shareholder Value (Tobin's q).

I suggest that any one of those reasons is good enough to focus on Employee Engagement as an imperative in your business culture. Just consider the potential of all 5 benefits!

For more information visit our overview of Culture of Engagement Retreats.

Workforce Generations: Time & Space

The four discrete generations now present in the workforce get lots of attention for (and pay lots of attention to!) their differences. All sorts of ways of looking at the differences keep cropping up.

My turn to offer one: time and space.

Why not simplify the differences by bringing them all down to the Traditionalists', Baby Boomers', Generation X's and Millennials' different perceptions of time and space? Here's how:

SPACE

And Work...Traditionalists and Boomers and even the older Gen Xs expect to work in an office, in the shop, on the assembly line. In other words, at the workplace.

Younger workers--Gen Ys some Gen Xs--are "tech-immersed." They can carry their office with them in the form of iPhone, Blackberry, notebook. The shift from product to service, from hardcopy to electronic filing, and from desktop computers to laptops (and smaller) has supported this freedom of work-space.

And Communication...The introduction of e-mail and its evolution to txt and twit have made younger workers at home with brief--even abbrev'd--electronic communication. Boomers and Traditionalists likely remain more comfortable with face-to-face meetings and conversations that require both parties in the same space.

And Learning...Approaches to learning and to new tasks vary among the generations. Raised to be linear learners, Traditionalists and Boomers head for the classroom, pull out the manuals and textbooks, and sit down with a coach or mentor. Gen Xs and Ys rely on the Internet and immediate sources of (digital) information that satisfies them on-demand and as-needed.

And then there is time, which offers just as many points of divergence among the four generations.

TIME

And Work...Work for Boomers and Traditionalists is largely defined by the hours: 9 to 5, 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. Being at work on time and staying on the job until time to leave comprised the assumed behavior.

For the younger workforce members today--driven by the absence of space demands--the actual to-from hours one works are unimportant. Doing the work--perhaps as expeditiously as possible--is what matters.

And Scheduling...The older members of the workforce (Traditionalists, Boomers, and older Gen X) plan and schedule. Meetings, though lamented, are sacrosanct. Gen Ys, on the other hand, view reliance on scheduled meetings inefficient and frustrating. Their preference is for instant (likely electronic) communication when/if needed.

And Advance...Workers who have been around more than a couple of decades are familiar with the "pay your dues" philosophy. They have known to settle in and wait their turn for advancement and promotions. Gen Ys demonstrate less patient. "Want it now" may overstate Gen Y's attitude, but they believe they should be considered for the ripe assignments once they demonstrated the ability to handle same.

And Feedback...Gen Ys (and younger Gen Xs) are eager to learn and to learn quickly. This translates to a desire for immediate and frequent feedback. As well, Gen Ys seek more and more personal interaction, and feedback from their managers is a prime type. Boomers have grown accustomed to the once-maybe-twice-a-year performance review with their supervisors.

Everyone works in time and space. Not everyone approaches either or both the same way.

Engaging Employees, No Matter Their Generation

This week, I'm sticking with the generational theme. Almost every workplace has a variety of generations, and a savvy manager is adept at providing reasons and resources to engage all of them.

Yesterday I looked at Generation Y...well, really, I encouraged you to look by visiting 5 social networking sites.

Today let's give quick distinctions to each of the four generations still at work. As they are different from one another, their reasons and methods of being engaged are, too.

Traditionals (Veterans).
These individuals have strong links to their surviving the Great Depression and WWII. The current recession may be the primary reason so many of them are still at work: paycheck and benefits. They continually demonstrate hard work, dedication, and practicality.

Boomers.
Having grown up in the 60's and 70's boomers demonstrate optimism and fulfillment-focus. With high energy and a youthful outlook, many have shelved their retirement dreams thanks to the economy. Boomers may feel some resentment that the results of all their hardwork are, for now, threatened.

Generation X.
This generation grew up during the recessions of the '80s, experienced parents' career upheavals, and were often latch-key kids. Consequently, they place heavy emphasis on work-life balance. They know the demands of hard work; they demand the freedom to attend family and children. Gen Xers have a higher frustration level now as they were on the threshold of promotions, especially as Boomers were expected to retire.

Generation Y.
This youngest generation has known substantial prosperity and significant upheaval. They have life-long familiarity with computers, cell phones, iPods. 9/11, Columbine, and other major tragedies may have generated a seize-the-day  value set.  Members of Gen X hold less fear of losing or leaving employment because of their confidence in finding another, returning to school, or returning home

How are these four generations distributed in you workforce? What differences in the levels and the types of engagement do you witness among them?

For more info: In case you missed yesterday's 5 Social Networking Keys.... just click it.

5 Social Networking Keys to Engaging Gen-Y

Dan Schawbel

Thanks to Dan Schawbel, who posted The Top 10 Social Networks for Generation-Y on mashable.com

So, why do I thank Dan? If you manage others and they are members of another generation, you don't know as much about them as you could. Perhaps not as much about them as you should. That means about their values, their interests, their styles (not just clothes!), their passions, their way(s) of thinking. Dan Schawbel's posting points to 10 social networking sites you may have never heard of.

But the members of Gen-Y working for you may have.

An hour looking at these 5 of Dan's Top 10 will enhance your communication and so your work-relationship with those Gen-Y members.

Here's how Dan intros his post: Older generations can learn a lot from these communities, to better understand who we are and what we’re about. One of the major concerns corporations are facing these days is how to cope with Gen-Y, yet many of them don’t take the time to get to know us better. These networks are great places for you to start if you’re in any generation, but are “must-joins” for Gen-Y.

brazencareerist.com
We’re a community of top Gen Y thought leaders, forward-thinking organizations and everyone else who realizes that the way we define ourselves in both work and in life needs to change. We’re not just sitting in cubicles, and waiting for promotions to scale the corporate ladder. We’re changing careers and starting companies. We’re traveling to third-world countries to change the world. We’re even at home raising families, because we know that can be a career in itself. A Brazen Careerist knows that there’s no vivid boundary between work and life. Read more..

 20somethings.ning.com
Today, 20 Something Bloggers has brought together thousands of bloggers from all over the world, and spawned a vibrant community of like-minded, fascinating people who thrive on one another's support and feedback. The network includes an active forum, more than 250 subgroups, and an endless stream of community events.  Read more...

My.BarackObama.com
America, is building on the movement that elected President Obama by empowering communities across the country to bring about our agenda of change.
Now it's time for our movement to rise again, stand with President Obama, and make that promise a reality.
There are many ways to get involved: read more...

myYearbook.com
It all started during Spring Break 2005, flipping through a yearbook in my room and realizing it sucked. This is 2005 - why the hell is anyone buying yearbooks anymore?
It wasn't long before we realized this was bigger than just high school or just college. This would be the best social networking site in history, if we could figure out what we were doing. (52K + members...they've figured out something). Read more...

 coolpeoplecare.org
CoolPeopleCare.org is aiming to be THE online destination for anyone who wants to make a difference.
To some, making a difference means small, simple acts that can be done every single day. If that’s you, check out 5 Minutes of Caring articles. They’re daily 99-word articles that offer practical tips and motivation for you to make a positive impact each and every day.
To others, making a difference means showing up to local events that make the world a better place. If that’s you, read more...

 

5 Engagement Keys for Employees

Today's the day for pulling out 5 Key Need-to-Know Items for your Employees. Providing reasons and resources for your employees to garner this information will improve your business's overall employee engagement level.

Here are the Keys:

1. What is this company about? IOW, what is the primary purpose and mission? What are its long-term goals and values?
2. Right now who are our primary competitors and what are our greatest competitive challenges?
3. Who is our CEO and what do I know about her/him: time on board, previous positions, style of leadership?
4. What do I hope to be doing in two years? In five years? What skills and knowledge will I need to get there? Where can I acquire those skills and that knowledge?
5. How does my work contribute to the company's business goals? In what ways does my everyday performance benefit the organization?

For more info: Feel free to check out the previous postings of this week: 5 Keys for Executives and 5 Keys for Managers.