Friday, September 23, 2011

10 ways to strengthen employee engagement

I've just completed a new whitepaper that shares my thoughts on how organizations of all kinds can take action to enhance their workplace environment and boost employee engagement. (You can download the document by visiting my LinkedIn page at Tim Morawetz.)
The 10 ways presented in the whitepaper are:
Give   inspiration
          instruction

          information

          informality

          interaction

          influence

          initiative

          input

          incentive

          intensity
I hope you'll take the time to download it and read it... I welcome your comments!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

How would your employees handle a 'pop-up show'?

An organization's internal culture is one of its most important and precious assets (or liabilities, as the case may be.) 
Because culture is so intangible, it can be hard to assess – and harder still to first establish or to change. But there's little doubt that culture has an enormous influence on how successfully employees collaborate with one another and how effectively they interact with customers.
Consider the role of corporate culture in the situation recently cited by Globe and Mail columnist John Warrillow in his article about the unexpected appearance of a 'pop-up' piano performance in a retail environment. Would your staff feel right thanking the pianist with the gift card, or would they feel it necessary to quash the fun? 
Virgin's Richard Branson, in a Canadian Business column on customer service excellence, advocates 'first to know, first to handle'; empowering employees who first encounter a problem to make every effort to solve it on the spot.
In these days of greater demand for top talent, be sure to unleash the best instincts of your people by fostering and reinforcing a positive organizational culture.