According to Gallup’s 2017 State of the Workplace study:

• 42% of employees feel it’s a good time to look for work, compared to only 19% in 2012
• 51% of employees are actively watching for job opportunities
• 35% of people have changed jobs within the last three years, and 91% of employees left their company to do so

Couple these stats with Bersin by Deloitte’s recent research showing 14% of new employees leave within the first 12 months and your recruiting dollars, turnover costs and training investment start piling up. Not to mention the impact it has on customers, other employees and overall business performance.

So how do you create a workplace new employees want to be a part of – long term?

It starts with the initial impression candidates have of your organization from the recruiters, to the interviewers in the hiring process and most importantly to the employee experience during the first 12 months on the job. According to Gallup, only 12% of employees feel their organization does a great job of onboarding.

As a young, enthusiastic new employee I came in with all kinds of ideas for improving our onboarding and sense of teamwork. While management liked the fresh energy, they didn’t see these initiatives as strategic and weren’t keen to rock the apple cart relegating my role to one of welcome wagon, social committee and glamorized office administrator (because I had an office).

If you work for an organization that still views Onboarding (or HR for that matter) as administrative, our last blog post provided some very compelling stats to develop a business case for a new Onboarding program.

Maren Hogan of Forbes reported that “Creating a structured onboarding program is key. According to a study by the Wynhurst Group, when employees go through structured onboarding, they are 58% more likely to remain with the organization after three years.”

Once you’ve got C-suite buy-in to revamp your Onboarding program, how do you get started?

I like to think of Onboarding as similar to the 4 stages Psychologist Bruce Tuckman used to describe team development; forming, storming, norming and performing.

A well thought out Onboarding program moves employees through these four cycles with the ultimate goal of reaching the “performing” stage sooner and for longer.

How fast a new employee moves through each stage will depend on their individual skills, their understanding of what is expected of them and the type of leadership they receive.

MORE>>

Setting new hires up for success is also the single most impactful financial contribution an HR professional and business leader can do for their organization.

Consider this: Employee turnover costs companies a staggering $245 billion/year in new talent acquisition fees. This is a huge number largely due to employees leaving within the first 12 months.

It’s no longer enough to simply hire the right person. Strategic leaders know that successfully onboarding a new hire is just as important as acquiring the right talent (especially true with recent spike in quit rates).

So why is Onboarding underfunded at most companies? MORE>>

What one thing would make your workplace healthier?

I recently came across a fascinating article published by Big Think for Business. The article featured research by Reebok in partnership with Censuswide looking at the life of an average person in pure numbers. What really hit home was the number of hours we spend “sitting at work”.

Assuming one lives to age 71, the average person spends:

• 33% of life at work and 7,709 days sitting
• 41% on a technological device = 10,625 days
• 0.69% exercising = 180 days
• 6.8% socializing with friends = 1,765 days

Wellness Starts at Work (MORE>>)

I love reading Harvey Schachter’s Careers column in Saturday’s Globe and Mail. Last week, Harvey wrote about nine common complaints by employees about their leaders – the Nine Fatal Flaws as he calls them – extreme behaviors that limit a manager’s effectiveness and in some organizations impedes their road to the top job.

Two points struck me about this study of over one thousand leaders, summarized in the Harvard Business Review:

1. One-in-three of us exhibit a fatal flaw but are completely unaware of it, despite the fact those around us are very aware of our blind spot. Hmmm… wondering what mine might be.
2. These flaws are not fixed or innate. They demonstrate a lack empathy aka emotional intelligence, time or basic social skills.

The #1 Fatal Flaw

What do you think the #1 fatal flaw cited in a recent Harris Online 360 degree study was?

1. Unrealistic workload and timelines
2. Berating behaviors/bullying
3. Not recognizing employee achievements  

Click HERE for the answer>>>

The year is half over (or half full depending on your mindset), so thought it would be a good time to look at several 2018 HR trends projected by SHRM back in January and what’s new with those topics now.

1. The War for Talent – the demand for good people is getting more and more intense. According to a recent Atlantic article, the problem isn’t a lack of jobs but a lack of people with the right skills and knowledge to fill the jobs. Attracting and retaining talent continues to be the biggest challenge for HR in 2018, driving company success and growth.

   Mid-year tip: Leverage the skills of your summer students. One of our clients tasked his interns with analyzing the company’s Google Adwords and search results. The students discovered reasons why the company’s advertising and click through rates were underperforming and suggested easy ways to improve the company website and campaigns to optimize results.        MORE>>>

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The 2018 Recognition Professionals International (RPI) conference was held last week in Nashville (THE best city for conferences by the way!).

Recognition Professionals International is the only professional association focused on recognition innovations and education as a systematic method for improvements in the workplace. RPI is endorsed by top authorities in the industry, has an impressive membership of Fortune 500 organizations and is the only association offering Certified Recognition Professional (CRP) courses.

The overriding theme in the sessions I attended was Culture....  MORE>>>

[Wellness Poll] What one thing would make your workplace healthier?

I recently came across a fascinating article published by Big Think for Business. The article featured research by Reebok in partnership with Censuswide looking at the life of an average person in pure numbers. What really hit home was the number of hours we spend “sitting at work”.

Assuming one lives to age 71, the average person spends:

• 33% of life at work and 7,709 days sitting
• 41% on a technological device = 10,625 days
• 0.69% exercising = 180 days
• 6.8% socializing with friends = 1,765 days

Wellness Starts at Work... MORE>>>

Is your Service Anniversary program cutting it?

Here are the top 5 Service Anniversary program mistakes

Did you know that 93% of employees can instantly recall their anniversary date? It’s important to recognize length of service in a meaningful way and you want to get it right. But, recognizing years of service is only one part of a comprehensive employee recognition strategy.

Here are 5 common mistakes companies are making with their service anniversary program, along with some tips on how we solve them!

Mistake 1: Generic branding and messaging

A generic cookie cutter recognition program that isn’t personalized to your
employee or your company sends the message that you’re going through the motions and don’t really care about the program or their milestone achievement. A great service anniversary program should be highly personalized with design and communication around the company brand, goals and values.

How We Help...>>>

Safe Transport

How driver recognition and safety impacts all of us

There are 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the United States transporting about $671 billion worth of manufactured and retail goods annually. Add the people involved in the trucking companies, warehouses and private sector and there are 8.9 million people employed in trucking-related jobs.

Driver turnover at an all-time high

Driver turnover at big motor carriers rose to 95 percent in the third quarter of 2017. An improving economy and increased freight transportation due to more online shopping is causing fierce competition for drivers. This combined with long hours, low pay and tough working conditions all contribute to high turnover and more inexperienced and unengaged drivers on the road than ever.

Driver engagement is not just the concern of the Transportation sector.

There were 6 million crashes in the US in 2014, with 4,311 fatal crashes involving a large truck and 745 drivers killed. Improving safety and engagement in transportation is important for everyone travelling in the country.

• Drivers on the road for more than 8 hours have twice the risk of crashing
• Distracted drivers are 23x more likely to have an accident

Drivers who stay longer and stay safer, protect themselves, the public and their company’s bottom line....  MORE>>>

This tech savvy generation:

• Grew up with technology at their fingertips and can’t recall life before the Internet, mobile phones and social media. They communicate instantly with people online and on their phone
• Are more “open” than generations before them. They share videos, pictures, posts and comments without the same privacy hang ups their parents have
• Are likely to only stay with a company an average of 4.6 years (US Bureau of Labor statistics)
• Are accustomed to instantly connecting with people. They expect immediate recognition and want to be recognized for their contribution publicly and more frequently than every 5, 10, or 15 years

Does your Service Anniversary program “fit” the recognition needs of the largest demographic in your workplace?  Click HERE for more >>>

Remote workers have unique workplace needs that are often overlooked

This February, Gallup released a four-part series on how to better engage a remote workforce. What? Doesn’t avoiding a commute, working in your pajamas, dodging office politics and throwing a load of laundry in automatically reduce work-life stress and boost employee engagement?

Not all the time.

According to Gallup, 43% of employees are working remotely, at least some of the time and 51% of employees polled would change jobs to have this arrangement. While employees may want to work from home, Gallup found the optimal amount of work from home time is 3-4 days/week. Employees who work 100% of the time at home are not experiencing an engagement boost from the flex hours.

Click Here to find out why >>>

The answer is you can’t afford not to invest in your people – here’s why…

As recognition experts, our job is to listen to a company’s challenges and suggest the right program to fit both the budget and culture.

As an HR specialist, one of your jobs is to influence senior management on the benefits of investing in people. Despite all the research proving companies with an engaged workforce have increased productivity, innovation, retention and wellness, some C-suite executives still view recognition & rewards programs as a discretionary “expense”. These leaders want to know the expected return on their recognition dollars and how much their competitors typically spend, offer and reward their people.

Thankfully, the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) publishes an annual industry outlook that tracks the vitality and variability in the US incentive, rewards, and recognition market (you can download the full report here).

We’ve reviewed the 2018 IRF Outlook Study and summarized the key findings to help you prepare a convincing business case for investing in people.

KEY FINDINGS >>>

Even great managers can use a little inspiration and a few good ideas to engage, motivate and retain an all-star team.  Here are 10 proven ways of fostering engagement in your workplace. 

1. Encourage and Use Employee Input  

Canada Colors and Chemicals (CCC), a chemical, plastic and ingredient solutions provider asked CSISTARS to help them re-vamp their Workplace Safety program. In addition to reducing the number of safety-related incidents and increasing near miss reporting, the program encourages employees to suggest improvements that impact their job, their business unit and the company’s success. Management reviews every suggestion and rewards employees for their feedback.  The Result? Fewer accidents, improved communication across multiple sites and a stronger culture shaped by everyone’s concern for safety and process improvement. 

2. Offer Training and Development Options (MORE>>>)

When healthcare organizations say their goal is to put “patients first” they sound like a restaurant saying their goal is to serve “great food”. It feels so obvious that we’re not sure why it needs to be said. But the reason is simple and here’s why — putting patients first requires creating a cultural environment that embraces three key factors: internal service cooperation, employee recognition and employee enablement.

• Unleash internal service cooperation.

In order to improve patient service it’s critically important that all caregivers in all disciplines create great internal service. Clear communication, fast and responsive service to each other will enable the caregivers to provide the best patient experience possible. Rewarding and recognizing great internal service cooperation will sustain and support a patient’s first philosophy.

• Effectively recognize and reward caregivers for exceptional performance.

READ MORE>>>

When employees feel good about what they do, productivity goes up, deliverables are met, and customer service improves.  But, how long will employees stay focused and committed to your company if they are not learning, developing, and growing?  In order for companies to take the current manager-employee relationship to the next level, they must transition their workforce from being engaged to being enabled.

Employee engagement is both the rational and the emotional connection an employee has to your organization, combined with their willingness to unleash their discretionary energy and effort for your cause.  In other words, they are intrinsically motivated to do their best work.  Research has consistently found that more engaged employees produce significantly better business results for their organizations.

What is Employee Enablement?   READ MORE>>>

I’ve enjoyed watching football since I was 13, when I saw Bill Parcells lead Drew Bledsoe and the Patriots to the playoffs for the first time since 1986. However, I rarely paid much attention to any other teams or their games until this year, when I joined a fantasy football league.

Now, I have a personal stake in at least 3 or 4 games each week. I check injury reports on Wednesday night and make sure everyone in my lineup is at least likely to play, and I watch the games with my iPad in my lap to see my score update in real time.

I do this because now I feel a personal investment in the games that I never did before. Our league is not high-stakes, but to me it’s all about the competition and gaining bragging rights.

There is a lesson here about employee engagement and incentives. If your workers believe that your company’s success has little to do with them, they will not be all that upset if you lose or excited if you win. If they all feel they have some skin in the game, they’ll try that much harder to rack up points for your company in the form of getting new business, providing excellent service, and coming up with new ideas. And if there’s an added incentive for having a great game—such as a bonus, public recognition, or even private praise—then they’ll be all that more likely to put in the extra effort.

READ MORE >>>

If you don’t ask the right questions, you are never going to get the type of answers that lead you to excellence.

Smart questions are the type of questions that get you answers that are actionable.

If you are a leader, here are two examples of smart questions you should be using with your people every day:

Smart Question #1: What obstacles get in your way to creating fast, flexible and hassle free experiences?

Smart Question #2: What skills and/or knowledge do you want to acquire that will help you excel?

READ MORE>>>

The best teams are those that create fast, personalized, friendly and hassle free interactions for their internal partners first and their external customers second.

Take a look a the cool graphic below for a reminder on the importance of internal service cooperation.

Click here to view the info graphic>>>

Building an engaged workforce takes time and consistent effort. There is no magic bullet, but there is a general recipe for success, and it starts with the actions below:

1. Translate corporate goals to individual goals.

Top management may have the company’s mission, vision, and key performance indicators all figured out, and they may have even communicated specific marching orders to their top managers. But these goals need to trickle down to line managers and supervisors so they know what their departments need to contribute in order to achieve the larger goals. Great managers translate these high level goals to their employees, resulting in higher employee engagement.

2. Train your line managers to be goal-oriented with their direct reports.

Now the marching orders for the managers above need to become concrete action items for front-line employees. If they remain as lofty directives, such as “provide excellent customer service,” or “improve quality,” the average employee will have little idea of how to improve, or even how his or her performance stacks up. Feeling like you don’t make an impact (or you’re not sure if you do) is a sure path to disengagement.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE>>>

   

Most people truly do want to do a good job. However, when external factors prevent them from achieving that goal, employee engagement can quickly turn to frustration and lead to disengagement.

What are the most common factors that turn engaged employees into a disengaged ones?

• Lack of recognition, including pay raises and just plain praise.
• Incompetent management, including lack of challenging goals, poor communication, and credit taken for subordinates’ work.
• A stressful work environment, including disengaged co-workers, inadequate resources (like outdated technology or understaffing), and overall toxic culture.
• No way to vent frustrations safely.

An employee who has the intrinsic motivation and desire to do a good job can easily be brought down by these external de-motivators. In order to engage this employee, you must remove these obstacles. Doing so will not be quick or easy, but it will be better for the health of your business in the long run.

How can you reengage your employees?  CLICK HERE>>>

   

If You Are A Leader, Do You Focus On Your People? Or Are You A Boss Watcher?

In my experience, one of the biggest sports in corporations is what I call “boss watching.”

Most front line leaders look up the organization to their middle managers to figure out what is important.

Most middle managers look up to their Directors and Vice Presidents to deem what is important.

Most Directors and Vice Presidents look upward to the group Presidents and C-Suite executives to deem what is important.

Most C-Suite executives look to the Board to deem what is important.

The culture at organizations who’s leaders play the boss watching game is similar to that of a vacuum.

Meaning, there is a tremendous amount of sucking up going on....

READ MORE>>>

   

Truth, Skills, Clarity and Accountability (Info Graphic) If you are a leader, use this graphic as a check list.

If you are not providing these four things to everyone on your team, then you are really not a leader.

Are you the type of leader who provides the truth all the time, even when it is inconvenient?

Are you the type of leader who enables their people and creates additional leaders?

Are you the type of leader who provides clear goals and advancement opportunities?

Are you the type of leader leader who rewards and provides accountability for goal achievement?

 Click HERE for Infographic>>>

   

In my experience, an individual’s stories are pretty much the same in all aspects of their life.

What do your customers say about you?

What do your teammates say about you?

What do your friends say about you?

What does your family say about you?

What does your dog bark about you?

As I said, I bet if you delight your customers, you have a habit of delighting everyone you interact with.

READ MORE>>>

   

The case is simple and compelling: games engage some of the most basic human instincts, and people like playing them. In fact, according to a report by Spil Games (PDF), 1.2 billion people in the world were playing video games last year. That’s 1.2 billion people electively engaging in skill mastery. Enjoyable, meaningful, self-motivated, practice and learning. It makes sense to empower other forms of education with those same, incredibly attractive, features.

But how does your organization specifically benefit by adopting a gamified approach to compliance or training programs?

READ MORE>>>

   

WHAT IS AN EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE PROGRAM?

More than 50% of US companies are using incentive programs for employees, and are estimated to spend more than $100 billion (yes, with a “B”) on them each year. Why so much?

If we think about what an incentive truly is, it’s the promise of a reward for achieving a certain objective. And when incorporated into an engagement or performance program, they encourage employees to produce measurable outcomes for a company through specific actions, all for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

READ MORE>>>

   

So your boss has decided that your company needs to improve its employee engagement and company culture and you’ve been tasked with finding the company a recognition program that can do both of these things. Here are a few pointers on where to start:

1. What is your company culture?

2. How much customization will your employee recognition program need?

3. How does the company make its money?

4. Does the company ask about your program goals?

READ MORE>>>

   

We’ve all had those days where we come to work in less than top form—maybe we’ve had too much to drink the night before, eaten badly and feel sluggish, not gotten enough sleep, or we’re just not feeling well. If you think back to one of those days it probably took all your energy just to get by, much less work at your creative and productive peak.

Perhaps you even called out sick.

Imagine if you had a chronic illness that caused health issues that went beyond just getting more sleep or skipping that last glass of wine at dinner. You’d have even more of those “off” days.

Gallup recently performed a survey of 94,000 workers and found that of the 77% who had a chronic health condition such as asthma, depression, diabetes, etc. the total annual cost of lost productivity came to $84 billion. Unscheduled absences cost about $3,600 per year for each hourly worker and $2,650 each year for salaried employees.

READ MORE>>>

   

The Customer Doesn’t Care How You Want To Be Treated

A lot of people, in fact most people, talk about the importance of the golden rule.

The golden rule being, “Treat the customer as you want to be treated.”

I don’t think the golden rule was ever good advice.

Today, it is horrible advice!

Customers don’t care about your preferences, your desires or your expectations.

Customers care about getting served in a way that they want to be treated. Not how you think you would want to be treated.

The age of personalization is upon us.

A decade ago, mass customization and personalization didn’t permeate our businesses and our society like it does today. And, it is growing exponentially!
Your customers, just like our customers, and almost every customer, want their product, their experience, their interaction personalized!

READ MORE>>>

   

If you want to create change, whether it be personally or professionally, it requires repetition and practice.

If you want to do something new, it will create some uncomfortableness.

You can assume that if you are comfortable you are not doing something new.

It is also not practical for someone who is learning something new to get it perfect the first time.

That is why repetition and practice can help create more precision, more productivity and more profit.

If you want to create change, you have to get through the discomfort of layering in a new skill or behavior.

READ MORE>>>

   

Time is the ultimate commodity. Speed is the ultimate competitive weapon.

Many Organizational Development professionals will cite studies of how long it takes to create culture change.

When I sit in board rooms or conference rooms, I usually start laughing when I hear 3, 5 or 7 years to complete organizational transformation.

In 3, 5, or 7 years the market place can and will be radically different.

The best of breed companies around the world have figured out that winning requires making change rapidly!

Now think about what leads to change.

Are you thinking?

READ MORE>>>

   

One of the hallmarks of every legendary customer service organizations is that they have awesome internal service cooperation.

A leader’s number one job is to enable their people with skills so they can create personalized differentiated customer experiences.

The second most important job for a leader is to remove stupid policies, procedures and obstacles that get in the way of internal and external service excellence.

I have an idea for you!

   

When I sit in board rooms or executive suites and ask the same question, I will usually hear descriptions of their different consumer segments or markets.

It is rare that I hear a senior executive talk about her or his customer being their people.

It is funny, however, the tremendous correlations between organizations that have world class service and those leaders who view their people as their primary customer.

More than any time in the history of the planet, a leader’s job should be to support their people by enabling them with skills and removing obstacles to providing personalized, differentiated interactions.

If you are not helping a customer, you better be supporting someone who is.

Sometimes when I have this dialogue with senior executives it doesn’t quite sink in, so I’ll ask a different question.

I typically ask, “I don’t think there is a cash register on your desk, is there?”

If you want to be a winner today and ensure that you are a winner tomorrow, you better understand who your customer is, you better understand what they value, and you better deliver an authentic, personalized, fast, friendly experience.

READ MORE>>>

   

If you don’t exude these seven characteristics you are pretty much going to be replaced by an app or a robot.

If, however, you integrate these seven characteristics into your daily behavior, you will thrive in the personalization economy.

1. Authentic
2. Empathetic
3. Hospitable
4. Competent
5. Committed
6. Fun
7. Friendly

   

One of the challenges with trying to make cultural change, behavior change or learning transfer in organizations is the fact that change means you are doing something new.

If you think about it, and I do almost every day, change creates uncertainty.

Doing something new is usually uncomfortable.

If you are not uncomfortable you are probably not doing something new.

It is this dynamic where most change efforts or learning efforts fail.

Because change requires new behaviors, and new behaviors create discomfort, most people want to go back to the way things were.

To get over the feeling of discomfort of change, it is important to give people repetition and reinforcement in acquiring and transferring these new skills and behaviors into the work place.

It is completely unrealistic to expect a learner to get it right each and every time.

However, with repetition and perfect practice, excellence will result.

SEE INFOGRAPHIC>>>

   

I have traveled almost 4 million miles working with organizations and their leaders, helping them create cultures that produce exceptional employee and customer experiences.

We have done implementations in over 50 countries and 15 languages.

The one thing each and every one of these most admired companies shares in common is they provide skills that make their associates more marketable.

READ MORE>>

   

Most contagions are bad.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if a positivity contagion spread through an organization like wild fire?

READ MORE>>

   

Every year corporations around the world invest tens of billions of dollars in corporate learning and education.

Almost every cent of these billions of dollars is wasted.

Why?

Because almost every one of these organizations that is spending billions of dollars does not follow up, reinforce and hold the learners accountable for doing anything with the learning!

What corporations do all over the world is ridiculous. We would never do this in our other business disciplines.
Let me draw an analogy so you can understand the “leaving learning optional” syndrome.

READ MORE>>>

   

Before I talk about the importance of personalizing performance and sales incentives, I would like to stress the importance of recognizing and providing incentives in the first place!

What I have witnessed is the vast majority of the organizations that are providing performance incentives to their employees and channel partners are not getting a return on their investment.

This is because they lack personalization and choice!

An effective incentive process is one that is personalized to each individual as well as each unique employee and/or channel partner segment.  READ MORE>>>

   

A lot of people for a very long time have been writing about the importance of service recovery.

Obviously, recovering when you haven’t delivered to your customer’s expectations is critically important.

Like anything in life, there are good and bad ways to go about recovering with a customer.

One of the worst ways you can behave when recovering is to treat every circumstance and individual the same.

If you desire the type of recovery process that will turn your customers from sad to glad then your better personalize each and every recovery process!

One of the best ways to create a personalized recovery process with each and every customer...READ MORE>>>

   

When I ask this question in person, whether it be in a board room or talking with a front line associate, I almost always get the same answer.

“Of course I think celebrating service excellence is important.”

When I am talking with a front line associate, which I feel is the most visceral way to learn about an organization and it’s personalized sales and service interactions, I will always follow up with, “When you perform at an outstanding or excellent level to create a personalized interaction, do you get recognition and/or rewards?”

Almost universally, the answer is, “very little or not at all.”

In my mind, this is absolutely crazy.  READ MORE>>>

   

 CLICK HERE FOR INFOGRAPHIC>>>

   

Almost every senior global learning or organizational development executive I talk to laments about the challenges of delivering effective global learning.

In fact, I would argue that for the most part, even with the billions of dollars invested over the last decade, most global e-learning is not effective, suffers from significant drop out rates and is either unengaging, too long or excuse my bluntness, just plain boring.

Before I share the mistakes that cost organizations billions of dollars a year, let me share a quick story.

When I am around the table or in a boardroom having strategic discussions regarding global learning implementations, I will often ask the executives the following questions:

• Can you tell me when the last training event or training course was that you attended? Typically I will get answers such as one month ago, three months ago or six months ago.
• Then I’ll ask if they can tell me the key learning points from that event. If it was a live training event typically people can remember where it was and what they ate. If it was an e-learning course, they mostly mumble.
• Then I ask them what their favorite movie is and how long ago it was they saw it. When I ask how long ago it was I frequently get answers as long as two, three or even five years.
• Now, here’s the interesting part. I will then ask if they can name characters. 100% of the time they can.
• Then I ask if they can recite lines from the movie. I have actually had people act out complete scenes in front of me!

Why do you think these two events have such different retrieval rates?  MORE>>>

   

I know most of you will say, “I’m not in sales.”

I would politely say, “In every interaction someone is buying and someone is selling.”

That’s called influence.

I am serious when I ask the question; Would you buy what you are selling?

For those of you who are adamant that you are not in sales let me give you some examples.

READ MORE>>>

   

The question of “How do you personalize” is equally important regardless of what industry or function you are in.

Yes, I believe it is critical that every person, every department and every organization learns how to create personalized, authentic, and friendly interactions.

We need to think about how these interactions are going to play out at different touch points and different channels in the customer experience journey.

As I have stressed repetitively, I believe that the winners of the future will be:

1. those organizations that enable their front line with skills that will help them excel and
2. where leaders spend their time removing obstacles to personalize sales and service interactions.

 I’m sure all of you have had experiences as a customer where the person, department or organization was the furthest thing from a personalized, authentic and friendly experience.

Here are a couple of funny anecdotes of how you can respond to these interactions: READ MORE>>>

   

Every Chief Customer Officer, every Chief Executive Officer, and everyone associated with serving a customer has a similar goal of being exceptional versus ordinary.

Every year there are millions upon millions of dollars invested in customer service, customer loyalty, customer journey mapping, net promoter score, and other types of experience improvement efforts by companies all over the globe.

So tell me, why does customer service still suck so badly with all the billions invested?

It pretty much comes down to a couple of things...

READ MORE>>>

   

I believe the experience economy is evolving to a personalization economy.

To be the best now and in the future requires that you create personalized sales and service interactions.

One of the simplest yet most powerful ways you can be the best is to always see the world through your customer’s lenses.

While this may seem simple, in my experience it is tremendously difficult to put into action and consistently execute so that every interaction creates an exceptional experience.

READ MORE>>>

   

I read a great article this morning by Edward E. Lawler III in Forbes titled, “The Quadruple Bottom Line: It’s Time Has Come.”

I was particularly interested in Edward’s thesis that the missing measure for corporate sustainabilty is the way they treat their employees.

I believe the key to sustainability, the key to financial, social, environmental and customer success all hinges on the interactions and experiences of an organization’s employees.

Read what Mr. Lawler has to say>>>

   

Let’s face it.

There is no way to create personalized service or sales interactions without highly competent and committed staff.

There is no way to consistently create exceptional internal and external experiences without enabling your people with world class skills and removing obstacles to their performance.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TREE OF 'LIFE SKILLS'>>>

   

A lot of people, in fact most people, say to cite the golden rule when it comes to customer interactions.

The golden rule being, treat others as you would like to be treated.

If you stop and think about it, on the surface, that seems like pretty good advice.

But, if you really stop and really think about it strategically, you will understand the shortcomings of this approach.

To create a personalized sales interaction or a personalized service interaction it requires that you use the platinum rule.

The platinum rule is to treat the other person (client, customer or guest) exactly as they want to be treated.

The key is to focus on the personal wants, needs and desires of each and every customer that you interact with.

This has nothing to do with the golden rule.

Let me say it so you can understand it.

Your customer doesn’t give a crap about you and your stuff. Your customer cares deeply about their stuff, their wants, their needs and their desires, not yours.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PLATINUM RULE>>>

   

I believe creating personalized service interactions is one of the most important business skills and personal skills one can focus on.

Having an attitude of being a servant is an investment that will produce returns forever.

Developing a positive attitude and a servant mindset isn’t something you are going to get from your fairy godmother and it isn’t something that you are going to be able to distill from reading a book or hearing a speech.

I promise you, if you work at it each and every day, you will be amazed when you look back how powerful the cumulative affect of that positive incremental change is.

Click here to view the quick note:

   

I think it is critically important that you and every other human being learn how to create and deliver Personalized Service Interactions.

I believe this is the only way to make you and your company recession proof.

If you want to learn how to create the interactions that every human being craves and be in a position to protect your customer from the competitor who wants to steal them this is the best way!

What I also know for certain is if you don’t personalize you will be commoditized!

Please take the drink off the napkin below and see the type of interactions you must create to prevent an app or robot from replacing you.

CLICK HERE FOR INFOGRAPHIC>>

   

See Infographic CLICK HERE>>

   

Why would somebody who has been helping leaders all over the world say management is the problem and not the solution?

There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but in the new personalized service economy, management often becomes more of an obstacle than an enabler.

Why is management, or more specifically bureaucracy, the problem and not the solution in the personalized service economy?

If you believe like I do that the winners of the future will have real-time communication so they can deliver personalized service, then you understand that this simply does not align with a top down, hierarchical management structure.

Here is what I think the leading organizations of the world are figuring out: READ MORE>>>

   

Panels of Positivity

Positive attitude is a precursor to success.

A positive attitude isn’t just something that is given to you by a fairy godmother.

A positive attitude isn’t something you get from merely reading a book.

A positive attitude is something that takes consistent, focused, dedicated action to create and maintain.

Take a look at these six panels of positivity...

READ MORE>>>

   

Yesterday I wrote about the six steps to being the best.

I believe if you incorporate these six steps consistently, you will become a goal achieving machine!

Remember, when you achieve a goal, whether it be a small, medium or large one, it is critically important to stop, reflect,

give yourself an emotional hug, and celebrate your goal achievement.

As I have written about, I think one of the most fun things you can do is to scream out loud and say, “I did it!”

P.S. Before you click on the graphic below, remind yourself that it is important to make sure that your goals are worthy of doing.

SEE INFOGRAPHIC>>>

   

Recently I wrote about positive attitude and goal achievement.

One of the things I stressed was to keep your goals in front of you and the power of positive visualization and self talk.

Here is a visual I hope you print and stick to your mirror so you see it every morning when you brush your teeth.

Stick this on your dashboard.

Stick this on your toilet paper roll.

The more you see this, the better you will be.

Do you want to be the best? Then you must follow these six steps.

To be the best, click on the infographic below, and place it everywhere you are.

SEE INFOGRAPHIC>>>

   

One secret to positive mental attitude is to find inspiration and motivation in your every day life.

I think reading and writing positive things and thoughts will help influence you in dealing with the daily stresses on the road to enablement.

My coaches and mentors instilled in me that the bottom line is, positive mental attitude is everything.
I encourage you to do what my coaches and mentors encouraged me to do.
Go seek out a little bit of daily inspiration and motivation each and every day.

READ MORE>>>

   

I guess it is kind of a chicken and egg dilemma.
If you really stop and consider it, this question is a no-brainer.
In my experience, positive attitude is the precursor to success.

READ MORE>>>

The challenge with most instructor led learning is that because it is so hard to take people off the job today, we tend to give people the whole load, basically too much too fast. This is analogous to trying to drink through a fire hose. The challenge with most e-learning is that it is either horribly boring, too long, or doesn’t have a focus on action planning and coaching. This leads to over eight out of ten people globally dropping out of the e-learning.

The learning that I have seen produce results in every industry, on every continent, is learning that is layered in over time, short and succinct, delivering only the necessary content or competencies, with a focus on action planning, reinforcement and accountability.

Layered learning is more like drip irrigation versus fire hose doses. That’s why over 94% of global participants who start a layered learning process complete it with significant measurable results.

Check out the brief infographic on why layered learning produces results that are built to last.

This layered learning suite focuses on the 21 habits leaders should not do, and helps eliminate the things that often get in our way to high performance. Here is a guest blog from Dr. Goldsmith sharing his insightful views on optimism and the optimism bias.

Is Optimism Contagious?
By Marshall Goldsmith

For more e-learning courses offered by McDowell Incentives, Inc., click HERE.

Last October, Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on more than a dozen states and is said to have caused $40 to $50 billion in damage. People lost their homes and businesses, and more than 8 million people were left without power for days - some for weeks. Though not on the radar of the general public, safety programs have made a significant contribution to the recovery process.

According to most experts, safety programs have a huge impact on a company's bottom line. In many cases, when a company's accident rate goes down, so do its insurance rates. In turn, productivity increases, which is critical in times of crisis. "Without the implementation of a safety program before a catastrophe, employees would be unsure what actions they should take immediately, as well as down the line," explains Flynn Zaiger of Houma, LA-based Falck Productions, a division of Falck Alford, one of the leading providers of safety training to the Gulf South and surrounding areas.

Here's a look at how some safety programs are making the recovery from Hurricane Sandy a little bit smoother.

Link to the original article at Incentive Magazine

Download The Top 6 Service Anniversary Program Mistakes

You want to get it right. Small adjustments can make a big difference. You just have to know what to look for to improve your game.

The two most simple words to show appreciation are "Thank You!" Yet so many companies get this wrong. It doesn't have to be this way. You can do better.

• Is your program so stale you'd swear it's got mold?
• Still picking overpriced items from a tiny award catalog?

This paper will give you insights that make a difference for your program and your people.

Click here to download

With texting, tweets and emails, now more than ever, it is important as a leader to do a better job of balancing high tech communication with high touch communication.

An interesting fact is the average human being has to hear critical messages at least seven times for retention. Now it’s not because they are unintelligent or they have lost their hearing. It’s because we are all being constantly bombarded with information and often times competing messages.

Someone might challenge that and say, “I bet if you hollered FIRE! and there was a fire you wouldn’t have to tell someone seven times.” They would be absolutely correct because instructions like stop, go and fire don’t require repetition and reinforcement. However, complex issues we are trying to communicate such as business strategy, procedures, and making changes, need to be communicated at least seven times.

The bottom line is that too often we use high tech communication to help drive the speed of sharing information and we don’t follow it up with high touch.

Continue the article at CSI Blog...

Visual Management is one of the most well documented business tools in the world. Virtually every successful organization has leveraged Visual Management to help improve the business operations, increase shareholder value,and enhance the customer experience while maintaining strong financial performance. Integrating Visual Management tools and competencies into your daily work will improve your personal performance and results.

To truly gain the full business benefit of Visual Management, it requires you to manage at the speed of sight and thought. More than ever, Visual Management is critically important to any leader’s success because 83% of what we learn is visual.The best way we can get visual is to get closer to the workplace, closer to where the variances and problems are. When you do this, you will be driving the business case for Visual Management.

Continue article at CSI blog

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Safety and wellness programs are generally separate within an organization. Combining them could improve the overall health of employees and help reduce workers' comp costs, suggests recent research.

By housing health protection and health promotion activities in different silos, the effectiveness of each is limited, according to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Instead, companies should look toward systematically integrating the two functions for the best outcomes.

"Workplace health protection and promotion enhances the overall well being of a workforce by more closely integrating health promotion and health protection activities along a continuum," says a recent ACOEM guidance statement. "In this model, health promotion interventions contribute dynamically to improved personal safety in addition to enhancing personal health, while occupational safety interventions contribute dynamically to improved personal health in addition to enhancing personal safety."

Health protection usually includes activities such as basic safety training, the use of protective gear, work organization, and safety enhancing modifications. Health promotion typically encompasses health risk assessments, wellness initiatives, and immunizations.

"The safety side of the equation -- encompassing the activities that protect workers from occupational injury and illness and promote a better work environment -- is often housed in an organizational sector that is completely separated from health and wellness," the document says. "The safety committee in a mid-sized manufacturing company may have no formal connection with the coordinator of the company's wellness incentive program, housed in human resources, for example."

There's growing evidence that the two affect each other. The authors cite several studies.

"Good physical condition, absence of chronic illness, and good mental health are the factors that have been scientifically observed to be associated with low occupational injury rates," according to ACOEM. "It has been clearly shown, for example, that workers with certain adverse health risk factors are more likely to sustain injuries than those without such risks. Among those factors are obesity, sleep deprivation, having poorly controlled diabetes, being a smoker, abusing drugs and/or alcohol, or being impaired by certain prescription medications."

The authors note that identifying medical conditions that impede safety has been shown to be effective in reducing accidents among commercial drivers and pilots. They also cite studies showing an increased risk for an occupational injury connected to fatigue.

ACOEM suggests employers begin to consider ways to integrate their health promotion and protection programs. Examples of common elements in an integrated model include:

• Building a whole life approach to health and safety, which combines on the job and off the job dimensions in a unified vision that leads to a true culture of health.
• Stressing the importance and connection of overall health and wellness to safety outcomes.
• Recognizing the evolution in the nature of workplace hazards and including this awareness in the development of health strategies.

Employers can affect healthier lifestyles through such actions as encouraging employees to take the stairs, creating walking trails, offering healthy snack options in vending machines and in meetings, providing access to on-site exercise facilities, and encouraging stretch breaks.

Original Article: http://www.riskandinsurance.com/story.jsp?storyId=533344950

Corporate wellness programs that offer employees rewards can help significantly reduce the cost of health care, according to a new report released this week. Data shows that wellness incentive programs result in company savings-to-cost ratios of more than $3 saved on health care costs for each $1 invested. "Less than one in five employees will participate in wellness programs that do not offer rewards," said Rodger Stotz, spokesperson for the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF), which published the report. "This changes dramatically when incentives are offered – four in five will participate. Clearly all businesses should consider this when looking at their wellness efforts."

The report, which examines existing research and case studies regarding workplace wellness programs, also cites the success of specific companies. For example, IRF research shows Johnson & Johnson saves an estimated $9 million to $10 million in health care costs every year as a result of its wellness program. Data also shows Citibank realizes a health care cost savings of up to $4.73 for each dollar it spends through its health management program. Finally, IRF says Union Pacific Railroad's medical self-care program achieved cost savings of $2.78 for every dollar invested by reducing inappropriate emergency room and outpatient visits.

"The U.S. is spending about $2.5 trillion per year on health care," Stotz said. "As much as 75% of that is spent on preventable conditions, so the potential savings through preventative health care measures that include workplace wellness programs could be as high as $1.9 trillion per year. And this doesn't even consider productivity gains or worker quality of life improvements."

For more information about starting a wellness incentive program in your organization, click HERE or Contact Us for more information. 

   

We have assembled a list of survey questions to assist our clients in assessing their recognition needs.   These questions are designed to:

• Give you an adequate picture of how well supervisors deliver recognition (and whether training is warranted)
• Show how employees like to receive recognition (formally, publicly, privately, etc.)
• Answer what types of recognition your employees like best
• Gain employee input in program development and design

Whether starting a new program or reviewing an old one, these questions should help guide you in the right direction.  We usually recommend total anonymity for your respondents, but that's your call.  Depending on your culture, it's also important to consider alternate methods of delivery - both hard copy and digital delivery.  The key is a credible representative sample.

We would love your feedback.  To download the survey, click below:

Employee Recognition Survey 

   

Peers are the most useful reinforcers available to your organization - even more than front-line supervisors.  Peer reinforcement is also the most underutilized.

Only those in the same or similar position in the workplace:

1. are in the best place to deliver positive and immediate feedback (reinforcement)
2. are looked on as a trusted source of feedback for behavior by their peers

The only problem is that most employees have never been educated on the impact they can have in bringing desired corporate values/behaviors to life, and even worse, management does not reinforce or encourage these actions. Companies need to place necessary attention on peer reinforcement along with well defined job descriptions, and different processes to layer/enable recognition within the overall enterprise framework.

Improper Execution

Management often has opted for team reinforcement over a true peer-to-peer initiative, and have not received the measurable success in performance improvement desired.  I've written about team recognition in a previous post.

When your organization empowers peers to be a driver of reinforcement for each other, process and performance improvements occur much faster - and most importantly - last longer.

Note:  For more information about training managers to reinforce peer-to-peer, contact us or learn about our recognition training compendium.

   

Studies have concluded that actual dollar value of a reward is insignificant (or should I say less important) to the reward recipient than most managers believe.  The item just needs to meaningful to the recipient, and create a positive memory of the accomplishment. 

Also, don't be afraid to survey a sampling of employees to ask what moves them, whether or not they like to be recognized in public or in private, etc.  But most of all communicate to your people of your desire to celebrate their accomplishments, and would love their input (their investment) in coming up with the best strategy. 

Don't just throw money at them.  Celebrate the moment.  For some great advice on how to train your managers to reward correctly, contact us for your FREE copy of our "Celebrate the Moment" brochure, or inquire about our training services.

   

One of the great things about team reward and recognition is that everyone gets rewarded. 

One of the challenges with team reward and recognition is that everyone gets rewarded.

If everyone on the team contributed there is no concern, but when there is a considerable discrepancy between high performers and low performers, what is the impact? 

In the thinking of the high performer, she feels that her extra effort was not rewarded correctly and resolves to ratchet back her effort in the future.  The poor performer gets reinforced for inefficient effort, and makes no behavior change.  End result: lower productivity in the next quarter/time period.

There must be a direct relationship between the performance of the individual and the corresponding recognition and reward.  Team recognition has its place but not at the expense of desired behavior reinforcement and behavior change.

   

Awards

You can generally deduct amounts you pay to your employees as awards, whether paid in cash or property. If you give property to an employee as an employee achievement award, your deduction may be limited.

Achievement awards.

An achievement award is an item of tangible personal property that meets all the following requirements.

• It is given to an employee for length of service or safety achievement.
• It is awarded as part of a meaningful presentation.
• It is awarded under conditions and circumstances that do not create a significant likelihood of disguised pay.

Length-of-service award.

An award will qualify as a length-of-service award only if either of the following applies.

• The employee receives the award after his or her first 5 years of employment.
• The employee did not receive another length-of-service award (other than one of very small value) during the same year or in any of the prior 4 years.

Safety achievement award.

An award for safety achievement will qualify as an achievement award unless one of the following applies.

1. It is given to a manager, administrator, clerical employee, or other professional employee.
2. During the tax year, more than 10% of your employees, excluding those listed in (1), have already received a safety achievement award (other than one of very small value).

Deduction limit.

Your deduction for the cost of employee achievement awards given to any one employee during the tax year is limited to the following.

• $400 (average per employee) for awards that are not qualified plan awards.
• $1,600 for all awards, whether or not qualified plan awards.

Highly Compensated Employees

A highly compensated employee for 2008 is an employee who meets either of the following tests.

1. The employee was a 5% owner at any time during the year or the preceding year.
2. The employee received more than $110,000 in pay for the preceding year.

   

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Too many people confine their exercise to jumping to conclusions, running up bills, stretching the truth, bending over backward, lying down on the job, sidestepping responsibility, and pushing their luck.

-- Author unknown

The successful outcome of your next sales presentation will be determined largely by your ability to do two things very well; develop rapport with your prospect and adapt your sales message to engage his or her preferred learning style. The learning style theory was developed back in the early 1970s and has proven to be an extremely powerful communication model that every school teacher, parent, manager and sales rep should have in his or her toolbox. Simply stated, this theory promotes the concept that people have a natural preference, based upon their dominate sense, in how they choose to learn and process information; visual/seeing, auditory/hearing, or kinesthetic/touching.

Unfortunately, far too many sales reps unknowing undercut their sales effectiveness by failing to recognize the need to engage their prospects' learning styles. For example, if a sales rep determines that his or her prospect is a visually-based learner, it's up to the sales rep to make the adjustment and incorporate more colorful graphs/charts, brochures and other visual aids throughout the presentation.

It's easy to quickly and accurately determine your prospect's (employee's) preferred learning style by simply paying attention to his or her most commonly used words and phrases.

Visual-based learners might say:

"I can certainly see your point."
"That looks good to me."
"Do I make my point clear to you?"

Visual-based learners like pictures and prefer to get their information in writing. Use colorful charts, graphs and other visual learning tools to help them make a buying decision.

Auditory-based learners might say:

"That sounds good to me."
"I hear what you're saying."
"That rings true to me."
Auditory-based learners tend to hang on every word that you say. This type of prospect learns best through group discussion and tends to talk things out when making a buying decision.

Kinesthetic-based learners might say:

"I can get my arms around that concept."
"This point really grabbed my attention."
"Let me get a grip on what you're saying."
Kinesthetic-based learners prefer to learn by physically touching and doing. Keep this type of prospect actively evolved throughout the selling process by using demonstrations and other hands-on learning tools whenever possible.

If you want your prospects to get the most benefit from your website information, sales presentations, brochures and related marketing materials, you need to present the information in the most engaging way possible. Multiple forms of information delivery will give you the best possible chance of appealing to each of these different learning styles.

   

Deadlines give people permission to wait

Setting a monthly or quarterly goal allows for salespeople to wait until the end of that time to reach that particular benchmark.  Under these circumstances, there is no incentive to try to achieve the goal as soon as possible since there are not positive consequences for doing so.  You might actually build in fear that reaching the desired level too early might result in a shifting of the bar. 

Goal attainment gives salespeople permission to stop

Has this ever happened to your organization?  One or a group of reps had a great month, but instead of booking the extra business above goal, will "bank" the business for the following month.  Remember that 'J' curve in college?

If your rep's goal is 1000 units per month, it is in her best interest to coast or hover around that mark (hence the flattening of the curve).  The employee knows that it will be easier to meet the next month's goal by coasting (or worse yet, there is still that fear that management will raise the bar next month.  Negative reinforcement.)

Does setting goals actually limit performance?

Well, yes and no.  W. Edwards Deming was one of the first management gurus to notice the performance limits caused by goals and standards.  Managers must realize that goals in and of themselves must be an antecedent to positive reinforcement.  To know whether your goal structure is a negative reinforcement engine, look for these clues:

1. The 'J' curve - look for that sharp rise in performance before the deadline
2. Negative talk - from both employees and line managers
3. A flattening of performance after goal achievement
4. Lack of a plan for positive reinforcement
5. If you remove a performance standard and the performance drops

For ideas on how to properly reinforce for maximum performance, feel free to contact us.

Employers spend an estimated $13,000 per employee per year in total direct and indirect (productivity-related) healthcare costs, motivating many organizations to address health and productivity management as an integral part of business strategy.

The growing focus on reducing healthcare expenditures, retaining valuable employees and optimizing employee productivity is compelling employers to quantify the effects of productivity impairment on the bottom line and the return on investment of population health-management initiatives.

How to Effectively Measure Workplace Productivity:

1. Determine how workplace productivity data will be used. 
2. Get to know the various measurement tools available. 
3. Determine the most relevant measurement approach. 
4. Don't be data rich and interpretation poor.

Link to the full article by Steven M. Schwartz at HR Executive Online

   

Employees respond better to small, immediate, and certain consequences.  So when designing an initiative to shift behavior, certain consequences work better than others.  Many organizations will budget for bonuses, profit sharing, retirement benefits, or other future "compensation," that do little to bring discretionary effort on a daily basis.  These tactics work great for attracting talent, but do little toward the work-life experience

Consequences that yield the best behavioral results occur daily, and often will not show up on the balance sheet.  A positive affirmation, peer acknowledgment, a small victory, can often do the trick.  Managers need to foster an environment of small "wins" to lead to desired behaviors and outcomes. 

Employees will not resist change if the change provides immediate positive consequences for them, so rather than managing the change, manage the consequences associated with the change.

   

Respondents reveal career concerns as the top reason for moving on, with 28% attributing thoughts of leaving to "My career. I don't have opportunities to grow or advance here." "My work. I don't like what I do or it doesn't make the most of my talents" came in second with 18% and "My manager. I don't like working for him or her" came in third with 13%. Intent to stay, however, is fueled by enjoyable work ("My work, I like the work that I do." 35%), a meaningful connection ("My organization's mission. I believe in what we do." 12%), and a job that fits into a desired work/life balance ("My job conditions. I have flexible hours, a good commute, etc." 10%).

OK, but what are some tactics that can be used:

• Help employees define their wants and needs
• Clearly identify the work/behaviors that drive your organization's success
• Equip managers at all levels to reinforce and drive those behaviors

   

Behavioral psychologists agree that there are two ways to change behavior.

1. Doing something before the behavior occurs (antecedents)
2. Doing something after the behavior occurs (consequences)

It is critical that an organization initiating a culture change understand these elements and their roles in shaping employee behaviors.  Since antecedents come before the behavior occurs, they are called "setting events."  These events set the stage but do not cause the behavior to occur. 

Consequences follow behaviors and determine the probability of a behavior to reoccur.  A consequence will make a behavior occur more often or less often. 

Antecedents can make a  behavior occur once, but only a consequence can make a behavior happen again.  Many companies invest in expensive training, office or team design, etc., but these are only antecedents.  If management does not create validating mechanisms, lasting and consistent performance will suffer.

Antecedents initiate but cannot sustain performance, thus are inefficient and costly to manage performance. 

   

This document examines properties shared by Employee Lifetime Value and Customer Lifetime Value, which are explored in further detail in a 45-page research report entitled Employee Lifetime Value: Measuring the Long-Term Financial Contribution of Employees.  This white paper and the full report were produced by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement and the Performance Improvement Council.  85% of a company’s assets are related to intangible capital tied up in knowledge and human talent.  What are your employees worth to you?

Employee Lifetime Value and Its Link to Customer Lifetime Value

   

In calculating the savings rate less the cost of corporate wellness consulting and program implementation, the return on investment on reducing health costs was $ 3.27 for every dollar spent by the company and $ 2.73 for every dollar spent to reduce absenteeism.  Another source studying more than 50 major programs found that EVERY program showed positive results for health, and  some  yielded a return on investment of $ 5.00 or more for every dollar spent.

Here are some specific examples that show how dramatic savings are tied to corporate wellness programs:

• One small company managed to save between $ 3,000 to $ 15,000 in reduced health claims of employees.
• Another company lowered sick leave by almost 20 percent
• One small self-insured municipality that instituted a wellness program is saving $600,000 per quarter!

Corporate wellness programs also yielded higher sales,  higher employee productivity and greater morale, leading to greater rates of worker retention. A study of large firms with basic wellness programs showed a decrease in staff turnover by almost three to ten times.

Most of the cases sited above were basic wellness initiatives over the last 30 years.  A lot has changed in 30 years. For a comprehensive wellness solution that promotes, tracks, and rewards healthy behaviors, try ChipRewards.  Over 70% of health care costs are preventable. And in the economic climate today, saving money everywhere you can is an imperative. Let us help you unlock the potential of your team.  Contact us for more information.

   

1. Establish Objectives

Identify what goal/objective needs to be accomplished, for example: improved attendance, increased sales of a particular product, etc. The objectives must be simple, specific, and obtainable. Begin with a clear, briefly stated objective and communicate it to all participants.

2. Outline the Strategy

Build the foundation of the Incentive Program carefully, expanding on the methodology to be used. The structure of the program should detail exactly who is the target audience, and anyone else who will be influenced by the program. The size of the group is important to the budget of the program, as well as the ability to communicate clearly and measure the results accurately.  Other considerations are geographic boundaries or sales regions, legal considerations, family issues, the length of the program and timing, individual goals or team goals, and of course, the reward.

3. Measure Performance

Define both quantifiable and qualitative goals that can be measured, and keep it simple. It might be necessary to look at historical data and come up with an average in order to define a particular sales goal. The goal needs to be fair to all involved, and obtainable by everyone.

4. Establish the Budget:

Depending on whether the program involves sales or non-sales personnel, the budgeting will be different. In general, the three elements of budgeting include:

• Number of participants
• Length of program
• Expected results

There are two types of award budgets: 1) closed-ended, and 2) open-ended. You would need to determine the maximum costs involved with a closed-ended program, and an estimate of costs involved for an open-ended program.
In a sales program, the traditional rules are:

1. Anywhere from 5% to 10% of additional (incremental) gross sales during the incentive period can be applied to the total cost of the program, and
2. The cost of the incentive awards should equal 5% of all compensation for the program period.

In a non-sales program, it is more difficult to put a monetary figure on the value of "improvement," but some measures are possible that involve increased productivity, improved attendance, and improved safety (fewer traffic tickets, for instance). The budget is then determined by the "value" the company will realize from the improvements made by the Incentive Program.  An enterprise-wide budget of 1%-3% of payroll for all your incentive and recognition programs is a good benchmark.  This would include years of service, safety, performance, immediate, cumulative (points), and milestone achievements.

5. Budget Elements:

Element Awards Communication/Promotion Administration Training/Research

Percent of Budget  80%* 10%** 5%** 5%**

6. Select the Perfect Awards:

It is important to select the correct award because if the individual is not emotionally vested in obtaining the incentive award, he or she will not pursue the goal. Spend some time speaking with the target group and create an award selection within the framework of the budget that will be important to the group. Don't forget awards with a social mission like our Helping Hands rewards, or that invaluable "lunch with the CEO."

7. Administer the Program

Administration is approximately 20% of the program budget (including communication/promotion), and a good 50% of the planner's time. The target group needs clear, consistent communication and timely feedback on measurement of their performance. McDowell Incentives, Inc. can provide you with tools and a turnkey strategy to maximize the impact of your solution.  Feel free to utilize our in-house creative and design team.

8. Celebrate the Success of the Program

The end of the program should be celebrated with the target group and performance measurement by individual or team should be provided at this point. Individuals should then receive their awards.

9. Analyze the Success of the Program

• Did the Incentive Program achieve its objectives?
• Were the participants motivated to change their behavior?

Remember, an Incentive Program provides a short-term gain, and follow-up is important. Start planning the next one today, and don't forget to ask us about our enterprise solutions that allow you to build on the fly.  Incentive Programs can be launched in as little as 30 minutes!

   

Employee recognition is an excellentt communication tool that can help to reward and motivate employees. This builds a better relationship between employees, upper management and the company that can help the business grow and thrive. It also helps to boost employee morale and increase productivity within the company. In order to create the best employee recognition program for your company, you need to understand what it consist of and this includes the what, why, when, where and how of recognition programs.

WHAT

What is employee recognition? True employee recognition is getting involved with the employees and asking them their opinions about solving real problems and discussing important job issues. This is important to employees because they want to be recognized for their unique qualities and individual contributions. It’s also respecting the employees by physically rewarding them for a job well-done and by pointing out the specific reason for the recognition.

WHY

By recognizing and rewarding employees for doing a good job and putting forth an effort, you’re encouraging them to continue to work in the same effective manner. It’s a critical part of creating a great work environment, increase motivation, raise morale and keep employees satisfied with their position.

WHEN

Employee recognition should be done immediately or as soon as possible after an employee has met a specific criteria that qualifies them for recognition. This will help to reinforce positive behavior. The employee will appreciate being rewarded for a job well-done and they will want to continue to put forth this kind of effort because they know it’s truly appreciated.

WHERE

Deciding where to show recognition will partly depend on how the employee is being recognized and for what services. For example, there may be times when upper management approaches the employee in the workplace, calls them by name and personally thanks them for a specific job done well. There will be other times when employees will be recognized at award ceremonies.

HOW

A successful employee recognition program will address several important issues that will benefit both the company and the employees. Begin by making it possible for all employees to receive the recognition they deserve, not just a few. Put a criterion in place that explains what actions will receive recognition and make sure that everyone knows they will receive a specific type of recognition if they meet specific criterion. Everyone needs to know in advance what is expected of them and what actions will be considered for special recognition.

Employee recognition needs to be consistent but it shouldn’t become a habit. In other words, it’s a good idea to use an element of surprise once in a while by switching things up a bit and not making any one method of recognition repetitive.

Today’s employee wants recognition that directs their career path while providing them advanced job opportunities and that is the type of employee recognition you can expect from McDowell Incentives, Inc. and CSI International. Our STARS Service recognition solutions are designed to recognize the individual for who they are and for their unique contributions to the company.

   

Remove Subtle Signs That Put People Down

Audit your work place for any subtle practices that divide people based on rank and privilege for no good reason. If such things really matter to your executives, you've got the wrong people in positions of power.

Hand Written Notes Can Be Powerful Tools

In this electronic age, hand written correspondence has gone by the boards in favor of e-mail, and voicemail. If you want to stand out from the crowd, take the time to write a short, handwritten note to express gratitude or appreciation toward your best customers, clients, prospects or even an employee or co-worker. This small gesture leaves a strong impression.

Ask 'How Are You Doing?' And Mean It

When times are tough and people are stressed, taking the time to genuinely inquire into how someone is doing sends a powerful message of caring. Taking a minute or two to inquire after a co-worker's sick child or parent or to see how the job is progressing, let's people know you care. As a consequence, they are more likely to care about you and the business.

Nothing Is Too Small

If you have a group that likes to celebrate small things like birthdays but you could care less, find a way to support them with these seemingly small issues. If your group has been working extra hard lately, plan something small but fun as a reward. Remember the little things are the big things.

Think Short And Small

To maximize the benefit of listening to a speech or attending a seminar, think "short and small" to hit it big.When attending educational events,make it your goal to walk away with a short list of just one or two main ideas to focus on going forward.

Source: Dr. Gary Bradt is a keynote speaker, leadership consultant and the author of The Ring in the Rubble: Dig Through Change and Find Your Next Golden Opportunity.

From Engagement Strategies Magazine

Borut Nikolaš, General Manager of Slovenian DMC, Maya Travel Agency, recently wrote an article on team-building incentives in Kongres magazine.

Have you ever noticed how many companies advertise team building programs on their websites? Last year I called one of them out of curiosity and inquired what they recommended for a one-day team building program. Their answer: "a whole day tournament in darts, which can be carried out anywhere they have dartboards. This will certainly strengthen friendly relations among employees." I got chills when I heard firsthand what some people offer as team building. It was fairly obvious that the gentleman who gave me this information had no idea (and here he is not alone) that team building is first and foremost employee education where trust, communication, organization and motivation within a team are strengthened through different techniques of teamwork and workshops. This leads to an analysis of team dynamics and individuals. Programs are devised into one day or longer and are periodically repeated to achieve desired goals and to also measure the progress. With the right team building programs you will find it much easier to utilize the skills and potential of your employees.

Want to build the best team you possibly can? 

Make sure your line managers have the proper tools and skills to encourage and lead others.  Many times, an employee is promoted due to expertise in the "technical work" but doesn't yet know how to duplicate themselves through others.  Our spaced-repetition e-learning course for managers has 8 modules that teach skills for managers to practice-drill-rehearse weekly.  Check it out HERE

While the economy is slowly recovering, a recent analysis by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, shows employee engagement and morale in the workplace are not. Almost half of organizations around the world saw a significant drop in employee engagement levels at the end of the June 2010 quarter, the largest decline Hewitt has observed since it began conducting employee engagement research 15 years ago. This highlights the growing tension between employers and employees, who are showing fatigue in response to a lengthy period of stress, uncertainty and confusion brought about by the recession and their company's actions.

Since July 2008, at the onset of the economic downturn, Hewitt began closely analyzing changes in employee engagement levels by quarter for more than 900 organizations globally that conducted annual engagement studies. These studies covered topics such as employee morale, confidence in the organization, career opportunities, rewards and recognition programs and trust in leadership.

Historically, Hewitt's research shows that about half of these organizations improved their engagement levels in a one- or two-year period, while only 15% had experienced a decline. However, the past two years have been more challenging: the percent of organizations with declining engagement has been steadily growing. This trend is particularly notable in 2010. Hewitt's research shows that 46% of organizations experienced a decline in engagement levels in the quarter ending June 2010, while just 30% saw an improvement.

Hewitt's analysis suggests a clear link between employee engagement levels and financial performance. Organizations with high levels of engagement (where 65% or more of employees are engaged) outperformed the total stock market index even in volatile economic conditions.

During 2009, total shareholder return for these companies was 19% higher than the average total shareholder return. Conversely, companies with low engagement (where less than 40% of employees are engaged) had a total shareholder return that was 44% lower than the average. For more information on the study, visit www.hewitt.com

Key Findings

Organizational restructuring has been pervasive and deep.

• Seventy-two percent of participants have gone through a restructuring or made layoffs since the economic downturn began in 2008.
• Regardless of whether companies downsized, 89 percent of respondents report taking at least one or two actions to minimize the extent of workforce downsizing.
• On average, survey participants report taking 3.5 different actions. 

There has been a negative impact on some employee perceptions that could lead to higher attrition when the crisis is over.

• Top-performing employees are 20 percent less likely to agree that they understand the link between their own goals and the company’s goals than in 2008.

Employees believe the changes made by their companies are affecting work quality and delivery to customers.

• Forty-one percent of employees indicate that changes have had an adverse impact on quality and customer service, while only 17 percent of employers believe this is the case.

These results are a signal that things are not going to return to “normal.” As a consequence, companies must take proactive measures to mitigate the negative effects of cost-cutting actions on employee morale and productivity. Employers will need to reevaluate the “deal” with employees — the Employee Value Proposition — and create a renewed bond as the economy recovers.

Here is a link to the full study...

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Formal recognition is an excellent way to reward stellar performance, improve motivation, and positively impact employee job satisfaction. Most companies use a common sense approach to “rally ‘round recognition”, rewarding employees with cash, with a pat on the back, or with a single item that can easily be shopped at retail. In return, employers whole-heartedly believe they should receive a significant return on their efforts and investment in the form of sincere appreciation, improved behavior, increased production, or better job performance.

Truth is, human motivation is a complex and delicate process. An employer’s perception of what motivates employees may not match the employee’s perception. All awards aren’t equally effective, and a poorly executed program may do more harm than good.

The good news is with a few small adjustments, common pitfalls can be avoided and new action plans can be created:

Cash vs. Merchandise

Using money to shape behavior just doesn’t cut it. If you think it did, think again on how long the improvement you were trying to accomplish lasted? Chances are the positive result lasted momentarily when the stimulus-dependent recipients went looking for the next infusion of monetary reward. Keep compensation and performance separate. Reward performance, length of service and on-the-spot (immediate) recognition with strategic-based planning that establishes benchmarks, timeframes, and rewards that are on going and deliver high-perceived value. Recognize employees with a meaningful choice of awards that have broad appeal so each recipient will find true value in your expression of appreciation.

Consistency vs. Inconsistency

Avoid a one size fits all approach. Don’t award everyone for the same thing with the same reward. Instead, set well defined goals. Reward individuals for outstanding achievement based on their job related goals.

Continuous vs. Sporadic

For greater impact, recognize specific achievements when they happen, vs. mass distribution of awards at a year end banquet or company picnic. Seize the moment; make it special and ongoing. That way, you’ll generate higher levels of enthusiasm and excitement and create a recognition environment that everyone will want to participate in, on a daily basis. Keeping it timely and meaningful keeps it real!

Generic vs. Wow-Factor Awards

Are you awarding framed certificates or the proverbial watch to everyone? Chances are, the reaction you’re receiving isn’t as positive as you anticipated. The younger generation tracks the time of day on their mobile phones, and where’s an in-field sales employee going to display their framed certificate? The more personalized the award selection, the greater the value, the greater the impact, the greater the chance others will want to achieve similar results. Tapping into an individual’s interests/lifestyles and offering a wide selection of award choices (vs. no choice) will provide a higher level of satisfaction and motivation.

Real recognition keeps employees charged and psyched. Remember to keep it interesting with a variety of constantly evolving ways to recognize and appreciate.