Are you budgeting to say thank you next financial year?

When talking to the HR community about how they recognise their employees, the number of HR managers who answer “we just pay them” is frighteningly high.

Over time this attitude will cost employers more money than it will save. Engaged employees have 27% less absenteeism and are up to 244% more productive than disengaged employees with low motivation.

Setting up a reward and recognition program need not be expensive or difficult – all you need to do is budget $100-$150 per employee this year. Next, you need to think about why you want to reward your employees? It might be for living and breathing your company’s values, showing exemplary customer service, tenure or recognising an employee’s attention to workplace safety.

What you give to your employees as an award is equally important; choice is key in a successful reward and recognition program. What a 21 year old female and a 50 year old man prefer as a reward will be vastly different; without choice you have to have generic rewards that no one will particularly like.

With a tight labour market, increasing unemployment and a highly disengaged workforce can you afford to have the attitude of “we pay them”?

Sardine rage on the rise - why small offices equals low job satisfaction

According to a report from global property agency Knight Frank, office spaces are shrinking. Although a smaller office could encourage an increase in teamwork, the more likely result is a new form of workplace stress, being labelled Sardine Rage.

People sitting in smaller spaces are more prone to physiological and psychological reactions such as stress, fatigue, and increased blood pressure levels. There is also likely to be higher levels of over-stimulation and low job satisfaction.

So what’s the solution?

Making better use of office space by providing conference rooms for meetings and private phone conversations is a great start. Setting up a ‘quiet room’ simply for a retreat or change of scenery for workers who need a break from their usual workstation is another great idea.

Getting out of the office in general could also be another great way to help workplace stress, without the need for a bigger office. With wireless & mobile technology on the rise, workers are now able to utilise public places such as library’s, cafe’s and even outdoor areas to complete their work, without needing to be chained to their desks.

Which strategy will work best for my workplace?

In finding the best solution to reducing sardine rage in the office, try consulting your employees to find out what would work for them, with offices showing no signs of increasing anytime soon; companies must take a proactive and creative approach to reducing sardine rage. If not, workplace morale and productivity will suffer.

Power2Motivate Webinar: Positive Reinforcement & Psychology at Work

Positive Reinforcement & Psychology at Work

Download the webinar slides here.

It is beyond doubt that the level of employee engagement in an organisation directly affects its performance and the happiness of its workforce. Engaged employees average 27% less absenteeism and are up to 244% more productive than employees with low motivation. Companies with a high recognition culture have been shown to experience 4 times the sales growth and twice the revenue growth of companies that have a low recognition culture.

This webinar gives HR managers a practical understanding of positive reinforcement in the workplace with easy to implement strategies. The series combines research by leading authors and academics Aubrey C. Daniels and Shawn Achor with practical case studies and tips for implementing a successful reward and recognition program in your business.

Employee Recognition: 3 Tweets that Got it Right

Want to send a quick nod of appreciation to an employee for a job well done? Turn to Twitter. It’s one of the best ways to discover what's new ... and it's also a great way to quickly send a special shout out of recognition to someone.

In a post by Brian Rhea from Inspiration Conversation, he lists 3 tweets that are good examples of how to use social media effectively to recognize employees.

1. Years of Service Recognition: @Lochrane [ http://twitter.com/lochrane/status/7985989071 ]

Low-hanging fruit here and a simple way to let them see their name in lights. We're all for it, as long as this comes in addition to (not in place of) an in-person celebration of the employee's contributions to the company.

2. Employees Living the Company Values: @LuminantPower [ http://twitter.com/LuminantPower/status/6671805345 ]

It's important to celebrate the moments when employees embody company values on the clock, but it's all the more powerful when that happens outside of the workplace. Luminant places a high premium on Community and this a great representation of that value. Extra credit for including a twitpic.

3. Manager-to-Peer & Peer-to-Peer Recognition: @ddbrown / @datotel [ http://twitter.com/ddbrown/statuses/7912284392

Here's a CEO taking an opportunity to congratulate employees by name. John, Stephanie and Melissa's managers & co-workers could just as easily do the same. Extra credit for linking to the company's blog post with more information about the awards.

Have you seen any good employee recognition tweets lately?

Employee Motivation & Wellness: Essentials for effective Workplace Programs.

Blog Series: Part 2

 You know it's good business to keep your employees healthy ... they’re happier, more motivated and more profitable.

So how do you create a Workplace Wellness Program that doesn't become yet another company initiative that dies on the vine, but instead actually gets employees enthused enough to want to participate? 

 

Here are the essentials for creating effective Workplace Wellness Programs:

Get company-wide commitment

All levels of management should be committed to creating a culture of health, from the C-suite to the employees who will implement the program. Continuous support from senior management is essential for the success of a wellness initiative.

Identify the relevant health concerns

Successful wellness programs provide the features your employees need the most. Start by having everyone complete a Health Risk Assessment, which usually includes questions about nutrition, physical activity, smoking, blood pressure, chronic diseases, etc. Find out what's important to them and what they'd like to change or improve upon.

Find your focus

Design your program to meet your employees’ key health issues. Focus on two or three target areas, don’t try to address every possible wellness topic at once. Create a roadmap to execute, monitor and improve your program while serving up big doses of motivation along the way.

Welcome partners in wellness

Collaborate with outside partners, including vendors, who can enhance your program with essential components such as fitness training, nutrition counseling, smoking cessation solutions, etc. Research other Workplace Wellness Programs to see which solutions workers prefer.

Reward healthy behaviours

Rewards are one of the best ways to get more employees to participate in a program. Studies indicate that at least 75 percent of all companies that implement a wellness program use some sort of reward to drive participation and success. Consider offering rewards for different areas of your program:

• Completing the health risk assessment
• Making lifestyle or behaviour changes
• Participating in a fitness program, going to smoking cessation classes, attending weight loss clinics, etc.
• Managing a chronic disease with healthy new behaviours

Market your new mantra

Get the message out there that a commitment to wellness is part of your company culture. Let your employees see that you take their health and wellbeing seriously, and that changes in their lifestyle will make them more successful. It is important to keep in mind that consistent motivation is necessary, for the employee wellness program to be effective.

As if healthy, happy employees weren't reward enough, your company can realize huge savings on healthcare costs, increased employee motivation, and greater productivity with an effective workplace wellness program.

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This is Part 2 of a blog series on Employee Motivation and Wellness in the Workplace. Check back next week for tips on the best incentives to increase employee participation in your Workplace Wellness Programs.

NEW THINKING ON HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES

How do you get employees to change their behavior? The conventional wisdom is that you should reward those who make the changes, and punish those who don’t.

 But new research from Florian Herold, an assistant professor at the Kellogg School of Management, suggests a more nuanced approach is in order. A recent BNET article by Kimberly Weisul examined Herold's findings.

Rather than set up an experiment to observe peoples’ actions under certain conditions, Herold instead used game theory, a branch of applied mathematics that relies on mathematical proofs to predict how individuals will behave under certain scenarios. Herold’s proof assumes that no matter what the situation is, individuals act in a way that is in their best interests. Herold also assumes the individuals have good information about how other people are acting (in other words, in his model, there is no deception and no sabotage).

Herold says his proof shows that the most efficient strategy is to start off by rewarding those who do heed the management’s request, and then, once a critical mass of workers are cooperating, punish those who are still refusing. In other words, start with the carrot, then add the stick. As Herold says, “Reward may help you get to a situation where you can establish punishment.”

In Praise of Praise

Herold looked at how two groups of people–the “employees” receiving the commands, and the “enforcers” or managers issuing the orders– responded in three hypothetical situations.  In the first situation, the enforcers could use only rewards; in the second they could use only punishment; and in the third, they could use either.

Scenario One: Reward Only. People cooperate if they are rewarded, but this is onerous for managers. Not surprisingly, most people cooperate if they believe they’ll receive a reward. But this turns out to be expensive, since the enforcers have to pay for a reward for every single person.

Scenario Two: Punishment Only. People may cooperate if punished, or they may rebel with little consequence. At the beginning of this set-up, all the enforcers punish everyone who doesn’t comply.  After that, things can go one of two ways.  The first variation is that everyone realizes the consequences of not cooperating, so everyone cooperates and very little actual punishment takes place.  Sometimes, however, there’s a second outcome: Everyone flat-out refuses to cooperate, and the enforcers give up.

Scenario Three: Reward, then Punishment. Everyone cooperates, but with less cost to their managers. In this situation, the enforcers begin by offering rewards. That creates a climate of cooperation without having to reward every single person.  Once that’s established, the enforcers can stop offering rewards and instead say they’re going to punish those who don’t get into line.

Herold admits that his findings don’t leave a lot of room for executives who can’t stand to mete out punishment. Says Herold, “People who are always nice have a hard time in my model.”

Do Herold’s findings sound feasible–or pie-in-the-sky?

 

Image courtesy flickr user opensourceway, CC 2.0

Keep On Engaging: Low-cost ideas for driving employee engagement after the holidays

Post-holiday blues affecting your employees? Bob Kelleher offers up these suggestions in his recent column for Incentive Weekly Newsletter.

Given the exciting build-up and anticipation for the holidays, it’s not surprising that many of us feel at least a bit of a letdown when the season is over. The post-holiday blues have been shown to spill into the workplace, taking a toll on employee motivation, engagement, and productivity.

The good news is that there are effective ways for employers to get employees back into the swing of work and keep them motivated and engaged when the holiday hoopla subsides.

Here are some low-cost ideas for driving employee engagement after the holidays:

o Office get-togethers shouldn’t be viewed as one-time events. Companies should remember to thank their employees throughout the year, as these small but critically important gestures go a long way toward building the culture in many organizations.

o Pledge to improve your communication process, with a commitment to having frequent and transparent communication going forward. Consider establishing a “Communication Promise,” a detailed communication protocol in which you and your leadership team commit to communicating to all employees. This protocol should outline a schedule of communications over the next year that will be cascaded down from the CEO to the first-line manager.

o Focus your efforts on building a learning culture. Although many training and development budgets have been cut and not returned, a key engagement driver is staff development. There is much that can be done to build cultures of learning without spending lots of money. Stretch assignments, mentorship opportunities, cross-sectional task teams, luncheon brown bags, etc, are all learning opportunities that have great impact and marginal direct dollar costs.

o Determine and communicate your employment brand. Assemble a cross-sectional group of top-performing employees to determine why people work for your company. Consider conducting a culture audit as a first place to start. (Many companies have a hiring issue, not an engagement issue—they’re hiring the wrong type of people to succeed in their cultures.)

o Host a YouTube video contest linked to a business imperative. For little money (but huge engagement benefit), send out Flip cameras to every location and or department with a request for employees to pick a company value and show “what that means to me.” Establish prizes (they don’t have to be extravagant, as employees will be motivated to participate just because the contest will be fun and they will want their departments to win!). Post your "winners” on the company intranet, as well as on YouTube.

o To keep the social interaction levels high throughout the year in single-site companies or in standalone offices or businesses, have ethnicity theme nights monthly. For example, January will be "Mexican Night Sponsored by Accounting—All Are Welcomed!" February will be "Italian Night sponsored by Procurement—All Are Welcomed!" etc.

Employee Motivation & Wellness: Healthy employees = more profits.

Blog Series: Part 1

Are healthy employees more profitable? In a word … YES!

Study after study shows that healthy employees are happier, more productive…and more profitable.

Healthy employees can be almost three times more productive than their unhealthy colleagues.

And unhealthy employees take up to nine times more sick leave than their healthy colleagues.

Source: A study by Medibank Private in Australia.

Productive employees can work for longer periods of time, concentrate more effectively on the task at hand, are better able to manage demands and priorities, meet deadlines and interact positively with others.  Productivity = profitability.

A little closer to home, the statistics for Canadian employees point to the need for workplace wellness:

• Eight out of 10 Canadian workers experience some form of stress-related illness each year.
• More than 50% of the population in every province and territory in Canada are at overweight.
• One third of Canadians report they now live with moderate or severe chronic pain in their day-to-day lives.
• Approximately 40% of hospitalizations are related to bad habits and stress.
• Obese adults incur annual medical expenditures that are 36% higher than those of normal weight.

Stress, excess weight and chronic pain can all lead to lost productivity. Implementing a health and wellness program geared to the needs of your workforce is an effective way to boost productivity and employee satisfaction. 

“The simple truth is that a healthy employee is much more profitable,” says Bailey Vaez, owner of Proactive Movement, a Toronto-based wellness at work consultancy. “A spirited and robust individual can think clearly, lead more effectively, build outstanding relationships, and produce exceptional results. Having said that, it is clear that by choice every company would want to employ and retain healthy individuals.”

Motivate well with wellness

A wellness program is a major decision factor when considering working for or staying with a company. (Source: Fortune Magazine survey, The Best 100 Companies To Work For.)

“Employees are likely to be attracted to, remain, with and value a company that obviously values them” Ellen Exum, Director of Wellness and Prevention at PepsiCo.

Implementing an employee wellness program in the workplace is effective. Just ask major organizations like IBM, Pitney Bowes, Motorola and Texas Instruments who have all achieved success with their wellness efforts.

There are the obvious benefits of healthy, happy employees engaged in their jobs and interacting positively with the people around them. In addition, companies can save millions of dollars each year in healthcare costs with well-structured and rewarding workplace wellness programs.

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This is Part 1 of a blog series on Employee Motivation and Wellness in the Workplace. Check back next week for tips on how to develop more effective workplace wellness programs.

The Disrupters: Forces Driving Change in 2011

From crowdsourced shopping to mancessories to new ways to get green, Entrepreneur Magazine identified 10 trends that will define opportunity next year. Here is an excerpt from the December 2010 article.

1. ON THE VERGE: A burst of creativity ahead.

Eric Jackson, innovation specialist and VP of research and development at Gap International, a global management consulting firm in Philadelphia. "The world is screaming for innovation, and companies can capitalize on the resources they already have to spark the next possibilities."

Since the financial crisis laid waste to business as usual, the world is brimming with potential. The economic future will be populated by the movers and shakers, who even now are poised for greatness.

2. IT'S BOOMERS (AGAIN ): They age. Opportunities bloom.

Whine all you want, Gen Y, but boomers are about to steal your spotlight. The 76 million-strong demographic is making headlines for providing a slew of market opportunities such as construction services that make homes more senior-friendly; supermarkets with lower shelves and wheelchair-compatible shopping carts; and sales and tech support by phone for seniors, by seniors.

3. GET PACKING: Travel and tourism take off.

A plethora of industry reports indicates that travel and tourism are back, and, by the end of 2011, will be better than ever. Revenue is expected to reach nearly $1.4 trillion, a record, says Toon van Beeck, senior analyst at research firm IBISWorld. This means the opportunity in the sector will be "the biggest it has ever been."

Also, as the industry increasingly shifts online, opportunities are emerging with the smartphone app market and on websites.

4. SOCIAL SHOPPING: Click. Chat. Buy.

E-commerce has gone social. Nearly half of all Americans are now members of at least one social network and spending more money while they're at it, double from just two years ago. Research shows that social media users spend, on average, one and a half times more time online than the typical web surfer. In fact, heavy Facebook users spent an average of $67 online during the first quarter of the year--compared with less than $50 for the general netizen, according to recent comScore research.

5   . HOME SWEET HOME: Repairs to renovations, wallets open.

As homeowners begin to take care of those leaky roofs and unfinished kitchen remodeling projects put off during the recession, the home improvement sector is off and running. It's already been a good year--up 5 percent from 2009. The value of homeowner improvements is on track to top $117.6 billion in 2010 and $133.7 billion in 2011, according to IBISWorld. Retrofitting existing homes to meet energy-efficient standards should be a boon to business, too.

6. VITAL SIGNS: Healthcare’s new life.

In the U.S., 10 of the 20 fastest-growing occupations are healthcare-related, and the industry will generate 3.2 million new jobs between 2008 and 2018, more than any other industry, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

"With costs on the rise and access to the healthcare system expanded, the technology and services sectors are poised for growth," says Bob Higgins, Harvard business professor and partner of Highland Capital Partners, a Boston venture capital firm partnering with healthcare entrepreneurs. "We're aggressively seeking innovative IT solutions that improve quality while decreasing cost."

7. WHO'S YOUR DADDY? The age of man.

Get ready: Mancessorizing is the wave of the future.The men's lifestyle market is stronger than ever, bolstered by everything from bacon-flavored toothpicks and shape wear to streamline beer bellies and "moobs" to handmade machinist shirts and "men-only" RVs with an inflatable blowup doll (it comes standard, according to Trend Hunter online magazine).

Online newsletters and websites like UrbanDaddy and Thrillist, which feature products and services that cater to this youngish, educated, more affluent demographic, are a hit with readers. UrbanDaddy is closing in on 2 million subscribers, and Thrillist is already at 2.25 million.

8. MICRO GREEN: Energy efficient goes small.

Bust out the recycle bins and reusable packaging. If you're not thinking about all the ways to go green, you're way behind the curve. Sure, clean-tech has been the darling of the venture capital community for a few years now. But sustainable profitability is the catchphrase these days, says Micah Kotch, director of operations of New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Renewable Economy. "The climate piece is secondary," he says. "The bottom line drives business decisions, and the recent rise of green business accelerators illustrates this phenomenon." Best of all, plenty of clean-tech companies are trying to make money by saving other businesses money.

9. GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Craving affordable luxuries.

There's no doubt that the recession has created a more selective, value-conscious consumer. And retailers, hungry for sales, have fostered that by conditioning shoppers to expect great products and services at reasonable prices. Those expectations will remain.

Retailers, hungry for sales, are satisfying shoppers’ desire for great products and services at reasonable prices. eSalon offers salon-quality, at-home hair color. Many budget hotels are pouring money into renovations and added amenities to capitalize on the moderately priced luxury market. More fashion designers are now offering "bridge lines," or lower-tier collections, for a fraction of the price. Many premium wine brands are also offering value options.

10. LET'S GET PHYSICAL: Fitness flexes market muscle.

More and more folks are pursuing easy, inexpensive ways to work out--and, in the process, they're powering a boom in the fitness sector. The stats are impressive. Fitness clubs and health stores are now a $41.4 billion industry--muscling up $1 billion from a year ago. Gym memberships have increased steadily throughout the recession--of the 45.3 million health club members, more than 10 million of them joined in 2009, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.

Small-group personal training will thrive in 2011 with two to six people sharing one trainer to cut costs. As people continue to spend cautiously, working out at home becomes more popular, too. And the recent onslaught of low-cost iPhone fitness apps like iFitness and iWeight Deluxe adds to the ease of staying healthy away from the gym.

 

Click here to read the full article in Entrepreneur Magazine by Jennifer Wang and Kara Ohngren. 
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4 goal setting tips for better New Year’s Resolutions

Every year a new set of resolutions for yourself or your business. Great intentions…but not always great results.

Jessica Stillman of BNET passed along some tips that might help you make 2011 the year when you finally make those changes you’ve been promising to accomplish for years.

The suggestions are originally from a post by blogger Lindsey Pollack offering a crash course in goal setting for young professionals, although the tips can apply to people at any stage in their careers.

• Be honest about what you really want.
  The first rule of goal setting is to make sure you are truly passionate about achieving the goals you’re setting. If, instead, you’re setting goals because you think you should travel more or your parents think you should give up your freelance career for a “real” job, then you’re not going to be very motivated.

• Don’t be afraid to think big.
  One of the biggest mistakes young professionals make is not dreaming big enough. There’s nothing wrong with being realistic, but when you are setting goals, why not start by going after what you really want and then, if necessary, tweaking as you go along? As recommended by inspirational posters and greeting cards everywhere, start by asking yourself, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

• Mark dates on your calendar.
  Months go by very quickly, but days are long. Similarly, big goals can be daunting, but small tasks are relatively easy. As you’re goal setting, start to think through the small tasks that add up to achieving your biggest dreams. (I’ve heard this called “chunking down” your goals.) For example, if you want to find a new job by June, work backwards on your calendar and start marking in milestones that will help you achieve your goal, such as revising your resume or pre-registering for networking events. If you want to write a book next year, mark off 30 to 60 minutes each day on your calendar for writing or research time.

• Get some help.
  There are some great, inexpensive books and tools to help you with goal setting large and small. Two of my favorite resources are Your Best Year Yet: Ten Questions for Making the Next Twelve Months Your Most Successful Ever and an app called Things. You can also work on goal setting with a career services professional or a friend who agrees to be a goal setting buddy. While no book or app or person can force you to achieve your goals, what these resources and people can provide is accountability. When you submit to a formal, written goal setting process or ask someone to call you once a week to check on your progress, you’re more likely to stay on track.