Is Employee Engagement Worth All the Effort?

by Tom Hinton

It’s no coincidence that most of the best-in-class companies also have fiercely loyal and dedicated workforces. When top-performing CEOs from companies like Apple, Amazon, Southwest, Starbucks and Berkshire Hathaway talk about why their companies are most admired, they always cite their people and, specifically, employee engagement as one of the keys to their profitability and success.

What exactly is Employee Engagement? I define it as a person’s emotional connection to their company. Twenty years ago, it was enough to merely pay your employees a fair wage and provide good working conditions. Today, however, things have changed in the workplace. Your best and brightest employees have choices. They won’t settle for the status quo. This is why your company and its management team must challenge employees with meaningful goals and assignments. Leaders must set the bar high with a corporate visions that inspire employees and tasks them to help customers use the company’s products and services to make the world a better place. This is how the era of Employee Engagement is defined.

How can your company or organization successfully engage its employees? Having learned by trial and error over the past 15 years, here are three keys steps we recommend and use effectively with our clients at CRI Global, LLC.

1.     Take the Pulse of your Workforce. There’s no point in running a race if you don’t know where the starting point and finish line are, right? So, it’s imperative that you assess how your employees are feeling about their company, their work, and their ability to contribute to its success in meaningful ways. We always conduct an in-depth assessment that includes a cross-section of employees as all levels of the company. What we learn is invaluable and helps leaders chart their course for innovation, improvement and implementing a strategy for long-term growth and customer loyalty.

2.     Fix What Doesn’t Work and Fix it Fast!  Once you complete the assessment phase, you will know exactly what is working and what is broken in your organization. Trust me, your employees will tell you. The next step is to challenge your management team to fix it – and fix it fast! The key here is to demonstrate forward progress. Don’t be surprised if your management team resists. Most managers are not visionaries and they are comfortable with the status quo. So, be prepared to kick a few butts and shake things up in order to demonstrate you mean business! Effective leaders understand the status quo is a fatal flaw in any organization.  This step requires courage and conviction.             

If your company has been stuck in neutral for some time, your employees will be favorably impressed by any significant action you take to implement positive changes that help them do a better job and get better results. This is why it’s important to prioritize the things that you need to fix, change or improve within each department and business unit. Basically, you have 90 days to act if you want to have any credibility as a leader.  People will embrace your new vision, but only if they see actions after words.  Remember the words of Ray Kroc, who put McDonald’s on the global map. Kroc said, “People are like bananas. They’re either green and ripening or yellow and rotting!” You always need to keep your people greening.

3.     Set the Bar High.  Most companies under-challenge their employees. As a leader, you need to set the bar high by inspiring your people with a vision that challenges them to be the best. This means soliciting their ideas, asking them to make a commitment to be the best, and incentivizing them to reach that bar. Then, you need to give them the tools and resources necessary to accomplish that vision. Finally, as the leader, you must always be the “voice of success” and be relentless in your pursuit of your vision. This is how you convert followers into believers, and believers into evangelists.                                                     

As your employees make progress and achieve various levels of success, be sure to reward and recognize them. Salute and praise your top performers in each department. Invite them to share their success stories with others in the company including other divisions. Create a culture of “success and celebration” within your organization that motivates your employees to raise their performance levels and inspires them to set the bar even higher while achieving new records for sales, productivity, innovation and cost savings.                                                                                                              

This is the stuff success is made of. This is how good companies become great, and great companies become legendary. Employee Engagement is a key part of every company’s success formula.

About the Author:  Tom Hinton is CEO of the 10,000 Days Foundation, which helps people live their passion, love who they are and what they do, and create a lasting legacy. Tom is a popular speaker and the author of four books including 10,000 Days: The Rest of Your Life, the Best of Your Life! For more information, visit: www.10000Days.org 

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

by Tom Hinton

There is something uniquely all-American and spiritual about Thanksgiving.  Because we are so consumer-oriented and material-driven, it’s nice to stop for a few hours (before the malls open their doors for the holiday shopping madness!) to reflect on how we arrived at this point in history as well as all the things that make Americans so privileged. While we are far from perfect, we are privileged. Frankly, we’ve got it pretty good as Americans. 

But, it wasn’t always that way. Just look back some 200 years. Our forefathers barely survived. It was tough plowing the land and growing enough food back then. We’ve endured a revolution, world wars, the influx of millions of wonderful immigrants who’ve enriched our nation and culture, government corruption and the incredible transformation from an agrarian society to the most powerful nation on earth – all in less than 250 years.

And, through it all, we have maintained our spiritual roots and recognized that as a free people and blessed nation we do serve a higher purpose – to champion freedom and the right of all people to speak, write, protest, vote and pursue life, liberty and happiness. We will also stand up for those people who are impoverished, imprisoned, enslaved and subjected to the tyranny of corrupt governments.  It’s simply part of our fabric and soul as a people and nation.

So, here are a few things I’d like to give thanks for this Thanksgiving. I’m sure you can add to this list. I am thankful for:

·       The gift of life, and to be born in America where all things are possible.

·       All those brave men and women who serve in our military and defended the ideals of American freedom.

·       My parents, grandparents and forefathers for their sacrifices and hard work.

·       The opportunity to celebrate life, pursue my passions, live my dreams and succeed or fail based on my own doing.

·       My education and the ability to learn about anything I so choose.

·       The ability to travel and explore the beauty, culture and people of our world.

·       To live during a time when I can instantly communicate with people around the world and have an impact through my words and actions.

·       Monday Night Football and college basketball.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Living Your Passion

Last week, I was invited to speak at a university class on the topic Follow Your Dreams. I confessed to these eager juniors and seniors that it had only taken me 37 years to find the path to living my passion and follow my dreams.  But, today, there are fewer boundaries and more opportunities for twenty-year olds to express their dreams and live their passion. My point was simply it’s never too late to live your dream, and the sooner you begin to live your passion, the sooner you can begin charting your roadmap to fulfillment, abundance and success.

After my presentation, several students came forward seeking my personal advice and counsel on their goals and dreams. One enthusiastic young man told me, “I plan to be where you are in ten years.”  I wished him luck and encouraged him onward.  But, on my way back to the airport, it occurred to me that in ten years, he would only be 30 years old and, therefore, it would be impossible for him to “be where I was at” given his limited life experiences to that point.

Interestingly, this same point was made a few days later during a speech by Terry Hawkins, an outstanding speaker, trainer and author of the popular Stickman book series for kids. During her presentation, Terry shared a story about meeting a young lady who also aspired to be a speaker/author. Terry told us, “In our 50s, we have accumulated many memories. But, in our 20s, we have few memories and life experiences. That’s why life gets harder as we get older, and that’s why no one in their 20s or 30s can quite be like me.  It’s my life experiences and stories that make me different and unique from anyone else.” 

How true that is. Each of us is destined to travel our own path. At various intersections of your life, there are choices you must make and consequences for every choice. Some consequences are very positive – meeting the love of your life at the party you decide to attend at the last minute, or finding out about a great job opportunity from a friend of a friend who happens to be there.

Living your passion is one of the cornerstones of The Course of 10,000 Days™. To live your passion, you need to answer two simple, but demanding questions. First, “What is it that you love to do so much, you would do it for free; but, you’re so good at it someone will pay you to do it?  Secondly, what’s your plan for success?  The sooner you can answer those questions, the sooner you can begin to live your passion.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is a professional speaker and the author of the popular new book, 10,000 Days: The Rest of Your Life, the Best of Your Life! He teaches The Course of 10,000 Days™, a dynamic personal development and self-growth weekend retreat for individuals who want to live their passion, love their life and create a lasting legacy. For information visit: www.10000Days.org