Pay Em to Quit?

Here's something you don't see every day: Zappos is a company that offers new employees $1,000 to quit.

Zappos is so serious about engagement that they have to know if the hew hire is truly committed to their company and passionate about serving customers. So, after being paid for 4 weeks training, they offer $1,000 to quit.

It's a test of the level of commitment to the organization.

Hmmm...I wonder what i would do?

Posted by Terrence Seamon, May 21, 2008

Ideas on Employee Engagement

Looking for ideas for engaging employees? How about 300 ideas?

Consultant David Zinger has just published an e-book that you might find useful. He calls it the Keys of Employee Engagement: 12 Authors and 300 Ideas Embedded in Their Employee Engagement Alphabets.

Here are a few excerpts:

David Zinger: Connection. Employee engagement is created through caring connections with others in the workplace and connections to our work — stay connected and you
will stay engaged!

Tim Wright: Mastermind. Engage your people in developing their engagement. Invite discussion, ideation, forums that generate ways to engage. No matter what you call it, every time your folks turn on their idea-machines, they engage themselves.

Lisa Forsythe: Differences . Celebrate the differences between people. Differences are opportunities to step outside our frame of reference and connect with others in a way they find meaningful.

Angela Maiers: Joy: Children are learning machines and have untold hours of play and joy...until... they are "educated" - educated to behave otherwise. If we want a better class of thinkers and innovators -- people with explosive curiosity and creativity, we need to bring FUN back into our classrooms. We need giggles and laughter, enthusiasm and excitement. School can become a place remembered for the love of learning, if for no other reason than it feels joyous!

Click here to download.

Posted by Terrence Seamon, May 9, 2008

One Page HR

Not so long ago, I had a couple entries (here and here) about the problems with performance reviews, and some possible fixes. In a nutshell, my position is that this process should be blown up.

So the other day, at the 10th Annual New Jersey Organization Development Sharing Day conference, I truly enjoyed the keynote talk given by Marc Effron, Global VP of Talent Management for Avon. Especially the parts about blowing up HR processes that weren't working.

In his highly engaging presentation, dubbed One Page Talent Management, Effron described one HR process after another that he and his team ripped out and replaced with processes that were:

- built with client input
- designed to address business needs
- and as simple (i.e., easy to use) as possible

If there was a way to get it down to one page, he strove to do so.

For example, the new performance review is one page. There is a space for three goals. Beneath that, a space for two competencies. That's it.

Effron's position is that 3 or 4 goals per year is enough. Any more undermines focus, and your efforts get diffused. And while there may be many important competencies relevant to your job, you can only work on 1 or 2 at a time, so pick the two that are most critical to the goals you have for a given period.

Effron is so passionate about this business-centered approach to HR that he is starting a Talent Management network...and perhaps a movement.

Posted by Terrence Seamon, May 4, 2008

Why Do We Group?

Author and organization development consultant Geoff (The Consultant's Calling) Bellman is wondering, Why do people group?

I was at a conference yesterday (the 10th annual New Jersey Organization Development Sharing Day) where Bellman was a keynote speaker.

He asked us to think about a time when we were part of a group that accomplished something that we recall favorably. It could be a work group or a non-work group such as a family, or a ball team, or a rock band. Further, he asked us to distill from that memory, some of the factors that contributed to that successful group outcome. He then asked us to share those factors as three bullet points.

Mine were:

- Trust
- Collaboration
- Risk taking

Others said things like:

- Shared vision
- Team work
- Leadership
- Good communication
- Ability to resolve conflict

He then challenged our thinking, to peel the onion back further than we ever tend to go, to try and delve deeper into why we as humans form into groups, why we work together, and what it all means to us.

Bellman (who is writing a book on this topic) suspects that there is some primitive urge that is hardwired in us as a species: that grouping is a hallmark of what it means to be human. In other words, grouping is natural. It's in a group (first the family, and later other groups) that we discover meaning.

Organizations, on the other hand, may not be natural at all for most humans, Bellman suggests. Though organizations are comprised of many interacting groups, the most natural home for the individual person is in a small group.

Could this be one of the secrets to organizational excellence? Focus on building and sustaining successful work groups. Identify what is keeping the work group from reaching its potential. Then improve the conditions that promote work group success.

Hmmm...I think Bellman may be rediscovering what Organization Development was (and could still be) all about.

Posted by Terrence Seamon, May 2, 2008

Thumpability

Thumpability = the degree to which a document (or deck of slides in the olden days) thumps when dropped upon a conference table.

Although a high degree of thumpability does not necessarily equate to high quality, here are two new books that come highly recommended.

I was in a meeting yesterday with consultant Mal Conway where he showed us his new book, The Handbook of High Performance Virtual Teams. Logging in at 800 pages, this one has major thumpability!

Mal is one of over fifty contributing authors, along with Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps.

Another new book with substance is Daniel R. Tobin's and Margaret Pettingell's The AMA Guide to Management Development.

I work with Dan and Peg at AMA so I'm favorably biased toward them. Having made that admission, the book is well worth acquiring if you are at all concerned about how to develop your managers and leaders.

Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 29, 2008

Recognize connections with seemingly unconnected things

Do you think that you are the sort of person who can recognize connections with seemingly unconnected things?

Does that question have a faintly Monty-Pythonesque ring to it?

It actually comes from an Organization Development job ad that I came across the other day.

What do you think this employer is looking for? The rest of the ad gives a few clues; for example, having an understanding of Systems theory.

I've been a big fan of Systems Theory since my undergraduate days at Rutgers, studying Human Communication. My favorite visual image (I forget where I picked it up) of a system is the bathtub full of balloons. Press on one balloon over here, and several pop up over there.

Everything is connected to everything else. Even at a distance.

Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 26, 2008

Who Did You Help Today?

Via Bloglines, I came across an entry by Dave Truss where he suggests a simple question . . . that just might change the world.

Here's an excerpt:

"Every night when I put my kids to bed I ask them a question, What was your favorite part of the day? When I heard Mark Kielburger speak, I decided on a new question: “Who did you help today?” It is simple. It inspires empathy. It shows what we truly value… and I look forward to the day when my daughters' favorite part of the day is also the answer to Who did you help today?"

I wish I had thought of that question when my sons were little. Now they are in college. Maybe I'll try it on them anyway.

By coincidence, I have been stumbling across other blog entries about the questions we ask. For instance, in this one, Bob Sutton muses about something Karl Weick wrote:

"...people who are preoccupied with success ask the wrong question. They ask, “what is the secret of success?” when they should be asking, “what prevents me from learning here and now?” "

In another one, David Zinger muses on Peter Block and writes: "Are you asking the right questions to achieve higher or more significant levels of employee engagement. Too often we focus on the “how to” without fully considering what matters and why it matters."

Seems to me that there are some simply powerful questions that, if we used them, we could change many things for the better.

Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 25, 2008

Engagement and Police Work

An interesting story about employee engagement and police work has just emerged from New Zealand.

It seems that the police engagement survey is saying that the police officers "feel over-worked, under-resourced, and don't have a great deal of trust in the organisation to treat them fairly."

Not a good situation.

My dad (who passed away in 2003) was a policeman. He was an "old school" cop, a Depression-era guy and a WW II veteran. He would probably have some strong opinions on the state of police work in today's world.

Last night, I attended a local Knights of Columbus awards program, where one of the awards given annually is named after my dad, the George Seamon Law Enforcement Person of the Year Award. The award was presented to veteran Policeman Cornelius "Neil" Maloney III.

Neil is a big guy, well over six feet tall, and probably more than 200 lbs. When he came up to accept the honor, he said a few words to the audience. What most impressed me was the depth of emotion that came out as he thanked his mentors, some of whom were sitting in the audience, "old guys" that my dad had worked with.

It reminded me of the many times I heard my dad talk about the mentors that taught him about police work when he was a rookie and later on as he was groomed for greater responsibility.

Every police officer goes to school, but what you may not realize is how each one you meet, from a traffic cop to a detective, is shaped by the cops that came before.

Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 24, 2008

Earth Day

It's Earth Day today. I only know it because of my Google calendar. There has been zero hoopla in my town about this holiday, as far as I know.

As I walked to the train station this morning, I wondered why we aren't doing more to mark this day? Especially with the gas crisis raging right now as the price skyrockets out of sight. Why didn't we shut down for the day? No driving. No non-essential cars on the road whatsoever. Everyone that can possibly work from home should do so.

Oh well...

Walking past Lincoln School, my wife and I spotted some sidewalk poems, colorfully chalked by the fourth graders. Though the words were starting to disappear, we could make out some phrases about stopping the war, making peace, and saving the planet.

One said: "Take care of Mother Earth. She's all we got."

Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 22, 2008

Give Your Employees an "A"

Orchestra conductor and leadership speaker Ben Zander asks, What would happen if you started by giving everyone an "A"?

Zander advances this idea in a great talk given at Davos about changing our world through leadership. A kind of leadership that is about possibilities. About abundance. About learning from mistakes. About childlike wonder. About openness.

Thanks to Jo for tipping me off about this video on Youtube. Commenting on one of Scott McArthur's posts, Jo writes: "I think we could rewrite . . . much of HR around the idea of "let's begin by giving everyone an A"."

I'd extend her comment and say, I think we could rewrite much of Management too. What would happen if Managers started by giving their employees an "A"?

Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 13, 2008

Can You Spell "Engage?"

Inspired by David Zinger's ABC's of Engagement Challenge, here is a little reminder for Managers of what it means to engage.

E = Everyone in the organization has value, hopes, and dreams.

N = "No" is a word that inhibits empowerment, creativity, and innovation.

G = Gifts, talents, strengths and ideas abound.

A = Appreciate the riches that you have.

G = Give kudos to your people as often as you can.

E = Express your heartfelt gratitude with a prayer of "thanks."

Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 7, 2008

How to Engage Employees - Part 6

What does a high engagement workplace do differently from other places?

According to an article in the Kalamazoo Gazette, Gallup has just awarded its second annual Great Workplace Awards to Stryker Corp. and Borgess Health for "making employee engagement a way of life."

Here are some of the practices mentioned:

~ specialized training for managers on how to coach and foster engagement
~ communicating clear expectations to each employee
~ emphasis on seeking employees' ideas for innovation
~ training for employees
~ measuring and tracking engagement scores

No "rocket science" here, folks. Just plain "blocking and tackling" Management 101.

The lesson from this story: to foster a high engagement workplace, get back to the basics. . . and get good at them.

Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 6, 2008

How to Engage Employees - Part 5

I recently "met" employee engagement consultant Michael Lee Stallard via the Employee Engagement Network. Michael's engagement manifesto, The Connection Culture, is an excellent read. His essential message is this: engagement is all about connecting.

He says: "In a nutshell, one of the most powerful and least understood aspects of business is how a feeling of connection between management, employees and customers provides a competitive advantage. Unless the people who are part of a business feel a sense of connection — a bond that promotes trust, cooperation and esprit de corps — they will never reach their potential as individuals, nor will the organization."

For Managers who want to do a better job of engaging their employees, take a page from Michael Lee Stallard:

~ Vision: Share the organization's vision with your team. Share your vision. Find out what they envision for themselves. A shared vision can unite and motivate everyone.

~ Value: Appreciate the value that each member of your team brings to the organization. Develop each person's value.

~ Voice: Seek and consider the ideas and opinions of your team. Promote participation.

With these interacting elements of connection, a culture of engagement begins to take root and bloom.

Connection is critical. As Michael Lee Stallard says: "Connection is the key. It makes a difference in families, in workplaces, in schools, in volunteer organizations, in communities, and in nations. No one can thrive for long without it."

Posted by Terrence Seamon, Mar 30, 2008

How to Engage Employees - Part 4

Blogger Chris Bailey looks at some employee engagement statistics and asks a logical question:

"I guess the surprise for me is that (only?) 40% are disengaged if their manager ignores them. . . it does make you wonder who that other 60% is doesn’t it?"

Good question. My first thought was that there are probably a lot of employees who would prefer it if their boss ignored them. Bosses who annoy, who meddle, who micro-manage, who disrespect.

In talking this over with my wife, I got to thinking about what it means to ignore (Latin: to not know, to disregard, to pay no attention to). And I asked myself, What then is the positive alternative to ignoring?

For Managers who want to do a better job of engaging their employees, take a good look at your own behavior and check for the presence of the following:

~ Acknowledging - This can take many forms, from a simple "Good morning" when you encounter your employees early in the day, to "Have a nice weekend" on a Friday.

~ Paying attention to - Do you know what your employees are working on? What they are up against? What resources they may need from you?

~ Respecting - This can take many forms, from respecting an employee's time or their space, to respecting an employee's expertise.

~ Praising - Do you express and show your appreciation when an employee puts forth a notable effort?

Posted by Terrence Seamon, Mar 29, 2008

Nudging the Paradigm Shift

As I've suggested before, we are witnessing a paradigm shift in organizations worldwide.

~ from focus on weaknesses to focus on strengths
~ from appraisal to appreciation
~ from "our way or the highway" to flexibility
~ from "one size fits all" to customization
~ from "command and control" to engage and energize

Call it the Positive Workplace movement, or the Employee Engagement movement, or the Strengths-Based movement, or the Appreciative Inquiry movement, or whatever. It is happening.

And it is a very good thing!

As Kenny "the monk" Moore has said, it will "awaken joy, meaning and commitment in the workplace."

There are a lot of very interesting folks on the front-lines, including Rosa Say, Alexander Kjerulf, Judy McLeish, Martin Seligman, Judy Bardwick, Marcus Buckingham, David Zinger, Tim Wright, David Cooperrider and many others.

Somebody once said that it's a curse to "live in interesting times." I disagree. To me, it's a gift...and an opportunity.

So who wants to join me in nudging this paradigm shift along?

Posted by Terrence Seamon, Mar 22, 2008