This blog is about the relationship between organizations and the people who work for them. And, it’s dedicated to the millions of people around the world who go to work every day wanting to do a great job.
Engagement
Why retire?
Why indeed. When you love what you do? Are connected to the community you do it for? And, have a vision beyond yourself for the work you do and the organization you do it for? Six minutes that will make your day:
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The theory & reality of town halls
On a recent trip to Vermont Michael and I were listening to the Vermont Public Radio president on a town hall with their listeners. And I noticed something. It just didn’t work. The president listened and chatted with those that called in. The conversation seemed more like ‘she says’/’he says’ than a real conversation. And, at the end of the show the president closed nicely and I realized she hadn’t specifically responded with an action to a single listener’s feedback.
It seemed a far cry from Obama’s town halls. Or what I’ve heard from my friends who live in Vermont, a state that may have invented the town hall, about the meetings that their very small town, Newfane, runs regularly to discuss all matter of issues and opportunities facing the community. Or my recent experience attending a town hall for a “programme particulier d’urbanisme” that has the potential to change the face of downtown Montreal. These are lively discussions. Both the politicians and the electorate care about the issues being discussed. And at their best there’s clear action to be taken at the end.
And yet, the Vermont Public Radio town hall seems a familiar scenario for those of us doing internal communications. So what’s going on?
Employee town halls after all are supposed to humanize organizations. They create one of the few opportunities for interaction and discussion between our executives, managers and employees. So, why don’t they generate meaningful discussion? Why aren’t they more lively? Gosh why don’t we even get questions, unless we plant them [manipulation – for another blog] more than half the time? Why does it seem more like a shareholder meeting rather than a scrum?
Here are some thoughts:
| Political town halls | Employee town halls |
| It’s a democracy | It’s not a democracy |
| Audience has the power | Speaker has the power |
| Politicians to listen and defend their position | Executives to talk and assert their position |
| There’s something to discuss that people care and want to discuss | There may or may not be anything to discuss and employees are ‘mandated’ to participate |
| There’s an opportunity to influence decisions | Little or no real opportunity to influence; decisions have already been taken or |
Given these differences, what can we learn? Can we re-frame the Corporate town hall to achieve our goals of humanizing, engaging and creating meaningful conversations that further the business? Love to hear what you think.
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The engagement factor
A little noodling on a snowy winter day.
Communication often finds itself at the centre of the employee engagement discussion. I find this interesting because I doubt if you were asked to describe the elements that impact their engagement that communication per se would come to mind. Or it wouldn’t be a major focus. I know it wouldn’t for me.
Instead isn’t your level of engagement based on factors like:
- The business you’re working for. What stuff does the business do and what impact does it have?
- The nature of the job you get to do. Is it management or non-management? Is it hands on or hands off? Constructing stuff, moving stuff, or taking stuff apart? Etc.
- And your experience of the business. What are the working conditions like? The kinds of people you get to work with? The level of collaboration? Etc.
For every one of us, each of these main categories of factors will have different elements that are important to us. And for each element they could be positive, neutral or negative from our point of view.
|
Factors |
Elements |
From the employee’s point of view |
|||
| Positive | Neutral | Negative | |||
| What | The business we’re in -What the business does and the impact it has
|
[Insert the things that matter most from the employee’s point of view] |
|||
| The job – What I do “at work” every day
|
|||||
| How | The brand experience -What’s my experience of the company?
What’s our customer’s experience of the company?
|
||||
Taken together, these rankings in relationship to each other[1] will result in a level of engagement – high, medium, low, non-existent.
What I find interesting is that these elements of engagement are more likely to be about organizational design and management than they are about internal communications.
I’m not saying communications isn’t an element. It certainly can be; especially where it’s in anyway discrepant with the brand values. It’s just doesn’t seem to be the place to start.
What do you think?
[1] This is based on something called “digital decision making” an approach discovered by Robert Fritz.
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Humanizing cold hard facts
Yesterday, my cousin’s wife [thanks Star], sent me a link to Lightening in a Jar.
It’s a slide show. It has no special effects. The photography is mediocre. The graphics bland. It’s got the sappiest music ever. There’s no action. No voiceover. It’s just a series of pretty dry facts.
I’ve seen it before. It struck me then as it did now. It’s so cheesy and still so very compelling. Why?
The genius is that it brings the humanity back to something that is otherwise just conceptual – the population of the world [can anyone picture billions], the number of people who wake up hungry [can anyone picture a %?]. They take what is otherwise incomprehensible and sometimes overwhelming data and translate it into something very human; something we can all picture – a small village of 100 people. It’s a simple idea, not all that well implemented, and the result is brilliant.
There’s something for every manager and communicator to learn here. Conceptual cold hard facts can tell stories that are relevant, meaningful and emotionally powerful! Now for that simple idea.
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Losing the spark.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this this week. I’ve been recruiting and interviewing and orienting interns and volunteers for a roof top garden project I’ve been working on for the past couple of years. It’s turning into a pretty significant urban farming project in the heart of Montreal’s most commercial area on 6,200 square feet of our church hall’s roof. We want to create a sustainable business by selling part of our production so we can give the rest [hopefully most] of it away.
And here’s the thing. Talking about the project just gets people excited. And I mean everybody. My barista. My relatives, friends, clients, neighbours. Old people. Young people and pretty much everyone in between. Gardeners and non-gardeners. It’s easy to care about and talk about. And guess what people are interested. They want to figure out if, when, and how they can help. And every hurdle that comes up [and believe me there are many], there’s someone there with a way to get over it, around it, under it. It’s just amazing the energy the project attracts.
When I’m working on client projects it is rare to feel the same way. The things we find ourselves trying to share with employees are hard, or somehow become hard, to talk about and even harder to have people care about. Somewhere we lose the spark.
Have you ever noticed that? Is there anything we can learn from grass roots projects? If so, what do you think it is?
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“True confessions of a Disney employee”
If you, or your organization, hire under 20s, beware. And man you better be good [or have great food] … Seriously. Even if you don’t hire under 20s, Swoozie and kids like him are your future employees. here comes gen Y. Are we ready?
So, here’s a little insight as Swoozie shares what he thinks about Disney, his bosses, his colleagues, their culture, the ‘brainwashing’ and… the food.
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The sustainable relationship quiz
I just finished reading an article in the New York Times – The Happy Marriage Is the ‘Me’ Marriage. Of particular interest since Michael and I just past the 35th anniversary of our meeting on – too cliché – New Years Eve (and yes I was just 5). Skip ahead to the ‘sustainable marriage quiz’.
The more I looked at the questions, the more I thought there might be something here to explore in terms of the institution and employee. So, here is the modified quiz:
“Answer each question according to the way you personally feel, using the following scale. Answers range from (1) not very much to (7) very much. Then, add up your scores and check the scale below to see how your own relationship ranks.”
- How much does being with your organization result in your having new experiences?
- When you are working, do you feel a greater awareness of things because of your work?
- How much does your organization/do your colleagues increase your ability to accomplish new things?
- How much does your organization/do your colleagues help to expand your sense of the kind of person you are?
- How much do you see your organization as a way to expand your own capabilities?
- How much does your organization/do your colleagues strengths (skills, abilities, etc.) compensate for some of your own weaknesses as a person?
- How much do you feel that you have a larger perspective on things because of your organization/colleagues?
- How much has being with your organization or working you’re your colleagues resulted in your learning new things?
- How much has working in your organization or knowing your colleagues made you a better person?
- How much do your working relationships increase your knowledge?
|
Scores [as per the original quiz] |
|
60 and above — Highly Expansive. You are gaining a lot of new experiences and reaching new goals as a result of your relationship. Chances are you have a happier, more sustainable relationship as a result. |
|
45 to 60 — Moderately Exciting. Your relationship has led to moderate improvements in your life and some new experiences. But there’s definitely room for improvement. |
|
Below 45 — Low Connection. Your relationship is not creating opportunities that help expand your knowledge and make you feel better about yourself. Make an effort to share new experiences with your partner to improve your relationship. |
If you’re working in an organization try it out yourself. Ask your colleagues to try it out. What do you think? Any insights about your organization? Your relationship with your organization?
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Places worth caring about
“The emersive ugliness of our everyday environments… is entropy made visible. We can’t overestimate the despair we are creating…”
James Howard Kunstler
Wow! ”Entropy made visible.” ”Despair we are creating.”
Nowhere is that more true than in our places of work. These are mostly soulless places. Nothing that would build hope or confidence. Nothing of the brand experience we talk about and expect our employees to be so proud of and to deliver to our customers daily. Not even a hint of the business you’re in unless the corporate identity on the wall behind the reception desk gives a clue.
And, reception areas where the receptionist is missing. They lost their job two rightsizings ago.
Long characterless hallways. Rows of cubicles [no personal items please]. ‘Art’ that isn’t or motivational posters or nothing. Overly sterile washrooms. Kitchens where everything that matters – cups and cutlery are locked up. [You have to pay for your coffee as a cost control measure - my God you’re working 60+ hours a week at wages that were designed when people in your position worked 38.5].
Common areas that aren’t. No one wants to hang out there.
Boardrooms filled with chairs and designed for PowerPoint presentations not for people or work we really do or the collaboration and innovation virtually every organization today is aspiring for.
By the way, this description is focused on white collar environments. But I have to say that I’ve been in smelters that were more human and more appropriate than most office spaces I’ve been in.
We say we want to engage employees. What is there about the place you work in that is engaging? We say that the employee experience of the brand is a key element of culture. How does the design bring your brand to life for employees? If it’s not, then isn’t it time to get this on the Corporate agenda? How?
__________
Thanks to Mitch Joel for reminding me about James Howard Kunstler’s inspiring and funny TED talk.
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Recent posts
- Grey zones are costing your organization big time
- Saying goodbye to jargon
- Don’t leave them laughing
- A master class with Ed Sullivan
- Innovation & collaboration: Strategic priorities or not?
- The truth about the number 1 fear
- Want to know the secret to writing a great speech?
- Connecting for big business benefits
- Staying in touch with reality
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