Archive for March, 2010
Sitting With the Crew Is the Best Kind of Employee Engagement
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In an interview not long ago by The New York Times, in its “Corner Office” feature, the former CEO of Continental Airlines reminisced about what it was like to be at the bottom of the ladder when he was a mechanic in the Navy.
When Gordon M. Bethune felt he was treated with respect, he always wanted to do more than expected and faster than if he wasn’t respected. So when he got to Continental in the 1990s to turn around the fortunes of the airline he knew that as CEO “being good at your job is predicated pretty much on how the people working for you feel.”
So he hired good people, of course, but he also did two other things: he communicated every week with employees and he’d spend time in the crew room when he was taking a flight. He provides further proof that the CEO is the key to fostering a culture of employee engagement in a company.
Engage and respect employees
Bethune did a weekly voice mail for 10 years communicating to employees what was going on. “And we never lied,” he said in the Q&A. When he was traveling he’d get to the airport early and met a lot of employees that way, showing an interest in them and recognizing their contributions to the company.
He relates a wonderful story of going to the break room one Christmas when the food was being passed out. He went to sit at a table with three guys, and one of them said to the other: “I told you he’d be here. Give me my $10.” He had bet the guy $10 that Bethune wouldn’t show up.
Since Bethune’s time, the CEO has even more communications channels to reach employees. Voice mail is still great – but now enlightened CEOs can use Twitter, Facebook and their own blogs to engage with employees – and to have employees respond right back.
The guys at the bottom of the ladder will still work harder and faster when they know what’s going on in the company ALL the time and they feel valued and respected. Just like Bethune when he was starting out at the bottom of the ladder.
Employee Social Media Communities Not Top Priority for Companies
Posted by: | CommentsOrganizations are not tapping social media’s full potential, according to a Deloitte study I just came across. It was released at the end of 2009 so I don’t expect that much has changed since then.
Entitled “2009 Tribalization of Business Study,” the survey measured the responses of over 400 companies, including Fortune 100 organizations, that have created and maintain online communities today. The communities ranged from fewer than 100 members to more than one million members.
Marketing continues to be the primary driver of online communities, according to the study, with the following business objectives. See if you can guess what’s missing.
- Increase word-of-mouth (38 percent)
- Increase customer loyalty (34 percent)
- Increase brand awareness (30 percent)
- Improve idea generation (29 percent)
- Improve the quality of customer support (23 percent)
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Employees can be your best brand ambassadors
EMPLOYEES. That’s what missing in this study, conducted in conjunction with Beeline Labs and the Society for New Communications Research. The study reports that while companies are using communities to engage with customers, partners and employees, only 20% of respondents have set up formal “ambassador” programs, and these give outsiders preferential treatment in return for being more active in the community.” Any rewards for employees being active social media ambassadors? I discussed this last month in my blog “Make More Money Through Employee Engagement.”
Companies are missing a big bet if they don’t engage their own employees as brand advocates for the company. They are the ones “touching” customers every day and should be rewarded accordingly. Give employees a chance to become more active in social networks, and they will boost the metrics most important to their companies – the ones that ring the cash register.
Personal Branding the Concert Pianist Way
Posted by: | CommentsThis blog first appeared in Recessionwire
Most of us have heard so often that it’s important to have a personal brand that we’re sick of it. The overuse of the term is beginning to devalue it.
I’m not a box of cereal; I’m a human being, you might say.
That is true. And it is increasingly difficult to find a differentiator as the competition for jobs and consulting assignments is so fierce. Maybe it’s because we’re looking at ourselves as a business. We’re using dull and dry terms to describe ourselves: team player, proven track record, top producer. They don’t exactly leap out and grab someone by the throat.
The Pressure to Stand Out
But a recent review in The New York Times of two young pianists got me thinking that we should be looking at it in a different way. The Times music critic began: “Many young classical musicians feel pressure to stand out.” Well, who doesn’t? It’s not just pianists; everyone in this tough economic climate is looking to stand out.
But it was another sentence that really got my attention: “It is not enough to play an instrument – or sing or conduct – brilliantly. You have to search within yourself and define your artistic identity. Your performances should convey what you believe in, what excites you.”
I realized that same advice could be applied to business people or job seekers. It isn’t enough to be brilliant at what you do. What is it that makes you brilliant? Your performances – a presentation for a client, or a job interview – should reinforce your talents and core beliefs.
What’s missing in most personal brand statements is a sense of excitement. Throw away your pencil for a minute and think about what really excites you about what you do (or did). Did you accomplish something that still makes your heart sing? Tell your story to your spouse or a buddy. Bring passion to the telling. Then ask for their response. What words did you use? What about the story got them excited?
That’s your personal brand.
