Winning Workplaces Update

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

updateAfter careful consideration, Winning Workplaces has concluded that it will not be carrying out the 2012 Top Small Company Workplaces competition with Inc. Magazine.  In 2010 and 2011 we collaborated with Inc. on this recognition project honoring small and midsize organizations that use exemplary employee engagement and team building strategies to create more productive workplace cultures.

We are taking a step back and retrenching over the next few months while we work to redefine our major activities that will lead us to sustainability for the next decade.

If you have any questions, please contact either Nuala Novak or Ken Lehman at info@winningworkplaces.org or via phone at 847-328-9798.  Thank you.

Essential Reading After Release of 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

A new report from Cisco provides direction on how companies can attract top young talent.If your company needs or wants to do a better job of investing in your workplace to attract the best young talent, the 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report that the networking and communications giant released today is required reading.

An important global study of over 2,800 respondents who are college students as well as professionals in their 20s, Cisco found that the "new workplace currency" -- that by the way matters as much as or even more than salary -- includes:

  • Open work environments,
  • Accommodates and encourages social media usage,
  • Communications and mobile device freedom, and
  • Remote work options that both fit their lifestyle and foster innovation.

In light of this new research, I thought it would be helpful to pull together employee engagement strategies we've previously shared here that align with the "new workplace currency" productive workplace practice areas above that Cisco's report highlights.  So here goes:

Under these four areas, what best practices or lessons learned would you add?

Saying Thank You: Weighing the Costs and Benefits

Monday, October 31, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Learn how best to show appreciation to your folks as part of your human capital strategies.Christopher Wallace is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing, a leading provider of personalized promotional pens and other personalized items such as imprinted apparel and mugs and customized calendars. In the following guest post, he details how you can show appreciation as part of your employee engagement best practices to strengthen your workplace culture and improve business results.

Think back to the worst job you've ever had. Whether it involved greasy food, dirty hands, or unclogging sewage, chances are, you didn't feel worthwhile. There's a common denominator when it comes to feeling unsatisfied with your job, and it has everything to do with morale.

Even the grossest, seemingly unpleasant jobs can be alright when you feel appreciated for doing them.

Gratitude starts at the top. If you're the owner, manager, or supervisor, it's important to let your employees know when they've excelled at their job. A culture of 'thank you' will take a company much farther than one where employees harbor quiet resentment and distrust. If you're looking for genuine ways to thank your employees, consider these suggestions:

  1. Give Them Something They Really Want

    Gifts don't have to be just for the holidays, and sometimes a thoughtful item can be more effective from a management standpoint than even a small bonus on a paycheck. Do you have a salesperson who is always excited about the office March Madness basketball pool? The next time he closes a deal, get him a pair of tickets to his team's next home game. Is everyone always raving about one employee's homemade lunches in the break room? Surprise your foodie employee with a gift card to that buzzed-about new restaurant.

    Gifts can be more than just a generic, obligatory thank you. Personalize your gratitude. Which brings us to tip two:

  2. Get to Know Your Employees

    Years ago, on my second or third day of a new job, the company owner appeared at my desk and handed me two tickets to a new night club's grand opening. He said he'd be there and hoped I could come. Of course I made the effort, enjoying an open bar and free dinner, not to mention getting to know my new boss in a comfortable atmosphere.

    In the three years that I worked there, we also went fishing together and played golf. When the company took a downturn and a large chunk of the staff, including myself, had to be laid off, I knew it was an agonizing decision for him. Although we weren't 'friends' like I am with my college buddies, we understood each other and I knew he cared about helping me find a new job.

    It's important to know the people you work with. If you don't even know an employee's name, how can they believe it when you say 'thank you?' Learn the basics. Ask about their family and their hobbies. When a person knows you care about them, they'll work harder because they know you appreciate it.

  3. Have Contests, but Don't Discriminate

    An employee of the month program can be a great motivator, but chances are, one or two 'teacher's pets' will end up always being the stand-outs. Have a 'once a year' policy for the winners if you go this route.

    For sales teams, goals and rewards are a great way to motivate. If your entire staff has a motivator beyond their usual commission to sell the most product in a period of time, you'll undoubtedly see higher sales figures than you would without the additional incentive.

  4. Take Them Out On the Town

    Food is a universal currency. It's amazing how a treat in the break room can change your employees' day. Donuts and muffins are the easy go-to items in the morning, but consider being a little more thoughtful. Did a new BBQ restaurant just open down the street? Surprise everyone on Friday with a catered lunch. Did you have a particularly strong quarter? After-work happy hour (with the boss picking up the tab) is a huge morale booster, and it brings your staff closer together.

  5. Set the Mood

    We can't get every employee a corner office with wall-to-wall windows, but a few small items can improve the aura of any workplace. First on the priority list? Plants. The simple presence of our living green counterparts seems to sooth the soul, especially in otherwise sterile, fluorescent-lit environments. If space allows, create a break room with comfortable seating and space to congregate. Finally, consider letting employees be casual in their dress. If clients don't come by the office, letting them know it's okay to take their shoes off at their desk can add to comfort levels. Casual Friday is always a plus. Taking any sort of initiative to increase worker comfort shows that you're thinking about their best interest and grateful for their hard work.

Everyone wants to feel appreciated, and a good business leader will recognize the value of happy employees. Let your staff know you're thankful for all they do, and the rewards will come back tenfold.

Related: To see these tips and others in use at an Ohio-based communications firm, click here.

BNET Column: Employee Engagement Vital to Retention, Recovery-Spurred Recruiting

Friday, October 28, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Executive coach and speaker John Baldoni's new BNET column is worth a read.Did you catch this rare bit of good news about the economy this week?  Reuters reported that based on increased consumer spending, U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 2.5% annual rate in the third quarter, up from a 1.3% in the second quarter.

If a strong or even stronger fourth quarter follows, will companies dip into their historic profits to hire in a manner that will be meaningful in terms of making a dent in the high unemployment rate in early 2012?  That's anyone's guess at this point, but what is known is that eventually -- as the recovery comes or continues to happen, depending on your perspective -- recruiting efforts will need to pick back up.

And, as leadership educator, executive coach, and speaker John Baldoni argues in his new column on BNET this week, companies need to cope presently with a workforce that, in large part, is and has been doing more with less.

He cites a new People Metrics report in making the case that employee engagement best practices matter because they enable workers to feel positive about their organization (the fact that their firm is still in business being a contributing factor in their engagement level).

What's more, as hiring picks up in tandem with an improving economy, it may make an even bigger impact on your current workforce.  Baldoni notes that in this scenario, employees know that their options have expanded, so the extent to which their employer's people practices make them feel integral to the team and chart a tangible path for their growth and development within the organization become "a critical factor in whether an employee stays or leaves."

As Winning Workplaces advised in an editorial on our website in July 2009 -- ironically at the same time that many economists later said we were out of the "Great Recession" -- businesses would do well for their long-term prospects if they purposefully shared the rewards of recovery with their workers as both an acknowledgement of their taking the hard journey with leadership, and as a means of encouraging continued commitment and camaraderie to maintain a productive workplace culture.

Next Step: Whether you are in a hiring mode now or waiting to do so based on how your sales forecast plays out and how the economy as a whole continues to perform, this guest post on our blog provides great tips to motivate your workers, including many that are cost effective.

A Winning Workplace-Reinforcing Social Media Policy Framework

Friday, October 21, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Why and how you should establish a social media policy for your organizationSome of our past posts have stressed that it's a good idea for you to improve employee engagement and other people practices in your organization by adding a formal social media policy.  Reasons for taking this step include enhancing your ability to engage both existing and potential customers as well as promoting better cross-generational communication among your workforce and avoiding employee litigation.

But what does a comprehensive and effective social media policy look like?  Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton of Eaton International Consulting shed a lot of light on this last week in a post for Social Media Today.  Based on her review of over 150 such policies for a wide range of firms, including both for- and not-for-profits, she shared 16 dimensions in a "lessons learned" context.

What I find especially noteworthy about a number of Eaton's policy considerations is how they align with the building blocks of a Winning Workplace.  For instance:

  • "Encourage honesty and transparency" and "Respect others" promote Trust, Respect and Fairness
  • "Encourage a conversational tone" and "Seek permission and ask for help" promote Open Communications and Learning and Development
  • "Discourage disputes" promotes Teamwork and Involvement
  • "Time allocation" promotes Work/Life Balance

As our research and that of others who study highly productive workplace cultures show, to the extent that companies can reinforce great-workplace characteristics in their policies and procedures, they tend to enjoy better business results as they inform, enrich, and empower their people.  Eaton's social media policy framework is one example of this phenomenon in action.

Related: We recently shared this video by social media marketing expert Laura Roeder on our Facebook page, in which she argues that you will best engage existing and potential customers (and convert that engagement to sales) by turning to current employees.  This approach, of course, hinges on having in place a useful social media policy.

Three Steps to Building a Healthy Work Culture in Construction

Thursday, October 20, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

happy construction workersThe following is a guest post by Drake MacDonald.  Drake's brief experience in construction introduced him to the field's many shortcomings.  As an online writer and editor, he works to promote construction management education in the hopes of improving industry standards of communication and organization.

In the construction business, it is crucial for supervisors and employees to have a symbiotic relationship in order to build a healthy work culture.  However, in order to create such an environment, each construction management company must consider what can be done to develop a supportive workplace, how to inspire trust and leadership within the team, and how barriers that may inhibit productive transactions can be removed.  While this process sounds complicated, in actuality it is fairly easy to implement.  Simply utilizing the following ideas will allow you to establish a work environment that is not only healthy, but efficient and productive at every level.

The first step in creating a healthy work culture is for both employees and supervisors to be open to hearing and utilizing the ideas of any member of the construction team.  To ensure that all ideas are being heard, construction owners can encourage workers and supervisors to submit their ideas formally to the construction office.  Company owners should also encourage employees to share their ideas with their supervisors and other team members.

Secondly, although purpose is important to construction, it is also important that supervisors and employees utilize a process approach to managing each construction site.  When construction management is focused on process, team members are much more likely to meet the expected standards and complete each stage of construction with success.  Furthermore, the process approach allows construction work to be completed with greater efficiency and quality.

Thirdly, it is important that team members on the construction site have peer support and trust during the building process.  This can be facilitated by following through with all work orders and process standards.  Likewise, all members of the construction team should learn to cooperate and collaborate with each other on a day-to-day basis.  This means that each team member needs to be accountable for their work and must treat other members of the team with respect.  However, even with the most agreeable team, it’s inevitable that issues will arise that interfere with the construction process.  When such an instance occurs, it is crucial that the issue is addressed promptly with the entire team.

Ultimately if you incorporate collaborative behaviors, open communication, and a process approach into your construction company, you can easily build a healthy and profitable workplace culture.  Remember that construction teams can also focus on creating healthy work environments by utilizing economically green tools and materials that benefit the industry, workers, and clients.  With such a culture, construction safety is inevitable.  Furthermore, when you utilize these techniques, you can be confident that your team is giving their best.

Related: For even more employee engagement and team building strategies aimed at increasing job satisfaction and overall performance within the construction sector, click here.

Report Reaffirms Link Between Healthy Workplaces and Competitive Advantage

Friday, October 14, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Report shows how health and wellness initiatives reduce costs and boost employee productivity.Talk about fulfilling a need!  Check out this from Newswise yesterday:

In Kentucky -- which ranks 49th among all states in Gallup's national index of well-being, has the 2nd highest prevalence of heart attacks in the country and the 5th highest prevalence of diabetes -- innovative solutions have become a business imperative.

A new research report, "Creating Healthy Organizations: Promising Practices in Kentucky," released today by the University of Kentucky's Institute for Workplace Innovation (iwin), hopes to provide organizations in Kentucky and beyond with new ways to improve employee health and well-being while also improving the bottom line.

While the report focuses on health and wellness related people practices in midsize and larger companies -- and not the smaller firms that Winning Workplaces hones in on -- its conclusion is the same as what we and others in the employee engagement research space have been saying: organizations provide a win for their bottom line by implementing these practices and achieving greater productivity while typically reducing their long-term health care costs, as well as a win for their workers because they become better physically able to tackle all their commitments outside of work.

This report, with its publisher and subject matter both based in Kentucky, immediately made me think of our 2008 Top Small Workplace award winner The Paducah Bank & Trust Company, based in the Kentucky city of the same name.  When the bank won our award, many of its competitors had lost 20-40% of their stock value due to the mortgage bubble beginning to burst.  Yet, Paducah Bank's stock value increased by 8.2% in 2007, and in 2008 earnings were up 24%.  The bank achieved this competitive advantage in part through benefits such as its employee wellness/fitness program, which includes the following components:

  • Reduction in health club fees
  • Financial incentive for visiting the gym
  • Smoking cessation kits
  • Flu shots
  • On-site health screenings

Although Kentucky and other states are facing moderate to severe health care crises among their populations, I love that these types of intra-company, employee-centered initiatives have the power to turn those trends around while making American companies more competitive in the long run.

Related Articles:

Promoting Good Communication in the Workplace

Friday, September 30, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Good team building -- and better productivity for your business -- are dividends of stronger workplace communication.In the following guest post, Elaine Hirsch shares effective communications team building strategies and why they're both good for workers and help create a more productive workplace.  Enjoy!

Managers spend 75 to 80 percent of their jobs engaged in some form of written or oral communication.  Two thirds of all salaried employees have some type of writing responsibilities, and nearly 80 percent of companies assess writing skills prior to hiring an employee.  However, many managers and CEOs don't utilize this tool effectively.  Perhaps it's because they lacked something in their education, such as going to school online and not talking aloud, but judging by the focus on communication, the success of a company may depend upon employees' ability to communicate productively.  Here are some helpful tips to improve communication in your company.

Why is Good Communication Important?

Idea Generation, Product Development, and Sales.  Studies have shown collaborative environments with open communication are more successful than organizations where ideas aren't valued or communicated.  These companies' products and services are profitable and make a difference in the lives of their customers.  Articulation is instrumental in conveying complex ideas and producing innovative products.

Motivational communication is also critical in convincing coworkers and upper management to embrace an idea.  Before a product may be sold to the public, it must first meet the needs of people within the organization.  If coworkers aren't convinced the product will be successful, then the product will probably not sell to the general public.

Motivate Employees.  Good managers can motivate employees to improve and perform well even during difficult times.  When the company is going through management changes, reorganization, or bankruptcy, managers can motivate employees by keeping them in the loop.  This encourages employees to feel a sense of ownership of the company and give extra effort if they are motivated through effective communication and incentives.

Conflict Resolution. When conflict arises between coworkers, active listening and communication become invaluable.  Communication in situations of conflict requires tact, patience, and the ability to negotiate possible solutions.  When the environment is tension-filled and people are afraid to communicate with upper management and other employees, the company becomes ineffective.  Good ideas that could potentially be lucrative are lost because of the lack of communication.

Misunderstandings.  Simple misunderstandings may erupt into full-blown arguments if communication isn't encouraged.  Many people allow issues to fester rather than tactfully addressing them with the other person.  Polite directness will diffuse the misunderstanding and help both parties work towards a solution.

Which Communication Modality is Most Effective?

Both written and oral communication skills are essential in any workplace for different circumstances.  Employees must be prepared to communicate effectively regardless of the modality.  In some situations, face-to-face communication is necessary.  An employee may have an idea and only a few minutes to pitch it to a senior manager in the elevator.  The company may also hold a conference to communicate ideas in person rather than through written correspondence.

Written communication may be required when documentation is needed of the conversation.  If there's any concern the recipient may misplace or forget what you need to convey, written communication is best.  Printed materials may be preferable when visuals are needed to convey your point.

Tips for Effective Communication

Use Audio-Visual Aids.  As the old adage goes: "A picture is worth a thousand words."  A chart, pie graph, or other visual representation can greatly augment the effectiveness of a presentation or explanation.  The less an audience has to puzzle over your ideas, the more readily they can understand their value.

Ask Rather than Blame.  If you suspect coworkers of unpleasant behavior, bring it up with them and ask about the situation.  Present the evidence that led you to believe they may be involved in the behavior and listen to their response.

Actively Listen Before a Response.  After a confrontation, listen to the other point of view.  Make note of key points without interrupting the response.  Incorporate those points in your reply to show that you acknowledge the other point of view.

Focus on the Positive Rather than the Negative.  Always try to note a positive before addressing the negative.  This will show others you value some aspects of their behavior in cases of criticism.

Keep the Conversation Brief.  Set a time limit on each response or rebuttal to give each side the opportunity to respond and make a point.

Communication is essential to any environment.  Employees who follow these tips will promote effective communication in their workplaces, much to their own benefit as well as that of their coworkers.

Related: For more people practices and insights, check out the latest survey write-up and archived summaries in the Open Communications area of the Research Studies section of our website.

10 Nontraditional Practices in Celebration of National Work and Family Month

Monday, September 26, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

October is National Work and Family MonthDid you know that National Work and Family Month, as designated by Congress, is fast approaching?  October has been that month since 2003 – more information on it and what it's about is available here.

As part of a blog fest around this month-long event, Winning Workplaces was pleased to be asked to contribute an article on staff engagement activities that businesses can use to help their people strike a better balance between work and home life to The Huffington PostHere's what I shared:

Since 2003, the nonprofit I work for, Winning Workplaces, has sponsored an award honoring small businesses whose innovative employee practices drive business growth.  (It used to be called Best Bosses, and now it's known as Top Small Company Workplaces.)

Every year that we have run this competition, we have seen a link between using practices designed to help employees balance their work and personal lives, and better bottom-line results.  For example, our latest award cycle earlier this year -- which generated close to 350 applications from across North America -- revealed that companies that use one or more flexible work arrangements had 25% lower average turnover in 2010 compared to those that don't use any, and their average employee tenure is 43% greater.

Many of the practices these progressive small firms employ have gotten more media attention in recent years -- things like flexible shift start and end times, getting time off for community service, job sharing, summer hours and, as WFC Resources' Susan Seitel recently addressed as part of National Work and Family Month, telework.

Just as noteworthy, perhaps, is the following list of less traditional flex work practices our award-based research uncovered this year.  Small business leaders, especially, can use this as a springboard to better balance keeping their workers happy, energized and most productive with managing costs.

1. Employees, at all levels, manage their own schedules and work hours to be most conducive to their personal lives, as long as these altered schedules do not impact their ability to deliver to clients or to support their coworkers.

2. With advance notice, all holidays are "floating," meaning that employees can shift or consolidate "traditional" days off such as Memorial Day or Labor Day.

Read the rest of our article here.

Related: Dig even deeper into the possibilities for your people practices – and the payoff of employee engagement – by reading these additional articles on The Huffington Post that also help elevate and celebrate National Work and Family Month:
If you're on Twitter, you can also follow all the insights and related events in October by searching the hash tag #NWFM.

Separating Employee from Marketplace Innovation in Slate Article

Thursday, September 22, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Small business innovation cannot solely be judged by external, marketplace-driven factors.Slate has a new article on its website this week by Annie Lowrey entitled "Why Small Busiensses Aren't Innovative."  In it, based on new research by the University of Chicago, she argues,

The bulk of small businesses being created, in short, are not particularly innovative ones.  Few spend any money on research or development, getting a patent, or otherwise trademarking a new idea.  Most simply help provide already-crowded markets with familiar goods such as legal work or gas or nearby groceries.  Nor are they growing businesses either.

My reaction to Lowrey's article is that I think it's important to separate internal innovation involving team building and other people practices from the kinds of external, marketplace-driven innovation she addresses.  As we know from our latest employee engagement research – the nearly 350 applications received during our 2011 Top Small Company Workplaces competition – the diverse cross section of small firms we surveyed are most definitely innovative when it comes to how they engage their people for best financial results.  As I've shared in past posts on this survey sample:
I used the word "diverse" above when describing this sample of small businesses purposely.  Here are some statistics on them, which suggest the vast majority of them are those Lowrey points to in her article and in her quote I pulled out above:
  • From 42 U.S. states and territories.
  • Represent more than 27 industries.
  • Range in age from 3 to 99 years old – 50% are 10 years old or younger.
  • Have 4 to 443 employees – 73% have 100 or fewer employees.
  • They're also small when it comes to annual revenue: in 2010 they ranged from $200,000 to $404 million – though 96% of them had revenue under $100 million.
  • This point I think is especially important when considering Lowrey's claim that the bulk of small businesses aren't growing: our 2011 award applicants increased headcounts 22% from 2009 to 2010, going from 74 to 90 employees on average.
I'd like to close by saying that it's not that I don't like Lowrey's article – she's mostly just extrapolating on U of C's research.  I just think that some in small business circles, including HR professionals, OD consultants, and even CEOs, think of innovation not strictly in terms of what customers, vendors, VCs, the media, and other stakeholders see day to day.  In other words, what's going on "under the hood" also drives an enterprise's ability to be a game changer.

Your thoughts?

Payoff of Employee Engagement More Visible Thanks to The Colbert Report

Monday, September 19, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

How did I miss this?  Last week the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School blog linked to an interview of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh that aired on The Colbert Report at the start of August.  I'm embedding the interview below, as it's short and worth a view:



(Click here if you can't see the video in your RSS feed)

As I'm sure many of our readers are aware, promoting the payoff of employee engagement, including progressive strategies designed to build a more productive workplace to drive better bottom line results, can be an uphill battle.  For all the emerging research which points to better engaged and satisfied employees as a means for long-term competitive advantage, there is a prevailing view, including what is still taught in many MBA programs, of "profits before people."

What I like most about this video is how Hsieh, in characteristic fashion, pivots from Stephen Colbert's questions about how the company "delivers Wow" and profits on the customer side, to what the company does as part of its internal people practices to make "Wow" possible.  This includes core values such as empowering employees at all levels to make key decisions, and even leveraging their expertise when it comes to whom to hire for best cultural fit.

The Colbert Report and its primetime lead-in, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, nightly draw an average of between 600,000 and 1 million viewers.  And the video has been viewed more than 20,000 times on The Colbert Report's website.  So even though Hsieh got a big opportunity to talk to a lot of existing and potential customers, I think the big winner in this is staff engagement activities as a revenue generator.

Related Posts:

Incubation is a Progressive Small Business Focus

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

A focus on incubation can help your workers to think more like an owner, and even spur complementary enterprises.Incubation – the practice of companies, academic institutions, and other groups working to spawn viable new enterprises – is highly important in the current economic climate, in which many organizations are waiting for more stability in their markets before they invest in new product development or expansion.  Or, in hiring.

Highlighting the importance of business incubators is this contrast: while the SBA reports that over half of small businesses fail in the first 5 years, the business incubators trade association, NBIA, says that close to 90% of its graduates are still in business 3 years after completing their program.

So the extent to which small businesses can be involved in the incubation process is a net gain for the economy, helping to increase innovation and expand job opportunities.  This week, a new article on Inc.com (Inc. Magazine is our media partner for our Top Small Company Workplaces award) tells the story about how our 2010 award-winning firm, Tasty Catering, has become an incubator in its home state of Illinois on several fronts.

This made me curious about how companies who applied for our most recent Top Small Company Workplaces award, earlier this year, have made incubation a focus – and particularly how workplace team building and employee engagement drive it.  Here are two more examples:
  1. One of our 50 winners, TRX (health industry, based in California, 132 employees), shared with us in their award application that, to use people practices to improve organizational performance, they sent their Director of Education to several, week-long athletic training mentorships to learn best practices in running athletic education courses.  At these workshops she gained a better understanding of running an incubated business, management and team development, and industry standard benchmarks.  As a result of this investment TRX's Education business has thrived, especially internationally.
  2. I also found a noteworthy account from one of our applicants, Starmount Life Insurance Company (insurance industry, based in Louisiana, 176 employees), that they submitted in answer to our question on employee leadership development training for new and existing managers and supervisors.  Starmount says a key priority is at their Team Leader level, the first level supervisory role in their organization.  Not only are they typically new to a leadership role, but they may encounter challenges shifting from a peer to supervisory relationship.  Team Leaders participate in a "Management Incubator" program which utilizes competency-based leadership assessments, experiential learning, leadership coaching, and development planning.  This program appears to have had a big impact on Starmount's success post Katrina and Rita: their relocation-related initial turnover quickly stabilized, in 2009 they broke ground on a new headquarters in Baton Rouge, and in 2010 they launched two new major product lines.
Related: Like Tasty Catering, another of our 2010 award-winning small workplaces that encourages employees to spur viable new businesses is Pennsylvania-based MAYA Design.  Learn more about them here.

Further Evidence That Hiring for Cultural Fit is Good Business

Friday, September 9, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Hiring for cultural fit is good for businessLast October I cited employee engagement research by Randstad which found that a majority of working adults believe that when companies hire for attitude and fit, it's better for business because the workplace culture is more productive.

Last week, WorldatWork shared new research which finds an outcome of companies not taking this approach: HireRight's 2011 Employment Screening Benchmarking Report finds that second only to cost cutting, businesses' biggest challenge is finding and retaining quality talent.  Forty-nine percent of the nearly 1,800 HR, talent management, and other professionals from companies with up to 25,000 employees in 20 industries surveyed cited this – and in fact other common challenges like emerging competitors and access to credit ranked far lower, at 16% and 8%, respectively.

This tells me that despite a historically large population that is either unemployed or underemployed right now – many of whom would be qualified to come on board and fill these critical roles – this major organizational concern has not been alleviated.

Here's a very different picture to share with you: As we outlined in this article on our website based on an annual economic survey we do of our award-winning small businesses, as of Q4 2010 the top action they reported taking out of a list of 10 common options we presented was "Invest in training and staff development to ensure we're ready for growth."

They are doing this, and are in a position to do so, because they made the commitment and investment on the front end to hire not only for skills, but for attitude and fit so that their overall workforce effectiveness and camaraderie could be improved.

This is borne out by the fact that among the applicants for Winning Workplaces' 2010 Top Small Company Workplace award, 7 out of every 28 average job openings per company (25%) were filled from within.  (We did not ask this question in our most recent/2011 award application.)  Could they have done this – and in the process tackled in part the number-one business challenge cited in the new HireRight survey, cost cutting – if they didn't have this intense a focus on employee leadership development for the long term?

My ultimate takeaway is that small firms that have done this work are now benefitting in myriad ways in a poor economy, from retaining their knowledge base, to keeping client relations and customer service strong, to investing money elsewhere that their competitors are now spending, or poised to spend soon, on new hiring and training.

What do you think?

Winning Workplaces Provide Assistance After Hurricane Irene

Thursday, September 1, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

An employee of Mass.-based Woodmeister Master Builders (one of our Top Small Workplaces) posted this shot of a downed tree following Hurricane IreneA key building block of a Winning Workplace is people practices supporting a focus on Teamwork & Involvement (more about the other 5 building blocks we believe in, and have seen in practice among the great small firms we've studied and recognized, here).

This involves team building strategies, of course, but it also relates to the extent that an organization acts as a means to empower its employees to improve the communities in which they live, and supports them during crises.  Our recent Success Story on Van Meter Industrial, a 2010 winner of our Top Small Company Workplace award, addressed this in detail related to the historic flood that hit its headquarters city – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – in 2008.

We've just weathered an even larger-scale natural disaster – Hurricane Irene, which devastated many East Coast states this past weekend.  True to form, many of the small businesses we've honored with both of our awards are offering assistance to individuals and businesses that were affected by it.  Here's a snapshot of what they're doing:

1-800-GOT-JUNK? (2005 Best Boss - Brian Scudamore)
As their business is based on junk removal, they're doing what they do best and clearing out flooded basements and storm debris.  Their call center and website have been slammed, and their northeastern U.S. franchise partners tell them that their schedules are packed.  Luckily, they work directly with insurance companies, so it takes some stress out of the process of mopping up after such a destructive storm.

Bersin & Associates (2011 Top Small Company Workplace)
Since many of their employees work remotely from the East Coast – they're based in California – they've helped them out in several ways: 1. Paying for one employee's monthly rent increase while they move into a new neighborhood 2. IT staff is helping people get their computers back up and running 3. Offered to help each employee financially with power outage issues.

Dealer.com (2010 Top Small Company Workplace)
This Burlington, Vermont-based firm shared on their Facebook page (which as over 2,200 fans) that much of Southern and Central Vermont has been hit hard and is in desperate need of help.  They also shared a link to a blog that's been set up to help Vermonters assist their fellow citizens.

Dyn Inc. (2011 Top Small Company Workplace)
Tom Daly, President and CTO of this Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) company, provided a checklist on their blog to help ensure that company data centers are prepared for major weather events.  They then shared this on their Facebook page, which has over 4,700 fans.

Firespring (2011 Top Small Company Workplace)
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Firespring, a comprehensive marketing solutions provider, instituted a policy allowing any client to essentially "freeze" their account and suspend payments until they were able to get back to business as usual.  Yet, by their own admission, they failed to recognize that many clients were utilizing their online file transfer and job submission utilities that automatically purged old data.  Since many of their clients went without power for several months, they lost valuable data when Firespring's system did its job.  When Hurricane Irene hit last week, it affected hundreds of their clients.  For the past several days, they have been closely analyzing data to ensure that all of them are still able to access their files and are actively engaged using their other web tools.  They were prepared this time.  Their support staff is also reaching out to clients to see if there is anything else they can do to help them.

Northeast Delta Dental (2005 Best Boss - Tom Raffio)
This dental insurance provider has invited employees and their families without electricity to use their facilities, and they are prepared to initiate fundraisers through their Helping Hands program as they learn about employees whose homes were damaged.  They have also activated their ListServ capabilities for their board members, resulting in an exchange of offers to help one another within the tri-states, which has proven immeasurable for their colleagues in Vermont who experienced extremely high flood waters and washed out roadways eliminating access to even basic services.

One Call Now (2011 Top Small Company Workplace)
This Ohio-based enterprise, which delivers automated phone messages to improve communication between and among organizations, has emailed their customers in the states affected by the hurricane. They offered them free upgrades to their existing service, ranging from free texting for 30 days free weather alerts until November 1, when hurricane season is over.  In addition, organizations who coordinate relief for the affected areas can get free call credits added to their accounts to help with their work.

Seventh Generation (2006 Best Boss - Jeffrey Hollender)
The marketer of environmentally responsible household products is donating some of them to make 1200 green cleaning kits for hurricane victims.  They've partnered with the Vermont Foodbank to build and deliver the kits to communities most in need. And they shared news of this on their Facebook page, which has over 260,000 fans.

Next Step: Review the above examples – is there anything you can do or adapt from them to provide better value to your employees, customers, or local communities/states?  (Or get set to do for a future disaster affecting your area?)  And how can employee engagement be a catalyst, or improved, through these efforts?

Can Your Employees Be Your Friends?

Monday, August 29, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Anita CampbellI am pleased to share with you the following guest post by Anita Campbell.  Anita is the Founder of the Small Business Trends website and CEO of BizSugar, an online community of small business owners.  Today she tackles a topic of concern when establishing great employee engagement and workplace team building strategies: not crossing the friend line with your employees to your business' detriment.  Enjoy!

Everyone wants – has a need, even – to be liked.  It certainly makes going to work every day a lot easier if the people you work with like you.  And because we spend so much time at work, it's only natural to want to cultivate friendships with the people we're with for so many hours every day.  The rules change when you're the boss, though.  There's nothing wrong with being friendly with your employees.  But you do have to draw the line, or maybe a few lines, to also avoid damaging your professional relationships with them, and to keep their respect.  Here are a few tips on how to maintain that delicate balance.

Don't Get Too Personal

You've probably read or been told that you should set boundaries with your employees.  But what does that mean, exactly?  It would be awkward to actually sit your employees down and go over a list of what subjects are okay to talk about, and which ones are taboo.  But it can also be difficult to establish those lines in a more subtle manner.  How you set those boundaries is up to you, but one of the most important things to avoid is getting too personal.

From time to time, your employees may have to reveal certain personal information to you if it's about something that may affect their work.  Having surgery can mean time out of the office, for example.  Or maybe they're getting a divorce, and must remove their spouse from their insurance coverage.  There's really no getting around that, as uncomfortable as it may be for everyone involved.  But those types of revelations should only go one way.  Need to be away from work for medical reasons?  That's all you need to say.  Getting a divorce?  Try to keep it to yourself.

Just like you wouldn't broadcast your problems on a business networking site, you don't want to let your entire office know what you're going through.  Your employees need to have faith that you are there to manage and help them, and although you want them to see you as human, you must try to maintain their confidence in you, and in the company.  Breaking down in the office because your spouse left you will damage that confidence.  Take time off if you need to, but keep your personal life personal.

Now, as with many rules, there is an exception to this one. If you're a small business owner, and you only employ a few people, it may be more difficult to separate your personal life from your professional one.  A startup can oftentimes create a camaraderie and a sense of ownership that employees in larger companies don't feel.  You may all be spending long hours in the office together to get those client proposals done, or inviting your employees' ideas and contributions to get your startup past one of the inevitable hiccups you'll run into.  If that's the kind of relationship you've built with your employees, you may feel more comfortable revealing some of the more personal details of your life.  Just remember to maintain your position as the boss at the same time.

Don't Get Drunk in Front of Employees

You'd think this one would need explaining, but think back.  Before you were promoted or started your own business, did you ever see one of your bosses get drunk at the company Christmas party, or the company picnic?  It happens more often than you might think, and much more often than it should.  Learn from those experiences, and don't be that boss.

It's okay to have a drink or two with your employees from time to time.  Most people will probably have a drink at a holiday party or other company event.  Or maybe you'll go out after work to celebrate landing a big contract.  Just don't overdo it.  Your employees do not need to see you slurring your words, or losing control in public.  It can be embarrassing, and make it very difficult for them to respect you once you're back in the office.  And let's face it, no one likes to have to babysit someone who's had a few too many.  Never put your employees in a position where they have to monitor you, or take your keys away from you.  It's asking too much of them, and putting them in a very awkward position.  No one appreciates that, least of all the people who are supposed to be able – and want – to look up to you.

Don't Play Favorites

Of course you're going to like some employees more than others.  There'll be one person you just click with, someone with whom you'd be very good friends if not for the work situation that requires keeping a little distance.  Because you can't hang out with that person the way you'd like to, you may try to compensate by treating that employee a little better than the others.  If you think you're being subtle about it, you're wrong.  The other employees will notice it, and it will cause problems.

Having several employees can be very much like having a family, especially if that's the kind of culture you've worked to build in your company.  Like a family, there will be some sibling rivalries, and competition for your attention as the pseudo parental figure.  Don't encourage it.  Everyone needs to work together, not against each other, and if it becomes obvious that you favor one employee over the others, the employees on the outs will band together against the favorite.  It's just human nature.  And nothing destroys morale more quickly in the office than feeling unappreciated, or as if the work being done doesn't really matter.  Treat all your employees equally but fairly, which also means that when one of them isn't performing, you take the appropriate action – even if it's your favorite.

The main answer is, yes, you can be friends with your employees, just not the same kind of friends you are with your non-work friends.  Be friendly, be fair, but keep the focus on work, morale, and productivity, and you'll get much more out of your employees than you would if you tried to make them like you all the time.  In other words – be the boss.

Related: As the boss, you may be concerned about getting too chummy with your staff to keep an eye toward building trust in the workplace. Yet, as we write about here, research shows a possible link between budding friendships among your staff resulting in more highly engaged employees when it comes to dealing with leaders and managers.

3 Reasons to Ask Your Email List to Update Their Information Preferences

Friday, August 26, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

There are many benefits to asking your email subscribers to update their profile with youAs those of you who are already subscribers of Winning Workplaces' emails on activities for employee engagement and team building in the workplace may remember, our registration form asks you to list your company role – ranging from Owner/CEO/President to HR to Marketing/Sales.

One of the things I'm working on improving that relies on this data is sending emails with role-specific workplace practices – so that more of the output from our information clearinghouse is relevant to our subscribers' daily work.  I sent emails with customized content links this week to the roughly 25% of our subscribers who said they fall under one of six roles when they signed up with us.

Also this week, though, I took the opportunity to send a separate email to the roughly 75% of subscribers who didn't list a role (it's not a required field during registration) asking them to do so.  While I am still going through responses and updating our records based on them, I have a couple observations on why it's a good idea for businesses – especially small ones that typically are a bit closer to their customers and other contacts – to broadly follow the tactic I did in my second email campaign this week.  That is to say, asking some or all of your subscribers to update their information preferences.

Here are 3 reasons why you should do this, at least yearly and maybe even every 6 months:

  1. As I mentioned above, this will enable you to customize the information you send them, whether it be educational content as is our primary focus, product/service help or updates, community news, or something else.  Or, if you already do some customization (the technical term in marketing circles is segmentation), this tactic will allow you to do even more.  The overall goal is to use the data you gather to segment your emails to such a degree that your KPIs (typically view and click-through rates) perform better than past campaigns, and/or surpass those of your industry.
  2. If, as I did, you personalize your "ask" email with the name of your contact person – both in the email signature at the bottom and in the "From" line at the top – as opposed to just having it be addressed from your company, you increase the likelihood for it to be a tool for you to engage in a dialogue with those on your list with whom you may not have communicated in a while.  We originally set up our online registration form in fall 2005, and I had fun reconnecting with a few contacts who signed up with us at that early stage (online, that is – Winning Workplaces has been around since 2001).
  3. This practice is a nice complement to the process of routinely "scrubbing" your list, which can be done in one step in most bulk email programs.  In fact, both externally doing this through this practice, and internally via scrubbing, are not just nice to do, in terms of ensuring a qualified contact list – they are required under CAN-SPAM rules.  Small businesses, especially, should take care to check their compliance of these rules, since costs associated with noncompliance hit them disproportionately harder than their larger competitors.

If I had to list a fourth reason, it would probably be that leadership looking to do this, or to do it more systematically, can enjoy the built-in benefit of getting employees engaged from multiple areas – marketing, sales, IT, etc.

Related Post: Social Media May Be All the Rage, But Don't Neglect Email

Some of Our Favorite Leadership, Research and Marketing Experts Named 2011 Small Business Influencers

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Click for more information on this recognitionCongratulations are in order for 15 individuals and organizations that Winning Workplaces has previously pointed to on our website and blog for the value they provide small business executives as everything from examples of hyper-productive workplace team building and improving employee retention, to leading workforce researchers, to purveyors of proven yet cost-effective marketing and brand-building strategies.

The people and firms below were just named 2011 Small Business Influencers by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.  The recognition is sponsored by BlackBerry, Infusionsoft, and Sage, among others.

The list of Champions includes:

Honorable Mentions include:

Go to Small Business Trends for information on the selection process and judging criteria.

Congrats again to these and all of the honorees!

What do you think of their picks?

7 Resources from Menlo Innovations to Help You Operationalize Your Company Values

Monday, August 15, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

Photo courtesy Inc. Magazine. Click to learn more about Menlo Innovations on Inc.'s website.I've written before sharing some company core values templates you could consider using and internalizing in your organization to improve employee engagement and create a more productive workplace.  However, it's the internalizing part that can prove difficult for organizations.

Just how do you "operationalize" your values so they pervade your culture, promote company pride, and – most importantly – contribute to the bottom line in the form of productivity growth so they're not just words to your accountant?

In answer to a question about this I posed on LinkedIn last week, Rich Sheridan, CEO of our 2011 Top Small Company Workplace Menlo Innovations, quickly replied via email and shared with me 7 posts they had already penned and posted on their blog which show how this successful, Michigan-based business software developer has made this work in their organization.  Here's what he shared, and what they have done:

  1. Rethink and retool your interviewing phase so it becomes new hires' most exciting day with your company
  2. Build an intentional culture
  3. Elevate the person sitting next to you
  4. Celebrate stories of joy – even when visitors are around
  5. Take note of how others see your workplace culture
  6. Use your product/service quality as noted by your customers, as a source of energy and motivation for your team
  7. Look at implementing a "babies in the workplace" benefit for new moms and dads (an expert in how these practices are achievable and their business benefits is profiled on our website)

Some of the business results Rich and his company have seen from how they've operationalized their company values include:

  • Profitable all of the last 4 years
  • 2010 voluntary turnover less than half the industry average
  • Average employee tenure of 6 years
  • A long line of top talent who want to go through Menlo's unique recruiting process and join their team
  • A long line of CEOs who want to tour their business to learn and adapt their processes for their own enterprises (helping to build buzz and forge new relationships for business development)

Next Step: What do you do currently to operationalize your company's core values?  Click here to add your answer to my LinkedIn question.  Hurry – it closes in 4 days.

Employee Skin in the Game is Good for Business

Thursday, August 11, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

There's a business case for opening up ownership of your company to your employeesThe historically high unemployment level gets discussed often in the media lately, but an under-the-radar trend is that voluntary employee turnover is currently at a three-year high, according to the Department of Labor.  Clearly, even with continued rounds of layoffs at some of the best-known companies and a weak hiring outlook, greener pastures are luring away top talent.

Still, through our employee engagement research, Winning Workplaces sees a vehicle for both increased job satisfaction and commitment (helping to keep in check and even reduce voluntary turnover) and innovation, productivity, and service improvements to boost the bottom line: employee ownership.

One of the measurements we did as part of our 2011 Top Small Company Workplaces award application was to see what percent of employees, whether management or lower-level staff, own stock in the company.  As you might expect, in the vast majority of the 342 private and not-for-profit organizations who applied this year – 252, or 74% – no employees own company stock.  In the remaining 90 firms (26%), 1-100% of employees do.

But check out what I found, as illustrated in the charts below, in terms of how annual revenue, revenue growth, and employee turnover are all impacted by how many employees own stock.  I added trendlines which show that as more employees are part of the workplace culture of ownership, these all-important metrics tend to be stronger.

2010 revenue

2-year revenue growth

2010 employee turnover

Employee ownership may not be right for every organization.  Yet, as our coverage of our 2011 workplace award winners shows, those that make it work set themselves up for long-term success.  In some cases, in perhaps an ironic twist, those that come out way ahead of downturns like the one we're in now and need to create and fill more roles to meet demand use it as a selling point to attract top talent from their competitors.

Three Steps to Safeguard Against Employee Litigation

Monday, August 1, 2011 by Mark Harbeke

WorkSmart Systems HR Director Jason CarneyOne of the hallmarks of a harmonious and productive workplace culture is little to no litigation initiated against a company by current or former employees.  Winning Workplaces looks at this as part of a larger question about government, civil, or criminal complaints in our annual Top Small Company Workplaces competition.  In 2011, only 2% of winners and finalists and 3% of the other applicants for our award had had employees bring forth litigation.

We evaluated our 2011 award applicants for the year 2010, so this means a total of 5% of all firms were the subject of related complaints or investigations.  This is consistent with what we saw for our 2010 award applicants (for the year 2009), as I wrote about here.

And yet, as Jason Carney, Human Resource Director for WorkSmart Systems, an Indianapolis-based PEO serving clients in 37 states, shared with me, complaints filed in 2010 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) grew 7% over 2009, to just shy of 100,000.

What are the companies who apply for our workplace award doing to safeguard against employee litigation (and legal trouble in general)?  They are largely following these steps that Jason outlined, which speak to these firms' exemplary people practices:

  1. Policy development: Have good policies in place and regularly update employee handbooks.  Policies should including one addressing social media participation, specifically mentioning that the terms of the policy are not intended to interfere with concerted protected activity.
  2. Ongoing informal education: Guide your employees to changes in federal labor laws.
  3. Formal training: Ensure that your employees are well versed in company policies and federal guidelines, such as unlawful harassment prevention and wage and hour law proficiency.

One additional insight related to these steps Jason shared is that while many companies might view their implementation as routine in terms of forms creation and updating, or just doing the right thing as any company would strive to do, the reality is that they are a powerful set of trust building activities that promote better communication and, ultimately, greater productivity.

Related: If you didn't see this article when we first published it, check out guest columnist and attorney Paula Brantner's checklist to help startups avoid cutting legal corners which could prove costly later on.