Tip #595: Three Reasons to Make Employee Engagement a Top Priority

While U.S. employee engagement reached its highest level in March at 34.1%, engagement levels have not exceeded 33% since 2012.  Employee engagement is defined as the level at which employees are emotionally invested in, and focused on, creating value for their organizations every day.  While there is an increased focus on the necessity and impacts of employee engagement, few organizations have taken action to ultimately grow engagement levels.    

Here are three reasons why organizations must make employee engagement a top priority.

1. Managers matter most.  In Gallup's latest report, State of the American Manager, which is based on over four decades of extensive talent research, the crucial links between talent, engagement and key performance indicators (KPI's) are examined to reveal the characteristics of great managers.  The research reveals that managers account for as much as 70% of variance in employee engagement scores.  This means that most managers are failing to create an environment in which employees feel comfortable and are motivated to perform at peak levels.

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Tip #594: Cope with Conflict in Five Healthy Steps

Do you ever struggle to control your negative emotions when encountering conflict with a co-worker, friend or even your boss?  Often times, people lash out or engage in an unproductive round of sparring which proves fruitless and may even destroy the relationship.  Effectively managing conflict requires emotional intelligence and the following steps to maintain an open, versus oppressive, dialogue.

Commence breathing deeply.  When a conflict arises, whether it's a disagreement about opinions, values or preferences, our bodies have both physiological and psychological responses.  Think about the last time someone said something that infuriated you.  Most likely, you could feel your blood pressure increase and your palms became sweaty. This is because the two amygdalae you have on either side of your brain perceived a threat and properly responded by releasing adrenaline and cortisol into your system.  To counteract these physiological effects, begin taking smooth, rhythmic and deep breaths which will stop the release of these stress hormones.

Hone in on your body language.  As you breathe, bring awareness to your non-verbal communication.  Relax your shoulders and open your hands instead of, for example, folding your arms or pressing on your temples since these actions communicate defensiveness and aggravation.  

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Tip #593: Five Earth Day Activities to Engage Employees

An estimated 500 million people will participate in various Earth Day activities worldwide, so why not use it as an opportunity to strengthen camaraderie and tap into teamwork?  Several employee studies conclude that morale and employer confidence increase when businesses implement productive green initiatives.  Additionally, in many recent surveys, consumers have stated that they are more likely to do business with an eco-conscious company.

Here are five ways to engage employees on Earth Day, which is on April 22nd.

Game on!  Dale Carnegie's 21st Human Relations principle is, 'Throw down a challenge.'  There are many ways to turn Earth Day into a co-worker competition.  For example, three companies in Texas broke the world record for collecting and shredding 11,920 pounds of paper in a 24-hour period.  Be creative in terms of team assemblies-match department against department or the Executive Team against individual department teams.  Consider launching a departmental old technology drive where employees can bring in broken or old computers, cell phones, printers and other devices.  The team with the most units wins. Contact your local school board to see if the functioning equipment is needed or a computer recycling firm to retrieve everything.  You could also join worldwide movements such as Billion Acts of Green, or Earth Hour. 

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Tip #591: New Year Resolution Check-In-4 Psychologist's Secrets to Success

Are you among half of the Americans which research suggests set New Year's resolutions each year?  If so, with the first quarter behind us, it's time to measure success.  Consider how you've fared thus far and if you are disappointed in your performance, you're not alone-only 8% of Americans actually achieve their resolutions.

Don't be discouraged.  Dale Carnegie said, "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success."  To get back on track, here are four psychologist's secrets to making your resolutions stick.

Review your goals.  One of the reasons you may struggle with your resolutions is because you did not use the 'SMART' method of goal-setting when you devised them.  Dr. Paul Marciano is the author of Carrots and Sticks Don't Work and cautions that the first step to behavior change is to clearly understand what "it" is and set 'SMART' goals.  Make sure your goals are: 

Specific - Articulate your goal in a clear statement that states exactly what needs to be done.

Measurable - Tracking progress helps to maintain momentum and focus, especially for big goals that may be comprised of a series of smaller tasks or steps. 

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Tip #590: Six Steps to Standing Out in Busy People's Inbox

Regardless of your role and rank within an organization, garnering the attention of busy people can be extremely challenging, especially via email.  Here are six steps to increasing the likelihood that an email recipient will not only open your email, but read your entire message and respond.

 

Start with a simple subject line.  A strong, simple subject line that instills curiosity or provides value has a higher probability of being read than an overwhelmingly long subject.  For example, a sales rep trying to gain a prospect's attention will have better success using a subject line such as, 'New Tool Enables Manufacturers to Increase Productivity by 8%,' vs. 'Your Availability to Discuss the Implementation of a New Tool that May Result in an 8% increase in Productivity." The latter contains a commitment which may delay the recipient's response and information better left for the body of the message.  The former subject line is simple and piques the recipient's interest.

Open with relevance.  To demonstrate why it is important for the email recipient to connect with you, start with the value proposition.  For example, if you are working on marketing and communications materials for your organization and need a testimonial from a very busy buyer, consider why she may be motivated to give you one. 

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Tip #589: Four Teamwork Lessons to Score from March Madness

Of the 68 teams who made this year's NCAA tournament, which ones will be matched at the championship game on April 4th at NRG Stadium in Houston?  Your guess is as good as mine.  What we know for certain is that whether in sports or business, there is no greater indicator of success than to have your team, or company, ranked at the top.

Here are four core indicators of teamwork success in the spirit of March Madness.

Trust     Each individual player brings unique skills and characteristics to the table, or game, and overall team strength is therefore a sum of all of the members' individual talents.  The key differentiator at play is trust because without it, the team will only be as strong as its weakest member.

After my six-year-old son's last basketball game, I asked why he didn't pass the ball after a rebound to which he replied, "I wanted to score the shot, but I should have passed it like we talked about."  My son did not trust his teammate to make the shot and instead was a ball-hog who ultimately missed the bucket.  No team can afford a ball-hog-on the court or in the workplace.  Trust is paramount to successful teamwork.

Empathy     In the final minutes of some of history's greatest upsets, you've probably seen coaches spewing commands at their players. 

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Tip #588: Four Ways to Get More Done

Dale Carnegie said, "If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done."

At times, it feels nearly impossible to get everything done!  We all share one common limiter-the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day.  Here are four tips to help you make the most of them.

Schedule Time - Being more productive boils down to this-if you don't block time off to tackle tasks, someone else will take that time.  If your boss or co-worker passes by your workspace and sees that you are free, he or she may stop and launch into a long conversation.  If they look at your calendar and spot your available time, they are more likely to schedule a meeting during your only un-scheduled time.  By blocking off specific time during each work day to get things done, you are taking the time you need before else does. 

Block Distractions - Once the scheduled time has arrived to get things done, there are additional barriers to productivity which must be blocked. Phone calls; instant messenger, email, social media and other notifications; background office noise and other sources of interruptions can rob you of precious productivity. 

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Tip #587: Make Mornings Easier by Ending Workday in 3 Ways

Walking into work leery of what will unfold on a particular day can be detrimental to your attitude, confidence level and ability to work well with others-especially if you are a leader within an organization.

Here are three simple ways to end your workday so you can start the next day off right.

Incorporate a daily afternoon stand-up meeting which is a brief touch-base meeting with team members to ensure their alignment and reprioritize tasks as necessary.  While working at an extremely busy interactive agency serving over 200 clients, we benefited from two daily stand-up meetings, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Adding an afternoon stand-up meeting two to three hours before the end of your day is the fastest way to understand:

Everything that the team accomplished today

Which deliverables must be completed before the end of the day, and which can be addressed tomorrow

Any potential issues that may greatly impact project plans or processes and therefore require a specific, separate meeting with key team members

If there are any issues that need to be escalated within the organization

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Tip #586: Why Millennials are Leaving Organizations and 3 Keys to Solve It

The greatest talent challenge currently facing the world's employers is engaging the Millennial generation. Businesses run the risk of losing a large percentage of their workforces if they do not adjust to nurture loyalty among Millennials.

In Deloitte's recent 2016 Millennial Survey, they collected the views of nearly 7,700 Millennials representing 29 countries around the globe. All participants were born after 1982, have obtained a college or university degree, are employed full-time, and predominantly work in large (100+ employees), private sector organizations. The survey had a focus on Millennials' values and ambitions, drivers of job satisfaction, and their increasing representation on senior management teams.

Millennials are leaving.

Millennials have recently become the largest share of the US labor market. In this current survey, 12% of Millennials are either the head of a department or division or 7% have a position within his or her senior management team or board. Millennials are no longer the leaders of tomorrow but rather are rapidly becoming the leaders of today. Yet there is remarkable absence of Millennial loyalty and engagement that represents a serious challenge to the longevity of any business.

* 66% of Millennials expect to leave their organization by the end of 2020.

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Tip#557:Conquer the Tyranny of the Urgent in Two Steps

We all share common challenges to maximizing our productivity level. First, there are only 24 hours in a day. Secondly, if we are actively applying Dale Carnegie's Human Relations principles, we have more professional and personal relationships than ever before, but less time to foster them.

Charles E. Hummel published a groundbreaking essay on this subject in 1967 entitled, The Tyranny of the Urgent. In essence, Hummel categorizes daily tasks according to two criteria-urgent and important. The premise of the Tyranny of the Urgent is that if we do not actively allocate or plan for our time, someone else will take it.

Hummel steers productivity seekers into the first quadrant or the area 'Urgent AND Important' where activities such as customer meetings and sales proposals are assigned high prioritization, and rightly so. On the other end of the spectrum, activities such as socializing at work are defined in Quadrant four as 'Not important AND Not Urgent.'

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