300 Free Employee Engagement Keys and Ideas
By David Zinger on May 8, 2008 in Drivers of Engagement, Employee Engagement, Engagement, Workplace Engagement
Read 300 Free Eclectic Employee Engagement Keys. This book compiles employee engagement alphabets by 12 members of the Employee Engagement Network. This is a 39 page free E-book to enrich your employee engagement knowledge and efforts. Click here to download a free PDF copy of the 39 page E-book:
Here are suggestions on how you can apply the concepts from the book:
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Scan the authors to find ideas.
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Read the book as a primer to create your own alphabet.
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Modify it to launch a team or project group exercise on engagement.
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Choose a letter each day and focus on that letter to enhance your own engagement or the engagement of others.
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Share the alphabets with others at work.
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Offer the book as a free resource during employee engagement workshops.
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Develop your own applications based on your interest and focus on employee engagement.
Here is a brief sample letter/concept from each author:
David Zinger,
Results and Relationships. Employee engagement works best when results are woven with relationships.
Tim Wright,
Tempt. Can you make a chance to engage seem like a sandbox your people can play in? Tempt them: not necessarily with a get-this-done-and-you-get-a-reward message. Make the engagement temptation meaningful and valuable of its own sake.
Terrence Seamon,
Unleash - Take the leash off of employees. Trust. Turn them loose!
Steve Roesler,
Isolate: Only problems, not people.
Lisa Forsyth,
Failure. An engaged employee is more likely to fail, because we are more likely to fail when we stretch ourselves. Yet we often try to soften failure by calling it an oversight, a mistake, or an unfortunate result. This disavowal of failure reinforces fear of failure, so take back ownership of the word failure for the sake of engagement. Encourage self-reliant problem solving, engage employees in the redefinition of failure, and celebrate failing forward.
Raven Young,
Communication: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
Robert Morris,
Authenticity. Natives of Maine are renowned for their colorful sayings, such as “Won’t say he’s dishonest but if he wants to get his cows to come home, he’s gotta get someone else to call ‘em.” If trust is the “glue” of sustained relationships, it is the result of being authentic.
Ken Milloy,
Deliver: Too often you make promises or indicate you will get back to us on something - please remember that by delivering on those promises you build credibility and trust - and if we can rely on you, rest assured you can rely on us.
Stephen McPherson,
Character – your character is the framework of engagement
George Reavis,
Gratitude. Another of the five principle ingredients of engagement. Without gratitude one cannot stay engaged for the long-term. Fostered by the activity of thanking others which in turn provides recognition and appreciation.
Ian Buckingham,
Z – Zoo! Whatever formal engagement strategies there may be it’s always going to be a fantastic, colourful jungle out there with grapevines aplenty so open those cages and connect with the people.
Angela Maiers,
Kaizen: Kaizen is the Japanese term for “continuous improvement”, a concept we should take to heart if we want students to achieve their personal and professional best. Small changes, if done every day, can make a big impact over time. By creating an environment of Kaizen, reflection becomes part of the daily work and conversations. Continuous improvement an only be achieved, with continuous reflection. And with continuous reflection, students will become more and more engaged in their growth and learning.
Click here to download a free PDF copy of the book.
Raven | May 11, 2008 | Reply
Hi David - I think the e-book turned out nicely and am happy to have participated. Thanks so much for kicking off this effort and reminding us all to join in to create such interesting, useful and worthwhile content.
David Zinger | May 16, 2008 | Reply
Raven,
Thank you for participating and contributing to such a quick very pervasive resource for employee engagement.
David