Here are some interesting factoids from the latest Towers Perrin Workplace Watch:

• A 7% drop in workers stating they can balance work and personal responsibilities in just the last quarter.
• Almost three-quarters (74%) of employees agree their company’s structure facilitates efficient operations, up from 66% in the last quarter of 2008 and 58% in the first quarter of 2008, suggesting the latest rounds of restructuring have been done thoughtfully and in a manner that doesn’t automatically demand doing more with less.
• Seventy-one percent agree they’re not seriously considering leaving their current job, up from 64% in the last quarter of 2007.
• Only 69% of employees agree that they clearly understand their company’s broad goals, down a striking 10 percentage points from 79% in the fourth quarter of 2008

Here is the conclusion from Max Caldwell, a Managing Principal of Towers Perrin:

Companies need to focus on five things.

One, getting leaders out front to talk with employees about the business environment and how the organization is responding as well as the long-term vision and what the organization stands for.

Two, involving employees in efforts to manage costs to help them feel like active contributors.

Three, communicating consistently and candidly about both short- and long-term objectives.

Four, listening and gathering input from employees.

And finally, promoting development opportunities so people can see a future for themselves worth working toward.

To read the Towers Perrin summary, click here.

There is no them.

Broken Keys. I was reading a good book on employee engagement. It was well-written and informative but I got irritated with the authors’ 5 keys to engagement. I won’t give the title of the book because it is not my intent to be negative about the book, it is my intent to suggest we need to be more inclusive and connected when we talk about employee engagement.

From Know to Reward. Here were the 5 keys to engagement the authors used and each of these keys was also a chapter title:

1. Know Them
2. Grow Them
3. Inspire Them
4. Involve Them
5. Reward Them

Us and Them? I have no quibble with the first words know, grow, inspire, involve and reward. It is the second word “them” that rankles me. Whenever I hear about them it makes others sound separate or different than us. We will not create engaged, connected, and authentic organizations if we talk about us and them. We may fail to see that “them is us.”

Community of Us. I believe a huge part of creating authentic and permanent employee engagement resides in organization’s willingness and ability to create authentic communities where all are connected to each other, results, strategic objectives, customers, etc…

Different roles but all employees. I also believe if you work in an organization, regardless of role – CEO to custodian – you are an employee of that organization. Employees are not “those people.” Those people are us. So know us, grow us, inspire us, involve us, and reward us —and that includes all of us — employee engagement for all.

No more them. Employees are not apart from the organization they are an integral part of the organization and we would be better served and of better service by not referring to employees as them.

Here is a short video under 3 minutes making a wonderful case for smiling, movement, and service. A great way to start the week in under 3 minutes to get fully engaged.

If the video does not load in this window, click here.

Here is a one minute employee engagement video I created over a year ago. What it lacks in dynamic presentation it makes up for in sincerity. We need EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT FOR ALL.

I feel so honored to be sharing my 21st anniversary with my wife Susan today. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I would not be me without “she!” I am indeed so fortunate to have someone who keeps me so engaged in the day-to-day.

James Bennett wrote a wonderful and frequently cited post on the highlights of the 5th annual Melcrum employee engagement conference. Here are a few of the nuggets from his insightful post.

• Amy Tull Atwood, head of leadership communications at National Grid: “Many people think engagement is a science. Wrong, it is an art where you can make a difference.”

• What do you want from engagement?A Michelin star restaurant or a McDonalds, consistent experience or conformity?

• The definition of the very bottom of employee engagement: Not finding a dead worker in the office until five days later.

• From now on create an environment where every employee can feel safe enough to bring their true selves to work everyday.

• Don’t let your CEO lose sight of communicating with your employees.

To read the full article, click here.