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Employee Engagement: Give me an inch

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Dan Cook on the Employee Benefits Network wrote a piece: Employee engagement inching higher.

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Iatrogenic Disengagement

I’ll take an inch of progress in this field any day. But Dan goes on to talk about the Tempkin Group study with this statement:

engagement remains a science in its infancy. Even employers that measure engagement often don’t see acting on the results as an imperative.

I don’t mind scientific infancy in engagement but I think it is disheartening and disengaging to have employers measure engagement but fail to act on the result. This is what causes iatrogenic disengagement. Our efforts in working on engagement may inadvertently be causing a decrease in engagement. Employees were asked about their engagement, nothing is done, so obviously it is not very important. Engage is a hearty verb signifying action and connection not disconnection and disinterest.

Engage along with me, the best is yet to be!

David Zinger is an employee engagement expert and speaker who encourage an action approach to engagement based on power and simple rules derived from the pyramid of employee engagement.

Employee Engagement: Just Another Brick in the … Pyramid

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Here are 10 “bricks” I use for employee engagement.

Pyramid of Employee Engagement and Engaged Well-Being

The bricks from top to bottom and left to right are: results, performance, progress, relationships, recognition, moments, strengths, meaning, wellbeing, and energy.

They were unstructured bricks until one day I played with them and they rearranged themselves into a pyramid.

I like the 10 bricks and the pyramid but you can use your own bricks or another structure for employee engagement. Perhaps you can use my bricks or structure as a foundation or a launching pad. Or maybe in rejecting my bricks and structure you make a stronger declaration of your own approach. They key is that it has to work for you and who you work with.

What are your “bricks” and how are they structured for engagement?

Here is a short video made by m ss ng p eces (love their name) in conjunction with MIT Media Lab Knotty Objects to inspire you to think differently about your bricks for engagement:

MIT Media Lab Knotty Objects: Brick from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo.

This video is one of a series of videos in collaboration between m ss ng p eces and MIT Media Lab for the Knotty Objects Summit, the first MIT Media Lab Summit devoted to design.

David Zinger is a Canadian employee engagement speaker and expert who believes we need to be more playful in how we approach engagement.

The Best Employee Engagement Blog Posts: 7 for 2011

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Here is my personal list of the top 7 blog posts for 2011:

1. The Employee Engagement Pyramid What are the 10 actions managers can take to turbo charge employee engagement?

Engagement is more than a feeling, survey number, or a YouTube happy dance. We engage in actions directed towards results. The first key to consider when acting to increase employee  engagement is what results are you working to achieve and how can you involve all employees in formulating those results or achieving those results? Powerful results matter to managers, organizations, employees, and customers.

2. Employee Engagement: 33 Keys for Engaged Wellbeing What do we see when we take a closer look at engaged well being in the workplace?

A wellbeing epiphany. A few weeks ago, I was teaching a short course for blue collar workers on overcoming stress and engaged wellbeing. They were a skeptical group who did not necessarily want to be there and approached the topic with a high degree of defensiveness. This was no time for fluffy soft skills yet I wanted to fully contribute to their wellbeing and knew they could benefit from a focus on wellbeing that was real, robust and respectful. I deviated from my plan and realized this group’s rapt attention and interest was bringing out my personal weave of wellness in a way that even I had never fully heard before.

3. Employee Engagement: A New Buzz on Engaged Branding Through Community Co-creation What brand new things will happen when we give honeybees an opportunity to play with a Starbucks mug in their hive?

 The buzz. I believe we need to offer more white space in our organizations with employees and customers to help us create both our organizations and our brands. Our customers and our employees may surprise us with their innovations, even more than a community of honeybees given one week to work with the new open logo of the Starbucks cup. We need to look carefully at the the physical and experiential invitational structures we create in organizations to foster collaboration, co-creation, and community with our employees and customers.

4. Employee Engagement and the 3 Word Theme: Stop, Focus, and Finish Do you have a 3 word theme to guide your work engagement for 2011?

Benefits of a 3 word theme. A three word theme is succinct and easy to remember and leverage as a tool for work. It offers a quick guide and evaluation for work completed. It is a nice reflection tool for work and progress. It is also a great planning tool to get a tighter focus on the year ahead while offering flexibility in how those 3 themes are actualized.

5. Employee Engagement: What’s Up with Gamification If 2011 was the year of gamification, what are you playing?

 I believe gamification is one of the key engagement approaches and tools for 2011 and beyond. I think the big challenge will be to ensure these approaches are meaningful, authentic and operate for conversion into work rather than a diversion from work. We must be on guard for the manipulative elements of gaming and the potential lack of spontaneous playfulness in work. We must be aware of the potential negative impact of gamification to foster engagement, achievement, and work. Having said that, I believe gamification can be a very valuable tool towards fuller engagement and corporate social responsibility.

6. Employee Engagement: 33 Ways to Engage Today How do you engage the day?

Focus on the work right in front of you. Savor your morning cup of coffee. Connect to your peers. Esteem your organization. Laugh to keep perspective.

7. 21 Ways Employee Disengagement Hurts How does employee disengagement hurt?

Lowers results – cuts profits – reddens finances – sickens well-being – frays relationships – crumbles organizations …

David Zinger is focusing 2012 on the 10 things managers must do to achieve full employee engagement. Based on the pyramid of engagement, this approach offers managers a powerful structure, process and tools to create and sustain engagement. This pathway to power engagement is offered to organizations and individuals as a two day course, a one day course, a half day course and shorter presentations. Contact David Zinger today at 204 254 2130 or dzinger@shaw.ca to create an engaging 2012 where you work.