The Importance of Employee Engagment

It’s just another manic Monday, I wish it were Sunday, ‘cause that’s my funday! 

Do you find yourself humming this Bangles tune come 8am every Monday morning?  According to a recent Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index Report, you are not alone!  This study states that employees “who are either not engaged, or actively disengaged, are significantly less likely to report experiencing positive emotions and more likely to experience anger during the workweek than they are on the weekends.”   The Index also reports that “Fifty-two percent [of employees] were "not engaged" and 18% "actively disengaged," meaning they are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces and are less likely to be productive.”  This leaves only 30% of an entire workforce that is engaged.

We know this extends beyond just this Gallup Index and affects a large portion of our membership.  According to NEHRA web poll, 43% of members stated that Employee Engagement is their single biggest business challenge. 

What can you do to transform your organization and engage your employees? 
Register for Bob Kelleher’s 10 Steps to Employee Engagement hosted by NEHRA on September 11^th at the Conference Center at Waltham Woods.  Attendees will take away over 30 practical tools and proven best practices to immediately help their business increase engagement levels.

TESTIMONIALS FROM ATTENDEES OF THIS PROGRAM...

"The ideas generated can be readily applied on a large and small scale. Your leadership program covered more topics and provided more tools than any practicum I have ever experienced ..."

Michelle Okimoto, AVP, TJX

"This is the best workshop in which I have participated."

Andrea K., Director of HR, Envirotrac

Things Competing for My Share of Mind

This one's for Pat:

• Share it maybe
• Farm it maybe
• 'Classical' instruments maybe (my fav)

Now it's stuck in your head too-Enjoy!!

On Wellness...

Excercise is something we do for our brains, that the whole body benefits from.

NEHRA's Spring Conference: A Recap

A LOT of planning goes into our Spring and Fall Conferences and by the time one is over, I am already on to planning the next...However, there are always a few really good ideas that stick, rattling around my brain changing the way I think...

Here are the things that are still sticking with me 2 months after the Spring Conference:

• Gmail was an idea that employees at Google came up with over lunch...Not in a meeting or brainstorming session...but over lunch. Work and collaboration happen everywhere and anywhere.
• Get Sh@* Done! (GSD) at Diesel is a Project Managment program in a new wrapper.  I was *so* curious about this program-I talked Stuart Jackson many times prior to the conference.  I saw his slides and read his description, but I was still not sure what GSD was all about...I was suprised at its simplicity-A project management program with very deliberate messaging to appeal to the Gen Y employees at Diesel.  Simply brilliant.  We hear all the time that if are messages are not delivered in a way that the audience is going to listen; they are not going to hear them.   

What about you?  Did you go to the Spring Conference?  What still sticks?

Currently...

Get to know Frank S. Macri, Jr., NEHRA's 2012 John D. Erdlen Scholarship Award Winner.

He is currently...
Listening… to 90's music (always)
Eating… frozen blueberries and grapes
Feeling… fine, fresh, fierce
Stressing… about the thought of "9-to-5 World"
Wanting… to travel all over the world
Thinking… about making a vision board
Enjoying… life's adventures as a 21-year-old :)

Frank is currently an undergraduate student at Boston University.  He plans to graduate in 2013 with a double major in both Arts in Psychology and Science in Communication.  He has worked with WGBH as an HR Intern since 2011.  Frank is incredibly passionate about the Human Resources profession, and states "As a Human Resources professional, it is not my mission to make employees happy.  It is to align individuals with jobs that best fit their desires and empower them to then find meaning and value in their work."
 

Join us on September 20th at the Newton Marriott Hotel to celebrate Frank and other outstanding HR community members at our Annual Awards Breakfast.  Click here to register!

Things Competing for My Share of Mind

• These unintenially inappropriate test answers from young children are very funny.
• This is on the menu for the weekend (and maybe forever...)
• And now that the heat wave has broken--time to play outdoors!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! See you Monday...

Lunchtime Chatter...

Today at lunch we decided to start a NEHRA Staff TV Club (kind of like a book club, but lazier J).  The first order of business was to come up with a show that we could all agree on watching…it was surprisingly easy, given our interests range from Law and Order to One Tree Hill to American Stuffers and even to The Bachelorette (reminder that NEHRA is a judge-free zone!). 

Once we came up with our chosen show, we had to develop the timing for our discussions.  We decided we will watch one episode a week, and that Tuesdays during lunch would be the perfect time to have our chat.  We have staff meetings just before then on Tuesdays, so typically everyone is around.

So far, we don’t have much to report, as the ‘club’ is just newly formed, but we are looking forward to watching our first episode and dissecting it next Tuesday.  Oh yes, the show we chose is The Killing on AMC-if you’ve already watched it, don’t give anything away!! 

Here is a picture that depicts the show—looks thrilling, right?!?

Do you have any types of clubs (book, sewing, soccer, etc.) at your company?  If so, what are the secrets to success?

Marissa Mayer is Yahoo's New CEO

A female CEO, and she's pregnant-Awesome X 2! 

They like us! They really like us!

Today, NEHRA surpassed its goal of 1,000 Likes on Facebook!  Cheers to the Largest, Coolest HR Association  in Boston & beyond, and here's to 1,000 more!  Thanks to those of you have contributed to this 1,000, and to those who havent, please join us here!

Things Competing For My Share of Mind

Sum-Sum-Summertime!  Stay cool out there...

• This woman wanted to work for Pinterest-what a creative way to set yourself apart.
• These backstage riders from celebrities are stunning. and hilarious. (who knew Iggy Pop was such a card?)
• Better late than never-this is a great round up of thoughts on the late, great Nora Ephron.

Recruiting...Apple Style

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to work for Apple?  Check out this video for a glimpse into the culture and what engages their employees…it’s a very small glimpse, they can’t give away all of their secrets!

We can all assume that Apple is a wonderfully innovative, challenging and inspiring place to work, not only given their products, but their consistent placement on Top Places to Work lists.  Joel, the VP of HR remarks “there is a belief in the power of small teams to do really great things; that if you get the right people in the room, with this notion of ‘lets just do something really great’, then great things can happen.”  John, a member of the Product Design team discusses the design process for the iPad2, saying “it was a tremendous amount of work by a large number of people, who through the course of the project have become genuine experts in new areas because they had to.”  A retail team member, Makiko says “at Apple, you're surrounded by people who love working with others; they’re curious problem solvers, up for any kind of challenge.” 

Joel wraps up by saying “there's a lot of places you can find happiness.  Work, when structured right, is one of the few places you can really find meaning, and I think what Apple gives employees is the opportunity to be part of something really, really meaningful.”

If you take a note from Apple, it seems the keys to getting your employees to find that meaning are fairly straightforward.  Fostering a sense of respect for coworkers and their ideas, encouraging cross-collaboration among departments, the relentless search for perfection, and just plain hard work…and no, there’s not an app for any of that!!

Success at Work™

Recently, I was able to participate in one of NEHRA’s Success at Work™ classes, Navigating Conflict for Success.  This is part of a series of programs we hold along with Ed Evarts of Evarts Coaching, and Beth Kennedy of Benatti Training and Development.  Manage Change for Success and Strategic Communication for Success round out the 3-class series.  This is our third time offering this cycle, and each time is a big, well, success! 

Unfortunately, conflict is something we all deal with in our personal and professional lives, and this program really gives you the tools necessary to not only face conflict but find ways to minimize its effects.  We started off by discussing what we believe to be the sources of most conflict.  After we discovered that pretty much anything can transform itself into the potential for conflict, we realized we had our work cut out for us!

We moved on to review the different Myers-Briggs Personality Types (we completed the MBTI assessment online a few days prior to the course, and Ed and Beth determined our personality types before we arrived that day.)  Before they gave us each our individual results, we discussed all of the types as a whole (Extrovert/Introvert, iNtuitive/Sensing, Feeling/Thinking, Perceiving/Judging).  It was fun to guess what your results might be, based on the discussion.  After we learned a bit about each preference, we received our results and were able to discuss them with Ed and Beth.  We moved onto review the strengths of our types, as well as our individual ‘conflict generators’.  While there was a lot of self reflection during this time, it was also helpful to think about the various personalities in our lives, and how we might better manage conflict with them.

After lunch, we got to work role-playing various conversations around conflict resolution.  We worked in small groups which really allowed us to hear other’s perspectives and explore thoughts outside of our own line of thinking.  It also created a great awareness around the different ways our personality preferences affect our views towards conflict.  My particular personality type seeks harmony and avoids conflict, so this class really opened my eyes to ways that I can confidently approach and work through conflict.

Overall, it was a very productive day, and I took away techniques that I can apply starting immediately.  It truly is empowering to know your personality preference, and understand how that might hinder (or help!) you in navigating conflict.

I hope that you are able to join us for one (or all) of the Success at Work™ programs that we offer.  Please see the listing below, and feel free to contact us with questions about my experience, registering, etc.!

Part 1: Navigate Conflict for Success (August 23)

Part 2: Manage Change for Success (August 16 or October 25)

Part 3: Strategic Communication for Success (September 27 or December 6)

Sign up for the Certificate program and save!  Register for all 3 programs for $695 for NEHRA members, and $995 for non members. 

Reminder!