Today Anna Erickson’s article “Be Careful What You Wish For” was featured in the Good Company Blog. If you have a few minutes you should check it out http://www.phwa.org/resources/goodcompany/blog/2010/02/be-careful-what-you-wish-for.php
A good friend of mine is cleaning out her office this week. You guessed it; yet another victim of recession induced cost cutting measures. But no – (thankfully) she hasn’t lost her job. Just her space.
Late last year her employer evaluated every job in the company to identify who truly needed and who did not need a desk in company-owned buildings. By reallocating unnecessary workspace, the company will save millions by leasing out the newly available office space. As a knowledge worker and manager, it was determined that my friend no longer needed a company-supplied office. So although she lives just 2½ miles from the corporate headquarters, she will be working from home on a full-time basis. ..(more)
More than 38 million viewers watched CBS’s Undercover Boss following the Super Bowl last Sunday. It was one big splash first episode. I must admit that I was one of those viewers. And I loved it.
I am a huge believer in helping senior leaders better understand what happens on the front line – especially by getting them out on the front line. We often hear from survey participants that company leadership doesn’t understand what goes on in the field. Expectations are unrealistic, employees don’t have the tools they need to do their jobs, rules are put in place that simply don’t make sense to the people who have to live by them. So I suspect many of the millions of viewers have themselves wished to see their executives try to do their job.
In the first episode, Waste Management’s COO Larry O’Donnell went undercover to ride in a garbage truck, sort recyclables, pick up trash, and empty toilets. He learned first hand how decisions in the C-suite impact employees on the front lines. And he implemented several changes based on what he saw. (more…)
Note: stick with me here in the beginning. I know what you’ll be thinking in a second: quit with the sales pitch. I only do it to provide a context for my experience from the other day. I promise. Well, sort of…
At Questar, we measure the customer experience. We help our clients deliver a consistent, superior experience for their customers, because consistent, superior experiences breed customer loyalty. And loyalty equates to sales growth.
It’s what we do.
In our industry, customers are typically invited to provide feedback through transaction-based invitations, meaning that you purchase a good or service and then the invitation is printed on your receipt or emailed to you as a follow up. When customers participate in the survey they’re asked to rate the recent experience across all critical touch points, such as: greeting at the door, friendliness of cashier, wait time in line, etc.
The two critical bits of information here are: transaction-based and critical touch points.
So…let’s get to my recent experiences. One is an experience I actually had and one is the experience of a good friend—let’s call him Mike. Mike recently purchased a Blu-ray player and some necessary components from a large retailer. And he received a survey invitation on his receipt as part of the transaction. But after he set up the player, he realized that one of components was the wrong part. When he went to exchange the component the retailer would only provide him store credit because the box had been opened, even though they didn’t carry the right component. Even after he got the manager involved. (more…)
Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” issue arrived in my mail box this week. I love Fortune’s lists. The Fortune 500. The World’s Most Admired Companies. Fastest Growing Companies. But the “Best Companies to Work For” is definitely a favorite.
As always, the companies on this list do some really incredible things to demonstrate their commitment to employees. In exchange, these companies hope to gain commitment from their current employees and build better applicant pools from which to select future employees. Top of the list this year is SAS. As a researcher, I/O psychologist, and all American data nerd, this is great news. SAS will always have a special place in my heart.
Reading about the employee programs that these companies have in place can be both inspiring and intimidating. It’s clear that many of the perks offered by the top employers represent a substantial financial investment. Take SAS for example and its 66,000-square-foot fitness center and natatorium, onsite and subsidized child care and health care facilities, beauty salon, massages, dry cleaning, car detailing, UPS depot, tax preparation, and even a cafeteria that offers take out on your way home from work.
Yet you don’t need to spend a fortune to engage your workforce. I have seen many organizations offer outstanding work benefits on a shoestring. Here are a few ideas: (more…)
Filed under: Work Life Balance
Today the American Psychological Association’s newsletter Good Company included an article I wrote. Check it out.
The Babies At Work program at Clockwork Active Media Systems is a formal policy allowing parents to keep their babies with them – in their workspace – while they work. Clockwork has implemented the policy with resounding success and if you believe it’s a program just for working moms, think again. Click on the link below to read the full article.
http://www.phwa.org/resources/goodcompany/newsletter/article/150
Anna Erickson Ph. D. | Director, Consulting Services
Fad (fād) n. A temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., esp. one followed enthusiastically by a group.
Every year begins with such promise for new ideas and new ideals, a new way of life we fondly refer to as New Year’s Resolutions (So what’s yours this year? Mine: lose ten pounds, what else?) And every year ends with fads…most of them being that year’s resolutions; sorry to burst your bubble so soon. But some fads do go on to become trends. Some of them stand the test of time. Think iPod and YouTube in 2006; Facebook and Poker in 2007; Wii and Obama for President in 2008.
So I thought it fitting, this being my first blog of 2010, that I take a stroll back through the past twelve months—as painful as that might be…and I’m not even talking about the economy. Take a look at these 2009 fads (in no particular order) I collected from various websites: (more…)
We have all experienced some form of incivility at work one time or another. Someone completely ignored your email. You overheard someone taking credit for your work. You went to get a cup of coffee only to find an empty pot. A coworker criticized you personally in front of the whole group.
As innocuous as they may seem, research has shown us that these toxic behaviors can leave employees hurting mentally – and even physically – and can leave organizations hurting in their pocket books. They have been linked to depression, anxiety, and medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease. They have also been linked to absenteeism, higher turnover, decreased job satisfaction, and lower productivity. Questar’s own research has shown that employees who don’t feel respected by their managers are 5 times less likely to be satisfied with their jobs!
In the interest of creating healthier workplaces, Massachusetts is introducing a law that would allow targets to take legal action against bullies. Sounds like a great idea, right? I am a huge proponent of healthy workplaces and completely buy into the importance of stopping workplace incivility and bullying. But I am skeptical that such a bill could work. (more…)
The Conference Board’s press release about Americans’ job satisfaction certainly has caused a buzz. Their annual survey of US households found that only 45% of all Americans are satisfied with their jobs. This, according to the Conference Board, is an all time low.
I can’t say I blame people for being unhappy. 2009 was a really hard year for a whole lot of people. Unemployment rates were at twenty year highs. And while some research showed that those with jobs were happier than they had been – maybe just happy to have a job at all – there is no doubt that those who kept their jobs paid a price. Layoff survivors were expected to pick up the slack while many employers cut wages and benefits. And those nest eggs employees thought they had built up lost much of their value.
I am positive that many companies will see a talent exodus as the economy picks up. Those hard working but exhausted employees may see their opportunity to jump ship in 2010.
And yet – I was surprised by the Conference Board’s findings. (more…)
Have you ever heard the saying “our employees are our greatest asset?”
Of course you have. The saying is so ubiquitous, you’d have to be pretty sheltered to have never heard this. In fact, it’s hard to find a corporate website that doesn’t include something declaring the importance of people to their business. “Employees are our greatest asset” is frequently followed by clarifying statements, such as
- “Our ability to deliver on our strategy is dependent upon our employees — they are our single greatest asset.”
- “Our business success depends on the quality of our employees.”
- “Our employees are our greatest asset and key to our continuing success.”
So … do you believe it? (more…)
A Jaguar.
A Mercedes.
A BMW.
Can you guess where I am? A high-end car dealership would make for a very logical guess, but you would be wrong. Sorry. Maybe a Simon and Garfunkel reunion concert at the Excel Energy Center? That would be a more creative guess—and creativity counts for something, I suppose—but wrong again. How about a Minnesota Timberwolves game? Possibly, if this were five years ago when people went to the games. Give up? I’m actually standing in the parking lot of a discount retail chain. (more…)
