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I am convinced there are a finite number of rules we need to follow to live a happy and productive life. I also think we complicate rule-making by creating a rule for every edge case. That creates confusion and in many cases, dysfunction. Why not keep things simple? Remember the book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten ? That. Even when we have few rules, we can use those rules in many different ways to achieve our goals.
… In other words, attention and connection with individuals is a zero-sum game. Where I spend time “socializing” in the digital space takes away from other places I could spend time. Digital and analog. Show of hands, how many of you actually know your neighbors? If the answer is yes, now think about those who live three doors down from you.
I’ve been off the blogosphere so long I wonder if that is even a word anymore. Or are we all Reddit, substack and medium? One thing I know to my core… no one want’s me on tiktok dancing. I remember Chris Brogan saying never build your house on rented land and that made so much sense to me. I always hate putting anything at risk with such a huge single point of failure.
Below (after the horizontal line) is a post I wrote about 2 weeks ago. It’s longish – about 1,300 words. 5 times a normal post. It has been sitting in my “draft” file as I ponder whether to post it or not. I was really, really, really close to hitting the trash button. My post is about the lack of real discussion on the interwebs today.
Okay this will be a short post today informed by a post I was putting together for HRexaminer.com and a conversation that Im having on Facebook right now about what else employee engagement. It wouldn’t be 2015 if it werent about employee engagement. One of the interesting thoughts I had as I was commenting in the FB feed was we keep looking at the engagement situation as is as if it is a process problem.
Ever try to fix a technology problem and find yourself going down a rabbit hole of google searches, phone calls, texts to friends, questions on Facebook. More and more questions. More and more possible answers. Trying this. Trying that. And ultimately all you get is older, greyer, and more convinced you are an idiot. This was my life recently. Trying to fix a problem with my daughters laptop.
Employee engagement is down. Employee satisfaction is down. Overall happiness in the US is down (and has been declining since 2005). The number of mind-numbing and scream-laden reality TV shows isup (yet fading there is good news!). Videos of people yelling, screaming, insulting each other and in general being the worst human beings in the world seem to be the most shared things on Facebook.
I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters. Youre welcome. One that I always look forward to getting is one by Bri Williams who hails from down under and whos company People Patterns focuses on the psychology/behavioral science side of how to influence behavior. She always has great insight into the human condition. Her most recent email was all about giving people freedom specifically how a company gave unlimited time off to their employees and then watched as people took less time off than b
Normally, people read a book first and then do a review of that book based on what they read. Im going to do things a little backward and give you my review first and then go read the book. The book that Im talking about is called Spurious Correlations by Tyler Vigen. It was released this year and focuses on that often repeated trope that correlation does not equal causation.
Employee engagement. Employee experience. Its not culture, its community. There is no culture. Those concepts have been swirling around lately as it relates to how to connect companies and employees. Businesses (or is it justconsultants who sell to companies) are not happy with how we address the problem of employee engagement. Heck a few months back Bernsin even floated the weird idea that it wasn’t about employee engagement anymore – it was about employee marriage.
Hey – wake up! If you run a business or are responsible for running a division or department of a company listen up. You’re doing it wrong! You keep promoting the people whoare good at the “function” of ajob into a managerial role. But they suck at the role of being a manager. They just do what their subordinates do, but a little better.
We like hanging around people that are just like us. Its comfortable and easy. But unfortunately, that can be boring as well. When I was first promoted to manager I was young and like most newly promoted managers I had no training whatsoever. To say I was making it up as I went along wouldve been a compliment. But I was intelligent and observant. I watched what other managers were doing and I copied that.
Im going to bet that you are a lot like me. I say that because if youre reading this blog you probably spend a good amount of time on the Internet. You probably have a LinkedIn profile, a Facebook profile, you might even have a twitter account, Instagram and pintrest accounts. I firmly believe that each and every one of those networks/applications probably adds some real pleasure to your life.
Or is it Part 2 since I posted the intro piece last week? Does the intro count at Part 1? I’m going to say no. The parts are the elements – the Intro/Summary aren’t part of the series. So this series really has 7 parts but only 5 of them are numbered. Confused yet? Good. As I indicated in the intro post it is painful for me to watch incentive and recognition programs discussed (poorly) online by self-declared experts in program design.
Note to Subscribers: Sort of a bait and switch here… If you don’t want to read this quick update on my blog subscriptions you can get to the article by clicking here. On to the update. When I started blogging again on my own site I quickly threw together this site on WordPress.com. After a while I decided to move to a self-hosted WordPress site at wphebert.com.
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. Enterprise Incentive and Recognition Design – Part Trey – Design for the Many – Not the Few?
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. . I know, I know. Been a while. But I’m back and you can check out the new post on the new site here. .
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. The End. Fin. The last man standing. This post is the final post in the 5-part series.
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. New post on the new site: I get frustrated sometimes when I read articles, posts and even books about incentives, rewards, recognition and other topics related to designing and delivering great influen
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. Check out my new post (old post?) on the new site: The author, in full-on “Dad mode” thought it would be fun to explain the ins and outs of sailing using the navigation tools such as nautical charts, c
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. My newest post is up on my new site. Click through to see it!
I need 3 minutes of your time. 3 minutes to make my life easier. And you know it is ALL about me. But really, this will make YOUR life easier (and so much better.). If you’re getting this update via email you are subscribed to the “old” site. I already know that if you subscribed to my updates from this site, you are beautiful, handsome, smart, witty and most importantly, forward thinking.
If you’re getting this update you haven’t switched your subscription to the new site. I just checked my feeds and deleted anyone on this feed who was also on the list for the new feed. So only those who haven’t switched are getting this update. I really would love to have you continue to get my updates (it is my only form of validation in my mundane life – kidding – but it is nice.).
Still haven’t switched your subscription to the new site? It’s easy. Just click here. But for you hold outs… here’s what you missed in the last couple of weeks. Your Company is no Longer Your Employees’ Nexus of Value. Just think, all the “employer branding” work going on today is pretty much wasted once your recruit is “in” the company.
Still haven’t switched your subscription to the new site? It’s easy. Just click here. But for you hold outs… here’s what you missed in the last couple of weeks. Your Company is no Longer Your Employees’ Nexus of Value. Just think, all the “employer branding” work going on today is pretty much wasted once your recruit is “in” the company.
If you’re getting this update you haven’t switched your subscription to the new site. I just checked my feeds and deleted anyone on this feed who was also on the list for the new feed. So only those who haven’t switched are getting this update. I really would love to have you continue to get my updates (it is my only form of validation in my mundane life – kidding – but it is nice.).
I need 3 minutes of your time. 3 minutes to make my life easier. And you know it is ALL about me. But really, this will make YOUR life easier (and so much better.). If you’re getting this update via email you are subscribed to the “old” site. I already know that if you subscribed to my updates from this site, you are beautiful, handsome, smart, witty and most importantly, forward thinking.
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. My newest post is up on my new site. Click through to see it!
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. Check out my new post (old post?) on the new site: The author, in full-on “Dad mode” thought it would be fun to explain the ins and outs of sailing using the navigation tools such as nautical charts, c
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. New post on the new site: I get frustrated sometimes when I read articles, posts and even books about incentives, rewards, recognition and other topics related to designing and delivering great influen
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. The End. Fin. The last man standing. This post is the final post in the 5-part series.
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. My favorite podcast so far (and that is saying a lot!).
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. . I know, I know. Been a while. But I’m back and you can check out the new post on the new site here. .
As I make the transition to the new site I will be publishing updates here that link to the new site and once again urge you to subscribe to updates from the new site. I hope you do subscribe and hope this isn’t too much of a pain for you. Consider subscribing to the the new site by clicking here. Enterprise Incentive and Recognition Design – Part Trey – Design for the Many – Not the Few?
Note to Subscribers: Sort of a bait and switch here… If you don’t want to read this quick update on my blog subscriptions you can get to the article by clicking here. On to the update. When I started blogging again on my own site I quickly threw together this site on WordPress.com. After a while I decided to move to a self-hosted WordPress site at wphebert.com.
Or is it Part 2 since I posted the intro piece last week? Does the intro count at Part 1? I’m going to say no. The parts are the elements – the Intro/Summary aren’t part of the series. So this series really has 7 parts but only 5 of them are numbered. Confused yet? Good. As I indicated in the intro post it is painful for me to watch incentive and recognition programs discussed (poorly) online by self-declared experts in program design.
No one believes because they dissected a frog in High School they are qualified to perform surgery on their pets or heaven forbid another human (well some do but yuck!) Yet when it comes to incentive and recognition program design it seems that a lot of people believe that simply because they have been in a sales incentive program in their past, or have a lot of points in their hotel loyalty program, they know how to design an effective incentive and recognition program.
Somewhat recently (sorry – I’m a bit backlogged) a question came up on one of my HR-focused discussion groups in Facebook. The poster was seeking ideas on how to compensate employees for being part of a company effort described as…. “…a pretty large scale conversion with two of the major systems that our employees use. The effort is substantial – but not full-time.
Image a worldwhere the meek have really inherited the earth. Where the rich are now at the bottom of the economic pyramid and the poor are now the ruling class. Imagine working in a factory shooting screws for 10 years and the next Monday you show up and you’re the foreman. You are now large and in charge. Well, you don’t really have to image it. Back in 1971 a psychology professor at Stanford conducted the now infamous Stanford prison experiment.
[Warning – rant ahead]. Love that headline? What if I told you that you can get more production from your employees if they are hungry? Or cold. Or tired. Or flat out exhausted. What if I told you that the most creative and innovative your employees can be is after they are sleep deprived for 3 days? And that those innovations could double your stock price?
It is no secret that employee engagement has become a vapor for most companies. The percentage of “engaged” employees has remained stable (and low) for well over 10 years. I’ve even suggested that maybe our 30%-ish engagement statistics represent the upper limit on engagement and trying to increase it above 30% is like trying to add a booster to the speed of light.
Two months from now thousands of HR Professionals (and a enough amateurs to make it interesting) will descend on New Orleans for the 2017 Society of Human Resource Management annual conference. There will be parties. There will be regrets. There will be 100s of trade show booths. There will be a few (many?) who will make the parties but not the booths (slackers!
Say you have 100 sales people (or employees with a quantifiable metric) and you want to do something to drive increased performance. Most of the time you, or your VP of Sales will suggest an “incentive” program to get people focused on sales and reward those who sell more. Often it will be some sort of “Top 10% get an award” program. The award can be a cash bonus (bad idea – we can talk – ping me) other times, a big trip with a significant other to someplace like Hawaii or Des Moines (don’t hate
When I started writing my blog I was prolific. One a day. Every day. Over time I got busier and busier. And the blog suffered. Still does. I’m still writing but not always here. If you’ve checked the sidebar on some of my pages you’d have noticed I write for Fistful of Talent and HRExaminer. So if you don’t see something here… chances are there’s something there.
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