4Cs Blog: Happy Employees = Happy Customers

Richard Branson Weighs In

I have to admit I was completely surprised at Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's recent announcement that the company will ban teleworking for most of its employees. It seems like a backwards move for a company struggling to maintain its mojo, which I doubt will do anything to improve morale at the company. Mayer has come in for much criticism for the move and today Virgin Group founder Richard Branson weighed in on the decision too with the following tweet:

We agree with Branson on this one. Study after study has shown that giving workers more flexibility improves productivity, loyalty and engagement. What do you think?

What are the most important goals for your oranization in the coming year? The folks over at Ceridian have an interesting infographic giving some answers to this question. The following is a summary of what they found:

2013 Priorities

Here's what the numbers say...

32% say customer focused initiatives
28% say employee engagement
16% say containing health care costs
13% say managing workforce productivty
10% say regulatory compliance

Top 5 Challenges

Do you agree with this list?

1. Attracting technical talent
2. Controlling the company brand
3. Communication with applicants
4. Keeping employees engaged
5. Obtaining job candidate referrals

Top 5 Business Risks

1. Loss of customers
2. Talent/Skills shortages
3. Reputational risk
4. Currencey fluctuations
5. Changing legislation

It's no suprise that employee engagagement and the risk of talent shortages are high on all these lists. 52% of U.S. employers are having difficulty filling positions in spite of an unemployment rate of close to 8%. Since talented, engaged employees are vital to the success of any customer focused business it's easy to understand where these numbers are coming from. Among other suggestions for achieving 2013 goals, Ceridian recommends outsourcing non-core activities and using workforce analytics ans part of a multi-year consumer-directed strategy.

An annual employee enagement survey and well-desiged action plan should be part of that process. Many employers think an employee engagement strategy is about doing what's needed for employees, but it's really about doing the things needed to build strong, long-lasting customer relationships. Because without loyal customers you won't have employees. That should be your main resolution for 2013.

Wasn't this a hilarious Big Bang Theory episode? You know, the one where Dr. Sheldon Cooper decides to send himself to work via a PC screen attached to a mobile robot. Double Robotics has created this novel device which allows you to turn your iPad into a movable virtual presence device just like Sheldon's making plain old teleconferencing look positively stone age.

According to the Double Robotics Web site: "Double is the simplest, most elegant way to be somewhere else in the world without flying there. The minimalist design and intuitive touchscreen controls allow you to freely move around without inconveniencing others. You can stay at eye level, whether sitting or standing, by adjusting your height remotely, which makes conversations fluid and real. Retractable kickstands will automatically deploy to conserve power when you are not moving around".

Check out the video below to see how it works.

Then check out the Big Bang Theory scene where Lenonard drives Sheldon's "double" to the office. Bazinga. This really could revolutionize the workplace.

Here's an interesting TED talk on the puzzle of motivation from Dan Pink. Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. In other words, carrots and sticks don't work. Hit the Read More link below to watch the video.

 Collaborative enviroments are an important factor in highly engaged workplaces. In this short video from Harvard Business Review, Robert Chavez, CEO of Hermès US, argues companies should consider the personalities of the people they hire as much as the skill sets they have. Qualities like a sense of humor, cheerfulness and easy rapport with others are a huge benefit to your organization as a whole if they come naturally to the people you hire. "We can't teach people how to smile." says Chavez.

Election day is upon us! After what seems like an especially long campaign, it's finally all over but the celebrating (or the weeping). We've seen a number of stories come out during this election season (purportedly as a result of the Supreme Court's "Citizen's United" decision) that describe an increasing tendency for some employers to "encourage" their employees to vote for one candidate versus another.  Whether it's company-wide memos in favor of the CEO's favorite candidate, or "mandatory" participation in political rallies for one party over another, or even going so far as threatening job loss for a wrongly cast ballot, there's one thing we are certain of.  It's a very bad idea. By all means, encourage them to excercise their right to vote and participate in our democracy. Go the extra mile and allow them time off in order to do so. They'll think you're a hero! But please don't badger, intimidate or coerce your employees into voting the way you want them to. Then they'll just think you're a heel.

Jeffrey Pfeffer over at the HBR Blog Network agrees. Besides being just the wrong thing to do, it probably won't work (we think it will backfire big time) because as Jeff points out...

1. You probably won't sway them.
2. It diminishes your influence in other realms.
3. It takes you off-message.

There are many challenges to running a company and maintaining a workforce that's both committed and engaged and rooting for your company's success. As Jeff says: "The last thing a company facing a difficult economy and competitive challenges needs is a CEO that uses communications channels with employees to introduce yet another distraction: Politics."  We couldn't agree more. Read Jeff's complete blog posting at HBR here.

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