CAI’s HR Management Conference will feature Jeff Tobe as a keynote speaker on February 22 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Dubbed the “Guru of Creatively Thriving from Change” by Insider Magazine, Jeff is a nationally-known speaker who helps his participants embrace change and thrive from it. His presentation for next month’s conference addresses how creativity can engage employees. I had the opportunity to speak with Jeff on this topic, and he offered me inventive but practical advice for employers.
Recent research shows that 72 percent of the American Workforce is not engaged. Jeff says this figure is scary but can also provide great opportunities for organizations to increase their bottom line. An engaged employee affects business results more positively than a disengaged one.
“It’s management’s fault that people are floundering, and it’s management’s fault that people aren’t engaged,” Jeff says.
He explains that more employees are valuing their time and life outside of work, and many companies have management that does not understand their employees’ needs and the factors that drive their engagement. Jeff stresses that companies cannot motivate their employees, but they can create an environment in which employees are motivated to perform well. According to Jeff, managers must understand their internal customers, including their employees, to create a motivating environment:
“I have to know my internal customer better than I have before, and then I have to ask the right kinds of questions to find out what truly motivates them, so I can work with them in a way in which they need to be worked with.”
Managers who cannot adapt their style to effectively engage their employees will see their company struggle to retain top talent and achieve success. Jeff offers his audience members a number of approaches to combat low employee engagement. Here are a few that can help your company increase its bottom line:
Use Creativity as an Influencer
Jeff views creativity in two parts—there is the “create” and there is the “ivity.” He says the create part is easy, but ivity requires risk. Jeff encourages organizations to look at things from their employees, customers and vendors’ perspectives, and then ask, “How do we shatter the stereotype of the experience people expect to have with us?”
Jeff warns that people need to use accountability when creating. He wants management to encourage new ideas and risk taking, but he says there has to be reasons for asking employees to explore creative pursuits. Time, energy and resources can be wasted when accountability and strategy are not present.
Review Your Current Company Processes
An in-depth review of your company’s current processes can reveal factors that may increase engagement and yield strong business results. There are three parts to the in-depth review process management should perform, according to Jeff. The first is identifying the processes that are unnecessary. Tired industry standards and tasks that do not offer the company benefits are examples of items that you can eliminate. Next, Jeff wants you to review processes that are working, and look at ways you can expand on them to produce greater results. The third step asks you to invent new processes. Are there immediate changes you can make to improve your workflow or are there projects you can create to increase your employee morale?
Jeff says it takes some weight off an organization’s shoulders when it realizes there are processes that it can remove or improve upon to achieve success.
Practice Communicating Effectively
“Stop being the giver of information. Start being the seeker,” Jeff says regarding employers who practice poor workplace communication.
Jeff says that communication is not about oral or listening skills, but it is about truly listening between the lines and being empathetic. He says that most people are good communicators but not empathetic communicators; they do not truly listen to the opinions and frustrations of their workforce. Jeff sees more organizations fail because of poor communications than any other cause.
For more approaches on improving your company’s engagement level and to see Jeff’s presentation, register for CAI’s 2012 HR Management Conference here: www.capital.org/hrconf.
Tags: Creativity, employee engagement, HR Management Conference, Jeff Tobe, McKimmon Center
