Archive for August, 2010
Why Is The Generation Y Called Generation Y?
August 24th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Well, now we know how to recognize them… 
Procrastination
Can you relate?
See more clips of Levni Yilmaz here.
Posted in Individual, self-employed, small business | 
Tags: procrastination, solopreneur | 
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The Offline LIKE Button And Recognition
Yesterday I had the pleasure to visit TamTam – a Dutch “Fullservice Internetbureau” specializing in getting their clients “connected” and creating engaging online experiences for their client’s clients.
TamTam is an organization that supports the individual independence and personal growth of their employees. They even created a “LefJeDroom” program (see the introduction in Dutch here) which very much reminds me of Matthew Kelly’s Dream Manager concept (Achieve Results Beyond Your Dreams by Helping Your Employees Fulfill Theirs) – something that’s not very well known (or understood yet…) this side of the pond.
TamTam appears to be a fun work place (just spend some time clicking through the individuals’ pictures here and see what happens). Employees get to blog and tweet on the company website and even found a way to take one of the most important marketing and recognition tools “offline”: The almighty Like-Button!
How’s that for peer-to-peer recognition?
Posted in Articles on Recognition in the workplace |
Tags: Employee Engagement, Recognition, TamTam |
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The Grass Is Always Greener…
Do you have The-Grass-Is-Always-Greener-On-The-Other-Side-Syndrom, too?
When you ordered food in a restaurant, do you think, “Hm, I should have ordered what she had…”?
When you go out with friends, do you wish that you were at that party across town, that you’re missing right now?
When you look at your friend’s partner, do you wish your partner would be a little more like them?
I remember how we used to smile and roll our eyes at my grandmother whenever she put too much salt in the food or overcooked something. She would always say, “Oh, but I like it that way!” And we always thought she was too proud to admit a mistake.
What if all she did was just accepting things the way they were, without constantly wishing they were different, or beating herself up about mistakes she made?
Who’s happier – the person accepting things and moving on or the person hanging on to thoughts and questions like “Why do I always make the wrong choice? How come other people always get what I want?”
When we always focus on how things could be, we complete miss the present moment and don’t see how things are right now. And most of us know that in theory, but it’s so hard to do it in practice, isn’t it? Here’s a little experiment I tried recently:
Experiment
For the rest of the day (or week!), whenever something doesn’t quite go as planned,
say to yourself,“Oh, but I like it that way! This is exactly what I want!”
…and just notice what difference this makes to the way you feel. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Individual, self-employed |
Tags: happiness, negative thoughts, present moment |
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Use Wacky Appreciation Days To Create Fun At Work
You know that unexpected little surprises make people way happier than expected ones, right?
And coming up with something unexpected on a regular basis is not easy, right again?
Here’s a source of information that will give you a boost of creativity and ideas in creating more fun for your team at work. It’s a list of the appreciation days as well as the most Bizarre And Unique Days all year round.
Did you know there’s a “Middle Child’s Day”, “World Pasta Day” and “International Talk Like A Pirate Day”? Are you getting ideas yet?
Apart from making them fun, sometimes simply remembering and acknowledging them does wonders. Do you know when Employee Appreciation Day is in your country? Do you know when Boss’s Day is, or Secretary’s Day?
And don’t forget the very important System Administrator Day…
PS – Boss’s Day (U.S.) is coming up on October 16th again. Our People Management Poker Cards are a popular gift for that day. If you also want to surprise someone with them, place your order soon, so we can avoid delays or shipping shortages.
Don’t You Just Looove Networking?
Here are some networking guidelines I try to live by…
Try to be the most approachable person, rather than the most impressive or best looking.
Think of which sort of people you feel drawn to at social events and which ones you feel save approaching. Do they smile? Do they keep eye contact? Are they dressed similarly to you?
Look like them. Be one of them. Make it easy for other people to approach you. Being the best dressed person might not serve your purpose when it creates a chasm between you and the other “regular dressed” people. Do you want people to admire you or to connect with you? Find out the dress code and dress accordingly.
Recognize the value of approaching others.
Sounds scary? Everyone at a networking event is there to meet people. It’s the nature of the event. Many people force themselves to go, and if you’re one of them, you’ll know the exact reasons for that. Read the rest of this entry »
When Recognition backfires…
At my company, when a colleague does something great – secures a new account, exceeds a goal, etc. – everyone is called into the lobby. The person’s supervisor announces what she did and she has to dance in front of everyone. I’ve heard that public speaking is the most common fear, and public dancing has to be up there, especially when you’re the only one dancing and everyone is watching you.
I’ve been with the company for three months, and I have been forced to dance three times. How can I let the company know that public humiliation is not a valid form of employee recognition? Let me take an afternoon off, get me a Starbucks gift card, or just give me a handwritten note.
This forced dancing is encouraging me to fly under the radar and aim for mediocrity.
Recognition only works when it’s meaningful to the receiver.
Do your home work and check, investigate, ask and listen to find out what is meaningful to which employee of yours. If you ignore this fact and just reward people with whatever you would like, you might just achieve the opposite and de-motivate your staff or “force” them to underperform, just so they avoid humiliation.
Read more on “Recognition gone wrong” in this educating and insightful article at the Compensation Cafe.