blog.grg.com

Engage For Success site goes live on 12 November 2012

2012-11-09T13:39:38Z

Alison Godding, Employee Engagement

On Monday, the ‘Go Live’ phase of Engage for Success - the movement that believes there is a better way to work - will be well under way. The work of hundreds of people will be shared with the rest of the community and the wider world through events, media coverage and the new website.

Some might call it a launch, but the truth is that Engage for Success was launched 18 months ago, supported by the Prime Minister, but instigated and resourced entirely by leaders of industry.

Since that time approx 1000 individuals have been involved - including those of us in the Employee Engagement team at Grass Roots. Some have attended practitioner events held up and down the country, and committed to explore how employee engagement might be inspired within their organisations. Others have spent hours of their valuable time, in addition to their demanding day jobs, collaborating with peers from all corners of the movement. They have developed valuable insight into topics as diverse as how employee engagement and innovation are related and how employee engagement can play a part in recovering from economic adversity.

Several other work groups and content teams have been producing and curating case studies, hints and tips and other practical ideas and tools. It will all sit on the free-to-use website (made possible by Thomson Reuters) that will go live on 12 November 2012: www.engageforsuccess.org

Until Monday, the website shows only a holding page, so before then you, can connect us on twitter @Engage4Success or search for Engage for Success on LinkedIn to find our groups.

What is most uplifting about being a part of this is is that the people involved have come together voluntarily, their energy and efforts given freely. The energy and contributions of the people involved inspires me every day.

I look forward to connecting with all interested parties in the near future.

How important is reward choice?

2012-10-25T13:53:40Z

Steve Baker, Recognition & Incentives

A bit like ‘being grateful for whatever Aunty got you for your birthday’, is having a choice of awards in a recognition or incentive programme important? And if it is, who should define what the choices are, the agency, the client or the participant?

Is there a science behind ‘choice’?

I’m not sure if it’s a science but there’s a lot of common sense in providing choice. Firstly, if awards are there to help drive and change behaviour then they must be perceived of being meaningful and of value to the participant. That’s a very subjective area. What’s meaningful and of value to me is quite likely to mean very little to someone else.

That means that choice is the key to the success of a reward programme. If you are not turned on by the reward choices, you are likely to make another, much more important choice – not to participate in the programme!

Is there such a thing as ‘too much choice’?

There are books, such as 'Paradox of Choice' by Barry Schwartz, in which the subject of choice is discussed with a conclusion that too much choice can be de-motivational. A research paper, “When Choice is De-Motivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing” by Sheena Lyengar and Mark Lepper, has even gone on to say that “having a limited and more manageable set of choices may be more intrinsically motivating than having an overly extensive set of choices.”

These observations may be true in field or laboratory experiments, however, in the case where incentives are being used to drive behaviour change in employees, how do you decide how many choices are enough? What do you cut? How do you account for different preferences and desires?

There is no way to do this for every employee. From a purely behavioural science perspective, the broader the choice, the greater the chance of every participant finding something that is meaningful and of value to them. The more narrow the choice, the greater the chance that we miss the target.

It might well be that having too much choice can be overwhelming, but not in the context of ‘rewards’. Offering a wide choice ensures that the reward programme passes the ‘meaningful and of value’ test, and let’s not forget, what is meaningful and of value to me today may not be tomorrow! Again, a broad choice of rewards ensures that I can always find something that motivates me to participate in the programme.

Even if you had complete knowledge of the demographics, diversity and cultural makeup of every participant in your reward programme, trying to devise specific awards to meet each one’s needs would be virtually impossible.

How about different types of awards for different types of programmes?

Sounds a lot of hard work doesn’t it? And it is, but it’s amazing how many people try to do this in the mistaken belief that it will make for a better reward programme.

The main reason for making this type of mistake is the thinking that the prize has to have a ‘wow factor’ or be big and sexy to grab the participant’s attention. I’ve lost count of the number of times over the years I’ve been asked to develop an incentive programme where the prize is a Flat Screen TV or iPad etc. Big, sexy and of the moment they might have been, but it made the following two basic mistakes:

1. It assumed that the participants would want one

2. It assumed that the participants haven’t already got one

If you do the basic maths regarding these two points, you very quickly come to realise that, at best, only half the audience are going to be ‘keen’ so that’s half the benefit of the programme gone straight away!

Similar mistakes are also made with regard to long service awards. The issuing company wants the recipient to feel good and valued when they receive the award and think well about the company they have been loyal to. All good so far! However that’s not always the case when the company decides what is going to make you ‘feel good’ and gives you a watch, or a pen or something else that you may already have.

Maybe what you really want are vouchers to pay for a trip away with your grandchildren. Not very ‘big’ and ‘sexy’ but something that is likely to make you feel much better about your company and their long service award.

The broader the universe of choice, the greater the chance of any one participant finding what is meaningful. The more narrow the universe of choice, the greater the chance that we miss the target. Don’t make the mistake of giving them what you think they want.

The case for over-delivery

2012-09-25T14:59:51Z

Nick Wake, Marcomms

I’ve been reflecting on the concept of over-delivery: getting more for your money than you expected. It happens occasionally with your pint of beer at the bar and always puts a smile on your face. Sadly, it just doesn’t happen often enough!

One of the reasons Ryanair gets away with shockingly bad service is that doesn’t promise you anything else. A campaign from Mr O’Leary to over-deliver is about as likely as politician under-claiming on expenses. A hassle-free flight is something to be cherished rather than anticipated.

But isn’t it wonderful when you do enter into a commercial exchange and it does leave you with a feeling of having had more than your money’s worth? An infrequent purchase of a service-based experience lends itself to this possibility. You have no prior experience, just favourable reviews and recommendations to go on. This was the case with a recent wedding reception in Kent and the need to procure some B&B accommodation for my wife and I.

Upon receiving the invitation, a situational analysis quickly identified that the accommodation experience needed to be more than a Premier Inn, even if there had happened to be one in the vicinity. This was to be a rare break from the kids and would involve a considerable journey. These factors combined to propel us from ‘night out’ straight into ‘mini-break’ territory. Consequently, in terms of determining the overall success of the trip, where we were to lay our heads that night would be far more important than the quality of the hokey-cokey with the bride and groom (sorry, Sean and Rachel).

My research began, of course, on the web and I was immediately taken with name of ‘The Old Inn’. The website wastes no time in setting up the promise: good photography creates a great impression of the house, the garden and guest rooms. An array of accreditations at the top of the site and (more importantly) the online guest comment book, are hugely reassuring, as is the sight of the Trip Advisor button at the bottom of the page. The copy is well written with ‘turn on’ phrasing such as ‘boutique bed and breakfast’, ‘19th century property’, ‘locally sourced’ and ‘freshly cooked’ to the fore. The photo of the roll-top bath in the bedroom seals the deal for my wife. An appropriate amount of competitor research is conducted, but a quick mental attribute rating analysis leaves The Old Inn in first place. A telephone call confirms availability and a short email exchange later, the booking is complete.

Although our vibes for the accommodation were good from the outset, what we hadn’t anticipated was quite what a stunning contribution to the whole experience would come from our hosts, Gavin and Lorraine. Their approach to looking after guests was the essential ingredient in a succession of ‘moments of truth’:

- It began with a phone call a few days before we arrived, to ask whether we needed them to book a taxi to get to and back from the wedding reception.

- When we arrived Gavin greeted us outside with a big smile, offered to carry our bag, showed us to our welcoming and spotless room, and then disappeared to make us tea and coffee which he served with cake in the garden. Having anticipated a proposition of bed and breakfast, this was already well into over-delivery territory. What a treat.

- Lorraine arrived shortly afterwards and we were overwhelmed (in a positive way) by their sincere enthusiasm for the history of their house and for us as guests. I was struck by the skilful way in which Gavin was able to respond to prompts rather than attempting to overwhelm or intrude on our space. It was the perfect example of how customer mood can be influenced by service style. We felt great!

- Then there was the helpful advice that included where exactly we needed to turn to find the hotel that evening and then the following day, the best place to park to explore the town of Rye on foot. Even when not in their care, Gavin wanted to make sure that we having the best possible experience.

When we came to leave in the morning, after an impressive breakfast in the delightful dining room, we almost felt we were letting them down by shooting off so soon. Saying goodbye took a good 10 minutes as we exchanged a few more stories which further illustrated how, in terms of communications theory, we had move from the low-risk, uncommitted, basic ‘exchanging pleasantries’ level to the high-risk, but highly engaged level where we were giving up some personal stuff.

So what made us feel so genuinely welcomed by and connected to our hosts? Simple. They showed that they cared - about their inn (their brand), their service, and about our experience as their guests. There may be times when we may have to fly with a certain airline because there is no other convenient option, and you could argue that there’s no need for good old-fashioned customer care when you have a captive market. Maybe so, but the result is that a Ryanair flight can feel more of a grudge purchase than an enjoyable travel experience. However, when there are choices to be made, it can sometimes be the smallest of human touches that can make all the difference.

As we made our farewells to Gavin and Lorraine, we simultaneously retrieved from the memory bank, five final words of departure. Simple, but full of meaning: “Thank you for having us”.

Naturally we will seek to return at the earliest opportunity and have already recounted out stay at the Old Inn to numerous friends. The fact that we are far from the only guests to be doing this, makes the business case for over-delivery feel quite compelling.

Higher priority is needed for reward communication

2012-09-10T13:25:12Z

Paul Bartlett, Employee Engagement

Reward professionals are placing a higher priority on communications, according to the results of "The Evolving Compensation Function", a WorldatWork study released this week. Nearly half of the 656 surveyed respondents said they plan to focus more effectively on communicating the value of total rewards to employees, and especially to line managers. Fewer than 1 in 3 survey respondents reported that they are able to focus strongly on compensation communications today; and nearly 1 in 3 (32%) plan to increase their use of a variety of digital communications to enhance compensation communications.

In a separate study, mentioned in July’s post, the ability to communicate and connect was identified as one of the eight key differentiators of top performers in reward. Yet communication isn’t being seen as a development priority for reward professionals. And as multichannel communications make the options ever more complex, it becomes an increasing concern if they feel they are unable to give it sufficient focus.

I've already talked about how important it is to cut through the noise if you’re to effectively communicate with employees. The answer is to discover what is ‘remarkable’ in your reward strategy, and to build an integrated communication strategy around it, including social media in the mix. Just like any other marketing, this is all about sparking the discussion and getting it to permeate amongst your employees.

To make this really work, your line managers play an essential role. Their ‘buy in’ should translate into support, encouragement and enthusiasm – these people are the advocates who will most strongly influence the employees in their teams, and their role should not be underestimated. When it comes to reward communication, just as in so many other areas of employee engagement, we should and must engage them in the process, rather than seeing them simply as a conduit through which we deliver messages.

How often and how long?

2012-08-29T15:07:37Z

Steve Baker, Recognition & Incentives

Two of the most frequent questions I get asked by clients when they are considering implementing a recognition or incentive programme are:

1. How often should I give out awards?

2. How long should the programme run for?

A study conducted by the International Society of Performance Improvement shows that “if selected, implemented and monitored correctly, incentive programs—with awards in the form of money or tangible awards—increase performance by an average of 22%. Team incentives can increase performance by as much as 44%.” The important phrase in that statement is “selected, implemented and monitored correctly.” And frequency of awards and programme duration are key elements in the design and structure of reward programmes. All too often we see programmes that run too long or don’t run long enough. Programmes that have a year-end objective and don’t issue awards until much further out than the year are common. Sometimes awards are so far removed from the actions which earned the award that the employee doesn’t even remember what he or she did to get it.

How often do you do it, then?

Here’s a simple example. If you want to teach your dog to sit on command, you give him a biscuit every time he does it right. That way he associates the act with the reward and carries on doing it until it is learnt behaviour. However, what do you think would happen if you waited an hour before you gave him the biscuit? Common sense tells you that he would probably stop sitting on command and be curious as to why he’s getting random treats. In general, the closer the incentive is in time to the desired occurring behaviour, the stronger the association will be between the incentive and the behaviour. Consequently, incentives that are given days, weeks, or worse yet, months after the behaviour has occurred are not likely to be very effective. The only way to counter this is to increase the intensity or meaningfulness of the incentive —if you want an employee to do lots of things for a long period of time before receiving an award, then the reward had better be big. And everyone should have the opportunity to earn this award, assuming performance justifies it. Conversely, if you can issue smaller rewards more frequently, you may be able to decrease the intensity of the reward itself. When there is a behaviour that you want to occur frequently (i.e. reduced absenteeism, selling to new customers etc.), your incentives should be given out more frequently. The less frequent the behaviour, the less frequent the incentive. This is key, particularly in the early stages of what is known as behaviour acquisition. When you are trying to get a behaviour to occur for the first time, a continuous cycle of behaviour, reward, behaviour, reward is critical. This pattern is known as a continuous reinforcement schedule. Over a period of time the continuous schedule can be changed so that the reward occurs after a set number of behaviours or a set amount of time (e.g. every third behaviour, or maybe every two weeks). If you stretch the frequency out too far, you will see the behaviour start to fall off. This signals that the frequency of the reward should increase or the intensity should increase.

How long do you do it for?

How long do you want to keep rewarding employees? It would be nice to think that after a certain period of time, the behaviour will just occur out of habit. And if it does, then that’s how long you need to keep the programme running for. However, for many behaviours that are taxing and complex, you are not likely to be successful if you remove the reward. Would you go to work for no pay? However, you can space the rewards out over time so that the same intensity (i.e. annual pay amount) is distributed over set time periods (i.e. monthly pay periods). For other more intermittent behaviours such as benefits enrolment, completion of a health risk assessment, attendance at a lunch and learn etc, the incentive can be tied to behaviour within a timeframe. For example, you could enrol in a wellness program within the next two weeks and receive a reward.

Finally, for some behaviours, after a long period of external rewards, the behaviour itself can become rewarding. Exercise, healthy diet and mentoring can all take on reinforcing properties once they have been engaged in for a significant period of time. These kinds of behaviours can be subjected to a fading of the incentive slowly over time. Certainly, employees are complex; each has his/her own individual strengths and weaknesses. If you know your employees well, you can create the most efficient and productive work environment. In that same line of thinking, know your incentives well and you will create a powerful and cost-effective incentive programme.

The Games as a model for employee engagement

2012-08-17T11:36:49Z

Four of the Grass Roots Games Makers, Bryony, Cindy, Rozmin and Tim

Francis Goss, Employee Engagement

The recent recognition for London 2012’s Games Makers has been well-deserved, and many are citing this amazing volunteer workforce’s enthusiastic and essential contribution to the success of the Olympics as the ultimate example of engagement at work.

It’s true that a large part of this was down to the fact that only a short-term commitment was needed. That it was a global event. That it was a way to get access to the Olympic Park and other venues for free. And so on.

But anyone who knows a Games Maker or two will also know that some pretty smart work was done in terms of making sure these valuable volunteers were the right people (smart recruiting, with 70,000 appointed from 250,000); who were in the right frame of mind before they started and fully kitted out and trained in advance (an inspiring and thorough induction); that they were kept up to date with what was happening all the time (first-rate communication); and that they were regularly told how they were doing, thanked and praised for their efforts, not just at the end, but throughout the duration of the Games (ongoing, appropriate and timely recognition). Communication, education, measurement, reward – sound familiar?

As well as the obvious success of the event, and the enhanced experience offered to visitors, LOCOG benefited, too. They expected a significant drop-out rate during the Games which simply didn’t happen (thumbs up for staff retention).

Perhaps most important of all, was that thanks to an infectious attitude, a shared vision and excellent leadership, each individual knew they were part of something special, and what they were doing made a difference. Which is what it’s all about.

Moving the total reward profession forward

2012-07-31T15:45:11Z

Paul Bartlett, Reward

Did you see the WorldatWork 2012 Total Rewards Professionals' Career Census?

It surveyed 2,300 HR professionals from around the world to identify key focus areas to move the profession forward, and create a broad view of success factors for top performers in total rewards.

In terms of skills development priorities for total reward professionals, strategic thinking topped the list by a substantial margin, followed closely by influencing and persuasion.

According to the report, the top six future professional development priorities were identified as:

Strategic thinking
Influencing/persuasion
Leadership skills
Understanding company/organisation operations
Executive presentation
Project management

These all seem very personal, almost introverted to me, and I was struck more by what was missing, particularly when you consider the survey group stated that their top trends were:

Using total rewards to drive employee engagement
Using analytics to quantify HR impact
Ensuring total rewards is communicated clearly and effectively to employees
Tying rewards to organisational strategy and business success

To deliver these objectives – and therefore surely essential to the skills list - successful reward professionals need to be able to make their plans remarkable in every sense of the word, so that they stand out and are worthy of discussion and dissemination across all sorts of formal and informal groups. And surely strategic thinking needs to be driven by the insight gained from the programmes you manage? Do you know how much you are really engaging with your audience and how much line managers are enabling this process or acting as a barrier?

To really move forward in a multi-channel environment, rewards professionals need to know how to get their messages through to the right audience on an engaging and personal basis. Without great communication, total reward becomes just another staff programme.

Not such a sweet deal

2012-07-18T13:03:37Z

Nick Wake, Marcomms

One of the more amusing stories to catch my eye in the last month or so was headlined: “Kit Kat voucher angers Torbay Hospital Staff”. It concerns the decision by the powers that be at the South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to celebrate their success at the annual Health Service Journal awards, by giving each of their 4,000 workers a voucher for a Kit Kat. The award category won by the hospital was…wait for it…”best innovation, ideas and dedication”. With masterful understatement the GMB union which represents many of the workers, described the gesture as “a bit cheap”.

Eyes on the prize
Now don’t get me wrong. I enjoy a Kit Kat as much as the next person. Around about 10.30 in the morning, with a nice cup of coffee, I’d even go so far as to say, it is a bit of a treat (‘have a break, have a Kit Kat’ does it for me). In terms of self motivation theory, it fits nicely into the category of one of those small things that you look forward to, which can have a genuinely positive impact on your mood. And that’s even before those chocolately chemicals get whizzing around your body. But, if my company gave me one to celebrate winning an award, my mouth would adopt a lengthy state of openness that had nothing to do with the anticipation of scoffing the prize.

Where it went wrong
Joking aside, it’s worth considering for a moment, why – and let’s be fair about it, a well intended gesture – was just so wrong in its execution. On the positive front, the strategy of providing a non-cash award was a good one. There is lots of evidence to suggest that merchandise, experiences or a voucher that enables the recipient to treat him or herself, have a far greater connection with a job well done in the workplace, than cash. And can you imagine the headlines if each worker had been given 50p? But the first problem is that there is no trophy value in a Kit Kat.

The second is that the reward was not appropriate to the achievement. As mentioned above, it felt cheap. Far more effective would have been a personal letter from the Chief Executive of the Hospital, to the staff, thanking them for their individual contributions. It would have cost less, but come with greater sincerity and consequently more of the desired impact.

This links to the third issue, which is the lack of personalisation. The Kit Kat vouchers were sent out with payslips. Where is the personal touch in that? If an award is meant to be special, it needs to be treated as such and ideally handed out, in front of colleagues, with a few well chosen words, a handshake etc. The process of the giving is as important, if not more so, than the award itself.

Finally, Kit Kat may be the UK’s no. 1 confectionery brand, with sales of over £170m annually – a true giant of a brand – but it is not everyone’s favourite. Indeed there will be a few among the 4,000 recipients who actually don’t like them, or for other reasons, wouldn’t want to eat one. Awards that show a lack of consideration for individual preference will only leave a nasty taste in the mouth. Four fingers can end up feeling like two.

I do empathise with the management team of Torbay Hospital who have to practice a reward and recognition strategy under the inevitable ‘public money’ constraint. I for one, would be more than happy to see some of my taxes go towards recognising hospital staff and other public sector workers, for going the extra mile. It’s no surprise that the hospital’s ‘crisis management’ communications felt compelled to emphasise that the chocolate indulgence was funded from hospital donations. What a relief to know that the Kit Kat celebration was not only possible because the X-ray machine had been turned off for a few hours!

Recognition and discretionary reward is vital part of stakeholder management strategy. Saying ‘thank you’ and doing so thoughtfully, creatively and tangibly can be incredibly motivating. But as this example shows, without careful consideration, sweet intentions can easily end up as bitter reality.

Getting the benefit from reward - let's do something remarkable

2012-06-21T15:41:14Z

Paul Bartlett, Reward

To get maximum value and impact from our reward strategy, we all want to make sure our employees get involved. We want them to take up benefits options, participate in programmes and appreciate the value we’re adding to their overall package. When that happens, we know we have achieved our aim of driving engagement, and being recognised – internally and externally - as first-rate employers who invest in their people.

In a perfect world, that happens. But back here in the real world, it has long been a widely held view that a lot more could be done to make the communication to employees 'sexier'; and that organisations should be marketing reward more effectively. Even as an employer, this means competing for an individual’s attention – and that can represent an increasingly significant challenge.

We know when we're being sold to

Under the constant bombardment of information, most of us have become adept at recognising when we are being sold to, and simply blank those messages out. It is becoming harder to spot a leaflet or ad that grabs our attention, and more and more difficult to separate brands selling the same or similar products (despite all the catchy tunes and cute animals, I really cannot distinguish one insurance comparison quote site from another!). And because we are all busy people, we find ourselves generally happy to stay with brands we know and trust, even if they are not necessarily the best for our needs. The same is generally true for reward and the wider employee value proposition.

Cutting through the noise

So how do we get our employees to take notice of, and appreciate, what’s on offer for them? If showering them with more information is not going to work (any more than launching a new toothpaste will work by relying on advertising alone), what approach should we take? The new marketing paradigm is difficult to ignore and has a profound effect on the way reward should be communicated.

Why being remarkable matters

In recent years, the most successful products seem to have grown into our collective consciousness, rather than been thrust there. In many cases, this has been caused by seeding the idea with the early adopters and influencers: those people we all know from our home and working lives who actively seek out the newest and latest ideas, and then can’t wait to share the latest and greatest with us. And this approach works best when you have something remarkable enough to cause the product to self-propagate. This idea - that your product has something so worthy of discussion that it will spread – is compelling, and one we should all be looking at closely by developing advocacy within our organisations. Perhaps we should all be watching Gardener’s World rather than Mad Men!

As an aside, while I don’t recommend it for reward, it’s interesting to see that what makes a product remarkable doesn't even have to be positive. I am impressed by the continued growth of Ryannair. Last year, during a time of austerity and rising fuel costs, the airline achieved a 5% increase in passenger numbers and a 25% increase in profit. It seems that Michael O'Leary has recognised that the most powerful marketing approach he can take is to keep Ryannair remarkable and worthy of discussion by stoking up discussion and debate - any ridicule it receives is just a way of cutting through the noise about its competitors.

So it’s fair to say that to get your product talked about means you need to know who and where the opinion formers and influencers are, and how you can best reach them. Social media is one way of course, and a whole topic in itself, but it’s certainly not the only way, especially when you consider most major brands achieved success well before Facebook existed, let alone the internet as we know it today.

Apple is often quoted as an example of a company that has thrived by creating niches and then filling them. Now those niches have become mainstream, and their logo is everywhere, yet Apple has sustained the art of making each product launch remarkable, inviting discussion, tempting early adopters and existing advocates, to create a noise that we all hear loud and clear. Apple’s approach should be a mantra for us all – to ensure that we build the remarkable into all that we do, and allow time within the product lifecycle and programme for it to continue to grow.

Integration is key

When it comes to getting the best from any reward strategy, it’s my belief that the best approach is an integrated one. Organisations need to have marketing embedded into their reward programmes right from the start; rather than creating a new scheme, then putting together a plan to communicate it afterwards. Every new programme should have that ‘sense of the remarkable’ at the heart of its design, which means clearly identifying what is going to prompt discussion and invite the opinion formers to start the chatter – right from the very beginning.

Engaging employees through community support

2012-06-21T15:46:28Z

Cindy Withey, Corporate Social Responsibility

Last month, we published our 2011 CSR report; and although it's only our fourth annual summary, the concept of corporate and social responsibility has been part of our DNA since Grass Roots was founded in 1980. Many of our staff are local, their children go to the local schools, play for the local sports clubs and visit the local theatre; and it gives us all enormous satisfaction to see what a difference our skills, money and time can make.

I'm often asked which achievements I'm most proud of, and this year it was definitely the first Friendship Garden that we created with Kidscape (our current corporate charity) for Tring's Grove Road Primary School. We had nineteen 'Rooters' working to design, clear, build and plant the garden, and what was a patch of disused playground is now a haven where children can relax and sit quietly.

As well as contributing to Kidscape's valuable anti-bullying activities, we also benefit from activities like this at an individual and organisational level, as working together on a project like this boosts team spirit and employee engagement. Everyone at Grass Roots can take time for volunteering; and being supported and recognised by our employer for giving something back to our own community is a real benefit that costs little and means a great deal

.

Can anyone be creative?

2012-06-06T09:28:40Z

Luke Brason, Creative Design & Build

The short answer is "Yes". As in, "Yes, really!".
Try these principles next time you’re trying to create or solve something:

Allow time...
This video says it all really about the proper importance of allowing time and how you can’t shortcut creativity: http://youtu.be/jgvx9OfZKJw
Look at things differently...
Human beings are marvellous – we all see and interpret things in different ways. Embrace this, look for unusual angles. It’s amazing what you see if you approach from a different perspective: http://dennismaitland.com/life_on_the_edge/#/0
Be fresh, brave, innovative...
Do something no-one else is doing or has thought of. People relate to and engage with new experiences and new ideas because they are ‘fresh’. How else could you decide to advertise Smash like this? http://youtu.be/3SAbJjktk7E
Humour...
A great way to make things memorable and stand out from a crowd. Starting with a humorous idea and a few hundred dollars of equipment, Blendtec changed from an unknown company to one of the most viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/Blendtec
Be curious and childlike... (but not childish)
This is not about throwing toys out of the pram! It’s about getting into the mindset when we could do anything and be anything: http://tinybuddha.com/blog/33-ways-to-be-childlike-today/
Intuition...
I’ve started to rely on intuition a lot recently, and I feel better for it. Gut feeling – I’m going with it. Avoid over-thinking and over-planning. Live in the now. As we are advised in Kung Fu Panda: ‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.’ So don’t get hung up on what might happen – just go with what feels right. In simplest terms: TRUST YOURSELF.
Avoid yes-but...
‘Count how many times today you yes-but the ideas of others – your partner, children, colleague, or a new notion you read in the press. Typically, you may say, or think – 'With respect …' 'I hear what you say, but. . .' 'The problem with that is .. .' And so on. The antidote is to train your first reflex to be 'why not?' or 'what if?' Explore, extend, and play with new ideas – your own or others' – before you condemn. You are either a creator or a critic – there's no middle ground. Now is the time to try a first take at bringing your creative fantasy to life. Just switch off that little voice that's holding you back...’ (Source: nigelbarlow.com)

For further reading, I recommend:
Re-think How to Think Differently by Nigel May Barlow

The bonus conundrum

2012-04-23T16:13:56Z

Steve Baker, Recognition & Incentives

Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave over the last few weeks, you can hardly fail to have been aware of the ongoing debates regarding bonus payments. While discussions may have been clouded by emotions fuelled by the current economic climate, they do raise some interesting questions of when and how bonus payments should be made and what their purpose is.

The English Oxford Dictionary defines ‘bonus’ as:

A sum of money added to a person’s wages as a reward for good performance

That definition highlights two interesting areas:

If it’s money added to a person’s wages then it is probably right to assume that it is for a performance over and above that which you are already paid to achieve
The term ‘good performance’ is subjective.

Much of the issues with bonus schemes and payments are in relation to the distinction between salary and bonus and what ‘good performance’ is.

Essentially, an employee’s salary is the payment they should expect for meeting the objectives that their employer sets for them on an annual basis. As all businesses have an objective of year on year growth, it could be argued that your salary is your fair remuneration for helping your company meet that objective.

Any bonus that you may earn should, therefore, be targeted at your ‘over performance’ in pursuit of those objectives. However, to be fair and effective it should be made clear exactly what ‘over performance’ constitutes and how you can achieve it. This is often where bonus schemes fall down.

Typically, bonus payments are set against fixed targets, such as growth in sales, growth in market share or growth in profits; and over-performance is seen as attaining or beating that target. However, sometimes the attainment or failure to meet those targets is not necessarily a fair judgement on the performance of an individual. For example, if you are targeted to grow sales by 10% and one of your competitors goes out of business, you may easily achieve that target without actually over-performing, as the total pool of sales is distributed between fewer competitors. Conversely, if market conditions dramatically change and you achieve a 5% increase in sales while all your competitors show zero growth, despite having over-performed in real terms, the bonus scheme would consider you to have failed.

And this is the conundrum of bonus schemes and, maybe, why they have generated so much debate recently. To define what your normal job requirements are and what over-performance really looks like, is subjective. Similarly, even where those definitions are clear, determining whether a person’s performance merits a bonus payment is determined by many factors outside of simple target setting.

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Rising to the challenge of Olympic hospitality

2012-04-23T16:09:27Z

Alick Miskin, Diversity

The London 2012 Olympics is a huge opportunity for the leisure and hospitality industry, but it will also bring its challenges as we prepare for the influx of a diverse mix of tourists, sporting competitors andsupport staff visiting the Games. With ten venues scattered from Glasgow and Newcastle to Cardiff and Coventry, visitors will be eating, travelling and sleeping around much of the country. Though many venues are in large cities, some like Weymouth and Brands Hatch are clearly not, and others like Hadleigh Farm and Lee Valley are well out in the sticks.
This has some unexpected implications.

Making everyone welcome

London and most of our big cities are fairly diverse places. People from a huge range of nationalities, ethnicities and faiths live and work together; restaurants, pubs, hotels and places of worship cater for most needs; lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people feel generally at ease and public transport and hotels are largely accessible to disabled travellers. But this doesn’t mean that those who live there will automatically be comfortable travelling to other, for them, unknown destinations. Some will be less comfortable doing this than well-travelled overseas visitors and occasionally their concerns will be justified.

Last year a Bristol couple in a civil partnership won a case against a Cornish B&B which wouldn’t let them share a room. You cannot exclude same sex partners from your hotel or pub or ask gay or trans staff not to work their usual shifts in case their presence offends specific guests. Sexual orientation can still be an awkward area for people of some religions and cultures and it is important to know that UK law offers the same protection to LGBT people as it does to anyone who shares a ‘protected characteristic’, be it their ethnicity, gender, religion or disability.

Only age is unprotected when it comes to providing a service, as the Government is still considering how and when to introduce this, but it is unlikely to happen before the Olympics. So it’s still notionally legal to refuse someone a room because they’re too old (or too young) so long as it’s shown to be an established policy and not a cover for some other form of discrimination. Pregnancy and maternity are also covered, although like disability, there may be health and safety factors that would make it reasonable to refuse admission say to an amusement park ride or scuba diving course.

The right ingredients

Catering for a diverse audience requires careful thought. Pork products including bacon, ham and possibly gelatine are proscribed by both Jewish and Muslim faiths; last week I saw pork gelatine listed on the ingredients of a supermarket fruit fool. Even if not pork derived, some Jewish and Muslim guests would require the source of the gelatine to have been appropriately slaughtered (Kosher or Halal) as they would any other meat product. Many Hindus and most Sikhs are vegetarian and with cows being sacred to Hindus, fish, eggs and beef products could be on a ‘best avoided’ list. Alcohol too is contentious; some Muslims as well as not drinking themselves would not wish to be anywhere where alcohol is served. And Christians may still need a fish option for Fridays.

Providing a comfortable environment

When determining where to stay, religion can have an unexpected impact. Muslims in particular will wish to have access to an appropriate mosque even if this is only to attend Friday prayers. Strict adherents of many faiths, particularly when this is apparent from their clothing, can feel uncomfortable when alone or in areas where few locals share their ethnic background. This sentiment is amplified for women, say in healthcare settings, or - if alone - perhaps when a room is being cleaned or while travelling by taxi.

Delivering a great experience

But it is around disability that accommodation and travel is most critical. Given the ever increasing popularity of the Paralympics and the huge demand for any Olympic ticket, there will be a lot of disabled spectators as well as support staff. Having enough accessible accommodation doesn’t just attract individual disabled people but whole parties, as large groups, perhaps with only one wheelchair user, will all want to stay together. And as disability is as much about sensory as physical impairment; the key to ensuring a good guest experience is well-trained staff. Having staff understand the kind of adjustments to offer and how best to communicate with deaf or blind guests is far more critical than having the right ‘kit’. Increasingly well travelled sensory impaired people have their own accessible applications for their smart phones and laptops.

While we all want to ‘put on a good show’ in 2012, most of the issues outlined here apply to the here and now. We should all be treating our guests as far as possible in ways they will find appropriate, but we must bear in mind that occasionally this will bring up issues that run counter to UK law, and these need to be carefully handled to minimise offence to both guests and the very staff we rely on.

Rolling out the red carpet for employee feedback

2012-06-06T09:43:13Z

Alison Godding, Employee Engagement

I was delighted to be invited to the Best Companies award dinner last week, where Grass Roots was placed at 56 in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For. It was a great opportunity to spend time with colleagues from across the business, and wonderful to see a number of our clients being recognised as top employers too, such as British Gas and BMW. It was a brilliant 'red carpet' experience.

Best Companies initiatives are great to get involved in as they positively impact on the attraction and retention of employees. I know that's what the marketing will tell you, but I can vouch for that from personal experience, too. It was no accident that my two most recent employers (Grass Roots, and - five years ago - Nationwide Building Society) have both been featured in the list, as it was one of my key criteria when seeking new opportunities. Of course, there are plenty of great companies to work for who do not feature on the list, but it's difficult to be sure of that before joining.

Just like every employee, it important to me that I have a voice that is really heard. That my days are stimulating and fulfilling, and that I am able to make a contribution to the success of our clients and our business. There's another dimension at work here, too, as I am also on the team that provides employee engagement services to our clients. This makes it vital to me that we practise what we preach, and makes my expectations of Grass Roots as an employer even higher.

Our leadership team and managers take the results seriously and make decisions based on the feedback we provide as employees, whether through the annual best companies survey or our in-house pulse surveys. Over the years I have seen change implemented and the employee experience remain high on the agenda as a result.

Being involved in best companies doesn't create a company's culture - people do that. Nor does being a part of the top 100 list mean that there is nothing more for us to improve on. What Best Companies does do is provide a vehicle for me to give frank and honest feedback that I know will be acted upon. And for the company, it provides a measure and a forum for continuing all-important conversations that keep our company thriving.

Cookies? Why not...

2012-02-21T12:07:31Z

Chris Ford, Digital Marketing & Loyalty

The Information Commissioner has been pretty busy lately, and by the end of May, he’s likely to be busier still. That’s when the new EU laws about cookies come into force (for more information on how and why see this great article in The Guardian).

As both a consumer and service provider, I can only see this as good news. As a private individual, I totally agree with permission marketing, and want to filter out junk or irrelevant messages in my in-box. And as a professional in the digital marketing industry, my focus is on enabling our clients to harvest relevant contact data, with an emphasis on quality rather than quantity.

The smart thing to be doing right now is to be putting in place an opt-in engagement strategy for online prospects and customers. This isn’t a ‘terms and conditions’ issue for hiding in the small print – it’s an opportunity to seize the initiative and establish trust, credibility and loyalty with the people who visit our sites. And if you’re looking for ideas on just how to do that, drop me a note – we’ve got loads!

Every change means pushing through a pain barrier, yet rather than seeing it as a negative, let’s recognise this legislation as an other opportunity to strengthen customer engagement - the end result will mean long term gains all round. So bring it on – and pass me the cookie jar.

Plastic fantastic

2012-04-23T16:15:24Z

Barbara Bezani, Prepaid Cards

One of our part-time employees stopped me in my travels the other day, to say how useful she was finding her new prepaid VISA card. “It’s made such a difference,” she told me.

I asked her what she meant, and was not entirely surprised to find that the real benefit – to her – was having a set amount loaded onto the card direct from her salary each month, which meant it was automatically put aside for supermarket shopping. After only two months, she was already seeing a difference to the household finances, and a significant reduction in her credit card bill. And over the Christmas period, to boot.

Sometimes the simple things don’t get the attention they deserve. I’m a long-term proponent of prepaid cards as a mechanism for reward, and for giving employees rebates through partner retailers, and yes – sure – I know they can be convenient, too. Yet my colleague wasn’t talking about any of the added value: to her, it was all about the practical advantages of using the card itself. Budgeting is easy. Making that budget work is the hard part, never more so than now. If having a prepaid card can help households out in such a simple way, I’m more of an advocate than ever. Move over scissors, paper, stone – there’s a new winner in town.

Beat the motivation blues

2012-02-21T10:26:41Z

Francis Goss, Reward

Bad weather, financial austerity, and failed resolutions... winter can be tough. For employers, this can mean reduced productivity and employee engagement, too - not good news for business prosperity. So here are some easy-to-action tips to get the year off to a stronger start, and brighten the engagement outlook for January and beyond in your organisation!

Share your objectives for 2012. Do you know what you want to achieve this year? Do your colleagues share that vision and do they know how important their role is in achieving it? Set team goals and rewards to focus the team and provide a common direction.
Recognise. One thing everyone has in common this year is a birthday. Have you got the reminders in your calendar? Whilst your singing may not be appreciated, your sense of occasion will be. A little gift that means something to them as a person will work wonders for their motivation.
Rap with your team. If your attempt to show you care about colleagues still only extends to asking about how their journey to work was, then you are a long way from the rapport that you need to foster real team spirit. Find out what really charges their batteries - outside of work - and take a genuine interest.
Celebrate! Are you good at celebrating success? If not, then the year of the Olympics in Britain is a great time to start. Regular bronze medals, a good sprinkling of silver and the occasional gold for helping the business to win, is not just good practice, it will give your company a competitive edge. Never neglect a personal best.
Pass the baton. You don't need to be in control all of the time. You don't even need to be the fastest runner. Share the baton around (be careful not to drop it). Give your colleagues a chance to show what they can do. Who is up for it?
Clear the hurdles. If it takes five forms and six signatures to get the project off the ground then the race will be over before you started. Don't make life more difficult than it needs to be. Break the unnecessary red tape.
Be visible. Walk the floor, spend time with your colleagues, be accessible. Offer to make the tea.

Empathetic e-learning? Never say never

2011-12-28T11:08:48Z

Ian Luxford, Learning

`From Ian's recent article in Training Journal.`

Some years ago, after attending one of my weekly language classes at the City Lit, (a Central London adult education institute with a great heritage), I shared dinner with a language tutor who had very clear views about the application of e-learning in his own field.

“You will never,” he said (“never” is rarely a safe word to use) “be able to teach a foreign language via e-learning. To learn a language, you have to be able to produce the language. E-learning cannot have a conversation with you. It cannot guide you on whether you have produced it correctly…” He had spoken. My contention is that it is dangerous to claim that a subject or any subject cannot be taught through e-learning, not because e-learning can be used to teach everything (and I don’t know that it can) but because:

to claim this is to take a limited view of what e-learning is and how it works – to get the most out of e-learning we need to take a broader view
mastering most subjects requires us to learn different elements of them in different ways – e-learning is, like any other tool, only part of the solution
among the dissenters on any technological advance there will always be people who failed to predict what it might be able to do in the future. Computers are continually proving to be cleverer than we had thought.

The idea that e-learning can only handle logic and preciseness is of course a myth. The rich range of media available to us now allows e-learning to present all sorts of scenarios and possibilities, allowing the learner to apply their own perceptions and judgements.

I was recently asked to review a suite of e-learning courses which included a module on emotional intelligence (EI). The module was structured very much according to the model described above and it would be fair to say that it did not take learners very far down the route of developing high levels of EI. What it did very well, however, was to provide learners with the resources to understand what EI is, and what it isn’t, and how it can make a difference in their working lives and what the key areas are that they need to focus on if they are going to develop it.

If I were running a course on EI, or any other discipline related to soft skills, I would be very pleased to have a group of learners who I could be certain were coming to the event with a sound understanding of the first principles. Underpinning knowledge is a critical building block in most areas of learning and there are a number of ways in which it can be acquired. This illustrates a core role that e-learning can play when it is part of a blend of techniques that contribute to development.

Any idea that e-learning is not about interacting with others is also missing the point. Many practitioners in the field of e-learning are committed to developing its potential as a tool for promoting collaboration between learners – and the vast reach of the web allows great possibilities for collaboration with people who would otherwise be out of reach. For example, after observing the demonstration of behaviours that exemplify certain soft skills (or not), learners can exchange views via fora or email, on what is productive.

The interaction with others does not stop there. Another stereotype applied to e-learning is the self-paced idea (practitioners still use the term “asynchronous” to mean that learners are not all learning at the same moment). Technology now allows us to meet and interact with others using live audio and video. We can therefore also record the interactions for review and feedback, which is another technique often used in face-to-face interventions in this space.

The improvements in assistive technologies can also make it easier than previously for people with certain disabilities to participate in this type of training – my view is that we have more work to do here, but there is at least a discernible way forward.

Finally, there always comes a point where the learner needs to move on from the learning activity, get out into the world and apply their learning. Anyone who has passed a driving test will remember that they actually learned to drive once the licence had been issued and the person practising their mental arithmetic with the computer, will presumably (at some point) want to use this skill in anger.

But the power of information technology, to store data and build wisdom, should not be underestimated. To return to my language tutor’s argument – look carefully at the reality of software being used to ask a learner a question in a foreign language, record their answer, play it back to them, compare it with a model spoken answer, provide feedback and then give an appropriate response using meaning and context of what the learner has said. Text-based translation software is available freely on the web and while it might not yet be perfect, we still are moving on all the time.

A key success factor for any learning intervention is the suitability of the methods used to support learners in constructing their knowledge and skills. E-learning suffers at both ends of the suitability spectrum. In some cases people are beguiled by the possibilities of the technology and want to use it for everything because it’s there. Whereas elsewhere, they close their minds to the possibilities it offers and refuse to benefit from them. In other words, it has been used where it is not suitable and not been used when it is.

Its suitability for a particular area of learning content, such as soft skills, however is something which is changing with the general progress of technology. Keep an open mind, take a broad view and watch this space.

Loyalty 2.0... what comes next?

2011-12-09T11:32:41Z

Anthony Monger, Digital Marketing & Loyalty

Almost everybody believes they know roughly what ‘Web 2.0’ means. Most often you'll hear definitions such as "Websites that do more stuff using newer technologies". But following the same logic, Loyalty 2.0 (and ever onward) must then do more stuff than Loyalty 1.0 did. But does it?

In order to differentiate between these clearly different versions of customer loyalty strategy, we need first to look at what Loyalty 1.0 did:

It rewarded you for purchasing or doing something;
It treated and rewarded everyone the same;
It often rewarded you for doing something you were going to do anyway.

So what about Loyalty 2.0 and later versions? This is where definition becomes a little awkward, as there seems to be no line in the sand where one version ends and another begins. Even as you read this article, some clever marketing company is probably dreaming up the next version. Where are we up to now, 5.0? 6.0? Can I gert an upgrade?

The reason that it is so difficult to define Loyalty 2.0 onward is that just as one comes out, someone else will claim to be the next generation loyalty agency, or to have developed the first next generation loyalty platform. There are simply no standards or rules to follow. Having said that, there are some simple guidelines that will help your loyalty strategy stay relevant:

Loyalty is a long term, individual relationship
For marketers and brand strategists alike, loyalty can no longer be seen merely as a short-term tactical (and mostly defensive) tool. Used this way alone, it will inevitably fail you in the medium-to-long term as the ‘halo effect’ wears off. As a result, we have all been forced to move on to more sophisticated strategies and technology, with the loyalty strategy sitting at the heart of the organisation and marketing, HR, IT and finance functions. In fact, marketers are becoming serious about marketing to the 'segment of one'. For example, John, 19, from Croydon, who likes skateboarding: you get a completely different reward to Margaret, 43 of Winchester, who likes gardening - and we’re going to talk to you differently too. Using dynamic segmentation tools, we know when you change your mind and your preferences and can keep up to date with what’s most likely to be right for you.
Online portals
Online portals and catalogues are increasingly opening up the world of loyalty and reward, and if you’re working on a hosted flexible platform that you can adapt to your changing needs, so much the better. If you can add and evolve functionality as trends change and business opportunities arise, you can also avoid the inconvenience and cost of rebuilding in a couple of years when technology moves on.
Integrate!
Think outside the old models - it’s not all about rewarding direct purchase. For example, you can use multichannel communications to reward your followers and fans for posting reviews and content about a product or service, or for inviting their friends to engage with your brand.
Act on insight
Organisations are getting better at collecting data from loyalty programmes, but many are still not doing anything decent with the data. An effective loyalty programme will allow you to harvest, clean and mine data to generate insight and formulate campaigns to up-sell and cross-sell within your segments, as well as attract new customers.
Keep it simple
Your audience wants to know: “What’s in it for me?” and “How do I get it?” If your programme is complicated or reads like an instruction manual, you’ll simply turn people off. So make it clear what you want them to do and how to do it – make it easy for them. However obvious your claim and redemption process may seem to you, a fresh pair of eyes may be able to spot any potential sticking points or gaps.
Engage your employees
Even if you get your offers right, with slick comms and accurate segmentation, if a customer walks into a shop to buy that pair of jeans and the customer experience is a let-down, then it all falls down. This is where mystery shopping CSI can help you: identifying strengths and weaknesses in service, and showing you just where recognition, incentives and learning programmes will bring you – and your customers - the most benefit.

Get this whole approach right and your customers won’t just stay loyal, they’ll engage with you more often, buy more frequently (and at higher values), and recommend you more, effectively becoming your own brand ambassadors. With this strategy in place, you’ll find yourself back where it all started at Marketing 1.0, the most powerful version of all: Word of mouth.

Salary sacrifice tax changes - concerned about calculations?

2011-12-01T11:13:35Z

Paul Bartlett, Reward

I recently came across an article that declared that employers would face 'incredibly complicated' calculations from January, when the VAT element of the tax changes (announced back in July) will come into effect.

Really?

True, the changes may make the VAT element of any savings harder to realise, but existing schemes have been protected by the HMRC update so they won't change; and those schemes being launched now and into 2012 will simply be calculated on a similar basis to existing non-salary sacrifice benefits.

So - maybe not so complicated after all.

http://www.grassroots.uk.com/web/guest/reward