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Research shows that people who are happy at work, are better performers, have strong relationships with colleagues, and open communication with their managers. All of this leads to high employee retention, work satisfaction and a healthy corporate culture.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we ask you one quick question…
Posted in career
Tagged communication, corporate culture, employee retention, happiness, Valentine Day
I’m a sucker for catchy book titles. 
I picked up a book yesterday called #CORPORATE CULTURE tweet. Seeing as we’re fascinated with corporate culture here at McNak, and I’m on Twitter every day, this seemed like a book for me.
The tag line is: 140 Bite-Sized Ideas to Help You Create a High Performing, Values-Aligned Workplace that Employees LOVE
What a way to hook me in. This is a book I want to read, I’m thinking.
The author, S. Chris Edmonds, is a Senior Consultant at Ken Blanchard Companies and has more than 25 years of experience working with leaders on culture change, team performance and effectiveness.
I cracked open the book last night, and was delighted to see that the format was short little snippets of wisdom. It is a very fast read, and I found myself noting down several of my favourite ‘ahas’ that I can’t wait to share with our team.
What you will find in this book is some solid advice that you can apply to your corporation immediately. Culture does take time to grow and nurture, and #CORPORATE CULTURE tweet will help you lead the way.
You’ve probably have heard this before, ‘We need to change our corporate culture’ and ‘our people just aren’t motivated’. And suddenly new signage and new mantras and motivational carrots begin to pop up throughout the corporation. And the same dysfunction lives on. Turnover and poor engagement continue to plague. The machine may look shiny on the outside but the core is out of alignment.
Daniel Pink , author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, said that for the 21st century, there exists an evidence based approach to motivation for complex work. Daniel says that you can’t manage people into engagement. His recommendation is to pay them enough and then give them sufficient amounts of autonomy, mastery and purpose. So the secret to workplace happiness is not found in the carrots or external motivators to do great work.
People in complex jobs, which seem, these days, to make up the better part of the corporate workforce, require self direction. They also find a great deal of reward in the mastery of their work. The desire to get better at stuff and see real progress at work is highly satisfying. The only catch is that these people need to know the context of what they are doing and why what they do every business day really matters.
Time Magazine recently quoted Nobel winning economist Daniel Kahneman saying that ‘when you analyze happiness, it turns out that the way you spend your time is extremely important.’
When work is meaningful time passes quickly. The wheels of enterprise move in a kind of synchronized motion and teams are truly happier. Engagement? – check. Great corporate culture? – check. What better place to spend half of your daily life but in a workplace where you actually feel happy and enjoy the company of others feeling the same.
Posted in corporate culture
We discovered from the results of last week’s poll, that over 90% of you are going out after office hours, to celebrate the season with your coworkers. This is great news to us, as we believe that strong relationships amongst company employees leads to a strong and unifying team. Parties are ideal morale boosters, and the perfect way to put the office walls behind you, and enjoy the company of your peers outside the office setting.
A few tips to keep in mind:
Drink moderately. Granted, the party is a social function, but it is still a professional event first and foremost. A good rule to stick by – for every alcoholic beverage, make sure you drink a tall glass of water as well.
Mingle. Now is your chance to speak with those individuals you might not normally work with and meet the larger team, so be sure to make a good impression. Use the party as a way to strengthen existing relationships or make new ones.
Have fun! Take this time to blow off some steam and have a good time with your co-workers. Laughter is an equalizer.
Don’t forget your manners. Remember to thank your boss at the end of the evening. Hey, they’re paying the bill. Let them know how much you appreciate the party they’re throwing for the company. And if one of your co-workers organized the event, make sure you give a special thank you for the hard work they put into planning the evening.
Posted in Employee Engagement
Tagged corporate culture, Etiquette, holiday party, office party, recognition, Team building
I had the pleasure of meeting Lance Kalish, one of the co-Founders of Yes To, while on Spring Break in Kona, Hawaii earlier this year. It was most enjoyable to hear his story of how he and other co-Founder Ido Leffler, took a fledgling natural health brand from Israel and gave it roots to become an international brand and success story.
One of the things that stood out for me was Lance’s genuine positivity and outlook on business and life. While running a new company has taken countless hours, what resonated was their company’s raw energy found in the power of the word YES. This video below clearly demonstrates how a strong brand and message has positively impacted their team. Their energy is contagious!
By the numerous team photos found on their web site, they literally ‘wear’ their brand! Well done YES To!
Posted in corporate culture
Tagged brand, corporate culture, Ido Leffler, positivity, Yes To, Yes To Carrots
I read this recent post, Faking it by Chris Ferdinandi, managing editor at GoMakeThings.com and I find his thoughts on customer engagement so very true.
Sincerity is key when it comes to customer service, and clearly if you love your job, and have a thriving culture, the sincerity will come naturally. The positive byproduct of this is happy, loyal customers who believe in your product or service, and want to be a part of that experience. It’s that simple.
Foster a positive corporate culture which will keep your employees happy, and your customers will be happy too.
Some companies have quirks. And definitely, there are co-workers that have quirks. Sure, this is an advertisement for Kohl’s department store in the U.S., but I found Jennifer Lopez’s quirk in this short video can either totally annoy you, or perhaps give you the giggles.
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Do you have any co-workers with funny quirks? Feel free to share.
Posted in corporate culture
Tagged corporate culture, Jennifer Lopez, kohls, quirks, work
Here are 4 great points from Mike Desjardins of ViRTUS. Make sure you click on ‘Read More’ to view the entire post.
via Some thoughts on strategy, leadership, and corporate culture.
Posted in corporate culture
Tagged business, corporate culture, Human Resources, Leadership, Organizational culture
It made me sad to hear the other day when I heard a company leader talk about how frustrating it had been to put on their summer function. This person had put a lot of time into the event and considered the interests of their employees to ensure that they would have a good time at the function. While the company had booked the event to take place in the afternoon, balancing both company time and minimizing personal/family time, there were a large number of staff who said that they couldn’t take the time off as they would fall behind in their work. This leader bemoaned that this often happens. Is this reason a legitimate excuse from staff or fear that if they take time away from their steady workload that pressure from management would follow.
I heard another story about how a seasoned employee said to a new staff member to just ‘keep their heads down and never plan to be a minute late from an out of office meeting’. Their manager even said, ‘Is it necessary to speak to your team beyond a greeting?’ This sounds absolutely archaic and surprising to know that this is actually still happening.
Has the economic climate injected so much blackness that the average employee can’t feel comfortable to take any additional time out of their work day? As far as I’m concerned work will always be there. And that’s a good problem. But good employees should not have to feel like they live in the company of a warden. These companies have some serious cultural flaws that need to be ironed out. The general expectation and demand of workflow needs to be addressed and understood that it is ok to take a break especially with your teammates and to let loose a little. Even if its just a minute or two. It’s those moments together that bring the team closer. Needless to say the new employee left that medieval company.
photo credit: Adam Foster | Codefor
Posted in corporate culture
Tagged business, Cautionary tale, corporate culture, Employment, human resource, work
Companies go through cycles in their own career as a company. Through these changes there will be times when corporate culture is affected by the growth. And sometimes a shift in culture is needed to stay on track of this new growth or direction. Not everyone will be on board though. Ironing out the rough spots internally can actually be one of the biggest factors in moving the company forward. Jim Fowler, CEO of Jigsaw has some simple messages on the concept of changing a company culture. Having observed companies in some tough spots over the years and the effect rough spots have on corporate culture, I think his advice is merited.
Posted in corporate culture
Tagged business, corporate culture, Jigsaw, Jim Fowler, Organizational culture, video
