Conventional methods of gaining greater employee engagement, such as the following, are important:

• Competency-based selection,
• Appraisal and development programs and
• Training needs analysis.

However, they can loose their effectiveness over time.  Therefore, it’s important to create a working environment that consistently keeps employees happy, engaged and productive. 

 How to do that?  Consider these approaches:

• ensure individual participation in team efforts
• expect open communication at all levels
• encourage innovation
• insist on continuous improvement in processes at all stages of work production
• empower employees to make decisions

 In addition, Brigid Moynahan’s¹ assessment concludes that the top 5 factors affecting employee morale (and therefore engagement) are:

• Having the opportunity to contribute
• Being included in the decision-making progress
• Being listened to
• Being thanked
• Getting credit for ones ideas

 Employers must take this to heart if they want to survive and prosper during today’s spiraling economy.  This gives new meaning to Captain Jean Luc Picard’s daily directive to his crew, “Engage.”

¹Engaging Employees: Pay Attention to Messages You’re Overlooking, Author Brigid Moynahan, Workforce Diversity Network, March 2009

The larger your organization becomes, the more difficult it  is to keep in touch with all of your employees, especially if you have multiple offices.  Yet, as the manager, you must make the time to regularly talk with everyone.  Email is a good communication vehicle, but the phone is more personal, and neither can replace face-to-face meetings.

Publishing employee newsletters is a good way for larger organizations to enhance communication.  An intranet can also be an effective internal communication tool.  Keep your messages simple, provide adequate information and provide examples for clarity. 

Show your trust in people and make them feel included by sharing with them financial and other company inside information.  Management can make much better decisions by getting input from front-line employees.  If your people know that their voices are heard and they feel like they are part of the decision-making process, they will be much happier, loyal and more likely to support new ideas and programs.

These are just a few things to consider in your quest to remain union-free.  Come back for some of my thoughts on engaging your team.

 As this story begins, plant managers were becoming concerned that their employees were being solicited to sign union organizing cards.  This was based on rumors that had been circulating, whispered conversations amongst various groups during the day and strangers who had been seen hanging around across the street from the plant parking lot (all signs to watch for in your company).

Ray was newly assigned to the plant as a Region VP and arrived one day for his first visit.  He didn’t come to visit just with the management team (which is so typical in some companies).  Ray spent time with five different focus groups made up of folks from every department.  He wanted to become acquainted with the entire team, ask questions and listen to thoughts and ideas.  Of course, the senior managers were skeptical about his approach and worried that there would be an uprising.

Ray captured the attention of each group from the first moment by telling his own story of how he started in the warehouse and establishing his credibility with the group.  He spoke the language of the group, understood their world, answered questions before they were asked by sharing information usually kept at higher levels, and he cared.  All of this was made evident in less than 20 minutes.  It was amazing to witness.  It seemed so simple—Ray made it appear so simple—I think the rest of us just make it difficult.

By listening for the remainder of his time with each group, he created a sense of hope, trust, and excitement.  There was no mud slinging, no union threats, no anger expressed in the focus groups.  Several employees spoke up about one particular manager who was difficult to work for and who caused frustration and anger to develop.  They talked about some policies that they didn’t agree with or understand.  Ray listened.  Some things he was able to explain, some questions he could answer.  Others he admitted he’d have to find out about and get back to them.

With Ray’s help, the team was able to open the lines of communication again and avoid a union campaign.  He taught those managers a critical lesson—don’t be afraid to hear the truth!  Make sure you are aware of employee concerns and take the time to listen to and address them.  You don’t want to be forced into an organized labor situation unnecessarily.   It’s really not that hard to avoid it.

Be sure to see my next blog for more discussion on communication tips.

A few weeks later, Katey noticed a small group of staff gathered around some flyers laying on a table in the breakroom.  Katey didn’t say anything or stop to chat–she was working on a deadline.  She didn’t think anything of the gathering and assumed someone else was selling school fundraiser stuff.  Two days later, the shop general manager gathered the managers together and announced that he’d been contacted by a union rep and informed that his staff had requested union representation.  Needless to say, the managers were freaked out.  How did the union get in front of this shop’s staff?

Turns out, that little gathering Katey had seen was a discussion about union flyers that had been distributed to a worker out in the parking lot and ultimately made it into the hands of all the other non-management staff.

So, tip #1 to you small business owners:  Check your employee handbook for a policy regarding solicitation on company property and distribution of unauthorized materials.  Make sure it’s clear that employees and non-employees are not allowed to distribute materials or solicit anything with employees during work hours and on company property.  Also make sure your bulletin boards are under the control of management and that only approved items are posted. 

Once you allow non-work-related materials to be passed out in the workplace, you open the door to all things, including union communication and literature.   That’s one gift you don’t want to get!

If you want help with this or other employee issues,  visit my website at www.thegalatasgroup.com and contact me.  Carry on!

Times sure change–now the internet makes it even easier and cheaper for unions to schmooze folks so we’re seeing businesses with as few as 20 employees being targeted.   If the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)  is passed, unions will be shouting for joy.  EFCA is currently under debate in the House and Senate and although stalled for the moment, Obama has already committed to approving a final version when it hits his desk.

What’s the big deal about EFCA?  One of the prime objectives is to eliminate the federally supervised private election by workers.   Once a worker has signed a card, their vote is cast and they don’t have an opportunity to learn more or reconsider their desire for union representation.  And often, these “cards” are written in a deceptively benign manner, so workers don’t realize they are casting a vote.  Once a majority of workers have signed a card, the employer is forced to jump directly into negotiations with the union.   That really means no free choice for the employee OR the employer. 

Come back next time for some tips on how to develop a culture that can remain union free.  Take care!

Thank you for visiting my blog.  It is my hope that you will learn about what really happens in your HR department and appreciate all the effort that your HR department puts into your business.

Sit back and enjoy the serious, sad and funny things that happen everyday in the department that you think only sends you your paycheck!