Inspiration Series - Part I

At a recent plant managers meeting, our group of HR Geeks presented a short workshop on employee engagement.  Of course, no one contests the significance of engaged workers and higher performing task groups and teams.  It's how to get there that's a challenge.  It can be done, if we approach it incrementally.

As a result, I am leading an internal initiative called The Monday Inspiration Series.  Here's what I sent out recently:

I read an article entitled The Sharp Drop-Off In Worker Happiness--And What Your Company Can Do About It at

http://www.fastcompany.com/1835578/the-sharp-drop-in-worker-happiness-and-what-your-company-can-do-about-it?goback=%2Egde_1345567_member_111762812

Here’s an excerpt:

“According to a worldwide Towers Watson study, the single highest driver of employee engagement is whether or not workers feel their managers are genuinely interested in their well-being. Today, only 40% of workers believe that.”

And a summary:

1. What makes people happiest in their jobs is all profoundly personal.

2. People only thrive when they feel recognized and appreciated.

3. Your employees will stay if you tell them directly you need them, care about them, and sincerely plan to support them

YOU continue to be the most important promoter of employee engagement in your organization.  Have you used these words today?

Please

Thank you

Good job!

Good catch!

I like your idea.

I like your idea.  I want you to talk to the team about it at our next meeting.

I like your idea.  I want you to talk to management about it at our next meeting.

You saved the company money.

You saved the company money.  I will tell my boss about it.

We achieved community service success.  I’ll submit it to the newsletter.

I appreciate that you cooperated with the other department. I like that you build bridges with them.

Thank you for going the extra mile and achieving on-time delivery.

Thank you for reporting the near miss / first aid / medical.

I like your solution to avoiding future safety incidents.  I am going to share it with other plants.

What encourages you?  What can I do to encourage you today?

Have you encouraged your employees today?

Grand-papa Meno Goes Courting

I've only heard bits and pieces of my grandparents' courting days.  I'm not even sure exactly when they met or how long they courted.  I know they married on January 4th the year Grand-maman Rose was 21.

At 18 and 19 years old, Grand-papa Meno was a young buck about town. He would polish his shoes, complete his white shirt with starched collar, cuffs, cuff links and tie, don his best suit and newest fedora, and be off to the dance halls on Saturday nights.  The dance halls of the day were the best places to meet girls. And to have the privilege of escorting the nicest ones home, you really needed to know how to dance and how to hold your own in a conversation.  Many's the Saturday night that would turn into a Sunday morning when, with the last gallant escort of a young lady to her front step, would see Meno stumbling into church for 6 a.m. Mass before finding his own bed at home.

Summers offered a greater range of activities for young folk: a hop on the streetcar for a visit to a park or beach or to an amusement park was just the thing.  The island of Montréal wasn't so built up then, and there were lots of places that had a more relaxed, country feel.

Grand-maman Rose came to Montréal when she was a young girl.  This was somewhere between 1925 and 1928, I would think.  She was hired as a housemaid to work in large homes.  Her days were long and very busy, of course, but Saturday afternoons and Sundays were her own. 

Grand-papa Meno met Grand-maman Rose the year he was 20.  I'm not sure who introduced them.  I don't think their courtship involved a lot of dancing, but I know they met regularly that summer on Mount Royal, just the two of them.  Meno would bring her a box of chocolates and the comics from the newspaper, and they would sit together on a park bench on the Mountain to share them.  Meno could make Rose giggle, and she loved their rendez-vous.

One Saturday, Meno invited Rose to a picnic with several of his friends.  The day dawned promising and, as was the mannerly thing to do at the time, both Meno and Rose put on their best fashions, hoping to positively impress the other.  Meno collected Rose, admiring the smart summery linen suit she wore for the occasion.  They took the streetcar and joined his friends.  All was going well, the afternoon filled with the fun and laughter of young men and women out to enjoy each other's company.

But this was the middle of the summer in Montréal, known for its heat, humidity and sudden thunderstorms.  The skies opened and it just poured.  In no time, everyone was soaked through.  And horror of horrors, Rose's linen suit began to shrink!

With the suit tightening around her trim figure, gaping in the most inappropriate places, Rose was mortified.  How could she return to her employer's house in the soggy, too-small linen suit?  Meno, ever gallant and more than happy to rescue his Rose, brought her home so his mother could help.

A bedraggled Grand-maman Rose met her future mother-in-law that day.  She borrowed a suit to go back to the house in.  She laundered, pressed and returned it the following weekend.  The story goes that Grand-maman Rose never convinced her mother-in-law that she hadn't somehow orchestrated the events to produce a luring eyeful for Grand-papa Meno.

Personally, I think the comics, the chocolates and the giggles had already done the trick!

Grand-maman Rose and Grand-papa Meno, celebrating 50 years of wedded bliss!

Two Topics to Prepare for When Searching for New Employment

Several months ago, I was approached by a job-seeker for a little advice.  Spring-boarding from the specifics of this person's situation, let me share with you some of my thoughts:

On the topic of salary, a little research to establish a range that seems fair for the family of jobs you are suited for is necessary.  You may be asked for this information up front, and it pays to be prepared.  You could say something like, "I am worth (range).  However, I believe you will offer a competitive salary that will recognize my abilities." 


If you think that stating a range may disqualify you from employment, then be persistent and ask that the position be better qualified before you commit to a specific number.  A reminder that you are interested in working in this organization and that you believe you will be paid a fair salary is appropriate, as is a statement  that you would much rather concentrate on finding out if and how you can best contribute to his organization.


Remember that salary is not the only part of compensation that could be important to you.  Asking for improved vacation benefits, early access to pension, immediate access to benefits, profit sharing, and matching funds are things you would do once you have an offer.  Do not mention this at this time.  Your future employer's perception should always be about what you can do for him, not what he can do for you!


On the topic of creating your leaving story,  if you are feeling negative, if you feel you have been victimized, you urgently need to restate the personal reasons that motivate you to seek alternate employment that


a) does not display you as being the victim of your supervisor's machinations and 
b) does not in any way slag the company you are currently working for.


The best way to do this is to develop your own purpose.  Find what you are passionate about, then say what you are looking for, and use the vocabulary of persuasion to prove to any prospective employer or contact that you are the right person for that ideal job of yours.



The work that you do in these two areas will free you from doubts about your worth in dollars and in purpose.  Then you can focus on finding the job that will fit your aspirations.

The Motorcycle

My husband loves to motorcycle.  His first motorcyle and I collided in time and arrived at about the same moment in his life.  The marriage and the children and the house and the degrees and the jobs all came later.  The motorcycles and I have been pretty constant.  Luckily, although there have been several of them, there has been only one of me.

The neighbours tease him sometimes because he spends more time shining up that beast than he does shining up the Jeep and the car.  It just makes me smile.

It's good to have a man with a passion or two.  It makes life interesting.  Here's what he wrote about riding with our daughter.

* * * * *

The first time I saw a friend’s Honda 50 mini-bike back home on Cape Breton Island, I was hooked. I rode it on occasion, but Mom did not approve. How could I blame her? She worked in a hospital and dealt firsthand with many tragedies. Some particularly gruesome ones, unfortunately, involved motorcycles.

Later, I moved to Toronto and a friend told me about the Humber College weekend training course that resulted in a motorcycle license test at the end. That was all I needed to know. I signed up for the course and immediately went to McBride Cycle to buy my first motorcycle, a 1984 Suzuki GS 400, even before I had taken the course. I was doubly motivated because it meant I could drive to Montreal on weekends to visit the woman who was to become my wife. Over the years, I have enjoyed many solo rides, an experience best described as motorcycle Zen – a way of clearing one’s mind, enjoying the moment, and just being.

But I think motorcycling is best a shared experience.  I was fortunate to meet my friend and long-time riding companion, John, early on.  I saw him riding to work one day, struck up a conversation and discovered that we shared a passion for riding. By a strange coincidence, we had nearly identical license plate numbers indicating we had registered our first motorcycles within minutes of each other!

I remember one particularly beautiful ride through the Blue Ridge Parkway from Virginia and through the Carolinas. When I described this memorable ride to my mother, she said something that surprised me.  Despite her experiences at the hospital, time had given her fresh perspective. To live life fully, she said, one needs to take some risks and she was happy that I enjoyed life through my riding. I think this is something all motorcyclists understand intuitively.

Life moved on. I got married and had children. Fortunately motorcycles remained an important part of my life. When my daughter turned 14 or 15, I knew this was something I wanted to share with her. I had taken my son for rides and she wondered when it would be her turn. I bought a Ducati Multistrada 1100 with her in mind. 

We started by driving around the block. She got used to wearing the motorcycle clothing (although she never stopped complaining about being seen wearing it). Later we rectified this with a trip to GP Bikes for things better suited to her feminine tastes. We became more comfortable with the equipment, the bike and each other. We were ready for the next step, a full day adventure.

The perfect day finally arrived.  We woke up to a beautiful, crisp, clear spring morning, a sense of adventure and no destination in mind. It was our first long ride together and we were both a bit nervous. My wife cautioned me to be careful. She could veto the outing, but this would be a special time for my daughter and I, and she is thoughtful about things like this. I promised to take all of the back roads and avoid as many busy streets as possible.

We first cruised around Halton Hills west of Toronto and later around Hockley Valley. My daughter wrapped her arms around my waist and held on as I picked up speed. I knew she would be excited because whenever we rode roller-coasters, she loved the sensation. We leaned into the corners, the wind rushed by and she held on closer. We rode as one and life seemed so perfect. 

We stopped for a quiet breakfast. I watched her eat a mound of pancakes, and I patiently waited for her to tell me what’s on her mind.  She talked about her brother, her mother, about friends and school projects.  She talked about herself. As a parent, these are special moments indeed.

On that ride, we posed for a picture on the Multistrada. To get ready for it, she shed her riding gear as it conflicted with her fashion sense.  At 15, this is important.

My daughter has a talent: she draws beautifully.  In fact, her efforts were good enough to get her into a visual arts program.  I longed for her to give a rendering of us on the motorcycle.  I pestered her for a drawing. “Dad,” she said, “why such a big deal? Why don’t we just frame the picture?” I was persistent. I explained that her drawing would be a treasure, reminding me of her at this age and of our time together. What better way to capture it all than with her drawing of a time in our lives when my passion for motorcycles intersected so perfectly with time spent in companionship with her?

It took her the greater part of a year to complete.  The Multistrada with its trellis frame and exposed engine is challenging to draw, color and shade. I was ecstatic with her attention to detail and how she captured the raw, mechanical presence of the bike. My daughter gave it to me at Christmas 2010, and signed it, “I love you, Dad.”  It is framed and has pride of place in our home.

Since then, my daughter and I have stolen more rides together. I know there will be a time when our rides come to an end.  I'm just happy that time is not now.