Company Snow Days

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Here in Chicago this week we had a blizzard of epic proportions. According to the Twitter trending topics on Tuesday night, we were bigger than Bieber. That's a big storm.

An employee standing out in front of our office this AMMost of you all who watched the news saw how Lake Shore Drive, one of the busiest commuter roads in the city, was completely shut down. People coming home from work were left stranded out on the road for hours and hours, some having to completely abandon their cars on the road and finding some other way home, whether that was by snowmobile or walking home in the 60 mph winds.

Here at Hinda, we took the warnings seriously. We closed down the office a few hours early on Tuesday as the storm started to approach the city to give all of the staff ample time to get home. Though it took most people forever to actually get  home, they still made it without the 6, 8 or even 18 hour delays that many faced. The next day we shut down for the weather, not wanting anyone to take unecessary risks trying to get to work. Most employees that could worked remotely. The office doors opened today and we're even providing free lunch to our employees who were able to make it in.

Though we're not trying to toot our own horn (okay, maybe just a little...), it's good to raise the question on what your company would do at a time like this? Would you try and go on business as usual, costing your staff time and potential headaches with commuting? Or would you be forgiving of the elements and shut things down as need be? Sometimes a demand in productivity in dire circumstances could kill morale and kill productivity and engagement levels later.

How else could companies look toward their employees best interest?

Carson Palmer and a Lesson in Employee Retention

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With rumors of the economy being on an uptick, a huge focus has been on employee retention. After all, when hiring steps up and employees aren't landlocked in their jobs due to a recession, what's going to keep them from jumping ship?

Employee engagement through communication, recognition and rewards can help you in improving retention in the near future. The ultimate goal is to create a work environment that entices people to stay loyalty to your company and not actively seek out greener pastures.

Even with all of that engagement effort, assuming it's done effectively, what do you do if one of your employees is bent on leaving? Do you still want them there?

Let's take a page out of ESPN's NFL news. We rarely view professional athletes as "employees" but let's try to wrap our heads around that for the next few moments. Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals is currently asking to be traded. He is apparently tired of his tenure with the Bengals and wanting to move on elsewhere. The catch is - his coach won't let him go. Even at the point of threatening retirement, his coach is bent on keeping him regardless of his attitude towards the organization.

We know retention is obviously important to any organization but at what limits? Sure the search for a new candidate (quarterback in this case) could be costly. However, what's the cost of a disengaged employee? If someone is willing to leave but not allowed, what do you think that would do to their work effort inside the office after that? Do you think that individual would be motivated and productive?

A willingly less engaged and productive employee could do more harm than good....and ultimately be more costly than replacing them.

What do you think? Is the Bengals' coach making the right move forcing Palmer to stay? Would any manager be wise in doing the same?

For those out of the loop, below is an ESPN report on the matter.

For those of us who get "Bengals" and "Bangles" confused,  this link here is for you.

Why It Pays to Care

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Our readers out there know that we like to talk about treating your employees right. How employee engagement is crucial for business success. Sure treating people right is something most anyone should try and practice no matter what. However, is how your company treats its employees crucial to your corporate branding and overall sales? 

Let's take a look at some notes from a recent Brand Conference. We weren't attendees but did have some good takeaways from the event hashtag on Twitter. Of all the bits of branding knowledge shared through that stream, this one really jumped off the screen at us:

@kufarms (or more formally Keith McIlvaine) is a social media consultant out of Pennsylvania and hit a crucial point. Consumers are interested in how you as a company treat your employees. We've seen this from rapidly rising companies such as Zappos or Southwest Airlines. They've received a ton of attention from their individual company cultures. As a result of that attention, they've seen increased brand exposure, positive PR and most likely increased revenues as a direct result of how they treat their employees. 

Why are consumers so interest in company cultures? Customers see how companies treat their front-line staff as a correlation of how they will be treated as customers. If I'm considering making a purchasing decision with one company but know that they treat their employees poorly, what makes me think that I will receive any better treatment? How many companies have you heard of that have a poor employee culture but amazing customer service?

Employees have the potential to be your company's most influential brand advocates. How you treat them will influence how they verbally treat your brand.

What do you think? Does employee treatment directly reflect customer treatment?

Unselfish Leadership

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What if for today we take a different view of incentive programs. Instead of looking at them as an expense or an investment, what if you looked at incentives as an act of giving towards your employees? There is always going to be (and should be) accountability, metrics and ROI of your incentive and recognition programs. However, for right now, let's take a brief look beyond the numbers and data.

Employees that are well treated are more likely to stay around, agreed? Rewarding your workforce for good behaviors, meeting company goals and an overall "job well done" does a lot more for employee engagement in an organization than just "taking" all the time from employees. Sure you give them paychecks in return for their hard work but then again... so does every other company. How does that separate your organization from a competing one?

In his book Tribes, Seth Godin discusses how leaders who are generous ultimately see more success than those who are always looking out for themselves:

"Leaders who set out to give are more productive than leaders who seek to get. Even more surprising is the fact that the intent of the leaders matters. The tribes can sniff out why someone is asking for their attention. Looking out for number one is an attitude, and it's one that doesn't pay."

He goes on to describe leaders who sit in cubicles with their staff (aka Tony Hsieh of Zappos) or others who aren't in it for their own self glory but genuinely want to help those around them. As a result, people like Hseih have built successful companies - ones that their employees (or as Godin would call followers) remain fiercely loyal to.

Employee loyalty improves retention. Bottom line, better employee retention ultimately helps your bottom line. 

How are you giving back to your employees?

Little Things. Big Results.

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Last week on his company's blog, Tom Miller, President of The Miller Company, wrote about an experience he recently had taking a cab ride through downtown Chicago.  He chronicles riding in a cab driven by Moon S. Choi, who was recently voted as Chicago's Best Cab and Best Cab Driver in 2010. What makes him the best? It's all the little touches that Choi puts into his cab service. Miller describes the unique cab atmosphere in this way:

" My senses painted the picture in this order - classical music at just the right volume was playing on the radio, the inside of the car was immaculate (when I got out of the car at my destination, I noticed the handle of a small hand-held vacuum under the front seat), and there was a fresh bottle of water in the side of both back doors along with a pad of receipts."

In addition, Choi takes a quicker and roughly 25% cheaper route to Miller's destination than normal cabbies. As a result, Miller tips him more than he would a normal driver, takes a picture with him and takes time to write a post about the experience. Assuming that Choi has had similar reactions, that's a lot of success for a cabbie. The secret to the success? It's nothing big or elaborate about a simple cab ride that Choi does. It's all the little details like the music, cleanliness, bottled water that make a ride in his cab so enjoyable.

Rewarding Small Behaviors

It's easy to take the little things forgranted. Small behaviors that are often overlooked can make or break things for a company. These seemingly insignificant habits or attributes of a worker over time could have a significant impact on a business. Re-enforcing those small positive behaviors with recogntion or a reward will see a positive return down the road. Little behaviors added up create an overall image of an employee or company. Take a look at Choi. Playing soft classical music, a small bottle of water and the quick route were tiny little thing in of themeselves. However, combine those things and they create an overwhelmingly positive customer experience, paying off much larger returns for Choi in the long term.

It's a culmination of small behaviors and actions that help achieve company goals. In basketball, the ability to be able to shoot free throws seems insignificant in relation to ball-handling, size and footspeed on the court. However, free throws have helped make or break championship efforts for some basketball teams. An automaker employee's lack of attention to a certain detail can result in a recall costing millions of dollars.

How are you rewarding the little things your workers do right?

Does focusing on tiny matters help the big picture? 



Why Social Responsibility? Why Now?

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You know you've got a buzzworthy term when it becomes a widely-spread acronym. CSR - or corporate social responsibility - is one of those buzzworthy terms.

CSR is a widely used hashtag on Twitter and a concept big companies are jumping on almost as rapidly as social media. Consumers, potential hires and even other companies measure another company's worth in regards to its triple bottom line. Why has CSR taken precedent all of a sudden in regards to good business practices?

In many regards, brand image has a lot to do with it. Situations like what has happened with Enron/Adelphia-like companies (and more recently BP) have lowered the level of trust the public has with corporations. Lower trust = lower consumer confidence = lower brand value. Taking steps in social responsibility helps re-establish that trust, raise your brand value and build up that consumer confidence.

So how have some companies jumped in on the socially responsible bandwagon?

Of the bigger brands, Pepsi launced its Refresh Project. The company has sponsored a viral effort to encourage the sharing of good ideas that will help better the world we live in. If the idea receives enough votes, Pepsi donates money to start-up that idea and aid its launch. In this process, Pepsi has given away over $20 million to socially good ideas. This has helped Pepsi grow its digital fanbase and will most likely convert into more sales for the company. 

Other companies are incorporating social responsibility in their corporate gifts. In this Incentive Magazine article, Marriot utilized giving a washer basket from World of Good - a social enterprise helping overseas artisans create more sustainable lives - in their corporate gifting program. The article also discusses how other companies are utilizing products made by social enterprise groups to improve their employee incentive programs and boost their socially responsible practices simultaneously.

CSR promotes better business practices and is becoming less of a novelty and more of a necessity in today's world. More consumers (and employees) are seeking out more than just a good product - they are seeking companies with a solid triple bottom line.

The social responsibility train is moving full steam ahead. Are you on it?



An Office Food Culture

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This past Wednesday we celebrated our CEO Michael Arkes's **th birthday. As a result of this Ribs on the grillcelebration we were able to take part in another time honored Hinda tradition:

Food.

I learned that if one wants to try and lose weight, they're working at the wrong company. Company potlucks and cookouts are a staple of the Hinda Incentives office. We seem to find any reason possible to celebrate an event and eating awesome food in the process. We've talked before on this blog in regards to using food as an engagement tool and here at Hinda - we certainly practice what we preach. 

Michael's birthday was celebrated by a fanfare of grilling. We had piles of ribs with roasted chicken to accompany it. Sides of seasoned rice and homemade mac and cheese complimented the main meat dish extremely well, leaving barely any room for the ice cream cake that was to come.

Being the quiet-natured guy that he is, there wasn't a speech to accompany the pre-cake birthday song. Michael Arkes is the kind of guy that likes to get right down to business. Fortunately for us, the business at hand was multiple-layered ice cream cake.

This is just a slice of life inside the walls of Hinda. How do your companies celebrate special occasions?