A “Question Of The Week” They Can Ask (And Answer!) Themselves

I really liked this short but important article — Hiring Wisdom: Information And Engagement Go Hand In Hand — that talks about the importance of engagement in the workplace and recommends asking associates a Question of the Week for discussion at the weekly staff meeting.  The examples given in the article are from the point of view of management, asking how “we,”presumably meaning the organization, could do things better — to “make your jobs easier,” to “make our time together more fun”  — or spend less (or more) time doing certain things.

I’d add another type of question associates could ask — and answer — themselves:  What’s one new thing I can do on my own, right now, without any help or permission from management, to help a customer or the company? Challenge them to try it on their own, and then talk about their “experiment” at an upcoming staff meeting.

It seems every day we see a new article about the need for “innovation” and “culture change” in the workplace.  These very words often inspire dread, with their connotations of large-scale meetings, complicated project plans and the disruptive effect on the “regular” daily work.  Here’s something they can do on their own, right away.

Think of how this might land with associates:  “How refreshing to hear management acting like they really mean it when they to encourage me to take some risk — and that they want and expect me to tell everybody what I did, why and how I did it, and what I learned from the experience!”

Some examples might be:

• Called the client on whose project I’ve been working and told them I had to leave early to catch my daughter’s soccer game and wanted to get a jump on late changes they might need, so they wouldn’t be surprised and disappointed if they called at 5 and I wasn’t able to work on it then.
• Sent email to a client to whom I had sent a proposal and offered to review key points.
• Designed a new client status report form and used it for the first time on a project I’m working on.
• Helped a manager in another area with a project where he’s running behind schedule.

Just the very idea that you’re asking for experimentation with new ways to serve customers and make your company better, and expecting them to report on results, speaks volumes about your commitment to employee engagement.