vector-thumb-up illustrationBelow is a briefing on some interesting employee engagement articles, blog posts, books, etc. that I came across last week.

 

 

Website: Wired (Innovation Insights)
Article: Lack of Employee Engagement Dulls a Company’s Competitive Edge
Link: http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/lack-of-employee-engagement-dulls-a-competitive-edge#axzz3HjrfLgD5
Author: Brian Solis

Comment: “Relationship Economics: How genuine communication and engagement in social media helps businesses grow relationships with employees and customers while improving the bottom line.”

 

 

Website: Business 2 Community
Article: Working Longer Hours Won’t Make You More Productive
Link: http://www.business2community.com/strategy/working-longer-hours-wont-make-productive-01050563
Author: Jacob Shriar

Comment: “50% of adults work more than 40 hours per week, and 18% work more than 60 hours per week!” How long can people stay engaged when devoting so much time to work? Working longer hours is bad for employee health and productivity.

 

 

Website: The Memphis Daily News
Article: Finding Ways to Promote Workplace Engagement
Link: http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2014/nov/3/finding-ways-to-promote-workplace-engagement/
Author: Dr. Mary C. McDonald

Comment: A nice overview of employee engagement using the 2013 Gallup research.

 

 

Website: Maritz Motivation (Blog)
Article: The One Question That Can Drive Employee Engagement
Link: http://www.maritzmotivation.com/blog/employee_recognition/one-question-can-drive-employee-engagement/
Author: Liz Lentis

Comment: This article looks at the relationship between recognition and employee engagement.

 

 

Website: Employee Benefit News
Article: Think like a marketer to engage employees, drive loyalty
Link: http://ebn.benefitnews.com/blog/ebviews/think-like-a-marketer-to-engage-employees-drive-loyalty-2744577-1.html
Author: Keith Kitani

Comment: “Organizations spend a lot of money, through their marketing departments, trying to build relationships with their customers and prospects. They also spend millions of dollars on programs and benefits to create value and attract top talent. Yet they spend next to nothing to engage their employees, leaving them with the same ho-hum communications they’ve been delivered for years.”

 

 

Website: HubSpot (Blog)
Article: Employee Engagement’s Impact on Quota Attainment [Data]
Link: http://blog.hubspot.com/sales/employee-engagement-impact-on-quota-attainment-data?utm_campaign=Sales%20Blog%20on%20Twitter&utm_content=9418807&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
Author: Emma Snider

Comment: According to [CSO Insights’ 2014 Sales Compensation and Performance Management Study], employee engagement has a significant impact on quota attainment and turnover.

 

 

Website: Entrepreneur
Article: Measure These 5 Talent Metrics for Greater Success in Hiring and Managing Employees
Link: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239117
Author: Andre Lavoie

Comment: [T]he 2014 Global Assessment Trends Report from The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) found only half of respondents use talent metrics to prove return on investment of talent or help inform business decisions, and only 45 percent currently use objective measures of potential to guide development and succession plans.” This article considers “five talent metrics that need to be measured.”

 

 

Website: Harvard Business Review (Blog)
Article: How to Motivate Someone You Don’t Like
Link: https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-to-motivate-someone-you-dont-like/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+harvardbusiness+(HBR.org)
Author: Liane Davey

Comment: “Take ownership of your relationships with your direct reports and make the small changes that will help you reframe how you think about them.” The author offers 3 strategies that may help.

 

 

Website: HR.BLR.com (Human Resources – Business and Legal Resources)
Article: 7 strategies for improving engagement during open enrollment
Link: http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Benefits-Leave/Employee-Benefits/7-strategies-improving-engagement-open-enrollment#
Author: Editor

Comment: “With many employers making changes to their health insurance plans, including accelerated adoption of high-deductible health plans, it’s more critical than ever for companies to strengthen their efforts to engage employees during their open enrollment periods, according to Chris Hill, CEO of Spotlite.”

 

 

Website: The Economic Times (India)
Article: KPMG tweaks employee engagement programmes to retain, recruit the best
Link: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-11-04/news/55757508_1_kpmg-india-ernst-young-richard-rekhy
Author: Rica Bhattacharyya

Comment: As competition among the Big Four in India intensifies, KPMG is focusing on how it can attract and retain the best talent. This article looks at some of the programs included in this initiative.

 

 

Website: Personnel Today (UK)
Article: Flexible working: one employee in three wants to change the way they work
Link: http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/flexible-working-one-employee-in-thee-wants-to-chrange-the-way-they-work/
Author: Jo Faragher

Comment: “The way we work – where, when, how and in what role – has been changing and the speed of this change is accelerating. The traditional model of work used by most UK organisations needs to change too.”

 

 

Website: Harvard Business Review
Article: An Exercise to Become a More Powerful Listener
Link: https://hbr.org/2014/11/an-exercise-to-become-a-more-powerful-listener/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+harvardbusiness+(HBR.org)
Author: Greg McKeown

Comment: “How can we improve engagement scores quickly and inexpensively?” “Listening — really listening — matters.”

 

 

Website: Paul Keijzer
Article: 6 Simple Steps a CEO can Take to Improve Employee Engagement 
Link: http://paulkeijzer.com/6-simple-steps-ceo-can-take-improve-employee-engagement/
Author: Paul Keijzer

Comment: After defining employee engagement, the author provides an employee engagement infographic that summarizes the widely quoted MacLead Engagement study in the UK. The remainder of the article looks at some steps that will help you better understand the importance of employee engagement to an organization.

 

 

Website: Banking Exchange
Article:  By the people—not by the numbers
Link: http://www.bankingexchange.com/community-banking/viewpoints/item/5053-by-the-people-not-by-the-numbers
Author: David Uhl

Comment: “As a traditionally by-the-numbers profession, banking often discounts people-centric management as “soft” and nonessential.” This article offers “three leadership behaviors, [that when] practiced consistently, will produce dramatic improvements in discretionary effort, employee engagement, and performance.”

 

 

What are your thoughts on these selections? What articles, blog posts, books, etc. can you recommend to other “Agents”?  Let’s talk about them in the comments below!

 

P.S.  First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!  I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.

Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:

 

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