Employees in this climate are likely to review their priorities – is it worth me breaking my back and working so long, when I could easily be next?

This is a time when large corporates should learn from the lessons that small business can share. I can personally recount a time in my life when my previous entrepreneurial venture had its days numbered, that my staff gave me 150%. Numerous stories exist, movies have been filmed of the super-human effort of all employees, owners, suppliers alike to save a fighting cause. Far from Hollywood, however, sometimes the ship does sink in the end. Despite the immense efforts, new ideas tried, products sold it sometimes is not enough.

As the person who lost the most in that venture (3 years of pain, tears and not to mention endless pots of money raised on re-mortgages and credit cards), I take the memory of my staff working round the clock to try and redress the situation. At one time, one of my staff did not want to leave the premises to attend to her mother who had just been hospitalised with heart issues because she felt guilty of leaving – she had developed such a strong sense of duty to “do her bit” that she did not want to leave. I had to gently push her out the door….

I was shocked, and, at the same time moved. What had I done to deserve such loyalty, such care, so that my employees were so devoted to and attached to the business?

I had done just that: I had given them faith and something to believe in. I had given them the belief that they could really be instructive in turning things around. I gave them freedom to try new things – at the end of the day, it would not have hurt to try, would it? I had also been very open with them about the situation. I did not choose to hide behind the veil of hope. I kept them informed of the status quo, and that we were running on empty. Money was tight (that is what ultimately killed the business), so we could not spend a penny more. And perhaps it was this combination of events that really made the difference to their engagement.

So, here is a note to large businesses out there. As you are cutting R and D budgets (according to the Financial Times, in 2008 the total R&D expenditures of S&P 500 companies, based on the approximately 200 companies that report them quarterly, declined 13 per cent – from a total of $43.1bn in the fourth quarter of 2007 to $37.4bn in the third quarter of 2008), consider the following lessons from a faltering business which experience the ultimate engagement levels from its employees:

 
Give faith

Give each one of your employees the knowledge that they can make each make a difference to the business’ future, that they have been selected and trained because they have the capability to make things happen

Empower

Enable employees to take their own decisions, remind them that they are accountable for them. When people are treated like adults, they behave like adults (it is only in an environment reminiscent of a playground that they behave like children)

Enable freedom

Give them the wings to try what they think is the best approach to solving a problem without fear of reprisal nor criticism

Be transparent

Openly communicate the challenges and state what may happen if there is no turn-around. Honesty will be appreciated and results will ensue

Foster creativity

Your employees are on the “shop floor”. They know what needs fixing and can suggest ways that would make a difference to them and the business. Support avenues of creativity whereby departments collaborate on resolving processes, communication blockages or new customer propositions. Listen to them.

These days no business large or small is immune to the challenges of the credit crunch. However increasing employee morale and achieving workforce engagement to as close as 100% as possible can really make the difference when the chips are down. Act now, before it is too late.

 ”It is not who you know, but who knows you”. It is ironic that the old adage has been brought back to light with the likes of Linked In, Twitter and other social networks.

I remember, in my previous life as a corporate employee, networking was not something I sought after nor that I had even had an inkling would become as valuable as it is today. The technology just was not there. However, technology has become the catalyst to changing the way we work, play and communicate.

Even the most agnostic of us, and I include myself in that category, have now succumbed to joining at least one social network and perhaps are even attempting to understand the twitter universe.

I am, however, now converted. The problem until now has been that business has resisted the influx of ideas/communication from the outside-in. Business has, and will change. Whilst some monolith organisations insist on “controlling” their employees’ time on the internet, personal emailing, access to social networks, technology in my view is bound to win.

As business owners we have to wake up to one fact: if we are employing employees who are both engaged (they love what they do) and we treat them as mature individuals that they are (and the fact that we are paying serious salaries should indicate that they should be able to decide on how to best allocate their time), then the “control” element would be eradicated.

But that is the problem… Following double redundancy in the last bust in 2001, I still refuse to work in a corporate environment despite the fact that I would find solace in the amazingly wonderful perk of a consistent (high) salary. If we want to continue to fight the war on adulthood by treating employees like children, so be it. However, we are, as the intelligent and forward thinking Peter Senge noted, in the Knowledge Economy. Your employees are there because of what they have between their ears and can make intelligent, powerfully effective decisions, even if they may go against the grain a bit.

As a born change agent, I have always been at the fore-front of change. I was brought in as the first saleswoman in a 250 male sales-force in the most traditional market for the business – Spain. I was brought in to open the organisations’ door to a B2C offering; in another, I was brought in to run the International Development department single-handedly so as to achieve cost efficiencies. Looking back, my most amazing realisation (and this is where hindsight is a powerful thing) is that where I succeeded and where I failed there was one real difference: teams that supported new influences and new ways of thinking, I thrived in. Companies that suffered from the “not invented here”, or “this is the way we do things” stigma are the ones that consequently I either walked out of or where redundancy ensued (and where the business is still reeling from bad management).

So, I will get of my soapbox and ask a few pertinent questions to help you on your thinking on this:

• Do you have a sales force? Do they have their ear to the ground? Hopefully, your answer would be yes. If so, would you not take their recommendations seriously if they came back with a request or approach relating to a customer? Why not do the same thing with employees who are not directly in sales? After all, they are knowledgeable about the business and could propose an idea or approach that could be highly beneficial for the business
• Watch your employees. Do you get the sense there is dedication from them in how they work? Or are they spending hours “looking” busy. We have all been there – looking busy whilst surfing the net. It’s great to master that seriously-in-thought- and- about- to- be -engulfed- by- the-computer- screen-look. If you suspect that no, then why is that the case? Any chance you could engage in a dialogue with that person to understand what they get really fired up about and enjoy doing?
• Do you give your employees time to think about solving problems by finding the solution outside the company? Have you even tried that? Team days away are useful, but in this context it is about allowing your individuals to tap into the theta brain-waves. Yes, those are the times when we get free-flow: the Eureka, or Aha! moment is typical of this. Why not allow employees time off to problem-solve?

So back to technology. The issue with allowing employees access to Linked-In or facebook, is not the technology per se. It is the fear of us or our companies not “controlling” our employees; the fear that they are not giving 100% of their time to us. Frankly the maths does not add up for me if my business were to have 100% of 10% of someone’s commitment. I would rather have 100% of 100%. Wouldn’t you?

So, join us on bidiversity’s Linked-In group on: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1935116

In my previous life, I had a retail business offering bespoke design services in jewellery, accessories and home interiors. We often held events in our Creative Sanctuary with participants from some of the largest companies in the FTSE 100. I remember their looks of awe and, to a certain extent, envy at what I had achieved with the business. To say that they loved the Studio, was an understatement.

“I have no passions” were the commonest responses to my questioning why they would not consider doing something they loved. This was often followed by “I really would like to do something else, as I am not fulfilled in what I am doing now”…

Then the penny dropped. The reason I was the happiest I had ever been despite the personal risks I was taking (and for those who do not know, the business folded a year later, at a great financial loss to me), was that I was doing what truly made my heart sing.

UK and International Plc is risks of draining itself from its best people who are slowly exiting corporate life to entrepreneurship, purely because they are not engaged. In the 90s and 2000′s the fashionable personal development tools were based around “What do you want to achieve?” followed by “What are your strengths and what weaknesses do you need to develop?”.

This is where common HR/Talent Management falls over itself and counter-intuitively begins what I call Personal Destruction. If you want to tap into the best of what your employees can offer, focus on their strengths. If you, as an employee or professional, want to succeed, build on your strengths.

I have learnt the hard way – one of the reasons by previous business failed is because I was NOT doing what I am genuinely, wonderfully good at (excuse the brashness, but part of this exercise requires us to appreciate how good we are…). More details of that at a different blog….

So, how do you achieve engagement or find out what your passion is?

1.Tap into what makes your (or your employees’s) heart sing.

Think of something that you love doing.

It may be a hobby, it may be a learning course that you excelled at. These are the things that cause you least worry or concern. Go back, even as far back and school, and look at your favourite subject(s) and your extra-curricular activities. Remind yourself of the time you were fully immersed in that activity. What were you doing? What did you like about it? During what parts of the activity did time fly for you?

Consider something that really annoys you

Because some of us are not motivated by just goals, think about something that you would like to change. The wonderful Anita Roddick said “Frustration is a great source of motivation”. So, take the problem solving approach and think about what really niggles or even annoys you. In my case, I was annoyed I could not walk into a shop and design a piece of accessory that I wanted there and then. If I wanted a bespoke handbag or jewellery piece I would have to spend days researching and walking into dirty workshops in Hatton Garden or Islington.

Consider what it is you feel is missing and what you would do to make it better? What would you do to adapt the service or product to suit you or your needs?

2. Identify you Special Traits

I love the name the personal development guru, Jack Canfield, calls this: your Core Genius. List exactly what are the skills and character traits that you bring to the table that doing the thing you love tap into.

In my case, it was channelling creativity and strong empathy and guidance in helping others tap into their creative streak. I also enjoyed having an audience, as drama was my first passion. Today, this is manifested in public speaking and working with groups.

3. Correlate your Inner Inspiration table

Draw a table with the activities you enjoy (1) or things that frustrate you (2) on the left hand side, and the Special Traits on the right. Leave a final column to the right empty. As you do this, let your mind run wild with all the great Special Traits you can bring to the table. No one is looking at this other than you.

4. Superimpose your Job/Role Today on you Inner Inspiration table

In the final column that you should have free on the right, write down how far your current role takes advantage of your Special Traits. If you find it hard, then consider what you would have to do in order to design a role, or project, that utilises those strengths.

You could go one step further and design a business that would home-in on these strengths based on what you would really love to work on or even change.

These are the steps that entrepreneurs go through in a more intuitive way. However, there are times where, like all of us, they do get distracted by daily requirements and take their eye off focusing what they do best. Successful people don’t. Actively tap into your own strengths, and those of your people and you will see, feel and hear the difference.

Want to be Inspired further? Join me at the Inspire event in London, 19th March, More details here.

This is a time when large corporates should learn from the lessons that small business can share. I can personally recount a time in my life when my previous entrepreneurial venture had its days numbered, that my staff gave me 150%. Numerous stories exist, movies have been filmed of the super-human effort of all employees, owners, suppliers alike to save a fighting cause. Far from Hollywood, however, sometimes the ship does sink in the end. Despite the immense efforts, new ideas tried, products sold it sometimes is not enough.

As the person who lost the most in that venture (3 years of pain, tears and not to mention endless pots of money raised on re-mortgages and credit cards), I take the memory of my staff working round the clock to try and redress the situation. At one time, one of my staff did not want to leave the premises to attend to her mother who had just been hospitalised with heart issues because she felt guilty of leaving – she had developed such a strong sense of duty to “do her bit” that she did not want to leave. I had to gently push her out the door….

I was shocked, and, at the same time moved. What had I done to deserve such loyalty, such care, so that my employees were so devoted to and attached to the business?

I had done just that: I had given them faith and something to believe in. I had given them the belief that they could really be instructive in turning things around. I gave them freedom to try new things – at the end of the day, it would not have hurt to try, would it? I had also been very open with them about the situation. I did not choose to hide behind the veil of hope. I kept them informed of the status quo, and that we were running on empty. Money was tight (that is what ultimately killed the business), so we could not spend a penny more. And perhaps it was this combination of events that really made the difference.

So, here is a note to large businesses out there. As you are cutting R and D budgets (according to the Financial Times, in 2008 the total R&D expenditures of S&P 500 companies, based on the approximately 200 companies that report them quarterly, declined 13 per cent – from a total of $43.1bn in the fourth quarter of 2007 to $37.4bn in the third quarter of 2008), consider the following lessons from a faltering business which experience the ultimate engagement levels from its employees:

• Give faith: give each one of your employees the knowledge that they can make each make a difference to the business’ future, that they have been selected and trained because they have the capability to make things happen
• Empower: enable them to take their own decisions, remind them that they are accountable for them. When people are treated like adults, they behave like adults (it is only in an environment reminiscent of a playground that they behave like children)
• Enable freedom: give them the wings to try what they think is the best approach to solving a problem without fear of reprisal nor criticism
• Be transparent: openly communicate the challenges and state what may happen if there is no turn-around. Honesty will be appreciated and results will ensue
• Foster creativity: your employees are on the “shop floor”. They know what needs fixing and can suggest ways that would make a difference to them and the business. Support avenues of creativity whereby departments collaborate on resolving processes, communication blockages or new customer propositions. Listen to them.

These days no business large or small is immune to the challenges of the credit crunch. However increasing employee morale and achieving workforce engagement to as close as 100% as possible can really make the difference when the chips are down. Act now, before it is too late.