Guard Your Employee Files This is mainly HR, or Human Resources’ responsibility as they should have policies and procedures for keeping employee information. But you can play a part by securing employee files of everybody who has set foot on your office locked in a safe. More importantly, make sure that only the Human Resources office has access to this key. Most of the time it would be Human Resources who has any kind of access to this sensitive employee data.

Non-Disclosure Of Information The only time you would go against the policy of not releasing employee information to anybody would be if your company receives a subpoena signed by a court official and asking for such data.

Claygo Every company should have some sort of clean desk policy. Hopefully you are not one of those companies that do not have one in place. This is a simple rule that states that every employee that has access to sensitive employee data would either a) keep said data under lock and key if away from workstation even if they step out for just a quick cigarette break, or b) shred sensitive information before leaving the station. This is a policy implemented by many financial and housing institutions.

Social Security Masking I’m sure you remember the time when you were still starting out, and you felt comfortable using your entire Social Security number as a personal identifier. We have to face the fact that today’s ID thieves are a clever bunch, and have myriad ways of getting Social Security Numbers, that’s why there are number masks implemented by many firms. So while an employee, say, Jack B. Nimble goes by 123-00-4567, masking would allow him to be known as Nimble XXX-XX-4567. Additionally, information sent via email or mail can be protected and identity theft can be curbed even further.

Use It Then Lose It In many cases, employees process sensitive information that does not need any refilling – this would require such information to be consigned to history. For just fifty dollars or so, a paper shredder can be purchased at your local office supplies outlet – if protecting your employees was like a game of poker, this would be your Royal Flush. Documents should be shredded either immediately after use or at the very least, the same day before the end of the work day. Leaving these documents unprotected is like handing your employees’ details to the fraudsters on a silver platter.

The monetary cost of identity theft is great indeed, but the emotional cost can be even greater. It is your duty as employer to keep your employees as safe as possible and then some. Since this is not expert advice, your Human Resources office should have all the answers not covered in this article.

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I am continually amazed by the huge increase in workplace team building, camaraderie, productivity, and ultimately profits that business leaders can enjoy Cheap Cialis by doing small, workplace culture-specific things for their employees. 

In an industry with historically among the highest turnover rates – hospitality – Winning Workplaces has reported on several restaurants that have grown competitive advantage largely by following this approach.  These include Emmett’s Tavern & Brewing Co. in Illinois and Union Square Hospitality Group in New York.

Without a doubt, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses in Michigan fits this bill (pun not intended even though we’re talking about restaurants).  From when we wrote our Profile of Success on the collective enterprise back in 2003, to 2010, CEO Ari Weinzweig managed to grow his seven Ann Arbor-based businesses 185%.  (Paula Gardner details their milestones and notes their revenue last year of $37 million on AnnArbor.com.)

As we covered here on our blog, Inc. Magazine included some of the employee engagement best practices Weinzweig uses as part of its recommended "ultimate business tune-up" tips list in an early 2009 issue.  As is the case with the other above-mentioned firms, at the end of the day practices like these are effective not just because they show leadership respects employees’ commitment, but because they’re inclusive and indicative of a well-thought-out, strategic company vision.

As it happens, Weinzweig will be speaking on how creating a vision of the company you want makes good business sense as part of our Leadership Conference with Inc. in Dallas, Texas, June 15-17, 2011.  Attendees will find value in learning about, and adapting for their organizations, his step-by-step guide to imagining – and then creating – success.

Go here to see the current and evolving agenda for this event.  Register at the early bird rate through May 6.

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When taking a group on one of these expeditions, one needs to ask what specific goals need to be achieved within the group. They may revolve around communication problems or problems with personality clashes. These can be resolved in a variety of ways dictated by the exercises they do.

Trust issues between members of a group may cause major problems and these can be difficult to solve. This is what makes this type of activity so appealing. You may find ways in which to solve these issues and have the group interact better on a daily basis and this is will benefit everyone.

Certain games may inspire trust among group members and these are the ones that you may be focusing on when it comes to these exercises. These games may range from catching and falling exercises to role playing games but the focus is the same between all of them.

You may want to contact a company that specializes in this field and inquire about their programs. They may be able to give you a range of information relating to what they offer. Once you have this information you can book for what may be a great experience.

This may be a great way to inspire trust, communication and bonding within any group. If you are having difficulty in your home or workplace then you may want to consider contacting one of these companies. They may be able to help you achieve these goals and help your group grow closer and interact better with each other.

When organising team building cheshire it is important to book things like meeting rooms Chester.

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For the last few days our staff has been reviewing BlessingWhite’s 2011 Employee Engagement Report.  At 80 pages, it contains a wealth of data and actionable next steps for individuals, managers, and especially executives.

Today I’d like to focus on their research for the latter group.  A key finding of their latest survey, the global workplace consultancy says, is that while workers are more likely to trust their immediate manager than their firm’s executives, trust in C-suite folks can have more than twice the impact on engagement levels than trust in immediate manager does.

So it behooves leaders to earn managers’ and lower-level workers’ trust – and then use that to create a workplace culture that supports high performance.  But there’s a gap here; according to BlessingWhite this item "received the least favorable response in the entire survey."  Needless to say, when it comes to specific recommendations for executives, they center on more communication as a means for building trust in the workplace, and on holding themselves and others accountable for creating a high-engagement (and thus, high-performance) culture.

Winning Workplaces’ own employee engagement research syncs up with what BlessingWhite, and other leading workplace researchers, have Buy Accutane found.  All of this has led to the current iteration of our Top Small Company workplaces award application, which, as it just so happens, contains three questions that your CEO should be able to answer if your firm has highly engaged employees.

These questions are:

Does your organization have a strategic plan?
At 43% through the 2011 award application period, currently 80% of applicants have one.

Does your strategic plan include a strategy for improving the performance of the organization through its people?
80% of those that said Yes to the question above have taken this next step.

Can you share 1-2 examples of how your investment in people has improved the performance and results of the organization?
This is a qualitative question; answers to it vary widely.

These questions help measure what some company leaders have considered as more art than science: how to connect people at all levels to the organizational strategy, and weighing investing in your workplace against bottom-line growth.

Get a greater perspective on your workplace culture and identify areas for improvement – learn more about our 2011 Top Small Company Workplaces award application.

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Sharing this recent American Express OPEN Forum article in Winning Workplaces’ LinkedIn group yesterday, Gail Sussman Miller – whose memorable title at Inspired Choice is Chief Obstacle Buster and Inspiration Officer – commented,

I agree on 4 areas workers need to be fed.  It’s easy to remember with the P.I.E.S. acronym: Physical, Intellectual (article uses Mental), Emotional and Spiritual.  Our usual work environments don’t support all 4 and in some cases none of these.

I think the PIES acronym is a great way to frame your planning and actions for investing in your workplace for greater employee engagement and team building.  When we look at the success factors of our small workplace award honorees, we see it play out over and over again, via benefits and practices like:

(Physical)
Provigil pharmacy />On-site gym or gym reimbursement
Team-based fitness competitions

(Intellectual)
Team reading of business, motivational or personal-growth books
Teaching employees to understand business financials

(Emotional)
Employee assistance program (EAP) that includes counseling
Psychologist involved in hiring process and/or employee leadership development training

(Spiritual)
Zen room for work or breaks
Soothing music in the workplace

Do you use any of the above measures in your workplace?  Or others not listed?  What impact have you seen on your productivity and bottom line?

Related: Gail combines and discusses two of the PIES attributes – Intellectual, Emotional – in this article on our site.

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A very effective outdoor team building activity is something that can be called “American football futbol.” Hardly any equipment is needed; just an American football that is kicked soccer style Order Generic Accutane Online without Prescription down the field and across a goal line. The concept is incredibly simple, but the execution is far from it. The oblong shape of the football virtually guarantees that no one on either team will know where it’s going to bounce next, so much so that a goalie is not even utilized. Not only is it a blast, but even veterans of soccer and football are suddenly placed on equal footing to everyone else. It is a great equalizing, team building tool and good for a many laughs.

Continuing with the theme of simple yet effective outdoor team building activities, the tire pass is fun and easy to set up. A tire is hung between two trees and a teammate is then passed through the center. That doesn’t sound like much of a challenge until you realize that the person being sent through the tire can neither touch the edges nor set foot on the ground. The team lines up and passes their colleague along the line, through the tire, and on to the team waiting on the other side without breaking the rules. The person being carried along the line experiences a trust for his or her fellow team members that he or she will be dropped. The rest of the team works together, especially if one member is having a harder time lifting someone through the tire and a teammate has to help out.

Don’t forget about the proven outdoor team building activity known as the scavenger hunt. Even the popular television show The Amazing Race is based on this premise; give teams a list of items to find and cut them loose. To heighten the level of amusement, you can place the items far apart and have the teams drive around the community to scrounge them up. It’s a clean competition that lets people work together to accomplish a task.

Outdoor team building activities are a nice alternative to the projects found at work or school. It’s more pleasant to form bonds with others when you are having a good time. The environment created outside can be carried back inside and the job will get done with a stronger team.

Learn More : Outdoor Teambuilding Manchester

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Well before the financial crisis of 2008, companies in manufacturing and many other industries embraced "lean" as a way to conserve cash and resources not needed to create value for the end customer.

On our website we’ve explored these practices, specifically the team building and other human capital strategies that have fueled their success.  It’s a good thing so many firms jumped on the lean bandwagon prior to 2008, or we might be in a lot worse shape today!

Another area of operations that we see undergoing a "lean makeover" is performance management.  Last week I wrote about how performance reviews are being more closely scrutinized than they’ve been in years for the value they provide companies (click here to take our LinkedIn poll on whether Buy cheap Accutane Online reviews are helpful or harmful to organizations).  Today I want to talk about businesses’ increasingly lean focus when it comes to employee engagement tied to performance rewards.

For the past few years, based on workplace culture research from folks like Cindy Ventrice and people practices used by business leaders like Danny Meyer, we’ve made the case that simply throwing more money at rewards does not necessarily lead to better desired results: greater productivity and commitment and lower turnover.

Workforce Management has a new special report out on this which finds that "With budgets remaining tight, more employers are focusing on nonfinancial rewards and customizing recognition at the local level to motivate and retain top performers."  The bottom line of Leah Shepherd’s reporting here, which includes the results of a survey by the Hay Group and WorldatWork, is that the same local, person-to-person engagement that drives innovation and continuous improvement should be the impetus for effective – and at the same time, cost-effective – reward incentives.

Notably, while the two non-workplace consultant, non-governmental firms Shepherd profiles – Great American Insurance Group and The Everett Clinic – are midsized to large businesses (ranging from 1600-5000 employees), lean performance rewards can be just as if not more effective in smaller organizations.  Why?  A smaller staff size and a typically flatter organizational structure mean that managers can more easily know and leverage individual, non-monetary employee reward preferences to meet the goal of continued motivation and peak performance while adhering to a slim budget.

It’s my hope that as this meme reaches further and further into more smaller firms, lean performance rewards will transition from management fad to common practice – like what happened in manufacturing.  The money saved over more expensive, less personal reward programs can help companies recover faster.  As the economy improves, this will also assist with hiring and employee leadership development, both means to sorely needed increased job and customer satisfaction.

What’s your take?

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The following is a guest post by Britney Baker, a freelance blogger who normally ranks prepaid phones for PrepaidCellphones.net (her latest review covered the TracFone).  Today she takes a break from her usual writing to share Winning Workplaces-approved tips for better team building and employee engagement – specifically around how best to motivate workers so they both do great work, and remain satisfied with their job and workplace.

Follow the links for more information on the key people practices Baker mentions.

Keeping employees motivated at work and increasing morale is a challenge faced by many employers.  Employee motivation is key to the success of the company, so motivating employees to work hard and put forth their best effort can be a great investment in the company’s bottom line.  There are many incentives and rewards that companies use to motivate employees.  Some are intrinsic, and some are financial in nature.  Finding the right balance of tangible and intangible rewards is the key to motivating employees on the job.

Praise and Recognition

Thanking employees and praising them for their work is one of the easiest and most cost-effective steps employers can take toward keeping employees motivated at work.  Some companies implement rewards programs for good attendance, outstanding customer service or goal achievement.  Others publicly acknowledge their staff for their hard work and excellence in the workplace.  Many workers report that public acknowledgement for the work they perform is more valuable than monetary incentives.

Workplace Atmosphere

Providing employees with a supportive and comfortable workplace is a great way to keep their spirits uplifted and their productivity level high.  Provide them with comfortable chairs, desks large enough to accommodate their personal effects and comfortable computer workstations.  Outfitting the office with gourmet coffee, free snacks and drinks and ample kitchen areas helps them to recharge and perform better.  Some companies have amenities such as on-site fitness centers, cafeterias and daycare centers.

Flexibility and Work/Life Balance

Buy Cialis style=”margin-left: 40px”>Employees who are able to effectively balance work and home life are more likely to stick with the company and be motivated to produce more work.  Perks such as telecommuting, job sharing and flexible scheduling provide the employee with an added incentive to do his or her best work.  Other perks such as extended maternity and paternity leave, accommodation for nursing mothers and access to mental health services provide excellent motivation for your employees.  In addition, offering employees opportunities to further their education through tuition reimbursement goes a long way in securing employee loyalty.  Provide them with training in other departments to increase their motivation as well as their skill set.

Monetary Incentives

Offering your employees bonuses, profit sharing and commissions is a great method of keeping employees motivated at work.  Consider a monthly or quarterly incentive such as a trip, a luxury item or vacation time for excellent work.  Make sure to set the bar high to encourage employees to do their best.

There are many ways to motivate your employees, both through monetary and non-monetary incentives. Encouraging your employees to do their best through praise and recognition is the easiest way to motivate them.  In addition, there are many programs and services that will inspire them to do their best.  When people love what they do, they will consistently perform at their top level.

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This week he shared specifics with me on exactly why he thinks business leaders should sign up for this free email (emphasis mine):

The Weekly Bottom Line-Improving People Practice email should benefit all business leaders.  The world has become commoditized.  The true marketplace differentiator is human capital.  I enjoy learning the Best Practices other companies use with their most valuable asset – their people.

An engaged workforce is typically harmonious, productive and profitable.  These Best Practices eliminate the need to manage.  We have replaced management with effective leaders armed with Best Practices, and the difference has been remarkable.

While Winning Workplaces surely plays only a small part in Tasty Catering’s success, you can’t argue that they’re not doing a lot of things right in their staff engagement that comprises their highly productive workplace culture: As we shared in the company’s Cheap Accutane award profile, in a very tough year broadly and certainly in their industry (2009), their employee leadership development and other strategies helped them earn above-average revenues.

Register now to start getting our weekly, bottom line-improving people practices email FREE in your inbox.

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Buy Cialis none; margin-right: 5px; border-bottom: medium none” src=”http://cdn.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/0da1f4b5-6d49-4164-9009-9f4d0114ef86/e5cc468d-0810-41b1-89b0-87b5a2bbfb03/Image/7fd97bac2ec6b0bd3193869290badaa7.jpg” />I don’t yet have it in my hands, but I already know I’m going to like the latest book from workplace generational expert Neil Howe, Millennials in the Workplace.

According to StreetInsider.com, Howe "turns [the] downbeat message [from the media on Millennials, aka Generation Y] on its head."  Taking the position that Millennials are an asset and opportunity rather than a lazy (insert other adjectives here) liability, the website writes, Howe’s new book serves in part as a resource for employee engagement and team building strategies to find and keep them.

Providing a sample of the employee retention tips Howe shares in Millennials, StreetInsider.com links to this pdf from Howe’s company, LifeCourse.  At its core is the following list of recruiting and retention strategies tailored to this young generation that, some reports say, became the most pervasive one of all this year: 

1. Treat them like VIPs
2. Co-recuit the parents
3. Find them early
4. Look after them
5. Offer structure and teach them the basics
6. Provide tight cycles of feedback
7. Don’t offer a "McJob"
8. Make them part of the group
9. Be active in the community
10. Take an interest in their success

I really like that the pdf includes a section on "What To Do" under each of the above strategies to take them from the world of the ambiguous to the practical.

Given the Millennial workforce’s size and its stature as the dominant generation in the work world for years to come, it’s no surprise that our Top Small Company Workplaces are already using many of the above strategies to help them tackle pressing issues from process and supply chain improvement to sales lead cultivation and delivery.

Related: Read my 4 reasons why Millennials may be the ones to pull us out of our troubled economy.

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