I have two jobs…The story of Ricoh UK Products and Employee Engagement

In the third article from reviewing the speakers at our engagement event on the 5th July, we come to Ricoh UK Products.

Undercover Boss again…

As you know, here at ideasUK we love the Channel 4 show Undercover Boss. In case any of you have never seen this show, it is about a senior manager going back to the floor and working in different parts of the business for a week.

Engagement the HSBC way

In the first of the articles after the Engagement event on Thursday 5th July, we have decided to focus on the ‘Best Place to Suggest’scheme from HSBC. As anyone who was at the presentation on Thursday will testifiy  the scheme is run with a great passion by Michael, Zufi and James and it is delivering great results for the bank in the United Kingdom.

 

Office Bliss……

I had this infographic sent over to me last night and thought it would be good to share it with you:

Thank you to – Daily Infographic for posting this.

The text that accompanied the graphic stated:

Call it a “case of the Mondays,” but surveys and studies show Americans’ happiness in the workplace decreasing each year. It is no coincidence that as job security ebbs happiness dissipates with it. But there are other factors to employee happiness at work, and the infographic below takes a stab at why you should care.

The infographic illustrates that happy and engaged employees do a better job at work and are more likely to stay in their jobs. It’s common sense, yet how many people hate their jobs because the corporate culture is thankless and depressing?

Scroll down to see if your current job is one of the top five happiest jobs (who knew that Biotechnology workers and Customer Service Representative were so darn happy?) and why Facebook is allegedly a positive force at work. Apparently, exposure to Facebook and other social media sites enhances both contentment and productivity. Perhaps I need to show this to my boss…

Now, although the study was carried out in North America, this is the same all over the world. The message is simple, happier employees means a more profitable organisation.

One thing to note is that 52% of people value the relationship they have with their manager or supervisor. How many managers can honestly say they value the role their employees play in the business?

Once again, thanks to the guys at Daily Infographic for posting this, there is a huge resource over at their site, why not pop over for a look.

 

 

 

Employee Engagement – Is it worth it?

On Monday I was lucky enough to attend an engagement practitioner’s event run by Engaging for Success (E4S) and hosted by The Admiral Group in Cardiff.

How can you tell if you employees are engaged in the business?

E4S was set up by the government after the publication of the MacLeod report into employee engagement in the public sector (A copy of the report can be found here) and its aim is to improve engagement within the public sector by giving practitioners the opportunity to network across departments and share best practice.

The day started with an overview of Admiral Insurance and how they deal with engagement and right from the start of the session it was clear this is one area Admiral takes very seriously in its business model. One point Admiral did make several times during the day is that all

Recognition – An Analysis Part 2

The first article on Monday, looked at what a recognition programme is and why you should have one in your organisation. Today we look at the success factors of the programme.

Recognition should be given frequently and on a timely basis

People like to be recognised. Employees who are recognised will be inspired to higher achievement thereby assisting the organisation to achieve its goals

Praise is a very effective tool and should be used extensively. Recognition must be immediate. Late recognition can be interpreted as a sign that the contribution, and the person who made the contribution, are not valued by the organisation.

Undercover Boss, is it really a surprise?

Every once in a while a television programme is made which captures my interest. Over the past few weeks, I have been watching the Channel 4 series Undercover Boss intently and it really has become ‘must watch’ TV for me on a Tuesday night.

For those who have never seen the show, the premise is that a senior manager from an organisation spends a week, in disguise, working within the business to get a feel of what is happening at the ‘coalface’. They then report back to the board and make changes to the business, but not before they invite a selection of staff they have met during the week to the head office for all to be revealed and given a reward of some sort for all their hard work.

Selecting the right Suggestion Scheme Software

Our many years of experience in helping companies select a new tracking system for their suggestion programme, or other employee involvement process, shows that a detailed outline of management needs allows us to better serve you. That, added to a review of your programme, and a clear understanding of your process is helpful when specifying the best programme management software to suit your needs.

We would recommend you consider the following areas when choosing the software to manage your ideas programme:-

Update 10th April 2010

Annual Survey 2010

Don’t forget that the closing date is approaching for entry into the annual survey 2010, to access the survey, please visit here and you will be taken directly to the inputs page. If you need more information first, there is loads more details on our website.

Don’t worry of you cannot complete all the information, or have only just started your scheme, this is an ideal opportunity for you to benchmark your scheme against other programmes worldwide. You will have to register to complete the survey, but don’t worry it only takes 2 minutes.

Idea of the Year Award 2010

ideasUK Conference Feedback by Lucy Hardy

Every now and then you read something that really makes you sit up and take notice. I would like to share with you some feedback from our recent conference by one of the Idea of the Year Finalists.

I was lucky enough to attend the ideasUK Conference in Chester, an annual event which brings together organisations from across the world to celebrate innovation, share ideas and reflect upon our experiences as an innovative organisation in challenging times.