A recent survey in early January found that job satisfaction is at an all-time low -- only 45 percent of American workers are happy with their work. While this isn’t surprising, it is very disappointing. Unfortunately, too many companies have focused on short-term human capital strategies during the recession to the detriment of longer-term goals such as building highly motivated and fulfilled teams.

As the economy starts to improve, dissatisfied workers will start looking elsewhere. This can be a very costly situation for organizations. They are in danger of losing the very people who help drive their businesses, along with all the knowledge and experience that these workers possess. On top of these losses, it is costly to try to replace an employee. It typically costs a company two and a half times an employee’s salary to hire a new person to fill his or her position.

On the positive side, businesses that are focused on creating exceptional workplaces have an opportunity to stand out from their competitors and attract the best and the brightest people in the marketplace. What does it take to be an exceptional workplace? Providing opportunities for employees to grow, get training, and take on new challenges; offering a family-friendly and flexible work environment; conducting open communications; and having respect for all employees -- these are just a few of the ways that your company can become a workplace of choice.

We should invest in employees in all economic climates. They are our front-line ambassadors to customers and the public, and the engine that helps drive our companies forward. The recent survey uncovered a problem that is lurking beneath the surface of many organizations. That makes it particularly timely to take stock of employee satisfaction at your firm, and make sure that you address any potential problems before they arise. Most importantly, if you view employee relations as a long-term, strategic area of focus, you’ll give your company tremendous competitive advantage.

I love this time of year, when we can take time from our busy schedules and surround ourselves with family and friends. Unfortunately, before we can enjoy that well-deserved break, we’re often rushing around trying to wrap up business, close the books, and make sure we’re well set for the New Year.

One of the areas we’ve been focusing on is employee benefits – for both Insight Performance and our clients. Here are a few tactical items on our checklist in December:

• Make sure benefits are in compliance with local and federal regulations.
• Submit medical, dental, and FSA enrollment forms to insurance company.
• Notify employees of FSA account balances and reimbursement deadlines.
• Determine 401(k) match or profit sharing, and ensure that there is adequate bond coverage for the 401(k).
• Determine age-based insurance rate increases for January 1st and notify employees as well as payroll.
• Send out Personal Information Update forms to verify information on W-4 forms. Update employee addresses for W-2 purposes.

There are also strategic benefits issues to consider. Are you offering the type of benefits that will help you retain and attract key talent? How does your company stack up in the marketplace? Do what you can to keep your employees happy. While benefit compensation and financial incentives may be tight, consider other, more creative ways that you can also reward employees.

For example, if you offer a section 125 health plan, you could allow employees to customize their own benefits program. An employee, for example, could choose to increase life insurance and opt out of dental coverage. Or your might consider establishing a flexible paid time off policy, where employees can pool their own time off – including vacation, holidays, sick time – and use it for an extended illness or other issues that may arise.

By getting benefits in order, we’ll be ready to start 2010 with a motivated and happy team!

Read more about what Nancy and her team are doing to develop Exceptional Workplaces at http://www.insightperformance.com/blog/ or on their Facebook Page.

In the spirit of the season, it's time to sit back and reflect on not only what we're thankful for, but also for whom we are thankful.

The experience that we’ve all been through this past year--the worst economy since the Great Depression--has taught us all so much about the perseverance and determination of the small business community, as well as the benefits of relying on our collective strengths to get us through. While this past year has not been easy, hopefully we have all made some strides in our businesses and business relationships.

Especially in a year such as this one, it’s even more important to take the time to thank people and acknowledge their contributions. While at times we can all be too focused on the task at hand, it’s amazing how meaningful a simple “Thank you,” or “Job well done” can be to team members. The most effective organizations have incorporated rewards and recognition programs into their human resources initiatives. They don’t have to be costly endeavors. Celebrating a team win, acknowledging someone’s achievement in front of their peers, and hosting an ice cream social or other fun event are some of the ways you can recognize the hard work of your team.

Hopefully, remembering to thank team members is part of your company culture--something that happens day in and day out--and not just by managers but by all employees throughout your organization. But don’t stop there. Remember to thank your customers, partners, vendors, board members, and other groups for all their support throughout the year. No company--especially a small business--operates in isolation. We are all involved with and indebted to our network of connections--all of the people who help us to deliver our best work, meet our customers’ needs, and grow our businesses. And that’s a lot to be thankful for.

Read more about what Nancy and her team are doing to develop Exceptional Workplaces at http://www.insightperformance.com/blog/ or on their Facebook Page.

With some positive signs in the economy, it’s time to think about revving up the engines and getting back into growth mode. An effective way to grow your business-–and stand out from your competition--is to deliver exceptional customer service. Small community banks, for example, have been emphasizing personalized service and customer relationships to effectively compete against their larger counterparts.

Employees are on the front lines of customer service and are our ambassadors to the outside world. Attracting, retaining, and training the best and the brightest is more important than ever. One of the best ways to do that is by creating an exceptional workplace--an atmosphere where employees feel respected, valued, and have opportunities for professional growth.

Here are some of the ways that we have promoted a winning team at Insight and at our clients’ workplaces:

• Be available. The management team should be visible and accessible--walking around the office, meeting with employees, soliciting their input and truly listening. It’s also up to top executives to communicate the vision and culture of your business through their own example as well as through formal communications.


• Involve employees in creating the culture. Engage employees at all levels in helping to create a workplace of choice. Solicit their input through opinion surveys, discussion groups, and one-on-one meetings. Incorporate their ideas to continually improve the work environment.


• Develop managers who can bring out the best in employees. According to research, an employee’s relationship with his or her manager is a key factor in job satisfaction. Develop managers into leaders who can motivate teams, and create a stimulating work environment where employees can learn, develop new skills, and work together on group goals.


• Build on employee strengths. Employees are more likely to stay motivated and do a better job if their job responsibilities revolve around their natural strengths. You can use assessment tools to gain greater insight into employees’ work styles, strengths, and interests.


• Develop recognition and reward programs. Recognizing achievement is one of the strongest ways to increase employee performance. Make sure you are recognizing the hard work of all of your employees, particularly the top performers. It’s often surprising how effective simple acts of acknowledgment can be.

Now’s the time to get everyone on board to take advantage of market opportunities. Remember, happy, engaged employees will pass it down and help create happy customers.

Just when we were hoping that the worst was behind us, there’s concern about the possibility of a stronger strain of H1N1 and a harsher flu season. Now, as the government is urging us to take precautions to prevent and prepare for this possibility, business owners and executives must also make preparations for a potential pandemic in the workplace. The impact of pandemic will hit small businesses the hardest, since we have the smallest bandwidth when it comes to staffing and resources. That’s why it’s even more important for small businesses to be prepared.

It’s human nature to put off emergency preparation because we either assume it won’t happen to us, or we’re too caught up in day-to-day issues. But with pandemic recommendations coming from the White House, health organizations, and others, it doesn’t make any sense to ignore the issue.

Even if we’re lucky to avoid a major flu outbreak in the workplace, emergency preparation would be useful for any type of disruption that businesses may encounter – such as natural disasters, technological failures, human error, terrorist-related biological, chemical, or nuclear attacks, etc. However, a pandemic is often a more complex issue to address than many other disruptions because it would be widely dispersed geographically and might arrive in waves that could last several months at a time.

So what can you do to make sure your business has continuity and can survive a pandemic? Your plans should consider the impact of a pandemic on your business, employees and customers, resources, external organizations, the community-at-large, etc. In addition to health precautions, here are just a few of the things we’re implementing at Insight Performance and suggesting to our clients:

• Appoint a pandemic coordinator or a team to work on preparedness and response planning.
• Develop options for employees to work from home, and make sure the technology and tools are in place to accommodate that option. Communicate this information to employees.
• Identify essential employees and other critical needs— e.g., raw materials, suppliers— required to maintain your business and ensure that you have contingency plans in place.
• Develop a temporary “succession” plan for essential employees and the management team so others can assume their roles, as needed. Ensure that these back-ups have access to the information, tools and resources to keep the business running.
• Review the compensation and benefit plans that are available to your employees. Consider adding benefits to address potential employee needs. Review your policies for sick-leave, travel, etc.
• Consider how a pandemic could affect your revenue. You might want to model a few possible levels of revenue loss and consider how you would handle cash flow shortfalls under each option.
• Establish authorities, triggers, and procedures for activitating and terminating the company’s response plan, altering business operations and transferring business knowledge to key employees.

It’s a lot to think about, but emergency planning is a wise investment. At the very least, pandemic planning will give you piece of mind, and in the worst-case scenario, it could make the difference in the health of your employees as well as the health of your business.

Read more about what Nancy and her team are doing to develop Exceptional Workplaces at http://www.insightperformance.com/blog/ or on their Facebook Page.

During the summer months, we seem to get inspired to work out more and get in better shape. Summer is also a perfect time to foster an atmosphere of health and well-being in the workplace.

Here are some of the initiatives we’ve found to be effective in promoting a healthy office:

• Hold a Health Fair – Create a fun and educational day focusing on health. Bring local vendors into the office to offer free massages, exercise classes, stress reduction workshops and other activities. You might also invite family members of employees to attend.
• Establish a mediation or yoga group so employees can learn breathing techniques and other ways to de-stress.
• Start a walking club. You don’t need to have access to a fitness club to get in shape. Organize a group for a daily or weekly walk first thing in the morning, during lunch or after work. By exercising together, people will get more motivated, and get to know each other better.
• Invite your benefits provider to come in and educate employees about prevention benefits they can access. Many health plans offer memberships to weight-loss programs or health clubs for free or reduced costs. Some also provide health education or web-based information.
• Create your own weight-loss clinic. If you can get enough interest, Weight Watchers or other organizations might provide workshops right in your office. Set group goals that you can work together to achieve.

Getting healthy together is a great motivator, and can reinforce a strong sense of community in the workplace. Not only will it help everyone feel better, but it can also help decrease absenteeism and increase productivity.

I’d love to hear about some of the workplace wellness programs that have worked well in your office. Please include your comments below.

Here’s to a fun, safe and healthy summer for all!

Read more about what Nancy and her team are doing to develop Exceptional Workplaces at http://www.insightperformance.com/blog/ or on their Facebook Page.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I can’t wait to jump into summer. Although summer officially arrived last week, with all the rain we’ve been having in Boston (as well as other parts of the country), it doesn’t feel like it’s quite here yet.

Now is a great time to bring a more casual, fun atmosphere into the workplace and let our hair down a bit, without relaxing our commitment to business goals and client service excellence.

I’ve been working with my team to come up with creative ways for all of us to come together and build on our sense of camraderie. Here are some of the ideas we came up with – please let us know some of yours:

• Host a barbeque: Bring in a grill, throw on some patties, open a bag of chips and you’re good to go.
• Game day: Schedule a lunch hour, late afternoon or early evening when employees can come together over Pictionary, Family Feud, Trivial Pursuit or other games. A fun twist on this is to compile a trivia quiz about your employees and see how much you know about each other.
• Talent show: Uncover the hidden talent on your team by hosting a talent event or have employees work together to create funny skits about life at work.
• Hawaii 5-0: Turn your office into a Hawaiian paradise, at least for an afternoon. Greet everyone with leis, pipe in ukelele music, and encourage employees to dress in costume.
• Run an afternoon matinee: Bring in a DVD, some popcorn and get the team together to enjoy a movie classic.
• Have an ice cream social: Ice cream with all the toppings will be a hit on a hot summer day.

These are just a few of our ideas—I’m sure your team can come up with many more. In addition to these fun activities, there are other ways that you can recognize team members for all their hard work in this very tough year. You might publicize an employee’s achievements in their hometown paper or write a personal note to the families of team members, acknowledging employees’ hard work and contributions during the year.

So kick up your heels, enjoy spending time together and let the summer fun begin! And please share some of your ideas and summer successes in the comments section of this blog.

Read more about what Nancy and her team are doing to develop Exceptional Workplaces at http://www.insightperformance.com/blog/ or on their Facebook Page.

We’re about halfway through 2009 – one of the worst recessions in most of our memories – and everyone’s taking stock, from White House to Wall Street. The economy has hit the big guys hard, from the financial powerhouses to the Big Three automakers. So how are we, the small business owners, doing?

The good news is that many of us are still in business and we found a resiliance we didn’t know we had. Hopefully many of us used this time to improve our processes, strengthen our businesses, and equally as important, create the type of workplace that will attract the best and the brightest.

In the not-too-distant future, we hopefully will be back to business as usual and even focusing on growth. The organizations that have done a good job of supporting and developing their employees will likely have a loyal, dedicated group of workers to help move them into this next phase. Those that have not, may find themselves replacing key people at the same time they are trying to move their business forward.

So, what does it take to be a “Workplace of Choice?” How can you create a culture that attracts and retains the best and brightest? Here are a few strategies that we have successfully applied to our business and with our clients:

• Be committed for the long term. A corporate culture isn’t something you can turn on and off, based on economic or business climates.
• Take an interest in your employees. Get to know them, and focus on the whole person – his or her interests outside of work as well as professional goals. Make sure you keep employees interested and engaged with work challenges, and present opportunities for growth and training.
• Communicate, communicate, communicate. Make sure employees know and understand your company mission and the state of your business – in good times and bad. Communication is a two-way street. Ask questions and listen. Give every employee a chance to contribute ideas, suggestions, etc.
• Create a team spirit. Create informal get-togethers and celebrations where everyone can get to know each other. Reward the team for group work, and foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation. Model this approach in your interactions with all employees.
• Create a livable work environment that balances work and life. As appropriate, offer the flexibility of flex-time, telecommuting, and other options. Make sure you aren’t overloading employees with work, and look for creative ways to reduce workplace stress.

By creating a “Workplace of Choice,” you’ll not only retain employees, but you’ll also have a better chance of attracting the best and the brightest. I believe, “If you build it, they will come.”

The mindset that “The customer is always right” underscores the value we place on our customers, regardless of our industry. Especially in today’s economic climate, most companies recognize that their existence largely depends on how well they can engage and service customers and offer them the products or services that they need.

Yet there’s another customer that often doesn’t get as much attention: the internal customer. Better known as “employees” or “staff,” these internal customers are often viewed by what they can deliver to you or your organization. The unfortunate result of this perception: Internal customers lack the care and feeding that is given to external customers.

At Insight, we view our internal team members as being just as valuable to our success as our external customers. We realize that they are the ambassadors of our company, and that happy, motivated team members in turn create happy external customers. So what can organizations do to engage, motivate and inspire internal team members?

A successful internal customer environment depends on the mutual respect and consideration of all team members towards each other. Effective companies realize this should be part of the corporate culture, right alongside dedication to external customers. By supporting and valuing internal customers, we create a happier and more productive workplace that, in turn, promotes positive interactions with customers.

We are all in unchartered waters right now--grappling with economic issues in ways that we have never had to before. This economy is testing the mettle of business leaders--from the largest enterprises to the mom and pop shop--and the exceptional ones will rise to the occasion and successfully pull their companies through. What do all of these leaders have in common? Among other factors, they recognize that in good times as well as bad they need to stay focused. They also understand how important it is to have everyone rowing in the same direction and make sure that the ship is balanced so it won’t tip over.

One of the best ways I’ve found to make sure that my company stays on course is to use a Balanced Scorecard measurement tool. Many companies are understandably preoccupied now with their financial performance, but the Balanced Scorecard --originally designed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton (The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action)--helps ensure that companies don’t lose sight of other important metrics. The scorecard is focused on key measures, both internal and external, which are all aligned around a common strategy.

We have adapted the tool at Insight Performance to keep balance of key areas that are of critical importance in our business.

Next, there are 4 key metrics positioned above, below, to the right and to left of the vision statement.