Inspiration Conversation

One of the many valuable things Twitter offers is a chance to follow some pretty sharp folks and take in nuggets of wisdom and insight on a daily basis.

What follows is our list of some influential Employee Recognition & Incentives thinkers worth following on Twitter. It's by no means exhaustive, just enough to get you started.

And hey, if we missed one of your favorites, let us know in the comments section or send a tweet to @TheMillerCo.

1. @davidzinger - Founder of the Employee Engagement Network on Ning, David shares useful links to articles relating to Employee Engagement.

2. @incentintel - Aligning audience behavior with company goals through incentives, psychology and behavioral economics.

3. @hinda_incentive - Our friends at Hinda share quality original content and great references to other recognition / incentives / employee engagement posts.

4. @ROIofEngagement - Building the Business Case for Engagement. Resources to credibly measure ROI of incentives, meetings, events, rewards, recognition & loyalty programs.

5. @EEA_Org - The Enterprise Engagement Alliance is another excellent resource for engagement-related articles and ideas. 

6. @michaelstallard : Founder of E Pluribus Partners and speaker on leadership and employee engagement. Excellent original blog content.

7. @roysaunderson : Founder of the Recognition Management Institute.

8. @DanielPink : The author of "Drive", an interesting (if incomplete) book on the science of motivation. We may not agree with everything he says, but he's serious about engagement, so we'll tip our hat.

9. @TheMillerCo : But you already knew that, right?

The first car I ever bought was a forest green '96 Toyota Corolla with about 32,000 miles on it. I drove it for another 130,000 miles during which time I had to:

• Replace a seat belt for $80
• Replace the alternator for $200

More people are talking about Toyota than any other brand these days. And they're talking about the recalls, but also the fixes being provided by the dealerships too. And some of the consumers are probably coming to the defense of the brand too. Maybe there is some truth to the adage that there's no such thing as bad publicity after all.

There's truth to the adage especially if you have a brand that your consumers are willing to defend. Companies have been able to deflect a certain threshold of negative press through sophisticated public relations campaigns for a while now. But, in an age where a brand's identity isn't defined by the company, but by increasingly-connected consumers, having an army of satisfied customers is simply a must. Toyota's promise and reputation has always been reliability, and I'm betting there are enough "I drove it for 100,000 miles with no issues" stories to see this through.

As the saying goes, never discuss politics or religion in mixed company, you'll either get upstaged or be left cleaning a mess. Wait, that's the one about sharing a scene with kids and animals.

Either way, I promise this post has nothing to do with the policies of the sitting President; it has only to do with the Obama brand. The brand that for several reasons was regarded as the marketing story of 2008. So, leave your red, blue, purple or green policy preferences aside, and let's take a look at 3 reasons why the President might consider buying an iPad as a symbol of solidarity after its beleaguered launch.

1. Impossible Expectations

Short of being able to perform actual magic, I'm not sure what the iPad could have delivered that would not have left some Apple fans feeling disappointed. For months prior to the announcement, bloggers speculated about what wonders the Apple Tablet might deliver. Even as I write this, there's a stack of mail next to me and the TIME Magazine cover asks, "Will Apple's iPad Save The Media?" As in, the whole Media?! (The conclusion by the way is, uh ... well, it's actually quite compelling.)

Compelling arguments and predictions aside, a single product saving an entire industry is nearly as ludicrous as expecting one man to change decades and decades of entrenched culture within the Federal Government.

But, here is where I think the iPad and the Obama brand are both partly to blame for their own (possibly temporary) misfortunes. Yes, a good amount of the hype is a result of the fan base daring to dream, expecting something absolutely otherworldly and hoisting those dreams upon mere mortals.

But.

It's not as if they weren't asked to.

In Steve Jobs' own words, the iPad is a "truly magical and revolutionary product." Steve, the iPad is really, really cool. It really is and I would love to have one. I would. But, it's basically a giant iPod Touch that reads books.

As for President Obama, we'll all recall that "Change" was a central theme of the campaign. There are certainly some excellent examples of President Obama living up to the brand promises of the Obama campaign. But, when the bar is set incredibly high, by the fans and by the Chief Executives alike, some amount of under-delivery is inevitable.

But these are people who are serious about influencing the world around them, and brands that are serious about growth and influence want fans and lots of them. Not simply repeat customers who return to the product "just 'cause" (though nobody's complaining about that!), but truly enthusiastic advocates.

However, the flip side of having a fan base that will, on occasion, transition from simply being intensely loyal to hysterically rabid is that fairly unreasonable expectations become quite common.

2. Blind Opposition

I think it's a safe bet to say that if President Obama rescued a child drowning in the Potomac, there would be a talk radio host somewhere (and a couple thousand Facebook status updates) ranting about how he should have been in the Oval Office negotiating a jobs bill.

Likewise, if the iPad had managed to deliver actual magic, there'd be some people saying with a scoff, "Sure, but do we really need magic?"

What do you do with blind opponents? As viscerally satisfying as it would be to just completely ignore them, it literally pays to swallow your medicine and take steps to nullify their complaints. I think the $499 model of the iPad with built-in Wi-Fi and USB sync (meaning access to downloads without an AT&T contract) is Apple speaking reasonably to the people in the "middle of the aisle".

Blind opponents of Apple want something like a $189 model that doesn't have to go through iBooks or iTunes for content and can connect to any carrier's 3G network. Basically, they want something totally "other" than what Apple has set out to build. That's just not going to happen.

The similarities for the Obama brand are a bit more combustible, so rather than my bringing up specific policies that are examples of compromise and those that are examples of what I believe to be standing firm for what he and his team have set out to build, let's just pretend that we agree completely! So, think of a few examples of the President speaking reasonably to the middle and a few examples of his administration ignoring the blind opponents. Ok, got a few? ... Yes! I agree completely! Wow, how remarkable that we are on the exact same page with regard to those examples.

Ahem.

3. January 27th Was a Really Big Day

And finally, yes, while the Obama team rescheduled the State of the Union to avoid upsetting Losties, they did manage to schedule it on the same day that Apple would introduce the iPad to the world. Maybe they were hoping that the good vibes from Jobs would carry over in to a SotU focused on, um, jobs. Sorry, had to do it.

Regardless, January 27th was a very important date in iCal at both 1 Infinite Loop and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

An epic launch for the one and something of a relaunch for the other; in both cases, there was a lot riding on those two speeches. For those keeping score at home, Obama was interrupted by more standing ovations, while Jobs got a comfy chair. Advantage: Jobs.

As to the aftermath of their pitches, Apple cannot have been too thrilled that parodies of the product's name were trending topics on Twitter far longer than #iPad itself. The device's generally icy reception in the mainstream is pretty well documented, but Apple's advocates are already rising to its defense (HT @michaelewitt). Truly, it's hard to imagine that the letdown will last and it's easy to image that by the 3rd Generation, the iPad will be every bit the cultural touchstone that the iPod has come to be. Easy to imagine, but not inevitable. 

And while the President's remarks were not without some controversy, the relaunch seems to have had the positive affect of bumping his approval rating above 50% after a sour stretch.

So, while Apple will get to see how consumers vote with their dollars when the iPad is available in late March and the Obama team will wait for actual votes; both are hoping to cash in on the upside of brand enthusiasm.

I've offered 3 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Reward & Recognition System in the past; obviously, Twitter is one of them. The service is now so ubiquitous that my dad tweeted me yesterday to let me know that I don't tweet with my mom enough these days.

If employee recognition / internal communications land on your desk and you're wondering what Twitter's got to offer, here are 3 Tweets that get it right.

1. Years of Service Recognition: @Lochrane [ http://twitter.com/lochrane/status/7985989071 ]

Low-hanging fruit here and a simple way to let them see their name in lights. We're all for it, as long as this comes in addition to (not in place of) an in-person celebration of the employee's contributions to the company.

2. Employees Living the Company Values: @LuminantPower [ http://twitter.com/LuminantPower/status/6671805345 ]

It's important to celebrate the moments when employees embody company values on the clock, but it's all the more powerful when that happens outside of the workplace. Luminant places a high premium on Community and this a great representation of that value. Extra credit for including a twitpic.

3. Manager-to-Peer & Peer-to-Peer Recognition: @ddbrown / @datotel [ http://twitter.com/ddbrown/statuses/7912284392 ]

Here's a CEO taking an opportunity to congratulate employees by name. John, Stephanie and Melissa's managers & co-workers could just as easily do the same. Extra credit for linking to the company's blog post with more information about the awards.

Did we miss a good one? Leave a comment below, or speaking of Twitter, get in touch with us over there at @TheMillerCo.

Squeezed between India and China, Bhutan is a tiny mountain kingdom with a unique perspective on national culture.  In an effort to fight back against the growing burden of what Bhutan considers to be negative influences from pop culture, Bhutan's leaders have determined that establishing, promoting and measuring "Gross National Happiness (GNH)" would provide a solution that adulation of David Beckham and 50 Cent could not.  A person responsible for the establishment of this new policy noted, "How does a small country like Bhutan handle globalization?  We will survive by being distinct, by being different".

Happiness domains being observed include psychological well being, ecology, health, education, culture, living standards, time use, community vitality and good governance.  These domains are analyzed and even placed in a formula to determine the final measurement of GNH.  Will it spit out an end result that is meaningful?

Who knows?  But I think it's cool that Bhutan is making the effort to be a place where people live with purpose and meaning.  Measuring Gross National Happiness won't make Beckham and 50 Cent go away, but it will create an environment where citizens of Bhutan can see the big picture regarding what makes them unique and why that's worth nurturing.  Effectively, Bhutan is creating a cultural growth and brand management campaign! 

I think companies can learn from what Bhutan is doing.  What's unique about your company?  What is it about your culture that everyone needs to know about...to practice...to be proud of...to sustain and grow?  The answer to questions like these will provide a road map toward greater levels of employee engagement and brand growth.

Getting a handle on the identity of your culture and your brand (and the synergy between the two) will enable you to more accurately target your Recognition and Reward System as well as your marketing efforts.

Regards,

Tom 

You know you're on to something when Scott Adams makes fun of it.  He has the ability to present truth in a way that makes me laugh and makes me think - and there's a lot to think about in these three frames!

As "management experts" in the Recognition and Reward Systems (RRS) space, how would we answer the boss if we heard the statement, "we need more employee engagement"?  To do our jobs well, I'd suggest we understand the following:

• An RRS will contribute to engagement only after basic job needs are met.  Get to know Maslow and think about what that theory says relative to your workplace.  
• Your RRS should be comprehensive - EVERYONE should have an opportunity to be recognized.
• The RRS should support corporate strategy and business goals and should be able to flex when the strategy and goals evolve.
• Because it supports strategy and goals, an RRS must be designed in a way that creates a seamless appearance relative to other corporate initiatives and communication.
• If you expect to understand how your RRS impacts employee engagement, you need to be able to measure outcomes.
• Yes! The boss can be happier - but they have to be involved with the RRS - believe in what it stands for, use it, promote it and celebrate the accomplishments it highlights.

So it's official ... "Employee Engagement" is now a part of official business lexicon and it's likely that it will become even more visible.  The question for those of us interested in addressing the issue is which character in the strip are we playing and how will we answer the "I want more employee engagement" question?

Seriously...

So, maybe you appreciate the value that a formal Reward & Recognition System (RRS) can add to your organization, but you've got questions about how to budget for it.

The calculator below will provide you with a starting point based on industry averages. But who wants to be average? The fact is your RRS could spend well above the norm, but if it isn't aligned with your organization's values then it's a below average system and you're spending money on wasted opportunities.

Have some fun tinkering around with our calculator, but keep in mind that when it comes to designing your RRS, our focus will be on creating above average strategy, measurement and communication.

Using the calculator:

• click the yellow exclamation point to read an explanation of our calculation in each segment of your RRS
• the slider begins at industry averages, pull it to the left and right to adjust your investment
• in the "# Behaviors" field of the Peer to Peer section, enter your estimate of recognition moments per employee per month 

It was a great experience to be in DC speaking to people responsible for understanding issues and crafting legislation designed to strengthen our country.  The people I spoke with were interested and thoughtful.  They asked good questions and seemed genuinely interested in understanding my perspective.  Participating in the effort felt patriotic to me and it caused a renewed respect for our country and our system of government. 

Tom

"When people know us, they love us. And they love us as much as they can."

Matt Ryan, SVP Corporate Brand Management, The Walt Disney Company

You remember how awkward dating was back in middle and high school? And college. And your 20's. And...

Kidding.

But remember what our moms and teachers always told us?

"Just be yourself."

The idea is what Matt Ryan is getting at. If you're yourself, then the girl or boy will know you, and if they know you, they'll love you. Then, they'll love you as much as they can, you'll live happily ever after and one day you'll get all teary-eyed as you take a family photo in front of Cinderella's Castle.

Here's the thing. Being yourself only works if the real you is cool. Or likeable. Or encouraging. Or funny.

Remember Biff Tannen from Back to the Future? Biff's mom could not have given him the "be yourself" advice and realistically expected exciting results.

Lucky for you, you're not Biff. You've got something going for you; you're either likeable, smart, resourceful or a combination of a lot of great things.

But that's just you. What about the company you work for? What's your corporate culture like? What's your brand's reputation? Can your company be its collective self and expect exciting results?

This post would need to go in several different directions in order to contine to be relevant to you, depending on the role you play. Are you a recruiter? Marketing manager? Compensation specialist?

The question that we ask ourself and the question you've got to ask yourself as it relates to the responsibilities you have within your organization is this, "If people know us, will they love us?"

If the answer is no, there's some serious work to be done because nobody wants to work for or do business with Biff.

Recently, I was forwarded Dan Pink's talk at the TED Conference in Oxford, England. In the talk, Pink takes on some long standing beliefs regarding "incentives" as positive influencers of employee performance. He makes a strong case that, largely, business practices have ignored the factual findings of contemporary social scientists and that, in most cases, "incentive plans" don't work when targeting knowledge workers. Yet the business community continues the practice of offering "carrots" for higher performance, more ideas and better work. I agree with him, but I'd like to suggest an "and".

Offering knowledge workers more (pay, prestige, power...) for effort beyond their normal level of contribution is a failed strategy and, as companies remove these non-working "motivational tools", they should consider how a well-designed Recognition and Reward System (RRS) might be what they are really looking for. It's a simple case of applying Maslow's thinking to your company's work environment.

If you're providing employees with a compensation plan that solves for the physiological, safety and security needs we all have, you can get more discretionary effort from people by enabling them to fulfill higher needs - belonging, esteem and self-actualization. This doesn't happen by giving them rewards beyond what they've fairly earned within your compensation system - it happens when the organization tells them why what they did matters. Research demonstrates that people will engage at higher levels when they know that their contributions to the overall effort are meaningful and that they are noticed.

Pink focuses on Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Perfect ... let people do the work they were hired to do, give them the tools to become expert and then tell them when they contribute to organizational success.

I'm not trying to be overly self-serving here, but an RRS will help you get this done. It's why we are able to feel great about what we do.

In another post, I've talked about Recognition and Reward Systems as Drivers of Employee Engagement.

An "engaged employee" does two things very well - they produce a high volume of high quality work and they help create change. The quality and volume of work is a result of a focus on the present and an understanding of the actions that lead to their work success and the success of the company. The ability to create change is driven by the awareness of all the components that make up their work and their willingness to challenge the status quo when they see an opportunity to do things better. An engaged employee "owns" their work and may regularly contribute beyond their exact job description.

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