Transform the employee experience

it’s time to get over our obsession with employee engagement

experience

transform the employee

surveys say

we have an engagement problem

customer service���isn’t a cool place to work

IT ���isn’t a cool place to work

banks���aren’t a cool place to work

[…]���isn’t a cool place to work

employee engagement is ���write down the first 5 words or phrases come to mind

?How can we increase employee engagement?

How can we increase employee engagement? ✗

hmmm, we need to change the way we survey!

?How can we measure employee happiness

How can we measure employee happiness ✗

you won’t build���

empathy���from surveys

you won’t connect with ���

people ���from surveys

you won’t discover���

insights���from surveys

surveys scratch hopelessly into surfaces

quantifiable, rational, but soulless

surface view into function, utility, satisfaction

extrinsic focus provokes jumping ship

leads to “me too” sea of sameness

what will I get (money, benefits, time, status)? how much does it cost (effort, time, money, status)? how does it compare?

you’re asking the wrong questions

how do I see this employee?

how do I see this employee?

…despite the high level of corporate spending on engagement, survey results released in January by polling giant Gallup estimated that ���less than one-third of U.S. workers were engaged in their jobs—meaning “involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace” ���~Fastcompany���

Jeff Golden, flickr

do you think our kids are fully engaged…?

we should do an engagement survey!

INSANITY���is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.���~Einstein

Most failures in industry are not that people can’t solve problems;  it’s that they’re not always great at identifying the ���right problems ���to solve.���~John Kembel, Stanford d.School���

organizations are asking the wrong ���questions

organizations are solving the wrong ���problem

organizations are having the wrong conversation

what the surveys DON’T say

we have a ���

organizational design ���problem

or even better

we have a ���

business design opportunity

we have an ���

innovation ���opportunity

we need to ���������

reform workplaces

…using the word “engagement” often limits our thinking. It’s assumes that our job is to reach out and “engage” people, rather than to build an organization that is exciting, fulfilling, meaningful, and fun ���~Josh Bersin, Forbes

…using the word “engagement” often limits our thinking. It’s assumes that our job is to reach out and “engage” people, rather than to build an organization that is exciting, fulfilling, meaningful, and fun ���

Jeff Golden, flickr

How might we create a joyful home?

an opportunity for ���discovering and shaping������the place where the ���self meets the world������~David Whyte

work /werk/���

���…the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done, but ���

who ���we have become ���while accomplishing the task. ���~David Whyte

We’ll use the greatest violin maker in the world as our example.. we’ll imagine that it’s an Italian violin maker named Franco and that Franco has a studio where 15 or 20 apprentice and journeyman violin makers work alongside Franco making the most exquisite violins in the world.������Is Franco happy? He is alternately ecstatic, frustrated, transported, confused, exhausted and lost in the zone. He and his work are inextricable from one another. No one would say about Franco or his employees “They’re happy.” Instead, people in Franco’s town would say “Those guys live and breathe violins, and people around the world rejoice.”���~Liz Ryan

Brent Pearson, Flickr

The workmanship was much better in

Bach’s time than it is now. One had first to be a craftsman. Now we have only ‘talent.’ We do not have the absorption in detail,

the burying of oneself in

craftsmanship to be resurrected a great

musician.���~Stravinsky

What we have to confront in the present workplace is the reluctance to engage in conversations that really invite the creative qualities hidden deep inside each human being. It is a reluctance born of the knowledge that by inviting creativity and passion, the organization must also make room for fear and failure…

It is a high stakes game for the company

but it is also very high stakes for the individuals playing out their life’s destiny within its walls. ���~David Whyte

work·horse /wərkˌhôrs/ a person or machine that dependably performs hard work over a long period of time

Manager is derived from the old Italian and French words maneggio and manage, meaning the

training, handling and riding of a horse. ���It is strange to think that the whole spirit of management is derived from the image of getting on the back of a beast, digging your knees in, and heading it in a certain direction. ���

The inherited language of the corporate workplace is far too small for us now. It has ���too little poetry, too little humanity, and too little good business sense for the world that lies before us.���~David Whyte

art·ist /ärdəst/ a person skilled at a particular task or occupation

������In what way might your talents and experiences fit in with what we do?���~Skaltek interview question

Please take a few days to think about whether you want to work for us. ������If the answer is yes, please send us a proposal outlining what you think you can do for us, what your job description might look like…

Every human being is a Leonardo da Vinci. The only problem is that he doesn’t know it. His parents didn’t know it, and they didn’t treat him like a Leonardo. ���Therefore he didn’t become like a Leonardo. That’s my basic theory. ���~Oystein Skalleberg, Founder Skaltek

en·tre·pre·neur /äntrəprəˈnər/ a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk

transform each employee from someone who

takes orders & writes

code

to someone who is an

innovative thinker

innovation @infosys ~CEO Vishal Sikka

innovation ���is about designing

customers���~Michael Schrage

innovation ���is about designing���

employees

who do ���you want ���your employees to become

who do ���your employees ���want to become?

Jeff Golden, flickr

how might we create a home in which our kids can grow up to become happy, self-aware, and compassionate

adults?

questions ask provocative

to learn more about asking provocative questions, check out my slideshare

?How might we create an environment in which people are empowered to do the best work* of their lives

*remembering our definition of work

?How might we design an organization in which ordinary people are enabled to do extraordinary things

?

How might we rethink performance management in a way that helps people unleash their imaginations and craft their life’s opus

[Companies] must find a real way of asking people to bring these hidden, heartfelt qualities into the workplace. A way that doesn’t make them feel manipulated for the subject of some five-year plan. They must ask for a real conversation.���~David Whyte

imagine experiment explore

conversation starts here

understand reigning myths

visualize future

possibilities

play with

assumptions

change, growth, transformation always involve ���identity, status, affiliation

EXPLORE���perceptions of the present and the past, mythology of employees, teams, communities within your organization

which means you need to

explore mysteries hidden beneath measurable surfaces

qualitative intuitive insights into soul

deep probing into beliefs, desires, significance

intrinsic purpose attracting commitment

leads to transformation becoming unique

is this me? does this fit into my world? how does this make me feel? how will it affect me? what are other people doing? does it provide meaning or pleasure? how does it connect with my legacy?

WHY

provoked in conversation

unraveled through story

spread through myth

WHY?

satisfaction utility behaviour features, function outcomes

STORIES identity beliefs needs

desires significance

satisfaction utility behaviour features, function outcomes

tools for exploration

LISTEN MAP PROVOKE

CONVERSATION �

LISTEN���stories build empathy

If someone from Mars came down and saw what you were doing as a ���housekeeper, what would they call you?������Serenity Sisters���Clutter Busters���Peace of Mind Police … they were creating a space for a traveler who was far away from home to feel safe and protected. ~via Chip Conley

pedro alves, flickr

I don’t just deliver mail. ���I see myself helping to ���connect people���to other people.��� I help build the ���community. ���~via Alex Pattakos

Christian Weidinger, flickr

How do employees ���see themselves & their situation?

What did you think about on your way to work today? What is your most important job (not job description)? What gets in the way of you doing it in the best way possible? What helps you to do it in the best way possible? What about your job makes you want to jump out of bed? Hit snooze? If you won the lottery and no longer had to work, what would you miss?

When do you go home feeling like you had a great day? Tell me about a great day you had recently. When are you excited to come in on a Monday morning? Tell me about the last time you were really excited to come into work. When do you go home feeling like you had a terrible day? Tell me about the last time that happened. Who do you like to work with? Why? How about when you run into a problem or need information, who do you seek help from? Tell me about a time when you felt like you did the best work of your life. Why? Who else was involved? What conditions were present? What did you value most about the work the team did together? In what ways did the work make a unique contribution? When you see an issue, or have an idea of something that could be improved, what do you do?

What brings you joy? If you had a magic wand, what would be the one thing you would change about your organization, your work, your role, or your responsibilities? Is there anything else that is important to you that we haven’t talked about and that you think I should know?

You are still telling people about your experience at [company] and how it helped you become the person you are today. What is the story you tell? What was your legacy? Why are you still an ambassador for [company], even though you no longer work there?

Imagine yourself 5 or 10 years in the future

ask a few provocative questions

then listen deeply

channeling your inner psychotherapist

map ���journeys weave larger narratives

Brady Bonus's journey as a Mad*Pow employee

digitalgov

franklinandrade.net

dreaming looking applying starting finding fit contributing growing transitioning advocating

emotional journey at [company]

provoke���uncover & build cultural myths

Penguins are not nurturing of their sick. When one falls behind or is injured, the other penguins attack it. They cannot be weighed down by the infirm. It defines pack behavior.

Elephants, by contrast, are majestic animals that care for one another. When one of them is sick, the entire herd rallies around and nurtures the sick one until it is better or passes. The entire tribe is affected. They feel a ���connection that keeps ���them looking out for one another.

“We are the penguins,” the COO liked to say often, smiling and proud.

Mark Dumont, flickr

What are stories that are so-[company]?

David Stanley, flickr

Bring [company’s] culture to life using your medium of choice [pictures, video, story, music, improv…]

Imagine you’re at a cocktail reception. How would you be able to tell if someone works at [company]?

What 5 words or phrases would you use to describe what it’s like to work here?

If you were to write a completely honest Glassdoor review, what would you say?

Advice to management

Cons

Pros

Rating

[…]���isn’t a cool place to work

this isn’t an engagement problem

this is an innovation opportunity

a complex design challenge

a challenge of identity

a challenge of culture

a challenge of mission

and it matters because

EMPLOYEES �are the soul of your brand

EMPLOYEES �imbue magic into your products & services

EMPLOYEES �ignite your touchpoints

EMPLOYEES �breathe imagination into crevasses of frozen business models

To acknowledge the hidden part of ���human beings is to ���

make a home for them ���and to create a loyalty beyond the bottom line. ���… These hidden human dynamics of integration are more of a conversation, more of a synthesis and more of an almost religious and sometimes almost delirious quest for meaning than a simple attempt at daily ease and contentment.���~David Whyte

Instead of thinking about how to increase employee engagement, how to improve and position your employer brand, how to fight the war for talent… think about how to ���

improve and position your employees���

change is the result of facilitating thousands of conversations

start the conversation

unleash the Leonardo hiding within each employee

mentor each employee in the crafting of their life’s opus

craft the unique legacy of your organization

interested in transforming your employee & customer experience?

joycehostyn.com

joyce_hostyn@yahoo.com EMAIL me!