This is my office – two doors down from the CEO.

While giving a tour recently Beryl guests, they were telling me that their CEO had just implemented a policy allowing just 2 pictures or personal items displayed on an employee’s desk.  They were shocked as they were looking around at the examples of our interior decorating autonomy.    We got into a discussion about all the little things that make such a difference in morale.  As the discussion deepened, they described how the defeated feeling permeated through the office within minutes as the new policy email was opened.

As a leader, the little things might seem to us  just that – little.  But to an employee they aren’t little.  Every request or ability to be independent,  no matter how minor, means something to that one person.  When these are ignored, pushed to the side or stiffled, it is then that employee engagement is broken down.

I look back on several of my previous employers and things that finally “broke” me and caused me to look for other employment.  One turned a blind eye to an employee/client personal relationship and referred to it as “client retention” in a meeting while another sent out an email that the workplace was not the place for laughter.  Those are two examples of things that sent me looking for employment elsewhere.

At Beryl, we celebrate diversity and character.  We are encouraged to personalize our space and laugh often.  As you can see by the picutures of my office, we don’t limit the decoration of someone’s personal space, in fact we encourage creativity.  What are some things that have left you wanting a bit more from your employer?  What are the little things that matter to you?  – Lara

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

You already know the value of taking pictures. We all photograph our children growing up, we take the camera with us on vacation, and snap pics when it snows in Texas. We take pictures of our favorite moments and things. Doing so at work is just as important.

In the early days when I was the only one here with a digital camera, I attended softball games, movie nights, family day and everything in between. After a while, people started calling me a few times a week: “Jason, hurry! You have to get a picture of this wig Greg is wearing before he takes it off!” “Can you get a picture of the team leads delivering breakfast?” “Pam accidentally mismatched her shoes. Come get a picture!” Nowadays just about everyone has a camera. Either a small pocket one or on their phone. Quite a few people have invested in a nice digital SLR. Now everyone is a photographer and we’re all contributing to the “Beryl Archives.”

The “Beryl Archives” is simply a folder on our network, like any department folder, that holds all of our photos – organized first by year, then by event or thing. It’s our central source for every kind of photo. We publish several to our online Google Picasa Album and put a private link on our intranet for people to access. And we installed a free version of Picasa, which has facial recognition technology, on some desktops. So if we’re celebrating Brenda’s birthday and need photos of her, we can find several dozen in only a few seconds.

As of right now, we have 38,403 photos in 744 folders on our shared network. This represents every digital photo we’ve taken since 2002. I also have a large box of another thousand or so printed photos from the 90′s, which was before I started working here, and before the digital camera revolution.

In addition to posting them on our intranet, or using them to recognize an employee, we can reference last years photos to promote this years events. We can put them into a slide show for the holiday party, post to Facebook, include in presentations and our bi-monthly employee newsletter, and ultimately take the best ones, print, frame and hang them on the wall for posterity.  Some of our events we create photo books online and take them to trade shows.

Here is a sampling of photo categories from the Archives over the years:

• New Hire Class and Training
• Chili Cook Off
• Crazed Fan Day
• 25th Anniversary Kickoff
• Halloween
• Snow!
• Mardi Gras
• Team Lead Pie Face
• Brand Kickoff
• Bob’s Male Modeling Photos

So, we definitely have a variety.  New employees and tenured ones can browse nearly a decades worth of photos and see how our traditions got their start, what the conference rooms used to look like, and who used to have hair. It’s a wealth of history.  Little time capsules.  Internal marketing tools.  Employee recognition.  And it’s totally free.

A few questions to ask yourself:

• Are you taking pictures of special moments at your company?
• Do you encourage your staff to contribute photos?
• Where do you keep your photos?  Are they split up between each “photographer” on their home computers?
• How can you use the photos other than a simple photo album?

We may have averaged about 4 or 5 suggestion submittals a year, so whoever was responsible for checking the box wasn’t very diligent about looking for new submissions.  As the years went by, and staff members and/or their responsibities changed, we weren’t even really sure whose responsibility it was to check it. Also, many of the suggestions were submitted anonymously – so if we did or didn’t use a suggestion, we couldn’t really communicate it.

During one of our quarterly Town Hall meetings, where we meet with the entire staff of The Beryl Companies as a sort of State of the Union with the CEO and COO, one of our employees asked if “anyone ever checked the suggestion box?”  Then we all just kind of looked around at each other trying to determine if anyone had an answer – nobody did.  Our CEO, Paul, assured that we would find out who “owns” the suggestion box, and that we would check it regularly, and thanked them for bringing it to our attention.

It occurred to me then that the Suggestion Box was out of date.  Writing a suggestion on a little piece of paper and sliding it into a slit in a wooden box, where it sits, lonely, until someone unlocks it and frees it, deciphers the handwriting, and… I don’t know… hands it to the appropriate person?  That’s so… 90′s.

What if we did this electronically?

Armed with an ASP.NET for Dummies book and Google, I set out to build an online Suggestion Box.  I created two tables: one for suggestions and one for replies.  When somebody submits a suggestion, it automatically emails it to Lara then adds the question to the database.  She gets an email with a link to the form to reply, which associates it with that suggestion.  Then I built a module on the homepage of our intranet that would look for any submission entered within the previous 30 days that also had a reply.  It then randomly displays a recent suggestion, and clicking on it reveals the response, along with all the others.  I later added a search tool to allow people to search all suggestions.  And with Google Analytics, we can see what are the most viewed questions/answers and identify trends in our staffs wants, wishes and concerns.

We’ve received over a thousand suggestions online now.  We get a dozen every month and each of them are addressed publicly on the site.  We allow people to submit them anonymously, for even as open-door we promote ourselves to be – there are still people who aren’t comfortable bringing certain issues up to leadership.

Topics range from cost-saving tips, facility repairs, policy challenges and communication concerns.  Here are a few examples:

Suggestion: Do you know how or where one can get another copy of the last Beryl Life issue?  I seem to have misplaced mine.
Reply: Sure do.  The marketing team has extras.  I will make sure you get one.

Suggestion: One of the vacuums is not working properly now. Its loud very loud indicating something is wrong.  It creates a distraction to those of us who are working.  This issue just happened a couple of days ago. Please check it out when you can.
Reply:  Michael has spoken to the cleaning company and they are swapping out the vacuums tonight.

Suggestion: I think that we should get vending machines that accept credit cards. Although my bank account wouldnt appreciate this too much, it would sure be a lot more convenient!
Reply: Beryl would have to pay for installation and a monthly fee, which would result in higher prices. Lower pricing and less trouble with the machines won out over convenience on this one.   They would also charge you a transaction fee every time.  It would be better on your wallet if you got cash on Mondays.

Suggestion: Can we were hats on Fridays?
Reply: Per Beryl’s Dress Code policy “Head dressings (i.e. hats, toboggans, caps, scarves, etc.) of any kind are not permitted unless preapproved by Human Resources for religious or medical reasons.  Please look forward to the next “Dress Code Don’t Day” so you can wear your fun gear!

Suggestion: The ice in the break room is too big.  Have we ever thought about getting Sonic-style crunchy ice soon?  Also, sometimes it falls out on the tile floor and melts and someone could slip and fall from it.  Can you keep someone in there to keep the break room clean?  They could wipe out the microwaves too.
Reply: We all love Sonic ice!  It is the best. Ice machines are very expensive and everyone has a different preference in ice.  I don’t think we can accommodate everyone’s specific ice preference.  I let the ice melt a little bit in my water and it is better.  It would be a full time job for someone to sit in the break room and clean up after everyone.  That is very costly when we can all be more accountable for our own mess.  We have Irma here during the day to make rounds in the bathrooms and break room.  She empties trash, wipes out microwaves, etc.  We have 350 people and only one Irma.  We need to all be taking care of our own messes.  If we spill, we need to clean it up.  If we drop ice, we need to pick it up.  Think of it as your home.  If you leave a mess, does someone follow you to pick it up?

As you can tell from that last one, we can’t always be sure if people are serious or not.  But that’s not up to us to decide, so Lara finds a response to each and every one.  (On a side note: ask her about the time I anonymously suggested that our ice was too cold).  I picked the above just to show a variety, but we’ve had suggestions that made us look at our policies and think, “Hey, you’re absolutely right!  We’re changing that right now!”

The success of the Suggestion Box inspired us to create two other forms: Ask Paul and Ask Lindy, where people can ask our CEO and the VP of Operations questions specific to the business and to operational policies (respectively).  Those may be the subject of a future blog.

A few questions for you to ask yourself:

1. What are you doing at your company to give your employees a voice?
2. Where are you getting your ideas to keep your organization evolving?
3. Which of your programs are “so 90′s” and in need of an update?
4. And best yet, how are you going to follow up with your employees?

If you have any questions, comments or general feedback about our online Suggestion Box tool, including workflow and sample code, feel free to contact me.

Presented by Lara Morrow

When Wednesday, May 25th 2:00 p.m. C.S.T. Cost $79.00

Were you ever that newly hired employee who was so excited about starting your new job only to be greeted on your first day with little enthusiasm, organization or preparation?

How important did you feel?

Did it leave you with a confident feeling about your decision in accepting the position?

Were you provided with vital information that helped build the foundation towards your success?

If you have, you probably remember what a lonely, stressful experience that was.

Join Lara Morrow, Beryl’s Queen of Fun and Laughter, as she shows you how Beryl welcomes each new family member to the Beryl team. How does Beryl help our new co-workers feel at ease immediately, build trust and excitement and integrate them into the Beryl Culture.

Sign up for this fun webinar and learn how Beryl Necessities provides an employee centered new hire orientation to every new employee, how helps to reduce turnover and how it builds brand loyalty.

Presented by Lara Morrow

Thank you for your payment.  Please save the following details to your calendar.  We will also e-mail you with this information.

Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Time: 2:00 pm, Central Daylight Time (Chicago, GMT-05:00)
Meeting Number: 803 620 492
Meeting Password: BerylRocks

To join the online meeting

1. Go to https://thecircle.webex.com/thecircle/j.php?ED=153142467&UID=1186335122&PW=NYTM4OTllMGEx&RT=MiM3
2. Enter the meeting password: BerylRocks
3. Click “Join”.
4. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Call-in toll-free number (US/Canada): 1-877-669-3239
Access code:803 620 492

You can contact me at:
lara.morrow@circleofgrowth.net

As with all worthwhile things, employee engagement must be developed over time.  While you cannot create engagement, leaders in an organization can create and maintain the environment that allows engagement to flourish.

I remember a couple of years ago when my daughter really wanted to plant watermelons in our backyard during her Spring Break.  We went to the store, bought the seeds, dug a hole, planted the seeds, watered the seeds, waited, waited and waited.

Nothing happened…and I suspected nothing would happen before we even bought the seeds.

The reason I knew the watermelons would not grow was written on the bag of seeds.  The instructions stated that the best time to plant the seeds in Texas is after April.  It was an unseasonably cold March when we planted the seeds.  The environment was not ready for the seeds.  The watermelons were set up to fail from the start.

This is how engagement works.  To have a culture of engagement, the right environment needs to be established before you can plant those seeds.  The first step to creating this environment is commitment by the leaders of the organization.  Culture needs a champion.

In short, you just can’t say you are going to have a culture of engagement.  Just like the watermelons, you won’t know until sometime down the road.  You may have some hints like an increase in customer compliments in one division of the company or more smiles in the hallway, but it’s not something you see overnight.

To grow the watermelons, you need more than seeds.  You need sunlight, water, rich soil and the right temperature.  Without the right combination of these things, your chances of success decrease significantly.

To create the environment that helps a culture of engagement thrive, you need the right combination of 10 things.  Paul Spiegelman, CEO of The Beryl Companies, has defined 10 C’s of Culture.  Examples of these include core values, camaraderie and consistency.  When applied properly, they can have a significant, positive impact on your people, your clients, your organization and your bottom line.

To learn more about our 10 C’s of Culture, check out one of our workshops or contact us for a tour of the award winning Beryl Companies.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what other companies were doing for their employees during these out-of- the-ordinary snow storms in the south, so I Googled “employee snow days”.  The types of articles and comments online varied in nature but one theme seemed to stand out.  Since companies were unsure of their own policies, employees were getting mixed messages on whether or not they would be paid for staying home on a snow day.  This was intriguing to me especially since I had spent my morning shuttling our employees from a local hotel to the office in a snow storm. 

Along with policies, employees often develop their own perceptions of how much the company cares about them by the actions and messages of their employer during challenging times.  If a company claims that employee safety is important then insists then insists that their staff risk injury to come into work or not get paid, what is the underlying message? 

Being that Beryl must be available to serve our clients and customers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, we struggled when developing our weather policy.  It was important to us to balance the needs of the business with the needs of employee.  When it came down to it, nothing mattered more than the safety of our employees and their families, so we designed our policy with that in mind.  Instead of being docked pay, employees are paid double time on a snow day where the local school district is closed.  If they prefer, Beryl will cover the cost of a nearby hotel room and their meals.  Management also provides transportation to and from the hotel for their shifts.  Once at work, management spends the day delivering breakfast, lunch and snacks to employees.  If an employee chooses to stay home, they are not penalized in any way. 

If we demand that employees come to work or they wouldn’t receive pay yet still bought them food and snacks, the morale would still be poor.  It isn’t really about the food at all.  It is simply the  feeling of being valued.  Earlier today, Beryl’s CEO, Paul Spiegelman, received this message through “Ask Paul”, an open communication forum on our intranet.

Dear Paul,
 
I want to thank you and our senior leadership team for providing us with all the FOOD, DRINKS, HOTEL ROOMS and TRANSPORTATION over the past few weeks. I know it has been hard to get to work and when we do, Beryl has provided us with so much! Keep the food and drinks coming.

Thanks,

Appreciative!

I am very proud of the way we treat people!  As I walk through the office today, everyone is warm and cozy in their sweats outfits they were allowed to wear.  Instead of resentment and frustration, there is a buzz of excitement and camaraderie in the air.   It’s the sign of engaged employees who care about their company because they know they are cared for in return!  

Traditions run deep at Beryl and in January you can always count on one thing, the annual chili cook off!  This hard core competition guarantees that even the most reserved get a little crazy!  You never know what to expect.   Teams compete for not only the best chili concoctions but also the best costumes, booth theme and decorations.  It is a great way to create workplace camaraderie and fun during the cold, winter months.  We also just completed the annual employee opinion survey and have analyzed the results.  I am happy to report that our employee satisfaction continues to improve year over year.   Results will be communicated at the first town hall of the year.

How do you kick off the new year?  What kinds of fun events do you have planned for the first quarter?  We would love to hear from you!

Aaron McWilliams, SPHR
Recruiter/Employee Relations
The Fort Worth Club