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     KEYZINE: An E-zine for LEADERS
   ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
       Vol. 109, May 25, 2011
  Publisher: © Key Associates, 2010
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com/

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EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: 
Connecting People to Work

"What do you have without pride of workmanship?  
Just a job, to get some money.  There's not much joy in that."
                                                -W. Edwards Deming

What allows people to experience joy in work?

- The opportunity to produce quality work
- A sense of accomplishment, performing well
- The chance to pursue something worthwhile
- Good people
- Being part of a team
- Recognition from peers and management
- The opportunity to learn new things, develop new skills
- The amount of freedom
- Career advancement
- Benefits
- Working environment
-"Feeling my work is important."

Money is often 12th or 13th down the list, in employee surveys, 
if mentioned at all.  Deming would say, "Pay people as well 
as you possibly can, then give them meaningful work to do."

The important action is to ask employees, early 
and often, what keeps them.  "How are we doing 
as an employer?  Then tune up your plan with "re-recruitment" 
strategies.

Here's a great read by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans.  
Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay (4th edition), 
Berrett-Koehler, 2008.


PRACTICE POINT:  Ditch the surveys and have conversations 
with your employees, simply to learn how to improve as an employer.