PHWP: Good Company

In a recent conversation with a management team of a small business, one of the executives asked me, “How do we get our employees more involved? Our business is way down and people are scared.”

I told them about a strategy used by a similar company who won a Wisconsin Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award in 2005. Lakeland Supply holds quarterly employee meetings, and for employees to attend they must bring at least one positive idea that will improve the work they do. If they have no positive suggestions, they cannot attend!

In tough economic times like these, when employees are afraid of losing their jobs and companies are struggling to survive, asking workers for input can risk unleashing a torrent of pent-up negative emotion, complaints, and anger. This causes executives to be cautious about asking for input. Managers become quiet about the directions of the company and so employees feel less connected to the workplace.

Lakeland Supply addresses these problems directly by carefully defining the expectations before each meeting. Employees respond by talking with each other about ways to improve the success of the company and offering each other positive suggestions. This happens all year long, not just at the quarterly meetings. Negative discussions around the water cooler can spur more negative talk. Apparently positive discussions also increase the focus on the positive!

The management team ends up with more good suggestions than they can address at once, and they must engage in the task of prioritizing the items after each quarterly meeting. The priorities are then shared with the employees so there is an opportunity for more dialogue and more engagement. Lakeland Supply both values and fosters a positive environment in the workplace.

Although these efforts have originated in small companies, the same approach can be used within defined divisions or departments in larger organizations.

The result is a company that finds a competitive edge in this difficult economy because employees are pulling together to find solutions and overcome problems. Everyone is invested and engaged in making their business a success.

How do you get employees more involved in your organization?