There’s an Employee Appreciation Day?

Did you know last Friday, March 2 was Employee Appreciation Day?  Yep, just one day on a random Friday that I guess probably went unnoticed by your boss or at your office.  And thank goodness it did.  Can you imagine celebrating Employee Appreciation Day when your company doesn’t appreciate employees in general – makes for an uncomfortable pizza or cake party?  Reminds me of a client meeting last year when it was mentioned that “Administrative Professionals Day” was coming up and they all quickly grabbed their phones and made a note of it. It’s like grandparents day too.  If it takes a day for you to recognize and thank your employees or assistant (or even your grandparents)…you might be dealing with a bigger problem. 

Why does it take a publicized day to remind you to thank those who make your life better (assuming your employees, assistant and grandparents actually make your life easier)?  In theory we understand the statement that companies don’t function without their employees is true but sometimes theory and practice couldn’t be farther apart.  You, and every boss or leader at your company should be showing your appreciation to employees often and for reasons that matter.   So what are the reasons that matter?  Here’s a bright idea…ask them.  Those employees can be quite clever and they typically know what matters to them in terms being recognized because they are appreciated.  I’ll give you a few ideas to get started when recognition and appreciation is needed…taking on a stretch project no matter the outcome, going above and beyond the “typical” work load, coaching or mentoring another employee, dealing with a  difficult client, trying to stay focused on work when dealing with a personal issue…and there are so many more. 

Also, don’t show appreciation for just showing up – that is hollow and meaningless.  One of the greatest ways to show appreciation is to thank your employees individually for their contribution and explaining how their contribution matters to the company.  Make the connection to how they matter to the work they do, to the company’s clients and the company overall.  When you are able to consistently show your appreciation you’ll never think twice about a throwing an awkward pizza party on some random Friday in March to remind your employees you care and they matter.

Culture vs Strategy…Who Wins

So what is more important, culture or strategy?  You know you need both but which is more important? If you’ve ever heard one of my employee engagement or generational diversity presentation you know what the answer is and you know why.  As said best by Peter Drucker: 

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Research abounds regarding how culture impacts the success of a company – its profitability, its ability to innovate, and gain market share.  I recently read Derek Irvine’s blog post on TLNT “4 Reasons Why Culture is More Important than Strategy.” In the post Derek highlights recent research from Booz & Co. which adds more data and statistics to the “culture vs. strategy” debate.  Booz & Co. reports “that companies with unsupportive cultures and poor strategic alignment significantly under perform their competitors…. In fact, companies with both highly aligned cultures and highly aligned innovation strategies have 30% higher enterprise value growth and 17% higher profit growth than companies with low degrees of alignment.” [Read the article, Why Culture is Key in Strategy +Business.] 

I wonder how many business leaders, CFOs and board chairmen and chairwomen read those stats and actually believe them.  Do they think the P&L or expansion plans are the only facets of the business that matter?  I mean matter enough to garner a healthy dose of their attention?  I’m sure some thought is given to the office atmosphere but culture is more than that.

Culture can be defined in many ways (as the research abounds so do the books on the topic). A consultant and friend defined culture once as “…how we treat our co-workers.” But at the heart of it culture sets the tone of how the company operates and functions.  Culture manifests itself in seemingly everyday ways – like how the office is decorated, the stories employees share (especially to new employees), and the informal communication style.  And culture manifests itself in larger ways – like the values (and unwritten rules) the employees embrace and live out and the type of person (a hero) employees look up to.

The research supports it, the management gurus speak to it and past experiences prove it’s worth (ask anyone of the risk taking culture embedded at Enron)…is your leader on board?  Are you?