You know your employees are the lifeblood of your company but if not properly motivated, they can end up sucking the life out of your company. Unhappy employees cost companies over half a billion dollars in lost productivity. What if there were a formula for gauging your employees’ attitudes and a methodology for creating an energetic workplace atmosphere? While we can’t promise an overnight solution, we can give you facts and actionable tips based on national and global research to get the process in motion. All it takes from you is the desire to make the change and the commitment to transform the culture of your organization from blah to hell ya! Change is best implemented from the top with executive support so every employee on your payroll understands the importance of the initiative. Give your employees a reason to care.

1. 8 Ways to Ensure Your
Employees Give a Damn
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Why Getting
Them to Care
Matters

2. 1
Joseph Folkman, Behavioral Statistician, 2014.
2
Gallup “State of the American Workplace” 2013 http://www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/163007/state-american-workplace.aspx
Employees who don’t find their
company’s vision meaningful at all have
average engagement scores of only 16%.1
700 out of every 1,000 employees either
don’t care about their job or are actively
badmouthing it.2
Active disengagement costs the U.S.
$450 billion to $550 billion per year in
lost productivity.2
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3. A company is only as good as its employees.
A CEO can’t run a company alone; it takes teamwork with everyone rowing in the same direction.
Unfortunately, statistics show the majority of employees are hardly contributing to the success of
their companies. Disengaged employees can be a CEO’s biggest liability. Imagine the potential of
your company if every employee, from the executives to the receptionists, is fired up to work at their
maximum potential?
So how can you make sure the people you hire keep the honeymoon enthusiasm beyond a few
months? How can you get your employees to care as much about your company as you do?
These 8 tips will not only light the spark but keep the embers burning for years to come.
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4. 1
Global Unified Talent Management Survey, Taleo Research with Human Capital Institute, Quantum Market Research 2008.
2
High Impact Talent Management and High Impact Performance Management research, Bersin & Associates 2007.
3
LRP Publications, Dr. Jac Fitz-enz 2007.
Their job function should have a clear line to the overall vision of the company.
Every person in the company should know how their particular job impacts the company vision and
strategy – why they matter, why their job exists, what is expected of them. If this thought overwhelms
you, you aren’t alone. The majority of companies fall short when it comes to communicating the
vision and integrating job roles with the strategy to achieve set goals.
85% of the respondents said linking talent goals to
business goals was “challenging” or “very challenging.”1
Only 29% of organizations create employee goals which
are aligned to the organization2
Of the companies studied, 44% of the stronger
performers had almost 100% aligned goals at the
managerial level and none of the weaker performers did3
Tie their goals to corporate strategy1
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5. 30% of performance reviews resulted in decreased employee performance2
93% of professionals say regular, high-quality informal feedback is important to their success3
43% of respondents say they receive regular coaching or feedback from executives4
1
Donna Morris, Senior Director at Adobe.
2
Stanford University: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/features/job-performance-appraisals-how-much-should-you-expect_1066038.html.
3
TEKsystems, October 2012. 4 Mercer’s Global Performance Management Survey 2013.
Annual reviews cause more damage than good.
The traditional performance reviews of the past have been proven to cause
more distress, resentment and attrition than they inspire improved work
quality. “The Performance Review is like a rear-view mirror – it has nothing
to do with the person’s progress forward and pits person against person.
The more people receive recognition for what they’re doing in real time,
the more it directs their performance.”1
When employees perform well, particularly in tasks directly related to the company’s strategy goals, they
should be recognized far and wide. One Fortune 100 company sends a company-wide email every time a
new client is signed, while another rings a bell on the PA system whenever a customer gives the company
high marks on satisfaction surveys. Praise feels good, especially when it benefits a greater cause.
Measure their performance regularly and give
them wide recognition
2
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6. While 52% of corporate employees pursued an entrepreneurial idea inside their company, only
20% felt their company truly supports developing new ideas in this way.”1
The relationship between hours worked and productivity is actually inverse – the more hours
worked per person actually results in a lower GDP.2
“In a typical organization, a hierarchical operational structure meets daily demands through clear
reporting relationships and responsibilities. This structure minimizes risk, keeping people in
boxes and silos, sorting work into departments, product divisions and regions. The trouble is,
managers in hierarchical organizations don’t promote or reward risk and innovation – they rely
on routine, and turn to the same trusted people to run key initiatives.”3
1
Accenture. 2
OECD 2012: http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=PDB_LV).
3
John P. Kotter, Harvard Business School Professor and author of “Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World” 2014.)
Goals shouldn’t be a stopping point.
When employees’ goals are aligned to the corporate strategy, achieving them is much easier because they
make sense. Attained goals should be celebrated but also used as a catalyst to going above and beyond.
As employees gain confidence, they are more inclined to innovate and accomplish more than what’s
expected. Surprisingly, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll have to work longer hours. Here are some
interesting facts:
Enable them to exceed goals and drive
innovation or sales
3
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7. 1
Society of Human Resource Management Employee Satisfaction and Engagement Survey 2011:
http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/2012EmployeeJobSatisfaction.aspx.
2
Mercer’s Global Performance Management Survey 2013.
3
Harvard Business Review: http://hbr.org/2012/07/why-top-young-managers-are-in-a-nonstop-job-hunt/ar/1
Give your employees the ability to grow.
When people are hired for a particular job function, they typically don’t expect to be in the same role
indefinitely. Before you were CEO, you had dreams of moving up the ladder and developing the
required skills to get you there. Your employees are just the same, so enable them to reach their
dreams and their loyalty will be your reward.
43% of satisfied employees are happy with their career development
opportunities1
Only 8% of employees say their individual performance is linked to
“actionable” development planning2
75% of today’s most sought-after professionals are constantly networking
and thinking about the next step, even if they seem fully engaged.3
Nearly 95% of employees regularly engaged in related activities such as
updating resumes and seeking information on prospective employers.
They left their companies, on average, after 28 months.3
Establish an evolving employee development plan4
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8. “Organizations that grant company shares to their employees obtain improved company
performance in product development, market expansion and sales.”1
“In the economic downturn that started in 2008, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) companies
laid off employees at a rate less than 3%, while non-ESOP companies laid off employees at a rate
higher than 12%.”2
A network of over 1,500 ESOP companies found that after implementing Employee Stock Ownership
Plans, 84% of firms reported an increase in both employee motivation and productivity.2
1
Professors Joseph Lampel, Ajay Bhalla and Pushkar of City University in London:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865601466/Why-shouldn7t-employees-own-more-of-the-companies-they-work-for.html.
2
National Center for Employee Ownership: https://www.nceo.org/main/articles.php)
When their own skin is in the game, their purpose becomes much clearer.
Working at a company is like being on a team: everyone should work together for the win and celebrate the
victory. If your employees feel like they’re doing the work but not receiving the rewards, it won’t be long until
they’re burned out and looking for a job elsewhere. Establishing a meaningful rewards system not only
encourages employees to attain goals but makes them feel part of a team, valued and appreciated.
Give them a stake in the company’s success5
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9. Companies in the top quartile on both engagement and enablement exceeded industry averages by
40-60% on five-year return on assets, return on investment and return on equity.1
Companies that both engage and enable employees
showed turnover rates 54% lower than companies with
low levels of engagement and enablement.1
Nearly 90% of customer-facing employees said there is
a gap between the experience they can deliver and the
experience the customer expects.2
36% of managers said their organizations struggle to
have the newest technologies.2
1
“The Enemy of Engagement”, Mark Roay and Tom Agnew 2011.
2
“The New Workplace Reality: Enterprises Must Capture the Soul and Spirit of the Emerging Worker”, Ricoh and Forrester Consulting.
Employees can only do so much.
It might surprise you to know that inherently, most employees want to do their jobs well but feel there are
roadblocks inhibiting them from working at their full potential. Whether it can be blamed on a lack of
technology or organizational support, departmental silos preventing an open flow of communication and
shared data, or not enough resources for project requirements, it’s up to the CEO to give them all the tools
they need to do their job well.
Give them the resources they need to succeed6
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10. 1
Tribe Inc. 2
Burson-Marstellar. 3
Towers Watson 2010.
4
Accenture: www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-acn-survey-enabling-culture-innovation-entrepreneurialism.aspx?c=mc_prposts_10000058&n=otc_1013)
Silos and hierarchies breed division and redundancy.
George Bernard Shaw said it best when he stated, “The single biggest
problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Many CEOs
think their departments and employees are communicating, but the opposite
is actually true. Communication is an art and fostering open communication
takes work. Many feel they can’t share their ideas because of bureaucracy or
fear their ideas will be ill-received. The CEO can change this mentality,
however, and allow everyone to feel their ideas matter.
58% of employees said they’d like a space to share innovative ideas and 46% said they’d like a collaboration
space to work on projects with others and share work in progress.1
“Internal communication is the top factor in determining a CEO’s reputation, which in turn is critical to shareholder value.”2
Companies that meet their standards for highly effective communication had 47% higher total returns to
shareholders over a 5-year period.3
More than 50% of those surveyed said their company does not support ideas from all levels of the workforce and
27% said they have avoided pursuing an idea with their company out of concerns of negative consequences.4
Encourage open communication and sharing
of ideas with management
7
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11. 1
Giving USA, Annual Report on Philanthropy 2011:
http://store.givingusareports.org/2012-Giving-USA-The-Annual-Report-on-Philanthropy-for-the-Year-2011-Executive-Summary-P43.aspx.
2
Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm.
3
Dr. Noelle Nelson, “Make More Money by Making Your Employees Happy” 2012.
It’s not all about you.
Your employees have a life outside of your company. If you’ve mastered the ability to appreciate
what they do for you in the office, how much greater would your return be if you valued what they do
outside of their work? Many Fortune 100 companies provide some type of incentive to employees
who dedicate their time and money to volunteer projects, charities and retirement dreams. Showing
your employees you care about them personally – their families, their interests – helps them feel
valued as a person, not just a commodity.
Over 65% of Fortune 500 companies match employee donations to a
variety of charitable causes1
Over 62 million Americans volunteered for over 8 billion hours in 2013.2
Support their passions8
“When employees feel that the company takes their interests to
heart, then the employees will take company interests to heart.”3
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12. Restructuring your company so your employees not only have every opportunity to succeed, but they truly
desire to help your company succeed is the goal. It won’t happen overnight but here are some additional
tips to get you started:
Provide clear direction regarding organizational priorities to
help employees focus on higher-value tasks
Implement policies and practices consistently to ensure
workloads are fairly and equitably distributed
Emphasize high levels of teamwork within and across
organizational units to provide employees with access to
support from co-workers
Support training, development and empowerment
opportunities to ensure employees at all levels have the
skills and decision-making authority to get the job done
Provide adequate resources to enable employees to
execute work tasks effectively with high quality
Mark Royal and Tom Agnew, “The Enemy of Engagement” 2011.
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13. You don’t have to figure this out on your own.
As CEO, you set the direction for your company.
Your employees want to care but you have to
give them reason enough to do so. Using the
above tips and a little time, you might just find
your company is thought of as one of the best
places to work.
If you need more help getting started, Khorus is
the only management system to give CEOs a
hierarchical view of the entire organization which
ensures employees are aligned, engaged and
working in harmony to achieve corporate goals.
To learn more about Khorus solutions, please visit
the Khorus website.
Give your employees reason to care
KHORUS.COM
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