Everywhere you turn and everywhere you look, someone is telling us how important it is to have employee engagement. Employee engagement, or simply, enthusiastic participation, is considered a key indicator of cultural health. Many studies have also shown a direct relationship between employee engagement and company success. So, if it is so important, how do we do it? How can we get it right? What is it so hard? Well, the answer might just lie in what we see in the video linked below. A colleague recently shared this link and it is well worth 2 minutes of your time:

http://www.tanveernaseer.com/vending-machine-teach-employee-engagement/?U=1_HQ8L_FCVZP

So, you see, employee engagement isn’t really that hard. This video concludes that if you do these two things, you will see immediate results:

1. Offer something unexpected – The students in the video were in their rut. Nothing new, same old routine. Yet, everything changed when they got someone unexpected! It changed the entire mood and environment in the room. How can we generate that same feeling? What can we do to offer the unexpected? In the workplace, unexpected food, unexpected entertainment, unexpected time away… these are all ways to “shake things up.” In your family setting, a surprise outing can get everyone engaged when they would have stayed in the routine otherwise. In a marriage, a surprise weekend away is good. Or, sometimes, just a personal note will make a difference. Think about something you can do to shake everyone out of their routine and get a level of engagement you haven’t seen in a while (if ever).
2. Kindness goes a long way – Did you notice how the students in the video immediately began sharing the fun with others? Did you count the “kind acts” that occurred in just this two minute video? How many times did one person do something kind for someone else? There is never a time when kindness is inappropriate. And, there is never a time when an act of kindness doesn’t impact someone. Demonstrating kindness to fellow employees can often allow engagement to explode. Kindness often brings an individual out of the rut and back to life. You saw this with the students in the video. What act of kindness can to perform today to help someone else out of their own personal rut?

Because it is so important, this very timely! How can you use this simple lesson in employee engagement to make a difference today?

I’m hoping today is one you’ll not soon forget. Have a fantastic, wonderful day full of the unexpected kindnesses of those you love and those that work with you.