From Like to Love

Inspiring Emotional Commitment from Employees and Customers

Keith Alper

• Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780578870229
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Leadership
• Index: Business

Most companies know that winning customers is key. But many don't realize that loyalty starts from the inside, with employees. To build a brand that truly motivates, they must take their employees from liking their jobs to loving them.

As CEO of CPG Agency (A Nitrous Effect agency), which specializes in corporate and employee engagement, Keith Alper has seen the competitive edge gained by creating a culture that turns employees into brand advocates. In From Like to Love, he draws on real-life examples to present his proven process for turning any organization from appreciated to adored, including:

• Keeping a finger on the "pulse" of satisfaction
• Creating an engaged workforce
• Building open communication and trust
• Creating a competitive advantage with love
• And more

The smallest shift can make a huge difference, making team members happier, more able to create value, and likely to be retained longer, impacting your bottom line.

PART ONE

GETTING FROM LIKE TO LOVE

Chapter One

TALENT: THERE’S A WAR GOING ON

A few years ago, we experienced the Great Recession, and it seemed like everyone was out of a job. Contrast that with the state of the economy today, and we see that this is no longer the case—the economy is hot! Recent college graduates have no trouble finding jobs, and employees receive raises left and right. Companies want to hire the best people out there, and they actively recruit in this present-day talent war. However, mere recruitment isn’t enough—organizations must put forth the effort to retain employees as well.

Employees who are unhappy or simply like your company are a flight risk—it’s just a matter of time before they leave. They can easily be “recruited away” and decide to work for another organization. On the other hand, employees who love where they work will find it difficult to leave, even if they could make more money elsewhere.

Millennials and Generation Z are the new workforce, and they only add heat to the talent war. Generation Z includes people between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one, and they are different from the generations that precede them. They have high levels of skill in data, programming, and writing code when they graduate from high school. Since these skills are in high demand, they often have the option to skip college and immediately earn huge salaries with high-tech companies. This is wonderful news for a number of organizations, but members of Generation Z tend to get numerous job offers, and if they don’t love your company, it will be nearly impossible to recruit them. Companies need to take action and prepare for the changing needs and expectations of Millennials and Gen Z, while working to inspire and motivate top talent of all ages.

A CRISIS OF TALENT

According to a 2014 report from Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Research, 79 percent of business leaders believe they have a significant employee engagement problem.¹ Many leaders we work with today are concerned—even worried—about hiring top talent and keeping them engaged. In our business, we’ve become painfully aware that some people absolutely hate their jobs. Others don’t trust management, and they are fed up with their company saying one thing and doing another. According to Gallup research, after a year on the job, 70 percent of people are no longer engaged at work, and this lack of engagement costs companies up to $550 billion per year in lost productivity.² These statistics only heighten today’s crisis of talent.

WHO COMES FIRST?

The experience at the Walgreens near my house is unlike any other. A woman who works there runs throughout the store to help customers, sings into the PA system, and joyfully does her job. I believe she might be the world’s best employee.

Her happiness makes her a wonderful brand advocate—she’s obviously committed to the organization and its goals. Customers feel good about the store and want to return. Coworkers enjoy their work environment because her happiness is contagious. Her attitude provides smarter outcomes, and she is moving the business forward.

It’s awesome to see such an engaged employee, but this brings us to the billion-dollar question: who is your first priority to make happy—employees or customers?

Some company leaders believe employees should be the priority, and others believe it should be the customers. The fact is, if you put employees first, they will take care of the customers.

Execution of strategies will differ from company to company, but the employee-customer relationship is symbiotic—it’s interrelated, no matter the company. Happy employees who love what they do serve customers well, and do whatever it takes to help the company’s bottom line. They’re more willing to stay late and go above and beyond in their daily responsibilities. Engaged employees are priceless. They are the key to customer satisfaction.

THE COST OF TURNOVER

Engaged employees are invaluable, but unhappy employees end up costing an organization money. Disengaged employees aren’t loyal to their company, and when a workforce is disengaged, it results in rapid turnover. Every industry is different, but it’s costly to recruit someone new, and turnover is even more expensive.

For example, we work with a health system that has a high rate of turnover, and it costs them about $55,000 to recruit and train a new nurse. We understand there are circumstances that cause employees to leave, such as relocation, but we know of several hospital systems that are understaffed by thousands of people! Employees are leaving in droves, and this doesn’t just cost hospitals a fortune—it creates a massive shortage of talented, much-needed staff.

Why are so many hospital employees leaving their jobs? It’s possible the organizations are doing a poor job of communicating, aren’t listening to employee feedback, or aren’t recognizing employee contributions. Or it could be due to changes in the economy, which have opened up new gigs via home health opportunities, neighborhood urgent care clinics, nursing homes, and more. The talent wars, a wealth of new options, and the increasing demand for an engaging company culture can be a formula for success, or disaster.

When employees love where they work, they provide smarter outcomes, and they’ll stick with an organization for the long term. They become brand advocates who actively move the business forward. This is a no-brainer: get your employees engaged!

CASE STUDY: TESLA VERSUS FORD

You’re probably familiar with the car company Tesla, the hard-driving startup that burst onto the scene a few years ago. They’re industry innovators and changers, and even though they have a demanding CEO, people love working there. Why? Because they feel like they’re part of something that matters; they build something significant every day. The company demands hard work and expects everyone to go above and beyond, but it’s worth it to the employees because they’re on the cutting edge and reap the financial rewards.

Ford, on the other hand, is behind the curve when it comes to manufacturing electric vehicles, and employee engagement is lacking. There’s not much love. Ford struggled during the economic downturn, and they’re still long overdue in the release of certain product lines. Recently, Ford’s board of directors fired its CEO because they realized they lagged so far behind Tesla. And now, Ford has reduced production of most of its car line.

What it comes down to is this: if you can move your employees from like to love, you will win the talent war.

END OF CHAPTER CHECKLIST/CHEAT SHEET

•Do your employees love working for you? How do you measure this love?

•Who comes first at your company—employees or customers?

•Does your company have a crisis of talent?

•Do you know the cost of turnover at your company?

•Are you making changes to create and provide a more loving environment?

•If you were to write a case study of your own company, how would you describe the level of employee satisfaction?

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¹Bersin, Josh; Flynn, Jason; Mazor, Art; Melian, Veronica, “The employee experience: Culture, engagement, and beyond,” Deloitte Insights, Feb. 28, 2017, https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/human-capital-trends/2017/improving-the-employee-experience-culture-engagement.html.

²Gallup 2017 State of the American Workplace Report, https://news.gallup.com/reports/199961/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx.

Chapter Two

FORGET EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: GO FOR THE LOVE!

Why is Google thriving and Yahoo has all but disappeared? Quality products and services play a part in the success of an organization, but I believe it all starts and ends with company culture. When someone has a solid career and can choose between competing workplaces in the same industry, culture is the main differentiator.

CREATING A “LOVEABLE” CULTURE

A loveable corporate culture begins at the top of the organization, with senior leadership setting the tone. Their priorities are made obvious to employees through their everyday actions, and those become the spirit of the culture. For example, if they only care about financial results, that will be the sole motivation behind everyone’s daily tasks. While good financial results benefit employees, shareholders, and stakeholders, top companies make establishing a positive company culture their top priority. A business that is all about profits will never succeed.

Corporate culture can’t be an “also-ran.” The C-suite has to encourage employee love. I understand the word love can be hard to embrace, but it truly is the catalyst to success. Have you thought about how your company has accommodated employee needs and requests over the past ten years? Do you know how your salaries rank versus the competition?

An engaging culture requires executive sponsorship, and will positively impact your bottom line if it gets the attention it deserves. When leaders put their people first and focus to make sure employees love the company, it pays off. They get happy, engaged employees and the natural sequence of success that follows.

EMOTIONAL BANK ACCOUNT

Think of company culture as an emotional bank account. You constantly put in deposits, and you have the option to make withdrawals. For example, if your company plans to institute a policy that some employees don’t like, you must have enough in your emotional bank account to make a withdrawal.

If the account is well-padded, the unfavorable policy won’t create an overdraft. Every company makes mistakes, but if you always put culture and engagement first, the emotional bank account will be full.

I know we’ve made mistakes at our company. We do all we can to put our employees first, but occasionally, something that aligns with company goals doesn’t align with what employees want.

For example, our company was small when it first began, and there weren’t many women in the organization. After our workforce grew and became more diverse, it was brought to our attention that we needed to make changes to our maternity-leave policy. As male leaders, we weren’t aware of the ways in which it was lacking until two female employees approached us with proposed changes. New mothers needed more time off and the option to work from home or bring their babies into the office. We reviewed their requests and updated the policy immediately. This was a small change, but it made a big difference; it was easy, and it was the right thing to do. We went from having no plan at all to creating a robust one, which helped move our employees from like to love.

PULSE CHECK

A doctor checks your pulse when you go in for a physical because it’s a vitally important indicator of how your entire body is functioning. In the same fashion, it’s imperative to check the pulse of your organization. Every company has good and bad days—they even have good and bad months. Pulse checks keep leadership informed of these less-than-ideal days, and they can use the information gathered to find solutions.

There are many ways to conduct pulse checks, but they have to be real. You must execute them in an effective manner, understand the results, and plan to address the areas that may need attention. To get you brainstorming, I’ll share a pulse check method we use at our agency, CPG.

We have a meter with red and green buttons near our exit that asks employees, “How was your day today?” They can choose green or red before they go home for the day, and the data then goes to our chief operating officer (COO).

We don’t fret too much if ...