CHRISTMAS DINNER -- "It's amazing... three or four years and we have already run out of conversation." My banker friend Brett has just sat down beside me at our annual Christmas dinner. He's one of the Masters of The Universe, and we've been having a Christmas blow-out since the start of the decade. And, he's wrong, of course.
There's a whole line of marriage counseling that always talks about what to do when the fire goes out of your relationships. And there seem to always be shows on the television about how to mix things up in your relationships. Most of them I'd never admit to watching.
What we don't seem to spend too much time worrying about thought is how to keep people excited about their work.
I know Shell used to change people's jobs entirely every 18 months. That was one way of keeping things fresh. Informally I think good managers are quite adept at changing assignments for people and creating new and different things for them to do.
But few businesses have a systematic plan to keep employees interested.
Here are a few things to think out:
- Can employees influence the work that they do?
- Do people have autonomy to improve and recommend improvements in their work?
- Can people move around and work with and for different people -- to increase their learning?
- Do you provide opportunities for formal education?
- Can everyone see how they personally are helping the business succeed?
- Do they get recognised for that?
And the list goes on.
Let's bring back the love at work.
/df
P.S. I can't tell you how excited Brett will be to finally make it into this blog. But I want to assure you, no bungs were exchanged.