I love Tim Sanders, and his style.
Recently, he echoed so much of what I’m thinking and chewing on about why companies need to be not just “remarkable” in the generic sense of the word to their external audiences – like customers and the media – but to their employees. Take 90 seconds to look at the video below. He calls it being “Facebook worthy”.
When you’re proud of the company you work for, you work harder without being asked. Your paycheck (so long as it takes care of the rent) isn’t nearly as much a point of contention. You don’t mind a few extra hours. You step outside your job description not as a renegade, but to be helpful and lend your skills where they might be useful.
You talk about your company not because it’s part of your job, but because you’re proud – even prone to bragging – about how much easier it is for you to go to work every day.
That’s nothing you can buy in a compensation and benefits package, nor something you can indoctrinate in an all-company meeting to recite the vision statement.
Pride is intrinsic, and it’s something you’d better be cultivating in your employees through building something worthwhile. They are your wealth, because the engine of business doesn’t chug forward on its own. And in a commoditized world and firehoses of information, the DNA of your business’ humanity can really make all the difference.
What you are describing, Amber, is what we call citizenship behavior. It is going above and beyond the job description and doing more than what is expected. It can have an organizational focus (things I do for my company) or an interpersonal focus (things I do for my co-workers). Either way it is strongly driven by job satisfaction. Companies full of good corporate citizens – those going above and beyond the call of duty – will always outperform companies where employees just show up, put in their time and do their job.
I have some recent research of my own in interpersonal citizenship behavior and found it to be a significant driver of job performance.
http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2010-04/interpersonal-citizenship-behavior-my-most-recent-research/
Thanks!
Bret
What you are describing, Amber, is what we call citizenship behavior. It is going above and beyond the job description and doing more than what is expected. It can have an organizational focus (things I do for my company) or an interpersonal focus (things I do for my co-workers). Either way it is strongly driven by job satisfaction. Companies full of good corporate citizens – those going above and beyond the call of duty – will always outperform companies where employees just show up, put in their time and do their job.
I have some recent research of my own in interpersonal citizenship behavior and found it to be a significant driver of job performance.
http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2010-04/interpersonal-citizenship-behavior-my-most-recent-research/
Thanks!
Bret
For the record, if anyone at my job did anything within the context of making me a “good corporate citizen”, I would mock them openly and publicly.
.-= Jeremy Meyers´s last blog ..What “What ___ Can Teach us about blogging” can teach us about blogging. =-.
For the record, if anyone at my job did anything within the context of making me a “good corporate citizen”, I would mock them openly and publicly.
.-= Jeremy Meyers´s last blog ..What “What ___ Can Teach us about blogging” can teach us about blogging. =-.
I am a huge Tim Sanders fan. In person, on screen, he is as good as his books!
I am a huge Tim Sanders fan. In person, on screen, he is as good as his books!
A Cautionary Tale: Having been part of a group within an organization with morale that declined from “How can create an even better product next time?” to “How can we stay out of the crosshairs, collect our paychecks and scram?”, I can attest to the high cost of brand corrosion.
In this case, this organization’s bad executive hire corroded not only the morale of the people working there, but also corroded the exact kind of positive street cred that Sanders is talking about.
Note: I’d also venture to say that web-savvy folks of any generation who still need to work are checking that grapevine, including Facebook!
Long after my escape from the organization, several people who noticed job postings for that group have contacted me and other escapees to suss out the real story behind the waves of job openings. Now that word has spread about the reasons so many took flight (nearly total turnover of longtime staff within a year’s time), the organization’s brand has taken an unfortunate, but deserved, bruising. Definitely not Facebook-worthy!
Organization X, please take note–and action!
A Cautionary Tale: Having been part of a group within an organization with morale that declined from “How can create an even better product next time?” to “How can we stay out of the crosshairs, collect our paychecks and scram?”, I can attest to the high cost of brand corrosion.
In this case, this organization’s bad executive hire corroded not only the morale of the people working there, but also corroded the exact kind of positive street cred that Sanders is talking about.
Note: I’d also venture to say that web-savvy folks of any generation who still need to work are checking that grapevine, including Facebook!
Long after my escape from the organization, several people who noticed job postings for that group have contacted me and other escapees to suss out the real story behind the waves of job openings. Now that word has spread about the reasons so many took flight (nearly total turnover of longtime staff within a year’s time), the organization’s brand has taken an unfortunate, but deserved, bruising. Definitely not Facebook-worthy!
Organization X, please take note–and action!
I have thought this exact same thing while pondering why some companies have a no social media policy. If you have nothing to fear from your staff then why shouldn’t they use social media? If you have treated them right and made them proud of where they work, surely they will have nothing but good things to say about you? My former employer,the BBC was one such company. They trust their staff and by and large their staff are proud to work for them.
.-= Lucy Thorpe´s last blog ..Customer Service tips (1) =-.
I have thought this exact same thing while pondering why some companies have a no social media policy. If you have nothing to fear from your staff then why shouldn’t they use social media? If you have treated them right and made them proud of where they work, surely they will have nothing but good things to say about you? My former employer,the BBC was one such company. They trust their staff and by and large their staff are proud to work for them.
.-= Lucy Thorpe´s last blog ..Customer Service tips (1) =-.
First of all, I love Tim Sanders as well.
Secondly, he brings up some very powerful points. I recognize as an employer how important it is to foster a culture in which my employees feel that there talents and creativity are nurtured. I work constantly to receive feedback from them to make sure this is the case. All of my employees are between 20 and 33, the culture is critical.
First of all, I love Tim Sanders as well.
Secondly, he brings up some very powerful points. I recognize as an employer how important it is to foster a culture in which my employees feel that there talents and creativity are nurtured. I work constantly to receive feedback from them to make sure this is the case. All of my employees are between 20 and 33, the culture is critical.
I think it would be really hard for me to ever trust any corporate culture ever again. Too many years of it.
I’d rather work twice as hard freelancing and building my own business, for half the pay.
Lot’s of material out there about how corporations are using Facebook profiles to screen potential employees. Good.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Writing About Money on Easter Sunday? Yes! And here’s why… =-.
I think it would be really hard for me to ever trust any corporate culture ever again. Too many years of it.
I’d rather work twice as hard freelancing and building my own business, for half the pay.
Lot’s of material out there about how corporations are using Facebook profiles to screen potential employees. Good.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Writing About Money on Easter Sunday? Yes! And here’s why… =-.
I’m not sure if I will believe this is true. Prospective employees will just not apply for a job just because they found it on Facebook. Maybe they will apply coz they saw an opening but not just because it is on Facebook. It would have been beneficial for the company to be seen in Facebook. And as Understandably Anonymous had said, people would want insider tips on the company so they would know what they are getting themselves into.
While I do believe that people would naturally want to work for a company they can be proud of–big companies like say Microsoft or Apple, etc. I think the important reason why people work hard is because they love what they do and because of the employee benefits. Because most big companies give out great employee benefits and bonuses as opposed to the lesser known companies. This may not always be true but it is a common conception.
PS. I think it’s all about motivation as stated here. Please check it out, it’s very interesting.
I’m not sure if I will believe this is true. Prospective employees will just not apply for a job just because they found it on Facebook. Maybe they will apply coz they saw an opening but not just because it is on Facebook. It would have been beneficial for the company to be seen in Facebook. And as Understandably Anonymous had said, people would want insider tips on the company so they would know what they are getting themselves into.
While I do believe that people would naturally want to work for a company they can be proud of–big companies like say Microsoft or Apple, etc. I think the important reason why people work hard is because they love what they do and because of the employee benefits. Because most big companies give out great employee benefits and bonuses as opposed to the lesser known companies. This may not always be true but it is a common conception.
PS. I think it’s all about motivation as stated here. Please check it out, it’s very interesting.
I agree with what Tim Sanders says in the sense that Gen Y is going to make a major impact. Gen Y is currently the generation in college and in the early years in the workplace. I believe the general definition of Gen Y is born between 1980-1994. Gen X is 1965-1979 and the Baby Boomers are 1946-1964.
Gen Y is a much larger Generation than Gen X. Gen Y are the children of the larger Baby Boomer generation for the most part.
Gen Y sees things differently than their predecessors. Gen Y has shown to be less motivated by money so far. It is true that Gen Y wants to make a good living, but they also are motivated by work-life balance, flex time and being treated well. This feeds into the point that those who are proud of who they work for are harder working and better employees.
The organizations that will succeed in the next 10 years are those that learn how to harness the talents of Gen Y the best.
I agree with what Tim Sanders says in the sense that Gen Y is going to make a major impact. Gen Y is currently the generation in college and in the early years in the workplace. I believe the general definition of Gen Y is born between 1980-1994. Gen X is 1965-1979 and the Baby Boomers are 1946-1964.
Gen Y is a much larger Generation than Gen X. Gen Y are the children of the larger Baby Boomer generation for the most part.
Gen Y sees things differently than their predecessors. Gen Y has shown to be less motivated by money so far. It is true that Gen Y wants to make a good living, but they also are motivated by work-life balance, flex time and being treated well. This feeds into the point that those who are proud of who they work for are harder working and better employees.
The organizations that will succeed in the next 10 years are those that learn how to harness the talents of Gen Y the best.
I’ve been to China travel, in my opinion chinese people are very freidly, and i especially like the city of beijingshenzhen, i have a friend from china, i ike her blog discount china, now she is in Jewish, just now, she send me a Jewish Directory website, i think the it is very useful.
I’ve been to China travel, in my opinion chinese people are very freidly, and i especially like the city of beijingshenzhen, i have a friend from china, i ike her blog discount china, now she is in Jewish, just now, she send me a Jewish Directory website, i think the it is very useful.
I couldn't agree with you more on this, Amber. Companies should really pay attention to their people. They should acknowledge their people for being there in making the business succeed. Most people love it when they are being appreciated for their hard work. I agree that pay check isn't nearly as much a point of contention. As long as these people are being taken good care of, they most probably will be proud to say that they made a very good decision in joining the company.
PS: Check out http://sn.im/wyeus and find out more ways to make people more proud of the company their working in.
I couldn't agree with you more on this, Amber. Companies should really pay attention to their people. They should acknowledge their people for being there in making the business succeed. Most people love it when they are being appreciated for their hard work. I agree that pay check isn't nearly as much a point of contention. As long as these people are being taken good care of, they most probably will be proud to say that they made a very good decision in joining the company.
PS: Check out http://sn.im/wyeus and find out more ways to make people more proud of the company their working in.