BUSINESS CAPABILITY WORKSHOP – 14 APRIL 2021
Simon Weakley, Dale Carnegie Auckland
Dale Carnegie has been around for 105 years, which means its consultants were helping businesses recover in the wake of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Armed with more than a century of experience therefore, Simon Weakley encouraged his audience of business owners to think about how they could instil a sense of ownership amongst their staff. The group discussions produced many ideas, including:
- Giving employees an opportunity to contribute
- Showing that they are valued
- Helping them to understand the purpose behind strategy
- Providing opportunities for training and personal development
- Sharing knowledge with them
- Making sure they share in the business’ success
Many of these reflected people’s three key drivers, to have a:
- Sense of belonging
- Sense of importance
- Sense of moving forward
Employee engagement is not a new concept, but it can be complex and does require more than lip service. Business owners need to choose to actively engage with their team. Referring to the “human relationships triangle”, Simon explained that the day-to-day focus should be on enhancing employer/employee relationships but is more typically about “telling people what to do and ensuring that they do it”. He used a visual storytelling exercise (involving, amongst other things, a house, an explosion and a telescope) to walk participants through the framework for meaningful conversations. Asking questions and applying active listening skills enables us to learn someone’s values – and thus appreciate their perspective and motivations.
The numbers do not lie. When staff are genuinely “hands, head and heart” engaged, an organisation’s bottom line improves, coupled with lower absenteeism, increased productivity and higher operating income. On a poor day, employees will give 100 per cent. On every other day, they are thinking, “What else can I do to make this better?”
Summing up, Simon challenged participants to think about their new learnings, and consider what they would now stop doing, start doing and keep doing. This was food for thought indeed – lively conversations continued after the workshop had been formally concluded.
