Post holiday blues?

improve bottom line with employee engagement

Looking for ways to kick off 2009 with high employee morale? Usually, returning to work after the holidays finds workers with less to look forward to and with today's economy, the mindset may be more dismayed than usual.

Sustainability consulting involves identifying areas for renewed and continued growth. A small business resource that is oftentimes overlooked is the potential to engage your workforce in new and creative ways. Why not engage your employees with new goals for the first quarter. In our professional consulting, we've found that goals that are discussed and agreed upon by management and the team members are more successful than those singlehandedly decided upon by management. Get employee involvement and you'll get commitment. Explore new goals or types of goals that boost morale and engage teams in different ways than before to get people working together. Business sustainability is one area to improve the bottom line as well as elevate employee engagement.

CERES, (pronounced “series”) is a national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. In their Corporate Governance and Climate Change report, they state, "Companies are also reaching out across all levels of employees to encourage more environmentally friendly behavior and tap into the green ideas of these large pools of talent. For employees who feel passionate about the environment, these opportunities can increase job satisfaction, allowing employees to contribute to company strategy on a larger scale. Engaging employees in environmental initiatives can also help to give companies a leg up in attracting and retaining a talented employee base. A 2007 survey by employment website MonsterTRAK found that 80 percent of young workers surveyed are interested in a job that has a positive impact on the environment and 92 percent would choose to work for an environmentally friendly company."

This is good to know. Now, the next step in business sustainability is identifying and implementing a sustainability plan that aligns your corporate vision and the business practices. Before embarking on a big plan, remember to ask your team members and employees for their ideas. Get their feedback on what their vision is and integrate that into the company's sustainability plan. Success and the feeling of reward come from us all working towards a common vision.