Saying goodbye to summer...

Tomorrow, September 22, is the first day of fall. Goodbye summer, goodbye beaches, vacations and steamy temperatures. Hello football, prime-time TV and sweater weather.

In celebration of the new season, we’re taking a look back at the great summer we had here at Thoughts from Training Time.

And taking a look back at the posts readers enjoyed most during the past few months:

1. 10 low-cost employee incentive ideas


2. Employee incentive ideas on a budget


3. 5 tips to build employee morale in a down economy


4. Friday office humor: Olympics at work


5. Employee recognition ideas on the cheap, it’s easier than you think


6. Great ice breaker ideas start with three words


7. New icebreaker activities for meetings


8. Creative Icebreaker Games: Guess Who?


9. Taking steps to improve employee morale


10. How to have fun at work: Work like a dog

Keeping employees on their toes, a field study

Continuing with the Training Trends theme from last week, I’d like to demonstrate how you, too, can easily keep your employees on their toes. Depending on your line of work, it could be as simple as putting on a blue polo and a pair of khakis.

Back in 2006, the self-proclaimed “urban pranksters” from Improv Everywhere recruited a group of about 80 people to play an interesting joke on a local Best Buy store. After arriving to a secret location dressed in the company’s signature blue polo and khaki pants the group was given these instructions:

“We’re heading up to the Best Buy on 23rd Street. We’ll enter the store one by one. Once inside, spread out and stand near the end of an aisle, facing away from the merchandise. Don’t shop, but don’t work either. If a customer comes up to you and asks you a question, be polite and help them if you know the answer. If anyone asks you if you work there, say no. If an employee asks you what you’re doing, respond ‘I’m waiting for my girlfriend/boyfriend who is shopping elsewhere in the store.’ If they question you about your clothing, just explain that it’s what you put on when you woke up this morning and you don’t know any of the other people dressed like you.”

And, they caught it all on video:



Get creative, keep your employees on their toes and have some fun.

The simplest way to improve morale

Say thank you.

Sounds simple enough, right?

In most businesses across the country, numbers are down and stress levels are skyrocketing. It’s an unfortunate combination that doesn’t do much for employee morale.

Right now, you may not have the money to take your team out for lunch or the company can’t contribute to a recognition program. It’s times like these when you’ll find that sometimes it’s the simplest signs of appreciation that can do an even better job than the fancy stuff.

Showing honest appreciation for the people on your team can do wonders for morale. Whether you stop by their desk to say thanks for their help on that last project or leave a funny greeting card on their desk expressing how much you appreciate all the hard work they put in, simple recognition can go a long way.

I recently came across a great post at Pamela Slim’s Escape From Cubicle Nation where Slim shared a personal story about a day that began with a not-so-pleasant experience at the airport.

She was dropped off almost two hours before her 6:30 a.m. flight, well before Starbucks opened their doors, and had to navigate through a blockade of airport construction. The caffeine-less Slim decided to sit down and write a blog post, but the only topics that came to mind included why mean people suck and sleep deprivation.

Then, almost magically, she received a tweet from a fan of her book: “@pamslim Pam, your book really is an achievement. It’s the best book I have read on the topic and the one I will be recommending widely.”

The message changed her mood right there on the spot. So much of a change that she started thinking of ways to show the same kindness as her tweeting fan.

Now I will look for opportunities throughout my trip to show the same kindness as Daniel, by doing things like:

• Saying thank you often and sincerely
• Complimenting someone on a job well done
• Encouraging to my clients and students
  

Kindness is not a little thing. It is not fluffy, unicorn and rainbow coachy stuff.

Kindness heals.

I highly recommend it.

The next time someone on your team looks like they’re having a difficult day, use it as an opportunity to share some words of encouragement and appreciation. In the same way it turned Slim’s day around, your words have the power to change their day for the better.

Should improving employee morale come with a black eye?

When you’re brainstorming ways to improve employee morale you usually think of friendly events including picnics, team building retreats and competitive games. An event where employees duke it out in a boxing ring would probably be the last idea on your list, but it’s exactly what one Southern California start-up has in mind.

Since the economic downturn began, Chris Lyman, CEO Fonality, noticed that the “energy was different” within the company and thought up an extreme idea to improve it. Fonality makes affordable business phone systems for companies with 5-500 employees and competes with the likes of Cisco, Avaya, and Nortel.

Instead of “hugging it out” they would “punch it out” in a new “Fight Club” inspired employee competition, according to socialTech.

Fonality employees are currently training for the “Fonality Fight Club,” a mixed-martial arts (MMA) employee tournament. They’re so serious about it that the company hired martial arts expert Chris Reilly, who trains fighters for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), to referee the competition.

According to CEO Chris Lyman and VP of Product and Marketing Corey Brundage, the idea for the fight club came when Lyman ran into Reilly in a restaurant, and learned about his fighting class. Lyman explains that because of the lackluster economy, the "energy was different" around the firm, and they felt instead of solving by "hugging it out" they'd "punch it out." (socialTech)

When asked if he’s worried about employees being injured, Lyman said employees will be wearing the proper safety equipment and any employee with fighting experience may not enter the tournament. There were 17 employees signed up for the event, at the time the socialTech article was published.

So how is a “fight club” supposed to improve employee morale? The tournament winner is awarded two free weeks of vacation. The loser must grow a mustache, equal in length to the round they lost in the fight (we assume the company is all male), and write an apology letter to the winner’s mother for losing.

Apart from this being one of the craziest ideas to improve employee morale, organizing an event like the “Fonality Fight Club” can cause serious human resources and legal issues.

What if an employee is seriously injured while fighting a coworker?

Would beating each other up create a hostile work environment?

Could the fight club losers and their mustaches become targets for workplace harassment?

Do you think the employee fight club is a fun idea for boosting employee morale or has the company set themselves up for a potential disaster?

Please share your thoughts and opinions in a comment below.

Bringing kids to work may improve morale

If your company has been searching for affordable ways to improve morale, you may need to look no further than your employees’ families.

Next Thursday, April 23, 2009, is the national date for the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work program. While opening a child’s eyes to what their parents do for a living, the program can also serve as an inexpensive way to boost employee morale.

The yearly event exposes children to what their parents do during the workday, showing them the value of education and what their future can hold. Though the program is centered around kids, bringing children into the workplace for a day may hold even more benefits for employers.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day benefits workplaces by providing an important boost to workers and their families, while keeping costs to a minimum. Holding a family day at work can foster employees’ pride in their work, which will ultimately improve performance.

Think kids would be bored senseless at your workplace? Take a look at some of these educational ideas and activities that just about every organization can incorporate, including:

• Hold hands-on department workshops. From Accounting to Human Resources, create activities where children use their problem-solving skills to tackle real workplace issues like managing a budget or interviewing new job candidates.


• Give a tour. Take children on a tour of your workplace starting at the front desk and make your way through every department of the organization. Show children how your product or service is developed from beginning to end.


• Have a brown-bag lunch. Have families eat together in the main lunchroom and set up an interactive Q & A session with the head of the company. Have your CEO explain what they do and allow children to ask questions on anything they would like to know about the job.

Whether you’re able to allocate a full day to the event, or just a half-day, giving employees the opportunity to share what they do with their families can have a positive impact on their work.

Discover more resources, activity guides and ideas at the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work official website.