It has been a busy few days for me.  Birthday get together, overnight baseball game get away with the hubster, a little IKEA window shopping.  It was really great to break the routine up a bit!  I loved connecting with some of my friends that I have not seen in several months and especially loved being able to treat my DH to a Royals baseball game.Well,  okay, he paid but it was my idea. The deal is always sweeter when family members work for hotel chains and you get to enjoy their “almost free” rates!

 

 

While visiting with my friends last weekend, I had the opportunity to hear some of their concerns and frustrations with their current employment situation.  I was struck with a thought that, while not new, came at me from a different perspective.

 

The CULTURE of employee appreciation…

 

I have, over the course of time, been involved in both Corporate America as well as Direct Sales.  For the sake of this discussion, lets use the term Direct Sales to mean any home-based business.  I am not necessarily referring to pyramid schemes, although some of those may fit in here. I am speaking of businesses where you demonstrate a product, sell it to the audience then continue to service the replenishment needs of that customer base. Many of these companies also have the component of recruitment along with compensation related to that recruitment.

 

I have been and still am affiliated with such a company. I currently do not maintain a customer base – so this is  not a blog about “recruiting”.

So relax….

 

In today’s economy, supervisors are finding it easier and easier to inform their salaried staff that they are expected to work at the mercy of the organization – and the employee should say thank you to said company for allowing them (the employee) to have a job. This is bleeding into a workforce which is rapidly believing that work is the most important part of their lives, and that employee abuse is appropriate.

 

 

 Abuse. Yes, that is what I said. Abuse.  

 

Where else in life would you allow someone to “tell” you some of the things your employer tells you and expects of you? And each time they mandate your extra time with no benefit (oh, that is right, I forgot the benefit is that they still let you work there- AND they remind you of that) and you respond in their favor, you are abused to a new level.  But what is a person to do?  We need the job to pay the bills.  So we put up with it.  And the “man” gets more and more demanding and less and less interested in saying thank you by any tangible or intangible means.

 

 

 

Direct sales, on the other hand, knows all too well that their success lies almost exclusively in the hands of the selling staff that they recruit.  There are quotas and deadlines and costs involved in direct sales. But there is also reward and appreciation.  If you have never been a part of one of these companies, let me tell you a few things about them.

 

 

• they regularly thank their employees for their hard work – verbally and in writing
• they regularly recognize their employees for even the smallest of accomplishments
• they regularly reward their employees for goals met, quotas achieved, jobs well done
• they regularly encourage each employee to become a better version of themselves
• they regularly offer trainings and opportunities for improvement
• they regularly  remind their employees that the door is open for advancement and explain the path to that accomplishment
• they regularly encourage their employees to network and share ideas on how to be successful

 

Do you see a pattern here?  I do.  I see intentionality on the part of these companies to build a culture of appreciation and motivation of  their employees.  Does your place of employment make that a priority?  I know none of the places I have been employed ever did that for me or any of my colleagues.  

 

It is interesting to me to watch folks in direct sales.  Yes, the wildly successful ones seem to be a “certain type” of person. But there are thousands who are by all definitions successful in direct sales, and they are that way because they feel that their company believes in them, supports them, appreciates them and equips them to be the spokesperson for their product.  Investing in your “sales force” is so very important.  Corporate America has, for the most part, forgotten this trait.  What this has created for the majority of our workforce is:

 

• people who simply “punch the time clock” giving nothing the minimum of themselves to their organization
• people who are not invested in whatever product they are “selling” and believe me everything is something to be sold at some level
• people who have no purpose in their daily employment
• people who feel useless to their employer
• people who are bitter towards their employer
• people who cannot be motivated, except by a threat
• people who have no “buy in” to the bigger picture
• people who do not take pride in their work

 

Some time ago, I provided a list of names, each week, from within our organization to my staff.  I asked them to consider contacting that person, either on the phone, by email or by handwritten note, and tell them at least one thing that person did for our organization which was appreciated.  Seriously folks, how difficult is that?  Better yet- how often is ANYTHING like that done? I had several that were willing to do this and some who were not.  The interesting part was watching what happened when folks received this encouragement – both for that person and for the person who had sent the encouragement. There was a brief moment of camaraderie that took place.  A brief moment of looking outside of yourself to see how one could impact another in our organization.  A brief moment of success.  For me, it wasn’t important that the person respond, but, when they did, I was more  energized for our company that day.  I can’t help but think that each person who received thanks during those weeks had to have felt a small bit of energy as well.  And who ultimately benefited from that?  Yes the individuals AND  the organization.

 

Direct sales companies have it going on in this motivation and appreciation realm.

 

 Corporate America – they are for the most part – the antithesis of this idea. Some companies are seeing that they are lacking in this area – others could care less – their philosophy is that there are 25 people that could take over your job, so if you don’t like the way things happen in your organization – just get out of the way and the next person will take your place.  This is one of the saddest, and I might add most expensive, mistakes companies make.  

 

Today, this is such a recognized vacuum in the workforce, that there are businesses created to assist you in knowing how to build this culture of appreciation. While that is great – how sad is it that this need even exists? How is it that we have forgotten how to say thank you and to congratulate for a job well done? Where did we lose the idea that creating a team is more successful than isolation and pitting one employee against another?  Culture building takes commitment, both in personnel and funds, but it can be and should be done in all of our employment arenas.

 

 

 

There are a few organizations that recognize this very important element and are building and practicing this culture of appreciation. They know something about success that the majority does not know or at the very least is unwilling to invest in.  They know that we reap what we sow. They know that their primary investment is in their “people”. They know that once their people are sold out to the company and the product, that the product will flourish.  Ask any of my direct sales friends – they will tell you that they love their company and are just putting up with what we, in direct sales, refer to as J-O-B’S.

 

What about you?  How is appreciation shown to you from your employer?  How do you know that you are an important part of the organization? Is there some small way that you could institute a change in your job, to begin building a culture of appreciation? Give it a try, make a difference in someone else’s work experience.

 

Be a change agent.

 

Then let me know in the comments how it goes!