GALT Consulting LLC

A good friend of mine sent me this Valentines Day Article from Mashable with "10 Ways to Show Your Employees You Love Them" and I thought I would comment on their 10 picks...

1) Don't Block Social Networks - Great point right out of the gate.  As the article says, productivity is IMPROVED when you allow for some leisure activities like surfing the internet.  This is a small gesture of trust that leads to ownership.  Side note... don't overreact if one employee takes advantage of this... just deal with that employee.

2) Allow Browser Freedom - This seems silly and minor to me, but it is a big deal to some people.  I think the header on this one is "don't make choices for your employees that you don't need to make".  I once encountered a company who required the use of a specific brand of pen during work.  The employees hated it and talked about it frequently, making a big deal out of nothing.

3) Work in the Cloud - Remote access to company files is a great productivity boost, when balanced with required security.  Most companies probably worry about security too much or not at all.  You'll be surprised how many employees will donate time from home.

4) Don't Ban Personal Cellphones - Personal cellphone use can be managed with some great, open conversations with individuals.  If you aren't willing to engage in a difficult conversation with an employee who spends 2 hours per day on their cellphone, you will like need to hide behind a policy.... otherwise, let people manage themselves.

5) Friend / Follow Your Employees - Ooooo...  I don't know if I agree with this one.  I would say that it depends on the type of work you have and your relationship with your employees.  As a boss, you might find out more than you want to know about your employees.  As an employee, you might feel a little crowded.

6) Set up a Company Social Network - A social network is simply utilizing technology to create 3-way communications.  1-way communication is talking at someone.  2-way is a conversation.  3-way is an open conversation with others able to chime in.  This concept is WAY underutilized in business applications.  If one employee has a problem, do you think another employee may have already dealt with that problem?  POTENTIALLY POWERFUL... and I have never seen it done in person.

7) Set up Company Music Playlists - Neat.

8) Offer Rewards for Location-Based Service Achievements - Doh!  My first reaction is that I don't like this one.  External rewards motivate people who normally wouldn't do a task, but they de-motivate someone who would love to do it.  Be careful...

9) Feature All your Staff on the Company Website - This is good marketing.  People like to read about people.  I don't know how it would work for really big companies, but I like this one.  Be creative when writing about the person...  don't just put in a resume.  Check out this example.

10) Set up an Online Comments System - This is a good step... like a suggestion box, but it is only one piece of a larger system.  Don't collect comments unless you have a system for executing them.

Overall... great article!  It gives businesses some things to think about... especially in related