Establishing Culture Foundations

Good business is about connection;
Connecting with your team;
Connecting with your customers;
Connecting with yourself;

Discover the tools you need to create a vibrant, connected work culture with us here at The Engine.

Organisational culture or company culture is the set of values, behaviours, practices, and attitudes that the people in a company share. It informs the way they interact with each other and with customers, and it can make or break even the strongest business models.

We are proudly riders&elephants Practitioners which means we can help you make stronger connections to grow a healthier company culture and business. Connect with us to build a better company with an employee and customer engagement that inspires. We’ll help you build a better culture, become more customer-centric and be more resilient.

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Everyone deserves to be heard

Total applause for the many businesses that contacted us after last month’s newsletter – regarding having a Customer Survey done impartially via us here at The Engine. They are now on their way to gaining insights from their clients about their service through the eyes of the customer, along with testimonials for marketing and more information for BLOGS – all great for your organic reach.

We still remain perplexed at how many companies don’t care about how their people are or should be feeling at work – focused purely on output and wondering why staff leave. With the migration of the workforce back to the office Employers who embrace that emotions play a huge part in building a high-performing workplace culture will reap the benefits. Now more than ever with a shortage of Employees let alone talent, your company should be building strategy days with your team to have conversations that will present the drivers and motivation of your Employees while also bridging the empathy gap.

Talent stays where they belong.

The Engine are facilitators of building emotional culture in the workplace. Let us come in and play a game that gets the conversation started with ongoing conversation. Contact us now.

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Genuine EMPLOYEE appreciation requires consistency

As I deliver Culture training to organisations I know that showing genuine appreciation to your staff takes more than a moment in time of recognition and reward – it requires consistency and commitment.

When you are purposefully genuine about your employee’s welfare through regular and meaningful interaction with staff so many more benefits occur. For many businesses COVID did spotlight concern for Employees, however we need this to continue. With a labour shortage market everything you do will define whether your employees stay and/or whether you attract talent.

There are fundamental elements of being an authentic Employer and it doesn’t have to always be a reward of money or human recognition. For many Employees it is about feeling a sense of opportunity, to learn, to grow, to make a contribution, and to be recognised for achievements that also advances them. It’s not about rewards or a pat on the back. It is about doing meaningful, great work and having that worked validated. Here are my 3 Tips on how to continue to practice the valuable lesson COVID taught us – that gestures of appreciation and recognition are necessary.

Tip #1: Give a shout out to staff on your company social media.

Tip #2: Hold career mentorship sessions.

Tip #3: Give the gift of time.

Read more in our full newsletter below. 

Success as a Business Owner, happens one step at a time

An uplifting book I’ve just read, written by good friend Monica Moore – ‘Buy the Damn Dress‘ talks about many things including FLIPPING YOUR THINKING. Even as a leading Business Advisor I need that injection reminder. It is so easy to get caught up with the day-to-day stresses, however flipping those negative thoughts in to opportunities will have you soaring. Let’s talk about some of those successes.

Achievements: for $10 a day I have one client who received 102 qualified leads in one week off the back of a Facebook AD I helped curate, another who received 27 leads for an ADS, another a reach of over 300k for another client and engagement of 37,000 … their success is going from invisible to visible by story-telling and through my help reaching their target audience with solutions. The best success my clients are having is our secret weapon ‘a Customer Survey’. Lots of juicy insights from people who have worked with you and more.

You see many marketers will tell you to promote your product and you should but what is your message and differentiation from your competitor if you both sell the same or like product. The key is you need to build a tribe, your community – one that will trust the solution you provide. And more so you need to be delivering on an agreed strategy and celebrating the success that happens one step at a time.

See my presentation I did to Retail Global on branding vs marketing.

We’d love to work with you and deliver the same success.

As Monica says ‘Buy the Damn Dress’.

Don’t procastinate or justify the why.

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Roadmap, goals and having a plan

What success looks like and how can we define what it really is? The answer to this question will vary depending on what your goals are and what stage of life you are in. When you were younger success for you may have been going to a top university or gaining a good job. As you have a business success may be a business that provides work/life balance or financial freedom.

In any case what I have come to know as a business owner and leading business advisor is that having the below character traits certainly go a long way to gaining success.

– You are passionate about what you do.
– You are self-disciplined, self-motivated & take initiative.
– Having a positive outlook and attitude will help you uncover a way forward.
– Through learning to be resilient you never give up.

In business their are tell-tale signs for success. The most important of these is you must have a roadmap to achieving your goals. The path will not always be straightforward, however with a roadmap & plan having someone you trust, like a Business Advisor to keep you accountable has been the difference clients of The Engine have recognised has helped their success. Remember, what success means to you is what matters most.

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Business boundaries for your sanity

With the run down to Christmas after a lengthy lockdown it seems ironic to be looking forward to a rest. Many business owners this time every year feel overwhelmed and carry a sense of guilt to have a break. However I know from experience that if you don’t take the time to catch your breath your overwhelmed feeling will slow your business down.

Chaos – state of panic – putting out fires are the usual tell tail signs of an overwhelmed entrepreneur.

It’s at this point you go from being a business asset to a business liability. You need to recognise the triggers – create a list that is realistic and celebrate the wins/success of completion of each task.

Stay the course – strategy, planning and asking for help is what we coach many business owners on at The Engine. And you could receive funding for our services to help you. At The Engine we never leave anyone behind.

We trust you have enjoyed our invaluable knowledge this year via our weekly newsletters. This will be the last one for the year so from our place to yours – Merry Christmas and Arohanui – Catherine Cooke.

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