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.

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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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Your Commitment Scale in Business

Commitment in business is having the courage to act when you don’t know the plan. 

Have you ever committed to a goal and then suddenly changed course? Why exactly does commitment matter? I’ve always measured the success of my relationships with people by ensuring I remain committed to the end game and result. I pride myself on my credibility to deliver on the promise of my commitment. Where your commitment lies there too lies YOUR energy, focus, improvement and care. When you think about it that way you immediately see the importance and value of the question. A high level of commitment delivers on your goals as well as builds credible sustainable relationships in business.

As a Leading Business Advisor I quite often talk about the importance of commitment as an entrepreneur in business. Commitment is the one thing that will ensure you are successful in whatever you do. Venturing in to the unknowns takes courage & commitment and when you go through those unknowns you develop capabilities that scale you. To be credible you need to adopt what are known as the four levels of commitment:

Level 1 – Distraction = stay focused on the goal.

Level 2 – Decision = maintain visualisation of the goal.

Level 3 – Discipline = the daily repetition towards the goal.

Level 4 – Devotion = drives you to do what it takes to reach the goal.

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Reputation is the cornerstone of power.

Your reputation truly precedes you – so what do people say about you and your business?

Have you ever had someone not call you back or ignore you? How did it make you feel? So much of our actions in what we say, do and comprehend comes not from the reality at the heart of things but from our perception of them.

As a Business Advisor I always provide a reality check to my clients over improvements that can be made to preserve their reputation. You see reputation is a jewel commodity that if protected and nurtured will guarantee your success. If you do not value the importance of maintaining your reputation it can most certainly seal your failure.

The Engine clients always refer to us as being heart centric and that we are. We act with the purest heart in our approach and we don’t accept disingenuous behaviour in our community. My Nana always used to say ‘you reap what you sow’, a proverb that says future consequences are inevitably shaped by present actions.

Summing up. What do people expect from you and your business? Are they on board with you, sight unseen, because they’ve heard you operate with the same solid value base as them – with sincerity, humility and that you are genuine.

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