From the desk of Jurdy
The market’s down, your employees don’t have to be!
No bonuses, no raises, no extra time off. There goes most employee motivation right out the window, at a time when companies need the most from their staff to help get them through these trying times.
But surprisingly enough, there is a motivation tool that is changing the face of business, even during these tough economic times. HUMOR. And more and more companies are realizing that this little gem of an idea is no laughing matter… it’s seriously working.
Humor is the human motivator, the one thing that naturally calms us, offers a fresh perspective and that can keep our engines running even when they seem to be on “Empty”. In fact, in Jurdy World, the word human was derived from humor because it is so much a part of who we are and can be. And while there is nothing funny about the economic downturn and the financial status of a majority of the companies out there, there is hope when you consider how much you can motivate the teams of people you so heavily rely on each day… essentially for free. It starts with the mindset of management, the empowering of managers to bring humor into the office fold. If more companies would learn to infuse humor into their everyday management philosophy, they would see an incredible increase in productivity, employee satisfaction and in bottom line results. In fact, think of humor as a comic consultant, a solution to keeping employee engagement up when the market is down.
There are simple steps that can be taken to initiate this critical culture change for almost immediate results:
§ Top management should introduce and support humor as a needed management tool with their management teams. It should be packaged as an “employee stimulus philosophy” that can motivate, increase productivity and can help the bottom line.
§ Vehicles for simple humor delivery are:
- the company intranet – business related cartoons and quotes are popular and easy
- the company internet - employee idea programs with a humorous platform, funny cartoon
imagery to accompany and bring attention to important company messages
- fun contests to promote invigorating competition to help promote key initiatives and to promote
problem solving for key company challenges
- employee motivational cartoon campaigns via email blasts or newsletters on a regular basis
- motivational speaking quarterly to offer humor and a fresh perspective
§ Involve the employees – identify a “comic captain” in each department who meets with other comic captains on a regular basis to help identify creative but efficient ways of infusing humor into their everyday corporate lives.
Now more than ever, companies need to think outside their management box to find creative ways of reaching and retaining employees during these stressful times. The answer is right in your pencil drawer – reach in, pick up a pencil, and write the word HUMOR on your next management team meeting agenda.
It’s a sure-fire way to keep employees happy, productive and focused on the important stuff. I have seen these programs work for Fortune 100 companies down to small businesses, they are magic. Jurdy’s got great cartoons and programs to fit the bill. Contact us for more information at jen@jurdy.com
very Jurdy yours, Jurdy
www.jurdybiz.com
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