Hi,
I recently got an e-mail from a company with a subject line that contained the words: "a big employee engagement campaign".
It immediately made me grimace. I hate it when companies turn employee engagement into a "campaign" – like planting trees or donating old clothes. But I had a bit of time to kill, so I opened it.
It was a short message – five or six paragraphs – but what it lacked in length, it more than compensated with bombast. I picked up the following adjectives: "exponential", "extraordinary" (twice), "unique", "massive" (twice), "grand".
In hindsight, I should have known. The subject line also contained "tech company". Bluster alert.
But all this was nothing compared to the e-mail’s "grand" reveal. Apparently, the company had executed such a terrific employee engagement strategy and gained such massive results from it that it was now rewarding its 20 top performers with – drum roll – a car each!
The mail also built intrigue by saying that there was a "story" behind this that would be "unveiled" during a grand award ceremony. I was invited.
Full disclosure: I didn’t go, so I can’t tell you what the story was.
Even as I write this, I feel a little mean. I have nothing against cars. (Sorry Eric.) And I have no problem with any company gifting cars to its employees. For all you know, I might have missed out on a really emotional story about fulfilling employees’ dreams.
But what I do have a big problem with is when you try to entice me into your PR spin by dangling big words such as "employee engagement campaign", "massive results", and "gifting cars" in front of me in the same e-mail.
This is 2020. You have to try harder, much harder, to make me believe that you are an extraordinary employer. Especially when car sales are at a two-decade low.
If you are stuck for inspiration, I wrote something a few weeks ago just for you. It has some extraordinary ideas that can help you get massive results. Feel free to share with all your employees, not just your top performers.
In other news
This month (and maybe a wee bit more) is reserved for stories on mental health in the workplace. We have a couple more of those coming up, plus a roundup based on my callout in which I asked readers to tell me about companies that are doing genuinely good work to support their employees’ mental health.
Thanks to everyone who sent me fabulous tips. If you haven’t shared your nomination with me yet, please do so now. I will wait to hear from you.
PS: What are the most extraordinary employee reward ideas that you’ve heard about? Jewellery? Yacht? Health insurance? Let me know.
Until next time,
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