Two past RedBallooners (and me supporting them) who are now working in NYC

Over the past 10 years RedBalloon has had many members of the team leave the business often to run their own show, travel, take on study or leave to work elsewhere. RedBalloon has been part of their personal journey, part of their learning, development and education – we have impacted and supported them. And in return they have appreciated being part of RedBalloon.

On a personal level we are often sad to say good-bye given that we experience so much together; they often have become great friends. One of my colleagues who left for a promotion to another company – lamented that ‘it just won’t be like RedBalloon’ and I responded – “that it was now up to him – to take all that he has learned about the power of employee engagement and shared values and create that in his new workspace.”

Another colleague who went to work with Disabled Skiers in the US wrote to me to say “as a result of working at RedBalloon and learning how to execute growth strategies and being a values based business – there are 100s of disabled people who are now having a far better experience.” I was so touched that she took a moment to let me know.

I was delighted to receive the email below from a colleague who left to follow the love of her life to New York. At RedBalloon we don’t take recognition for granted – we believe it is all about the authentic, real and timely acknowledgement of really ‘knowing’ our people. And it is wonderful to know that we are spreading the word.

Hello Ladies! I hope all is well. We are melting in the June heat wave here, but otherwise ticking along just fine.

Had a great experience of recognition last night and immediately thought of you gals:

I started my new job about 2 months ago. At the time, I had planned on going to Paris for my (30th!) birthday and had the vacation days pre-approved. Once I started work, however, a big project launch was scheduled for around the same time and I was clear that I would not be able to take my trip— since I was planning on traveling alone, thankfully, this did not ruin anyone else’s plans, but of course it was a disappointment for me. When the project was cancelled at the last minute and quite unexpectedly, I was frustrated that all my work had been in vain, and immediately thought, “I could have gone to Paris!” Last night, a very senior member of the company approached me and said “I heard you cancelled a trip to Paris for us… and whilst its not Paris, at least its French…” and he handed me a generous gift certificate to a new, swanky French restaurant downtown. I was humbled and surprised— not only for being recognized by a senior person for all the hard work I had done but the extra nod to my trip was very thoughtful. This morning, I couldn’t stop smiling and got to work early to be extra prepared for a meeting with the same senior person— it makes me want to do good work for him. Mostly, it reminded me of my days at RedBalloon — I haven’t been “recognized” like that since then and it made me remember how good it feels!

I hope that all is well in Pyrmont and you are living the value of FUN every day! I think of you all often— please keep in touch and definitely let me know if anything brings you to NYC, I would love to catch up.

Wonderful! Not only that they get to carry the story on – but that past RedBallooners take a moment to recognize us and the impact we had…

Megan - accountable for the employee experience - Sailing with the team

I had a great time debating with my colleague Megan (Employee Experience Manager – an HR professional) about what engagement means at RedBalloon – she has developed and documented all the things we do – and Matt in our corporate team is getting ready to share that with the world.

Here are some points from a webinar that my colleague Emma sent me on the same topic I have added the RedBalloon view of the world in italics:

• Engagement is a daily exercise that must be owned by every single person in the organisation, every day.
  I completely agree – we don’t have an engagement manager – every leader and colleague is accountable for engagement – and I have often been quoted as saying – engagement is a journey not an activity.

• Culture is like the tide, and people like boats on the water – when the tide rises so does engagement.
  I have learned that not only is happiness infectious – so is engagement – People like being productive and hanging out with other people who are productive too.

• Engagement requires all of the following: Clarity, Communication, Trust, Priorities, Direction, Action, Alignment, Progression, Relationships –
  Yes agreed. I believe it also takes Passion, Commitment and Persistence.

• “The Engaged stay for what they give, The disengaged stay for what they get”.
  Remember by definition the disengaged are people who are being paid – and they ‘hate’ their employer

• Be aware that if a company undertakes an engagement survey but does nothing to follow up to improve the engagement culture this will actually result in further disengagement!
  Being real with people, authentic and transparent is essential for an engaged team – if you cannot tackle all the outcomes of the survey – let people know what you are going to do and by when (and absolutely make sure that you do do it – cynicism is very distructive)

• “Know your People, Know your Manager!”
  And I would add to that – we are all just people – and business is a people game – so I hope you like them.

If I was to add the RedBalloon ‘secret sauce’ to this list it would be; from the day dot – I founded this business believing in people, whilst I personally had struggles along the journey (I had the commitment but not the technical skills) as soon as practicable RedBalloon employed professionals to deliver on the detail of the commitment. All the ideas in the world do not make success – it is the execution of the plan that delivers the outcome.

I have discovered some interesting things already on the journey to holding another directorship.

The women I know who hold paid board roles – have unanimously encouraged me to join their ranks noting – ‘more than anything boards need your sort of skills – marketing, strategy and human resources – compliance is essential but boards need other skills too’. The men on paid boards I know, when asked about boards said ‘why would you? It is really hard work and the risks are enormous’ – one went so far as to say ‘I think women are clever – board work is not only onerous – it is relentless – why would you want that pressure in your life?’

This personal survey does not have a large sample size (six people in total)…. but interesting the different responses.

All this week I have been doing the AICD Company Directors course in Melbourne. There are 25 attending the course, which includes about 8 women. As we were introducing ourselves at the beginning of the week many of the men noted that they had been on boards for years (one for 30 years) – but thought it was time to get the diploma given the media coverage on directors responsibilities. The women all said ‘I am beginning to think about doing some paid board work – so thought I needed to get the qualification before I put myself forward for a role’.

Again interesting the different approach taken by men and women (though of course it is a tiny sample size).

I have been thoroughly enjoying the course (and delighting in just how much I do actually know)… It is very worthwhile – so I encourage those women who want to take action to change the balance in the boardroom to enroll – it is a first step; and at least you will determine if the boardroom is the sort of place where you think you can add value.

It has been quite clear as we work together in different syndicate groups that the women do view the world differently – and I was even acknowledged by my fellow syndicate members “you see things that I never would have seen”…

Boards throughout Australia dominated by men truly have no idea what they are missing out on..ie they don’t know what they don’t know. We must continue to agitate so that boardrooms get access to the different insights that women will bring.

One of the questions I am often asked is ‘How do you do it?’ – or ‘what is your magic bullet on employee engagement?’ I have blogged regularily on what has worked for RedBalloon, but as one attendees after last nights ‘TheHIVE’ event declared ‘all businesses are not like RedBalloon, selling fabulous experiences. How do I know if the business I work in is capable of engagement?’ – Great question. I was so glad I had a quick answer for you Kate… Have a look at the ‘employee engagement capability research RedBalloon has been doing with Shirlaws…

So blog as promised – Kate, here is the information on learning more about engagement readiness, from the Employee Engagement Capabilities research undertaken at the end of 2010, the workshops reveal the actions steps that an organisation needs to take in order to increase its employee engagement capability.

James Wright from RedBalloon and Oliver Christen from Shirlaws are running the sessions and will outline the results of the survey and look at what it takes to achieve 80%+ employee engagement scores. They will cover:

• The 20 elements of employee engagement that deliver the most effective results
• Being in a position to better assess your organisations engagement capability
• Identifying the engagement priority areas for impact in FY12
• An action plan that will boost engagement through more effective reward and recognition

The workshop dates are:

•       30th March – Auckland

•       5th April – Newcastle

•       7th April – Melbourne

•       12th April – Perth

•       19th April – Sydney

•       20th April Brisbane

So Kate if we are going to see you in Melbourne again I suggest you click here to reserve a spot (or any of the Australian workshops). Or here if you want to attend in Auckland.

Re-establishing trust takes time – often years but is the essential ingredient to engagement. This must be achieved consistently. Leadership needs earn trust and a great way to do that is simply notice what people contribute. Often the hardest question to answer is: Is the effort it will take to re-establish, trust worth the reward for the organisation? Sometimes there are very ‘hard nuts to crack.’

2. How do you change a culture focussed on financial bonus reward to non-financial reward?

Firstly, I recommend all the Leadership team read Daniel Pink’s fantastic book Drive. In his book he outlines the short term his of cash rewards causes-long term disincentive and reduced creativity.

Ask your employees what they want as a reward. You may be surprised by the answer. ‘More money’ is rarely top of the list. Respondents to the 2007 Incentive and Rewards Study in Australia and New Zealand, when asked how they wanted to be recognised gave a resounding answer. They wanted ‘time to spend with those people important to them, creating memories and sharing experiences.’

Loyalty is rarely about the money (this is table stakes in the HR world). Notice people, love them, value their contribution and make them heroes – make their dreams come true and they will be with you forever – and will also give you their valuable discretionary effort.

3 At RedBalloon, if you could only select one thing, what would you say is your key to achieving attachment in new starters?

We recruit on values. So we know from the start that new employees are pre-disposed to be attached to our organisation, simply because we know they share the values we stand for. Plus we do what we say we are going to do, show them they we are real, with imperfections, and empower them to get the job done.

4. What are some strategies to achieve engagement in organisations that are geographically dispersed?

An online points program that managers can use to reward –if dealing with geographically dispersed people you don’t have to be face-to-face to acknowledge and reward effort. Qantas is a great example of a geographically dispersed organisation for whom RedBalloon provides such a platform. The employee receives recognition no matter where they are located. Local managers and leaders are critical to the consistent role out. (PS Qantas was voted #5 Dream Employer 2010).

5. Are there statistics available supporting a company wide orientation event as opposed to a simple induction program? And what kind of induction/orientation is best for meeting expectations and providing engagement?

Induction plays a major role when an employee has just entered an organisation, it’s their very first step into the family. Whilst induction can appear casual – for example at RedBalloon we assign a buddy -who introduces them around, shows them our online systems, and out to lunch – it shouldn’t ever be seen as a casual program and needs to be supported by documentation, support, and an open-door policy by the HR manager.

For meeting expectations and providing engagement, I would say that this sort of ‘simple’ induction is more personable – and is useful to support a large, company-wide orientation event.

6. Who was the author of the book just mentioned please? Naomi mentioned a book, if she can remember the author that would be great.

Drive by Daniel Pink

7. Can you give me an insight into preferred rewards and recognition options that rate highly with staff

Research has shown us that experiential purchases or life experiences make people happier than material purchases. The initial thrill of a possession wears off quickly, but memories last forever. A person’s life is the sum of their experiences, not their goods. Experiences have greater social value in their connectivity. Respondents to the 2007 Incentive and Rewards Study in Australia and New Zealand, when asked how they wanted to be recognised gave a resounding answer. They wanted ‘time to spend with those people important to them, creating memories and sharing experiences.’

From our own RedBalloon Pleasure Surveys we discovered for more than 56% of all respondents, the best reward that an employer could give for a job well done is a fun thing to do, with a dinner for two (at over 17%) trailing far behind in second place. The five least popular rewards were in order: desk accessories (0.1%), flowers (0.4%), CD/DVD vouchers (1.4%), movie vouchers (1.6%) and food hampers (1.7%).

8. You mentioned that Corporate Social Responsibility was an important part of being a Dream Employer. How much time should an employer invest in Corporate Social responsibility? What does Red Balloon do about C.S.R? Rather than the amount of time, it’s about the value the organisation places upon it. After my own personal life experience volunteering (as part of the Channel Nine Secret Millionaire TV series), I decided to create the ‘We Care’ program at RedBalloon. Now I donate my speaking fees directly so our team can volunteer at charities of their choice. But it also relates specifically to our values at RedBalloon: generosity and integrity. Our sense of CSR is aligned with what we do – and that’s vital to any organisation. It can’t just be attached on, it needs to speak to every employee through its value.

9. How frequently do you remind the team about the great benefits available?

It’s all about the communication – from posters promoting the company theme for the quarter, to line managers taking ownership on recognition. If you use an online rewards and recognition program – like RedBalloon’s – the reminder is as simple as each employee receiving a weekly email about the rewards available for redemption.

10. Do people forget or just forget to value the benefits (tangible) after a while?

Only if you let them. Managers can constantly add value to any reward and recognition program by simply living the value of generosity in the workplace. An authentic thank-you. Recognition. A manager noticing a job well done, then leaving a thank-you card and coffee/tea/chai voucher upon the employee’s desk. Putting a structure around gratitude – like a rewards and recognition program – doesn’t make the gratitude less authentic. Instead it brings it top of mind. It creates a value that’s valued.

Sarah described what RedBalloon was like in the early days, how she met me for her interview at the local pub and joined the tiny chaotic team. This little group was set on creating a house hold name, focusing on being ‘a little dog with a big dog attitude’ – playing bigger than we really were.

Sarah then went on to manage our Customer Experience Team (formerly known as our Pleasure Relations Team as coined by Sarah). She played such a part in shaping the culture at RedBalloon, living our value of sense of humour and fun by running weekly trivia’s. Even on her last day Sarah arranged for three RedBallooners James, Thi and Kate to come across a riddle they had to solve on Monday. The riddle involved hidden clues to find a gift Sarah had hidden for them somewhere within the building. When they finally cracked the riddles (which kept them entertained for an hour) they found handwritten notes from Sarah. It’s good to see on her final day she kept the culture of personalised recognition and appreciation going!

The most rewarding thing for me to hear was when Sarah explained that she has been living her dreams for the past 5 years at RedBalloon. She described how proud she is to have been a part of the RedBalloon journey for so long, from a business that was relatively unknown, to meeting people and hearing them say “RedBalloon – what a fantastic place to work” to even seeing us listed as the ninth Best Place to Work in Australia by BRW (for the second year in a row).

Sarah’s story reinforces that trust is the foundation of a Best Place to work. Trust in the leadership and colleagues. No matter the challenges, whether it be difference of opinion, new ideas versus old experiences of the brand – it’s about believing that you support each other, work together and stay true to the overall purpose of the business.

To be continued…

As an employer of choice our people plan is a critical part to the success of RedBalloon. I urge business leaders to make sure that they review their employee recognition strategies too. The people who supported us as we tightened the belt, got our heads down and did the work. There might not be budget for salary reviews or bonuses – but those who are engaged simply must be recognized for their contribution – or they will leave.

While many organisations treat employee recognition as an investment and an essential part of business strategy, a significant number of employers continue to overlook employee recognition – it is simply short sighted.

The latest Hewitt Best Employers study involving 37,000 employees in Australia and New Zealand reveals organisations that genuinely acknowledged and recognised their employees throughout 2009 achieved double the growth in revenue (22 percent) than other organisations (11 percent).  The numbers speak for themselves

However in reality, a large proportion of Australia’s working population feel ignored and undervalued by their employer. Only 44 percent of employees believe they receive appropriate recognition beyond pay for their contributions and accomplishments.

In addition, only 37 percent believe the reward and recognition in their organisation enables them to produce the results they want. This demonstrates the direct impact of reward and recognition on employee performance and productivity, two vital elements that produce financial return for any business.

We as CEOs cannot do it on our own we need people around us who are truly committed to the organisation – and managers that are also recognising those around them.  A formal recognition program makes recognition engrained within your culture. It is about teaching senior leaders, managers and employees to notice the contribution of those around them. Budget must be dedicated to this and recognition programs must be measured and tracked. Recognition is simple, yet so often completely overlooked.

John Millican Managing Director at Recruitercritic.com, a free service to HR and hiring managers that finds, assesses and recommends recruiters to fill job vacancies, has seen an increase in clients wishing to replace high performing employees following a resignation.

Millican offers, “In recent times disenfranchised staff have traded remuneration and benefits for job security. Senior leaders asked their staff to help them ride out the GFC. Highly valued employees agreed to salary freezes, cuts to soft benefits, bonuses and training whilst tolerating an increase in workload due to the redundancies of colleagues.

“Senior leaders must be commercially prudent and now acknowledge the contribution and loyalty of their staff during the tough times or suffer a rising cost of turnover.”

Perhaps an end of financial year gift would be good to recognize and thank the team. Don’t make the simple blunder of ignoring your people… if recognition has been slim this year… best make up for it now.

One thing that has not changed at RedBalloon is our values and how we celebrate them. Sarah executes the corporate programs for our clients – and took on rolling out the RedHot Rewards program internally as well, with the same creativity and dedication.

In our points based programs clients may have many thousands of participants and we see two different characteristics in all programs. There are those that spend points as soon as possible. And there are those who create a Wishlist and save towards something big. Sarah herself is a ‘saver’.

So it is with great delight that she shared the below photos of the culmination of many years of being acknowledged as a great contributor to RedBalloon. She selected Trekking Everest Base Camp

Sarah sent me a wee note “I wanted to share with you my photos from my incredible trip to Nepal – thanks to my RedHot Reward points.  It is almost a year ago that I took this unforgettable experience and it still lives with me daily.  So just wanted to say THANKS AGAIN!”

Thank you Sarah for sharing the pictures and the stories; wonderful to know that a year later and into the future we gave you an experience that will always be with you… cheers

PS Wonderful to see our branding even in Nepal… Love that Brand Connection

As I opened the envelope I thought ‘oh well, I guess I’m back at work already’. I began to read the 25-page document. My frame of mind altered quickly – this was in no way work – I had been given the privilege of looking inside another world.  A world of ‘heroes to humanity’. As I read, I laughed out loud at some letters, held my husbands hand for others, shed more than one tear. But I was truly touched by the actions and love that individuals and teams show to support other human beings. These employees do represent Qantas – but it also demonstrated to me that there are hero’s everywhere that are supporting others as they go about business.

The review process was thorough  – each of the panelists was given the dossier and asked to assess each citation based on four criteria. – Energy, Responsibility, Intuitiveness and Caring. As panelists we came together in a formal process to anonymously have the scores tabulated and discuss each citations. The panelists were all frequent travelers from different walks of life.

Arriving for the Red Carpet eXcel Award winners dinner at Taronga Park Zoo

I stood before the eXcel winners last Monday night – asked to speak to the winners of the eXcel awards and their partners.

I simply said:

“On behalf of the 75,000 customers that you carried today, on behalf of the 4500 customers who put pen to paper in the last year to thank you for how you assisted them, on behalf of all frequent travelers who you help every day do business effectively and reconnect with family and friend, on behalf of my fellow panelists. We thank you.

We thank you for getting us where we need to go ‘safely and on time’. We thank you for noticing us and making our day, we know that it is not always easy, that every day you show up to help Australia be a better place. We thank you for all that you do in supporting us.

You are our Heroes to Humanity.”

I have such a great personal belief in the power of noticing others. An authentic thank you from a customer can truly make some ones day. Who could you thank right now for supporting you… perhaps it is the barrista who makes your day every day – by delivering you a coffee just right. When was the last time you put pen to paper to write a note of appreciation?

Photo courtesy of Shane O’Neill