When new starters, contractors and even customers are required to start training with you, the interaction they have with your company will determine how long they want to stay and how long they will do business with you.

After all, first impressions aren’t easy to erase.

That’s why it is important with any staff or customer training that the training materials are written in friendly and welcoming language.

Yet, many times we see evidence of induction training manuals written in jargonistic corporate speak that seems keen to scold new starters for possible misdemeanors before they have even begun.

It is important that all training materials exclude negative terms such as ‘no’, ‘can’t’ and ‘don’t’.  Not only is it unfriendly, but negative language can often be hard for the brain to understand.

Take this sign, for example.  This was placed at the back of a cafe that I enjoy going to.  It has very friendly staff, great coffee and a queue to get in (not my favourite part).

While waiting for my table and walking around the neighbourhood, I found it.  My attention was grabbed for the wrong reason -  I really couldn’t understand it.

My first impression was that no deliveries were allowed.  That seemed strange to me, so I read on, only to be amazed that they were allowed but I couldn’t instantly grasp when.

It is quite amazing how the word ‘no’ at the start of a sentence can really throw you off the true meaning of a message.

So I have decided to  positivise the sign in an attempt to show you, dear reader, how easy it is to make communication messages easier to understand .  And yes, I know that positivise isn’t a real word, but I really like it.

All Deliveries Here

We accept deliveries:

Before 7am and after 6pm Mon-Fri &

Before 9am and after 6pm Saturday

Ah, isn’t that much better?   My brain feels happier now.

Of course, this sign isn’t for staff or even customers.  But as a customer I gathered that they didn’t like their delivery people very much.

However, the point of this example is how negative language can be so much harder for the brain to take in.  While using positive language makes messages so much easier to understand.

Perhaps, it’s time to positivise your training materials?

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According to a recent article at Working Nights, companies that have implemented a shift work lifestyle training program tailored to their company needs receive overwhelming benefits for both employees and the company.

On average, shift workers generate more more health care costs than other workers.  Shift workers experience an increased risk of a range of diseases such as cardiovascular, obesity and sleep apnea.  Their social and personal life are also effected by their working hours.

The good news is that the health of shift workers can be improved with the right training.

In addition, it has been found that employee morale is higher amongst companies that provide shift work lifestyle training.  Nearly, 60% of employees at companies that provide shift work lifestyle training rank their morale as good or excellent compared to 35% for staff at companies without shift work training.

Other benefits include:

• A reduction of health care costs between 17-37%.
• Reduced safety incidents
• Reduced worker’s compensation premiums
• Increase of worker productivity by 39%.

In extended 24-hour operations, a well-designed shift schedule or roster is unlikely to provide adequate protection from worker fatigue.  An integrated risk management system incorporates data analysis and training towards an effort of reducing fatigue and reducing a company’s costs, risks, and liabilities.

To find out more about shift work training, click here.

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Delivering Happiness is one of those business books you just can’t put down.

Since hearing about the rise and rise of Zappos (the online shoe and clothing retailer) that was sold to Amazon last year for $1.2 billion in Amazon shares, I’ve been very interested in hearing about what they do.

I expected this to be another business book by an over-achieving, cocky CEO with an over-sized ego to match.

After all, how many 23 year olds do you know that have sold the company they have built to  Microsoft for $265 million?

But Tony Hsieh is different.  Way different.

He spent his time at Harvard choosing courses that had the least work and effort so he could sleep and party (sounds a lot like the group of uni pals I hung out with back in the day, except it took  us a long time to get our careers happening).

After graduating and getting a highly paid job at Oracle doing very little, he and his friend left to start a web design company.  Except they realised that it didn’t excite them.  They then started LinkExchange which grew and grew into a large company within only 18 months.  When it was no longer fun, they sold it to Microsoft.

With lots of time on their hands, they invested into 27 companies including one called Zappos.  When they couldn’t get further venture capitalist funding, Tony Hsieh stepped in as the CEO and also poured in his remaining money from the LinkExchange sale.

What’s fascinating about this book is how long it took for Zapppos to become profitable and how it very nearly didn’t even look like it would survive.  Through trial and error it finally made money.

Zappos is known for its amazing customer service.  Tony goes through how this evolved (my favourite part of the book is that rave culture actually influenced the core values) inlcuding how it was the pursuit of happiness that has set the corporate culture.  He goes into a lot of detail about the core values and how they ensure staff are matched to their values.

For those involved with motivating, training and retaining key staff this is the book for you.  It is very insightful and a great read.  For any budding entrepreneur or general manager of a large organisation, this book will help your realise the importance of company culture and how to nurture it.

You can find out more about the book at:
http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com

http://www.amazon.com/deliveringhappiness

For those of you interested in getting a free copy, I have one available.  Email me at mc@digicast.com.au

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Recently, I started a meditation course.  I’ve actually been meditating daily for nine years, but was persuaded by a close friend, to do this amazing meditation course led by a Swami.  Given that I’d never had any formal training and that I’ve always wanted to meet a guru, I signed up without a second thought.

So far what I have learnt is, I actually do know how to meditate, meditation CDs are very good.  But meditation is becoming extremely popular, almost mainstream!  There were no hippies in the room, in fact there were 86 (yes, that’s not a typo) very normal, middle class people learning how to meditate in a beautiful house in Melbourne.  And yes, the Swami is very good (and funny).

Meditation is a growing trend.  The Herald Sun reported on how meditation is now moving into the boardroom with numerous studies showing that it improves concentration.  Businesses such as NAB, Victoria Police, Diabetes Australia, Origin Energy and The CEO Institute are now running meditation sessions for their staff.

According to research by Medibank Private, workplace stress costs the Australian econony $10.11 billion through poor productivity and absenteeism.

Under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2004, companies are responsible for implementing stress management programs.  In Victoria alone, the average cost of a stress-related work claim in 2009 was $51,000.  So it makes perfect fiscal sense for companies to introduce company meditation courses to improve stress levels and productivity of their workers and ensure they reduce their work claims.

Given the need for companies to reduce the stress levels of their workers, introducing meditation classes is a great way to help workers and boost morale.  It’s only a matter of time before meditation is readily accepted in the workplace, as a quick way to alleviate stress and improve productivity.

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"Warm up for work" Program run by a Prime Health Group exercise physiologist

EHS Today recently reported on a survey undertaken by Buck Consultants called “Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies”.

The global study analyzed responses from more than 1,100 organizations representing 10 million employees in 45 countries.

It found that improving productivity by keeping employees healthy and working is emerging as the top business objective.  As a result, company wellness programs are very popular for businesses worldwide.

Don R. Powell, PhD., president and CEO, American Institute of Preventive Medicine, pointed out that successful employee wellness programs receive an average return on investment (ROI) of $3.48 to 1 due to reduced health care costs and $5.82 to 1 due to reduced absenteeism, making them worth considering.

“HR managers should consider issues such as maximizing employee participation, involving dependents, teaching wise consumerism as well as online employee wellness programs that manage chronic diseases,” Powell said.

Not surprisingly, the Wellness Study found that across the world, the top work health concern was stress.  Although, in the US the top health concerns were lack of exercise and poor nutrition.

At the Health and Productivity Forum in February 2009, Ron Loeppke from Alere discussed the relationship between health, productivity and business strategy.  He discussed the results from the largest multi-employer study which confirm that the health of the workforce is inextricably linked to the productivity of the workforce and, therefore, to the health of the bottom line. In the study, productivity losses from absenteeism and presenteeism, combined with direct medical costs, amounted to four times the direct medical costs alone.

But how important are wellness programs in Australia?

A recent article in the Sunday Herald Sun (Jan 3, 2010), mentioned how the majority of Victorian workers are in need of medical attention with builders and drivers being labeled the state’s unhealthiest employees.

According to results from the WorkHealth occupational check-up program, more than half of the 14,000 employess that have been tested  are at “high risk” of serious health problems. Incidentally, more than 50 per cent of people who registered for the WorkHealth program since July 2009 rated their health as “excellent”.

Workers found to be at greater risk were in the transport, storage and construction industries, with more than 2 in 3 staff found to be in high risk categories.  This includes conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Karyn Foote from Prime Health Group, an Endorsed Service Provider with WorkHealth  says “Our clients are now combining workplace health assessments, with health & wellness initiatives and online wellness programs. This combination is engaging those staff that typically don’t participate in health and wellness activities, resulting in better staff retention and a happy, healthy and productive workforce”.

For more information about getting a health assessment for your company visit Prime Health Group or contact WorkHealth.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Recently, I saw a fantastic recruitment video.  It’s for healthcare company Perrigo.

Rather than recruit new staff, in the usual way, they have gone about producing a video that shows Perrigo in a lively, fun manner.

This is in contrast to most recruitment videos that are quite conservative or even worse, companies that don’t even have a recruitment video to attract potential talent.  This video production touches on the fun aspect of working at Perrigo and what make the staff that work there different.

And I don’t know about you, but I’m tempted to work there.

There are five reasons that make this recruitment video a great success:

1. Engages Staff – It features staff undertaking entertaining activities and gets them on-board with how fun Perrigo is.  This will result in a happier workplace where employees feel valued and are most likely to stay at Perrigo for longer.
2. It speaks to your emotions -   Rather than convince talent through rationality, it attempts to talks to people through their emotions.  This is very effective, as we do make decision on emotions rather than pure rational thought.
3. Talent repeller – It will weed out those not interested in working for the company.  A great time saver.
4. Unique communication- it’s unique communication strategy will attract the right talent and even make potential hires put Perrigo at the top of the list as to where they want to work
5. Alignment - It gets new talent aligned with the vision and values of Perrigo before they even start working at the company.  It’s almost a teaser before the  staff induction video.

As a video producer, this is the kind of project you enjoy working on.  It’s clear on communication, it’s fun to put together and you know at the end of the day you really are helping the company achieve its goals.  Most of all, Perrigo isn’t scared to do something different.

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(image credit: Perantu Sepi Lodge @ flickr)

With so much of our life devoted to paid employment, it’s only fair to say that you might as well be happy doing it, otherwise life becomes a bit of a drag.

And if you’re not feeling perky at work or you’re unfortunately having to work with a grumpy staff member, here are some websites to help:

http://www.workhappynow.com/

http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/09/twelve-tips-to-create-a-happier-and-more-productive-workplace.html

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According to an article by Steve Osborn in The Safety & Health Practitioner June 2007, formal job induction training must deal with performing specific tasks safely, information about duty of care (both the company and workers) along with standard emergency procedures.

In particular management expectations with respect to health and safety need to be addressed along with certain standards of behaviour being made a condition of employment.

In this article, it was found that staff need to be inducted but also refreshed annually.  More importantly, business leaders should be involved and be seen to be involved.

As mentioned in my previous blog post, company-specific stories are a useful means of communicating the firm’s history, traditions, and values.   This technique can also be skillfully transferred to show new employees how to do their jobs safely and correctly by talking about how others have done their job in the past.  It has also been found to be an effective communication method to change poor behaviour or attitudes within companies about the importance of safety.

In order to use corporate story-telling in your company, think about some examples where a staff member has worked safely and avoided an incident by thinking ahead.  Was their an employee who worked safely despite his colleagues urging him to do otherwise that resulted in an accident being avoided?

Stories frame information so that it is meaningful, memorable and understandble.  They provide a power tool for communication, problem solving and perpetuating important company values.  Video storytelling is a great way to communciate your company stories.

Can you think of ways to include storytelling in your inductions?  What legendary stories do you have in your organisation?

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