A Workplace Gratitude Model – The Dialog Mile
Through scientific research, case studies, and personal experience, we know that happiness and gratitude in the workplace significantly improve the overall performance of the organization and the general well-being of its employees. Now it’s time for employers to integrate this knowledge into the culture and day-to-day practices of their organizations.
As I consider how we can better infuse gratitude into the workplace, I recall a wonderful workplace program that I had the pleasure of facilitating a few years back when I was the Director of HR for the Dialog Corporation.
When I joined Dialog, it was a mash-up of haphazardly integrated organizations, cultures and systems. Employees in every department felt misunderstood, under-valued, under-utilized and unappreciated. Even though we had a lot of talented people who wanted to do good work and provide great service, quality and efficiency were very low and the morale even lower.
One afternoon, a group of about ten employees (representing all of the departments) and one manager approached me about developing an extensive orientation program for current and new employees that would lay out – step by step, from the sales call to service delivery to billing – the business of doing business at Dialog.
I was thrilled to facilitate this project and absolutely loved watching the employees put it together. Each employee worked with others in their department to create a module that would define their role in the process of doing business at Dialog, how they supported others throughout the organization and what was needed in order for them to provide great service and meet expectations. We named the program The Dialog Mile because it presented the process of doing business at Dialog.
Upon completion, The Dialog Mile was a two-day program focused on helping current and new employees understand the process of doing business at Dialog. It identified the major functional areas of the business, defined how each function contributed to the success of the organization, and introduced the players and roles within each function. Each module was presented by an employee from that department who included supporting resource lists and documentation that became part of a binder that attendees kept for future reference.
The Dialog Mile was a great success and was eagerly attended by many of our employees. Each attendee walked away with:
Dialog experienced benefits as well. Quality and efficiency of processes and operations significantly improved. Work was completed faster, customers were serviced more effectively, and workplace drama significantly decreased. Suddenly people were working together instead of against each other. They were collaborating, problem solving, innovating and having fun!
Yes, our focus was on understanding and facilitating flow and process, but the basis of the value that The Dialog Mile had for Dialog and its employees was that it helped us see the important role that each person played in our greater success. Through this broader perspective, we gained an appreciation for each other that then fostered a more positive and productive work environment.
How about your workplace? Do you have any gratitude models that help your teams work smarter and more cohesively? I would love to hear about them.
And if you are wanting to add more gratitude into your workplace, consider contacting me. I would love to work with you to enrich your employees’ lives and take your organization’s performance to the next level.
Feb 19,2016
