On Wednesday, October 3, High Profile hosted a Human Resources Roundtable on ‘Using Employee Engagement as a Core Strategy for Your Business’. Our Panelists included Mike Haefner, Senior VP of HR at Atmos Energy, Chris Ebbeler, Sr. Manager of People Branding at Brinker International, and Randy Mayeux, Founder of Creative Communications Network. Randy led a book synopsis of ‘Encouraging the Heart’, by Kouzes and Posner. They all shared company stories, insights and the latest practices and tools for creating a culture that supports Employee Engagement. Over 75 Human Resources professionals attended.
Doug Curtis, CEO of AT&T Performing Arts Center kicked off the meeting by welcoming everyone and explained the history of the venue as a corporate community partner.
Summary of Key Insights:
Daily Culture Improvement Questions to Consider:
In order to focus on culture improvement, Mike Haefner explained that Atmos Energy employees are asked to consider these principals daily:
- Did I inspire trust?
- Was I at my best?
- Did I help to bring out the best in others?
- Did I make a difference for customers, community or my team?
- Did I focus on the future to make things better?
For the past 15 years, Atmos employees have attended a workshop to help understand company culture, company beliefs, priorities and behaviors. Atmos calls this their ‘Atmos Spirit’. This helps create and reinforce a common vocabulary for all employees.
“Trying to help others find their voice” is the foundation of culture shaping. Helping each employee understand how they can make the culture better is the goal. It’s extremely important that these efforts are not viewed as a program, or unnatural.
The Brinker Legacy:
Chris Ebbeler shared the Brinker story. Norman Brinker was well known for his transformation of Chili’s Inc., from a couple of hamburger places into a publicly traded restaurant, and for popularizing casual dining worldwide. He left a powerful legacy. He used to say, “We’re in the people business, by way of food.” The emphasis at Brinker International has always been to focus on building a sense of community and an incredible team experience. Brinker’s key principal and tagline is “Life is short. Work happy.” When companies embrace that, a culture of engagement can thrive.
The question to ask is “What’s going to drive someone to say that they don’t want to work anywhere else?” That’s the experience Brinker Leaders strive to create.
“Encouraging the Heart” – Book Synopsis by Randy Mayeux:
- A very simple principle of human performance: people like to be recognized for doing their best. Personalized Recognition is most effective–make it unique to the individual receiving it.
- Most people produce more in an environment where they get positive feedback, and productivity diminishes where there is little or no feedback or where they only hear from their leaders if something is wrong.
- Celebrations –They are important and they are more than parties –they are rituals that create meaning.
- Expect the Best of others –high expectations lead to high performance.
For 25 years, High Profile Staffing has provided hundreds of Dallas companies with people to fill office administrative, accounting and human resource positions. We offer contract, contract to hire, and direct hire placement. For more information about High Profile, please contact us at 972.991.7900.