4Cs Blog: Happy Employees = Happy Customers

Is It a Mistake to Pick an Employee of the Month?

Here's an interesting article in today's small business section of the New York Times. Many companies both large and small use something like an 'Employee of the Month' award as a way to both reward good employees and motivate others. But do these programs really work as well as we think? Many management consultants are not so sure. In my personal experince I've seen them lead to resentment and anger among those never chosen as "teacher's pet" and the feeling that these "attaboy" awards are often handed to the office "suck-ups" rather than the folks who work hard and go the extra mile without constantly tooting their own horns. Part of that, of course, is simply due to bad management, but even when it's not out-and-out favoritism driving these programs, rewards like these which highlight some employees while ignoring the contributions of others may not be the best prescription for overall employee engagament. Time to re-think perhaps?

How to Convince Your Boss You Should Work at Home

If you've read our last two articles on the advatages of working from home, you may be wondering how you can make telecommuting part of your own job. Here are a few tips from tech entrepreneur and writer Seth Porges on how you might be able to convince your boss that letting you work from home is in his or her best interest.

Home-Based Workers Are More Productive

Following up on yesterday's post about the higher enagement levels of home-office based workers, here's an article from Wired Magazine that cites a study published recently by Stanford which among other findings shows a 12% increase in productivity among home-based workers as well as a 50% decrease in attrition levels.

Why Remote Workers Are More Engaged

Surprising results on whether remote workers are actually more engaged than their office-bound counterparts. Scott Edinger of Edinger Consulting Group gives us his take on the subject.

When the Work-Life Scales Are Unequal

An excellent article in the New York Times this weekend highlights the challenges of work-life balance in an era when more and more companies are embracing flextime as an option for employees.

Employee Disengagement: The Signs, Sources and Solutions

There is little doubt that disengaged employees cost their employers a lot of money. These costs can come in many forms, including higher turnover, lower productivity, poor performance and higher customer dissatisfaction. In our Loyalty Matrix, we characterize these employees as “Dissatisfied Compromisers” and they often represent at least one-in-four employees.

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