The (Big) Difference Between 'I Have to Get to Work' and 'I Can't Wait to Get to Work'

Do your employees say, “I have to get to work”? Or do they say, “I can’t wait to get to work”?

The migration away from our industrial (make-things) age to our current intellectual (provide-service) age has changed everything about employee performance. Today, employees are face-to-face and phone-to-phone with customers – they are no longer hidden behind machines or out of view.  That means how an employee does his job and what he feels about his job is now in plain sight of your customers.

In the book Human Sigma, author Dr. John Fleming presents that the primary difference between a satisfied customer (they sometimes come back, but don’t tell their friends about your business) and a loyal customer (they always come back and spread the word about your business) is the emotional connection a customer has to a product, company or even a person. Businesses grow when employees create an emotional connection with customers. And that emotional connection requires not only that the employee is good at what he does, but is also interested or even passionate about what he does. This kind of employee becomes a power brand for the company – they constantly show the customer the connection, the energy … the love. What creates employees who say, “I can’t wait to get to work”?

• They work in companies that hire the right person for the right job – the employee’s talents, strengths and passions match those needed in the job – they fit.
• Management takes the time to understand their employees’ talents, values and interests, and uses what it knows about employees to customize  their jobs around the things that are both important to the employee and add value for the company.
• They work in companies committed to learning and growing. Employees constantly improve skills to make a daily difference in the workplace; they feel capable, competent and confident.

It is your employees who must create the all-powerful emotional connection with customers to keep them coming back – which drives the bottom line. Help your employees say, “I can’t wait to get to work.”

> More about employee training and retention on the Mindflash blog.

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Jay Forte is a nationally ranked thought leader and President of Humanetrics. Jay guides organizations – their leaders and managers – in how to attract, hire and retain today’s best talent. He is the author of “Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition” and “The Greatness Zone – Know Yourself, Find Your Fit, Transform The World.” Jay is a member of SHRM, ASTD, the National Speakers Association and the Florida Speakers Association, and you can follow him on Twitter.

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