ReeHart – Blogging from the Heart

Posts Tagged ‘employee perks’

Using productive work time to pull staff from their every day activities is difficult, particularly when times have been as tough as they are.However, successful senior managers know that it can be quite beneficial to fostering a powerful business commitment among their employees when they take the time to do it.  They are providing a brief intermission from the hectic day to day for their employees by providing speech presentations on a wide array of topics related and unrelated to their job.

Many speakers are available to provide presentations that will inspire and encourage your employees to think creatively and foster innovative business ideas.  It is not critical to find a speaker that will talk directly about your line of work.It is not all important to find a speaker that focuses in your company’s discipline.Your staff will be challenged to think in new and creative ways which can often result in a positive increase to the bottom line. 

Here is a checklist of things to discuss with a potential speaker:

1.         General Facts. 

Communicate the exact date, time, and location up front when talking with potential speakers.  In addition, make sure to communicate from the start how long you would like the presentation to be.While it may seem overkill to mention this, there have been plenty of instances where a manager has promoted an event only to discover a mix up with the speaker on the date or time needed for the presentation. 

  It will also help if you can give the speaker an estimate of attendees and details about the group they will be talking to.With this information, they are able to mold their speech to suit the audience, which gives a much more enjoyable event. 

2.Publicity Buzz.

Ask the speaker for a summary of their presentation in advance so that you can start building excitement among your employees.Flyers, enticing emails describing the event and other promotion all works well.  Make it fun to attend by offering snacks. Make sure to emphasize the presentation as a perk rather than a requirement. 

3.         Compensation. 

If you have a budget available to pay a speaker you will be working with a larger selection.Speakers typically charge a set rate for in area and out of area speeches.If travel is required, a speaker may also require travel expense, and longer presentations may involve an extra fee. 

Don’t worry if cost is a factor.  Speaking rates vary greatly and are typically negotiable if you are able to provide other forms of compensation.For many, the objective is less about the speaking income and more about gaining possible customers. 

Two typical forms of payment on a low budget are promoting the speaker’s products to the audience, or, even better, buying a copy of their book or product for each attendee. 

There are other ways to compensate a speaker on a low budget.  Open the event up to others in your industry or building to make a larger group.  Provide the speaker a list of all attendees with contact information and allow them to follow up individually.Many speakers are grateful to receive a great testimonial and entre to similar groups that you know through your personal referral. 

It takes some effort and time to set up a speaker session your employees will enjoy and get value from, but it is a great way to build positive energy and increase commitment among your staff.It is all important to always stress the benefit of the experience on the employee, and that you as their manager are committed to their growth as a person.The effect on the company’s profitability will be your reward.     

Marty Dickinson moved beyond his techno-fear of the Internet more than 14 years ago and has since launched more than 100 of his own websites while helping more than 300 clients to use the Internet to grow their businesses. Internet Marketing Speaker, business owner, and co-author of “Web Marketing All-in-One for Dummies” (Wiley 2009), he enjoys inspiring other techno-phobic business owners, authors and speakers to move beyond their fear of the Internet to embrace its full potential.