Customer Reviews

42 Rules of Employee Engagement: A straightforward and fun look at what it takes to build a culture of engagement in business

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I just finished reading "42 Rules of Employee Engagement" by Susan Stamm and found the book to be most "engaging!" This book follows the format of others in the series of "42 Rules" books. It targets both middle management and upper leadership. It makes a solid case for the power of effective teamwork.

Susan Stamm's approach is at once informed, personable and authoritative. As a credible trainer and consultant she drew upon experiences helping others learn to apply the techniques which nurture employees be fully engaged in the mission of their company. Her illustrations come from the for-profit worlds of both commodity and service as well as from organizations in the non-profit community.

Illustrations for some of her rules came from the experiences of her family members in their jobs and their life together. These examples are at times illustrative of how to do things right; but at other times, more confessional descriptions of personal growth events. These vignettes bring a human touch to the learning process to which readers can relate.

The 42 Rules are more than a relational wish book. Stamm carefully documents the power of her proposals for improved team work and employee engagement. The endnotes provide additional useful information for the manager who wants to grow. In the book's Appendix, Stamm provided even more resources for those who would improve employee engagement.

This book is more practical than preachy. It provides some valuable tools to build an engaged community. That in itself is, perhaps, its underlying resource on which employees can draw encouragement and subsequent engagement in their work.

When I first saw the title, I was skeptical whether there could possibly be 42 different ways of looking at the Employee Engagement challenge. Susan Stamm has managed to do just that, based on practical experiences that she and others have had. Each 'Rule' comes with a call to action at the end, and for the most part you can put these to use see what happens.

Employee Engagement is a huge problem. Various surveys show that only 1 in 3 employees are actively engaged in their job, and for the most part, those that aren't engaged simply 'check out' after a while. It is estimated that this loss of productivity costs US companies over $300B a year. Various consulting companies such as Gallup, and software solutions such as RoundPegg, provide ways to address this problem. What this book does is start with you, the executive or manager and give you a way to start addressing the problem in steps.

I suggest reading the book beginning to end, then going back and picking your Top 10 to start with. However you do it, I recommend this book as a practical way of getting things going for you and your organization.

Susan provides any Manager in any type and size organization with an easy to follow road map of creating an engaging workplace. Not only does she provide 42 concise and easy to follow guidelines, but she gives you Action Items that allow you to take this back into the workplace and practice the tactics she covers in each of the 42 lessons. No matter your level of Management, years of experience, etc; this is a great read for you to start or maintain an engaging workforce.