Dr. Bob Nelson

Dr. Bob Nelson: Program Outlines

• Profile of the Millennials & What Makes Them Tick?
• Key Personal & Cultural Influences
• Events That Shaped the Millennial Perspective
• Millennials vs. GenXers: How Do They Differ?
• Millennial Work Attributes
• Management Techniques for Motivating & Retaining Millennials

The Road to Recovery: Keeping Up in a Down Economy
How to Create a More Engaged Workforce in Challenging Times
Most employees today feel overworked and underappreciated. During times of change when we are asking them to do more with less, they report feeling less valued and more stressed for their efforts than ever before. Bob Nelson, Ph.D., best-selling author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees (now in its 55th printing), will expand your thinking of how best to leverage the potential of your staff -- even with little time, resources or budget. This session will focus on core researched-based elements found in strong cultures of engagement that inspire employees to new levels of performance and help to create an exciting, positive work environment and competitive people advantage for the organization even in tough, challenging and recessionary times. Based on Dr. Nelson’s research, six dimensions emerged that any manager/organization can implement to create a more motivating work environment for their employees today:

• Create a Clear and Compelling Direction
• Direct, Open and Honest Communication
• Involve Employees and Encourage Initiative
• Increase Employee Autonomy, Flexibility and Support
• Continued Focus on Career Growth and Development
• Recognize and Reward High Performance

Taking Initiative: Inspiring Exceptional Performance
Tap into the Energy and Ideas of Every Employee, Spark Employee Initiative and Innovation, Make Everyone's Job More Fulfilling
Do you want to inspire exceptional performance? In this talk, Dr. Nelson will share his research and strategies for getting all employees to take initiative and be more innovative in the workplace today. Dr. Nelson shows how to overcome obstacles that employees are likely to encounter when pursuing new ideas and persevere with those ideas they most believe in. He will focus on the small things that can be done to start to make a BIG difference in your workplace as well as strategies employees can use for "keeping commitment to their commitment.” Attendees will leave this session with a practical plan and techniques for immediate implementation back on the job. Dr. Nelson shows how organizations today can create a competitive advantage through its employees by tapping into the energy, ideas and creativity of every member of the organization. In this session you’ll learn:

• The Benefits of Increased Initiative to Employees and the Organization
• The Ultimate Expectation: Getting Employees to Focus on What Needs to Be Done
• The 4 Ps of Initiative: Positive Accountability, Preparation, Presentation & Persistence
• Overcoming Obstacles to Taking Initiative at Work
• I-Power: A Proven System for Harnessing the Power of Employee Suggestions
• Creating an Action Plan to Make a Difference Back at Work

Far from being “fuzzy notion,” Dr. Nelson will show how these elements can be brought to bear through specific techniques and applications, drawing upon his own research and doctoral work as well as experience in working with hundreds of organizations on the topic. He will show how the best companies take a focused and long-term strategic view of their employee resource that systematically integrates the engagement practices into the daily work practices of its managers, identifying and acting on opportunities in timely and specific ways. This session will be filled with specific real-life examples and techniques that can be immediately applied back on the job by attendees to systematically leverage, build and sustain a culture of engagement in their workplace.

Creating a Culture of Recognition
Build Recognition into the Strategies, Programs and Behaviors of the Organization, Transform Your Workplace, Become an Employer of Choice
The primary reason why managers don’t use recognition is because they report “they don’t know how to do it well.” Dr. Bob Nelson closes this gap and shows you how to create a culture of recognition. Far from being a “fuzzy notion,” Dr. Nelson shows how recognition represents the single most validated principle for driving desired behavior and performance in today’s work environments. Compared to the average company, employees in a recognition-focused company are 5 times more likely to feel valued, 11 times more likely to feel completely satisfied, 7 times more likely to stay, and 6 times more likely to invest in the company.

This talk will expand your thinking of what recognition really means and what you can do to build it into your culture. Dr. Nelson will help your organization create an exciting, positive work environment that produces more focused, competitive employees that better serve the strategies of the firm. When you invest in educating your managers about the power of recognition and how best to harness that power, you are investing in your company’s greatest asset: its people. Attendees will learn:

• How to create a “motivation baseline” as to what’s most important to your employees
• What recognition really means to your people and how you can do more of those things
• How to maximize the effectiveness of recognition – even with little time or resources
• How to get managers on board in supporting and doing more recognition
• The seven core elements found in strong cultures of recognition

The Rewards of Recognition: Motivating Today's Employees
Keys to Top Performance, Recognition & Motivation Tactics
The Number One reason why employees leave their jobs today is that they don't receive praise or recognition for the work they've done well. Most managers think their employees are only motivated by money even though employees themselves typically report other items as being more significant in their jobs. This session overviews what really motivates today's workers and how any manager can get their employees coming to work, giving their best effort and saying things like: "Thank God it's Monday!"

With the belief that every employee has the potential to be great, Dr. Nelson reveals the secrets for taking the breaks off your organization and unleashing the potential within every employee. Creating motivated employees not only minimizes turnover, and positively impacts the bottom line, but will also move the organization closer to being an "employer of choice." This lecture focuses on how today's companies can obtain a competitive advantage through its ROP (Return on People). All attendees are guaranteed to leave the presentation with specific techniques for immediate implementation back on the job – and the motivation to want to do so!

Recognition Initiative Program Launch or Awards Ceremony Keynote
Dr. Nelson Will Help Provide a Context and Motivation to Make Your Event a Success
This keynote provides the perfect context for launching a new or revised recognition program or celebrating the results and success of an existing program in your organization. Let Dr. Nelson help provide a meaningful context for your next employee or sales banquet or company celebration that extends its impact to every person present and charges the event with excitement. Can also be adapted for school, social and community groups and award ceremonies with an author book signing!