Rousing Rituals

by Mark S. Fulton

Not long ago, my wife and I spent some time in St. Augustine, Florida. We enjoyed the city’s delightful mix of historical sites, artsy enclaves and eclectic restaurants —not to mention the nation’s premier alligator farm and the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.

The highlight of our trip was a visit to one of the city’s many art galleries. Although we only intended to browse, a colorful palette knife depiction of one of St. Augustine’s streets caught our eye. Serendipitously, the artist turned out to be the gallery owner’s 26-year-old son and the painting was his first palette knife work.

When we told the owner that we wanted to buy his son’s painting, a wonderful and memorable moment ensued. The owner called his son over to hear the news firsthand. Initially, the young artist was incredulous at the prospect of selling his first work. His father snapped a photograph of the three of us in front of the painting. Then, at his father’s insistence, the artist gleefully observed a gallery tradition carried out whenever an important artwork is sold: He played “The Wedding March” on a family heirloom music box.

The owner shook his son’s hand. The artist’s stepmother hugged him with tears of joy in her eyes. My wife and I walked out of the gallery with a prize far more valuable than we had anticipated—a heartwarming memory that we recall every time we look at the painting.

Workplace rituals can play a powerful role in energizing your employees. They can imprint company values and objectives in the corporate mindset; encourage people to strive for higher standards of excellence; motivate your team to generate creative thinking and contagious enthusiasm; engender a deeper sense of trust and empowerment.

A ritual is simply a ceremonial act—a customary practice established for the purpose of acknowledging an event or promoting a behavior. Here are some ideas for instituting workplace rituals that can reinvigorate a humdrum business habitat:

The Orientation Protocol - I joined a fraternity in my freshmen year of college—the promise of beer and babes proved too much for me to resist. What I didn’t count on was Hell Week, the initiation period during which I was subjected to every imaginable indignity. After seven days of serving as a frat house flunky, I was afforded the privilege of membership in a group renowned for throwing up in parking lots and grossing out co-eds.

Is coming to work for your business akin to trying to figure out the requirements for joining a secret society? Do your new employees have to clamber around in the dark until they finally grasp the essence of your corporate culture? Every business should have an orientation protocol that indoctrinates and educates new starts in the niceties of company policies and procedures.

Employee Awards - There’s a reason why Hollywood stars who earn tens of millions of dollars per movie turn out for the Oscars—acknowledgement. Money doesn’t measure up to the reward actors receive when they stand in front of their peers and say, “I’d like to thank the Academy...”

An employee award program celebrates accomplishment, builds team spirit and stimulates enthusiasm for achieving new levels of quality. In his book “1001 Ways to Reward Employees,” author Bob Nelson writes, “recognition for a job well done is the top motivator of employee performance.” Establish a ritual for acknowledging employee efforts and you’ll reap the rewards of an energized and zealous team.

New Customer Celebration - Whenever a new patient calls to schedule an appointment in my wife’s orthodontic practice, an assistant rings a bell. It’s a way of letting everyone in the office (especially other patients) know that the doctor and her team appreciate and celebrate new business.

What can you do to salute the arrival of another customer? Brainstorm with your team. Perhaps each new patron should get a welcome gift or some other kind of special recognition. Customers and businesses who refer people to you should receive a nice thank you. Making a big deal out of every new customer will motivate everyone associated with your organization to ring the new business bell.

State of the Company Address - Each year in January the President of the United States delivers the State of the Union Address. It’s an occasion for the commander in chief to present a status report on America’s condition and to lay out his vision for the year ahead. While it may not measure up to the TV show “Survivor” in dramatic impact, the State of the Union briefly binds us together as a nation of neighbors who share a common interest.

A “state of the company” address delivered at an annual banquet or quarterly meeting signifies to employees that they have a need to know about the bottom line. Knowledge is power. Sharing knowledge about your business’s state of affairs empowers your team to become invested in meeting the company’s financial objectives.

Workplace rituals work wonders for motivating team members. If you doubt that, just ask a young artist in Florida who is hard at work on his next palette knife painting.

In the next Business Sense column, I’ll share ways to revitalize some workplace routines that may be sapping the strength from your business.

Copyright 2001 © Mark S. Fulton