What A Soda Vending Machine Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement

Soda Vending Machine What A Soda Vending Machine Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement

Inspiration can be a curious thing.

I’m always amazed at how seemingly unrelated pieces can stir up new ideas or perspectives about our world and the way we live and conduct ourselves within it. Take, for example, this commercial released on YouTube last week by Coca-Cola called the “Happiness Machine”.

While the commercial is effective in creating this idea of Coca-Cola being a source of happiness, there’s also a valuable lesson here that can be imparted to business leaders in how they interact with their employees.

It’s not hard to see that this social experiment by Coca-Cola led to a dramatic change in the mood of the students at this university cafeteria. Indeed, the level of enthusiasm and yes, happiness, created by this exercise probably made most of the students head off to class brimming with more energy to take on their assignments (and not just as a result of the expected sugar rush).

Where this gets interesting, though, is if we imagine seeing this kind of response in our employees.

What would it be like to have your team demonstrating the level of excitement and energy displayed by these students in this video? I’m sure it’s obvious to all of us the benefits of creating such a condition in our workplace, both to overall productivity as well as job satisfaction.

So how can we duplicate these results in our business or teams? Aside from the obvious giving stuff away for free, let’s look at what exactly Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Machine” did that created this sense of collaboration and engagement among the students:

1. Offer something unexpected
Obviously, when these students started using this vending machine, they had no idea that they would be receiving more than the bottle of Coke they were purchasing. And while initially, there must have been some personal satisfaction at getting these surprise bonuses, it becomes clear that as the situation moves on, the level of engagement and excitement moved beyond the participant to include everyone in the cafeteria.

Of course, this doesn’t mean businesses need to orchestrate something as elaborate as this “Happiness Machine”. After all, remember from the vantage point of the students, all that made this different was that the machine was giving out all sorts of stuff for free. In other words, it was simply turning what would normally be an unremarkable event into a simple gesture that would leave a much more lasting impression.

So instead of having another typical team meeting, secretly plan to end it early and surprise everyone by bringing out cocktail platters and giving your employees time to just relax and enjoy their work environment. Or announce an impromptu hockey game in the office parking lot – with a request for spectators needed to cheer the game on. The point is it doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate to plan – the only objective is to break up the routine and offer something to motivate your employees and raise team spirit.

2. A little kindness goes a long way
This is something we’ve all been told countless times by our parents and school teachers, but watching this video you can see the evidence behind this statement.

Granted, in this case, we’re talking about students getting free bottles of soda, flowers and even a massive submarine sandwich. But the real lesson to be learned here is that these students were not given these things as rewards for passing a difficult exam or getting an “A” grade on their latest paper. Instead, they were simply given these gifts as a gesture of appreciation with – as the machine’s name implies – the hope of generating happiness.

Bringing this back to what we can do in our businesses, again this has less to do with giving employees a material gift as it does the reason behind the gesture.

While it’s common practice for businesses to offer incentives for employees to take on a new task or assignment, it’s sadly a rare occurrence for leaders to offer praise or appreciation to employees for their own initiatives or efforts. In other words, instead of simply thinking one’s role is to evaluate and judge the performance of others, leaders need to understand the importance of validating what their employees see as their contribution to the company.

As before, this doesn’t require any huge effort or expense for companies. It could be something as simple as taking the time to stop by an employee’s desk after a meeting and thanking them in person for the contributions/insights they provided to the discussion. Or perhaps writing a personal note of thanks to an employee for the initiatives they undertook on a recent project, leaving it in their cubbyhole as an unexpected surprise in their day (a perfect tie-in to the first point made above).

Without question, Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Machine” video does a great job promoting the idea that their product can help spread smiles and good times amongst a group of people. What they probably didn’t expect was that they also demonstrated the value of fostering a sense of engagement and appreciation for those we work with.

UPDATE: I got a tweet from the Coca-Cola company on Twitter telling me not only how much they enjoyed this piece, but also that they were going to forward this piece to the team behind the “Happiness Machine”. A wonderful example of the power of social media.

NOTE: Be sure to check out these two follow-up pieces on employee engagement:

- Why Employers Need To Engage With A Purpose, which looks at the what employers will gain through having an engaged workforce.

- Employee Engagement Is Not Just For Leaders, which offers tips on what employees can do to foster an engaged workplace even if their management doesn’t want to.

Some other posts you may enjoy:

posted on January 25th, 2010 | 20 Comments » | Tags: appreciation, Coca-Cola, employee engagement, expectations, Happiness Machine, Inspiration, leadership, validation |

20 Comments on

What A Soda Vending Machine Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement

On January 25th, 2010 at 11:47 pm Twitter Trackbacks on Topsy.com said:
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nitin Kohli, Sharon Eden, Sonia Di Maulo and others. Sonia Di Maulo said: What A Soda Vending Machine Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement – http://bit.ly/5R84h2 (via @TanveerNaseer) [...]
On January 27th, 2010 at 11:54 am SmartBlog on Workforce » What little things are you doing to make a big impact on your staff? said:
[...] Earlier this week, business strategy coach Tanveer Naseer used the example of a Coca-Cola social experiment to illustrate yet again how small gestures can make a big difference to people. His blog post goes on to explain how this principle can make a difference in the workplace. [...]
On January 27th, 2010 at 4:09 pm Sharon Gazda said:
What a great message for all leaders, sometimes the simplest acts bring us back to basics, it’s always about treating people positively and finding the good in any situation. The life of work has enough stress already.

Thanks for sharing this great tie in to Employee Engagement, no doubt these students will give that extra “discretionary effort”.
On January 27th, 2010 at 4:46 pm Tanveer Naseer said:

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for the kind words. It’s great to see a message of treating our employees with respect and appreciation resonating with so many.

In understanding that it’s through simple gestures, and not elaborate or expensive tactics, we can foster a more productive environment, there’s little reason for companies to not re-examine their ‘managerial approach’ to their staff.

Thanks again for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on this.
On January 28th, 2010 at 5:40 am Most Tweeted Articles by Leadership Development Experts said:
[...] What A Soda Vending Machine Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement | TanveerNaseer.com – Coca-Cola’s commercial Happiness Machine not only shows how their product can create happiness, [...]
On January 28th, 2010 at 4:36 pm Derek Irvine, Globoforce said:
Truly excellent post, Tanveer. I will be referencing this in an upcoming post on my own blog. In the meantime, let me say how much I agree with this statement:

“While it’s common practice for businesses to offer incentives for employees to take on a new task or assignment, it’s sadly a rare occurrence for leaders to offer praise or appreciation to employees for their own initiatives or efforts. In other words, instead of simply thinking one’s role is to evaluate and judge the performance of others, leaders need to understand the importance of validating what their employees see as their contribution to the company.”

That is so true. I just completed a webinar today with Dan Pink (author of the new book Drive) in which he commented on a great deal of research that supports the value of this. Employees are so much more motivated by autonomy (ability to take on those tasks they see as contributing), mastery (their own desire to continually improve, which is reinforced through feedback, the most effective and positive of which is frequent recognition from peers and managers), and purpose (the knowledge that what they do matters in their work).

Thank you for posting this video and for the very important insight you offer on it. I very much enjoyed it.
On January 28th, 2010 at 5:21 pm Tanveer Naseer said:

Thanks Derek, for the wonderful comment. I’m glad you enjoyed this piece and please do let me know when you post your piece on your blog.

I couldn’t agree more with Dan Pink’s categorization of these three motivators, as well as his point that we need to recognize that even in business, humans are complex creatures. For too long, we’ve been pushing this idea that, in business settings, people need to reflect a black-white spectrum. With competition now moving to a global scale, the reality businesses are facing is that we need to move past even shades of gray to looking at human behavour as encapsulating the full colour spectrum.

Of course, there are still some leaders who can’t see the value in this and worse still, employees who are grappling with the reality of working under management that refuses to put any stock in employee engagement. Those are two issues I’m planning on addressing in two new posts I’ll be sharing here next week.

Thanks again, Derek, for adding your thoughts and insights to this discussion. I’m glad to hear how much you enjoyed it.
On January 29th, 2010 at 11:37 am Drew Hawkins said:
I really like how you went beyond just the tangible incentives provided by the Happiness Machine. It’s not the incentives themselves that make people happy about their work, it’s the pat on the back and validation from the employer behind it. I love this line:

“…leaders need to understand the importance of validating what their employees see as their contribution to the company.”

Incentives are good but surprise ones, like you mentioned, would make a much more lasting impression than one that’s expected. Thanks for posting this video! Wish we had a Coke machine like this at my college!
On January 29th, 2010 at 12:23 pm Tanveer Naseer said:

Hi Drew,

Without question, what truly matters to employees is not the monetary value of the gesture, but the reason and sincerity behind it. It’s why I’ve been writing about making business personal again because treating our employees with respect and appreciation will serve not only to create a better work environment, but will also foster the means for companies to become better competitors on the global market.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Drew.
On January 29th, 2010 at 12:32 pm What The Wii Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement - Eclectic Change said:
[...] Do great minds think alike? I had started a draft of this post two days ago and filmed some of the video clips that I wanted to include when I read Tanveer Naseer’s recent blog post: What A Soda Vending Machine Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement

I have decided to “borrow” the same title format in both homage and it is catchier than the one I was originally using. [...]
On January 29th, 2010 at 12:38 pm Roberta Hill said:
Tanveer, good to make your acquaintance and follow you on Twitter. Great post. I was actually writing my own post on how the Wii is a good example of how to engage employees when I read your post. You can find mine uploaded today at: http://www.eclecticchange.com/2010/01/what-the-wii-can-teach-us-about-employee-engagement/ (You will note a mention to you.)
Roberta Hill´s last blog ..What The Wii Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement
On January 29th, 2010 at 1:02 pm Tanveer Naseer said:

Hi Roberta,

It’s nice to see you here. Thanks for mentioning me in your post – very kind of you. I’m definitely going to check it out, as I’m curious to read about your ideas on employee engagement and the Wii machine.

Thanks again, Roberta, for stopping by and it’s nice to make your acquaintance as well.
On January 30th, 2010 at 3:40 pm Are you a happiness machine? « The Comparative Advantage said:
[...] t is so easy to surprise them. And what does that have to do with management? A lot, as Tanveer Naseer writes in the original post where I first saw this ad:

So instead of having another typical team meeting, secretly plan to end it early and surprise everyone by bringing out cocktail platters and giving your employees time to just relax and enjoy their work environment. Or announce an impromptu hockey game in the office parking lot – with a request for spectators needed to cheer the game on. The point is it doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate to plan – the only objective is to break up the routine and offer something to motivate your employees and raise team spirit.

[...]
On January 30th, 2010 at 3:45 pm Elad Sherf said:
Wow! Amazing… Isn’t it time we all became our own Happiness machine. In our work, in our schools, in our homes…. it is so easy and yet so hard… It is intriguing how cynical we have become that small acts of kindness can really move us. It is unbelievable to see how contagious happiness is. Just watching the clip made me a little bit happier and I wasn’t even there. We need to use these principles everyday. We can change the world, one small gesture at time. Thanks for inspiring me with this post to write another one about it: http://tinyurl.com/yh7k3yw in hope that the idea of the happiness machine will spread!
Elad
Elad Sherf´s last blog ..Are you a happiness machine?
On January 30th, 2010 at 4:16 pm Tanveer Naseer said:

Hi Elad,

You’re right that it’s unfortunate how we’ve become fixated on the idea that only big gestures, big ideas can create real change or improve things. As I discussed in a piece about how to overcome those big challenges/problems we face, we don’t appreciate how in focusing on making these small efforts, we can create the conditions that will allow for change to occur.

Naturally, the same thing applies to how we create an environment where people feel empowered simply by making the effort to show them that their efforts are being noticed and most importantly, making a valuable contribution to the greater whole.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Elad. And I’m glad to hear this piece inspired you to write one of your own.
On February 2nd, 2010 at 9:16 am Unexpected Incentives « Hinda Incentives said:
[...] Tanveer Naseer posted a write-up last week explaining how a soda machine could teach all of us a thing or two about motivation. His post included a video of Coca-Cola placing a vending machine on a college campus and providing [...]
On February 3rd, 2010 at 1:56 pm Xurxo Vidal said:
Hey Tanveer,

A great reminder that offering something unexpected that’s not attached to performance or a task can work wonders to make someone happy and feel appreciated, not to mention more productive.

Looking forward to an impromptu game of foosball this Friday!
On February 3rd, 2010 at 5:14 pm Tanveer Naseer said:

Hi Xurxo,

Thanks for your comment on this. One of the excuses we make for not working toward engaging our team is because we think this effort is costly or time-consuming. As this piece shows, though, it’s really not about the cost, nor does it have to be something that takes up a lot of time. Essentially, it just comes down to recognizing the efforts of your employees and showing appreciation for the fact that you have them on your team.

I’m looking forward to that impromptu foosball game as well. In fact, I better start practicing.
On March 1st, 2010 at 8:38 am Derek Irvine, Globoforce said:
Tanveer, wanted to let you know my post on this went live today. http://globoforce.blogspot.com/2010/03/creating-happiness-machine-in-your.html

Thanks again for the inspiration!
On March 1st, 2010 at 7:20 pm Tanveer Naseer said:

Hi Derek,

Thanks for letting me know about your post and I’m glad to hear I helped to inspire you about this issue. Looking forward to reading your piece.