Surprisingly, not Lima, Ohio although I have been there.

As you are reading this, I’m conducting my two hour employee-hold’em for Human Resource Professionals in Lima, Peru.   So before the quiz, a little about Lima and the struggles they are facing…

Peru’s economy reflects its varied geography - an arid coastal region, the Andes further inland, and tropical lands bordering Colombia and Brazil. Abundant mineral resources are found in the mountainous areas, and Peru’s coastal waters provide excellent fishing grounds.

The Peruvian economy grew by more than 4% per year during the period 2002-06, with a stable exchange rate and low inflation. Growth jumped to 9% per year in 2007 and 2008, driven by higher world prices for minerals and metals and the government’s aggressive trade liberalization strategies. Peru’s rapid expansion has helped to reduce the national poverty rate by about 15% since 2002, though underemployment and inflation remain high.

Despite Peru’s strong macroeconomic performance, over-dependence on minerals and metals subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices, and poor infrastructure precludes the spread of growth to Peru’s non-coastal areas.  Unemployment is 6.9% to 8.4% in metropolitan Lima (depending on which sources you believe); there is widespread underemployment throughout the rest of the country.

GDP per capita is slightly higher than in Ecuador ($7,800 vs. $7,200), but considerably less than the U.S. ($45,800) and significantly less than the rest of the world ($10,000).  However, Peru’s GDP real growth rate was four times greater than the US (nine percent vs. two percent).

Today I am talking human resource executives in Lima about the 4 R’s of Workforce Engagement (Recruit, Retrain, Reward, & Retain).   Not only will I be explaining the basis concepts of engagement, I’ll be sharing some of the linkages between engagement and financials, critical in any country.  In addition (and if there is time), I’ll be providing highlights from my second book, Employee Engagement Fundamentals: A Guide for Managers and Supervisors, a World-at-Work best seller.

Not a bad way to spend a morning.  Once done, my son and I will be spending two days being tourists as we were nearly nine years ago.  Thank you Marcelo Natalini for making this trip possible!

Today’s Quiz

1)  Do you have a budget for your rewards and recognition program, and if so, what is the dollars per employee budgeted?

2)  What percentage of your total rewards and recognition budget goes to your top performers?

3)  What percentage of your employees believe that the best employees receive the greatest rewards and recognition?

4)  Does your company consider training and development a “reward”?

5)  Are supervisors and managers encouraged to try to find something that employees do right, or do they spend most of their time concentrating on what employees do wrong?

6)  What percentage of your rewards are Formal, Informal, and Spot/Instant?

Six simple questions.   Contact me at marc@employeeholdem.com and let me know how you did.  Or email me if you didn’t get at least four of these questions answered.  You’ll be glad you did… and it won’t cost you a dime.