Are Your Culture Building Initiatives Optional? A Case for Mandatory Participation

Aug. 8, 2016 - PRLog -- Like most companies, you probably have a number of engagement initiatives that are offered to anyone interested in taking part. Participation is spotty, but those who join really seem to get a lot out of it… although these individuals were typically engaged before you planned the activity. So we close our eyes and click our heels three times hoping that the good feelings will rub off on those too disengaged to attend. However, if you don't have time for this positivity to slowly trickle into the culture cracks, consider what many countries already do—make participation mandatory.

When I heard about forced involvement, my initial reaction was that is sounded dictatorial. If you share the same concern, consider two things. First, your organization is not a democracy. Employees have only as much authority as leadership allows them. Second, and our focus today, are the democratic nations that have seen positive results after implementing compulsory voting laws.

Australia, Switzerland, and 24 other democratic countries make national voting mandatory. The intent is more than simply increasing the number of people who turn out at the ballot box. According to Jill Sheppard, a political scientist and survey researcher at the Australian National University, nations that enforce mandatory voting have a more politically informed populace.

  If mandatory voting results in greater political knowledge throughout a country, what could mandatory participation do for your culture building programs? You would have an opportunity to...

Read more at: www.leadersayswhat.com/2016/08/are-your-culture-building-initiatives-optional