The document proposes a pilot program to incorporate artistic expression in the workplace to enhance employee engagement. It suggests that creativity is increasingly important for business success and the arts can help develop creative skills. The program would offer voluntary art-based workshops on topics like team building, problem solving, and onboarding. Research shows art in the workplace can reduce stress, improve morale and creativity, and encourage discussion. If successful, the pilot program could be expanded to further engage employees through creative activities.

1. Making Art Work@WorkProposal
Purpose:
The purpose of this proposal is to enhance youremployee engagement process by
incorporating artistic expression. This pilot program will be customized as time and
Management permits. No matter what an employee’s business unit—each employee
will be given the opportunity to volunteer to participate in one of the elective series
through Making Art Work @ Work. Theselection will be voluntary and/or may be
required by their supervisor or manager.
In today’s workplace no matter what your role is--you are required to operate at a much
higher level of creativity than your predecessor did 20 years ago.
As the rate of change speeds up, companies that are full of change resistant and
uncreative employees cannot stay competitive. The people that make a differenceare
called ―Change Artists‖ they can create something out of nothing, demonstrate high
emotional intelligence, recognize patterns and create meaning out of chaos. These are
all the skills that you learn when you study the arts. Therefore, unless you chose to
study an aspect of the arts in depth, chances are you didn’t get to activate the skills of
the ―change artist‖ as often as you could have.
Therefore, by enhancing and allowing creative expression through the arts an
organization can tap into individual interests and creativity. This encourages team work
and more employee/management interaction. A deeper level of employee engagement.
Listed below are the operationbusiness value adds:
Innovation/process improvements
Teambuilding
Performance enhancement
On-boarding/follow-up
1

2. Problem solving
Stress reduction
Diversity
How:
Research and history shows us thatthe Industrial age was built on people’s back. The
Information Age was built on society’s left hemispheres. Then the Conceptual Age was
built on people’s right hemisphere. We have continued to progress. Now we are in the
society of ―knowledge‖ workers. We create, empathize, study data patterns and we like
to analyze and make meaning out of this ―creative‖ data.We are innately creative
creatures. We like to be creative if we are given permission to break free of our
traditional ways of doing things. Research also shows that people tend to be more
creative in a group (teams) thanindividually. Especially, when we are at work.
Examples:
Group paintings/Team building exercise
Role playing-video play back/performance management coaching skills
Music-solve it with song title(s) exercise
Plant your Success-on-boarding exercise
Timing:
The timing of the engagement workshops would be 90 minutes to 2 hours during the
work day. The timing would depend on the life cycles of the employee. The series will
be offered as a part of the initial on-boarding process or as managers feel the workshop
maybeappropriate for continued succession planning and/or forperformance
improvement.
Research Shows:
Companies were found to be creating competitive advantage by aligning their strategic
operations intent with their policies and company vision, tools, resources and work
environments by providing their employees the opportunity to incorporate and use dynamics of
creative play into their daily work routine.
2

3. Statistics:
December 8, 2003, New York, NY – The notion that art in the workplace is not essential or
―merely decorative‖ has been dispelled recent survey of more than 800 employees working for
32 companies throughout the United States that have workplace art collections. The survey, a
collaboration of the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA) – www.bcainc.org – and the
International Association for Professional Art Advisors (IAPAA) – www.iapaa.org, was
distributed in late summer and early fall of this year to randomly selected companies ranging
from food distributors to law firms that have workplace collections. Employees were asked to
respond to each question by indicating their response on a graduated scale that ranged from
strongly agree to strongly disagree.
The responses revealed that art in the workplace helps businesses address some key
challenges, such as:
Reducing stress (78% agree, 8% disagree and 14% neither agree nor disagree).
Increasing creativity and productivity (64% agree, 11% disagree, and 25% neither agree
nor disagree).
Enhancing morale (67% agree, 13% disagree, and 20% neither agree nor disagree).
Broadening employee appreciation of diversity and encouraging discussions, and
expression of opinions (77% agree, 11% disagree, and 12% neither agree nor disagree)
:
The results reveal that the stakeholders, (executives, team leaders,
employees etc)were more readily embracing to design subsequent
programs that were even more ―targeted‖ and even more fun and
successful to art based learning programs.
Pilot projects are a great way for a company to begin testing some of
these concepts as they apply to their own situation. Identifying an
operating unit that is a willing participant is best. By approaching
initial efforts as ―pilots,‖ risk is limited. There is an implicit permission
to experiment with innovative solutions and approaches to their
implementation. Successful pilots will create a ―buzz‖ of excitement
within the organization.
Other Advantages:
3

4. Concentrated Employee Engagement efforts-the task of Employee Engagement
gets a dedicated resource
Retention/ROI
Improved demonstrated Performance Management
Fun at work
Team building
Pre-and post-occupancy evaluations will be carefully designed and
well executed to determine if program objectives have been
met. The measurements of a workplace initiative should be both
qualitative and quantitative, with a ―balanced scorecard‖
approach that gives weight to dimensions such as the organization’s
and employees’ ability to learn and grow, customer satisfaction,
business process improvements and financial management. In this
way, the business case can be made for investing in the workplace
that informs through further creative initiatives
Executive Summary:
In today’s world effective organizational success and leadership requires creativity.
Managers and organizational leaders agree that the essence of leadership is
theeffective management of change and being willing to embrace new ways of
execution. Why not use creativity through the performing arts and visual arts:
The key questions are:
What are the best methods available foremployers and leaders to
orchestrate effective change?
How can creativity best be introduced and embraced in the organization at any
time within the employee or employer life cycle as an effective ―change
management‖ tool?
Simply, how can we solve business problems through the creative power of the
arts?
In reviewing one case in which a broad-gauged arts-based learning program
has become deeply integrated into the workings of a business firm. Unilever, a global
consumer products company in the UK, had begun to lose market share and recognized
a need to improve its overall competitiveness by becoming more entrepreneurial. A
corporatedirective to create an ―Enterprise Culture‖ was sent to all unit chairmen, giving
themwide latitude to develop new, performance-improving initiatives. James Hill, then
Chairman of Lever Brothers, might have chosen to bring in the reengineering experts, or
4

5. to set up a consultant-led executive program on managing change. Instead, he turned
tothe arts, and started Catalyst, now widely regarded as one of the world’s leading
corporate arts-based learning programs.
Arts-based learning isn’t a new concept, but it’s timely right now in today’s business
climate and with regards to the push by C-Level leaders for more Employee
Engagement and the push for creativity and innovation.
Similar programs have been successful with many organizations such as:
Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY
Bank of America, Charlotte, NC
Chaves Consulting, Inc., Baker City, OR
Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Oklahoma City, OK
Earl Swensson Associates, Inc., Nashville, TN
First Community Bank, Corpus Christi, TX
Golden Artist Colors, Inc., New Berlin, NY
Jackson and Company, Houston, TX
MASCO Corporation, Taylor, MI
The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL
Testimonials:
"We believe the arts enhance our ability to respond to an increasingly complex and fast
moving world with new perspectives, ideas and insights. Partnerships between business
and the arts embrace the vitality of the world around us and serve the human spirit." - Seth
H. Waugh, former Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank Americas
―Our support of the arts is as simple to understand as ABC—arts build communities. Vibrant
arts environments draw people of diverse cultural experiences together and foster
innovation and excellence in the Workplace.‖ - Jon A. Boscia, former Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, Lincoln Financial Group
―It is in the best interest of every business – no matter its size – to support the arts. Beyond
their intrinsic value, the arts add to the economic vitality and quality of life of our
communities. They also unleash creative ideas in and out of the workplace, foster
dialogues and increase understanding among people.‖ - Henry W. Bloch, Honorary
Chairman and Co-founder, H&R Block, Inc.
5

6. Estimated Cost:
Facilitator: $1,000.00 per month plus full medical, dental, vision benefits. All travel costs
associated with the training-air, hotel, car rental, meals, and materials for workshops
.The facilitator will provide DaVita with 24 hours of dedicated services to workshops and
preparation each week. Alternative: Some remote locations may receive the workshops
via web-based portal presentation.
A workplace consultant/Engagement Specialistwill be retained to engage the team(s)
and, help define success criteria, manage the process, and assess results. Through the
active participation of all vendors selected. (See Estimated Budget attached)
6

7. Proposed Budget
7