Why and How to Start an Employee Book Club

Although I’m lucky that I get to meet with a lot of interesting people and visit fascinating places through my work, I still think books are the best way to explore new topics that interest you.

—Bill Gates (reader of 50 books per year)

Employee book clubs are an engaging, effective employee development strategy, but not a new one. Rodriguez-McRobbie(1) reports that General Electric organized employee book clubs in the 1940s and 1950s. She writes, “Lemuel Boulware, General Electric’s head of labor relations, guided employees to host them [book clubs] in their homes.” Yet, while employee book clubs have been around for some time, healthcare organizations may find them to be more useful today than ever before. Well-run book clubs can help employees to grow professionally and personally, as they always did, but they can also help employees to deal with the unique workplace stressors that they face today. As Rodriguez-McRobbie explains, “Right now, I’d argue they [book clubs] offer something vital: a personal link between team members who are soldiering on . . . a mechanism for inculcating company values and culture, and a way to feel ‘normal’ in a really weird time.”

Many authors and research studies suggest that reading should be an essential component of your employees’ professional development. For instance, Coleman(2) writes, “Broad and deep reading habits can sharpen intelligence, make you a better communicator, and improve emotional intelligence.” Reading also inspires employee innovation. According to Habel,(3) “It’s often difficult to encourage people to think beyond their day-to-day tasks. By introducing a book to your company, you’re essentially presenting a new set of ideas from the outside world.” Reading is also good for employees’ intellectual wellness, because it increases their self-confidence and cognitive abilities. As Vantage Fit(4) suggests, “Reading makes you a creative person. It encourages the brain to imagine the unimaginable.” Furthermore, reading can increase your employees’ empathy by helping them to understand complex human emotions. It can also help them to be more positive and to increase their critical thinking skills, expand their vocabularies, and even sleep better, Vantage Fit says. And, as neuropsychologist David Lewis(5) found in his often-cited 2009 study at the University of Sussex, reading can reduce stress by up to 68%. In fact, Lewis found reading works better and faster than other relaxation methods, such as listening to music or drinking a hot cup of tea, because it helps the reader to disengage from the stressors that plague their everyday lives.

The most successful people often are voracious readers

Despite the evidence that reading is an excellent personal and professional development tool, most employees do not read a great deal when left to their own devices. According to Perrin’s(6) report of a Pew Research Center study, typical (median) Americans read no more than four books per year. That statistic includes people who reported reading “one book . . . in part.” Furthermore, 24% of American adults taking part in the Pew study said that they had not read a book—in part or whole, in print or electronically or audibly—in the past year. And what do Americans who do read books typically read? Unfortunately, not much that relates to their work or professional development. Warwick(7) reports that the top five categories of books that Americans read are mysteries, thrillers, and crime; history; biographies and memoirs; romance; and cookbooks. Only 25% of American adults read nonfiction books on other topics, and even fewer read books related to their work or personal/professional development, Warwick says.

Although it seems that Americans overall aren’t reading many books, the most successful people often are voracious readers. For instance, when Warren Buffet was asked about the key to success, Merle(8) writes, he pointed to a stack of books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.” Heisler(9) reports that the average number of books read by CEOs is an impressive 60 per year. And King(10) reports that 88% of financially successful people read at least 30 minutes per day. They also are disproportionately more likely to read nonfiction, including self-help and career-related books. A whopping 85% of the most financially successful people read two or more self-improvement books per month, King says.

There are many ways that you can encourage your employees to read more to support their work in your healthcare organization and to help them to develop their broader professional skills. An employee book club is one of the best strategies. This article explores how to organize an employee book club in detail and considers a few other employee reading programs at the end of the article.

The Benefits of Employee Book Clubs

Reading is often an independent, solitary activity. However, employee book clubs turn reading into a team activity that can help your employees to get more from their reading. Book clubs also can be very beneficial to the organization. For example:

• Book club selections can reinforce your healthcare organization’s mission and core values. The right book can reiterate to your staff the principles that are important to your organization. Habel says, “Choosing the right book can strengthen your company’s corporate culture and promote a healthy work environment for your team members to thrive in.”

• Employee books clubs offer an attractive return on investment. Employee development programs and courses are often very expensive. However, books are generally affordable, especially if purchased in volume or digitally, and they can fundamentally alter your organization. As Watkins(11) suggests, “Reading groups take people out of the day-to-day and help them believe they are part of something bigger, for about the cost of lunch. How cool is that?”

• Book clubs make it easier for employees to commit to regular, systematic reading. Book club members commit to reading books and will be accountable to the group to do so. The reading deadline may give your employees the push they need to finish the book. Coleman suggests, “If you believe in the benefits of reading but have a hard time developing a habit of reading, public commitment to a group might be just the accountability you need.”

• Book clubs can introduce employees to books they may not have chosen or even heard of. Sometimes the books employees read in book clubs are the ones they would otherwise ignore. There is benefit in broadening their reading range. Bachman(12) suggests, “By being introduced to new genres and styles, you see the perspectives of different people and different cultures. And the more perspective you gain, the more you grow.”

• Books can be a meaningful and treasured employee gift. Most likely, you will focus your attention on the content of the books you select for your book club. But also consider that the books themselves are gifts that will demonstrate how much you value employees. As Habel puts it, “Everyone appreciates a good gift, especially one they can keep for years to come.”

• Reading with others can encourage employees to read more carefully. Book clubs can help employees see something in the text that they may have missed or misunderstood. Coleman suggests that book clubs also “force you to engage on new and interesting topics, and they do so by listening to people who think differently than you.” As well, employees who know that they will discuss a book with their peers may read more deeply than they might on their own, Coleman says.

• Employees can read to relax during work breaks. Many roles in the healthcare organization require employees to interact almost constantly with others. Although employee book clubs encourage reading outside of work hours, Habel recommends that employees also take a few short breaks throughout the workday to read, or that they read over lunch. Says Habel, “It will allow them to decompress and return to work feeling refreshed.”

• Book clubs can build and reinforce relationships. Book clubs are an excellent way to build and deepen relationships through shared learning. Coleman quotes Warby Parker founder Neil Blumenthal, who once described the benefits of his company-wide book clubs by saying, “From a team dynamic standpoint, it helps build stronger working relationships. It helps build trust when you create what is a safe environment to share ideas, or to debate ideas.”

• Employees who read the same books learn the same concepts. They share the same language, have a shared experience, and hear the same ideas, stories, and examples, all of which can become part of your work culture. Heathfield(13) suggests, “It makes the application and adoption of the ideas and concepts go more easily and seamlessly into the workplace.”

• Discussing books in groups can help employees to feel more comfortable and confident. Coleman suggests, “The best and surest way to be a good conversationalist who’s able to engage on substantive issues is to practice.” Book clubs offer employees a safe practice space outside of their work role to engage in thoughtful discussion.

• Book clubs build bridges between departments. Understanding and appreciating the work that other departments do every day can be a challenge, especially in larger healthcare organizations. Habel suggests, “By providing a book as a common ground that all departments read, you can bridge the gap between departments that may not otherwise interact.”

• Book clubs provide new opportunities for leadership. Employees who provide background or an overview of a book, or who lead book club discussions, will practice leading their peers in a limited, safe, yet meaningful way.

What to Decide Before Starting an Employee Book Club

You will need to make several decisions before you start an employee book club. First, what is your purpose? Bednarski(14) explains, “Book clubs at work can play a number of different roles. Sometimes, the focus is professional development in a particular area. Other times, the focus might be something more general, like leadership practices.” Bednarski suggests that employee book clubs also can be purely recreational and focus on a variety of genres. The goal in that case could be simply to read more by doing it with others, or it could be to grow intellectually by challenging each other. Keep in mind, though, that most book clubs initiated and organized by employers have a work, career, or professional development focus. As Bednarski suggests, “Be crisp on your book club’s purpose.” What will be the benefit to your employees if they participate?

Second, what will you expect of book club participants? How often will your club meet (e.g., monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly)? Will your employees do their reading 100% on their own time, or will they be able to read during work breaks or even during work time? If so, when and where can they do workplace reading? Also, when and where will the book club meet, and for how long? Over lunch? Before or after work? During work time? For 60 minutes? For 90 minutes?

Next, will your employee book club will be voluntary or mandatory? Most are voluntary. In fact, you may receive pushback if you require employees to participate in a book club when that was not a requirement of their employment before. As McDonald(15) suggests, “Some people may be happy to participate but those who choose not to should not be singled out.” The conventional wisdom is not to force participation, but to let your employees rise to the occasion.

Next, will you buy the books for your employees? Most experts believe that you should, because it makes it as easy and painless as possible for your employees to participate in your book club. For example, Heathfield suggests, “It is recommended that the company purchase the copies of the book. It’s a small price to pay for knowledge generation.” Granberry(15) writes, “Purchase a book for each person and distribute a few weeks or more before the first conversation.” And Doerr(16) says, “Ultimately the organization’s investment in a few books is a small price to pay for the employee development return on investment it stands to gain.” One option is to provide employees with their choice of print or digital copies or, as Doerr suggests, to offer to pay for all or part of the cost of an unlimited online book service. Remember that the book club is an employee benefit. Doerr suggests, “Don’t forget to list it as such on your employment offers and the benefits list on your career website.” Granberry additionally suggests that you have extra copies of the current book selection on hand as part of your onboarding so new hires can join your book club right away.

Next, how many employees can be in your book club? There are different opinions about this. For example, Real Simple(17) suggests, “Your goal should be between 5 and 15 people, so everyone gets a chance to speak.” Glynn and Guttridge(18) write, “The ideal number is about eight—too few and it can be hard to get a discussion started. Also, if a couple of members don’t show, you can still go ahead. Too many and shyer people may not get heard.” Ford and Costas(19) say, “Most clubs have ten active members, but we’ve seen foursomes and groups of fifty thrive. You’ll rarely see every member at every meeting, so adding a few extras is a good idea.” And then there is Tsundoku,(20) who says that there is no universally perfect size for a book club. According to Tsundoku, “If your book club is focused on encouraging more people to read, you might want as many participants as possible. But if your book group wants to have very in-depth discussions where everyone’s voice is heard, you might want to limit the number of participants.” The bottom line is that the size will be up to you. Think about how many people would have a chance to speak during your book club meeting (for instance, within 60 or 90 minutes, if that is how long your meetings will be), and use that number to establish your limit. Then, if you find that you have too many employees who want to participate, consider establishing more than one club. They may or may not read the same books, depending upon your goals and their interests.

January may be an especially good time to launch an employee book club, because many people will be looking for ways to create better habits and to improve themselves in the new year.

Next, decide who on your team will facilitate the book club. For example, who will monitor your book club’s activities, purchase and distribute books for members, schedule meeting space, send meeting reminders and other information, and troubleshoot if challenges arise? This may be one member of your team, or you can divide tasks among two or more employees. Also decide who will lead the book discussions. In many clubs, the members take turns doing this.

Finally, choose the optimal time to launch your book club. As Granberry suggests, “Work is consistently busy, but if you are in the middle of a new product or service launch, it’s probably not the best time to start your book club.” January may be an especially good time to launch an employee book club, because many people will be looking for ways to create better habits and to improve themselves in the new year.

Ten Tips for Running an Engaging Employee Book Club

Employee book clubs have their own challenges when compared with most other book clubs. Employees aren’t always in the same location and can’t always make the meetings. Employees who are in book clubs with their supervisors may feel that what they say will be evaluated by them. As well, employees may feel pressure from peers both to participate in and stay in book clubs they’d rather quit. Workplace rivalries and competition, too, can come into play in an employee book club. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to prevent or mitigate these and other challenges.

1. Encourage in-person participation, but offer employees a digital option, too.

Watkins suggests that organizations give their employees ways to participate digitally as well as in person. For example, meetings can be recorded for those who could not attend, and a digital space can be created where observations can be shared and recorded outside the meetings. Watkins says, “That might be on their corporate intranet or a private Facebook group, or on a new crop of mobile-friendly apps such as Slack designed to facilitate these kinds of conversations.” Real-time virtual participation in book club discussions also can be possible for employees who are working in another facility or remotely.

2. Be consistent.

Granberry suggests that you schedule your book club meetings in the same room with a consistent day and time and that you protect the time on your calendar. Then, do your very best to stick with it, because consistency is key when it comes to keeping book club members engaged. Run the meeting even if someone can’t make the scheduled time. Bednarski explains, “There is NEVER A PERFECT TIME for everyone to attend, so just run it with whoever can show up.” Rescheduling will cause participants to lose interest and start falling out, Bednarski warns.

3. Keep the focus on the book.

It’s very easy for book club meetings to meander and get off track. Therefore, ask one participant to serve as your monitor at each meeting. This individual has a role that is separate from the discussion leader. A meeting monitor will keep track of time, step in as needed to bring the discussion back to the topic, ask over-zealous employees not to monopolize the floor so others have a chance to participate, and intervene if side conversations develop during the meeting. As well, make sure that any food and/or beverage that you provide does not become the focus of your book club meetings. Keep refreshments simple and easy to eat.

4. Limit book length.

Very long books can feel daunting to some book club members. McDonald(21) suggests aiming for books of fewer than 250 pages, which she says will be “manageable if you commit to reading only 10 pages every day.” However, longer books are perfectly acceptable if the members of the book club agree. Lit Lovers(22) explains, “Some clubs limit page number—400 pages a month is a healthy read. Other clubs enjoy longer reads at 500–700 pages—or shorter at 300 or less. You can also split up longer books into two sessions. Nothing wrong with that.” The key here is to decide as a club what your book length limit will be, if any.

5. Create a process to nominate and select books.

Renner(23) warns, “There is nothing worse than a book club dictator.” Strive to make book choices democratic. In the healthcare organization, this means that book choices should be made by everyone, not just by supervisors or department heads. The American Library Association(24) suggests that one way to do this is to allow members to take turns, each choosing a book for a given meeting. However, that process can lead to books that other members do not want to read. That is why the American Library Association suggests that many book clubs choose books by vote. You can hold a meeting to discuss book suggestions. Or, ask each member to email you a list of books they think would make a good choice for the group and then, put the lists together and create an online survey so everybody can vote. Bednarski says, “Once you have your results, simply choose the most popular title from the list, and voilà, here’s your first pick.”

6. Establish ground rules for meeting participation.

For example, the American Library Association suggests:

• Members who haven’t read the book should come to book club meetings anyway. Nonreaders may still have valuable insights.

• Keep disagreements about the book respectful. There is no one way to experience or interpret a book. Welcome differing opinions.

• Members should focus their discussion on the book except during designated social time before or after the meeting.

• Participate, but do not dominate the discussion. Some clubs pass an object around the room, and members can speak only when they hold the object. This is a good way to ensure everyone has a chance to speak without interruption.

7. Schedule the books in advance.

Some of your employees will want to read ahead. Therefore, choose two or three books at a time so they can read at their own pace. However, don’t schedule books for the whole year. The American Library Association says, “It ties you into a rigid year-long schedule with no flexibility to add exciting new works you might learn about.”

8. Continue to invite others to join.

Bring up the topic of adding new members at a book club meeting. Some book clubs are tight-knit groups that have excellent chemistry. Members may be afraid that a new member will spoil the good thing they have. You may decide it best not be able to add new members to such clubs. Or you may decide to add new members anyway, for instance, if you suspect that the book club members are striving to discriminate against their peers or to be a clique that excludes others. Either way, continue to invite employees to join your book club because they may be welcome in some groups, or you can always establish another club to accommodate them.

9. Establish a policy about nonparticipation.

Some employees may join a book club with good intentions but be unable to read the books or take part in the discussions. If nonparticipation becomes habitual, discuss this topic with your book club members. They may want the employee to relinquish his or her membership in the club so someone else can participate. Or they may want to ask the employee to take a leave of absence from the club. Keep in mind that if you buy books for book club members, and not for every employee, those books should be given only to employees who read them and participate in the discussions.

10. Take December off.

Few people will have time to finish a book during the busy holiday season. Newman(25) suggests that if you want to meet in December, have everyone bring in a short, memorable piece to read out loud, like a poem, a few paragraphs from a novel or article, or even a meaningful personal letter.

Think Outside the Book Club Box: Five Ideas

Starting a book club is an excellent way to stimulate employee reading, but it is not the only way. Consider these five alternatives:

• Article club: An article club is just like a book club, but it requires much less of a time commitment. Carse(26) describes the idea as “ingenious” and says that an article club is “intellectual stimulation and socializing with less time commitment to reading a book that may not grab me.”

• Book allowance: A book allowance can be a powerful employee benefit because it encourages more reading. For instance, Griffis(27) reports that Buffer, her employer, shipped a Kindle and an unlimited ebook subscription to her prior to her first day of work. Similarly, Twilio gives each employee a free Kindle reader plus a $30/month book allowance.

• Incentivize reading: An easy way to do this is to subscribe to a reading rewards platform. Employees choose their own books (from a selection customized to your needs and goals), read them when they want, and report on how they are going to apply what they learned to their own lives. For example, Better Book Club offers a subscription service that assigns a point value to each book an employee reads. Successful users then convert points to rewards that are included in payroll, distributed as gift cards, or converted into company swag or perks.

• Choose books and ask or encourage everyone in the organization to read them: It can be very powerful to have your entire organization read a book together annually, twice a year, or every quarter. Discuss the books in small groups, at meetings, during trainings, or in employee publications. Provide copies of the last book you read to new hires so they can catch up and take part in ongoing discussions.

• Pay for employees’ participation in online book clubs geared specifically to their personal and professional development: For example, some alumni and professional associations have online book clubs. Or, companies such as Doctors Book Club and Shelf Help offer online social media–based book clubs. Paying for the costs of participation in such book clubs can be a worthwhile employee development /employee benefit strategy.

References

1. Rodriguez-McRobbie L. Why now is the perfect time for a corporate book club. Strategy+Business. June 22, 2020. www.strategy-business.com/blog/Why-now-is-the-perfect-time-for-a-corporate-book-club . Accessed September 20, 2021.

2. Coleman J. Why businesspeople should join book clubs. Harvard Business Review. February 23, 2016. https://hbr.org/2016/02/why-businesspeople-should-join-book-clubs . Accessed September 20, 2021.

3. Habe M. Why your employees should read more and how to make it happen. Bookpal. March 15, 2016. https://bookpal.com/blog/why-your-employees-should-read-more-and-how-to-make-it-happen/ . Accessed January 5, 2022.

4. Vantage Fit. The 12 good things about reading that offer employee well-being at work.” Vantage Point. July 6, 2021. https://blog.vantagefit.io/benefits-of-reading/ Accessed September 20, 2021.

5. Lewis D. Reading for stress relief. Galaxy Stress Research/Mindlab International, Sussex University, UK: 2009. www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/reading-stress-relief . Accessed September 20, 2021.

6. Perrin A. Book reading 2016. Pew Research Center. September 1, 2016. www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/09/01/book-reading-2016/ . Accessed September 20, 2021.

7. Warwick M. What do Americans read the most? Mal Warwick’s Blog on Books. March 5, 2021. https://malwarwickonbooks.com/what-do-americans-read-the-most/ . Accessed September 20, 2021.

8. Merle A. The reading habits of ultra-successful people. HuffPost. April 14, 2016. www.huffpost.com/entry/the-reading-habits-of-ult_b_9688130 . Accessed September 20, 2021.

9. Heisler K. Here’s how many books the average CEO reads yearly—and what they’re reading. Fairy God Boss. https://fairygodboss.com/articles/here-s-how-many-books-the-average-ceo-reads-yearly . Accessed September 20, 2021.

10. King CM. Bill Gates reads 50 books a year—find out why. Blinkist. April 20, 2018. www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/most-ceos-read-60-books-per-year . Accessed September 20, 2021.

11. Watkins M. Why book clubs are the new business must-have. The Bookseller. September 18, 2017. www.thebookseller.com/futurebook/why-book-clubs-are-new-business-must-have-639176. Accessed September 21, 2021.

12. Bachman S. The benefits of attending a book club. Idaho State University. August 11, 2017. https://blog.cetrain.isu.edu/blog/the-benefits-of-attending-a-book-club . Accessed September 21, 2021

13. Heathfield S. Implement a book club at work. The Balance Careers. September 17, 2020. www.thebalancecareers.com/implement-a-book-club-at-work-1917942 . Accessed September 21, 2021.

14. Bednarski D. 6 tips for running a book club at your workplace. FreshBooks Blog. www.freshbooks.com/blog/6-tips-for-running-a-book-club-at-your-workplace . Accessed September 22, 2021.

15. Granberry J. We started a book club. Here’s what happened. Hire Better. October 24, 2019. https://hirebetter.com/started-company-book-club-what-happened/ . Accessed September 23, 2021.

16. Doerr R. Improve employee experience by starting a book club at work. Exact Hire. www.exacthire.com/workforce-management/improve-employee-experience-book-club-work/ . Accessed September 23, 2021.

17. Real Simple. Start a book club checklist. Real Simple. www.realsimple.com/work-life/start-book-club-checklist . Accessed September 23, 2021.

18. Flynn D, Guttridge P. Running a bookclub. BBC. www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/book-club/running-a-club/ . Accessed September 23, 2021.

19. Ford A, Costas C. Start your book club in 6 easy steps. BookClubz. July 17, 2019. https://bookclubz.com/blog/how-to-start-a-book-club . Accessed September 23, 2021.

20. Tsundoku. Building better book clubs: what size is ideal? Tsundoku. January 25, 2020. http://deathbytsundoku.com/building-better-book-clubs-what-size-book-club-is-ideal/ . Accessed September 23, 2021.

21. McDonald M. Readers are leaders: do’s and don’ts of an office book club. ISCG. August 5, 2019. www.iscginc.com/blog/readersareleaders . Accessed September 23, 2021

22. Lit Lovers. How to select books club books: basic do’s and don’ts. Lit Lovers. www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/how-to-select-books . Accessed September 23, 2021.

23. Renner, R. How to start a book club that doesn’t suck. Book Riot. August 9, 2017. https://bookriot.com/how-to-start-a-book-club/ . Accessed September 23, 2021.

24. American Library Association. How to structure a [book club] meeting. I Love Libraries. www.ilovelibraries.org/booklovers/bookclub/structure-meeting . Accessed September 23, 2021.

25. Newman L. 14 ways not to kill your book club. Oprah. www.oprah.com/omagazine/how-to-have-a-succesful-book-club . Accessed September 23, 2021

26. Carsen K. Article clubs: like book clubs for the digital generation. Staten Island Advance. March 4, 2019. www.silive.com/entertainment/2015/10/article_club_is_a_book_club_on.html . Accessed September 24, 2021.

27. Griffis H. 3 ways we’re encouraging employees to read more. Buffer. September 8, 2017. https://buffer.com/resources/employees-reading/ . Accessed September 24, 2021.

28. Zappos. These are the books that Zappos wants its employees (and you) to read. Zappos. July 15, 2020. www.zappos.com/about/stories/zappos-library . Accessed September 22, 2021.

Zappos’ Employee Library Suggests Excellent Book Club Titles

Zappos,(28) an American online shoe and clothing retailer, offers its employees a library of books that are free to borrow or keep. Their book selections are geared to helping their employees to pursue learning and growth, and, therefore, can make excellent choices for an employee book club in your healthcare organization. Here are ten of the titles in their library.