March 2008

Culture Building: Don't Leave it to Luck!

WORKERS HOLD APATHY,
CONTEMPT FOR MANAGERS
New York, N.Y. 2/7/05

Startling results from a nationwide survey indicate more than half of American workers question the basic morality of their organization’s top leaders and say that their managers do not treat them fairly. These results come from a survey sponsored by 24 leading U.S. Companies, the “New Employer/ Employee Equation Survey”, conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc. This representative survey includes input from 7,718 American workers aged 18 and over.
Only 36% of workers say they believe top managers act with honesty and integrity. Even fewer (29%) believe management cares about advancing employee skills, while one-third of all workers feel they have reached a dead end at their jobs.

Part of the problem is managers were only slightly more positive about the organizations they are charged with leading than employees as a whole. While nearly two-thirds (63%) agree that they care about the fate of their organization – more than one-third, surprisingly, do not. Slightly more than one-third of managers surveyed feel that their organizations inspire the best in them or are willing to promote their organization as being a great place to work.

It is believed that in the 21st century workplace, the ability to manage diversity of work style, work stage and attitudes toward employment will drive success in recruiting, retaining and motivating the most talented and productive employee base which in turn directly impacts performance, productivity, and profit.

“Your best hope for success is that your associates aren’t as good at judging you as you are at judging them.”
--Frank Tyger

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”
--John Andrew Holmes

LUCK VS. INTENTIONAL ACTION

This is the month when we hear ‘Luck of the Irish’. Well, when it comes to building a positive workplace culture, luck has nothing to do with it; it’s about planned, intentional action.
Several of you have invested time with the Value-Based Customer Service training we offer.

Have you applied the value-based tools to your internal customers (employees)? Truly, one of the most important things employers can do is convert merely satisfied employees into enthusiastic, engaged employees.

Have you heard other managers express sentiments such as: “Who cares! See, they’re (meaning employees) negative everywhere! I don’t have time for touchy-feely encounter groups.” Well, such attitudes in the management ranks are costing you, in terms of performance, productivity and profit.

If the leader's 3 P’s (performance, productivity, and profit) are important to you, let’s consider 3 more P’s that might be going through your employees minds.

1. Productivity: Employees in cultures that don’t pay attention to the human-side of enterprise report, “I’ll show up and do my job, but nothing more, nothing extra. You think I’m an idiot, fine. You won’t be getting any improvement ideas from me in staff meetings or in your roundtable discussions.” Research tells us productivity dips anywhere from 17% to as high as 41% (where employees are actively sabotaging results) when they don’t trust management.
2. Perception: “They don’t care about me, why should I care about them.” When your employees believe this, the brain becomes focused on the negative. Employees are prepared to see the worst in organizational leaders. And, we all know, what we look for we can find.
3. PR: “It was all a sales job. In the job interview I was told this was an open, high trust, team environment. What a crock!” Organizations easily spend a thousand dollars, or more, for a single hire. And, when what’s said in the interview does not correspond to an employees experience on the job, credibility is damaged.

Is your organization saying all the right things but doing little to ensure there’s a consistency in action?