CareerCurve™

Many times HR is placed in a position to deliver a message, sometimes to a particular employee, sometimes to the masses. Obviously I’m a big proponent of telling the truth even though it can be difficult – I’ve written about the importance of being truthful in creating and maintaining a transparent culture, how being truthful leads to trust and why trust is so important, and how telling the truth engages, motivates, and inspires your workforce.

Idealistically, making the commitment to be truthful to your employees results in many positive outcomes. Realistically however, there are hidden challenges in the way your employees think that could impact how accurately your message is perceived.  In many cases, there isn’t much you can do about it either – they are simply thought processes that exist within the employee receiving your message. But knowledge is power and knowing these challenges are out there can be helpful in how you move forward.

• Everyone has a comfort zone and it can be difficult to get your employees to consider ideas or make decisions outside of it. If the truth you try to deliver doesn’t fall within a place of security for them, you may be challenged by their desire to distort what they’ve heard.

• Selective hearing is another challenge. Employees subconsciously hear what they want to hear, and tend to support the things that match or support their own beliefs while discounting those that don’t. This can make it difficult to know the information was relayed  accurately, particularly since you may not be intimately familiar with their value and belief systems.

• The way your employees view you, the company and themselves also comes into play. If your employees don’t like you or the company or agree with how either operate, they are not likely to believe you or give credence to the message you are trying to deliver. Likewise, they will tend to view themselves as having better judgment and higher morals than you. All of this means that your message will be disregarded more easily. If they like you and the organization, odds are they will be more accepting of what you are trying to say, regardless of what it is.

• Employees often believe that their successes are based on talent and ability, while yours are most likely luck. Their personal failures are attributed to external factors and bad luck, but yours are due to your own mistakes. This presents a challenge for you in terms of credibility. And if your employees think you are less credible than they are, doesn’t this impact the way they hear your message?

• Employees often conform to their group’s mindset. This could mean their team or department and the level of unconscious conformity may depend on how tightly knit their group is. And they are probably unaware that this desire to conform exists. For you, this means that their response to a message may not be their own and they may not even know that.

All of these examples are difficult to recognize – they are, after all,  subconscious thought processes. Knowing that the possibility exists that one (or more) of them are affecting what is heard can help you craft and deliver a more effective message.

Everyone knows the economic woes of the last couple years have had a huge impact on organizations, individuals, and sometimes entire industries. Over and over in this blog you’ve seen recommendations, discussions, and articles about one the biggest HR challenges of our time – keeping employees engaged, motivated and interested in staying with your company. There is much debate about how much time, money and effort should be extended to employees to accomplish these goals.

Recently, I was re-reading one of my favorite books of all time called The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People by PH.D David Niven. I came across the chapter called “If you can’t reach your goals, your goals will hurt you.” This made me think of how helpful this basic idea could be if used by HR to evaluate your workforce.

Considering the recent down-sizings and re-organizations that have taken place, how many of your employees have been asked to take on extra functions at work? There are many articles written on this topic, most of them focusing on ways to let your employees know that you value their contributions. But what about backing it up a bit and evaluating whether or not what you’ve asked them to accomplish is attainable and matches the skill set they possess?

There is a study by Pavot, Fujita, and Deiner from way back in 1997 that I think still holds true today. It is entitled, “The Relation Between Self-Aspect Congruence, Personality and Subjective Well-Being.” One of the findings concludes that if a person’s goals are in-congruent with their abilities, the likelihood of dissatisfaction quadruples. That’s right – quadruples!  The goals themselves ultimately contribute to disappointment and disagreeableness.

Maybe before tons of effort is expended on thanking your employees, a good first step would be to evaluate whether the business goals are congruent with the individual. Do the new demands match the employees’ abilities? Now that the employee has been doing his/her best to manage the new responsibilities for a while, can you see where he/she struggles or excels? Could you shuffle some of the new functions between employees who have different strengths?

Any goal in life both, personally or professionally, should be assessed and updated periodically to ensure it is realistic. A new year is on its way and with it may come a good time to take a hard look at the specific duties you’ve asked your employees to take on. If you can make sure that what your company needs matches what your individual employees are capable of as closely as possible, you are one step closer to a satisfied and engaged workforce. THEN you can figure out how to show they are valued.

I came across an interesting quote the other day from David Fairhurst, chief people officer at McDonald’s.  He said, “The more you give your people transferable skills, the less they want to transfer.”

Have you ever approached Career Training and Development in this way?  Now these things are more important than ever.  Many organizations have had to reallocate job responsibilities due to cutbacks so providing training is crucial just to get the job done productively.  But beyond that, this is a great engagement tool!  This is more important than ever as one of the biggest HR concerns is losing top talent.

In this day and age, there is as definite lack of loyalty both on the part of employers as well as employees.  It is incredibly rare to find employees who believe they will work for an organization for decades or have found their home, but ironically, offering employees options to move on tends to increase the likelihood that they will stay.  Why?

Career development and training keep employees focuses on internal opportunities.  It also makes them feel heard and valued as an individual with needs, one of the top job motivators.  It develops trust that there are growth opportunities and their potential to advance is recognized.  Investing in employees’ futures can remove the mindset that an employee would prefer to get a new job rather than deal with issues or concerns in their present role.  In short, it builds a sense of loyalty – if you do for them, they want to do for you.  It also increases their interest in going to work each day.  Being excited about the job equals engagement and engaged people want to stay.  They are also far more productive and will be a genuine benefit to your organization.

Think about this quote by Walter Chrysler.  ““I feel sorry for the person who can’t get genuinely excited about his work. Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything worthwhile.”  Don’t you want your employees achieving worthwhile things for your business?

How do approach training and career development?  Do you have the mindset that you need your employees to learn things just to help the company or do you approach it as a way to view your top talent as people with needs?  Do these things fall under the category of retention tools in your organization?

This is the percentage of top performers who plan to leave their company in the next year, according to research.  60%!!!   Out of one million employees, 600,000 of them will quit.  And these are your high performers. 

How many of these employees will be yours?  It’s been hard to avoid the fact that rumor has it people are done with “I’m just happy to have a job” and are currently laying the groundwork to move on.  But hearing about it and seeing the numbers are two different things. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reported in October that the number of employees voluntarily quitting their jobs has surpassed involuntary terminations through layoffs and discharges.  According to the research, this shift occurred in August.  Okay, we’ve been hearing that too, but let’s take a look at these numbers.  In August 2010, 1.998 million people quit their jobs, while 1.830 million employees were terminated or discharged.

Couple these numbers with the fact that disengagement is higher than it usually is during economic times like these and making engagement and retention important business initiatives for the new year better be at the top of your agenda.

I’ve posted about most of these individually, but here is a short list summarizing some of the important ones:

Don’t just throw money at it.  When ranking motivators, high performers DO NOT list salary first.  It’s not even in the top 3.

Listen.  If you let them, your best employees will tell you what they want.  And you might be surprised to find it won’t cost you much.

Define and implement career development programs.  High performers want to know that they can advance and grow and what specifically they need to do to accomplish that growth.

Re-evaluate your management.  Employees quit managers more often than they quit companies.

Organize business objectives and bonus potential frequently.  This forces communication between management and employees and communication drives engagement.

Be as transparent as possible.  Or at least appear to be.  Perception trumps reality when it comes to your employees.

I posted a while ago about letting your employees teach you how to re-recruit them.  Then I read a really great blog post by a fellow blogger, Terry Seamon in October, about listening.  I’ve suggested in the past that listening is a great retention tool and and he is offering that it is an act of leadership.  Dwane Lay, another fellow HR blogger, explains in November how listening to your team will also develop trust.  I brought up a number of questions to ask and Terry developed a strategy for how to listen and then what to do with the answers.   Dwane suggests numerous reasons why listening to your people means you are listening to the right people and how this will ultimately assist you in making sound business decisions. 

Retaining top talent is one of the largest concerns HR has right now and that is not going to change anytime soon.   Because there are multiple reasons for this problem, there are multiple solutions as well.  But a common denominator to the success of these solutions comes from listening.  

What does listening cost the company?  Nothing.

Yes, I and others strongly recommend that once you hear, you take action.  But even if you can’t make sweeping change to your organization right now, the benefits of sincerely listening will still be felt.  Employees want to feel validated and work in an environment where their opinions and ideas matter.  If you don’t listen sincerely, trust that your employees will know it and you’ll end up with the attitude I discuss here.

Changing the organization’s style will pay off in increased trust, higher engagement, better retention, and ultimately greater production.  As these things occur, you can then invest more and more into implementing changes your employees recommend.  Start small and start with developing your listening skills.

Think about it this way.  How much time do you spend pretending to listen to comments and concerns in order to show employees you care?   What does that cost you?  Are you actually just letting them vent or are you honestly considering what they have to say?  Have you ever tried to make listening to your employees a top business priority?

I posted last week about a dilemma that stemmed from organizations who will not consider hiring the unemployed.  In the past I could understand to a  certain degree why companies would’ve shied away from those who were laid off simply because traditionally, the majority of employees reduced in a layoff were let go because they were not as productive as the workforce that remained. 

But is it fair to assume that this is still true in this economy, where employees may have made it through the first 3 rounds of layoffs, but have now been let go?  We are talking ROUNDS of layoffs and I can’t imagine THAT many unproductive employees would’ve stayed on the payroll through multiple layoffs.  The world has changed and I don’t think you can safely assume that the unemployed were all a part of a reduction in force due to their own actions. 

That being said, here are some other reasons it makes sense to consider hiring the unemployed.

Better retention – Those without a job are not going to be eager to risk one once they get one.  They may even help retain your current employees by sharing the struggles they endured while they were out of work.

Strong employer brand – Now that it is common knowledge that many companies won’t even consider hiring the unemployed, think about what it will do to your employer brand that you do.  You are open-minded, non-discriminatory, and have a heart – all things that attract talent and inspire loyalty.

Updated skills and a different perspective – Many of the unemployed are using this time to brush up on their abilities, learn about trends and build up industry knowledge.  They just may be able to provide valuable insight simply because they invested time in learning while they were off.

New networks – Candidates looking for work spend a considerable amount of time networking.  These relationships could prove very beneficial to your business in the form of customers, industry experts, and additional highly qualified hires.  A lot of success comes from who you know.

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act  – Many organizations can take advantage of tax breaks by hiring the unemployed.  This can help your company recover financially as well as help the entire economy move forward.  There isn’t much time left though, unless it is extended.

What do you think about hiring the unemployed?

I’ve posted previously about the culture of an organization and the various roles it plays in retention, trust, engagement level, and overall productivity of the company.  I’ve also said that culture is to an organization what character is to an individual.  But did you ever think about the connection between an ethical culture and effective compliance programs?

A strong ethical culture exists when doing the right thing takes precedence over getting the job done.  In short, HOW things are done matters most.  The Ethics Resource Council has published many fascinating studies on numerous topics related to ethics but one I found particularly interesting discusses the effectiveness of workplace compliance programs depending on the ethical culture.  This study also discusses the most important factor in establishing a strong ethical culture.

Compliance programs are meant to both reduce misconduct and increase reporting of misconduct.  If you have a strong ethical culture your employees feel less pressure to commit misconduct. Because they don’t feel pressured they are also far less likely to observe misconduct by others.  In strong cultures employees are much more likely to report misconduct and the retaliation rate drops considerably.  This means your compliance program is far more likely to be effective.   To me it seems as though a strong ethical culture is key to uniting the organization toward a common goal where those that want to break the rules are not welcome and should be reported.

So what is the most important component in creating a strong ethical culture in your organization?  The behavior and perceived behavior of top management and executives. 

Keep in mind that most of this is based on perception.  When considering ethics, perception is reality.  It doesn’t matter nearly as much WHAT is happening.  It’s all about what the employees THINK is happening.  The actions and perceived ethics of top management drive the culture and the culture has the largest impact on the critical components of compliance issues. 

To  implement effective compliance programs building and maintaining a strong ethical culture needs to be a business goal.   This has an impact on the risks and costs of misconduct (legal action, turnover, retaliation), as well as company reputation and employer brand.  Creating this culture has to start at the top and can be accomplished by transparency, communication, building trust, and walking the talk.

This is one situation where a top down business model is still the most effective.

Do you have effective compliance issues?  Do you have a strong ethical culture in your organization?

It’s no secret that turnover in your organization costs a lot of money.  Estimates on what those costs are vary widely from 50% of the employee’s salary to 400%, depending on the nature of the job.

The projection is that a turnover storm is on the horizon due to layoffs, cutbacks and stress during the economic downturn.  Have you spent time preparing for this?  Do you know what to expect? 

The impact of turnover has another result that you may not have considered carefully enough.  It is very difficult on the remaining employees – the ones you NEED to keep.  Many times these employees are the ones who have to take on the burdens left behind when a colleague quits.  They have to deal with staffing shortfalls and absorb more responsibilities.  They have to communicate with dissatisfied customers due to quality concerns, slower production, and reduced customer service. They have to manage the stress that comes with watching co-workers leave the company and questioning whether sticking with the organization is the right move for them.

These things can quickly lead to a mass exodus. This will leave you with a weak employer brand which means you not only lose many good employees, but you are unable to attract quality replacements.  The cost for this damaging scenario is impossible to calculate. 

How do you prepare for market conditions suggesting you are primed for this? What can you do to reduce the amount of employees who leave and to support the employees who stay?  What steps will minimize the damage?

Become more human. 

If you recognize that your employees have aspirations, concerns, needs, and wants you can direct your interaction accordingly.  You can become more appreciative, more communicative and ultimately be more connected to your workforce.  You will be amazed at the loyalty that can be generated just by approaching your employees as human beings.  In addition, as you try to replace those that have moved on, you can be responsive, respectful of candidates’ time and need for feedback, and just generally kind.  This will do wonders for your employer brand.

It is easy to forget during tough times that not everything boils down to dollars and cents.  You can get so caught up in the daily numbers needed to survive that you ignore the big picture.  Yes, your employees are either assets or liabilities, but they are also human beings.  If you would like to generate loyalty, have some consideration for the fact that they are much more than machines that simply produce or don’t produce and interact in a way that makes them feel valued.

One subject that I see over and over on Twitter, in LinkedIn conversations, and on blogs is workplace bullying.  It is sad to me that this is an issue at all, let alone one that has become more prevalent than discriminatory harassment.  Although similar to harassment, bullying is typically unable to be placed into one category such as race or gender related harassment.  The economy and unemployment rate seems to have turned the workplace into more of a competitive environment where it is every man for himself and if an employee must push others around to come out on top, so be it.

Seeing this topic over and over has led me to wonder at how much this must cost a company.  I can’t imagine being able to actually calculate with any accuracy the amount of money wasted when bullying is present in a company – I don’t mean to try.  But I am in awe of what that number must be when you sit down and think about the effects.  Talk about a downward spiral.

Consider these factors when thinking about the cost to your organization:

1. Distraction from tasks by the bully, the victim, and by witnesses.
2. Poor performance by victims given inaccurate or incomplete information to do their job by the bully. This results in decreased motivation and low energy.
3. Increased stress, which leads to poor health, which leads to absenteeism, which leads to insurance claims which can also lead to Worker’s Comp claims. 
4. Increased insurance costs due to claims listed above.
5. Turnover – both by the victim and by the witnesses.  (Witnesses quit two-thirds as often as victims.)
6.  Inability to reach corporate goals due to lack of communication by the staff.  When bullying is taking place your team will not collaborate and problem solve so goals cannot be met.
7. Legal costs
8. Settlement fees for successful litigation by victims or wrongful termination litigation by bullies.
9. Loss of revenue due to low engagement, a toxic corporate culture, and an inability to attract top talent.
10. Waste of time.  Look for a future post on the ways bullying wastes time.

Do you have a policy in place to handle bullies in your organization?  Have you considered the dollars and cents that are lost when bullies are present?  Can you imagine what that total cost must be?

As I read article after article about social media and what it means to Human Resources, the more I see that this is a huge topic that is only going to get messier and probably create far more questions than anyone will have answers for.

Here are some examples of the different topics and the opinions being formed. I encourage you to take a look at these articles, and particularly the comments, to see the many discussions taking place.

• There is the argument made by fellow blogger Lance Haun that you don’t need a social media policy. His opinion is that too much policy is a bad thing and if the focus is on education, there isn’t a need for policy. Do you have a policy? Do you need one?

• Another example is a very scary article about Pre-Crime coming to HR by Mike Elgan that essentially shifts responsibility for employees’ future behavior to the company based on what can be learned by mining social media platforms. Will HR ultimately end up responsible if you don’t monitor social media?

• There is an interesting article written by Michael Greco regarding whether updating profiles after an employee leaves is considered breaking the non-compete agreement. How do your contracts read? Is social media included when your employees sign their employment contracts, non-competes, and confidentiality agreements? Do you think it should be?

• Then there is the debate about whether it is ethical to use social media when recruiting. Laurie Ruettiman wrote a post citing personal experience as an example of why it is wrong to do so. Do you use it to recruit? Do you believe it is public and therefore okay? Do you think it is unethical?

• Jeannette Palodino wrote a blog post about the success IBM has had in using social media to engage and retain employees. The choice of whether to promote its use or restrict it is yet another hot topic. Has it been a useful tool for you to engage employees? Have you considered using social media in this way?

Reading all of these articles has led me to three conclusions:

There seem to be an equal number of people on each side of each issue and pretty much all the arguments are compelling.

The only certainty is that there is no certainty. Things are changing rapidly and even the Supreme Court is ruling on both sides of many of these subjects, depending on the situation.

Human Resources should not ignore social media. It is already having a huge effect on your department whether you like it or not, and it is not going to go away.

Do you discuss the impact social media is having on your employees, your company brand, your methods, and the legal ramifications of these impacts? Do you use it, monitor it, and keep up to speed on the debates that are occurring around social media?  Please share your experiences in the comments.