Posts RSSHR Strategy Map: The Start of a New Beginning
By Jeremy Henderson | October 31st, 2011
Across the entire globe, HR teams are going through a transformation that will take them from being entirely focused on the delivery of service to employees to a team that is strategic to the future success of the business. However, many HR teams continue to focus on developing an annual “to-do list” rather than designing a strategy that is aligned with the needs of the business.
To take your team from tactical to strategic, you’ve got to start at the very beginning with the most difficult step in the process—the dreaded strategy map.
A Very Good Place to Start
The strategy map is something that not everyone will understand—even senior executives. The issue is that most people are not taught to develop strategy first and some executives fully believe that tactics drive strategy. So, the development of a strategy map has some risks, but you can always tailor your communication of your HR strategy to the audience to which you are presenting.
Regardless of your audience’s ability to understand the tactic itself, you can use it as your team’s guide to the Promised Land, one where the HR team is understands how their work contributes to HR’s overall strategy intent.
There are four parts to the strategy map:
· Financial
· Customer
· Systems
· Talent and Technology
Oh the Places You Could Go
A strategy map can be confusing if you don’t understand how to read it or what it means. So, to help you get a solid start in building your strategy map, it is important to note that the layout of the map is exactly as bulleted above. The talent and technology form the base of the map with the systems stacked on top of that, customers on top of that, with financial being at the top of the stack.
It is also important to note that talent and technology and systems are all considered input and the customer and financial sections are considered outputs. But, even though it may sound as if financial would be the last section you would design first, it is actually the first step in building the map. Yes, you guessed it. You build it backwards. To get your map built, ask yourself the following questions:
Financial
· What is the financial outcome your company is targeting?
· What part of that outcome can the HR team affect?
· What is the dollar figure—either through revenue or expense—is the HR team signing up to achieve? (For example: If the HR team is strategically focused on reducing turnover as part of expense management, then knowing how much it costs to recruit and hire new employees would be essential to proving your financial success.)
Customer
· Who is the HR team’s customer? (Most will think that the “customer” is a person; however, your actual customer might be employee engagement, if you are signed up to boost revenue or decrease expenses.)
· When you think about the customer, what do you need to do to ensure that the customer will help your team achieve its financial outcome? (If employee engagement is your customer, then having a plethora of development opportunities would likely be a key element of your customer strategy.)
Systems
· With your customer in mind, which systems do you need to deliver on to ensure customer success?
· When you think about systems, keep in mind that the actual technology is handled in the next section. Here, consider the types of systems that will help you achieve your overall outcome. (To have development opportunities in your organization, for example, a system may be professional mentoring. Or, perhaps one system is purely administration, while other systems may be development, hiring, communications, etc.)
Talent and Technology
· At the base of your strategy is talent and technology. Now that you have a full picture of what financial outcome the HR team is driving, as well as an understanding of just exactly who your customer actually is and the systems through which you will drive success, the talent and technology you need should be perfectly clear.
· Talent is a buzz word today in HR for sure, but don’t get blinded by it. We are talking about the specific knowledge, skills and abilities you will need present within your team or in your company to achieve your desired outcomes.
· Technology may include computer technology; however, if you are work in an organization that doesn’t work on computers, perhaps you will need access to a printing press to achieve your results. Again, don’t let the term blind you, but rather think through all of the tools you will need to get to the results you seek.
Get a Map Maker
Developing a strategic HR map is a difficult process if you’ve never done it before. However, the very good news is that you can get help if you need it. There are only a few Human Relations consulting firms (such as Jungle Red Communication), which is what we’d suggest engaging; however, you can also look to strategy or management firms for help, too.
If you don’t want to bring in an expert to help, then we’d recommend getting very good at force-field brainstorming as the preferred method to getting to the strategy you can use to drive significant business results, while getting your HR leadership team on board to deliver.
Early Lessons for CEO’s from the Occupy Wall St. Movement
By Jeremy Henderson | October 17th, 2011
Regardless of how you feel about the protests taking to the streets all over the globe, there are a number of lessons that are quickly rising to the surface. And in today’s economic market, one that is highly competitive and moving at the speed of light, CEO’s can choose to engage their workforce in authentic and meaningful ways.
If you want the best employees the market can provide working diligently to achieve your global strategy, follow these six simple lessons:
1. Know what is important to them: What is important to you may not be important to your employees. With each generation new ideas come to the surface and become the corner stone of any given culture. And since there are four generations in the workplace at any one time, that means that there are a large number of important priorities that exist in your employee community. By taking time to get to know that important issues your employees are interested in, you will be better able to design an employment experience that motivates employees to do their best for your company, while capitalizing on their contributions to build, develop and improve your company’s products or services.
2. Ask for their opinion and take their advice: Everyone wants to know that they point of view counts and everyone has something to say. As a matter of fact, when it comes to the details of your business and how it runs, it is likely that you employees have a much more accurate on the pulse then you do. So, when you are thinking about making changes, test the ideas with employees; and importantly, if you ask for their input, then you have to use it or educate your employees as to why the company can’t implement their advice. Most people are reasonable when they understand the facts. Remember, in most companies, communication tends to get stuck at the director level; so, be sure to ask for input up and down the ranks so that you are able to get to the right answer for your business.
3. Establish a corporate structure that is collaborative: People are innately social beings and feel a great sense of accomplishment when they work in collaborative teams. As a matter of fact, it is commonly understood that no one idea can ever succeed without the help of many. So instead of creating strict silos that keep employees wondering, implement social enterprise technologies that can help employees find one another, work on projects together, and develop connections that can blossom into meaningful relationships.
4. Insist on work-life balance: Good mental and physical health are important if you want employees to stick around and work productively. Work is stressful and by now we all know that stress kills productivity, creativity and innovation. So, insist that your employees take time away from the office to rest up. Give them generous PTO. Host a health fair where they can get medical screenings. Offer time off to volunteer. Whatever you do, ensure that you are actively helping employees to manage their work-life balance because most do not feel as if they can manage it themselves.
5. Communicate the investments you are making in employees: If you don’t tell employees that the value of their benefits, the value of career development, the value of training and develop, etc., then they just won’t know the value of their work experience, let alone the investments you are making in the workplace. Instead of having your brand do all of the talking internally, double down on employee communications, decision making and create an organizational structure that fuels social interactions.
6. Be a visible and active part of your employee community: Unlike any other time in history, employees are looking to their CEOs for answers, direction and competency. Since business is for the most part based on relationships, be sure that you are a visible and active member of your employee community. Get out of your office and talk to people. Use enterprise social media to get your message out to your employees each and every day. Find time to drop in on break rooms. Schedule meetings during which you just hear from employees. Basically stated, find the time to show you are a human and that you care.
While there are many out there who dislike the Occupy Wall St. movement, the message you can take from it is that no one company or person ever earned success without the help and involvement of others. It’s clear that some of us will run companies and others will help those people succeed. But what a CEO can do is ensure that he or she is constantly focused on demonstrating his or her humanity to employees, while making real and meaning personal relationships with employees across any given organization.
Jeremy Henderson is founder and chief client partner at Jungle Red Communication, a corporate human relations consulting firm. He focuses on helping clients build happy, healthy, productive workplaces that deliver tangible business results through internal communication, leadership, decision making and corporate social structures. You can reach Jeremy at www.JungleRedCommunication.com.
Help Your Bad Boss Not Suck So Much
By Jeremy Henderson | October 4th, 2011
There isn’t a soul in the world that will stay in a job for years on end when they have a bad boss. As a matter of fact, bad bosses are the number one reason people quit their job. However, it usually takes us some time to figure out that the boss is indeed to blame for creating a work environment that is less than productive.
To help you identify the bad bosses in your organization–as well as how to help them–use the below archetypes and recommended coaching to make your company a swimming success:
· The Bully: Bullies aren’t just for school yards any longer; they are front and center in business, as are their technique to get ahead. You may recall reading recent news reports that pointed out that those who are meaner tend to get promoted faster than those who approach work in an amenable fashion. Well, we say no to bullies. How do you help a bully? The only way it gets better with a bully boss is to stand up to him or her. Clearly and concisely let the bully know that the behavior is unacceptable and that you will no longer tolerate it. (It works. I swear! Bullies are just big kids who need rules and structure to get along effectively.)
· The Pacifier: Everyone had a “bubbie” at some point in their life, but rarely do we want one in the office. The Pacifier is a bad boss who takes on the parental role and thinks his or her job is to raise a good team, rather than lead the team to effectiveness. You can help this bad boss to focus on the work, while ensuring they have a healthy social outlet to express their love for the group.
· The Ostrich: The Ostrich is one heck of a large, fast bird and is famous for burying its head in the sand when the going gets rough. There are a lot of bad bosses out there that will do the same thing; when the going get rough, these bosses will barricade themselves in their offices just waiting for the trouble to pass. You can help these leaders by insisting they get out of their office and talk to their teams until the trouble is over. Once the all-clear signal is received, then they can take a break behind closed doors.
· The Martyr: Just like Joan of Arc, a Martyr is a bad boss who suffers persecution for refusing to renounce or accept a belief or cause. These types of bosses are usually known for “taking one for the team.” However, you can help a Martyr to be a more effective boss by encouraging him or her to fully engage the team on issues, rather than trying to protect the team from them. When the team is fully engaged, the team will feel much more a part of the solution, rather than being forced to sit on the sidelines waiting to see what fate has in store.
· The Sleeper: Probably the hardest bad boss to identify, the Sleeper is the boss that you just don’t understand. He or she doesn’t really work in alignment with company strategy; nor does the Sleeper contribute much of anything that really matters. Yet, the Sleeper tends to insist that he or she is “right,” but rarely can get any traction for the work they are attempting to push forward. The Sleeper can best be helped by suggesting that the team get together to review its strategy. You can do this by just innocently letting this bad boss know that you need his or her help to ensure that you or your team is working on what matters most. In times like these, when we have a crazy economy and too few jobs to go around, the Sleeper will appreciate the fact that you are trying to do your part and will love the ego strokes that comes along with a request like this.
Now, there are a lot of ways to describe bad bosses and these are just a few. But the point here is to remember that we are all human and we all have valuable contributions to offer, regardless of bad boss behavior. If we can work to understand our bosses and how to engage them in a way that can help us and our teams to succeed, then we have the opportunity to drive significant business results.
(No bad bosses were harmed—or named—in the writing of this blog.)
Jeremy Henderson is founder and chief client partner at Jungle Red Communication, a corporate human relations consulting firm. He focuses on helping clients build happy, healthy, productive workplaces that deliver tangible business results through internal communication, leadership, decision making and corporate social structures. You can reach Jeremy at www.JungleRedCommunication.com.
Build a Culture that Unifies the Corporation
By Jeremy Henderson | September 25th, 2011
In times like these when more and more companies are closing their doors, replacing their CEO’s, being acquired by competitors or laying off masses of employees, a strong corporate culture rises to the top as one of the most critical business strategies that smart leaders focus on as a key to success.
Why? Because the culture of an organization can make or break customer relationships, attract and retain critical employees, help leaders to lead and help everyone to make better decisions. So the real question is why do so many companies apply the personality of a CEO to the organization and call that culture? And even more importantly, where is the board of directors in all of this?
Corporate Culture in Three Parts
There are only ever three distinct elements of any corporate culture: language, actions, and icons. These elements are derived from the proper study of Cultural Anthropology and are the specific lens through which those companies with the most successful cultures see their organization. And best of all, these are easy to understand and apply.
· Language: The vocabulary of the business.
· Action: The behaviors that drive the business.
· Icons: The images that clearly represent the business.
See, we told you that this is the easiest culture formula to apply to any organization. The challenge, however, comes in the form of get these three aligned consistently within the confines of any corporation.
Use Cultural Alignment to Fuel Business Success
Once you have clearly defined your language, pinpointed the actions that are right for your company, and have your icons identified, you can turn all of this into your cultural manifesto and use that document to spread the word to employees about what the culture is; and in doing so, also show what the culture is not.
But what this manifesto can absolutely do to fuel the success of your business is to be used as a guide to make decisions about which programs, projects and initiatives are right for your company; it can be used to make leadership choices; it can be used to drive communications; and, it can be used to determine the social structure of your management hierarchy. Think of the value of applying this type of manifesto to every program in your organization and determining if the program is right for your business, or just a “best in class” approach to doing what all of your competitors do to manage their companies.
After all, isn’t corporate culture supposed to help differentiate what makes your company important and distinct in the world?
Jeremy Henderson is founder and chief client partner at Jungle Red Communication, a corporate human relations consulting firm. He focuses on helping clients build happy, healthy, productive workplaces that deliver tangible business results through internal communication, leadership, decision making and corporate social structures. You can reach Jeremy at www.JungleRedCommunication.com.
Employee Engagement is Dead; Long Live Employee Satisfaction!
By Jeremy Henderson | September 10th, 2011
Employee engagement? What does it really mean? The answer certainly does depend on who you ask and the answer is rarely the same. Some will tell you that we have standardized on employee engaged defined as “discretionary effort.” Others will tell you that engagement is defined by loyalty and commitment. While still others will insist that it is based on some special feeling that employees have for the company they serve.
Employee engagement is dead. No, really, it is dead, if it ever really existed. The “deal” employees get for working at a company, for being loyal and committed, for giving it the proverbial 110% percent every day can be swiftly wiped away as soon as an organization misses its numbers, merges with another organization, or realizes that the employee just isn’t useful in the achievement of the strategy du jour.
Meanwhile, with the rising costs of health care and significant need to satisfy investors, many companies are reducing benefits, delaying compensation reviews, leaving people managers to go it alone, and generally giving up on their end of the deal while insisting that employees give even more. How do we know that this is happening? Ask your co-worker, neighbor, spouse or best friend. Are there studies that prove it? Yup. Go check out the Harvard Business Review.
The issue of employee engagement has been around for far too long. Like most big misses, somewhere along the way, a really well-meaning researcher brought this to the table as yet another way to “sell” a big idea. Is it a good idea? Yup. Is it reality? We think not….and here’s why.
If we accept the fact that there are numerous studies indicating that employees are actively disengaged, then we can deduce that employees are dissatisfied. So, to get to the mythical state of having a highly engaged workforce—a workforce that is applying a great deal of discretionary effort, something that is not measureable—employees must first achieve a state of satisfaction with their employer. And if you follow the string, satisfaction with an employer is based on the employee’s perceived relationship he or she has with the company, which is based on experience with leadership, organizational structure, decision making and communication.
In times like these, when the economic headwinds are blowing hard, any company would be best served by focusing its efforts on building satisfaction among its employees. Forget about trying to “engage” employees, rather focus on offering them an experience that is differentiated from the competition, an experience that is entirely focused on improving productivity. How? It’s pretty simple:
1. Manage the relationship: We can all agree that the manager-employee relationship is important, probably the most important relationship that an employee can that will build satisfaction. Keep any programs you have focused on the manager-employee relationship going. And while you have that program rolling, focus on up-leveling the company-employee relationship. Why? Because if you have to lay the manager off, the relationship goes out the door when the manager does.
2. Let employees make informed decisions: When employees feel like they are just carrying out orders, they have no skin in the game. Instead of establishing decision-making matrices, teach employees about the strategy and how to make the right decisions that will help the company to achieve its end game. After all, isn’t it obvious that when one can make decisions about one’s life, one is typically more satisfied with the life they live? Go ahead and apply that concept to your workforce and you will undoubtedly have more satisfied employees, let alone a company that is agile enough to ride the permanent white water that is characteristic of business today.
3. Listen to employees, then act—fast: Leaders are critical to the satisfaction that an employee can have at work. Today, more and more leaders are forgetting about management hierarchies and going straight to the source to hear directly from employees. That’s great, right? We think so. And the next step is probably even more important. Leaders need to act as soon as they hear from employees to make improvements in their organizations. Do they need to make sweeping changes based on the comments from their teams? Nope. Do they need to take some action to demonstrate that they listened and are dedicated to making improvements? Yes! Without action, employees will feel like they wasted their time. And have you ever heard of anyone who was completely satisfied wasting their time?
4. Keep your organization flat: There is nothing more frustrating than working in an organization where employees can’t get to the people they need to make success happen. You can improve employee satisfaction by reducing management layers and increasing collaboration across business silos. As a matter of fact, if you get rid of silos entirely, and focus instead of a social approach to getting the work done, you’ll see employee satisfaction go through the roof! Why? Because humans are innately social begins; and since every employee on the face of the plant is a human, the strategy will produce tremendous results.
Employee satisfaction is the only indicator that corporate leadership should worry about. It is your leading business metric for one big reason: If your employees are satisfied, they will be productive. Seems too simple doesn’t it? It is simple. But obviously, happy employees will always be far more satisfied, and satisfied employees produce results.
Jeremy Henderson is founder and chief client partner at Jungle Red Communication, a corporate human relations consulting firm. He focuses on helping clients build happy, healthy, productive workplaces that deliver tangible business results through internal communication, leadership, decision making and corporate social structures. You can reach Jeremy at www.JungleRedCommunication.com.
Think Human Responsibility First, Corporate Social Responsibility Second
By Jeremy Henderson | August 28th, 2011
Far too many companies today are using their “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) program as a public relations shield from the realities of how they run their business. If you think I am full of it for making that comment, I ask you to take a look at the sheer volume of CSR specialties popping up in public relations firms these days.
I’d argue that any company should first focus on the relationship it has with its employees, rather than the work that they are doing in a given community. Far too many companies today are focused on the perception of various audiences, rather than the reality of their actions. “Humans taking care of humans” is a far better socially responsible value proposition than putting into place a volunteer program, giving some money to a community center, or reducing waste. Although, truth be told, I’ll take all of that too.
Imagine the value of a work experience where the employer recognized that each person can meaningfully contribute to the end game, where health and wellness is as important internally as the huge numbers of press releases externally, where being a great place to work is the goal rather than just being named to a list.
All of this is possible, and it is not very hard to do. It will require a company to focus its investments in somewhat different ways and to give as much attention to internal communications as it does to external communication; but after all, isn’t this the type of behavior that will then change society for the better? How you ask?
Think of a focus on employees first as causing a socially responsible chain reaction:
1. You have a great work experience, so you are happy, healthy and productive. You have a good relationship with your manager, co-workers and with the company.
2. You go home to your family after participating in successful relationships all day long. So you are happy when you get their rather than feeling anger about having to deal with a terrible boss, mean co-workers or a company that treats its employees poorly.
3. So after a night with you, your family would be less stressed and happier, and they would take that feeling to work, school, the store, or wherever they are going and they would participate better with society at large.
So there you have it. Every company should be focused on building a happy, healthy, productive workplace if they are truly interested in their corporate social responsibility.
Jeremy Henderson is founder and client partner at Jungle Red Communication, a corporate human relations consulting firm. He focuses on helping clients build happy, healthy, productive workplaces that deliver tangible business results through internal communication and employee engagement. You can reach Jeremy atwww.JungleRedCommunication.com.
Rock Star Presentations, One Executive at a Time
By Jeremy Henderson | August 3rd, 2011
This was originally published in the IABC CW Bulletin today at: http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2011/0811/Henderson.htm
Like celebrities, corporate executives are often scrutinized for everything they say, do, wear and eat. The higher they ascend, it seems, the more they are criticized. The pressure is on because the C-suite wants to see its executives deliver a message that has a significant, positive impact on the company; unifies the organization’s strategy; and captures the hearts and minds of each and every employee.
But very few executives are taught to deliver exceptional presentations. So how do executives build a skill that they often need to use, but rarely are trained to do well? The answer: hire a communication coach who can work one-on-one with the executive to build his or her skill in the area.
Today, coaches have a number of tools that are available to help them diagnose “issues.” But when it comes to presentation skills for executives, a one-on-one, intimate approach can often yield better results than sitting through a class with other employees. After all, teaching an executive a new skill is often an emotional experience.
Attain stardom in 8 sessions
Today, the types of presentations executives are called on to give can vary greatly. One minute they could be asked to address the entire employee community, and the very next, to present to the board of directors. Regardless of the type of presentation that your executive may give, one fact remains the same—leaders need to be ready to deliver a motivating message at a moment’s notice.
You can coach your executive—fast. It only takes eight, 45-minute sessions.
Session 1: Observation
Before you can do anything else, you have to see your executive in action. You need to understand what you are working with before you can help. Here’s the catch: Just like every other human on the face of the planet, your executive is only going to be willing to work on those weaknesses that he or she accepts to be true.
Session 2: Anatomy of a presentation
Spell out the specific parts of a presentation for your client, including the goal, guiding principles, audience, key message, tactics, and flow or timing.Session 3: Understand the audience
Most executives suffer from the curse of knowledge. Help your executive to truly understand the expectations of the audience and their level of subject matter understanding before he or she takes the stage.
Session 4: Executive position
Your executive probably has a lot to say. Most do—and should. The days of leaders being able to sit back and listen are all but gone. The world expects our leaders to have a point of view, a clear message and the ability to deliver it in a way that we want to hear it. In this session, coaches should help leaders find and articulate their point of view.Session 5: Rehearse
Once you have worked with your executive on each aspect of building a presentation, schedule time to rehearse what was learned. Offer up your advice on how they can improve, but only after you have given a great deal of praise for what they are doing right.Session 6: Slides, props and theatrics
Today, most people are putting a lot of unnecessary content into PowerPoint and calling the presentation done; however, there’s much more involved in an executive presentation. Help your client understand the power of props, such as chairs, pedestals, flags and posters, and when and how to use them, as well as the gestures and dramatic use of voice that are needed to keep the attention of your audience and to get rave reviews of the big show.Session 7: Impromptu presentation
Since most executives are required to make impromptu presentations, use this session to test your executive’s ability to deliver his or her message on the spot. Do not give advance notice of what the scenario is for this session.Session 8: Final presentation
By now your client has experienced the fast track to presentation success and has all of the knowledge he or she needs to be a superstar. During this final session, sit back and observe. Upon conclusion of the presentation, offer your observations. Spotlight the success your executive has had and offer one or two more areas that he or she can focus on over the long run.
Red carpet success
No coaching session can receive a great big gold star without measuring its success. In the case of coaching an executive on stellar presentation skills, success can be measured only by the reaction of the audience. So while surveys are common in today’s workplace, they are only one method. Instead, make measurement a personal experience. One way to do this is to talk to people as they leave your executive’s next presentation. Stop and ask them what they thought of the event. This tactic does not need to be over-engineered or too formal; just be sure to get some evidence that your executive is on the right track.
With that, a star is born.
Jeremy Henderson is founder and client partner at Jungle Red Communication, a corporate human relations consulting firm. He focuses on helping clients build happy, healthy, productive workplaces that deliver tangible business results through internal communication and employee engagement. You can reach Jeremy atwww.JungleRedCommunication.com.
Got Politics?
By Jeremy Henderson | July 27th, 2011
For anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis, you’ll likely agree that my point of view is positioned on what my company actually does in the world—Human Relations, the area of academic study fathered by Mayo. Within this area study, practitioners tend to focus on group behavior in the workplace. As such, we look social and organizational structures, leadership, communication, and decision-making. Now there is a great deal of range that this area of study covers, but it is entirely focused on helping organizations to be as productive as they can possibly be. So, with nearly 20 years of experience and a master degree in human relations, I often wonder if I am considered an expert…on politics!
I offer you this self-indulgent focus on me as an expert to make a point. More and more in business today, those individuals with deep knowledge, skills, and abilities, are being overlooked for roles because of the politics in which they work.
So as human relations, human resources, employee development, internal communications, and change management practitioners, how do we get a seat at the table when politics are pushing you out?
Build exceptional, one-on-one relationships.
And how do you do that?
Well, it depends on the company in which you are working. For those organizations that are extremely hierarchical, ingratiating yourself to the executives so that they are able to hear your point of view is the only way you’re going to be able to get a seat at the table. Conversely, those organizations that are socially focused will require that you are well networked across business silos and up and down the leadership chain to ensure your voice is heard.
Sad but true: it does matter who offers up an idea. So if you have a critical change, program, or initiative that will fuel your company’s success, and regardless of the type of organization in which you work, find someone who already has a seat at the table and sell them on your idea. You’ll likely have to turn it into their idea; but at the end of the day, you will be able to help your organization succeed.
Does this sound like major politics? You got it! Wherever humans interact, you will find politics. At some point, we all just have to realize that it’s just part of our human nature.
Supercharge Your Workplace with Meaningful, Strategic Recognition Programs
By Jeremy Henderson | July 6th, 2011
This was originally published in the IABC CW Bulletin today at: http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2011/0711/Henderson.htm (along with other great stories as well)
More than ever before, employees want to be recognized for their contributions to their company’s success. After all, it is real people who actually achieve great results on behalf of a company. And since people are emotional beings, we can encourage them to achieve exceptional workplace results simply by giving them a good, strong pat on the back for a job well done.
But let’s face it, most employee recognition programs fail—badly. Why? Well, I’d argue that they are not important to the people who matter most—employees. Recognition programs are often designed to reward the “right behaviors” in a company’s employees, such as teamwork, living the company values, working across company silos, and going above and beyond to get a job done. However, most employees work in teams, very few company values are inconsistent with employee values, and lots of people go above and beyond to get the job done. So then, how can we make recognition programs compelling, meaningful and motivating? By recognizing employees for their direct contributions to the company strategy.
First align everyone with the strategy
Employees are motivated just by having the opportunity to do really good work, regardless of the opportunity for recognition. In the 1930s, various studies proved the concept that companies could increase productivity simply by paying attention to employees. One of the most famous studies of the time examined whether factory workers would be more productive in higher or lower levels of light. The experimenters concluded that productivity gains occurred because workers were motivated by the interest being shown in them, not by any change in their physical conditions. This phenomenon became known as the Hawthorne Effect. But unlike in the 1930s, today most leaders understand the power of recognition. Unfortunately, they rarely align their recognition efforts with the results the company is trying to achieve. That’s where we, as professional communicators, can help our leaders connect the dots.
For a recognition program to be effective, an organization must first have a solid set of goals that are systematically communicated to everyone in the company. Oftentimes, this cascading communication of goals starts at the top of the company. The leadership team gets together and spells out the strategy, and then they communicate that strategy to the entire employee population. From there, the leaders of each business unit write down the goals that their group will undertake to help the company achieve its strategy. The next layer down writes goals that will help the business unit, then departments, then teams, and finally each employee writes his or her goals in support of the company’s strategic direction. Once you have the strategy in place, it is then, and only then, possible to develop a recognition program that will get employees excited and ready to achieve.
Design your recognition program to deliver strategic results
Once everyone in the company knows what the company is trying to achieve, because they heard the message from the top and wrote goals to contribute to the company’s overall success, then, you are in a position to design a recognition program that can deliver strategic results.
To design a compelling recognition program, follow these three simple steps:
- Create one recognition opportunity for each high-level strategic objective.
If the objective is important enough to be part of your company strategy, then recognize employees for their contributions to your company’s strategic results. Forget about teamwork awards and giving praise for certain behaviors, and instead focus your rewards on what is most important to the business. Teamwork, corporate values, competencies and operating behaviors can be reinforced when the award is communicated. First off, however, you should motivate employees by offering them the opportunity to engage in real, meaningful and strategic work. - Write recognition criteria for which all employees are eligible.
It is very important to avoid over-engineering recognition criteria. Keep it simple, global and available to every employee in your company. Don’t make the mistake of separating one group from the rest of the company as this will only breed resentment. Instead, ensure that all employees have equal opportunity to be recognized for achieving strategic results. Be sure that your employees have the opportunity to nominate their peers for the award, while your executive team decides on the recipient. Depending on your strategy, you may also want to include a popular award, which can be voted on by employees, giving them the opportunity to be included in the decision-making process. In any case, the decision-making process should be entirely transparent to all. - Communicate about the program early and often.
Start by building awareness about the program. Simply tell employees about the awards, then deploy a communication program designed to educate employees about each award and their opportunity to receive it. Focus on how every single employee has the opportunity to contribute, regardless of their role or where they sit in the organization. Next, create a quiz to see if employees understand the program. Consider designing an interactive game through which employees can practice the art of nominating others for awards. Finally, launch the nomination process and watch the recognition nominations flow in. Be sure to communicate about the strategy, the recognition program and your employees’ part in all of it every chance you get.
Couple recognition with meaningful rewards
A recognition program can be free. Yes, free! Free rewards can take the form of an intranet article focused on the employee’s strategic accomplishments, being singled out by the CEO through an all-employee email, or inviting the award recipient to present his or her winning work at an all-employee meeting. Incentive rewards can also excite employees and can simply take the form of a cash bonus, a dream vacation or a new car. Regardless of which form your rewards take, it is very important to couple recognition with meaningful rewards, those that are tightly aligned to your corporate culture and strategic objectives, and that meet the expectations of your employees.
Jeremy Henderson, is founder and client partner at Jungle Red Communication, a consulting firm. He focuses on helping clients build happy, healthy, productive workplaces that deliver tangible business results through internal communication. He counsels executives and managers to be effective leaders and helps organizations build high-performance teams, renew corporate cultures and design programs that increase employee satisfaction and steward change. You can reach Jeremy viawww.JungleRedCommunication.com.
Human Relations in M&A: Your Secret to Success
By Jeremy Henderson | July 1st, 2011
What is Human Relations?
Simply put, Human Relations refers the study group behavior in the workplace. Although it is mostly unknown today, it is a formal field of practice that originated in the 1930’s landmark study that discovered the Hawthorne Effect. The study discovered that when you give people positive attention in the workplace, talk to them, and help them to see the big picture of what the company is trying to accomplish, they produce better results.
Today, Human Relations is the source from which modern Human Resources, Internal Communications, Employee Engagement, and Leadership techniques come from.
Why is it important to M&A integration?
A sincere focus on Human Relations is critical to your M&A integration because you only have once chance to get all of your humans aligned behind your business strategy. You want them to accept the change and produce results quickly. You’ll probably even want them to be excited to join your company. Focusing on Human Relations then, can help you to motivate the emotions that are tied to such a massive change, while giving your employees—current and acquired—a clear path forward.
What does a strong Human Relations program look like?
•You are focused on the success of employees, not politics
•You give employees what they need to do their job well
•You communicate early and often
•Everyone with responsibility for the employment experience is united in their efforts to integration employees: IT, Facilities, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Brand, etc.
•Human Resources is only part of the solution, not the solution
When you focus first on people and what their actual needs are today, you will have an exceptional Human Relations program that can fuel the success of any M&A deal.