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Published by The People Group
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January 2009
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What Are You Working For?
by Kevin Kennemer, MA, SPHR
 As a business owner, I can tell you starting a business is not for the faint of heart. It takes patience, perseverance, determination and a little bit of insanity. Understandably, there are people who want a stable job where a paycheck arrives every two weeks. My parents worked for their companies a very long time and they never quite understood entrepreneurship. My father worked forty-four years and never used a sick day because he was dedicated to his company.
Thanks to my father's company where he retired, my mother has the best in health insurance and a retirement plan. Benefits like that are hard to get in today's economy. Unfortunately, that kind of employee-employer loyalty is rare in today's business environment.
Would I be more comfortable working in a 9 to 5 career with business risks falling on someone else's shoulders. I can honestly say "no." And here are a few reasons why:
People Issues: There is no shortage of people and leadership issues in the workforce. Unfortunately for American workers, most people are unfulfilled, unsatisfied, unrecognized, underutilized, underappreciated and unengaged. Why? Leaders typically rank financial issues and a host of other concerns higher in priority than people issues. Address your people issues, on the other hand, and other business concerns will begin to come together.
Mission-Based Living: I'm on a mission to help create Great Workplaces across America. Employees will enjoy their work life much more if they see a higher meaning attached to it. Most companies say they want employees to enjoy the experience and be passionate about their work, yet that is not the case most of the time. I am very passionate about treating people with trust, dignity and respect at work. When I confront an untouchable executive about their bully behavior, all of a sudden this passion is considered insubordination. It doesn't work to have high moral values and passion about developing a great company culture unless there is true independence as a consultant.
Greed is Alive and Well: Greed destroys lives. Along with many good people, I helped build a nationally recognized company that was destroyed by the uncontrolled greed of a few individuals. As a result, I learned a very hard lesson: organizational leaders should be held accountable for their behavior. Leaders should understand how their decisions will affect the hard-working people inside a company. If leaders start veering off a moral path, someone should be able to throw up a red flag. If their warnings are not heeded, the leader(s) should be shown the exit. Greed has hurt a number of good, innocent people in our country and city recently. Great Workplaces help to weed out toxic influences like greed. Making money, being profitable, incentive plans, etc., are all extremely necessary. Greed, however, must be kept under lock and key.
Take a few minutes to think about what you are working for in 2009.
To Your Success! Kevin Kennemer
Founder and President
The People Group |
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Company Culture Flows Down from the Top
One time I received a phone call from a recruiter asking me to consider the top HR position of a local company.
The recruiter stated the top leader of the company was essentially the
devil incarnate, yet they needed the HR executive to create a great
workplace. In other words, the CEO was evil but they wanted a work
environment that was employee-friendly.
The recruiter became upset with me when I told her the scenario
would never work. Not with me. Not with anyone. Not even a miracle
worker could turn the culture around as long as the current CEO was in
power.
Have you been challenged with the task of creating a positive
corporate culture? Unless you are the CEO, it is doubtful you will
have much luck changing the culture from negative to positive, bad to
good, mildly unfriendly to moderately friendly or from downright hell
to heaven.
CEO Must be Culture Champion
The CEO must be the champion of the company's culture. The
personality of the organization tends to follow the traits of a strong
CEO. Without his or her strong support, commitment and role modeling
in action, it will likely be an uphill battle to rid the company of bad
organizational habits supported by the leadership team.
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People Strategy Missing Component in Most Business Plans
While attending a Great Place to Work Institute annual conference an organizational consultant told the story of a client
who prominently displayed posters throughout their offices with the
message, "Our valued employees are always treated with trust and
respect." Yet the consultant noticed employees underwent exhaustive
and intrusive security searches when entering and exiting the offices
each day. It was obvious the employer did not really trust their
people. The consultant observed the employees were quite uncomfortable
with the invasive nature of the security process.
Considered a highly unusual practice for a
civilian organization with very little security concerns, the
consultant questioned the leaders about the conflicting message of
"trust and respect" while employees were subjected to daily body
searches. The organization stopped the security searches.
Avoid Conflicting Messages
In this case, the leaders were oblivious to the
conflicting message of building trust and the ongoing practice of their
security measures. That's why business leaders should carefully
consider the environment they want to create for their employees. A
well planned and executed people strategy will help you avoid these
big, hairy contradictory messages that create barriers between
employees and management.
Since corporate culture flows down from the top,
determine in advance what message you want your employees to receive
through your leadership team's actions.
People Strategy is Mission Critical
When preparing your business plan, seriously consider the people
strategy component of your enterprise. People strategy is as important
as your marketing strategy or finance statements. Many CEO's will boast
in their annual reports, "Our people are our most important asset"
because that is what a CEO is expected to say in print or on camera.
But in reality do most CEO's develop a Great Workplace strategy where
employees are treated as whole persons and where leaders are measured
on their soft skills? Based on the vast numbers of unhappy,
unfulfilled, disengaged and burnt out American workers across this
great nation, my educated guess is a resounding "no!"
Read important people practice questions to consider
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Certified Asshole Test
Nothing ruins the office environment like having a certified asshole in the corner office or cubicle next door.
There is a big difference between a regular Joe who flares into an asshole once in a while and a Certified Asshole.Take the Certified Asshole Test
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Positive People Practices. Positive Financial Results.
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