I found this interesting sort of case study on BNet about Method, the household supply company with the quirky packaging. When their culture went from fun and wierd to mean and angry, the 30-something founders had to make changes. They did so by creating 5 cards that lay out the values of the company, including collaborate, care, innovate - and "keep method wierd" and "what would MacGyver do?"
They also ask interviewees to answer the question, "How would you keep Method wierd?" - a perfect example of an interview question that ensures new hires fit within the corporate culture. This article ultimately provides some great insight into using culture strategically to keep bullies out.
Here's the article... enjoy
San Francisco-based Method is one of those quirky companies where the halls bustle with smart, opinionated hipsters who, compared to most of us, actually love their jobs. Employees conduct meetings while knitting in the “craft pod,” playing ping pong in the Astroturf room, or just sitting in the middle of an open, office-less floor plan and writing their many ideas on whiteboards that span entire walls. The vibrant atmosphere has helped propel the nine-year-old company to more than $100 million in sales and put its laundry detergent, hand soap, and other products onto the shelves of stores like Target, Lowe’s, and Safeway.
But several years ago, after a period of rapid sales growth and frantic hiring, the free flow of ideas started to get a little too free. Arguments were breaking out in the middle of the very public encampment of cubicles. People were hurling insults at each other, and employees who should have been talking with one another weren’t. For a cleaning products company composed of “people against dirty,” things were getting messy.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Showing posts with label corporate culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corporate culture. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Healthy workplaces go beyond corporate policies: Civility is a business strategy
I've been reading a lot of online articles lately that claim the answer to your bully problem is the implementation of a corporate policy. Even BusinessWeek is guilty.
We can implement policies all day long, but unless they are in alignment with the organization's overall vision and have leadership buy-in it will be like they don't exist at all. Corporate policies are only as good as management and employee support for them.
That means we must adjust the corporate culture and obtain buy-in from everyone (or at least as many people as possible) before we can create a corporate policy that fits within the new, and nice, way of doing things. If the anti-bully/healthy workplace policy is to be effective, it will decidedly be designed to achieve the newly established vision and culture. (In other words, corporate policies do not adjust corporate culture, but they can be used as a tool in the process.)
One sure fire way to gain employee support is to get them involved in developing the vision of a healthy culture and corresponding policies. If staff helps create the vision, it's easier to hold them accountable to it. And when they feel included in the process, they are more likely to take heed to it anyway simply because they have a vested interest in doing so. In addition, when employees are involved their personal values are involved, thereby individual values and corporate values become one in the same.
Asking departments to develop action plans surrounding the new vision is also useful in obtaining support. Action plans are documented procedures directly related to meeting the new business strategy; and list the actual steps, responsible individual, resources required, measures for success, due date and actual date of completion. For example, a department might decide to perform a specific project as a pointedly collaborative team; tracking their success, how well they work together, and the accountability of each team member. The results would then be reported to management and perhaps the entire organization for accountability.
Appointing organizational champions can also be helpful. Employee assistance professionals, ombudsman, and even plain ol' employees can fill these positions. Organizational champions would then be responsible for ensuring people are treating one another with civility, respect and encouragement. Champions should also be part of the policy roll-out process in order to obtain their full support of these new responsibilities.
So, don't add an anti-bully corporate policy to the policy handbook and expect the bullying behavior to stop. If no one supports it, then who cares. Bullying behavior will stop when the corporate culture doesn't allow that type of behavior to thrive anymore... and that goes way, way beyond anything a corporate policy can do. Adjust the company vision, and then implement a policy in-line with the new way of doing things.
We can implement policies all day long, but unless they are in alignment with the organization's overall vision and have leadership buy-in it will be like they don't exist at all. Corporate policies are only as good as management and employee support for them.
That means we must adjust the corporate culture and obtain buy-in from everyone (or at least as many people as possible) before we can create a corporate policy that fits within the new, and nice, way of doing things. If the anti-bully/healthy workplace policy is to be effective, it will decidedly be designed to achieve the newly established vision and culture. (In other words, corporate policies do not adjust corporate culture, but they can be used as a tool in the process.)
One sure fire way to gain employee support is to get them involved in developing the vision of a healthy culture and corresponding policies. If staff helps create the vision, it's easier to hold them accountable to it. And when they feel included in the process, they are more likely to take heed to it anyway simply because they have a vested interest in doing so. In addition, when employees are involved their personal values are involved, thereby individual values and corporate values become one in the same.
Asking departments to develop action plans surrounding the new vision is also useful in obtaining support. Action plans are documented procedures directly related to meeting the new business strategy; and list the actual steps, responsible individual, resources required, measures for success, due date and actual date of completion. For example, a department might decide to perform a specific project as a pointedly collaborative team; tracking their success, how well they work together, and the accountability of each team member. The results would then be reported to management and perhaps the entire organization for accountability.
Appointing organizational champions can also be helpful. Employee assistance professionals, ombudsman, and even plain ol' employees can fill these positions. Organizational champions would then be responsible for ensuring people are treating one another with civility, respect and encouragement. Champions should also be part of the policy roll-out process in order to obtain their full support of these new responsibilities.
So, don't add an anti-bully corporate policy to the policy handbook and expect the bullying behavior to stop. If no one supports it, then who cares. Bullying behavior will stop when the corporate culture doesn't allow that type of behavior to thrive anymore... and that goes way, way beyond anything a corporate policy can do. Adjust the company vision, and then implement a policy in-line with the new way of doing things.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Don't think there's a bully in your organization? Take this test and find out.
Research indicates that reports of being bullied are somewhere around 50%; and some studies indicate this number can be as high as 90%.
But most managers and human resource professionals would say that they don't have a bully in their organization and they do foster a very healthy workplace. With that many people feeling bullied, either these victims all work for the same company or there's some serious denial out there about behavior within our own organizations. Here are some questions to ask yourself that might help you determine if there's a bully in your workplace. See below regarding your answers.
1. Does your organization acknowledge or give public awards for demonstrating empathy, openness to feedback or effective communication skills?
2. Do items such as, "Demonstrates excellent reflective listening skills and an ability to outwardly exhibit cognitive comprehension", and "Motivated to appropriately respond to internal and external communication from all levels" appear in your job descriptions?
3. Do company meetings start with an open forum, where free thinkers, innovators and commentators are allowed to openly share ideas, thoughts, questions, and concerns?
4. Does your employee satisfaction survey ask employees if they are satisfied with internal communication flow and with the communication of their superiors? If it does, do your managers actually act on negative responses?
5. Do themes of openness, candidness, honesty and candor run through employee stories? (Or are employee stories about micromanagement, evil managers and keeping things quiet?)
6. Are contributions to organizational processes encouraged by employees at all levels?
7. Are bonuses and other rewards directly related to evaluations of communication from others in 360° reviews?
8. Have you received reports from employees that other employees are bullies?
9. Does your organization (or some of its managers) insist on following the rules right down to the dot above the "i" and the cross on the "t"?
10. Is there unhealthy organizational competition (within a specific department, or even across departments or department managers)?
11. Is your organization going through major changes (e.g., downsizing, restructuring)?
12. Have any of your managers changed personalities with a new promotion (e.g., seemingly become more power thirsty, aggressive, or untrusting)?
Questions 1-7: If you answered three of these seven questions "no", then it is very likely your organization is harboring a bully.
Questions 8-12: If you answered even just one of these five questions "yes", then it is very likely your organization is harboring a bully.
Remember that bullying is not a simple case of a bad behaving employee - it is systemic. Removing it from your organization requires the commitment of management and a well thought out and well executed plan. Organizations that value internal relationships and understand their positive impact on the bottom line will see employee individual success and greater organizational victory.
Don't forget to read the rest of my latest edition of NoWorkplaceBullies e-news.
But most managers and human resource professionals would say that they don't have a bully in their organization and they do foster a very healthy workplace. With that many people feeling bullied, either these victims all work for the same company or there's some serious denial out there about behavior within our own organizations. Here are some questions to ask yourself that might help you determine if there's a bully in your workplace. See below regarding your answers.
1. Does your organization acknowledge or give public awards for demonstrating empathy, openness to feedback or effective communication skills?
2. Do items such as, "Demonstrates excellent reflective listening skills and an ability to outwardly exhibit cognitive comprehension", and "Motivated to appropriately respond to internal and external communication from all levels" appear in your job descriptions?
3. Do company meetings start with an open forum, where free thinkers, innovators and commentators are allowed to openly share ideas, thoughts, questions, and concerns?
4. Does your employee satisfaction survey ask employees if they are satisfied with internal communication flow and with the communication of their superiors? If it does, do your managers actually act on negative responses?
5. Do themes of openness, candidness, honesty and candor run through employee stories? (Or are employee stories about micromanagement, evil managers and keeping things quiet?)
6. Are contributions to organizational processes encouraged by employees at all levels?
7. Are bonuses and other rewards directly related to evaluations of communication from others in 360° reviews?
8. Have you received reports from employees that other employees are bullies?
9. Does your organization (or some of its managers) insist on following the rules right down to the dot above the "i" and the cross on the "t"?
10. Is there unhealthy organizational competition (within a specific department, or even across departments or department managers)?
11. Is your organization going through major changes (e.g., downsizing, restructuring)?
12. Have any of your managers changed personalities with a new promotion (e.g., seemingly become more power thirsty, aggressive, or untrusting)?
Questions 1-7: If you answered three of these seven questions "no", then it is very likely your organization is harboring a bully.
Questions 8-12: If you answered even just one of these five questions "yes", then it is very likely your organization is harboring a bully.
Remember that bullying is not a simple case of a bad behaving employee - it is systemic. Removing it from your organization requires the commitment of management and a well thought out and well executed plan. Organizations that value internal relationships and understand their positive impact on the bottom line will see employee individual success and greater organizational victory.
Don't forget to read the rest of my latest edition of NoWorkplaceBullies e-news.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Minimizing Workplace Negativity Podcast
In this podcast, human resources consultant Susan Heathfield discusses how managers can diagnose the problem, deal with individual and group negativity issues, and turn negativity into positive action.
Made available from one of my favorite eNewsletters, BNET. Click here to listen:
http://blogs.bnet.com/intercom/?p=1882&tag=nl.e808
Susan cites the main causes of negativity at work:
1. excessive workload
2. concerns about management
3. confusion about the future
4. lack of challenges in workload
5. insufficient recoginition of work
And indicates the best solution is creating a culture of empowerment.
Made available from one of my favorite eNewsletters, BNET. Click here to listen:
http://blogs.bnet.com/intercom/?p=1882&tag=nl.e808
Susan cites the main causes of negativity at work:
1. excessive workload
2. concerns about management
3. confusion about the future
4. lack of challenges in workload
5. insufficient recoginition of work
And indicates the best solution is creating a culture of empowerment.
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