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Look in any company, and you are likely to see managers who adopt every newfangled approach to management that comes along. Although these managers often recognize that the new approach or program is not having the impact they would like it to have, they keep trying new approaches that take an inordinate amount of time and resources to implement. Moreover, with only 45% of workers reporting that they are satisfied with their jobs1, one would think that organizations would be more focused on finding out why new approaches didn't work.
Training Fads
We've all been there at a meeting when top management announces that, starting immediately, we are all going to implement a new approach, such as Total Quality Management, Balanced Scorecards, Re-engineering, Self-managed Work Teams, or Six Sigma. It is not that these programs are bad ideas; rather, the unfortunate part is that they are often undertaken without a clear understanding of the organization's needs, or they are attempted by managers who don't fully understand how they fit into the "bigger picture" for the organization. The following story is a typical one in many organizations:
At my former company, we always knew what book our president was reading. He would come to me, as the Corporate Trainer, and ask me to develop a program around the subject of his new reading. It started with "Who Moved My Cheese," then quickly moved to Steven Covey's, "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." Both were actually very well-received by our associates; however, we didn't spend enough time on either initiative, so when he read "Fish!," and we were asked to change our focus again to make people's day and to choose our attitude, it became one big joke. People began to ask what next month's training topic was going to be-in other words, what was the next "fad of the month." They lost interest in the sessions and became cynical, partly because they were being asked to switch gears so quickly. I could have possibly prevented this by asking more questions. Had I known the root cause of why the president thought these programs would help our organization, I could have done some research to see if it was the right fit for us.
The previous story is a good example of how important it is to ask questions and to determine "fit" for a particular company. If a particular program seems to employees to be unnecessary, ineffective, or forced, it can cause confusion and even resentment. Diversity training is a great example. A study led by Alexandra Kalev, a sociologist at the University of Arizona, reviewed thirty years of data taken from 708 U.S. organizations. She found that diversity training was often followed by a 7.5% drop in the number of women in management, and she concluded that forcing people to go through such training actually created a backlash against diversity.2 In other words, if diversity training is done merely to complete an item on a manager's to-do list, rather than to have useful, meaningful communication and inclusion, resentment builds against employees who are diverse.
Keep in mind that every organization has its own culture of how it likes to learn, and most pre-packaged, off-the-shelf programs do not account for the specific context at all. As an analogy, think about all the infomercials for equipment, diets, or pills that you've seen on television that promise ripped abs, cardiovascular fitness, or maximum weight loss. Usually, in the small print at the end, almost all of these miracle products or programs say something like this: Results are not typical. Part of a complete exercise and diet program. Results will vary based on individual factors. In some ways, it is the same with off-the-shelf programs that promise higher sales, complete customer satisfaction, or an increase in productivity. Every organization must adapt a training program or management approach to its own culture and employees. You can help your managers see the importance of customization so that they do not spend a lot of money on a generic approach to a very organization-specific issue, because not every approach is applicable to every situation.
Recognition Nightmares
Management gurus talk constantly about the importance of recognition in motivating employees. Unfortunately, in many organizations, either managers don't recognize employees at all, or they do it badly. How much money has your organization spent on plaques, trophies, cups, pens, gift cards, award pins, and other trinkets that are supposed to reward and incent employees to keep their spirits up, solidify their organizational commitment, and increase or maintain performance? The question is, does it really work? Generally the answer is that it doesn't work for the people you want to improve their commitment and performance, and the employees who have good performance would perform well whether they got a plaque or not.
Let's be clear; all of us need recognition. However, the problem for managers lies in understanding that each of us differs in what is meaningful recognition. For some employees, public recognition is embarrassing. For others, a gift card to a restaurant or store seems trivial, but receiving a handwritten note from their boss is treasured. The point here is that managers need to know what is meaningful to each of their employees and reward them with what the employees would like, not what the managers think they would like.
Another problem with employee recognition is that sometimes it is done behind the scenes so that the person being recognized is not even aware of it:
I worked as a waitress in a large chain restaurant for about six months. One day in October I had an occasion to go into a back room that I hadn't been in since I was initially hired. It was a small office that the manager used when he wasn't out on the floor. I was leaving something on his desk when I happened to look on the wall behind it. Was I ever surprised when I saw a plaque on the wall with my name and "Employee of the Month" engraved on it. I apparently was the Employee of the Month...two months before in August. Who knew?
A lot of organizations have an "Employee of the Month," and I'm not suggesting this is all together a bad thing, if the criteria and nomination process are perceived to be valid and above-board. In other words, are the nominations only from external sources, like customers, or can they also be from those inside the organization (e.g., peer employees or managers)? Do employees perceive the approach to be political, a kind of "If you nominate me, I'll nominate you"? Such aspects make "Employee of the Month" programs problematic, if they exist, in much the same way as the structured recognition programs discussed earlier.
The criteria used are very important. It might be clear to employees that Susie should win because she has the superior performance. However, if she has consistently been a top performer and already received an "Employee of the Month" award, some managers might decide to "spread the wealth" and choose Jane who has never won. Unfortunately, this is de-motivating to all employees(Susie and Jane, included) because everyone knows who really deserves it. Thus, the intended purpose for recognition, i.e., increased motivation and commitment, is completely undermined.
Celebrations
Our VP of HR was responsible for setting up a holiday party for the employees in our very large organization. She went all out, having special effects built into the tables for very little money. In fact, she created a fantastic setting for a bargain. The entertainment was going to be great, the food fabulous. The buzz surrounding this party was incredible.
The night of the party, she went to the hotel to make sure everything would be perfect. She parked at the front of the hotel, got complimentary valet parking, and checked into her complimentary room. Then she went down to check out the ballroom for the extravaganza. Everything there was perfect.
What she didn't do was check the next ballroom over. The American Penile Surgeons Association was holding their convention and holiday party, and the entire crew for this very large organization was to be entertained by a 15-foot-high penis, with a great cut-a-way view that showed a plastic rod inserted.
The HR VP was absolutely livid. At the party, the rest of us left the room occasionally, mostly to laugh our brains out and to just stare in awe!
Parties can certainly cause great angst for managers. Sometimes the stress has to do with organizing the party itself, but often it has more to do with the appropriateness of the cultural dimensions of the celebration or the inappropriate behavior of some attendees (managers and employees).
Our boss (who nobody liked) was sad to announce to us that he would have to miss our holiday party because of a family obligation. During the party, we had a small gift exchange and almost every present had something to do with the boss and how much we hated him, such as his face on a dart board and "I Hate My Boss" coffee mugs. Halfway through the exchange, our boss walked in. His travel plans had changed.
Whatever the sources of stress, office parties are often not the successful celebrations organizations intend them to be. So how do you organize a party that will have the right tone for your organization? One recommendation is that you focus on what the organization wishes to celebrate and be mindful of how it might be received. For example, if your organization has had a rough year economically and has had to make a lot of cuts in operational costs or employees, having an extravagant party with prime rib and champagne may cause employees to become resentful of the money being spent. On the other hand, a restrained gathering with maybe cold cut sandwiches and beer or wine that focuses on a theme of "we have made it through this year together," may be just what employees need to remind them of the interdependence they all have with one another. Again, it will be impossible to please everyone, so focusing on the majority is key.
Helpful Tips
- Gather data on employees' perceptions of training, new approaches to their jobs, and recognition and reward programs. Provide your managers with an analysis of why you believe something worked or something didn't work in reaching the goals or outcomes that top management has indicated the organization is trying to achieve.
- Analyze how you reward and incent employees in your organization. Determine what might be the most appropriate recognition for individual employees. Involve managers and peers if you don't know the employees that well, making sure to explain the importance and impact of individual recognition in increasing commitment and performance. Or, remember, it's just as easy to ask the employee what motivates him/her.
- Tie celebrations to something important in the company's culture such as team-building, goal achievement, or surviving another year successfully. That way you avoid any potential perceptions of bias due to religion, race, or other issues of protected group status, particularly with regard to holiday celebrations.
Closing Thoughts
Managers, though well-intentioned, often do not think about why the training and rewards provided to employees don't work. In fact, too often managers blame the employees. Do your homework, gather data, and make sure you understand what the organization is trying to accomplish with the training and recognition it offers. Once this is clear you will be in a much stronger position to suggest what will work, so that you can stop doing what doesn't work.
1 Barrington, L., Franco, L., and Gibbons, J. I Can't Get No...Job Satisfaction, That Is. Conference Board, Report No. R-1459-09-RR, January 2010.
2 Kalev, A., Dobbin, F. and Kelly, E. (2006). Best Practices or Best Guesses? Assessing the Efficacy of Corporate Affirmative Action and Diversity Policies. American Sociological Review, v. 71, 4, 589-617.
