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It's working so why invest further?
Work Views
It's working so why invest further?
For every news story, thereÂ’s a workforce-management angle. Discuss them here, or read Work Views for more opinions.
We are delivering to the customers.
We now have the lowest attrition rate and absenteeism in the company.
However, walking the floor, the staff morale 'appears' to be low and our free forum website
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Forums » Topic Forums » Work Views » It's working so why invest further?
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It's working so why invest further?
posted at 8/21/2001 4:05 AM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: 8/21/2001 Last: 8/21/2001 |
We are delivering to the customers.
We now have the lowest attrition rate and absenteeism in the company. However, walking the floor, the staff morale 'appears' to be low and our free forum website is full of complaints, moans and whines. The guys at the top look at results and all is rosey and do not see the need to invest in morale surveys, employee initiatives and the like. Are they correct - if it isn't broke, don't fix it? Should we just wait for the attrition rate to rise again before we take action? |
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It's working so why invest further?
posted at 8/21/2001 5:20 PM EDT
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Posts: 5
First: 6/6/2001 Last: 10/30/2001 |
It sounds like you're trying to initiate some changes that are out of alignment with the top brass's priorities, whether spoken or not. If that's the case, it could be a long, frustrating, unrewarding battle. I know from experience that if you continue to push for what you know deep down is the right thing to do, it could inevitably lead to you not being invited to the strategy table. Look around at the people that are closest to the CEO (or whomever the real leader is). Do they tell him/her the blatant truth, or do they tell him/her what s/he wants to hear? My point is, pick your battles; build up your relationships with management, as well as your credibility for "being objective" (translation: bottom-line oriented); and you may win on one or two issues that are the most important. By facing the fact that you won't win them all, or even most of the battles you'd like to fight, maybe you can store up your political arms for the big one.
As far as employee surveys go, if they aren't open to this kind of feedback, they probably (1) will dismiss the results or warp the interpretations; or (2) they won't do anything at all, which will result in further undermining of the morale and trust. What little hope that you might inspire in the process, will serve as a confirmation of those complaints. Our first survey was done after five years of selling the concept to management, another couple months of hype to the employees (to motivate them to participate); then a long period of silence, followed by some feelings of betrayal and bitterness among those with the highest of hopes. Perhaps you can focus on those things that you can change, instead of trying to change the collective psychology of your management culture all at once. One thing that I've found to work extremely well is to take direct responsibility for every utterance that you hear, even if only by engaging in a bit of dialog with employees. Find opportunities to build up the relationships people have with their immediate managers, and work up from there. Be very sincere. Be honest. Gain trust. You can become the medium for feedback, and you have the ability to present it to the brass in a digestable format. Just like you would coach a staff member into the direction you'd like, give your upper management small, easy problems...let them feel the success and recognition when they "do the right thing". Baby steps. Next thing you know, they'll all be clamoring to champion their own employee-friendly initiative and you'll feel like they've stolen the credit. And you'll know to let them have it. Sadly, you must be prepared to give up that "I told you so" in order for them to Own Up and Buy In (just like the rest of the employees). Face it, in HR, all employees are our customers, from minimum wage to golden parachute levels. Sorry this turned out so long..just wanted to share something that I had to learn the hard way. |
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It's working so why invest further?
posted at 10/18/2001 5:47 PM EDT
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Posts: 495
First: 9/30/2000 Last: 8/19/2011 |
So what are they moaning and whining about? What type of industry are you in (manufacturing, etc.)? What is the company doing with respect to company wide events or recognition? Tell us more and we may be able to give our observations.
Thanks. |
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It's working so why invest further?
posted at 10/15/2002 7:01 AM EDT
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Posts: 12
First: 10/9/2002 Last: 12/17/2002 |
There are two types of management: Proactive and Reactive. Reactive costs more. If it's not broken, it can probably still be tweaked a bit. "Continuous improvement" should be more than just a marketing buzzword your company uses. It should be a management strategy. Change for the sake of change is not a positive thing. Make your suggestions viable and defendable. |
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It's working so why invest further?
posted at 2/11/2003 10:36 AM EST
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Posts: 206
First: 11/21/2001 Last: 11/30/2006 |
If you think that morale isn't important to the overall success of companies, there's a website called www.winningworkplaces.com that is worth a visit.
Another source of information is the 100 Best Companies To Work For In America. If you compare the stock performance of publicly-held companies that made the list vs. the performance of the S&P 500, you will find they outperformed the market by a wide margin. The moral of the story: companies that have employee-friendly cultures are more profitable and more successful than companies that don't. |
Forums » Topic Forums » Work Views » It's working so why invest further?
