When Rudeness Dominates Your Work Culture, Everyone Pays the Price

 You’re rude because your boss is rude.

WOW! That was an article in my feed from the Harvard Business Review this week. I could not wait to click over and absorb that one.

What happens when you have bad behavior and you do nothing about it from an organizational perspective?

When you do not address it in the flick of a switch, this could become your culture. Yes, I’m talking about a culture of screamers. How long do you think you can keep that a secret?

When rudeness dominates, everyone pays a price

Are You Committed Enough to Invest in Yourself?

“I don’t read this crap. When someone gives me an article to read, I just say yes I will. I don’t read anything anymore. When I leave work, the last thing on my mind is HR.”

This was from one of my HR peeps.

My thought was, “boy they have checked out.” Not only that, but they have checked out and don’t even know it.

Do you “invest in the night?”

What Message Do Your Organization’s Workforce Policies Send?

“I am glad I do not feel pressured and I have a job to come back to.”

Right on ABC! That was my response when I read that.

Robin Roberts, broadcaster on ABC’s Good Morning America,made that statement the other day in talking about her cancer and her career.

This reminded of a friend of mine who took a leave of absence to deal with her elderly parents. When it was nearing the time for her to return, she tried logging in to her company’s computer system, but for some reason, it was not allowing her to get in.

The message: “We take care of our own”

HR's Big Challenge for 2013: How Do We Help Our Organizations Succeed?

What did you learn today?

“Morning Joe,” which is a show that I watch on MSNBC, always asks the most profound questions at the end of every show. Each guest talks about their learning moment for the show.

During the hiatus from work last week, I heard the question asked and thought about it in the context of what I do as a consultant, blogger, and social media enthusiast.

Given that it was the end of one year and the beginning of a new one, I looked back and thought about 2012 and what I learned.

What did you learn?

The Office Christmas Party: One Last Chance to Get Engagement Right

“Yeah, our Christmas party is on Friday night in the conference rooms. In the conference rooms! They will bring food and drinks in. Nobody wants to attend so everyone is planning on going to the area, spend maybe a half-hour, and then get out.”

One of my commute companions told me that story the other day about his company’s “Christmas party.”

It reminded me of someone telling me last year that their company made the Christmas party MANDATORY. I said to him then that if you have to make it mandatory, a loud siren should go off in someone’s head. That should show one and all that there is a bigger problem besides some celebration.

Signals that management don’t seem to see

The Key to Great HR? It’s All About Great Customer Service

“OMG. I was dreading coming down here. When I knew I had to come to HR this morning, I was not looking forward to it. I will definitely have to tell all my friends about this experience.”

Sometimes we get stories second hand, but this time, I was in the room. This was a new employee who stopped by to fill out a few forms as I just happened to be a visitor.

He probably dreaded going to what he thought was possibly surly service, no personality, and lots of rudeness as an appetizer. This was his reference point to HR. Sadly, this is a lot of folk’s reference point to HR. Reference points are always based on fact.

In the end, it is all about the customer

Get Ready to Be Ready: Building a NEW HR Business Model

 “HR must have the knowledge of the organization’s P&L, but more importantly, they should develop a people P&L.”

This was a statement by Cynthia Trudell, Executive Vice President Human Resources & Chief Human Resources Officer of Pepsico.

Last week in New York there was an event called the HR Leadership Summit (built “by HR Execs, for HR Execs). Well to me that line is an understatement. I have attended a lot of conferences, but this one day event is at the top of my list.

What will you call your plan?

Presentations were given by the folks at the top of the HR food chain, from people like Mark James, SVP, Human Resources & Communications at Honeywell; Dimitra Manis, SVP, Global Head of People for Thomson Reuters; Susan Peters, VP, Executive Development & Chief Learning Officer at GE; Cara Capretta, VP, Human Capital Transformation for Oracle; and Randy McDonald, CHRO for IBM.

Organizational Values: Are They Part of Your Workforce’s Daily Mission?

“I knew I had to help.”

A photo depicting an unknown New York City cop giving a pair of winter boots to a homeless man went viral after the woman who took it (a tourist and fellow police officer from Arizona) posted the picture to the NYPD’s Facebook page. 

This past week, there was so much talk about this amazing policeman who, while on patrol on a cold night, walked past a homeless person who had no shoes.

“I was cold and I had on two pairs of socks,” he said, “and I knew he had to be cold.”

What values are in your mission statement?

He went inside a store in Times Square and purchased a pair of boots and socks. When he returned, he helped the homeless man put the boots on. If that tourist had not been there to take the picture, this simple event would have never created such a media storm.

When I heard about it on the radio, I was impressed. The officer had no idea that someone was watching, or for that matter, recording his actions. The next day I read the full story in the newspaper and I was beyond impressed.

The great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”

If it were not for that picture, there would have been a terrible void of good news last week in New York City. Every station, newspaper and social media platform had this story.

Out of curiosity, I decided to check the NYPD’s mission/value statement to see whether it was sync with this selfless act.

Under the values section was this statement:

“Value human life, respect the dignity of each individual and render our services with courtesy and civility.”

This was the statement that should have been the caption of that photo.

I thought that this was the ultimate campaign poster for recruiting officers. People do not join and engage with organizations, at least over the long term, unless they are about more than just profit motive. People are looking for a bigger hook and some alignment with their lives.

That also translates into the character of an organization. Although that one act of supreme kindness will not change a lot of people’s perception of New York’s Finest, it does go a long way to buff up the current state of their image.

Values created in a conference room carry no value

There are a lot of ways to define what is critical within organizations: the employee value proposition, the mission, the values, and the vision statements.

Is one more important than the others? That is a question that each organization must figure out. A group of words created in the confines of a conference room carry no value if the organization does not eat, breathe, and sleep on what they believe in.

These statements are supposed to be the foundation of their organization and a guiding light, not only in good times, but in bad times as well. Use the Rocher Test principles, think about an organization, and then quickly think about what it stands for. If it is the NYPD, what is your perception? If it is IBM or Google for that matter, what are your thoughts about its character?

The meaning of organizational character

In the search for organizational bedrock, let’s look at this in another way: If organizations were people, what would we wish most to understand about them?

Character is the inner core of a human being. If each of us were and onion and the layers could be peeled back, what we would have left at the core would be our character. It is the center. This core determines how we act when no one is watching or listening. You act because it is the right thing to do. Your definition of the “right thing” is your moral compass.

Should we seek it in our organizations? However you answer that question, it does not matter because the workforce is looking and seeking it. They are looking to attach themselves to something bigger than themselves. If we think it, as Jerry Maguire says in the movie, is all about “show me the money,” we are sadly mistaken.

The word “character” comes from the Greek term “engrave.” In other words, it is etched in stone or our inner being. Once that etching is ingrained, it is not easily changed. It is expressed in so many different ways: words, attitudes, our interaction, our mindset, and in all sorts of behaviors. But like a rubber band, its always comes back to form.

If your workforce is heavily staffed with the same character traits that can easily become the driving force to mask the character of an organization, regardless of your “statements”

I was told by an older man on my first job that you should always live your life as if someone is always watching or listening. An organization survives shifts in people and leadership because the core is there.

When organizations have character, they can build on it. But if they do not begin with a strong character, they will have a hard time ending with it.

Culture: Here’s Why It Matters Now More Than Ever Before

 “I wanted to let you know that I got the job offer,” she said excitedly.

She had two interviews last week — one with a noted brand and the other with a fast growing start-up. One firm really wants her but they are on a hiring freeze until Q1. This is a dilemma that a lot of folks would kill for in this climate.

As we discussed how she was going to approach the offer vs. the “non-offer,” I was amazed at how she was approaching this decision. She talked about the pros and con’s of each company, her career growth and potential development at each, the known brand vs. a start-up, etc. All this came from a Gen Xer.

No alignment with her personal brand

My other discussion this week was from a Gen. Y/Millennial who had a job interview with another known brand. She knew the brand was not quite for her, but really wanted to find more out about the role.

She mentioned that the company’s lobby was a mess and not inviting at all. One of the recruiters she met with was chilly, to say the least, and according to her, bordered on being rude. This recruiter was asked a question, and as she tried to answer, was talking over her throughout.

When she walked out she knew that even if offered the role, she would not accept. In both cases, there was no brand alignment with her career. In all our discussions, the issue of salary did not come up.

You are the one being interviewed

If you are an organization seeking talent, the pendulum has swung away from you — and you are no longer in charge.

That’s right — you no longer have the upper hand with talent. You’re the one that is being interviewed. If that person sitting across the desk from you is top talent, you and your organization are the ones that are under the microscope.

No longer is top talent sitting, waiting, and hoping for YOUR call. They can have their choice of jobs.

Not only that, but just because you are a known brand (and that alone may add a few points to the equation), it’s still the top candidates that are creating the formula when making the hiring decision.

Not so long ago, the toughest part of job hunting was getting a decent offer. Today, people with talent get a flood of offers.

Their challenge is sorting through all of the choices to find the one that’s best for them. The organization’s challenge is learning a new organizational skill: How can I compete?

No, I have decided not to accept your offer

There are many reasons why a job candidate might have to turn down a job offer: the money, the work itself, or the people and culture at the company. In all these situations, money did not come up in the discussion. Work, people, and culture was paramount — and that is why the pendulum has swung.

How an organization approaches this conundrum will determine how successful they are in getting the talent they need. Innovation will be determined by the level of talent and how inspired it is.

The days of being the big shot in your industry, and having that mindset that everyone wants to work for you, are coming to an end. There was a line in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, where the magazine editor character Miranda Priestly tells her assistant Emily that “everyone wants this.” She was shocked when Emily said that, no, she did not want it or want to be a part of it.

Culture matters now more than ever

Culture is the elephant in the room. I remember reading a quote a while back that said “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” a remark attributed to the late management guru Peter Drucker. No matter how far reaching a leader’s vision or how brilliant the strategy, neither will be realized if not supported by an organization’s culture.

Culture is the sum total of what people within your company believe and value about your organization. But are you in a company that is characterized by distrust, fear, and bitterness?

Recruiting for a company like that is a lot different than recruiting for an organization that is characterized by creativity, innovation, and a sense of responsibility for the entire organization.

Culture should be a discussion within the executive suite, because while strategy is the direction to the destination, culture is in the driver’s seat.

The work WILL matter

Is your company looking to grow their people and let them spread their wings? One of the people that I mentioned earlier said while she has a great job, she has been pigeon-holed doing the same thing day-in and day-out. There are no opportunities to grow. Career development is basically non-existent.

To a new generation of workers, work DOES matter. Work will have to be interesting and challenging like it is  at Google where we have all heard about the company granting time for employees to pursue their dreams while at work.

While this might not work at every company, you must encourage the whole person to come to work — because it the end, it is no longer about you.