Melina Murray

I am a wee bit behind in my blog reading and just came across a link on HR World for an NY Times article that made my day. Using the Human Touch to Solve Workplace Problems

It is worth 5 minutes of your time to click the link and read the article. Showing some concern and care can reap lasting benefits.

This quote is what the article is really about:

“What it really comes down to,” he said, “is we’re trying to create the ultimate workplace. We believe you can do the right thing and be profitable.”

So, what little (or large) impact can you make in the life of an employee?

I spent last week in San Francisco at the annual RSA Conference, a huge conference for the Information Security industry. Having worked in with a network security company for a number of years, I am still in contact with many former colleagues and others in the industry. As an HR professional and a person continually interested in learning, I find the people in the IS community to be exceptionally talented and passionate about what they do.

Throughout the week I talked to many, many people, and the one thing that struck me more than anything was how unhappy most were with their companies. Not their jobs, but their leadership and company as a whole. Granted, there were a few, maybe 20%, who loved both their current career and company. However, the vast majority were just biding time awaiting a new opportunity.

The most common frustrations revolved around 2 issues: Human Resources and Company Communications. Below is a sampling of the complaints.

• I have no trust in our HR leader. He/She doesn’t talk to anyone other that the executive team. When I ask questions or voice concerns, I am told not to worry, there are no problems. I never get a response to my actual question.
• Our company changes direction all the time. I never know what will happen tomorrow, and I don’t even know what is happening now.
• When our company makes a big change or announcement, we hear about it with the rest of the world, in a press release.
• My manager is completely uninvolved in what I do. He/She has no idea what my actual job entails and when I ask for a growth path, I am always told to wait.
• I would never talk to our HR leader about about anything important. HR is a joke at our company.

Yikes! The main theme= Communication. From HR, from managers, and from the executive team.

Mind you, most of the people I talked to are from small/mid-sized companies (50-3000). These are not big corporations mired down in decades of processes and many layers of management. There is really no reason for this level of frustration and discontent.

I am always appalled when there is a distrust of HR. As an HR professional myself, I have always made it a point (very important one) to talk to as many employees as possible, to let them know they can talk to me anytime, to not gossip about what I am told, and to work to alleviate frustrations while keeping in mind the overall needs/goals/directions of the company.

As for overall company communication, it is simple. If you don’t trust your employees, they will not trust you. Something as important as company direction should be conveyed prior to a press release. Talk to your employees! Help them feel connected, respected and valued.

I am a huge proponent of flex time. Granted, there was a time (way in the past) where I tried to subscribe to the “8 hour workday”. But I quickly unsubscribed when I realized the benefits of flex time.

A sampling of the reasons I believe in flex time are:

Some people work better during non-traditional hours. In allowing them to set their own schedule, the work they produce is of a much higher quality.

It takes a huge burden off someone’s shoulders when they know they can take care of personal needs during the work day, whether a doctor’s appointment, sports game, or child’s school party.

Having the time during the day to work on a hobby or attend an event helps create the work/life balance that leads to greater motivation and productivity.

David Zinger recently asked “How can we flex time to create benefits for employees, families, the organization, and customers?” in his post An Employee Engagement Rx: Flextime. He even added a great list of different kinds of flex time:

• • Daily Flex – Different hours on a daily basis, as long as the number of hours remain the same
  • Variable Flex – Standard working hours with occasional flexibility
  • Day of the Week Flex – Work extra hour 4 days a week and get an afternoon off.
  • Extreme Flex – Work anytime anywhere as long as you get the job done.
  • Core flex- Must be at the office for core hours, say 10 to 2 but free to start and finish at different times.

It seems smaller companies are more apt to offer flex time, but larger companies are catching on. It is a culture change, and change can be scary for many. (It doesn’t have to be!)

The story of two creative people at Best Buy who created and rolled out their own flex time program called ROWE is worth a read. Here is a link to the Workforce.com article about the program: Throwing Out The Rules of Work.

It doesn’t matter what size company you are, flex time can make a significant (positive) difference. Happier employees = more productive employees = growth and revenue!

I have always been an advocate of talking to employees. Just talking. Asking about their day, how things are going, how a specific project is going, any random topic.

My purpose? Get to know them and let them know that I see them as individual people, not just another employee. In small companies, this is not difficult. In larger ones, it will take time to talk to everyone, but it can be done.

Chris Bailey at Bailey WorkPlay wrote “Do Your Employees Feel Invisible” and it made me think about how a little focus goes a long way. Although Chris says “stop with the small talk”, I find that small talk can lead to bigger and better conversations. Add in genuine praise and acknowledgment for successes and strengths and you have a recipe for a healthier, more production team

I think this is a very important habit for managers, and I also think it is vital for Human Resources. While I am not suggesting becoming friends with all employees, I am suggesting opening the path of communication. Neither managers nor HR should be sitting behind closed doors most of the day.

Chris quoted How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work and I want to highlight the first sentence of that quote:

We all do better at work if we regularly have the experience that what we do matters, that it is valuable, and that our presence makes a difference to others.

Yesterday, the HR Daily Advisor wrote about a partnership between The Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces to select 15 top small workplaces.

The list of commonalities is worth noting:

Does your company have a mission statement? Values statement? Does everyone know the focus and goals? And, does everyone know how the work they do contributes to those goals?

Noting that none of the items on the lists requires a financial investment, only time and commitment, what can you do today to make move your company closer to being a “top small company”?