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ArticlesServicing your employeesby Ian Hutchinson
The next major shift in organisational management will be ways to make and keep talented employees happy. In the first half of last century, the products companies offered were very much supply driven. "Here's the product, come and buy it". The Model T Ford slogan, "You can have any colour you like, as long as it is black" is a good example of the supply and demand curve back then. A major shift occurred in the second half of last century, towards looking at the demand side, to see what consumers wanted. The era of market research boomed, and companies shifted from producing what they liked, to producing what their research told them the consumers would like. For the last 10 to 15 years, demand driven commerce has been the order of the day, and launching a product without fully researching its likely uptake by consumers would be considered the business equivalent of suicide. The customer has come to be seen as No. 1. Companies that do not provide a product that is of benefit or service to consumers go out of business. A similar shift of focus is again occurring in corporations, only this time, with employment. Until very recently, employment offering has very much been supply driven. "Here's the job, come and apply for it". Now, companies are looking more at what employees want, and what will enable them to attract, engage and retain the best talent in their field. It is a shift to demand driven employment. And it won't be long before companies without an 'employer of choice' focus will have great difficulty in attracting good people. Companies which do not see employees as whole people, who expect them to work ridiculous hours without any regard to the stress this causes them, and the sacrifices they have to make in their lives outside work, will be the losers, and this will be reflected in share prices. So, what does a company need to do to 'get with the program'? To become forward thinking, 'employee service' organisations? Ian Hutchinson, a leading Australian lifestyle strategist, says that there are four things companies need to be doing:
"It's as simple as that" says Hutchinson. "But the problem is that for a lot of companies, this is a new way of thinking, and what will challenge them most will not be the technical complexity of the shift, but the cultural difficulty". "Many companies are so entrenched in a supply-driven culture of employment that senior management has cavalier attitudes, that if their employees won't work the hours, they can just leave and they will get someone else who will. In companies such as these, if 'employer of choice' initiatives were introduced, it's likely that most employees would not take advantage of them". "If for example you introduced yoga classes at lunchtime into an organisational culture where taking a break of any sort for lunch is frowned upon, you're not going to get many people taking up yoga, are you! But if you had a clear and effective strategy for communicating the new initiatives to staff, encouraging them to attend, and if you had managers themselves downing tools to attend a yoga class, you are likely to achieve a more effective outcome". "The importance of upper management 'ownership' of 'employer of choice' initiatives cannot be under-estimated. It is a vital prerequisite to positive shifts in organisational culture. Too many companies simply give lip service to engaging staff". Ian Hutchinson sees the current shift to involve a merging of customer service and employee service, which is demonstrated in the following model: [picture like a target, inner circle is 'self', second circle is 'team' and outer circle is 'customer service] "The shift is from seeing the customer as No.1, to seeing the team as No. 1. If you look after your team, they will look after your customers. And the key to looking after your team is looking after yourself. This affects not only your ability to interact and lead your team, but also enables you to be a good role model for your them. The future therefore, will be on better self management. We at Life by Design® have recognised this shift, and has developed a whole series of programs based around self leadership, as well as 'Employer of Choice' and 'Work Life Balance' programs." So, how do we get upper management to buy into this new way of operating? By showing them the sound business case for 'employee service', in the same way a sound business case can be made for 'customer service'. Benefits of providing quality 'service' to employees includes:
Once upper management is 'on-board', and there is a clear vision of where the organisation will be in three years' time, the roll out process begins. Most organisations who have incorporated 'employer of choice' initiatives to date have used a 'trial and error' approach, learning from their own, and others, errors. This ad hoc approach was necessary because at the time, there was no structured process to achieve this major shift in human resource practices. Ian Hutchinson (G.Dip.Psy, B.Bus, APS), Founder of Life by Design®, has built a reputation as Australia's leading lifestyle strategist. He has studied overseas with some of the world's leaders in lifestyle planning, and his lifestyle strategy work has been profiled throughout the media. His entertaining presentations are in demand throughout the world including Europe and the Middle East. Life by Design® can be contacted by phone on (02) 9979 4949, or visit www.lifebydesign.com.au. For permission to reproduce this article in whole or in part,
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