Strategic planning often includes budget projections, key project and capital improvements, marketing directives and strategies, information systems, and a host of other key items. Prioritizing and assigning a cost to each of these items, and implementation becomes the key task of management. Generally, there is a formal process for the budget and projects, and often the use of consultants and intense discussions, followed by a detailed plan. Regardless of the specific process, a lot of time, resources, and effort become invested in the projects.
We all have a tendency to concentrate on the bottom line, at our individual facilities, to think in short term, and to react on a monthly basis after we see the financials for the month. American businesses are tied to the items we can quantify, and easily calculate our return on investment. Everything else falls to the schedules of lower priorities and budget cuts. By “everything,” I am including any discussion of our employees and a broad term of “Corporate Culture.”
Our Company, Our Employees
After these types of statements I am often confronted with the same responses from management. “We can’t afford it,” or “We don’t have time,” or a host of other excuses or rationales to emphasize the low priority we usually place on employees, training and programs. Specifically programs where we cannot directly quantify the results in our budgets or profit and loss statements.
How much do we spend on marketing and advertising attracting customers and how little to ensure that our employees are participating in maximizing this investment? How often do we work on our products, spending significant dollars, but fail to talk to our employees about their critical role in the overall success of the organization?
The bottom line is that we are all attracted to doing business with successful organizations. Everyone loves to be linked to winners. How does each of our organizations stack up against the success barometer from the customer’s perspective? And even more critically, what is the role of employees in this “Culture of Success?” We may all agree that employees are the front line in the experience, and without strong employees we cannot be the best we can be. But what are we as an organization doing to ensure employees are part of the plan?
Employee Competition in Today’s Market
Today’s market for employees is brutal and competitive. We have all experienced a new level of frustration in finding and keeping employees. For the first time in a long time, via the last census, over 50 percent of all employees are working in smaller companies. Often these are companies that cannot compete with larger companies with expensive employee benefit packages, 401k contributions, healthcare, and a number of other valuable programs. But we can all compete for employees by developing programs whereby the employee receives training, and feels as though he or she is a valuable, important component in a winning organization. We can often establish this “Culture of Success” without spending a lot of money.
But only a few are aware that even in this era of increased spending on formal education, corporate America is outspending all post high school education by over two to one. That’s right, training dollars spent in today’s corporate world are more than double what we traditionally think of as formal education. And although you may find that interesting, where it becomes critical is when we apply that fact to our own organizations, our own programs, and our own employees. Since we cannot quantify the return on investment (ROI) on training, we ignore the issue until a problem arises. Then we beat the employees into our way of thinking, taking even more time and resources to modify or change employees.
Employee Equity/Culture of Success
Let me start with a couple of questions. Can you see validity in the following statements? “People are more likely to participate in programs they develop, versus those that are dictated down from management.” “People (employees) are more likely to effective when they own the concepts.” If you see some truth in these statements, the task becomes one where management must develop a vehicle for these policies to be put into action. And the beautiful thing for all of us is that nowhere does it say that these types of changes in our training need to be expensive.
When I talk about employee equity, I am talking about ownership in the success of the organization. Equity in this context refers to employees participating in the development of policies resulting in a winning organization, but there must be a vehicle to maximize this new attitude.
Employee Equity/Training
One of the most valuable experiences in my history was working within the Japanese culture as it pertained to employee participation, and vehicles for upward communication in an organization. The term “Kaizen,” the equivalent of “improvement,” is seen in every facet of the Japanese manufacturing process. And although in my seminars we discuss Kaizens in some detail, there are key components that have to be in place for this concept to be successful.
Any employee can submit a Kaizen; it is simply an idea that will result in improvement. The vehicle is a simple sheet of paper, can be hand written, or typed, and includes a photo of the condition before, and then after the implementation of the idea. The process has to be quick, easy, and simple to understand. The idea is then put into effect, and after a period of time, is evaluated, and then a decision made by a committee of hourly as well as management staff to implement or not implement on a an ongoing basis.
For this to work, it has to be a formal program, with regular reviews. As the employees come to work at the Yamaha factory every day, the first thing they see when they arrive, and the last thing they see as they exit, is the “Kaizen Board,” tracking all ideas, both individual as well as team. In addition, as you walk around the factory, there are hundreds of signs proclaiming Kaizen objectives and goals set by each group. How about that? A department’s team goal for new ideas to improve the company, posted for all to see every day. Once again, this concept does not work on a part time or casual basis. Prizes and recognition are done on a quarterly basis, in front of all the employees. Consequently, a small peer pressure network is established for departments, all geared towards making the end result, a winning team, and a culture of success.
Vehicles
Regardless of the vehicle you develop, assuming you are buying into this concept, there are common denominators that have to be in place for the process to work.
¥ Formal vehicle for the process
¥ Management support and recognition
¥ 100 percent participation, individual as well as team
Training Adults
Remember too that we are not working with younger students but adults. By nature, adults have a lower tolerance for change, feel more comfortable dealing with problems than subjects, are experienced and most critically are grouped by common interests, not purely by age. In developing or individual vehicles for training we need to remember we are dealing with employees not students. My experience is that lectures do not work, interactive training; even to the point of role playing experiences are far more effective.
It is interesting that many organizations trust employees to deal with their most valuable asset, their customers, but are reluctant to bring all the employees into the training development process. You see, not only are we talking about policies and discussions that will make us all more successful, but also we are talking about giving all employees direct ownership in the process. Involvement is the key, while pride and ownership are the results.
So, we all agree that today’s market is tough, and making a profit in this marketplace is even tougher. None of us have excess budget dollars to invest and we are driven daily by the bottom line. But, I hope that we can all recognize that employees can make a significant difference. The question becomes “Will management let them make a positive impact on our corporate cultures?”
Management support, developing a vehicle for employee equity, goals, recognition, and 100 percent participation are all critical, but not necessarily expensive. Can your organization afford these types of changes in dealing with today’s employee? Let me close by asking you this “Can we afford not to change?”