When: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time

What: Real Recognition Radio with Roy Saunderson and S. Max Brown will feature Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden, talking about how good leaders get people to put more OOMPH! into their work.

Roy Saunderson, founder of Recognition Management Institute and S. Max Brown host Real Recognition Radio Tuesdays at 10 Eastern.  These guys understand the value of recognition in getting the most, willingly, from people at work.

Tune in and listen to the show, on Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at 1:00pm Eastern Daylight Time, then bookmark their site, to listen each week.

Janey Cutler, an 80-year-old great-grandmother from Wishaw, Scotland, is getting nearly as much press in the U.K. as the new Prime Minister, David Cameron, after her astonishing performance earlier this month on “Britain’s Got Talent”. The comparison to fellow Scotswoman Susan Boyle, last year’s phenom from the show, is inevitable, if not entirely spot-on. Still, Janey stole the show, as well as the hearts of most of the million-plus who’ve watch her magnificent rendition of “No Regrets” on YouTube since her episode aired.

Meanwhile, in the states, 88-year-old Betty White has suddenly become more popular than at any other time in her long career, thanks to a Snickers candy bar commercial that aired during the 2010 Super Bowl, and culminating (so far) in last Saturday’s much-hyped hosting of “Saturday Night Live”.

Whether or not you find either or both of these octogenarians entertaining is beside the point of this blog post. Here are some things I think are the point:

• Both women are clearly talented. And clearly old.
• They’ve each garnered tremendous support from people whose hearts have been lightened not only by their respective performances, but by their willingness to step into (or back into, in Betty’s case) the spotlight. Janey’s singing, and her comments afterward (if you can understand them – I can – I’m married to a Scot) have evoked both laughter and tears (tears of support) from many. I can only imagine the number of times the phrase “you go, girl” has been uttered in the last few weeks, on both sides of the Atlantic.
• These two have highlighted the important realization that, though they’re of mature years, they’re not, to quote Monty Python, “dead yet”.

If you’re in a position to hire, or lead, employees, you’re undoubtedly noticing that the over-60-set is not, in fact, moving out of the way like so many were predicting they would not so long ago. You’re getting more applications from them, and you’re being challenged to lead, manage, and motivate them to work with all their Discretionary Effort. Some thoughts:

• Don’t underestimate older workers. They’re a force to be  reckoned with. And led, and encouraged, and developed. Yes, I said developed. Just as they’re not dead yet, they’re also not done growing and learning.
• Don’t stick them all in the same box. There’s as much diversity among them as there is in any generational cohort.
• Capitalize on what they bring to the job, that younger workers don’t. Experience, perspective, institutional history, and much more.
• Keep performance standards high. To do otherwise perpetrates an injustice on everyone – the older workers, younger workers, your customers, and your shareholders. Janey Cutler and Betty White have shown us they can keep up with the best of ‘em.

Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk, and the followup Contented Cows MOOve Faster. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

This week I was going through old stuff I had saved on my computer (somebody told me I should do that in the spring, and, at long last, it looks like spring may have finally come to Florida.) One of the more interesting finds was a list of the “Top Ten Workplace Trends of 2006″, as identified by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

To be honest, they hit the nail on the proverbial head with much of their prognostication (with a few notable, and glaring exceptions). And yet, four years later, what hits me right between the eyes is the clear fact that the list was written with absolutely no foreknowledge of the economic cataclysm that was lurking just off the calendar, and that came ashore just two short years later.

Here’s the list:

1. Rising health care costs.

2. Increased use of outsourcing (offshoring) of jobs to other countries.

3. Threat of increased healthcare/medical costs on the economic competitiveness of the United States.

4. Increased demand for work/life balance.

5. Retirement of large numbers of baby boomers around the same time.

6. New attitudes toward aging and retirement as baby boomers reach retirement age.

7. Rise in the number of people without health insurance.

8. Increase in identity theft.

9. Work intensification as employers try to increase productivity with fewer employees.

10. Vulnerability.

OK – right off the bat, we’ve got 3 of the 10 trends dealing with healthcare. And they were right on target with all 3. The game changed last week. Whether for better or worse remains to be seen. But there’s no question that they were right on this one. That healthcare would become, to paraphrase Joe Biden, a “big deal”.

But look at all the stuff about retiring baby boomers. What retiring baby boomers? Of course, back in blissful ‘06, we didn’t know (though maybe we should have?) that our 401(k)’s were headed for shriveldom, and that the unemployment rate was gonna be up there where our 401(k) returns used to be…in the good old days.

I thought it interesting that the list included the two seemingly oxymoronic trends of work intensification and increased demand for work/life balance. The battle rages on, but work intensification is winning. The balance thing has taken a back seat to being lucky enough to have work in the first place. Sad, but true.

But in addition to the economic meltdown and complete flip-flop in the labor supply and demand relationship, here’s what else the ‘06 list missed, and in a big way:

• The disintegration (well-earned) of trust in leaders (at work and elsewhere).
• Continued and growing dis-connectedness between workers and the institutions they “appear” to be working for. People simply don’t identify with their “employer” to the degree they once did. Maybe with their profession, their career; but not their employer.
• Continued and growing need for connectedness to something, as manifested by the whole social media phenomenon.
• The coming (and now already here) dearth in leadership development efforts by employers, in large part due to the unforeseen recession.

These trends, and others, help form the basis for the new book we’re working on, along with our friend and colleague Meredith Kimbell, entitled Rebooting Leadership. Look for it this summer.

Meanwhile, what trends do you foresee in the workplace in the next, say, five years? Leave us a comment with at least two serious workplace trends that you see, or expect to see, and we’ll put you on a list to receive a free copy of Rebooting Leadership when it comes out.

Thanks!

In a post on January 13, we wrote about the epidemic of worker dissatisfaction in the US, as reported in a Conference Board study. In that post, we offered some initial thoughts on why workers are so unhappy these days, why it matters, and what to do about it. The first two reasons we gave were:

1. Workers have a diminished sense of meaningfulness in their jobs.
2. One word: micromanagement.

Here are 4 more reasons (with some suggested solutions), and a concluding thought:

Undifferentiated rewards: As companies have shrunk their merit budgets and bonuses, AND as the stock market is down for an entire DECADE (thus reducing the value of option grants), we have experienced tremendous reward destruction and compression in which the distinction between “stars” and “slugs” (Bill’s terms) has become negligible. Thus, we’ve experienced a drop in satisfaction that touches all, including our best performing people.

What to do: When you see good performance, reward it. Then and there. Start with “Thank You.” Then, find a way, and a big enough way to get the person’s attention. Rather than adding to fixed payroll expense, consider gifting an award trip, extra time off, or some other gift that really means something to the individual. Worry less about being consistent than sending a message that excellence is meaningfully rewarded.

Pocket pain: Specifically, health care. Concurrent with less-than-exciting (or nonexistent) pay increases, U.S. workers are paying more for health care, owing to a non-system that has seen costs more than double over the last decade. Employers who offer health care benefits have no choice but share the increasing cost. While currently proposed legislation solves some of the problems, it does little for the biggest problem – controlling costs. Take that, plus the increasing number of workers who have no health care benefits at work, and you’ve got a workforce paying higher premiums, higher out of pocket costs, no realistic solutions on the horizon, AND the increased worry that accompanies having no safety net. Yikes.

What to do: Turn off the TV! Get the facts. Read, starting with Regina Herzlinger’s Who Killed Healthcare?. Discuss the matter with your own physician. Consider establishing, along with like-minded neighboring employers, a private or co-op clinic, as organizations like SAS and the Pebble Beach Company have done. Heavily incent workers, using both positive and negative consequences, to better manage their health. Advocate forcefully for better public policy.

Diminished employment options: The recession, paired with the continued unbundling (and offshoring) of work have drastically reduced the number and scope of available jobs. Moreover, any stigmas or pangs of guilt on the part of management associated with reducing “heads” in the workplace have disappeared. Witness simultaneous announcements by United Parcel Service last month that the company was, 1) increasing earnings guidance due to favorable business conditions, and 2) Doing a restructuring that would eliminate nearly 2,000 jobs. People who once were assured that, even if they didn’t like their current job, could quickly find another now aren’t as comforted by their options.

What to do: Tune in. Let your people know where they stand and how the business is doing – truthfully and regularly. If you’re through making cuts, say so. Monitor and nurture your employment brand as carefully as you do your cash. That may also mean managing people out of the organization (with consideration and decency) who have unplugged and are merely hanging on because they don’t see any options.

The dumbing down of the workplace: The first shoe to drop whenever earnings take a hit, or the economy contracts, falls on the organization’s training budget. We are now in the 3rd year of greatly diminished funding, to include training for managers. To wit, people now find themselves in the unenviable position of working for (and with) less skilled managers. Not a happy thought.

What to do: Take this opportunity to get the jump on your competition. Begin selectively restarting your development activities, with a careful eye for the real priorities. If you can’t yet afford systemic efforts, fund development initiatives (i.e., executive coaching) for worthy staff. Incent workers (using time off or a skill acquisition bonus) to invest in their own development plans, rather than just “taking whatever comes from corporate”.

One last thought – and pardon what sounds like a negative tone here: Dissatisfaction isn’t confined to the workplace. The decade of the 00’s is one that most people in the U.S., if not elsewhere, were glad to put in the rear view mirror. We think it’s safe to say that many (if not most) of us feel less well off, less secure, and yes, less satisfied than at any time in our lives. To think that these feelings don’t make their way into the workplace is delusional.

That said, maybe it’s time to “reboot” this whole idea of leadership and motivation in the workplace. Not to throw it out, but to “reload the program”, under a new set of conditions, a new reality, for a new and better future. It is for that reason that together with our friend and colleague, Meredith Kimbell, we have been working for the better part of a year on a new book, Rebooting Leadership, due for publication in May of this year. Watch this space for more.

Meanwhile, buck up, and Godspeed!

Once again, SAS, the Cary, NC-based business analytics software and services provider, finds itself on Fortune’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. This time, it’s #1, a slot that has been home to such venerable exemplars as Wegman’s Supermarkets, Google, The Container Store, and Genentech.

SAS is the real thing. It’s relatively easy to splash onto this list once or twice. But showing up for 13 years in a row takes more than luck.

Why They Keep Making It
Fortune’s annual article about the list always seems to focus on the perks and creature comforts of the best places to work. We think that misses the mark. Most of the companies that rise to the top echelons of the ranking deserve to be there – but more for their culture of leadership, trust, and excellence than for their gyms, childcare, and free food.

Thirteen years ago, the year SAS showed up on Fortune’s first “100 Best” list, I toured the SAS campus outside Raleigh, while researching Bill’s and my first book, Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Here’s an excerpt from the passage we wrote about SAS:

“Every floor of each of the eighteen buildings on its sprawling Cary, North Carolina, campus has a well-stocked break room with a veritable cornucopia of stuff to eat and drink, everything from crackers to M&M’s, all paid for by the company. Everyone is trusted to consume only what they want. There’s nothing to stop someone from shoving three boxes of Cracker Jacks in their bag and schlepping them home for those nights when they’ve got the munchies. Well, maybe there is. Perhaps it’s the fact that they’re trusted not to.”

Fortune’s online article about SAS and the list features a string of comments from readers, many of whom appear to be current and former employees. Almost all are in agreement with Fortune’s #1 assessment of the company. (One guy allowed, “dont like them [sic]“.

But another, styling himself Viktor Kunovski, put it best:

“The best companies in the 21 century will be the ones who understand that:

• Fact 1: Employee fulfilment drives customer satisfaction.
• Fact 2: Customer satisfaction drives shareholder value.
• Fact 3: Leadership development drives employee fulfilment. [sic]

Congratulations SAS, just show the way.”

Did someone say Contented Cows Give Better Milk?

Again, SAS’s remarkable perks are but a manifestation of the trust between the company and the people who work there. The fact that employees have unlimited sick days is great, but even greater is the fact that the company trusts people not to abuse the trust indicated by the policy. Those who do – get to look for other jobs…so that those who don’t – get to keep the privilege.

Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk, and the followup Contented Cows MOOve Faster. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.