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Trust Keeps Things Running Up to Speed
By Richard Hadden and Bill Catlette
The sign in the East Memphis hotel parking lot read, "Personnel Department: Applicants Enter Through Loading Dock."
We saw this sign last November. Ironically, the two of us were at the offending hotel to attend a seminar conducted by Tom Peters, noted author and "ranter and raver" about all things corporate. Yes, we attend seminars, too, as we still have much to learn.
This seminar turned out a bit different than usual, though. Rather than leaving the event loaded up with Tom's stuff, he left Memphis with some of ours.
During a break in the show we presented Tom with a copy of our favorite book. To our surprise, after thanking us, he mentioned that what he really wanted was the shirt off Bill's back... not literally, but one just like it. A shameless promoter, Bill was sporting one of our "It's Your PEOPLE, Stupid" t-shirts under his blazer. Though it required a bit more than the usual dose of Southern hospitality to make that happen, suffice it to say the Great One (used respectfully) left Memphis that day with some new clothing.
What that hotel sign didn't say in print, but did by way of implication, is this: "We view employees as commodities, much like the toilet paper we stock in our guest rooms, the little candies we put on the tables in our meeting rooms, and the other items that enter through the loading dock. We don't want employees (let alone lowly applicants) using the same door as our guests."
Though we haven't checked, there are two things we're willing to place a substantial bet on:
1. The door to the above referenced Personnel Department is a revolving one, and 2. Somewhere in the hotel company's annual report is the statement "Our people are our most important asset."
Just as that sign in East Memphis sent a message, more subtle signs abound in workplaces all over the world. Signs that send a clear message about how we regard employees - signs of mistrust. Time clocks, locked supply cabinets, requirements for doctors' notes, telephone lines that are restricted from long distance, even toll-free calls. We won't even touch the travel and expense reporting arena. And the newest kid on the bloc, internet spying. The message? We hire people who can't be trusted.
In their lives outside of work, your employees (and ours) are heads of families, Scout leaders and den mothers, army reserve officers, mortgage holders, and a host of other things. They manage, for the most part, to juggle multiple responsibilities, behave well, and stay out of jail. In short, most are competent members of society with a clear picture of the difference between right and wrong. Why is it then that when they come to work, they have to face a bunch of not so subtle signs that we don't trust them? After all, we've put them through multiple interviews, checked their references and DNA (that's right), and asked them to pee in a bottle.
But wait a minute. Let's not be naive. What about those who violate our trust by stealing (things, money, or ideas), loafing, downloading web porn, playing hooky, using the phone as a social conduit, and all other manner of nefarious workplace activity? What about the responsibility to protect our corporate assets? To be sure, there are some untrustworthy people out there. In a nutshell, our advice is simple. Get rid of them, NOW, or whenever and wherever they pop up.
That's right. Whenever you discover someone who can't tell the difference between their stuff (or time) and yours ... 1) Give them an immediate career development opportunity (pray they land with a competitor) and 2) Revisit your recruiting practices (i.e. Who hired these people?)
But understand this. The answer is NOT, repeat NOT, to try to bring them into line by enacting a raft of policies and other measures which only frustrate the efforts of those capable, hard working, honest people who are simply trying to get their work done. It just won't work. The only thing you'll get from building bigger and better mousetraps is more creative mice.
We think there's a difference (a huge one) between maintaining appropriate, prudent security measures (trust but verify) and treating presumably bright, intelligent, honest adults like children, or prison inmates.
Whether it's photocopying one's posterior on the Xerox machine (circa 1970's) or playing around on the internet (2000's), it's a clear signal that somebody doesn't have enough to do; something which can be easily remedied... not by a policy, but by a manager who is doing his or her job.
Installing Big Brother to do what presumably you pay managers to do will 1) create an environment of fear that can't help but put a drag on productivity, 2) cost you a lot more money (a lot more!) than having good managers, and 3) leave you open to costly legal action by those who question (right or wrong) your right to look at everything they do on the job.
As for the timeclock thing, forgive our intractability, but timeclocks can send only one possible message - we don't trust you. We're sure they are great companies, but it's time for Timeclocks USA and Datamatics to come up with some new products. If you've mistakenly bought the myth that the law requires the use of timeclocks to get the FLSA thing right, get a better lawyer.
Let's be clear. Trust works both ways. Without careful efforts to hire trustworthy people, and maintain a high level of mutual trust between managers and employees, you'll never be able to hire enough managers, install enough electronic systems, or print enough policy manuals to keep people "in line".
Trust us on this one.
Please print the following attribution for this article: Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden, co-authors of Contented Cows Give Better Milk, help clients clobber the competition by having a focused, fired up, and capably led workforce. They deliver powerful conference keynotes and leadership training. They can be reached at 800-940-7006 (+1-904-720-0870 from outside North America) or www.ContentedCows.com.