Why They Work

The Home Depot in the 90’s was growing fast: sometimes we had to, uh, compromise, our standards a bit and promote someone whose leadership skills were not fully developed. “Rick” was an exception. One of the reasons he was promoted so quickly was because the employees loved him and would do anything for him. I asked him what his secret was and he said, “I remember every employee’s name and something about them and I use both when I see them in the store.” When he became District Manager he carried a small pad to keep notes to use for his next store visit. He would sit in his car and review them before walking in the door.

Your employees show up at work for many reasons and management recognition is always at or near the top of the list.

Stop a minute and think about how well you are meeting your employees’ need for recognition. Your turnover rate, the number of workplace accidents, and absenteeism are all good indicators, but you can also just hang out in the break room and pick up the vibe. The good news is that meeting this need does not have to be at the expense of your business – in fact, your company’s success may depend on your ability to make your employees feel appreciated.

Sincere words of thanks and giving credit where credit’s due are a good place to start. It really is not all about the pay, but a recent poll of HR professionals (1) revealed that they do not think their companies are doing a good job of recognizing their high-performing employees.

One of the insights from the poll was that we employers are discovering the importance of employee recognition and job satisfaction in the exit interview. A little late, isn’t it? Local authors Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan Evans, authors of “Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em,” (2) suggest asking employees why they stay before they go. Great book.

11 percent of companies monitor employee comments on social media platforms to see how they feel about their work. Pause here for a prayer that they know what not to do with the information. “Before I promote Joan I’d better check her Facebook page to make sure she isn’t still dating that loser, Bill.”

What’s your recognition style? Are you a devotee of the Oreo Feedback approach: Sandwiching a negative feedback statement between two positives? This is the most common feedback technique and by now, every employee sees it coming. “Hi Jessie, your report was delivered right on time. Thank you for that. Why didn’t you use the format I gave you? Thanks, though, for getting it in on time.” Is there an employee anywhere who doesn’t hold their breath until the supervisor has finished the praise, thinking, “Oh boy, here it comes”?

Remeber: Oreos are for eating. Sit in your car if you have to, but make sure you are recognizing your employees for their good work every day. It’s why they work for you.

(1) 2011 SHRM/Globoforce Employee Recognition Survey report released June 23, 2011. 745 HR professionals from all sectors. Half respondents have 2,500+ employees; 43 percent have multinational operations.
(2) Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay. 2005. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco. ISBN 978-1-57675-327-9

Don’t Vent On Me

Venting is like throwing up. I wasn’t the cook. Hell, I wasn’t even in the dang kitchen. So why are you throwing up all over me? You don’t even want me to clean it up, do you? No – you just want me to stand there and take it. And when you’re done, you feel so much better, don’t you? I know. What a relief. Whew! But what about me? I am standing there with barf all over me. I have to get this stinking stuff off me and go on about my business. I can’t help but want to help you wash your face or offer you a breath mint – I am in HR, for crying out loud – part of our job is cleaning up messes.

But I prefer a productive, mess, please. One where you discuss your upset stomach when you first feel queasy. Tell me what you think is causing it. Let’s discuss some intervention or remediation or some kind of solution so that you can feel better. I might ask you to adjust your recipe so that it doesn’t happen again. You’re the cook, remember?

Oh, maybe there were other cooks involved. Good point. I guess if they aren’t sick to their stomachs they may not know the food makes you sick. I really do expect you to tell them before you retch in my direction. Seriously. Don’t you want to fix it before you toss your cookies?

I don’t think so! That’s the problem. I think somebody decided that venting is OK and we in HR – or your best friends – just have to stand there and take it and then wish you well as you walk away.

When was it decided that venting was OK? About the same time we decided that “bye-bye” was an acceptable way to end a business call? When women started sexually harassing the men in the office? Oh, yeah, that was a great step forward for women’s quest for a corner office, wasn’t it? But I digress.

You chose to vent on me because I am a good listener, right? Not because I can necessarily do anything about your situation. If you wanted something done, you’d probably have talked to someone involved, or with authority in that area. And you would have gone to them with a solution in mind. But you chose me. Or a coworker who has even less power to fix it than I do. And God forbid they (or I) should offer you feedback.” No, Betsey, this is not a time for suggestions – I am just venting.” Translation: “No, Betsey, I want to throw up all over you.”

Well: I AM HEREBY DECLARING MY INDEPENDENCE FROM VENTING!

Feel free to join me. I want to start a revolution and am looking for recruits. Here is the first step: If someone comes up to you and looks sick to their stomach, don’t just stand there -- send them to the bathroom!

And wave our flag: DON’T VENT ON ME!

Thanks for listening -- I feel better.