I read an interview the other day with the CEO of a major retailer who talked extensively about the impact of the company's values, called Foundation Principles, on how the company is run. I consult with clients on strategy, so I'm interested in companies that 1) have actually thought about their Values; 2) have articulated them; and 3) lead by them. Values can be the compass that guides business decisions, large and small and in my view are necessary precursors of a well designed strategy.There are seven Foundation Principles according to the web site and each one is articulated in detail. It is interesting that the CEO blogs on the site, so at some level, he models the Leadership=Communication Principle. Job postings on Careerbuilder.com described the company history and its Principles, a departure from the usual list of job requirements. That seemed to follow the 1=3 Principle whereby one great hire is better than 3 good ones. The posting would attract those who feel a fit with the culture.
There are a lot of leaders who truly believe that their companies are run according to established values so I decided to do some research to find out if employee and customer comments mirror the Principles. Customer comments and reviews that I found were full of high praise and good reviews so the Principles of Creating Mutually Beneficial Relationships and an "Air of Excitement" seemed to be part of the customer experience. Then I looked for employee feedback and found quite a few recent ones that unfortunately were not all positive. On a 5-point scale, employees rated the company a 3.1 and gave the CEO a 47% approval rating. Why the disconnect with the other data?
Extreme views generally get posted but as there were as many 5's as 2's, the scores were not negatively skewed. Not one negative comment was about pay. Many mentioned a new scheduling system; others talked about their manager or losing a benefit or lack of a career path. They talked about how things "used to be". It's easy to dismiss disgruntled employees' rants except that sometimes, they are leading indicators of something amiss internally. Unhappy employees today; unhappy customers next week.
The funny thing about values is that when you talk about them, institutionalize them and use them as key differentiators, people tend to take them seriously. Especially employees and customers. They think you'll really do what you say. This company's values don't need to change. That's the point of values: they are enduring. They guide and are the foundation of culture, strategy and engagement. They are a bulwark against lapses of judgment. A couple of thoughts:
- Listen to your employees. Let them talk and be involved. If they are involved in a dialogue internally, it's less likely they will be ranting externally.
- Walk the talk. At all levels. Middle managers are accountable, too.
- Clear, credible communication. Communicate the tough decisions in a way that employees understand the "why".
- When your employees describe your values as "Kool-Aid", it's time to take a long look at your culture. It could be broken and that is hard to fix on the fly.
Is your company built on a foundation of values? Can your customers sense them in their interactions with your employees? Do your employees believe that your values are more than a plaque on a wall?
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Barbara,
ReplyDeleteA suggestion about listening. It's not enough to just listen. You must acknowledge what you heard in a way that the employee knows they have been heard and taken seriously. In most breakdowns that I see, the leaders do listen but fail to acknowledge what they heard.
Pat, as usual you are right on the mark! Listening is such a fine art that we should teach it in schools (or invite you into our companies to practice the skills). It is getting harder to really listen, isn't it? We have such noise around us all the time.
ReplyDeleteI know this is an important topic for you and it should be for all of us. Can you direct us to your web site or give us one tip that we can use today?