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Posts Tagged ‘employee motivation’

After-Hours

03 May

via Michal Marcol/freedigitalphotos.net

I have been to after hours meetings, and I have sent and received emails at midnight, and let me tell you, I felt good about myself, It gave me the illusion of being important, especially when one of my family or friends calls at 9:00 PM and I ignore the call and send a message ‘I am at work!’

Maaaaan was I so wrong!!

Such kind of culture exists, you cannot deny it, the worse is that it, somehow, stereotyped; you work late, you send after hours emails, means you are a dedicated and loyal staff. In simple words, that’s a total nonsense.

This is not to ignore reality that sometimes work demands such dedication and long hours, whether for an established high rank manager or a start up entrepreneur, it’s normal, but when it becomes a culture, an organization way of living and a performance indicator, then it’s just a disaster.

Contrary to popular belief, long hours in the workplace is an indicator of lack of proper planning, over-utilization of staff, and no work/life balance. The outcome of this poisoned combination is not hard to predict; burned out staff, no motivation, and low productivity.

If the COO of Facebook can leave office at 5:30 PM, I wonder why can’t you (read this as well)?! Or why demanding your staff to respond to emails at 10 PM knowing that global companies are now banning after hours emails (here & here)!

For those managers wasting time judging staff on their after hours work, they better utilize that time in better management skills to increase the real productivity.

* Image Source

 
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Posted in Culture, General Management, Human Resources, Saudi business

 

Build Culture First, Google it Later

22 Mar

from google/culture

One of the weirdest conversations I have had recently was with a friend of mine who started the topic with something like this:

  • I am thinking about Googlizing the office!
  • Ohh … this sounds interesting … how are you going to do that?
  • I will equip some rooms with beds so the staff can rest and relax!

Maybe to put you in a better position to understand this conversation and give you a better chance to judge the situation, you need to know that this friend of mine is working in a crappy company; I knew it, he knew it!

The problem with his approach is that he is assuming that the whole culture of Google, or any other company with an empowering culture, is based upon these accessories. A big … big … mistake!

I do not think Google executives woke up one morning saying ‘let’s have fun offices so our employees could relax and play,’ no, there are subtle culture and internal values in Google that led to such open, fun environment. BBC once described it as “The unconventional design of the office represents what Google hopes is a free flow of information through all parts of the company.” In other words, Google would not be what it is now without its ‘values’ not its offices’ design.

In a tough market, Google wants its employees to be creative, to think different, to team up, to share ideas and resources, to distinguishably serve clients and users, and all that to be sustainable on the long run. Think about these elements of Google culture before thinking about their lave lamps, free food, firearms poles, and sleeping pods. Michal Lorenc, a Googler, commenting on their office design once said “[it] aids our culture. It doesn’t represent our culture.”

So you want to change, fine, it is a good idea, but think about change in its core, try to renovate your internal values and practices to match your strategic goals. Trespass the conventional thoughts to look beyond your current status, reshape your culture to suite your goals and environment.

New decorations won’t solve your problems buddy!!

What do you think?

p.s. to get a glimpse of the life inside Google offices, check out this link.

 
6 Comments

Posted in General Management, Human Resources

 

It is Not All About Money

19 Feb

via Paul/freedigitalphotos.net

Let’s start this post by a question; what do you think is the single highest driver of employees in the workplace?

There could be many answers to this question, each one of us has his/her own magical potion that drives him/her to shine, to produce, and to engage.

The most famous driver, the one that I hear a lot of times whenever I am in a discussion about motivation and engagement, is money. I cannot even recall how many times I heard managers repeating phrases similar to ‘What do they want? – referring to their employees -  they are having good pay checks, good bonuses, what do they need more? why are they not motivated?’

If you are reading this form Saudi, there is a huge possibility that you are familiar with such arguments.

However, many researches showed that money is not, and actually cannot be, the highest motivator, there is even a complete theory that puts money as a possible path to dissatisfaction (google ‘Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory’). Now, according to the worldwide study conducted by Towers Watson, as mentioned by Tony Schwartz (see here), the single highest driver of engagement to employees is feeling that their managers are truly interested in their wellbeing. The surprise is that less than 40% of employees felt engaged!! I can bet that a higher percentage would yield from the same study if conducted only in Saudi!

So why employees are not feeling that their managers are interested in their wellbeing? Schwartz returns this to what he calls “the lack of fluency in the language of positive emotions.” Most managers know how to stress targets and how to huff and puff about deadlines. Being harsh and negative seems to be within reach of their communication language. While on the other hand, using positive feedback usually feels awkward and gawky.

That is why employees in less engaging workplaces look emotionally drained, out of touch, and the pay check is what mostly occupying their minds. Due to the lack of positive feedbacks, they don’t know how do they fit in the big picture, they keep wondering if their work makes any difference and how, and in such environments, there are usually huge gaps between the different levels in the organization. In another interesting study by Marcial Losada (also mentioned in Schwartz’s article), he found that in high performing teams, the expression of positive feedback outweighs that of negative feedback by a ratio of 5.6 to 1, while in low performing teams, the ratio is 0.36 to 1 (meaning, about three negative feedbacks to one positive).

So … Ask yourself, what kind of manager are you? Can you fluently give positive feedback compared to negative ones? What kind of organization are you building or being part of? Are you promoting positivity and engaging your staff instead of driving them away mentally and emotionally?

* Image Source

 
5 Comments

Posted in General Management, Human Resources, Leadership

 

Vacations and Job Satisfaction

03 Nov

Image via: Michal Marcol/freedigitalphotos.net

If you are living in this part of the world, most probably you are enjoying a time off right now because of Hajj and Eid Al Adha.

So my sincere wishes for you to have a wonderful one…

And hey, who would not enjoy some time off to spend with delayed personal projects or to spend vacationing with the loved ones?! But haven’t you noticed the different reactions to and perception of vacations in your circles of friends and family?

For those generally satisfied with their work environments and love whatever they are doing, it is an opportunity to recharge their energy batteries and come back more fresh. They usually show less excitement about this time off. Their work/life is already balanced!

On the other hand, there are those who are usually super excited about such time offs. They cannot wait for it, they usually react to its arrival as they are leaving some kind of a penitentiary! These people are the ones usually less satisfied with their work environments, they always complain about their jobs, and of course they are not well work/life balanced! If you dig deeper you will find that such people even suffer to take an earned annual leave because their employers won’t give it to them!

My point is that leaders and HR professionals out there might need to monitor such reactions to measure their employees job satisfaction.

What do you think?

Image Source

 
2 Comments

Posted in Culture, Human Resources, Saudi business

 

Retire the Cubicles

22 Oct
Image via: Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net
It is normal in the corporate world to have ‘office space policies’! You know, those policies stating that your allowed office space and furniture is attached to your position on the organization hierarchy! Have you ever heard of CEO and VPs offices where you can actually play football, I have seen them!

The modern management schools have different opinions about this. Big offices behind closed doors, grey, boring cubicles, and discriminating between employees because of their position in the company are things of the past!

Researchers have found that open unassigned spaces, with relaxed environments dramatically enhance the staff productivity!

Let’s talk numbers; Harvard Business Review (September, 2011) published a glimpse of a study performed by one of the companies that transformed its cubicles legacy to a more modern, open space design. After the change, the staff reporting that workplace was an attractive aspect of the job enhanced from 21% to 58%, the workplace creating a stimulating atmosphere enhanced from 18% to 45%, and the satisfaction with workplace as a whole enhanced from 34% to 64%. Not only this, mostly all the measures of costs per employee were enhanced because of the re-design!

Before leaving here, have a look at this page of Google describing its offices environment! That’s how the big companies, stay big!

Image Source

 
2 Comments

Posted in General Management, Human Resources

 

Double-faced Managers

15 May

Give it a try and make a quick survey for the people around you and ask them about how would they feel about dealing with people with double standards and double faces. I am sure your ears will be filled with a quite good load of negative feedbacks.

For that, I am so sympathetic with those who happen to be working under the direct supervision of those with multiple faces.

I would argue that there is nothing more damaging to the moral and motivation of any employees other than reporting to a manager who keeps preaching highly work standards while practicing none of them. I would argue that there is no culture destroyer other than a management that likes to PR and advertise modern managerial practices while behaving with managerial guidelines that have been dead since the beginning of the last century!

It is always surprising, and actually beyond my humble cognitive abilities to see a manager who cannot sit and drive a decision, a process with his or her own team. It always beyond me how a group of managers, supposed-to-be decision makers, who keep fighting and exchanging heated emails and phone calls over trivial matters that can be solved and finalized within a 30 minutes can-do meeting! And do not forget, all of those above, in their free times, in front of their subordinates, or in front of cameras, they are the best managerial thinkers ever born. They could recite a quote of Drucker or Kottler, but you can bet that they do not have a clue about how to put those quotes into practice.

I have said this on the blog before; being a manager is a not a privilege, it is a responsibility. You will be doing the world a huge favor if you decide to step down and go when you know that you cannot add more.

 
3 Comments

Posted in General Management, Leadership, Personal

 

Staff Comparison

07 Apr

If parenting 101 says not to compare your kids, then management 101 says not to compare your staff!

Comparison shatters self-esteem and allow doubts to haunt one’s mind about his/her skills and capabilities.

I had unfortunately witnessed the consequences of such practice on a friend of mine. He called me once to chat about his story with his the-so-called-manager. Let’ call my friend Mr. H. So, Mr. H once decided to open up for his the-so-called-manager about the heavy increase in his workload without an adequate increase in resources. He was no longer able to keep up with the various job responsibilities with the same level of effectiveness and quality. And I know Mr. H, he is so meticulous when it comes to his job. Surprisingly, instead of listening to his staff and try to understand the situation, the-so-called-manager started to attack Mr. H. And the biggest frustration of all was when the-so-called-manager started to compare Mr. H to his colleagues in the same department but from different areas. Despite the obvious differences between the areas’ workloads and tasks, the-so-called-manager continued to name team members and directly compares them to Mr. H. ‘If they did not complain, then you do not have the right to’!! The workload is different but the-so-called-manager did not care, the problem for him was in Mr. H, not in the work itself!!

I cannot even begin to describe how Mr. H felt when he was talking. I know him as a team player, a good one, but I do not want to imagine how his team will continue to work harmonically with a so-called-manger on the driving seat. Such mentality will create nothing but obstacles on the team’s path and uneasiness amongst its members.

Listen to your staff, understand their problems and situations so you could be able to motivate them. The language of attack and comparison cripples the team and distort its harmony. Each and everyone of them has his/her own strength, personality, and a set of skills. You want to take advantage of this mix of competences to enrich your team, you do not want a team of copies of the same mentalities and potentials!

 
2 Comments

Posted in Communication, General Management, Leadership

 

Doubling the Salaries, or Not!

21 Mar

The generosity of the Saudi government with its workforce left the private sector in a very awkward position. Just after the series of royal decrees that carried in one of them the good news of the two months bonus, the speculation game started amongst the private sector employees. Will there be a salary doubling, or not?!!

The big cats in the Saudi market followed suit almost immediately and started announcing the same bonuses for its staff. Aramco, SABIC, Saudi Airlines, STC, and more. But still, the majority of companies did not, and their employees kept wondering, hoping, and asking for some good news, but their managers kept saying that the big bosses are in a closed meeting, and in some companies, the meeting is yet to finish!!

Now the question is, should they double the salary, or not?

The fact of the matter is that it goes both ways; there are reasons supporting the doubling decision, and there are arguments that just go against it. But before that, it should be highlighted that when talking about private sector, it is inevitable to differentiate between the big and well known cats, I just mentioned some of them above (although some of these companies are not totally private), and the rest of companies which vary in size from medium to small. Someone could argue that the employees working for the big cats do not actually need such a bonus, they already have relatively high salaries and a strong bonuses system. For those arguing this point just be reminded that some of the big, I mean, HUUUUUGGGGE cats, those who profit in millions, do no actually give high salaries or anything, you can call them cheap if you want! And you don’t want me to give you examples, I am sure you know plenty of them!!

Now; these are some of the most important reasons why a company could decide to double:

  • Playing the patriotic card: in times like these, playing on patriotism could send some gratifying signals to customers, staff, and, of course, the government itself. I am not trying to imply that such patriotic waves of feelings should not be true or sincere, I am just saying that playing such a card scores sometimes. Now add to the mix the unrest already taking place in the area, the normal card just turns to be an Ace!
  • Engaging employees: It is a message that you care, you do not want your staff to feel less happy or disadvantaged. Consider it a motivating surprise.
  • Adding to the brand value: getting the word heard that you care about your staff and that you actually have some good cash to distribute around could add some edge to your brand. Customers could trust you more, regulators could love you more. Also, your whole working environment might seem more appealing to top talents everywhere, you know how to take care of your staff, right!

Now what about the arguments supporting the decision of not to double:

  • It’s too late: most of the Saudi companies already prepared their 2011 budgets. It is just not practical to disturb the whole year’s plans and start playing with the cash flow and reserves. That’s a strong argument especially for the medium and small organizations.
  • I am fair: some companies might argue that their salaries and bonuses system is robust, and that its employees do not need any extra incentives, they are happy and satisfied. The tricky part in this argument is that the employees themselves should be believing in such claims, not only the managers! If this I-am-fair-card played very well, it could lead to both employees engagement and brand value addition as just mentioned above.

On which side do you stand?

 
2 Comments

Posted in Communication, Culture, General Management, Saudi business

 

Resign before being Hired

16 Mar

I have read this story in the article of Ali Al Zamel published in Okaz on the 20th of February. I have to say that it is one of the strangest stories I have ever came across in my management studies and readings!!

The story could be summarized in few words; before signing the new job contract, you should sign your resignation first!! Yes, you read it right!! This new and extraordinary and innovative hiring method is the brainchild of one of those who thinks that they are true leaders, and Allah only knows how did they reach their positions!

The justification provided by this super-leader is that ‘I will ensure your loyalty and dedication to work, If I did not like your performance at any time, I can easily dismiss you!’ … wow, what an environment that is full of motivation!

I am usually astonished by such kind of managers who for a moment totally forget the responsibilities of their job and start acting as if they are actually owning people and that the work place is their own backyard!

I am quite sure that the work place where this super-manager is controlling is nothing far off a graveyard of souls. I am sure staff are mostly disengaged, live in fear, unmotivated, totally burned, and their performances must lack the basics of quality standards. And I really hope that their job does not involve face to face customer service!

I am inclined to believe that the manager in the story is working in the public field (I guess we got a hint now on why most of public servants are underperforming!!) and I really hope someone would complain and make a fuss about this manager, and anyone similar to him. We really need to clean our managerial environment from those incompetent performers and under qualified mentalities.

 
4 Comments

Posted in Human Resources, Leadership

 

When “More” means “Less”

03 Mar

Let’s start this post by an example, how do you make mobile phone calls? Of course you are not an alien (unless you’re reading this blog from the outer space!!), I am sure you usually pick up the cell phone from your pocket if you’re a man, and from your purse if you’re a lady (or a man using a purse!!), and then you will be searching through your saved contact list, or you will be dailing the number directly from your memory (you lucky ….!!).

Now imagine that, for one reason or another, you are working for me now! I am your new boss and I am bothered by how you cannot compare your actual phone talking time with the monthly bill! Telecom companies could be ripping us off and we are not able to know about it, let alone prove it. So given that I am a brilliant manager, I am going to ask you to take some additional measures so we could compare your talk time to the phone bill. So you might think that I should come to you and discuss the new process with you, you are the one using the phone, right!! You’re wrong, I’m not going to consult one of my staff, I have big bosses of my own to consult and to be friendly with. I just said that I am brilliant and I have to prove it to my own bosses!!

Now check out these genius new procedures:

  • Every time you make a phone call, I want you to record the time you started the call and the time you finished. These records have to be repoerted on an Excel sheet.
  • I want you to always monitor your phone battery and recharge it whenever 25% is remaining of its charge. And do not forget to create a new Excel sheet to record when did you start the charge and when did you plug it off.
  • These sheets should be momentarily updated; whenever I need an update, it should be there!
  • I am not going to tell you what kind of reporting I might ask you to come up with form these sheets, but you have to be ready to prepare those reports on spot. I could ask you stuff like: ‘Who did you call the most during the past month? At which hour of the day do you usually make most of your calls? Do you make most of your calls standing up or laying down?’

So what have I done to you here, the main task is still the same, you are making phone calls, I’ve just added a punch of extra activities around it. The objective I am trying to pursue is somehow justified, but the way I am trying to do it is definitely debatable.

Trying to improve the work and the productivity of any organization are amongst the top responsibilities of any management. But doing that by adding extra practices, new processes, and more rules while keeping the resources the same is a killer move. And unfortunately it is a classical mistake across many managements and many organizations.

More tasks on the same number of staff, physical and financial resources, given that they are already utilized, means less productivity, less motivation, less loyalty, and eventually less profits!

That’s the classical mistake of asking for more and more, that will only lead to less and less!

 
2 Comments

Posted in General Management, Human Resources, Leadership

 
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