As part of the ASK Newsletter, Q2, we are starting a series of interviews with key voices from the worlds of organisational effectiveness, HR and L&D. (If you’re not a subscriber, visit the Newsletter page at our website to access all the articles from Issue 1, or to be added to our mailing list.)
As part of the first issue, we’re delighted to host a Q&A session with Sharlyn Lauby, author and editor of the HR Bartender blog.
In her own words, “an HR pro turned consultant”, Sharlyn created the blog so that “people would have a friendly place to discuss workplace issues”. We’re privileged to have the opportunity to pull up a bar-stool and seek the HR Bartender’s counsel.
Q1 In your recent blog posting, Knowing When To Retire a Theory, you talk about the need to remain open to updating or replacing conventional wisdom. How open do you think most organisations are to this issue, and how might more of them be helped to become so?
I believe organizations are very open to it. Over the past few years, companies have been forced to re-evaluate their status quo whether it was driven by the global economy or business competition. But this can’t be a forced activity. Questioning conventional wisdom needs to be a business standard. And people who can raise the question in a thoughtful way will be very valuable. Challenging the status quo cannot mean turning the building upside down every time.
It really comes down to permitting a culture where the conversation will be embraced. And giving individuals the tools to have the conversation in a productive way. I think companies are open to it. I don’t necessarily think that companies are open to the destruction that can occur at the same time.
Q2 A related point on conventional wisdom, but I’m thinking of your 2010 post Thinking Both/And. While it was written in a technological context, to me it has broader application in encouraging people to see beyond ideas being mutually exclusive. What other tropes or ideas or mantras do you think we might adopt to help us think both more freshly and more widely about work and organisations?
Yes, brilliant. The thinking both/and applies to so much more than technology. A big discussion happening in the U.S. right now is on the subject of flexible work schedules. Definitely a both/and discussion: achieving both our personal and professional goals, having balance between our work and home life. I don’t know that we’ve figured out all the answers but it’s clear employees want to have both a career and a life.
Q3 In the UK, there have been some heated online debates around the general theme of “HR: Friend or Foe?” in terms of the function’s relationship to employees. What’s your take on this, and on changes that HR might want or need to make?
HR walks a fine line. On one hand, they’re a member of the management team and need to be an active participant. They also need to provide information, advice, guidance, and services to employees.
For years, people have been talking about HR getting the proverbial “seat at the table” or being a “strategic business partner”. My concern is do we really know what that looks like? When the business world is moving quickly, everyone in the C-Suite is being asked to adapt. Including HR. If HR doesn’t have a seat at the table now, when they get one…what kind of seat will it be? The one they need today or the old one from 5 years ago.
Q4 When it comes to talent retention, we’ve always been aware of a mismatch between the expectations and hopes of employees and organisations’ assumptions as to what these might be. While listening – and asking the right questions – is one way to improve this situation, what changes do you see in the future? Our experience of work, issues of work-life balance, job security and so on all effect our lives, but how might they impact on employee-employer relationships?
I believe the notion of “work is work, home is home and the two shall never meet” is gone. Employees are willing to work hard and do a great job but they want to know when they have a personal issue the company will say “take care of it, we’ll cover for you”. It’s about building a relationship of trust and mutual respect.
Q5 Given that the job for life is now a museum piece and economic growth remains patchy (especially in Europe), is retention a lost cause? If recruitment is a buyer’s market, shouldn’t we expect employees to be more interested in selling themselves? What is the best organisational response – does the answer lie in talent strategy or in ‘softer’ culture aspects that promote a sense of belonging?
Organizations need to realize that at some point, employee retention turns into customer retention. It’s a business issue. For example, I used to work in a hotel. If I resign my position, the hotel still wants me to be a customer. They still want me to tell all my friends it’s a great hotel chain. If I leave on good terms, chances are I will remain a brand ambassador. If I don’t…well, people can figure it out.
Employees know this. They want to work for a company brand that they believe in. It doesn’t matter how long the employee works at the company. Because the connection lasts much longer than that.
Q6 You recently wrote an interesting piece, Unhappy Employees Are Not Disengaged Employees, which accepts that employees are human and therefore occasionally – and understandably – unhappy. I can see an even stronger argument: that you have to be engaged to some degree to care enough about the impact of something that you become unhappy as a result. The disengaged would, presumably, simply remain indifferent. Do we need to rethink ‘emotional intelligence’ to embrace this acceptance that unhappiness is natural? That EI doesn’t mean ‘grin and bear it’, but something more like ‘bare it and work towards grinning’?
I agree that unhappiness can be the result of being overly invested in a project or the company. It’s tough – we want employees to be invested. But then how do we stop it from becoming too much?
I’ve never really felt that emotional intelligence is a “grin and bear it” concept. But I can see how some might feel a way to express empathy is by saying “I understand your point. But we just have to grin and bear it.” That’s not really empathy either…but some people don’t know what else to say. I’m always amazed at the number of people who just don’t know what empathy is.
That’s where emotional intelligence can be redefined. We need to offer ways to connect when there might not be immediate common ground.
Q7 In the UK, People Management recently published a survey showing that HR professionals conclude that people lie to them on a regular basis (while, of course, being scrupulously honest themselves). While this obviously tells us something about how people respond to surveys, what would be your advice to an HR function as to how to encourage a culture and atmosphere in which honesty is not only more widespread, but a more attractive option to those engaging with them?
This definitely relates back to the first question. Organizations need to do a better job of teaching feedback. “No news is good news” is not a management philosophy. If we provide feedback on a regular basis. Good, specific feedback – not this “good job” stuff. Then it will permeate the culture. And I believe people will feel more comfortable about giving constructive feedback.
But if the only time people get feedback is when HR mandates it or when it’s negative, then employees will view it as punishment. It encourages the lie.
Q8 And finally … every bartender, HR or otherwise, deserves a little reward once in a while. If we granted you a magic lamp to rub, what would be your three wishes? Three things we could all try doing in our working lives that might make a positive difference for all of us?
- Do what you say you’re going to do. If you can’t, renegotiate the commitment. – I can’t tell you how many people ruin their credibility because they agree to do something and then disappoint. We all know that perception is reality. What perception are you putting out there?
- Find a way to say “no” that you’re comfortable with. – So many people are stressed out because they feel compelled to say “yes” when they should really say “no”.
- Celebrate your successes. – I’m thrilled when I finish something on my “to-do” list. Set small goals and make them happen. Small goals = big accomplishments!
