I asked a friend of mine, David Porter, to write this after a phone conversation we had one day. David is a fellow consultant and we were talking about processes, procedures, and as always, the conversation included values. David said “I always advocate that the company start first with their values before they get into handbooks and processes and all that other stuff…”
I have a good friend who restores historic homes. She and her husband do a great deal of their own work and also have a crew who does the heavier work such as framing and roofing. What she and her husband do best is “recapture” the essence of the homes they restore.
Over time, rooms are added, decorating choices are made and “renovations” are done to the house. The challenge with each of these things is the lack of consistency in material, craftsmanship and adherence to the historic character of the house. So, when my friends begin work on a house it is a structure that is literally “cobbled” together with no identity other than a lack of identity.
This is precisely what I run into with companies and their people systems (aka HR). Most companies get an employee handbook from one place, job descriptions from another. They reluctantly build a minimalist orientation system and fly by the seat of their pants regarding corrective action. Some or all of these elements in their people system may be excellent. But, they have no relation to one another and no connection to the environment the company is trying to create. The result: a chaotic, disjointed employee experience.
The solution for companies and leaders is found in developing a non-negotiable set of corporate values. This is not some flowery mission statement that is framed on the wall and gathers dust. The values of which I speak are things that an organization will do no matter what. They are things the people believe, even when not popular in the general public. They form the basis of a program I call “Principles, Not Policies™.”
From that set of immovable corporate values, a company and leader can deploy 7 key elements to their people system in a consistent way:
- Employee Handbook: This is the company manifesto of how the relationship between it and those whom they are privileged to have working for them will be conducted. Most handbooks go to great lengths to make clear that the handbook does not create any sort of contract. If the handbook is consistent with your company’s values, you should treat it as a contract no matter what.
- Job Descriptions: This is where the company communicates to its team members what they are to do. The degree of specificity and clarity in the job description highlights many of the core values a business brings to its people system.
- Recruitment/Selection: How a company looks for its team members says much about the kind of organization is it. If you recruit and select separate from your values, how do you expect to have a team that will commit to those values?
- Orientation: Most companies view orientation as a “necessary evil.” Far from it, orientation is a vital part of the process by which team members begin the process of buying into the values and path the company is taking. Make it noble. Make it values-based. Make it memorable. If you can’t keep their interest on day one, how will you keep it into year two?
- Performance Evaluations: What do your team members know about their work performance? Here’s my educated guess: they know what they do wrong and hope that no news on the other stuff is good news. In my 20 years of practice, I can count on one hand the number of people who liked and saw value in a delivery of a strong performance evaluation. If you want to communicate your company’s values in an ongoing way, you must have a quality performance evaluation system.
- Corrective Action Process: No one is perfect. Some will fall short of the expectations you set. What do you do? If your company doesn’t have a corrective action (not discipline) process that is consistent with its values, it will be the ramp that leads potentially great team members out of the organization. And here is the real kicker: really good people of integrity will leave your company as well because they don’t like how you treat people.
- Leadership Development: This is where you get the greatest bang for your buck. When you have a values-based structure in your organization, then you have something to which to train your new and existing leaders. As it stands with most companies, people will lead how they see fit causing chaotic confusion for team members.
So, am I advocating a richly framed Mission Statement and Values list on the wall? No. I am advocating having a set of non-negotiable values in your organization on a piece paper that is tattered and torn from its constant review by your leaders. If you have this, you will be amazed with the growth of your team and your business as well as the care your clients will experience.
Just as my friends recapture the houses they renovate, recapture the essence of your business based on why you started it and the environment to which you are committed.
David Porter
www.BullsEyeLeadership.com
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