Tag Archives: culture

Workhuman Live Action Plan: Building a DEI Strategy

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A few months ago I headed down to Atlanta, GA, to attend my first live conference since the COVID-19 pandemic started – Workhuman Live 2022. I didn’t socialize and network as much as I normally would have (which isn’t a WHOLE lot because – introvert – but still) because I was trying to stay COVID-free. However, there were plenty of great sessions and speakers that I was glad I had a chance to see, including a panel discussion on Elevating Diversity & Inclusion, a session on Embodying Authenticity in the Workplace and another fantastic panel discussion on Building Psychological Safety & The Future of Work. Some of my favorite topics.

Shortly after my return (COVID-free!), I wrote a blog post/action plan for the Workhuman Blog on Building a DEI Strategy based on some of what I heard and learned at the conference. Click the image below to check it out!

Your Remote Employees Might Be Wearing Pajamas. So What!

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I heard Malcolm Gladwell speak at the WorkHuman Live conference earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised. It’s not that I expected to not enjoy his keynote but I didn’t expect to enjoy it either. To be honest, I didn’t have any real expectation. I was busy trying to stay COVID-free! That said, I did enjoy his speech that day. Fast forward to today and I see this headline come across my timeline: Malcolm Gladwell slams working from home: ‘What have you reduced your life to?’ Really, Malcolm?

The article goes on to state that Gladwell believes that remote work is hurting society and that coming together in an office is necessary for employees to develop a sense of belonging.

“As we face the battle that all organizations are facing now in getting people back into the office, it’s really hard to explain this core psychological truth, which is we want you to have a feeling of belonging and to feel necessary.”

He even went as far as to classify remote workers as folks who are just sitting at home working in their pajamas and questioned their life’s purpose if they are just working for a paycheck as opposed to wanting to be part of something.

 “If it’s just a paycheck, then it’s like what have you reduced your life to?”

Um – to needing to earn money to live on, maybe. Bills, bills, bills don’t care where you sit or who you sit next to.

I am thoroughly disgusted by this mentality. First of all, there is NOTHING wrong with working for a paycheck only. Work =/= reason to live. Secondly, this type of ‘folks need to be in/go back to the office’ mindset completely ignores the myriad reasons why some folks prefer remote work. There’s the time and money saved by not having to commute. There’s more time to spend with family or friends or on self-care. There’s greater flexibility to get things done like errands and appointments. And lest not forget, for employees who are Black, Indigenous, people of color and/or members of other marginalized groups, there’s not having to code switch or deal with endless microaggressions (or worse) in toxic environments. It’s not about wanting to work in your pajamas, although folks shouldn’t be shamed for that either.

Over the course of the past two years, I have seen many accounts of individuals whose lives have significantly improved due to being given the opportunity to work remotely. I’m talking about improvements in mental health, physical health, and family relationships. Of course that hasn’t been the case for everyone and remote work doesn’t work for everyone, but to reduce wanting to work remotely, as many people do now, to just wanting to work in your pajamas is insulting. It’s also wholly inaccurate that a sense of belonging can only be developed by people being in the same physical location.

Remote work and distributed workforces are far from a new thing, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced several employers who had previously been opposed to allowing remote work to change their way of thinking in order to maintain business operations. In doing so, many of them learned that *surprise, surprise*, folks could still be productive not being in the office – even during a pandemic! Technology made this much easier to do. There are so many tools and methods for team members to communicate and collaborate. It’s a lazy leader that believes the only way for a team to feel connected is in person. As a leader, if you desire to create an inclusive culture where folks feel connected a have a sense of belonging, you do that, regardless of where they are located. It’s possible. Just like it’s possible to have everyone in the same location and not have any of this.

I know this isn’t the case for everyone, especially during the COVID pandemic, but my mental health improved from working remotely and I know I’m not the only one. If your employees want to work from home, or you are noticing that more candidates or new hires want to work from home, ask yourself why. Ask THEM why. Instead of downplaying the desire or demeaning people, figure out how to make it work for all parties involved. That’s your best bet. Don’t worry about what folks are wearing while working at home- as long as they are dressed during video meetings! Don’t force folks to have their camera on though. 🙂

Join the Movement! #WorkHuman

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PrintWe’ve all heard the oft-spoken directive “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” The words are usually attributed to Gandhi but my friend Google tells me this is not actually a direct, verifiable, Gandhi quote. Sounds good though, so let’s go with the sentiment.

When I think about the WorkHuman conference, I think about being the change I wish to see in the workplace. Recently a peer asked me a version of “what does your ideal job look like?” Ideally, I would have a role in which I am able to focus on employee experience – to make work a place folks don’t dread going to everyday or drag themselves to just to pay the bills. I want to create environments in which people are able to do their best work because they are free to be their whole, best selves. I want to help develop cultures in which individuals are valued for their unique backgrounds and experiences and recognized for their accomplishments. I want to help people understand what diversity truly is and that it means nothing without inclusion. I want to train managers to coach and encourage their direct reports. I have no idea if this job exists other than in my dreams but that would be the ideal.

That’s what attracted me to WorkHuman. I first heard about it in 2016, after the second conference was held, and immediately committed to attending the 2017 conference. At the time I didn’t know how I was going to make it happen but I knew it was a must because it was the first time I’d heard about a conference that focused on exactly the areas I’m passionate about. I had to be there. Thankfully I was able to attend in 2017 and 2018 and hope to attend forever and ever. In 2018 I was even asked to participate in a Diversity Means Nothing Without Inclusion  panel discussion on WorkHuman radio. 🙂

From the website:

Globoforce pioneered the WorkHuman movement to galvanize leaders worldwide to harness the transformative power of people for the next generation of HR. We celebrate breakthrough organizations building human-centric workplaces where employees achieve their fullest potential – where people feel appreciated, connected, and empowered for who they are and what they do. WorkHuman recognizes businesses that thrive by bringing humanity and crowdsourcing to the employee experience. WorkHuman is the future of the workplace.

Each year, WorkHuman builds on the content offerings and always has a great speaker lineup. The tracks for the 2019 conference are:

  • Applying the Value of Gratitude
  • Bringing Humanity to Performance Management
  • Creating a Culture of Community
  • Elevating Your Employer Brand
  • Empowering through Diversity & Equality
  • Living Your Best Work Life
  • Merging Humanity & Technology
  • Navigating Employee Emotions at Work

I can’t wait to dig deeper into these topics, particularly ‘Empowering through Diversity & Equality’ and ‘Bringing Humanity to Performance Management.’ In addition to the sessions, I look forward to soaking up wisdom and inspiration from the incredible roster of keynote speakers which includes Kat Cole, Cy Wakeman, Pamela Puryear and Eric Bailey.

Join me in Nashville March 18-21, 2019, as we discuss creating workplaces that focus on the whole human being. It’s going to be an amazing time!

Use code WH19INF-TRA for $100 off. Don’t say I never gave you anything. 🙂

Hope to see you there!

nashville

 

Employee Experience for the WIN! #eXsummit

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logo-lrgAnyone who is, or has ever been, an employee understands the importance of employee experience. Where it rates on the importance meter may not be the same for everyone but I think we can all agree that when it comes to the place you’ll most likely spend at least 1/3 of your life, the better you feel about being there, the better you’ll feel all around.  An article in Forbes even called 2018 ‘The Year of Employee Experience.’ Well, it’s about time more employers started paying attention to it!

Employee experience (EX) refers to the totality of every interaction an employee has with their employer including how the employee feels about working there. Whether the experience is positive or negative impacts productivity, happiness, tenure and whether the employee would recommend the employer as a good, or great, place to work – among other things.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:

  • Employee experience is NOT employee engagement. Engagement contributes to experience but they are not the same thing.
  • Employee experience is not just about having fun. Don’t confuse simply providing some fun things to do with designing a complete employee experience.

As an HR professional, an employee, and an individual, I’m very interested in EX, what it looks like in different organizations and how organizations can create the best positive experience for their employees, realizing that it won’t look exactly the same for each organization. It’s also important to remember that individuals experience experience differently. When crafting an employee experience that will make people want to join and stay at your organization, remember that one size rarely fits all. 

In August, I have the honor of participating in the eX Summit in Philadelphia. The eX Summit “brings a different lens to the employee experience: a brand and CX angle, rather than a traditional HR angle.”  The creators of the Summit pose the following questions:

Why are companies focusing more on user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX) than employee experience (EX?) And what can we do about it?

Excellent questions! Employees are the ones who determine and implement what it takes to make the UX and CX experiences positive for others, why would it not be deemed equally as important, if not more so, to make the work experience positive for your employees? Let’s talk about it. Join me in Philly on August 15 to discuss key components of designing an employee experience. Use code TAMARA5 for $5 off the registration fee.

bonusBONUS ALERT: I will be part of a panel discussion on Diversity in the Workplace. Diversity is but one ingredient in the employee experience recipe but it’s an important one. Among other things, diverse teams inspire creativity, promote innovation, are more productive and perform better. Employers must value different dimensions of diversity along every step of the employee experience – from pre-hire to post-employment termination. Interested in how to do this? Let’s talk about it.

To be successful in creating a positive employee experience, employers must change the traditional mindset and adopt more of a consumer approach to engaging with employees. At the eX Summit, we will address the following key topics:

  • Why is it critical for employers to change the their mindset and adopt more of a consumer approach to engaging with employees? (Think of employees as internal customers. Instead of selling a product, you are selling working at your organization.)
  • What organizations should do to create personalized employee experiences. (One size does not fit all.)
  • What part technology, the human element and storytelling play in designing these experiences. (A multi-faceted approach is key.)
  • Why “culture fit” is no longer relevant and why we need to focus more than ever on diversity, inclusion and “culture add.” (This is my favorite part!)

Employee experience is and will continue to be critical not only to business success but to individual success. Let’s make sure we treat our internal stakeholders (employees) as well as we treat our external stakeholders (clients/customers/users/members.) Not only is it good business, it’s the right, and smart, thing to do.

Interested in learning how to design the right employee experience for your organization? Check out the eX Summit in a city near you. Preferably, Philadelphia on August 15. 🙂

PERKS OF ATTENDING THE PHILLY eX SUMMIT:

  • Philadelphia – We’ll turn the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ into the ‘City of Employee Love’ for a day.
  • Discount – Get $5 off registration with the code TAMARA5
  • mj

 

*The IBM Institute for Business Value has developed some easily digestible graphics regarding employee experience. The images below are property of IBM.

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IBV-Social Tiles-BoT_Twitter_V3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be the Change… You Belong at #WorkHuman

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betheWe’ve all heard the oft-spoken directive “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” The words are usually attributed to Gandhi but my friend Google tells me this is not actually a direct, verifiable, Gandhi quote. Sounds good though, so let’s go with the sentiment.

When I think about the WorkHuman conference, I think about being the change I wish to see in the workplace. Recently a peer asked me a version of “what does your ideal job look like?” Ideally, I would have a role in which I am able to focus on employee experience – to make work a place folks don’t dread going to everyday or drag themselves to just to pay the bills. I want to create environments in which people are able to do their best work because they are free to be their whole, best selves. I want to help develop cultures in which individuals are valued for their unique backgrounds and experiences and recognized for their accomplishments. I want to help people understand what diversity truly is and that it means nothing without inclusion. I want to train managers to coach and encourage their direct reports. I have no idea if this job exists other than in my dreams but that would be the ideal.

That’s what attracted me to WorkHuman. I first heard about it in 2016, after the second conference was held, and immediately committed to attending the 2017 conference. At the time I didn’t know how I was going to make it happen but I knew it was a must because it was the first time I’d heard about a conference that focused on exactly the areas I’m passionate about. I had to be there.

From the website:

Globoforce pioneered the WorkHuman movement to galvanize leaders worldwide to harness the transformative power of people for the next generation of HR. We celebrate breakthrough organizations building human-centric workplaces where employees achieve their fullest potential – where people feel appreciated, connected, and empowered for who they are and what they do. WorkHuman recognizes businesses that thrive by bringing humanity and crowdsourcing to the employee experience. WorkHuman is the future of the workplace.

I want to be part of that future! That’s why I’m looking forward to attending the conference again this year and in perpetuity. The tracks for the 2018 conference are:

  • Crowdsourcing and the Performance Revolution
  • The Business Case for Social Recognition
  • Thriving through Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
  • Your Whole Self
  • Humanizing Your Employer Brand
  • HR Leaders as Culture Facilitators
  • The Human Workplace

It’s perfect for me! In addition to the sessions, I look forward to soaking up wisdom and inspiration from the incredible roster of keynote speakers which includes Tarana Burke, Brené Brown, Shawn Achor, Salma Hayek Pinault, Simon Sinek, Amal Clooney and Adam Grant.

Join me in Austin as we discuss creating workplaces that focus on people as human beings, not just as workers. We are only two weeks out from the conference (April 2-5) but there is still time to register. Through April 1, you can save $200 off the onsite registration fee. Use code WH18INF-TRA for an additional $100 off. Don’t say I never gave you anything. 🙂

Hope to see you there!

Previous posts on WorkHuman:

WorkHuman 2017 – Bring Your Whole Self

WorkHuman? How Else Are We Gonna Work?

You Better Recognize! (Giving Thanks)

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tgiving quote

Thanksgiving is the time of year when people are given a free pass to overindulge – in the name of gratitude. We sit around the table with family and friends and spend the day eating.* And eating. And more eating. Often before the first bite of food is taken, attendees are asked to take turns saying what they are thankful/grateful for. Responses usually range from “this food” to “my family/friends/health, etc.” It really depends on the family and their culture/traditions as to how “deep” the responses will be, or if the question will be asked at all. It’s the same for organizations. An organization’s culture will determine the extent to which gratitude is valued and practiced. Healthy, positive work environments  will have gratitude and recognition as an integral part of their culture.

We hear a lot about how important it is to have an “attitude of gratitude.” Some people believe being grateful for and recognizing what you have (as opposed to focusing on what you don’t have) leads to you receiving more of the goodness the universe has to offer. Regardless of your belief system, the same holds true in the workplace. Being grateful for and recognizing what we have in our people results in better morale, productivity, engagement, retention, etc. In other words – all the goodness.

recog

Formal recognition programs and web-based recognition platforms are great to have. They really are. But don’t let the lack of either be an excuse for not recognizing your people and showing them gratitude for sharing their unique talents and skill sets to benefit your organization. A simple, genuine “thank you” goes a long way. Another sometimes overlooked way to show gratitude is by investing in your people. Providing and encouraging professional development opportunities shows that you value and appreciate the people who work for you. This is important for every organization but it is vital in organizations that lack upward mobility/promotion potential. If you can’t recognize a person through a raise or promotion, at the very least, they should have other growth opportunities.

Don’t take people for granted and assume that because they show up every day, all is well. Tell people they’re doing a great job. Tell people you’re happy to have them working for you. Tell people you’re glad they chose your organization to work for. Say “good morning” when you pass people in the hallway. Treat people with respect. Always.

I know no one wants to think about work-y type stuff on a holiday. I get it. But when you’re back in the office, after you’ve filled your stomach to capacity, binge watched at least one show on Netflix and thought about what/who you’re grateful for in your personal life, remember that it’s just as important to show gratitude at work.

Be grateful for your work. I’m talking about beyond the basic “I’m just grateful to have a job.” Don’t get me wrong; I’ve been there before too. I’m not talking about that though. I’m talking about the thing that brings you joy that your job allows you to do. I get joy from helping others, so I remind myself to be grateful for the opportunities I have as an HR professional to help people. Whatever YOUR thing is, the thing that brings you joy at work, be grateful for that. Most importantly, show gratitude for the people you work with. To (very loosely) paraphrase Jay-Z, they could be at any job in the world that day, but they’re there with you. Appreciate it. GIVE THANKS. 

BONUS: In case you needed more of a reason. Do it for your health.

Gratitude_Infographic_v3

*Author’s Note: I realize this is not everyone’s Thanksgiving experience. Please don’t take offense if it is not yours. Maybe you don’t even celebrate Thanksgiving. That’s cool too. The rest of the post will still be relevant to you. – TMR

#NotAThoughtLeader

 

#SHRM17 – ALL IN(SPIRED)

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Beignets from Sunday brunch at Blake’s on Poydras. DELICIOUS!

SHRM 2017 ended last week and I’m experiencing withdrawal. The people, the sessions, the music, the BEIGNETS! What’s not to love? If you missed it, you missed something big. Literally. It was the biggest SHRM conference ever! Between the concurrent sessions, the Smart Stage, the Take 10s and the General Sessions, you could soak up a wealth of information without even trying.

 

Many of the sessions I attended shared the common theme of building trust, shifting culture, HR influence and putting people first. This was deliberate as these are topics that really speak to me and that I believe in fully. (Full disclosure: I ended up in Richard Fagerlin’s session because I was tired of walking that behemoth of a convention center. It was a great session though and I’m glad I attended it.)

I have a ton of takeaways from SHRM17. (I concur with Steve Browne’s statement that if you leave a session without any takeaways, it’s YOUR fault, not the speaker’s.) Some of my favorites are below.

TRUST YOUR PEOPLE.

laszloIf you believe people are fundamentally good, you will treat them that way. (Laszlo Bock)

How many times have you encountered designated leaders who don’t trust the people they hire to do their jobs? You know who I’m talking about. The folks who want to micromanage their employees to death. Perhaps you are (gasp!) one of those people. If you are, stop it right now! That’s no way to inspire or motivate folks to be productive.

Another great Bock statement: FREEDOM IS FREE. Meaning, it costs nothing for you to allow your employees the freedom and autonomy to be effective. Let’s face it – if you don’t trust the people you hire, that says way more about you than it says about them.

CULTURE IS THE SUM OF WHAT YOU PERMIT AND WHAT YOU PROMOTE.

culture

Another way to think about culture. Steve Browne said this in his session as well.

Consider the mic dropped.  This comment on culture from Richard Fagerlin’s session, Creating a Culture of High Trust : 10 Things Every Organization Must Do to Experience High Trust was probably my most retweeted tweet from the conference. Obviously it resonates.

 

We’ve all seen it. You have an organization that prides itself on its core values of  <insert  buzzwords of the moment> but in practice it’s a whole different story. They say they believe in diversity & inclusion, but the leadership team looks the same and thinks the same. They say they believe in innovation but new ideas are always shot down. They say harassment won’t be tolerated but a known harasser gets promoted because they are a high performer. They say they believe in work/life balance but pitch a fit if an employee has to leave early. I call shenanigans! Your culture isn’t what you say it is, it’s what it is.

Another good Fagerlin quote: EVERY ORGANIZATION IS PERFECTLY DESIGNED TO GET THE RESULTS IT GETS. Just let that marinate for a minute while thinking about some of your past (maybe present) work experiences. It’s all starting to make sense now, right? #MajorKey

THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP IS INFLUENCE, NOT AUTHORITY.* 

20170626_172813In her session, Influencing Others: 8 Steps to Get Results When You Don’t Have Direct Authority, Valerie Grubb spoke about how to influence others when you don’t have direct authority. Again, this really boiled down to trust. Trust and communication style.

In order to influence someone when you don’t have authority over them i.e. when you can’t say “because I said so,” they have to trust you (see above) and you have to communicate concisely. Speak to the WHY of what you’re trying to accomplish and gain a reputation for getting to the point. This is something I really need to practice. I can get wordy at times. (Don’t say it. LOL. Just keep reading.) WHEN TRYING TO INFLUENCE SOMEONE THEY HAVE TO HEAR YOU FIRST. If they don’t trust you, chances are they aren’t listening.

DON’T KEEP FOLLOWING THE RULES; CHANGE THEM!

20170626_172212You probably guessed this quote came from Steve Browne without me having to say it. He has a bit of a reputation as a rule breaker. In a good way. Make that a GREAT way. Steve is so freakin’ inspirational and his passion for HR and people is contagious.

I attended Steve’s Brand Name HR: Giving Your Function Life & Purpose session. He spoke a lot about pushing boundaries and not letting yourself (and your career) be confined to what HR is “supposed to do” or “should be doing.” We need to challenge the status quo and not be afraid to shake things up for the betterment of the folks we’re here to support.

We can’t be afraid to bring our whole selves to work and we must encourage others to do the same.  We spend too much time at work to have to shut off or hide major parts of ourselves during the workday. For example, I like to change my hair color a lot and I have visible tattoos. Neither of which impacts my ability to do my job. Get over it.

Steve also talked about HR being out and among the people as opposed to always making them come to us. I’m proud to say I do a pretty good job of this. The people are the reason I do what I do. Why would I want to keep my distance from them? I have never been “Ms. Stuffy, Scary, Uncaring HR lady” and I never will be. Let’s not be confined by others’ preconceived notions of HR. IF YOU’RE NOT MAKING PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE YOU’RE NOT DOING YOUR JOB. (Thanks for the reminder, Steve!)

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IRL connection w/ @tgweeded – photobomb courtesy of @cescobar78

This was just a small taste of my #SHRM17 experience. There’s no way I can cover it all in one blog post. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how fabulous and fun it was to make IRL connections with the folks I know from #nextchat. (Not familiar? Get into it! Every Wed. 3pm EST on Twitter.) It was so great to put a human-sized face to a tiny Twitter avatar face and take our conversations offline. That was easily one of the best parts of the conference.

 

So SHRM17 has come and gone. Beignet cravings notwithstanding, I’m excited about sharing and implementing what I learned and continuing to connect with other HR professionals, online and off. I went ALL IN and came out truly INspired. Kudos to the entire SHRM team for a WONDERFUL conference!! I hope to see everyone at #SHRM18 next year. (I wonder if there’s any chance of having a batch of beignets shipped to Chicago.) 

BONUS ROUND: If you attended SHRM17, share your favorite part in the comments and/or reach out to me on Twitter @tmrasberry.

*Ken Blanchard quote

(Posted on SHRM Blog June 28, 2017)

#WorkHuman 2017 – Bring Your Whole Self!

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workhuman-2017If you follow me on Twitter (and you should 😉 ) you know I’ve been super excited for the past few months about attending the WorkHuman conference (May 30-June 1.) Ever since I first heard it was a thing – a conference dedicated to creating better work environments through culture & engagement – I knew I wanted to be there. Thankfully the opportunity presented itself for me to attend. Now, in just a few days, I’ll be in Phoenix, AZ, in a nice, air-conditioned conference center listening to folks talk about the workplace of the future – a human workplace – the type of workplace I want to cultivate.

For the past few days I’ve been trying to decide which sessions to attend. There are so many intriguing ones to choose from on my favorite topics like culture, engagement, diversity and recognition. I’m still not 100% sure which ones I’ll choose but I know I can’t go wrong with any of them. The keynote speakers alone are enough reason to attend. Among them are Susan Cain, the patron saint of my people aka introverts, Julia-Louis Dreyfus (Elaine, Old Christine, VEEP) and literally last but never, ever least (Former) First Lady Michelle Obama.  It’s gonna be hot in Phoenix, inside and out (triple digit temps)!

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If any of this sounds interesting to you, there’s still time to attend. You can register onsite! Need more convincing? See below.

“In just three information- and inspiration-packed days, you’ll gain the knowledge and tools you need to unlock the energy of your workforce, increase engagement, and help your company achieve its full business potential. You’ll leave energized and ready to forge a more human work culture in your organization.”

Plus..networking with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of other HR and HR-adjacent professionals. And me. What more could you ask for? Join us!

P.S.- If you can’t make it this year, follow the fun on Twitter: @workhuman, @globoforce, #workhuman and be sure to check out my recap afterwards.

WordsMatter: The Power of Language at Work

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I was inspired to write this post for a few reasons. I recently listened to a webinar titled “The State of Performance Management: What’s Broken and How to Fix It” and I found myself agreeing with a lot of what was being said. More than a lot actually. Pretty much all of it.

The presenter, Kevin Eikenberry, explained that one of the main things wrong with performance management is the term itself. To paraphrase him, we use terms like performance management/evaluation/review/assessment but people don’t want to be managed, evaluated, reviewed or assessed. The terminology alone puts people on the defensive, and leads to anxiety and stress. Who needs more of either? Do you? I certainly don’t. So ultimately it doesn’t get done or it keeps getting put off until the last minute and then it’s done half-heartedly and the results are worthless.

words matterHe suggested that instead we use the term Performance Development. Makes sense, right? After all, the process should, ideally, be designed to assist employees in knowing what they’ve done well and making them aware of areas for professional development. The process should also include a plan (i.e. action items) for that development to occur. The process should be positive, or at the very least not negative or demeaning and above all it should be useful. A phrase I read recently in regards to providing feedback is that it should be personalized but not personal.  I agree.

We hear a lot these days about the death of the traditional performance review. Well, that’s a death I won’t be mourning. The terms currently used (see above,) and thus the associated processes, tend to be neither positive nor useful. When people are told they are being managed, evaluated, etc. it automatically puts them in the mindset of being subordinate. When someone is tasked with managing, evaluating, etc. another person, it automatically puts them in the mindset of that person being subordinate to them.

Subordinate (definition):

  1. lower in rank  or position 
  2. a person under the authority or control of another within an organization
  3. treat or regard as of lesser importance than something else

Eeek! Unless you’re in the military or in prison this dynamic sounds pretty undesirable and unnecessary to me. Should there be some type of objective metrics to gauge performance as well as strengths and opportunities for development? Sure. But the process needs to change and it starts with the nomenclature.

Don’t even get me started on rating (for lack of a better term) people on expectations that aren’t clearly defined. (Meets or exceeds? How about what are they?? ) Or rating based on the recency effect i.e things that happened a short time prior to when the review is being done vs. the entire review period. (Great all year but made a mistake last month? No soup for you!) Or subjectivity vs. objectivity. (Self-explanatory.) There is a lot to talk about but this post is about words.

Another thing that inspired me to write this post was my own 2015 “performance evaluation.” I reread it the other day in preparation for the 2016 version. To say I took issue with quite a bit of it would be an understatement. Not because I think I have no room for improvement or can’t take constructive criticism, but because most of the criticisms weren’t actually constructive. They were primarily personal and subjective judgments rather than objective, work-related statements that could be supported by facts or examples.

This may sound like hyperbole but when I asked for examples of stated actions/behaviors that I considered to be negative I didn’t receive any. Not. Even. One. When I explained what the words being used to describe me implied, I was told “I didn’t mean that, I meant this.” However, that is what was written down and what will be attached to my employment file, without further explanation or clarification. So yeah, I was none too happy about the whole thing and I’m not looking forward to doing it all over again.

wordsI also got to thinking about the general terminology we use to describe relationship dynamics in the workplace. Boss. Manager. Superior. Subordinate. (See above.) Who came up with these?? I have never and will not ever refer to another person as my boss or superior. I’m just not built that way. In using those types of terms you are subconsciously (consciously, for some) indicating that a person is better than you and/or has power over you. Some people may be fine with using those terms but in my opinion, it’s an unhealthy dynamic. As you think, you will speak. As you speak, you will do. Ever heard of the phrase, speaking truth to power? Well, when the words you use are demeaning to yourself or others, those words will manifest as beliefs and actions.

Some may say I’m taking this too far but think about it. If you are currently using any of these terms in the workplace, try to stop using them, in both written and verbal communication. Remove them from official documentation, policies and procedures. When people stop hearing and seeing these and other similar words that denote an unnecessary and unbalanced power dynamic, I believe we will see a significant shift for the better. (Hierarchy may be necessary for the purpose of organizational structure but that doesn’t mean it has to be part of the organizational culture.)

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to be a change agent and turn your performance management process that doesn’t work (trust me, it doesn’t) into a performance development process. I’m sure morale and productivity among your employees will begin to improve, even if it isn’t bad to start with. And if it doesn’t, at lease you tried. If it’s not within your purview to change terminology and processes and/or shift culture on an organizational level, try doing it on a department level or on a team level. Whether you effect change on an organizational, departmental or individual level, every journey begins with a single step. Never forget, WORDS MATTER.

8 Unsettling Facts About Bad Bosses

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We spend so much of our days, our LIVES, at work. In a perfect world, we’d all have great managers, wonderful co-workers, exciting and fulfilling jobs, fair and competitive pay, flexibility, etc. Unfortunately, all too often, this is not the case. If we’re lucky, we may have one or two of these things; but having ALL of them is rare. When people begin to feel that what is missing > what is present or that what is missing (or present) is too much to bear, they start to look for employment elsewhere. It’s only natural. Continue reading →