“So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work.”
     – Peter Drucker

A successful entrepreneur recently shared his management philosophy with me.
• Create a place where work is fun
• Hire management that has a positive attitude and people skills
• Build a team that works together to simplify and streamline processes
• Provide the best customer service possible

Four simple ideas that can make the difference between success or failure for any organization.

First of all, work should be fun. We ought to get up every day with the enthusiastic expectation of seeing our colleagues and taking satisfaction in making a difference for the organization. We spend more than a third of our lives at work. If it isn’t enjoyable we should look elsewhere. It is management’s job to instill a sense of joy in work by showing appreciation for what employees do.

Secondly, management sets the tone for the entire organization. Managers that have taken themselves and their work too seriously have a negative impact on morale because they tend to hold employees to strict (and often unfair) criteria. Flexibility and a love of people are what make good managers.

We have to see each individual as different. Having people skills requires us to coach when necessary but, more importantly, to play to strengths and ignore weaknesses.

Thirdly, being process focused is critical to organizational improvement and the key to providing what customers need. All processes must be seen as imperfect and the goal of management should be to get everyone working together to simplify and improve how things are done. The quickest path to successful process improvement is to solicit and use employee ideas.

Finally, we must be serious about customer service. Too many organizations just go through the motions when it comes to customers. They say they care but they seldom capture the input customers have that could improve the business. They measure satisfaction instead of customer needs. Customer satisfaction is neither a measurement of employee skill or customer retention. Lacking knowledge of what customers really want, organizations often muddle along not understanding why customers leave.

These are indeed certain and dependable principles for our uncertain times. Commitment to these four simple ideas will go farther than anything else to have motivated employees, retain long-term customers, and ensure a profitable business.

Copyright 2003. Reprinted with permission from www.hr.com,  your community for knowledge, expertise and resources.

Need help in this area? Try: Fun is Good
Who says work has to be serious all the time? Not the crew featured in this program, who show that happiness on the job comes when you discover your passion, bring a positive attitude and show people you care.

By Kathy Gurchiek

Half of HR professionals surveyed say their organization has a formal or informal policy on environmental responsibility, and another 7 percent plan to adopt a policy in the next 12 months. That’s among the findings of a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) online survey of 391 HR professionals conducted September 2007 and released in January 2008.

“The impact of our daily activities on the environment and the desire to go green has expanded from just individuals to organizations,” writes lead researcher Justina Victor in the report. “More organizations are volunteering to operate in a more environmentally responsible way. Local municipalities are encouraging businesses to become greener by offering incentives. In the near future, ‘being green’ could become the norm.”

Encouraging employees to be more environmentally friendly at work—making double-sided photocopies, using energy-efficient bulbs for desk lamps, lowering blinds in the summer to conserve energy, powering down computers that are inactive after a few minutes—was the main way their organizations were environmentally responsible, HR professionals said

Other top practices they cited include:
• Offering recycling programs for office products, including plastic, glass, cans and Styrofoam.
• Using energy-efficient lighting systems and equipment, such as occupancy sensors; using Energy Star equipment; and changing from desktop to laptop computers.
• Installing automatic shutoff for equipment.
• Buying or leasing refurbished goods such as toner cartridges, copiers, printers, fax machines, retread tires and re-refined oil.
• Promoting walking, biking and use of public transit.
• Partnering with suppliers and companies that are environmentally friendly.
• Minimizing pollution, such as the air and water emissions during production.
• Participating in or sponsoring projects and events in the community, such as plant-a-tree day and fundraisers for a local nature preserve.

When SHRM asked 504 non-HR employees, in a separate but related survey, what was the most important environmental practice that organizations can perform, a majority pointed to donating or discounting used office furniture and supplies to employees or local charities.
In addition, they cited using water-conserving plumbing fixtures such as faucet aerators and low-flow toilets, and offering recycling programs for old cell phones and other selected personal products.

Getting the Word Out
Among the HR professionals who said their employer has a policy of being environmentally responsible, a majority (63 percent) communicate their policy through in-house newsletters or other publications. Some include that commitment among their stated goals (40 percent); mission or vision statement (38 percent); annual report (23 percent) and an environmental report (10 percent).
Contributing toward society—being a good corporate citizen and embracing ethical considerations—is the main reason why organizations should take a greener attitude, both HR professionals and employees said.

In fact, contribution to society is the key driver of their environmentally responsible programs, according to almost seven out of 10 HR professionals and one-third of non-HR employees. Other top reasons HR cited included environmental and economic considerations, while non-HR employees saw their employers’ programs as part of a good public relations strategy.

“I am seeing a real trend among small companies I work with,” commented Nancy C. Nelson, SPHR, and a member of SHRM’s Corporate Social Responsibility Special Expertise Panel, in the report. “They want to adopt ‘green’ business practices, separate from any compliance requirement that may come into play,” noted Nelson. The director of HRProse LLC was among 10 external reviewers and contributors to the survey report.

Such programs foster improved morale and a stronger public image, both HR and non-HR employees said, and HR professionals at small organizations were more apt to see such a program result in improved morale.

Fellow panel member and The Hermann Group President Gerlinde Hermann thinks green initiatives, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in general, are tools for recruiting young workers but warns organizations they must back up their talk with action. She noted that “these potential employees check the background of organizations and talk with employees or past employees to find out for themselves” whether the organization delivers what it promises. “Better to have genuine green/CSR initiatives which are grassroots and inexpensive than to have a massive promo campaign involving significant funding—it’s the realness that is the selling feature,” Hermann said in the report.

It can be a retention tool as well. Sixty-one percent of employees whose employer participated in practices that were friendly to the environment said they are “very likely” or “likely” to stay at the organization because of its environmentally responsible programs. Despite these reasons for being more environmentally responsible, the cost of implementing and of maintaining them are the top barriers for taking action (85 percent and 74 percent, respectively), HR professionals said.

Lack of management support is the third largest barrier HR saw to being environmentally responsible. While 43 percent of HR professionals said their departments were involved directly in such a program at their organization, creating and implementing it starts with the senior management team or an employee taskforce or committee, a majority of HR professionals and non-HR employees said.
The effort doesn’t have to be big and splashy, though. “It is possible for every organization to provide some level of environmentally responsible practices,” SHRM CSR Special Expertise Panel member Victoria Johnson, PHR, noted in the report.

Such programs can benefit employers in many ways, according to the report. “A greener workplace can mean productive and healthy employees,” Victor writes, “and [can strengthen] an organization’s financial bottom line through operating efficiencies and innovations.”

Kathy Gurchiek is associate editor for HR News. She can be reached at kgurchiek@shrm.org

Employees who are satisfied with their company’s commitment to social responsibility have positive views about their employer in several other key areas – including its sense of direction, competitiveness, integrity, interest in their well-being, and employee engagement, according to a survey conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence, specialists in attitude research.

70 percent of employees are positive about their employer’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), according to the survey of 1.6 million employees from more than 70 organizations.
Employees who have a favorable view of an organization’s corporate social responsibility commitment in such areas as environmental awareness are also positive about several factors important to its success, including:

– Senior management’s integrity

– Senior management’s inspirational sense of direction

– Organization’s competitiveness in the marketplace

– Company’s interest in employees’ well-being

– Employees’ engagement or pride in their organization

“Businesses that recognize the importance of social responsibility often have employees who tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, adopt similar values, and become more committed to achieving success within the industry,” said Douglas Klein, President of Sirota Survey Intelligence.

Integrity of Senior Management
Among employees with a positive view of their organization’s CSR commitment, 71% also rate senior management as having high integrity. When employees are negative about their employer’s CSR activities, only 21% rate senior management as having high integrity.
“Employee views of CSR are connected with a broader assessment of the character of senior leadership – meaning that management can be relied on to follow through on what they say,” said Klein. “However, leaders who are seen as incapable of following through are unlikely to be regarded as being socially responsible.”

Senior Management’s Inspirational Sense of Direction
67% of employees who are satisfied with their employer’s CSR commitment feel that senior management has a strong sense of direction. When employees are negative about their company’s CSR activities, only 18% feel senior management has a strong sense of direction.
“Effective leaders connect the dots for their employees,” said Klein. “When employees question the time or money spent on certain social initiatives or any other activities, an effective leader will demonstrate the strategic importance these programs play in supporting the interests of the business.”

Employee Engagement
86% of employees who are satisfied with their organization’s CSR commitment have high levels of engagement. When employees are negative about their employer’s CSR activities, only 37% are highly engaged.
“A sense of pride is a major driver of both morale and business results, because people want to be associated with a successful organization that has a positive image,” said Klein. “Insightful leaders recognize that strategic CSR enhances morale, and higher morale contributes to better business results.

Interest In Employees’ Well-Being
75% of employees who are satisfied with their company’s commitment to CSR feel their employer is interested in their well-being. When employees are negative about their company’s CSR commitment, only 17% say their company is interested in their well-being – the lowest finding in the study.
“Employees do not divide the moral compass of their company into one part for employees and another part for the community,” said Klein. “Their employers’ commitment to corporate social responsibility is critical in conveying that the organization acts in their best interests, and is dedicated to treating them fairly and equitably.”

Marketplace Competitiveness
82% of employees who are satisfied with their employer’s CSR commitment also feel their organization is highly competitive in the marketplace. When employees are negative about their company’s CSR activities, only 41% feel it is competitive in the marketplace.
“To employees, CSR and business success go together. Companies that enhance their reputations through CSR perform better, and generate greater employee loyalty from workers,” said Klein.