When I see the statement ‘people are our greatest asset’ in CSR reports, on websites and in marketing statements. I am always tempted to dig deeper. It pays to look for positive proof that the statement can be backed up. In many cases disappointment often results!
This phrase has become a modern-day HR & business cliché. Any CEO tempted to use it should ensure that they have satisfied themselves:
Lets start with the Devil’s Advocate counterpoint that sets out several reasons why People are NOT your Greatest Asset. The could range from:
Personally, I take great issue with the first point. We all know that individual leaders and entire leadership groups can be your greatest liability in organisations. Bear in mind the Swissair groupthink scenario as acautionary tale
Swissair became so powerful and financially stable that it was given the stock market nickname “the Flying Bank.” In time, the Board and its senior managers came to believe themselves not only invulnerable to the marketplace, to make bad decisions, but also morally superior to other airlines. There are many other warnings from history on the asset value of leaders and individual employees – reflect on Enron, Lehman Brothers, AIG and Countrywide!
My recommendation is to leave the safety of the C-suite. Go downstairs and spend time engaging with all tiers of the workforce. Not only to answer any questions but to evaluate for yourself whether your people are your greatest asset. Listen to what they are saying about the business and remain in listening mode. A previous CEO (Dr Ian Sword) inspired me to adopt this management practice a long time ago. It can be extremely tough but also rewarding.
Why? If only 20% of a workforce feel ‘engaged’ with the organisation and its leadership, what is happening? Your people can be your Greatest Asset, but only if your leadership and management processes let them!
Employees are at the sharp and pointy part of your company’s interfaces – the first point of contact with customers and are ‘living the dream’ of what your customers are thinking. Richard Branson is a great figurehead leader but just ask Virginmedia customers what they think of the group’s customer service arrangements. These staff will have the ground-floor information on what, and how, your customers are thinking about the organisation. This allows them to:
It may come as a shock to leaders surrounded by attentive managers, but across many business value lines it is the employees that are the ones doing the work. They have the feet-on-the-ground perspective, knowledge and organisational understanding of how well your enterprise is working together or how efficiently it is getting the work done. This enables them to:
Yes, the last point can be a brutal dissection of what a manager has come to believe is the corporate worldview. Just try sitting down with a group of Glaswegian trench diggers for an hour as they demolish an organisation’s health and safety culture and the gap between leadership reality and perception. It was brutal to be on the receiving end of that session but ultimately rewarding in what it revealed. There are few routes to find out what is really going on in the daily life of an organization without asking colleagues for that information and listening for information (not just opinions). If your people are your greatest asset they will tell you!
Whilst it is important for employee’s to ‘hear’ a CEO express such a statement. The exercise will mean nothing unless the workforce:
That’s the basis of having an engaged workforce.
When seeking to encourage wider engagement in corporate cultures from within the workforce. How can businesses, and in particular leaders, motivate others in their alignment with the business vision and mission? Sustainability has different meanings within different settings and sectors – but manager-employee relationships are likely to be the same in all businesses. One way in which an employee feels they re ‘valued’ is not just through a financial relationship, but through other tangible and intangible arrangements:
This can determine whether the intangible factors of employee goodwill: – their support; loyalty; and, ultimately retention as employees remain. Workers in the knowledge-based or innovation-driven employment sectors are particularly sensitive to these factors.
An active leadership approach to sustainability helps employees engage with the organisation and to feel alignment with it. A statement such as an ‘Our people are our greatest asset’ statement in a CSR making clear to the workforce the value and importance of the work they perform, and its contribution to business success is an effective way of demonstrating value. than. Take time to research how their contribution fits into the larger picture, and by investing in their growth, engagement and satisfaction.
At Leading Green, our approach to sustainability in business training & consulting encourages our clients to look closely at their own internal leadership strengths and goals. Helping them adopt an inquisitive state of mind and supporting them in how sustainability can support their long-term business strategy.