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Corporate Culture for Enterprise Quality
The sources of friction and drag that act against our quality momentum are often caused by our organizational culture. An unhealthy corporate culture can make some employees feel less valued and less important than others. This is exactly what produces the; "I just work here," and the; "That's not my job," attitudes. Other sources of internal resistance are political, and include turf wars, the hoarding of information, and the monopolization of authority and discretion. To counteract these sources of internal resistance, companies must fundamentally change the ways in which their members interact and operate. If they cannot change enough to eliminate this resistance, it can eventually lead to the organization's decline.
One of the most powerful ways to eliminate internal resistance is to transform the ways in which employees are Recognized, Rewarded and Remunerated.
Often it is the individual, Personal Recognition that management offers to individual employees - that goes the farthest toward instilling people with the drive to make a vision come alive. A personal thank-you, or a personal gift or even some personal time-off - can all last much longer in the memory, than either Rewards or Raises can (since the monetary nature of them both, tends to bleed-into established pay). Personal items in particular, can serve as a constant reminder to the employee, that he or she is valued by management. However, much as recognition is important, it is not enough.
Rewards are the second critical component. They should derive from Extra-Performance, or in other words, Exceptionally Valuable Performance, (i.e. performance that is the exception; that is more valuable than "normal"). Rewards are also appropriate to mark a performance that achieved a specific result or accomplishment, that is not a regular result of expected performance. When we use this entirely reasonable reward calculus, and direct the bulk of rewards at the project and process teams that perform exceptionally well, we can capitalize on an opportunity to firmly entrench teamwork in our Organizational Culture. This is a critical opportunity to put some money behind teamwork, and you can be sure everyone in the organization will be watching.
Accordingly, promotions should not be handled like rewards. Promotions should be granted to the most qualified or the most capable - but the added responsibilities and expectations are what warrant the increased pay, not something as transitory as performance. It is therefore best to keep base wages relatively flat, (with allowance for cost of living increases and an additional wage factor that will allow an organization to recruit and retain better employees). Rewards then, are best delivered in the form of an official bonus - not a pay raise. Organizations will still need to reward the extra efforts of individual employees, but they would do well to focus on the individual's accomplishments in support of team objectives. This further ingrains the importance of organizational objectives, into the individual's personal goals. This can effectively equip an organization with a "self-aligning" structure. Moreover, this kind of reward regime will nurture a natural tendency in the organization and all of its members, to evolve and develop improved systems and new opportunities. Lastly, be sure to maximize bonus bang-for-buck by;
awarding a bonus immediately after the exceptional performance as is possible,
being very clear to recipients, why the bonus is being granted,
communicating (tactfully) to the other employees that the company rewarded the exceptional performance of "so-and-so" for "such-and-such", and
explaining or training or otherwise communicating to everyone how this was accomplished, so that they too may emulate success (in their own way)
Raises, by contrast, are best used when new skills (that are necessary for the continued success of the organization), are established and proven. Performance rewards such as gain sharing and profit sharing arrangements should accordingly take the form of bonuses, not pay raises. This is because performance is transitory, and raises should be considered permanent (as much as possible). Employers should grant raises for (necessary or beneficial) new skills, responsibilities and capabilities, and for added flexibility (such as being "on-call" during off-hours). These things add to an employee's value quotient. By ensuring that every employee develops the right skills and capabilities along the way, a company can ensure that the value of their workforce increases at pace with or faster than, the rising costs of employment. Employees must understand that the basic expectations of them are; that they constantly learn valuable new skills, take on important new responsibilities, and contribute as much as they can, every day. Employers must understand that the continuous development of employees is perhaps the most important responsibility that they must execute. This is required to ensure the long-term survival and success of the enterprise, and for employees to concretely reinforce and strengthen their personal "value-added", which relates directly to employability and yes, job security as well.
Consider for a moment, the following pair of Graphs which describe the 20 Year performance of four different employees.
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