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 In
most workplaces, the pressure is on: faster, harder, more. In the
process, employees are too often treated like candles: ignored until
burned out.
But employees aren't work modules; they're human beings.
Each person, deep down, wants to do a good job and be praised for
it. Each person has hopes and dreams: One wants to get promoted,
another to have a baby, another to live by the ocean. But none are
work modules.
Whether you're a clerk or a CEO,
you can do a lot to humanize your workplace without it costing a
dime. And not only will that increase employee satisfaction, it
will likely improve the bottom line because employee turnover will
decline and employees will be more motivated to fully give.
Here are my favorite ways to humanize a workplace:
Look for opportunities to
give earned praise. It needn't be for huge things: "Bill,
good question at the meeting!" "Mary, clear memo."
Or, "Pat, great shoes!" Even better, put your praise in
writing. My wife, Barbara Nemko, the Napa County Superintendent
of Schools, makes a point of writing lots of handwritten "atta
boys/girls." You don't think the recipients are glad to get
those? You don't think they get passed around the dinner table?
Many bosses are deliberately stingy with praise because they fear
it will make employees more likely to ask for a raise. Probably
so, and if you are a boss who can afford it and an employee deserves
a raise, you should grant it. But if you can't, employees are more
likely to accept your denial without disgruntlement if you've previously
treated them like human beings.
Evaluate by walking around.
Visit your supervisees at their work stations and ask, "How
are you?" After the usual, "Fine," follow up with,
"Really?" You'll be surprised at how often that results
in the employee revealing a problem. If so, then ask, "How
can I help?" That simple approach, used regularly, will probably
be more effective than formal evaluations in improving work -- and
it will certainly make your employees feel better about you.
Ask, "What do you think?"
When you're not sure what to do or could use feedback on a draft,
ask a co-worker, "What do you think?" Most people will
be flattered that you've asked and find it fun to give an opinion.
It makes them feel like a valued human being.
Treat even your rejects kindly.
When you must terminate someone, write them a thank-you letter recounting
the things you appreciated about them. Also send a kind rejection
letter -- personal if possible -- to everyone who applies for a
job working for you. Candidates would much prefer a rejection to
being ignored and remaining in doubt.
Set high standards. That
may not sound like a humanizing principle, but I believe it is.
When Jack Welch was still CEO of GE, I asked him how he felt about
being called "Neutron Jack" for firing more employees
than his peer companies did. He said something like, "Replacing
the weakest 10 percent is a kindness to the 90 percent who are good
enough to be GE. It helps that 90 percent do a better job, make
better, more cost-effective products, which keeps us in business
and our jobs secure, and allows us to pay our people better. That
policy also makes every GE employee proud to know he or she really
deserves to work for a world-class company. It even helps the 10
percent we let go. They probably will be more successful in a less-demanding
environment." When I spoke with cadets at the Air Force Academy,
a number of them made the same point. They said that part of what
makes them so proud to be in the academy is that it was hard to
get in, and after getting in, only 70 percent will make it to graduation.
Setting high standards ultimately is humanizing.
Employees should be viewed not as candles to be burned
out, but as seeds: After having been carefully selected as the best
cultivar available, they need to be nurtured so they can grow, come
into bloom and bear fruit. They'll benefit, and so will you.
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