So what happens if your managers don’t want to follow the staff engagement system?

Jason had decided that it was  his managers that were accountable for lifting the level of staff engagement, not David his HR guy.  He had also decided that if his managers didn’t want to take David’s advice (David being an expert in this area), then that was fine with him.  David was still accountable for offering his advice, or giving it if asked, just not for whether his advice was followed.

Sounded nice.  But I had a couple more questions.

“When we were talking about what leads to staff engagement last week” I began, “we agreed it wasn’t just individual actions of managers, it was also related to the systems and processes your managers work in”.

“Mmm hmmm” Jason offered, a smile starting.

“And you said it was David who put together these systems and processes”.

“Mmm hmmm”.  The smile continued.

“And you just said that if your managers don’t listen to David’s advice on staff engagement, then that’s fine with you because it’s not him that’s ultimately accountable, it’s the managers”.

“Mmm Hmmm”.  The smile dropped a little.

“So what happens if your managers don’t follow David’s system?”

The smile disappeared.

What happens if they ask for help and then don’t do what HR suggests?

“So where are we at?” I asked Jason.

“Well, first, I’m going to make my line managers accountable for lifting the level of staff engagement rather than David my HR guy”.

“Makes sense” I replied.  “So what’s David going to be accountable for?”

Jason smiled.  “I think I’ve figured this one out.  David’s accountable for helping them lift their staff engagement.  I want him to be their expert, their consultant, their coach.”

“That makes sense too” I nodded.  “Now let me ask you this…what happens if they ask for help and then don’t do what David suggests?”

Jason frowned.  “Well, they have to.  David’s an expert”.

“But he’s not an expert in what they’re trying to produce.  He can’t be expected to be aware of all the issues in the area that are being dealt with.  There might be a perfectly good reason why they might not listen to him.  What do you do then?”

Jason rubbed his forehead.  “Give me a minute”.  I waited patiently.  Twenty seconds passed, then he suddenly  looked up with a smile.  “Nothing!”, he exclaimed.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing!” repeated Jason.  “If the managers don’t want or aren’t able to take David’s advice on staff engagement, then that’s their issue.  They know it’s their job to get the level up. I’ve given them the resource in David, but in the end, if they don’t need him, then there’s other things David can do that will be valuable.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a clear idea of how you want this cross-functional relationship to work.  Who’s accountable for what, and who can ask who for help”.

“Yep” said Jason.  “And I know what you’re going to say next.  I need to get them together and explain how I see it, get any input, then unless I hear something that changes my mind….implement it”.

“Nearly.  Just a couple more questions”

So if David my HR guy isn’t accountable for the engagement of my people….

“OK….”  Jason was thinking this through.  “So if David my HR guy isn’t accountable for the engagement of my people because their managers are…..”

I raised my eyebrows and nodded to keep the thoughts coming.

“….then what do I need David for?”.

“Good question” I replied.  “Not as in ‘good rhetorical question’, but genuinely….good question.  So what’s the answer…why do you need David?”.

“Well like I said, I want David to create an environment where staff are engaged.  But we’ve just said he can’t do that because he’s not accountable for the people he needs to get engaged.”

I nodded.  “True.  So answer this for me….are your managers in their jobs because they are specialists in staff engagement?”

“Well maybe Max”  Jason responded.  “He’s always been able to get a group of people switched on.  But as for Jenny and Kristy, Jenny’s there because she knows exactly how to set up a sales team and drive performance, and Kristy has always been great at the technical knowledge which works because her team is about quality and resolution”.

“So tell me this….if you inform Jenny and Kristy that you’re expecting a 15% bump in engagement next time the staff survey is run….how are they going to react”.

“I’ve chatted to them before about this.  They both feel that they’ve maxed out given the nature of their teams and their other goals.”

“So if you’re serious about raising staff engagement, and if they’re the ones accountable for it…..they’re going to need some help?”  I nodded along with Jason…”Would you happen to know anyone?”

Jason smiled.  “I think it’s about time I reintroduced them to their new best friend….David”.

So if a given person isn’t engaged…..who’s problem is it really?

“I’m getting concerned about my HR guy, he’s just not getting any movement on our staff engagement no matter how hard he’s trying”.  Jason was worried.

“What are you not seeing?” I asked.

“Engagement!”  He replied.  “Interested people.   People actually wanting to work here.  Work harder.  You know, just be into it”.

“And who do you hold accountable for that?”

Jason didn’t appreciate the circle.  “David” he said.  Slowly.  “My. H. R. guy.  Because the ‘H’ stands for ‘human'”.

“Got it.” I replied.  “So these people who are not engaged the way you want them to be…who are their managers”?

Jason didn’t hesitate: “There’s three managers.  Jenny, Max and Kristy”.

“And what were we saying is the accountability of each manager?”

I could see a change starting.  “We said managers are accountable for the results of their people and how well they work together”.

“So if a given person isn’t engaged…..who’s problem is it really?”

Next instalment…Cross-functional relationships: Start with one!

Ethan was focussing on the cross-functional relationships of his Quality Engineer. We’d established the role was accountable for engineering standards being met such that all work passes inspection from government regulators and any other external audit functions we may choose to bring in.

“Each role relationship attaches to an accountability” I explained. By setting up a clear role relationship for each accountability, we can give your Quality Engineer the authority they need to get their work done.”

“Wish I’d had that years ago” Ethan smiled. “Let’s do it then. What’s the role relationship?”.

“A couple more questions for you and we’ll be there”. Read more…

Continued…Cross-functional relationships: Start with one!

Ethan was ready to start making life better for his people by sorting out how their roles fit together across the organisation. I suggested he start with the role of Quality Engineer. He reached for the phone.

“Don’t do that” I jumped in. Ethan looked surprised. I continued; “it’s not up to your Quality Engineer to decide the work system, it’s up to you. We’re going to get her input for sure, but first, tell me what you are ultimately holding her accountable for”.

Ethan didn’t answer.

“We’ve found our starting point.”

“OK….” Ethan said. I needed to explain;

“Work occurs because someone gets someone else to start doing something, wait before doing something, or stop doing something.”

“Sounds reasonable”.

“And why do they do this…why does it happen?” I asked.

“Because…it’s their job?” Ethan ventured

“Yep. Or to get right to the bottom of it, they feel they are accountable for a particular thing happening or not happening, so to make sure they can do what they believe they are accountable for, they go and talk to someone else”. Read more…

Improve your life – sort the work system

If you’re a manager, you’re in charge of a work system.  I’m not talking about technology systems, I mean a system as in there’s an external world that puts things in, your area does things with them, and then something comes out to the external world.

A system.

You might even have done that thing where you draw the boxes and arrows, some ‘swimming lanes’ if you’re fancy and so can now declare “there’s my work system.”

Nice one.  So how come you still don’t have enough hours in the day?  Why is there still a line of people outside of your office?  And why does that diagram just fester on your G: drive and you didn’t know that your Visio licence expired two years ago?

The reason is because your work system isn’t so great.  You haven’t yet put in focussed effort to see your area as a work system, and then, every time something requires your intervention, see this as a work system failure.

That’s right – every time one of your people needs to come to you to ask a question that is not of the nature of ‘why do we do this?’, it is actually a failure of your work system. Read more…

The simple way to good service area relationships

“I can’t win” sighed John.

“Tough day?” I asked.  John was the Senior Manager of Work Health & Safety in a large organisation.

“It’s my senior colleagues from other areas” he began.  “We need a better approach to work health and safety around here, but that’s not going to happen if they don’t listen.”

“Why don’t they?”

“Because if I was them, I’d be doing exactly the same!  They’ve got serious businesses to run, they’re all on the hook for more profit next year and delivering services better.  Then along comes one of my team and somehow they’re supposed to prioritise my stuff’?” Read more…

The real job of middle management

Matt Darling invented a system called Smart Ward in the most tragic of circumstances.  It puts touchscreens into hospitals which look like the ones in hospitality where staff use wristbands to identify themselves then can enter and access data.  The result is less duplication and more reliable information, allowing nurses to do what they’re good at – nursing, and reducing mistakes due to admin overload.

ABC ran this article the day before Christmas, and a warning that the photo of Matt’s little girl may bring a tear to your eye.

Here’s the point:  the decision to implement a system such as this is why middle management exists. Read more…

Baby and bathwater

There’s a trend going on to reject managers and management, the latest being Zappos, a subsidiary of Amazon.  And fair enough when we get definitions of ‘manage’ that read like this:

“To direct or control the use of”
“To have control of…” 

I’m pretty sure you’re like me in that you don’t like being controlled.  Or used.  Or commanded for that matter.   So if we get too much of this, we leave, or even worse, just show up with a blank stare and look forward to lunch.

No wonder management has a bad name, and it’s enabler – hierarchy. Read more…