The power of an 'equal terms' relationship

This one may well seem off on a tangent but bear with me.

I've been using eBay on and off now for several years both as a buyer and a seller. It's ultimately just a hugely accessible marketplace, one where, in the past buyers and sellers could meet together on equal terms to come to a transactional arrangement. This was largely reinforced by their rating system for both buyer and seller.  It was a win win situation.

A little while ago, eBay changed the rules so that the buyer was the only one who could leave feedback. Rightly or wrongly, it was no longer equal terms. The buyer has the power to 'punish' the buyer through negative feedback scores. In my capacity as a buyer I don't feel it benefits me much to have this potential 'hold' over the seller. As a seller however it brings constant frustration with less than genuine bidders who can hide behind these new rules without detriment. Now this certainly isn't every buyer, but more than expected.

eBay (the Company) is a business seeking shareholder wealth. It wants to protect the buyer to generate more individual sales and therefore revenue.  However it is no longer facilitating a marketplace but a transactional service which largely works one way, the buyer's way.

So does this generate cooperation and value created by two equals? Does it inspire any kind of (tenuous as it might be) teamwork?  Of course not. It breeds suspicion and worry. It promotes individual gain over others.

Equal standing and respect is essential for every healthy relationship (knowing even when a power balance is present, it will never be used). It is something that is fundamental to the way you can work with others.

As for me, I'm quitting eBay for a little while. I might give a few things away to charity, a win win for everyone.

The Purpose of an Employee Survey

The Employee Survey seems to be one of the greatest ways to create disharmony with your employees that I have seen.  This is especially the case in generically written corporate surveys where the aim is to gather contextual views and trends at a higher level.

So what is the output of an Employee Survey?
I propose that it delivers two things.
1. Measure a specific set of metrics (and potentially compare against benchmarks) - Point in Time
2. Demonstrate a trend of this data based on previous year's comparable data - Change throughout Time

Now this is all well and good and incredibly valuable but is only data.  It needs then to be turned into information.  This is where the leadership teams consider and possibly seeks feedback generically from the employees (focus groups etc.) in order to decide decide what to do about it.

However, this is where the failure point lies.  It can only ever deliver a gap between the individual employee's expectations and the leadership level initiatives based on the overview trends.  This is often simply due to the gap between the individual level and the hierarchy which builds up to the level at which the organisation operates the survey.

So what is the output of an Employee Survey for the Individual?
Lets go back to the question of what an Employee Survey delivers but this time from the viewpoint of the employee filling it in.  It delviers two things:
1. An opportunity to share their views (positively or negative)
2. Change, but only when the results (data) are interprested and are acted upon.

I beleive the downfall comes from the difference in approach between the top down and bottom up viewpoints.  Both are valid but neither particularly being met or supporting each other (when the data and trends are bad, the focus becomes to drive change broadly which dissapoints individuals.  When individuals are dissapointed, they perceive no change to them and effect the scores/data negativly).  A downward spiral or at best neutral despite everyone's best interests and hard work.

It seems that this top down approach of using the generic/organisation level data to drive the changes can unfortunately miss the mark.  One approach can instead be to look at the survey less as a driver for change but singularly as a measurement of it.  Looking at point 2 of the employee's view of the output, Change, or in the context of an annual cycle activity, Continuous Improvement.

What can I do as a manager?

Stop thinking of the survey as the driver for the change.  You and the team are the driver of the change on a continual basis, week after week, month after month.  How else do you think your team will believe that you take the idea of making improvements based on their feedback seriously.  Make it a part of your regular agenda, add a suggestions section it to your stand-up board, simply make it a routine topic to talk about continuous improvement.

The Employee Survey? It'll take care of itself if you do this right.  Its just the measurement piece.  It might even add some further ideas to bring into the cycle of improvement but is not the only source.

And because its continual improvement, you don't need to wait until after the next survey cycle to start.  Start today, ask the team what they would like to change or improve and ensure the process is there to follow up and make it a regular ongoing activity.

You want engaged employees?  Don't wait for surveys and someone else to tell you what to do.  Start today by making it your responsibility.

Please see my website at www.managingforthefirsttime.com for more techniques, tips and advice on this topic and others.

Greater than the sum of its parts

I recently posted on another blog, some thoughts about ‘Diversity and Inclusion’. I had also talked recently about embracing difference in your team to get the best from your team.

The pitfall from any initiative in regards to diversity and inclusion is that diversity is often the primary (or initial) focus rather than Inclusion.

These are not interchangeable words in the same way that thunder and lightning are related and linked but are different things.

If we start with the outcome in mind, we are seeking to generate and support a higher performing team at every level (based on a varied group that challenges and innovates; and most importantly, is truly engaged). Inclusion can be seen as a definition of what this team looks and acts like from a behaviour or action point of view.

Diversity therefore is an extension of the described differences, the constituent elements or labels to define the differing pieces of the team.

A greater focus on the Inclusion piece might provide some desire to sustain this change rather than simply focussing on the diverse elements within.

When you eat a great meal, the ingredients are important but you don’t focus only on them. When you enjoy a great meal, you focus on the experience of it and the way it worked in harmony together to be greater than the sum of its parts.

Always keep the outcome in mind.

Please see my website at www.managingforthefirsttime.com for more techniques, tips and advice on this topic and others.


(Photo by jlastras via flickr used under a creative Commons Licence)

Inheriting a Team

You'll always be told to recruit well; matching the skills of the person to the job.  But what about the real world where you 'inherit a team' and the people within it. 

Matching the required skills to the people might not cover all the bases required. The backgrounds of the team members might be varied and in some cases a little "out there". You need to embrace the fact that that diversity is in fact healthy rather than something to fix or change. Don't necessarily try and mould the team, why not try and mould the team's output (as much as possible) to match their skills.

Get to know your staff so that when you need to make that hard call to get them doing something they might find hard or uncomfortable, they trust that you have understood them and have taken that into account the best you can.

You've got to earn trust so you need to start now to build it for when you really need it.

What do you really know about your employees?  Why don't you try and find out something new about each one of them today.


Please see my website at www.managingforthefirsttime.com for more techniques, tips and advice on this topic and others.