As an employee retention speaker and employee retention author, rules drive me crazy. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in rules because they promote an environment where people don’t abuse each other and add a semblance of order. But rules are not the best way to Create a Culture C.R.A.P. (Caring, Respect, Appreciation, and Praise). The best way to Create a Culture of C.R.A.P. is to articulate the positive behaviors you expect. It’s far better to tell people the behaviors you want than to tell people what behaviors you don’t want from them. Rules treat people like children. Encouraging positive behaviors promotes people taking responsibility and acting like adults. Besides, when you tell people not to do something you usually get push back. By articulating positive behaviors statements, you also start to build a positive culture.
Many organizations use values to attempt to promote positive behaviors. The problem is most value systems are written by corporate leaders who have an MBA or a doctorate, so they read like a thesis. Hence, most people (including me) can’t understand what behavior it is the writer is looking to promote. For that reason, I like positive behaviors much more that values statements. Positive behaviors are straight forward, simple and easy to understand. An example of a positive behavior statement is:
“Treat people with respect by listening to others and keeping an open mind.”
Instead of just telling people to treat someone with respect, tell them how to do it because everyone has a different idea of what might be respectful behavior. The example above is a quick one that I thought of off the top of my head.
This employee retention speaker and employee retention author believes your organization’s positive behaviors need to be written by a cross-section of employees from all levels of the organization. This gives a perspective that is often lost on senior-level leaders. In fact, one of my clients went to the extent that they wrote the positive behaviors and then reviewed them in department meetings with ALL employees and asked for input to see what employees thought. Then, they incorporated changes into the behaviors they were looking to promote. Not only did they get some great ideas, but they got buy in from their people. The behaviors were not jammed down the employee’s throats like many corporate policies or rules are. As a result, this employee retention author saw the workforce embrace the behaviors and put them into practice and this created a more positive environment. This had the impact of driving employee retention and employee engagement as well. People knew what they should do.
Positive behaviors, not rules are the answer. By articulating the behaviors, you want in a positive manner makes it is far more likely you will get people to do those things. Even children fight being told what NOT to do. Imagine how adults feel!
Are you concerned with the level of employee turnover in your organization? If so, call me at 414-421-9626 or email me at jeff@humanassetmgt.com to find out how my proprietary process can reduce employee turnover by 40-80%.
