As an Investors In People assessor, I frequently ask staff what would happen if they were abducted by aliens tomorrow.
Not because I’m interested in probes and things (although I’m sure that would be quite fascinating.)
What I’m interested in is whether staff would be conspicuous by their absence. Would critical work not get done? How would it impact on their team, their customers, or the organisation as a whole? Would someone cover for them? In short – do they think they would be missed?
The reason this is so important is that a key part of having an engaged, motivated and loyal workforce is making sure that people realise that their contribution makes a difference, and that they are a valued member of the team – even if that team is thousands strong.
If someone believes that no-one would notice if Scotty beamed them up, then they aren’t going to put much effort into what they do, or get much joy out of it. So at best, you’re basically paying them just to show up, and at worst they could even be a liability.
I also ask people what, if anything, makes them feel valued and appreciated at work, and the widely-varying answers can be very telling.
Few, if any, refer to their salary, pension scheme or company car, but plenty talk about seemingly minor things – company-supplied tea and biscuits, people saying thank you a lot, receiving praise for a job well done, staff discounts, being allowed to leave early for Parents Evening or come in late after a school assembly etc.
In other words, the little things that make their working life more pleasant.
Interestingly, one person’s reward can be another person’s punishment. While some cite things like training courses, extra responsibilities and being trusted to get on with their work unsupervised (or alternatively, receiving a lot of one-to-one attention from the boss) as ways in which the organisation demonstrates their worth, others see these things as undesirable and even as a sign that the boss isn’t happy with them!
These matters of perception can say a lot about the company culture, staff morale and the level of employee engagement.
So it’s a question worth asking, whether it’s at exit interviews, staff surveys or just over a cuppa. Alien abduction may be a bit more unlikely than being hit by a bus, but in either eventuality, what do people think would be the impact?
Do they feel like a valued, worthwhile employee who plays a significant part in the success of the organisation, or just a pointless paper-pusher? And more to the point – what can you do about it? More on that topic another time…
Tara Daynes is founder and director of consultancy, Tara Daynes HR.
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