ENABLING STAFF IN CHALLENGING
TIMES …
‘Yes, this is my kind of organisation.’
Dr. Michael J.R. Butler ([email protected])
Professor Mike Sweeney
David Crundwell
Key Messages
1. Staff are capable of extraordinary actions even
in challenging times
2. HRM mechanisms deliver commitment, trust
and high performance
3. HRM should be strategically inter-related with
other business activities
Aims
To briefly review our challenging times – current situation
To summarise key learning about enabling staff from the World
Economic Forum, CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development) & research on commitment
To discuss new research from facility closure management – the
case of Vauxhall Motors and its wider application for enabling
staff
To learn good practice from each other
To highlight ongoing work
Learning from each other
Activity
During the session, on a piece of paper, record
1 example of your good practice about how
you motivated:
A colleague
Your team
Your organisation
CHALLENGING TIMES
CURRENT SITUATION
Source: ONS, May 2009, West Midlands
Claimant Counts % Working Age Popn
Source: ONS, May 2009, West Midlands
Employment by Industry
Women
Men
Largest
Yr. Change
-15.8%
Largest
Yr. Change
-7.3%
Green shoots?
(BBC News, 7 July 2009)
British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)
Survey of 5,600 companies, found "welcome progress"
in confidence levels between April and June
Expects unemployment to reach 3.2 million by 2010
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Manufacturing output fell 0.5% in May – analysts had
forecast a rise of 0.2%
Monthly fall driven by a 2% decline in the paper,
printing and publishing industries
ENABLING STAFF
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
CIPD
RESEARCH ON COMMITMENT
World Economic Forum: "Summer Davos“, Relaunching Growth,
Dalian, China, 10-12 September 2009
New wave of economic growth that is “transformational”
1. Massive government efforts to stimulate demand through fiscal
policy have rekindled interest worldwide in John Maynard Keynes
2. However, the ideas of his contemporary Joseph Schumpeter
are also equally relevant today. Schumpeter introduced the
concept of “creative destruction” whereby companies, industries
and economies are rapidly transformed by innovation
Robert Lawrence, Harvard University; Sean Doherty, Margareta
Drzeniek Hanouz & Qin He, World Economic Forum
UK
20 (out of 121)
Market access
79 (danger of
protectionism?)
Border
administration
14 (doing well)
Transport &
communications
infrastructure
11 (doing well)
Business
environment
39
(governance,
regulation &
security – could
do better?)
CIPD
CIPD (HRM in an economic downturn, 10 July 2009)
Companies which do not train are 2.5 times more likely to go
bankrupt, and they are less likely to retain vital talent
£38.5 billion pa on training
Problem of restricted member access?
People Management (2 April 2009)
Training budgets have been cut by one-third of 900 organisations
surveyed by the CIPD, and just over a third expect budgets to be
reduced next year
Yet 70 % said learning and development remained a high priority,
regardless of their financial situation
Research on commitment
Affective: staff want to remain eg identification with,
involvement in and emotional attachment to the
organisation:
Organisation: > attendance, performance &
citizenship behaviour
Employee: > job satisfaction, < stress & < workfamily conflict
Normative: staff feel they ought to remain eg training
given
Continuance: staff feel they need to remain eg lack of
alternative job opportunities
Building commitment and Leadership
Individual level
Monitor age profile of your staff
Age: older staff more committed  stay with the organisation
Older: pride in craftsmanship, loyalty, financial commitments
& benefits eg status
Younger: career progression, job hunting, gaining experience
& looking for more money
Monitor staff incentives (US office supply organisations)
Women – personal relationships important i.e. increase
recognition  do you give constructive feedback/offer
rewards?
Men – support important i.e. avoid management &
organizational barriers to task completion  have you a ‘yes’
culture?
Building commitment
Group level
Monitor team-building
Similarity-attraction paradigm: staff prefer working
with similar demographic backgrounds  trust, receive
favourable treatment & communicate more easily …
but can lead to groupthink
Where have you put
the balance?
Diversity can lead to creativity & innovation (UK
manufacturing)
Building commitment
Organisation level
Monitor work systems
Culture of continuous improvement:
Do you have an experimental, no blame
culture? (Honda – Tesco are following this
lead)
Do you have an employee champion?
High performing organisations
Learning from Facility Closure
Management
The Case of Vauxhall Motors
Zafira & Vectra models
Zafira
£14608-£20658
Vectra
£14008-£23108
Model of Facility Closure Management
Stage 1
Managing Corporate
& Social
Responsibility/Legacy
Stage 5
Managing Continuity
Of Operations
• Cross-functional Management
Team
•Flexible working practices
•Involvement of Trade
Union/employees in closure
management
•Performance measurement
(productivity/quality)
• Determine the strategic reason
for downsizing
•Determine policy for ‘Protecting
the Corporate Reputation & Brand’
Stage 2
Managing Communications
Behaviour Change
‘Emotions’
All Mgmt & Staff
• Closure announcement planning
•Corporate aim or vision for closure,
e.g. ‘Closure with Pride’
•Ongoing progress reports Q&A
briefs etc.
Stage 4
Managing Investment
in Employees
• Counselling of all employees
•Training of manager for new
responsibilities
•Training of survivors
•Employment search service
Stage 3
Managing Closure
• Closure plan (manning levels)
•Separational policies (voluntary or
compulsory)
•Recruitment of experts
•Production plan
•Simplification of build options
Stage 1
Stage 1 – Managing corporate brand
name/legacy:
Determine the strategic reason for downsizing
Determine policy for ‘protecting the corporate
reputation & brand’
Management of corporate and social
responsibility legacy by public
pronouncements only (by Chairman of GM
UK)
Stage 2
Stage 2 – Managing communications:
Closure announcement planning
Corporate aim or vision for closure eg ‘closure with
pride’
Ongoing progress reports Q&A briefs etc
Closure announcement leaked creating
spontaneous protests
Corporate aim ‘closure with pride’ achieved
Stage 3
Stage 3 – Managing closure:
Closure plan (staffing levels)
Separation policies (voluntary or compulsory)
Recruitment of experts
Production plan
Simplification of build operations
Managing closure well executed:
Closure plan achieved
Separation policies voluntary and generous
Financial incentives used to achieve production targets
Reduced manufacturing complexity
Stage 4
Stage 4 - Managing investment in employees:
Counselling of all employees
Training of manager for new responsibilities
Training of survivors
Employment search service
Leavers provided with counselling and support to find
alternative employment
Less investment in counselling provided for survivors
Stage 5
Stage 5 – Managing continuity of operations:
Cross-functional management team
Flexible working practices
Involvement of trade union/employees in closure management
Performance measurement (productivity/quality)
Productivity and quality improvement through product
rationalisation
The power of corporate culture upon individuals
carrying out mundane tasks
Linking the Model to the
Transition Curve
Stage 1
Managing
C&SR/Legacy
Stage 2
Managing
Comms
Stage 3
Managing
Closure
Stage 4
Managing Investment
in Employees
Managing Change
‘Emotions’
Employee
Effectiveness
Shock &
Denial
Pre Closure
Announcement
Stage 5
Managing
Continuity of
Operations
Inform
Reasons
& Coping
Pathways
Q&A
Sessions
Both
Internal &
External
Internal First
Defence
Frustration
&
Anger
Adapt
Internalize
Time
Provision
Counselling
Inform
of
Personal
Change
Communication
Information
Support
Management
of
Structures to about career
Plan
progress
towards
choice options
be
Actions Needed
closure and
made
Proactive
e.g.
reporting
regularly
in
Employee
of performance.
inform
Personal
Support
Recognition of
about
Advice
Structure
outstanding
others
Career
achievements.
selection
Choice
Options
Communicated
Key learning
1. Staff are capable of extraordinary actions even in
challenging times
2. HRM mechanisms deliver commitment, trust and high
performance:
- Open and regular communication  involvement
- Counselling/employment search
- Training
- Cross-functional teams
- Flexible working
3. HRM should be strategically inter-related with:
- Managing corporate brand name/legacy
- Managing continuity of operations
Production Manager
‘I mean the atmosphere in the place in the run-down was
just unbelievable. We built our schedule right the way
through. In fact we raised the line speed … so we built
more cars, we ran out early. As I said we had the
performance audit; we had the best result ever on a J
car on the performance audit.’
LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER
AUDIENCE RESULTS
Learning from each other
Activity reminder
During the session, on a piece of paper, record
1 example of your good practice about how
you motivated:
A colleague
Your team
Your organisation
Professor Michael Sandel, Harvard, Reith Lectures 2009: A New
Politics of the Common Good – Enabling Staff
We are in challenging times, though some optimism is appearing
Lessons can be learnt by surveying the wider operating
environment e.g. WEF, CIPD & research on commitment – avoid
temptation to only focus on the here & now
Lessons can be learnt by reflecting on experience – the case of
Vauxhall Motors, ‘the atmosphere in the place in the run-down
was just unbelievable’
We can continuously learn from our peers – professional social
networks vital inc knowledge exchange facilitated by universities
Process carries on eg ESRC ‘Transformation’ project – want to
participate (see Zeenat at CPMP stand)
Thank You
Any Questions?