Hi Olivia, that's an interesting and ambitious project. You have listed a set of questions that will certainly help to get a a perception of how staff see the wompany today and how they would like it to be in the future. Hvaing said that, I think that the people who will actually decide on any future ways of working (i.e. the management) need to be at the core of any work on this subject. Certainly, their reflections can be usefully fed by the perceptions and wishes of staff, but after having taken the temperature of the water I would focus on where management wants to go.... for that you will need support and buy-in of the very top management.

Hi Olivia,

It has been my experience that organisational vision and values have to come from the top.

I would start by speaking to your Board - ask them what their vision for the company is. What culture do they want to create? What values do they see as important?

Your questions could then focus on the gap between what the vision and values should be and where your organisation is today.

Armed with this you can consult with the workforce and begin to develop practices, policies and procedures that promote the vision and values identified.

It is an exciting project, good luck.

Debi

I have seen many indeed most vision/values efforts (much beloved of HR) falter and ultimately fail because they don't address the real issues people are facing. The questions you outline will mostly go to values and actually if you look at most organisations values they aren't that different - many spend months and months and end up with 5/6 words that are pretty interchangeable with other organisations.

I would definitely start with your Management team working with then to articulate a clear direction for the company. Personally I would ground this initially in 1-3 years rather than a more lofty vision statement. Something that's real, practical and will actually drive the short and medium term mind-sets of people.

Use that then to role out some sessions with how can we achieve these goals over the next 1-3 years. How can my team contribute etc etc.

In reply to Keith:

Thanks for you response. Great advice!

In reply to Deborah:

Thanks for your response - very helpful!

In reply to Ray:

Thanks for your advise - really helpful!

Hi Olivia Olivarius... 

Worth bearing in mind what CIPD CEO Peter Cheese says here...

"You can’t change behaviours by writing more rules."

I too have seen many such well-intentioned projects like this stumble and fall, very often because of two (un-)complimentary factors: lack of clarity, and lack of commitment.

The starting point has to be the first page of the "How to lead" handbook: The line that says: "Where are we? Where do we want to be? ...and: "How do we get there?"

Where are we can be anything from: "Wandering in the wilderness" to: "On the edge of a precipice wearing a blindfold", but all can be summed up as: "Where we don't want to be."

As has already been said; the starting point has to be to achieve Senior Management Clarity of what the business's strategic objectives are, and their commitment to those objectives..... and vague "Mission statements" that nobody really believes or relates to (at any level) are not the answers needed, which should instead review not just product and purpose, but the value the company really puts on its people and its objectives toward them also: Is it committed to their job-satisfaction and engagement? Sharing with them an interest in the company's well-being? Or is it committed to maximum ROI for shareholders and minimal "on-cost" of employment, even if the price is high staff turnover and fractious ER?

That gives you the where the company (thinks it) wants to be, and the SMT view of how it sees getting there. (although objectives can develop and change over time and with market changes, of course).

Those factors then give you a platform for meaningfully approaching your people for their opinions and ideas of where they see themselves in relation to the business and what are now its stated objectives, given also the "corridor" of SMT intentions on acceptable means of getting there: So you can now ask meaningful questions related to both their priorities and the company's and (where necessary) explain why greater flexibilities or benefits are not possible (or what beneficial advantages are!).

The objective of the exercise being to establish shared interests: People wanting the company to perform well because it serves their benefit also; not just in financial terms of wages and bonus but also through pleasure and pride in their work, their team, and being part of the corporate "image"; cared for and valued as people; not just functioning clock-numbers.

For example (and, with respect), if someone asks me to sum anything up in four words (or less) I switch off on principle!

If someone wants my opinion or advice I am happy to give it (as colleagues may have noticed on these pages), albeit possibly briefly (sometimes; honest), but if all they are giving in return is enough attention to read four words... for collation with everyone else's four words... then how much are they telling me they really value what I have to say?

You need to know what people really think; how they really feel about the company and their roles in it: Not just the collective mean of satisfaction/dissatisfaction (etc. etc. etc. from which four (uncensored) words are used most).

When you have what people think about the "where" and the potential "how", then you can put together the points that agree, start to resolve the areas of conflicting interest, and eventually arrive at a meaningful.... Shared.... set of objectives, priorities, and a path to achieving them.

Without that simple and progressive structure, all the questionnaires, high ideals and succinctly summarised mission statements in the world will fall flat on their faces, and worse, could do more harm than good by promising what there had been no underlying, honest, will (or ability) to deliver. (From one side or the other).

Each step is simple, but the variables complex. Tread carefully but positively and you will get there.

P

In reply to Olivia Olivarius:

I'm not sure it'll make a difference. "I can't stand that lot in accounts no matter how many questions you ask us to answer". ;-)

The questions don't really address the real problem.