A challenge?

OK, so this is a bit of a personal issue with me lately. For those who don't know me very well, I have spent the last year looking for employment. I was one of the many whose last company decided to cut their losses and lay-off a large number of employees. This particular company went from 27 individuals across the country in my position, to a total of around 9. I don't know what the overall expense savings were, but I do know that in no way was it going to offset the lack of revenue and overspending that had put them in the hole in the first place. What were they thinking? It's not necessarily a personal matter with me, I understand that the easiest way to see an immediate reduction in expenses is to cut head count. I just happened to be one of the ones who had been there the least amount of time. What I'd like to know is where are those companies who actually see their employees as assets instead of liabilities. I've been there and seen the way many companies decide to advertise themselves as being "employee friendly" or a "great place to work". What it really comes down to is dollars and cents, or in many cases, dollars and lack of sense. I have to admit, I've had the proverbial wool pulled over my eyes on more than one occasion. What I would love to do is really challenge those American companies who advertise a great place to work and an employee friendly environment. I would love to see a CEO or HR VP illustrate to me what exactly that means. More than that, I'd like to see what any company did prior to cutting headcount to try and avoid having to do just that.

I'm really not a cynical person and am waiting (rather impatiently) for someone to practice what they preach. Businesses don't usually grow themselves and are often limited to the ability, drive and intelligence of their management staff. Nothing would please me more than to find a company who actually takes to heart the promises they make, and the words they write down on a job description. I understand that business today is limited by a repressed economy. They have to do the same amount of work in many cases with less people. This in turn puts a huge burden on those that were fortunate enough to remain behind, especially the mid to upper level management. Regional and director level managers have had to make some unfortunately hard decisions with their own direct reports. With the overabundance of work trying to dig out of the financial hole most of them find themselves in, they have to rely on their direct reports for more support and for less time requirements. The problem this creates is a void based on the type of managers they are and have below them. The void I'm speaking of is the managers who want to make a difference.

It's corporate nature in this type of economy to look for the path of least resistance. When you're putting in 70 hours a week just trying to get through all of the emails and projects the normal business puts on your plate, how are you going to feel when one of your direct reports wants your time and input on a proactive marketing plan or process efficiency improvement that will require you to actually spend time listening and understanding it's basics? It's a lot easier to just say no isn't it? Heaven forbid that manager actually takes some pride in what they do and push the issue a little more. What are you going to do then? If you are like most managers, you will start with the PC "We don't have the budget for that type of project" or "You really need to focus on growing the business with what you already have" speech. I can tell you from many years of experience that both of these speeches are what got you to where you are in the first place. Maybe if you had surrounded yourself with direct reports who had a brain of their own and you allowed and encouraged its use, maybe you would have some time to spend looking at their new ideas because you wouldn't have had to lay off so many people.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the direct report's fault they have been trained by their manager to be a toady. It's not their fault the only training they have received in their job is where and how often to sign their names on the numerous redundant reports they are required to review for "compliance" purposes. (Note to self: Maybe you should do a blog on the cause and effect of Sarbanes Oxley reporting and how it has led to the demise of many corporate cultures.) It's not their fault that your conference calls and meetings with them focus mainly on the employee issues that are running rampant instead of why your customers are leaving in droves. I can't even blame them for not wanting to take the initiative to grow their own employees. After all, what kind of manager would want their direct reports knowing too much about their job? That could make them less important, and we all know that the main objective for a manager these days is to stay employed.

My challenge to employers out there is simply this:

• Hire managers who have a solid business acumen and know their way around both the balance sheet and the customer's office. Don't just put someone in the position because they understand your business based on the time they have been with you. Business is business, sales is sales. Don't think just because your product may be specialized, your way of selling it, managing it and accounting for it is much different than anyone else's.
  
• Mean what you say. If you are offering a "great place to work" make it that. Don't let your employees continue that sense of entitlement that kills the morale and handcuffs the management. An employee should enjoy their workplace because they enjoy their work, not because they're afraid of not enjoying it because they can't afford to find another job.
  
• Hold your people accountable for their actions and push them to succeed. Start with the top and go down. Not everyone in your company is doing the job that best suits their abilities. The jobs should stay consistent, and your assets should be utilized accordingly.
  
• Reward the ones who actually deserve it. Accolades should not be showered on someone based solely on the number of opportunities they took to agree with and say yes to their boss. Instead, look at rewarding those who took the time and energy to come up with an alternative. A new idea, good or bad, is worth ten times that of the status quo.
  
• Put your assets in the correct column. Not all of your employees are an expense. In most companies, there are two types of employees, those who earn revenue and those who don't. Look hard at your ratio of one to the other and next time you are bound and determined to make head count changes, use that opportunity to improve your ratio. If you look at headcount as a controllable expense the same way you look at toilet paper, that should say something to you.