A Culture of Respect

Welcome to part four of our three-part series on culture. As I examined the topic, I uncovered more and more questions that kept me digging. I knew we were in trouble as soon as I began researching, immediately fell down a chocolate rabbit hole, and excitedly read about the entire 200-year history of the Cadbury company. And that was only part 1 of the series.

There is a lot of information out there about company culture and why it’s important, but much of it just skims the surface. What is it? Is it really so important? What happens if it’s good, and what happens if it’s bad? And how would you even measure good vs. bad? Those are some of the questions we have tried to answer in this series.

This week, we’ll explore how one can improve company culture. You’ll find plenty of content out there telling you to communicate better with your employees, respect everyone, and work together. Okay, and what? Tada! Now you have great company culture? How do you show respect? Is there a right way and a wrong way? What are you supposed to DO? When all else fails, just remember that everyone wants a little…

R-E-S-P-E-C-T (THERE’S TYPE A AND THERE’S TYPE B)

By far the most important feature of company culture is respect. It’s twice as important as the second most important feature (supportive leaders). Chances are high you do respect the people who work with you and for you, so then the question is whether you are showing them that respect through your actions. And which kind of respect are you showing them? There are two distinct kinds, and both are important to employees.

The first type of respect is known as “owed respect.” Owed respect is afforded equally to everyone. Regardless of tenure, title, or even performance, everyone on the team is owed your respect. Everyone? Everyone. From the C-suite to the janitorial crew. This is really basic “be nice to everyone” stuff that you should have learned in kindergarten. If you disagree that everyone deserves a modicum of respect, that is your prerogative, but don’t be surprised if your employees think you’re an ass and your score on Glassdoor is abysmal.

The second type of respect is “earned respect.” This is the respect that employees get because of something they have done or a behavior they have exhibited. These two kinds of respect do need to be balanced. Too much owed respect and not enough earned can result in apathy toward individual achievement. Too much earned and not enough owed respect can lead to excessive competition.

So, how can you communicate respect to employees? It will vary from workplace to workplace, but start with the basics: active listening, asking for input and using it, giving people freedom in coming up with and pursuing creative ideas, delegating tasks, and publicly backing your employees in critical situations.

We’ve learned in this series that a positive culture has measurable results, including the company’s bottom line. What about respect, specifically? Employees who say they feel respected in the workplace have been shown to be more resilient, more cooperative, higher performing, more creative, and are more likely to take direction from leaders. And what should you do when you see an employee exhibiting the kind of creativity and behavior your organization values? Show them some recognition!

I SEE WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND I LIKE IT

Research by Gallup and Workhuman found that employees who receive high-quality recognition were 45% less likely to have turned over two years later. Maybe you’re looking for proof that recognition matters in the form of dollar signs. How’s this? If the average organization in Gallup’s database doubled the number of workers who strongly agreed that they had been recognized or praised for doing good work in the last seven days, they would see a nine percent increase in productivity. For the average company with 10,000 employees, that would amount to nearly $92M.

You may have noticed the caveat in the previous paragraph. The recognition has to be of “high quality.” What does that mean? Gallup defines high-quality recognition programs as fulfilling, authentic, personalized, equitable, and embedded. In other words, you can’t just order some pizzas or hold recognition ceremonies a few times a year when your employees need a boost and expect it to work. The recognition needs to be proportionate to their work and not simply handed out to everyone. At the same time, you can’t play favorites.

At the core of any recognition system (or really, company culture overall) are your company’s goals and values. Employees should be recognized for furthering those goals and exhibiting those values. The goals and values that form the core of your company culture, along with a strong recognition program, turn into a virtuous cycle. Companies with strong recognition programs have employees who are five times as likely to feel connected to company culture, four times as likely to be engaged, 73% less likely to experience burnout, and 56% less likely to be looking for a new job. Another way to communicate to your employees that you respect them is to give them some authority in decision-making.

MAKE MORE DECISION-MAKERS

Research from MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research found that organizations that decentralize their decision-making gain a competitive edge. Like the recognition systems we covered in the previous paragraph, there is an important caveat. Decentralized decision-making only gives companies a competitive edge when the company has a clearly defined purpose. More specifically, they must have clear aspirations (what do they aim to achieve?), propositions (what sets them apart?), and values (how will they conduct themselves?).

This makes complete sense. Decentralized decision-making only works when everyone in the organization is dedicated to moving in the same direction. Senior leaders should still set strategic objectives for the organization, but they can then empower most teams with the authority and accountability to decide how to achieve them.

When leaders share the authority and accountability in making decisions, both their employees and the organization overall reap the benefits. Employees report higher job satisfaction as well as enhanced creativity and innovation. The organization increases agility, net profit margins, and revenue growth rates.

Joshua Pearson, the culture consultant we spoke to in our last post, spoke to me in depth about the importance of decentralized decision-making. He gave the example of someone who used to work on the factory floor but was promoted ten years ago to a VP position. If they’ve spent the past 10 years managing spreadsheets in their current role, they haven’t spent those years on the factory floor. They are no longer an expert at working on the factory floor. Directors and VPs need to let the people who are the experts make the decisions within their area of expertise.

Do you want to do something right now to improve workplace culture? It can’t happen overnight, but it does start with respect and what you do to communicate that respect. Your shared goals and values are the core of your company culture. Recognize those in your organization who are furthering those goals and values. Trust them in making decisions that will advance those goals and values. Tada! Now you’re truly on your way.

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