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Culture Change Gone Bad

While a culture change is very hard to do well, it is very easy to do badly.

In this article from CNN, entitled “No storybook ending after tycoon dolls up vilage,” a millionaire adopted a US town, and attempted to give it a makeover.

As could be predicted, she ran into resistance, as the towns-people gradually developed a hostile resistance to her ideas and interventions.

I think she misunderstood her challenge — it was not to change the physical environment, but instead to cause a shift in the culture of the people in the town.

This is a mistake that CEOs often make – believing that money can buy just about anything.
Sometimes it can buy hearts and minds, but when it does the kind of people who end up being bought are usually not the strongest characters, and they are not likely to stay bought for long.

This approach just does not work, as this tale amply demonstrates.

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Heedless Self-Interest

In an article from the New York Times, I found the following quote:

“We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals,” said F.D.R. “We know now that it is bad economics.” These words apply perfectly to climate change. It’s in the interest of most people (and especially their descendants) that somebody do something to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, but each individual would like that somebody to be somebody else. Leave it up to the free market, and in a few generations Florida will be underwater.


In a prior post, I wrote about the importance of appealing to people’s self-interest as a way to change the culture of a company. With more information, I argued, people naturally do what’s best for them and others, once they can see the apparent interconnection of all that is.

The Course in Miracles says that the fact that we are all connected means that attack is impossible, as it rests on the idea that we are somehow separate.


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A TV Appearance

I had the privilege of appearing on Tuesday (Oct 9th) on a Trinidadian television programme as one of the speaker’s at the recently concluded HRMATT conference.

It was a lot of fun, and there was a lot of playful conversation between the two hosts, Jessie Ventour and Fazeer Muhammed.

I, like many West Indians, remember the voice of Fazeer Muhammed from region-wide cricket coverage. His voice is quite recognizable, and so very easy to listen to.

Jessie, for her part, is an ultra-capable radio/TV jockey who controls everything happening in the studio with what looks to me to be the latest equipment. She is the radio show host and the control room at the same time, which is something I was not prepared for — I was thinking of studios from the past (apparently the distant past.)

In a few days, I’ll be finished fixing up the sound on the recording and will load the entire interview up on my website.

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Updating The One Page Digest

The One Page Digest is almost a year old, in terms of issues.

It has been a useful addition to the Framework Info products, and a good way to share useful links quickly and efficiently with the over 288 subscribers it currently enjoys.

I am wondering whether or not it should be changed or upgraded in any way. If anyone has any useful ideas, please either share them here or send your feedback to me personally.

Most of the back issues can be viewed at http://urlcut.com/digesthome

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Cost of Problem Analysis, Solution Benefit and Solution Cost

I have recently learned a new approach to thinking about the cost of a client’s problem.

It’s called Cost of Problem Analysis (CoPA), and in this technique a salesperson guides a client through an honest assessment of the cost of not having the solution in place.

For example, a CoPA based on the installation of a new soda machine, might take into account such costs as:

  • the added maintenance of the old machine
  • the cost of having the janitor open the machine to retrieve lost change
  • the lost sales from not being able to sell crackers and cookies as well as sodas
  • the additional cost of electricity
  • any other costs that might be traced to the old soda machine that would not be incurred by the new

This is broken down to a single dollar figure.

On the other hand, the solution benefit outlines what gains will be made from having the solution put in place. In the case of the new soda machine,

  • it may carry more drinks, while also carrying a larger selection of drinks
  • it may help to sell more drinks by suffering less stock-outs.
  • crackers and cookies may offer a higher price margin,
  • it would create opportunities for people to make more than one purchase at a time

The Solution Cost is merely the selling price of the new machine.

From these numbers, it is easy to determine whether or not the investment is worthwhile.

It may not be, and the good salesperson can help the customer to diagnose the numbers with some honest assistance.

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Take It Or Leave It Selling

By and large the retail shopping experience that I have experienced across the region can be characterized as “take it or leave it”.

Companies seem to be staffed up to the hilt with people who just could not care less whether or not the customer makes a purchase. In fact, their lives are easier when the customer walks out and doesn’t bother them.

This attitude, which pervades non-tourist Caribbean countries, costs company owners a LOT of money each year, as they wonder why it is that their sales are falling and their traffic is dwindling.

I believe that the way to impact this attitude on a large scale is to:

  1. use psychometric testing to weed out the wrong people
  2. train them extensively
  3. role model the level of service desired
  4. continue to reinforce, coach and train
  5. consolidate jobs, and pay the better staff more

Part of the training I would provide is what I call “face and body management”. I would use video-taped feedback to help employees see what they look like when they are serving customers. They might need to learn how to project an air of commitment and attentiveness — something that contrasts with the air of boredom and “I don’t care” that they might have learned in school.

I get the distinct impression that our front-line service personnel just do not know what they look like when they are attempting to provide service to others, and many would be appalled if they were to receive objective feedback in the form of a taped interaction.

Many of them seem to bring juvenile, teenage behaviours to the workplace, and in the absence of role models, it becomes the norm. Perhaps was fashionable when they re 15, but in the workplace it is ineffective and leads to customers feeling that the employees don’t care before the first words are exchanged.

I compare it to body odour.

Someone has to tell a teen to wear deodorant for the first time, because the chances are good that they are unable to smell themselves. In like manner, unless they are helped to see what they are doing physically, they are unable to change what their bodies and faces are doing.

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CaribHRNews changes

I have done some work on CaribHRNews that I think may make it more user-friendly:

  • it is more readable, as I have moved some of the non-essential information to the bottom of the page
  • I am changing the frequency of release from once per week, to once every two weeks. I think this helps to keep the information fresh, as there were too few changes from week to week, although this may change in the future
  • I have added a new link to a blog called “Evil HR Lady” that is quite funny!

The latest issue can be viewed at: http://www.squidoo.com/caribhrnews/

Also, CaribHRNews is sent out to all members of CaribHRForum.

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HR Trend #3 — Bringing in Expats

CEO: “We need to hire someone from the outside into this position, as there is no expertise in this area in the region. Do we have a programme in place to help them to assimilate once they get here?”

VP-HR: “Huh?”
CEO: “How about their family?”
VP-HR: “Hmmm….”
CEO: “Does it make a difference if they are coming from another Caribbean island?”
VP-HR: “To be honest, I have no idea….”
It’s a good idea for human resource professionals across the region to ensure that when the above conversation takes place they are ready. What are some of the things that they should be ready to tell the CEO? How can they prepare themselves to address what is quickly becoming the norm for most progressive companies? What are the essentials they need to address?
Here are some facts that the VP-HR needs to know at the onset:
  • They will probably underestimate the difficulty of the expat’s adjustment (especially if they have not lived abroad recently).
  • The emotional issues are intense, and come in all flavours.
  • The main success factor will surround the experience of the “trailing spouse” (usually a woman). 67% of failures can be traced to the trailing spouse.
  • The non-working spouse will probably be a professional who has had to give up their own career.
  • A simple set of policies created from the beginning will make things much easier.
  • The move will cost up to US$1million for an executive and family.
  • Of all age groups, teenage children have the most difficult time adjusting.
  • The pre-transfer trip and negotiations will be critical to the success of the transfer, and must include the non-working spouse.
  • Preparing the company for the arrival of the expat will be important (especially in terms of understanding, and expectations).
  • There will be varying degrees of culture shock experienced as the family makes the transition.
  • Few companies offer assistance to either spouse in making the cultural adjustment (and end up paying for it in the long term) .
  • At times a professional mentor, a trained counsellor or a psychologist are needed.
  • Expats who build their network of friends around other expats, rather than locals, will not be as successful.
  • The couple needs a way to escalate their issues and concerns outside the regular company hierarchy.
  • A transition from one Caribbean island to another is no easier than any other transition, IMHO.
  • Some expats have mastered the art of adapting to local conditions, and of working in developing countries
These are just some of the issues that a VP-HR can prepare the company to deal with. The better prepared they are, the greater the chance of success from everyone’s point of view.
In the worst cases, when there is a failure and early termination, the couple and the company end up at loggerheads, blaming each other for things going badly.

The job of HR is to make sure that the company’s investment is not wasted, and sometimes it may require them to say no to someone who they think will just not make it. Saying “No” is not easy to do, but it could be the very best thing for the working spouse and their family.