One of the most controversial issues within an organization is finding the perfect balance between what the company should give and what the employees should receive. In general, companies that are concerned with meeting the real needs of their workers, find an environment conducive to work and can expect superior returns from them. For their part, organizations that are more concerned with reducing costs, freezing salaries… that is, seeking "more for less" will hardly find the answer they expect.
As stated by Pablo Ferreiro and Manuel Alcazar in their book "Government of people in the company" if the company demands an employee a performance of twenty in exchange for ten, there will always be a competitor who wants to offer twelve, which will contribute to raising the rotation and reduce barriers to competition. I have known companies that are obsessed with the profitability of the business and I think it is very good that they want to make money, however it would be good for managers to take a tour of the offices or the plant to see the faces of their workers and place the "Thermometer" of motivation in situ.
When employees observe movement in the plant, smiling salespeople, new machinery purchases, a fleet of vehicles for managers, then the expectation is generated that they will also benefit, if after a while they do not see improvements in their « envelopes »then the flame of demotivation is lit, which will affect the work environment. A few days ago, I was talking with one of the participants in a leadership workshop, who was from the public sector. He commented on the fact that his salary had been "frozen" for ten years due to the government's austerity policy. It is paradoxical that our country has one of the highest growth rates in the world and yet its public servants do not perceive these improvements.
In that session I tried to explain the balance that should exist in an organization and in particular about what a boss can demand of a worker. It is necessary to specify that what a company can give depends on the human needs that are going to be satisfied with these contributions. I asked a participant what kind of recognition did you most desire in your company? and she told me that money was the most important thing. After that answer, I went on to explain to him that if a boss motivates only for money, bonuses, commissions, among other economic incentives, he can only claim compliance with schedules, sales quotas, among other economic incentives. She also asked me, when could creativity be required of an employee, I answered that to demand creativity, you must first give them training, empowerment, career path, that is, everything that gives them security, power and satisfies the needs of the intelligence. Another participant asked me:When can you ask a worker for loyalty? Based on the theory of Juan Antonio Perez López, I responded that loyalty can be requested to the extent that the worker feels real concern, on the part of the company, for their development, when they are called by name and they stop being treated as one more code, then only then will he be able to identify himself and "put on the company's shirt".
An organization cannot ask an employee for loyaltyif she is not loyal to him. As Pablo Ferreiro emphasizes: «If you want ideas, you have to sow ideas. If you want loyalty, you have to sow loyalty. I believe that there is stinginess in many organizations, which are more concerned with growth in sales and profit, leaving motivation and recognition of people for another time. They should not be surprised later, when staff turnover rises or when the results of climate surveys are a "pale" reflection of the acceptance they believed to have. Do not ask your workers for commitment or identity, as long as they continue to operate under a mechanistic model. The true potential of an organization is in the people who work there, not in the machines or in the technology. The common problem is that they always react late,Usually they realize that they have lost a valuable worker, when he approaches with the resignation letter under his arm and that is when he wants to "cover the sun with a finger" offering him everything that could not be offered before.
I'm sure that more than one person who reads these lines knows what I'm talking about… I just hope it's not too late for organizations to become aware of the value of the people who work there, and for their bosses to assume responsibility for become true leaders, capable of leading with productivity in mind, yes!… but without neglecting the morale of their people.
If you have already decided to "sow"… then you just have to wait for the harvest…
Until next time!
