Sunday 22 February 2009

Employeeship - A Revolution Waiting to Happen

How do you reduce problems like absence and staff turnover whilst at the same time improve customer service? How do you do this in an organisation that has been the same for some time? It's a question that many CEO's and HR professionals have been wrestling with for some time. Usually the answer is more leadership training or some more policies and procedures. But don’t these miss the point? How many leadership programmes result in manuals gathering dust on the shelf with, at best, those that attended the programme saying “Oh yes I remember, it was really good...can't remember exactly what we covered though it was so long ago”. And how many policies and procedures end up lost in the HR manual not really making much difference to the everyday lives of those at work. 


A simple yet radical approach to addressing these challenges is being pioneered in Sweden, delivering amazing results in Sweden’s rail company, SJ. Called ‘Employeeship’ (or Medarbetarskap in Swedish), the concept literally turns ‘upside down’ traditional thinking about how organisations work. Employeeship is a process where the traditional thinking around leadership and subordination is abandoned. The traditional model is replaced by a mindset of partnership, a relationship where both managers and employees take ownership over their work situation. The main objective is to achieve a working environment that stimulates involvement among employees and managers. This creates a workplace where employees feel valued and important. Managers develop their skills in facilitating, involving, revealing and learn to make better use of their employees’ knowledge, ideas and initiative.


When people meet in an atmosphere of mutual trust their loyalty increases and they become more motivated to invest their effort on the job. A further consequence of this approach is that individuals become more grounded – a concept that is demonstrated powerfully using the ‘Weeble’ as a metaphor.

“Weebles Wobble But They Don't Fall Down” is a well-known song that many of the older generation grew up with. The Weeble being a small doll that never fell over because it had weight at its base. If we think of this as a metaphor for employees that are constantly challenged with customer demands, tight deadlines and the ever-increasing rate of change, it's vital that we think of ways of giving weight, or grounding. Grounded people take responsibility and are able to manage, come what may. Leadership development programmes and policies and procedures are simply scaffolding that keep the employee upright...the moment they're gone, the Weeble falls over.


The insight that organisations that embark on this approach uncover is that the characteristics we wish for and value in leaders is identical to co-workers and colleagues. In essence, focussing on Leadership as the skill to be developed misses the point. We all want to work with people that are open, honest, that take responsibility and are trustworthy. The feeling of being a part of things is important; it is a prerequisite for grounded people who enjoy their work.


So how is Employeeship developed?

Sounds common sense so far you could be thinking and paradoxically this is both simple and NOT easy. The key to this approach is for teams to be able to have transparent conversations with their 'leader' regarding things we just don't talk about often. Tricky subjects like

  • What is loyalty?
  • The meaning of work
  • How it fits in with our lives
  • Relationships between us in the team
  • Responsibility, accountability and taking initiative
  • The service we offer others

This takes a great deal of sensitivity, listening and courage from the 'leader' of the group but the results are breathtaking. The key to SJ’s success has been the commitment of the senior team to create time for teams to hold these conversations. Of course the level of take up has been variable but those areas that have embraced it fully have experienced a vast turnaround in measurable performance. In fact SJ recently announced that it’s absence levels have dropped by 25%, bucking the trend in Sweden overall.

The key to Employeeship is that it cannot be considered as a one-off, something that is ‘done’ for 12 months and then replaced by something else. SJ is already asking itself ‘How can we refresh, enhance and sustain what we have already developed’….how many organisations would fall into the trap of asking ‘So what next?’.

At Lorensbergs, we've been helping a number of clients with this powerful approach, so watch this space for tips, learning, pitfalls and results that we experience on the way.


Trevor

trevor(at)lorensbergs(dot)se

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