Reading time: 5 – 8 minutes

The problem of employee turnover is a conundrum for any organization. One would think that during times of high unemployment, the turnover rate in most organizations would be at an all-time low. The reality is far from that. While there is a lot of variability from one industry to another, if you take all industries together, the total turnover rate in 2009 was a whopping 15%.

We know the cost of employee turnover is more than the annual salary of the individual lost. In fact, most estimates place the total replacement cost at roughly 150% of the employee’s salary. A quick calculation shows that for a company with 1000 people who have an average annual salary of $50,000, the annual cost for employee turnover adds up to over $10 million. These costs go directly to the bottom line.

Reducing employee turnover is not rocket science; however, many companies struggle with very high turnover year after year. The common denominator of high turnover in organizations is poor leadership. Therefore, organizations that stress leadership development have an inherent advantage that can mean the difference between survival and extinction.

Let’s examine several ways an organization can drastically reduce the level of turnover at very low cost.

1. Develop People – Organizations that focus on employee development enjoy higher employee satisfaction, which leads to lower turnover. If each employee has a concrete development plan that is reviewed at least annually and contains a variety of growth opportunities, the employee will have little reason to look for greener pastures elsewhere.
2. Recognize Good Performance – Reinforcing people for doing good work lets them know they are appreciated. Tangible and intangible rewards are a great way to show management appreciation for workers who excel. This improves morale if done well. However, understand that reinforcement can be a minefield if it is not handled properly. Make sure employees receive sincere appreciation by management on a continuing basis.
3. Build Trust – By extending trust to employees, leaders demonstrate their willingness to support them. This pays off in terms of higher trust on the part of employees toward the organization. There is a whole science on how to build trust. By creating a real environment, more trust in an organization will lead to lower turnover.
4. Reduce Boredom – Employees who are underutilized, tend to get bored and restless. If there is a vacuum of activity, people often get into mischief. It is important for managers to craft job duties and responsibilities such that people are actively engaged in the work every day.
5. Communicate More – In nearly every corporate survey on employee satisfaction, the issue of communication surfaces as either the number one or number two complaint. Communication needs to be ubiquitous and consistent. It is not enough to have a monthly corporate news letter or an occasional town hall meeting. Communication needs to take many different forms and be a constant priority for all levels of management.
6. Cross Train – Employees, who have been trained on several different jobs recognize they are of higher value to the organization and tend to be less inclined to leave. Along with the pleasure of having more variety of work, employees appreciate the ability to take on additional skills. Having good bench strength allows the organization to function well, even during times of high vacation or illness.
7. Don’t Overtax – During lean economic times, companies have a need to stretch resources as much as possible. Many organizations exceed the elastic limit of what employees can be expected to maintain long term. This leads to burnout and people leaving for health reasons or just plain quitting in disgust over the abuse. It is important for management to assess carefully how far resources can be stretched, because going beyond the elastic limit guarantees a high level of employee turnover. I believe this rule is habitually violated in many organizations, and they pay for it big time. Stretching people too far is a false economy. If you organization is guilty of this, print out this article and put it on the bulletin board.
8. Keep It Light – When managers apply constant pressure to squeeze out the last drop of productivity, they often go over the line, and it becomes counter productive. If leaders grind people down to a stump with constant pressure for perfection and ever higher productivity, the quality of work life suffers. Employees can tolerate a certain amount of this for some time, but eventually they will break down. It is smart to set very high goals, but very important to have employees believe the stretch goals are attainable. One good way to provide this assurance is to have the employees themselves participate in setting the goals. The best companies find ways to work in a little fun somewhere, even (and especially) in high pressure situations.
9. Feedback Performance – there needs to be a constant flow of information on how all employees are doing in each area of the organization. People who are kept in the dark about their performance become disillusioned and cranky. The simple kindness of letting people know how they are doing on a daily or weekly basis pays off in terms of lower turnover.
10. Train Leaders – All levels of management and supervision need to be highly proficient at creating an environment where the culture is upbeat, positive, and has high trust. This does not happen by accident, or simply by desire. It takes work and lots of emphasis by senior leadership to make sure that there are no weak links in the management chain. In most organizations there is a dud of a manager somewhere between the well intentioned and talented top brass and the worker bees. The result is that great objectives, ideals, and processes are morphed into oblivion by the time they reach the shop floor. The antidote is to improve leadership effectiveness at all levels and remove any dud who is incapable of changing.

These are 10 ways in which leaders can lower the level of turnover in any organization. The magic here is not any new discovery; but the consistent application of these principles will make a huge difference in any organization. The good news is that the items mentioned above are not very expensive. They are all common sense – too bad they are often not common practice.

If you study the best companies to work for worldwide, you will discover they have a much lower turnover rate than the average numbers. I believe having the kind of culture where employees are locked in with no desire to leave for any reason is a sustainable competitive advantage. It is easy to achieve if you follow the 10 rules listed above.

The preceding information was adapted from the book Leading with Trust is like Sailing Downwind, by Robert Whipple. It is available on www.leadergrow.com.

Robert Whipple is also the author of The TRUST Factor: Advanced Leadership for Professionals and, Understanding E-Body Language: Building Trust Online. Bob consults and speaks on these and other leadership topics. He is CEO of Leadergrow Inc. a company dedicated to growing leaders. Contact Bob at bwhipple@leadergrow.com or 585-392-7763.

Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes

It looks like life may get tougher for the workplace bully in New York State. The Senate has approved of a bill which has not been enacted into law – yet.

Employees would be able to sue their employer for being in an “abusive environment” and that extends to physical, psychological and economic hardship. What exactly does that mean?

The New York Labor & Employment Law report outlines the scope and intent of the bill:

New York’s legislation defines “abusive conduct” to include “verbal abuse such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets … that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating or humiliating … or the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of an employee’s work performance.” The reality is that “derogatory remarks” are probably made in most workplaces. Indeed, some workplaces, like law firms, are notorious for having “yellers.” Seemingly almost any employer might have exposure under this legislation.

This legislation would be ground-breaking; no other state has passed anything similar to it.

There is debate over how loosely “abusive conduct:” is defined and undoubtedly it will take a few cases to narrow how it is applied. Will this be painful for employers? Yes – for the companies who overlook their overt bullies or ones who flirt with being on the edge of abusive behavior.

If your company receives a complaint, instead of thinking that the employee is being a troublemaker, take a moment and consider why employees raise the red flag. Could it possibly be that they were mistreated or wronged?

Mistreatment is not always about the action being done to them. Conduct is behavior and about how it is done to them.

Years ago, I was responsible for orchestrating a major layoff within a company. I was sent to a newly acquired division that was being integrated into the parent company. I managed the RIF (reduction in force) and was affectionately called the terminator.

About mid way into the assignment, one of the facilities that we were closing had a problem. The HR Manager was not handing the layoff process well – there was dissension in the ranks and he was let go early. I was asked to step in and complete the plant closure in addition to coordinating the divisional activity.

After letting go 300 people in less than a year, there was not one law suit filed.

Fundamentally, it came down to having a fair process and treating people with respect, no matter what the circumstances – even being laid off.

Companies who cry wolf on this legislation should get their leadership together and ask “why does it matter to us?”

The next question is to ask is “what do we have control over?” Apply it to each answer.

The final question, “what are we going to do about it or the people who put us at risk?”

Ultimately, organization will have to make a choice between investing in their people and culture or setting aside funds to defend themselves in the court system. It sounds like an easy decision, why is it so hard?

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes

A frustrated business executive recently asked me to help diagnose his company’s new product development processes. They had taken several new products most of the way through design only to have to go back and revise the design, and he felt like they were starting to go in circles.

When I asked what had caused the change, he said that a competitor had brought out an improved product while they were still in the product development phase. With the competitors announcement, adding similar features had forced them to go back and make major changes to the designs. They had done this more than once resulting in a significant delays for what should have been relatively straightforward new products.

But why were relatively straightforward projects taking so long that competitors were beating them to market in the first place? As we continued to dig for the root of his problem, I asked how early in the development of new products they were gathering customer requirements and freezing the design requirements. Talk about an “aha” moment as he realized he was allowing the entrepreneurial head of new products to operate without ever solidifying these requirements.

He had never seen the harm of allowing the product development team “some flexibility.” But as we discussed the situation, it became clear that this issue went beyond mere flexibility. Instead of identifying critical new product requirements, the team was allowing the design requirements to emerge as new products were being developed. This was creating multiple loops to go back and “fix” the work that had already been done. These loops were delaying projects so badly that competitors were launching new features and again sending them back to the drawing board.

If you face a similar situation, here are several changes you can make to get out of the flexibility loop that’s slowing your new product throughput:

1. Freeze Requirements – Specify critical new product requirements in the project plan before your constrained design and development resources begin work.
2. Stay Frozen – Only allow changes to critical requirements if the market changes dramatically. This would include game changing prices or features added by competitors are so compelling that they would obsolete your product before it launches.
3. View new product launches as a continuum – Minor improvements and features added by competitors should not be ignored, but should be considered for subsequent versions of the product.

This article appears by permission of the author and was originally published on his Simplifying Innovation blog.

Mike Dalton is the author of Simplifying Innovation: Doubling speed to market and new product profits – with your existing resources

Mike Dalton is also the founder of Guided Innovation Group, whose simple mission is helping companies turn their new product innovation into bottom-line impact. His innovation improvement framework was sharpened over 24 years of product development, marketing and executive leadership at the multi-billion dollar SC Johnson family of companies.

Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

Question: The CFO in our company is constantly telling me and the other women in the office to treat like he is treated at home.

I find this appalling. He is so disrespectful to us and to his family. Some of the women laugh it off when he says it to them but complain about it after he leaves the room. Other people find any excuse to leave the area when they hear his voice coming down the hallway.

The way I deal with it is to ignore him but he keeps doing it. No one has the guts to tell him how they feel about his macho attitude because he might fire us or make life more difficult than it already is in the office.

What do you do in this situation?

Fed up in Alabama

Answer: Run, don’t walk to your Human Resources person or CEO of the company. It is time to discuss what is being said and how it is affecting the employees in the office.

Be factual. Give specific examples of what is being said, how it is said and when it said.

For example, does the CFO make the same comment or different comments when they are meetings, in the hallway, in the coffee room or privately with someone in their office? Are the comments the same to men and women alike? Are different things said to different people? Has anyone asked the CFO to stop? What was their response?

The situation you are describing may in fact be a hostile work environment. It is essential that someone in Human Resources, the CEO or an outside consultant assist in the investigation of it. This kind of behavior will continue to have a negative effect on the mental health of the employees and productivity….and it is against the law.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides protection from sexual harassment. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),sexual harassment does not have to be explicit and may affect the culture of the organization:

“Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.”

It is often recommended that when unwelcome comments are made it is best to nip it in the bud by asking them to stop. That might be easier to do the first time you hear the comment and if ignored becomes an elephant at work.

When the person saying those comments is your boss or someone in a position of power, it becomes more difficult to confront them for fear of reprisal.

The best way companies can manage these situations is by having a process in place that allows employees to voice their concerns and have management step in quickly. Prevention is the optimal solution.

If it is determined that the person is creating a hostile work environment, the company will take action by either firing the employee or documenting the corrective action taken in their file.

If the employee stays, the company may ask them to apologize to the affected employees for their actions. I strongly recommend this be done in the presence of a Human Resources representative or other third party.

You may have a fear that reporting the CFO will target you. Believe me, the CEO and Human Resources want to know if this happening so they can deal with it. Good luck.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 4 – 7 minutes

Do you find yourself wondering how to be a good leader with the Generation Y workforce? Are the generational differences getting in the way of communicating with one another? If you are experiencing frustration, you can bet they are too!

The discussion of praise came up the other day when I was talking with a colleague. She has children who are in the Gen Y-ers age group and she is a Baby Boomer.

The amount of praise that a Gen Y-er or Millennial requires can be a bit overwhelming. It seems they want to have constant reinforcement for doing something that a Baby Boomer would say is a normal or adequate job. This disconnect between the generations fuels misunderstandings and communication challenges with one another and unless is it is managed successfully; it will drive the younger set to leave your organization.

The big question is, “Where is the balance when working with Gen Y-ers?”

There is some new research that points to how narcissism may play a role in their sense of entitlement. Some call the Gen Y-ers the worse generation, I beg to differ – there is hope.

Let’s be clear, Baby Boomers are not all that innocent. Research places parenting techniques or philosophies as one contributor to cultivating and reinforcing this behavior. The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement by Jean M. Twenge Ph.D. and W. Keith Campbell Ph.D. discuss the cultural shift, its symptoms and possible solutions.

Parents whose emphasis on praise and the avoidance of criticism, corrective action and dealing out consequences may have inadvertently fueled the narcissistic behavior we see today.

Think about the lessons a child learns growing up where differences between skills, abilities and accomplishments are downplayed for fear of hurting someone’s feelings. It was better or easier to avoid the winner vs. loser or right vs. wrong discussion. One overused example cites how competitive organizations award each person a trophy for participation – let’s forget about acknowledging those who work hard and excel.

What lessons are we teaching? Are there some other ways to make people feel good? Will people be ready for the harsh reality that things are not always fair?

Organizations typically have some sort of hierarchical structure. Even in the flattest structures, there are differences in roles, responsibilities and accountability. It is essential that employees know what they can do well and often those lessons are realized in the trial and error of attempting new things. Should we be embracing that failing is OK and how to redirect energy to the things that you are passionate about?

Gen Y-ers tend to want to move up quickly or at the very least be recognized on an equal basis as their peers – even when they fall short. If they lack the ability to critique themselves accurately and accept constructive criticism, the chasm will only deepen with their manager. Maybe this is why Gen Y-ers get bored or restless so quickly – they think they already have it when they don’t.

Not all Gen Y-ers are narcissistic. Their cry for praise may be well deserved.

Dolling out praise is often uncomfortable for Baby Boomers. It does not come naturally and often is only seen as deserving when something exceptional is done by the employee.

When you increase the level and frequency of praise and recognition, it benefits the employee, team and organization. But, dolling out praise too much is not good either.

If we lose the ability to differentiate between what is unacceptable, mediocre, average, very good or outstanding – we will lose in the business world and ultimately in making solid life choices. So how does a manager find the right balance?

There are a couple of ways to approach this situation – bottom line is you have to open the lines of communication with one another. When there is a common understanding on the approach and execution of praise – your employee’s level of satisfaction and productivity will increase tenfold.

What a manager can do

1. Develop a matrix that identifies the kinds of situations where praise is and where it is not beneficial to both parties. Discuss the matrix with one another at a time when emotions and feelings are calm. Make adjustments as necessary. Gain commitment with both parties and hold each other accountable.
2. Commission a committee to do #1. Set boundaries and let them develop a strategy and implementation plan.

Gen Y-ers will appreciate being a part of the solution. In the course of finding the best solution for your organization, you will learn what motivates them.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

How are you about enforcing and following rules with the people who work for you? Do they listen to you or respect you for toeing the line with them?

A word of caution -  they may be testing you and if you are not careful – what is brewing underneath the surface may come back to bite you.

It happens every day. Employees recognize there are written rules, but the real rules are the silent ones. It might be called “the code” or think of it as the real way things work around here.

The subculture holds a lot of power. Ignoring it can be a big mistake.

Managers walking into a new situation are often susceptible to this trap. Jessica is a store manager who has been with the company for several years.

She is known as a company girl. In her role, she believes that enforcing the rules will be seen as a positive trait with her superiors.

It is common that managers move every couple of years to a new store location. One of the reasons managers move is for their personal development – to get experiences with new people and situations.

Conversely, if a store is having trouble, senior management might send someone in to straighten out a dysfunctional team.

Sometimes the manager gets marching orders such as: instill some discipline and do it immediately. The expectation is that coming in strong will miraculously change what is wrong.

At first, Jessica thinks she is being successful with her team by providing rules and tight boundaries. In truth, the employees are testing how far they can push her. They want to know how she will react in different situations such as:

• Following procedures
• Using the chain of command
• Discipline
• Adhering to the employee handbook
• Handling conflict
• Playing favorites
• Espousing corporate policies
• Making exceptions
• Keeping her cool
• Having personal relationships
• Keeping promises
• Holding confidences

Once the group figures out where her “hot” buttons (things that set someone off quickly) are they can manipulate Jessica more effectively.

The fatal flaw Jessica makes is assuming that every store or team has the same culture. The parent company’s rules and philosophies are not enough to create a common culture in different locations.

Not knowing the unwritten rules got in the way of her being effective within this organization.

So how can you be more successful when you go into a new organization?

Avoid being the hard-ass or enforcer – at least initially. This is an effective strategic diversion tactic. People will not open up to someone who is seen as inflexible. Sometimes it better not to let people figure you out so quickly – it also minimizes exposing your hot buttons. Use this time to take notes about what kind of behavior trends you see in individuals or small groups.

Don’t be afraid to take action. You do not want to be seen as wimp. If someone does something that is illegal or demands an immediate discharge take decisive action.

Ask yourself if the action you are taking is a fighting an inconsequential battle or integral to the long term success of the organization. Ultimately, you want to win the war and that requires a better understanding of the culture.

Listen and observe. Ask questions rather then tell people what to do. Concentrate on why the behavior exists vs. trying to fix it right away. Understand why they do what they do and how they resolve problems they face at work. Figure out what is important and what is a priority for them.

Learn about the unwritten rules. This is the code we talked about earlier. The unspoken rules may be driven by the employees or management and are probably different from the corporate policies.

You may get lucky and find someone who shares them with you. If not, rely on the listen and observe approach to figure what the practices are in the organization.

Find the root cause. Is the behavior systemic or random? Is one person causing the problems or do cliques control more than they should in the organization?

Make a plan. Once you figure out 1) what the unwritten rules are 2) why the rules exist 3) who is involved and 4) how the rules affect the organization, you are in a position to make a plan.

Just remember – battles are quickly forgotten and winning over the organization carries long term results.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes

Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people, it is important for the success of your organization.

According to the University of Washington, “Many studies on the work place have shown that being recognized for achievements, knowing that one’s contributions matter to the organization, and the opportunity for growth and professional development have a considerable impact on employee satisfaction and commitment.”

Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works

According to Cindy Ventrice, author of Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works, “Regardless of the economy, you need to keep your best people and keep them engaged. The best way to do this is by developing a culture based on meaningful recognition. Did you know that the companies that attract and keep great employees typically have over 70 percent employee satisfaction with employee recognition?”

Recognition needs to be in line with behavior and accomplishments and must be meaningful, yet does not need to be expensive or time consuming. A simple thank you or a note of appreciation can go a long way to help employees feel valued.

The recognition must supply the employee with specific information about what behaviors or actions are being rewarded, and should occur as close to the behavior as possible. Although employees would love to hear “good job,” it will be more helpful if you spell out the behaviors that made it a good job. When you recognize employees effectively, you reinforce the behavior you want them to repeat.

Lauren Dixon, CEO of Dixon Schwabl stated she listens to what is important to her employees then when she comes across something she thinks would be of interest to them, she copies it and puts it on their desk with a note.

Often employees will come back to her and say, “How did you know I liked fly fishing?” because they forgot they told her. This does a number of things. The person feels valued as an individual and also heard.

The Great Places to Work that I have interviewed have interesting ways to recognize their employees.

Nixon-Peabody has formal as well as impromptu recognition methods, such as “The Above and Beyond Award” and “On the Spot” recognition.

Paychex has an employee recognition committee which rewards efforts with balloons with candy or gift card attached and an quarterly meeting in which teams are recognized with a huge banner with all the team member’s names on it.

Another opportunity to recognize employees by Dixon-Schwabl is done where the last minutes of the weekly organization-wide meeting is saved so employees can recognize other employees.

Ask yourself, when was the last time you recognized an employees or coworkers for something they have done well.

Ventrice, C., Employee Recognition that Works, www.maketheirday.com Used with permission

Elizabeth (Beth) A. Spears, PhD owns Workplace Communications, Inc.

Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes

Hearing from readers is one of the best parts of writing a blog. They tell you what is on their mind or share resources and instantly you have a new article – and sometimes you accidently stumble upon something you did not expect. 

A few weeks ago, Mr. D wrote me about an article on Why Negative Reviews are a Gift because he knows I am doing some research on customer reviews.

At the end of his message, he wrote: "By the way, I was laid off three weeks ago last Friday and started a new job yesterday — not just any job — this is my dream job, and it came to me via a LinkedIn Group.  Fun stuff!"

I wrote back and said, "I did not realize you changed jobs – so what is the “dream” job?" What I was fishing for was what company he is working for so I could update his contact information.

What I got back was much more insightful. I can always find out where he works, instead he told me what makes him tick.

His response:

What makes it a dream job?

• Working with friendly people
• Close to home
• A company culture of caring for the customers
• Great sales growth potential
• I'm in charge of the sales effort
• I have input on all aspects of operations
• Working with helpful people
• Shorter required hours (and I'm working longer because it's fun)
• Working with a team (instead of a micro-managing owner)
• Did I mention working with friendly people?
• Casual dress (I had no idea how much I'd come to appreciate this so quickly)
• Better pay and benefits (three weeks vacation 1st year)
• Flexible hours
• The office is climate controlled (you'd have to have seen my previous workplace)
• The office (and the rest rooms) are clean (you'd have to have seen my previous workplace)
• There is a real kitchen in the office
• Did I say how great the people are?

My question to you is "what is your dream job?" Is it different for men vs. women? Do different generations value the attributes of their job the same way? What makes you tick?

And Mr. D, thank you for sharing your list!

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

It seems so simple. Recognize people and results happen.

Think about Pavlov's Theory of classical conditioning. Some of you may think I am going to the dogs, however, the behavioral point of view continues to play out every day. Our environment plays an important part in how we learn. Each of us wins when managers harness the ability to motivate the workforce through simple actions.

Why is it so hard to do? Are we too busy? Why do we forget to do the right thing? Most of the things we can do are simple and do not take a lot of time.

The truth is, it is really more about timing and to a lesser degree about what we do.

The action does not have to grandiose. Remember is it about the event, not about the fabulous reward.

Here is a list of ways to recognize your employees:

1. Give praise immediately after the employee does something – tell them what they did and how it affects the company, customer or employees in a positive way.
2. Provide additional training dollars to employees who excel – let them learn a specialized skill that will benefit them and the company.
3. Impromptu events such as ice cream socials, managers grilling steak and lobster on the grill for the employees or popcorn and a short movie.
4. Develop a reward and recognition based on a point system. Encourage employee gift selection from a pre-selected catalogue.
5. Recognize the employee’s spouse. Their role and support is often overlooked. 
6. If give a cash reward, be aware of the taxation rules applying to the amount you are awarding. In some cases, there will be no tax due.  When tax is due, consider how it will affect the final distribution. Tangible goods such as airline tickets, weekend giveaways are taxable to the employee. Advise the employee that these selections will result in tax deductions in a future paycheck! Some employees do not want to carry the additional burden and opt for a cash payment.
7. Use AMEX gift certificates – employees can use them just about anywhere!
8. Invite the employee to a management meeting to present the results of a project they led. 
9. Write a personal note of appreciation for their contribution. Send it to them and put a copy of it in their employee file.
10. Sponsor the employee’s attendance to a conference in which they have expressed interest.
11. Enlist an executive to share their experiences for “a day” with your employee.
12. Nominate your employee to play a leadership role in a key project with high visibility to top management.
13. Be flexible in your approach to working hours. Manage by results rather than time. 
14. Recognize them at your next staff meeting in front of their peers.
15. Submit a story to your newsletter outlining what they did on a particular project or how they accomplished something significant.
16. Establish a preferred parking spot near the front entrance and award it to the employee of the month. Bonus points if the employees select the individual and not management!
17. Shadow the boss or president of the company for a day.
18. Create "Save a Penny" program to capture employee ideas on cost savings ideas. Select one and make it happen each month.
19. Incorporate a career or employee development discussion once a year, not tied to the performance management process.
20. Encourage people to get to know one another personally. Employees come to work because the like to work with their peers and managers, not because of the company.

If there are some ways you recognize people in your organization which are not included in this list, please share it with us here!

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 5 – 8 minutes

My business is built on helping organizations build higher levels of trust. One significant trust buster that is evident, even in the best organizations, is the presence of cliques. These informal groups continuously drain the trust from the larger organization by fostering a culture of exclusivity. Since joining together with like-minded people has been human nature back to the “Clan of the Cave Bear,” how can an organization reduce the negative impact of these insular cells?

It is a function of leadership to set the tone of any culture. If leaders either condone cliques or encourage them by participating in them, the cells will continue to enjoy their exclusivity at the expense of the larger organization.

The conundrum is that cliques are highly prized by the people in them. The support structure allows all members to poke fun at others who are outside the fence and create their own set of norms. This builds in a kind of polarization that is as uncomfortable to the outsiders as it is gratifying to the elite.

What can leaders do to discourage the formation of cliques?

1. Be Aware of Cliques – The first line of defense is to recognize what is going on. I would wager that your work place has numerous little groups of people that form naturally and insulate themselves from others for several reasons. You can see manifestations when the same people sit together in the break room – often in the same seats – every day for years. There is nothing wrong with friends sitting with other friends, but if it becomes an exclusive club, then it can build barriers to effective teamwork. Another easy way to spot cliques is to watch how people on a shift arrange themselves during a shift meeting. E-mail distributions are another dead give away that there are cells of people communicating with each other and not with the general population. Leaders can use many techniques to encourage a more homogeneous population.
2. Encourage an inclusive culture regularly – If leaders would continually stress that our power is in the diverse thoughts of the entire population and everyone’s input is important, it will send a subtle message that insular groups are not always helpful. Caveat: It would backfire if the leader put a ban on sub-groups because that would either drive them underground or embolden them based on the forbidden fruit logic. Rather, the leader needs to demonstrate by actions and words that a broad representation is most often in the best interest of everyone.
3. Take a few king pins aside – in any society there are informal leaders who establish themselves as the “Grand Poobah” of the group. Their words carry the most weight, and they have more than their fair share of say in who is allowed to join the group. All these pecking order considerations are informal, but they are all in play as the group carries on daily activities. As a leader, you can befriend the informal leaders and ask them to open up the club to new members. I think one way to make progress is to enroll the informal leaders by seeking their advice on how to reduce exclusivity in the organization. These conversations will be tricky, but if handled properly, you can woo these people into becoming forces for the good in your organization.
4. Mix things up in meetings – you might have some kind of rotation in seating arrangements or some other mechanical way to get people to mingle in different social arrangements. One way to do this naturally is to have some team building events where the team selection is objectively random. People will accept an arbitrary team assignment if it is obvious there is no particular agenda in the selection process. If you prescribe the seating arrangement to specifically break up a clique, people will push back.
5. Transplant people – this is a kind of last resort if all else fails. You can move the job assignments so the exclusive social interfaces are broken up by time and space. Caveat: arbitrary work assignments designed to break up cliques are often unpopular, and you may cause more damage than you eliminate if you use a heavy hand. One antidote is to espouse a strong philosophy of cross training individuals to improve bench strength and provide development opportunities. People generally appreciate these objectives even if they tend to break up historical social groupings.
6. Inject new blood – Sometimes the addition of a new strong personality will have the effect of breaking up an existing structure and allow the creation of a new order. Of course, the cure could be worse than the disease, so you need to keep alert that you are progressing rather than retrogressing by bringing in new people.
7. Reorganize – Many leaders use a kind of “shake and bake” reorganization philosophy when trying to reduce inbreeding. A new organization really does break up the old gang, but just like transplanting individuals, it is often not welcomed. An effective reorganization takes a lot of study, and you need to have a good justification for making the move other than to break up cliques. Making reorganizations successful requires a lot of energy, communication, planning, and involvement of people. Do not just throw out a new structure as a way to mix things up. Maybe a good analogy here is a garden. If you have a nice flower garden but some of the plants have become root bound, you want to carefully thin things out, not just roto-till the entire garden.
8. Reward inclusion – One good way to prevent exclusion is to talk about and reward inclusion at every opportunity. Make it a value for the organization and highlight good examples through the usual communication channels.
9. Sit with them – I often found that just sitting with a clique in the break room a few times a week would send a signal that they are not an exclusive club. As a manager you have the right to sit with your people for purposes of getting to know them better. It may feel uncomfortable at first, especially if the clique has an activity to keep them insulated (like a bridge game or something). Just keep looking for ways to interface with the group in ways that show you are interested in their opinions and ideas. Eventually you can gain their confidence, and your presence will be welcome rather than an intrusion. Then you can invite another person to join the discussion. This method takes time, but it does work.

Reducing cliques in the working world or in social groups is delicate work. Keep stressing that the ideal organization taps into the good ideas of all people. It is the interplay of ideas that creates a healthy organization.

Robert T. Whipple is the CEO of Leadergrow Inc., a teaching and consulting company.