Workplace Challenges Blackberry and Cell Phone Top the List

Transcription

1 Blackberry and Cell Phone Top the List BDO Dunwoody Weekly CEO/Business Leader Poll By COMPAS in Canadian Business For Publication COMPAS Inc. Public Opinion and Customer Research

2 1.0. Introduction Productivity enhancing technologies the blackberry, cell phones, and pagers top the list of challenges in the workplace, according to CEOs and business leaders on the COMPAS panel. More than two-thirds of panelists see these technologies and their capacity to interrupt or disturb meetings and gatherings as a challenge for businesses. Historically important issues such as problems affecting the workplace environment for women or ethno-racial minorities are far at the bottom of the list. It is as if business leaders feel that gender and ethno-racial challenges are under control, they have the tools for addressing these, or employees have themselves begun to appreciate their obligations to protect the environment for women and minorities. But, in the eyes of business leaders, organizations have not yet conquered the sometimes disruptive or wasteful effects of modern communications technologies. These are the key findings from this past week s Internet survey of CEOs and business leaders on the COMPAS panel. The weekly business survey is undertaken for Canadian Business magazine under sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody LLP The Comparative Seriousness of Different Challenges Pagers, cell phones, or blackberries that interrupt meeting or meals with customers, suppliers, or staff top the list of interpersonal challenges, as shown in table 2a. A more than two-thirds majority score this a challenge. Another technology-related dilemma, unauthorized Internet roaming, follows in third place. 2

3 Table 2a: The Seriousness of Various Interpersonal Challenges in the Workplace from the Perspective of Management Time and Attention 1 Pagers, cell phones, or blackberries that interrupt meeting or meals with customers, suppliers, or staff Changing attitudes towards punctuality and reliability Office staff spending company time roaming the Internet Inter-generational differences in ways of communicating Integrating immigrants in the workplace What some employees wear on the job Problems affecting the workplace environment for women Profanity or offensive language in the workplace Problems affecting the workplace environment for ethno-racial minorities Mean DNK Changing attitudes towards punctuality and reliability is the only other challenge among a list of nine to elicit majority agreement that it is serious and occupies a disproportionate amount of management time. 1 1 (Q1) People issues (interpersonal and inter-group relations) can be the biggest challenges facing businesses, business people often tell us. Thinking of the businesses you know and not necessarily your own, how would you score the following challenges facing businesses today? Please use a 7 point scale where 7 means the challenge is a serious one that requires more than an average amount of management attention and 1, the opposite. RANDOMIZE. 3

4 The workplace dilemmas seen as least challenging are problems affecting the workplace environment for women, profanity or offensive language in the workplace, and problems affecting the workplace environment for ethno-racial minorities. Purely personal conflicts, unrelated to gender or ethno-racial identity, are seen as more serious, as shown in table 2b. Table 2b: (Q2) How would you score the challenges of purely personal conflicts among employees unrelated to any of the preceding? Please use a 7 point scale where 7 means the challenge is a serious one that requires more than an average amount of management attention and 1, the opposite. Mean DNK HR-Advice to Young Business Leaders Panelists were asked for advice that they would proffer to young business leaders starting out. 2 Advice tends to fall into one of four categories listening, fairness, clearly communicated leadership, and focusing on the prize as illustrated in the following selection of verbatims: Always behave with respect for others, honesty and integrity and be a team player. Always focus on "product" over "process". Apply what you learned about inter-personal relations in kindergarten (if you were paying attention, that is). 2 (Q3) If a young business person starting out came to you for advice on these or other people issues, what would be your best advice? 4

5 Be consistent in your relationships and treat everyone equally. Be fair and consistent in the corrective measure. Exercise managerial courage in dealing with tough issues. Be honest, be open. Don't get caught up in politics, waste of time. Be honest, open minded and willing to think outside of the "box". Treat people with the same respect as you want to be treated with. Make sure that you act in a way that warrants respect and then respect others accordingly. Learn how to listen effectively. Ask good questions and hear the answers. Try to gather facts and don't be judgmental. Be kind, compassionate, cooperative while keeping your eye on the prize. Be polite but be yourself and remember that you are accountable to your supervisors and/or elders. There is a learning curve in every job and a positive attitude will pay dividends in the long run. Be very very very firm with your staff. You need to lay a solid foundation with your staff from the get go that BS will not be tolerated. Then you must backup your statements with real actions. Behave with professionalism and courtesy, and focus on business issues rather than personal. Confront the issues head on and tell the people the truth. Deal with the issues clearly and swiftly. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. 5

6 Do your job to the best of your ability and do not be intimidated by any bullies on the job. Always seek ways for continuous improvement. Don't be too afraid to fire people. Don't send an . Pick up the phone and call the other person, or better yet use it to set up a face to face meeting. Don't take sides and stay honest. Être juste au meilleur de sa connaissance. Every issue is different and requires a different approach. Focus on each person's ability to do their job, not your personal opinion of them. Good performers are always a threat to underperforming staff who may have longer service, but they should try and be politically astute in dealing with fellow workers. Have clear policies and expectations, be fair and even handed in enforcement, don't be judgmental with lifestyle issues that don't impact on the workplace or company image, and be tolerant. Have clear written policies. Issues almost always are the result of poor communications, or no communications. Resolution is usually obtained through frank but amiable discussion. In that respect, young people would be well advised to improve their communication skills which include listening. The I'm ok, you re ok really works. It's all about getting along, in the context of the business. Personal issues need to be set aside, people act differently and approach issues differently - accept this. 6

7 Just remember to treat your colleagues, clients etc. just as you wished to be treated and how generally you would treat your own family. Keep an open mind and try to put yourself in the position of the people who raised the problem as to them, it is serious. Keep personal stuff out of the workplace and be tolerant. Listen before you talk. Listen to what people are saying. Listen, better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and prove it. Listen. Don't make instant decisions as you are affecting people's careers. Recognize when you need to get professional advice. Listen, listen, listen and learn. God gave you two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as hard. Younger people tend to be thinking about what they are going to say next before a more experienced employee has even finished talking. Oppressive management of employees is both short sighted and counterproductive. Enlightened management can realize significant efficiency and hence cost gains. Patience Pay more attention to personality fit than skills sets. You can train but you cannot change personalities. People issues properly managed can make an organization sing but badly managed will destroy an organizations effectiveness. Personal feelings and values are important, but businesses need professional managers and employees to succeed. Spend some time thinking about both before 7

8 you act. Try to deal with work issues at work and personal issues on personal time. Put your ego in your shirt pocket and leave it there. If you approach your work with a team-first attitude, good things will descend upon you. Put yourself in their shoes and then discuss how they should address the problem. Seek to understand others. Establish a code of conduct which is spelled out before someone is employed. Separate the issue with the personality of the individual. Then deal with the issue. Set clear expectations of performance and chain of command. Set guidelines and stick to them. Set reasonable rules up front and enforce them. Talk. Encourage honest dialogue. Treat everyone with respect, fairness and consideration, always act ethically and with integrity, and you cannot go wrong. Treat people fairly and do not tolerate conflict in the work place. If it occurs terminate both parties. Treat people like you would like to be treated and address conflicts early, Pick your battles, give and take in a workplace like a marriage. Treat the business as you would as you would a kindergarten. The same methods work. Use your common sense when dealing with all these issues! We offer team building training and seminars. 8

9 Work it out between the two of you - do not ask the boss to take sides - both employees will lose. 3.0 Methodology The COMPAS web-survey of CEOs and leaders of small, medium, and large corporations was conducted June 18-19, Respondents constitute an essentially hand-picked panel with a higher numerical representation of small and medium-sized firms. Because of the small population of CEOs and business leaders from which the sample was drawn, the study can be considered more accurate than comparably sized general public studies. In studies of the general public, surveys 103 are deemed accurate to within approximate 9.7 percentage points 19 times out of 20. The principal and co-investigator on this study are Conrad Winn, Ph.D. and Tamara Gottlieb. 9