Apathy in an organisation tells us that no one really cares whether we contribute or not. The worst examples come from organisations where the rot spreads from senior management. The oft quoted phrase 'the fish rots from the head down' is an accurate reflection of what happens in these businesses.
Leaders failing to engage the vision and strategy of the business with every level of management has to be explored.
Some organisations just get too big to manage the 'apathy' factor.
You will not be surprised to hear that smaller businesses or SMG's do not tend to suffer from this malaise.
The chief culprits appear to be larger organisations where ownership for change and improvement is vague and where senior management see their role as little more than transactional rather than transformational.
In organisations where the top team are committed to transforming the business, 'apathy' may reside at lower levels probably because a lack of strategic or simply local leadership.
Whatever the cause, the "couldn't be bothered" syndrome spreads across the organisation. Here, performance standards decline and the informal organisation and the grapevine take over as the principal means of communication.
Implications if unaddressed
It is fairly clear that this can not be allowed to continue. If it does, the more capable employees leave for pastures new; consumer and customer support declines. It's very unlikely that any commercial organisation could exist for long with such a poor culture in place.
Benefits when rectified
Leadership and engagement with staff is the cornerstone or the foundation which will reverse this trend.
Strong directions and strategic intent well communicated in a caring and sensitive manner, will resolve many of the problems.
Organisations that reside more in the public services arena may tend to experience apathy more than commercial organisations and much of this is down to the lack of focus on precision in strategic planning, installing a strong leadership and teamworking culture and genuinely engaging with staff.
Solutions
Solutions are dependent on diagnosis. It is worthwhile identifying the root cause behind this malaise. You will find on investigation that the culture of the organisation has been limping along for years without strong direction, or conversely, too much direction from changing stakeholders who have more political will than commercial intent.
The most important factor is to create a strong strategic direction and build a degree of credibility in the ability of management to lead and manage. After many years of abuse you can be sure that cynicism will rule the day, but there is every reason where change when implemented with precision and in a speedy manner can generate the desired results.
Absence Management has much to do with the afore mentioned subject - "Apathy". The control of absenteeism has eluded many organisations for too long. It is still a major factor contributing to declining productivity in many businesses.
In some sectors and organisations, some staff believs that by 'right' they have a number of sick days that they can take off each year.
In businesses that are more commercial, managers control the process by designing and policing a process to identify and separate problem employees from genuine cases.
Usually, an organisation that suffers from this problem has allowed a lax culture, to evolve where managers have been just as much a part of the problem as the staff who abuse the system.
Implications if unaddressed
The trouble with unresolved absence is that the norms about acceptable behaviour spread very quickly.
Resentment builds up when staff recognise that widely varying performance standards are allowed to co-exist.
The situation becomes very tense when one team learn that another team are judged by different standards and uncertificated absence is treated differently, depending upon to whom you report.
It is fairly clear that this can not be allowed to continue. If it does, the more capable employees leave to go to employers who are more equitable in their treatment of staff absence.
Non certificated absenteeism is a huge issue in British Industry and radically impacts our GDP and productivity rates.
Some organisations develop a soft line whereas the more commercial businesses that report to stockholders appear to develop some expertise in controlling the problem.
Benefits when rectified
Absence creates huge problems in dealing with workflow in conducting business as usual. Unresolved and high absence figures can cripple a business and is often the result of 'soft management practises'.
Leadership is the answer to many organisational problems, and a failure to take control and manage a situation where 'absence' is not perceived as an issue and allowed to continue unabated, will only weaken the culture and reduce performance.
This is a major issue in the UK in several types of business and needs to be sharply addressed if the organisation wants to be taken seriously by its consumers or its customers.
Solutions
The bottom line here is focusing on five key areas.
Develop an equitable process that managers and staff understand that regulates staff absence. The process must be transparent and clear to all staff and applied equitably.
The process has to be policed and enforced.
Staff have to be trained in managing the process and taking responsibility for inputting information.
There must be an equitable measurement system in place to demonstrate fairness and also be able to highlight potential areas for concern with problem employees.
The most important part is creating the right culture where managers have the requisite skills to identify potential problems and address them before they become serious. I am a great believer in anticipating and preventing problems before they occur. Doing so enables us all to avoid a bureaucratic solution to a human problem.
Another critical action is to create a strong, strategic direction and build a degree of credibility in the ability of management to lead and manage. After many years of abuse you can be sure that cynicism will rule the day, but there is every reason where change when implemented with precision and in a speedy manne,r can generate the desired results.
Note there are several entries under 'Due diligence', Post Acquisition 'Integration' and 'Joint Ventures' - so it may be a good idea to look at these topics in this A- Z register of Change Strategies.
Symptoms
When two or more organisations formally combine either through merger or acquisition there are a whole series of issues that if left unresolved, will inhibit the operation of the new entity. If insufficient due diligence has been committed to the bringing together of these entities, that post acquisition Day One will prove difficult.
It is worth noting that without a plan post acquisition it is unlikely that the organisation will achieve the synergies for which it was originally devised. There are many articles on this problem and can be found at these locations. See www.WoburnConsulting.com for further details.
The reality is if there is a failure to create a roadmap of activities to bring the two organisations together to create a new business entity, then chaos will reign.
Implications if unaddressed
Some common myths exist - that companies can be merged together as you would blend ingredients in a food processor. Wrong!
A new business entity is not an amalgam of two businesses. What usually happens is that one culture will predominate rather than there being a "cocktail of cultures".
Acquisitions often fail and have to be de-merged or broken up. Usually, the failure resides in failing to bring the culture and style of management together with a new strategic focus.
Benefits when rectified
Companies such as General Electric or Royal Bank of Scotland are brilliant at the art and science of post acquisition integration. RBS was acknowledged as the real driver behind the National Westminster takeover. They developed project Columbus to ensure that manufacturing, retail and culture change happened to a timetable.
Investors are confused if the acquisition does not achieve the goals it was designed to deliver. Post acquisition integration makes this happen against milestones.
Milestones can be set which include typical scorecard considerations focusing on business improvement through process improvement and cultural re-alignment.
Customers reward you with their loyalty and retention when post acquisition is well structured and planned.
Customer drift is absent
New or redesigned products quickly hit the marketplace.
Alignment in the purpose of several partners comes about with a strong energy and drive.
Solutions
Post acquisition integration is a process and a sequence of events that needs installed day one after takeover and the books have been opened.
Post acquisition can happen and be mapped against time frames such as 10, 20, 50 and 100+ days after acquisition.
Culture and processes are the real drivers that deliver the results in profitability and customer retention.
I consider Appraisal to be the 'soul' of the organisation. The appraisal system tells us w the wishes of managers and how they control resources and people in their grasp. The process of appraisal tells us whether it is done to or with people and tells us a great deal of the relative health of the culture.
Symptoms
Whether an organisation has an Appraisal System and process in place or not, Appraisal is always taking place, at an informal level where groups of managers will be consciously or otherwise assessing staff against real or imaginary targets and standards.
It makes sense that Formal Appraisal has to consist of processes based on dialogue, equity and fairness, but it can go badly wrong.
Typical examples include uncompleted appraisals with a backlog going back years, Appraisals undertaken on staff who feel that they are emotionally not part of the process.
Poor quality decisions for advancement being based on longevity of service or age rather than experience and performance.
Many forms of discrimination are reflected in a company's process of appraisal.
Benefits when rectified
Staff feel and experience the process as a legitimate development tool.
Talent management becomes an easier process, and retention of good quality people is a natural benefit.
Issues of poor performance are not hidden under a corporate rug.
Deadwood leaves the building quicker and is not allowed to spread.
People pay attention to measurement and "what gets measured gets done."
Solutions
A policy of performance management which takes seriously the view of the management of people.
Appraisal is a tool of the performance management system.
The process is seen as a dual feedback process where managers learn from how they manage their teams.
360 appraisal opens up the organisation's blind spots that relate to style of management.
Appraisal is welcomed as a process that drives investment and development in people.
Informal appraisal and changes in management style make the process less stressful and challenging. People realise that appraisal can be a process which reduces stress, rather than a bargaining process having winners and losers.
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