What Makes A Company Happy.pdf

The Happy Manager ~ a better way to manage

What Makes A Happy Company? Anthony Sturgess & Phil Higson

Twelve Questions To Shape A Strong, Vibrant Workplace What makes a happy company? Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, in their book “First Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently” gave us a strong clue. They described how, during their time with Gallup, the research organisation set them the task of answering the key question: “What makes a strong and vibrant company?” In order to answer this they analysed data gathered by Gallup over a 25 year period, during which hundreds of different questions were put to a wide range of employees. Buckingham and Coffman distilled this research into twelve questions which should be put to staff. They summarised the results for Gallup, saying: “These twelve questions are the simplest and most accurate way to measure the strength of a workplace.” They proposed that each employee should be asked to rank the following questions on a scale of one to five: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Do I know what is expected of me at work? Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? Is there someone at work who encourages my development? At work, do my opinions count? Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? 9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? 10. Do I have a best friend at work? 11. In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress? 12. At work, have I had opportunities to grow? To determine if their analysis was valid Buckingham and Coffman conducted research using 2,500 different business units, from 24 different companies, across twelve distinct sectors. The research concluded with each business unit measuring its performance in relation to productivity, profitability, employee retention and customer satisfaction. Finally, Buckingham and Coffman put their twelve questions to employees at these organisations, to explore any links between positive organisational performance and levels of employee engagement. The outcome of the research was that the first six questions were found to have the strongest links to the most business outcomes – productivity, customer satisfaction and staff retention.

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The Happy Manager ~ a better way to manage

Five of the questions (one, two, three, five and seven) were found to be especially linked to employee retention. Buckingham and Coffman concluded that responses to these questions clearly indicated the importance of the employee-manager relationship. This reinforces the critical influence that managers have on staff attitude, performance and, ultimately retention. Therefore “If you have a turnover problem, look first to your managers.” Managers really matter when it comes to creating a happy company.

So Can Good Managers Make Happy Companies - And Can They Be Profitable? Now perhaps it's time for you to consider the value of this research. It might be worthwhile answering the questions yourself, before putting them to your staff. Perhaps you already work in a happy environment, in which there is nothing to fear. If not, maybe it's time to take the relationship between staff happiness, productivity and retention more seriously. Be warned though, before you take any superficial or insincere action. As Buckingham and Coffman said, "... if your relationhsip with your manager is fractured, then no amount of in-chair massaging or company-sponsored dog walking will persuade you to stay and perform. It is better to work for a great manager in an old-fashioned company than for a terrible manager in a company offering an enlightened, employee-focused culture." You might find it useful to read The Value Of A Good Manager: People Leave Managers Not Companies, www.the-happy-manager.com, for some clear advice on becoming a manager people want to work for. Perhaps a manager like Hal Rosenbluth. Rosenbluth built up the small, family-run Travel Management Company to become one of the largest in the US. In his provocative book “Customers Come Second”, he outlined his radical approach to management: putting employees first. He argued that “Profits are a natural extension of happiness in the workplace." And "If we put our people first, they'll put our clients first." What is interesting is how Rosenbluth described his journey to building a very successful and happy company. In an interview with Fast Company, Rosenbluth described the origins of his radical philosophy. What led him to his unusual approach of putting customers second and employees first? You may not be surprised to know it was his own experience of being managed poorly. Rosenbluth joined the family business after leaving college at the age of 22, and “wandered around the company working for one lousy manager after another. Each added to a growing

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The Happy Manager ~ a better way to manage

list of negative role models with whom I had come in contact over the years. Fortunately, I learned a lot from these negative role models". He recalled a company who’s management “was so overwhelmingly consumed by focusing on our customers, they forgot about their own employee’s happiness.” He felt the place was unpleasant to work in and was a company “full of unhappy people producing unhappy service and deteriorating profitability.” He decided never to become such a manager himself. Rosenbluth was arguably ahead of his time in deciding to use the power of friendship to build a successful business. Today it's well known that a key element of happiness is the importance of networks of friends. Rosenbluth recalled how it was his friends who came to his aid and stayed with him during trying times. "Friends never let friends down. This realization led to my plan to build a company of friends. First, I had to create and sustain an environment that would breed friendships. Second, I would only hire nice people." Rosenbluth proved that a happy company can be a profitable company. He ended the interview with a parting tip for a happy company: “Care about your people and they will care about your business. Forget that and watch profits go down the drain.”

As A Manager What Can You Do? The Llyn Peninsular, in north Wales, is well known for having noticeably warmer weather than its immediate neighbours. The North Atlantic drift helps create a distinct micro-climate. If they have a mind to, managers can create organisational micro-climates, helping foster happier workplaces. If you administererd the Buckingham and Coffman questionniare, and the results weren't what you'd like, it's up to you to make a difference. Nobody is better placed to create a happy company than its managers. To build that happy company try to become a talent magnet. Seek out the best staff if you are recruiting, or try to forge happy, productive working relationships with those already with you. Think through the 12 questions and how they might relate to your team. Whatever the result, they'll provide a good indication of what a happy company – a vibrant and strong workplace - should look like. Build friendships at work as Hal Rosenbluth suggests: start the process of building a company of friends. After all if you can tell good people by the company they keep, you can certainly tell a good company by the people it keeps!

Copyright © 2007 www.the-happy-manager.com

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