Behind the beauty of Cawdor Castle in Nairnshire, there were uglier behaviours that included winning at any cost; blaming each other, teams against each other, cliques forming in sub teams; providing client questionable service levels, rash decision making, lack of accountability or planning and a general aura of crumbling under pressure. No one was there to put an arm round them or to harness all that energy and help them turn it into an amazing output.
Of course, this is TV and love it or hate it, it’s compulsive viewing. It’s a formula that works and there is a life changing opportunity for one successful candidate. But at what cost does it come to the 18 hopefuls?
These candidates are interesting, highly intelligent, qualified professionals, most with profitable successful businesses already. However, the viewers had to look hard to see this.
Which begs the question, do they display the same attitude and behaviours on a day-to-day basis in their own businesses? Or is this the ultimate showcase, laid out for millions to see, of how a positive Culture lets the good people shine and thrive, with a poor Culture forcing everyone good or bad to alter their behaviour to survive?
Organisations need to know what their culture is, and need to define what it is good or bad behaviour. It can be difficult to recognise a disruptive team, negativity or bullying behaviours creeping in when juggling with competing priorities, budgets or client demands. Unfortunately, HR or Senior Managers can be the last to find out, as many employees or managers try to handle things themselves (sometimes successfully) and only escalate when it’s at crisis point or has spread to all employees. When this happens, it is a big ship to turn.
A speak out culture helps, so does having clear parameters of what is and what isn’t acceptable. Two successful actions taken by some of our clients last year:
- Create a safe environment to speak. Create it vertically and horizontally. If the person causing upset is the escalated point of contact, you won’t hear about any issues until a formal grievance arrives. Having another point of contact – this could be HR or wellbeing person, can often lend an ear and calm things avoiding further escalation.
- An employee charter which is written and agreed within teams who struggle to agree, or among everyone (pending organisation size).
In this climate, organisations want to keep good people. The right culture and environment can make or break this. This can help us all avoid the dreaded and risky approach of “you’re fired!”
If you need help or want to understand more about how we can help you improve or rebuild culture and engagement by giving everyone a voice, please contact support@mckinneyhr.co.uk