You can spend 25 lacs and get an excellent certification - or you can build a better place to work - what should you choose and when?

To spend money on building a better place to work or getting an industry-recognized certification for your workplace? You would think there is an obvious answer to this question.

 â€˜Then why am I putting it out like there is any doubt about it?’

Because these are the things that no-one talks about and the very things I promised to discuss through this newsletter.

Sometimes organizations use these certifications to build a healthier workplace, not the other way round. And by investing in these certifications at the wrong time, they only inflict ‘weak culture’ inflicted wounds without knowing how to heal them.

For a good organization, you only need two things: 

1. Good people with the right skillset and the attitude 
2. Good processes to help them along

(and of course that you treat them well - that is NOT rocket science)

We make it rocket science because we don’t treat them humanely. See how I say “good” processes and not “robust” processes.

You need techniques that keep in mind the fallibility of humans and capitalizes on their inherent goodness.

The question is, how should companies invest in building a more robust culture? And how do they know they are ready to invest in certification for industry recognition?

To get to that answer, there are a few questions we must seek answers from within the organization-

1. Is everyone in my company/team aware of the core values, beliefs, and acceptable behaviors that the organization stands on?
2. Is everyone in my company/team comfortable with the values, beliefs, and acceptable behaviors that the organization stands for?
3. Is everyone in my company/team practising and cascading similar values, beliefs, and acceptable behaviors that the organization stands for?

I have seen companies spend insane amounts of money on culture audits that focus on building solutions. (There is very little analysis on what culture problems they are solving for)

That’s what happens with employee engagement surveys. The results give you a list of “possible” pain points. The smarter few bucketize them as per - low hanging fruit and essential in the long run (I am sure many of you are nodding here). We all know - nothing changes. It’s a lot of jargon thrown around.

I am not criticizing power being in the hands of few; today, I am critiquing values in the ‘hearts of few.’

Intent is not enough unless it leads to actions. No matter how values and cultures are intended, defined, and portrayed, they mean zilch unless reflected in organizational lore.

For this, every person in the organization is responsible. One loose thread can agitate the whole establishment.

Moving on - so, how do you go about creating a better place to work and what are some of the investments you can make for the same -  

A. Conduct regular (quarterly or semi-annually) culture-audits by the organization for the organization.

We invest in employee appraisals because we know that they directly lead to job satisfaction. Culture appraisals are equally, if not more, significant for employee engagement. Invest in setting up processes towards making these audits an integral part of the organization’s annual objectives. 

The tenets of your culture audit can be to check if people are treated respectfully. And if that respect builds on trust and transparency. 

B. Make people value-owners before making them job-owners.

You want to treat them right. But at times, you put business over people. The funny thing is - they aren’t two different things. The simplest and the most crucial principle of building a stronger organization is ‘treat people well.’ But this has to go beyond acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. People need to respect and believe in values to practise them. Even the best of leaders drift in the wrong direction because there is no signal ahead when it comes to practising values.

Therefore, it’s important to invest in making value-owners and ambassadors in the system. Or, as I say - when everybody becomes a value practitioner - that way you don’t need any external validation to come to your rescue. 

C. Invest into educating people about the ropes in your company and their future.

When you hire, everybody works in their way. It all starts to fall apart if that is led to continue for longer.

Rather than investing in industry certification, invest in learning and development opportunities for your team members. We know how artificial intelligence is shaping the present and future of business. Encourage people to learn the art and tricks that will help them align with the future. Invest in their capability development. 

Put people before business and see the magic for yourself.

The most successful brands invest in capturing sentiments and fulfilling the emotions of their target audience. You can never crack that formula until you do the same for your employees.

This is not to discourage certifications or external cultural audits. They have their significance – from creating goodwill to building a feeling of pride – they have their charm and benefits.

This one is to bring home the point that certification only ‘recognizes’, building, and nurturing is on us.