 The
lack of personal accountability in the workplace
has led to a serious national epidemic of corporate
welfare. This epidemic is destroying employee
morale and employee engagement and is causing
costly
employee turnover to an extent greater than
anything I have seen before in my many years of
consulting and talent management experience.
For the record,
I am not referring the traditional
form of corporate welfare whereby large corporations
receive huge tax breaks, grants, funding, financial
bailouts, and other special considerations
from the government.
The type of corporate
welfare I am talking about is the subsidization
(in the form of a paycheck twice a month) of underperforming
employees who lack all sense of personal accountability
for the results they are responsible for. These
employees are almost always characterized by an
overwhelming sense of entitlement to their positions.
That is to say that they have put in their time
and feel that their organization "owes"
them something.
It is rare that the
net effect (cost versus contribution) of these
individuals' employment is positive. Yet these
employees feel that they are entitled to their
job.
The real question
is… where does this sense of entitlement
come from?
Management.
It may sound
a bit harsh perhaps, but it is the truth. While
entitlement thinking may begin with the employee
team member, it is most certainly sanctioned and
allowed to flourish by the managers within an
organization. From my experience, the origins
of entitlement thinking can be traced up the organizational
chart to the senior executive level.
So how can you recognize
corporate welfare and entitlement thinking? The
following are a few sure-fire signs:
- The automatic
expectation of annual salary increases - entitled
employees often refuse to exert any extra effort
until they get their "due."
- Raises
and bonuses are distributed automatically based
on loyalty and tenure regardless of performance.
- Managers
spend an equal amount of time coaching
and mentoring employees in an effort to
be fair to everyone - the truth is that low
performers who are not fit for the job should
not be receiving an equal share of a manager's
valuable time.
- A culture
of "clock watchers" - those employees
who arrive exactly at 8am and leave precisely
at 5pm, regardless of organizational circumstances
or project status because they "aren't
paid enough to put in the additional effort."
- Employees
who only exert the minimum effort to get by
on projects.
- Top performing,
high potential employees are hired and quickly
leave as they realize they are working for an
organization that does not embrace personal
accountability for performance.
- Managers
and supervisors recognize and complain about
entitlement thinking, but do nothing to stop
it.
 Want
to find out for certain if entitlement thinking
and corporate welfare are pervasive in your organization?
Ask. More specifically ask the high performers
that you weren't able to keep on your bus as they
head to greener pastures. They will likely provide
you with some very candid and useful insights
as to the extent that corporate welfare is operating
your organization.
I am reminded
of the quote by John Miller in his landmark book
on personal accountability - QBQ! - where
he defines entitlement thinking as this…
"I deserve… Because I am" I think
his definition sums it up pretty well and is a
clear indication of a lack of personal accountability
in the workplace.
The bottom
line is that entitlement thinking and corporate
welfare are dangerous diseases in any organization
which destroy employee morale and engagement and
ultimately increase
costly employee turnover.
What can you do to
eradicate corporate welfare?
Decide.
Decide to
eliminate entitlement thinking where it starts
- the senior level. From there, implement a company-wide
initiative to eliminate entitlement thinking
by making personal accountability in the workplace
a core cultural value.
Cultures can be changed
and it begins with personal accountability
Now go maximize possibility!
1-866-988-RAIN
Copyright 2008
The Rainmaker Group, Inc.
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