When things start falling apart

Maria Dweggah

Respect, inclusion, acknowledgement, courtesy, equity, transparency, fair access to promotion, accountability, integrity, succession planning—these are elements that keep the machine, the ensemble of the staff, well oiled and functioning. These are the elements that motivate staff, push staff to go the extra mile. Remove any one of these essential ingredients and the machine will start to show distress, slow down and may even stop altogether. How many of you have heard recently, « I used to stay late, come in on the week ends, now they don’t get one minute more. » When people feel unappreciated, uninvolved they stop putting out that extra effort. And believe me, it was not money that made them put in those extra unpaid hours in the first place.

There are a number of modern concepts advanced by top experts, Human Resources Management consultants who try to peddle their state-of-the art wares first to a number of unsuspecting buyers who soon discover the products are flawed, then eventually to the UN who gets taken in by the novelty and the promises. They sell change management techniques; performance appraisal systems with or without the confluence approach, tailored to specific need; broad banding; pay for performance schemes; new easy-anyone-can-do-it job classification software programs, the lot. Buy this, it will improve productivity, enhance efficiency, move your organization away from an entitlement culture to a performance culture. Hire us, buy our product. It will create a more competitive work force, provide them with more dynamic careers and encourage them to excel in the workplace.

They got it wrong and they know it. What encourages staff, what makes staff go the extra mile is not (and it has been proven over and over) more money. What makes staff perform better is an inclusive and motivating culture where they are involved in developing the vision of the organization. It is fairness. It is adherence and respect for the existing rules and regulations. It is an established mechanism for reporting grievances. It is a judicial system which gives the same rights to the staff as it does the Administration. It is equal access to promotion opportunities. It is freedom from harassment and bad behaviour at the work place. It is a word of encouragement from your colleague or supervisor. It is job security. It is intertwined loyalties.