Integrity has huge applications throughout a firm but it is particularly critical for anyone working in the field of human resources. After all, the whole essence of managing human resources boils down to relationships between people. If those relationships are strong and trusting you create a very valuable asset. Here are three simple ideas based on the DNA of integrity—disclosure, norms and accountability—to help HR execs create value in their organization.
1. Absolute honesty
There’s no such thing as secrets within an organization anymore. If you try and keep secrets you’ll look untrustworthy. It’s a tough message for managers to hear but it’s essential to take on board.
2. Simplify norms
Companies do pretty well on norms. In fact, maybe a little too well! Most companies have plenty of established rules and procedures that are integrated throughout the organization. But to build relationships of trust you need people to internalize simple rules that make sense.
3. Hold everyone accountable to the same standards
The recent case at HP where the board dismissed the CEO for bad behavior is a great point in case. But this is by far the exception rather than the rule. It’s not uncommon to give senior management far more leeway with the rules than everyone else. Yet that doesn’t inspire trust in the organization.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dear Anna,
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience in the health sector (hospital) comentarte some thoughts that I think may be of interest.
Hospitals, and companies that are, have characteristics that make them quite different from the others. Its strongest point are human relations, all of them.
I was responsible for approximately 60 ICU nurses and support staff. The success of the work consisted in part of each person in the unit in a common goal. It is essential that this goal is achievable, we can not, under any circumstances, create false expectations. When, and here I promptly let you, the rules are rather simple as possible (in this case we speak of circuits and hierarchies) the resolution of the problems that are appearing continuously are easier to manage. The result is optimal.
The virtue of making your goal the objective of fundamental demases to achieve success, but here we have to highlight the qualities of the leader. Clearly, its integrity is the cornerstone of this whole organization. Integrity must go up and down. All equipment should have this feature. Those of the organization that do not comply, can not continue in the same.
Adaptability and flexibility to change is another feature to consider. In the end, gets to have a motivated, in constant evolution and satisfied for a job well done.
Best regards from Barcelona
Josep M ª
Hi Josep,
ReplyDeletethanks so much for your insight. I'm struck by the hospital example and think it's a good one. It really is about creating a win/win for everyone involved. In big organizations, individuals can and do get completely lost. But setting shared realistic goals, creating simple standards everyone can understand and enforcing those standards gives people the freedom to perform well. Most people take pride in their work and want to perform well but half the time the organization itself makes it difficult with unspecified goals or unrealistic ones, complicated rules and haphazard enforcement so that some people (top management or favored people) are held to one set of rules and everyone else to another. If the goal of an organization is to create as much money as possible in as quick a time as possible then this kind of approach probably isn't interesting. But if an organization's goal is to create lasting wealth then why wouldn't you focus on building integrity and trust?