ED 49: May-June 2013

asic culture of respect. Some items
require colleagues and superiors
to acknowledge and recognise the
employee’s ability, performance, and
opinions, then go on to give him praise
or opportunities to further develop and
improve. Have you heard supervisors
praising low-skilled workers when they
have done a good job? Such recognition
will only occur if there is respect for
others at the workplace.
Other statements go even further, asking
if supervisors or colleagues care for the
employee as a person and consciously
encourage his development. This goes
beyond respect for each other as
human beings, crossing into caring and
nurturing those under your supervision.
Still, respect is the indispensable
foundation.
Respect is something that people
often take for granted. After all, most
colleagues are ‘okay with each other’.
But the goal is to achieve a work
environment where people want to
be, where their ideas and skills are
recognised so that they are empowered
to do better for the organisation – not to
mention the beneficial effects in the nine
performance outcomes Gallup found
(listed in Key Findings from Gallup’s Q12
Meta-analysis 2012).
key findings from gallup’s
Q12 Meta-analysis 2012*
Employee engagement affects 9
performance outcomes. Compared with
bottom-quartile business/work units,
top-quartile units have:
37% lower absenteeism
25% lower turnover (in high-turnover
organisations)
65% lower turnover (in low-turnover
organisations)
28% less shrinkage
48% fewer safety incidents
41% fewer patient safety incidents
41% fewer quality incidents (defects)
10% higher customer metrics
21% higher productivity
22% higher profitability
Ways to cultivate a culture of
respect
Although counter-intuitive at times,
respect at the workplace needs to be
cultivated by putting it into practice.
Happily, this can be done at little or no
cost.
CO M M E n ta r y
Here are some suggestions:
1. Make respect a company value.
This makes it official, provides
handles with which to steer the
organisation and make respect a
part of the company’s culture. If it
is already part of your company’s
values, think about how it could
be emphasised and incorporated
into daily operations. For example,
intentionally putting together diverse
work teams creates platforms for
employees to learn about and
respect people of different ages and
backgrounds.
2. reward those who display
respect and other company
values.
Do this by appointing them team
leader for a project, or recognising
their good attitude in front of fellow
colleagues. Take care to balance
this with constructive feedback and
encouragement for all employees.
The point is to make known that
company values are valued!
May | Ju n 2013
En t r E p r E n E u r s’ Di g E s t
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