Dear Joan:

We have been experiencing a critical personnel problem within our firm during the past

few years. Many of our employees have been with the company for at least ten years.

Due to changes that occur over such an extensive period of time, these employees

have developed an "anti-corporate" attitude. New ideas are flatly rejected and each

employee clamors for the credit and recognition for any successful idea.

This situation is causing severe morale problems among newer employees and they are

leaving as fast as they join the firm. The older employees can't be terminated because

of the knowledge and skills they possess.

How do we deal with this situation and maintain the old with the new?

Answer:

The clue to solving this case may be in the last sentence of the first paragraph. A group

of people will always adjust to their environment in order to cope, so a good place to

begin looking for answers is in the way they respond to the workplace. As a corporate

Sherlock Holmes, your job is to identify the rewards and punishments that have created

this situation and find ways to solve the mystery.

If this group is quick to reject new ideas and eager to take credit for any idea that works,

what caused this? My hunch is an unskilled boss or an authoritative corporate culture

has something to do with it.

Here are a few clues to investigate: If a new idea was tried and failed, were they

criticized? Did their boss cultivate "pets" who had good ideas that were rubbed in the

faces of the rest? Does your company expect its employees to check their brains at the

door? Were new ideas shoved down their throats before they were tested? Did new

ideas always seem to result in demands for higher productivity? Did new ideas add

work that was never rewarded? Was individual competition rewarded over team play?

An "anti-corporate" attitude grows from a feeling of being used by the system. Anti-

corporate feelings can only grow when employees don't feel a part of the company.

Unfortunately, once negativism sets in, so does skepticism and sarcasm. This

gruesome threesome is tough to drive out.

The first place to consider making a change is in the leadership of the group. Even if the

manager is reasonably good, the old order of things needs to be shaken. This group

needs a people-smart manager, who has a clearly demonstrated understanding of

human motivation. If this new boss is a well-respected, well-liked manager in your firm,

all the better.

The next thing to do is find a way to train back-ups. It worries me (and should worry

your management) that "you can't terminate" these older workers because they are the

only ones who know the job. These employees are holding you hostage!

Change your reward system to favor cross training and cooperation. Giving a "training

bonus" to employees who train others can do this. If your company can't give money,

give significant non-monetary perks, such as flexible hours or Friday afternoon off. Don't

be conservative. This is a time to ring the bell of change and you don't want anyone to

miss it.

Find ways to listen to these experienced workers. One idea is to get them together in a

weekly meeting to brainstorm solutions to problems. Don't tease them with fake

meetings, however. If you aren't prepared to let them try their own ideas and reward

them for their effort, don't yank their chain. This won't work unless their manager is a

skilled meeting leader and believes in employee involvement and empowerment.

Start with problems that are relatively easy to fix, so they see quick results and know

you mean business. If they need training in how to participate in problem solving

meetings, bring someone in to teach them (and their boss) the skills. Praise all ideas

and reward team successes with theatre tickets, pizza at lunch or -better yet- let them

split a percentage of the money their new ideas save the company.

Try to find ways to break up old cliques. A few hard-core leaders may need to be moved

or their jobs changed to create a new power balance. If some employees sabotage your

attempts to create a new atmosphere, deal with them quickly. Talk to them privately

about what you see them doing and ask for their cooperation. If repeated conversations

fail to get the desired result, begin to document their lack of cooperation and warn them

that they could lose their jobs. As much as you would hate to lose an experienced

worker, you can't afford to let them scare off new talent that is the future lifeblood of

your company.

If you can crack this case, you will create the kind of healthy corporate culture that will

encourage the old and new employees to work together to help your company grow.