Motivation in the workplace

“I am sure that you just need to be nice to people, you know? Is that asking too much?” Clearly it was too much for my colleague’s manager.

The discussion moved on: “All I had done was make a small error on the spreadsheet, but it had had a large impact. Instead of the department salaries being hidden, they were visible to all of the management team. No one had explicitly told me that individual managers did not know what the other managers paid their staff – surely they discussed this at their management meetings at the time of the annual review?”

Seemingly they did not. “Anyway”, my colleague continued, “not only did I get what I considered a vicious e-mail from her, my so-called boss, but also the ‘silent’ treatment for about three days! I had realised my error after feedback from Jim, who was really pragmatic about his feedback. And I immediately sent a message to the boss and then to her colleagues, withdrawing the attachment. Of course, some of them had seen the original spreadsheet, but surely they are mature adults and can confront such errors with more appropriate behaviour?”

Throughout my career, I have been an advisor to others on such incidents – and have been the originator of such errors too, I can tell you! Needless to say, as with my colleague, I experienced a variety of reactions from others and also the whole spectrum of personal emotions myself, from guilt through to depression and back to guilt again. But maybe that is just me.

And other colleagues, outwardly at least, were able to dismiss such incidents and continue to drive onwards – the attitude of “I messed up, I have learnt, now move on”. It is true, many people are able to deeply reflect and learn from events (good and bad) extremely quickly, whilst others take a bit longer.

All of which is not much help to my colleague when they are ‘in the moment’. So, what could I do to help them? And what about the de-motivating effect of their manager’s attitude?

Let’s deal with the manager first. Motivation of employees should be the main focus of managers and leaders, in order to maximise their effort and commitment to the work they do. We know all the management theory – from Adam Smith and his pin manufacturing through to Daniel Goleman and Emotionally Intelligent managers – and how it affects motivational approaches. And yet, we continue to FAIL to implement management theory, or leadership theory for that matter, successfully, over a wide range of industries, through effective development practices. Look at Dan Ariely speaking on www.TED.comrecently. A series of experiments advanced the thought that motivation of staff should be easy: “Ignoring the performance of people is almost as bad as shredding their effort in front of their eyes…” states Dan.

Now, my colleague was not being ignored; nor were they having their work ‘shredded’ – although the e-mail and the ‘silent treatment’ had the same effect. As we are managing knowledge workers more and more – in every industry and every level – keeping staff motivated as a rule should be simple. Acknowledge their contribution meaningfully – you should know their capability after all; address performance fluctuations ‘head on’ with empathy – was this a one-off or a pattern of errors?; and do both consistently across the team.

Yet, a recent CIPD report still suggests that 25% of managers surveyed do not seem to be equipped for / are concerned about “having difficult conversations” (for that, read discussions about a drop in expected performance, absence, other disputes and so on).

My colleague asked for my advice – I think I prefer to give you observations, I said. These were: ‘Nice’ is a variable concept, so how would you wish to be treated? When you have thought about that, what emotions and feelings do YOU need to maximise to help manage your boss? (Note – training on spreadhseets is not mentioned). And finally, what do your colleagues do when faced with similar situations – and see if you would feel able to respond in their way.

Without of course losing your motivation.

John Hepworth

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Preventing employee suicide

In one of life’s strangest coincidences, Sarah spent a good chunk of the week of 8th to 14th September, 2013, in her local Accident and Emergency department.  You may or may not know that this was National Suicide Prevention week in the UK.  It was also the week that Sarah, in the grip of suicidal thinking, took a number of actions which were designed to give her relief from her unrelenting thoughts and to keep her from committing the ultimate act of self-harm.

If you’d asked me a year ago about my experience of suicide, I would have had to stop and think hard.  In recent weeks, however, I have come to understand how close to home suicide – and the risk of suicide – actually is.  My brother reported two suicides this year within a mile of his home.  One man threw himself under a train, struggling to cope with his own illness and his wife’s dementia in old age.  Another man killed himself with a sword, leaving behind his wife and young son.  Looking back, I remember the shock we experienced as a family when the son of a friend committed suicide.  I experienced the same level of shock as a member of the London Symphony Chorus when one of our members took his own life.

Let me pause here, and invite you to reflect on your own experience.  How often has your train been delayed for reasons which are unknown or, quite clearly, for a fatality?  When you survey your family tree, or your wider friendship group, is there someone – often overlooked or maybe actively pushed out of view – who committed suicide?  Have you ever known of someone in your workplace who has attempted to commit suicide?

What’s the scale of the problem?

In the UK, the Samaritans report that 1 million people across the globe die by suicide each year.  That’s one suicide every 40 seconds.  They also report that more people die by suicide each year than by murder and war combined.  They see these statistics as conservative – many suicides go unseen.  Suicides go unreported because of social stigma or because the cause of death is given as something else, such as a road traffic accident or drowning.

Suicide is the second largest source of death worldwide amongst 15-19 year-olds.  It’s not, though, only a young person’s problem.  The Samaritans report that male suicide rates are on average 3-5 times higher than female rates and say men aged 30-44 are in the group with the highest rate of suicide.  Both male and female suicide rates are increasing.  Anecdotally, I know of more men than women who have committed suicide and it does seem that men who attempt suicide use methods which ensure their success – though I struggle, in this context, with the word “success”.

Suicide and the work-place

Sarah’s recent experience made me reflect on suicide and work-related stress.  It didn’t take much research to find the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, which highlights the workplace as one of the key environments affecting mental health and well-being:

The workplace is one of the key environments affecting mental health and well-being.   Gainful employment provides experiences that promote mental well-being through the provision of structured time, social contact, collective effort and purpose, social identity, and regular activity.  Unfortunately, the workplace can also be the source of non-productive stress leading to physical and mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts and behaviours and suicide.

It’s clear to me that if you’re a manager or working in HR, you’re in a privileged position as the first port of call for people in distress and even if you’re not, you need to know how to respond if a friend, family member or colleague comes to you for support.

Equally, if you are under stress and having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, you need to know what to do next.

If you’re in distress

If you’re in distress, you need to turn – as soon as you can – to appropriate professionals.  These professionals are likely to be outside the workplace and include your GP and local mental health services and voluntary organisations, such as the Samaritans.  Make an appointment to see your GP as soon as you start to experience suicidal thoughts or, if you’re struggling to resist the call to self-harm, go immediately to your local Accident and Emergency department.  Call the Samaritans at any time of day or night.

I want to say to you that I hear your “buts” and I know how hard it can be to reach out.  My heart goes out to you for everything that you are experiencing right now.  I don’t know what to say to you that will help you to reach out except this:  please, seek help.

Responding to someone in distress

Whether you are a line manager, working in HR or in some other role, if you want to provide support, you need to be alert to clues that an employee is in distress and to take those clues seriously.  It is not enough to encourage people to “push through” whatever difficulties they may have:  you need to know that people may come to you for help and to be ready to talk openly with them and without judgement about what they are experiencing.  People who are experiencing extreme distress may find it hard to speak openly about their experience but they do give clues and you need to follow up by asking – openly and directly - if an employee is having thoughts of self-harm.

Nor is it enough to think that you can provide the appropriate support.  Adrianna Scott, in an article for the American Society for Human Resource Management about how to deal with suicide in the workplace emphasises the limitations of the HR professional’s responsibilities and the need to seek out professional support.  She writes:

Marina London, spokeswoman for the Employee Assistance Professionals Association, based in Arlington, Va., says labelling employees as having a mental illness is on her list of HR “no-nos.”

“It’s not the HR person’s job to diagnose the person who is clinically depressed or bipolar,” London stressed. “The HR position should be supportive of the employee and get them to a professional.”

If you want a happy ending for employees in distress, you need to act sooner rather than later and to know your own limitations as a line manager or HR professional.  In time, you may be able to help employees to find better strategies than suicide or self-harm for handling stress.  First though, you need to support employees in distress in finding the right professional help.

Life beyond suicidal thinking

The Samaritans report that between 10 and 14% of people have suicidal thinking throughout their lifetime and approximately 5% of people attempt suicide at least once in their life.  Some people don’t make it.  Some people (including – so far – Sarah) do.

What happens once the immediate crisis is over?  I hope that, for many, therapy of various kinds can be transformative.  I have, for example, been drawn to revisit an approach called “family constellations” via a core text:  Love’s Hidden Symmetry:  What Makes Love Work in Relationships, by Bert Hellinger, Gunthard Weber and Hunter Beaumont.  I remembered that Hellinger and his co-authors had touched in this book on connections between family dynamics and suicide and I found, on re-visiting this book, a wealth of wisdom and examples in a field which is about resolution – finding ways to resolve unconscious family dynamics so that family members can embrace life fully.

Suicidal thinking is characterised by extreme black or white thinking and a lack of connection with one’s most essential needs – perhaps even a lack of permission to have needs.  For this reason, I find myself wondering how much the workplace has to contribute – way before an employee reaches crisis-point – by nurturing the emotional intelligence and thinking skills of employees.  As a line manager, for example, any investment you make in coaching members of your team, can be an investment in their mental health as well as contributing to their effectiveness at work.  Equally, the skills of empathy and the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes and to see things from their point of view, can be essential for the manager dealing with an employee in distress.  The same skills can also transform a sales process or create bridges between departments which are otherwise entrenched in silo thinking.

Being a witness to Sarah at a time of extreme distress has been a humbling experience for me and still, I want to make it count.  I thank you for reading this article and reaching this point and I hope that in ways I cannot yet foresee it might make a difference to you or to someone you know at a time of crisis.

Dorothy Nesbit

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Punk Rock HRD

I'm off to meet Billy Bragg this week, the "Bard of Barking" and I was reminded of his song "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards".  

The song set me thinking about the vexed HR issue of training, development and learning.  Huge sums of money are invested in training on the assumption that it will produce a 'great leap forwards'.  So when does training = learning?  When does learning = application?  When does application = impact?  Bragg reminds me that I wrote a rant / chapter about this in my micro book "Punk Rock People Management – A no-nonsense guide to hiring, inspiring and firing staff".  Here is the chapter on Punk Rock HRD for your interest:

In brief, to ensure that HRD activities convert to results, start at the other end of the process rather than with the 'solution' called training.

Punk Rock People Management was inspired by 15 years 'hard labour' running the CIPD Branch in Kent and as a member of the CIPD Council, rather than 'busking'.  So, the punk rock is an allusion to simplicity, brevity and authenticity in Human Relations at work, rather than a requirement to pogo whilst reading the book :-)  In brief it has three messages for HR people:

• Brevity - Keep HR short
• Simplicity - Keep HR simple
• Authenticity - Keep HR real

It's available for free on application.  Simply contact me via the WEBSITE.

Peter Cook

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Line managers getting ‘empowered’

‘Empowered’. Seemingly, the current ‘buzz’ word when it comes to management practices? Well, it has been around for a long while. The ‘dictionary definition’ for ‘Empowerment’ is: to give power or authority, or to give ability to, enable or permit.

Taking this definition literally, there are several challenges that need to be addressed by organisations, of whatever size. There is the management cliché that the person with the most power and authority in a company is the Managing Director’s personal assistant. They, after all, may choose who speaks to ‘the boss’ and for how long, as their ‘diary is very busy at the moment you see.’ Power also suggests influence, so in other words, when managing scarce resources – such as finding the employees with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to succeed for YOUR project – line managers need to know who has the power and influence in the organisation so they can deliver.

If we look at ‘giving ability to’, this brings us more into the world of learning and development. The role of any manager needs to have a core of self-development, be it in technical skills relating to the role or more likely, management skills per se – how to budget, what project management looks like, how to juggle people skills and how to ‘sell the benefits, not the features’ (thanks Neil) of your service or product. There is a clue in the title – you are a manager!

Again, ‘enabling’ suggests a positive approach to helping and assisting management deliver a better service or product: empowering them to have an overview of the benefits and challenges of a whole process, not just the part that has their name attached to it. ‘Enabling’ too suggests that managers have the willingness to engage in empowerment. The management task needs to be seen as a vocational aspiration rather than an add-on to a technical role.

And on the surface, ‘permit’ may suggest management have to seek permission to act or that the organisation concedes that they may have some power (but not too much). Instead, it may also be seen as allowing management to manage and to provide them with ‘space’ to succeed and learn from their mistakes.

The CIPD (‘People Management’ magazine, October 2013) offer some clues as to how organisations may empower management. For example, encourage a coaching culture. Throughout the ages, one theme from the most frequently cited management gurus has been ‘asking those who work with you as they’ll have the ideas’, or variations on that. So, coaching styles are ideal for seeking employee input – and enabling employees to have a voice, another oft quoted solution to improving employee engagement (to use that jargon – basically, helping employees contribute more to work).

But the crux of all this ‘empowerment’ is power and its uses. French and Raven (1958) state that power is a property of a relationship and not of the individual. What matters then is not whether or not (our MD’s secretary) has power, but rather the fact that others perceive (our secretary) to have that ability (paraphrasing Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013, with thanks). Power and politics in organisations too come hand-in-hand. Rather than see politics as a ‘dirty word’, managers should use it – power often derives from been able to use the decision-making process that is ‘company politics’ to the best effect.

So when we talk about ‘empowerment’, organisations need to firstly recognise the benefits of allowing managers to manage and not have the option of hiding behind the ‘expert departments’ such as HR, Marketing and Finance. To use a project management phrase, they are accountable – the buck stops with them. Secondly, the true impact of empowerment should fundamentally change the way that we deliver training and learning in organisations; work-based learning for instance is highly effective for all managers and it is now much wider than perceived ‘NVQ portfolios’ (could not be further from that, actually). And finally, managers themselves need to recognise that they have ‘manager’ in their job title and that they need to remember that when seeking a better result for their team and their organisation, as well as for their own self-development.

John Hepworth

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The End

I recently read the headline of an article entitled “the beginning”, strangely I found myself thinking of endings. Not totally off point as often for something to begin, something else must end.

They say all good things must come to an end. I don't believe it's ALL things. However sometimes they just do. Not because we didn't give our best, stopped caring or what have you - sometimes things just change and the synergy is just not there - it becomes hard work and/or it ceases to be fulfilling.

This happens on a personal level in the various relationships we have. It also happens within various work environments. Often the signs are there long before we realise that its time to bring a chapter to a close.  There may be agitations, irritations and frustrations - ultimately it's not as fulfilling as it used to be and/or people seem to act different towards us and we suddenly become increasingly aware of all that's wrong.

When we finally realise its not working any more we typically try to do one more thing; to give things another go  - no one wants to be seen as someone that has given up or failed.

If we have the opportunity to talk to a representative of the other party sometimes we do so in a desperate bid to make things work. If they are willing and able to put things in place or changes things or if both parties are willing to work together – all may be well and good, as things just may turn around.

Often times though things have changed for a reason – a change in strategy, focus and priorities and so though the heart may be willing the reality is things are different and sticking around under those circumstances often ends up doing more harm than good.

I once worked with an HR director who said that when employees tell her they want to leave she never tries to persuade them to stay, as they will soon leave anyway.

Whilst I'm more I inclined to listen to the language they use, to take the time to understand their reasons and consider how far down the line the individual is; more often than not I do believe she's right.

For the other cases an organisation's employee engagement strategies should actually prevent them from reaching the place whereby they consider leaving in the first place. By engagement strategies I'm not necessary talking about anything fancy. More than anything else it's basic communications be it through open communications that enables employees to speak openly to managers; one to one meetings that assess where employees are/what's going on; and/or performance management processes that show an employees next steps/plans and whether/how they still fit with the organisation.

The ultimate decision however lies with an individual - it's easiest to accept and handle things if there is a key incident or if a new and compelling opportunity arises. However one thing I've learnt is when it's time, it's no use dwindling, you just prolong the pain. So make a plan (openly if its practical to do so), pack your bags and move on. The sooner you do the sooner you end the negativity and open yourself up to fresh, new opportunities

After all not talking about leaving just because someone upset you one day. I'm referring to deep prolonged issues that the different parties aren't ready/able to work together to resolve.

Susan Popoola

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It’s Not Fair ….

I’ve just returned from a wonderful week’s holiday on the beautiful Isle of Mull in Scotland.  It’s a place which holds special memories for me as I grew up in Glengorm on the island’s remote northern coast.  In fact we stayed in the same house that I lived in as a child – it’s now a holiday let.  We travelled there with two of my grandchildren, five year old Kyle and Charlie who’s nearly three.      Both children loved their short taste of island life.  Charlie is a huge fan of ‘Balamory’, the children’s TV programme, some of which was filmed in Tobermory - the island’s main town.  He thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the town looking out for the places where his favourite characters might just be lurking…

The highlight of Kyle’s holiday came one evening.  Just behind the cottage is a hill and from its summit there’s a magnificent view across the sea towards the distant islands of Rhum, Eigg and Canna.  It’s not big, probably about 20 metres high, but very rocky and there’s no discernible path to the top.  He wanted to climb it, not for the view, but because it looked difficult.  I’d told him how I used to climb up there as a child and he was unable to resist the challenge. 

There was a problem though.  Charlie was too small to take part in this adventure, his little legs just wouldn’t cope with the climb and I didn’t fancy the idea of carrying him.  So, to Charlie’s utter dismay, Kyle and I set off alone to tackle the ‘mountain’.  As we got ready, Charlie, who was being left behind with his grandfather, was distraught.  His sobs and cries of ‘it’s not fair, me go too’ echoed in our ears as we left the house. 

We made it to the top just in time to see a glorious sunset.  Clambering up the rocks, looking for suitable hand and foot-holes was a revelation to Kyle, who lives in a large town near London and had never experienced such an activity before.  He was very proud of his achievement and insisted on being photographed so that he could show off to everyone back home.  By the time we got back to the cottage, it was nearly dark.  Charlie was curled up on the sofa, fast asleep, but still clutching the toy he’d been given as ‘compensation’ for not being able to go with us. 

‘It’s not fair..’.  How many times do we, as HR professionals hear that plea?  Whether it’s someone who didn’t get that promotion or pay rise or holiday request.  Whether a disparity in benefits, working hours or terms and conditions, employees invariably complain to us about whatever it may be and expect us to put things right. 

Often we do but sometimes we simply can’t.  There are many situations where, much as we may want to change things, circumstances outwith our control mean that we have to accept that we can’t solve a problem to everyone’s satisfaction.  Luckily we don’t often have to deal with a toddler’s tantrum, although sometimes it feels that way …. 

To paraphrase the words of Niebuhr - ‘Grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference’.

Sheena McLullich

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Are you an Alcohol Smart Employer (ASE)

In the 3rd instalment from Dr John McMahon he discusses whether as an employer you know how to recognise the signs of alcoholism and if you are capable to deal with this appropriately. (Ed Scrivener)

The latest estimate for how much alcohol costs industry is around £7.3bn a year (which is a rise of more than 14% in 3 years).  The majority of those costs are due to lost productivity through absenteeism and presenteeism.  However Alcohol Smart Employers can reduce the costs of drinking in their business.  Despite this, only about 50% of employers have an alcohol policy and less than 10% of those who do have a policy run alcohol awareness programmes.  Therefore sadly, less than 5% of UK employers would qualify as Alcohol Smart Employers.  What about you, are you an Alcohol Smart Employer?  To help you decide there is a list of criteria for Alcohol Smart Employers below.

What Alcohol Smart Employers (ASEs) KNOW

• ASEs know that alcohol abuse costs their business money
• ASEs know that productivity is lost through absenteeism and presenteeism
• ASEs know that having a clear and consistent alcohol policy saves money
• ASEs know that investing in educating the workforce about alcohol saves money
• ASEs know that a drinking ‘check-up’ reduces alcohol consumption in the workforce and saves money
• ASEs know that addressing alcohol issues leads to a happier workforce
• ASEs know that a happy workforce is a more productive workforce
• ASEs know that investing in the health of their workforce is taking care of their best asset

What Alcohol Smart Employers DO

• ASEs educate their managers about alcohol, its effects and how to address the issue
• ASEs investigate the drinking habits of their workforce to determine the culture
• ASEs ensure that they have an effective, current and relevant alcohol policy
• ASEs run an annual alcohol awareness campaign for their workforce
• ASEs encourage their workforce to take an annual drinking check-up
• ASEs provide help for workers who are alcohol dependent or have a family member who is
• ASEs ensure that they have Alcohol Smart Employees

Why you should be an Alcohol Smart Employer

• You will reduce absenteeism
• You will reduce presenteeism
• You will have a happier, more productive workforce
• You will reduce staff turn-over and reduce recruitment costs
• You will save money
• You will contribute to changing the binge culture of the UK and creating a better environment for the employees of the future

What about you?

Are you an Alcohol Smart Employer?  If not why not?  Are you someone who thinks that if they ignore the issue it will go away?  Well, unfortunately there is no evidence that that is going to happen soon.  Indeed, if we look at the pattern of drinking across the UK, and even wider across Europe, we see that it has changed in the last decade, and not for the better. 

It is difficult to escape the images of what is being called the ‘Binge Culture’, that is so prevalent.  Unfortunately, there is an increase in the number of TV programs that rely on CCTV for its content and, naturally, they show the most sensational clips.  These usually show someone who is the worse of drinking falling around, fighting, challenging the police or having to be taken away to hospital in an ambulance for treatment.  One consequence of these images is that they give an impression that this is the normal way to drink and enjoy yourself, so it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.

With the widespread rise in binge drinking there has been a corresponding rise in the negative consequences of drinking.  More people were admitted to hospital for an alcohol-related problem last year.  There has also been a rise in the alcohol-related deaths, either directly through alcohol or as a contributing factor.  Most experts attribute the consequences to the current style of drinking, which seems to consist of getting loaded as fast as possible and remain that way for the majority of the evening.  However, raising the blood alcohol level so quickly is dangerous and, for some, can have fatal consequences.

There are also consequences the next day.  For some, being so intoxicated would mean that they may be unfit for work the next day and so they phone in sick.  Others may make it to the workplace, but are still intoxicated or hungover.  But these are not your hard core of dependent drinkers, no these are the so-called moderate drinkers who have a blow-out from time to time, but with increasing regularity.

As a business person you will almost certainly be aware of the fluctuations in your market, and/or the changes in availability of raw materials if you are in manufacturing.  As a business person you need to be aware, otherwise you may not stay in business for very long.  By the same argument then it would seem prudent to know about another essential element of your business operation, the workforce.

Therefore as social mores change, it would seem sensible that you need to be aware of how these changes could affect your business and what steps that you can take to keep up to date and to reduce any negative impact.  Do you know that?  Are you an Alcohol Smart Employer?

About the author

Dr John McMahon is an alcohol expert who has been involved in the alcohol and drug field for 30 years.  He is currently the CEO of Iloumanate Ltd, a company with a mission to change the binge culture of the UK part of which involves helping employers save money by addressing their workforce’s drinking using a free website www.spreade.com

Previously he was senior lecturer in alcohol and drugs at the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Studies at the University of the West of Scotland for 12 years and Research fellow at the University of Glasgow before that.   He was responsible for setting up and writing the MSc in Alcohol and Drug Studies as a distance learning course. This is now the largest course of its kind in the UK.

He was Research Director for a major alcohol treatment charity, was the National Chair of the Alcohol Counsellor Training scheme.  He has published two books and about fifty papers in scholarly journals, has presented at many national and international conferences and is included in Marquis Who’s Who.

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Drink Talk for Managers

In the second instalment of guest posts from Dr John McMahon regarding alcoholism in the workplace, John looks at how HR can empower line managers to help further reduce the silence around this taboo subject. (Ed Scrivener)

Its Monday morning again and George from stores and his two mates have not come to work, again!  You know that around 10am there will be a phone call, or rather three phone calls, to say that George and his mates have each, completely independently, contracted food poisoning and have been up most of the night being sick.  They may not actually remember, or think that you don’t remember, that this is the third time in the past few months that they have all taken time off with the same excuse. 

Unsurprisingly, you are not entirely convinced that you are being told the true story.  Indeed, you strongly suspect that, if they do in fact have food poisoning, it was contracted by all of them, together, and was caused by drinking far too much alcohol.  So do you approach them with this suspicion or do you ignore the incident, rationalising well they don’t do it very often?

Barriers to airing your suspicions

One barrier to talking to drinkers is the issue of truth.  It appears that there is a real difficulty in telling the truth about exactly what we consume.  Not that we tell lies about it – of course not, we wouldn’t do that, would we.  I mean its only alcoholics who lie about their drinking isn’t it, and I’m not one, so I don’t lie about my drinking, but I admit that I don’t always tell the truth – but that’s completely different!

This kind of situation makes it difficult to discuss drinking.  People seem to adjust their consumption, in either direction.  Depending on the circumstances they will minimise or exaggerate.  For example talking to a GP, or boss, they invariably only ever have a couple of pints; a GP once told me that, as a rule, they usually add 50% onto reported consumption to compensate.  However if they are talking to mates those ‘couple of pints’ may become a couple of dozen.

There is an almost universal embarrassment about talking to people about how much they drink.  Years ago I taught research to post-graduates.  Whenever possible we would carry out some fieldwork where we would go out on the streets and collect data for a survey.  (Apologies if you were one of our subjects).  Afterwards we would return to the classroom and discuss the experience.  Almost without fail the students would feedback that the most difficult topics to ask about were money and alcohol consumption, surprisingly they found that asking about sex was less difficult.

So, even provided we can overcome our, and their, embarrassment is it pointless talking to a drinker as they never tell the truth?  Not at all, this is where a little bit of training comes in and makes Drink Talk a very powerful way of reducing absenteeism.

Drink Talk

One of the reasons why people are embarrassed to discuss drinking is that they do not feel that they have a legitimate right to discuss the subject.  Part of that confidence gap is their perceived lack of knowledge about a subject that, in their mind, is the preserve of the trained professional.  Certainly this is a very common viewpoint.  Indeed I have the very opposite problem.  As soon as I tell people what I do, I have problems getting them to NOT talk to me about their drinking and reassuring me that they do not have a problem, but that is another story.

The most widely researched alcohol intervention was a brief, 10 minute, approach that was developed for non-specialists.  It consisted of two parts.  The first is to ask people how much they have consumed per day over the last seven days.  The second is to inform/remind them of the recommended guidelines for safe drinking and give them a brief piece of advice how to stay safe.

That’s all very well but didn’t you just say that people are not always truthful in what they tell you.  Well that does not really matter for this technique.  What matters is that they are discussing their drinking at all, and it is more powerful if they are discussing it with someone in authority.  Also what they say is less important than what the manager/supervisor says, as highlighting the recommended limits gives them a comparison with their own drinking.

Using Drink Talk encourages individuals to examine their drinking in a way that they would seldom do otherwise.  Change in drinking, like most health-related behaviours, usually only occurs when there is a significant and obvious problem.  What Drink Talks do is highlight where the individual may be exceeding a/ the average consumption of their peers and b/ the limits over which they may damage their health.  Thus having been made aware of their excessive consumption from the screening they are then given advice about how to reduce their consumption and consequent damage.

OK but does it work?  There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that interventions such as Drink Talk are effective tools to reduce consumption, reduce absenteeism and reduce the binge drinking that leads to absenteeism and reduced productivity.

How can Drink Talk help my business?

By ensuring that you train managers and supervisors on Drink Talk you can empower them in the ‘Back to work interview’, so that they will feel much more confident of addressing an issue that, not only is embarrassing, but also  is costing your business money.  Using Drink Talk you can reduce alcohol consumption in the workforce and that can:-

• Reduce absenteeism
• Increase productivity
• Demonstrate that your business is serious about drinking and health
• Improve the health status of the workforce
• Improve the morale of the workforce

About the author

Dr John McMahon is an alcohol expert who has been involved in the alcohol and drug field for 30 years.  He is currently the CEO of Iloumanate Ltd, a company with a mission to change the binge culture of the UK part of which involves helping employers save money by addressing their workforce’s drinking using a free website www.spreade.com

Previously he was senior lecturer in alcohol and drugs at the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Studies at the University of the West of Scotland for 12 years and Research fellow at the University of Glasgow before that.   He was responsible for setting up and writing the MSc in Alcohol and Drug Studies as a distance learning course. This is now the largest course of its kind in the UK.

He was Research Director for a major alcohol treatment charity, was the National Chair of the Alcohol Counsellor Training scheme.  He has published two books and about fifty papers in scholarly journals, has presented at many national and international conferences and is included in Marquis Who’s Who.

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Right to work revisited

If you are an employer in the UK, whether you employ one person or thousands of workers; whether you are in the private or public sector; you must ensure that your employees have the right to work. If you fail to do so and are found to be employing a person illegally, you may face a penalty of up to £10,000 for each worker employed illegally or prosecution with an unlimited fine and up to 2 years imprisonment if you knowingly employ someone illegally. 

Against the wider political background of wanting to appear tough on immigration, the Government has published a consultation document(closing 20th August 2013) in which it proposes to double the penalty for employing an illegal worker to £20,000 during 2014. In addition, consideration is being given to introducing a provision which would allow a civil penalty to be issued against both the business and, where the business has limited liability, its directors or partners, on a joint and several basis.  In the event that a civil penalty was not paid by the business, the Home Office may look to pursue the debt against the director or partner personally. The Home Office has stated that in all cases it would first seek to recover the penalty from the business and, only if this were unsuccessful, would directors or partners be pursued on a personal basis. The stated aim is to reduce the instances of companies dissolving and restarting as a means of avoiding liability to pay the penalty and the document includes figures intended to indicate the scale of the unpaid penalties as a result of this practice. However, the link between the two factors is imprecise and is a significant liability for people to assume for the sins of a tiny minatory or employers.

As a quid pro quo for this tougher approach, the consultation document proposes simplifying the process of checking entitlement to work by removing the requirement for annual checks on employees with time-limited status in order to maintain a “statutory excuse”.  Instead, an employer would be required to conduct a follow-up check to coincide with the expected expiry of their employee’s permission to be in the UK. Whilst this is welcome, it is not entirely philanthropic. An annual check gives an employer a statutory excuse which lasts for 12 months, even if an employee only has, for example, 2 months unexpired permission to be in the UK. As the Home Office recognise in their consultation paper, in this scenario, the employee could work for an additional 10 months without risk of sanction for the employer. So whilst benefitting the employer, the change is also likely to benefit the Home Office.

There is also a proposal to simplify the process of document checking by responding to complaints from employers about the number of potential documents they may be presented with making them difficult and time consuming to make perform. The solution presented by the Home Office is the Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). The BRP is a credit card sized immigration document (originally intended by the previous Government as a forerunner to a National Identity Card) containing the holder’s facial image, biographic data, immigration status, entitlements or restrictions. Around a million of these documents have been issued since 2008 and the intention for the future is to issue them to all non-EEA nationals coming to the UK for over 6 months. Whilst this is a welcome development, it will not unfortunately address the difficulties associated with confirming the entitlement to work of the millions of other applicants claiming to be British Citizens without passports; EU nationals holding some of the less familiar documents; or others who claim to have been here before BRPs were introduced.

So overall the not unusual mix of stick and carrot but worth reading and responding even if it only means getting something which vaguely resembles a carrot at the end of the day.

Don Ingham

About the author

Don Ingham is the Director of www.hrimmigration.co.uk which specialises in working with companies to ensure immigration compliance.

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Recruitment & Teamwork Lessons from Rock Music

I just wrote and recorded a song about the economy entitled "FISCAL CLIFF" - Fiscal Cliff tells the story of a broker who reflects upon his life of spreads, swaps, junk bonds etc. and decides to end it all by jumping the Fiscal Cliff!  He seeks help with his condition in the form of a consultation with “The God of Economics” who reads him a prayer, which changes his mind.  Finally, he pulls back from jumping the cliff and repents, becoming a sustainable business person!  It seems that this story has been key in engaging people with the song.  It's an unusual twist on the recession, which is partly matched by reality.  The Independent recently reported nearly a 10% rise in suicides in the recession, with 85% of cases involving men.

The HR story of how we hired the band and got them to peak performance in under two weeks is interesting and nobody jumped the cliff in the process.  I knew I would need great people to make this song and the accompanying film, so I concentrated on hiring the right people to perform on the song.  The hiring process was more like that in the famous film "The Blues Brothers" than anything that the CIPD would recognise!  It turned out to be very effective.  I needed a banker, a rock star and some great musicians, so I set about moulding a motley crew of disparate individuals into a rock band.

I first called my friend Bernie Tormé, ace rock guitarist, who has played with Ozzy Osbourne and Ian Gillan.  I asked if he wanted to get involved with a Spinal Tapesque song about macro-economics.  He sounded unmoved down the telephone.  I pointed out that I would have to hire his studio and he may have to personally smash a monument of The Bank of England / Stonehenge with a burning guitar and he replied "I'm in".  

HR Selection Lesson : Find out what motivates people and give it to them

I then needed a banker who could sing.  I have a good friend who is a Swiss banker and who is something of a poet, so I gave him a call.  Trouble was that he had never sung in a band, but he was immediately up for it.  Turned out that he thought of a great melody for the song.  More importantly he brought attitude.  

HR Selection Lesson : Attitude often outweighs skill

I wanted half the band to be female for balance.  I had lined up my good friend Vicky, the drummer from my spoof hard rock band "Genital Sparrow".  Unfortunately her boss at the O2 shop said she had to work on the day of the recording so I lost her from the band!  Shame on O2 – they could have had a hit!  But where would I get a cool female bass player from?  I put an ad up on Facebook that read:

"Desperately seeking female bass player for recording of a rock song about the economy to be broadcast on the BBC.  Full details supplied on application"

Just 30 minutes later I had a reply from someone I did not know, but which proved she had read the 'job spec' accurately:

"Hi there. I have tits and play bass, upright and electric if you're looking for someone. My biog is on my bands' site scarlettraeband.co.uk Regards Andee"

I immediately checked the website and found an extremely professional musician who also proved to be a very capable musical director.

HR Selection Lesson : Read the brief and respond to it quickly and clearly!

Teamwork was much easier than it should have been.  The 'band' came together in Folkestone for a one hour practice, two weeks before the recording session, during which time we played the song in several different 'genres' including a rockabilly and country and western version!  Andee the bass player had not met any of us.  The singer and drummer only knew me.  None of them knew Bernie Tormé.  The rehearsal took place in the entrance hall of Andee's house, with the drummer jammed into a music room and the rest of us standing around in the entrance to her house.  On the day, it went like a dream.  It's really all down to selecting people with attitude and talent and letting them do the rest.  I could not have wished for a better result from the team.  The whole experience was an object lesson in teamwork.

HR Teamwork Lesson : Select the right people and engage them with the work and the teamwork takes care of itself

We had to fit the recording of the song and the making of the video into one short day, starting at 10 am and finishing at 4.45pm.  This was some going.  We also had to take the "Stonehenge" monument I made to a churchyard, set light to it and smash it with a burning guitar.  It's the usual stunt for an economics song in my experience!  We only had one chance to get this right on film.  I was helped out by Val and Errol Whitter of i54newmedia who are consummate professionals in making the film.  Check the results out at Slideshare – Fiscal Cliff.  This includes the movie and Simon Heath's superb illustrations, who I'm taking to New York shortly on a corporate innovation summit.

And finally, a word from Dr Andrew Sentance.  Andrew is a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee who played the song at his recent garden party.  He commented:

"Fiscal Cliff follows in the tradition of other rock songs inspired by the economy, like "Money" by Pink Floyd and "Selling England by the Pound" by Genesis. But it's the first rock song I've heard mentioning Quantitative Easing and John Maynard Keynes!"

Peter Cook

About the Blogger:  Peter Cook leads The Academy of Rock - Keynote events with a difference and Human Dynamics - Business and organisation development, training and coaching.  Contact via peter@humdyn.co.uk  His latest book "The Music of Business" is available direct or in the usual places.

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Discuss HR is that HR blog brought to you by the people of Human Resources UK, the HR LinkedIn group with 11,000+ members dedicated to the world of HR.

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