Put People First

Posted by Gill Corkindale on December 17, 2007

“The Bottom Line: People are important, no matter their stratum”: Of all the thought-provoking comments I have received this year in response to Letter from London, it is this comment, posted by Daniel Sirois in August, that has influenced me most.

In The Fundamental Religion of the Bottom Line, I asked whether the relentless pressure to drive growth and efficiency could drive humanity from the workplace. I was worried that the absolute focus on the financial bottom line was too brutal, an approach that would turn business into an emotional wasteland. Companies would become places of darkness, humiliation and intimidation, where, as anthropologist Howard Stern observed in Nothing Personal, Just Business, workers could become “collateral damage -- resources to be used, exploited and discarded."

Perhaps I was in a dark place when I wrote this post. In my work as a coach and organisational consultant, I hear so many stories of dysfunctional workplaces, bullying bosses, and corporate greed that it is sometimes difficult to remember that there is something so much more important and elevating than business: people. Every company, big or small, new or established, successful or failing, is nothing more or less than its people. How people are led and managed -- how they are made to feel about their work -- is usually the difference between a great company and a bad company.

Daniel's comment resonated with me because it was a timely reminder for me that all people matter, regardless of their level in the organisation. Senior executives like to show that they are important through their offices, dining suites and reserved car-parking places, but, in truth, their absence rarely affects the smooth running of a company. The same cannot be said about office administrators, facilities management staff, receptionists, canteen workers and cleaners. Without these people, companies soon start to fall apart -- yet these are often the very the people who are afforded the least recognition.

People skills will be more important than ever as we head into the uncertainties of 2008. The threat of recession, global credit squeezes, and political uncertainty will magnify the challenges all businesses will face in the coming. But without emotional intelligence, clear communication, delegation, feedback, giving recognition and celebrating success, companies will fail their employees, their customers, their shareholders and all their other stakeholders. Ultimately, they will probably fail completely.

As this comment shows, it’s time to put people first. Eli Zander, a fellow commentator, echoes this: “Staff who feel involved will always perform better. They will be healthier, work harder and stay longer”. And Lewis Alexander: “It is not only right to do so, but good for business.” But perhaps the last words should go to to Ramesh, who believes that by remembering we are all in this together, we avoid ‘successful meaninglessness’, so that, in the words of In-Odu: “We can all work and live in peace.”