Worst Employee Relations Practices

I read this interesting article by Liz Ryan in the Business Week magazine.

It is an apropos article. It reminds the reader that although the US employee still leads the world in productivity, US employee relations practices might still lag behind. The US is not alone in engaging in these practices. I have seen them alive and well elsewhere.

Often, under the guise of competitiveness, sound employee relations practices are set aside to justify lower salary increases, dumbed-down performance ratings, and a less respectful work environment for the individual.

As long as we continue to view human resources in elastic terms, we will continue to treat them as an expense rather than an asset. It has been said that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but ...

So, here we go with the worst practices discussed in the article:

1. Make sure you let your employees know that you do not trust them.

2. Do not let them know when they do something great.

3. Keep employees in the dark.

4. Make sure employees know that docility is more important than ingenuity.

5. Squash any signs of individualism.

This list reminds me of a sign I saw in an employee's cubicle some years ago. It said: "Management treats us like mushrooms. First, they keep us in the dark. Then, they feed us shit. And lastly, they 'can' us".

I have never forgotten this. There is much wisdom in popular humor.

Is your organization guilty of any of these five worst practices? If so, what are you planning to do to get rid of them?

We live in the 21st century. These practices have no place in a modern society.

Enjoy your journey ... continue to learn.