OD Chatter: ZERO Politics at Work PLEASE! (part 2)

By

Dear OD Chatter,

Thank you for your advice, I am the CEO of my family’s business and your column is always spot-on.

My question centers on the way our corporate culture is changing.  Teams are poking at each other about current political events and the discourse has stretched beyond polite conversation.  One example: a passing comment about the American flag turned into a 3-person fight and we had to fire all three.

I have a great HR team but they have not experienced this before.  My company is over 30 years old and in its second generation of ownership.  I’m proud of what we have built and I need each and every person that I have on staff.  Terminations are not easy to make, even when someone may deserve it, I still have a business to run (although it is feeling more like a daycare).  My heart hurts because these are good people but emotions are high.

Complaints have been coming in regularly.  President Trump’s comments are affecting our culture and new topics walk in the front door every Monday.  Issues are centered on politics, race-relations, and sad to say religious beliefs.  It started last November after the election, moved on to the president’s trips & spending, immigration, Russia,  Virginia-gate, and OMG, now it’s Football-gate.

We have harassment policies in place to discourage inappropriate behavior but I’m writing because this out-of-the-ordinary behavior is becoming the normal.  Again, I can’t afford to fire everyone so what do I do?  The growing numbers of complaints require investigation and my HR team is asking for additional staff.

Ultimately I am responsible for everything and I do not want to end up dealing with the EEOC.  Please, what ideas do you have?

Signed,

Zero Politics At Work PLEASE!, Cherry Hill, NJ

Dear Zero Politics At Work PLEASE!

You are not alone in your situation.  We receive countless questions and concerns exactly like yours.  Many other companies are feeling the same organizational stress that you, our readers feel in your own company.

Change management is a practice that spans across all business sectors and the same organizational development (OD) practices will work in your organization regardless of what type of business you have.  There is no one right answer, but many possible right answers.  The key is to select those solutions that match your values, your management style, and your desired outcome.

Organizational Development (OD), Human Resources (HR), and training are not the same things but they complement each other.  OD centers on the overall organization: its people, resources, processes, innovation, marketing, operations, and its long-term planning.  Working in conjunction with HR and training, the OD practitioner becomes a dynamic partner for any CEO as he/ she plans the future of their company.

In our industry, we use this term: “As is out there, as is in here”.  What we mean is that all organizations are sub-cultures of a larger society.  Company leaders must create a different environment inside their companies than their employees feel outside the company.  This begins to create a strong internal culture that can standup to the emotional issues that will walk in your door from the external society.  It clings to each person that engages with your organization. The outside culture is in constant contact with your inside culture and not just via your employees!  Remember to view your organization as a system: you have your leaders, followers, customers, competitors, regulators, vendors, and neighbors.

Any plan for forward movement will require due diligence in reviewing the organization to ascertain how the problem happened (causes), was permitted to continue (enablement causes), and potential solutions.  This work involves:

  • SWOT analysis,
  • Review of your mission and values statement,
  • Review of your strategic plan & progress,
  • Review of your policies and procedures, and
  • Understanding your desired outcome

This situation is a disorienting dilemma for you and for your HR team and seeking outside advice was a smart action.  If this were an outlier verses a trend, you would not be so concerned.

Due to space limitations, please log into the OD Chatter site (free with your email address) at www.odchatter.com to read the conclusion of this answer.  

Thank you for reading and following OD Chatter.

NOTE: This discourse covers 10% of the total issue and solution for the writer’s question.  We answer each question in more detail than can be shared in our column.  For more information, email me directly at dbradford@odlbp.com

_______

OD Chatter (www.odchatter.com) is written by Debra Dee Bradford, CHRO of ODL Business Partners, Inc. (www.odlbp.com) an HR consulting firm specializing in organizational development and leadership training. To reach Debra, submit questions, or make comments please email dbradford@odlbp.com.

________
Top photo credit: Brook-Ward US Capital Bldg via photopin (license)

Connect With Your Community

Subscribe to stay informed!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement
Creative Capital logo