simplerich

There’s a saying in business that nobody’s indespensible. That every employee can be replaced. It’s true. In the past two years the company I work for has changed ownership I think 3 times. If even the owner of a company can change I think it’s a sure bet that an overnight janitor at one of the smaller locations can change, regardless of time with company or even quality of work. Everybody can be replaced.

Earth Day is about conserving and the difference between Disposable and Replaceable becomes important. I’ve owned a Dodge Dart, Monte Carlo, a Mercury Sable, a Renault Encore, a Ford Escort, and a Suzuki Forenza. All of them were replaceable but none were disposable… well maybe the Dart, but I only paid 200 bucks for it and it was a LOT of fun – three on the tree transmission! But I digress.

Just because something can be replaced doesn’t mean it should be treated as disposable. I’ve got a coffee cup I refill every morning on the way to work. It saves me fifty cents and saves the convenience store a cup. One day I’m going to lose this cup as I do and I’ll get another one. But until then I take care of this one. I don’t throw it on the ground and I don’t leave it unwashed. I treat it as if I intend to keep it for the long term. I really do hope to do that. But history tells me that at some point something will happen to it. I may lose the lid. I may leave it somewhere and not be able to find it. I may leave it in a hotel room. Sometimes people and jobs grow apart just like me and my coffee cup. But that doesn’t mean I hasten either one of those things along.

My employees and I can be replaced. My guess is that in a year nobody would notice we were gone, I may flatter myself. It probably wouldn’t take that long, but hey, I think I’m great so go with it. But that doesn’t mean they’re disposable. I want them to stay for the long haul.

Employee retention is a money saver for a lot of reasons. It saves us money in training and it saves us money by the employee knowing more than their replacement will know. The mall here has a book store in it that has had the same 3 core employees for at LEAST 10 years. I know if I ask them a question about a book or an author they’ll know the answer. If I see a new person there… I typically wait until I find one of the lifers. I like getting the old timers. They just know things. I want my stores to be the same way.

I want my employees to be the ones customers wait to see. There will always be some turn over. It seems every store has one position that rotates through someone every three months. For the life of me I can’t figure out what it is that causes it (I have a theory). I work every day to try and convey to my employees the value they bring to me as an employer and to the company for whom they work. I set my expectations high and then try and help them live up to them. I give them too much credit and then let them show me I was right to do so. Most of the time that works. It doesn’t work for banks or mortgage brokers, but it can work with managers.

So yeah, we’re all replaceable but we’re not all disposable. Today is Earth Day. Make sure your people know they’re not disposable today and every day.

Today is Earth Day, and while I’m not a fan of fake holidays or one day events that are supposed to draw attention to a topic but don’t effect actual change, I’d have to live in a hole to not comment on it. It’s expected. Earth day. Great American Smoke Out. Black out hour or whatever it was called where everybody turned off their lights for an hour. I can’t even remember the name. All these events are things that draw attention to something without actually DOING anything. Reminds me of the Brown Vs. Green episodes of Dirty Jobs. (Big fan of that show.)

So, Earth Day to me is a made up non-holiday where I still have to go to work, but also am required to feel guilty for not composting my own waste and growing my own food from said compost while living in a cave with no electricity or in any way impacting the native wildlife… if I’m understanding it correctly. If I can do this from a Hollywood jet in clothes I only wear once in front of a battery of lights and cameras all the better.

Earth Day to me is about stewardship. Now, stewardship is something I only ever hear talked about in church which is odd. I would think I would hear about it at management seminars, round tables, and in books about management. But it’s not referred to that way if it’s talked about at all. I think the word’s been co-opted and ppl are afraid I’m about to throttle them with some good old fashioned religion. I’m not though. Stewardship isn’t necessarily about religion. It is primarily, in all it’s incarnations, about responsibility. Our responsibility for how we act in regards to stuff. Whether it’s our stuff or someone elses stuff is dependant on which definition you’re using.

Earth day is about our responsibility to our stuff and all of our stuff, everything you own and everything everybody you know owns probably came from good old Terra. With the exception of moon rocks it’s all from earth… even plastic came from here. We don’t import that stuff from Jupiter. I’m not talking about that stuff though. I’m not talking about Styrofoam cups vs. reusable coffee cups and I’m not talking about hybrid cars vs. pure gas cars. Those things bore me. We all know the right thing to do already.

What is our responsibility to the planet is a daunting question and a little intimidating. Let’s start smaller though. What are our responsibilities to our employees. Not the responsibilities on the current Labor Law Poster that’s posted in a Common Area. Those are duties imposed on us by the State & Federal Governments. What, beyond that, are our duties to our employees. What makes us good stewards of THEM?

To be good stewards of our employees we should treat them fairly, and fair does not mean “the same” in spite of what Human Resources will often say. It’s not “fair” to expect a person with no legs to put stock on the highest shelves. They’ll never be able to do it. Making that part of their job is cruel, not fair. (You think I’m making that one up but I’m not.) It’s not fair to expect the same speed and quality of work from a brand new employee as you would get from someone who has been there ten years. How could they be as good? Human Resources departments will often insist on “same” over “fair” as a way of protecting from law suits. But I argue that a) If an employee is treated fairly they won’t sue and 2) employees who are treated unfairly will sue, whether it’s “same treatment” or not.

Today is Earth Day and we’ll all be pounded with requests to recycle, not litter, drive less and walk more, eat less meat, and turn off an extra light. Those are all good ideas for saving the environment. But what good ideas do you have to save your employees? They’re a resource you’re responsible for developing and conserving.

If you’re the employee you are a resource with value. Make sure you’re giving your best effort and best value for an employer who values you. If they start treating you like a Styrofoam cup don’t stick around forever, keep performing, but look for a job where your best effort will be recognized and rewarded. Find a new boss that recognizes your worth. There’s nothing so depressing as working at a job, or any relationship actually, where the other half of it thinks you’re a Styrofoam cup. Don’t put up with it at home or at work.

Seriously, it’s Earth day go save something.

UPDATE: Here’s another run at the same subject. I’m trying to figure out how to say something here and I think the second attempt was closer.