The main driving forces of any organisation, are the Working Cultures that exist and support the visions and aspirations of the company owners or founders. Brilliant visionaries can only achieve their objectives through the work of others - by this is we mean the main workforce. Simply because of the volume of work and interactions that are required to maintain momentum, each year to achieve Company Goals.

Knowing the levels of risk and the potential impact on achieving company objectives when you have people working together, is paramount.  Human Beings are emotional beings - the key is knowing what are they being, when they are at work and why. This goes for both positive working cultures and negative working cultures, both of which exist simultaneously within the company. 

The more focus and effort put into working with the dynamics of human interactions and motivation the closer to maintaining efficiency and cohesion the company becomes. 

The Executive Management Team and Management need to be diligent in knowing and understanding working culture risks and the financial exposure, so they can assist in becoming more connected with staff by understanding their needs and by taking meaningful action.  

The Motivation Review is based upon the CRA Premise which is:

"A person cannot demonstrate their true potential and giftedness in a working environment, if their personal standards and values are not being met or fulfilled."

 One of the main problem managers and leaders have in motivating staff is the ability to regularly provide the real and personal motivational needs of employees, especially when those needs can vary with each employee. This has proven very difficult and very costly.

When this is not managed effectively, employees become disengaged and eventually leave. Meaning if nothing changes for an employee, it costs the company whilst they are employed (lost productivity) and then it costs more in replacement costs (est. at 40 - 50% of salary). It therefore makes sense to correct the demotivating factors well before a person leaves - something managers require to diligently focus on. 

This is exactly what the "Motivation" element focuses on to inform management and executive management, what the risk and financial exposure is to the company. 

The CRA can identify the motivational needs of any employee, team, department or group showing the, what, where, why, who and the risk exposure for any part of the company. 

One of the main reasons employees seek employment elsewhere, is when they no longer see personal growth and have effectively outgrown their 'position'.  This dissatisfaction will sow seeds of seeking something different that will advance them, elsewhere. If there are no opportunities and/or their requests are ignored, then they will eventually leave.

However, before they do, they will cost the company in lost productivity due to being uncommitted or 'disengaged'. 

Disengagement, was previously referred to as the "Payroll Efficiency Factor". If a person is paid $60,000.00 and they produce less in value, because they are demotivated, then they are losing the company money. It's a 'Financial Drain'. Multiplied by all unhappy and demotivated personnel then serious money is being spent and lost (Salaries plus other benefits) on non-achievement. 

The international average productivity loss rate is around 34%, so the PEF on a salary of $60,000.00 is $20,400.00 for every employee within that salary bracket who is unhappy in their work. Multiply that for say 20 people in a company of 100 personnel, then that's a $408,000,00 loss. Plus any replacement costs of anyone who leaves. 

So it's a serious financial drain. 

The CRA identifies those at risk of being disengaged in their job, even across the entire company, so preventive measures can be instigated before excessive financial losses occur. 

This relates to the Systems and Operational procedures that employees must utilize in relation to their specific duties.

The CRA helps determine the levels of risk in system effectiveness and usefulness in achieving the outcomes desired within Management and Employee roles and responsibilities. 

Many companies introduce expensive systems that only partially fit departmental, branch etc. needs and requirements.  Likewise, some procedures are outdated and require automation. Knowing exactly where and to what extent the 'tipping' point is before a decision is made to improve is made much easier.

Any system manual or otherwise can be assessed to determine the alignment strengths and limitations.

The Ideals and Aspirations of the Company

Many company websites define their core values and the standards that they represent and aspire too. These are the things the company seeks from its' entire workforce.

Invariably there are times when the ideals fall short of what is actually happens on the 'ground floor'. 

There are numerous situations and circumstances as to why this happens, after all we are humans not robots. The challenge companies have, is in the knowing  that company values are being contravened.  Not only that, but where in the company, why, to what extent and what is the impact from a motivation and engagement perspective.

The company as a whole has needs in order to survive, maintain credibility and continue to produce quality services or products - these are required from the workforce.

However every employee seeks things from the company that enables them to perform their duties to the best of their ability. 

These are the standards that each employee seeks and if not forthcoming will infringe upon their motivation, desires. commitment, willingness and a raft of other aspects, until something is done or they take action themselves - Resignation being the ultimate action, to remove themselves from the conflict they have in working for an organisation that demonstrates indifference by inaction. 

The CRA clearly defines the gap between Company Values requirements and the needs of the employee, thereby forewarning of risk to the company goals and objectives and the engagement of the employees.

Helping Managers Lead Remote Workers and Virtual Teams

Recent events regarding the Coronavirus have forced organisations to rethink and restructure how work is conducted, particularly those in the corporate sector.

(Manufacturing and production companies have faced a harsher reality where temporary closures have been introduced).

Restructuring has forced the introduction of many staff to work from home creating Virtual Team environments. 'Leading' or 'Managing' these teams, has taken on a new dimension for those used to the office environment as they are required to manage teams that are 'not there'. 

However the CRA is already geared towards reporting on the dynamics of teams and being assigned to the home environment makes little difference - the reporting on risk is still the same. 

Team Cohesion has taken on a new meaning as information flow and throughput of deliverables is and will continue to be, critical in the post COVID19 working environments. By quickly identifying process flow interruptions across the team, group or department, allows a focused and faster response to where the challenge is occurring and risk mitigation. 

Managers 'Leadership' becomes more effective as it builds trust in staff in the knowing that an individual has the managers backing due to them solving the issues quickly. A major spin off from this is that staff feel valued as notice is being taken of their input and requests for assistance - all without fear of retribution. 

Motivated staff require less leadership and are more focused on the capacity to deliver on their levels of responsibility. When this is achieved it feeds personal growth which in turn feeds motivation. 

Research has clearly identified the benefits of having a more diverse working environment and the need for having a diverse workforce, goes way beyond the "tick boxing" compliance mentality. 

One clear indication was published  by McKinsey & Company that reported significant workforce performance by companies that embraced Diversity, over those that do not consider Diversity in their strategic planning.  

However, Diversity does not guarantee work performance.

The CRA allows direct focus on where aspects of Diversity and Performance Risk exist and determines how effective having a diverse actually is.

As mentioned, you may have a diverse representation within the workforce but to what extent are they allowed to express and contribute by being included? How do members of the workforce feel towards being able to demonstrate their natural talents through full participation and offer their perspectives, expertise and knowledge?

How they feel, leads directly to their motivation and commitment and ultimately the value of what they are delivering versus what is believed they could be delivering, given the opportunity. 

By measuring the any variances between Diversity and Inclusions the CRA offers clear indications, if any D/I associated culture risks exist and where.

Developing cohesive Team Dynamics can be a challenge at the best of times.  With the advent of the COVID19 situation this has significantly complicated the managing of companies and their staff. 

Now as companies commence the return to a form of working normality, the winding up of operational processes commence, so ensuring people have what they need to produce throughput, is critical. 

Managing staff and teams that in some cases may be split between being in the office and working remotely from home, requires focusing on issues that are real, relevant and have a potentially high impact. These need to be identified and rectified quickly in order to minimize any delays in a persons throughput, particularly those still working remotely. 

This is a key component of the CRA - it monitors the dynamics of how well teams, even Virtual Teams, work together reporting on issues that cause delays or where things work well. 

It's an irrefutable fact that looking after the workforce and their wellbeing (at every level) is beneficial for the company. This fact could never have been in doubt. Why? Because the workforce - meaning everyone who works for the company - is the company. 

Wellbeing has also the potential to be a significant Cost Factored Risk, affecting client support, productivity, quality of output, inter-relationships...

With Wellbeing the real issues are, to what extent can the company be detrimentally affected and what is required to help maintain a good state of wellbeing? Where multiple people are affected the costs mount up not just for the company but for the employee or manager and how their life is being affected. Mental Health issues have soared over the past decade.

In saying all this the company has responsibility to provide for some of the needs of its' workforce, but every individual employed also has the responsibility to do something about it. 

Common factors that allow a poor wellbeing to flourish at work, are Fear and Embarrassment. 

Embarrassed of what others may think; fear and embarrassment about not doing their job properly; fear of being 'let go' and losing their job; fear of being seen to be 'weak' and lacking substance and so on... 

It's ok for a person to put their hand up and ask for understanding and help if they feel they need it. Knowing that people are limiting their contributions is crucial to returning a person back to full engagement. The company needs to know - how else can it help?

The CRA offers quantitive measurement on the work related issues that affect the wellbeing of individuals, teams and departments across the company allowing management to take preventive actions. 

In referring to Corporate Culture, we are specifically referring to the larger organisations and the inter-relationships between Managers and Executives and the 'codes of conduct' that prevail and determine the higher level culture(s). 

This aspect of Corporations involve pressures and challenges often hidden from the general workforce, but nevertheless can have significant impact on the organisation overall. Often Politics at this level creates pressure, worry, doubt about decisions and so forth, with the outcomes directly affecting the future of the organisation and those involved.

The CRA offers the higher levels of authority (Board - CEO)  the opportunity to assess the risks that can eventuate at these management levels and obtain feedback on Leadership as a whole. 

Real-Time Risk Reporting and Measurement for Board and Senior Directors that allows focused and faster decision-making.

The advent of the  Corporate Accountability Act in 2019 demonstrates that "Ignorance of the Fact" or "Not Knowing" is no longer acceptable.  Good Leaders and Managers (in general) Do Know what's going on because they make it their business to know and are prepared to take action to mitigate risk situations and circumstances.

The CRA allows the bypassing of the often time consuming hierarchal flow of requested information, by allowing direct access to any part of the company and see risks that exist or are in the process of developing, real-time. 

Meaningful information is presented to bring Risk Culture and the implications of inaction, into the Board Room.

Having transparency at all levels by knowing what, where, the extent and why any dissatisfaction and risk is developing or occurring anywhere in the company, means that a focused approach to monitoring and maintaining motivation and performance can be more easily introduced. 

When the general workforce see  "being accountable" in action,  it helps develop confidence and bridges the gap between the 'Us' and 'Them' that so often exists.

The CRA results themselves, will justify the importance of having high levels of transparency. 

All personnel are accountable for their levels of responsibility and this includes the more senior members of the "Corporate Cultures" that exist and which are normally hidden from the general workforce.  

There is a common saying in business, which states, "there are no friends in business".  However in business there are many strong friendships created due to professionalism, integrity and other positive defining characteristics of how people conduct themselves. 

The capacity to know your 'station', yet have the capacity to express viewpoints without retribution, adds to the development of strong and trusting work cultures.

Professionalism in how work duties and responsibilities are carried out, lays foundations for the development of trust and commitment common goals. 

CRA brings definitive awareness of key factors and characteristic patterns, that enhance or inhibit professional relationships that directly impact staff engagement and motivation towards common goals. 

Historical monitoring can lay a foundation for developing internally, Executive and Management potential.

Company Values are often talked about, but often misunderstood. They are ideals to strive for, which are really statements. They are intended to be the corner stones of the company - the example of how the company conducts itself and the business. 

The challenge comes, particularly in larger organisations, how to measure and quantify whether or not the company values have been translated into measurable actions and the ideals validated.

The CRA measures the relationship between company values, and the workforce and identifies gaps that offer risk to company reputation and standing.

Simply put, "Walking the Talk" is measured.

Bringing Meaningful Risk Information From Every Corner of the company

Money is the 'lifeblood' of any company. Companies bleeding money are weakened, so it is crucial to know what is causing the leak. Indirect costs are frequently downplayed or worse, budgeted for - often because it is too hard to quantify or a lack of understanding about what's causing the leak.  

With Quantitative Measurements that easily identify working culture risk and costs, patterns can more easily be identified across the company and where comparisons can be assessed to determine causal factors.

An objective of the CRA is to allow every department to be viewed so as to identify the low as well as the high risk areas.

The role of leadership is very difficult and time consuming where personnel have lost the motivation to commit. Company objectives mean little and are not of interest  to disengaged employees. 

Something deeper is required to be addressed, and coercive approaches are very short term motivators (although needed at times). 

All personnel require specific things in order to maintain motivation and a sense of purpose and achievement. 

In the majority of cases it does not take much, to return a sense of work related purpose and improve the motivation, but it requires recognition and awareness of the conditions or circumstances that are fuelling the lack of commitment and how widespread the conditions or circumstances are.

Leaders can easily identify the motivational requirements needed for any member, team or group, from any part of the company and help maintain their sense of purpose, so they can continue to give their best.

I would think it safe to say, that all leaders and managers have stemmed from a work-force somewhere along their own developmental journey. to where they are now. 

They in turn now expect things from their staff and each manager has their own style and ways of getting things done for the company.  Leader and Manager intentions are for the betterment of the company, via the contributions of the work-force. 

Sometimes the intention behind the leadership or management style produces the opposite of what is desired, to the detriment of the manager, staff and the company.  Generally speaking, for the immediate staff involved, they call this disengagement.  And as we all know by now, costs companies millions in financial losses.

There are certain aspects of being human that are immutable - they cannot be negotiated or ignored without detrimental consequences. These are the personal standards by which a person works and lives their lives. 

For individuals involved, to deny or change for another person, situation or circumstance, their own standards, rapidly undermines their purpose, intention and motivation towards something. 

The challenge for Leaders and Managers is knowing what they are and how to obtain them, so that leadership or management is even more effective.

The CRA can identify the standards and motivations of every person in the company, in any group, team or department, in order that their manager(s) have solid foundations upon which to build the strong relationships they need to develop their teams and establish synergy. 

Companies Invest vast amounts of money on training personnel. Generally speaking, technical and mechanical skills based training can achieve a faster return on investments due to the more tangible nature of the training subject. It can be  easier to implement and introduce the benefits accordingly - it does of course depend upon any 'Standards' that may be required to be adjusted. 

Soft Skills, on the other-hand, (which in fact can be very hard) are far more difficult to implement due to numerous fluid and variable factors that can influence a human being - for the better and for the worse.  

The message here is, that investment in soft skills learning & development is not always clear cut. 

Either way when causal factors are clear L & D can apply resource to specific trainings  in specific areas of the business that actually need it and and ensure better resource utilisation. 

This improves a better ROI on  L & D investments.

Quickly identify risk associated with staff disengagement and the financial exposure of losing staff members. Personnel leave for a reason, so know before they go - Exit interviews are too little too late. 

It's common knowledge that disengaged and dissatisfied personnel are an enormous cost to a company. If they leave the replacement costs, cost the company even more.

The CRA identifies those at risk and provides an opportunity for employees to voice their concerns without fear of retribution, before it becomes unresolvable. 

The company and the employee have a greater chance of solving the situation(s) and returning the employee to an engaged status. 

Aligning Systems and Duties

Organisations investments in technology and manual systems are impressive and they endeavour to improve work flow and aid in the performing of personnel's duties.  

Knowing to what extent the alignment between systems used, duties performed and results produced can ensure that anticipated benefits are being achieved and effectiveness is maintained. 

Not all departments use a system to it's fullest potential and operational procedures can be convoluted and complex rendering them inefficient. 

The CRA allows systems and procedures to be assessed to determine efficiencies and shortfalls and to what extent users are happy with the process, procedures or the technology in relation to their specific duties.  

This allows monitoring to fine tune and improve upon departmental operations and throughput. 

Virtual & Remote Teams and Workers require a different approach and focus.

Currently for many managers the COVID 19 situation has been 'New Territory' and a little unsettling, especially if they have come through the ranks in the office environment. How do you manage someone who is not there??

Remote workers are required to await input from other sources, this applies to hardware (capital equipment), deliverables from other processes and essential information all of which are required so they can complete their tasks and deliver their output, as part of the service flow. 

Where there are delays that disrupt the service flow and output performance, management need to know quickly so they can manage the situation and rectify the problem. When this is multiplied by multiple parties the situation worsens and if there are multiple and similar conditions that require addressing, it can be a time consuming logistics challenge.  

The CRA offers Management the capacity to focus on all their reports and address key information and deliverables flow issues to determine if it's an isolated or a common problem across the team or department. 

The simple feedback reporting process provides for specific and faster risk mitigation across a team, department group or region. 

Identify the extent to which the company is open to taking advantage of the talent, experience, perspectives, innovation and creativity that a Diverse workforce can bring.

Having a Diverse workforce has many advantages due to the varying viewpoints and perspectives that a diverse group can offer. 

We are all in life together and diversity can breakdown barriers, remove fears and offer opportunities to receive the benefits of experience that can be hidden by inaccurate and limiting viewpoints. 

Measure the Company’s key INCLUSION Benchmarks to ensure “Walking the Talk” is a reality not an Aspiration. 

The CRA offers the workforce a 'voice' whereby the company benefits by providing balanced opportunities for being fully involved and to obtain input from a workforce keen to contribute. 

Management can quickly obtain and measure key inclusion based information to strengthen the working environment and take advantage of individual's input. 

Company values may promote that they operate an inclusive working environment and the CRA can confirm this.

Diversity without Inclusion benefits few, with the company experiencing the greatest loss, so know what areas require strengthening.

The CRA is a product of having spent 25+ years working in the corporate sector consulting and conducting workshops for major organisations locally and internationally. 

This background coupled with previous years as an IT and Business consultant and studies in Organisational Behaviour, Abnormal Psychology and Psychotherapy, provided golden opportunities to work with the some of the worlds largest organisations.

A small example include: 

IBM: For 5 years on IBM's World Wide Project management initiative facilitating Project Leadership and Advanced Leadership workshops.

Fletcher Challenge: 10 years delivering Leadership and Behaviour based workshops, Fatigue Countermeasures and Emotional Energy Management Workshop

Hewlett Packard:  4 years with Hewlett Packards delivering Leadership and Project Management Fundamentals and accepted multiple invitations to deliver training at their annual Project Management University gatherings. 

Singapore Airlines: 3 years facilitating Team Dynamics and Work Culture based workshops. 

Shell Oil:  4 years delivering Project Leadership and Emotional Energy Management (Working in High Pressured Environments) workshops Leadership and Cultural change across Sth. East Asia.  (For more see desallen.com)

This international exposure enabled closer inspection of how working cultures developed and how management - employee relationships differ country to country, yet have commonality. 

Every Group of Workers will Define their own Working Culture

People join a company for “Gainful” employment. It’s a Self-Oriented decision - its about them and them gaining something.

They believe they will receive their perceived rewards expressed as personal development, experience and money for the amount of effort, commitment and contributions they make.  The extent to which they as a whole, receive their rewards determines the overall direction of the working cultures that prevail. 

The organisations work-force, by the nature of its' grouping structure,  will as a natural course morph into their own unique working cultures. The challenge of organisations is ensuring all individual groups which interact across different levels, work in harmony and are synergistic in their functioning as a group with other groups.

So when those perceived gains each individual seeks within a group are no longer forthcoming, they will leave – period. Either physically or in the case of the majority, “mentally”, rendering themselves and the company at risk, because their value in contribution is becoming less. The individual is paid more than what they deliver, and the value of the company is reduced because they are paying for this reduced effort.   

Working Cultures and how they are evolving are ALL PERSONNELS' responsibility regardless of position.

This means being aware (regular monitoring must be part of the process) of the direction the individual cultures are heading. This in turn means every person having an opportunity to voice what requires correcting, if synergy is to be obtained. 

Change cannot be made if the company doesn't own the problem. 

The CRA gives the company the opportunity to Own cultural issues that cause enormous dissatisfaction and financial loss.