Human Resources: One Small Step for Employee-Management-Community Consensus Building

One Small Step for Employee-Management-Community Consensus Building:
Affirming the Purpose, Participation and Power of Admin Professionals
One of the challenges for an Organizational Development Consultant is
getting management and employees on the same page, if not singing from the same
sheet of music. Sometimes you don’t need management to generate static.
Status distinctions within the employee ranks may exacerbate in-house
tensions. For example, in one government directorate, scientists and IT folks
were called “professional” staff while the clerical/administrative
personnel were labeled “support” staff. (On a retreat, I quickly changed the
nomenclature: all were professional staff; some were scientific, others were
administrative.)

When you move beyond exclusionary, “superior-subordinate” or “all or none”
thinking and can become thoughtfully inclusive, allowing for both
individual difference while still reaffirming a sense of team and community, you
are taking a small but meaningful step for trust- and team building. If not
always a win-win solution, at least you have discovered or designed a
necessary “pass in the impasse.”

Consider this scenario of a government unit with similar status issues and
professional community barriers as noted above: As a follow-up to a team
building retreat with an admin staff of a federal government division we
initiated a once/month meeting with the Assistant Director. The meeting
gives the admin group a chance to both get management’s perspective on
operational issues as well as to identify issues and articulate concerns close to
their heads and hearts. This was an important step as these six ladies
believed that management overlooked them and did not seriously listen to
issues they had been raising.

An agenda item came up that I would like to spotlight: whether the admin
staff needs to attend the weekly “front office” meeting with all division
staff. While one or two of the admin people thought there was an
occasional nugget from these meetings, all agreed that most of the time the issues
are mission technical and don’t relate to the operational interests and
needs of the admin team.

As the discussion unfolded we seemed to be moving toward an “all or none”
resolution, though we also agreed that anyone wanting to could attend the
meeting. I was concerned about the possible message sent or message
perceived by the rest of the staff if most admin did not show up to the front
office meetings (e.g., reinforcing “professional staff” divisions or that
admin was uninterested, feeling unwelcomed, frustrated, etc.) I also wanted
admin not to be merely passive observers but to have a task-related
presence at these front office gatherings.

The nuanced solution: “How about if admin sent a formal representative
to the front office meetings?” And this representative would present
during a “Five Minutes with Admin” segment. The representative’s agenda would
emerge from a mix of morning huddles and the monthly meeting with the
Assistant Director. And the representative would also report back to the admin
team relevant ideas and issues generated in the full staff meeting. The
solution seemed to accommodate individual flexibility while generating formal
admin participation as well as the opportunity for two-way information
gathering-sharing. It added meaning and value to admin’s informal collegial
meetings. And with the admin rep being filled on a rotational basis, all
would have a chance to hang back in the shadows as well as play a more
visible, leadership role. (We coined a new title for the representative: Admin
Ambassador. You know the ladies loved that one.) Perhaps the best
definition of consensus I’ve come across on my consulting travels: “Everyone
gives up a little for the greater good, goals and gain of the community.”
Words to bridge status and role differences and strengthen a community focus
while helping one and all…Practice Safe Stress!

Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social
Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker and "Motivational
Humorist" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN speaking and workshop
programs. In addition, the "Doc" is a team building and organizational
development consultant for a variety of govt. agencies, corporations and
non-profits. Mark is an Adjunct Professor, No. VA (NOVA) Community College and
currently he is leading "Stress, Team Building and Humor" programs for the 13th
Expeditionary Support Command and the 15th Sustainment Brigade, Ft. Hood,
Texas and the 3rd Chemical Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, MO. A former Stress
and Conflict Consultant for the US Postal Service, the Stress Doc is the
author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger. See his
award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" – www.stressdoc.com – called a
"workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc's
"Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email
stressdoc[at]aol.com or call 301-875-2567.