Greenprofs.com

I like to come across others traveling a similar path. I joined the Green group on LinkedIn and through it, the group blog, greenprofs.com. It seems fairly new, but I have already found some items of interest.

Beyond Green

Almost everything I have read about sustainable organizations revolves around going green. I would agree that this is a large part of the sustainability and fits within the original context of the word. However, in the workplace, the concept is larger than just "green."

I was mulling this over and I will throw out the major components I think are important:
- Operating profitably (see earlier post)
- Using the fewest natural resources and producing the lowest waste stream possible
- Operating ethically
- Providing a workplace which provides employees with a safe, healthy, and productive environment
- Developing and using employment practices that recruit, develop and retain needed talent for the organization now and in the future

We'll work on each of these areas in upcoming posts.

Ethics in Organizations

Yesterday, I went to a meeting because a friend of mine was speaking. The speech was political and given for a partisan audience, so I won't get into all of it here. However, part of the speech was devoted to the question of whether government should be run like a business. His answer was "no" because businesses have no conscience and would not behave ethically without some curbs on their behavior, provided by the government.

There is plenty of historical precedent to validate his point of view. However, a response might be that the people who run the business provide the conscience. My friend would respond that managers do not pull up the ethics of the business, but rather, the business pulls down the ethics of managers.

I am teaching a class in ethics at Midwestern State University this term and this question is also addressed in the text of the course. There, the authors also cite studies that do show that people of high personal morals and high personal ethics do behave in a less ethical manner in the business environment because the business exists to increase value to shareholders and the normal rules do not apply.

An interesting question, isn't it? If one buys the argument, then governmental regulation and compliance is a requirement to prevent businesses from acting against the best interests of the community. This would be the reason government has stepped in with laws concerning employment, civil rights, consumer safety, and the environment.

So is it a matter of the organization corrupting the person or of inadequate ethical training for the workplace?

The Purpose of Business

This morning on HRGuru.com forum where I posted a request for colleagues to review this blog and comment, I received an article from Forbes.com, in which the writer basically said that companies should not embrace corporate social responsibility.

From: "Is Corporate Social Responsibility Responsible?Betsy Atkins Directorship 11.28.06, 12:00 PM ET"
"What the investing and consuming public really means by “social responsibility” is:
--Be transparent in your financial reporting.
--Produce a quality product, and don’t misrepresent it.
--If you know something about the product that endangers the consumer, be forthright and let the public know.
--Do not use predatory practices in offshore manufacturing, such as child labor.
--Do not pollute your environment or other environments, and adhere to laws and regulations.
--Be respectful, fair and open in your employment practices.

Actually, I think overall this is the basic outline of corporate responsibility. However, many people would also add charity donations/support or community involvement in this. I can see others would see that donations would dilute the return to shareholders, but is that truly the case?

Article in HR Magazine

There is an article in the September 2008 HR Magazine that relates to this blog's topic. http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0908/0908futurefocus.asp#au

"Sustainable Strategy" is a good first thought on this topic. Jennifer Schramm reported on the concern that HR may not be ready to step up to the plate. I share those concerns. But that's what we're working on here.

I think part of the issue is that sustainability is approached in many businesses as a public relations ploy. Yes, some consider it at least as an element of corporate social responsibility. However, I suggest that it could be a competitive advantage companies could exploit.

I see HR as a key player in sustainability for a number of reasons:
- In many companies, HR is the focal point for coordinating corporate responsibility programs
- HR is often the company ethics office
- Business success is due in large part to the effective use of people

The Role of Supervisors

If there is anything I am passionate about, it is the importance of supervisors in an organization. Given that bias, I read everything I can about how to train and develop supervisors. Generally I am disappointed in the amount and quality of the information out there.

It seems companies generally pick supervisors from among their best workers. The assumption being if you are good at something, you'll be able to make sure everyone in the department is good at it. Unfortunately, we just sprinkle the technical expert with holy water and tell him or her to "go out and conquer." And we wonder why so many fail. The skill sets that make a person a great worker are not necessarily the skill set that make them a great supervisor.

This is the single largest portion of my own consulting business, so it is not that companies aren't aware that their supervisors need tools. Unfortunately, it seems they are looking for a quick innoculation of knowledge (which is better than nothing), versus a well thought out development plan.

What do supervisors need to know?
- Some technical expertise in the area they will be supervising in order to gain the respect and confidence of their work force
- Delegation
- Project management
- Employment law (at least enough to stay out of the biggest bear traps)
- Company policies
- Time management
- Team building
- Employee motivation
- Report writing
- Appraisals
- Discipline and terminations
- Staffing, to include interviewing
- Ethics
- Goal setting
- Coaching
- Safety/workers comp

There are others, depending upon the company, the industry, and the scope of the supervisor's responsibilities.

Often a company invests in training and is dissappointed in the behavior change they don't get. Behaviors are habits and require time and effort to change. Coaching is an important part of the supervisor development equation.

Is your company good at selecting and developing supervisors? If so, I would love to hear more.
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Talking Profit

I consider myself a business person first and an HR professional second. I am not a "tea and sympathy" HR person. However, I also realize employees work better for a company when they are not abused. Heck, I work better for a company when I am not abused. That's part of the reason I started my own company.

But what HR practices contribute both to a company's profitabilty and to the welfare of its workforce? Most HR practitioners have been around long enough to know that the two are not necessarily linked. You can have a profitable company that treats its employees like slave labor. By the same token, a company can bend over backwards for its employees and go down the tube.

If a practice does not contribute to the company's bottom line, why do it?

I am teaching a class on Ethics in HR currently for Midwestern State University, and we are talking about how ethical behavior and corporate responsibility affect profits. There is a positive link. I will post the results of some studies here over the next day or two. If you have read any good articles related to this recently, feel free to post your cites. I would love to read them.

Let's Get Started!

The purpose of this blog is to explore sustainable workplaces (and later, communities). I haven't seen much on this topic in the business community, so I decided to start working on a book. Why not a blog to discuss the concept, get feedback on various thoughts, and actively search for examples and interesting people to interview on this topic?

The closest that I have seen to a book on this topic was The Natural Advantage by Alan Heeks. I didn't particularly care for the book, but there were some valid points. Since then, there has been a flurry of articles on greening the workplace. These articles focus on energy and water conservation, recycling, and green building. That's only part of the equation. I want to concentrate on employment practices that help organizations be sustainable.

What do I mean by a sustainable organization? Merriam-Webster online defines "sustainable" as:
1: capable of being sustained2 a: of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged b: of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods

Obviously, the first requirement of a sustainable organization is that it continue to exist. If we assume the organization is a business, then profit would be a fundamental requirement. However, my focus is on the rest of the definition, with a focus on human resources. What HR programs and policies promote the sustainable use of people?

I have many thoughts about this issue and would like to have a discussion to help clarify and expand those thoughts as I work on a book.

Thanks in advance for your ideas and comments over the next few months.

Broad Concepts

When I talk about employment practices which contribute to a sustainable organization, what am I talking about?
- First they should contribute to the success of the organization. After all, the primary purpose of an organization is to make a profit (for-profit business) and/or to successfully fulfill its reason for being and remain viable (non-profit, governmental).
- Second they should contribute to the organization's ability to attract, retain and develop its people.
- Third they should contribute to the well-being of the employees (i.e., we don't want to "use them up" in producing our product or service).
- Fourth they should contribute to the organization's ability to support a sustainable community.