May 25, 2005
Disgruntled workers more likely to turn into saboteurs
Some of you may have seen this report recently from, of all places, the US government's department of homeland security -- while rather obvious to me in theory, this is some of the more interesting data I've seen on this issue:
"A study sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security has found that corporate insiders who sabotage computers and networks are motivated mainly by anger against their bosses.
The DHS examined a number of cases involving computer sabotage over the past six years, focusing most intently on why employees felt the need to attack networks, steal data and wreak technological havoc within their companies.
Most attackers were motivated not by financial gain, the study found, but by a sense of revenge against their superiors. The study also noted that most attackers typically worked in technology departments like I.T., and had specific beefs, like getting laid off or missing a promotion.
A review of the sabotage cases revealed an array of techniques for hurting a company through its electronic resources.
Attacks included deleting mission-critical software and data, posting pornography on a company's Web site and taking down an entire network.
Almost all the employees took numerous steps to conceal their identities, with some even posing as coworkers.
In reporting the motivations of internal saboteurs, researchers noted that many employers do not report such attacks, even if there is financial damage to the company.
The report, released by the Secret Service and the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University, recommends that companies pay better attention to employees being written up for disciplinary action.
Researchers also advise companies to adopt formal grievance procedures to minimize tension between managers and their employees.
The recent study highlights the importance of pre-employment screening, but also the need for vigilance in terms of employee attitudes, said John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
"It's not difficult to see when employees are unhappy," he said. "There's an increase in absenteeism, lower productivity and general negativity in the workplace."
Companies that are sensitive to these types of issues are likely to see numerous benefits to paying more attention to employee issues, Challenger said.
"It's very basic," he said. "Happy employees benefit the company, while disgruntled employees put it at risk, in many different ways."
Posted by Christopher at 7:06 PM
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May 20, 2005
IBM publishes guidelines for employee bloggers
This is one of the most comprehensive set of guidelines for this that I've yet seen -- here's link to the blog of IBM developer James Snell that contains the guidelines and some interesting context for why they were needed. I smiled when I read the part about although corporate communications 'cleaned them up,' they were essentially the words of developers and others blogging. One point I would have liked to have seen mentioned is the role that blogs play in reestablishing corporate credibility, as has been the case with Microsoft letting employees blog both the good and the bad.
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/dw_blog_comments.jspa?blog=351&entry=81328
Posted by Christopher at 8:06 AM
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Hi Christopher. Welcome to the blog world and thank you for sharing your views. Hewlett-Packard has also been pioneering the use of blogs for employees. You can access them from their blog index at: http://h20276.www2.hp.com/blogs/index.jsp
One H-P blogger confronted the instant fury of the blogosphere when he deleted a negative comment from a poster. The message he got: either you're in or you're out, and you take the good with the bad. He subsequently apologized and re-posted the negative comment.
There is a lot to learn online, especially for organizations and individuals who are usually tight-lipped and controlling. But, hey, even Microsoft has prolific public bloggers (as you mention)and it is probably going a long way toward softening the image of the Evil Empire.
All this blogging is blurring the line between internal and external communication and exposing a company's machinations as never before. You must have challenges with getting a client to open up.
Posted by: Mark Rose at June 3, 2005 2:21 PM
Mark, thanks for your comments. The battle of talking about the good with the bad is a big one in the world of employee engagement and communications -- in my experience, companies understand the theory that they must communicate negative things to employees to maintain credibility with them, but it often ends up quite different when you try to put it in to practice. In the 2005 Edelman Trust Barometer study, we found that Microsoft's reputation has continued to improve significantly -- I can't help but believe it's due in part to how they've finally begun to use employee blogging to their advantage.
Posted by: Christopher Hannegan at June 6, 2005 11:20 AM
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USAirways nod to employee sacrifice
Saw an interesting banner at a USAirways gate in the US airport of Philadelphia yesterday: it showed a plane taking off with the headline "Clear Skies Ahead." The text underneath said "Thanks to our employees and you, our customers." A very interesting (and somewhat oblique) reference to all that employees have given up to keep that airline flying -- I like the idea of multi-purposing this kind of thing for btoh audiences. Would be curious to know how the kind of soft campaign has gone over among employees, especially in light of the recent merger announcement with America West.
Posted by Christopher at 7:12 AM
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It was the employees who lost their jobs that is keeping the airline flying. But we deserve more that just a few words on a banner. I was furloughed and I've been told that when the merger takes place that I will lose my flying prevliges. I loved my job and I miss it. I was one employee who would have worked for less money to keep my job. But instead I with thousands of others have lost my career with USAirways. I gave to much because I beleived in USAirway. Bankrupcy was a the way to bust the unions and it would not surprise me to see all the carriers pull out that same card. What upsets me most is the fact that they have out sourced our jobs. I don't see clear skies ahead. The airline industry used to be a honorable industry. People were inpressed with Pilots, Flight attendents were glamourous, there was pride in saying I am a customer service agent with a airlines. But now There is no respect.
Posted by: LeisaShannon at July 1, 2005 9:52 PM
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May 18, 2005
Welcome to my blog on employee engagement
My name is Christopher Hannegan. I run the Employee Engagement client practice at Edelman - we help organizations communicate more effectively with their internal audiences and increase overall levels of engagement. A special thanks to Richard Edelman for blazing the blog trail for our firm, and for welcoming me onto that virtual stage with him.
The question I get the most is "why does engagement even matter? We pay our employees - isn't that enough to keep them happy?" Here's how I sometimes answer that question:
Have you ever figured out how many hours you've worked in your life? How about how many more you have to put in before wrapping up your formal career? As best as I can figure out, I've got about 40,000 more to go if all goes according to plan.
Think about how much you've worked in your life and then compare that to how much of that time you actually enjoyed... when you were loving the challenge, the teammates and the boss so much that you gave it your all and didn't mind one bit. To use that term that's now bordering on overused, how much of that time were you actually engaged in your job?
There are lots of studies out there that paint some pretty dire pictures of levels of employee engagement. The most dire I know of is a 2002 Gallup study that found only 29 percent of North American employees were considered engaged. Interestingly, countries in Latin American always score as having among the most engaged employees; countries in Western Europe the least - haven't figured out yet exactly what cultural differences account for that.
What causes people to be engaged and give it their all (also known as their "discretionary effort" by those who like consulting-speak)? It's not the money. While we all need to make enough to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table, there's so much more that goes into it: quality of leadership, getting the right information at the right time, being recognized, being involved and having a say in your own future just to name a few.
In my future blog postings, I'm going to share perspectives on the state of employee engagement as I see it - how global organizations are trying to achieve it and the trends that we're anticipating as practitioners of the discipline. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Posted by Christopher at 8:07 AM
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Chris,
Great job on getting this out. Wondering what blogs you are reading right now that are relevant to employee engagement? Also, any thoughts on IBM's recently announced 'blogging initiative' and its potential impact on employee engagement.
-Josh Morgan
Posted by: Josh Morgan at May 18, 2005 3:22 PM
Thanks for your comment Josh -- just posted the link to the IBM guidlines for folks to see -- they seem to strike a good balance between being helpful/encouraging and not too 'big brother.' As to your other question, am actually compiling a list of my fav blogs for employee engagement and will be posting within the next week...stay tuned.
Posted by: Christopher Hannegan at May 20, 2005 8:04 AM
Not sure about your trackback but I am writing a post highlighting your blog and some of the things you've got going on at Edelmen. I guess it is some free PR?? Good luck with your new blog and look forward to continued dialoguing in the blogosphere.
Posted by: regina at May 31, 2005 5:24 AM
Some great stuff here, Christopher. I'm looking forward to being a regular blogger on your site, and sharing best practice in this critical area. Lots to share, believe me! Talk to you soon.
Posted by: Nigel Miller at June 9, 2005 10:52 AM
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Posted by: Jason Baumann at October 12, 2005 2:19 AM