As we said in the previous blog, the employee-employer relationship is like a marriage, the ‘spark’ in the marriage being their willingness to go the extra mile for each other. We defined this ‘extra mile’ as Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB), which is any voluntary behaviour of an employee that is outside of their job description, but that benefits their organization or co-workers; for instance, helping a colleague with a task or saying good things about their company to a third person. We also saw that the major components of organizational citizenship are helpfulness, following rules, participating in company governance, a sportsmanlike attitude, and courtesy; and that they lead to higher organizational effectiveness, revenue, and employee job satisfaction.
Let us now look at a few things employers can do throughout the employment cycle to keep this spark alive. (Resemblance with the cycle of a romantic relationship is purely coincidental, and obviously not a literary device employed by the writer on purpose to better explain the point.)
1. Find the right partner: Start at the beginning. A lot of citizenship behaviours come from the employee’s personal tendencies and qualities. Just like you look for a life partner who shares your values and is compatible with you, expand your employee selection process beyond skill testing and interviews to values and personalities. A variety of scientific behavioural tests can help you assess these. Qualities like following rules, taking an initiative, empathy for co-workers can be measured to predict OCB.
2. The dating period: Once you select an employee, you get to know each other in the on-boarding period. Whether the relationship will go beyond the probationary stage is determined by the level of trust developed in the dating period. What can work is to take the first step yourself. Trust the new employees with responsibilities of gradually increasing stakes. This gives them opportunities to demonstrate their dependability and gauge your trustworthiness as well. According to research, when both parties face uncertainty and obstacles together, they develop a more trusting relationship. Employees who trust their employers are much more willing to go out of their way for them.
A prerequisite to people acting as citizens is them getting the rights and entitlements of a citizen. So, lay the groundwork of privileges. Treat your employee like a good citizen already, and they are more likely to BECOME a good citizen.
3. Meet the family: As Indians are fond of saying, marriage is not only between two individuals, but also their families. Employees, too, have to integrate within their new family- their team. For OCB to be high, the size and structure of the team are crucial. A small organization tends to be more cohesive. However, even in a large organization, the team size can be kept optimal to facilitate better bonding. In a smaller team, every employee feels heard and feels part of the team, which translates into doing more for the team.
The employer can design processes that encourage people in a team to interact with and depend on each other to get work done. Members of an interdependent team tend to form emotional attachments with each other and with the company, leading to more citizenship behaviours.
4. Fights, small and big: Every couple, no matter how compatible, has to navigate conflicts in their relationship, and so do employers and employees. Disputes in a company can range from trivial things like what temperature should the AC be set at, to grave issues such as whether a certain work practice is ethical. Every organization needs to have a conflict resolution protocol and a transparent justice system. When employees perceive the system as fair, they perform citizenship behaviours more frequently.
A quandary for all employers is that no resolution to a conflict can please all parties. However, experiments have proven that people perceive a process as fair when they are given a chance to explain their side and are heard, even if the verdict is not in their favour. As in the case with your spouse, simply hearing them out with undivided attention helps a great deal more than you’d think.
5. Don’t put a number on everything: In a good partnership, the sharing of tasks has to be organic and voluntary. Keeping count of the tasks either partner does seems like an objective way of distributing work, but has never ended positively for any couple. It is the same case when you try to numerate every performance component of your employee’s job, and attach rewards to that. While rewarding and recognizing citizenship behaviours of employees is a good practice that serves to set OCB as the norm, ‘Overmetering’ employee contributions suggests that you think of them as no better than machines. This practice is not only costly and impractical, but it also leaves employees feeling unappreciated and hurt.
We hope this was helpful, or at least fun to read. We wish you lasting and fulfilling relationships with your employees!
(For assistance with employee selection and behavioural tests, contact The Secret Ingredient.)
About the Author:
Adwaita, is a psychologist and PhD scholar with experience in design and delivery of psychometric assessments, 360 degree feedback surveys, and other HR tools. She has worked with clients from various industries to provide elegant solutions for recruitment, promotions and leadership identification. She provides services in tool construction, research consultancy, content writing and translation, with a focus on social sciences. Strong analytical skills, clinical exposure and diverse industrial experience make her an excellent assessor and consultant with a holistic perspective.
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