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By Getty Stewart
Head of the Home Range
“IT’S NOT FAIR!” my four-year-old daughter cried as I tucked her into bed, while her big brother was allowed to play for another hour. I tried to explain, but my attempt brought little comfort and had very little meaning. She was determined that “being fair” required treating everyone the same – period.
Her protests led me to think of my own definition of “being fair”. I must admit, at one time, I believed the same thing - that being fair meant treating everyone the same. But the more I was involved in organizations, the more I wondered if it was fair to treat everyone the same, regardless of their situations.
Today I believe that to be fair you must treat people differently. My transformation has come with my growing understanding and appreciation for the differences in people. We are all such unique individuals that, to me, it now seems inherently wrong to treat each other as if we were all the same.
The fact that people are different is, of course, stating the obvious. But how many of us still set up corporate policies and systems that treat employees as if they were all the same? Sure it‘s easy to acknowledge that people are different, but it isn’t that easy to apply that knowledge and understanding to our workplace.
Darryl and I experienced this dilemma several years ago when we asked ourselves what type of program we could offer our employees to help create a great work environment. Naturally, we wanted a program that was “fair” - something that would work for all employees, that would have the same dollar value for each employee and that would be meaningful to everyone. Something even our four-year-old could agree was “fair”.
Not only did we find it impossible to find a program that met those criteria, but after considering it more carefully we realized that we were thinking about our employees as if they were all the same. Of course, they are far from it; our employees are different with very unique needs that cannot be met with one program. And, as a growing company, it’s financially impossible to start multiple programs that would address everyone’s needs and be accessible to everyone at any time. We needed a different approach, an approach that started with the individual and not the program.
And that’s how we have ended up with a hodge-podge of “stuff” that we offer our employees. I use the term “stuff” because traditional terms like “programs” or “initiatives” are too formal and don’t accurately reflect the individualistic nature of what we do. None of what we offer is outlined in a program, it is all in response to each employee’s unique situation. We consider their needs, their contributions to the company, their overall situations and what the company can offer. As a result, we have a real hodge-podge.
For example, we offer flex time, but instead of a set flex-time schedule or program, we base our flex time on the specific needs of employees. So, the number of days, the number of hours and the length of lunch breaks varies from one employee to another. We even have some employees who work from home and some who choose to be contract workers instead of actual employees.
My final example is that of a five-year employee who recently took a five-week vacation. We don’t offer five-week vacations for all five-year veterans; he was able to take five weeks because of his outstanding contribution to the company and his particular situation.
While my daughter may question our tactics, we feel confident that our approach is fair. And one day I’m sure she’ll understand that it is far better to treat people according to their unique differences than to treat them as if they were just like everyone else.
© IBEX Payroll 2008 |
