Canadian HR Strategy

14 Executive Series Digest hrreporter.com whatever your strategy is… because you might be infl uencing the wrong behav- iour if you don't have the right metric." Culture is another important com- ponent in a customer experience-driven company. HR should consider how it is building a culture of customer experi- ence by looking at how it is hiring, on- boarding and recognizing employees. "Are you recruiting potential employ- ees with the right mindset to be custom- er experience-driven? And how are you rewarding and recognizing behaviour that is customer experience-driven?" said Harper. Governance is the hardest piece. When there are diff erent business lines, how does one leader tell another to gov- ern his business? she said. "It's really going to take the whole organization working together to get it right, so it's your people, processes, tech- nology, products, distribution, brand im- age and reputation," said Harper. "Within HR and the whole organization, there's a lot to do — that's why we say customer experience is a journey." A century of electric performance (Leadership In Action) By Trish Maguire H ow many companies can you name that can celebrate a 118-year history of innovative solutions, technological superiority and unshakeable commitment to customers, employees and shareholders? How many companies do you know that can take pride in sev- en decades of no layoff s, a profi t-sharing bonus payout 66 years out of 67 for all employees and an approved business case for the Harvard School of Business? is is the remarkable track record of Lincoln Electric, a man- ufacturer of electric arc welders and other welding equipment. In sharing the organization's history, Canadian CEO Joseph Doria validates how trust, fl exibility, fairness and a sense of security can "encourage people to work hard and constantly." So if Lincoln Electric has proven an organization can be suc- cessful without layoff s, why haven't more companies followed suit? Could the answer be, as Frank Koller suggests in his book Spark, that there is an indiff erence and skepticism about this model? Interestingly, the common argument voiced by many leaders he spoke with appears to be that Lincoln Electric's guar- anteed employment and egalitarian compensation model call for a particular set of conditions that are not easy to reproduce — and not suitable — at most organizations. Do such comments and belief systems suggest the real chal- lenge is about old habits, beliefs and conventional mindsets? Could it be some leaders are reluctant to be values-driven and more imaginative in sharing the results more equally with people, shareholders and the entire business? Are there leaders who pre- fer short-term thinking rather than understanding the long-term consequences of decisions that impact people, customers, share- holders and the business? e Lincoln Electric story presents any leader with feasible in- sights and lessons. Its leadership model reveals a time-honoured commitment to being a group experience where the focus is on actions, behaviours and processes as opposed to the actions of a single leader or position. It is based on essential elements, such as positive relationships, trust and mutual respect. e deep-rooted culture is one where the people are the unique vantage point, not the product, and acknowledged as be- ing front and centre to the organization — not the lowest element. e culture reinforces the importance of developing an engaging work environment where people are encouraged to make choices based on pride, ownership, passion, conscience and vision. How would you describe your organization's culture and lead- ership behaviour? Are your people recognized as being the centre and front of the organization? Is leadership an intradependent, values-driven process or experienced as independent and singu- lar actions? How do your key metrics measure up to Lincoln Elec- tric's record of profi tability, productivity, innovation and growth? In Doria's own words, "people, permanence and profi t" encap- sulate Lincoln Electric's outstanding success and serve as a vital lesson for any leader willing to listen. Trish Maguire is a commentator for SCNetwork on leadership in action and founding principal of Synergyx Solutions in Nobleton, Ont., focused on high-potential leadership development coaching. She has held senior leadership roles in HR and OD in education, manufacturing and entrepreneurial fi rms. She can be reached at synergyx@sympatico.ca. Sears needs lesson from Sears (Organizational Effectiveness) By Barbara Kofman A ny organization looking to move its employee engage- ment, customer satisfaction and revenues to a higher level would benefi t from studying Lincoln Electric, Delta Hotels and the Bank of Montreal. e application of a value chain, the linkage between employ- ees, customers and fi nancials — as described by William Pallett of Delta and Kelly Harper of the Bank of Montreal — brought to mind the seminal work Sears did in this arena in the 1990s when it introduced its model for a successful transformation. It started with a clear vision of what it wanted to be known for, communicated that vision widely and linked a winning inter- nal culture with engaged employees to enhance customer loyalty CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

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