You’ll remember from the blog last week that Maureen is taking a little bit of ‘me time’ at the CIPD Annual Conference in Manchester this week. This is her chance to get away from the office and do a little bit of blue-sky thinking. She always comes back with new ideas, a fresher perspective and a determination to put what she has heard in practice.
Last year, the main idea that Cullen Scholefield ran with after the conference was the DREAMS organisation. Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones discussed this idea in their keynote speech ‘Creating the best workplace on earth.’
DREAMS stands for:
Difference: Letting people be who they are and valuing diversity.
Radical Honesty: Treating employees as adults and including them in honest discussions and decisions.
Extra Value: Going the extra mile to show your team that you value them.
Authenticity: Leaders need to show that they espouse the company’s values and encourage others to follow their example.
Meaning: A job should give you meaning so make sure everyone is aware of how much their job matters and that what they do is important.
Simple rules: As simple as it sounds – simple rules. Don’t confuse people with complex rules and regulations – keep it simple to keep their trust.
This type of thinking is more relevant than ever with the latest news from the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT) that overtime will be taken into consideration when holiday pay is calculated.
HR departments across the country are going to be faced with angry employees insisting that they are entitled to so many years of back-pay and it is inevitable that people are going to be disappointed and angry. The three points of this DREAMS idea that you should bear in mind while preparing for this new legislation are:
Radical Honesty: You will need to be clear with your employees on what your organisation will be doing to address this, what the timeframes are and what they can expect will change. Radical Honesty is about telling the truth, even if it isn’t what people want to hear, so while they may be disappointed that you are not able to grant back pay this financial year, they will appreciate that you have been honest about this from the start.
Extra Value: This new rule only applies to non-guaranteed overtime – overtime that an employee is required to do when asked. This means that your employees might already be feeling undervalued by the amount of extra work that they are required to do. It is important to show your employees that you value their time and efforts, so consider this when working out your strategy and think about other non-financial ways that you can show how much you care for your employees.
Simple rules: Once you have come up with a strategy, keep it simple. Everyone these days feels like they are getting ripped off and that’s because a lot of the time they are! The easier the rules are to understand, the more your employees will trust you.
If you are really concerned about this new rule then read HR Review’s article here, which gives you a quick guide as to what you need to understand. Also, let us know what your main concerns are in the comments!
I’m sure next week’s blog will be full of dazzling new ideas Maureen has picked up from this year’s CIPD conference, so don’t miss it!