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.Lovelace Hospital Systems in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was concerned about the rapid turnover among its nurses.Its turnover rate wasn't any worse than the national average (between 1 8 and 30 percent per year), but that was small comfort.When nurses G r o w Y o u r P e o p l e1 55left, replacing them cost a lot of money, morale suffered, and patient care was put at risk during the transition period.Kathleen Davis, a registered nurse and vice president of hospital operations, decided to try an unconventional approach to analyzing the turnover problem.She hired Susan Wood, a consultant who specialized in Appreciative Inquiry, a process for changing organizations by studying what's working rather than what's not (this is another example of the bright-spots focus that we discussed in Chapter 2).Wood and Davis decided not to investigate why so many nurses were leaving.Instead, they began to explore why other nurses were staying.In a hospital with three hundred nurses, the team interviewed more than one hundred.Wood asked nurses what made their jobs satisfying.She recalled, "These nurses were beaten down and overworked, but as soon as we started them in a conversation about what they were good at, the tone changed."Davis and Wood found that the nurses who stayed at the hospital were fiercely loyal to the profession of nursing.In other words, their satisfaction was an identity thing-the nobility of the nursing profession gave meaning to their work.Once the hospital administrators realized this, they knew they'd have to do more to help the nurses cultivate their identity.For instance, they began to find ways to recognize people for extraordinary nursing performance.They developed a new orientation program that stressed the inherently admirable nature of nursing work.They created mentorship programs to help nurses improve their knowledge and skills.The first hint that something had changed was evident on the annual employee satisfaction survey.Nursing satisfaction scores increased markedly in multiple categories, particularly"communication"-all those interviews and conversations about identity had an impact.But the impact went beyond the survey: 1 56M O T I V A T E T H E E L E P H A N TOver the following year, turnover decreased by 30 percent.And then the success made an unexpected leap: On regional surveys, Davis and Wood started seeing improved ratings on patient satisfaction with Lovelace Hospital.It's critical to realize that these identity stories aren't just special case situations, confined to scientists or nurses or St.Lucians.Identity is going to play a role in nearly every change situation.Even yours.When you think about the people whose behavior needs to change, ask yourself whether they would agree with this statement: "I aspire to be the kind of person who would make this change." If their answer is yes, that's an enormous factor in your favor.If their answer is no, then you'll have to work hard to show them that they should aspire to a different self-image.And that's exactly what Paul Butler did in St.Lucia.He convinced the island's citizens to think, "This is our bird-if we want to be good St.Lucians, we'd better protect it."To see what this means in a business context, consider a firm that invented an identity that subsequently became the engine of its success.The firm is Brasilata-it's a US$ 170 million manufacturing firm in Brazil that produces various kinds of steel cans.As you'd imagine, the can manufacturing industry is relatively mature-not much growth, not much excitement.But Brasilata defies the stereotype of a boring, stuck-in-its ways manufacturer.In fact, it has one of the best reputations for innovation of any company in Latin America.How does a manufacturer of cans become known as an innovator? Brasilata's founders were inspired by the philosophy of Japanese car manufacturers like Honda and Toyota, which empowered their frontline employees to take ownership of their work.For instance, at Toyota, any employee who spotted a defect could stop the assembly line (this would have been unthinkable in Detroit at the time).Toyota and Honda also actively solicited G r o w Y o u r P e o p l e1 57ideas for innovation from their employees.In 1 987, the founders of Brasilata launched an employee-innovation program modeled on the Japanese forerunners.A new identity was the core of the program.Employees of Brasilata hecame known as "inventors," and when new employees joined the firm, they were asked to sign an "innovation contract."This wasn't simply feel-good language.Top management challenged employees to be on the lookout for potential innovationsideas for how to create better products, improve production processes, and squeeze costs out of the system.Procedures developed within the factory made it easy for inventors to submit their ideas.The program succeeded beyond any reasonable expectations.In 2008, employees submitted 134,846 ideas-an average of 145.2 ideas per inventor! This figure puts Brasilata on par with the Japanese trendsetters that had inspired the program.Many of the suggestions led to the development of new products.For instance, in late 2008, Brasilata came up with a new approach for steel cans designed to carry dangerous or flammable liquids.To meet United Nations standards, such cans must be able to withstand a drop from 1.2 meters (roughly 4 feet).Traditionally, most manufacturers had reached this standard by thickening the metal layers, which used up more raw material and required new production processes.And the reinforced designs weren't foolproof-the metal seams were prone to split if a can landed on an edge.Brasilata's inventors suggested a new design, inspired by car bumpers that collapse on impact.Their new steel can deformed slightly on impact, reducing stress on the critical seam.The new design resisted impact better while also reducing the amount of steel in the can.The inventors have led Brasilata through emergencies.In 200 1, a severe energy crisis-the "blackout syndrome" -forced1 58M O T I V A T E T H E E L E P H A N Tthe government of Brazil to ration energy.Businesses received a strict quota of electricity.The inventors went to work dreaming up power-saving ideas-hundreds of them.Within a few weeks, Brasilata's energy consumption was reduced by 35 percent, falling below the company's quota and allowing the company to resell its extra energy.Another unexpected idea was jointly suggested by two employees: Eliminate our jobs; they're not necessary anymore.The idea was accepted, but the company found a new place for the employees.Brasilata has a no-dismissal policy and also distributes 1 5 percent of its net profits to employees.It's no surprise that Brasilata consistently appears on "best places to work" lists in Brazil.Let's remember something: This "inventor" identity, which has fueled business success and employee satisfaction, was made up.None of Brasilata's employees were born "inventors." The identity was introduced to them, and they liked the sound of it.It seemed to be a mantle worth wearing.Being an inventor has become a source of pride and strength.5.If cultivating an identity sounds daunting, take heart.A classic study in psychology shows that you can start with small steps.In the 1960s, two psychologists from Stanford University, Jonathan Freedman and Scott Fraser, asked a researcher to go door-to-door in an upscale neighborhood in Palo Alto, California.When home owners answered the door, the researcher announced himself as a volunteer for "Citizens for Safe Driving" and asked whether they would allow a billboard reading "Drive Carefully" to be installed on their lawns.They were shown a photo of the billboard on the lawn of a different house, and it was a real G r o w Y o u r P e o p l e1 59eyesore-crudely constructed and so enormous that it obscured much of the front of the house [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]