No Jerks Allowed:How to build a civilized workplaceHow to build a civilized workplace

Christine Barney  CEO rbb Public Relations  christine.barney@rbbpr.com

Why Build a Civilized Workplace?

A. It’s Good for You

A. It’s good for youB It’s a woman thingB. It s a woman thing

A. It’s good for youB It’s a woman thingB. It s a woman thingC. It’s good business

ROIJERKS ROI

R d

JERKS

• Reduce – Cost of employee replacementHR ff– HR staff costs

– Litigation, mitigation, training

I• Increase– ProductivityL lt– Loyalty 

– Employee satisfaction = increased productivity and customer satisfactionand customer satisfaction

All‐Star Jerk Costs*All Star Jerk CostsActivity Hours Spent Estimated Cost

Direct manager 250  $25,000

HR professionals 50  $ 5,000

Senior executive 15 $10,000

Legal counsel 10 $10,000

Recruiting, trainingsecretary

$85,000

Anger management class $5,000

Total $160,000

*The No‐Asshole Rule by Robert Sutton

Bully PoisonBully Poison

• One CEO had 119 assistants over 5 years y• Study of 5,000 employees

– 25% were victims of bullying in last 5 years – 50% witnessed bullying  – 27% said bullying reduced their productivity  – 25% of bullied victims and 20% of witnesses left their25% of bullied victims and 20% of witnesses left their jobs

• Annual replacement cost of those who left was $750 000 1 2 illi$750,000‐1.2 million

• Increased absenteeism – Tropical Storm SyndromeSyndrome

FearFear

“When fear rears its ugly head, people focus on t ti th l tprotecting themselves, not on helping organizations 

improve “improve.   ‐W. Edward Deming

Revenge CostsRevenge Costs

ABC Manufacturing PlantABC Manufacturing Plant Average  Theft Rates

Normal Compassionate Jerk ManagerManager

4% 6% 10%

“Few employees are working full forty‐hourFew employees are working full forty‐hour weeks, and as managers, you either do not know what your EMPLOYEES are doing; or you do not CARE I t t th l ki l tCARE. I want to see the employee parking lot substantially full between 7:30 am and 6:30 pm on weekdays and half full on Saturdays.  If that y ydoesn’t happen harsh measures will happen, layoffs and hiring freezes. You have two weeks.  Tick tock ”Tick tock.  ‐ Leaked email in NYT

S k l d 22% i h dStock plummeted 22% in three days

rbb ROIrbb ROI

• National accolades: at o a acco ades:– Top 30 list nationwide of Wall Street Journal Top Small Workplaces for the last three years 

– 2008 PRWeek Agency of the Year– 2009 Holmes Report Boutique Agency of the Year

R t ti d it t b fit t ff• Retention and recruitment benefits: average staff and client tenure is 8.5 years.

• The numbers: productivity profit margins and• The numbers: productivity, profit margins and employee satisfaction have all continuously improvedp

9 YEARS8 YEARS 5 YEARS

16 YEARS

8 YEARS 5 YEARS

4 YEARS

18 YEARS16 YEARS 26 YEARS

4 YEARS

6 YEARS19 YEARS

6 YEARS7 YEARS 6 YEARS<3 YEARS

Are You Civilized?Are You Civilized?

Benefits

HRResourcesResources

Perks

One‐size Does Not Fit AllOne size Does Not Fit All  

ChildChildcare stipend Long‐term 

carecare

Paper is CheapPaper is Cheap

“We believe our continued success lies in teamwork and the opportunity each team member has to learn, develop and grow.  We are committed to being a meritocracy, and to developing, retaining and attracting the best people, reflective of our worldwide marketplace.”

“Fake” ValuesFake  Values 

We value the teamWe value the team(But reward only the individual)

How Do You Create a Civilized k lWorkplace?

TIME

PATIENCE

MONEY

’Size Doesn’t Matter

Barney’s 4 Rules to a yCivilized Workplace

Listen TrustListen“Go”

TrustOneGo  

BehaviorsOne 

Culture

LiListen.

Don’t talk AT employees,p ytalk WITH employees

Get off CEO Island

Bottom upp

Who can best figureWho can best figure out how to increase productivity on the 

d i liproduction line –worker or office 

manager?manager? 

Employee‐driven WorkplaceEmployee driven Workplace

“GO”“GO” Behaviors.Behaviors.

Avoid policies aimed at stopping behavior andAvoid policies aimed at stopping behavior and instead provide tools/policies to accelerate 

positive behaviorpositive behavior.

Go Behaviors Stop Behaviors

• Flexible work schedules

Behaviors• No personal calls

• Spot bonus• Interactive communications

• Reward jerks• Top‐down communications

• Track employee engagement

• Benchmark role models

• Limit employee decision‐making

• Short term focus• Benchmark role models• Training

• Short term focus• Behavior “sticks”

TTrust.

Treat People Like AdultsTreat People Like Adults

Employee‐Driven Workplace

• Flexibility and respect the foundation of an

Employee Driven Workplace

Flexibility and respect the foundation of an employee‐driven workplace. 

• Invite employees to seamlessly integrate work• Invite employees to seamlessly integrate work and personal obligations without making either suffereither suffer.

Sick Child ConundrumSick Child Conundrum

One Culture.

One Culture for Rank and FileOne Culture for Rank and File

•Base pay

• Lots of time off

•Health/dental (domestic partner)

•PR Pro

•Client Service Awards

• rbb intranet

TOTAL REWARDS

at rbb PR•STD/life insurance

• 401K + match

• FSA

• Parking/mileage

rbb intranet

• Firm publicity

•Matching program for donations or volunteer hours

at rbb PR

Pay & Benefits Recognition

• Parking/mileage

• Personal calling

•Office services e.g.,    postage

•Referral fees

•Community payday (8 hrs paid volunteer time)

•rbb News Group activities

Work Learning &

Referral fees

•Candy

•Cell phone/laptop

•Flu shots•Prof. development

•TeleseminarsWork  Environment

Learning & Development•Flextime

•Telecommuting

•Office structure

•Advancement 

•Membership dues (if officer)

•Buddy system

•High‐performing and award‐winning culture

• EAP/ LAP

• Casual dress

•Individualized stipends

•rbb Cocktail Conversations Courses

•rbb Think Tank activities

•rbb Works, R.E.D. (rbb extras division) and rbb Flex Group events

•Lending library

Don’t Ignore the PhysicalDon t Ignore the Physical

• LayoutLayout

• Décor

l• Tools

Layout FallaciesLayout Fallacies

Employees rated aEmployees rated a manager who believed his door wasbelieved his door was open 95% of the time as having the dooras having the door CLOSED 95% of the timetime

The Illusion of PrivacyThe Illusion of Privacy

Open OfficeOpen Office

Open Environment FactorsOpen Environment Factors

Decision speedOrganizational learning 

Employee job satisfaction and commitment 

Communal SpaceCommunal Space

DécorDécorDirty, tired, worn  does not equal innovative

ToolsTools

• TechnologyTechnology– Trust assisted by mobile technology, wireless accessaccess

• AmenitiesLogo jackets in cold office– Logo jackets in cold office

– In‐house gym

EAP– EAP 

Barney’s 4 Rules to a yCivilized Workplace

Listen Don’t talk at employees, talk with them.  Give up control of the environment and let it work.

“Go” Avoid policies aimed at stopping behavior; provide tools/policies to accelerate positive behavior.

Trustbehavior.

Trust. Treat people like adults.  Have faith that those who abuse the trust will be found out and forced out

One Culture

found out and forced out. 

There can only be one culture – there can’t be different rules/ environments for the higher ups than for the rank and filethe higher ups than for the rank and file.

The Final WordThe Final Word

BRANDBRAND

Your brand is defined not by what YOU say but what your employees SAY and DO. 

With their support, not only will you deliver on b d i b t ill hi tyour brand promise, but you will achieve strong 

financial success. 

No Jerks Allowed:How to build a civilized workplaceHow to build a civilized workplace

Christine Barney  CEO rbb Public Relations  christine.barney@rbbpr.com