Hello ,
About..Taking the Mick Syndrome
Greetings from Ancient Wisdom HQ.
I'm still with the team here in Sheffield working with them to draw up our plans for the coming year. Last week I was telling you about my trip via Istanbul getting here.
And how AW is a hub for gifts - that gifts are mini acts of love - and how important you are in this circle of giving. You can read about it here.
We invited you to share photo's of your retail displays. And thanks for all the amazing (some really fun) submissions. Tomas (in marketing has been compiling a list) and we'll announce a winner next week and issue free shipping vouchers to all the best submissions. So still time to take a snap and send it to us. Email , Facebook or pigeon post we don't mind.
This week I have been attempting to talk to every member of staff at AW. Why? Well those nice folk in HR told me it's time to do the (yawn). "Annual Staff Appraisal" . The Human Resources people are quite incredible and do an amazing job, we use an agency because it works better that way and such loving, angelic and patient people you simply cannot find..
But "Annual Staff Appraisal" I mean FOR-HEAVENS-SAKE! Is there anything more likely to suck the joy and goodness out of your life! Staff, are stressed and worried, managers are bored and embarrassed. The whole bloody exercise was dreamed up by some accountants trying to quantify people and suck the soul out of the working day. I read the questions I was supposed to ask, and began to lose the will to live.
So, I thought could we do better. I googled "staff appraisal questions".. don't do it.. at least if you want a life. Sorry HR people of the world, you must be able to do better.
I was thinking..
Work as in "The Working Day" is a contract. You give your time, skills and effort in return for money, pleasant working environment and various benefits. But it has to be more than this, a big chunk of life is spent working and that might be doing any task at all, but the question is do you enjoy it? and are you happy doing it?
You cannot control people or force them to do something they hate.. at least not for very long. I believe that, so the thing to work out is if people are happy at work.
The Happy Audit.
So we asked everyone to fill in a team review set of questions. Questions like.. "Are you happy at work?"
"Give one suggestion to how we could make the company more happy"
and.. everyone's favourite.
"If you were the boss - what is the one thing you would do differently?"
We realised recently that the one thing that makes good people un-happy at work the most is when another member of staff is "Taking the Mick". It can be hugely demoralising when you are doing your best and someone else is slacking and thinks it's ok to do that.. it can spread and be incredibly disruptive. But I learned this, people who do it - have no idea they do. Or on some subconscious level block it or justify it because of something making them unhappy - which could even be someone else taking the pi.. erm I mean micky. It's the "Taking the Mick Syndrome"
So we asked the questions..
Are there people at AW that you feel take advantage, or don't always contribute to the team effort? Yes:( Maybe Nope!
Be honest... have you been guilty of taking the Mick? Yes:( Maybe Nope!
The answers were illuminating, brutally honest and refreshing at the same time. I was delighted that almost everyone enthusiastically completed the audit and the snap-shot of happiness at work is hugely encouraging, no-one needed appraising in a stiff formal meeting, everyone did a DIY version just by thinking about the issues and offering their own solutions. We followed up with a presentation of Ancient Wisdoms plans and vision for the future, to the whole company but in small groups of five or six people. The enthusiasm and ideas.. just amazing. I can tell you I have been learning so much this week :)
We always listen to you - our customers.. your suggestions and ideas shape what we do at AW. But I just learned there is a huge wealth of ideas and talent waiting to be unleashed just by listening.
So that's my week at AW. Let me know your thoughts.
Hope your week is amazing.
We have just amazing deals for you below.
Take care
David
