Employees are assets, not commodities!
People matter. And there are perks to running a quality organization that puts people first – employees as well as customers. It simply makes sense. I have argued throughout this blog that police departments need to treat everyone with dignity and respect — citizens as well as rank and file members. Organizations that treat their employees well will reap what they sow!
Locally, Madison Magazine has been engaged in running a contest among Madison businesses and organizations for a number of years in order to determine the best place to work in area companies and businesses.
What they found out was what I laid out in my recent book, Arrested Development – treat employees well and you can be confident they will treat your customers in the same way. Quality first begins INSIDE an organization and then OUTSIDE to those who purchase products or use your organization’s services.
Years ago, the Madison Police Department’s vision statement was simply: “Quality from the Inside Out!”
As to this year’s contest, this is how Madison Magazine ranked the winners:
A survey was based on an employee-engagement framework developed by Next Generation Consulting.
Employees were asked to rate their employer in a forty-question, web-based survey that measures companies in six “areas of engagement”:
1) Trust. Working in an environment where information is shared and people act with integrity and respect .
2) Management. Working with supervisors and managers who lead, guide and give feedback to individuals and teams .
3) Development. Having opportunities to learn and grow .
4) Rewards. Being compensated and appreciated according to one’s performance and contribution to an organization .
5) Connection. Feeling a part of something bigger; working for more than just a paycheck .
6) Life-Work Balance. Having flexibility to pursue their career and a life outside of work.
The winning companies this year were chosen because they ranked the highest in all six dimensions of employee engagement.
How would your organization rate in the above six “areas of engagement?” Would your organization in your community be selected as one of the best places to work? If not, why not?
[To read the entire article in Madison Magazine, CLICK HERE]
Improving Police: A Necessary Conversation 
Somewhere along the way, I was told cops treat the community about the same as the brass treats the cops.
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Ashley, that is an astute observation and in my experience absolutely TRUE! If the “brass” doesn’t respect or treat with dignity those in the ranks it will be near impossible for that organization to develop respect and trust from the community they are sworn to protect and serve. Trust, respect, listening, and support all first begin inside the department.
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Too many cops are ex-military people or they are still in the Guards or Reserve, and they treat the community as a brunch of raw recruits to be yell at and to obey orders without questions and if they don’t obey, they get a free trip to Fort Leavenworth.
What galls me about the brass is that they came up through the police ranks so you think that they would not forget what is was like being a rank and file person. However, when the police officers get a manager’/supervisor’s job, their attitude to their own members change real fast. They act in a typical American manager manner that Edward Demming warn us about especially exporting this kind of management style to the rest of the world.
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One of Deming’s 14 points of leadership was to “drive fear out of the workplace!”
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