Yesterday I asked you to check back to see why the following statement by a young worker totally freaked me out.
I heard a young worker say the other day that new hires did meaningless work and needed to be prepared for that when the started a new job.
Today’s post is by Ron Southard founder and CEO of SafeSourcing.
I originally published this three part series seven years ago. In todays environment it is as important as ever. Please Enjoy
This totally freaked me out as a business owner who constantly strives to point out the value of what we do, as well as the value we create relative to job growth internally and externally. Certainly one can measure value in terms of customer savings, Return on investment, capital etc. One can also create value through quality improvement of both services and products sourced beyond what is being sourced today. Value can be measured in process improvement internally and externally that might add to a company’s profit or help in retaining jobs. There is a measureable trickle down effect of doing meaningful work; it is something you can be passionate about if you truly are trying to be a better corporate and global citizen. Are there scorecards that measure this? Unfortunately, probably not all of it in one place, but having conversations with your employees/associates relative to their understanding of what your company’s mission is and why it is important is more than just a reason for another meeting that they probably don’t want to attend in the first place.
Personally, I believe that people want to be perceived as valuable by anyone and everyone that they meet whether in their personal life or their professional life. As leaders, we should be in the job of creating excitement about what we do. We may in fact have associates that started out wanting to be a doctor, lawyer, professional athlete or some other profession as many of us did. Today at our company, they work in procurement. Left to their own devices they may feel as though they have not or can not accomplish the success they dreamed about in their youth. Whose job is it to stop that thinking in its tracks and promote an environment of excitement and passion? The answer is that leadership starts at the top. If our leaders are not passionate and regularly reinforcing the work of their company, how do you expect your associates to be passionate. After all, who wants to just go to work and do meaningless stuff?
Check back for Part III of this post on Tuesday March 16th to learn why our customers and associates are passionate about SafeSourcing.
In the meantime if you would like to work with a team that is passionate about procurement to help your team find their passion, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services representative or ask us for an executive reference. You won’t be sorry that you did.
We look forward to and appreciate your comments.
