Without a doubt, you value your longtime employees. You know
them, and they know you. When it comes down to it, your longtime
employees are like family.
But families can be dysfunctional. New employees coming in can
find there's an impenetrable "in" crowd: a close-knit
group of longtime employees who have a clique, as well as the ear
of management. "You can see which team members are together,
who turns to whom, and who is left out," says Arlene Vernon,
owner of HR and management consulting firm HRx Inc. in Eden
Prairie, Minnesota.
The office "in" crowd is a subtle but deadly threat to
morale, productivity and retention. The exact cost of this problem
is hard to quantify because employees don't raise the issue
during exit interviews. After all, who wants to say they're
leaving because they don't think they fit in?
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Don't think the "in" crowd will be a problem for
your teamwork-driven company? Think again. "It happens
frequently and for a variety of reasons," says ArLyne Diamond,
founder of management consulting firm Diamond
Associates in Santa Clara, California. "We create
[relationships] and then close in around them. We've done it
since we were kids."
In the Clique of Things
A strong relationship between longtime employees is good for
teamwork and productivity, but it goes too far when recent hires
feel excluded, both socially and professionally. Eventually, they
will find the nearest exit.
Tom Womack knows the feeling. When he took a job with a
15-employee ad agency in Texas a few years ago, he discovered there
was a group of longtime employees who ate lunch together and banded
together on the job. The "in" crowd brushed off
Womack's ideas and kept him at arm's length. "[The
attitude] was 'We've been here longer than you, and
we're in charge,'" he says. The company owner-a
"really nice guy"-turned his head the other way. "He
didn't want to deal with the conflict," says Womack, who
believes the "in" crowd can have a harsher impact in
small companies. "If there's a clique of six employees in
an office of 12 people, there's nowhere else to go for
relationships," he says. He left the company within one year
and joined another company where he feels "a lot more
harmony" with his co-workers.
A powerful "in" crowd is the result of companies
failing to integrate new employees into the mix, Diamond says, and
solving it requires a strategic approach. Think about creating a
"work buddies" training system that pairs longtimers with
new hires so they get to know each other. Give longtimers
incentives-small gifts, recognition and so on-for making the
effort. Also make integration an element of your performance review
process. This way, raises, bonuses and promotions are linked to how
well all employees have welcomed, trained and worked with new
hires. "You have to model it, mandate it and reinforce
it," Diamond says. "It's got to be top down."
You'll be less likely to lose good ideas and good people this
way.
Sepideh Asefnia is founder and president of Sepi Engineering
Group Inc., a Raleigh, North Carolina, engineering firm that
specializes in transportation design. The company has grown from
two to 32 employees in three years. Like most entrepreneurs,
Asefnia's early hires were former co-workers. "Everyone I
started out with is still here," she says.
Asefnia, 41, has experienced "in" crowds at other
places she's worked, and she's taking steps to prevent one
from developing in her workplace. She follows her own golden rule:
Never vent about personnel issues to longtime employees, because it
would send the wrong message to them and the company's recent
hires. She makes a point of asking new employees for input and
stops by their desks regularly to chat. As an entrepreneur,
whatever you do sets a cultural norm, and your actions can fuel the
"in" crowd. "You have to make an effort to create
that cohesive team you're going to grow with," says
Asefnia, whose company generated sales of $2 million in 2003.
Are You In or Out?
Be aware that department managers can be members of the
"in" crowd, befriending other longtime employees on (and
off) the clock. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why
this is bad for morale. Let the manager know just how damaging it
is, and that you expect better interaction with employees. Tie
managerial performance to the ability to create inclusiveness
across the employee base. Ask employees to rate their managers on
these abilities once a year, too.
Outing the "in" crowd is one of the most important
things you'll ever do as a leader, because it sets the tone for
your company's culture and future growth. And it all starts
with you. Says Asefnia: "It boils down to
leadership."
Chris Penttila is a freelance journalist in Chapel Hill,
North Carolina. She can be contacted at chris@sitting-duck.com.