Ratifying a New Workplace Culture

I worked in an organization a few years back which had a document that was called the “Work Tenets." They were a set of statements that were intended to govern the way employees treated each other.

As in Hammurabi’s time, people followed them, more or less.

When I came to my current employer, the staff here in Continuing Education and Customized Training seemed interested in the concept. Together, we developed a set of principles that we call the “Workplace Commitment to People.”

I have written them below. First, though, I think it important to note that the process by which they were developed was as important as what they say.

Any set of ideas which are intended to play a role in the corporate culture has to achieve more than simple buy-in.

Of the people, by the people, and for the people….
In an organization that has a culture of order-giving, for example, the concept of buy-in is a process whereby people are required to attend a meeting, presented with a “draft”, are solicited for their ideas, and provided with final copy where minor meaningless wordsmithing has been accepted and suggestions for foundational change have been ignored.

Real cultural change requires that those who live the change are the ones who design it. The statements in the Workplace Commitment to People were created by the staff, not by the supervisor.

Feel free to use the FCC Workplace Commitment to People to illustrate the idea to your colleagues. If your group agrees to adopt in its entirety, I would suggest you collect your copies and ask them to restart the discussion. My view is that anytime people agree to change so quickly they probably intend to ignore it.

Continuing Education and Customized Training Workplace Commitment to People

1. We work as members of a team committed to Continuing Education and Customized Training, and the mission, values, and goals as described in the Strategic Plan of Frederick Community College.
2. We treat students, staff, and members of the community with respect and dignity.
3. We value cultural diversity and differences in personalities. We incorporate these
   values in our communication with and treatment of others.
4. We allow others to contribute their ideas without criticism.
5. We listen before speaking.
6. We monitor our own communication to allow all parties to express ideas without
   competing for time.
7. We keep communication professional, direct, honest, and open.
8. We give bad news privately, and in person.
9. To the best of our abilities, we provide complete information while meeting the
   deadlines of others.
10. We include our teammates in decisions that will have an impact on the group.

-Dave