complimentary thinklets – first quarter 2024
not my job
You have attended those meetings with management where they are looking for someone to take on a new assignment. Around the room, heads go down. No one wants to make eye contact. Everyone tries to become small and disappear out of the boss’ view.
The same may be true when coworkers ask for help on a project that has grown in complexity or maybe has simply gotten away from them for whatever reason.
We all want to do our part. However, most of us are pretty stretched when it comes to how much work we can do and, more importantly, how much work we can do well.
Colleagues may become irritated or even angry when they feel they are being asked to take on too much. Some simply refuse.
That can lead to real problems when it comes to crisis responsibilities. These are often seen as “extra work” and people may resent having them thrust upon them.
There are a few things organizations can do proactively to minimize pushback on the need for colleagues to train, exercise, and engage in crisis response duties.
First, every job description within the organization should include a crisis duties clause. This is critically important for two reasons:
– A crisis means all hands on deck. It is critical that the organization be able to assign any employee to the response effort without having to negotiate. There are legitimate reasons someone may be unable to participate; but “it’s not my job” is not one of them.
– Also, if one team member becomes consumed by the crisis response, it will be necessary for other team members to pick up that person’s work so that the person is not overwhelmed by their traditional job when they return. The other colleagues’ extra work is covered by the crisis duties clause.
The clause can be as generic as “Perform required duties as assigned during an organizational crisis.” For employees on contract, you may need to be more specific.
Second, for any position with specific crisis duties – for example Crisis Director or Humanitarian Team Leader – list the duties in the position’s formal job description or terms of reference. Ensure that during the interview process, there is at least one question posed which is directly related to those potential crisis duties.
Third, for positions with specific crisis duties, include a key result area or other performance metric for those responsibilities. This reinforces that individuals are accountable for their crisis duties as well as traditional work. Participation in training and exercises can be used to determine the individual rating.
And fourth, senior management should be visible and vocal during crisis training and exercises so that employees understand that crisis preparedness and response is valued by them personally and the organization.
There will be challenges along the way.
Some countries have implemented laws that state some categories of employees must be paid for every minute they work. Does this mean hourly workers cannot be “on call” for crisis response without being paid?
Other countries have laws stating employers may not require their employees to answer their phones or emails after traditional work hours. Does this mean that coworkers who would be needed whenever a crisis strikes may not have to answer the crisis notification system’s voice or data prompts?
As with any aspect of crisis preparation and response, these are issues that should be worked out in advance. Working with your legal and possibly governmental affairs teams should help you answer the previous two questions if they apply to you.
We help organizations find vulnerabilities that need review in advance. If we can help you, please contact us.
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