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"I" Make The Difference
James Thangaraj, Performance Consultant, The Business Workshop

I recently changed my cellular service operator and closed two bank accounts at a private and a national bank. Though I had expected the first two to be pleasant smooth transactions and the third to be a testing experience, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the opposite was true.

Unlike the employees of the first two organisations who appeared not to care that they were losing a customer, the lady who attended to me at the national bank not only asked if I was closing my account because I was dissatisfied with their services, but also if I wished to reconsider my decision. They also returned my money within 30 minutes though I had expected it to take at least a day. I came away feeling that they cared though they weren't going to see me again.

So does this mean that the commonly held perception of "Public Sector" and "Government" organisations being badly managed institutions full of corrupt and demotivated people has been turned on its head? Probably not, but it does show that a few individuals, if committed enough, can make a difference even in a "PSU" setup. It all boils down to an employee making the effort to do what he knows is right, rather than just going with the flow.

But why exactly are the employees of Public Sector and Government organisations this way? Are these people really hard hearted human beings, or is there something that has made them that way. The answer is actually a combination of many factors, and these are explained in the following paragraphs for a better understanding of the issue.

Employees of the Government enjoy a very high level of job security. Over the years this has led to a sense of complacency and low motivation to perform. Employees in most cases are not accountable for performance and know that the worse that can happen to them if they don't deliver is the loss of an increment or a promotion. Cases of employees being asked to leave because they aren't performing are almost unheard of, and this has resulted in the apparent callousness we see today.

Another reason is the low sense of ownership that most employees have to their organisation. They view their jobs as a daily duty that pays them a salary, and not an opportunity to contribute to their organisation, and by extension thereof, the public.

Employees, especially in the service organisations, still have a monopolistic hangover. This means that they either ignore, or fail to understand that the days of consumer putting up with bad service because of the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor are past. The change towards increased performance, and therefore service quality is resisted because it would mean coming out of the comfort zones that they have grown accustomed to being in.
But why do they resist change? Its partly because of their own attitudes of course, but also in no small measure due to the fact the most organisations don't have provisions for recognising performance, either in terms of promotions, incentives or awards. Therefore the WIIFiM (Whats In It For Me) factor comes into play, and employees don't wish to work hard for something that will give them nothing extra.

Also, the average age in a PSU is quite high. When you add this to the fact that promotions are time, and not performance based, you find a lot of people who, in the later stages of the work lives find that they will rise no higher in their organisation. This frustration coupled with the monotony of carrying out the same tasks on a daily basis too acts as a barrier to performance.

We don't expect anyone to condone the behavior of such people because there can be no justification for deliberate non-performance. What we are trying to do however is bring about an increased understanding of the issues that have manifested themselves in the behaviors that we experience on a daily basis.

There are solutions however; we can motivate people to perform by giving them not necessarily High Cost, but High Value incentives. We can lay down concrete performance criteria that stipulate promotions if certain levels of performance are consistently met. And, we should identify the specific issues that employees have and address them through coaching and hand-holding rather than adopting "quick fix" solutions like behavioural training programs. None of these will bring about an overnight change, but we can at least start the process.

The Indian Public Sector has inherent strengths that dwarf those of the private sector on most counts. It is time for each of its employees realise this and leverage them.

Note: This article was written after extensive interactions with the management and employees of a number of the major Public Sector Undertakings in India.