It Pays (You) To Be Fair!
by Miki SaxonIs fairness part of your MAP? Is your company fair? Are you fair to your people? How often have you heard (or said),“That’s not fair!”
People more or less accept that life isn’t fair, but are more likely to walk from a company or manager they perceive as being unfair.
So, what do people expect within the business world in terms of fairness? The obvious is that they don’t want to be shafted a la Enron. But fairness refers to more than the obvious, most often to the company/manager doing what they said they would do, i.e., walking their talk!
Fairness is what people want and companies/managers promise, but frequently don’t provide. For example:
Fairness excludes politics
- Official – people will be promoted based on what they do
- De facto – people are promoted based on who they know
Fairness is egalitarian
- Official – everybody will fly economy class when traveling
- De facto – senior management flies first class
Fairness includes parity
- Official – similar skills are compensated similarly with any differences the result of merit
- De facto – compensation differences result from expediency, prejudice, or favoritism
So, besides doing “the right thing,” why be fair? What’s in it for you? Quite a lot, actually.
Fairness reduces turnover (and it’s associated costs), increases productivity, and fuels innovation. These makes you look good as a manager (and gives the company a good street rep—yeah, companies have reputations and they have a major impact on the caliber of the people applying for positions—making it easier to higher great people) meaning better reviews and increased compensation for you.
