Ducks in a Row: Are Your Employees Owners or Renters?
by Miki Saxon
“Ownership” is the difference between having employees who care and those who are just along for the ride.
Jim Haskett, Harvard business School professor emeritus, hosts lively conversations around current research he and his colleagues have done. The comment period is roughly two weeks and the ideas/comments are as interesting as Haskett’s original post.
Are Employees Becoming Job ‘Renters’ Instead of ‘Owners’? is the most recent and is critical to any manager looking to foster an engaged workforce.
In our work, we found that an “owner”—either a loyal employee or customer who takes responsibility for improving relationships, products, and processes as well as referring new employee candidates or customers—can be worth more than a hundred “renters—”those who are only involved with the organization to complete one or more transactions.
Think about it; why would Uber drivers care about the company — to use Haskett’s terms, they rent the job.
It isn’t just the so-called on-demand jobs that hire renters. There are plenty of them in full-time positions and, surprisingly, even in companies such as Google and Facebook.
In a recent Golden Oldie we considered the truism that “you get what you give” when it comes to respect and that’s true about most things.
Another old saying is also very true — people don’t quit companies, they quit managers.
In companies with “real” jobs, it’s the managers who determine whether employees are owners or renters.
Be sure to click over, read the comments and add your own.
Image credit: chispita_666
