Learning by Training

By Arend van Campen

CREATING A HEALTHY WORK CULTURE

When energy companies buy other organisations, they are not just taking over assets such as buildings, storage tanks, pipelines or jetties, but also the people who work there. Some of them have worked there for decades and developed a modus operandi which does not always fit the vision of the new owners. That is what I am observing all over the world.

We are often asked to train people because their work ethic or culture does not yet correspond with the expectations of a ‘no nonsense’ policy or the new performance demand. When this is the case, the new culture of managers who aim to make profit could clash with an existing culture that claims ‘we have always worked like that’, or ‘before we were taken over, we were happier and things were done in the right way’.

When this occurs, the new company can do two things: management needs to assess the overall performance of the employees and, secondly, management must look into a mirror and self-reflect. New management can’t demand different and better performance alone. No, management must earn and deserve it.

But how can a manager earn respect so people will do something they want to, not just because they must? First a manager must understand that people are just people and that their lives, their perception of reality through experiences, their memories and social environment form their behaviour. This makes each individual unique, because he or she alone learned to be him or her through personal perception.

So, how can you test perception? Well you can’t, but when one creates a two-way communication path between manager and worker through conversation, both manager and worker will get to know each other, which then hopefully leads to trust, mutual respect, understanding and improved cooperation. You see, ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink’.

This finding brings me back to the science of communication and control in man and machine, named cybernetics. Because all living systems, which include energy companies and people who work there, prosper by the exchange of information. It then becomes quite simple that in order to change a persistent culture, all one needs is to talk and to keep talking towards mutual benefit. It is all about a re-humanisation of the workplace. Companies are only as good as the people who work there. Technology or regulations can’t change people’s mindsets, their perceptions or their work culture, only people can do that by goodwill and ethics.

So, when I train a group of operators or managers my first question is: ‘Are you talking to each other? Are you genuinely interested in each other’s wellbeing and lives? When one makes a mistake, will you shout at him or help him do better? It is all about teambuilding, conversation and cooperation that will create a total, shared culture of operational excellence, safety and sheer happiness. People who work for such a company will be proud of having been selected to work there and therefore like to boost performance.

This is the latest in a series of articles by Arend van Campen, founder of TankTerminalTraining. More information on the company’s activities can be found at www.tankterminaltraining.com. Those interested in responding personally can contact him directly at arendvc@tankterminaltraining.com.