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What
is it you're trying to say?
SAN stands
for Some Adjustment Necessary. The company was created specifically
to help people better communicate with each other. It is based
on the premise that open, honest dialogue can lead to greater
appreciation, respect and trust among people in families,
organizations and communities. From that openness comes opportunities
to build stronger units in all three.
None of
us sees exactly the same things, no matter what we look at.
We all naturally look at the same objects from slightly different
perspectives. Sharing those perspectives helps each of us
see more, and more clearly.
The SAN
Group works with people to expand everyone's vision and to
build stronger, more effective organizations.
We primarily
deal with businesses and service providers, as opposed to
families and community organizations because we are better
matched to understand and deal with their unique interests.
And, it's where the outcomes of our efforts are most readily
seen.
How
so?
If we
help a company's people learn to open up, help them to take
charge of their destinies, and get them to commit to collaborate
on measurable business-related goals, it's easy to see whether
we've had an impact or not, and to what extent. Such outcomes
are easier to gauge than they might be in community or family
initiatives.
What
is your process?
We begin
with interviews of the members of the company to develop a
'ground zero' sense of what the company is all about, its
culture and its truths. No company has one unifying truth.
While it may have an overriding mission or vision statement,
within the various departments one will find unique interpretations
of those statements, the first one being whether they in any
way reflect the company's realities, its truth.
The steps
we take are predicated on what we find when we get there,
what we learn from the people we interview, and what we then
define as the goals or end results we want to achieve. They
are not always based on dollars and cents. They can often
be based on the outcomes of philosophical dialogues in which
everyone's input is sought and respectfully heard.
Has
what you do changed over the years?
Yes, and
no. We still go to the core issues in any company. But it's
those core issues that have changed markedly, driven largely
by societal changes and global influences. Generations X and
Y have completely different takes on the world than their
seniors. And the changes brought about by the outsourcing
of jobs is having a monumental impact on both employers and
employees.
Explain
the latter.
Many small
to medium sized manufacturers are being told by their OEM
customers that they must relocate their businesses to China.
That's a major undertaking for these companies, and it's replete
with risks. While suppliers are looking at the move as necessary
to survive, the OEMs dictating the move are not willing to
share any of the risk with them. If they're successful, they
may earn new contracts. However, it's pretty certain that
if they don't make the moves, their survival is questionable.
The SAN
group deals with the impact on the company's human capital
here in the U.S. We work with employers to keep their employees
apprised of the real-world impact of globalization on their
employer and, ultimately, on themselves. Our goals are manifold:
to keep employees with the company as it works through its
own processes; to open lines of communications and keep them
open so employees can learn what it will take to keep the
company viable in their community; to motivate current employees
to take the initiative where their education is concerned.
It is imperative that employees bring value to their company.
It is also imperative that the individual stay abreast of
change to manage his or her own career.
Here's
a scenario that employees and employers face, which is unlike
any their predecessors ever considered. Employees realize
that their plants may become warehouses in five years, and
they wonder what is to become of them. They worry about their
jobs, their families, and their own futures. Everything is
interrelated.
The company
realizes that they are not established offshore yet, that
they need the people they employ to keep doing what they're
doing, and get better at it, so the company can grow, prosper
and possibly move all the jobs offshore. It's how they deal
with complex issues like these that will determine the outcomes
for everyone concerned. There is a need for open, honest dialogue
here, and a company's success in the future will largely depend
on how it manages the transitions, whatever they may be. It
is our role to help companies clarify them, make decisions
critical to their success and communicate them.
By companies,
I mean everyone. We are in large part all in this together.
This goes beyond the blue collar worker. It impacts everyone
in the company. It goes beyond that, too, to include whole
communities, states and the nation.
We are
at a point in history where the need for dialogue is urgently
needed. Employers and employees must talk to each other. Companies
and their clients need to have open conversations, as do companies
and the communities and states in which they reside.
- The
SAN Group works on the corporate part of the relationships.
We...
-
Work with the current structure to baseline its position
and set goals for the future
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Make sure the company has the right people in the right
jobs.
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Establish the requirements for new hires
- Implement
innovative selection processes for new hires
- Establish
personal growth plans for all employees who want them
- Create
easy-to-manage recognition and rewards programs
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