What about my commitment? And what about the commitment of my colleagues?
Tip of the day!
The question is “As teleworker, can I be at my best?”
Yes, you can! However, you have to know the importance of the work you do, and you have to understand why you must do things in a secure way.
If the importance and the why are unclear, performance obstacles form barriers that are not controlled by employees. Contact your manager. He or she has to inspire by dealing with relevance issues and performance barriers.
Theme of the day
Barriers have a direct impact on our commitment, and they hinder us from being at our best.
Relevance issues and performance barriers have a multitude of causes. I think of, among other things: inadequate resources to do our jobs correctly, security procedures that are vague and inhibit excellent performance, IT and security problems, COVID-19, underperforming colleagues, etc.
To clarify, I will discuss the following three situations:
1. Employees don’t know why they must do things securely.
Not all companies, even not anno 2020, have adequate corporate security policies, procedures and guidelines. And if they do exist, I notice that they are insufficiently understood or incorporated in the corporate culture.
Another reason is that managers answer the question “Why do I have to …” as follows: “Because you have to apply our security policies!”, “I don’t know” or “It is what it is!”
Without the underlying reasoning and understanding, employee effort, enthusiasm, motivation and commitment suffer.
2. Employees don’t know the importance of doing work securely.
Lack of meaning and importance hinder employees to see the connection between their work, duties and responsibilities and the contribution it brings to the success of their organization. It is important to talk about the reasons why they have to do things securely, and this in a language everyone understands.
3. I fulfil work expectations, and I contribute to the success of my organization. My colleagues don't!
If my colleagues lack the commitment to doing quality work and respecting imposed security rules, then the danger exists that my commitment will suffer.
Ask yourself
We know that relevance issues and performance barriers exist, but there are plenty of things individual teleworkers can do to create meaning and help mitigate obstacles. Start by asking yourself the following questions. Discuss the outcome with your best friend at work or with your manager.
“As a teleworker, do I follow our applicable security policies?”
“Are they relevant enough for myself, my colleagues and everyone involved?”
“Is the way how I behave as teleworker, from a security point of view, relevant to our customers?”
“How do I contribute to the vision of my company regarding cybersecurity, ecology, social responsibility, health, etc.?”
“How do I help my organization to stay secured against cyber threats?”
“How do I help colleagues who are underperforming?”; “Do I inspire them?”; “Do they see myself as someone committed, responsible, and as an inspiring teleworker?”
“Do I see and understand the connections between my performance and the overall objectives of my company?”
“Do I see and understand the connections between my behavior as a secure teleworker and our corporate attitudes and culture?”
“Regarding security awareness, what is the single most important thing I have to do in the coming months, and what does that mean for me, for you, for us?”
“Could I make a difference by changing my behavior regarding how I apply our security policies?”
Etc.
My next blog is about how you drive others to adhere to enforced security rules.
Stay tuned!