Hey Bob, thank you for another great article. To be honest, I missed your previous articles on health circles so I'm glad that you revisited them here.
I've not yet had the time to dig into the design of health circles but it's got to be worth reflecting more on why these never caught on. They sound similar to focus groups and with the right management backing, could be really powerful in driving relevant change - affecting health and performance in a positive way. You hypothecate that poor uptake might be due to management's change resistance - I'd add that:
- management worry that unreasonable demands will be made, leading to a secondary round of 'reward' type negotiations.
- leadership is paying lip-service to health related issues, and when the going gets tough (all the time?) the focus reverts to getting more from the same resources for less by working them harder.
- some consultants won't use them as they do not allow them to control the story - the story is controlled by the employees.
Just guessing, but maybe worth trying to unpick what are the barriers to entry here.
Maybe the challenge is in the name. If these were called 'performance circles', might they drive more engagement? After all, it's not just health that is a beneficial outcome.
Great points, Colin. For me, your 2nd bullet point is especially salient.
As I recall, the health circles model is based on Quality Circles (a Total Quality Management process), developed in Japan and popular throughout the industrialized world in the 1980s. "Health circles" put the focus on the work-related psychosocial hazards — things like insufficient autonomy and excessive job demands — that have been shown to undermined worker wellbeing (including physical and mental health). I agree that calling them "performance circles" would make them more palatable to employers. But I can't help but think the emphasis on wellbeing would likely be lost. Indeed, I wonder if a process called performance circles might be characterized, in an even stronger way, by a focus reverted to getting more from the same resources by increasing job demands. I'm not an expert, but I believe this is what happened with the integration of quality circles and lean production.
Thanks Bob. I think you're probably right - I guess it comes down to purpose and intent. If in the rebranding the wellbeing essence is lost, then the true purpose is lost. I didn't hear much (anything) from my network blast on LinkedIn, so I think this might just be one of those great ideas that sits in the shadows, waiting for one of the big brands to pick it up and demonstrate its value on the global stage.
Bob, this is a great article and if could come to pass in a major way - what a work world it could be. Much more thoughtful and helpful than what I used to say in my former "corporate world;" if the boss would just walk down the hall and listen (not talk) to the employees he could save all of that consultant money. Never or rarely ever happened in my experience.
Let's keep working the kind of consultant I know you are. I worked in the health insurance racket for 12 years and every consultant who marched past my office, not one ever talked to a non-exec employee. Vast sums of money spent while the people in member services lived and knew could be different but were never asked. And the HR dept - a mole for the execs. No wonder US healthcare is in the sorry state it is. Sorry, my bias shows.
Hey Bob, thank you for another great article. To be honest, I missed your previous articles on health circles so I'm glad that you revisited them here.
I've not yet had the time to dig into the design of health circles but it's got to be worth reflecting more on why these never caught on. They sound similar to focus groups and with the right management backing, could be really powerful in driving relevant change - affecting health and performance in a positive way. You hypothecate that poor uptake might be due to management's change resistance - I'd add that:
- management worry that unreasonable demands will be made, leading to a secondary round of 'reward' type negotiations.
- leadership is paying lip-service to health related issues, and when the going gets tough (all the time?) the focus reverts to getting more from the same resources for less by working them harder.
- some consultants won't use them as they do not allow them to control the story - the story is controlled by the employees.
Just guessing, but maybe worth trying to unpick what are the barriers to entry here.
Maybe the challenge is in the name. If these were called 'performance circles', might they drive more engagement? After all, it's not just health that is a beneficial outcome.
Great points, Colin. For me, your 2nd bullet point is especially salient.
As I recall, the health circles model is based on Quality Circles (a Total Quality Management process), developed in Japan and popular throughout the industrialized world in the 1980s. "Health circles" put the focus on the work-related psychosocial hazards — things like insufficient autonomy and excessive job demands — that have been shown to undermined worker wellbeing (including physical and mental health). I agree that calling them "performance circles" would make them more palatable to employers. But I can't help but think the emphasis on wellbeing would likely be lost. Indeed, I wonder if a process called performance circles might be characterized, in an even stronger way, by a focus reverted to getting more from the same resources by increasing job demands. I'm not an expert, but I believe this is what happened with the integration of quality circles and lean production.
Thanks Bob. I think you're probably right - I guess it comes down to purpose and intent. If in the rebranding the wellbeing essence is lost, then the true purpose is lost. I didn't hear much (anything) from my network blast on LinkedIn, so I think this might just be one of those great ideas that sits in the shadows, waiting for one of the big brands to pick it up and demonstrate its value on the global stage.
Bob, this is a great article and if could come to pass in a major way - what a work world it could be. Much more thoughtful and helpful than what I used to say in my former "corporate world;" if the boss would just walk down the hall and listen (not talk) to the employees he could save all of that consultant money. Never or rarely ever happened in my experience.
Thanks, Barbara! But let's not go trying to put consultants out of work. 😉
Let's keep working the kind of consultant I know you are. I worked in the health insurance racket for 12 years and every consultant who marched past my office, not one ever talked to a non-exec employee. Vast sums of money spent while the people in member services lived and knew could be different but were never asked. And the HR dept - a mole for the execs. No wonder US healthcare is in the sorry state it is. Sorry, my bias shows.