<p>In the spiritual workplace, the culture is one of patience, caring and ownership, says <strong>Susheela Venkataraman</strong><br><br>When we deal with objects and people for what they are and who they are, while being true to ourselves, we respect them for their strengths, at the same time, we also respect their differences and seeming frailties. Such is the attitude of the spiritual person.<br><br>It is well known that spirituality helps us be calm, think clearly, take better decisions and be more efficient. Because being spiritual (as defined above) also results in an agitation-free mind. Only such a mind responds well to crisis. An environment of spirituality provides individuals with meaning and feelings of understanding, support and inner wholeness (From the International Centre for Spirit at Work).<br> <br>While survey statistics vary, they all show that globally, workplace stress has risen to alarming proportions. Stress lowers productivity and mars relationships in work and social situations. A dash of spirituality would certainly reduce stress. Often, organisations do not pay heed to the symptoms of stress beginning to unfold and thus, wait until the situation gets out of hand. This certainly seems to have been the case at Beta Advertising, as seen from the behaviour of Arvind Warrier, Omana George and Arth Munim and the high level of anxiety in an organisation that had done well for 40 years.<br><br><strong>Bad news comes in torrents:</strong><br>When bad news starts to emerge, it quickly turns into a torrent. We see this at Beta Advertising. Ajay Soman recognises that things are too “far gone”. To what extent did senior managers ignore the signs that must have been visible to them all? When should everyone rally round to resolve the issues, especially someone as well-respected as Nana Naik?<br><br>Irish philosopher Charles Handy, who specialised in organisational behaviour and management, in the 1980s described the future of the organisation as a ‘Shamrock Organisation’, with temporary workers bringing in essential skills – thereby being an integral part of it; we see this model all around us today.<br><br>In this context, treating contractors such as Dinoo Daftary and the artists as expendable would be a big mistake. Maybe, Arth was finding that nobody had questioned the status quo, with the result that a comfortable relationship between Beta Advertising and Dinoo turned into an expensive one as well.<br><br>Arth’s response to Omana’s resignation, to work on all the accounts himself, seems almost irresponsible. This would result in utter chaos, not only failing to take advantage of all the obviously good people in the firm, but also alienating them. But most importantly, he will lose sight of strategic issues as he gets caught up in day to day operations.<br><br><strong>Implementing change:</strong><br>Beta Advertising had been struggling before and after Arth took it over, gave good results in the first year. However, further due diligence before making the acquisition might have revealed the extent of the problems sooner. He started with revamping the processes and systems, and using a good consultant would surely help. But all such initiatives fail without focus and prioritisation – both missing at Beta Advertising.<br><br>While Arth got very involved with the revamp, it seems that he lost sight of strategic direction and got swamped by detail. He should have picked the critical areas first, and paced the rest. Surely, a payroll system could not have done much for an ailing company.<br><br>One could question how well the changes were implemented. It looks as if there has not been any attention to systematic change management. In particular, did he and his implementation team recognise the level of change the employees were being subjected to? Did they understand how the changes were sinking in? Was he too caught up in the systems to notice the crumbling, and the people breaking down? In short, was Arth trying to do too much too soon?<br><br><strong>Trust:</strong><br>Given the extent of the problems Arth and Beta Advertising were facing, Arth has taken on much more than he can single-handedly manage. Why would he not have taken the staff, particularly the senior ones, into confidence and sought their help in finding solutions? After all, as Nana points out, no one can afford a failure. Arth’s interference in the day-to-day running of the company could point to a lack of trust, (when he knew that the company had a good reputation for 40 years) or to a huge ego, thinking he can fix it all by himself.<br><br>Did Arth spend adequate time with the staff and with clients, so that the most appropriate solutions could be proposed? Did he articulate what he wanted Beta to stand for? His statement that “It is my agency” is rather surprising and points to Arth being as stressed as everyone else! It is hard to find statements more provocative than this, especially when used with long-standing employees. Omana’s resignation could be the start of an exodus, unless Arth takes immediate steps.<br><br>Daksh Vaidya seems to be brushing Omana’s personal and work issues away too lightly. Today, when there is a blurring of the boundary between work and personal time, it is more important than ever to be sensitive to the personal situation of employees.<br><br>During transitions, people need support and assistance. We do not see much of Beta Advertising’s HR department here, but if Nana as agony uncle is the best support staff can get, there certainly is a problem. For example, his criticism of Omana on hearing of her resignation is rather disquieting. Did she breach rules as Nana suggests? Or did she simply choose a different battle, one in which she felt she had a better chance of winning? And do organisations expect more from employees than is fair?<br><br><strong>Communications:</strong><br>This case study clearly demonstrates a complete lack of communications, the most important element in any kind of major transformation. Was Arth so involved in fixing things, that communicating the situation was the last thing on his mind? His refusal to take calls from his own staff, as well as vendors is extremely surprising, given that the solutions probably lay in their minds.<br><br>What sort of CEO is Arth if he refuses to deal with issues? Is he overwhelmed? Or, were his critics right, that he does not have what it takes to run an agency? But let us also ask when the despair started: was it when Arth took over, or did it start earlier, when Vidyadhar Desai decided to sell Beta Advertising? Did Vidyadhar bother to communicate with the staff at that time, to allow for a smooth transition?<br><br>Arvind had heard about salary cuts and retrenchment – and is so sick with worry that he cannot possibly focus on his work. The trick in any change is to catch the ‘sorrow ‘early. If left until too late, the bad news can take a life of its own and turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Additional interpretations come into the chatter and patterns suspected where perhaps there are none.<br><br>When he decided not to pay the bonuses that year, Arth certainly had a duty to communicate that to his team. In high-strung situations, language has to be chosen vary carefully and therefore, Arth’s choice of words seems rather unfortunate. The comments made by Arth to Nana are rather telling: “nothing to say” – Really? Does he not have to provide direction, tell his team what he expects them to do until he sorts out the issues? If he does not give them clear targets to achieve, he should expect only disarray. He believes that he can turn the company around but if he does not share that confidence, there won’t be much of a company left for him to turn around.<br><br><strong>Spirituality</strong><br>Finally, let us also ask what responsibility the employees have to see that Beta Advertising does not collapse. Do they not see it as their job? What kind of culture would have helped smooth such a painful transition?<br><br>The Chandogyopanishad says: “yadeva vidyaya karoti sraddhayopanishada, tadeva veeryavatharam bhavati”. That work, which is done with understanding, alertness, sincerity and deep analysis, alone becomes effective.<br><br>In the spiritual workplace, the culture is one of patience, caring and ownership. Apart from salary, people also need an enabling environment to work in, where they can all collectively succeed – and a safe one. There is an emotional commitment to the organisation, vastly greater than a contractual one. People go farther than doing their defined work alone, spreading positive energy and ideas throughout the company. There is then no place for hatred, anger or retribution.<br><br>Arth must pause, step back, and think about purpose: his, Beta’s and that of his people. He has to rally his people together for this common purpose so that they together create a meaningful workplace. <br><br><em>The writer is Principal Director, Office of Information Systems and Technology at Asian Development Bank. The views expressed here are those of the author in her private capacity</em><br><br>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 13-07-2015)</p>