IF NOT MANAGER,
WHAT ELSE?
THE PURPLE
PROMISE
In their bestseller
First, Break All the Rules,
Curt Coffman and Marcus
Buckingham say that
employees leave managers, not
companies. Most companies
make the mistake of believing
that a managerial role is
the only possible career
progression path for a high-
performer. Sometimes,
they expect employees with
excellent technical but limited
people management skills to
be great people managers,
and it’s neither benefi cial
for the organisation nor the
individual. Breaking the trend,
Forbes Marshall has set itself
apart from its peers by adopting
the Technical Track practice —
the organisation supports the
career progression of subject-
matter experts by grooming
them for managerial positions,
allowing them to continue
as individual contributors
alongside.
38
THE FLYING
ELEPHANT
The practice of thanking
employees can go a long way
in building a great workplace
culture and hence, deserves
more creativity. At Marico, the
fl ying elephant was introduced
as an act of gratitude, to be
passed on from employee to
the other. Rather than a thank-
you note, this stuffed toy
resembles efforts that are being
recognised and encouraged a
culture of identifying others
hard work. Only an employee
who has previously received
the elephant may send it on to
appreciate another colleague.
The aim of the game is to
allow the elephant to soar,
landing at as many desks as
possible, spreading the love and
appreciation. One who accepts
praise must also learn to give
praising wise words of the
fl ying elephant.
| Vol. 9 Issue 6 • Sep-Oct 2018, Noida / Pre-Event Edition
Building a shared
understanding of the FedExs
customer value proposition has
helped the organisation bring
together its employees. They
call it the Purple Promise, a
promise to make every FedEx
experience outstanding.
The Purple Promise unites
their employees across job
functions, departments, and
regions. The People-Service-
Profi t philosophy — ‘take care
of our people and they in turn
will deliver the impeccable
customer service, who will then
reward us with more business’
— governs the decision-making
process. The organisation has
documented several stories on
their employees’ experience
with the organisation’s culture
on their website.