When Ford Motor Company announced in early 2000 that it was giving employees computers and Internet access for a nominal monthly fee, it was heralded as a bold move in special benefits. The automaker was distinguishing itself from competitors in the war for talent. Today, a year and a half later, 17,000 Canadian Ford workers are still waiting for the computers they were promised as part of the first wave of a world-wide rollout of the innovative scheme.
Once seen as a boost to morale, the computer promise has become the opposite. Ford says it is still committed to the program — delivery was to have started in the spring of 2000 — and the delay is linked to solving problems in a pilot rollout at its Oakville, Ont. plant that resulted in a decision to defer the program’s implementation while management rethought its strategy. A far cry from the enthusiastic corporate mood in early 2000.
Employees were thrilled with the original announcement, Ford scored positive headlines and benefit and compensation specialists were viewing the initiative as a benchmark for competitors to match.
In early 2000, a Ford spokesperson told Canadian HR Reporter that the computers aren’t simply gifts to employees, but a logical next step in Ford’s strategy to position itself on the leading edge of a move toward e-business. “It’s a tool,” he said. “We want our employees to understand business better and we don’t really think that’s possible without understanding the Internet.”
Other factors in the decision to give out computers included better communication with the workforce. Ford already has an intranet, but it wasn’t considered particularly effective for hourly workers or people working outside the office. Employees would be able to log on through a Ford portal and have access to a wealth of information and services, from basic HR administration tasks and services to information on how to quit smoking or deal with domestic violence.
Ford stressed the program was important because of the need to get employees wired in wired world. Presumably, these goals are still valuable, but not the priority they were said to be.
For HR professionals viewing the plan from afar, it was the promise of improving morale and scoring a positive impact on attraction and retention that turned heads Ford’s way.
There is no question the initiative will be a boost to employee moral, Ford’s spokesperson proclaimed.
Staff seemed to agree. A Ford worker at a Windsor, Ont. plant told Canadian HR Reporter that employees were “ecstatic” when they heard the news. Today, many Ford employees who have put off buying computers are tired of waiting and are heading to computer outlets.
For business leaders the lesson is simple. Better not to make promises, than to break your word. Whether it’s a manager promising workplace change he has no power to guarantee, an HR department surveying staff without the commitment to followup or bold upper echelon pronouncements that swing with the next minor downturn, employees’ trust can’t be taken for granted. It may not be there the next time you want it.
Once seen as a boost to morale, the computer promise has become the opposite. Ford says it is still committed to the program — delivery was to have started in the spring of 2000 — and the delay is linked to solving problems in a pilot rollout at its Oakville, Ont. plant that resulted in a decision to defer the program’s implementation while management rethought its strategy. A far cry from the enthusiastic corporate mood in early 2000.
Employees were thrilled with the original announcement, Ford scored positive headlines and benefit and compensation specialists were viewing the initiative as a benchmark for competitors to match.
In early 2000, a Ford spokesperson told Canadian HR Reporter that the computers aren’t simply gifts to employees, but a logical next step in Ford’s strategy to position itself on the leading edge of a move toward e-business. “It’s a tool,” he said. “We want our employees to understand business better and we don’t really think that’s possible without understanding the Internet.”
Other factors in the decision to give out computers included better communication with the workforce. Ford already has an intranet, but it wasn’t considered particularly effective for hourly workers or people working outside the office. Employees would be able to log on through a Ford portal and have access to a wealth of information and services, from basic HR administration tasks and services to information on how to quit smoking or deal with domestic violence.
Ford stressed the program was important because of the need to get employees wired in wired world. Presumably, these goals are still valuable, but not the priority they were said to be.
For HR professionals viewing the plan from afar, it was the promise of improving morale and scoring a positive impact on attraction and retention that turned heads Ford’s way.
There is no question the initiative will be a boost to employee moral, Ford’s spokesperson proclaimed.
Staff seemed to agree. A Ford worker at a Windsor, Ont. plant told Canadian HR Reporter that employees were “ecstatic” when they heard the news. Today, many Ford employees who have put off buying computers are tired of waiting and are heading to computer outlets.
For business leaders the lesson is simple. Better not to make promises, than to break your word. Whether it’s a manager promising workplace change he has no power to guarantee, an HR department surveying staff without the commitment to followup or bold upper echelon pronouncements that swing with the next minor downturn, employees’ trust can’t be taken for granted. It may not be there the next time you want it.
