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McLean & Company is a research and advisory firm that provides practical solutionsto human resources challenges with executable research, tools, and advice that will have a

clear and measurable impact on your business. © 1997-2016 McLean & Company.McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group Inc.

Neuroscience and HR Build evidence-based HR practices that work with the brain, not against it, to gain credibility with stakeholders and drive business results.

A little about the contributor:

Follow me @Dr_Talk_

Connect on ca.linkedin.com/in/communicate4life

Dr. Dalton Kehoe has been a teacher, organizational change practitioner and communications consultant for over 40 years.

Routinely voted one of the top teachers at York University, and chosen by the province’s educational television network as one of the best lecturers in the province, Dalton Kehoe is a dynamic business speaker. He is also a top-rated instructor in the Executive Education Center at the Schulich School of Business at York University, where he trains executives from leading companies.

Now the President of Communicate for Life, Ltd. a firm dedicated to helping people to improve their workplace communication skills.

Download the book!Mindful Management: The Neuroscience of Trust and Effective Workplace Leadership

Quoted On Page 4, 10, 12, 34

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The effect of perceived threats on our performance negatively impacts business performance:

• Perceived threats result in suboptimal processing in the executive brain regions (the prefrontal cortex), which is associated with activities like planning and rational thought.

• Negative emotions like fear increase physiological arousal, narrow focus, and restrict our ability to be creative and productive.

(Hills, “Future of HR: Is It Time We Went Fear-Free?”)

Much of traditional HR and wider business practices are still not brain-friendly

Many common and widely used business practices trigger threat responses:

• Classic top-down management models, not telling employees many daily work details, ignoring complaints, expecting people to figure things out on their own, and avoiding getting too close at work all evoke, at the neural level, a sense of low-level threat. Employees back off and disengage (Dr. Dalton Kehoe, McLean & Company interview).

• 47% of employees in the UK feel a sense of threat from their leader (Martindale, “How can HR Use Neuroscience?” 2014).

!

Neuroscience research is clear―if the perception of threat is present, our performance is at risk!

The brainstem-limbic networks (shown below) process threat and reward cues within a fifth of a second, constantly forming nonconscious intuitions automatically and quickly.

Threat responses generate far more arousal in the limbic system, more quickly and with longer lasting effects, than a reward response.

(Rock, 2008)

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Certainty: the importance of knowing what will happen next

People practices impacted

Being able to predict what will happen next is one of the primary functions of our brain and the foundation of intelligence.

Performance Management: Not fully understanding what is expected from you can trigger a threat response and decrease your ability to perform.

Talent Management: Internal mobility programs may pose a threat response if they are not open and transparent.

HR Strategy: Change management initiatives need to be focused on reducing the level of uncertainty they bring in order to reduce employees’ threat response and decrease the resistance to change. HR must also work with stakeholders to effectively manage change across the organization, since many decisions are outside HR’s control.

Brain response

Common workplace triggers

Impact on performance

ThreatSuspicion of dishonesty, not knowing what is expected of you, or lack of job security.

Attention diverted to uncertainty, increased distraction, and difficulty focusing.

RewardEstablishing clear objectives, making plans, and having common agreements.

Clarity about what to expect increases dopamine levels in the brain, making it easier to focus on tasks.

When people don’t know what is expected of them at work, their

engagement and satisfaction goes down, and they don’t put

themselves into their work. Their energy goes into self-

protection.- Dr. Dalton Kehoe, President, Communicate for Life, Ltd. and

Senior Scholar of Communication Studies, York University, McLean &

Company Interview

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Compliments light up the same area in the brain as eating an ice-cream cone.

Even compliments from a complete stranger light up the same reward centers

in the brain.

Relatedness: belonging to a social group, knowingwho is a friend or foe

People practices impacted

Performance Management: In traditional performance management appraisal programs, managers are viewed as foes. Performance appraisals need to transition into performance conversations to reduce their threat.

HR Strategy: Corporate culture and organizational design need to encourage and support healthy and safe employee relationships based on trust, honesty, and respect.

Employee Engagement: Research shows that having a close friend at work is central to engagement. Safe social relationships with others play a key role in employee engagement (Rock, 2008).

Brain response

Common workplace triggers

Impact on performance

ThreatMeeting new people, cross-cultural teams, or forming “cliques” at work.

Capacity to empathize drops, trust and cooperation decrease, and disregard for others’ ideas.

Reward

Shaking hands, talking about something in common, sharing personal experiences, and having a friend and/or mentor at work.

Established trust, increased willingness to collaborate and share information, and improved productivity.

We are social beings, needing safe human contact like we need food and water, and we tend to quickly and automatically categorize those who are unlike us as foes.

- Dr. Dalton Kehoe, President, Communicate for Life, Ltd. and Senior Scholar of

Communication Studies, York University, McLean & Company Interview

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Market Basket discovers the power of social connection in the workplace

Market Basket is a chain of 75 grocery stores in the United States.

CEO, Arthur T. DeMoulas, is well known for taking the time to personally connect with his employees:

• He visits individual stores constantly to get to know his employees better; he remembers birthdays, life events, and treats employees like family.

• Arthur pays his employees well above the national minimum wage.

• Arthur trusts his employees and gives them the freedom to make decisions about how to manage their stores rather than dictating to them.

Situation

In June of 2014, the Board of Directors fired Arthur after a dispute over compensation. Out of loyalty to Arthur, 20,000 employees went on strike to protest his dismissal. Despite threats from management and not receiving compensation, the strike lasted six weeks.

Action

Due to the employee strike, Market Basket lost 10 million dollars per week in revenue. The Board relented and reinstated Arthur due to the pressure from employees and customers.

Result

Key Takeaway

Social connections are incredibly powerful in the workplace. Simple acts of kindness build a strong corporate culture.

Leaders who build a culture of trust by taking the time to connect personally with employees on a regular basis inspire loyalty and commitment.

Source: Dr. Dalton Kehoe, President, Communicate for Life, Ltd. and Senior Scholar of Communication Studies, York University

Arthur took the time to connect personally… As a result, his employees

will do anything for him.- Dr. Dalton Kehoe, McLean

& Company Interview

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Key Takeaways/Summary

• Neuroscience provides solid evidence that social skills play a central role in creating a productive and engaged workforce, increasing innovation, and improving learning outcomes. o Social needs are as important to our survival as physical needs. Social skills such as being consistently kind and

positive in the workplace have a much larger impact than has previously been recognized.

• Neuroscience, together with HR metrics, provides HR with the evidence needed to design effective HR practices while gaining credibility and influence with organizational stakeholders. o The human brain is wired to move away from threats and toward rewards, and most social interaction triggers one or

both of these responses. Threat responses generate far more arousal, more quickly and with longer lasting effects, than a reward response. In addition, threat and reward cues are processed quickly and automatically so that we are responding before we’re even aware. Therefore, knowing how threat is triggered in the workplace and how to minimize it can significantly impact organizational performance.– For example, organizations can use Rock’s SCARF model to reduce threats and increase rewards in five key areas:

status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness.

• Neuroscience doesn’t always provide new insights, but how it is applied is new: o Performance Management: neuroscience reveals how to remove the threat and negative impact of traditional

performance appraisals and move toward agile performance conversations focused on growth, coaching, and motivation.

o Learning & Development: neuroscience shows us the importance of designing short, learner-driven learning experiences that are applied in daily work life.

o Workplace culture: neuroscience confirms the impact of a positive social workplace dynamic that reduces threats and encourages social connection and effective team behaviors.

o Change management: neuroscience shows how to navigate change more effectively, such as being as transparent as possible with employees and continuously keeping them updated on progress and expectations.

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