My clients strive to be fair to their employees. Where they struggle is in the distinction between fair and equal. The goal is to treat people fairly, not equally.

Equal means the same. Identical. But employees are like snowflakes; no two are quite alike. They don’t all need the same level or type of support to succeed. Nor do they want or deserve the same opportunities. They come from different backgrounds and never contribute in the exactly same way. Furthermore, employees don’t even like to be rewarded in the same way. Equal treatment does not necessarily make sense.

Fairness, however, is a worthy goal. When people believe they are being treated fairly, they can relax and focus on the prioirities and challenges they face. When they feel unfairly treated, their focus shifts completely and they devote more energy to protecting their own interests than tackling important priorities.

Equal may or may not be fair, but fair is always fair!

Want to know how to ensure employees are, and feel, fairly treated?

There are four basic characteristics of a fair environment:

1. Employees know how the game is played
2. They know where things stand
3. They see the decision makers as informed and motivated by the best interests of the organization
4. They know how to influence the process if they question the fairness of actions

How the game is played

To a large extent, knowing how the game is played involves understanding who makes what decisions and how those decisions are made. Personnel decisions provide excellent examples:

• What employment levels and pay grades exist?
• What responsibilities or other criteria distinguish those levels from one another?
• Who makes those decisions?
• What is the process used for identifying individuals who deserve promotions?
• What do I do if I believe I am deserving?
• How do I know I am not being overlooked and that those criteria are being applied consistently?

This clarity of process applies to other areas as well, not just personnel issues, and is the foundation of creating a culture of fairness.

Where things stand

Knowing how the game is played is a critical starting point, but employees also need to know the score. To continue with the personnel example, questions about the score may include:

• What decisions are being made about me?
• What is expected of me?
• How am I doing?
• Who will be providing input for my review?

However, the score may have broader implications than you think and involve everything from company strategy to fairly narrow improvement efforts. In those cases people need to know what decisions are being made so they aren’t blind-sided by changes affecting their work. Being blind-sided erodes trust. No one likes sudden surprises that upset expectations and routines.

Informed and fair-minded decision makers

Uninformed decision makers come in three flavors. Some truly are uninformed. Others just appear uninformed. The third group doesn’t care to be informed; they are not motivated to do what’s best for the organization as a whole or don’t even realize that they are ignoring the interests of significant groups of employees. Unfortunately, all three of these types undermine the trust and confidence of employees. Decision makers who operate this way are seen either as unfair or stupid. Employees want to know that the decision makers:

• Understand the impact of pending decisions
• Know whom will be affected
• Are getting input from employees representative of those who will be affected
• Will apply rules and decision criteria with consistency and good judgment
• Care to make decisions that are in the best interests of the organization as a whole, not a particular department, level, or initiative

Both unfair people and “supid” people can make the process unfair.

How to influence the process so bad decisions and poor process aren’t repeated

We can tolerate bad decisions if we trust the process. We are even more forgiving if we believe we can prevent a recurrence. If employees think any of the above characteristics of fair process obtain, they need to know with whom should they speak.

Make a habit of satisfying these four needs and your employees will see decisions and the process as fair.