The Solution
You can reduce the harmful effects of all types of cliquishness by changing the environment. In some specific cases, it may also be necessary to analyze the nature of the exclusiveness and address them directly with the groups involved. The first step is usually to figure out the nature and extent of the problem.
Cliques in General
People tend to associate with people that have similarities is usually a positive thing. Having a company softball team, for example, is a camaraderie and shared interest that is usually positive and helpful. The people involved share a bond that makes them more comfortable at work because they know each other from another context.
Cliques can become guarded and hostile to outsiders, particularly in environments where clique members band together against what they perceive as a threat.
The popular reality-based TV show Survivor contains good examples of harmful cliques as participants form alliances and "tribes" devoted to preserving one another's interest and systematically voting non-clique members off the island. In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, a group of British schoolboys stranded on an island form alliances around two separate leaders, Ralph (who is a rules-based, logical person concerned with practical matters of survival) and Jack (who is more interested in hunting and having fun.) As the boys align themselves with the leader that most closely represents their own leanings and philosophies, they become more and more savage to one another, to the extent of killing members of the other group.
Although in a business environment, the behaviors and damage are much more subtle, the themes are similar. Cliques should become a concern only when there are negative consequences for people outside of the group.
Warning Signs
Signs of harmful clique behavior include:
- Critical business decisions taking place without appropriate input (from people that are not part of the group.)
- Complaints that you can't get ahead in the company unless you're part of the group.
- Information or equipment being shared freely among the group, but to "outsiders."
- Group members getting a noticeably different ratio promotions, incentives, bonuses, and other perks than the rest of the company.
- Group members are getting a noticeably different ratio of disciplinary actions, write-ups or complaints than the rest of the company.
Tenure Cliques
Tenure cliques are very common, especially in older companies that are undergoing organizational change or adapting to new market forces and technologies.
In these cases, you have a population of employees that have been with the company for a long time, and who have been trusted with functions or information and they perceive that that trust is being eroded or taken away by having to share it with people who are automating certain functions that used to be done by a person; or restructuring a department in a way that gives a person less control over the process or outcome than he may have had in the past. The "old timers" may band together against what they see as a threat to their value to the company. They may (subtly or blatantly) oppose new technology, new processes, and seek to undermine the efforts of anyone new to the company or suggesting new methods or ideas.
Professional Cliques
Professional cliques are also very common- in health care, you have the physicians versus the nursing staff; in law enforcement you have street cops versus investigators, in academia you have tenured vs non-tenured staff. In manufacturing you have management versus labor.
This results from people with different knowledge and skill sets, and people who perceive themselves as having invested more in their careers than others.
More skilled or more educated people feel like they have "paid their dues" and should have more influence in decisions than people who are less specialized or who have invested less in the profession.
Economic/Social Cliques
"Classism" exists in almost every society- there is the upper class versus those who are middle or lower class. People go to great extremes to be included in the upper class- they subtly (or not so subtly) display cars, houses, and clothes to prove membership in the elite upper class.
Time Magazine recently ran an article indicating that the most fashionable status symbol among the new rich (most notably, Microsoft "retirees") is to have a charitable foundation named after them.
Business has long, rich tradition of being the domain of the upper class. Business meetings are held aboard yachts over champagne and caviar, important decisions are made at expensive resorts over a round of golf or skiing. Having money is often seen as a self-evident credential of being a good businessperson or decision maker.
Addressing Problem Cliquishness
Now that you've determined that a clique problem exists, and now that you know something about the nature and extent of the problem, what can you do to contain the problem and prevent negative consequences?
Find causes of anxiety and address them
People act defensively (and form defensive alliances) when they feel threatened. Groups that are facing uncertainty are especially prone to negative clique behavior. In the case of tenure-based cliques, for example, you may want to make it a point to emphasize the importance of the older employees, seek out their opinions, and ensure they feel included in new and ongoing events.
Recognize the need for a variety of people and skills as vital to everyone's success.
When you have a specific problem to solve, appoint a task force of people from inside and outside the clique. For example, to define requirements for remodeling part of a call center, include management and customer service reps on the task force. The reps will have suggestions for the productivity and enjoyment of the largest part of your population, the management folks will have the information on business objectives and cost. By collaborating, they will come up with a better design than management could working in a vacuum. Be aware that this will take longer than the management team would alone, but the result will be worth it in the quality of the design and benefits to morale.
Publicly (and specifically) recognize the value of all employees.
Use existing institutions, like an Employee of the Month program, or nominations for bonuses, to recognize people who may be outside the group, and use specific examples of how their actions have helped add to the bottom line. For example, nominating a member of the clerical staff and emphasizing how that person's efficiency and cooperation ensure that physicians have accurate and complete information will show how that person is of value to people in the "clique." This draws the attention of the physicians to how much influence a person outside their group can have on their success if everyone works together.
Clarify roles in ways that emphasize synergy and cooperation.
Having groups participate in drafting Service Level Agreements and other items will open a discussion of what people need from one another, and generally brings a better understanding of one another's roles. People in clerical jobs often complain that management doesn't have any idea how complicated and difficult it is to produce certain reports. By discussing this in terms of a Service Level Agreement, this gives the clerical staff an opening to define what THEY need in order to do the job properly and on time. They may need information sooner from the sources they collect it from, or may need some training on the software they use.
Consider the performance review process.
Are people's performance reviews based solely on the opinions of people within their own group? Does their performance affect other groups? Some companies have what they call 360-degree reviews, meaning that an employee is evaluated from all the way around his "sphere of influence." Ratings are collected from their team members, business partners, and sometimes even customers. By expanding the view of an employee's performance, they realize that they have more than just one group of people to please in order to be considered successful.
Ensure disciplinary actions are equitable.
Discriminating in the way that rules and policies are enforced often leads to ill-will between groups. If you allow the computer programmers to get away with violating the company dress code but crack down on the mailroom staff, there will probably be grumbling in the least- and it wouldn't be a surprise if the programmers are finding their mail misrouted. If there are reasons for the differences- for example, if groups that have more customer contact have a different dress code than back-room personnel, be sure to explain the reasons clearly. Better yet, involve the employees in defining the dress code, making sure that they understand the business objectives.
Conclusion
Depending on how entrenched the "clique culture" is, and how
much influence you have on the environment and individuals involved, you may have a long, protracted battle on your hands to make your workplace
as open, productive and objective as you'd like. It's been our experience, though, that
anyone in the company who uses any one of these suggestions will improve the situation at
least a little bit, and at least temporarily. Changing the situation permanently will take
persistence and a more concerted effort.
