Do organisations have an obligation to people other than their shareholders?

I ask this question because, as I grow older, read more about the world and experience life with more and more organisations I see things that perhaps I hadn't seen before.

I've recently read the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi and one of the  overwhelming themes was living on what you need to get by.

I would put it to you that many, many multinational organisations gather in vastly more resources than they need and yet their staff at the bottom level struggle to exist on the minimum wage. The question emerges - do the leaders of the organisation at the top have more of an obligation to look after their employees (higher wages, more annual leave and better benefits) than their obligation to their shareholders (lower costs, greater profit and better dividends)?

And it's not just with wages that I feel organisations need to look at their obligations. I read this article yesterday with some interest-

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/boots-to-cut-700-office-jobs-in-the-uk-10305508.html?origin=internalSearch

A genuine "restructure" where a company redeploys it's resources into different parts of the business for commercial reasons makes sense. Adapting the online offering, moving people from traditional marketing to the social media team or moving people from one store to another to react to customer demand all make sense.

The euphemistic restructuring that companies use as a buzzword now means job cuts and a drive to reduce the overheads a business faces - at the detriment of the workers who lose jobs, have hours cut, have to relocate, are under-employed or don't deal with the change very well, sometimes because they aren't supported through this change by the organisation that brought it about.

Again, it begs the question of where the company's priority obligation lies.

I've often thought that there are enough people in the UK that believe in equality and fairness and they could be mobilised to buy shares in a company and apply pressure on the policies that the company has, in terms of salaries, environmtal considerations and ethical business practices.

New recruits? Are you prepared?

How to organise yourself ready for new recruits

The lead-in time needs to be balanced-

Not so short that you're not ready for your new recruits when they start.

Not so long that the good ones find something else in the meantime.

I've seen so many new recruits work for weeks on end without uniform and name badges after starting. You will know what you want then to wear and how you want your people to present themselves to your customers. In advance if the start date, have all of this ready.

Send details through to your new recruit - dress standards, punctuality expectations - all the things that you want them to be ready for. Don't get the initially important bits (the customer-facing parts) lost in the weight of an employee handbook or contract or terms and conditions. Send this separately, via email, to your recruit a little while before they start and invite any questions in advance of the start date.

The first day should include all of the compliance bits that you need to get out of the way, so you can then concentrate on getting your new starter out there and learning the ropes. A great way to do this is to have them buddied up with an experiences member of the team, or members of the team. Get them working with the experts in each area, so they can learn from the best and have a great point of contact for any questions or learning needs.

All in all, a rounded approach with some guidance from many people, and you being ready to receive the new starters and inspire them will be the best wag forward.