Were the Vikings the First HR Executives? From Employment Relations Today

Were the Vikings the First HR Executives?Aviad Meitar and Ravit Cohen-MeitarAlthough the term human resourcesmay 3. Be brave and aggressive.have been coined only about 40 years4. Keep the camp in order.ago, as a management function, one mightargue that the roots of human resources canWe describe how these laws can be usedbe traced to an ancient society—the Vikings.as templates for doing business today. Exam-It may, at first, seem far-fetched to draw anples are included as well that illustrate howanalogy between HR and the warriors ofthese rules were utilized in the Pepsi ventureScandinavian origin who lived over 1,000in Romania to create a unique corporate cul-years ago and raided foreign lands to expandture that helped achieve significant businesstheir trading zones. However, the Vikingssuccess.established a set of laws that had the seedsof management ideas that are relevant andBE A GOOD MERCHANTuseful to the business environment of thetwenty-first century.This Viking law, which is purely commercial,The fascinating fact is that in each of therelates to two important aspects of a businessViking rules, originally written for wartimeventure. The first has to do with knowingor commerce, one can find very relevantyour market, and the second relates to keep-guidance for developing human resourcesing the promises you make to customers.and maximizing the potential of individualsOne could argue, therefore, that when theat work in that society.Vikings enacted this rule, they laid the foun-Research done by the historian novelistdation for what we refer to today as ethics,Robert Low traces the set of laws referred toresponsibility, and integrity.as “The Viking Laws” to a literary pieceThe first subrule (each of the Viking lawscalled “The King’s Mirror.” In that piece,includes subrules) is find out what the marketwhich dates back to 1240, a father givesneeds. All too often, businesses use an inside-advice to his son on what he should do toout approach, focusing first on the specificbecome a good merchant. (Low believesorganizations and only then on their markets.these laws actually go back further, to oldThese organizations are trying to make thelegal codes pertaining to trading in a Vikingenvironment fit their characteristics andtrade center in Birka, Sweden.)assume that the market will adapt. Theoreti-This article offers a close look at the fourcal and empirical evidence shows that itlaws that were a prescription for Viking should be the other way around (i.e., an “out-warrior conduct:side-in” approach; that is, every organizationshould understand its market and the mar-1. Be a good merchant.ket’s needs and then find the best way to2. Be prepared.meet those needs).© 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.15Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ert.20305Employment Relations TodayThe problem with many organizations istheir colleagues in school—it was consideredthat they are trying to sell their customers“uncool.” This was one key reason the cam-what they had decided their customers need,paign was a failure.and not what their customers really desire.Often, the main challenge for providingThis is similar to the difference betweengood service is to fully understand the cus-Henry Ford’s approach (customers cantomers’ needs—the obvious and the latent.choose any car color, so long as it is black)Sometimes you can’t give the customer exactlyand the Japanese philosophy (let customerswhat he or she is asking for, but you can fulfilldecide what makes a car beautiful to them).other needs by listening carefully and by beingIn consulting with client companies, weempathic. In a few interventions that we used,found that many managers assume that theywe trained employees to fully understand theknow what their customers want, but whenneeds of the customer and to try to fulfillyou ask the customers, you see that theirthem (even needs such as respect, informa-needs are different from those assumed. Thistion, and caring were very meaningful). Theseis especially true in global and internationalinterventions changed not just customer satis-organizations. Many times, managers whofaction and loyalty, but also employees’ satis-faction, as they felt more capable and betterappreciated by their customers.The problem with many organizations is thatAnother subrule to being a good merchantthey are trying to sell their customers what theyis don’t make a promise that you can’t keep.had decided their customers need, and notThis rule is of major importance in all aspectswhat their customers really desire.of the organization. One aspect concerns thepromises that businesses articulate in orderhave a certain experience in one market/to attract customers and sell products or ser-culture assume that customers in anothervices. Too often, these promises are not pre-market will react the same way, but in factcise, and, following the sale, the customersthe needs and responses are quite different.find out that the products or services are dif-As an example, we recently deployed aferent from what had been promised. Thisconsumer marketing campaign in the Pepsican be very damaging to the business’s repu-Bulgaria operation that had been extremelytation and, in the long run, to the businesssuccessful with consumers in Israel a fewitself. In order to overcome this problem,years earlier. It focused on teenagers andsome organizations tie the salespersons’offered a winning school class a prize ofbonuses not just to sales, but also to cus-going on a trip to the United States. Wetomers’ satisfaction and their long-term rela-checked whether the prize was consideredtionship with the company.attractive to the target group and found thatAnother aspect of keeping promises relatesindeed it was. What we did not check wasto the integrity inside the organization. Inwhether teenagers liked the idea of going onresearch that was conducted among 5,000such a trip with their schoolmates. It turnedmanagers in the United States, managersout that this was a critical issue—young Bul-were asked to identify the most critical man-garians loved the idea of going to the Unitedagerial aspects. The trait that topped the listStates but hated the idea of doing it withwas integrity.116Aviad Meitar and Ravit-Cohen MeitarEmployment Relations Today DOI 10.1002/ertFall 2010Keeping promises is an issue of businessBE PREPAREDethics in general. The Israeli Institution forEthics found that the integrity of managersThe Viking law we analyzed in the previousand the organization toward its employees is section dealt with the identity of the organi-a major enabler of employees’ identificationzation and its positioning in the environment.with the organization and their commitment to This next Viking law focuses on how organi-it. Employees want to be part of an entity thatzations must prepare to meet their goals andis ethical and acts in accordance with theirrespond to the needs of the markets.values. Keeping promises is key in this respect.All of the subrules under this law are Ethical behavior also influences the pros-relevant to businesses in general and to HRperity and success of a business. For cus-in particular. The first subrule is find goodtomers and suppliers, keeping promises is thebattle comrades. This translates to the typicalbasis for building a high-quality and long-HR function of selecting and recruitingterm relationship. Trust, as research showed,skilled employees. The process of finding,is fundamental in every relationship and isselecting, and retaining the right people forcrucial in the business environment.the right roles is a key challenge, and in In January 2010, a famous Israeli baking-goods brand (named Maadanot) found outthat there was a problem with some of The growing awareness of the importance ofethics is part of the reason why more and morethe company’s products. The companyorganizations adopt codes of ethics to ensureannounced it to the public immediately,their ethical conduct.promised compensation to those who hadalready purchased the products, and provided24-hour service for customers to call tosome industries the “war for talent” makesreplace products or to be compensated forthe process even more competitive. This isproducts they simply wished to return. A fewthe case, for instance, in the global beverageweeks later, the problem was fixed, and theindustry, where all too often seasoned company’s sales were even higher than theymanagers are being lured by an industrywere prior to the crisis. Customers appreci-competitor.ated the company’s ethical conduct andThis rule is a basic tenet for Viking war-reciprocated by staying loyal.riors as well as HR managers. Having theThe growing awareness of the importanceright people in key positions is the mostof ethics is part of the reason why more andimportant factor in defining the success of amore organizations adopt codes of ethics tobusiness. However, finding a person who fitsensure their ethical conduct. (In the Unitedthe organization’s culture, the team, and theKingdom and Germany, about 75 percent ofspecific role is not an easy task.companies have adopted such codes, and inOver the years, companies have used anIsrael’s finance industry, about 90 percent ofarray of evaluation processes and selectioncompanies have adopted codes of ethics.) Intests that were touted as being able to accu-all the organizations that we were involvedrately predict who will be the right person forwith, keeping promises was a key factor ina particular job. A colleague who was indefining the codes of ethics.charge of such processes in one of the leadingWere the Vikings the First HR Executives?17Employment Relations Today DOI 10.1002/ertEmployment Relations Todayevaluation companies in Israel told me thata person from one team to another can make athe validity of such tests is under 20 percent.huge difference. Recently, I met a CEO whoOrganizations are experimenting with vari-was a star in her previous company. Whenous tools to help them find the right people.she was brought to her new position, she wasMany organizations are looking for unconven-expected to replicate her success. Unfortu-tional methods for selecting their candidates.nately, her personality didn’t fit the newGoogle, for example, advertised riddles inorganization, and many of the changes thatsome prestigious universities, and those whoshe tried to implement failed.solved them correctly got directly to Google’sThe task of finding a good leader is bestjob search engines. Another company useddescribed by the subrule choose one chief.short problem-solving questions and chose theThis is another milestone in HR practices,candidates who exhibited creative thinking.since it has to do with management and Before the start of the Romanian Pepsileadership—a highly researched topic in theoperation, we identified two candidates whofield of organizational development and would be qualified to fill the position of gen-the one most books and articles are writteneral manager. In order to make the best deci-about. As mentioned earlier, succeeding as asion between the two, we brought both ofmanager in one role doesn’t necessarilythem to Romania and also to our company’sensure success in the next one.headquarters in New York. This way weA true leader makes a huge difference toan organization. However, in an article enti-tled “The Half-Truths of Leadership,”2 theIt is important to give freedom in many aspectsauthors claimed that although leadership is aof the job, but it is as important to have avery important factor to the success of the“chief,” someone who sets the direction, pro-organization, too often people mistakenly putvides guidance and assistance, and helps toall the blame on or give all the credit to theexert the team’s and the individual’s potential.leader.Leadership has many angles and dimen-were able to get some useful feedback onsions. There is agreement that managers needthem from people in the environment whereto be effective leaders. A few organizations inthey were going to manage as well as fromAustralia tried to use self-managed teams (i.e.,colleagues in our head office. It widened theteams that are autonomous without a formalspectrum of views on the candidates andleader). Their experience showed that in mostenabled us to make a better decision.cases it was very difficult for the team toIn our experience, the person who mayfunction without a leader, especially in disci-seem to be the perfect candidate “on paper”pline matters. This notion does not deny theis not a perfect one in reality. In addition toimportance of providing autonomy to thethe issues of experience, abilities, and skillsteam and of empowering employees. It is(technical, intellectual, and emotional), thereimportant to give freedom in many aspects is the notion of “chemistry” with various con-of the job, but it is as important to have astituencies of the organization such as man-“chief,” someone who sets the direction, pro-agers, colleagues, company culture, cus-vides guidance and assistance, and helps totomers, and the like. Sometimes just movingexert the team’s and the individual’s potential.18Aviad Meitar and Ravit-Cohen MeitarEmployment Relations Today DOI 10.1002/ertFall 2010In our Pepsi venture in Romania, we care-In a recent international conference thatfully selected and nurtured a strong team ofdealt with innovation in Israel,3 there was amanagers, each with solid experience andcall for HR to lead this concept in organiza-expertise in their respective fields. We weretions. The claim was that the engine for orga-very proud of the fact that our top manage-nizational innovation is employees’ creativity,ment had over 100 years’ combined tenure inand that it is within the scope of HR to trainthe company. However, we had a clear leaderand develop employees’ creativity. The mes-at the top whose charisma and leadershipsage for HR was that nurturing employees’traits pulled the organization ahead andcreativity will strengthen the function of HRensured that we maximized the venture’sas valuable to organizational success.business potential.In recent research that we conducted inEastern Europe,4 we found out that whenBE BRAVE AND AGGRESSIVEpeople were given proper conditions to brain-storm about improving their individual asAfter finding out what the market requireswell as the company performance, the resultand then setting up the infrastructure of thewas very fruitful. One hundred people cameorganization, including getting the rightup with about 700 ideas.team for the task, the next challenge is touse the right methods. This Viking law hasto do with determination and persistenceCreative ideas regarding how to deal with thedifficult business environment are critical tonecessary to get the job done. It has to doimproving the chances of survival.with being focused on the one hand whileallowing a certain level of flexibility on theother.We find these Viking subrules, whichA few studies conducted at Bar-Ilan Uni-focus on creativity in executing a plan versity and the Teknion in Israel showed thatof attack, to be especially crucial in light ofthere is a substantial amount of tension intoday’s economic reality, where companiesorganizations between their desire to beare forced to deal with difficult conditions.focused, efficient, and disciplined and theirCreative ideas regarding how to deal with thedesire to encourage autonomy, creativity, anddifficult business environment are critical toinitiative. They claim that the challenge inimproving the chances of survival.organizations today is to be ambidextrous—toIn a large bank that we counsel, manage-allow these two somewhat conflictingment decided to use various methods in orderapproaches to coexist. HR managers shouldto grab all opportunities: employees werehelp in training employees to function inasked to think of any and all ideas in order toboth of these modes.improve the service and satisfaction of cus-This Viking law contains two subrules thattomers. Small teams from each branch wereare essential to achieving competitive advan-looking for creative ways to improve the effi-tage: grab all opportunities and use varyingciency and the service in their branch. Theymethods of attack. They represent milestoneswere not looking for “big” or “breakthrough”in looking at employees’ creativity and orga-ideas, but rather for new opportunities nizational innovation.that were under their control—they wereWere the Vikings the First HR Executives?19Employment Relations Today DOI 10.1002/ertEmployment Relations Todayresponsible for generating as well as imple-a supervisor and his or her coworkers creatementing these ideas. This process led tois quite valuable for feeling that their work isgreater empowerment and a sense of satisfac-meaningful. Our experience showed thattion from the employees, who felt that theenjoyable activities in the workplace and inbank trusted them to find the best solutions.various training workshops create high-qual-Management felt that the new methodsity relationships among coworkers who thenimproved employees’ responsibility as well astend to support and encourage each other toprocesses and the level of service of thego “above and beyond” and to achieve betterbank. All of this enabled the bank to grabresults together.many new opportunities.Taking an example from our RomanianIn An Unimaginable Journey: How Pepsiventure, we created an annual marketing andBeat the Odds in Romania,5 there is emphasissales conference, to which the entire saleson the importance of attacking one target at aforce was invited. It was originally meant totime. Over the 15 years of the Pepsi businessdeal with a crisis situation, and these peoplein Romania, there were many temptations towere gathered to try to understand the rootsexpand beyond the beverage business andof the problem. Over time it became a venueventure off in other directions. It was theto celebrate the company’s achievements andstrategic decision to stay focused on just oneenergize the workforce ahead of the summerseason. The employees were looking forwardto the next conference, and the unique atmo-Our experience showed that enjoyable activitiessphere created during these events played ain the workplace and in various training work-key role in the outstanding performance ofshops create high-quality relationships amongthe company.coworkers who then tend to support and encour-These activities were crucial not just inage each other to go “above and beyond” andstrengthening the unique culture of the orga-to achieve better results together.nization, but also in attracting and keepingvaluable and committed employees. Keepingfield of activity, which allowed our organiza-valuable employees is part of talent tion to successfully handle the competitivemanagement—a topic that is gaining top challenges, especially given our limitedpriority for organizations around the world.resources.Another very important subrule that iscritical to managing HR is make sure every-KEEP THE CAMP IN ORDERbody does useful work. This is not onlyrelated to exerting the full potential of eachThis is the last Viking law. Of the four, this isemployee, but also to meaningfulness atthe one that really focuses on HR. One of thework. Two studies that we conducted insubrules is arrange enjoyable activities thatIsrael and Romania found that whenstrengthen the group. In a series of studies thatemployees feel that what they do is usefulstem from positive organizational psychology,and challenging, they experience their we found that meaningful work is one of thework to be meaningful. In a recent manage-most important engines for employees’ engage- ment class for MBA students, they chosement as well as a basis for improving theirmeaningfulness as the most important factorperformance. We found that the atmospherefor them in their roles. They stated that they20Aviad Meitar and Ravit-Cohen MeitarEmployment Relations Today DOI 10.1002/ertFall 2010felt their work was meaningful when theyfairly advanced even by modern standards.were challenged, had a certain level ofAlthough it may be farfetched to argue thatautonomy, and felt that their work was con-the Vikings should be considered the first HRtributing to their organization—essentially,executives, it is easy to see how the laws ofdoing useful work.these ancient warriors can add value to theIn the course of our work, our companypractice of HR management today.has surveyed about 20 organizations fromvarious industries and sizes and about 30,000NOTESemployees from all levels. Overwhelmingly,employee responses pointed to the impor-1. This research was cited in Hitt, M. A., Black, J. S., &tance of positive experiences of the individu-Porter, L. W. (2009). Management. Upper Saddle River,als at their workplaces—especially in relationNJ: Prentice Hall.to their direct supervisors and coworkers.2. Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2006, May). The half-truths ofThe Vikings’ words of advice in terms of nur-leadership. Stanford Business, pp. 14–19. Retrieved fromturing the human capital of an organizationhttp://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0605/featureare more relevant today than ever before._leadership.html.3. In-Innovation, organized by the DeMarker financial maga-ANCIENT ADVICE STILL RELEVANT FOR HRzine.4. Cohen-Meitar, R., Carmeli, A., & Waldman, D. A. (2009).It is quite astonishing to think that peopleLinking meaningfulness in the workplace to employee cre-who lived over a thousand years ago, whoativity: The intervening role of organizational identifica-created a primitive and brutal society, cametion and positive psychological experiences. Creativityup with rules that place the development Research Journal, 21, 361–375.and well-being of their “employees” at the5. Meitar, A. (2009). An unimaginable journey: How Pepsiforefront—a concept that would be consideredbeat the odds in Romania. Charleston, SC: BookSurge.Aviad Meitar is the chairman of Quadrant European Beverages Limited, the Pepsi bottlerfor Bulgaria. He served as the chairman of Quadrant Amorq Bottling Company Limited(QABCL), the exclusive PepsiCo licensee for Romania and Moldova, until its successfulsale to PepsiAmericas, the second-largest PepsiCo bottler in the world, in July 2006. Meitarset up QABCL’s operation in Romania in 1991 and has had oversight managerial responsi-bility for the company’s operations for over 15 years. He recently published a book aboutthis experience titled An Unimaginable Journey: How Pepsi Beat the Odds in Romania,available on Amazon. He may be contacted at ameitar@inter.net.il or through his Web site,www.aviadmeitar.com. Ravit Cohen-Meitar, Ph.D, is a managing partner at Tmurot, anorganizational consulting firm in Israel. She has been conducting workshops on variousmanagement-development topics for 15 years and acted as a consultant to managers andorganizations—private, public, and global. She is also a lecturer at the Bar-Ilan UniversitySchool of Management. Her main research topics are creativity and innovation in organi-zations and meaningfulness in organizations. She may be contacted at ravit@tmurot.com.Were the Vikings the First HR Executives?21Employment Relations Today DOI 10.1002/ert