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Chris DeVany CEO Pinnacle Performance http://PPIW.com

Chris DeVany is the founder and president of Pinnacle Performance Improvement Worldwide, a firm which focuses on management and organization development. Pinnacle’s clients include such organizations as Microsoft, Visa International, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Hospital Corporation of America, Morgan Stanley, Boston Scientific, US HealthCare and over 500 other organizations in 22 countries. His book, “90 Days to a High-Performance Team”, is replete with hands-on tools, templates and checklists which managers use effectively everyday to improve performance.

This month, we award the Self Tending Mushroom to Deltek for a downward spiral of unhappy employees that threatens this growing company’s future. So brace yourself for harsh realities of what employees can say online as we explore what went wrong at Deltek and how we can avoid the same fate in our businesses. A recent cruise through glassdoor.com revealed Deltek in a downward spiral for approximately the last two years. On glassdoor.com, Deltek has an average rating of 2.1 out of 5 and their CEO has an embarrassing 11% approval rating. It was not always this way at Deltek. The originally family owned and operated company used to be known as a great place to work where the customer was special and employee morale was very high indeed. Apparently, a venture capital takeover back in late 2008 may be the root cause of the cultural shift that made employees unhappy. The move to VC backing was not all bad though, in fact, it had some positive effects. However, the law of unintended consequences was alive and well. As we move into 2010’s commentary, you can see the pattern devolving with clear issues of top heavy organizations and a focus on build-up-and-sell-off. Star talent started to exit the sinking ship. Layoffs begin and continue every quarter on this already low-morale workforce. Over and over employees note the environment of fear. They see the writing on the wall. This company is going down and they are broadcasting it online. As of the end of February 2011, The quarterly layoffs continue. One long term employee sums it up saying Deltek has, “Completely changed (for the worse) in the last six years.” It is clear from employee reviews... too many managers, a cultural shift to a toxic environment and a complete loss of focus on the customer, innovation and employee as key. The lessons here are these. No motivated talent, no organic business growth. Acquisitions will be your only option. Do not turn a blind eye to employee complaints. Listen closely to long term employees. Business culture naturally evolves. Ensure it does so in a positive direction. Lastly, it is rarely too late to turn around a business crisis. There is always hope.