Northern Lights Newsletter March 2008
Are your team empowered?
- Can they make their own decisions?
- Do they understand the boundaries within which they can work?
- Do your internal proceedures allow for some degree of flexibility?
- Ultimately who or what do you have at the heart of your processes; your customer experience, the desire to maximise the bottom line, or possibly compliance to either internal or external protocols?
Some interesting questions which I aksed myself following a recent experience when I arrived to deliver a training programme at a customer of ours in Leeds.
In short, in order to avoid the high security turnstiles leading from the visitor car park to the reception to unload our equipment meant a short de-tour through the lorry security gate. When I explained my request to the security guard on duty; he first looked at me as if I'd just asked him to explain the theory of relativity, followed by the inevitable response "No, not possible". After some further negotiation I was finally allowed to drive the 20 yards to the reception to unload our gear, but only after I donned a high security jacket and heavy rigger boots! - I never needed to leave my car and this was clearly a needless forcing of proceedures onto a situation that didn't warrant it.
So at what point does following protocols dis-empower the individual, absolving them of any ownership in sensible decision making. Good judgement only comes from experience, which often only follows bad judgement and learning from the outcomes. No Operational Manual jam-packed with protocols and proceedures can ever replace good old fashioned Common Sense.
The challenge in any organisation is getting the balance right as if the balance moves too far down the 'Health & Safety, more than my jobs worth' attitude then the organisational culture becomes one of finger pointing, blame and lacking in ownership and you end up with a workforce of drones incapable of making an independant decision who need to be micro managed on a daily basis.
However, a shift too far in the other direction could mean a team of mavericks let loose to make unmonitored decisions, potentially damaging the customer experience, costing the business money and potentially breaking the law and leaving the Directors liable.
So here are 5 tips to encourage the right balance for your team:
1. Empower the individual
As a leader always encourage and give recognition to the individual when they use their initiative no matter how whacky or bonkers their suggestions maybe. That doesn't mean you have to implement their ideas, but it is important to support them using their Common Sense.
As the employee take the initiative, don't just present problems, managers love it when you go to them and not only make them aware of the problem but what you have done to solve it.
Finally let the employee take responsibilty for the outcomes of their decisions, even if that means sorting out a mess (obviously with your guidance) otherwise they won't feel they have ownership.
2. Define clear boundaries and parameters
Make it contractual if necessary, or at least part of their job description or key tasks. For example in my team everyone has a monthly budget that they can use at their discretion to improve a customer's experience which does not need prior approval.
1 Yes / 2 No is a philosophy pioneered by Bank of America which turns the normal process of higherarchy on it's head...and I love it. This means it only takes one person to say Yes and two people to say No. QUESTION: If you were to adopt that attitude at every level in your business, what impact could that have on your customer experience?
3. Share the learning
Save time, and learning pains, by sharing the learning experiences of everyone in the team. Make it part of your regular team meetings, however ensure it is communicated in a positive and supportive slant. That way your team are more likely to want to grow and serve as well as support each other, as opposed to stay within their comfort zones.
4. Encouage a mindset of 'How can I help?'
Instead of "How can I make this fit with what I know", that way you'll ensure that your team are flexible to the needs of your customers, no matter what their needs or requests. The greatest desire of most customers is the need to feel valued and be treated as an individual and if your team can truly understand that, they naturally want to do whatever it takes to create that customer experience.
5. Total openess
Make sure your team know that they are in for a bigger ticking off if they try and hide a problem rather than come forward with their hands up if they've made a mistake. When this happens (because trust me, it will!) as a leader make sure you fully support them and ensure that they learn from their decision making.
My team are used to me asking them "So what did you learn from this?!" and I only become frustrated if someone in my team makes the same mistake twice!
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