365 Answers About Human Resources for the Small Business Owner by Mary B. Holihan

Author:Mary B. Holihan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
Published: 2006-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Open-Door Policy

When employees believe that senior management is accessible, they are apt to work harder for the company’s success. One of the most successful companies in the United States, Costco, which is, according to Wikepedia.com, the first company ever to grow from zero to three billion dollars in sales in less than six years, is famous for the “management by walking around” style of its corporate founder, James Sinegal who wears a “C AN I HELP YOU?” badge when he visits the stores. His fellow employees are comfortable talking to him about both concerns and suggestions. His opinion is that the best place to find out how to run a company is right on the floor with the people who are selling your products and meeting your customers day in and day out.

Companies that encourage management to be accessible to employees give themselves an important advantage in employee relationships. As with most policies, accessibility must be implemented from the top down and practiced, not just preached. If the head of the company is only seen at board meetings and shareholder meetings but says that he has an open-door policy, senior and middle management will assume they, too, have the right to “talk the talk” without “walking the walk.” Granted, the CEO of a large company will not have the time to meet with every employee with a problem, but solutions such as CEO meetings or random, casual visits to the factory floor or regional offices will convey the message to management and to rank-and-file employees that direct contact and input from every employee is welcomed and encouraged.

How is this culture attained? Meetings and contacts will keep the idea in the mind of each employee. Just as a CEO will meet with his senior staff on a weekly or even daily basis, that senior staff should relay the ideas communicated via their meetings with middle managers, middle managers to department managers, department managers to supervisors, and all the way on down. A quick meeting on the factory floor to learn what was discussed yesterday at the CEO’s weekly roundtable will work wonders in making employees feel part of the organization. Managers on each level should be encouraged to allow employees to come to them with problems and concerns. A top-down philosophy will work to control how this is done. Each employee should be encouraged to bring his concerns to his “first line of defense.” A worker should be able to talk easily to his line supervisor, the line supervisor to his department head, the department head to the division head, and so on all the way to the president. An open-door policy does not dismiss an orderly system of hierarchy; responsibilities have to be described and addressed on each level. However, if employees at each level of responsibility are allowed and encouraged to bring their concerns forward, each employee will be empowered within the organization, believing that his voice is heard.

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