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Consider this.. According to Harvard Business Press, 2010, Vineet Nayar author of Employees First, Customers Second "Turning Conventional Management Upside Down"......
- 55% of workers overall said that management practices need to change for companies to effectively handle the challenges ahead; this percentage is even higher for those in the 30 to 40 year old range
- 50% of such workers feel that "rank and file" employees are the least valued group by leadership
- 52% of the respondents said that rank an file employees are most responsible for quality of products and services
Although most employees find that problems are resolved when brought to the attention of management, such attention varies depending on income level. The higher the income level, the more likely such an employee's input will be important. Those in the lower income brackets are often not "heard".
Those of us that work in the "people business" know that the rank and file are the employees that really know where the problems are in an organization and often even know how to "fix them"! Many times, management is unaware of problems in the organization. It is only until a system of obtaining candid, objective input is in place and appreciated are such issues unveiled and useful to move the business/organization forward.
Much of my consulting work is focused on getting to the bottom of issues in organizations. Some issues are related to conflict among co workers, issues in handling difficult clients/ customers, frustrations with limited resources to handle their jobs, issues related to supervisory interactions. Holding group meetings with a third party facilitator, to obtain useful information for the senior management team is a highly effective approach to improving an organization's performance overall.
I have found that businesses open to this approach have been able to move ahead in a collaborative effective manner, improving employee relations and morale naturally resulting in improving customer service.
Try it, it works!.....
I have seen this work extremely well in many situations and many organizations. I am currently working with one large client that is using this approach and we have worked to change the culture using this approach over the last three years. We actually do "mini strategic plans" for each work group. Each group is empowered to sift through the challenges and difficulties in getting their work done and working most efficiently and effectively. We then move on to create goals, actions plans and timelines to ensure such obstacles can be reduced or removed entirely. Such plans are presented to senior management, once adopted, followed closely to keep all on track and to determine success. That bottom up approach is in my opinion, "best practices management approach" ,engaging all rank and file as well as showing how much such employees are valued. Through this approach many issues arise that can be handled appropriately. Many conflicts have been resolved, many improved relationships, many improved work processes, improved compliance, improved leadership etc etc..
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