| Do Your Employees Know Your Name?
Do your employees know your name? Do they even know why
your organization exists? If the answer to one or both of these questions is
"no," you cannot possibly have an inclusive culture in your organization. And if
that's the case, you are not optimizing your business results.
Two revealing interactions with employees in the last month
caused me to ask these questions.
1) I call a large hotel asking for the general
manager by name. The person answering the phone responds, "I don't show any guests
registered by that name."
When I tell him that the woman I'm asking for is the
general manager of the hotel, he says, "Oh, I'll look in the directory."
2) I try to reach a client who is the CEO of a
Fortune 500 corporation. Since I didn't have his direct number with me, I get the
operator. I ask for the CEO by name and the operator asks me what department he works in.
I tell her he is the CEO. She says he's not at that location, and gives me a number at
another location. The operator at the other location connects me to his assistant, who
puts me right through. When I tell the CEO that the operator didn't even know who he was,
he's surprised and says he had just assumed everyone in his company of 75,000 employees
knows his name.
I ask him, "Why don't they?"
Do your employees know your name? Do they know why your
organization exists, and it's values, or do they just know how to do "their
jobs?" What else do they not know about where they work?
I tell my clients how important it is during this stressful
economic period to be seen by their employees and to provide information and answer
questions about the current state of their organizations. It's not enough to simply come
out of your silo and speak to senior level managers. You need to make sure that they are
educating their directors and managers and that those directors and managers are educating
their employees. Finally, you need a process that ensures everyone is passing on
information that is accurate, complete, timely, and usable. That includes knowing the
names of top leadership, and understanding the organization's mission, vision and values.
Employees are more empowered and more productive when they
feel included. People feel more included when they have information that helps them do
their job. They are able to serve the needs of customers when someone asks to speak to the
CEO, or General Manager.
People can't follow your lead and you can't influence them
to excel if they don't know who you are. If employees don't know something as simple as
the name of the CEO, there is probably a lot more they don't know about the organization.
Without basic knowledge they won't be able to answer questions from customers or who to
ask for the right information. They can only do their jobs and exist in their own silos.
As the leader you are responsible for providing information
and tools to help employees do their jobs and make the organization a success. A good
leader knows how to create environments where people are inspired to do their best work.
They feel a connection with the mission of the organization and understand how their job
contributes to that mission.
Here are seven steps to ensure that your employees have
the information that they need to feel included and help you achieve success.
Simma's Seven Step Success Solution for Inclusive
Leadership
1. Identify key information you want your employees to
know.
2. Review communication processes in your organization: how
information is provided and how it is received.
3. Assess the effectiveness of current communication
processes in reaching all employee levels.
4. If the assessment shows that information is getting
stuck and not reaching the rest of the organization, identify the problem areas and fix
them.
5. Develop and implement a strategy for organizational
communication that includes:
- New hires
- Current employees
- Employees who work remotely or at less populated sites
6. Create a matrix of information accountability at each
management level
7. Review matrix to ensure information is reaching all
employees
If you follow these steps, you can create a more inclusive
culture where everyone can do their best work, and enjoy what they do. You'll ensure that
your employees know your name and the whole organization will benefit from your
leadership. |
