Robin Sieger Blog

Do you live your life by a policy document? I would bet any amount of money, that you don’t. I do though imagine you have your own code of personal ethics and principles which guide you.

I imagine that when a situation arises, you weigh up a course of action and you will choose a course, which in your considered opinion is ‘the right thing to do’.

In business however it is the company policy that determines the correct procedure or course of action for the employee to follow, for large companies their policies are like the laws, which have to be obeyed for the common good.

Many companies I have worked with repeatedly tell me of how important their staff are, and how they want them to be empowered. As one business ‘guru’ once said when the MD of a large company told him that he wanted his staff to be empowered, “Empowered to do what?” The MD thought about this for a moment and continued “…to be empowered”. “Yes “, replied the guru, “I’ve got the empowerment bit I just need to know what they will be empowered to do?” Confused and possibly frustrated by the business guru’s questioning, he finally announced “I want my staff to be empowered to do what I tell them”.

I do not know if it is a true story, but his sentiment is well illustrated, businesses pick up on buzz words within the training world, and hold them aloft as the magical solution to all their ills. In the case of empowerment it is usually paradoxical, because on one hand, the staff are supposed to be empowered to take the initiative to get things done, on the other hand, there is the company policy document, that handcuffs them into having very few if any free choices.

If I had a magic wand to wave in the work place, it would be to ask managers to trust their staff to do what it takes to help the customer/client or colleague to receive what it is they need to achieve their objective. That is it. Sure I could add lots of other wishes for businesses, but if I only had one wave of a magical wand, then that is what I would ask for.

I have mentioned before that the number one motivator in the work place is the need to be appreciated. I have also written about one of the greatest life truths I ever learnt, which was what you get out is in proportion to what you put in.

If you want your customers to appreciate your company, then your company has gotta appreciate your customers. I don’t mean sending them a mass mailed out Christmas card. I mean calling them up, going to visit or taking the time to let them know how much you really care, about them.

The way to do this is to demonstrate that you care about your staff, make them feel valued, let them know that you really appreciate what they do, then let them know that they have your permission to ‘do the right thing’ with regards helping your customers receive the very best service imaginable.

You really empower your staff.

When I speak with staff at conferences during coffee breaks, they often tell me that the companies policies prohibit them doing anything original without getting authorisation, and the management claims of an empowered staff, is just a sound bite for the conference.

So examine your level of staff empowerment, is it the real deal, or a cool looking sentence on an out of date mission statement that no one ever believed anyway. Because if the empowerment is not authentic, if the staff cannot do the ‘right thing’ then you disempower them, you devalue them not only in reality but also in their own eyes. You have sown the seeds of dissent and disloyalty, whereby people feeling undervalued and unappreciated will leave the business and go somewhere where they will be valued and appreciated.

“How your staff make your customers feel is a direct reflection of how you make your staff feel.”

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