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Boss School by Jay Goltz
Jay Goltz, who has never held a full-time job but now employs more than a 100 people as CEO and founder of the Goltz Group, writes about the tough calls that bosses have to make, the conundrums no one has ever warned them about. Until now.
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May 9, 2008
The Fallacy of an Open-Door Policy
Posted at 10:34 AM
When I started in business and the phrase “open-door policy” was thrown around, it sounded very progressive. It was also very confusing to me.
While it certainly makes sense, I couldn’t understand how a company could operate when there are always people walking into the offices to talk. The answer is simple: In in a well oiled machine, there are regular meetings and opportunities for people to speak up with complaints, comments, and suggestions. In less evolved companies, people are afraid to voice their opinion because they are afraid of being fired. An open-door policy is a good thing. The reality, though, is you need to do more than just use the phrase.
You need to create an environment where people can speak up in any venue. I’ve had some of my most important communications with employees driving in the car, standing in the lunchroom, or walking through the shop floor. While I have always had an open-door policy, I have come to accept that when you get bigger, very few people at the lower levels are going to take the opportunity to walk through that door -- no matter how often I tell them it's open. Or, have I let myself off the hook too easily? Am I doing something wrong?
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"...people are afraid to voice their opinion because they are afraid of being fired."
This is something I have recently realized is an issue in our company. We think we have an open-door policy just because people can come in and speak to whomever, whenever. But open-door policy has to be about open honesty without fear of repercussions.
The question is ... how can we change that? Especially in an established, family owned company that has been working in this manner for so many years? Plus, I don't think our Executives realize it is an issue in the first place.
I't better to have an "open mind" policy as well as and open door policy. But the open mind policy is better.
Dear BP,
I would look at how many meetings you are having with the employees on a regular basis. Every one of my people are in a meeting once a week. It might only be for ten minutes. We give them a review of how the last week went, announce birthdays and anniverseries, any new improvements or discussion of any problems. It took a while, but eventually people started to speak up. As importantly, it is critical that someone is having honest dialog with people on a regular basis. You can "prime the pump" by questioning people who you feel you have a relationship with what you can do better. People will eventually feel it "safe" to speak up.
From an employee standpoint, I am very suspicious of "open door" or "open mind" policies. Old dog that I am, I have seen too many people get fired or demoted for speaking up to management about problems observed. Most managers I know seem to want nice, quiet drones for workers, which is rather humorous when you see the same managers saying that they only hire the best, smartest people.
What good are these "best, smartest people" to the company if management only wants to hear their own positions parroted back to them?
These days, I keep my mouth shut because at my age, I can't afford to lose my job.
Certainly all of the comment above are valid, but all come from subjective environments and situations. But I think the underlying thread here is that "open door/mind" policies are often misunderstood, both by the manager and the employee. Management parrots the words but if they went on to explain how to use the policy in a manner beneficial to all parties, you might get a much better response from the troops.
Here it is in a nutshell - at least in my world, as I explain it to my team - the "open door/mind" policy is not a license to complain. If you take the time to bring me a problem, please be prepared to bring me an idea about the solution. Be part of the answer. Too often we focus on the problem and not the solution. Solutions are much more welcome to management and you rarely put yourself in jeopardy over a solution.
Well, yes, that sounds fine, but people in the ranks are often not in any position to offer a realistic solution. Either they don't have adequate information (and, generally not being stupid, know they don't have it), or any solution they could offer would involve changes in policy -- or perhaps personnel -- much higher up.
Most employees are not going to put themselves in the position of suggesting, even distantly, that somebody higher up the ladder is not doing his or her job.
I don't work for the previous commenter, of course, and I'm sure he means what he says. But "not a license to complain" and "be prepared to bring me an idea" are obviously intimidating, coming from a boss. Phrases like that are often intended, and understood, to mean something much simpler: "I don't want to hear it."
Mike, I agree with you. I had a manager years ago that told me never to bring him a problem without a solution. It's a practice I have successfully employed with my staff in the 30 years since. Bridey, it's important that people understand the reasoning behind the concept. I explain that even if I am not able to make the changes they recommend, that I value their opinions and suggestions. I always listen and never give them feedback immediately other than to thank them for giving it thought and consideration. I think about their suggestion, pass it along if appropriate, but always, always talk to them personally and explain the outcome. It really comes down to trust. Open door...open mind...it's the same thing; or it should be. Open communication is the key.
Sure, open communication is the key, LC. But whether or not your company (or anyone's) is currently open doored, open minded, etc. is mostly irrelevant to new employees (and often those who have been there awhile)until it has been amply proven to be absolutely the truth. Don't get me wrong --kudos to you if you have actually achieved that...I wouldn't mind working for someone like you. But actually open door and / or open minded are far too often not the case. "Open door" frequently simply means someone wanted to make the company sound good in the Employee Handbook, and woe be unto the intrepid newbie who dares actually walk in and offer what they mistakenly believe is welcomed constructive criticism (even with accompanying solutions) or new ideas. Too soon that newbie will be right where I am -- unable to sleep from the stressful thought of yet another day in hell and handing out the resumes to anyone who even faintly resembles a prospective employer. And if the NEW employer says they have an open door policy, you can bet that newbie (or seasoned vets like me) will think long and hard before daring again to be innovative and actually care about the fate of the company. The new employer (or you) suffers because of the mistakes of the bosses before, but once burned by a fake open door policy, smart folks don't travel that road again. Just a fact.
Creating a true open door/open mind policy that actively engages employees to contribute to the company’s overall well being by bringing even minor problems to light quickly (before they become major problems) is a lot of work. Our company provides a highly skilled service and our employees are our front line, we actively encourage them to bring problems to our attention, let us know if they’re feeling anxious or unmotivated when servicing clients and troubleshoot with them to find out what’s going on. We even ask their opinion about other facets of the company. In exchange, we have fully engaged employees that love their work, feel like they are making a contribution and take ownership of the company. As a result of our efforts, employee concerns/suggestions have improved our service level/offerings, marketing, and recruitment/retention all while reducing costs. As I said, it’s not easy, sometimes I feel like I’m trying too hard to get them to complain or tell me something is not going right, but I know that every once in a while, I’m going to hear about something that is going to make us that much better and more competitive, and for that reason alone, it’s always worth the interruption.
Man, some of you guys are really jaded! I've tried my best to implement an open door/mind policy since inception BECAUSE I was a frustrated employee.
Too often it seems like the rank and file forget that at one point in their career, many bosses were probably employees themselves.
I've tried to never lose touch with those ground-level frustrations. Granted, it's harder to do when you aren't walking in your foot soldiers' shoes daily, but I sure try to listen, emphathize and think about how I felt when I worked for people I thought were crazy or too tough. Conversely, I also now better understand some of their perceived insanity and can see how some of it might have been employee induced.
Daniel,your very right. yet I think that you forget that the core problem with management is not that the rank and file has forgot that the management were at one time rank and file too,
but that the management has forgoten that they were rank and file and what its like to be one - in other words the management has forgotten where they came from! that seems to be the biggest problem with managers!
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