I have been thinking today about why I got involved with the Engage for Success movement.
It takes me back to when I was a member of front line staff on the railway, trying to deliver a service to customers when all the odds were stacked against the front line team. People sitting in offices making decisions that affected my people and my customers, all in the interests of saving money, and saving themselves work. Most of the people making those decisions had never experienced working in the front line themselves.
For me, that’s one of the key aspects of employee engagement – are the people at the front line of the business really connected to the people at the so-called top? Most of what I see on my travels suggests that managers and directors are totally disconnected from the reality of the front line. There are honourable exceptions to this, but, for the most part, business hasn’t moved forward much in this area in the last twenty years.
I recently heard a story, recounted by Don Hales, of a senior manager in an organisation that Don worked in always being late for meetings. This really annoyed the MD of the company, to such an extent that he spoke to his senior manager about it. Apparently, the reason he was always late for meetings was because he had to walk past a large number of people at their desks in order to get to the room where the meeting was being held. He would stop to speak to the people, ask them how they were, show an interest in them and make them feel special. The MD wasn’t worried about that – he just wanted his senior manager to be at the meeting on time.
Thanks to enviableworkplaces.com for the picture