Quitting over a flashlight …

Can you imagine someone with a good job, someone who cares about the work they do, someone with a bright future, someone with good ideas, and someone so frustrated that they would quit over a flashlight?

It very nearly happened because we failed to recognize one of our blind spots.

Many people leave jobs because of money, others leave for better opportunities, sometimes a spouse is transferred, and there can be many other reasons not related to their organization for quitting.  However, the ones that hurt organizations the most are the people who leave because of frustration; they feel pushed too far, they feel ignored, they perceived that nobody else cared, and they give up, and leave.  Often times managers, supervisors, and even the organization can’t or won’t see the organizational blind spots causing many of these issues or they do not appreciate the severity of these issues. 

Everyone has blind spots, you have them, I have them, and every organization has them.  For you and I ignoring blind spots can lead to lost opportunities, mistakes, and hurt feelings.  For organizations, ignoring blind spots can cost the organization its most valuable resource, the people who care the most about making their organization work. 

What can you do?

Illuminate.  Realize, acknowledge and shine light into what you can’t see or aren’t aware of, and seek out your blind spots. 

Start now. 

In the case of the flashlight person, each of their frustrations weren’t large, none of them alone was that significant, but because they weren’t addressed, the cumulative effect was that the person felt all of the emotions we mentioned.  The person really cared about doing a good job.  We were growing fast, maybe too fast, the good practices we build our business on were being stressed, and corners were being cut, not on purpose but just because we were so busy.

It bothered this person but we had no mechanism to allow them to vent.  Everyone was so busy, things were missed, their concerns were overlooked, and it came to a head because of a flashlight.  We had a storage trailer and this person had to search the trailer without having a flashlight.  It was that frustration that pushed them over the edge and they blew up as a result.  At first, we didn’t realize why they were so upset, over a flashlight.  Fortunately, though, because their reaction was so out of character we were able to see our blind spots in time.  This person just needed someone to purchase a $5.00 flashlight, we were focused on much larger issues, we thought, and it very nearly cost us a great employee.

We realized that we had several gaping blind spots.  We were successful, we had won several awards, and we were very good; however, what was contained in those blind spots could have potentially unraveled much of our success.

What started then eventually evolved into something I would recommend to everyone – a regular “vent meeting.”  A vent meeting is an open opportunity for your people to “vent” the things that are bothering them.  It was important that we, as the managers/owners/and supervisors stopped talking, got out of the way, and listened.

Over time, several “vent” guidelines become apparent,

Managers and supervisors must just “listen” they cannot defend, they cannot justify, they cannot react, they must just listen and take notes.

Managers and supervisors will not likely “like” what they hear, at least not in the beginning because to develop trust and for people to realize the sincerity of the exercise, people must be free to openly criticize management without fear of repercussion.

Everything is “on-the-table,” although this is not a forum for attacking “co-workers” this forum is for airing criticisms of the organization, its processes, and systems, its direction, and if necessary, some of the perceived actions of the management team.

While the meetings should be regular, once a quarter may be sufficient.  It will take time for your people to trust the process, to trust that there will not be any retribution, but also it may take time for leadership to take action on the topics raised. 

An important component is to list the issues raised and review progress so people realize their leadership is responsive.  I remember one time, we had been given a list of 27 issues, over six months we had addressed 26 of them and it happened so subtly that the team hadn’t realized it until we pointed the changes out to everyone.  Everyone will appreciate that not every issue may be resolved the way they might desire; however, involving your people will lessen the resentment they might feel.

If a manager or owner reacts defensively or attacks a criticism then the damage may be irreversible.  Managers and supervisors need to realize they do not have a “monopoly on good ideas,” and that in many cases their people know the business/organization as well or perhaps even better than they do.  Listening, trusting, and not reacting are key for this process to work.

Having people who will speak their mind, offer suggestions, and offer criticisms is invaluable to the success of your organization, for-profit or not-for-profit. 

Some of the issues raised will make a big difference, some may only make minor differences; however, all of the issues raised are important to the people who voice their comments.  For example,

Scheduling and the perception that certain people benefitted from better schedules than others is a common issue.  We listened, asked for opinions, and came back with a process that everyone understood and the resentment largely disappeared.  We were fair, consistent, and clearly communicated the process because of their comments.

On occasion, our team thought our expectations were unfair.  When we listened and looked at the issues from their perspectives, we realized they were right.  We were able to modify our expectations and still meet the targets we had to achieve and improve morale.

The ramps on some of our delivery trucks were constantly broken, which meant heavy appliances and awkward furniture had to be removed by hand.  By doing immediate repairs, and training everyone on how to avoid damaging the ramp this issue was resolved.  Deliveries were faster and the crews were much less frustrated.

Some of our people noticed that our customers had to wait in the rain until opening time on certain days.  We became more accepting of letting people into the store early, saying that it might take a few minutes for them to get help, but they would be out of the weather.  Everyone won.

Several people commented that our limited quantities of “door crashes” items left many people disappointed and upset.  In response, we began greeting them outside with vouchers and coupons for the door crashers and other deals.  We even considered serving hot chocolate.   These suggestions led to many more “happy” customers because they felt appreciated and fewer customers venting to our staff.

In several organizations, staff resisted the purchase of “computerized phone reception” because it would lead to upset clients/customers who would be frustrated by the lack of human contact when they were upset.  Having real people answer the phones helped with the customer service-focused “No wrong door” concept as properly training people could resolve issues faster and with less escalation. 

These meetings gave our people a voice.  We came to find that people who misunderstood the impetus behind new strategies when they had the opportunity to ask why and then understood the reasons behind decisions; were much more accepting of the change.  This ability reduced the apathy that had been growing among some of the staff because they had felt powerless in the face of constant change.

Supervisors and managers also found out the reasons why there were gaps between what was expected and what was actually happening.

These meetings also presented our people with the opportunity to help.  During a meeting where senior delivery drivers were complaining about training, we were able to institute a “senior’s council” where more experienced drivers and helpers actually worked together to create a training manual for new hires that incorporated their ideas and practices that dramatically reduced damage and increased morale.

The person with the flashlight was taken care of, for the cost of only a few dollars.  We avoid a much larger cost of having to replace and train a new person because we finally started listening to their concerns and the concerns, frustrations, suggestions, and comments from everyone else.

We had thought we were inclusive, but we realized we needed to do even more.  As a result, our organization continued to grow, but the real driving force for its continued success was because we learned to appreciate, acknowledge, and respond to the blind spots that we didn’t even know were there.

Start small, but start now. 

Give your people a voice and opportunity to help you and allow them to “vent” about what drives them crazy.  Find your own “flashlights” and illuminate your own blind spots.

Good luck,

Paul.