Don't Make Assumptions

It was one of four rules to live by that apply to everyday life.  It showed up in an "Instragram"-type photo, the type that circulate on social media pages.   It caught my attention right away because of a situation that occurred a few days earlier.

We were having breakfast at a local eatery and the order came out all wrong.  Since we hate to waste food, we ate it and moved on. Except, I was drawn to the request for feedback so I took management up on the offer.  I sent an email explaining what we ordered and what we received, and attached a copy of the receipt that detailed the order.  A short time later I received a heartfelt apology with an offer of gift certificates for the next visit. 

The same email also contained an inquiry: "Was the cashier who took your order male or female?"  Fair enough question I thought, she wants to get to the root of the problem and correct it. However, it was followed by the statement: "(I bet it was a female since she is new.) We'll certainly go over things with her so she does not make the same mistake again."

This was wrong on so many levels.  First, the cashier was a male, someone who’s been there for a while. Second, as best we could tell, the order was placed correctly and it was the kitchen staff who got it wrong.  One of the items was the breakfast special, an omelet, and the omelet we received did not have the ingredients advertised on the daily menu.  Third, the owner, who was not on the premises at the time, had jumped to conclusions and already assigned blame.  This was a teachable moment and not necessarily for just the counter and kitchen staff, but for the management staff as well.

Workplace problems occur.  Some problems are huge—blatant misbehavior, blatant disregard for policies, practices, etc.  People don’t have the skills to perform the role in which they are placed.  Some problems are small. People make mistakes.  No matter the size or scope of the problem, the problem has to be correctly identified, addressed and solved.   To do that, here are some basic guidelines to consider:

·       Keep an open mind and remain unbiased

·       Get all the facts

·       Ask questions that will give you the facts

·       Listen to the answers

·       Look at any and evidence

·       Use good judgment

·       Consider all the possibilities

·       Don’t make assumptions

In situation presented, someone in management made an assumption and assigned blame without getting all the facts or examining all the evidence presented.  You’ve got to get to the root of an issue before you can figure out how to fix it.  You’ve got to fix the right problem.  I don’t know the root of this problem.  There could have been many contributing factors, including the establishment’s internal processes.  I certainly hope that management didn’t start talking to this new female employee about the mistake they assumed she made before they had the feedback from me that she was not at fault.

People issues at work is one of the biggest challenges.  Don’t avoid them, embrace them with grace and dignity.  When we wrote The Big Book of HR we had managers in business of all sizes in mind!  It’s challenging, but if you treat people with fairness and respect, they’ll be there for you and for your customers.

Managing by Exception

Meet Fred.  Fred is a senior director at Big Ideas Inc., a professional services firm specializing in social media marketing.  Fred manages a creative team of 6 mid-career professionals.  One of Fred’s team members, Mike is an easy going guy who regularly shows up for meetings 5 to 10 minutes late.  Fred, a stickler for punctuality, is annoyed with Tom’s behavior and issues a terse email to the entire team stating that, starting with next week, meeting doors will close at the start of each meeting.  Late comers will be locked out. For the 5 team members who are continuously punctual, this new procedure is annoying and insulting, especially since they know that only one member of the team caused such a draconian result.

Sound familiar?  Fred is practicing exception management.  He is communicating a directive to the entire staff, is essentially accusing all of them of a negative behavior even though only one person needed the correction.  Not only is this a waste of time and effort, it sets a negative tone for the team as a whole.  Managers who exclusively manage by exception create a climate that promotes behavior governed by rules and policy rather than by trust and respect.

Don’t manage by exception. Correct behavioral gaffs by dealing directly with the individual.  Here is how Fred should have dealt with Mike:

1. Grab Mike immediately after the meeting.  Feedback needs to be given as close to the errant behavior as possible.  Waiting until the next day or even next week will weaken the urgency of the message.
2. Use as few words as possible.  Get to the point.  Be frank, concise, and even blunt with the message.  Talking around the issue, embellishing it with superfluous points only muddies the waters.  A good formula to use is: specific behavior + situation/context + impact on the team.  In Mike’s case, it might sound like this:  Mike, you were 10 minutes late to the client meeting this morning.  We had to wait for you, making the meeting time run over.  Now we are all running late for our next meeting which means I won’t get to finish the report that is due by close of business today.
3. Stop and listen to Mike’s response to your feedback.  Really listen.  Ask questions.  Summarize back to him what you are hearing.
4. Jointly agree on commitments and outcomes.  Ask Mike to email back a summary of the agreements and commitments.

Honest, open and timely feedback, both positive and constructive, is the bedrock of building trusting relationships.  Sending mass emails hoping that the offending party sees themselves as the culprit and corrects their behavior is a grossly inefficient way to create a positive work environment.  I have no quibble with policy and procedure manuals.  They serve as useful tools to clearly describe acceptable behavior in the workplace.  But they can never replace direct one-on-one feedback.  Policies and rules are a means to an end, not the end itself.  They provide behavioral direction and set boundaries, give us the roadmap to our destination.  The destination itself is a work environment that allows everyone it to have meaningful work and achieve great business results.

By Alice Waagan

Workforce Learning