A friend of mine works in a service/retail office. As part of the culture this particular office wanted to establish, it was agreed that each person would wear a nametag as a way of encouraging a friendly, welcoming environment for customers. However, one partner in particular never wore theirs. As a result the nametags became something of an amusement or running joke around the office.
The time came when the person whose responsibility it was to order the nametags for new employees, asked whether or not they should go ahead and do so. The nametags were around $20 each and if wearing them wasn’t really required, then what was the point in continuing to order them? So a meeting was called and the decision was made that yes, although a small detail, the nametags were part of the atmosphere the office wanted to foster so everyone in the office would wear the nametags and the person responsible would keep on ordering them. Even after this meeting however, not much has changed. My friend told me the other day that there are still those who don’t wear their nametags, including the same partner.
In my discussions with people about what it takes to create a positive workplace environment, leadership is always at the top of the list. No matter what the issue might be – from key core values to something as simple as nametags – leaders are looked to when it comes to setting the tone or indicating what really matters. If decisions are made, great or small, and leaders don’t follow through on those decisions – a message is sent. In the words of my friend, it’s a matter of respect. If leadership doesn’t follow through on the little things why should they be trusted on bigger things?
Some might suggest that this really isn’t a big deal, that the little things don’t matter; but they do. Even little things, such as nametags, send a message about whether or not decisions made are really to be believed and carried out. There are all kinds of great examples of this. When I read the books by Jim Collins I read about companies, and leaders, who pay attention to the little things as well as the big things. When I read about Southwest Airlines, a company known for it’s unique but very effective business style, I read about a company, and leaders, who pay attention to the little things as well as the big things. The details and situations may all be different, but the bottom line seems to be the same; we look to our leaders to see what is truly important or what the expectations really are. We may have all kinds of things written down about how we want our organization to operate, but what really matters are the day-to-day actions of those in leadership.
Our codes of conduct, our policies, the way we do business, the values we say we want to promote, really only carry weight if the leadership of the organization is truly behind them and models them. Leadership is not the only necessary piece of course, but by in large, creating a positive workplace environment is a top-down process. And rather than this being viewed as a negative or something that adds pressure to leadership, it really is a great opportunity for those in leadership to help create a great place to work.
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What’s In A Name…Tag?
A friend of mine works in a service/retail office. As part of the culture this particular office wanted to establish, it was agreed that each person would wear a nametag as a way of encouraging a friendly, welcoming environment for customers. However, one partner in particular never wore theirs. As a result the nametags became something of an amusement or running joke around the office.
The time came when the person whose responsibility it was to order the nametags for new employees, asked whether or not they should go ahead and do so. The nametags were around $20 each and if wearing them wasn’t really required, then what was the point in continuing to order them? So a meeting was called and the decision was made that yes, although a small detail, the nametags were part of the atmosphere the office wanted to foster so everyone in the office would wear the nametags and the person responsible would keep on ordering them. Even after this meeting however, not much has changed. My friend told me the other day that there are still those who don’t wear their nametags, including the same partner.
In my discussions with people about what it takes to create a positive workplace environment, leadership is always at the top of the list. No matter what the issue might be – from key core values to something as simple as nametags – leaders are looked to when it comes to setting the tone or indicating what really matters. If decisions are made, great or small, and leaders don’t follow through on those decisions – a message is sent. In the words of my friend, it’s a matter of respect. If leadership doesn’t follow through on the little things why should they be trusted on bigger things?
Some might suggest that this really isn’t a big deal, that the little things don’t matter; but they do. Even little things, such as nametags, send a message about whether or not decisions made are really to be believed and carried out. There are all kinds of great examples of this. When I read the books by Jim Collins I read about companies, and leaders, who pay attention to the little things as well as the big things. When I read about Southwest Airlines, a company known for it’s unique but very effective business style, I read about a company, and leaders, who pay attention to the little things as well as the big things. The details and situations may all be different, but the bottom line seems to be the same; we look to our leaders to see what is truly important or what the expectations really are. We may have all kinds of things written down about how we want our organization to operate, but what really matters are the day-to-day actions of those in leadership.
Our codes of conduct, our policies, the way we do business, the values we say we want to promote, really only carry weight if the leadership of the organization is truly behind them and models them. Leadership is not the only necessary piece of course, but by in large, creating a positive workplace environment is a top-down process. And rather than this being viewed as a negative or something that adds pressure to leadership, it really is a great opportunity for those in leadership to help create a great place to work.
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 9:33 am and is filed under Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.