Be Fair with Your Staff
I once led a service department that provided telephone customer support for specialized, high-tech equipment and software. We staffed our office during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. And we rotated handling on-call to cover emergency situations that arose in the evenings, on weekends, and on holidays.
I sought to evenly distribute on-call responsibilities throughout the staff. I also took my fair share, something that not all my predecessors had done.
During my time managing this department, I strove to add professionalism and increase quality service to what initially started as an informal and unstructured effort.
One item I implemented was a Monday morning staff meeting. This was to update everyone about what had occurred over the weekend, communicate ongoing issues needing attention, and set goals for the week.
The meetings started at 8 a.m., even though some employees viewed this starting time as more of a suggestion. As a result, I struggled to have everyone present for the entire Monday morning staff meetings.
Though I dared not fire anyone for their tardiness, I had an effective option to motivate a change in their behavior: on-call assignments.
One Monday morning, the lack of priority my staff had given to arriving on time for the meeting especially frustrated me. I proclaimed that next Monday, anyone who was late would be on call for the entire week. At last, I got their attention.
That weekend my family and I went out of town for a much-needed break. We returned late Sunday night to six inches of slushy snow in our driveway. Exhausted from the long drive, I didn’t try to clear the snow and pulled the car into the garage. I would deal with the snow Monday night.
I arose the next morning dismayed to find that the once-slushy snow had turned into an impassable path of frozen slush and ice shards. It took me forty minutes of frustration, heaping abuse on my poor car, to cross the fifty-foot-long driveway and reach the neatly plowed road.
I reached work to find everyone present, smirking at my late arrival. I swallowed hard, told them I would handle on call for the next seven days, and launched into our meeting.
From then on, no one was ever late for our staff meetings.
Leadership and Management Success Tip
Hold yourself to the same standard—and even a higher one—that you hold your staff to.
Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s book Sticky Leadership and Management, featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.
Peter shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.