The ‘personal connection’ in the workplace.
Good for employees, great for customers.
Creating a positive working environment can take many forms. One of the most effective ways to do this is to bring back the personal touch to what is becoming an overly de-personalize, technology driven workplace rewarding efficient interactions but putting no emphasis on quality of interactions.
We were pleased to find a few recent examples of Employers who are Walking the Talk and bringing back some old fashioned personal values when it comes to people.
A recent Toronto Star article from March 25, 2008 cited that Canadian Western Bank CEO, Larry Pollock, has instituted an interesting phone policy. Larry does not have voicemail, nor does any of the bank branches and he answers his own telephone. "With us, the calls come through to the person you're looking for," said Pollock."Any customer can call me any time they want and complain or whatever. I surprise all kinds of people because they get through to me." It seems to be encouraging better customer service and a greater personal connection to their clients and co-workers. A recent No Voicemail article was posted on www.stockhouse.ca which elaborates on this customer-friendly practice.
Similarly, this idea of personal connection in the workplace was highlighted in a recent article on sbonline.com, where CEO Bobby Yazdani of Saba Software explains that he does not have a corner office but rather has his desk in the main employee area. He believes that he can better motivate his employees by creating enthusiasm through his availability and transparency on his everyday tasks. He highlights four key points that help to create this transparency at work.
There have been other trends that have been introduced by companies to encourage better communication between its employees.‘Email Free Days’ have been one way employees connect with each other in the real world. On Marketwatch.com, in an article from 2004, Veritas Software president, Jeremy Burton instituted Email Free Fridays at his company of 240 employees. At first they thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t. Burton’s goal was to increase the face-to-face time between co-workers, strengthening the relationships within the office which would translate outside the workplace to the clients as well.
Three great “walking the talk” practices. Employers take note!
