One of the companies I studied during my work vacation to Europe is a retail giant with thousands of employees and affiliations with quality brands and merchants. I was keenly interested in how the employees are motivated, engaged and kept as productive members of the teams. This company has a massive online presence, with over 85 percent of its sales orders being processing via the web. The company’s warehouses were built 10 years ago, operated on three shifts of 24 hours daily and attended to 80 percent of the online customers’ orders within 12 hours for immediate delivery.
The staff members, both those on core administrative and support functions, appeared happy and engaged based on my observations of the process and value chain relationships among the departments. For example, there are reports of the activities of the teams after each shift which serves as an input to the work-plan for the leaders of the next shift. The reports show details of the unfulfilled customers’ orders, the output required from the requisitioning department, the packing units expected of the direct to customers (D2C) sections and the expected ‘route-fall’ for the delivery department.
As good as the warehouses are fortified with technology, the impact of having engaged teams of people who work 24-7 to meet and exceed customers’ expectations with no or little failure points should interest leaders who are desirous of keeping effective teams and delivering value to their stakeholders.
One of the key takeaways from this experience is that the employees can be themselves while at work if leaders allow this to be part of their strategy to make the workplace a place to be. No doubt there are rules of engagement like the safety, code of conduct for resumption, food or tea breaks and closing at work, the implementation of these rules was done without any coercion, shouting or the use of vulgar words as are often seen in our environment. No one is threatened as the leaders, and the led worked harmoniously focusing on the results to be delivered.
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One of the things this company is doing to keep her staff stay engaged is the availability of information at every point of need. The staff are referred to as partners, not employees. At each of the departments are meeting sections where all information both current and static relating to work, expected output, emergency and the procedures for dealing with every area of interest are highlighted. There is no ambiguity of whatsoever in the standard of conduct. Everything is so simplified and measured to the extent that the performance of each of the team members on duty is automated in a dashboard which is flagged at the end of the shift.
The way supervisors communicate with the team members at the beginning of work, and the end of the shifts are devoid of arrogance. I didn’t witness the ‘I’m the boss’ speaking in the tonality of voice and body language. Employees in the process of executing their job functions have options to sit, sing, use earpieces and anything to make them comfortable while working on the agreed deliverables. A notice that you can be yourself is everywhere making people healthy and happy at the workplace. Thus, the atmosphere is enabled to enhance productivity and positive communication without losing focus on the goals of working together as partners to serve the customers.
This experience is quite different from what is dominantly manifesting in our workplaces where rules and ethical standards are interpreted to favour the leaders and people spoken to as if they are in slavery. A typical example where an employee initiative is stifled is the case of Emmanuel. He once reported to a boss called “Prof” who stifled the thinking capacity and ability of his direct reports.
Under his leadership, it was a crime for you, even as a manager level person with 20 years’ experience to reply to any email without consulting him, especially if he was copied. Your response will have to be printed for him to review and he can make corrections for up to as many times as possible in the process wasting the precious time, he was paid to lead others and to add meaningful value to the business. Truth be told, he would have made some grammatical corrections to your work, but stifling staff of their originality where the materiality of the intention is not lost is like making people not to be themselves.
Prof was also fond of insisting on doing things his ways. You must copy people in your response to emails after scaling the correction hurdles based on their level of seniority. The worldwide standard is to put people in the copy of mails on the need to know basis. You cannot close for the day before him, and even if he must wait for the traffic on the road to his house to resides, staff must wait for the boss to go home first. Many a time, he will be playing scrabble in the office waiting for traffic to be better at the same time tying down his subordinates in the office.
Leaders must see the workplace as a place for collaboration and encourage employees to be themselves. Aside from providing effective communication and ensuring civility in the workplace, an effective way to get the best out of people is to allow them to use their latent talents. If employees can express themselves, they will find the workplace a place to be, get more enthusiastic about the organisation and become more engaged spirit, body and soul. The effects of having a high rate of disengaged employees are low productivity.
The millennials of today are often challenging to keep because they have low tolerance rate for being caged. They want to express themselves, unlike the older generation, who are more security-oriented in their approach to life. The clarion call is for leaders to create teams with go-to employees by allowing them to do more of the activities that play to their strength zones.
If your staff can sing, utilise her singing talent as any slightest opportunity like the end of the year party. If he can write, why not allow him to write for your brand. If she can speak, why not enrol her to be one of the trainers in your academy. The generation of today will only give more when their inmate need is met. It is time; we go beyond the rigid workplace to a place where strength-based education and lifestyle are encouraged if it complements the company’s vision and mission.
BABS OLUGBEMI
Babs Olugbemi FCCA, the Chief Responsibility Officer at Mentoras Leadership Limited and Founder, the Positive Growth Africa. He can be reached on [email protected] or 08025489396
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