You know those indoor shoe covers that plumbers and electricians and repair guys put on so they don’t muck up your floors with whatever’s in the treads of their steel-toe workbooks? Well I saw some moving guys wearing them the other day. Only one problem, they were standing by their moving van…in the street!
Or how about those blue ‘food’ gloves that restaurant workers use to protect the food you’re going to eat from germs on their hands? Well I was at a take-out place the other day and the person behind the counter took my money, without taking his gloves off, and then proceeded to go back to what he was doing…with the same gloves on!
Or how those on-line customer support chat services? After asking for some assistance, the rep informed me that she could not help me with my problem because she didn’t know enough about the particulars of my situation…without ever bothering to even ASK me about the particulars of my situation!
Why do people do these sorts of things? Are they not thinking? Having a bad day? So disengaged that they don’t even care?
This is not a matter of ‘trust’ – it’s one of validation.
If your staff is performing admirably, you want to know it just as much as if they’re not. So, as a boss, how do you find out?
- Do you survey (formally or informally) your customers and clients?
- Do you ‘ride along with’ your employees on their customer visits?
- Do you ‘pop in’ on meetings being held down the hall?
- Do you ask your team members the type of questions that marginal employees would struggle with, but exemplary employees could easily answer?
How do you find out?
Seriously. How DO you find out?!