There’s much to be said for harmony in the workplace. When employees get along – with customers and clients as well as each other – your business prospers. But people often do little things that you wish they wouldn’t, such as rough language, poor cell phone etiquette or over-the-top political arguments. Many business owners are reluctant to try and control such behavior when employee performance is otherwise good.
But if you assume there’s nothing you can do, think again, says Quint Studer, author of “Wall Street Journal bestseller Results That Last: Hardwiring Behaviors That Will Take Your Company to the Top.” You can legislate good behavior – and what’s more, most employees will be glad you did.
A behavior standards sample is available free at www.studergroup.com (enter the title in the search box to find it). Studer offers these tips:
• Seek input from all employees. Put together a “standards team” to create a first draft. Just be sure that everyone has a chance to provide input before it’s finalized. Do not merely write it yourself and impose it on everyone else.
• Be crystal clear. Don’t write “Display a positive attitude.” Do write “Smile, make eye contact, and greet customers by name.” Don’t worry about insulting people’s intelligence. Sometimes people really don’t know what appropriate behavior is and what isn’t.
• Hold people accountable. Make sure everyone knows they will be held accountable to your standards. How you hold them accountable is up to you. Sometimes a simple meeting in which you show an employee the signed pledge and point out an error is sufficient. Other times, you might need stronger measures.
• Update your standards. Your standards may need periodic updating. Some directives may not work as intended and may need to be changed. You may also discover new standards that need to be added as your business grows and evolves.
• Have new applicants sign. Before you hire new employees, have them read and sign your standards. You may be able to eliminate candidates who visibly balk at conforming to your culture. But more importantly, when you do hire someone, there will be no doubt what you expect.
Just knowing that written standards exist is enough to keep most employees on their toes. It creates an extra boost of awareness that affects day-to-day behavior and helps pull problem employees up to a higher level. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at
editor@business.com.
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