Managers' Corner
Oh, Behave: Yes, you can legislate good behavior. Boost morale, customer satisfaction and profitability with one simple contract
by Quint Studer | Published in August 2008 Departments
Consider the things your employees do that you wish they wouldn’t. Allison, for instance, chews gum — loudly — when she’s on the phone with clients. Calvin forgets to turn off his cell phone at critical times. And Joshua’s tendency to share his political views aggressively creates a palpable tension in the office. None of them are bad employees, but they do have bad habits that irritate clients and coworkers alike.
If you assume there’s nothing you can do about such all-too-human foibles, think again. You can legislate good behavior — and what’s more, the vast majority of employees will be glad you did. Rather than feeling that you’re infringing on their rights by creating a set of rules, most people will appreciate having official guidelines — it eliminates their own confusion, and their coworkers’.
Obviously, you want employees to leave a positive impression on clients. It’s also important for morale; employees who frequently behave in ways that their coworkers deem inappropriate are certainly not contributing to a happy, unified, productive team. And here’s the real bottom line: If you don’t spell out which behaviors are acceptable and which are not, you can’t hold people accountable for them.
My recommendation? Develop a “Standards of Behavior” contract and have everyone, from CEO to receptionist, sign it. This document can address any and all aspects of behavior at work, from interaction with clients to phone etiquette to “good manners” (knocking on doors) to “positive attitude” markers (smiling or saying “thank you”).
Interested in creating a contract for your company? You’re just seven tips away.
1 Seek input from all employees in creating the document. Put together a “Standards Team” to spearhead the initiative and create the first draft. Ensure that everyone has a chance to review the document and provide input before it’s finalized. Do not have Human Resources write it and impose it on everyone else. You want to create buy-in, and that requires company-wide participation.
2 Align desired behaviors with corporate goals and desired outcomes. Before you start writing, take a look at your organization’s long-term goals and areas that need improvement. You must be able to measure the success of your standards by seeing an impact in many of the key metrics of your operation, whether those are increased client satisfaction or other measures.
3 Be specific. Don’t write, “Display a positive attitude.” Write “Smile, make eye contact and greet customers by name.” Don’t worry about insulting people’s intelligence. Sometimes people really, truly don’t know what constitutes appropriate behavior.
4 Hold a ceremonial Standards of Behavior “rollout.” Once you have finalized your Standards of Behavior document, implement it. Hold an employee forum or company-wide meeting introducing the standards and distributing pledges for everyone to sign. You could even create an event around your CEO and leadership team signing the pledge. Make it fun, and have everyone sign a pledge — it’s amazing how much more seriously people take rules when they’ve signed on the dotted line.
5 Hold people accountable when they violate a standard. Make sure all employees know they’ll be held accountable to the standards. And keep your word. How you hold them accountable is up to you, but one thing is clear: the standards give you something to hold people accountable to. It’s worth implementing for that reason alone.
6 Make the Standards of Behavior a living document. The standards are dynamic and will need to be updated from time to time. One or two directives may not work as intended, or new standards may need to be added as your company evolves. Make sure they’re a living document that serves your company…not the other way around.
7 Have new applicants sign it right up front. Before you even interview prospective employees, have them read and sign your standards. You will be able to eliminate people from the race up front if they balk at conforming to your corporate culture. But more importantly, when you do hire someone, there will be no doubt in his mind what you expect of him.
When overall performance improves, so does the quality of your products and services, the satisfaction level of your clients and — last but not least — your profitability.
About the author: Quint Studer
Quint Studer is the CEO of Studer Group, a health care consulting firm, and the author of, most recently, “Results That Last: Hardwiring Behaviors That Will Take Your Company to the Top“ (Wiley, October 2007).
Contact: quint@studergroup.com