Guest post by Dr. Alren Burger
The open door policy came into being
when the empowerment movement was gaining momentum. It was designed to combat
the rising tide of employee dissatisfaction and cynicism that resulted from
waves of layoffs and corporate restructurings. Over time it became one of the
sacred cows of management practice and was seen as one of the foundations of
being an effective manager. Today, the vast majority of managers have some type
of open door policy because they either think it is a good idea or it is
expected of them.
Like
many management practices that get adopted into popular practice, the open door
policy has good intentions. The basic structure of an open door policy is that
an employee can drop in on a manager and talk about whatever is on their mind.
Managers demonstrate their accessibility to employees by being available
whenever the employee wants to talk. By making time for employees and
listening, leaders demonstrate that they value what employees have to say. What
could be wrong with a policy that has such positive aspirations?
My
fundamental problem with the open door policy is not with its intentions, but
rather with its implementation and practice. I find that very few managers can
successfully pull off an open door policy. The reality is that having an open
door policy causes more problems than it is worth for a manager and can lead to
an erosion of credibility with employees. Here are four problems that plague
the open door policy.
Problem #1: Not enough time
The open
door policy came into practice and gained popularity when the time demands on
managers were much less than today. The pace of work has become so great that
many managers have difficulty accomplishing what is expected of them and end up
practicing a sort of triage-what is most urgent or loud gets attention. Most
managers simply don’t have the time flexibility in their daily schedule to make
the open door policy work.
Imagine
yourself in this situation. You are racing to meet a deadline and are really
behind. An employee drops by to discuss something on their mind. You have an
open door policy and feel the pressure to listen. You would like to put the
employee off to another time but feel you can’t. So you allow the employee to
talk but your mind is elsewhere on the deadlines and tasks that are piling up.
Or, even worse, your frustration and impatience show through. The employee
picks up on your emotions or distraction and leaves feeling dissatisfied and
dismissed.
Problem #2: Inconsistency
You say
you have an open door policy and it is part of your stated management
philosophy. But sometimes when someone drops in you put them off to another
time. Other times you drop what you are doing and turn all of your attention to
the employee. Here is the problem with being inconsistent on the open door
policy; it becomes an issue of credibility. Do you do what you say? Employees
will test you and your commitment to anything you say. Employees are used to
management saying one thing and doing another, and are quick to jump on the
distrust bandwagon. Even one violation of a stated policy starts to erode
credibility. Once you formally commit to a practice-you must follow it to the
letter. This is what I call the 100% Rule. Don’t commit to something if you
can’t practice it consistently.
About
Dr.
