frank theriault wrote: > Well, Malcolm, you're right. The culture of "I just want > this off my desk" > should change. Problem, it's not so easy a fix as one might > think. With the advent of computers, receptionists must now > be much more than a pretty face to smile at the business men > who walk in the door.
Any company that wants culture change, has to have this desire from the very top of the organisation. It has to accept that many of the things being done are wrong, without slapping blame everywhere. I spent three years of my life on a project alongside my everyday job doing just that - total culture change. Receptionists are the first face that people see in your company building. Those that are faffing around after others aren't doing there job; it's someone else's job they have got involved in. And, it's not their job.. > They are now expected to be jack (jills?) of all trades, who > are also secretaries, accountants, logistics technicians, > coffee brewers and schedulers of board rooms and catering > services, dog walkers and day care providers. I've walked > into offices to pick up parcels from poor receptionists who > are still frantically putting the finishing touches on a > package to go out because the boss needed to make last minute > changes after the call for pick up was made, by which time > poor receptionist had already embarked on a series of tasks > for other bosses, and is trying to do 5 things at once, along > with readying my package for me. Most of these problems occur because no one understands the impact/importance/relevance on one job to another. Simply taking senior staff back to the sharp end for a week or so, gives them an understanding of what they ask and are expecting their staff to do. This often comes as a heck of a shock. Seeing what you do in the company and how you can help others just by straight communication. I saw in one week senior management stop referring to one departments 'excuses' as genuine problems. > At that point, they really don't care if the package gets > anywhere near it's destination. Off their desk is a real good start. > > Expecting higher productivity for lower pay is what's causing > this culture that you talk about. We can thank the bean > counters (as Tom likes calling > them) for that one. 'Bean counters' have an important part to play if you let them. Often no one listens. As soon as you chuck out the 'them & us' in the business environment, you have a chance for a committed and happy workforce. It does mean re-evaluating everything you may ever have done. People don't like change and you have to accept there will be a few people along the way who will entrench themselves in the old order. If you can't change the people, change the people.... One brief example: there was a vacancy for an accountant. One individual shone through on ability and personality. However, he was quite disabled. The line manager saw that as an issue, as much would have to be altered to give proper access and adapted workspace. So did I, as a problem for us, not the candidate for the job. Sometimes not only are you fighting against the old cultures of a company, you are fighting against individuals discrimination. He got the job by the way! The building should have been wheelchair accessible anyway, but someone slowed such works down. I wonder how many excellent people we missed out on employing over the years? Rant over. Malcolm
