Tip of the day #23 - Open Door Policies
Barbara Steckly
Closing That Open Door Policy From Time To Time
As the supervisor, you pride yourself on being, personable, accommodating, and accessible. But does your “open door” policy have you closing down the office in the late hours of the night?
“But I can’t get any work done during the day.”
Sound like a familiar lament? Naturally you want to seem approachable when your people have problems, available to answer those “oh so crucial” questions so they can move unerringly forward with their immediate work.
Managing Open Door Policies
But what about your operational obligations? Your managerial responsibilities shouldn’t overpower your personal as well your professional hours.
Certainly, you want to be supportive to your staff but, as the old saying goes, “You don’t have to set yourself on fire to keep others warm.” Implement a self-empowerment time span for everyone from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm each day. Once you have everyone initially oriented and gainfully employed for the morning, your door remains firmly closed until noon.
Fraternization would be frowned upon during this independent work time as well. The morning hours are purportedly the most productive time for most people so, by discouraging your employees from interrupting each other, you can increase productivity while hopefully reducing those typical “due to distraction” errors.
If they reach an impasse and can’t complete a particular file, they simply record the pertinent inquiries and continue on to the next. Not only will this facilitate three uninterrupted hours of concentration for you, but your team members will have no choice but to become more autonomous and self-sufficient in completing their own tasks.
A definite win-win solution!
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