Listen to Your People and Save Your Business

This morning, to get a little light relief from ironing out the finer details of wedding planning, I decided to watch one of my favourite work-related shows, Undercover Boss. 

I've watched this show many times and each time I am amazed at how surprised the big boss is by their findings. So much so that it reminds me of why I started out in business on my own in the first place; my goal has always been and always will be:

'Give everyone in your organisation a voice. Only then will you get the best from your people.'

This week the focus of the show was Tower Hamlets Council and it saw the Chief Executive (CE) going undercover to work as one of the frontline workers. As the CE quoted: 

"Working undercover on the frontline you see it as it is rather than how they want you to see it. People put on a show when they know you are a more senior person."

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Council workers perform many essential services for the residents in a borough; from pest control and waste management to child protection services, from libraries and doctors surgeries to meals on wheels. However, many of these services have suffered in recent years due to budget cuts and massive strains on resources. 

Budget cuts are no new thing to local councils in the UK, and they are always fraught with dispute and despair whenever they arise. Unfortunately, they are often necessary; the real problems arise when the wrong cuts are made. 

One of the stops for the CE this week was accompanying a female care worker who'd been delivering meals on wheels to elderly patients for 33 years. She was an inspiration, showing the utmost care, respect and genuine concern for each and every patient she visited. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, the time she spent with her elderly clients was cut dramatically to meet demand for services. 

The CE recognised that the situation visibly pained the long-standing worker, and he noted that she did her best to arrange her deliveries to spend the longest time possible with the people who needed her most. His revelation was: 

“’Meals on Wheels’ is more than just delivering a meal and walking away.” 

To address the issue, the CE asked the care worker to join a new committee he had designed to ensure the care of clients was of top priority. He told the care worker that her insight was vital to making the project a success. 

We always need budget cuts; change occurs in organisations and money is frequently required elsewhere to meet the current internal or external needs of the company - it's a fact of life. However, by making blind choices about changes required in organisations without speaking to the frontline workers first, senior leaders are bound to make incorrect decisions. 

The most important thing to recognise in any organisation is the need to understand the consequences of our actions. Yes, we are running businesses, but in many cases, we are also providing services to those who need it most. 

There are too many companies that operate without talking to the people on the shop floor. In some ways, this is helpful because it takes the emotion out of business and allows us to make strong financial decisions, but is that what business should really be about? Are we saying, as a race, we value financial gain more than the needs of our own? 

Business is more than making money; business is about people. 

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