Bridging The Gap Between The Corporate Office and The Field
Importance of Communication
One of the harder things to do as a company grows is to maintain those key relationships between the corporate office and the field. As the company grows larger and larger, it becomes more challenging to keep those vital relationships and communication flows open. Communication is the key to a successful business.
Let’s focus on communication. When the top of the business opens their doors, the field personnel (the ones actually doing the work) know they can approach upper management with their concerns. This opens the door to so much more.
Encouraging New Ideas
Before long, employees will come to you with new ideas to help make the business more successful. The people on the ground are the ones who see the shortfalls of production, where the most unsafe behaviors happen, and why those behaviors occur. They are also the ones looking for processes and procedures they can implement to save time and energy.
Building Relationships
Take a few moments and head out of the office and into the field or production floor to see what your people are going through. Take a few moments weekly and have a genuine conversation with them. You’ll be surprised at how far this small action will get you.
In the corporate setting, we don’t always realize that when we introduce a new company rule or best practice, we are imposing it on the people at ground level. They often don’t have a say in the new guidelines. Before you publish something new and write it into “company law,” take a few moments to open that line of communication, back up with the field, and ask for their thoughts.
Inclusive Decision-Making
If you haven’t implemented the step before this, then you most likely see them agree to the new procedure, but their agreement is reluctant. By making yourself open to their ideas, they will be more willing to share them with you. Your processes will be even better than before because now you have the whole company working together to improve them instead of a small team.
Remembering the Little Things
As I have been working with many companies over my career, there is one thing that seems to get lost or forgotten about. Remember the small things. Take time to note when their birthdays are, and if you have established a close enough relationship with them, note their work and marriage anniversaries. You don’t need to remind them of how old they are—just a simple gesture of acknowledging those dates and maybe a small gift. Corporate swag is always good for birthdays, and a gift certificate for dinner is great for anniversaries. It shows that you care about them and their family.
Attitudes and Actions
Think about when you were just starting out and working on the ground floor. What did you think about the upper management? Did they seem better than everyone else, or were they friendly and open? Coach your corporate team to understand that the only reason they still have a job is because of the people who aren’t afraid to get dirty and get the job done. Often, I have been invited into a company to help improve their relationship with the field, and I immediately noticed that many corporate employees “know” they are better than the people in the field. With an attitude like that, they aren’t opening the door; they have it closed and all the office furniture piled up against it. Everyone has to be on a level playing field.
Key Actions to Bridge the Gap
If you’re in a leadership position for any organization, try these key items to help bridge the gap:
- As a corporate employee, make yourself available in the field.
- Open lines of communication with every level of the company and make everyone feel as though they have a say in decisions that affect them directly.
- Listen when employees talk. Take to heart what they are truly saying.
- Don’t make company policies until you have had a communication session with the company.
- Don’t forget the small things. Remember birthdays and special events in your employees’ lives.
- Corporate attitudes can make or break a relationship at any time. If your team has a negative attitude, then so will the other teams.
Every problem or issue is an opportunity dressed in ugly clothing. Bridging the gap between the corporate office and the field isn’t really all that hard, but it will take time and a lot of effort on the part of the corporate employees.
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