Lift the burden of rules

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Like busy Lilliputians, we've tied our large organizations to the ground with rules and policies that govern our behavior. When each rope was added it seemed necessary, but now these ties are making it impossible to move. Like Gulliver, we're tethered to the ground, unable to break free.

Over the years we've managed by exception...every time an employee stepped over the line, we instituted a new rule that everyone had to follow from then on. We thought that's what a good manager did--made rules and enforced them, until every possible exception was covered.

You know how it happens...an employee abuses the sick leave policy so another section is added to the manual ...and another...and another. Until the sick leave policy is so thick you need to add anther attorney to the legal department just to interpret it and an assistant supervisor just to check up on people to make sure they're telling the truth.

So here we are in the 90's screaming for quality improvement, flexibility and world class service, yet many companies haven't taken a look at the restrictive way their own employees are treated. Often, management preaches trust but they don't show it. They expect others to trust them, yet they aren't trustworthy. They preach "Be responsive and flexible with the outside customers," but they don't show their own employees the same respect.

Human Resource Departments can take a proactive role by going to work on the processes they've created...on these rule-bound policy manuals that add no value and bog down our would-be leaders with police duty and create resentment among our best employees.

"What?" some will gasp, "How will be keep control and order?"

I suggest emphasizing more leadership and less managing. A good leader doesn't make everyone live by a tight set of rules just to control the few employees who have no self-discipline. Good leaders expect that all employees have good intentions and will use their own good judgment. The employee who is the exception--who repeatedly demonstrates that they are unable or unwilling to live up to those expectations--is dealt with respectfully but swiftly.

Am I suggesting that we shouldn't have policies or rules in our organizations? Of course not. Any group of people needs and welcomes a certain number of rules that keep things fair. What I am suggesting is that we will never create the kind of empowered work environments we're striving for until we chop away at some of the rules that treat all employees like untrustworthy children who need to be watched and checked up on.

If you're a manager, chances are you know what I mean. Many managers in rule-bound organizations are little more than rule enforcers trying to interpret a policy manual. For example, I know a case where an employee's child died, but they could only take two days of funeral leave--because that's what the book said. Never mind the fact that this is an excellent employee who needed more time off to cope with this tragedy. Or another organization that had rules about the kinds of birthday treats and celebrations people were allowed. In another organization they weren't even allowed to pin up a single sheet of paper in their cubicle that wasn't approved by management because there had once been a rash of dirty jokes hung around the office.

Adults don't need a cop or a babysitter. What they need is a leader who creates an environment where the healthy, appropriate behavior is encouraged and the problems are dealt with.

Instead of an extra thick rule book, why not involve employees in defining expected behavior and boundaries that make sense and let them use their own good judgment. If someone does something inappropriate, it's the leader's responsibility to step in.

As an example, one very large company decided not to award a certain number of "sick days" each year because they felt employees would take them as an entitled benefit-whether they were sick or not. The old policy was being abused and required constant administration and paperwork.

Under the new, simplified system, if an employee was sick, they were paid. But they were also told that their presence was needed by their team and it was expected that they would maintain a good attendance record. When a problem started to develop with an employee, the managers would address it immediately to find out what the problem was. Average absenteeism dropped from 12 days to 4.5. One employee said, "They took away the 15 pages of rules that had become a joke to the employees who knew just how to play the game."

As companies re-engineer their work processes and improve their customer service procedures, they shouldn't miss the opportunity to streamline their human processes, too.

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