I have worked for a number of companies, and I'd like to assume I have a fairly good idea of those that were good, and those that were, well, not so good. One of the largest indicators to me on if a company was going to be a good workplace and environment is if they truly believe in inclusion, and allowing their employees to think for themselves. A lot of companies will talk about how they empower their workers, but little actually allow them to take part in a creative process to move the company forward.
The largest argument against having an open dialog with employees on how to improve or move forward has always been too many voices, and the effort it would take to work through the poor ideas to find the ideas that provide value. Currently I am part of a company which incorporated an "Ideas" webpage for their associates. Although this could be a great tool to find associate pain points, areas where the company can improve customer process, and an area where employees can pass along that golden nugget that leap frogs the company forward, all too often it is a wasteland of poor ideas and a soapbox for unsatisfied co-workers. The way around this is by adopting a real open communication forum from within the company, having direct access to company executives on a consistent basis, and associates that know beyond a shadow of a doubt that even when having hard conversations the words are coming from a place of trust and care which can hopefully move the company forward.
The worst companies I've been apart of have always been those companies which limit the employees ability to think freely, they micromanage their staff to a point where the staff can no longer think creatively, unless it is a thought on how to keep management off their back. It seems to me that creative thinking within an organization is directly tied to management styles, those managers which give their employees all the tools to succeed and lead them towards success hand-in-hand are also the same managers who have the most creative thought on their teams. Likewise, managers who bark the orders from the top and threaten discipline are often times the same managers that suppress their staff and often have employees with little desire to improve workplace process.
So which way is better? Well that certainly depends, right? When working in a warehouse, especially one that is already successful, how much more creative thought can go into improving the process? Sure there can be tweaks that promote better safety, tweaks to ensure quicker or more efficient pick rates, but for the most part that process has been defined. A carpenter rarely finds a new way to shingle a roof, and landscapers haven't incorporated new ways to mow lawns. Sure there are changes to equipment, which may or may not have been created by those in their respected fields, but the process typically is, the process.
All too often though, an organizations sales and marketing departments are handcuffed with the company process that they lose one of these departments greatest contribution, creativity. When a company sets the same management styles for their sales people as they have set for their warehouse employees they lose that person's ability to create, which often damages their ability to sell. I have seen this all too often where a company creates their "sales process" and doesn't allow for the staff to stray from that process. Whatever that process is, at one point it was a great value and produced for the organization, however customers change and their needs change and their buying indicators change. If you are not allowing for your sales staff to work around a process, whatever that is, you eventually set yourself up for dips or peaks and valleys in your business results.
In today's business environment companies spend more time and money than ever to hire and train staff. You hire those people because for one reason or another they stood out from the crowd and gave you reason to believe that they could be a difference maker for your team, department, and company. When you hire that person, make sure you continue to provide tools for them to continue to stand out from the crowd. You invested in that hiring, continue to invest in that employees growth.
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