Changing Channels

People initiatives won't work if managers at every level don't buy in.

By Mary Boltz Chapman, Editor-in-Chief -- Chain Leader, 4/15/2004

I once attended a company meeting at a regional office where the CEO was hosting a “town hall.” Employees asked him questions, and he gave candid, sometimes difficult, answers. On the way out, I overheard an employee ironically ask, “How do I get a job at his company?” The employee believed in what the CEO was saying but was frustrated with the many layers of management between herself and the CEO, some of whom didn’t buy into it.

In a survey fielded in December, Chain Leader asked unit-level managers in service industries about turnover. The majority does not think they have a big problem with turnover in their operations: 71 percent of managers in restaurants, 63 percent in hotels and 73 percent in retail. Fully 88 percent of restaurant managers say turnover is “just a part of being in the industry.” Eighty percent of hotel managers and 79 percent of retail managers say the same. These numbers indicate either the complacency of unit-level managers or the lack of good information.

If we surveyed corporate executives, I guarantee that few of them would agree with the statement, “I do not think turnover is a problem at my location.”

Stuck in the Middle
A similar theme emerged at COEX in February. In the MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance’s “Leveraging Your Workforce” session and The Elliot Leadership Institute’s “Cultivating the Next Generation of Leaders” session, presenters depicted the flow of information, culture and training as a hamburger. The top of the bun, the executives, have a vision of how the company should be. The bottom of the bun, the unit-level staff, want the same thing. The trouble comes in the middle. It takes only one manager in the chain of command who disagrees with corporate, is apathetic or just doesn’t like change to alter the message enough to cause considerable damage.

This special issue presents many companies that “get it.” They know human-resources initiatives make their way to the bottom line. There are more good examples than we have room to write about, and even more companies that are working hard to reap the same benefits. The challenge that many have, however, is ensuring those initiatives reach the bottom rungs on the ladder.

Open the Lines of Communication
The example above is a good start. Give your employees access to senior management. Let them get the story straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Visit the stores often, and send other leaders as well. More importantly, give them a mechanism to improve the system, whether that means suggesting a way a job might be done more efficiently or reporting a manager who works counter to the company’s vision.

Cull out those toxic managers who nod as if they agree with the company’s mission and then do whatever they want. At COEX, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide President and CEO Richard Snead called them terrorists—a description that I don’t think is too strong—and challenged operators to make the hard decision to cut them loose.

Base bonus incentives for managers at every level on how well they communicate corporate goals and how satisfied their direct reports are—and whether the reports are achieving their objectives.

Our “Best Places To Work” issue is meant to offer ideas and solutions to finding, training and retaining the best workers. But even the most brilliant idea won’t be effective if you don’t have the support of management throughout the entire company.

More Best Places To Work Coverage