Quality Service Marketing

Overt Guidance from Undercover Boss

Regardless of your opinion of Undercover Boss (mostly in the realm of hate it/love it, with little in-between), it’s generating fascinating discussion in the workplace. (For example, check out Paul Hebert’s review.)

That discussion is also resulting in important lessons learned for current and prospective managers. I want to highlight a few of them here.

From Sharon Lauby, aka HR Bartender:

• “Management by walking around [MBWA] still works.”
• “Speak up when something is wrong.”
• “Training is not optional.”

From Jane Vanderhorst’s The Inside Voice:

• “Start the conversation … Are you talking to your employees to understand what they love about their jobs, and what frustrates them?”
• “Make people part of the solution … How can you engage employees in solutions for challenges that touch them?”
• Announce the changes … After you get feedback from employees, are you communicating the results back to them?”

I also like Paul’s advice (at the end of his review) on how executives can benefit from the show - tell staff you’re going undercover and then monitor the downstream communication.

Your turn:

What's your takeaway from the show? Are people in your organization capitalizing on what they've learned from watching it?

 

Employees' Choice Awards for Best Places to Work

Hollywood isn’t the only place where they celebrate the People’s Choice Awards. The workplace also has its share of recognition.

Glassdoor recently released its 2010 Top 50 Best Places to Work list, along with the 25 lowest rated list of companies. What’s significant about these rankings are that they’re based on voluntary employee input. Although it may seem like a potential dumping site for disgruntled employees to vent their anger, Glassdoor provides guidelines to encourage balanced content so employees who just want to complain need to take a constructive approach in sharing their input.

What I like about Glassdoor’s site is that its information helps both employees and employers:

• Employees can share their feedback anonymously and get access to company reviews.
• Prospective employees (i.e., job candidates) can also share their interview experience with a company.
• Employers benefit with access to real-time feedback from current and prospective employees.

The workplace doesn’t need the red carpet as much as it needs a sound listening post. That’s something we can all celebrate.