Department Policy?
I was talking with a coaching client recently about their department policy. He was following the policy, only to be told by his boss the President that “Our department policies are guidelines only. It is ok to deviate from the written policy.”
Think of the confusion this would cause! A policy such as “Travel expenses over $75 must be accompanied by receipts”. If this policy is only a guideline, then who determines how much you can expense without a receipt? And does it apply to everyone?
How about performance appraisals … let’s say department policy is to review performance appraisals quarterly. Your performance appraisal is an integral part of your raise and promotion. If you don’t meet your performance appraisal targets, do you get zinged on your raise? Or is that one of the department policies that is used as a guideline? If you miss your targets by, say, 10%, and someone else misses their targets by 15%. Are they treated the same when raise-time comes along? If that’s the case, why even set policies?
Are you consistent with your communications?
Tags: department policy, emotional intelligence techniques, leadership, performance appraisal, policy
Reminds me of a conversation that took place in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Upon concluding what she thought was a clear negotiation with pirate Captain Barbossa and finding she had been betrayed, the following conversation ensues between Elizabeth Swann and Captain Barbossa.
Elizabeth: Wait! You have to take me to shore. According to the Code of the Order of the Brethren…
Captain Barbossa: First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement so I must do nothing. And secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate’s code to apply and you’re not. And thirdly, the code is more what you’d call “guidelines” than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl.
I think this type of piratical behavior may be more common in today’s organizations than we would like to believe. Organizational rules and policies, like laws in our society, must be applied equally and fairly to all. Failure to do so will undermine morale and teamwork, and destroy employee and customer confidence.
Comment by ronncobb — June 16, 2008 @ 11:33 pm