In 2012, one
of the nurses in New Brunswick came to me and said she was taking a job with
one of our competitors because she heard we were going to charge the staff for parking.
I was upset
for two reasons. First, because this meant we were losing a great nurse; second,
because she had made her decision based upon a rumor that wasn’t true.
When I
asked her why she didn’t come to me to ask about the parking rumor, she told me
she didn’t feel like she had a vehicle to ask.
Thus began
the Question & Answer feature on our Intranet.
You know
the expression; the road to hell is paved with good intentions? The meaning
behind the expression is that sometimes good intentions may have unforeseen
negative consequences.
Let me
explain.
The good
intention was to allow the staff to submit questions anonymously – a rumor they
heard, a change that may have left someone upset, or even a question they felt
silly asking.
But over
the years, the questions have gone from curious to hostile in some cases. The
Q&A feature has turned from a place for clarification to a place for
venting. Let’s be real here, some of the questions submitted would never be
asked in the same tone if a name was required to post. Right?
Over the last
few years the Question & Answer platform has begun to undermine
communication at the local level between the employee and the manager.
In
addition, this communication tool enables staff to not live up to of our Service
Excellence Standard to “resolve concerns respectfully and directly with the
person involved.”
The Question & Answer channel
remains an important tool for people to ask questions they want answers to, and
for other staff to peak on and become informed.
Effective Today, July 6, your name will now be printed with
the question you submit.
When I announced this change at a
recent Leadership Learning Retreat, people applauded. When I asked later for
why the strong reaction – the answer was that it undermines everything we are
trying to do in reference to people owning their concerns and dealing directly
when there are issues.
So here is the reminder – you are
always welcome to e-mail me directly. I will have to engage others to answer
the questions at times because I can’t know everything, but I will work to
ensure that rumors continue to be answered and people have a forum to ask their
questions.
Thank you
for allowing the process to continually evolve and for us all to grow and
improve.
5 comments:
Thank you, Amy! I think it is always most important to speak with your direct supervisor with concerns or suggestions as well, or the person whom may be directly involved. As an organization, it is amazing that we have a culture like we do. I hear it over and over again that people stay here because of the culture and our good intentions. Thank you for being transparent and for fostering the culture and truly living our values and standards!
Hooray.
YES!!!!! I am sure it was started with good intentions... Unfortunately there are people who used it so inappropriately.
Transparency is so important to building trusting relationships. This change also shows that it is OK to try something new, and if it doesn't work the way we thought it would, we have the power to change it.
It always amazes me as to what people will say while hiding behind their keyboard!
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