Profits jump as employees feel more personally responsible.
Many years ago, the legendary Marshall Field developed one of Chicago’s outstanding department stores. Much of his success has been attributed to the time he spent on the sales floor, among his employees and customers. Each day he would wander among the displays, observing and analyzing all that went on around him.
He once overheard a conversation between two young girls who were trailing along behind their mothers on a shopping trip. One of the girls was bragging to the other about how this was her “daddy’s store” and that was her “daddy’s department,” how smart “her daddy was,” and “what a beautiful store he had!” She would have continued if her mother had not cut her off abruptly upon recognizing Mr. Field, who stood listening nearby, fascinated by the child’s banter.
The mother assumed Mr. Field would disapprove, so she apologized to him and began scolding her daughter. Immediately Mr. Field interrupted.
“The little girl is right,” he said. “I want her father to feel that it is his store and his department. If every employee felt that way, I wouldn’t have to be concerned about the success of this business.”
Mr. Field understood that employees who feel personally responsible for their work will perform much better than those who don’t feel responsible at all.
This attitude rewarded him well, just as it has other leaders who have adopted it in their organizations. For example, one office of a regional telephone company gave its phone installers, rather than supervisors, the responsibility of routing their own installations.
Installations increased by 26 percent. A well-known air freight company gave all its employees the responsibility of evaluating their own job performances against established goals.
When performances increased, employees were given praise and recognition, and company profits jumped substantially that year.How much would your profits increase, and how strong would the esprit de corps be in your organization if you allowed your people to feel more personally responsible for their work?
Joel Weldon
Inspirational Content Writer and Speaker
Here’s What You Can Do:
Within your organization, identify jobs where, traditionally, attitudes are poor and performance levels are low due to a lack of responsibility granted to employees.
Make a list of all the ways you can think of to increase employee responsibility Ask yourself these questions: How can I remove controls and restrictions from this job and yet retain accountability? What complete, natural unit of work could the person in this job be responsible for from start to finish? How could I grant additional authority to the person in this job? What specialized tasks can I assign to the person in this job, allowing him to become an expert? And when performance does increase, how can I provide recognition and reward?
-Joel Weldon
