Is Your Open Door Policy Broken?
by Denise O'Berry
Have you wondered lately why no one has popped into your office? After all, you told everyone you had an open door policy. Don’t they get what that means?
Well, yes, they probably do. But they’re more than likely spending time whispering and snickering behind your back if your open door policy amounts to you telling them it exists.
More than once over the years, I’ve worked with a leader that thinks all he has to do to have team members willing to walk into his office and chat is to tell them his door is open. And that is so wrong.
Here’s the bottom line. If you have to tell your team you have an open door policy, you probably don’t. You see, it’s all about what you do, not what you say that makes your policy a reality. So here are two things you need to do right now to turn that around.
1. Get out of your office
Hey, you’re the “big” boss. People aren’t just going to come strolling in unless you have built a foundation of trust. Remember the phrase “management by walking around” that was coined many years ago? That’s what you need to do. Meet your team in their space. Be interested and concerned for their well being. Act sincere.
2. Make your office a welcome place
Okay, sometimes you have to be in your office. Since that’s the case, you want to make it a place where your team members feel welcome. The first thing you need to do is position your desk so that you face the door. No one will walk in if all they can see is your back. And make a space in your office where you can get out from behind your desk and talk to people. A small area with a table or sofa is perfect for this.
What about you? What screams open door policy to you? Please share in the comments.
Tagged as:
open door,
walk around
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I used my companies “open door policy”.
This was regarding a technical issue that needed to be resolved ASAP, I had attempted to contact the department the issue was arrising from directly and they would not even speak with me. So, I sent an email to higher executive. The issue was resolved and was a much bigger issue than even I had speculated.
After the issue was resolved I was asked to meet with my manager for perfomance review. Which we have weekly. In reality I was blind sided into a meeting with the head of customer service, the head of human resources and my immdiate manager where I was thanked for about a minute and a half for bringing the issue to light and then I was reprimanded for 20 minutes for taking the issue to the person I did.
I will never trust anyone within my company again.
Hi Diana — Whoa! What a bummer for you. There were a lot of things handled poorly in this situation. I wouldn’t trust anyone either — and you can bet I’d be looking for another job.