Give employees a voice
Once employees understand what value is and what it means to customers, give them opportunities to create it. This can be as simple as allowing their ideas to come forward.
“First is to be sure that everyone can be heard,” Berthelsen says. “The best ideas will come from anywhere in the organization, so those ideas should have a forum where they can be raised and considered, regardless of the station or the rank of the person having the idea.”
Kelsey-Seybold has two annual retreats with the senior leadership and the board of managers, giving them off-site opportunities to share their ideas. Other employees get the chance to share during regional meetings at their locations. And of course, ideas don’t have to go straight to the top; anyone can bring something up through their department.
Even if employees have avenues for feedback, don’t necessarily leave the responsibility to them. Berthelsen actively solicits opinions before he makes decisions.
“If we plan to bring in a new service, for instance, inevitably that involves more than one department,” he says. “So the discussion should involve all the departments that potentially will be involved with the new service early on so that they’ve contributed their best ideas and they have a sense of participation and ownership in the success of a new service.”
Some people will always speak freely. The ones who don’t will require extra solicitation effort.
“You can tell those that are engaged in solving the problem because they’re usually vocal about their ideas or their critique of other ideas,” Berthelsen says. “It’s the person who’s quiet in the room that is of most concern because that person may be thinking that they have an idea that wouldn’t be constructively received or that they’re not concerned about the success of the organization.
“As managers and leaders, if we see someone who is not participating, that’s the time to open up the opportunity for private communication. Ask them what they think about the problem that we’re trying to solve in a private setting and let them express their opinion privately.”
