| At one point in my career, I managed people in 10 different offices around the country. I realized that if I wanted to help these employees feel connected to what we were doing in our headquarters office, I needed to make myself more visible and visit each office on a regular basis. This gave me an opportunity to learn first-hand what people were working on, and also it provided me with an opportunity to share my priorities and influence what was going on in other parts of the company.So, every quarter I made a point to visit three or four of our regional offices. I’d spend an entire day in each regional office, and I would essentially conduct an account review. Everyone in the office was invited to attend this all-day meeting where we reviewed our relationships with all of our clients. It gave everyone in the office a chance to talk a little bit about what they were working on, and it gave me an opportunity to ask questions and to share my observations.
While I was visiting each regional office, I always spent the first half hour or so rounding. I’d walk around the office, say hello to people and introduce myself if there was a new employee.
Before I visited the San Francisco office one year, I had just approved a new position. One of my directors had asked if she could hire another staff person, and I asked her to present me with a business case. So, she put together a written case and I reviewed it. I told her to go ahead and hire another person, and she did.
I happened to be visiting the San Francisco office about two or three weeks after the new employee came on board, and while I was rounding I had a chance to meet her.
“Welcome!” I said as I walked into her office. “It’s nice to have you on board.”
“Thank you!” she responded with a smile.
“So,” I asked, “what are you working on?”
She looked at me and answered, “Well, actually not much of anything.”
Obviously, I was a little taken aback. “My boss and I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and go over what she wants me to work on,” she explained.
Of course, the next stop I made was my director’s office. “I just met your new employee, and she’s really sharp,” I said. “And I happened to ask her about what she’s working on and she said not much of anything. You know, I read your business case for adding a new position and I agreed with you and approved the new hire-and it seems like she’s just been sitting around for the last two to three weeks.”
The director explained that she’d been so busy she hadn’t had time to sit down with the new employee, and we had a long discussion about it. But the point is that I never would have learned about this if I hadn’t been rounding.
There are certain things you can never learn unless you’re just out and about and informally engaging in these conversations. What I discovered during my rounds that day allowed me to help my staff focus and get their priorities straight. It gave me a chance to explain that we’ve got to make the time to orient and train our people. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of bringing them on board.
This is exactly why it’s so important to get out and round. |
