9/13Written by Linda LaPointe
On Thursday, September 13, 2001, I went to facilitate a session with first line supervisors in a company for whom I had been consulting. It was 6th week of a commitment of 10 weekly sessions. Most of these supervisors had been promoted from a line position because they were good at their work, mature and smart. I was brought in to teach them better supervisory skills. Management expected them to produce more acceptable results. An earlier survey proved that business objectives and quotas weren't being met, and tardiness and absenteeism were unacceptably high. The company's managers saw this as a crisis and surmised that first line supervisors weren't skilled enough to promote company's mission, manage workers or their work effectively. The events of two days prior, Tuesday we will all remember as 9/11, could not be ignored, so my first question to them was, "How is everyone?" Everyone was all right and in attendance. My second question was, "How did Tuesday go here at work?" I learned that at highest level of management, corporate office in another state, priority was caring for staff. They were allowed to take care of themselves and their family's needs first. The company’s long distance phone lines were open to anyone to call anywhere in world to check on their loved ones. Televisions and radios were brought into central common areas and were left on all day. Staff freely came and went between their workspace, TV areas, phones or rest area, at their will. The staff went into great detail about their families and where they were and what was happening with each of them. They told me how much they appreciated freedom that management gave them to cope. I then asked, “With all that autonomy, how much work was done?” They looked at each other, and nodding in agreement, said, “Quotas were met or exceeded.” The supportive reaction of management was out of ordinary, actually, extraordinary. Staff in this company were always accountable to be in their seats at certain times, they followed rigid rules: no personal phone usage; personal belongings were not allowed in their work areas and on their desks; no calendars with pictures or graphics of any kind, no personal photos; and break and meal times were inflexible. All activities during work hours were normally dictated. There was very little staff self-management occurring in this company.
| | Head Concierge: Personal and Corporate Concierge Service, Assistant and Lifestyle Management Team.Written by Fraser Russell
Press ReleaseIMMEDIATE RELEASE Head Concierge Ltd, Unit F76, Du Cane Court, London SW17 7JW, Tel 020 8675 6293, Fax 0870 1331573 Email Info@headconcierge.com Web site www.headconcierge.com Chance to have a Human Personal Organiser One of benefits of staying in a first class hotel is its concierge service, but it is possible to enjoy these advantages from your own home. Such a company has recently opened in London serving clients’ needs throughout world. Head Concierge Ltd can manage all aspects of your life from arranging a special evening to organising carrying out of any menial task. Managing Director Fraser Russell, 34, has worked in five star hotels in England and on continent and although his company is based in London its database is international. The purpose of a personal concierge company is to make clients’ lives easier and more enjoyable. Work that company has recently successfully completed includes sourcing and arranging a qualified nanny for same day cover and collecting and delivering a car to a client’s home following clamping. After receiving a request, at 9.30am on a Sunday during August’s heat wave, a desk top fan was located, purchased and despatched by courier to south coast – by 4.30pm.
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