Chloe's Chronicles Volume II, Number 8

Chloe’s Chronicles:Views from the Management Muse
 

Even the management muse has to be managed.

 

In spite of what I believe to be very clear guidelines and expectations for greeting guests Chloe is often much too enthusiastic in her welcoming rituals.  She wants to let our visitors know how happy she is to see them so she quickly sniffs their feet and then tries to jump up to plant a big sloppy kiss on their face.  At her size and strength, her enthusiasm can be overwhelming rather than welcoming.

 

While I am pleased that she wants all to feel welcome here, her unbridled joy is too much for most.  Good concept but the execution lacks an element of self-restraint.

 

The training challenge is to catch Chloe doing “nice greeting” and reward that behavior.  Rarely am I able to give the command and reward her compliance before her feet leave the floor and her focus shifts to the guest at the door.  Then I get anxious about her dirty paw prints on people and try to stop the misbehavior, which only escalates her excitement.

 

We have been working on this behavior for some time and if she were a human employee, I would be tempted to think she is just stubbornly refusing to comply for selfish reason.  I know better with Chloe, but I do hear that rationale applied to employee actions.  When the manager is looking for a particularly behavior they will sometimes say that the employee is capable of complying, if only they were not so stubborn or defensive or some other quality that separates their agenda from the best interests of the company.

 

Chloe undoubtedly believes she has a better way of greeting guests and is reluctant to give up her process for one I want to impose.  If we spoke the same language, we could discuss the issue and hopefully come to an agreement about what experience we want to create for our visitors. Absent the benefit of language, I am left to work on my timing and my response so that I more often catch her doing the right thing and reward that behavior. 

 

What could you work on to improve employee cooperation?

 

What can you learn from Chloe’s training challenge?  Get in on the discussion, click on Comments below and let Chloe know what you think of her lesson.