‘Open door’ not welcome

Many businesses talk about having an “open door policy,” but, in reality, how open is the door?

Do you have an open door policy at your workplace? What does this really mean? How do you know if you really have an open door policy? What does a truly open door policy look like?

An open door policy means, literally, that every manager’s door is open to every employee. The purpose of an open door policy is to encourage open communication, feedback, and discussion about any matter of importance to an employee. When a company has an open door policy, employees are free to talk with any manager at any time.

Companies adopt open door policies to develop employee trust and to make certain that important information and feedback reach managers who can utilise the information to make changes in the workplace. An open door policy is normally a part of the employee handbook.

This sounds like a place where most of us would like to work, doesn’t it? But how do we get there? Here are some suggestions that may help you achieve an open door policy and allow you to improve your workplace.

First, it is critical that management knows and understands the concerns of its employees. Management must listen to employees and put itself in the employees’ position if it wants to create a culture of trust and understanding within the organisation.

If you are serious about getting valuable input from your people, you must make it easy for them to provide it to you.

This might involve a method for them to offer anonymous feedback through a process that allows them to be honest and open without fear of reprisal. This is important because management can’t deal with the issues if it doesn’t know the issues about which staff are concerned. There are some other methods one could use to get this information. You could ask people to complete an anonymous written survey or use a suggestion box. You could find a trusted person to act as a clearinghouse for information. People could send email messages to this intermediary who could then provide the information to management.

Whatever methods you choose to use should be communicated to everyone. To encourage ownership of the process, ask for employee input in the development of a communications process. Put the policy in writing. Management and employees should discuss the policy to gain as much understanding from one another as possible.

By helping to solve problems, managers benefit by gaining valuable insight into possible problems with existing methods, procedures, and approaches. While there may not be an easy answer or solution to every concern, your company’s employees have the opportunity at all times, through the open door policy, to be heard.

Once you have the policy developed, don’t stick it in the employees’ handbook and forget about it; instead, publish it over and over. Use as many methods as possible to get the word out and keep it before employees. If you have a newsletter, print the policy there. If you have a bulletin board, post the policy there. If you have meetings, talk about the policy in the meetings. If you have “breakfast with the boss” meetings, talk about it there! An open door policy guarantees that employees can go above their boss to seek assistance from the boss’ supervisor. An open door policy provides employee access to any manager or supervisor including the CEO. I highly recommend that all organisations adopt and promote an open door policy that creates no repercussions for employees.

The effective open door policy is a win for all participants.