Leadership Code

Problem #3: Transition Problems

The cornerstone of an open door policy is unstructured time. Employees can talk to you about what they want to talk about. You really never know from one conversation to the next what the employee will bring up. Unlike 1:1 time which usually has an agenda, open door time does not. This unstructured quality makes it more difficult for the manager to manage the conversation and really challenges listening skills. Transitioning from focusing on a specific task to a more open listening stance is difficult at best. We train managers to be problem solvers and the open door policy works across the grain. Managers have a difficult time making the transition, instead bringing their problem solving focus to the open door conversation. Employees generally want the manager to listen, not problem solve and assign action items.

Problem #4: Unproductive Time

Managers that I talk to find the majority of open door time unproductive. While important issues do bubble to the surface, many employees use the time to vent, complain, or even gossip. Very little constructive and useful information is communicated and the open door policy can easily legitimize ineffective behavior. The situation puts the manager in a type of double bind. If you listen to negative behavior you reinforce or sanction it. If you challenge the behavior, employees see it as a violation of the policy.

Recommendations

One recommendation is to eliminate your open door policy and set aside a specific time each week where employees can bring in their issues. Just like a doctor or teacher who has weekly office hours you can set aside a time where you will be accessible outside of the normal communication channels. Generally, an hour a week is time enough to allow employees to raise their issues. You can always adjust the amount of time you allocate depending on your employees’ needs. This approach allows you to structure and control your engagement with employees so that you can consistently pull it off. Set some ground rules and expectations, and clearly communicate them to employees. Again, the key is to schedule it consistently and hold to the practice.

Another recommendation is to hold ongoing and revolving open forum meetings with small groups of employees to solicit their feedback on topics they want to discuss. This practice will demonstrate your accessibility and give you better control of your time.

Either one of these two recommendations is consistent with the fast pace of work and will help you to build and maintain credibility with employees.