In our last blog post, we discussed why it’s important to ban fake news if you want to foster organizational growth. The thing is, a hard-working manager may choose to disregard hard-and-fast data so they won’t have to admit to not meeting their targets — pride tends to get in the way of success, and that’s understandable. But from an organizational perspective, it’s paramount that you turn a situation like this around. It will be very, very beneficial in terms of growth. We’ll explain why using a real-life example: our client RRS.
Why bicker over facts?
RRS has 10 offices, each of which has a branch manager. Every office has 10 to 15 telephone operators.
When the company opted for communication boards, employees got real-time information about KPIs — which aren’t always ‘green.’ As Michel Schippers, managing director at RRS, puts it, “Any weaknesses in processes will become visible in the respective offices. At first, branch managers found that difficult and questioned the information. Now, we agree that the data displayed is an accurate representation of reality. One thing that’s become clear is that the phone isn’t always answered as quickly as possible. Another is that employees keep their status set to ‘unavailable’ for longer than they should. We have a better overview now: for example, some offices required extra employees, because they turned out to be too busy. We’ve noticed that less traffic is forwarded to the overflow now. The most important thing we’ve gained is that the entire team gets clear information about our performance. Employees have gotten used to it, and we will soon evaluate our use of the screens with them.”
Empowering branch managers with real-time information and actionable insights
Now, this wasn’t about telling branch managers they were wrong. It was about helping them solve problems as they occurred rather than after the fact. And you know what? Real-time data have empowered them with actionable knowledge and insights. Now, they can coordinate schedules and availability. They’re able to make better decisions, saving costs and improving customer and employee satisfaction. Most importantly, they’re motivated to contribute to organizational growth. And that’s why the (visualized) truth should always prevail over self-created narratives in your organization!
Want to learn more about the way in which RRS has changed its culture to foster growth? Read the entire customer case here.
If you’d like to explore your Visual Management opportunities, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be happy to perform a Quick Scan and discuss your information sharing strategy.