Many companies have mission statements or directives that talk about how valuable their employees are. When going through organizational charts companies often put staff above or at the same level as customers. Is this really true? Is this lip service? Or do they truly believe what they are say? Here in Kansas City days like today put that montra to the the test for employers!
If you have paid attention the weather channel (or for some of you just looked outside) we are having a winter weather fiasco! In other places of the world this type of snow fall would not effect business like it does here in Kansas City; however, we lack the man power and snow removal materials to make this day "normal". Most major roads, as well as almost all of the side streets are under 6-12 inches of snow with a thin layer of ice underneath. There are power outages throughout the area because of tree branches and power lines falling down.
On February 26, 2013 Kansas City got hit by the second winter storm.
With the weather the way it was, there are very few drivers on the road today. It could even be argued that those out on the road are reckless and risking their lives. Many of these people end up in a ditch, needing a tow, or even worse.
I own and manage a service company that employs over 50 people. A little over half of our entire staff are field personnel in company vehicles, the remaining employee's are office staff. Just a few years ago our staff was tied to our building to do any business but some time ago (a couple years now) we made a conscious effort to make our staff more mobile. This was a needed step because we planned on purchasing a company in a city some 300 miles away. We put together a number of steps (that I will outline in a future story) to make this goal a reality. Today when the weather puts our people at risk or a personal situation arises we encourage our office staff to work from home. Our field staff take a day off unless there is an emergency.
I want to be clear, I understand that nothing up to this point would differentiate my company from any other; however, my company however walks the walk when we talk about truly caring about our employees.
A friend of mine has a company that took the same steps to have the ability to work remotely and be just as effective as my staff.
The owner of the company that my friend works for left home today an hour early and traveled to the office. He then sent out an email from the office letting everyone know that he beat the storm and the streets were not nearly as bad as they look. I would like to point out here I don't want to over look the responsibility we have to our employees to keeping ourselves safe. I am not saying the manger was incorrect in his actions, but if he had gotten stranded what effect would that have on his company?
The email swiftly prompted all the employees to get out onto the dangerous roads to ensure they were not considered lazy. The owner sent out an email later in the day stating that the office was going to be closed and everyone should stay at home. This email was after four stalled vehicles, two accidents, and an employee being injured.
The take away from the story is obvious: Do you really care about your staff or is it false advertising? If you care then the bottom line doesn't effect your decisions when it comes to safety. If you care about your people you will have them utilize tools given to them to keep them off the streets (when necessary). If you don't care or don't want to use remote offices then why invest in them?
In my case I truly believe our people are the most important asset the company has. I would not want my customers to put themselves at risk on a day like today and I will not only encourage my staff, but direct them to stay home and work there.
If you have paid attention the weather channel (or for some of you just looked outside) we are having a winter weather fiasco! In other places of the world this type of snow fall would not effect business like it does here in Kansas City; however, we lack the man power and snow removal materials to make this day "normal". Most major roads, as well as almost all of the side streets are under 6-12 inches of snow with a thin layer of ice underneath. There are power outages throughout the area because of tree branches and power lines falling down.
On February 26, 2013 Kansas City got hit by the second winter storm.
With the weather the way it was, there are very few drivers on the road today. It could even be argued that those out on the road are reckless and risking their lives. Many of these people end up in a ditch, needing a tow, or even worse.
I own and manage a service company that employs over 50 people. A little over half of our entire staff are field personnel in company vehicles, the remaining employee's are office staff. Just a few years ago our staff was tied to our building to do any business but some time ago (a couple years now) we made a conscious effort to make our staff more mobile. This was a needed step because we planned on purchasing a company in a city some 300 miles away. We put together a number of steps (that I will outline in a future story) to make this goal a reality. Today when the weather puts our people at risk or a personal situation arises we encourage our office staff to work from home. Our field staff take a day off unless there is an emergency.
I want to be clear, I understand that nothing up to this point would differentiate my company from any other; however, my company however walks the walk when we talk about truly caring about our employees.
A friend of mine has a company that took the same steps to have the ability to work remotely and be just as effective as my staff.
The owner of the company that my friend works for left home today an hour early and traveled to the office. He then sent out an email from the office letting everyone know that he beat the storm and the streets were not nearly as bad as they look. I would like to point out here I don't want to over look the responsibility we have to our employees to keeping ourselves safe. I am not saying the manger was incorrect in his actions, but if he had gotten stranded what effect would that have on his company?
The email swiftly prompted all the employees to get out onto the dangerous roads to ensure they were not considered lazy. The owner sent out an email later in the day stating that the office was going to be closed and everyone should stay at home. This email was after four stalled vehicles, two accidents, and an employee being injured.
The take away from the story is obvious: Do you really care about your staff or is it false advertising? If you care then the bottom line doesn't effect your decisions when it comes to safety. If you care about your people you will have them utilize tools given to them to keep them off the streets (when necessary). If you don't care or don't want to use remote offices then why invest in them?
In my case I truly believe our people are the most important asset the company has. I would not want my customers to put themselves at risk on a day like today and I will not only encourage my staff, but direct them to stay home and work there.
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