Why staff should decide how good they want to be!

Over the past 10 years I have worked with many companies through my "5 Star Standards" training package. It is always a fantastic outcome when the staff of the company says - 'you know what, we want to be better'.

It has always been apparent to me that the staff should decide what standard they want to strive for... rather than management telling them the level they must perform at. It is the huge difference between want and must. When someone chooses their own level then they are more likely to achieve it rather than resent those telling them.

I have also regularly found that when we start the workshops some of the core issues are addressed... and many of them are based around the fact that the expectations from management are simply impossible because of the way things were being done. For example, recently management of a delivery company told their drivers they must shake hands with the client - nice idea but WH&S insists on the driver wearing gloves so the time it takes to remove and replace them made this action difficult and caused greater issues and resentment.

The "5 Star Standards" programme overcomes all this because all parties decide on how good they want to be... not just be told. The drivers' resentment could have been overcome if management has taken them through the "Standards".

In many of the companies that have used the "5 Star Standards", when I return for a follow-up session they are still using the practice. It may have changed as they alter their standards but the policy remains the same and the staff are all a lot happier.

In an aside one day, the GM of a major company also made me aware of another reason why the staff should determine how good they want to be and their own standards. He said, "I saw something happen in the office that was not good but before I had to take action and step in, another staff member pulled the person aside and told them that their action was not their standard. This immediately changed the behaviour as it was peer to peer rather than me using my positional power".

So... do your staff want to decide how good they want to be... try the "5 Star Standards" programme!!