Where open-door policies fail.

• Author: Falconi, Robert R.
• Position: Organizational communication

"If anyone in the company is free to call you, then you'll get more truth...." This is a

direct quote from a CEO who maintains a phone extension for employees only - and he doesn't screen the calls. So if someone wants to talk directly to the chief executive, without going through the chain of command, he can.

It's part of an open-door policy, a popular management practice today. I suspect almost every organization that has a policies and procedures manual has such a policy. After all, you can't very well have a closed-door policy. "At XYZ Corp., management subscribes to the notion that silence is golden. Employees are encouraged to keep their ideas to themselves. The next time you feel the need to give management your two cents, consider this: If you're so smart, why aren't you in charge?"

Given that we exist in the age of employee empowerment, how can anybody criticize an open-door policy? Actually, I can't criticize the idea of encouraging employees to go to their supervisors with their questions, suggestions and concerns. But I do criticize the idea of encouraging employees to circumvent the chain of command and talk to the CEO or some other member of top management.

Why do companies implement open-door policies? Purportedly, top management will learn what is "really" going on with the company, and employees will feel good knowing the firm cares about their opinions. It reminds me of a presidential candidate moving among the public to find out what is going on in America. After listening to Joe Everyman complain about taxes and potholes, the candidate nods his head vigorously as if he understands perfectly. When he's back on the plane, he asks his staff members if they ever heard such dumb questions. "The education crisis is worse than I thought."

THREE PROBLEMS

I've worked very closely with several CEOs who go out among the masses and say things like, "I'm very interested in what you have to say. I certainly don't have all the answers." Then they chuckle to themselves in a self-effacing way. But the cold, hard reality is many business leaders aren't that interested in their employees' thoughts.

The absolute best example of this is the CEO of a relative's company after it was acquired. The chief executive was gung ho on open-door management. He set up all kinds of programs to reach out to the staff and solicit its input on everything. My personal favorite was "Doughnuts with Dave," a weekly staff meeting open to anyone in the company...