Undercover Boss

Submitted By: Ryan Scholz
A few weeks ago I watched the new TV program Undercover Boss. I am not much of a fan of reality programs, but the concept intrigued me and since I am in the organizational development business it seemed like good research. The premise of the show is that CEO’s from large companies go undercover in their own companies to find out what is really going on. They actually spend time working in jobs at the lowest level of their organizations.

I recently read that CEO’s of large companies know about 3% of what is really going on in their companies and directors know about 10%. I realize that most of the executives who receive this newsletter are too well known in their organizations to be able to truly go undercover. But the question is, “How much do you really know about what goes on in your company?”. Most senior leaders only get filtered information up the chain of command. They tend to get the information that those below them in the organization think they should get.

In my corporate career, I regularly moved into new management assignments. One thing that I always did was spend some time with people at the lowest levels of my organization when I first took the assignment to get a better feel for what they did. In one instance, one of the areas that was under my direction was the plant laboratory. I asked the manager and supervisor to set me up to spend a full day following the lab technicians around to see what their day was like. I even had them train me how to a couple of the analysis that they routinely did. At the end of this particular day, one of the tasks of the technicians was to clean and buff the floor. Most of the technicians were female and they let me know that this was something they didn’t like to do. I had never operated a commercial buffer before, but that didn’t stop me from volunteering to buff the floor for them. Well as soon as I turned on the buffer it managed to drag me across the room. Fortunately, someone grabbed it before I hurt myself or did some damage.

This experience gave me an appreciation of the problem. The ladies had a legitimate point and we arranged to have the floor buffed by a janitorial service from that point on. It also showed the people I was approachable and didn’t take myself too seriously.

As a executive, how well do you really know the answer to these questions:

How are your customers really treated? In one episode of Undercover Boss, the CEO of large internet order fulfillment company goes undercover to work as a customer service representative in a call center. He is truly amazed to hear the person who is training him be rude and discourteous to a customer. The only reason he didn’t fire the employee on the spot is that he didn’t want to blow his cover. The scary part was that this person was training others.

It is generally true that employees treat customers the same way that they are treated. The employees will meet the perceived expectations of their immediate supervisor. They will model the same behavior that they observe.

What are the real issues that your people face? In the few episodes that I have watched, the common theme that I see is that most people in the organization are dedicated and take great pride in their work. The undercover bosses learn ways that they can make their employee’s life easier and it usually doesn't cost much to do so. In one instance, a female employee had to work late hours and then go to her car in a large parking lot by herself. She was concerned about safety. The CEO of this company instituted a simple policy requiring management to provide a security escort for any employee who needed one.

How do your first line managers and supervisors really treat your employees? This is a story I shared in my other newsletter, but I think it is worth repeating. The lady who cleans my office and also our home, works a full time job in a local assembly plant. She is a single mother with four kids that she has to support. Although limited in education, she works hard and is trustworthy. A couple of months ago, one of her cousins died and she went out of town to the funeral. She followed proper procedure and notified her boss that she was going to miss work to attend the funeral.

When she returned, her boss called her in and gave her a written warning for an unexcused absence. He told her that the company did not consider cousins to be family members and therefore she wasn’t entitled to funeral leave. The lady and this cousin had grown up together and been raised as sisters. How insensitive for a supervisor to make the statement that he did.

Since you probably can’t go undercover, how do you become more approachable so that you can get unfiltered information about what is really going on in your organization? Here are some suggestions:

Commit to spending time each month down in the trenches with the lowest level of the organization. Take off the suit and get your hands dirty.
Break down the formality and encourage people to call you by your first name, not Mr. or Ms.

Make decisions based on what you learn to make your employee’s lives easier and to recognize their dedication and contribution.
Send handwritten notes with a personal comment to front line people you meet.

Treat those who report directly to you the same way that you expect all managers to treat their employees and the way that you expect all employees to treat your customers.