Not just for Christmas…..

I read at the weekend that post office workers have been given guidance as to whether they should accept tips this Christmas. The excuse given for this is compliance with the Bribery Act although one can’t help but think once again that the HR department have spent too much time attending employment law update courses.

Add this to the news that over half of SMEs are planning to cancel or downsize their Christmas parties and it seems that many employers are doing their best to ensure that their workers have anything but a merry Christmas.

Christmas is a time of year that regularly taxes Finance Directors. Being expected to act like Scrooge throughout the year means that when we actually reach the season of goodwill the words “Bah Humbug” naturally trip off of our tongues. Christmas parties, staff tips and company gifts often provoke heated discussions that leave us tearing our hair our and desperate to get on with more value added activities like keeping the business afloat.

Actually I am fully in favour of Christmas parties (although on cost grounds I may occasionally advance the argument that they should be held at a time other than Christmas) although probably for negative reasons rather than positive ones. The impact on staff morale of not having one far outweighs the cost savings.

I am of course aware of all the HR issues that surround such events such as unacceptable behaviour and inclusivity, but I believe that if a business has proper codes as to how employees should conduct themselves at Christmas, or indeed any other time, it should be possible to ensure that the benefits outweigh any risks.

I am less in favour of corporate gifts. Active discussions take place as to which customers (always customers never suppliers – funny that) should receive Christmas gifts, what form they should take, how much should they cost, who should give them etc. etc. If the only consequence of the Bribery Act is that we can finally dispense with this annual ritual it will almost be justification for introducing it in the first place.

In this case I don’t think I am being Scrooge like in my dislike of forced Christmas bonhomie. In the same way that I believe that everyday should be Mother’s Day, customer (and supplier) care should be an ongoing daily process. Good business relationships are not just for Christmas you know.

The customer is not always right…..

The late and very lamented satirist Willie Rushton once suggested that the prerequisite for suggesting that the lady in your life may not be entirely correct was a very stiff drink. At this point I hasten to reassure my fellow Enterprise Britain blogger Colin Perriss that I never need alcohol to suggest to my wife that she is mistaken, mainly on the grounds that she never is.  However for most consultants it does take a certain amount of courage, Dutch or otherwise, to tell a client, the person who let’s face it is paying your bill, that they are er ever so slightly er wrong.

In an ever changing world, where all the old certainties have long gone, and that most businesses are still struggling to come to terms with, it is not easy to tell somebody, who may have done very well in the past that they are no longer doing what is necessary to be successful in the future. There is a particular danger in owner managed firms that any such criticism will be seen as a personal attack.

However it has to be done. When you have been taken on board to add value the worst thing you can do is offer tea and sympathy. You have to be bold and point out where things are going wrong and where they can be changed and improved. That does not mean you go in with all guns blazing. Not everything is bad. Tact and discretion can be just as effective as bluntness. It is OK to call a spade an earth moving implement if it gets the job done. Encouragement is part of the process. Evidence to back up your proposed solution is also necessary.

A recent example of this was an owner managed business that had previously been very successful purely by word of mouth referral. In the good times the phone had just rung and orders had flooded in. It had never actually had to go out and sell. However this was no longer the case. Competing products had provided a viable alternative and customers were ebbing away. There was still a high value niche market to go for but that required a change of approach. A sales function had to be developed. Employees had to be remotivated and refocused. But the owners did not seem to want to change their approach and found it difficult to engage with key members of staff. It took a mixture of persuasive logic and tough talking, coupled with hard work alongside the senior management team to change things around and get the business working on the changes required.     

It was not a pleasant situation and one that could have meant a rapid termination of the engagement. However there comes a time when you have to take that risk. Clients may well be paying your bills but they are paying for your knowledge, experience and expertise not your subservience. There are times when the customer is not always right…..