Is open door policy a productive approach?

Lal Fonseka Productivity Consultant, Brandix Lanka Limited

An open door policy is very rarely practiced in Sri Lanka. As I explained in my previous column in the last week certain managers do not wish to entertain their own employees into their rooms as they are always seated under lock and key while attending to their work. They do always pretend that they are busy in their rooms.

Open Door Policy means that every manager's door is open to every employee. The purpose of this policy is to encourage open communication, feedback, and discussion about any matter of importance to an employee or to the company. When a company has an open door policy, employees are free to talk with any manager at any time.

Some companies however adopt an open door policy to develop employee trust and to ensure that important information and feedback reach managers who can utilize these information to make changes in the workplace.

There is no question; theoretically all employees should be able to talk with any level of manager or any other employee about any subject at any time other than gossiping. Philosophically as well as psychologically it is my belief that all employees irrespective of their designations are equal.

May be we just have different jobs. But, there are some contradictory views with regard to open door policies, because it is commonly interpreted as this policy will fail to build the ability of the organization to solve problems close to where the problem occurs. But in my view, this is a myth as the problem solving method is completely a different approach which needs another article to explain the difference between the open door policy and the problems solving technique.

Think of every new leader’s speech you have ever heard. They will all include “I have an open door policy.” Does every leader truly practice this statement? They talk only. They do not practice what they say. This is my experience.

The open door is both literal and symbolic. If you tell employees they can come to talk with you any time but when you work with your door closed, you are sending a mixed message. Sometimes, you could see the doors are open, but the manager is not in the seat.

For the sake of telling they say that anyone can come to the room without making interruptions. But it is not being practiced by most of the managers. Most people see closed doors as stop signs. From childhood, as per our culture, we are trained not to enter closed rooms without knocking.

It is a good habit but even after knocking the door, there were instances I have seen no proper response is received from the room inside.

Sometimes managers close doors out of habit or to block distractions. But are you blocking distractions for you or for others who might see or hear what you are doing? And what constitutes a distraction? Conversation? People walking past? The noises of a busy work group? Ringing telephones? An employee's question? It is difficult to define clear guidelines.

Even if you truly want people to just open the door and come in, many will be reluctant to do so. Unless you are working on something that requires privacy, leave your door open. The only way people know you have an open door policy is when only your door truly is open. Consider the following example.

When I became the Manager Finance and Administration of a very large textile factory two decades ago, I established an effective open-door policy. I would see any employee about any matter - as long as the employee has a genuine requirement to see me. If at all, I believed no one would come to see me if he does not have a genuine reason.

I discouraged the scheduling appointments through the secretary because I thought it is the employees’ right to see the head of the organization at any given time for whatever the reason it may be.

The only problem I encountered was that of many employees trying to enter the room at once. I just hanged a board on the door stating ‘One at a time’ only for three months and employees got the message.

Employees welcomed my approach and as others expected it did not become a nuisance to me as the people were disciplined to not to trouble me unnecessarily. The previous manager I understood only talked to people who were in some sort of trouble and kept group meetings focused on discussions of work tasks. In contrast, my doors seemed amazingly open.

What is a closed door policy?

Now you are aware very well that open door policy is required to motivate people. However, can you make yourself accessible and available to your team for their leisure? Think about it: when was the last time someone popped their head in the door with a question, interrupting your thinking and flow of work, with a question that was truly an emergency? How many of those questions could wait 15 minutes, two hours or until tomorrow?

The closed door policy is more like the office hours of a university professor. You knew when they were available and so you planned to meet with them, ask your questions and get your coaching during those times. This approach certainly made the professor more productive - and you too!

The closed door policy is about putting some discipline and intentionality into your work day for the purpose of creating better control of your time and sky-rocketing your productivity.

Whether you use office hours, a planned time to meet with team members, or devise some other approach - the goal of the closed door policy is to create space for everyone to have greater productivity because there are fewer avoidable interruptions.

It is obvious that no manager does not wish to face interruption and distractions; most of the top leaders like to keep their doors open for the subordinates mainly to have a proper relationship in the organization. Let me be clear - the intention behind an 'open door policy' is fine, admirable, and important. In theory, this idea is to provide access to information, ideas, wisdom and help.

Unfortunately, in practice this isn’t what happens. The unintended consequences that surface in a lack of time control and reduced productivity far outweigh the advantages.

Should leaders be accessible, available and open to conversations? Should they feedback and provide coaching? Of course they should - and if they do not, their effectiveness and value as a leader is severely limited. These goals can be reached - and in most cases reached more effectively - with a more realistic, structured and clear plan and approach. This approach is that sometimes includes a closed door policy.

Whatever said and done, in my view in a company, open communication through open door policy is one of the keys to success beating the close door policy. When people are able to express their wants and needs, the morale of such people will be high. This will apply even in the playing field. However, in terms of an open door policy, some businesses may find that there are some pros and cons to this arrangement that should be taken into consideration very carefully before deciding to implement it in the workplace.

Successful open door policies

The effective open door policy provides the expectation that employees will address problems first with their supervisor.

This solution is simple. Senior managers can enable and allow access for all employees, within an open door policy. Once they have determined the reason for the employee's visit, however, they have choices they need to make.

Employees seek help from senior managers with a variety of issues. But a common issue is that the employee is having problems with their supervisor or superiors. The manager in charge, who seeks to solve this problem, without enabling the superior or supervisor in question to solve the problem first, creates a dysfunctional organization.

When an employee wants to talk about a variety of issues, such as the company, the markets, employee needs and wants, the manager in charge must listen. This provides substance to the open door policy. But, if the employee is complaining about their supervisor, the manager must ask if the employee has addressed the issue with their supervisor.If the answer is “no,” the manager must redirect the employee to first address the issue with his or her immediate supervisor. Many factors affect this recommendation. Maybe the supervisor is difficult to talk with, disrespects the employee’s point of view, or disagrees with the employee’s suggestion.

Consequently, the senior manager must follow up to make certain the employee does address the issue with their supervisor and that the supervisor appropriately responded. If not, the senior manager needs to bring the employee and supervisor together to assess the situation. As with any other kind of conflict, the conflict, left unaddressed, will fester and hurt relationships and the organization.

In an open door policy, once an employee has sought out a senior manager, the manager should not always solve the problem, and indeed, in these circumstances - never solve the problem - but he or she must monitor that the problem is solved or responded to by the appropriate people.

When the open door policy is effectively supported, the open door policy is honored, the chain of command is honored, the manager’s problem solving skills are enhanced, the employee’s personal courage, conflict resolution, and problem solving skills are enhanced, the organization benefits from shared information and feedback, and high employee trust is generated from a successful experience with management.