Don’t Get Caught Sleeping Behind The Wheel
I was planning to write a blog post this morning on an entirely different topic. I changed my mind when I saw the scene outside my office window. Apparently one of the technicians from a local utility company thought it was okay to grab at catnap in the middle of the day. I immediately thought that the company might have an employee engagement problem if their people feel it’s okay to take a nap in the middle of the day. Now I realize people have good days and bad days. Perhaps he had a late night taking care of the sick child, or maybe he had insomnia couldn’t get a good night sleep. Or maybe he was up partying to the wee hours of the night and woke up with a hangover.
Now I will admit that in the middle of their lunch hour or break, employees can do whatever they want on their private time. However, when they are sitting in a company van which is a representation of the company’s brand, they should think twice. I’ve always said in all my 17 years of employee brand communications that “Your people are your brand”. What they say and what they do matters.
I vividly remember a story I heard back in my days of Arthur D Little. One of my colleagues went to a Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park. There was a boisterous crowd of consultants who were shouting profanities, poking fun at the opposing team and their fans and generally making fools of themselves. They did not make a very good impression on themselves or the company they represented as a group. An observer in the crowd heard them mention the word “Arthur something” and assumed the group was from Arthur D Little. The observer felt strongly that the CEO of Arthur D Little should know about it, so he called our CEO and told him the story. The CEO, Charlie LaMantia, looked into the matter immediately, as he was ashamed and embarrassed by purportedly having his consultants act in an unprofessional manner. After a little investigation, he learned that the consultants were from Arthur Andersen; not from Arthur D Little and informed the observer accordingly in a follow-up phone conversation.
It turned out that the observer was a very significant client of Arthur Anderson and as a result of learning the news from Charlie LaMantia, he summarily fired the entire consulting firm for malfeasance, demonstrating poor judgment, and displaying a negative public image. In fact it was later purported through the consultants rumor mill that the individuals involved in the baseball game ruckus were fired for was called in our industry as a CLM (a career limiting move).
So impressions and actions by your employees do indeed matter. If your employees require taking a nap or if they are tired, give them the time off. Don’t let them leave an impression that will last people’s minds for a lifetime. All the marketing investments you make about your people and how they service the public’s fly out the door when someone is caught napping.
Also, I would like to wish all of our thoughtful readers and followers a Happy Labor Day!