“Twice today I heard a similar comment regarding rules and scripts. It must have been one of those “serendipitous” days. Personally, I’ve always been challenged to follow the rules – not the ones like “don’t steal” or “don’t kill” – and I’ve always hated scripts.
I’m sure what I’m going to say will make many sales leaders and trainers cringe – scripts don’t work.
And this will make HR people squirm – rules don’t work either.
Scripts
The first comment I heard was in discussion about training people to be better at customer service, with the purpose of retaining customers and increasing customer loyalty. The comment about increasing the effectiveness of customer service was “Don’t teach scripts, teach behavior.” The point being that employees who follow scripts are not tuned into the customer’s emotions, desires, and needs, but rather they are focused on the script.
Gee, what happens if the customer doesn’t respond the way the script says they should? Well, I guess that means we need to drop that customer – they don’t get our processes.
Now, I know that no good salesperson is going to just stick with the script. Good sales people will always try to deal beyond the script, as will good customer service reps. But what if the customer goes too far off the page? Does the sales person or the customer service rep really know what to do then?
The other comment on scripts that I heard was “scripts prevent disaster; but what they assure in it’s place is mediocrity.” Yeah, like that’s going to drive productivity and success.
Rules
And what about rules? Many times in my career I’ve had to work with managers who have an employee who “won’t follow the rules.” Sometimes, the problem is a blatant disregard for the rule and is a problem because the employee doesn’t care about the rule. Many times, the problem is the employee thought there was a better way to do something (whether the manager liked it or not).
Barry Schwartz (in the video below) says “too many rules prevent accomplished jazz musicians from improvising and as a result, they lose their gifts, or worse they stop playing altogether.” How does this apply to your workplace? Are your people unable to make “great music” and create great customer experiences because they have too many rules? And they become disengaged? Rules become the substitute for lack of wisdom. People who aren’t “wise” enough to know how to deal with different situations, fall back on the rules to guide their behavior.
Are you ready to put a rule in place for every inconceivable situation your employee may encounter?
This video is where I heard the second comment (and plenty of other interesting tidbits). It’s a bit long, but listen to it; you’ll be glad you did.
“Even the wisest and most well-meaning people will give up if they have to swim against the current.” Wow! Is that your workplace?
Schwartz gives great advice on “doing what’s right” and using morals to combat the problems of too many rules, and limiting scripts.
The Next Step
However, this doesn’t go far enough in your business setting. Too many people are being raised without an understanding of what is “right” and what is the moral way to behave. And they enter your workplace. I see them in every organization I work with.
So how do you make this work? How do you overcome a reliance on scripts and rules?
Create fundamental business principles. Teach these principles by example and through education. Nordstroms, renowned for their excellent customer service, has one rule: “Use good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.” I would argue that “rule” is really based on a principle: “Customer’s are our lifeblood and require the best service we can provide” or “Our business succeeds because of satisfied and loyal customers.”
You see, if people understand these principles, then they understand they can’t just “give away” the store (because then the person isn’t a “customer,” they’re a welfare recipient) and they understand that it’s their responsibility to do their best in gaining, and keeping customers.
Workforce Expertise:
Determine the critical principles for your business. Why do people do business with you? Why don’t they do business with you? Why do you want them to do business with you.
Clearly communicate these principles to your employees. Ask them for examples of how they are able to meet these principles, and for examples of how they are limited from meeting them.
Get rid of the rules that limit your employees’ ability to be effective in meeting your customer requirements.
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