TOW#565 — The Red Button!
The ‘Red Button’ refers to when an employee has had more that they can take or that something’s ‘on fire’ in the company. This means that as a concept it can be viewed from two perspectives:
1. From the aspect of an employee (individual perspective) — meaning that one of the employees is not satisfied with something/someone, and that this is severely prohibiting them from completing tasks and affecting their productivity and motivation;
2. From a company perspective (team perspective) — something’s not right with the team as a whole (or a part of it) and/or that something senior management’s done is going in the wrong direction and they need to be informed.
This weekly tip is mostly aimed at bosses, directors, managers and all those who have taken responsibility for what’s happening, or will happen next. For those who are not one of these, you can suggest to your managers to introduce something like the model below (a tool) in your company. Although, if truth be told, we haven’t officially introduced it here (but I think it unofficially exists and is nurtured as a rule in our company), so let’s say that I’m making it official as of now.
When can the ‘red button’ be used, you ask?! It’s not nice for any company if managers spend their time dealing with the ‘colleague’s broken nail’. That’s why you need to have a codex and criteria according to which the right to the ‘red button’ can and should be used:
1. Workload — if you’re overloaded with responsibilities and tasks at a certain moment, but you know it’s because of a project that must be completed soon, then there’s no need to panic. But, if it’s happening continuously and constantly, then make your manager aware and they’ll divert some of your obligations, or give you additional help;
2. ‘Psychological games’ from colleagues or mobbing — this means you’re being psychologically harassed in the workplace. This includes degradation, human rights violations, damage to mental and physical health, and sexual manipulation and abuse. You have to notify your line manager immediately or, if necessary, go higher;
3. Indifference — if an employee feels indifferent about work, the company, colleagues, it might mean they’ve already given up. That can be very frustrating for both the employee and the company. So, your manager needs to be told as soon as possible. Sometimes, in such situations, it may already be too late for the red button;
4. Group dissatisfaction — perhaps some or all of the team is unhappy with something the managers are doing or have decided on. It’s nice to hear from employees and find a way to get past it. In our firm, when Kiki comes to me with a proposal, which is for the benefit of all, we know that the union’s already gotten together to discuss the problem, and that they’re sending a representative to us;
5. Customer dissatisfaction — you know what they say, right!? If one client complains to management, it means that 24 others also wanted to complain, but didn’t bother to. Any loss (or dissatisfaction) of a client must be carefully analysed and examined for what can be done to bring them back and keep them, or at least for the same thing not to happen in future.
6. Illegal activity — if someone’s urging you to do something illegal or criminal, which is contrary to your code of conduct, press the red button.
No doubt there are other times where you have the right to press the red button, but of course it also depends on the type of company and its predefined rules/code of conduct, as well as the way it operates.
In our company, the rule for solving a problem is through three levels:
LEVEL 1: Solve the problem yourself!
LEVEL 2: Ask for help from a colleague!
LEVEL 3: Look for your supervisor! Or, press the RED BUTTON!
I’m not saying you should now go out there and make a big drama about every little thing, but it’s nice to hear the opinion of everybody you work with, regardless of whether it’s an individual problem or more to do with the company as a whole. Just remember that if employees are unhappy, and it lasts for a long time, both they and the company end up losing.
Wishing you success with the changes to come,
Petar Lazarov
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