An Airline Employee's Sad Lament: "They Won't Let Me Help You"​

An Airline Employee's Sad Lament: "They Won't Let Me Help You"

Organizations usually realize it's a problem when an employee says, usually in a huff, "That's not my job." Customers get angry hearing that. Managers often blame the employees for having a bad attitude, for not being willing to help out.

But, what happens when it's the organization that's interfering with the employee doing everything they can to serve customers?

Last month, I was trying to travel home through a snowstorm and I got rebooked by American Airlines onto some Delta flights. I had to go, with some other customers, to the Delta ticket counter to get our new tickets finalized. There was a bit of a line and the woman directly in front of me was getting frustrated that she was going to miss her rebooked flight because of the queue.

Ticket agents told her multiple times to use one of the idle check-in kiosks, but the kiosks weren't working for any of the rebooked passengers (and they weren't really listening to her say that she had tried the kiosk).

All of the ticket agents were working hard, keeping busy helping other customers. But, there was another Delta employee, in the same uniform, just standing behind the counter, doing nothing. It would be really easy for someone to assume she was a lazy employee.

I stepped out of the line and asked the idle employee gently, "Can you please help the woman in front of me? She's afraid she will miss her flight."

The Delta employee lamented, "They won't let me help you. It's not my job. They only give us this one little job and we can just tag bags."

She looked frustrated, as if she wanted to help... but it's likely that a lack of training or rigid job rules (imposed by the company or, perhaps, a union) prevented her from doing so. It's a shame that she hadn't been cross trained to help check in other passengers, especially since she genuinely seemed to want to help (and she wasn't very busy tagging bags).

I believe strongly that most everybody comes to work to do a good job. They want to serve customers (or, in healthcare, serve patients) and they would rather be doing something helpful (adding value to a customer) rather than doing nothing. This situation seemed to illustrate that. I believe she wanted to help... but I certainly don't blame her for standing there and doing what she was apparently told to do -- to tag bags and only tag bags.

This isn't the case of a bad employee, but rather a bad system - a system that apparently prevents somebody from being able to help the customer.

Looking at our own organizations, what can we do to break down barriers between job functions? Sometimes, we need to negotiate more flexible union contracts that reduce the number of job classes, as GM and other automakers have done over the last 20 years - to mirror Toyota and their more flexible workforce. Other times, the constraints are imposed by management and things can be changed, if we put our minds to it.

The most effective organizations will use slow periods to cross-train workers, which builds their skills and value to the company. Some organizations will give pay increases based on the number of jobs and roles that are learned, such as Nick Sarillo and Nick's Pizza Pub. Great organizations aren't afraid to invest in their employees and they aren't afraid to pay them more, as a result. This often happens in companies that practice "Lean" management methods, based on the Toyota Production System. Employees in a Lean organization are valued as partners, not just a cost, and they are fully engaged, cross-trained, and flexible. Everybody wins.

It seems too many organizations still suffer from the old "Taylorist" mindset of Frederick W. Taylor. The industrial mindsets of over 100 years ago taught that we need to, basically, "dumb down" jobs and make the divisions of labor so small as to make workers interchangeable cogs who can be paid a bare minimum. The threat of being easily replaceable plays into the fear-based "command and control" management model that is, unfortunately, still far too common in far too many industries.

We can do better. We need to do better. Can we make a commitment, in 2014 to increase the flexibility of our workforce to be able to provide better service to customers -- and better business results, whether we are in a factory, a pizza shop, an airport, or a hospital? What does your department or organization plan to do to reduce the "they won't let me help you" moments?

Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology. Mark is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen. His latest, The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen is now available. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus and Mark blogs most weekdays at www.LeanBlog.org.

Update: His latest book (2018) is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More.

Sylvia Hayes

Food and nutritional service tech at Bayshore medical center

10y

Cross training is important for both the company and the employee. I have worked bakery, deli, and customer service for fifteen years and I understand what makes the customer happy makes you better at what you do and is great for the company. I now work at a hospital and I working with the patient diet needs. My years in other jobs has helped to make the me today.

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Lori Wildman

Director of Marketing & Communications | Tech Geek | Coffee Lover

10y

This just makes me sad. Lack of training, advancement and encouragement is often the reason the best employees leave their company. Not because they WANT to leave, but because they realize they are capable of more than their company is either willing or able to provide them in their career. What if ALL staff were empowered (within reason) to meet the needs of the organization AND their customers?! If you have not read "QBQ: The Question Behind the Question", it is a must-read (and a quick read).

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Tom Isaksson

Project Lead at Solita

10y

In the lean organizations the growth of employees builds value to the company.

Francis Boidya

Hygiene/ Health Promotion Specialist

10y

I agree to your opinion. Healthcare personnel always helpful to patients & customer.

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Vijaya Vardhan Panthagani🍊

The Middle Manager Coach | I help ambitious middle managers overcome burnout and get increased autonomy in 30 days or less. | Join 160+ on the Middle Manager's Burnout Breaker Newsletter👇

10y

Mark Graban, great article, thank you for posting. I would add that companies should make employees "feel safe" first. When people feel safe, they are much more in control of their emotions and can make an informed decision that the situation demands.

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