Archive: Around Town

Hi Margaret: I’ve been working for a company for 3 weeks now. Immediately after my first day of work I noticed a number of ways to improve processes at the company that would save not only time, but money. When I approached the owner of the company about this, I was met with not only anger, but disdain. And this isn’t the first time in my life that this has happened to me. I can’t understand why company owners or executives feel the need to keep doing things the way they’ve always been done when presented with evidence that improving procedures would be of such benefit. It’s frustrating and makes me feel like no one really cares about maximizing profits and improving employee performance. Why do I meet with such resistance?

Why the Resistance

Why the Resistance: There are two operatives at play here. First, I'm sure when a new employee approaches management with improvements after such a short time on the job, what you are saying is, "This is how we can improve," and what they're hearing is, "This is what you're doing wrong and have been doing it wrong for a long time." Second, you sound like the type of individual who thrives on change. You're a rare and valuable breed! For the most part, people don't like change and what's more, they are afraid of it. Timing is everything. You would do well now and in the future to make sure you have proved your worth on the job and have ingratiated yourself with management before you offer suggestions, no matter how significant you feel the changes are. Unless you've been hired as a Process Improvement Expert, follow those simple rules and you'll create a win/win.

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