The Tribe Report 5. The Non-Desk Worker Issue | Page 13

6. VALUES AREN’T REAL UNTIL THEY’RE PUT
TO WORK
Of these respondents, nearly half, at 49 percent, say
they are aware of the company values but “don’t
see many examples of them being put into action.”
Knowing the company values is an important
element of non-desk workers being able to deliver
the desired customer experience. One interview
subject explained it this way: “My company is very
vocal about our core values. They are posted all
over the store for team members. I see and use
them every day. Core values are ingrained in every
position and everything we do as a store.”

7. HONESTY IS CRITICAL
Trust is quickly eroded when there’s any evidence of
dishonesty. Conversely, employees will have more
trust in a management team that demonstrates
honesty by sharing the bad news as well as the good.
Employees are aware that there sometimes is bad
news, and they would prefer to know more of the
details behind negative developments. As one
interview subject said, “We need to know why cuts
and changes are being made.” Another commented,
“Is it all the truth? I don’t know. There are two sides
to every story.”

TAKEAWAYS
The bad news is there’s no silver bullet. The
right channels for reaching non-desk workers
will be different for each company. What are the
physical surroundings of these employees during
the workday? Do they remain in one place or
does their job involve moving from one location
to the next? What’s the rhythm of the workday?
Here are a handful of possibilities to consider:
CEO COMMUNICATION
Create at least one regularly scheduled communication from your chief executive or president
that includes non-desk employees. This could
be something as ambitious as a weekly blog post
from the CEO or as simple as a quarterly letter
from the t