About fifteen years ago the number of chain restaurants operating in America surpassed the number of independent eating and drinking establishments. Since that time the gap between multi unit restaurants, franchised and corporate owned, versus independents, has dramatically widened.
I have traveled all over the country, to large cities and small towns, and this trend away from independently owned and operated businesses is going to continue. It doesn’t matter if the business is a gas station, a manufacturing plant, a hospital, a non profit, a motel, or a local retail outlet.
Why this trend is taking place is simply stated: chains have standards of performance that are enforced.
As an example, the other night I stopped at a local independent restaurant to pick up something for dinner. This particular establishment provides good food at reasonable prices and I have been a client for years. The vast majority of the business it does is done during the business day, as it is near many commercial and industrial facilities.
There were four employees working behind the counter when I placed my order. I paid my money, received my change and turned to find a place to wait in the seating area. The eating area was not horribly filthy, but there were some napkins on the floor, several tables needed to be wiped down and the beverage area needed to be straightened up and refreshed. I am sure it wouldn’t have hurt to have the floor mopped either.
Perhaps all of this is not such a big deal after all; it was at the end of the business day, so perhaps these shortcomings could be excused. Maybe I am over reacting. Maybe so, but it was well after 7pm, there were four people standing behind the counter, talking with one another and the dining area was in need of attention. My visit to spend money was, on second thought, an interruption to their conversation.
On the way home I stopped at a unit of a well known national chain to do a comparative visual analysis. I did not see the same things in need of attention there.
Could my visit to this independently owned restaurant be an isolated incident? Could it be that I visited the restaurant on an off day or an off time? Could I be unduly harsh on this restaurant? I don’t think so. My observational research suggests that chains have in place standards of performance that are enforced at the local level, during all hours of the day. This restaurant may have similar standards, but I don’t know for sure. If they exist, they were not enforced at that time by the manager on duty.
Why have standards of performance? Why set expectations? The primary reason is to have the business live up to its potential.
Take Southwest Airlines versus any of their competitors. The expectation is that you will enjoy dealing with the flight attendants who will do what they can to make the trip fun. Compare that with a recent US Airways flight I was on where one of the flight attendants should have been sent to charm school. Compare the financial results of Southwest to any other competitor and you can verify which airline does consistently better.
Not having clear and measurable expectations is, in my opinion, the primary reason so many organizations under perform. Without clear and measurable expectations people do not know what to do specifically (what, when, how, why and to what level) and when I say people, I am writing about individuals at every single level from the highest to the lowest; from the owner to the receptionist and everyone in between.
People want to know that they will be measured. It all comes back to getting a report card. With clear expectations, people know what to do and how they will be evaluated versus objectives. It takes the guesswork out of evaluations.
Expectations help leads, supervisor and managers become better at managing people. They no longer have to wonder if people are doing their assigned tasks or not. It positions the manager as someone who verifies that the work is being done as expected. Note that the manager is not doing the job; they are making sure that others do it according to specifications.
If you wonder why things are not getting done in your organization they way you’d like them to, start by asking what the expectations are for answering the telephone. In most organizations, something as basic and yet critical to the success of the organization has never been discussed as needing a standard of performance. Yet, this may be the most used method of communication for prospects, clients, vendors and shareholders communicate with the organization.
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