A CEO Coaching Client said to me one day, “I hate going on holiday, because I will just come back to a full email box, and twice the workload. It is easier to just stay at work and not have leave.” That kind of wonky thinking is exactly what needs to be challenged, and where better than in a coaching setting, and with the CEO! I asked her, “how would you like to feel about going on holiday?”, and in a heartbeat she replied, “I’d like to know for sure that I would come back to an empty mailbox, and could take my time on the first day back to just catch up with my team, customers, and receive important updates.” I remained silent whist she reflected, and very soon realised that as CEO, she was accountable for the culture she had created, and could make a simple change that would have huge positive consequences for all.
The names are changed for reasons of confidentiality, but below is what she implemented for every member of staff. The outcome was: increased employee and customer engagement, reduced stress and absence, and improved bottom line results.
Here is the email that now gets sent from the mailbox of any employee on leave, and it is signed by the CEO…
“Thank you for your email.
Our employee, Mary Smith, is on annual leave and that means that your email will not be delivered and has been deleted. There are two reasons for this:
- We value employees. Taking time to rest, be with family and friends, and have fun away from work is vitally important for wellbeing. We don’t want her holiday tarnished by a feeling of dread about coming back to a full mailbox and its negative impact on her wellbeing and workload, undoing any good that the holiday would have achieved.
- We value customers. Our people need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to work alongside our customers to deliver great products and services in such a complex and ever-changing environment. Life-lagged drones don’t deliver excellence in customer service. Therefore, we place employee wellbeing and worklife balance a top priority in our customer service code of conduct.
To allow Mary the chance to switch off properly and come back refreshed for her customers, we have disconnected all communication channels to Mary at this time.
However, we value your communication too. Having sent the email, you have an expectation of a reply. We therefore encourage you to do one of two things: if it is urgent, please call her manager or deputy on 01234 567890. If it is not, please resend the email after the 23rd August, when her mailbox will re-opened, and Mary will be refreshed.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
Elaine Wright, CEO”