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I have been wondering, is there an open door policy at Argos? I sure hope there is. I talk about it in my induction presentation to new employees. I tell my friends and family about it (because I am proud of what I consider to be quite an open culture). But I guess one can never really tell. Thus my post.

Ok, so obviously in my case it wouldn’t be an open door policy but rather an open e-mail policy or an open Skype policy or something like that since I don’t have an office where someone can drop in and am only in the building for meetings. However, when I look back at all the conversations that I have had with different people over the years, who have just approached me to get something off their chests, or who have had a problem that needed solving, I can honestly say that those types of talks can often make a huge difference in the way we operate.

Of course, sometimes, I get an email that mysteriously only says, “do you have time to meet for a couple minutes?” and my first instinct is panic, this person never contacts me, why is he/she contacting me now, and the blackest thoughts cross my mind “is he/she going to quit and wants to tell me in person”, etc. Then of course it turns out that we just talk about something completely different. So, a note to those of you who want to have a chat with me, please give me a tiny bit of background before the meeting so I don’t have to grow any more grey hair.

Anyway, the open door policy is not only about me, it’s about other managers as well. In fact it’s not only about managers, but about every person in the company. I hope that we have fostered an environment at Argos where any person will approach any other person in the company (regardless of position, department, or anything else) and ask a question or discuss an idea or get into a fight (ok, maybe not a serious fight, but getting something that bothers them out in the open is really valuable). I strongly feel that being comfortable at work, that there will be no negative consequences of sharing your opinion about the way things are done, can make a huge difference in the way we operate.

As I mentioned, we have made significant changes in the company thanks to such talks and I personally am always willing to explore and discuss any topic. This doesn’t mean I will agree with everyone or solve everyone’s problem, but I think the most important thing to know, is that each person’s issue/proposal/idea will be taken seriously.

So treat this as an open invitation, come one, come all!