Positive Change Thru Feedback

Jerry Colley, the new North American recruit for Office Depot, hit the nail on the head by working alongside employees in stores to come up with different strategies for change in the organization. Who better to know about change than the employees and customers? Sometimes upper management tries to implement unrealistic goals to the organization as a whole because they do not understand the way the company operates and functions at the lower levels. Also, working with the customers gets a more realistic perspective on what they want in a company and the changes that need to be made to make it happen. Sometimes customer surveys are not the best strategy to get customers response for change, because many times when people fill out these surveys it is negative because they are unhappy.
For example: I called my apartment complex last week to complain about my air conditioning always being broke. While on the phone I described the problems I was having and expressed my irritation on how this problem has been dealt with in the past by previous management. At the end of the phone call I told them I was not disappointed in the maintenance staff, but in the office for the way my problem was being handled. I continued to praise the maintenance staff for the job they do and how fast the try to resolve problems…. The apartment manager thanked me for the positive comments because they consistently only hear negative feedback.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FNP/is_4_40/ai_71560918

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/nys/odp/reports/AR02/report/07.htm