Marc Woods - Beyond the Call

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2013 Marc Woods and Steve Coomber

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

(to follow)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-119-96258-8 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-119-96939-6 (ebk)

ISBN 978-1-119-96940-2 (ebk) ISBN 978-1-119-96941-9 (ebk)

Indexed by Terry Halliday

FOREWORD

Why do we feel better working for some bosses, in some teams, and in some organizations, than in others? Why do we feel like giving that little bit more going the extra mile without counting the cost?

This great book by Marc Woods and Steve Coomber provides some powerful insights into how to create an environment that enables people to be the best they can be everyday, and go beyond the basic.

Ive been privileged to work for a great company all of my career and, because I am in Human Resources, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to create an environment and a culture that inspires people to be the best they can be . every day. Beyond the Call captures so much of what it takes to create that environment the importance of trust, and the role of being a leader who serves. Treating people the way they want to be treated not just as you want to be treated so understanding their needs and motivations. Matching the work they do to their strengths and giving meaning to why they do that work.

If people want to, rather than have to or need to magic happens. Giving people the freedom to make decisions, allows them to feel pride in, and ownership of, what they do so of course they will go beyond the call wouldnt you?

Jane Reay Jones
HR Manager, Procter & Gamble

Beyond the Call addresses a topic that goes to the very heart of what makes organisations successful in the 21st Century. Of course products, services, innovation, structures, operations, processes, logistics these are all vital. But at the heart of any organisation are its people, and how much they care about the enterprise and want it to succeed really matters. That includes everyone who contributes to the network of value creation, whether they are customers, suppliers, innovation partners, employees, or shareholders.

No organisation can prescribe every action these people should take on its behalf. Yet a large part of delivering on the organisations vision and objectives has to be down to its people. This is where discretionary effort is so important. If you have people who believe in your cause, and who will go above and beyond the call of duty, whether that it is to do with the quality of their work, the hours they do, their determination to solve problems and overcome challenges, to cope with adversity, to make customers happy, then your business is on course to exceed expectations.

This book provides a useful framework to help managers understand more about discretionary effort. It explores some of the main drivers of discretionary effort, through the eyes of practising executives, and suggests ways to create the conditions that encourage discretionary effort. And, while every organisation is different, Beyond the Call outlines discretionary effort principles that all managers should benefit from adopting.

Jonathan Emms
Head of Primary Care, Country Lead, Pfizer UK

DISCRETIONARY EFFORT AND THE CASE OF THE MYSTERIOUS MR UNDERHILL

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the worlds problem.

Mahatma Gandhi

Like many people, I opened a bank account when I was a teenager. I still bank with the same business decades later. Relatively few people switch bank accounts. It is called customer inertia. Or status quo bias, if you are a behavioural economist. Apparently, the statistics say that divorce is more likely than changing your bank. Yet on one occasion my dealings with the bank became so difficult over such an apparently small matter, that I very nearly did this most unlikely of things.

I considered myself a good customer, and I was well served with bank accounts. I already had a current, a business and a savings account. Now, with my work regularly taking me abroad, I decided to open a foreign currency bank account as well. As a long-standing customer the initial process was straightforward and I was quickly allocated an account number. However, when my new cheque book arrived at home, I noticed one surprising feature: it had the name Mr Underhill printed on it. Not Mr Woods. I was mystified.

Never mind, I thought. This will not take long to sort out. So I called customer service:

Yes it has the correct account number printed on it, I responded to the bank representative.

And you received it at your home address?

I did.

Well you must have filled in the wrong name when you originally completed the paperwork and applied for the account.

Hmmm. Okay, I hadnt expected the operative to take personal responsibility for the mistake, but I wasnt expecting the bank to blame me either, to the point of suggesting that I had somehow forgotten my own name. And why Underhill, anyway?

Over the next few months I telephoned, emailed, faxed, telephoned, made personal appearances at my bank, and telephoned, all in an effort to fix the issue. Nothing, however, seemed to penetrate the mysterious Kafkaesque procedures of the bank. I couldnt even cancel the account. And in the meantime the letters to Mr Underhill kept arriving and arriving.