There are countless different reasons why an employee might want to come to talk to you as a manager. 

Perhaps they’re struggling with an aspect of their work, maybe their office chair is causing them discomfort and they want to talk about changing it, they might be considering leaving and they’re looking for guidance, or they might have an issue which they simply want to talk through with someone who understands their working situation. 

If you want to ensure that employee morale remains high, that you’re a high-quality manager, and if you want to learn how to promote mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, an open door policy is the way forward.

What is an Open Door Policy?

An open door policy isn’t literal; it doesn’t mean that the door to your office is constantly open for anyone to walk into. It means that if someone needs to come to see you, your door is metaphorically open. You’re there to listen and you’ll do your best to help them.

Of course, there might be times when you’re sat at your executive office desk and you’re snowed under with work, to the point where you can’t spare five minutes right at that moment. That’s fine, having an open door policy doesn’t mean dropping everything whenever someone knocks, but it does mean ensuring that they feel able to come back and that you arrange another time in the extremely near future. 

It means that employees feel able to talk to you and they’re confident that they’ll be listened to without judgement or being pushed to one side. They feel that you’ll take their concerns or issues seriously and as a result, when this happens, they’re more likely to come to you in order to sort things out. 

Of course, the opposite isn’t a great situation. If employees don’t feel able to come to you with problems, they’re simply going to sit at their office desks and allow things to fester and worsen. As a result, morale drops and you’re not doing anything about managing mental health issues in the workplace. The entire situation can quickly turn negative. 

Check out this video which gives some useful tips on how to be an approachable leader in the workplace. 

How to Make an Open Door Policy Work 

Of course, you can’t just throw your door open and that’s it, the entire thing is destined to work well; you need to make sure you do it the right way. 

Here are a few tips. 

• Make sure you mean it - If you’re going to make it known to your employees that they can come and talk to you if they have any problems or anything they want to discuss, you have to mean what you say. When someone does come, don’t push them away or tell them you’re too busy! Having an open door policy means that you’re approachable genuinely, not that you’re just saying you are to tick a box. 
• Listen when employees come to you - Of course, you also have to listen and give them the appropriate amount of time when employees come to you. It’s no good looking at the clock, showing very defensive or distracted body language and basically showing them that you have far better things to do! Make sure you give them the time and space they need and do what you can to help them.
• If you’re busy, don’t push them away - As we mentioned earlier, it could be that you’re up to your neck in work at the moment someone knocks on your door and that doesn’t mean you have to drop everything. However, it’s good practice to explain carefully that you’re very busy right now but in an hour or so you’ll come and find them and you can head into the boardroom or down to the booths for a chat. Of course, you also need to make sure you do as you say. 

When done in the correct way, an open door policy can be a fantastic way to boost morale and ensure your employees feel supported and valued.