People working for a support agency or business occasionally struggle to describe exactly what they do what they are all about. When I started Grass Roots in 1980 we offered ‘motivation solutions to business problems’ (in those days the word ‘problem’ was still allowed in polite commercial conversation), then it became ‘making the most of human resources’, and nowadays we are ‘inspiring people’ in both senses of the term.
All businesses need to adapt, not only what they are offering to the market, but also how they present it. Whilst we run the risk of being accused of using jargon, there is much to be said for using contemporary language.
However one notion that I’ve found consistently helpful for our business is that of a corporate butler.
Ask Jeeves
Few of us employ butlers and even fewer of us have actually been one, yet we have a pretty shrewd idea of what they get up to and how they operate. In some cases our inspiration comes from the words of PG Wodehouse, in others from the deeds of The Admirable Crichton or the equally admirable Mr Hudson. (I rather fancy that Paul Burrell let the side down: proper butlers don’t grab the headlines or anything else that might rightfully belong to their employer.)
The vocabulary that comes to my mind when discussing butlers consists of words like trust, discretion, tact, loyalty, service, dedication and judgement.
However long in service and however familiarly they may be addressed, they always remember that they are hired hands whose continued employment depends on giving continued satisfaction. They know all the family secrets, but they are trusted to keep them. They are attentive to the unspoken needs of the household, easing a drink, lighter or ashtray into place as the situation prescribes. They provide for contingencies and plan for emergencies, keeping the fuel tanks forever full and the weekend bags permanently packed.
They are always one step ahead of the game.
Ever deepening relationship
Support businesses generally are in an increasingly privileged and influential position with clients. The ever-widening scope of what we represent means that we are nowadays as likely to be in the office of the HR director or the finance director as that of the marketing director. We can also assume that the extra chair in the meeting room is likely to be filled by someone representing the black art of procurement. Buy hey, let’s not go there.
Reverting to my metaphor, we make it our business to understand what upstairs needs, and then to provide it by managing the downstairs resources and (if need be) the relationships with tradesmen. To do so efficiently, we make intelligent use of the information to which we are privy, and we take responsibility for our actions regularly putting our livelihood on the line.
The more we are trusted, the greater is our sense of responsibility and duty. I can well remember the days when clients rotated agencies like us until we were all giddy, reciting the mantra three competitive quotes as they ushered us on to and off the account. They may have bought our services, but they never gained our loyalty.
By contrast, our client relationships are now becoming longer, more committed and more satisfying. We still have to show value for money, but both parties know the market rate is not the same as the lowest price and while there is still no sign of that elusive free lunch, we may serve up some ideas without a price ticket attached.
Member of the household
The clients with whom we work best and longest take us into their confidence and into their metaphorical household. In return we carry out their every instruction and respect their every wish, keeping our eyes and ears open, our mouths shut and our brains active.
What we learn by constant association and observation enables us to perform the occasional unbidden service or plan a considered response to a situation that will require rapid action when it inevitably arises.
Being a butler does not imply any sense of slavery: the nature of our position gives us much more scope for real influence than any temporary help that may be hired to address short term issues.
We are in service as corporate butlers from choice, not misfortune, and we are not waiting for something better to come along because to us life has nothing more satisfying to offer than performing worthwhile services for appreciative employers.
Time to get back to duty.
