Manager Privilege: Sometimes it’s the little pains.
I knew the divide between corporate and production wasn't seriously going to change during a fire drill. The company had just moved into a new 5th floor office and added a few amenities for the production staff. The supervisory team was able to negotiate free snacks, and I made a successful case to add free period products for staff. There seemed to be a world of possibility and change on the horizon.
One day we got the heads up for the yearly alarm test. Since we worked in a call center, it's louder than a typical office, so I asked if we could move people out. We also had two fire alarms in our roughly 12' x 24' area. In a larger space we were never able to hear customers properly during or for a few minutes after any kind of alarm test. I made the case to my manager and was told the alarms would be around 30 seconds, and there was no danger. I asked why they wanted to evacuate corporate beforehand, and was told they didn't need to be on the phone.
A call center with 35 agents on the phone is around 75db, add two fire alarms and it goes past the 80bd safe level to around 88bd. Research told me it would take hours for permanent hearing damage at this volume, so I rationalized the alarm would be 30 seconds long and there wouldn't be any possibility of injury.
We stood outside for five minutes as the alarms from five buildings screamed. At about three minutes I started having a panic attack about the 30 or so people we had left inside getting the full effect of the alarms. I decided to run up and get them out of the building. The alarm stopped when I was about half way back to the door and someone from IT yelled something mocking over. I popped right back. It wasn't my most professional moment, but it solidified the complete lack of care people can have for others that live intertwined with their lives every day. I realized what little respect I had for the company and management was gone.
Most of the people standing there were like me. We had started on the phones, worked hard, gotten promoted into other departments, and then up the ladder. Most of us were barely management, but all of corporate was there. So proud of the new building and move to a more affluent area, we had all become blinded to the people and situations we had left behind. I regretted not taking everyone off the phones as soon as we were out the door. They should have been annoyed in the sunshine instead of fighting headaches, tinnitus, and yelling customers. I was led and leading by a bad example. I haven't let it happen again.
How many times do we exercise these privileges as managers? What should we do to stop these situations?
