𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝟏 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟎

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 .

In customer experience, the saying goes, “the customer makes the
rules.” Inside organizations, the same principle applies. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞
𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 . 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝
𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲
𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 .

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 , 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞
𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 . They choose which ones are followed, which
ones are bent, and which ones get ignored. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞
𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫
𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 . Those everyday decisions quietly rewrite the rules, and they
directly affect retention, performance, and culture.

Consider the push for 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 -𝐭𝐨-𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 . A company can
set rigid policies, but when people skirt them or walk away, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥
𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 . Deloitte’s 2023 Future of Work Trends
report found that 𝟖𝟑 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝
𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 , a clear signal that flexibility isn’t just
preferred, it is foundational to the experience.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬
𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭
𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 .

𝐏𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 . Each one reveals
a friction point in the experience.

𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 , 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 . It tells you where trust or
clarity has broken down.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 , 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬
𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 . When managers pay attention to those,
they not only reduce friction, they also gain insight into what people
truly value. 𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 . 𝐈𝐭
𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤
𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 . Ignoring them only signals that managers are out of touch
with the reality people live every day.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 ?