Has your open-door policy backfired? Then you need my tips.

We love an 'open door' policy until we don't. My simple strategies will help you to create an effective open-door policy that will maintain visibility and access for the team whilst giving you uninterrupted time at the desk. Let's avoid an open door becoming a revolving one!

Signpost when you are available / unavailable

For someone with an in-person team: utilise a simple traffic light system. You can use physical cards on your desk, chair or office door. Green = I'm happy to chat. Orange = please only interrupt me if you need to chat. Red = please don't interrupt me unless it's urgent.

For someone with a hybrid or remote team: consistently use the status of your online communication platform to share your movements. These are editable so while the status might be "Busy" you can add a brief note to say why you're unavailable, or one for when you're "Available" to say you're free for interruptions until a set time. Providing context around your availability is really helpful.

The benefits of signposting are:

1. When used consistently, you can really effect change, and the team will get used to checking your signpost before interrupting you.

2. It teaches the team how to prioritise and triage themselves.

3. It encourages collaboration.

4. It encourages a leader working in your team to step up and share their own expertise and judgement.

Implement an Open Office

Every day or at certain times each week, invite your team to an Open Office (30 minutes is plenty). This is a time when your office is open to ask an ad-hoc question or pop in to say hi. This is voluntary to join so the team only need to jump in if they have something to discuss or share.

I would recommend that Open Office's aren't the space for confidential or sensitive matters (personal or business) as this is an open forum for any / all who choose to join.

The benefits of an Open Office are:

1. You're connecting with your team in a really present way. You have carved out time to be available to them. That's the only objective for your Open Office.

2. It's a great opportunity for the team to listen to one another. They can understand the priorities or concerns of a different team member or business stream. It provides a moment to understand the 'lay of the land'.

3. It increases collaboration. Perhaps another team member is at capacity and you can support them with workload, maybe you have expertise to share or an alternative solution.

4. It brings team members together no matter where they are located or how they plug into your team - from remote employee to in-person contractor.

Colour code your calendar

I love colour coding. If you're not used to it, it can feel like a disorganised rainbow however, once you colour code, you won't go back! Colour coding is unique to you, the type of business you conduct, and the types of stakeholders you engage with. Plus there are no rules around how many colours to use.

The benefits of colour coding are:

• It's a quick and visual representation of where you're spending your time in any given week. Let's say you're in a promotional role and any sales meetings are coloured blue. If you open your diary on a Monday and see no blue, you can quickly see you need to add this to your diary.

  
  

• You can differentiate between personal and professional blocks of time. This helps the team to understand when you might be best to meet with - if you consistently have Pilates on a Wednesday afternoon, it's not the best idea to schedule a meeting right up against it. If you're locked in Business Development time, it might be best to avoid interupting you.

  
  

**TIP: use your calendar as a signposting tool! Colour code meetings green, orange and red.

Communicate, communicate, communicate.

With any change, communication is key! Be sure to communicate your reasons and the benefits of strategic schedule management. Communicating these will better manage expectations, effect change in behaviour, maintain transparency and encourage others to streamline.

And, that's it!

Implementing an effective open-door policy doesn’t mean your door (or inbox) needs to be a free-for-all. With a few simple strategies like signposting your availability, hosting an Open Office, and using colour coding to manage your time, you can strike the perfect balance between being accessible and maintaining focus. The key? Consistency and communication. By clearly setting expectations and leading by example, you'll empower your team to work more efficiently, collaborate meaningfully, and respect each other’s time. Try it out and watch the difference it makes!