Respect in the Workplace: How to Avoid a Kelly Ripa Situation in Your Business

Respect in the Workplace: How to Avoid a Kelly Ripa Situation in Your Business

Unless you’re at home during the day, chances are you’re not a regular viewer of Live! With Kelly and Michael. Still, take one look at the newsstands and you’ll see cover stories (like this one from People Magazine) about the latest on-set scandal from the show.   

The Story

In April, Michael Strahan made a major announcement and Kelly Ripa was one of the last to know. This sent shockwaves throughout the Live! With Kelly and Michael studio. Strahan was leaving his show for Good Morning, America and Ripa was one of the last to know. In fact, she says she found out at almost the same time as the rest of the media.

Ripa was so hurt by being one of the last to know that she left the set for several episodes, causing everyone to speculate over the drama. When she returned, she said the reason why she was so hurt by Strahan’s departure was that there was a lack of “communication, consideration and, most importantly, respect in the workplace.”

How Can You Keep a Healthy Level of Respect in Your Workplace?

Ripa wanted to use her situation to raise awareness about respect at work.

“I think that all people are deserving of fair treatment in the workplace. People deserve respect. People should be treated equally and with dignity,” she told People Magazine.

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would disagree with this sentiment, still it remains a sticky subject. How can you maintain respect in your workplace so you don’t inadvertently upset one of your team members? Here are a few ideas.

Stay Transparent

To the extent that it’s do-able, stay as transparent as possible. Although there are sensitive situations that must be kept private, it’s important to keep your entire team as informed as reasonably possible.

In the Ripa vs. Strahan situation, she claims she should have been told sooner because of her long relationship with the show. In your business, you can do the same by notifying key players of major shifts that are about to take place in your company. Leaving people out makes them feel isolated and devalued.

Treat People Like People

Along the same lines of consideration and respect comes the need to recognize the people behind your employees. Yes, you have a business to run, but you need people on your side to make it function properly.

Whenever possible, give your employees the ability to adjust their schedule and make their employment with you work with all areas of their life. This means, letting them have more flexibility in switching shifts with other co-workers and submitting time off requests when needed.

Likewise, if you run a family business, make sure you treat all employees equally. This can be tricky because of the natural bias you’ll have toward your family, so make a conscientious effort to keep things fair.

Communication is Key

Having an open line of communication is the best way to achieve respect. Still, having a strategy behind how you communicate major shake ups to others on your team is important. By having a healthy combination of the two, you won’t have to worry about having a Kelly Ripa situation permeating your business.

Author Profile Jon Forknell is the Vice President and General Manager of Atlas Business Solutions, Inc., a software marketing company specializing in employee scheduling software, including ScheduleBase employee scheduling software, and other business software solutions. In the past, Jon has been recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Atlas Business Solutions was named as one of Software Magazine’s Top 500 Software Companies in 2004 through 2007 and again in 2010, 2013 and 2014.