A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of waiting in the reception area of a large multinational call-centre. I employ the word pleasure with care as for what started as a slight disappointment for a delayed meeting became an important insight on issues that face many organizations.

I had been informed that my meeting was delayed by about an hour, due to no particular reason that the receptionist knew of, so I took my place and waited. The reception area itself was a large brightly-lit space with sparce furniture and abstract pictures on the wall. Much like most reception areas I thought. However the real richness of the setting was contained in the subtle drama that played itself out in front of me. All of which conspired to create an image of the organization which I was not ready for.

At first glance there was nothing unique about this reception area. A skilled receptionist screened incoming calls with a quiet ease and dispatched visitors to their ongoing destinations within the inner workings of the organizations. All seemed normal but having re-read some of my notes I started to examine the setting some more.

To my right a job candidate was completing a test as part of an interview process. As a psychologist I knew that this was not ideal setting but my experience also told me that meeting rooms are so often at a premium that organizations often make unfortunate compromises. On my left a group of employees from the US parent company were seated waiting to meet their counterparts. At first their discussions were innocent discussing their ongoing travel arrangements. However their tone soon started to change to more sinister agendas. They openly began discussing the upcoming changes in the organization and who by name would unknowningly not be around. They then proceeded to condemn the layout of the reception and how they must report this back to the parent site. All of this in the space of a few moments - but no comment to the internal staff was the common consensus.

Just then two members of staff emerged and welcomed their guests. All applauded the reception area and discussed how they couldn't wait to get back to tell all in the US. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry-out.

I wasn't the only one to appreciate this. The job candidate had finished his test and continued to tell me that it had taken over four months to get an interview for a job that was widely advertized. He told of the endless calls he had made, with no response, and that it took a friend of his family who worked there to finally arrange an interview. As a consultant I recognized the frustration of non-returned calls.

Not wanting to discuss my growing misgivings any further I looked at the small coffee table in front of me for reading materials. What I saw actually saw shocked me - copies of internal reports clearly marked PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL! I picked these up and passed them on to the receptionist. She informed me that this sort of thing always happens and despite her efforts she can't watch everything.

My waiting was abruptly ended as I was called to my meeting. Although my time waiting was relatively short, and despite my own efforts to understand how these things happen, I could not help thinking how easy it is to develop a negative image of an organization. Moreover how many organizations leave this to chance.

Try the following simple tests to see if your organization is open to the effects of negative first impressions.

Spend some time in your reception and observe the interactions around you.

Ask an outside accomplice to pose as a job candidate or consultant and apply for work.

Ring for information on the company or products and see if you get any reply.

I find that within organizations sales people usually will reply to calls as they tend to appreciate the value of returning calls. However, their professionalism is probably more down to the incentive of a commission than the importance of good customer relationships. It is a pity that all staff don't reflect this professionalism and that we leave these things to chance.

Your company and brand should be important to you - protect them against negative first impressions.

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