The Hindu Business Line : Brushing up Brand Babu

While I was reading and listening to reports on the unseemly controversy about corrupt or obscurant civil servants and the debate on whether it was they who were the hurdles to progress or the much maligned politician, I couldn’t help thinking about the ubiquitous Government officers who are so much a part of our everyday life.

For the sake of brevity (newsprint is an expensive commodity, and one could really write a tome on this subject), I am restricting myself to IAS and IPS officers and a few others who I will club together, for the sake of sheer convenience.

For the record, let me state that I have, in the course of my advertising career and social life met and interacted rather closely with several senior government officers. I have enjoyed very good relationships with them and have grown rather fond of many of them. I even admire some of them. However, let’s lay out what common perception about them is. There seems to be a growing perception that government officers are generally rule-bound to the extent of being obstructionist, many are possibly corrupt, and almost all arrogant when dealing with the lay public inasmuch as they are servile while dealing with their political masters.

Why are we dealing with this subject at all? A well-meaning government servant asked me if any communications expert could come up with a way to improve the image of government officers and that set me thinking about how I would approach the subject. You would agree, it would present a challenge worth teasing your grey cells with. Also, our lives are inexorably entwined with them, so we really cannot wish them away. For almost anything you might need, odds are you might have to deal with the Government through its officers so it might help if we perceived them kindly.

As I thought, the image-building exercise seemed rather simple. I present five simple steps to brush up Brand Babu.

First, that very term ‘Babu’ conjures up images of crowded offices bursting at its seams with towering stacks of musty files and office attendants whose hands are stuck out permanently, demanding ‘bakshish’ to let you meet totally non-cooperative officers. I have admonished my own employees at times, saying “Don’t act with a Babu mentality. Think only of the client.” Government officers need to live this image down. And the way to do it is what I call Step number one. Understand the raison d’etre of your existence and realise who you are supposed to be working for.

Second, I do not think senior Government officers are slackers. In fact, they work hard. It is just that they have to change their perspective and decide to work for the people they were appointed to serve, rather than the Ministers who keep them hanging around all day and make some of the most preposterous demands on their time and integrity. So, step number two requires a little bit of backbone, and a little bit of re-focus. Nothing more.

Third, inasmuch as perception becomes the truth, appearances become reality. Looking at a car with a beacon (the great lal bathi culture we have carefully nurtured) parked at a No Parking sign while the babu’s wife shops for essentials, or double-parked outside a school where the driver waits to pick up the officers’ child really does nothing for the image of Brand Babu. Similarly, the sight of the driver of a top-ranking police official jumping a red light (when the police official is not even in the car) can only invite derision in the minds of tax-paying citizens.

Government officials must lead by example. One might even question why the red beacons are given merely on the basis of rank, instead of on the demands of work. One can understand the Home Secretary needing a flashing beacon to steer him or her to an emergency. What could justify the Secretary of Family Welfare or Sports or Fisheries or General Administration flashing a red light on a car, except to position himself as superior to the common man who pays his salary? The point that needs to be made is that their behaviour and the behaviour of their staff should be exemplary, and today, it is far from that. It’s really quite simple. Step number three, therefore, is, just remember the law applies to everyone, especially to those who are supposed to uphold it.

Fourth, government servants need to address the issue of access to their constituents. One is really not suggesting that anyone can just barge into their rooms at will. One is simply suggesting a little time management, given that their time is really mismanaged by the political masters. I truly believe that if they spend some time with real people in real situations, they would understand real problems better and be ready to provide real solutions. One can hardly blame them. They live in a comfortable cocoon which provides them and their kin immediate accommodation, gas cylinders, admissions to schools, clubs, colleges, transport and every little thing that become an uphill task for the lay person. Ever seen an IAS officer in a queue for a passport? What makes his time more important than yours? So, if the government officers went out, walked around with common people, they would empathise with the problems that common people are faced with, and almost naturally flow into Step number four, which is, do unto others what you make the government do unto you. Or, try doing unto you what you do unto others!

Fifth, corruption is something that saps the core of a society. It tars the good people with same brush that is used for the rotten apples. Senior officers who shield their subordinates are actually doing themselves a great disservice. It is important not just to be honest but also to be seen as being honest. Therefore, step five is to come down quickly and decisively on errant officers. A senior police officer told me that morale suffers when such things are attempted. Well, image suffers when they are not. And a good image, Sir, is great for morale.

Finally, government officers must be constantly aware that communication and image-building is not just about hastily drafted press releases, poorly crafted advertisements and films made by the lowest tender. Communication is also about body language, behaviour, and the impression you create at every touch point. For the Government, the police constable or driver, the office attendant, the ration officer and the municipal clerk are as important touchpoints as the suave senior officers in their large offices. And if some officer should actually wonder why he needs to bother with a good image, well, public accountability and their sobriquet as “public servants” demands it.

Jai Hind!

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