The meetings may be over but how they went will be seen by what happens next. Incidentally, in both cases, the HR team got in touch with the managers to discuss about their reportees.
Joanne from HR got in touch with Ray to discuss about the ‘future of John’ at Acme Inc. Ray, being super confident about the way things went in the meeting, is ready with his suggestions for Ray’s future. He is however in for a rude shock.
Ray: Hello Joanne, how’s it going at the salt mines?
Joanne: Hello Ray, everything is going as ever at the HR department!
Ray: Come on, don’t pretend that you aren’t enjoying it. Sometimes I envy you guys. All you have to do is look for candidates and once hired ensure they get their salary on time. Of course we do appreciate you put in all the hard work for our team outings! By the way, I have a suggestion for the next one. Try and make it a beach outing this time. It’s not fun to be cooped up with so many employees in a hotel. You can’t spot the talent!
Joanne: Yes, that’s not what this conversation is about Ray. Let’s get to the task at hand first.
Ray: Sure, although it would be great to discuss simple matters of the HR at times. We are so overworked that we could do with some light topics!
Joanne: HR is not all about outings and team events Ray. Now can we please focus on the topic at hand?
Ray: Hmm, go ahead.
Joanne: Your reportee John has resigned from his position and is currently serving his 2 weeks notice. The team was under the impression that he was working really well considering many anonymous respondents have credited him with helping them on numerous occasions. However his ratings seem to be average. We would like to get to the root cause of the situation.
Ray: John resigned! That’s strange! He never once mentioned he had other plans. I would not have wasted time on giving him the pep talk. Had to give my own examples on how to stay true to focus to ensure all his goals are met. Some people never seem to appreciate honest feedback. Oh well. Nothing can be done in that case.
Joanne: Ray this is the fourth person from your team to resign this year. All of them have been here for approximately 2 years. Is there anything that we are missing?
Ray: It is probably the type of people being hired Joanne. None of them seem to want to work hard. Of course they show that they work hard initially but always seem to lose focus in the end. You guys need to really improve the quality of your recruitment process. This will reflect badly on the company you know. If you want, I can suggest a few tips on what should be done. I guess I can take time out for that.
Joanne: Thank you but that won’t be necessary Ray. I have asked by the team to let you know that 2 of the 4 who resigned mentioned a few points in their exit interview. They said their contributions were not being valued and also weren’t being recognised for their achievements. The remaining 2 were also of a similar opinion but were more subtle.
Ray: I bet it was Doug and Mark. They always seemed to show that they were working really hard but I knew that wasn’t true.
Joanne: Who they were is not important Ray. What they said is. We should be focusing on developing our employees and getting them engaged in their responsibilities.
Ray: Exactly Joanne. So coming back to my original point. How about we plan that beach trip in the next month. It would definitely help to get employees more engaged right?
Joanne: Ray, I’m trying to say that you need to change the way you manage your employees. We need to discuss on how to change this situation at the earliest.
Ray: Sure Joanne, I’m free now. Shall we head down to the cafeteria instead of the conference room? I find that it helps to improve my concentration levels.
And so it goes on and on. No matter how hard anyone tries, if a person is not willing to accept his/her mistakes or change his/her ways, then it is difficult for him/her as well as the company.
There’s probably nothing that can change the ways of Ray or similar managers. They are too set in their ways and cannot differentiate from right or wrong. In their own world, they will always act according to what they believe is right. No matter how hard the other person tries. People like John will continue to be demotivated and leave their jobs for better opportunities.
On the other hand, Capsule Corp does not have this problem. Due to the meticulous approach followed by Rebecca, things couldn’t have been more easy. Jack from the HR team got in touch with Rebecca to discuss about Matt’s future.
Jack: Hello Rebecca, got a few minutes?
Rebecca: Of course Jack, I have been expecting you. Tell me. This is about Matt’s future prospects right?
Jack: Haha You are always caught up with everything it seems, Rebecca.
Rebecca: Not at all. It was due so I figured this might be the right time. So did you go through my assessment for Matt?
Jack: Yes, I did and the team did as well. Given that many of the others also have spoken in favour of Matt, plus owing to his incredible track record, it is only fair that we promote him, just as you suggested.
Rebecca: That’s great. I was hoping for this to happen.
Jack: Definitely. Given his tenure and your assessment, we have already started the paperwork. We’ll get in touch with him by the end of this week itself.
Rebecca: I’m sure he’ll be pleased!
Jack: By the way, you do have a knack for spotting talent! Almost every year we have had team leads becoming managers from your team.
Rebecca: Oh they are the ones with the capabilities! I just budge them in the right direction.
Jack: Haha okay you be modest while I get on with my other responsibilities. Have a great day ahead!
Rebecca: You too Jack. Thank you for stopping by.
Here, the manager is invested in her team’s development. Not only did she conduct the review in an excellent manner, she also helped shaped Matt’s career. A major credit to the company culture as well that empowers her to take such decisions at her own discretion.
