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Employee Worth
Recruiting & Staffing
Employee Worth
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We are losing a very good manager in two weeks. Her main reason for leaving is not money, but lack of respect for her and her staff from the "higher-ups". I feel losing this employee will be very detr
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Forums » Topic Forums » Recruiting & Staffing » Employee Worth
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Employee Worth
posted at 8/15/2000 2:40 AM EDT
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Posts: 63
First: 8/1/1999 Last: 8/31/2000 |
We are losing a very good manager in two weeks. Her main reason for leaving is not money, but lack of respect for her and her staff from the "higher-ups". I feel losing this employee will be very detrimental to the future of the company. How can I get the CEO to understand that treating employees as disposable objects is going to be his ruin? And how to I get him to make a turn-around and understand that you just can't treat people like dirt and expect complete loyalty? |
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Employee Worth
posted at 8/22/2000 2:25 AM EDT
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Posts: 3
First: 7/13/1999 Last: 8/22/2000 |
Do you have the kind of relationship with him that you will have any impact on his actions? I tried to put together productivity information on each employee to show what they contribute to the bottom line so our CEO would understand why they are important. It helped for a very short time. I have suggested to him we have a signal for meetings for when I think what he's saying is inappropriate but he feels he knows and wasn't interested. I'm currently putting together a cost study showing how much we spend to get an employee recruited, hired, trained and going including time spent by all employees involved. I'm hopeful that showing him bottom line info will help. |
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Employee Worth
posted at 8/22/2000 2:47 AM EDT
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Posts: 3
First: 8/22/2000 Last: 6/7/2002 |
Sometimes Executives, in their focus on corporate bottom line results and the impact it has on their bonuses, lose sight of what it takes to make those results a reality. People. Building a culture around people and respecting, trusting, and knowing them, is the simple key to retaining and motivating in today's tight labor market.
Your CEO needs to hear in a non-emotional way the specific feedback as you have told it above: a top-notch manager is leaving because she and her team do not feel respected by him. Another way to get the message across would be to indicate that the manager plans to leave and ask him what his perception might be of the problem. If the CEO wants to make the situation better, he needs to regain respect, trust, and credibility as a leader by first admitting his mistake to those that have been affected. Then, he needs to spend time listening to what they feel and what they want, taking them seriously. This could start with the Manager, and should include her staff in a separate meeting. He needs to carefully document their concerns, provide honest answers where he is prepared, and get back to them on those that he isn't--within a specified timeframe! Going forward, he needs to involve this team in changes and issues that affect them and their jobs. They are the experts and can solve the problems the best. All he needs to do to make this happen is to clearly communicate the vision, and ask them to come up with the solution; even if the solution is determined to be unworkable, they will feel involved if they know he appreciates the effort, and why he has decided on other courses. Of course, this is a long and complicated process. Employees have long memories. But, it is worth it to have the trust and support of your team when you are their true leader. |
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Employee Worth
posted at 8/22/2000 3:59 AM EDT
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Posts: 2
First: 8/22/2000 Last: 7/31/2001 |
One great tool to use that's more overview than those suggested would be Watson Wyatt's excellent Human Capital Index report from a few years ago (along with the follow up results from last year). They do a fantanstic job of linking specific people practices with shareholder value creation. I've found that most executives can more readily make the link between how they treat people (and the programs they put some weight behind) if they have some concrete numbers and specifics that are linked to company value. I think the report's available on their web page, or at least a place where you can order it, and it's short, simple and to the point. Luck. |
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Employee Worth
posted at 8/22/2000 6:13 AM EDT
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Posts: 127
First: 8/22/2000 Last: 1/6/2009 |
Tonette --
You've received some really good advice on data and tools you can use with your CEO. Unfortunately, if he doesn't "get it" yet, he may never get it until his company goes belly up (or starts gasping for air). You can't have a company without people and you can't have people if their needs aren't met. Maybe during the depression that would have worked (I hope not!), but not in the current marketplace. What is your role in the company? Are you the HR person? If so, you may also want to ask him why he hired you if he was not willing to use your good advice to deal with the people side of the business. Best Regards, Denise O'Berry --- The Small Business Edge 813.671.5996 Tampa, FL USA http://www.whatspossible.com |
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Employee Worth
posted at 8/22/2000 7:47 AM EDT
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Posts: 136
First: 9/14/1999 Last: 6/29/2004 |
I don't know that this will help any except to give you some words of experience and encouragement. I have fought this same scenario as an outside consultant to many public and private organizations. I can only equate getting the change you are talking about to turning around an aircraft carrier,i.e., they take a long time to turn around and involve many systems. A risk manager recently said to me, "It feels good to see it all finally working." It took she and I five years of fighting and politicing with the powers that be to get to where it works. We reduced there number of workers comp. claims and dollars dramatically. Hang in there. It can happen. You'll unfortunately probably see a lot of good people leave along the way. Maybe you will also and that might be the biggest loss of them all, i.e., having a person leave who cares enough to want it different. By the way the approach of offering analysis and facts did help enormously with some of the people the risk manager and I had to battle. Others were so ego invested in being "the boss" that we only got to them by leveraging our support from others. Good luck and best wishes. |
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Employee Worth
posted at 8/23/2000 2:36 AM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: 8/23/2000 Last: 8/23/2000 |
I have read the responses you have received so far and believe you have received some very good advice. However, you need to put over a far more complete argument and I would like to suggest the following:
1) Look at recruitment costs 2) Identify turnover rate 3) What is the mix of male/female managers? 4) What is staff retention like? 4) Look at the costs and publicity implications of Legal/Tribunal cases? 6) Look at what the strategic objectives of the company are 7) Identify what demographic mix your customer base is ie: male/female ratio Does the company aspire to be an employer of choice? 9) Do you have a company culture where people achieve their potential? 10) Do you have difficulty recruiting people with specific skills and are any of those skills women related? 11) Is the company in a competitive marketplace? 12) Does the company have an open culture? 13) Does the company need flexibility in its workforce? 14) What is the Leadership style within the organisation 15) Was this manager paid the same as a male manager? 16) Was this manager treated differently to a male manager? Is the disrespect shown only to females? Omce you have assimilated all the above information then you can put the case to him including the economic one and at the same time ask his opinion of the Russian Submarine tragedy and Putin's Leadership style. has it earned him any respect? No - it has made people angry because he has demonstrated they are of no importance. This is the first time ever that the people have voiced their anger(or anything else for that matter) in public and to the world. I will be interested to hear how you get on. Barbara |
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Employee Worth
posted at 8/30/2000 4:41 AM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: 8/30/2000 Last: 8/30/2000 |
I have to agree with ATBHR. Unless there is some sort of significant emotional event in the CEO's life, you can expect it to take some time to turn the CEO around, if that person ever will. I would caution against being or appearing confrontational. My experience is that this type of executive will tend to get defensive and push back, probably to your detriment.
Instead, consider checking with the members of the CEO's team to get their perspectives on the CEO's behavior and the impact it is having on the organization. In the process, be sure to position the discussion such that you don't appear to be attempting a rebellion. Always make it clear you are trying to do what's best for the health of the organization. From there, you have some options, depending upon the support you perceive from the other managers. 1) If think you can, get the senior management group to raise the concern with the CEO. Get your concerns and recommendations in line. Ask the most senior of that group to act as facilitator for the discussion, so that none of the less senior people appear "uppity." Do as others have suggested, focus on the business impact. But don't be afraid to add in the human aspect as additional support. As a group, formulate a game plan to help the senior officer modify behaviors. Perhaps the group could use the experience as an opportunity to collectively assess their behaviors along this line. There is great strength in numbers. 2) If the first option doesn't seem workable, you may ask the most supportive officers to help you formulate ways to help the CEO see his negative behaviors. Again, there is greater impact from the number of people making the input. As always, be cautious that you don't come across as if you are attempting a coup. 3) Do as others have suggested and approach the CEO yourself. However, this will be the least impactful of the options, because you stand alone. You can be creative and find ways to enlist others in a less direct way, but it is much more difficult to pull off. Regardless of what you do, you'll have something of a balancing act to perform, to avoid looking uppity yourself. I certainly concur that use of solid business facts and impacts will serve your cause well. Many CEOs do silly things unconsciously. Your goal is to take the CEO from a) unconscious disrepect to b) consciousness of disrespect to c) conscious respect to d) unconscious respect. You are changing a bad habit. It will take time and perseverence. If you remain pragmatic and can show the folly of behaviors from both a business and human standpoint, a fair CEO will begin to modify behaviors. The good CEO will appreciate your concern for the business and its people. If your efforts fall on deaf ears, you can get little or no support from other senior officers, or your efforts fail to yield positive results after a reasonable period of time, then you need to seriously consider looking for employment in another organization. Hopefully, things will never come to this. I wish you smart thinking and a little good luck! Regardless of what happens, be true to your values and what your conscience tells you are the right things to do. |
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