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Feedback: August 2009 Archives
I harped on ad nauseam with my friends the way Joe Torre played favorites with Bernie Williams on the Yankees and how (to me) it appeared to affect morale on the team and the relationship with other players.
In 2004, when his skills were diminishing, Bernie Williams was replaced in center field by Kenny Lofton, who soon found himself playing out of favor with Torre and receiving less playing time as a result. Kenny felt slighted by his manager because it was clear to him that he was treated differently as a new player vs. an established player who had the ear of the manager (despite Lofton's greater skill set at that time).
Another example of perceived favoritism was when Williams was not signed after the 2006 season. Although he didn't sign a deal with the Yankees, Williams was invited to spring training but declined to attend. Torre called Williams on several occasions to invite him into camp, but Williams declined. Despite having a roster full of talent, it could be assumed that Mr. Torre may have slighted other choices that may have been already on the team.
My suspicions may have been solidified by seeing an interview with Williams where Torre was a special guest and admitted that everyone knew Williams was his favorite.
Whether or not my suspicions are correct, they are examples of what can be "perceived" as favoritism, which very often is just as bad as "actual" favoritism. Whether or not any of these incidences (or others) were related to Torre's feelings about Williams isn't totally clear, but certainly can lead to decreased morale due to others feeling slighted by favorites being played.
As well, when someone is "your favorite", it could lead to making judgements based not on performance but on your feelings towards one person over another, and lead to those underperforming to keep their role because of their strong relationship with their superior.
Lack of timeliness on the job (both from the employer and employee view) causes lapses in productivity, stress, and in some cases severance of employment.
From an employee point of view, the excuses I heard often were "my commute is too long", "i got stuck in traffic", "i woke up late", etc... Learning how to manage your time better despite these issues is the solution. Even now, students who are late to class often reference these same problems. As I like to say, it never hurts to get somewhere too early.
From an employer point of view, catching the problems that cause lateness in the first place can prevent it from happening at all. If you have staff you know come from a long distance and through a difficult commute, you may want to look at options to be flexible with start and end times. In my own life now, I have office hours either until just around 4 or until 6pm, because if I leave anywhere in between, there is going to be a delay inevitably.
Finding the right balance between caving to demands and running a successful operation is important when considering how to prevent lateness caused by commute. However, if you are able to make this work, then you can focus more on the lateness that is occurring that is especially bad for business - the lateness of those who just show up late because they have been allowed to get away with it.
Having a strict attendance policy that is followed through the document, discipline and dismiss process will enable you to hold people accountable while addressing issues in a fair and just manner.
Our national pastime is rich with memories and parallels to everyday life. A friend of mine knows how much I love baseball, and I told her that I had been thinking about writing a baseball column relating to HR. She told me to run with it, so here we go!
In the first in a regular series on HR in Baseball, I will share with you how the pitcher and catcher relationship is so important to having an effective game.
The catcher is ultimately responsible for calling the correct pitch for each batter and each situation. However, he must team with the pitcher to call pitches that the pitcher is comfortable throwing, is effective at throwing, and can create the greatest good for the team.
Two examples of how much the pitcher/catcher relationship is important can be seen in the perfect game pitched by Mark Buehrle earlier this summer, and in the Yankees/Red Sox game this past Saturday.
In Buerhle's perfect game, he trusted his catcher so much that whatever the catcher chose, Buerhle threw. Every pitch magically worked, and it resulted in the rare feat of a perfect game. Having kept an eye on Buerhle in warmups, and having discussions with him prior to the game, they created a game plan that would be effective.
Let's look at when pitching and catching don't get along. AJ Burnett and Jorge Posada were clearly not on the same page on Saturday. Burnett and Posada met several times during the first couple innings of the game to address communication issues, and after Burnett delivered a pitch he did not want to deliver, he turned his back to home plate and asked "Why, why, why" in clear view.
What could have improved Burnett's performance may have been the ability that day for Posada to see that his fastball was not quite what it should be. Every time Posada seemed to call for a fastball, the Red Sox hit the ball a million miles. If there was better communication prior to the game, and better adjustments during the game, the results may have been much different.
To bring this over to business, one can look at the relationship of a manager (the catcher) to the people who work for the manager (the pitchers). The catcher may not have ultimate authority, but they do have the ability to guide the success of the pitcher, capitalizing on their talents on any given day. The best "catchers" know when someone may be struggling in an area of their work, and know when they need to capitalize on secondary strengths to bring out the best in someone on any given day.
Q: I'm working on a contract with my company for a promotion, but they are unwilling to meet my salary demands. I want to continue to work for them, but I feel the compensation package they are offering is not consistent with what others in the area are getting paid. What do you suggest?
A: It's been said in many places that "now's not the time to be greedy." It doesn't sound to me like you are being greedy, but it does sound like there may be other ways for you to be compensated to make up for the perceived difference in pay.
Negotiate for more time off - since it is a salaried position, see if they will work in an extra day or few hours a month off while getting the same salary
Extra service or extra earning opportunities - see if there are ways you can earn extra money with your company by working extra hours or on extra projects from time to time.
Perks - see if there are ways you can take advantage of tuition reimbursement, discounted gym memberships, and the like. You may find the perks are far more valuable and aplenty then you realized.
Lastly, express your needs, and perhaps they will be more receptive to that rather than just comparing what you are making to what others are making.
Q: My boss takes all the credit for the hard work I do, but I don't complain. However, it has created some great stresses on the organization because of his mistakes. Thankfully, other members of the organization are aware that he isn't as smart as he thinks he is. How can I maintain sanity without losing my cool? Disturbed in Suburbia
A: Dear Disturbed,
Sounds like a pretty typical situation and something you are handling gracefully. I'd continue to work hard and grin and bear it until the situation resolves itself in one of two ways - the boss will leave the company or the company will ask him to leave.
The best way to deal with someone who takes all the credit but has little knowledge is to remain professional, and keep accurate records. Documenting conversations, issues you have had with the person, and working with other people in the company fixing situations while delicately (if necessary) placing blame are effective ways to keep things professional while keeping yourself sane.
As for dealing with your boss directly, ask to spend time with them explaining what issues you are having with his contributions. Work with him to show him the mistakes he is making, and if they continue, at least you can sleep at night knowing that you have covered your tracks and done your due diligence.
Q: What are your thoughts on "mental health days"? What should employers do about people who want to take these?
A: Mental health days are a great way to keep sharp and utilize benefit time for reasons other than illness.
As a very healthy child, I never was sick, and my mother would let me take mental health days from school (planned in advance) to recharge and get caught up on whatever life was throwing my way.
Similarly, in the workplace, a personal day to recharge, refocus, and get caught up on personal matters, planned ahead of time, can bring tremendous benefits to the work place.
Surveying some friends and relatives, I notices a trend among many companies and people working at them; less people are using sick days out of fear of losing their job, where more companies are cutting back on sick time and giving people "comp days" or "paid time off" in greater increments or in different forms.
Generally, a mental health day can be a very good thing, if both parties use it responsibly. Planning a mental health day ahead of time rather than just calling in because you are too stressed out to work is the responsible way of taking a mental health day. Likewise, for the company, it can be a great way to prevent burnout and reward people with time off (paid or unpaid) that can hopefully starve off any possible illness that is related to burnout.
Q: We have a few verbally abusive customers who regularly come in and intimidate our employees. They are larger accounts, so we really don't want to lose their business. How do we handle this?
A: Unfortunately, "the customer is always right" doesn't also mean "the customer is also civilized." Dealing with poor manners is unfortunately a necessity when dealing with the general public. However, there is a certain level of decorum that you should expect from people, especially when they are your best customers.
As a leader, it is important to identify who your best customers are, and ensure that they stay as your best customers. However, it is also important to set expectations with people of what they should do when they enter your workplace. Identify exactly how they are behaving and to who, and work with both your staff and the customer on how to diffuse the situation.
Sometimes, though rarely, it may be time to "fire the customer". I have had to do this maybe 3 or 4 times at most in my career, and usually it is because the customers expectations of what I can do and what I offer are completely misaligned. In one recent case, I refunded a customer the entire amount they paid me and suggested a new solution provider, because they were asking me to do more than I was capable of doing and what they were asking for was going to be impossible for me to make work. In the end, it probably was best to sever the working arrangement.
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