What do you think is the most demotivating part of Harpers Job? 

 The most demotivating part of Harpers job was the lack of support! Support is everything when it comes to getting things done. One person can’t do EVERYTHING. So, to be in a position at which you feel like the only support you have is yourself it can become stressful. The issue here was Harpers didn’t always have no support; she recently just stopped getting support. This can feel like hitting a brick wall. To go from having consistent system of support to none at all can be very demotivating. When Jose left, he left his job duties as well, some of which Harper now had to take on. Harper was now completing her task as well as some of a manager and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t being compensated for this new workload. On top of a new set of responsibilities she now had less time for her personal life. How motivating is that, knowing that after working a long hard day you don’t even had enough time to enjoy your favorite show or go out to for dinner. Harper was undervalued, overworked, and being ignored. There is an empty role on her team and David isn’t aware of the imbalance that Jose left on the team. Her new boss David didn’t even take the time out to communicate with Harper to see if see was alright and how she was adapting to the new responsibilities.

If you were an HR manager meeting with Harpers supervisor, David, what advice would you give them to help re-engage Harper?

As an HR manager, I would advise the David to communicate openly with the Harper, to understand her workload concerns, and explore ways to provide necessary support or resources. I would encourage David to have a discussion about the workload and distributing it across the team, setting realistic expectations and providing a good work/life balance for Harper so she may have downtime to regroup. Providing that work/life balance also works to boost morale and the overall productivity as Harper is now less stressed and can find more joy and passion in the work she is producing. Lastly, I would encourage David to incorporate some incentives for employees who produce higher numbers or complete more task than the average employee. A great example would be to promote within, promoting Harper to Jose’s role will be a big motivational booster for her and others on the team. This is a great way to boost the attitude in the workplace when employees are being recognized for the hard work they are doing they tend to want to continue that work in hopes of receiving more or better incentives in the future. Fostering a positive work environment can contribute to employee satisfaction and retention.

What would be the downside of losing Harper as an employee? 

The downside of losing Harper can be a real setback for Marketable, Inc. Harper has been with the company for four years, obtaining the same role since joining the company. Her team is only six people which means that responsibility and task can only be spread amongst a small group of individuals. Harper not only has been doing her job, but in the last six months, she has been taking on other responsibilities of her last manager. This means that Harper not only does her individual work, but she also tackles some managerial tasks. If Harper, leaves company that team and department will suffer a big loss and some negative impacts. A negative impact would be on team morale. Being that she’s worked for the team for so long. She has not only developed a relationship, but also is seen as an example for newer employees coming into the company. They may gauge her success and compare it to their own. The loss of institutional knowledge will be significant. Harper came directly out of college which means she went from institutional training to experience on-the-job training and the skills that she has developed from her four-year degree as well as her four years at that company will be very hard to match or replace. Because Harper was taking on majority of the workload if she leaves, then Marketable, Inc runs the risk of not being able to produce the services at which they used to. This can lead to a potential disruption in productivity. Finally, recruiting and training a replacement can be time-consuming and costly for the organization. Time and money must be invested in the right resources in order to generate the qualified candidates. There’s no telling how quickly or how slowly those candidates will generate and how long it will take to complete the full hiring process and fill the Harpers role.