Category Archives: Retention

These posts will be added to our Student Work menu item. This category should be used for submitting posts for our Unit #13 Assignment.

Retention Assignment- Thomas Mahoney

What do you think is the most demotivating part of Harper’s job?

I think the most demotivating part of Harper’s job is her newfound workload, lack of support from her new boss, and that she has kept the same position at Marketable for four years. Since her old supervisor’s departure from the company her daily work life has taken a great increase and she finds herself overwhelmed and overworked with little to no recognition. She seems to be as passionate as she can about her job and likes what she does, but being overwhelmed like this is enough to make anyone consider leaving.

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

If i were an HR manager meeting with Harper’s supervisor I would strongly advise him to schedule or hold a one on one meeting with Harper as well as all other employees he supervises and ask simple questions relating to stress, company time, work/life balance, and generally how they feel about their role at Marketable and if they feel they need more compensation and if they are content/ satisfied with the work they are doing and their current position at Marketable. Also telling her supervisor to consider a pay raise or promotion could be motivating to Harper, if David feels she can hold this position potentially having Harper take Jose’s position as a supervisor could also be considered.

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

Losing Harper as an employee would create a problem for the company, especially after losing Jose, the previous supervisor. Losing Harper would mean that they would have to search and potentially train a new employee to fill her role. This could cost money and could take time, as Harper is well experienced since being at Marketable for four years. Losing Harper as an employee would also have a large impact on the workload of other employees throughout the company. In the meantime between finding an employee to take her position, other members of the Marketable team would have to cover and distribute Harper’s workload among themselves. This can lead to other employees feeling that they are overworked and not appreciated for their time and dedication as Harper did.

Retention – Annmaria Patterson

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.

 

Giordani Retention Assignment

I think that the most demotivating part of Harper’s job is that she has been in the same role for four years and is currently managing a workload that exceeds the responsibilities of her role. If I were an HR manager meeting with Harper’s supervisor, David, I would advise him to:

1. Schedule biweekly 1-1s with Harper to touch base about her workload and help her determine which tasks to prioritize
2. Take a look at all of the employees that he manages workloads and determine if there are opportunities to reassign some of the work that is on Harper’s radar to other employees
3. Consider promoting Harper to replace Jose if he has the power to do so. Considering Harper has extensive experience in her role, and, due to Jose’s departure and her increased workload, has some experience completing the work that Jose was completing, promoting her would likely contribute to her job satisfaction (due to the title change + salary increase), would be a smooth transition for her and the company at large, and would alleviate the problem of Harper (and possibly other employees) feeling overworked.

Losing Harper as an employee would likely have very negative impacts on the other employees. Since Jose’s position has not been filled, losing Harper, an employee who has been in the same position for four years, will further increase the workload of others in her department. Beyond this, I believe that it will take a long time for a new hire to match Harper’s level of productivity since they will have to spend time learning about the position and the culture of the company.