After reading the case study the most demotivating part of Harpers Job is that her boss Jose has left the organization. Her workload has increased, she has limited communication with the new boss, she feels overburdened and she does not feel valued. She had a good work relationship with Jose her earlier boss for the past 4 years. He was guiding her since the time she has joined the organization. She has lost the guidance and support provided by him. The communication level with David the new boss is limited and though her workload has increased she does not feel involved or valued.
I would as the HR manager advise Harper’s supervisor David to create channels of communication with Harper and make her feel valued. I would recommend that he spends some time with her every week to prioritize her work schedule. He can also give her feedback on the positives and negatives to acknowledge her contribution and make her feel that she is an important part of the team. Further, he can review her workload and responsibilities and distribute some workload to other team members giving her time and space to manage her responsibilities effectively. Additionally, he can offer her a revised pay package to compensate for her additional work responsibilities. Lastly, he should positively reinforce her role in the team by recognizing her contribution to the team.
The downside of losing Harper as an employee would be that the company would have to find a new employee and train the employee to adapt to company culture and work style. The activity of hiring a new individual would consume time, efforts mad resources. The company would have to invest time in finding a suitable resource and train the resource to perform her responsibilities. She has a good understanding of the organization and her work style is perfectly suited to the organization. She joined the organization immediately after graduating and has been successfully completing her role for the past 4 years. The new employee may not adapt easily to the work culture and the company may find it difficult to find a suitable resource with matching competence levels.
To conclude it is more expensive to hire a new employee than to retain an existing efficient employee. The employer will need to spend excess training dollars to train a new hire to fill the position. It is more rewarding to promote from within. This to me is a testament of the employer providing employees with meaningful work and more importantly understanding why employees stay with a company. Harper Jones is demotivated this is clear by her boss leaving the organization as well as the lack of acknowledgment from David the new boss and her reaction to such. Team morale is important this speaks to making it a priority to help employees feel valued. Lastly, it is extremely important for a company to create a culture of open communication. This empowers and allows employees to vocalize when they are having a hard time within their respected positions without being punished or reprimanded for being vocal as it often only takes one person to speak on hardships or experiences others might be having also. The benefit is that the employer sees first hand what hardships its teams are having and has an opportunity to make it right. This shows that the employer cares and can also lead to employee retention being upheld as most employees will remember and appreciate these types of actions.
Hi Jamel, I think you did a job on analyzing Harper’s retention case. I agree with you that to hire a new employee is much more time-consuming compare to keep a current employee. If I were the HR hiring manager, I would definitely try my best to keep Harper.
Hello Jamel,
Thank you for your post.
Your summary of Harpers demotivation in your first paragraph is succinct, describing several of the factors around communication, over burdened, current communication issues with her new boss and feeling undervalued. I also referenced those same factors. It would also appear that Harper lost a mentor when Jose left.
Your suggestion of the HR manager offering a revised pay package to compensate for her additional work responsibilities is interesting, but I don’t think it might be the Harpers only motivation. I began to think of other techniques particularly in Strategy #3-Offer a Benefits package that is truly beneficial, and the organization should fill the position in a reasonable since Jose left.
You made a good point of hiring a new employee who may not adapt easily to the work culture. I recall the Zappos new hire strategy to pay new employees to leave as part of their orientation training. And you’re spot on that the organizations activity of hiring a new employee would consume time, efforts and resources. I would also add loss of productivity training a new employee.
Your description of her new boss David lack of acknowledgment and Harper’s subsequent reaction led me to also consider that her boss David should also participate in Training and development programs provided by the organization’s retention strategy. Since one of the reasons people are dissatisfied at their job is because of the relationship with their manager, providing in-house training to all management team members to help them become better communicators and better managers can trickle down to the employee level, creating better relationships and resulting in better retention and less turnover.
Thank You,
Chris Narine
Hi Jamel, I liked the your advise for the manager. Communication is very important among employees and their boss. Moreover, loosing an employee like harper is a downside for the company. The company won’t be able to find another employee like her.