Harper is demotivated because she is stressed about not keeping up with her workload. She feels under appreciated because she has taken on more responsibility and has not received recognition for her hard work. Most importantly, she is not receiving the support she needs to succeed at work. If I were an HR manager meeting with Harper’s supervisor, David, I would give him this advice to help him re-engage Harper.
- Invest in her professional development.
Harper has been employed at Marketable Inc for the past four years. There is also an open position left behind by her prior boss, Jose. Why not train her for this new position? She has already proved she has initiative to take on more responsibility and has prior experience in the company.
- Make it a priority to help employees feel valued.
Promoting Harper will show we value her contributions to our company and in turn, a promotion and a raise will add value to her life. I would also advise David to schedule weekly meetings with her to share progress and updates.
- Don’t overburden employees.
Harper feels that David is unavailable to help when she needs advice. Perhaps David is overburdened as well. Promoting Harper will help David share his duties with her. Harper will distribute the workload she is not responsible for, since her promotion, to the other five members on the team. It is a win-win situation for all involved.
- Provide employees with meaningful work.
With Harper feeling demotivated at work, I think this is the perfect time for David and Harper to have an important conversation. Sometimes with all the stress of work and life, we forget why we do what we do. They should talk about their why. They should take this time to sit down together and share their goals and aspirations in the company and why they love what they do. Such a talk could help improve work relations between them and most importantly, leave them both feeling motivated and ready to work together. This will also lead to them both having a forthright relationship.
The downside of losing Harper, besides the financial losses the company would incur to rehire and train a new person, would be the company losing a valuable asset. An invaluable asset who loves what she does in the marketing industry and a remarkable team player who goes above and beyond.
Hi Yaritza,
Loved your break down and analysis of Harper’s situation. I believe you are spot on with your offered solution of Harper taking her former boss Jose’s position. It really does address so many different dimensions of this problem and seems like the natural route to go that would not only benefit Harper but the company and perhaps inspire other employees too since they will be motivated by seeing the position go to a co-worker. The other aspect to focus on like you highlighted is the working relationship between David and Harper. I believe like you that the absence of that working relationship is causing the frustration and demotivation of Harper but this is something that can be easily remedied. No matter how important the work is, the people who carry it out are the most important aspect of the company and time should be taken out of their day to fix this and realign for a productive relationship going forward.
Hello Yaritza, I really enjoyed your solutions I thought they were very good ideas. I agree that they should just promote Harper to Joses old position because like you said she has already taken on some of those responsibilities, and has that motivation. I also really like what you said about them sitting down and talking about the ‘why’ they do what they do. That was really well written and I think that it can definitely lead them to having a better working relationship and motivate them even further.
Hi Yaritza, I love how you broke it down. Yes ,David is a leader ,he needs to help his team understand the purpose and show Harper that her work matter. I believe helping employees to find meaning in their work is critical to a company’s success. Employees who find meaning are more driven, creative, engaged, and productive.
Thank you for sharing.
Hello,
Nice breakdown and talking about the financial aspect of Harper’s departure is extremely meaningful.