Synergy Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research

8/8/2019 Synergy Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research

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Perspective of Mr.Abhishek Suman:

Background:

Mr. Abhishek Suman, a talented young professional is facing an unprecedented professional

challenge.Aspiration, ability & ambiguity have collided to compound the problems for him.

As a young manager when he set out for a rewarding career, little did he know that his hunger

for challenges and the quest to prove himself as an able multi tasker would turn detrimental to

the recognition of his initiatives.Rather than receiving appreciation for his efforts, he finds

himself questioning his future in the company on one hand, while trying to save his

relationship on the other.

Facts:

y Abhishek joined ELIXIR A premier B School well known for its HRM programbased on the opinion of his parents and friends despite being a techie at heart.

y He felt that the college and the lectures were unfruitful and taking up a job at the endof the course was his hope of making a great rewarding career.

y Appointed as Manager HR, Bester Paints, an MNC now operating inIndia.(Referred to as Company)

y Abhishek In- Charge of the plant factory in Ashtrakia near Nasik.y Abhishek took up the job for the promises the recruitment team gave him.y Bester Paints not the best paymaster in the market,Abhishek still accepted the offer

as it offered greater challenges.

y First month into the job he was assigned the task of working on wage negotiation inthe factory and got a chance to meet the Union Leaders which excited him.

y He was often called to the corporate office as he was heavily involved in recruitment.y He also involved himself in an annual compensation exercise which he enjoyed.y He thought he was lucky not to be involved in the day to day functioning of the

factory operations, which gave him a chance to play different roles which in turn

would allow him to be close to the top management.

y The job left him with almost no personal life.y Abhishek was impressed with his performance during the year gone by.y Seniors evaluation of his performance was not in sync with his own evaluation.


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Expectations:

y Fast Track growthy Challenging job profile.y Empathy and understanding of his professional constraints from Ayeshay Open communication from peers & superiors.y Entrepreneurial environment within the organisation with greater operational

freedom.

y Recognition & appreciation for his multi tasking abilities and initiative which he hasdisplayed within the short span of 1 year in the organisation.

Decisions Our Inferences & Recommendations:

y Existential Dillema: Abhishek is faced with the dillema of whether he should quit thejob or toe the line as articulated by Mr. Shankar

Recommendation:

He is a valued resource in the eyes of the top management of the organisation . He is

poised for future growth within the company if he is able to stick it out with slight

modification to his approach. He needs to introspect and be more diplomatic in his

interactions with his peers and superiors.

His own percieved career progression path does not synergise with what the company

management seems to have in mind for him. He also seems to asses the impact of his

actions and behaviours inaccurately on people. (CognitiveDissonance Johari

Window)

y Maximising Operational Freedom / Flexibility: Abhishek took up the job lucrativedue to the real time challenges it offered owing to the lack of a structured job

description, now he is being criticised and rater poorly for supposedly taking up more

than he can handle and not doing justice to his tasks.


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Recommendation:

He needs to openly communicate his expectations to the management and articulate

his thoughts in a manner which does not sound disapproving or rebellious in nature to

the other employees.

He has a distinct preference for managing diverse roles simultaneously due to the

high level of challenges they pose to him and the fact that it gives him an opportunity

to outperform on them which is something no other employee within the organisation

can boast of.

He must develop the tact and the ability of working through opposing minds within

the organisation.

.

y Work Life Balance: Abhishek planned to get married to Ayesha but is nowrethinking over it because of the career dilemma he is facing.

Recommendation:

Abhishek needs to set his priorities right and learn to communicate them to Ayesha.

He must try and maintin a healthy work life balance by ensuring that he is not

burdended with work which leaves him not enough time for his personal life. Loosing

Ayesha in the over zealous pursuit of professional excellence is a very high personal

cost to pay and the payoff is not justifiable.

Future:-

Inference & Recommendations

y Abhishek has a high need for achievement *(McClellands Need Theory). This isportrayed through his decisions and behaviour. His decision to take up admission into

ELIXIR institute knowing the fact that only the top talent make it to the institute.


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y He must build his personal brand equity within the peer group and superiors. Hemust establish open communication channels with them and seek feedback from them

on a regular interval.

y He must seek greater role clarity on an immediate basis from the superior and ensurethat an expectation levelling excercise is carried out for both stakeholders before any

formal Job Description is chalked out for him.

y He must clearly define his Key Result Areas (KRAs), Key Performance Indicators(KPIs) & Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for his own performance in consultation

with his superior which will help his self assessment become slightly more realistic.

y Must recommend a formal mentor / buddy system which can be initiated within theorganisation which could be a guiding force for him as well as make the superiors feel

wanted and valued.

Perspective of Bester Paints

Background:

Bester Paints, an MNC now operating in India is facing a challenge faced by many

corporations today, that of high performance talent management.The challenges faced by the

organisation in Performance Evaluation & Assessment, Talent Management, Organisational

Culture indicate that it is still in the process of evolution of robust HR policies & practices for

itself. Here the company is faced with a dillema of managing a high performing resource. The

case exposes the faultlines emerging in its current talent acquisition, onboarding,

performance evluation, retention, organisational culture and talent management policies. The

company must evaluate its status quo and take corrective measures to ensure that it can

emerge as an employer of choice in future.

Facts:

y Company has a distinct preference for internally grown talent for top leadershippositions and the companyassured Abhishek of a fast track growth.

y Mr. Shankar Naik VP (HR) feels that Mr. Abhishek is talented and has the ability toassume HR leadership of the company in future.

y Abhishek was thrown straight into the job without a formal induction.


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y Mr. Shankar agreed with the fact that Abhishek worked in the areas of compensation,performance review and he was there whenever the organisation required it.

y Company had a system of anonymous peer and superior performance review.y Organisational culture was such that people expected to be respected first and

expected the questions coming from subordinates in a respectful manner.

Philosophy


Increased Transparancy

Fostering a team spirit

Greater say of employee in charting their career paths

Freedom to grow and develop

Fostering a culture of meritocracy

Policies


y Induction: An induction and a robust onboarding process is a must.y Buddy / Mentoring System: A system should be initiated. This will engage

employees meaningfully. Instant source of peer and superior feedback. Greater value

and respect to the seniors who act as mentors.

y Personal Evaluation Toolkit for employeesKnowing which is the right path for the employee requires real self-knowledge. So

creat a toolkit to help them learn more about themselves, which will help them choose

the right career progression paths. This exercise will help employees reach a betterunderstanding of who they are and what they want from their careers with Bester

Paints.


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y Quarterly / Half Yearly Performance Review

Review System


y No Anonymous feedback Increases accountability & transparancy.y 360 Degree Feedback Self, Peers, Subordinates and Superiors all act as evaluators

to caputre a more holistic view of an employees performance with the least possibility

of the feedback being distorted by prejudice.

y Performance Development Plan (PDP) Beginning of the year to be decided byLine Manager, Employee & Business HR. Quarterly review with comments put in by

all the three stakeholders. This would enable tracking the progress and taking

corrective action. PDP Matrix would need to be updated and signed off every 3

quarter as a matter of practice for all employees and the extrapolation of it can be

done for the annual performance evaluation.

y Quality Circle: Whenever an employee seems to be failing to meet the KRAs anempowered group of seniors can sit and discuss out the problems with him and

indicate that he needs to up his game.

Documents

Synergy Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research