Performance and Work Satisfaction

At my current job, there is little emphasis by management to ensure job satisfaction.  In the past few weeks, the store has merged its two teams (sales and stock) into one united unit.  While the staff understands the goal is to make a more complete employee that can perform a variety of functions, the concerns that we addressed were not adequately considered and has led to a drastic drop in productivity and overall effectiveness.  In addition, the store lost several good employees, and has seen a dramatic rise in call outs, as it heads into the busy holiday season.  The past Saturday, the busiest day of 2012 thus far, there were three call outs and three others scheduled who quit during the week, leading the store to having less than half the employees designated for the later part of the day and closing shift.

The staff, as a whole, has become more demoralized more a variety of reasons.  Some employees are specialists in sales and stock and the adjustment does not best utilize their skills.  Others are overwhelmed by the new tasks, which management allocated four hours for training. They feel inadequate and unprepared for the demands of both familiarizing themselves with new tasks and adjusting to the sudden increase in store traffic and expectations.  Several, including those who have left the store, have stated that they feel coerced by the presentation of the team merger and don't understand the timing.

There are several steps that the store management could have taken to alleviate the learning curve.  The clearest is to move the training and merger into a slower time of year (such as September or January) so that the staff has less pressure to get things done and can feel more comfortable with the new tasks when the busy periods arrive.  It could have also presented the new changes more as an opportunity to grow rather than a requirement to maintain employment.  If the management desired some task flexibility for the holiday season to meet the needs of the business, it could have tried out a "provisional flex team" consisting of more veteran leaders amongst the staff who are familiar with both the sales and stock so that it is easier to tweak the program as a whole and there could be more honest and professional feedback due to the familiarity of the veterans with management.

In the end, the process of integrating the sales and stock teams has created frustration among employees and led to an increase both in turnover and absenteeism.  Employees don't want to have to deal with both the new tasks after minimal training and a surge in the volume of customers in store.  The store management could have done a better job implementing the merger and allow employees to perform tasks that they do best, thus highlighting their strengths, during the busiest time of year.

Leadership and Adaptability

The qualities that make a great leader are various.  Many powerful and capable leaders can mold and motivate an organization within a specific scope but their talents are not suitable for an array of roles or companies.  For instance, a college football coach, such as Nick Saban, can excel at that level but struggle in the NFL.  Saban's "Process" didn't work because he struggled to adapt to NFL and he was unable to micromanage his teams in the same way that he could at Michigan State and LSU.  In soccer, a manager can move between teams in the same league and struggle if the new club and its players don't have a similar playing style and personnel.  In England, Brian Clough's disastrous 44 days at Leeds United are book-ended by an English First Division triumph at less prestigious Derby County and back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest.  In his case, his skills were more suited toward a team with adversity rather than a more regimented club.

The more adaptable leaders have a more conceptual mindset and understand their own strengths and weaknesses.  They understand what they do know, and more importantly, what they do not know.  They are able to find and develop talent that acts as experts and advisers on various issues.  These individuals tend to take a "bigger picture" view of problems and craft solutions that not only solve immediate issues, but also serve an organization's interests over the long term.  This type of leader can compensate industry or business expertise with placing competent individuals in places of power that highlight their strengths.  In addition, he or she has to understand how to motivate people and lead by example.

I find Bill Gates to be someone who embodies a hybrid of these types of leadership.  His technical process and technological genius are easy to notice, but there are more subtle qualities that allow him to succeed beyond the PC.  He is aware that he doesn't have the expertise or ability to solve every third world problem, but through his foundation, he provides funds and opportunities to those who can.  He employs his success at Microsoft to empower others to become leaders and he develops programs that allow many to focus and develop a specialty to solve complex resource and humanity issues.  He's a rare type of leader and someone to emulate for his management persona.

The adaptability of a leader truly depends on his or her skills.  Each type of leader is effective as long as he or she can place people and structure around to highlight personal strengths and maximum comfort in the role. 



Works Cited

O'Keefe, Brian.  "Leadership lessons from Nick Saban."  Fortune.  Online.  7 Sept 2012.  Accessed 11 Nov 2012. <http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/07/news/companies/alabama-coach-saban.fortune/index.html>.

"The inside story of Brian Clough at Leeds."  The Independent.  Online.  11 March 2009. Accessed 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/the-inside-story-of-brian-clough-at-leeds-1641947.html>.

Wessell, Maxwell.  "Idolize Bill Gates, not Steve Jobs."  Harvard Business Review.  Online.  1 Nov 2011. Accessed 18 Nov 2012.  <http://www.businessweek.com/management/idolize-bill-gates-not-steve-jobs-11012011.html>.

HRM and Talent Acquisition

At the store where I work, there is a heavy emphasis on tourist traffic and attracting fans of NBC shows since it sells various associated products and experiences.  Although the retail sector is one where there is substantial turnover, the store has a very high rate and fires employees on a consistent basis.  A significant component of this is that management does not find people who contain the skill sets necessary to succeed in this position.  In addition to the typical interpersonal skills necessary to assist people with a myriad of questions, it's also important to consider how potential employees perceive the products in the store and how knowledgeable they are about the shows featured in the store.  If employees enjoy what the store offers, they are more likely to talk up the products and convince people to make purchases.  Since the store itself is located in a highly trafficked area of Midtown, it's also important to have a general sense of where things are in the area, events in the city, and an understanding of tourists' mentally.

As part of the interview process, store management should ask potential employees about their television interests and which shows they watch frequently.  Also, it needs to find employees who understand the local geography and how to address the concerns of tourists.  This can be done with a survey, short dialogue, or specific questions to each applicant.  If the store brings in people who like watching TV, and NBC shows specifically, they will see their job as little more than talking about one of their favorite things all day.  In addition, employees who are better equipped to understand tourists' concerns in the city are more likely to provide reassuring guidance and, ultimately, higher quality guest service.  In this way, both employees and store guests can enjoy the store and remain in it longer.