AS HEAD OF HR , WHAT DO YOU DO FOR YOUR SUBORDINATES?

Hi Friends,
I wish to add the vision of our President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam on Leadership.
He says" Taking responsibility for your subordinated failures and giving them credit on sucess".....is a great way to show that you truly believe in them.
-Appreciate your team as frequently as possible
- Provide Constructive critisism when they have to improve.
Regards,
Rekha

Dear Seniors,
Pls putforthy your value add points/experiences in this topic which is worth sharing.
Kindly cut the cake , as has been handled by archana,
Authority &responsibility, delagation of work .
My sincere thanks to archana,rajat ji, Sanjeev.Himachali,shyamali.
rgds
vennpuru.

Hi Naren
I have 4 people reporting to me and the team has excellent unity and shares almost everything with each other. The practical steps I take towards this are:
1. Share good inter personal relationship with each of them
2. Not discussing one's comments with others unless this is openly made by the concerned in a forum
3. When they seek personal / individual assistance pertaining to official or personal issues, I counsel them but make it a point not to dicsuss the same with anyone else so that they confide in me fully
4. Arrange for team lunches and dinners and make interaction a easy and interesting one
5. Arrange for house visits or get togethers of family members of all concerned
6. Support my team to my Management and give due credits to each one of them where ever they have gone out of the way to achieve some thing / big or small
All the very best
Ram Ram
HR Manager in a IT Company
HR Trainer / Consultant

Hi Rekhaa & Ram Ram,
Thanks a lot for your views. I agree with you Ram Ram as the ideas you are following will definitely help your subordinates gain greater degree of competency, confidence and ability.
This is exactly what I am looking forward from all the HR Managers to come forward and tell the TRUTH so that they also can mend their ways, help their subordinates ( I normally call them as my collegues and never call them as subordinates) in climbing up the ladder.
Also I would like to thank Vennpuru for taking the initiative to invite the other forum members to respond.
Please friends, please do come forward and put your views in the forum.
-Srinaren

Hi

I would like to share my experience with you all.

I recently got two subordinates in my department and the way i deal with them is:

1) I try to give an employee very informal atmosphere in the first week so the person settles down in the organisation and feels good about the envirment

2) I start giving the work and responsibilty one by one and not al together

this gives breething space to an employee and he will make less mistakes since the responsibilities are given one by one and as per the persons capability

so the junior feels good and motivated.... more the person becomes capable and experience i encourage them to take higher responsibilty and challanges

3) I try to find out his/her interest and preferences within job profile and delegate the suitable work to them so they do it with highest interest and perfection....since it is done with personal interest

4) I try not to scold subordinate for the mistakes done but prefer to share ideas on those things which indirectly leads them to higher results. THe more the knowledge sharing the less the mistakes

I feel its too much to write

Do let me know if my views are ok or not :)

Dear everyone,
First of all thank you for all your views... its enlightening to say the least.
I would like to know from all the senior managers posting their views...
How would you handle a subordinate who(according to you) is not justifying his/her position and salary inthe company?
Also, what would be the parameters to judge such an underperformer?
Thank you in advance
Regards,
Leks

Dear All,
Its just wonderful to see the comments from all of you . But I have few question s:
1.Does this kind of treatment is given to all the subordinates at work place ?
2.What are the essential training requires for Hr professionals(subordinate)?
Regards,
Umme Salma

Dear Umme

How would you handle a subordinate who(according to you) is not justifying his/her position and salary in the company?

This is typically the Manager's problem and not the associate's problem. Even before hiring for any position the Manager is the person who is supposed to be sure of the Job role and so the salary to be offered.

After hiring if this problem is found out, the Manager has to sit with the concerned associate in a casual meet or something of that sort and draw out the associate on his or her opinion about her role in the company and what in her understanding is the factor which hinders his or her performance now or on the long run. Then the Manager can casually give his or her opinion and tell the Associate in a supporting mode that he or she is capable of handling more responsibility and that he will ensure that she is lifted immediately. This will increase the faith of the associate on the Manager as well as justify the Manager's role, who is directly responsible for the associates' success.

On the other hand if it is an incompetency problem, then the Manager should handle the same with tact and eject the associate out of the organization

Also, what would be the parameters to judge such an underperformer?

If a Manager is able to set clear cut qualitative quantifiable goals for each associate reporting to him / her, then this is not at all an issue. These objectives are the parameters and will make the associate realise on the first hand that her performance is not upto the mark - making the Manager's life easy to make appropriate decision

Hi Everyone,

First let me tell you that this is a very good topic touched by Srinaren and well responded by many of us.

When I think of my subordinates and their development, I go back in the past and recollect what kind of bosses and development / lack of development opportunities I had because of them. This gives me the constant realization of my moral and professional responsibility to develop my subordinates.

Though, many areas are already covered but I practice the following with respect to subordinate development.

1. I consider them as team members and not subordinates.

2. I try to be open and transparent in most of the HR issues, systems, practices so that they feel part of the process, they also own the process, and they remain updated and can apply thoughts wherever possible.

3. I believe that they know their work, I let them work independently and my role is to provide guidance wherever necessary and to improve their skills and the work system.

4. I take all the opportunities to appreciate their good doings in front of them as well as bring to the notice of my seniors too.

5. Share my learning / readings on day to day basis, in turn they also share with me.

6. Keep on involving them in the idea generation process in day to day working, so that they feel they are important to the organization.

Regards,

Jayesh Naik

Ahmedabad

Hi Jayesh Naik,

After reading your views, I completely agree with your views. I thought it would be appropriate to share with you all the experience I had when I started my career. I feel it gives some sort of insight to the youngsters.

I came out of my Engineering in 1977 and worked there as a Lecturer for 3 years and later I was selected at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., for the newly started Jaguar Project. After 9 months, I was posted to the the CNC Maintenance, which was regarded as one of the prestigeous departments at that time. I was congratulated by all my collegues for having got the posting there. With full enthusiasm I went and met the Head of the Department. I introduced my self to him. He didnot even offer me the chair to sit. I was standing. Then he said something which probably I feel nobody can even think off in their wildest dreams. He told me "You are an unwanted guest here." I was taken aback but was helpless. He told me clearly that he will not post me in CNC maintenance but posted me in an unimportant department.

After sometime, when new machines each costing around 1.5 Crores landed in the factory, he asked me to work with the Japanese and French Engineers for the installation and trial run of the machines. After the successful installation and trials, the machine was handed over for production. He called me and told, if there is any breakdown of the machine, I should not attempt to repair on my own, but instead I should report to him, tell him what I propose to do and if it is OK then he will allow me to touch the machine. This went on for some time. Later one day he called me and said, henceforth you neednot inform me about what you will do if there is any breakdown but you will attend to it independently.

Later when I resigned from the job at HAL, I was given a grand farewell party by him along with my family for the first time in the history of that department.

Today, I feel, though it looked discouraging at that point of time, I think he did a right thing in testing me at each and every step, then once he got the confidence, I became his most sought Engineer.

So, friends, please even if you are sidelined in your department by your boss, please show extra interest in learning and proving yourself so that you gain and your Boss will definitely help you in bringing you up!

(Please do not get confused as how an HR General Manager is talking about an Engineering expeirence! Friends, I am an engineer by qualification and worked as engineer for 12 years and later shifted my line to Textiles and Apparels. There also I worked in Production, PPC, Quality, Maintenance as General Manager. HR was my part of the job there but now I have taken up HR as my main job which I AM ENJOYING A LOT & PROBABLY IT IS MY SWADHARMA.)

-Srinaren