Use And Throw Of Knowledgeable Employees By Management

Hello All,

I need your valuable suggestions for the below-mentioned subject "Use and throw of knowledgeable employees by management." Is it right to treat knowledgeable employees as disposable by management after a successful task? By doing this, is the company gaining or losing anything? Please share your experiences and how to avoid such practices in a company.

Regards,
Ashish

Dear Ashish,

Well, your query appears to be for the IT industry. However, please clarify in what context you have asked this question. Are you a professional or a student? Are you from the IT/BPO/KPO industry? Are you doing study or research of any kind? Are you the affected employee? Are you talking about some "Lala company where employees are removed at the whims and fancies of the owner?

Optimum utilization of resources is the mainstay of the business. Resources could be physical resources or human resources. To gain something, we have to get rid of something. However, we have to measure the pros and cons and then take a decision. While removing employees, many business owners do not bother to calculate the loss that it inflicts on their business. The cost of the loss of opportunities, the cost of the loss of brand image, etc., they do not take into account. For them, the removal of employees is just an accounting exercise.

Ok...

Dinesh Divekar

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.

It is not a desirable practice to make use of the skills of an employee and once the organization achieves its objectives, discard the employee. If the services of the employee are no longer required, he may be informed in advance.

Hello Dineshji,

I am an HR Professional in one of the leading MNC firms. My question is not related to me. I have observed an older experienced person, aged 52, struggling with management regarding the above-mentioned subject. He is working with a leading MNC in India. I don't want to disclose the name of that organization, so this query is not related to any specific company. Similar cases can be found in companies like Reliance, Birla, TCS, Infosys, and many other large MNCs.

We can see many people facing the same issues because only in big companies will you find the kind of talent that can handle such individuals. Smaller companies do not necessarily have the talent to handle and manage them. I am speaking about reality.

Even if you agree, sir, with the above-mentioned problems based on your experience.

In Hindi, "Project Khatam chalo iska kuchh karte hai, bethei bethei kya Karega" - statements like these are made in Annual General meetings. After management politics, a person often has to leave the company one way or another.

Sir, I need solutions for the same. Your valuable suggestions are expected.

Thanking you,

Regards

Dear Ashish,

For every individual, how to stay "relevant" is a challenge. To achieve this, one must constantly upgrade oneself. The "pyramid" always narrows at the top, making the competition tougher than anticipated while at the base of the pyramid, especially during one's youth. My observations about middle-aged individuals are as follows:

a) Many have not expanded their knowledge beyond their technical or functional expertise. Businesses rely on finance, yet many lack basic financial understanding. Conversely, those in finance often overlook operational aspects.

b) They depended solely on their companies for growth and neglected investing even a small portion of their earnings in learning.

c) Soft skills, essential for their positions, are often lacking. Communication and presentation may not align with their roles, with some top executives unable to compose a basic business letter.

d) Computers are often underutilized, seen merely as advanced typewriters. Despite using smartphones, they primarily utilize basic functions, missing out on productivity-enhancing features.

e) Career planning was overlooked in their youth, a critical aspect for staying relevant. The book "What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful" by Marshall Goldsmith should have been read earlier.

f) Companies like Microsoft constantly innovate to remain relevant, as seen with their updated Windows versions. Stagnation risks irrelevance, evident in Google challenging Microsoft. Similarly, personal growth requires continuous upgrading.

g) Adapting to the evolving 21st-century social and economic landscape is crucial. Many cling to outdated practices and past achievements, failing to recognize the need for change.

Lastly, fate plays a role. Google's acquisition of Motorola at a high price resulted in subsequent layoffs, emphasizing the volatile nature of business decisions. The acquisition of patents, developed by Motorola employees, did not guarantee job security post-acquisition.

Ashish, in a hypothetical scenario where you start a business, similar decisions may need to be made regarding employee retention. The perspective on this issue varies depending on one's position.

Dinesh Divekar

Very well said, Dinesh. I totally agree with him. Employees need to constantly replenish their skills in a knowledge-based industry.

B. Saikumar HR & Labour Law Advisor Mumbai

Your post reminds me of a discussion with my mentor on how we should make ourselves redundant at our jobs, especially before we are fired. This sounds strange, but it's true. Tasks and responsibilities will continue to change, and only our agility can help retain a career.

I agree with Dinesh - in the IT sector, talents are hired for the project. If the skill-set is too niche, they are released from the job upon project completion. Talent pools are good only for generic skills. Being put on the bench is rare these days.

I am sure you will find better jobs where a higher level of acumen would be required. Wish you all the best!

Dear Ashish,

Mr. Dinesh has beautifully explained how the once-so-called knowledgeable people become irrelevant in organizations with the passage of time and get jettisoned eventually because of their failure to keep abreast of trends and changes. Knowledge is similar to the flowing waters of an evergreen river, maintaining the continuity of the flow and confluence with the sea in order to take a different form, only to be back to the original but diffused everywhere. Years ago, somewhere I read as having said by Peter F. Drucker that efficiency leads to insubordination and eventually ends up in incompetence (exact statement not in my memory). In the words of Robin Sharma, "There is a cure for aging that no one talks about. It's called learning." However, people in the middle level of their career normally get stuck there, complacent and refusing to learn further. That's why middle-level managers are slowly getting eliminated from organizational charts nowadays. The examples cited by Mr. Dinesh are very apt and prove Drucker's epigrams -- "management has no power but only responsibility" and "Golden fetters do not strengthen the company." In the general election soon after World War II, the people of Great Britain did not vote Winston Churchill, who brought victory, back to power but only Clement Attlee, a better administrator.

Thank you!

True, the metaphor of the rivers given by Mr. Umakanthan is very apt. I just want to add a little that the seniors shall be like our rivers, which are ancient but always renew their waters with fresh water gushing in from the mountains.

B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Hello Everyone,

According to me, it is not right to make use of the skill of an employee and then discard him/her. If you keep on doing this, then nobody will agree to enter your company because today's era is one of collaboration, and employee satisfaction is very much necessary. It is improved only when you make the employee feel that he is being treated as a member of your company, not just a "USE AND THROW" of his skill.

Thanks,

Regards,
AMANJOT