Organization (Hypothetical) Has a Large

¶ … organization (hypothetical) has a large number of individuals at the mid and upper management levels who will retire within the next seven years. Which of the four approaches to employee development discussed - formal education/training, assessment, job experiences, and interpersonal relationships - do you think should be used to prepare people to fill these slots and why?

Ideally, all development methods should be used to prepare persons for these crucial company slots. In terms of formal education and training, an MBA can be a valuable asset in preparing an individual to fulfill the requirements of an upper managerial position, and at most companies, some level of educational experience is required to assume a position of company leadership. But far more important than formal training are the personal qualities of the individuals in question. Past assessments of previous job performance would hopefully reveal future executives to be persons who are exceptional in their commitment to the organization and in their character. Their actual job experiences might matter less, although some supervisory experience would be required for upper-level management positions. But many jobs within a corporate structure could be helpful for future managers, for example, an it background might give an individual insight as to how technology could make the company more productive, or a background in finance or supply chain management could give individual ideas on how to make the company more efficient.

Good interpersonal skills, however, cannot be easily bestowed through education, on-the-job training, or caught up on at a later date, once the person is in a position. It is essential that upper management command employee respect. Once a group of individuals with these skills have been selected, they can be mentored by the older members of the management hierarchy, and learn from the outgoing members about effective ways to lead others within the organization.

Question

Your boss (in a hypothetical organization) has asked you to develop a training program for new employees in the customer care call center. There are about 1200 employees who staff the call center, and since turnover is close to 20% (not unusual for call centers), there are often new employees who need training on: product knowledge, telephone courtesy, helping customers feel "served," and dealing with difficult customers. One week has been designated for their initial training which includes four hours of information on health insurance and other benefits. What training/development methods will you use and why?

This requires a kind of employee training 'boot camp' or formal, informational instruction session in the standard operating procedures of the company. Because of the high rate of turnover, it is better that the informational session have a standardized curriculum, to ensure some level of quality control and predictability in how calls are handled. But because this is customer service, and the first encounter some customers will have with the organization, and also because some customers will be angry, it is also essential that some interpersonal training be included in the informational session. Ideally that the employees have some experience dealing with the public in their previous job experiences.

To ensure that all employees have some experience dealing with common types of customer calls and complaints, a simulation session of these calls might be included along with the formal, instructional procedures of how calls should be handled, followed with information about employee benefits. This would prepare employees for dealing with some of the stressful scenarios at the call center and also allow for some 'quality assurance.' The company could feel more confident that a new, confused employee had a kind of emotional fall-back script to rely upon when a customer grows difficult, and had some experience dealing with common types of calls and complaints. Finally, an 'action oriented' training simulation scenario of calls would make the informational sessions more engaging, and increase employee attention and information retention.

Question

Jerome was fired recently. His boss told him his work wasn't "up to par," so he was being let go. Jerome was really surprised because no one had ever told him his work wasn't good before. What should his boss have done or said to Jerome prior to his being let go? What are Jerome's options at this point? What should or could Jerome do at this point? Explain your answer.

Prior to Jerome's release, his boss should have reviewed Jerome's previous performance reviews. The boss should have found specific examples of how Jerome's performance had been lacking, and demonstrate how, even after repeated warnings, Jerome had made no effort to rectify these mistakes. The boss might point out that even if Jerome was not told verbally that he needed to improve his performance in specific areas, there was a written record as to how his performance had been lacking. This would ensure that Jerome did not leave the organization feeling as if he had been released for personal reasons.