The Bermuda Triangle of Today's Management: a Pandora Box for HR

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A major concern these days in some industries with high turnover is - yes and alas - the increasing rate of turnover and the one of payroll. External environmental factors, mostly recent or lingering changes in legislation, have indeniably contributed to the facts, What are businesses to do? Creativity, and more creativity in various  formats, and marketing buzzes take the lead in many organizations.

A Pandora Box

©AR_HRComatr_Triangle of HR - A Pandora Box?


But external, environmental factors aren't the only ones affectiong turnover. Internal factors play the most part. Let alone compensation and staffing policies, what if your conflict management method create more conflict than not? Impossible? Improbable? Debatable.
The matter of decentralization of HR is  a pandora box: you never know what the outcome will be, It is here and one cannot avoid it like the Bermuda Triangle.

Decentralization of HR - Conflict Management - Engagement 


1. Managers are coached to resolve conflicts as soon as they are aware of them. The question is: do managers detect conflicts or could they unknowingly generate escalating conflicts?


Managers are not always equiped to deal with what is required of them these days. Over the last few years managers have seen their roles evolve so much and absorb more sophisticated people function. The problem? Those managers could have been initially attracted to the role more because of the operational or productive point. They did anticipate growth in compensation and status, not expansion in people responsibility. It was easy to send people to HR and leave the "blame"to HR. Also, a long-time, well-known issue in "supervising" role is the lack of human touch. If you are a manager you will not be an "ideal" supervisor, and vice versa. So when managers saw their roles evolve into a broader perspective, the adjustment was somehow uneasy to many. Although HR is now there for support and advice and coaching, managers have to handle conflicts first hand. Here are a few examples:
      • To an employee's complaint on lack of teamwork: "You guys should be able to handle that among yourselves."
      • To a complaint on lack of personal recognition: "But think team: the team wins!"
      • After quick investigation on employee's complaint: "I also heard this (....) about you. " Great but in their investigations, do they put the same weight on credibility, objectivity, motives, and respsonses of individuals?
      • To criticism on leadership style: "Why do you hate me? I can have you fired..."
      • In resolving conflicts: "Perception IS reality...." 

2. Engagement is today's top priority for many organizations. How is the program rolled out? Whos is sponsoring it at your location? Could it open a pandora box?

      • Engagement is not a new concept: it is only a new trend. It is being repackaged and the concern could be in the new delivery.
      • What is engagement these days: Incentives? A communication platform? The new participative management? A community reach-out initiative? Confusing? Think of employees' confusion! And if you have to assign those to be involved because of lack of interest, something is questionable. 
      • Whatever engagement is, it does not always seem clear to employees or managers, unfortunately.

3. Between business operations, corporate program roll-out, and HR decentralized functions, how do managers absorb, integrate and convey all the information that they receive and are called to push?

We can see various forms of managerial understanding of their new roles.
      • Some do embrace it and make great partners; 
      • Others do comply to the change and don't hesitate telling their staff that they "have to do it but don't undrstand why we have to do (this or that), and it does not make sense" to them;
      • Another category comply because they are 'compliant' by nature. No questions asked also implies no interpretation: blind application for fear of negative consequences should there be any.
How many times do we have the right person at the right place? What kind of seed do we grow in our organizations?
So, here' s what a great leader had to say on the subject. Controversial? It could also be inspirational:

Young Steve Jobs on how to hire, manage, and lead people - MUST WATCH

Shared from YouTube

En Synthèse



Dans un effort pour remonter la pente pour ainsi dire, les Sociétés aux Etats-Unis réinventent le RH. Mot d'ordre: décentralisation. 

Fini l'administration: ça, c'est du passé, ou c'est fait pour les petites boites, ou c'est relégué à des contracteurs, des agents etc... Les RH ont d'autres chats à fouetter: les people, la restructuration, la culture d'entreprise, les nouvelles méthodes d'engagement, voyons. Il y a toujours du nouveau en RH. Tant pis pour ceux qui refusent d'avancer...l'on ne peut pas se laisser couler par toutes ces législations qui nous tombent sur la tète, ces coups de marteaux des syndicats, ces pressions sociales et législatives...

Pas le choix, l'on ouvre la boite de Pandora qui est comme le triangle de Bermuda pour les RH. Hé bien, l'on coule ou l'on survit...pas le choix.
Ici et là dans le monde, les suppressions d'emplois pleuvent avec les conséquences qui en découlent. Regardez Air France, Areva, Tata Steel, ESPN, et j'en passe. Mais même çà, ce n'est pas suffisant pour flotter. 

Alors, l'on devient créatif au possible et l'on passe à la ludification (gamification), à la décentralisation pour cibler l'engagement. Seulement, la décentralisation des RH, c'est pas si facile que ça! Aux moins trois questions majeures:
  1. Les managers sont-ils prêts à pleinement assumer ce rôle? Bien sur, ils ont toujours eu à contrôler leur teams. Mais ce n'est plus question de "contrôle". Cette fois-ci, il faut faire tourner la roue, bien huilée: gérer les conflits internes avec discernement et tact, ne pas se ruer sur des conclusions hâtives, ne pas créer plus de conflits qu'il n'y en a déjà en laissant les employés "se "débrouiller" entre eux. 
  2. Le programme d'engagement: c'est quoi à votre niveau? Comment est-ce interprété par les différents interlocuteurs? Attention, c'est une arme à double tranchant. 
  3. Les managers sont-ils à même de mener à bien leur rôle renouvelé? Maintenant, ils sont porteurs du message de l'entreprise. Savent-ils laisser de côté leurs positions personnelles? Est-ce que le message d'entreprise passe comme il faut?
Non, l'on ne sait jamais ce qui va s'ensuivre. Mais maintenant, le rôle des RH est de s'assurer que tout ceci se passe comme prévu. Oui, une nouveau visage des RH qui suppose que l'on doit faire pousser une bonne graine pour faire de bons managers. 

Alors, l'on se demande, l'approche de Steve Jobs, a ses débuts, (voir video plus haut), doit-on s'en inspirer?

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