Will be embarking on this ‘Hear Me Out’ series to share my unsolicited two cents on some topics; from various spheres of work, life, culture, and the thing I am most passionate about – entertainment.
Related: Superiority Complex – The Granny of all Toxic Phenomenon
HR (Human Resource) as a department is the heart of every company; given that it is in charge of determining who gets in or exits the organization. Not like I am in any way telling someone how to do their job but from conversation with people, personal experience, and a little bit of reading; here is how things should or could have been done to not only make work more enjoyable for the employees; reduce the level of labor turn over or loss of morale but to also gain maximum results for the organization.
Feedback to Interviewees.
Given that the biggest challenge Ugandan youth face is unemployment; mostly by the conditioning of jobs being fewer than those who need them, you will find more quiet than often you, a close relative, colleague, neighbor, or acquaintance is shortlisted for a job interview where they could have dropped their application and got invited for an interview. At the end of it, successful ones are called back and handed their contracts, appointment letters of job descriptions.
Because selection of the candidates who’ve made the cut is usually private, it is hard to know if you have made it or not unless when you are called back for a contract. The challenge however comes with not being called back or not even receiving a rejection mail or if received, it comes whilst it the usual cliché ‘We regret to inform you that we could not take you on’ blah blah blah and never why. Yes I know ‘Terms and Conditions may apple and disclosing why may not be in the company’s code, but isn’t it the prudent thing to do though? I mean, letting someone know that you could not take them on for reasons like maybe their salary expectations were way up there, or that they cross-legged through an interview, or that maybe they didn’t greet or their eye contact wasn’t in check. I for one believe this goes a long way in helping someone become better and grow and perhaps could help them land the next job they get interviewed for since they’ll have known where to do better; else they’ll repeat the same mistakes and over and over again.
Normalizing Remote Working
If there was anything the pandemic taught us or brought about was rethinking models of work where people previously physically reported to offices but now ere working from their homes. This was because movements were restricted and some offices reduced on the number of employees working physically at offices as a way of enforcing social distancing. As we are now back to our normal ways of life, working remotely is one other aspect I think can still be normalized; because I come from the school of thought that someone does not necessarily have to be at office to get work done. Also, there is a lot of time wasted in movements; in terms of moving from one’s area of residence to their work place. Not like someone has to work completely from home; there could be exceptions of very important tasks, meetings and other engagements that could need their physical attendance and input, in that case, they can be available.
Making A Provision For A Work-Life Balance
Whereas some organizations do this in form of work retreats, having resting rooms at work premises, have team-building fun activities, these are usually geared towards allowing employee minds to refresh but to also make work not feel like work; but rather any other activity. The challenge comes in when some employers look at their workers as work machines that too have no lives going on for themselves. Often portrayed by employers encroaching on their subordinates’ personal resting time; say sending someone a task to execute but over the weekend, or during their leave time, family time, or any other time outside their designated work hours. Not that its bad for a worker to be diverse and create time for that extra task, but it only raises dust once it becomes occasional. At the end of the day, even when someone loves what they do, it gets overwhelming and limits productivity since their mental recreation time will have been interfered with.
Micro- Managing
Picture a scenario where someone tells you how to do your job, or overly insists you do something but their way; it gradually causes mental demotivation; and often gives off feelings of someone not being good enough to be trusted to do their work minus being pushed around. Whereas a few reminders might be helpful for someone to be on track; and for progress, however when they are too many and frequent a number, displeasure may occur. As a senior, you may step in once in a while to guide or correct them minus over stepping their confidence to deliver.
Having Functional SUGGESTION BOXES
As a way of ensuring concerns and suggestions of employees are looked into and considered, most organizations have little brown boxes called ‘suggestion boxes’; where written notes can be dropped. These are meant to be employees’ safe places to share their thoughts, but half the time it always comes off like they are there for the sake of it. To create a comfortable healthy workplace, organizations should ensure checking these boxes from time to time to find out what the employees feel and what they suggest can be done to move the company forward. Best part of it is that they offer anonymity; so employees know they are protected and will most of the time give honest feedback; which is very vital in the company since an organization cannot exist on its own and therefore the drivers of it who are the employee’s wellbeing equals more output.
Working Hours
Another great driver to achieving maximum output of an individual could be prioritizing work hours; as opposed to a whole day’s activity. Look at like an individual offers an organization say 6 hours of their labor and undivided hours of concentration; compared to 10; Monday to Saturday. Whereas this approach may look farfetched and not applicable, you do realize one is most likely to, first of all, produce better results, have enough time for personal development to improve their craft but also reduces fatigue levels and all;
The level of practicability can be debated but maybe embracing some of these approaches above could greatly impact working relationships between employees and their employers while also enabling both to achieve maximum results; if experimented with.
Think this is applicable or know any element that you think needs to be looked at that I left out? Share your thoughts below.
