Employees VS Management

larscl

[:@]Employees are reaching out to me and requesting my help.  We are a quickly growing facility and have made many changes.  Changes in policy, changes in management, changes in how we celebrate, changes with lunchroom....new supervisors.  All of these changes have happened in the last 2 years...employees are telling me that their new supervisors need more training on how to deal with them appropriately.  I am a member of our management team and took this issue to them....our production manager took my concerns as a personal attack.  I believe that the employees have a valid complaint.  Any suggestions? [:D]

Thank you,

Cheri

californian

Just the title of your question says it all -- if you are in an employees v. management situation then your supervisors NEED training. Generally, a group of employees will not complain unless their concerns are valid. Also, it is rare that a new supervisor would NOT need training of some sort -- at the very least on the new policies you are talking about, as well as basic supervisory skills for orientation, performance appraisals, leave management, discipline and discharge. Without training, your supervisors are a great big lawsuit waiting to happen. The supervisors who take this personally need extra training since they clearly don't understand the management dynamic. Great supervisors are made, not born -- GOOD LUCK! [:)]

LadyAnn

Any chance you can develop a training schedule for both sides?  Different kinds of training, of course.  Maybe work on teambuilding type of training for the employees that management is not required to attend. Then have a different "teambuilding" training course for supervisors that incorporated how to manage employees?

That way it doesn't appear to be an attack, just a general thing.  Lots has changed, we all need to work together and here are some ways we can deal with it.

GoPatsNH

You can also set up an employee suggestion system. This may make your employees feel more like they have a voice and are involved, especially with all of the changes happening around them. Check out this link for more info:

http://hr.blr.com/analysis.aspx?topic=166

bstouder

Just a personal observation from my experience, but if you have a "we vs they" mentality going on, your supervisors not only need training, but your entire management team needs to get to know your people better.  More communication and team building is in order.  Your production manager probably should take this as a personal attack since he/she should be close enough to his/her people to be hearing the same complaints that you are and be doing something about it and, if not, he/she realizes communication has gotten out of hand.  It's never too late to manage by wandering around and never to late to train the staff.  The more employees see and talk with the management team, the less opportunity for misunderstandings, backbiting and alienation there is.

jhagler

I’ve been on both sides of that nightmare. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 It sounds like, if instead of asking what he/she (your production manager) can do to help make the team stronger, he/she is taking it as personal attack then that may be a good starting point for your changes, if you have the power.

Unfortunately as in my case as an HR Manager I don’t have the power to replace the people (upper managers) who everyone complains about, and the business suffers for it.      

Bottom line…someone needs a new job. I think it's the manager.  

My suggestion is replace the manager if you can, if you can’t, take the problem to the next level management or you will be fighting that for years to come...or until the manager fires the staff or they quit.  

Good luck.

pmorrison

We had a very similar situation.  There was never a formal training program and I was hired to bring that to this company.  Of course, all the managers felt they already knew how to manage and their resistance was very clear from the beginning.  The entire year of 2007 was spent on "Knowing Your Audience" through communication skills, using many elementary forums, such as, left/right brain learning, auditory, visual, kinestic learners to DISC.  The front line managers and supervisors attended these courses and I actually had 2 of my most negative people (in the beginning) come to me and thanked me because they actually learned something they could use. Now, that's not to say they have all embraced this learning, but it's a start.  Because of the programs success, we are expanding it to include regular employees.  We feel that in order for good communication to take place, everyone has to be on the same page, so they are going to learn what the managers have learned. The managers group will be embarking on a more advanced communication understanding using the MBTI program (type) and team building. My problem is getting the executives to take courses as they are part of the communication issue. Hope some of these ideas may help you.