Seen in a microcosm of events, the dis-engagement and subsequent departure of an individual seems like an everyday occurrence. The impact though, can be catastrophic. A story interrupted. Dreams scattered amongst the myriad dreams that were untethered. Continuity and sustainability, just words in the dictionary.  

A story like many others. An excited newcomer joins the company, wants to add value, prove themselves and do good. There is no onboarding so confusion and anxiety take over, bringing unclear parameters of processes or reporting and unclear expectations. Follow this with mismanagement by their bosses, office politics, toxic culture weak or non existent performance management structures and missing recognition and  rewards schemes. Employee engagement initiatives are nothing but buzz words. Micro management, blame culture and stealing credit for work done by others is the norm. A clear trust deficit exists. No career growth or advancement opportunities exist. Managers do not spend time on understanding challenges faced by the employees, are not empathetic, lack emotional intelligence when dealing with personal issues, provide no motivation or inspiration except for the monthly pay, which in-itself is not market competitive. The job security provided is "IF" you bring in the numbers, we see. There is no "Why" or purpose except to follow orders. No "stay interviews" to understand their predicament better, no "exit interviews" to understand what led to this amputation of relationships.  

What aspects of the above do you recognise in your own organization?

Training follows a similar path. Going through the motions, the semblance of developing people.

The “Event” is announced, nominations sought and collated, interesting “event” held successfully, or so say the happy sheets.  Nothing or not much comes of it. Why? No accountability, no follow up, no process or journey to go through, no implementation strategies, no line manager buy-in and no-one is ever asked: We spent so much on you, what happened? What changed? How did you utilize the knowledge back on the job?. Everyone goes back to their desks, deadlines, targets, pressures resume. Just 10 days later, the retention of what they experienced in the training sessions is down to 15%. Implementation maybe 5% of that. Result? The training spend, time, and energy in arrangements, are all lost.

What aspects of the above do you recognise in your own organization?

They say awareness and admitting reality are half the battle won. 

Lets start with that then. It’s the first step that really counts.

Wrapping any initiatives in a cocoon of support structures provides the depth that enables successful implementation. HR leaders and training managers must ask, when presented with new initiatives, if the support structures and schematics are in place to journey map the process. Without these, the initiatives may be great, but longevity, effectiveness and applicability may not be the hallmarks one may have looked for in them.

Opinion Piece: Uzair Hassan, 3H Solutions Group, Dubai, UAE

https://www.linkedin.com/in/uzair-hassan-6451024