Long gone are the days when managers could sit in ivory towers and envision a future for their companies. It is indeed a challenge to develop and retain talent in a world where there is no dearth of opportunities for individuals. The leadership at Falcon Motors Ltd faces precisely this challenge.
While the management trainee programme at Falcon did have a fairly positive impact, it also gave rise to a host of new people-management problems. The key issues were that the trainees felt stifled in a bureaucratic environment, while the senior managers felt their contribution was being overlooked by the organisation. Added to this was the lack of a proper structure and the absence of any formal performance appraisals.
We recommend that with better engagement, behaviour and culture management, the problems can be addressed.
The problem primarily revolves around changing the behaviour of employees. We recommend a people-driven approach that helps them see a reason for change. The first step is to build a group powerful enough to guide the change. By formally setting expectations, employing tools to improve communication and proactively seeking ways to reduce misinformation, stakeholders are likely to remain committed to change.
No cynics
Removing structural obstacles is important. Falcon suffers from slow decision-making and is stuck in old, bureaucratic ways of functioning. It must create structures and situations that empower people to take risks and deal with problems without fear of reprisal. Doing so will ensure that management trainees no longer feel stifled.
Many managers have complained that the new trainees tend to frequently ask difficult questions, to which they seldom have the answers. In such situations, it is possible that senior-level managers not only evade hard questions but also block the new trainees’ initiatives. To prevent this, we must enable the senior managers to envision the long-term benefits of a critical approach. Failing to do so, these disempowering bosses should be given new roles. Also, people who have experience of, and welcome, change should be elevated to higher positions as that will boost their confidence. The best way to break the bureaucratic mould involves building multi-generational task-forces. These must involve newer employees who are willing to take on new undertakings and make bold decisions without the fear of failure and middle managers who bring in realism and balance out the senior naysayers.
Accelerating change
To further build on the momentum achieved thus far, it is essential that results are achieved quickly. Short-term wins serve an important purpose by providing feedback about the validity of the vision and strategies. Rewards, both monetary and social, should be introduced to encourage individuals and groups to take ownership for their new roles and responsibilities.
A 2011 study of 642 trainees from 22 organisations by becomeatrainee.eu analysed the effectiveness of trainee programmes on nine key elements, including balanced projects, training and development, mentorship, personal branding and performance appraisal.
It shows that having the best-in-class programme does not automatically pay off. Rather, the key is to focus on a few elements of differentiation. Developing the programme, not just for acquisition but also retention, involves:
Offering a wide range of positions straight after the traineeship programme. However, the trainees must evolve and move towards a clear positioning as an expert or manager within two years of the programme.
Setting a long-term goal to have more than one-third of the trainees in key decision-making roles. This will require continuous career counselling to ensure that their development needs are addressed at every level of their career path.
In addition to the long-term steps described above, Falcon should also have a target to make up for the lack of direction and to fulfil the expectations of the new hires. It must also engage former managers to launch a mentorship programme, give managers a bonus component that is linked to the performance of the new hires on their team, and invest in building better HR capabilities.
(The authors are pursuing Post-Graduate Programme in Management from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore)