CHANGING GEESE INTO A BETTER GEESE

One of the greatest issues for managers in the public sector is their inability to get rid of staff who are at best less productive than they should be.  The worst is the trouble makers who caused problem to the organization.

Organizations are often left with its present staff where some of them are nowhere near retirement.  Some are even firmly ‘stuck’ where they are either:

• Unwilling to be moved from jobs they are familiar with
• Unable to think of new ideas themselves and yet opposing those put forward by others
• Opposed initiatives from own staff and therefore unable to develop or use their skills to the full effect

But it is still the manager’s responsibility to manage them.  Management has to look for whatever good points there are and cultivate them while at the same time trying to maximize their weakness.  Support has to be combined with insistence that improvement is essential.  The change may not be seen soon enough as it has to be remembered that the staff in question have probably been at the poor behavior aver many years.

It is sometimes almost necessary to move the staff concerned to a different job and be given gradual increasing target.  It may also be that they are given a particular project for which they are alone responsible.

Staffs that have been virtually written-off can be changed into productive people.  There’s this maxim about you can’t change geese into swans, but you can make them into a better geese.  It’s worth the effort since its better than wasting money and leaving the staff to rot.

In this case, the manager too is benefited where they will become a better manager and their confidence will be enhanced with each success.

In order to achieve radical change, more than just the development of staff is necessary.  Radical change can also be achieved with existing staff but it will take time.  The relative easy option of replacing the staff sometimes may not always be best.

Shared from:

Maurice B. Line (2003), “Management Musings 13: Making do with what we have”, Library Management, Vol. 24 Iss: 6 pp. 360-361

TOP DOGS VS FAT CATS

There’s always this issue of having to pay very high salaries to attract the best top bosses in a highly competitive market.  These do call ‘top dogs’ will likely go elsewhere and take their talent where they can be ‘fat cats’.

There is yet evidence showing that highly paid bosses (fat cats) are better bosses (top dogs).  There is also no explanation yet as to why jobs in the public sector that carries very high responsibilities do not need to carry high rewards while those in the private sector do.  It is only private top dogs who need to also be fat cats.  There is also no such evidence that management is worse in the public than in the private sector.

People work in private sector because they value the rather high job security, they want to do a socially useful job, or because of various other reasons of their own.  Money is not always a bad motivation.  There is no reason why poorer rewards should lead to performance that is any less good than that achieved by the fattest of cats.

Shared from:

Maurice B. Line (2003), “Management Musings 12: Top dogs need not be fat cats”, Library Management, Vol. 24 Iss: 4 pp. 252-253

MEASURES: DOES EVERYTHING HAS TO BE MEASURED

Performance measure is always considered necessary and most desired by bosses and management.  Management need to know the level of performance in order to improve conditions.  There may be very good reasons for apparently poor performance and they need to be identified.

Today, we live in a measurement culture.  Sometimes measures are so valued that they become more important than the performance that they are supposed to be measuring.

Staffs are under continuous pressure to measure everything they are doing that can be measured.  The temptation to make-up figures is always looming, especially when management doesn’t want to listen.

Measures also in a way encourage competition which is supposed to lead to a better performance.  But, with due respect, excessive competition atmosphere will create an unhealthy environment.

Shared from:

Maurice B. Line (2003), “Management Musings 11: Measurement vs performance”, Library Management, Vol. 24 Iss: 3 pp. 164-165

PUTTING THE RIGHT PERSON IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

There’s always some reason when people depart from their normal behavior.  Some may become less productive, or retreating from being with their fellow workers.  Some may even feel that no one is interested in them as human being, only trying to get work done out of them.

This out-of-character behavior can sometimes be caused by bad circumstances within the workplace.  Bad behavior on the part of the manager (as the staff perceived it) may lead to rebellion and usually it is muted on the part of the staffs.  Managers faced with bad behavior should always look honestly at themselves and see if they had a hand in provoking it.

One way of handling this out-of-character behavior besides trying to get to know them better and understanding their situation, is a change of job.  It’s worth trying as management saying goes, “putting the right person in the right place at the right time.”

Shared from:

Maurice B. Line (2003), “Management Musings 10: Everyone can be difficult at times”, Library Management, Vol. 24 Iss: 1 pp. 86-87