The challenge of bringing in beneficial changes in organizations requires greater understanding of human resources. This article puts forward a metaphorical understanding of the different kind of employees working with organizations. This might be helpful for decision-makers to quickly profile employees and make better human resource decisions so as to improve work performance.
There are four kinds of employees. First, the zombies that do not want to work and nothing inspires them. They keep on spreading the zombie virus. What made them like this could be a long story to investigate. Whatever the case is, these undead living beings somehow cannot be made part of any thriving organization. Nothing good can be done about it; drawing from the ancient Greek practices comes the solution – prevent them from reanimating. The best advice is to make sure this kind is not recruited in the first place; this can be made sure (at least partially) with the inclusion of extensive psychometrics in the recruitment process. If this kind is already there, you would need to work out legitimate ways to get them out of the organization.
Second, the Aawagoon/ Transmigrates. These employees are lost in transition,; they once knew how to work but somehow are no more motivated. This happens usually because job itself do not offer an achievement anymore to these individuals. This may also be due to the fact that in their perception, their achievements in the past were never recognized nor rewarded.
For such employees, a series of HR interventions need to be designed – starting with job redesign whereby new achievement components are added in the job roles. Thus, the job itself is enriched with greater meaningfulness. Though getting rid of these individuals is not a bad option, at least interventions of job enrichment must be tried first. Besides job enrichment, investments on these individuals could be fruitful if the trust deficit is decreased and perception of organizational justice is restored.
Third are the lost souls. These employees are willing to work but due to lack of task dexterity and role clarity end up losing their energy over time. For such employees, the organization needs to pave the pathways with better systems, coaching, and training. Providing job aids with the understanding of explicit key performance indicators (KPIs) would surely help them contribute to organizational objectives. A short-term incentive plan tied to small achievements is helpful in boosting their confidence. Let them enjoy small wins first and prepare for the bigger ones later. Assigning mentors with these employees for a year or two is always a good choice.
Fourth, Ubermensch is Nietzsche’s superior man (superman). This kind of employee at the workplace is a very rare species. These individuals are capable of doing work without hesitation and with energy, resilience and optimism. Nothing can stop them; they have unwavering resolve. With their self-defined principles of work and ethical values, they stand out.
They can also easily fly away, and retaining them would be a big challenge. So, instead of focusing on efforts to retain them with greater incentives or controlling them with organizational policies, the best choice is to fly with them and make maximum use of their presence. Human resource need to identify these high potentials at the early stages and use them as mentors for employees having performance troubles.
The writer is an assistant professor at PIDE, Islamabad.