A Difficult Personal Experience - Essay Sample

Introduction

I remember a time when I had to give a review to an employee in the organization. Being a human resource practitioner, it was my duty to conduct an assessment of the employees and then provide the findings to my superiors who would assess the situation further before giving me their decision on the action to be taken concerning the employee in question. The employee in question had been with the organization for the past 30 years and had been performing excellently for the period that he was at his peak. However, the employee's performance took a dip, and the main reason was due to the different approaches undertaken in the production process that he was a part of. He was used to older machines, and since the company replaced them, his performance went down since he was not familiar with their operations, while the younger employees had proper knowledge of them. Therefore, the human resource department felt that the older employee had to take a compulsory leave during which they were to undertake training to operate the new machines at their own cost, as per company policy. I had remorse for the employee and therefore ended up panicking and writing a letter, which was written in a harsh tone in hindsight. Immediately the employee read it. They handed in their resignation letter.

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Specific Actions Taken

Immediately I got the instructions, I got emotional and felt sorry for the employee because of the course of actions that were to follow. However, as it was my duty to deliver the message, I prepared a thought process to take as I addressed the employees and explained the situation to them. I planned to start by appreciating them for their many years of service in the organization and reminding them that their service was not taken for granted. Next, I would mention their drop in performance and how the company feels about it, primarily due to the financial implications associated with the reduced performance. Then, I would say the organizational policy on what needed to be done, concluding with a reassurance that once they were done with the retraining, they would have their job back. However, out of panic and emotions clouding my judgment, I felt unable to execute the duty face to face and therefore opted to address the employee via a letter. In the letter, I went straight to the point and informed them of the organization's dissatisfaction with their performance and the need for them to improve their skills by taking a course at their expense. Looking back, I feel that my approach was ineffective since the employee gave their resignation letter the next day.

Application of the Week’s Resources

I was given a task to deliver bad news, and therefore the conversation that I was to undertake was a stressful one to both the employee concerned and me. Consequently, I was required to prepare mentally and emotionally for the situation to effectively execute my duty while also remaining emotionally sensitive to the employee and respectful of their contribution to organizational success over the years (Weeks, 2001). Additionally, while remaining emotionally sensitive to the employee, I was supposed to have reduced my emotional input. Reducing emotional attachment from a conversation helps one in staying objective and in addressing the situation objectively. After preparing for the discussion I was to have, I should have approached them in a friendly manner but used an official tone to realize that the conversation was being held from a friendly yet official setting (Neeley & Leonardi, 2011). Then, I should have started by mentioning the organization's gratitude for their years of input towards the organization and mentioned its reason. I would then keep the conversation open for any inquiries that the employee may have had reassurance whenever needed on issues such as reassuring a job once they finished their training and the improved earnings they would receive should they increase their performance. This way, the employee would receive the message in the best way possible and appreciate the concerns raised.

How I Would Prepare for a Future Similar Situation

If put in a similar situation in the future, I would prepare mentally and emotionally for the situation before addressing the employee to remain objective and cover all the points that needed to be addressed. First, I would get rid of any emotional attachment or friendly encounters with the employee and only work towards executing my duties (Lawler, 2008). Secondly, I would select the appropriate language to use on the issue so that the employee's feelings would be considered while also ensuring that the message was received. This would be done by mentioning the organization's appreciation for the employee's input offering room for questions and providing the appropriate answers.

How I Would Prepare for a Similar Situation in a Virtual Setting

Virtual settings are almost similar to the physical settings, and therefore I would prepare similarly to the physical setting. First, I would get rid of any emotional attachment or friendly encounters with the employee and only work towards executing my duties. Secondly, I would select the appropriate language to use on the issue so that the employee's feelings would be considered while also ensuring that the message was received. This would be done by mentioning the organization's appreciation for the employee's input offering room for questions and providing the appropriate answers. However, since it is a virtual setting, I would ensure that the message delivery is clear and concise so that the employee gets the message clearly and understands what needs to be done (Rubinger et al., 2020). Additionally, virtual settings take significantly longer, and therefore I would allocate more time for the conversation.

References

Lawler, E. E. (2008). Why are we losing all our good people?. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 41.

Neeley, T., & Leonardi, P. (2011). Effective managers say the same thing twice (or more).

Rubinger, L., Gazendam, A., Ekhtiari, S., Nucci, N., Payne, A., Johal, H., ... & Bhandari, M. (2020). Maximizing virtual meetings and conferences: a review of best practices. International Orthopaedics, 1-6.

Weeks, H. (2001). Taking the stress out of stressful conversations. Harvard Business Review, 79(7), 112-120.