Sy Smith Is not doing well in his job. The problems began to appear shortly afte
ID: 423376 • Letter: S
Question
Sy Smith Is not doing well in his job. The problems began to appear shortly after Sy’s job changed from a manual to a computer-based operation. He has tried hard but is just not doing well in learning how to use the computer to meet performance expectations. He is 45 years old and has been with the company for 18 years. Sy has been a great worker in the past and is both popular and influential among his peers. Along with his performance problems, you have also notice that Sy is starting to sometimes “badmouth” the firm. As Sy’s manager, what options would you consider in terms of dealing with the issue of his retention in the job and in the company? What could you do by way of career development for Sy, and why?
Explanation / Answer
Unfortunately, this scenario is fairly common in today’s workforce. Baby Boomers currently make up a large portion of the nation’s workforce. As they grow older, so does the workforce. This poses a problem when it comes to ever-changing technology. Our world is becoming more and more technology-based and those who struggle to learn and use new technology face potential employment issues. Thankfully, there are some options for Sy that are fairly simple and inexpensive to implement, yet will likely result in an improvement in Sy’s work habits and behavior.
The first option is training. According to our book training is “especially critical today because new knowledge and technologies quickly make so many of our existing skills obsolete.” To retain good, solid employees, like Sy, employers need to invest in ongoing training for employees. Although the scenario states that Sy is “not doing well in learning how to use the computer…” it does not specifically indicate whether formal training was used to teach Sy the new system. Did the company implement the new computer-based operation and expect employees to just figure it out? If the company offered training, was it offered through a written manual, or were employees sent to a computer lab/classroom to learn from a live person while using the system at the same time? When I first started at my company, I spent three days in a classroom/computer lab learning how to use the company’s electronic medical record database as well as the many other computer-based operations. I caught on very quickly because, I not only was able to use a “training” version of the system, I had a live person in front of me who could answer my questions and provide assistance along the way. Older employees, like Sy, who may not be as familiar with technology, would greatly benefit from training with a live person while actually using the system. If this was not offered to Sy, or if Sy did not receive any type of formal training for the new computer-based system, the company needs to step up and help him.
If in-person training is not an option through this company, another option may be reverse mentoring. Our book defines reverse mentoring as younger and newly hired employees mentoring older employees and senior executives, often specifically related to new technology. Depending on the size of Sy’s company, there is bound to be a younger, more tech-savvy employee that could work side-by-side with Sy to help teach him how to use the system. Having someone available to teach him how to use the system as it pertains to his specific job tasks could be a huge benefit for Sy.
Another useful option that could be used in conjunction with additional training and/or reverse mentoring is a performance appraisal/review; more specifically, the critical-incident technique which provides specific examples of an employee’s effective and ineffective behaviors. I like this technique because it discusses where an employee excels as well as where an employee needs improvement. Too many reviews/appraisals focus on the negative and ignore the positive. This can cause employees to view reviews/appraisals as negative tools. I think it would be important for Sy’s manager to remind him of all he has accomplished over the past 18 years as well as the good work he continues to provide to the company. Discussing his positive behaviors, and indicating to Sy that the company still appreciates all his hard work, will likely help Sy openly discuss his struggles with the computer system as well as his negative behavior of bad-mouthing the company. Based on Sy’s outstanding work history, my guess is that his recent negative behavior is stemming from frustration of not understanding the new computer-based system. Sy may feel that management and/or the company as a whole has let him down, by not providing the support he needs, despite all he’s done for them over the past 18 years. This is a common emotion employees experience that, if not addressed, can cause the employee to become increasingly jaded resulting in negative behaviors. However, no matter the reason for Sy’s behavior, it still needs to be addressed to prevent it from happening in the future.
Although I feel the company needs to take responsibility for the majority of Sy’s struggles, I also feel that Sy, himself, needs to take some responsibility for his own career planning. It shouldn’t be a surprise to Sy that the company moved to a computer-based operation. In today’s world, very few companies still use pencil and paper systems. Because of this, Sy should have been preparing himself for when the company moved toward using more technology by taking some classes or doing some research. If he had done this, he would have already had a basic understanding of technology, which may have assisted him in better understanding the company’s system.
In the end, I think it’s really important to make a reasonable effort to retain Sy as an employee. He has an excellent work ethic, based on his history with the company, and he’s popular and influential among the other employees. If the company were to terminate Sy without first providing him more support and understanding, it could greatly affect the overall working environment of the company. Sy’s termination could cause employees to become fearful for their own jobs, which usually results in lower work performance and lower productivity. It may also cause other key and high performing employees to leave the company based on a belief that the company does not feel investing in high-quality employees is important.
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