Management Middle Ground: The Mythical Unicorn of Business

I have seen, over my consulting career, a lot of managers, owners and supervisors. I have watched their decision making and I have watched them steer their "ships of commerce" both large and small. Many have had to make tough decisions and most make decisive, yet measured business decisions. EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO PEOPLE.

When it comes to people you get two camps. One camp makes quick decisions, regardless of the situation.

• Hire immediately and on "gut."


• Promote or give a raise at the drop of a hat.


• Fire on the spot.

The second camp takes FOREVER to make a decision.

• Can't decide to hire, because they are not sure what or whom they are looking for.


• Don't ever discipline or they issue warning after warning with no consequences. Don't want to upset someone, don't want to face the employee, afraid of them, etc. You pick the reason.


• Won't EVER fire anyone despite that the person drags down morale, lowers productivity, drives off the good employees.

Both camps of managers are bad for the company. The "hair trigger" types make decisions that result in turnover, incompetent management and run the risk of discrimination lawsuits. The "drag-on forever" types don't make decisions and this results in lower quality candidates, poor performing employees, lowered morale, turnover, and the threat of lawsuits. Both types result in dragging down the reputation of the company.

Why is there no middle ground? Probably lack of training. Bigger companies may train managers, but most small and middle size companies don't. Having a well trained HR person may help this situation, but only if they have credibility within their organizations, and many HR folks in small companies don't.

So what do we do? Well we can point out the financial consequences of their behavior. That means HR has to be on the ball. You have to be able to put the need for a change of behavior in financial terms. Hopefully that will catch their attention.

Anyone have another suggestion. Let us know. Leave a comment on this blog page and educate us in what we might be able to do. Your HR brethren will appreciate it.

Does HR Bureaucracy Get In Your Way?

I had a discussion with a department head the other day about his frustration with one of his employees and with the lack of help he is getting from HR. His frustration results from an employee who is frequently and consistently late. He is required to be there at 7 am and work until 4 pm. However, he often does not make it until 7:30 or 7:45 or even 8:oo am. Yet he leaves right on time everyday at 4 pm. The department head sat him down and said "you have to be here on time." Guys response was I can't I have children I have to get to school. DH respond he understood, but the employee needed to make other arrangements because the job required he be there on time, otherwise the systems needed by everyone else would not be up and working. So the employee cannot be late anymore or he will have to write him up. The employee says that the DH is making it an unfriendly place to work and goes and complains to HR. DH makes a note for the guys file and sends it to HR. (A note: the employee as been there a long time. The DH is relatively new and was hired to "clean up" the department left by the previous and fired manager.)

HR comes back and says to the DH you cannot put the note in the file. The DH asks why and HR tells him he has not verbally warned the employee. DH responds, duh, what do you think the note was about. HR asks how many times the employee has been late. DH shows them the attendance record of numerous absences. They tell DH he needs to sit down with the employee and ask "What do you think you can do in order to get here on time?" So frustrated DH sits down with the employee and asks the question. The response he gets is "I don't want to get to work on time." BTW, the employee wrote that down on paper and signed it.

DH, very frustrated by this time, takes this signed document to the HR department and says "I want to get rid of this guy." HR asks if there is anyone else that can be assigned to that job or can the hours be changed. The answer to both of these questions is "No." No one else has the training and the company doesn't run correctly if the work does not get started right away. (It is the Department Head who has to take up the slack when the employee doesn't show up.) HR then tells him he cannot terminate the employee, the DH has to put him on a 60 day "get well" program.

The DH leaves, totally frustrated, hating HR because he cannot rid the company of a poor performing employee, who has openly expressed his lack of desire to do the job correctly. The attitude of the DH is that he is being saddled with an employee for life and that he will never be able to fire this employee because HR's bureaucracy is in the way. He has given up, hopes the employee will leave for another reason before he, the DH, leaves out of frustration.

So my question to you is "Do you have a similiar bureaucracy?" Are you the point of frustration? Do you hinder more than help? What would you do to change this situation?