Biolab
... should have taken a more diplomatic and team oriented approach. It is clear that the approach he used would not have improved the reps’ performance and in addition he would have triggered the lost of one of the company’s top producers (Kathryn). ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS Why did Kathryn get so mad with Ed’s feedback? Ed’s message style and the way he delivered it played a major role in infuriating Kathryn. · Ed did not involve Kathryn in the identification of the issue. He came out with his on conclusion that Kathryn’s reps lower than expected performance was caused by Kathryn’s inability to motivate them. This may or may not be true, but one thing is certain the best way to find out about the cause of a problem is to talk to the people that are closer to the problem, in this case, Kathryn and her reps. Instead of telling her outright “you do not know how to motivate your reps”, he could have make her part of the issue resolution by telling her something like: “It seems that your reps are not performing to the standards that are expected of them. Have you noticed it and do you know why this could be happening?” · He needed to be willing to talk about all the reasons why he was under the impression that Kathryn was not properly motivating her reps. In addition, he should have been more descriptive and detailed with his critique. His message needed to be objective instead of subjective. For example, instead of saying “your sales reps are not performing well enough to suit me. They should be producing more results by making more calls”. He should have made an objective statement “the monthly sales of your reps are below the average of the overall district’s sales. Your reps make 30% less calls than other reps in the district. Do you know why this is?” · Let’s assume that Ed was right and that Kathryn needed to enhance her skills for motivating her reps. By only stating dissatisfaction with Kathryn’s performance and not offering possible changes or solutions, he was not helping her develop into a manager. As a manager, Ed needed not only to identify the problem but also assist Kathryn with the resolution by giving her guidance and support. Because he did not do this, Kathryn got very frustrated by thinking “OK. He is telling me that I do not know how to motivate people. But I do not know how to fix this problem in a way that would be acceptable for him”. Kathryn’s powerlessness feeling was also a major contributor to her anger. · Ed accused her of being the cause of the problem without giving her the opportunity to defect herself or clarify the issue. · She felt that it was unfair for Ed to blain her for not properly motivating her reps, when she thought that things that were out of her control (compensation, training and reps’ experience) were the real causes of the problem. Basically, she felt powerless by having the misperception that she had little power to really motivate her reps. There have been many studies that have proven that there are other factors, like the clarity of the sales tasks, that are greater motivators than compensation. In addition, she thought that she did not have a say in the compensation policy and training of the sales reps. This is not true, if the compensation policy and/or sales training were having a negative impact on motivation, she could have worked with her manager on championing changes in those areas. Each of Kathryn’s sales reps may have had distinctly different motivational needs. In order to begin developing a more effective motivation process she needed to understand each of their specific personalities. Some of her reps may have been motivated by the opportunity to advance their careers and others may have been more interested in monetary incentives. In addition, she could have used a very cheap and effective way for motivating employees: “ show them day in and day out that you genuinely care about them and their concerns”. Kathryn’s reaction to Ed’s feedback is not surprising. Many people would have reacted in a similar way under the circumstances described above. ALTERNATIVES Should Kathryn confront Ed or forget about the incident? She is not going to be able to forget about the incident, it is going to be in the back of her mind every time she talks to Ed. Plus this incident has made her lose the respect for Ed; which it makes very difficult for her to be happy while working for him. In the short run, it may seem easier to avoid conflict rather than confront it. But in reality, it is easier to resolve conflict constructively when it is confronted early. If confrontation does not occur soon right after the incident emotions will heat up and the conflict will become destructive. Should Kathry...