Managing Employee Relations For Kingfisher Garden Centre

Role-play 1: Problem-solving and conflict resolution

The issue in the workplace got emerged after some of the employees complained about one of their fellow employee who is causing stress for others. In addition, it is also being identified that the particular employee is concerned about the consequences. Thus, it is important for the manager to discuss with the employee about the issue and how to deal with the situation. In addition, it is also important for the manager to discuss with the accused team member about the problem and what should be done. Thus, the key objective of the manager will be to maintain the competency and coordination in the team and enhance the effectiveness of the entire process of conflict management. In the following role play, the conversation will be between the manager (Jack), employee (White) and the team member (Rob).

Jack: Hi white.

White: Hello sir.

Jack: I think you are intending to discuss about something with me.  

White: yes sir. I want to discuss with you about some issues being faced by me in the team.

Jack: Ok. You are most welcome to share any issues with you. I will try my level best to resolve your issue. So please start.

White: sir I am facing issue with one of our team members and this is creating stress for me.

Jack: I am sorry to hear that. Who is the employee creating issue for you? I can assure you that it will remain confidential between us and no one will be able to have this information.

White: the concerned employee is rob. He is one of our top performers of the team .

Jack: yeah I know and I also believe that he is also one of the most sincere and disciplined members of our team. But how come he is creating issue with you?

White: sir, one of the major problems being faced by me is the irregularities in terms of forwarding important telephone messages. As I am concerned with meeting requirement and queries of the customers, this is becoming difficult for me to provide the quality service. This is due to the reason that if rob cannot provide the important telephone messages to me in time, then I cannot have the input and background information regarding the query of the customers. Thus, it is adding in extra pressure and stress for me.

Jack: it is surely a major problem as you said and also it is a major deviation from the work responsibilities for robs. I will surely look after this but are there any other problems being faced by you in the team?

White: it is expected that in the team, each of the members will cooperate and coordinate with others in collective achievement of the team goals. However, I am not getting any such cooperation from the side of rob and he is also not willing to help or assists me citing extra responsibility for him. This is also affecting my performance and I am not being able to put my entire effort in place.

Role-play 2: Diversity

Jack: surely you are facing some major issues. I will look after this for sure and will consult with the right stakeholders regarding this issue. However, on the other hand, I have also something to say to you.

White: yes sir.

Jack: first of all, from now on if you face any such issues again or any other issues in the team do not hesitate to come over me. This is due to the fact that I am the only one who can help you in resolving these issues. In addition, as a manager, I am also having the responsibility to drive the teamwork effectively and properly and so I need to have these inputs for identification of issues and overcoming them.

White: actually sir, I was skeptical about the consequences of this and also rob is one of most productive members in the team. So I was thinking about the outcome if I complain about him.

Jack: not it is totally a wrong perception of you and all team members are encouraged to come up to me with their feedbacks for the good of the team. Also you will not face any negative consequences as this will be totally confidential.

White: thank you sir. I am highly obliged by your cooperation in this matter and I will also come up with feedbacks.

Jack: also please be noted that even though you are working in the team and it is expected that all the team members should work on the basis of cooperation and coordination. However, it is also an advice to you that please is self sufficient in the workplace and tries to be less dependable on others. It is always told that you should consult with your fellow members in case of any issue but still you should also be competent enough in doing the work if no one is willing to help you.  

White: right sir. I will surely follow your words and implement it in my workplace approach.

Jack: the more you will become competent by yourself, the more you will be able to take up challenging roles and responsibilities. In addition, this will also enable you to be the dependable force for others and you will be able to have the upper hand in the team.  

White: yes sir.

Jack: ok you may leave now. I am looking after your issue and always follow the words I said. This will ensure you that you are facing stress of any types and can be able to overcome all the challenges.

White: thank you sir.

Rob: hello sir. Is there any urgent requirement that you called me in quick time?

Jack: no. I have something to discuss with you. Actually I am initiating an individual employee evaluation program under which, you are being called.

Rob: ok sir.

Jack: so rob, are there any issues that you want to share with me or is there something that can be improved?

Rob: no sir. Till now I have not faced any such serious issues and I am also happy with the current set of infrastructure.  However, still I want to share with you something.

Jack: yes please.

Rob: I am facing an issue with managing the different customer call at once and as I am the sole responsible for dealing with the type II complaints of the customers, so the works are getting pilling up for me. It is also causing issue for the next level of the employees who are dealing with the customer calls.

Jack: this is a major issue I think because it is not only affecting your performance but others as well.

Rob: moreover sir, I am also getting stressed for piled up jobs and cannot able to assists with other team members. In some cases, it is becoming rude of me to reject assistance to someone but I am forced to do so.

Jack: ok. You have identified a good point in the current workplace scenario. However, in this case, I have also something to say to you.

Rob: yes sir.

Jack: please be noted that what you have said is surely a major problem in the workplace and it should be changed. I will surely look after this. However, you should have some responsibilities to be taken by own. You should have come to me earlier about the issues you are facing only to resolve this matter quickly. In addition, if the employees are getting stressed in their workplace and cannot able to meet their expected target, then the whole concept of teamwork is vague and it is of no use. Thus, I am requesting you to please come up to me in case of any issues and this will help the employees to have more favorable workplace environment.

Rob: sorry sir. I should have come to you earlier but I promise that from now on, I will also communicate with you in case of any issues.

Jack: thank you for that. Also please be aware that I am trying to equip you with more members for taking up the type II complaints, which will ease your burden. In addition, I am also expecting that easing your burden will help you with enough time and you will be able to act as a proper assistance to others. You are one of the top performers of this team and it is always expected from you that you will play the supporting role to others.

Rob: thank you for complement sir. It is obvious that I will be able to assists others with the burden being removed and I will sure try to uphold the trust and confidence you showed on me. In addition, I will also work hard to enhance my performance further and to be a major contributor in the team.

Jack: that is the spirit I am expecting from you. Keep up your good work and strive to maintain the team conflict free.

Here, the human resource manager for Kingfisher Garden Centre is conducting a meeting with the assistant manager of the company. The assistant manager have informed him that the sales are increasing rapidly and there is a necessity for recruiting more staffs to work in the garden centre over in the next couple of months. The manager of the garden centre has asked them to draft an advertisement of recruitment for the local paper. The HR manager is providing him feedback about his drafted advertisement and is discussing the value of diversity considering the legal issues that he has identified in the advertisement. The people involved in the meeting are the HR manager (John Ivan) and the assistant manager (Luis Rhett).

Assistant manager (Luis Rhett) – Hello John, please have a seat.

HR manager (John Ivan) – Hello! Good morning Sir.

Assistant manager- Good morning (Smile) Actually I have called you for a purpose today. I think you are already aware of the fact that the rate of sales in our garden centre is increasing day by day, right?

HR manager- Yeah sir. I do know that and I think there is much pressure on the employees these days due to such a rapid increase in sales.

Assistant manager- Yeah, that is true. Employees are working very hard to tackle the situation but there is still lack of labour there to cope up with the increasing sales rate.

HR manager- Yeah, I can understand that very well. Why don’t the company recruit some more staffs in that case? This is help a lot and also, not much pressure would be laid on the existing employees.

Assistant manager- Yeah, that is what I have called you for today. Actually day before yesterday I had a talk with the manager of garden centre. He was very worried. He stated that there more staffs are required to be recruited in the centre in the next couple of months.

HR manager- Ohkay. So, what’s the issue now sir?

Assistant manager- Actually he has asked me to draft an advertisement of recruitment for the local newspaper in order to let the news get circulated in the local market. I have made an advertisement as well. Can you please have a look on this? (Handing the draft of advertisement over to the John ivan). See, I have made this one as I think this would be appropriate for attracting the right candidate at the right place.

HR manager- mmm, okay let me check sir. (Going through the draft thoroughly). No doubt, this advertisement is appropriate for the job role sir.

Assistant manager- Is it?

HR manager- Yes Sir. I think some parts of the advertisement need to be changed.

Assistant manager- Changes? Where John?

HR manager- Sir, everything is fine right from required qualifications to experience and description of the job role. But this advertisement lacks in showcasing that our company encourage and celebrates diversity. You have mentioned that the age range of the candidate should be in between 22 to 35 years and that you need male candidate for the positions.

Assistant manager- Yeah, actually I thought male candidates from 22 to 35 years would be more active as compared to the others. Also, the work that we do, needs both mental and physical activities, which, I think a male candidate can do much better than the females.

HR manager- But sir, operating successfully in today’s global economy presents some very notable challenge to our businesses. Therefore, from my perspective, as a human resource manager, assembling a workforce that is diverse in nature could be a very effective strategy for remaining competitive in the business market as well as to generate more customer and employee loyalty. A diverse workforce is always good for any business and it is also good while trying to attract talents. Whether or not we are actually interested in increasing diversity at our workplace, there is high chances that the candidates would evaluate diversity when they research about the company as well as in the process of interview. Hence, we should focus on this a lot. After all, we don’t just need a temporary success, right?

Assistant manager- Yes, that is true. I also think that diversity in the workplace is a direct reflection of any organisation.

HR manager- it is actually sir. There are several companies that have successfully established different procedures and processes in or to locate job candidates. Most often, they all are executed by means of a dedicated recruiting and staffing department which makes use of college campus recruitment, job fairs, employee referral programs, newspaper advertisements, via external recruiters, website postings, and affiliations with the different professional and trade organisations.

Assistant manager- Yeah, I know that John. So, can you please suggest me ways to draft this advertisement in proper manner. Please make sure that that it no longer showcase our negligence to diversity.

HR manager- Sure sir. In this contemporary world, women are no longer inferior to men in any ways. They in fact are more educated now. Also, advancing the equality of women can add up to 12 trillion dollars to the global growth. I think you must omit this word “male” from the advertisement and seek for welcoming right candidate with right skills and knowledge irrespective of their sexes. Also, there are several studies that have shown that there are some words in job advertisement that can be really off-putting, on the basis of the gender of the candidate. Words like ‘dominant’, ‘ambitious’, ‘competitive’ females are likely to repel the female candidates and words like ‘understand’ and ‘affectionate’ dissuade the men.

Assistant manager- I see…

HR manager- In this way, chances are high that we will lose the top talents to join our workforce. Hence, there is a great importance of gender neutral languages in the Job advertisement if we want to attract the best candidate to work for the company.

Assistant manager- Okay John. I will make sure that the advertisement do not contain this.

HR manager- Yeah. And one more thing sir.

Assistant manager- Yes?

HR manager- See, here you have mentioned that you want the candidate to be in between the age range of 22 to 35 years but it is to state that there are other candidates as well who fall under our target audience but they do not belong from this age group and are older than this.

Assistant manager- Oh yes, I completely forgot about this while drafting. Thanks a ton John. I think I have made the best decision to call you in order to have a recheck on the draft before sending it to the manager of Garden centre.

HR manager- It is completely my pleasure sir (smile).

Assistant manager- (smile). Can you suggest me any other things that I should mention in the advertisement.

HR manager- mmm… Yes, you also need to insert the diversity policy of the company at the end of the advertisement sir. Also, any other related policies is to be outlined here for making the advertisement more genuine and clearer.

Assistant manager- Okay and do you find any sort of legal issues here?

HR manager- There is no legal issue over here until and unless you add any irrelevant and untrue information in the advertisement that could mislead the candidates. In that case, they could report it to the consumer forum. Also, there is anti-discrimination law which prohibits the advertisements which indicate any sort of intention to discriminate any individual on different unlawful grounds such as disability, race, marital status, sex, political conviction, sexual preferences, ethnicity, family responsibilities, etc.

Assistant manager- Oh, No no. There is no such types of content that indicate any intention of discrimination.

HR manager- yeah, I, too, didn’t find any. Oh yes, one more thing. Please ensure that the final work of advertisement must comply with the Commonwealth and the NSW law. Also, the pay scale of the employee should also comply with the latest legislation as well as the applicable industrial instruments like the Modern Award. With the same, you have also forgot to outline costs to potential job applicants. For example- any training required for the position or any requirement that the candidate should have or obtain at the time of interview process. All these things are necessary to be outlined in the advertisement sir.

Assistant manager- Oh I see. Okay. Can you suggest me any link to find information regarding employing candidates and the pay rates?

HR manager- Sure, you can find it at www.fwa.gov.au (Fair Work Australia), www.fairwork.gov.au (Fair Work online) and some of the very important information for all the employers are there are www.fwo.gov.au(fair work ombudsman). Also, you can find some relevant information on the Fair Work Information Line on calling 1300799675 and on NSW Office of the industrial Relations at the website- www.industrualrelations.nsw.gov.au. All the necessary information are there over here.

Assistant manager-  Thank you John. Thank you so much.

HR manager- It was my duty sir.