Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507100018
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAMILLE WRIGHT MILLER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A: David M. Furman, senior vice president of human resources, says that while "credentials are important," job skills are only part of the package you must offer to successfully compete in an organization's change.
Furman, with First Union National Bank of Virginia in Roanoke, says executives make note of those with strong work ethics, those "who get to work on time and avoid scuttlebutt and office grapevines." It's not just your work, it's also how you work. Much success, Furman counsels, "comes down to attitude."
Folks in charge of hiring "look for a positive attitude and individuals who sell themselves. This means finding opportunities to get to know the new managers." Furman finds that "people not selected in the first round who get to know the managers, who treat customers well and who go the extra mile are the ones who get attention. As new positions open, they get them."
Since mergers bring change, management prefers "the person who accepts change easily. People who look at change as an opportunity do well." Avoid the phrases "that won't work" or "we don't do it that way."
Furman also recommends "flexibility. You have to be willing to move sideways or down. You want to find a way to get on the team. If you're good, you'll find ways to get recognized and promoted. Otherwise, you're not on the team at all.
"In the new work world," Furman counsels, "people need to manage their own careers, keep skill sets up, and identify what's needed to stay current." Furman believes that when "two people have the same skill set, it's the person who has been managing his or her own career that will be successful." After that, "it just comes down to attitude."
Finally, rather than "staying on," view this as an opportunity with a new company. That's what you really have.
Q: Several of my employees are working to undermine another employee. I need to do something. I spend considerable time listening to petty complaints.
A: Useful information can be gained by listening with an open mind; however, all information must be reviewed to determine if a hidden agenda can be revealed. Is there a pattern that emerges? Are you being given information for the good of the organization or is there a personal quality to it? Is the targeted employee a consistently good employee? Have there been complaints from other sources?
If the targeted employee has been unfairly singled out, stop the process. When complaints are voiced, tell the complainer that you're satisfied with the co-worker's performance. Say, also, that you're troubled by signs that employees are not working as a team. Ask the complainer what behavior he or she will engage in to ensure team behavior occurs. Repeat this with every complaint. If staff members want you to act on their feelings about another, their approach works only if you cooperate.
On the other hand, if the targeted worker is a problem employee, he or she is likely causing problems for others. Observe the employee. Once you've identified the problem, take supervisory action.
Fair treatment demands that you resolve the situation as soon as possible. Problem employees need to be corrected; problem co-workers need to be stopped.
Q: I started a new job last year and was excited by friendships I made there. Over the last several months I've realized I was hasty - two are poisonous. How can I extricate myself?
A: Whatever you do, do it slowly. Abrupt behavior changes only cause more problems. Insert small changes in routines over a period of time so your ultimate disengagement goes nearly unnoticed. For example, continue meeting for lunch, but leave early. At the end of the day, suggest others go without you since you want to clean your desk or finish a project. Mention that you're excited about improving your golf game or taking a course, but won't be available for some activities.
Don't tell your co-workers you don't want to be friends. Being direct, in this case, serves only to hurt feelings. And, while you don't want the friendships, you certainly don't want to create enemies.
It takes considerable time to really get to know someone; going slowly in forming friendships on the job saves missteps.
by CNB