Use Detective Work to Find Problem's Cause

D

avidson should have known, and should have made sure Pitcher knew, that organizational morale and productivity can suffer for five years or more after downsizing. With Davidson's knowledge of the organization and Pitcher's experience conducting surveys, they could have established a plan to gather information and minimize employee fears.

If fears increase, the agency's mission could suffer. Frightened employees are not productive employees.

Davidson should start by taking some of the blame if, in fact, he did not prepare Pitcher for the buzz saw he ran into. When a manager admits he or she did something wrong, employees will often do likewise.

Davidson must try to determine why Pitcher was so undiplomatic in conducting the survey. Perhaps he doesn't understand the organizational climate. There probably is not time for Pitcher to take a change-management course, but describing what the organization has been through might be sufficient.

Pitcher might be feeling insecure about being a newcomer. Coming on strong with managers could be an attempt to establish his position in the organization. He needs to understand the agency mission and that the mission is more important than the survey.

If Davidson concludes that either a lack of understanding of the organizational climate or Pitcher's insecurity is causing the problem, he and Pitcher should call or personally apologize to the managers contacted so far. Pitcher should explain that he is new, that he is sorry they got off on the wrong foot and that he would like to start over. He needs to emphasize that his goal is to get the managers' input for a plan that will support the agency's mission.

Two other causes for Pitcher's behavior are possible. He may be so focused on the survey that he cannot see the larger objective-making the agency better able to accomplish its mission. Pitcher may also be someone who thinks in terms of logic and structure, who just cannot see how his actions affect others. If either of these things is true, training and discussion are unlikely to change him. The way he looks at the world is as much a part of his being as the color of his eyes; he is just not a people person. If this is the case, forcing him to talk one-on-one with the managers will just exacerbate the situation. It would be better to use him to analyze information collected by others.

Supervisors must be aware of the impact of their actions on the agency's human resources and must match solutions to specific problems. A little detective work will help determine the cause of the problem, which is key to selecting the best solution.

Robin Van Mechelen, who retired after more than 26 years in federal human resources management, served as personnel officer at two Cabinet-level agencies and personnel director at a small independent agency. She has been a consultant to the National Academy of Public Administration and writes a biweekly column for federal managers on the FPMI Communications Web page.

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