A common mistake managers make is that they are too soft with their team members, says Chandrasekhar Sripada, head of human resources at International Business Machines Corp.’s India and South Asia units.
Mr. Sripada says that instead of setting realistic expectations and being straight about bad news, managers are often tempted to be excessively tactful with their employees. But sugarcoating can backfire: It can give employees false hope and if things don’t work out, they will resent their managers for it. “The employee doesn’t like them for it,’ says Mr. Sripada.
He knows what he’s talking about: Mr. Sripada has been at the helm of IBM India’s HR team for two years. With around 100, 000 people on its payroll, IBM is one of India’s largest private employers.
From his office in Bangalore, Mr. Sripada spoke with India Real Time about common mistakes managers make, how to calibrate employee expectations and what managers can do to keep their employees engaged.
Here are edited excerpts:
IRT: What are common mistakes “people managers” make?
Mr. Sripada: One common shortcoming is the inability to manage expectations. We have a surfeit of expectations today. Too many people want too many good things to happen in too short a time.
Most managers are very soft and diplomatic. Instead of spelling out what is possible and what is impossible and setting it straight from the beginning, they often give hopeful signals. You shouldn’t fuel hope that you can’t manage. In a high-attrition market, managers constantly live in the fear of losing people if they are straight and firm with them. But I think that if you are straight and firm, people will like it.
IRT: What is the most common complaint employees have about their managers?
Mr. Sripada: Employees can never have enough of their manager’s attention, particularly when it comes to their career development. People often think that their managers can pull a career path for them out of their pocket. But that’s not how it works.
IRT: Are managers reluctant to help their employee grow, since that may mean they’ll leave their team?
Mr. Sripada: Young managers, or those who take a very short-term view, tend to hold on to people. But more mature managers understand that if they don’t lose the employee to another team within the company, they are likely to lose them outside the company. That will be worse.
IRT: How do you keep your employees engaged?
Mr. Sripada: Employee engagement is a manager-owned, manager-driven activity. People stay because they have good managers, people leave because they don’t. The human resources team encourages managers to connect with their employees in simple, non-work related interactions. It doesn’t have to be a party, it doesn’t have to be a bash – all you need to do is to touch base. Employees should feel their managers care for them and that they are concerned about their development. Half an hour a month for each employee is sufficient. We give managers reading material on how to be effective in such sessions.
Second, we emphasize learning. Employees are happy when they feel that their manager cares about their professional growth. Among other things, we advise managers to encourage employees to avail of training programs.
Finally, we emphasize career development. We organize various types of events aimed at explaining what career possibilities there are in IBM. There are presentations on what it takes to migrate from one business unit to another, for instance. We also ask senior officials share their experiences.
Mr. Sripada: As a rule of thumb, once every three years. There are exceptions, such as for jobs that require interacting with clients or for jobs that require specific technological skills. In these cases it takes time to build capabilities. For most other jobs, however, people should begin exploring new roles every three years. Proactively looking for such opportunities is a process and a culture at IBM.
by Linkedin Sources
Mr. Sripada says that instead of setting realistic expectations and being straight about bad news, managers are often tempted to be excessively tactful with their employees. But sugarcoating can backfire: It can give employees false hope and if things don’t work out, they will resent their managers for it. “The employee doesn’t like them for it,’ says Mr. Sripada.
He knows what he’s talking about: Mr. Sripada has been at the helm of IBM India’s HR team for two years. With around 100, 000 people on its payroll, IBM is one of India’s largest private employers.
From his office in Bangalore, Mr. Sripada spoke with India Real Time about common mistakes managers make, how to calibrate employee expectations and what managers can do to keep their employees engaged.
Here are edited excerpts:
IRT: What are common mistakes “people managers” make?
Mr. Sripada: One common shortcoming is the inability to manage expectations. We have a surfeit of expectations today. Too many people want too many good things to happen in too short a time.
Most managers are very soft and diplomatic. Instead of spelling out what is possible and what is impossible and setting it straight from the beginning, they often give hopeful signals. You shouldn’t fuel hope that you can’t manage. In a high-attrition market, managers constantly live in the fear of losing people if they are straight and firm with them. But I think that if you are straight and firm, people will like it.
IRT: What is the most common complaint employees have about their managers?
Mr. Sripada: Employees can never have enough of their manager’s attention, particularly when it comes to their career development. People often think that their managers can pull a career path for them out of their pocket. But that’s not how it works.
IRT: Are managers reluctant to help their employee grow, since that may mean they’ll leave their team?
Mr. Sripada: Young managers, or those who take a very short-term view, tend to hold on to people. But more mature managers understand that if they don’t lose the employee to another team within the company, they are likely to lose them outside the company. That will be worse.
IRT: How do you keep your employees engaged?
Mr. Sripada: Employee engagement is a manager-owned, manager-driven activity. People stay because they have good managers, people leave because they don’t. The human resources team encourages managers to connect with their employees in simple, non-work related interactions. It doesn’t have to be a party, it doesn’t have to be a bash – all you need to do is to touch base. Employees should feel their managers care for them and that they are concerned about their development. Half an hour a month for each employee is sufficient. We give managers reading material on how to be effective in such sessions.
Second, we emphasize learning. Employees are happy when they feel that their manager cares about their professional growth. Among other things, we advise managers to encourage employees to avail of training programs.
Finally, we emphasize career development. We organize various types of events aimed at explaining what career possibilities there are in IBM. There are presentations on what it takes to migrate from one business unit to another, for instance. We also ask senior officials share their experiences.
IRT: How often would you encourage employees to change their roles?
by Linkedin Sources
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