'HR's role is not to be the referee or the mediator,' says expert
“To a large extent, how much people are willing to give of themselves is a function of the respect and trust they have in the manager.”
So says George Raine, founding director of Montana Consulting Group -- and effective people management is key to that.
In talking with Canadian HR Reporter, Raine raised the issue of poor management and how it impacts workplaces.
For one thing, it affects workers’ relationship with their manager, he says, as employees can lose a feeling of respect and trust towards their manager if they are not supported well.
However, the consequences of ineffective management extend beyond individual performance, Raine warns.
“There'll be a few people who may make bad choices, who don't care, don't want to work, don't do the right thing. If my manager ignores that, the whole team starts to come down.”
Poor leadership fosters disengagement, high turnover, and toxic workplace cultures, he says.
Many people leaders are considering leaving their current employer, according to a previous report.
What is the cause of poor management?
The poor management problem stems from the top of the organization, says Raine.
“There's an old cliche that organizations promote the best frontline workers to management positions… Very often, the organization doesn't really think about what they're holding managers accountable for.
Also, if there are problems, many managers are afraid to deal with them, he says.
“They don't know how. They're afraid they won't be supported. They've never had that conversation.
“So, the problem starts a level up with building an understanding of what we want our managers to do.”
Another problem is that many organizations use human resources as a mediator to fix the problem.
“I always stress with HR teams, the relationship between a frontline employee and HR is not nearly as important to success as the relationship between the frontline employee and their manager,” says Raine.
“If the manager realizes ‘This is part of my job, to have leadership with this group,’ then the manager needs to get involved. HR’s role is not to be the referee or the mediator.”
The human resources business has become far more complex over the past few years, according to one expert.
How to solve poor management in the workplace?
Employers can solve the poor management problem by first getting the “the accountability structure” right, says Raine.
Also, employers should arm their managers with more tools. Far too often, fear is the only arrow in managers’ quiver, he says.
It’s important for a manager to sit down with an employee and “have a difficult conversation without losing control of where they’re going in the conversation” and not resorting to a way that “leverages pride as a way to get the behaviour to change,” says Raine.
“People are naturally defensive. Psychologists call it ego defense. You know, if I'm doing something, even if I kind of know it's wrong, but I'm doing it, I'll defend myself, I'll self-justify. Managers have to realize that's just a human reaction.”
The key is getting past that defensiveness, he says.
“How do I gradually get to the point that the employee makes a commitment that's very concrete, and that they will feel very good about themselves if they follow through, and they'll be afraid of not feeling good about themselves if they don't?”
This comes down to employers training their managers, Raine says.
Many managers say they are finding it more difficult or exceptionally more difficult to manage people remotely, and 78 per cent feel they need training on how to do their job better, particularly in hybrid and remote work environments, according to a previous report.
