Hi Friends,

I am a Soft Skills Trainer in a company, and here none of the staff members seem to have adopted the corporate culture.

I am introducing many new ideas regarding training. For example, recently, I received permission from the operations manager to implement a new policy where everyone in the office must wear their ID cards. However, I received negative feedback from the managers themselves in response to this initiative.

Today, I asked one of the executives why she was wearing jeans on a weekday, and she mentioned that the HR manager had instructed her to do so. I approached the HR manager about this, and to my surprise, she mentioned that she doesn't see any issue with it as the executive is part of the back office staff and attire doesn't matter much, except when visiting clients. Furthermore, she mentioned that if I were to question her about wearing jeans, she would likely point out that even my team wears them.

In this office, the managers are not adhering to the office culture, and their lack of support is hindering my ability to perform my job as a trainer.

I am contemplating resigning from my position. What are your suggestions? Please ensure that everyone reads my message and kindly provide me with your valuable feedback.

Thank you in advance. 🤔🤔🤔

From India, Mumbai
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Hello,

Change is always resisted, but without change, there is only stagnation and decay. People feel secure in a status quo. However, changes can be brought about, and people only easily accept changes that are perceived as good.

What is your role in the company? What is people's perception of your role?

Whatever changes you desire to introduce should be sanctioned by the "management." In our culture, even today, to a large extent, people would be comfortable obeying an order yet demand democracy or to be taken into confidence before changes are "forced."

The changes you are talking about are relatively small changes. There should be no resistance, but if your bosses themselves are not clear, you will face challenges without the backing of management.

The main reasons for your present predicament, to my mind, are:

1. Your role has not been clarified to the employees at large.
2. You have neither a plan nor approval from your management to bring about the changes.
3. Your strategy to introduce these changes is either not in place or unclear.

Remember, we have a tricky job. We have to bring about changes that are not necessarily "liked" by the people. We also have to earn acceptance from people. Mere use of logic or authority does not help in this area. We have to generate "credibility" and "confidence" to perform effectively.

But why am I saying all this at this early stage only? It is because our future depends on how we start! If the management does not establish a foundation of thought first and unity of thought and action thereafter, if they do not learn to speak with one voice, you will experience resistance even in matters of company interests.

So, take care and proceed in a planned manner. The route is: your proposals and methodology, management approval, then your goodwill and approach. If all this aligns, bringing about the change will be easy and enjoyable work.

I hope this post helps.

Regards,
Samvedan
July 3, 2008

From India, Pune
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Hi Samvedan, Thanks for our quite suggestions, i will try to speak the same to my BOSS and try to solve this in the early stage itself. will revert bck once i implemented this. thanks a ton
From India, Mumbai
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Hi Catherine,

Thanks for your timely suggestions. It is a small thing I do agree with. However, they are bringing lots of changes to the company. If you observe, their emails are so good that they are trying to change the office culture. But when it comes to me, they are giving me lots of surprises.

Thanks a ton! 😕

From India, Mumbai
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Hi Chamu,

I totally agree with the comments of Catherine. Rather than taking others' behaviors to heart, we should focus on our own KRAs. Do not carry emotions and enjoy your role.

All the best.

Regards,
Surya

From India, Vadodara
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Hi,

If you want to change the existing culture in the organization, you shouldn't be in a hurry. Change is a very slow process. Rather than directly telling employees what to wear and what not to wear, you can send emails on personality, dress code, and the ill effects of bad grooming. If the employees still continue to break the rules, then take a photograph of a few people who dress well along with the ones who don't dress well and put the photo on the internal website (employees with the best dress code). Ask the other employees to choose one among them and circulate the results on the internal website.

I hope these corrections help improve the clarity and professionalism of your message. Let me know if you need further assistance.

From India, Bangalore
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Hi,

The same problem I had encountered in my initial days in my organization. In the beginning, if you try to instruct them on what they should or shouldn't do, they will feel you are imposing things, and they will not listen. Make it a process and develop a good relationship with them. Once the relationship is formed, they will listen to you. In your sessions, try to add humor so they can enjoy while learning and show them the broader picture of the effectiveness of training and development, demonstrating how they can enhance their personality and career rather than imposing training sessions for organizational development.

Once you are able to develop interpersonal relationships, they will follow whatever you say, and they will individually approach you for the upcoming sessions. So, the bottom line is to first develop the relationship and deliver what they want, rather than delivering your own training program. You will surely get results.

Regards,
Rajeev

From India, Delhi
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Hi,

I think you should adapt certain strategies to communicate to managers what you want to achieve and how beneficial it would be for the organization, instead of deciding to leave the company. This is just my suggestion, the decision ultimately rests with you.

Goodbye

From Pakistan, Lahore
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Hello Chamu,

In many cases, it happens that if a person is willing to create something new and beneficial, resistance arises. This is common because people have different attitudes towards the same thing. It seems that in your case, your implementation team is not even convinced with the ideas you are planning to impart. Therefore, it is essential to first try to convince those who are responsible or should be responsible for doing so.

Regards,
Saurabh

From India, Coimbatore
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Hi Chamu, you are a trainer in soft skills and in my opinion, the first quality of a good trainer is to have patience in anything. Resistance to change can be visible in every organization in one way or another. It may be due to gen-gap, some sort of complex, etc. But you have to try to make an initiative and you have put a lot of effort into the same. Don't panic; think out of the box and you will definitely succeed. Try to identify a small group in which you may have an upper hand and try to adapt to the changes; if you can make a visible change, mind you, you are on the right track. Don't lose heart, dear, because someday your efforts will definitely be rewarded. Wishing you all the best.
From India, Ernakulam
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Hi,

Upon reading your post, I must firstly thank you for taking the lead in bringing changes to your organization. You must start the trend and let others follow suit. If you have a group of friends in your organization, start by encouraging them to wear their ID cards. Seeing others wearing their ID cards may prompt others to do the same. I'm using rather blunt language to express this, but some employees have a mentality where they act as if they are in the private sector yet work akin to the government sector. Keep moving forward with your ideas, and the rest will follow suit.

Goodbye.

From India, Nagpur
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PSB
12

Dear CHAMU,

I have understood the problem and the organizational culture you are working with. In most of these situations, the owner or top bosses do not like this attitude as they are highly professional. So, you can put your requirements in writing to your top bosses, not before the HR Manager. I think you will certainly get a positive reply.

Prasad
Asst. Prof.
SIBACA, Lonavala


From India, Pune
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Hi!

I think it's a tough situation to handle, but there is always a better way to do things. Please build good relations with the employees. Once they are close to them, slowly educate them about your company's culture and how it can be affected by our attitude. But you should not get disappointed, and most importantly, you should have patience and perseverance.

Hope this can help you.

Good Luck,
Bharath.

From India, Madras
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Hi Chamu,

First of all, I would like to appreciate the way you have replied to all the posts made on this thread. Secondly, most of the members have already put forward valuable tips for handling the situation. I would just like to add my bit to it.

I have worked in a call center for a brief period of time, and I would like to share my experience with you in this regard. I was a member of the HR team, and initially, I was very strict with people about wearing ID cards. Later on, I found out that since the majority of staff are in the age group of 18-25, they hate people bossing around or being strict. As other members have pointed out, first, they need to accept you as a part of the team, only then they will listen to you. Befriend them and explain in your own words why it is necessary to wear an ID card. At times, I also used to compliment them on their snap on the ID card (nothing official about it, just wanted to keep the spirits light).

Moreover, maybe they think that HR and training are two different functions, and you as a trainer can't comment on ID cards. So, if you really want to bring about discipline, then coordinate with the HR department, and you can jointly implement such changes.

Note: As always, a wonderful post by Mr. Samvedan.

I hope my post makes sense to you.

From India, Pune
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Well, Chamu, in my opinion, the best course of action in your situation is to inform your seniors about it and strive to clarify roles. Rather than pushing things, as a trainer, you should lead by example and demonstrate the importance of change.

I am a Soft Skills Trainer in a company where none of the staff exhibit corporate culture.

I am introducing numerous new training ideas. For instance, recently, I received permission from the operations manager to enforce wearing ID cards in the office. However, I faced resistance from the managers themselves.

Today, I questioned an executive about wearing jeans on weekdays, and she mentioned that the HR manager instructed her to do so.

Upon discussing this with the HR manager, she expressed that she saw no issue with it, stating that the executive is in a back-office role where attire is less critical, except when meeting clients. If I were to question her further, she might point out that even my team wears jeans.

In this office, the managers don't adhere to the office culture, hindering my training efforts.

I am considering resigning from my job. What are your suggestions?

I request everyone to read my message and provide your valuable feedback.

Thank you in advance.

From India, Calcutta
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Hi,

The same problem I faced when I shifted into HR. But the first thing I did was my introduction through a short email forwarded by the management to all, stating that I am here to take care of all these activities. In that way, I gained management support for my activities. You need to do the same. Whatever you have to implement, put a stamp of your management; only then will others follow suit. You will find this difficult only once; after that, you need not show them that you are so important; they will obey you.

Neesu Sharma

From India, New Delhi
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Hi,

Firstly, resigning is not the way. You need to see if the staff are motivated to follow what you say. Then, run a session that will motivate them and make them feel better from within to wear formals, etc. It will be a long process, but you need to hold on. This may happen to you in any organization you go to; it's how you take it. Also, make sure you put your word across taking in confidence the senior management; that is the key.

All the best,

AJ


From India, Mumbai
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Hi Chamu,

Looks like you want to do every thing at one go, which is little difficult. There are few point to which I request you to do a quick analysis
  • How much it (all your concerns) affects individual member’s contribution to the organization?
  • Do you get support from Top management in such initiatives?
  • Do all the employees aware of dress code and is it been told during Induction or any other such orientation programs?
If you have NO for the first one, Then I suggest just ignore all your concerns for time being and focus on your training, how it will help them to be better performers. This will create positive atmosphere for you to persuade them on the other walks of life

If you feel top management’s is not sufficient, probe a little, build solid case to show them why it is important and how it will impact the business. Very importantly, tell them your plan (if you are responsible) & what support you expect from them

If awareness is an issue, then there are different ways in which you can do this. But remember to do it with a person whom they respect and relate to with in the organization.

Such a kind of initiative requires lots of support from everyone. I am sure if you can plan it well, you will achieve what you wanted to.

I am sorry if have hurt your feelings in any way

Regards,

From India, Madras
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Dear friend, I am also facing the same problem as you. The only difference is I am suffering on a different platform. But never give up; just because people are not executing what is recommended, you are ready to leave and get frustrated. Dear, this is just the beginning. If you want to change the system, be in the system (page 3). Never ever give up; take it as a challenge. That's what will make your mind execute everything. I would not be the right person to suggest a solution as I don't know the actual scene, but remember, problems are the only way to hide the solutions. NEVER GO BACK IN ANY CONDITION. Make sure that when you go back, it is always for a long jump.
From India, Pune
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Well, Mr. Chamu, in your case, you are standing in front of all and all against you. Why? I feel it is because you are trying to change the culture that is already prevailing in that organization. When we come from different organizations, it is our duty to blend with people, the job, the profile, but most importantly, to blend with the culture. Since no two people in this world are alike, how can the cultures be alike?

Try to blend with them; leaving the job should be the last thing you consider. If you leave the job, it reflects your susceptibility power. Mr. Chamu, you are a good guy with good ideas, but they should be shared only when you have someone to listen. If not, then you have to listen and not just hear.

Wishing you all the best for your future endeavors.

Prakhar Aditya Dwivedi

From India, Hyderabad
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Hi buddy,

These kinds of things are very common in call centers, KPOs, and BPOs. I suggest that you do not spoil your relations with any employee for these minor reasons. If your manager doesn't have any problem with these issues, then just be cool with everyone and enjoy your work. However, at least discuss with him regarding this so that in the future, there is no discrepancy that you didn't take any disciplinary actions. Concentrate on your KRAs and stay calm. Keep it positive! 😊