Thank you, everyone.
I was not clear in my post, which caused a lot of misunderstandings. I was shocked to see some of the feedback, including my reply.
I liked Mr. Kannan's reply, as he could figure out some solutions without much detail from me.
This is my 13th year in the field. I head a core team of 5. Believe me, it's not the marriage, kids, or money I was afraid of. I was married 7 years ago; my son was 1 year old when I switched to my present company. As a matter of fact, I have very good offers in hand, but I don't want to accept them as they are based out of Bangalore.
My company is good, one of the top in its field. It was a set of people in the company who wanted to achieve something by bringing in some bios in some procedures. I couldn't oppose because some top people were okay with it.
Though none of the issues were directly related to me, people started saying, "Policy and procedures are not implemented properly by HR here," as the people sitting in HR are weak, and some people actually started playing politics with this. The words used were as strong as they could be, and I found myself in the midst of dirty politics. I had to accept some forced procedures.
I wanted to leave but was not willing to go out of the city for another job. That was the dilemma I was in.
Our company policy is very strong, but procedures keep changing, giving room for disturbed working conditions.
On a Friday evening, I sent a well-worked strategic email to everyone concerned, from my grade to 5 grades above, in all departments on 3 definite issues. I also proposed the inclusion of a few new lines in procedural guidelines (not the policy) on 3 definite processes. I made a big noise about it, briefly explained below.
Proposal 1: Any new proposals or situation-specific official requests, deviations in procedures by any employee, have to be made/informed directly to the "Unit Head" only. Reporting authorities will only be in CC, and any reply or comment by the Unit Head to such requests will be sent to the concerned departments.
Background: In most request cases, immediate bosses used to suppress the requests of subordinates, stating as deviations. For example, procurement of new advanced equipment, etc., which are not budgeted but very much required.
Proposal 2: No verbal requests or commands to carry on any job or issues involving money/finance, or which involves other departments by heads.
Background: At times, department heads allocate some staff to other departmental works in emergencies. Later, the same department heads question such staff for the gap in their regular work.
Proposal 3: HR is not a rubber stamp. We are not here to stamp your dirty papers; they will be sent to garbage bins from now on.
Background: Making approval notes after completion of the job and sending to HR for signing as initiated, which is already signed by heads, hence we can't refuse them.
Proposals may look very silly, but they changed my world. It was a hammer hit like "Get in the procedure or get lost." I even asked a couple of seniors who were like, "What was the need to make this a big issue?" "Well, sir, how did you come this far without knowing it?"
Things are very much back on track, at least for the time being. My team is in the limelight. Meetings are being held by finance, planning, procurement, and execution teams, and some of them got well-deserved paybacks for their deeds.
But I know I have to expect some challenges in return. I also have plans to change this job too... This is communicated in advance.
Warm Regards,
Vinod Kumar. HR
From India,
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3I was not clear in my post, which caused a lot of misunderstandings. I was shocked to see some of the feedback, including my reply.
I liked Mr. Kannan's reply, as he could figure out some solutions without much detail from me.
This is my 13th year in the field. I head a core team of 5. Believe me, it's not the marriage, kids, or money I was afraid of. I was married 7 years ago; my son was 1 year old when I switched to my present company. As a matter of fact, I have very good offers in hand, but I don't want to accept them as they are based out of Bangalore.
My company is good, one of the top in its field. It was a set of people in the company who wanted to achieve something by bringing in some bios in some procedures. I couldn't oppose because some top people were okay with it.
Though none of the issues were directly related to me, people started saying, "Policy and procedures are not implemented properly by HR here," as the people sitting in HR are weak, and some people actually started playing politics with this. The words used were as strong as they could be, and I found myself in the midst of dirty politics. I had to accept some forced procedures.
I wanted to leave but was not willing to go out of the city for another job. That was the dilemma I was in.
Our company policy is very strong, but procedures keep changing, giving room for disturbed working conditions.
On a Friday evening, I sent a well-worked strategic email to everyone concerned, from my grade to 5 grades above, in all departments on 3 definite issues. I also proposed the inclusion of a few new lines in procedural guidelines (not the policy) on 3 definite processes. I made a big noise about it, briefly explained below.
Proposal 1: Any new proposals or situation-specific official requests, deviations in procedures by any employee, have to be made/informed directly to the "Unit Head" only. Reporting authorities will only be in CC, and any reply or comment by the Unit Head to such requests will be sent to the concerned departments.
Background: In most request cases, immediate bosses used to suppress the requests of subordinates, stating as deviations. For example, procurement of new advanced equipment, etc., which are not budgeted but very much required.
Proposal 2: No verbal requests or commands to carry on any job or issues involving money/finance, or which involves other departments by heads.
Background: At times, department heads allocate some staff to other departmental works in emergencies. Later, the same department heads question such staff for the gap in their regular work.
Proposal 3: HR is not a rubber stamp. We are not here to stamp your dirty papers; they will be sent to garbage bins from now on.
Background: Making approval notes after completion of the job and sending to HR for signing as initiated, which is already signed by heads, hence we can't refuse them.
Proposals may look very silly, but they changed my world. It was a hammer hit like "Get in the procedure or get lost." I even asked a couple of seniors who were like, "What was the need to make this a big issue?" "Well, sir, how did you come this far without knowing it?"
Things are very much back on track, at least for the time being. My team is in the limelight. Meetings are being held by finance, planning, procurement, and execution teams, and some of them got well-deserved paybacks for their deeds.
But I know I have to expect some challenges in return. I also have plans to change this job too... This is communicated in advance.
Warm Regards,
Vinod Kumar. HR
From India,
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Greetings Vinod,
I am pleased to see that you are currently in the spotlight. Regarding the situations you have outlined in your response, in my opinion, they are not uncommon in other companies.
Proposal 1: When subordinates request capital expenditure for immediate needs, the department head must justify the expenditure from a long-term perspective. They need to project the payback period and future utilization prospects of the equipment. Therefore, it is typically a lengthy process. Subordinates must carefully consider the expenditure in light of these factors. It is crucial for the company's finances to be sound to make such investments. Additionally, modifications to the plant layout and changes in the manufacturing line are significant as new machinery or equipment requires space within the existing layout. Any new equipment requires approval from statutory authorities, and if the recommended equipment is power-intensive, the increase in power consumption must also be taken into account.
Proposal 2: All departments rely on the HR department to provide necessary manpower, especially during peak workloads. For instance, during financial audits, the finance department becomes overburdened, and during month-end and financial year-end, the operations department faces increased demands. Therefore, we suggest deploying individuals with lighter workloads from other departments to assist during periods of high workload. However, with clearly defined policies, this additional workforce provided for temporary support can be withdrawn as needed. Thus, it is essential to have clearly defined roles to facilitate this process.
Proposal 3: I agree with your viewpoint, but the presentation is crucial. You can mention that the HR department is available for discussions to streamline the approval process.
I anticipate that you may encounter challenges related to the email you have sent. Best of luck.
Regards
From India, Madras
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I am pleased to see that you are currently in the spotlight. Regarding the situations you have outlined in your response, in my opinion, they are not uncommon in other companies.
Proposal 1: When subordinates request capital expenditure for immediate needs, the department head must justify the expenditure from a long-term perspective. They need to project the payback period and future utilization prospects of the equipment. Therefore, it is typically a lengthy process. Subordinates must carefully consider the expenditure in light of these factors. It is crucial for the company's finances to be sound to make such investments. Additionally, modifications to the plant layout and changes in the manufacturing line are significant as new machinery or equipment requires space within the existing layout. Any new equipment requires approval from statutory authorities, and if the recommended equipment is power-intensive, the increase in power consumption must also be taken into account.
Proposal 2: All departments rely on the HR department to provide necessary manpower, especially during peak workloads. For instance, during financial audits, the finance department becomes overburdened, and during month-end and financial year-end, the operations department faces increased demands. Therefore, we suggest deploying individuals with lighter workloads from other departments to assist during periods of high workload. However, with clearly defined policies, this additional workforce provided for temporary support can be withdrawn as needed. Thus, it is essential to have clearly defined roles to facilitate this process.
Proposal 3: I agree with your viewpoint, but the presentation is crucial. You can mention that the HR department is available for discussions to streamline the approval process.
I anticipate that you may encounter challenges related to the email you have sent. Best of luck.
Regards
From India, Madras
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