One of my businessman friend , narrated the following story regarding his company's current state of affair, which is almost on the verge of closure and asked me " Abhijit, what went wrong in terms of employee management , can you tell me ?"

1.Good Times ( 2006-2007)

In view of the increasing revenue, following steps were taken by him to boost the motivational level of the employee :-

1.They were given generous quarterly increment ,instead of the standard practice of annual raise.

2.Sanctioned on the spot ,non-refundable financial help to an employee for covering a huge emergency medical expenditure.

3.Instant DVD Player gifted to an employee ,who bought a CD for his son but did not have the Player.

4.5 days working week instead of the standard days practice of 6 days, to enhance employee's quality of life

6.No pay deduction for reaching late in the office.

7.Salary often disbursed, even before completion of the month.

8.Employees were free to take as many leave as they needed, based on mutual trust and confidence without a "standard leave without pay" policy enforced

9.Huge monthly incentives varying between 20-30% of the compensation.

10.An air-conditioner originally purchased for the owner was given to an employee,since his son was unable to bear the May/June heat.

11.One of the employee suffering from an illness which required 3 months rest was allowed to attend duty for few hours for 2 months with full attendance.

12.One of the employee, who got entangled in a domestic scuffle and landed in police custody was rescued through contacts in the department.

In a way, the owner was treating his employees as family members and went out of the way to keep them happy . It appeared to be a dream company.

Results

1.Base salary almost doubled in 2 years.

2.Most of the employees purchased their own house.


2.Bad Times ( 2008-till date)

1. In view of the diminishing revenue, may be due to global recession, following steps were taken to ensure survival of the organization :-

1.With reduced income , quarterly increment became a history.

2.Limited helps were extended, in case of emergency medical need.

3. Brought back 6 days week after a long spell of 2 years 5 days week.

4.Leave application were monitored and leave without pay implemented.

5.Salary disbursement were getting delayed due to non availability of fund.

6.Pay cut implemented , in line with the industry trend.

7.Obviously, the huge incentives scheme also disappeared.

Reactions

1.Same employee, who took 2 months full salary during his illness without any major contribution , blasted the owner for not paying salary in time.When owner explained the situation and tried to motivate him saying that the good times are not far off, employee replied, " Its your headache , not mine".You must pay the salary on time.

2. The employee who was rescued from the legal trouble once ,shot back to the owner with the remark " If you can not pay the salary on time , let me resign immediately." When reminded about the good time ,he said " Well, i enjoyed during that period, so continued with you.Now , i don't "
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3. During an emergency meeting , most of the employees refused to take the responsibility putting the blame entirely on the owner.

4.A desperate reminder to the past for keeping the employees together was returned with the remark " Sir , past is past".

-Well, i did reply back to him but will share it with you in the next article.

This may not be the complete story with many loop holes, but my question to the readers is :-

" Is it money only , that defines the good /Bad times in an organization, also the quality of professional relationship between the owner and the employees ?"

Author : Abhijit Kar

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