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‘We have to reassure our employees as well.”

(This is the third of a four-part series on organisational HR issues. The first of this series appeared on October 15.)

Yeshasvini Ramaswamy

Sheetal dialled the extension of Sadiq, Samy’s manager.

“Boss would like to speak to you,” said Sheetal.

“What about?” crackled Sadiq’s voice over the extension.

“Oh, well…. It’s about Samy.”

“Ok, I’ll be there in about 5 minutes.”

“He’s coming in a few minutes,” said Sheetal.

Sheetal replaced the receiver and looked at boss expectantly.

“Perhaps I’ll talk to him alone,” boss ventured.

“Yes.. ..yes, may be you should…. But, keep me posted.”

“Most certainly, I will!” said boss emphatically.

“I’m preparing for the appraisals, when would you like the survey to be completed?” queried Sheetal.

“How does.. the end of next week sound?”

“Oh, that’ll be fine.”

“Try to capture what they are really thinking down the line and the line manager’s view as well…. you relate to them quite well.”

Sheetal smiled in satisfaction, boss was not a bad sort, and he was appreciative. I wouldn’t want to leave anyway, mused Sheetal. Why Priya, her batch mate in management school, was having such a tough time with her own boss.

Sheetal got up to leave.

As the door closed with its customary whine and click, boss felt a wave of anxiety pass over him. Where will this end, can it ever? he thought to himself, or have we entered a new era..

If Samy leaves, perhaps Anand could take over from him. Still, that is not quite the same as having Samy. Some of the customers had got use to Samy, he had his own unique style.. hmmmm. The buzz of alternatives increased boss’ tension, until suddenly he exclaimed loudly, “Dash it all!”

Boss’ legs felt stiff, his neck ached a little. May as well stretch a bit, thought boss.

Boss got up and sauntered over to the large glazed window overlooking the city.

The air-conditioning ducts breathed with a soft hiss a stream of cool air, while the late morning sunlight streamed in through the window. The combination felt soothing.

As boss stretched to relieve the tension, he gazed out of the window.

From the 15th floor he could see the entire city stretch out in front of him. Directly below, the traffic coiled and pulsed like an angry serpent, its body disappearing into the haze.

For a while, the tensions of the workplace seemed to recede.

A gentle knock on the door interrupted boss’s reverie. “Come on in.”

Sadiq entered and glanced around quickly, noting that Sheetal was no longer there. He was somewhat surprised to see boss with his back to the door.

Boss continued to stare through the window seemingly mesmerised.

Sadiq wondered where Sheetal was. Why wasn’t she there? Questions filled his mind and troubled him.

“You wanted to speak to me,” said Sadiq at length.

“Yeaah, .. about Samy. Come over,” said boss in a relaxed tone.

Sadiq moved somewhat closer, “Nice view” said Sadiq, “the other side, it is just the adjoining building.”

“Pop over whenever you feel like it,” said boss.

“Really..” grinned Sadiq.

“No, I mean it.”

“Where is Sheetal? ..I thought she would be here,” said Sadiq somewhat anxiously.

Boss noted Sadiq’s reaction. He was right after all, Sheetal did relate quite well to line managers.

“Busy with the appraisals and a survey.”

“Survey…?”

“Yes, we are doing a survey to kind of get a grip on what exactly is eating the minds of the youngsters, you know.”

“About Samy… don’t you think we are just feeding expectations a little too much?” queried boss.

“Samy’s good ..you know,” said Sadiq somewhat defensively. “I wouldn’t want to lose him.”

“Yes I know,” said boss, “But where would you draw the line???”

Sadiq stared out of the window silently. “That’s for you to decide,” he said at length.

“Perhaps, eventually Sadiq, but I need to know...”

“What you really think, shouldn’t we position ourselves somewhat more intelligently, rather than just react like this on every occasion?”

“Well yes, I agree, but it is a vexed issue, he has quite a few things on his plate.”

“Such as?”

“Ok, let me start from your viewpoint first...”

“Good, fire away Sadiq.”

“First, when Samy came in, he used the induction and orientation programmes really well, took to our organisation like a duck takes to water, and two years down the line, change.”

“Very succinctly put, what next?” said boss.

“Family problems, he has to look after his parents, recently married, so the stakes have gone up a lot for him too.”

“I see, and whenever entry level salaries jump, that creates pressure for those who had joined a few years earlier.”

“Quite so...”

“I’d have to mitigate his uncertainty to an extent while wrestling with the uncertainty of the business.”

“Yes boss,” said Sadiq with satisfaction.

“Let’s meet at the end of next week.. all of us, Sheetal, yourself, Samy, Kumar. By then, the survey would also be out.”

“Good idea, I’ll tell Sheetal and Kumar too,” said Sadiq.

“Oh, I might pop in from time to time,” said Sadiq with a grin, pointing at the window.

“By all means do, Sadiq,…” said boss with a smile.

(To be continued.)

(The writer is Director, e2e Business Solutions.)

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