Thursday, July 27, 2006
something to ponder upon :)
Went to a one-day activity organised by PUB on Monday, and I must say I gained quite a few insights..(note: this is not propaganda.) basically there's this person from one of those skills development company, and he shared with us advice/ tips/ whatever you call it on how to better manage/ communicate/ work with other people etc..i don't want to turn this entry into a preaching session (yawn), so I'll just share one true story which I found quite inspiring.. :)There was once a lady who was the manager of a particular department in an MNC. One day, she got a notice from HQ that the senior management had decided to relocate their branch in Singapore to another country, and so her department would no longer be in existence. Suddenly, she found herself having to lay off a hundred over employees, and it was through no fault of theirs that they were losing their jobs. If you were the lady, what would you have done? Follow the instructions (and disappoint/anger a hundred over employees), try to appeal to HQ (perhaps there's just this very little glimmer of hope?), or quit your job (to share the sentiments of your fellow colleagues/ escape from a difficult job..)?
Here's what she did. She followed instructions and went about informing everyone affected of the company's decision. In the month leading up to the final day of work, she spent many hours after work on the phone, calling up her friends and acquaintances in the field, telling them of the situation and arranging for job openings. Through her effort and recommendations, she managed to place over eighty of the dismissed employees in new positions in other companies. On the last day of work, the entire department was actually celebrating their dismissal!
The pessimist might say: Well, she didn't manage to find jobs for the remaining twenty odd people.
The cynic might say: She's being stupid, wasting her time doing all this. It's not her responsibility that the company is relocating.
But I find her really impressive and admirable, because she fulfilled her duties--to the company, her colleagues, and herself. If every manager were able to empathise with their subordinates like her, then perhaps everyone would go to work (and face retrenchment?) happier.. :D
boonshan at 11:24 PM