preference manager from digital rebellion

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But not everyone will be on board with that “win-win” solution By working with HR, I was also able to help transform the sales department into a peer-friendly environment where everyone pursued common goals while leveraging their individual talents and strengths. We decided to implement a flexible work schedule policy, which the sales team embraced and never abused.

I partnered with HR to craft a win-win solutionĪfter talking to everyone, I knew that this was a case where I needed to meet with our HR director and craft a solution that addressed his concerns while creating space for rebels like Tom. I also explained how their combined efforts affected everyone’s compensation, which is an essential motivator for salespeople.ģ. I found that the key was to honor everyone’s contributions, and express how important it was to the hotel’s mission and its guests. I had to become an umpire, calling them as I saw them. I met with each salesperson and explained Tom’s value to the soldiers, and his coworkers’ strengths to Tom. As a manager, I knew I needed to communicate that to my team members–so that they feel valued and seen, irrespective of their personality. They have different motivations and working styles, which allows them to make unique contributions to the organization’s goals. Here’s the thing–great employees don’t fit into one personality. I had to be intentional about making employees feel valued And Tom was a significant contributor to those goals. Sure, they were meeting their goals, but they didn’t exceed them. I also found out that the department’s churn was higher than it should have been. That might work for some soldier employees, but it definitely didn’t work with Tom. Make X number of calls, show up at a particular time, and take no more than take 45 minutes for lunch. The salespeople called him “the Warden.” His top priority was getting everyone to follow the rules. It turns out that the sales director was not a popular guy. I knew that the first thing I need to do was talk to everyone to find out what’s going on.

Here’s the three-step process I followed. I knew that I needed to act fast to stop the situation from escalating further. Rebels may step on toes, but it’s often in the service of getting the job done. Tom was single-handedly building a new client pipeline, and I had not been aware of it.įiring him didn’t make sense. I also discovered Tom had personal relationships with several of the hotel’s high-net-worth guests, who referred their friends to the hotel through Tom. When I looked deeper into the numbers, I saw he sold more high-value rooms and more expensive events than any other salesperson and received more positive reviews from guests. But at the same time, I had an instinct that Tom was (appropriately) focusing on the customer. All the evidence was on the side of Tom’s manager. On top of that, Tom was often away from his desk (without asking permission).

Preference manager from digital rebellion