People Management
A medium sized firm that had grown from just a few people to 16 in the space of a few years was having difficulty with some of its people. Morale was low, there were lots of gossip groups and no-one seemed to feel very happy with their lot.
The business development team at Hales Douglass met with the senior managers to discuss the current business structure (which was at that time unclear) and what could be done to improve the situation in the workplace.
A new business structure was recommended, one with a little more hierarchy and a change management process outlined. A performance appraisal system was also developed. Specific people within the organisation were given expanded supervisory roles and the business was grouped into teams.
The entire team was kept advised about the process all along and the CEO made himself available to any of the team who were worried about the process. Many did make a visit to his office and all came out feeling a lot better.
The Hales Douglass business development team encouraged the new supervisors to spend quite a bit of time with their new teams, talking about the issues each person had and discussing how to meet the new requirements of the organisation.
Within two months:
- the teams were bedded down
- everyone knew where they stood
- new policies about performance expectation were developed
- new job descriptions were prepared for everyone
- a yearly performance appraisal system was put in place
Since then the business has grown even more, become even more successful and shown itself to be one of the most friendly, team orientated businesses on the south coast.