How Can My Friend, an AGM, Tackle Arrogant Employees and Restore Order in His Team?

My friend is an AGM in a very reputed construction company and recently he was appointed there to bridge the gap between higher management and lower management. He is assigned many big responsibilities. There is an absolute mess, and nobody wants to share anything. People are so arrogant and do not want to cooperate. There is no delegation of work; everyone is doing everyone's job. They don't even know what their job responsibilities are. There is no coordination among them, and everyone is their own boss, sort of. They don't like to take orders from my friend even.

I am a trainer, and he is asking for help from me. I have been to his office and was amazed by the style of people working there. Employees are so arrogant that when my friend, who is the AGM of the company, asked for some information from an employee, he just took out his pen from his pocket, wrote the concerned person's phone number, and asked him to call and get the information.

These employees have been working there for the last 3 to 4 years on packages ranging from 5 to 8 lakhs. I was very confident and was giving a lot of tips to my friend, but after my visit to his office, I myself am not sure how and from where to start.

Can anyone suggest how to handle such a situation?

Thank you for replying, Mr. Sastry. All are engineers aged between 28 to 35. It's a big and old company where employees come late in the morning and work till 6 only. There is no accountability of work, and nobody asks anything. The top boss is only the GM who never interacts with them. Work is assigned through emails, and there is only one secretary to the GM.

The history of the company says that no one has ever been fired. They even continue with an older person who is suffering from short-term memory loss or something.

We have arranged a get-together where we will be organizing fun games, and I will be formally introduced to the employees. I am good at making friends, and I can mix with everyone instantly. This is the first step we have taken. Let's see how I will proceed with them.

I would appreciate it if anyone could suggest something good.

Regards,
vidsvirgo

See my friend, until you understand the reason behind their behavior, any attempt to revive the situation will be in vain. You need to understand their viewpoints on various issues, not only official but personal as well. You can befriend a few of them and talk informally about various topics, breaking the hierarchical barriers. Everyone has some sort of problems in their life; you can share them, be empathetic, and sometimes offer help if you can. First, try to build interpersonal relationships (IPRs) and then attempt to revive the official relations.

Understanding Employee Behavior in Real Estate

I have read the post sent by Mr. Virgo. I can confirm that you are unable to find the reason for the behavior of your employees. Although I have not seen the employees, I believe that their attitude can be changed as they are still young.

Real estate is a business where people, especially engineers, may become rude and frustrated due to the nature of the job. Some reasons for this behavior include:

1. Dealing directly with unskilled and semi-skilled workers whom they boss around, leading to a sense of entitlement.
2. Working in challenging locations, often exposed to dust, rain, and cold weather.
3. The pressure of competition and targets can significantly impact their behavior.

It is crucial to identify the accurate reason for the problem before any diagnosis can be made. Otherwise, you may end up firing in all directions hoping to hit the bull's eye.

Finding the cause of the problem may take time, and the solution could be a lengthy process. However, once the root cause is pinpointed, a direct approach can be taken, focusing on the main issue while neglecting others.

Thank you.

Dear Vidsvirgo,

The answer to your question, "Can anyone suggest how to handle such a situation?" is in your post.

Training is no solution to your problem. I have written 'n' number of times in this forum that training is not a solution for organizational ills. Cures for those ills are different.

You have written that "There is an absolute mess, and nobody wants to share anything. People are so arrogant and do not want to cooperate. There is no delegation of work. Everyone is doing everyone's job. They don't even know what their job responsibilities are. There is no coordination among them, and everyone is their boss sort of. They don't like to take orders from my friend."

The situation has slipped to such a level; until that time, what was HR doing? First and foremost, set the systems and processes right. Make the job descriptions, and establish the reporting structure. How can training have its impact in this messy situation?

In the second post, you have written that "All are engineers aged between 28 to 35. It's a big and old company where employees come late in the morning and work till 6 only. There is no accountability of work, and nobody asks anything. The topmost boss is only GM who never interacts with them. Work is assigned through emails and one secretary to GM."

This clearly shows that the problem is with the leadership. Why does this GM-sahib not interact with the staff? Why does he not make his subordinates accountable? No amount of good efforts from your AGM friend will work unless this GM supports him.

"History of the company says that no one is ever thrown out of the company. Even they are continuing with an old person who is suffering from short memory or something."

The GM of the company or MD himself should initiate a culture of performance. If your AGM friend wants to take disciplinary action, this GM fellow should not throw his weight and ensure that the wayward chap is retained. "Spare the rod and spoil the child" goes the age-old proverb. Now the time has come to use the rod.

We have arranged a get-together where we will be organizing fun games, and I would be formally introduced to the employees. I am good at making friends, and I mix up with everyone instantly. That is the first step we have taken. Let's see how it will go ahead with them.

No fun games have changed the organization's culture. Having fun is one thing, and being funny is another. Your problem is that employees of this company are funny. First, bring them seriousness. This can be done by strict controls. Your systems and processes change them. At this stage, employees need to be dealt with strictly. Start with theory 'x' and move toward theory 'y.' What you are doing is the other way round, but whether it will work or not remains to be seen.

I would like if anyone suggests something good.

The real solution lies in the removal of this GM, which your AGM friend also cannot do. Unless there is a change at the top, change cannot percolate down the line. Remember, leadership is the lengthened shadow of the organization. The successful companies are successful because their leadership was serious and performance-oriented. How did the MD of that company allow this kind of GM to occupy his position? GM's continuance at his position speaks in itself about what organizational malaise is; it also speaks about the MD's mindset.

Final Comments

The posts of these kinds are uploaded sometimes. Now have you understood why India is a laggard? Those who have money do not know how to run the company. Those who know how to run the company do not have money. With companies of these kinds, yet we say that India is poised for takeoff, and India is a would-be superpower!

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar
Management & Behavioral Training Consultant
Bangalore - 560095

"Limit of your words is the limit of your world"

I completely agree with Divekar. Until the top management is set to restructure the organization, there is very little an AGM can do. Find out your ways to tackle the situation in its entirety.

Regards,

Dr. Nayan Mali

I like the direct tone of Dinesh. You cannot revive a drying plant by watering the leaves. You need to go to the root. Ask your friend to study the situation by talking to the employees informally; otherwise, he will face the same treatment. After studying, he can go to the GM and ask him informally about his perception. If they agree on the problem, the situation will be straightforward. Go ahead and have a friendly atmosphere, but follow it up as mentioned. Engage an expert when the need is understood.

Hi Vids,

First of all, I am of the firm conviction that no employee is arrogant by birth; circumstances and organizational environments make employees arrogant.

Dinesh Divekar has rightly addressed the real drawbacks of the organization and provided point-by-point comments on your post. However, one point remains untouched. If there is no delegation of work, what would be the criteria for recruiting the engineers by the company? Your second post contradicts your first post in that you initially stated there is no delegation of work and everyone is doing everyone else's job. In your second post, you mentioned work is assigned through emails and one secretary to the GM. If there is no delegation of work, does that mean the same work is assigned to several functionaries through emails or the secretary to the GM? If so, a mess is being created by the GM and his secretary themselves. Otherwise, how does one engineer know what work has been assigned to another, and why would he start doing someone else's job, leaving his own work? Moreover, if everyone is doing others' jobs, they would be doing so with each other's consent or to help each other. In that case, I can say there is exemplary cooperation between those engineers, and the management is lucky to have such a cooperative group of engineers on its payroll.

Of course, it can be said that your friend is quite unable to understand the actual problem and its real cause. Please don't mind if I say your friend thinks some first aid expert can cure the illness of Tuberculosis, as I believe training just works like first aid. I don't think any type of training or fun games can help reduce the arrogant behavior of the employees. In my view, the need is not for any training for the arrogant employees, but to soothe their feelings by understanding their real problems. He has to first understand what the basic cause of their arrogance is. Their arrogance can be their frustration about the management, as you have already stated the GM does not interact with their subordinates. The question arises, how is the performance of the subordinates taken care of if they are assigned the job by the GM or his secretary? As Divekar has pointed out, there is a need for the removal of the GM. I can add that his secretary should also be removed. Both are the cause of the real problem.

Why should we not think in this manner: if everyone does the work of everyone else, that means there is unequal work distribution among them? Some employees may be getting an unbearable burden of workload, while others may have less work. So, they may be sharing the burden of each other to help each other. Ask your friend to do his own job by understanding the real problem for which he has been engaged and not to shift his responsibility to the trainers, as I firmly believe the employees do not need any type of training or fun game. Your friend needs to become so capable that every employee should see a friend in him. But that is another thing if he would like to take care of your interest also.

Regards,

PS Dhingra
Vigilance & Transformation Management Consultant
Dhingra Group of Management & Educational Consultants
New Delhi

Hi Vids,

I completely agree with Mr. Dinesh and Mr. Dhingra. You and your friend first need to understand the problem and convey its seriousness to his Boss, GM, or MD. Seek their consent and then take the right course of action.

Regards,
Supriya

I have been working for almost 10 years, and this is my second job. Despite being an employee, I have observed that employees tend to behave arrogantly when they are wrong or make mistakes. Whenever someone points out a mistake, they respond with heightened volume and rudeness.

While I cannot disclose the company name, I must highlight that the employers here are committed to their work and go out of their way to support employees in times of need, for motivation, or training. However, during project deliveries, employees often exhibit indifferent behavior.

Seeking Advice on Employee Behavior Issues

I seek your advice on finding a solution to address this issue as the high employee turnover ultimately reflects poorly on the company. Moreover, the constant need for new recruitment and training incurs additional costs.

Thank you for your assistance.

This is a classic case with many of the new generation demand-driven organizations, whether it be construction, real estate, infra, IT & ITES. Here, the business objective of the management/board seems to be short-term (getting good profit when the demand is high). This kind of organization has suffered a lot in this economic recession (however big in size they are).

Need for Radical Change

This kind of organization requires a radical change on both strategic and operational fronts, as any change initiatives in this kind of setup are extremely challenging.

Understanding the Importance of Change

The most important thing is making your management and board understand that change is inevitable for the organization, and some of the stereotypical minds will lose their jobs in this process (who might be very loyal and influential to the organization but not willing to change).

Transition from Theory X to Theory Y

Move with theory X and slowly transform to theory Y.

Defining Organizational Structure

Define the org structure, reporting relationships, pay for performance, L&D policy, but most importantly, establish a continuous two-way communication process with a common business goal.

Regards,
Debasis

I thank all of you for putting a lot of effort into understanding the problem and analyzing the root cause. Though I had read all comments before joining the meeting organized today.

Clarification on GM's Role

First, let me clarify a few points to all of you. GM is not a bad person; it seems, but a very old, decent, lively person aged 59 years. He wants to do everything on his own and assign work to anyone he thinks fit for. He wants to take the whole credit on himself, giving the impression to the management that he is indispensable. It seems there is psychological pressure on him that he has to retire in the near future, so he is keeping his strings tight on everything.

Work Distribution Challenges

In most departments, for one job, at least three people are working. So, everyone is getting fewer assignments. They have to prove their worth; otherwise, how are they going to justify their salaries? That is the reason they are not sharing data or are unwilling to tell anything more. "Mera kaam bhi woh ker lega tou mai kya karoonga?" (If he will do my work, then what would I do?)

They take two days to finish two hours of work. You will find people busy solving Sudoku sometimes.

Initial Engagement with Employees

I am not going there to train them nor to entertain them with some funny games. It was an ordinary evening tea and snacks that were served at the expense of AGM. In the beginning, it was very light. I involved them in one of my very small exercises (I use it many times, and it's too good to make everyone at ease and cheerful, and it works like a blender).

There are many things still to know, but today I too was pleased. But the task ahead is not an easy one; I am sure of that.

Future Plans and Expectations

My actual work will start from the coming Monday onwards, for which we are working and planning. A message is already passed today that the company wants a change in working style, and some major changes may come in the near future. A kind of buzz is already set in them. There is curiosity in them or maybe a little nervousness. I am not too sure of that.

My mind is full of thoughts, and I have a lot to work on, plan, and discuss.

Once again, I am so very thankful to Mr. Dinesh, Mr. Dhingra, Mr. Garry, Mr. Shankaran, and all.

Regards

One thing with which we all will agree is that the gentlemen at the helm of the affairs will have to be involved in this situation.

The restructuring of the system has to start from the top and then go downwards.

Hi vidsvirgo,

Please keep us informed about any changes you experienced after you proposed or did! It will help many of us understand the psychology behind arrogant behavior and provide important information and training to handle such situations in the future.

Manish Gupta

Only action cannot solve the problem. The solution lies in the stick and carrot policy. Several organizations have succeeded because of the effective use of this policy.

Something is not under control, for example, how a GM can be removed by an AGM. However, the organization can still grow. PSUs have proven this time and again. I hope we can be effective in our area of control - that is the most important.

Regards,
Sanjay