Interview Dilemma: How Would You Handle a Plant Head Arriving Late?

Dear Senior, I faced an interview in the manufacturing industry, and the GM asked me, "If the plant head is coming late, what will you do?" Please send me your valuable reply.

Normally, CEOs or senior-most employees are given the flexibility of arriving late as they often have many pre-scheduled appointments. However, if they are running late due to personal reasons, they are expected to be responsible enough to inform their immediate junior.

Regards,
MK

This is a very common misconception. The plant head is the final authority of the plant, which means they are the owner of the plant, and the owner can come late. Only the C.M.D or C.E.O has the right to ask anything from the plant head.

Thank you.

Avantika Kumar is correct. When the General Manager asks you this question during the interview, it means he wants to know about your ability regarding your job. You can reply:

1. According to factory policy, I will take action against the same because rules are rules.

2. I will report the issue to senior authority.

Thank you.

Dear seniors,

I fully agree with Avantika Kumar that you have to be a little diplomatic according to the situation, or as mentioned by Vikash Sharma, "C.M.D or C.E.O has the right to ask." I have been through a similar kind of situation, and I preferred the same strategy. Thank you both for making me believe that I have made the right decision.

Regards

If I were in your place, my reply to this question would have been "Nothing" because if I speak against the Vice President, my life will become miserable in the company. Moreover, if the Vice President is a good leader, he would come on time and set an example of leadership.

This is the question the employer/interviewer uses to test your capability and suitability for the job. Here, you should be strong and boldly answer. Those who receive a salary from the company are all employees of the company, and I am the HR for them. Here, all are the same in front of the company policy. (Even the MD, if he gets a salary, but one thing is the MD's schedule; HR should communicate first to all at times by various ways). This is what makes you different from others.

My point of view...

Regards,
Sukumar
Manager ER Chennai

I think you can deflect the question by asking for additional details. For example, you can inquire about the overall organizational culture of the plant in question. You can then explain that if the plant promotes punctuality and requires employees to arrive early, senior managers should be the primary advocates of this culture.

Moving on, you can mention that a Plant Manager role is typically achieved after accumulating a significant amount of work experience, and as a reward for this, they may be entitled to a more flexible work schedule. After all, Plant Managers are the individuals who lose sleep over ensuring the continuous operation of the plant and bear the brunt of any financial downturns. Considering these factors, they deserve some degree of flexibility.

Doesn't matter if he is coming late or early. There are deputies who will take care of the plant's operations until a serious issue arises. Usually, HODs oversee important matters that require strategic decisions and have the ability to handle every situation even without their physical presence. Anyhow, you should report the same in a professional manner to the CEO or your higher authorities and seek advice before documenting it.

As an executive, I would not suggest asking the reason for coming late from the Plant Head. However, you can highlight this issue to your HR Manager. The HR Manager can then inquire with the Plant Head in a diplomatic manner. If the reasons provided are valid, then it is acceptable. If not, the matter can be escalated to senior management.

When dealing with higher management individuals, there may be occasions where we need to compromise on certain issues. Nonetheless, this does not mean turning a blind eye because rules are rules. HR personnel need to exemplify the role model for the organization.

Regards,
Amit
Manager - HR

Dear Mukesh, I would like to know, first, what was your own response to that interview question?

I agree. Also, you should include the response from the interviewer to your reply. During interviews, such questions are asked to assess the maturity of an applicant. Your answer should reflect your maturity, understanding of your limits and limitations, and whether you can use the power given to you with responsibility or not.

Ask Yourself the Following Questions:

- Does the VP report to you or your boss?
- Are you, as a fresher or executive, responsible for the conduct or performance of the VP?
- Do you know about his responsibilities, new plans of the company, his schedules, etc.?
- Do you have the authority to have a say in his tasks and targets as per the PMS?
- Last but not least, do you understand at which level your authority stops and what is out of bounds for you?

Herding all employees as a cowboy with ropes and a stick is not the only function of an HR officer. Hope you are able to comprehend what I intend to convey.

Warm regards.

"Dear Mukesh, I would like to know first what was your own response to that interview question?"

Hi HR Experts, After going through the comments, I believe that everybody is still living in the conventional method of time-keeping, coming at 9 and going back at 5 in this era of flexi times and telecommuting. Especially for senior positions, they are result-oriented, and the modern CEO or owners will not concentrate on their timings but deliverables.

A manager coming at 9:00 and delivering nothing will be kicked out, but a manager coming late and achieving his KPIs will be given rewards. And that should be the approach. The moment you ask a hard worker why they are 2 minutes late, the next day, they may come on time, but they may wait for 20 minutes to start their work.

"A manager should make things happen very well even in his absence; otherwise, he is only a supervisor."

Addressing Policy Compliance in Interviews

This calls for an immediate question to the interviewer about how the in-charge intends to set the culture of following policies and procedures. If the reply is in the affirmative, then you can suggest that there should be an exception clause for certain positions in the policies where the nature of the job is such that following fixed timing would compromise the operation.

Never try to give a response that says, "I will ensure that everyone follows the policies"—don't try to become a lone ranger hero. Please tell me how many HR professionals have "challenged" their CEOs in doing what is "right" and got away unscathed. How about HR firing the CEO for his lack of leadership competence and failure to support strategic transformational initiatives aligned to the business turnaround plan? HR could sure use the William Wallace leadership—but needs to be practical as well!

I agree. Only a naive or fresh HR person will treat a V.P. as a "time-rated worker." This question was meant to assess the understanding of the candidate beyond typical HR textbooks.

Modern Timekeeping in HR

Hi HR Experts, after going through the comments, I believe that everybody is still living in the conventional method of timekeeping, coming at 9 and going back at 5, in this era of flexible times and telecommuting. Especially for senior positions, they are result-oriented, and the modern CEO or owners will not concentrate on their timings but deliverables. A manager coming at 9 o'clock and delivering nothing will be kicked out, but a manager coming late and achieving his KPIs will be given rewards. And that should be the approach. The moment you ask a hard worker why you are 2 minutes late, the next day he may come on time. But he may wait for 20 minutes to start his work. "A manager should make things happen very well even in his absence; otherwise, he is only a supervisor."