Struggling with Employee Disrespect Towards HOD: How Can We Improve Communication and Efficiency?

I require your valuable suggestions. There is no respect shown towards the Head of Department (HOD). The employees are not responding properly to the HOD, which is affecting production efficiency. When I spoke to the HOD personally, he mentioned that no one is obeying, no one is responding properly, and everyone is behaving as if they are kings, which is impacting production output. When I spoke with the employees, they mentioned that the supervisor is not communicating with them properly and everyone is speaking loudly to them.

Please provide me with solutions on what steps should be taken to resolve this issue.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Regards,
Preeti

Are you the owner of the company? Are you from HR? Convene a meeting of all the persons together. Listen to the viewpoints from both sides. Tell them to concentrate on issues but not on persons. Lastly, tell the HOD that he must maintain the prestige of everybody (do this in private) and tell the juniors that he enjoys the authority. Therefore, his position must be respected.

The Importance of Company Culture

This problem has happened because the owner did not give attention to fostering a positive interpersonal environment in the company. Many times, owners think that if they have money, then that is sufficient to run the business. Otherwise, owners are too obsessed with marketing and they neglect to build the organization's culture. By the time they realize that it is the company's culture that is hindering growth, it is too late. Once the culture is molded, it becomes very difficult to change it. However, with the willingness of top leadership, it is possible.

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Valuing Employees as a Resource

Employees are a valuable resource for any organization. If there is a conflict, solutions should be provided. Also, consider conducting a weekly get-together party to discuss the progress or status of manufacturing and losses due to employees' behavior or HOD behavior. Emphasize that with the current speed, we may not achieve our goals. Please avoid discussing any specific names; instead, use "we."

Addressing Recurring Issues

If similar issues arise again, take disciplinary action. We cannot tolerate anyone slowing down the manufacturing speed for the sake of one individual.

Personal ego, union, forming of groups, etc., are some of the qualities of all human beings, especially on shop floors where unions or petty groups influence the work culture. Sometimes, this influence may result from what Mr. Dinesh mentioned or from the non-acceptance of a new leader, or a strong attachment to the old leader who has been replaced.

Role of the Head of Department (HOD)

Simultaneously, the Head of Department (HOD) is responsible for leading the team, building team spirit, developing strategies to achieve targets, and instilling confidence among team members.

Strategies for HR Intervention

To address these issues, HR may need to advise the HOD to conduct interactive sessions regularly, hold team meetings, provide training on both soft and technical skills, and organize activities such as sports, weekend outings, and get-togethers.

As HR professionals, it is essential to visit the department daily, analyze the situation, and apply strategic management theories. Approach disciplinary actions cautiously at this stage as they may backfire.

Regards, Srinivas

Addressing Cultural Issues in the Workplace

It is a cultural issue, and adopting a disciplinary approach to deal with it may misfire. It is necessary to initiate a culture that promotes mutual respect and a free flow of communication in the organization. The onus to initiate such a culture squarely lies on the senior leadership of the organization. Kindly address the issue from this angle.

Regards,
B. Saikumar

As per the above reference, we need to maintain good harmonious industrial relationships between workmen and the employer. It is essential to bridge the gap between workmen and the employer to achieve higher production levels with the optimal utilization of all materials, manpower, etc. Therefore, we must conduct training programs on the shop floor for workmen to learn how to maintain relationships and adapt to industrial changes effectively.

In the realm of HR, we must implement such initiatives to ensure the best possible results.

Thank you,

Rajesh Kantubhukta

What are the issues of workers and those of the HOD for such behavior? Write them down on paper, think them over, and only then can a problem be identified. If there is still rowdy behavior on the part of the staff, other avenues need to be explored.

I would like to put forth my opinion for guidance:

While expressing such a problem, it is always better to mention the strengths of the persons working in the organization, whether it is unionized or not. The total play of the industry depends on these two factors.

1. Generally, in an industry, the Head of the unit should talk to the HOD and find out the reasons for such an adamant attitude of the workers. He should also know the grievances of the workers, if any, which have not been brought to his knowledge so far. As a result, they are not giving any importance to the HOD.

2. The Unit Head/HOD should work out the production on an hourly basis based on the installed capacity of the plant and fix up the breakeven point.

3. As early as possible, a meeting with the workers/union should be convened, and the HOD should start the discussion by highlighting the loss of production and cautioning them to maintain discipline and productivity in the overall interest of the organization.

Resolution Steps for Improving Workplace Discipline

As early as possible, a meeting with the workers/union should be convened, and the UNIT HEAD should start the discussion by highlighting the loss of production. They should caution the workers to maintain discipline and productivity in the overall interest of the organization. Additionally, they should give due respect to the HOD. The Unit Head should also inform the workers in the meeting that after improvement is seen, their grievances, if any, will be looked into. Monitoring is very much necessary after the meeting.

After the above steps are taken, definitely an improvement in the situation can be seen.

Regards,
Eswararao Ivaturi.