How Can I Create Engaging Activities to Help QC Staff Appreciate Their Managers?

Seeking Ideas for Employee Engagement Activities

I have joined a pharmaceutical company two months ago. I was specifically recruited for employee engagement in the Quality Control department. I have observed that the employees in QC do not respect their superiors and fail to understand the importance of their Managers and Heads. Merely providing reasons for the importance of Managers and Heads does not seem to be effective. Therefore, I have decided to create activities or exercises to help them comprehend the significance of their superiors.

If you could suggest some ideas for developing these activities, such as team-building exercises, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,
Tejashree

Respect for Elders in Indian Culture

Respect for elders is embedded in Indian culture. If the subordinates in the Quality department defy this fundamental aspect of Indian culture, then I feel that the issue lies elsewhere. Therefore, in addition to the expectation that juniors should respect seniors, two things become apparent.

Firstly, the Head of the Quality department may have lost the trust of the juniors, hence lacking confidence from them. Thus, it is imperative to delve deeper and identify the root cause of this problem. Does the HOD possess sufficient technical competence to lead the Quality Department? Could it be that the organization has bestowed legitimate power upon him, but he lacks expert power as detailed in this source?

Secondly, what about other departments? Is this issue isolated to a specific department or is it prevalent across multiple departments, albeit being highlighted in this particular instance?

Lastly, if there is a lack of respect towards seniors, even if confined to one department, it reflects a failure in your induction training. It is crucial to incorporate this aspect into the induction manual.

Merely organizing games at the office is not a cure-all for all organizational challenges. The underlying causes need to be thoroughly investigated. Otherwise, the games might only create a superficial impact, leading to a return to the initial state of affairs.

Thank you,

Dinesh Divekar

Dinesh Divekar has put it very nicely. I also suggest you find out the reason behind the indiscipline. Obviously, it should be discussed with the HOD and Managers. Either the employees are ill-treated, or the knowledge levels of the Senior Management team are lacking. The authority aspect is also a big question. If the superiors are unable to defend their team members or support the needs of the juniors, then the seniors will lose their control and respect.

Before implementing employee engagement initiatives, start working closely with the juniors and their close friends. Understand their concerns and address those issues. Once that is done, 50% of your task is completed. Plan for recognition, rewards, or organize a dinner with the team. By doing this, you will be able to understand the areas of concern, organize one or two behavioral training sessions, and then plan for employee engagement activities.

Thank you.

The Importance of Earning Respect in Professional Environments

"Dig a little deeper" is the advice given by Mr. Dinesh. I can't agree more. True, juniors should respect seniors, and youngsters should respect elders. However, age as an automatic factor for commanding respect happens mostly in family and social environments. In other walks of life, be it sports or professional life, respect needs to be earned by the individual through their knowledge, values, ethics, and behavior.

Therefore, there is no point in conducting employee engagement activities without delving deeper into why managers are not able to command respect. I may not be surprised if the managers themselves are responsible for disengagement, as it turns out to be more often. A deeper study is necessary.

Regards, B. Saikumar

Dear LV Swamy, you have gone too far by writing, "Would appreciate if you are able to assess if the manager deserves respect and has the ability to command his team."

Managers need to be respected. Disrespecting the manager is disrespecting their designation. Secondly, whether one "deserves" respect is a matter of perception. Since perceptions differ from one person to another, respecting seniors cannot be an individual's choice. Companies cannot be run like a democracy where anyone can come on a TV Channel and start calling names against the Prime Minister of the country.

Desolateness, whether by seniors or juniors, vitiates the company atmosphere. Today, the malaise could be in one of the departments. However, if we allow this vitiated atmosphere to prevail, it could spread to other departments as well. Juniors cannot simply get away by saying, "My Manager does not deserve respect." If we allow this, then tomorrow the Manager may say, "My General Manager does not deserve respect," and the GM may say, "My VP does not deserve any respect." How long can this go on?

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

In most cases like this, the actual problem lies with the HODs. The seniors and HODs should be able to command respect, not demand it. First, identify the reasons. If there are issues with the seniors and HODs, address them directly and explain why they are not receiving the respect they seek. Encourage them to change their approach before attempting to change the behavior of subordinates. Seniors should also show respect towards juniors and understand that their success is dependent on the full support of the team. If HODs adjust their attitude and how they interact with juniors, it will be easier to influence the behavior of juniors positively.

I have witnessed a manager who lacks an understanding of how to respect his juniors, demanding respect while his subordinates "pretend" to respect him in his presence and mock him behind his back. Everyone notices this disparity. This serves as an example of the importance of genuine respect in leadership and its impact on team dynamics.

Thank you.

"I have been observing the employees of QC and have identified that they do not respect their superiors and do not understand the importance of the Managers and Heads."

The statement is too general and vague in the absence of specifics on how you have surmised that the employees are not respectful of their managers. It could be that you are hasty in the surmise!

The Importance of Manager Training

You may find, after further investigation, that it is the manager who needs training, not the staff. Often, people are promoted to management positions without specific training on how to manage staff effectively, bring out the best in them, and develop the team.

I was in the workforce for about 47 years. During that time, I worked for some of the nastiest, most incompetent, and useless managers you hope you would never meet in your life. Those workplaces were toxic and dysfunctional, solely due to the manager, not the staff. We mostly got along well and worked as a team, as best we could under the circumstances.

In one workplace, I was the only team member who spoke to the manager. No one else ever spoke to him unless he asked them a direct question. They would not even say good morning to him when he entered the office and completely ignored him. Fortunately for me, he was not only useless but weak. After enduring his incompetence for a few weeks, one day I walked into his office, slammed the door, and proceeded to read him the riot act. He improved his behavior after that, simply because he needed me to solve the problems.

So, as others have pointed out, look for the real problem first, then decide on the course of action.

Members with extensive industry experience have provided valuable insights into the problem you are trying to solve. Since I come from a different work culture where commanding respect from subordinates is often a matter of authority or positional advantage, I may not have much to add beyond elaborating on their views.

In workplace relationships, giving due respect to superiors is the first sign of general discipline within an organization. However, it is the superior, whether a supervisor just one step above in the hierarchy or a manager, who must first ensure they are worthy of respect. The most unfortunate aspect in organizations is the arrogance—whether intellectual, technical, professional, or positional—often exhibited by superiors. While efficiency may be relative, age and experience are absolutes. An ideal superior should give due weight to the age and experience of individual workers and encourage them to rely on him in case of work-related problems through his friendly disposition and technical prowess.

It is very difficult for a subordinate to work under a superior who is less knowledgeable but more domineering, and the resulting tension often manifests first as disrespectful behavior. However, the absence of such good qualities in a superior does not justify disrespectful behavior from subordinates. It may just be a symptom rather than the disease, as our learned friend Dinesh suggested you investigate further. I believe this issue pertains to your Quality Control Department.

At times, in a pharmaceutical setup, QC personnel may be held responsible, either individually or collectively, for any defects in products after dispatch, which can add to their stress and strain. Quality cannot be the sole responsibility of the QC team. Therefore, first ascertain whether the people in QC have job satisfaction.

Regards

I have read all the posts and appreciate the suggestions given here. In this case, I wish to add one more reason as to why subordinates do not respect their seniors. In one of the organizations, I was the HOD of the department and faced the same type of problem. When I investigated the matter, it became clear that the senior management, i.e., the director/owner of the company, gave commands to the juniors by bypassing the hierarchy. This action altered the perception of the manager or HOD in the minds of subordinates, leading them to believe that the manager/HOD has no value in the system. Hence, subordinates begin to disregard their seniors.

Regards

Addressing Employee Engagement Through Management Leadership

From my over four decades of industry experience, I suggest a useful solution. This issue needs to be addressed from a behavioral science point of view. Do not concentrate too much on the employees' domain to find a solution. Here, the solution lies with the managers. Train and motivate them to embody the management style of "Leading from the front with self-example." Once this is achieved, employees will start feeling and fearing that they are not "indispensable." Automatically, things will start falling into place.

Caution: This is a time-consuming process and requires management support with a lot of patience.

I read with great interest the postings from all members, but I was missing out on something which I finally found in Shri Umakanthan's reply: "The most unfortunate in organizations is the arrogance, be it intellectual, technical, professional, or positional, normally exhibited by superiors." This is a common problem, especially in organizations where some jobs require a high degree of skill. Hospitals and airlines are two examples. In the former, specialist doctors feel they are above everyone, and even God is next to them. I'm not generalizing, but it is true for most of them. In the case of airlines, the commanders, who have absolute jurisdiction on a flight once the door is closed, start thinking that they are keeping the airlines afloat! Therefore, they need to be given some training whereby they realize the importance of other tasks—in your case, the task of HOD.