How to Address a Rude Board Member's Behavior Affecting Employee Retention? Seeking HR Advice

In my organization as an HR professional, I am facing an issue where one of our Board of Directors is sending very rude emails without any apparent reason. His behavior on the floor is also consistently rude. Over the past 1.5 years, there has been no attrition in our company. However, due to his behavior, attrition has started, and I am unsure of how to directly address this with him. I have approached other BODs, but they are also unwilling to take any action. Can anyone offer guidance on how I should approach this situation? Additionally, could someone please share an HR plan for the floor?

Dear Ramya,

Understanding the Role of BOD

What is the full form of BOD? To whom does this person report? How did the rudeness of one of the BODs not come to the attention of the seniors? Does his rudeness have sanction from the top authorities? What is the performance level of this person? Does this person have a bloated sense of achievement in his job?

Impact of Rude Behavior on Employee Attrition

Since rude behavior is a cause of employee attrition, has it been reflected in the exit interviews of the employees? Do you conduct exit interviews at all?

Recommended Actions

At this stage, I recommend that you have a meeting with the MD or a senior authority of the company. In the meeting, inform him that during the exit interviews, resigning employees revealed how this BOD insulted them. In their verbal feedback, they mentioned the insensitivity of the BOD.

After the meeting with the MD, let us see what happens. If action is taken, then that is good. Otherwise, we may need to explore other options.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Hi Dinesh,

Thanks for the immediate response on my post. BOD stands for Board of Directors. In our organization, there are only three higher authorities, and he is one of those three. The other two are not in a position to listen to the employee's side. I haven't been able to schedule the exit interview as he has submitted his resignation and has to serve a 90-day notice period. I plan to conduct the interview either in the last week or 15 days before his last date. Can you please provide me with some advice on this?

Regards,
Ramya