case 20: Renumeration Strategy for Senior Management
Topic
HR, Management, Control, Team
Company
A Sole National Distributor of a large MNC
Problem
The company has decided to recruit a National Business Manager to run the whole process of the company but cannot match his current salary at a Global Company
Facts known
The Business Manager will be responsible for the whole operations of the company including the P&L
Audit process
Interview with business owner and prospective Business Manager
Findings
The company cannot match the Business Manager’s current salary at a Global Company but has potential to increase profit in the near future if the business is managed well.
Suggestions
Tie the Business Manager’s salary to company’s profit with minimum payment for the first six months
Follow up
Both the Business Owner and the Business Manager agreed to the proposed scheme and joined the company.
Engagement
2 weeks, including calculation and negotiation
Case 21: When A Veteran Gets A Boss Baby
Topic
Team / people management
Company
A Large Multi-National Company
Problem
A senior employee who has been working for the company for more than 20 years refused to cooperate with her new boss who was 19 years her senior, a fresh graduate from one-year Management trainee program.
Facts known
- The senior employee started as junior staff and after 19 years working at the company has just been promoted to most junior management level because her pay range has been too high for staff –level pay. There has been neither change in her responsibility nor increase in her skill.
- Her former boss was a very kind person who often ended up doing her jobs when she refused to do them. This is also one of the reasons why he was replaced with the rookie grad from Management Trainee Program.
- The rookie manager was new to the company but has proven to be an excellent learner who has successfully completed 2 projects with major results without being taught what to do.
- But due to their age difference and tenure, the senior staff believed that it was her who should’ve been the boss for the rookie.
- The young boss proved to truly understand the entire business process and how her team can contribute to whole business and she won support from every department in the company for being an excellent contributor and collaborator.
Audit process
Interviews
Findings
This is just a simple ego problem
Suggestions
- When the senior employee refused to do her job, the new boss never did it for her.
- The new boss learnt about how to understand the senior employee’s motivation and uses that knowledge to elicit her cooperation.
Follow up
- All of the suggestions are implemented
- The young boss proved to be excellent program solver for serious business problems within the company, even outside her department
- The veteran had to do her job because the young boss wouldn’t do it for her.
- She started to collaborate with the new boss and contribute to the team.
- In fact, several years later, the veteran employee took pride in having worked with the young boss.
Engagement
2 weeks