BU151Wk6Project

Supervisor confronted with leading his/her department through a major technological change. Several individuals in the department have expressed doubts and apprehension about the change.

Wendy is the Supervisor of a 19 person PBX department. Wendy was just promoted from her PBX operator role. Nervous about her new position Wendy tries keeping harmony in her department by continuing to run the department in the way the previous Supervisor did. Wendy soon finds that by doing this and not establishing her own management style she gets taken advantage of by her employees. Whenever she tries to implement something new and beneficial to the department she is met with confrontation from the employees saying Stacy (the previous Supervisor) did it this way and allowed me to do it this way. For example one of the employees complained to HR because her schedule was changed by Wendy to accommodate the needs of the department, her argument was that the previous supervisors were able to give her a set schedule and keep with the needs of the department. The employee also states that maybe Wendy did not know how to do her job.
Wendy was met with quite the dilemma, so the first thing she did was seek the assistance of her Manager, she discussed the situation with him and was able to practice her conversation that she would have to have with this employee on him.
Wendy called the employee into her office and explained to her the reasons for the schedule change, she offered no excuse for the way previous Supervisors did their schedules, and she remained calm even though the employee was irate and threatening to terminate her own employment unless she can get her old schedule. At the end of the conversation the employee understood the need for the change, however not happy about it. Two weeks following the conversation the employee had begun an active search for a new job, by week three which Wendy felt was enough time to evaluate the employee’s performance in the new hours, called her into the office for a follow up discussion and to Wendy’s surprise the employee actually found some balance in her new schedule and was content.

Wendy’s quick thinking, good observation and assertiveness helped to keep her employee happy as well as saving her company the employee turnover.