- Reflect on your own personal experiences with change. Describe one organizational change and how you reacted to it. How did you treat other people in that process?
A major organizational change I went through was the switching of my department’s design and duties, as well as who we should report to. The company housed multiple businesses under one roof, with each owner (2) and the VP (1) ostensibly being equally invested in each, but in reality each having their own focus and preference and style of management. We were jostled around to focusing on each of the businesses and in different ways with different schedules and job functions, and with different people to report to. At times, we were pretty expressly told to just humor one manager, or ignore another, when another one entered the scene on a given day.
I found that with each process, we as the team grew closer but also infinitely more cynical. Every time we were given a new incentive package or a new job description, we had less and less faith of any sort of productive direction for ourselves or the company. Morale and motivation dips a lot when you focus on achieving a certain group of metrics only to find in a few weeks that none of them matter and the promised rewards aren’t going to happen! We took all of the leadership a lot less seriously.
I found that with each process, we as the team grew closer but also infinitely more cynical. Every time we were given a new incentive package or a new job description, we had less and less faith of any sort of productive direction for ourselves or the company. Morale and motivation dips a lot when you focus on achieving a certain group of metrics only to find in a few weeks that none of them matter and the promised rewards aren’t going to happen! We took all of the leadership a lot less seriously.
We did get the chance to collaborate more tightly with coworkers, though; for example, I (in sales/account management/ marketing) worked particularly closely with recruiters who were assigned the more specialized roles to staff. This was because my metrics and rewards had changed, and I wanted to assure that I would get commission (specialized roles offered more money than day labor) and my Fridays remote (something offered if I hit a certain number of positions staffed every week. Getting the positions was up to me, but getting them staffed was up to the recruiters so I worked very closely with them to try to streamline the process to make that happen as quickly as possible).
I don’t think it would surprise anyone to hear that this company has an incredibly high attrition rate and struggles to keep staff.
Author: Alejandro Gutierrez
I am pursuing the OD Master's at PSU. I have a background in psychology, behavioral neuroscience and economics, and digital applications for startups. View all posts by Alejandro Gutierrez