Perspective of Mr.

Abhishek Suman:
Background:
Mr. Abhishek Suman, a talented young professional is facing an unprecedented professional
challenge.Aspiration, ability & ambiguity have collided to compound the problems for him.
As a young manager when he set out for a rewarding career, little did he know that his hunger
for challenges and the quest to prove himself as an able multi tasker would turn detrimental to
the recognition of his initiatives.Rather than receiving appreciation for his efforts, he finds
himself questioning his future in the company on one hand, while trying to save his
relationship on the other.
Facts:
 Abhishek joined ELIXIR – A premier B School well known for its HRM program
based on the opinion of his parents and friends despite being a techie at heart.
 He felt that the college and the lectures were unfruitful and taking up a job at the end
of the course was his hope of making a great rewarding career.
 Appointed as Manager – HR, Bester Paints, an MNC now operating in India.
(Referred to as ‘Company’)
 Abhishek –In- Charge of the plant factory in Ashtrakia near Nasik.
 Abhishek took up the job for the promises the recruitment team gave him.
 Bester Paints – not the best paymaster in the market,Abhishek still accepted the offer
as it offered greater challenges.
 First month into the job he was assigned the task of working on wage negotiation in
the factory and got a chance to meet the Union Leaders which excited him.
 He was often called to the corporate office as he was heavily involved in recruitment.
 He also involved himself in an annual compensation exercise which he enjoyed.
 He thought he was lucky not to be involved in the day to day functioning of the
factory operations, which gave him a chance to play different roles which in turn
would allow him to be close to the top management.
 The job left him with almost no personal life.
 Abhishek was impressed with his performance during the year gone by.
 Senior’s evaluation of his performance was not in sync with his own evaluation.
Expectations:

 Fast Track growth

 Challenging job profile.
 Empathy and understanding of his professional constraints from Ayesha
 Open communication from peers & superiors.
 Entrepreneurial environment within the organisation with greater operational
freedom.
 Recognition & appreciation for his multi tasking abilities and initiative which he has
displayed within the short span of 1 year in the organisation.

Decisions – Our Inferences & Recommendations:

 Existential Dillema: Abhishek is faced with the dillema of whether he should quit the
job or toe the line as articulated by Mr. Shankar

Recommendation:

He is a valued resource in the eyes of the top management of the organisation. He is

poised for future growth within the company if he is able to stick it out with slight
modification to his approach. He needs to introspect and be more diplomatic in his
interactions with his peers and superiors.

His own percieved career progression path does not synergise with what the company
management seems to have in mind for him. He also seems to asses the impact of his
actions and behaviours inaccurately on people. (Cognitive Dissonance – Johari
Window)

 Maximising Operational Freedom / Flexibility: Abhishek took up the job lucrative

due to the real time challenges it offered owing to the lack of a structured job
description, now he is being criticised and rater poorly for supposedly taking up more
than he can handle and not doing justice to his tasks.
 Recommendation:

He needs to openly communicate his expectations to the management and articulate

his thoughts in a manner which does not sound disapproving or rebellious in nature to
the other employees.

He has a distinct preference for managing diverse roles simultaneously due to the
high level of challenges they pose to him and the fact that it gives him an opportunity
to outperform on them which is something no other employee within the organisation
can boast of.

He must develop the tact and the ability of working through opposing minds within
the organisation.
.
 Work – Life Balance: Abhishek planned to get married to Ayesha but is now
rethinking over it because of the career dilemma he is facing.

Recommendation:

Abhishek needs to set his priorities right and learn to communicate them to Ayesha.
He must try and maintin a healthy work – life balance by ensuring that he is not
burdended with work which leaves him not enough time for his personal life. Loosing
Ayesha in the over zealous pursuit of professional excellence is a very high personal
cost to pay and the payoff is not justifiable.

Future:-
Inference & Recommendations
 Abhishek has a high need for achievement *(McClelland’s Need Theory). This is
portrayed through his decisions and behaviour. His decision to take up admission into
ELIXIR institute knowing the fact that only the top talent make it to the institute.
  He must build his personal brand equity within the peer group and superiors. He
must establish open communication channels with them and seek feedback from them
on a regular interval.
 He must seek greater role clarity on an immediate basis from the superior and ensure
that an expectation levelling excercise is carried out for both stakeholders before any
formal Job Description is chalked out for him.
 He must clearly define his Key Result Areas (KRA’s), Key Performance Indicators
(KPI’s) & Critical Success Factors (CSF’s) for his own performance in consultation
with his superior which will help his self assessment become slightly more realistic.
 Must recommend a formal mentor / buddy system which can be initiated within the
organisation which could be a guiding force for him as well as make the superiors feel
wanted and valued.

Perspective of Bester Paints

Background:
Bester Paints, an MNC now operating in India is facing a challenge faced by many
corporations today, that of high performance talent management. The challenges faced by the
organisation in Performance Evaluation & Assessment, Talent Management, Organisational
Culture indicate that it is still in the process of evolution of robust HR policies & practices for
itself. Here the company is faced with a dillema of managing a high performing resource. The
case exposes the faultlines emerging in its current talent acquisition, onboarding,
performance evluation, retention, organisational culture and talent management policies. The
company must evaluate its status quo and take corrective measures to ensure that it can
emerge as an employer of choice in future.

Facts:
 Company has a distinct preference for internally grown talent for top leadership
positions and the companyassured Abhishek of a fast track growth.
 Mr. Shankar Naik – VP (HR) feels that Mr. Abhishek is talented and has the ability to
assume HR leadership of the company in future.
 Abhishek was thrown straight into the job without a formal induction.
  Mr. Shankar agreed with the fact that Abhishek worked in the areas of compensation,
performance review and he was there whenever the organisation required it.
 Company had a system of anonymous peer and superior performance review.
 Organisational culture was such that people expected to be respected first and
expected the questions coming from subordinates in a respectful manner.

Philosophy
Inference & Recommendations

Increased Transparancy
Fostering a team spirit
Greater say of employee in charting their career paths
Freedom to grow and develop
Fostering a culture of meritocracy

Policies
Inference & Recommendations

 Induction: An induction and a robust onboarding process is a must.

 Buddy / Mentoring System: A system should be initiated. This will engage
employees meaningfully. Instant source of peer and superior feedback. Greater value
and respect to the seniors who act as mentors.
 Personal Evaluation Toolkit for employees

Knowing which is the right path for the employee requires real self-knowledge. So
creat a toolkit to help them learn more about themselves, which will help them choose
the right career progression paths. This exercise will help employees reach a better
understanding of who they are and what they want from their careers – with Bester
Paints. 
  Quarterly / Half Yearly Performance Review

Review System
Inference & Recommendations

 No Anonymous feedback – Increases accountability & transparancy.

 360 Degree Feedback – Self, Peers, Subordinates and Superiors all act as evaluators
to caputre a more holistic view of an employees performance with the least possibility
of the feedback being distorted by prejudice.
 Performance Development Plan (PDP) – Beginning of the year to be decided by
Line Manager, Employee & Business HR. Quarterly review with comments put in by
all the three stakeholders. This would enable tracking the progress and taking
corrective action. PDP Matrix would need to be updated and signed off every 3
quarter as a matter of practice for all employees and the extrapolation of it can be
done for the annual performance evaluation.
 Quality Circle: Whenever an employee seems to be failing to meet the KRA’s an
empowered group of seniors can sit and discuss out the problems with him and
indicate that he needs to up his game.