It has been my experience that all too often, decisions are
made in business without consulting those who the decision affects. When this
happens, feelings are hurt, conflict arises, and productivity falls. I know I
have talked about my days as a high school teacher many times. I have also
mentioned how unhappy I was. One of the reasons I was so unhappy, and
ultimately left the school system, is that decisions are made that directly
affect teachers and students every day and their opinions are not taken into
account. The school board and state give the illusion that everyone’s opinion
is taken into consideration, but I do not believe this is the case.
Since I know how this feels, I have made an effort to take
the opinions of others into consideration when I am making an important
decision. Levine (2009) outlines 10 essential elements to reaching an
agreement, most of which are used when making a decision (pp. 164-165) One such
recent decision was the hiring of a new employee, my co-trainer. This decision,
even though affecting me more than others, still had an affect on others in the
department. Our vision was to hire someone who had more experience teaching
than with technology, but someone who was still able to use technology
effectively. The decision-making process in this case was a collaborative
effort including me, my supervisor, and my former co-trainer. The process began
with the formulation and posting of a job description and sorting of résumés. My supervisor weeded through them and
sent several prospective candidates’ applications to me to get my opinion. One of the issues that I had with this
step was that, after I provided my thoughts, he interviewed who he wanted to
anyway. Many Worldwide employees knew someone who they thought would be perfect
for the position and I had an acquaintance ask me about applying as well. To
further narrow the field, all of these people were interviewed by phone and a
few who he thought were worthy contenders, too. Finally, my supervisor narrowed
down the candidates to four for us to interview face-to-face. The three of us
interviewed all of the candidates together asking questions that we thought
were relevant to the position. After all of the interviews had been conducted,
we were able to sit and discuss the interviewees. This was an important process
because as Levine (2009) mentions, “As you work with others in pursuit of
common goals, opportunity abounds for resolving conflict and reaching clear
agreements” (p. 188). It turned out that there was one candidate we all liked
and the second choice for everyone was different. We had conflicting opinions
about the second choice and were able to effectively talk through the concerns.
In the end, the person we all liked was the acquaintance of mine. She
ultimately took the position. I have been happy working with her and think we
made the right choice. She reminds me a lot of myself when I started.
Collaboration with my colleagues on this decision was
crucial. First, there were over 50 candidates and I would have been unable to
sort through them all on my own. Second, each of us had different ideas about
the skill set ideal candidate would possess. Therefore, the ability for each of
us to form our own questions for the interview was essential. My colleagues
included questions that may not have occurred to me, but still provided me with
important information with which to make the decision. Third, during this
process, my co-trainer was already doing his new job. Luckily, he was still in
the same department and was able to continue to train and certify new
instructors with me. He was invaluable when it came to making the transition to
a new employee easy. Fourth, having their opinions about the face-to-face
interviews provided me with helpful insight into each of the candidates. What
one person sees and hears another may miss. This was the case with the
interviews. One of us might focus on one aspect of the interview while the
others are able to look past that issue. Collaborating on the decision for the
final choice allowed me to be more confident with the decision I had made.
After hearing all of the candidates, I knew I wanted the person that I knew. I
wasn’t sure if it was because I knew her (albeit it not very well) or whether
she was the most desirable person for the job. Once I heard that the others
also liked her the most, I felt more confident that I had made the right
decision for the right reason.
I do not believe that there are any other stakeholders I
would have added to that decision-making process. If you have too many people
involved, issues like this can become more complicated than they need to be.
This situation was a learning experience for me making decisions in the future.
First, I have validated my opinion that including the opinions of others in an
important decision is crucial to making a good decision. In addition, I have
also learned that I should trust my viewpoints because they are valid. Not just
in this situation but also in others, I have raised concerns that others echoed
as well. Knowing that my thoughts and opinions are legitimate is helpful to me
as a decision maker. Finally, I have learned that the hiring of an individual
is much harder that it seems from the outside. Having others help in that
process was something that I will definitely continue in the future. It is very
hard to tell whether someone will be a good fit by simply talking to them for
30 minutes and looking at their information on paper. I was glad to be able to
dialogue with my colleagues about our concerns and likes for each candidate.
Reference: Levine, S. (2009 ). Turning conflict into
collaboration (2nd edition). Williston, VT,: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
No comments:
Post a Comment