By: Weslee Kersey
September 27, 2022
Being a manager is more than just being the person in charge, it is about inspiring, guiding, and supporting your team to success. A company’s success greatly depends on its employees work output, and if employees are unhappy, unsafe, or unwilling to work, it is a human resource manager’s worst nightmare. Based on my personal experiences as a shift supervisor at Starbucks and a Sergeant in the Army, the type of manager I tend to be is adaptable, competitive, and fair. The organizational culture between the positions that I have held are all very different and by being able to adapt to these different cultures, expectations, and standards, I have been able to learn more about myself and my team.
From The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2020 article, I chose to discuss Cisco, CarMax, and USAA. All companies have been able to produce effective and successful portfolios based on their companies’ growth and financial gains, but most importantly, they have managed to do this while simultaneously fulfilling employee needs.
Cisco is located in San Jose, CA (near where I am from), and is ranked 4th overall. Their employee stated, “I am given complete autonomy to do what’s best and if I need help, I have a strong support system.” This highlights a key aspect of HRM, which is that people matter. Employees should feel safe and be encouraged to be creative and also ask for help.
CarMax in Richmond, VA, is ranked 20th overall and their employee stated, “I love our ability to change, while maintaining our mission and core values, in an environment where our customers’ needs are changing rapidly.” This brings me back to my point of adaptability in management. Being able to be flexible, yet still maintain structure is crucial from an employee perspective, especially for competitive organizational cultures like this one.
USAA in San Antonio, TX, is ranked 55th overall. Their employee stated, “I feel that leadership wants their employees to succeed and puts in the effort to help them reach their goals.” This type of management demonstrates how HRM directly influences employees’ desire to work hard.
Based on the research and testimonies provided above, I think one of the greatest challenges facing HRM is being able to be flexible, supportive, and structured while maintaining company goals. Employees need to feel supported and have freedom to work as they see fit, but also must meet benchmarks to maintain success. All levels of organizations must follow the same standards and meet expectations within the workplace to maintain fairness and respect, but also must recognize when systems are failing and implement change.
References
Buckingham, M. & Coffman, C. 2016. First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.
Great Place to Work. (n.d.). Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, 2020. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/100-best/2020
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