Culture Defines The Workplace – And Employee Success

An article from TLNT.com asks a more-and-more relevant question: How long do we keep those employees that are out of touch with the company culture? This article offers information about a lesson learned at Time Inc. Author Ron Thomas shows us the ropes.

The Chairman and CEO of Time Inc., Jack Griffin, was fired recently after only six months on the job. What could have gone so ‘wrong’ in such a short period of time?

“I concluded that his leadership style and approach did not mesh with Time, Inc. and Time Warner,” Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes stated in a memo.

As HR professionals, short stints in a position are not all that uncommon. But typically, those sorts of things don’t happen at the top of the food chain. There are many instances where employees do not seem to be the right fit, but as an HR Manager, waiting it out is often all that can be done. But sometimes, that ill-fitting employee doesn’t leave on their own and infests the workplace with the wrong vibes.

“I give Time Warner credit for acting swiftly, if you consider six months swift,” Thomas said. “They let it play out until they knew they had to make a move.” Statistically speaking, 40 percent of senior-level hires fail within the first 18 months of transitioning. Hiring is never a sure bet, so when things don’t seem to be working out, the best policy is to cut your losses and move on to the next thing.

The biggest question in this article is how you should handle a new hire whom is clearly out of touch with your company culture. Culture is one of the most domineering traits of an organization. No change or new hire can be successful if it does not match with the company culture.

For new hires that are looking to drive change, it may help to learn the culture to get a clear picture of what you are facing first. You can’t parachute in with or without fanfare and lead without understanding the landscape. You must be able to synch up, at least initially, until you have gotten your ‘sea legs’.

As an HR manager, hiring talent is always taken with a risk. There are no guarantees that the new hire will fit into the position as you would like for them to. To help ease this gap, be sure that the individual knows and understands your  organization’s culture. It will make the ride much smoother. To read more about how culture effects business, click here to read the full article.

 

 

 

 

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