Discussion 1: Impact of Unmet Expectations on Employee Attitudes

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Onboarding New Employees Program Transcript

MALE SPEAKER: I want to thank you all for coming in today. As you may or may not know, I'm conducting an assessment of your company with the goal of being able to provide your superiors with ideas for making this a better workplace. Now I've already met with some of the employees of the company who've been here for years. But I want to meet with you now, relatively new employees, so that I can hear about what your experience has been like in these first few months. Now I know you all know each other already. But if you don't mind, just saying your name and what you do here at Walden sports, that would be great.

DIANE: Hello, I'm Diane. And actually, Toby here and I have the same job. We're both travel experience managers which means that we help to oversee the travel agency aspect of the business by ensuring that fellow employees are up selling to their highest potential when one of our customers books a travel adventure. So for instance, if someone books a trip to the Grand Canyon, we try to make sure that they purchase their tent and other camping supplies here instead of from one of our competitors. It's a really crucial aspect of the business.

MALE SPEAKER: It's very interesting. And how long have you been with the company?

DIANE: Just a little over three months.

MALE SPEAKER: And how about you, Toby? How long have you been with the company?

TOBY: Well, actually, I've been with Walden for a couple of years now. I used to work in the retail side of the business, but changed positions about two months ago and became a travel experience manager.

MALE SPEAKER: OK, that's great. And you are?

CASSANDRA: I'm Cassandra. I'm an assistant manager of our west side retail location, and it's very nice to meet you, Mike. Oh, and I will have been on the job for four months next week.

MALE SPEAKER: All right, sounds great. And it's really nice to meet all of you as well. So I'll start with you Cassandra. What was it that initially attracted you to working with Walden?

CASSANDRA: Of course. I grew up in a family that was always camping or fishing or something. So I'm really passionate about the outdoors and have a pretty fast knowledge of great camping spots, equipment needed, et cetera, et

cetera. But I also really love working with people both customers and employees. So this felt like a really perfect fit for me.

MALE SPEAKER: That's great. You know, having a passion for your company's line of work is very important to enjoying your job. But let me ask you, though, more specifically what was it about Walden that interested you as opposed to maybe going with some other sporting goods company down the road?

CASSANDRA: Oh gosh, there was a lot actually. I remember when I first started interviewing for the position, one of the things they kept mentioning was how much working here was like being part of the family and that everyone got along really well. That really appealed to me.

MALE SPEAKER: And did you find that to the case when you actually started?

CASSANDRA: Honestly? No, not really. The company's actually really fractured. They acquired a travel agency not long before I started, and it honestly feels like a war between the traditional retail employees and the travel experience folk. Our jobs may seem vastly different, but there's actually quite a bit of overlap to them especially on the managerial level which creates a lot of confusion as well as competition. I know a lot of people, myself included, aren't sure who to go to when this overlap causes problems. And frankly, I feel sorry for a lot of employees who are basically just caught in the crossfire of this overblown turf war. But, of course, that's just my perspective.

DIANE: No, I think you're absolutely right. It's been extremely hard for people like Toby and I to work on the travel agency side of the business. The traditional retail employees really seem to hate us. I've heard rumors that they think we're paid more and have more relaxed rules. But honestly, I think they're just nervous that we're going to bring in more cash and make them look bad. I mean, we were told that everyone at Walden had a strong team mentality, but this is the kind of stuff I've been dealing with since day one.

TOBY: I've had a slightly different experience because I used to work in the retail side of the business and know a lot of people over there. But I will say that some of them have started to treat me differently. It's like they think of me as a trader even though we all supposedly work for the same company with the same goals.

MALE SPEAKER: I see. And have you tried talking to your supervisors about this?

DIANE: Well, I tried once and she pretty much blew me off saying that I need to learn to give back the same attitude which is not at all how I want to spend my work life.

MALE SPEAKER: What about you, Toby?

TOBY: Well I've had a number of issues with my supervisor already.

MALE SPEAKER: Such as?

TOBY: When I initially interviewed for this new position, I was told that very little would change in terms of workplace rules and regulations, but it's like I work at a totally different company. Like my new supervisors do everything differently than what I'm used to. And if I ever question these differences, just for clarification, they start treating me like I don't know how to do my job. It's kind of humiliating.

MALE SPEAKER: Noted. Now how about your actual job duties, have they been as promised as in your interviews and job description?

TOBY: For the most part, I guess. But I was told that I'd get to travel at least once a month to gain expertise on your vacation sites or to run our booth at conventions. But there hasn't been a single mention of any kind of travel yet which is a huge disappointment for me. That's part of the reason I made the switch.

MALE SPEAKER: OK. Well, what about you, Cassandra, are there any job duties that you were promised that haven't come to pass yet?

CASSANDRA: I was told by my manager during the interview process that he valued a lot of input from his assistant managers. So about a month ago, I was assigned to a small working group with him and got really excited about it. But when I made a bunch of suggestions at the first meeting, he kind of blew me off. And he reassigned me to work with a different group the very next day. Nothing I said was even that dramatic or intense. But he clearly showed he doesn't want to hear any real ideas from me other than blind agreement.

MALE SPEAKER: Yes, that's--

CASSANDRA: Oh, and can I also mention the intense amount of tunnel vision going on within each department? Almost no one pays attention to what other departments are doing. No one communicates. Everybody just goes a long to get along, doing their own thing to get through the work week. This is not a family, and it's definitely not the way this organization was presented. If things aren't corrected soon, there's going to be a massive mess on our hands.

DIANE: I completely agree with you. I've wanted to step up and say something, but it's not even clear who I should go to you. There's no chain of command.

CASSANDRA: I'll second that. I have yet to see any sort of discernible management structure. Even I, as part of this supposed management structure, have no idea who to go to beyond my own immediate supervisor. I've tried asking HR, but they tell me just to take it back to my immediate supervisor which is kind

of awkward when the issue is about him. I thought HR was here to help us, but it seems all they care about is protecting the leadership and overall organization. Or maybe they just don't care at all, who knows?

MALE SPEAKER: Have you been offered any constructive feedback from any of your supervisors? I had one experience where I actually got to sit down with some higher ups to propose an idea. One of our self made camp in a box sets comes with some tent stakes that are obviously a little sub-par. They don't go into the ground very easily, and we get a lot of complaints about them. So I proposed that we upgrade to a higher quality brand and got shut down immediately saying that there was not a good enough reason to switch. I mean, the emphasis is all on making money and not a quality product. And that's not what I signed up for.

TOBY: I get that feeling. On the retail floor, I didn't need many office supplies. But now that I work behind a desk for part of my day, I actually need things and it takes forever to get them. Even small requests for things like pens and sticky notes are analyzed and fussed over to the point where I'd rather just go out and buy it myself so I can do my job properly without the hassle.

CASSANDRA: I don't think any of our profits have been turned around and shared with anyone outside of upper management. I have been shot down on trying to take outside training courses to improve my management skills, even though I was told there was plenty of money in the budget to support training ventures. I basically feel lied to about 75% of my time at work.

MALE SPEAKER: Wow, I'm sorry to hear all of that, but I thank you so much for sharing. I know that you're all very frustrated. But I can tell you that everything you've just told me is going to be very helpful to making changes down the road. Now I want to change gears just a little bit and start talking about your benefits.