Harvard Business Publishing

It is a case of failure of HR on "staff relations." Staff relations is a very ticklish thing. Thumb rule is never called for while dealing with the employees. To handle any situation with mass scale dismissals is quite a tactful matter, where besides restraint leadership qualities are also called for.

With due apology to the deceased CEO and his relatives, not as a criticism of the policy of the CEO but as a strategic hint for the executives, a CEO was not expected to take up discussion directly with the mob of 150 employees with most of them armed with iron rods. Since mass dismissal case was there, it was not appropriate for the CEO to call all the dismissed workers for talk at a time. Although the doors were open for the dismissed workers to present their cases in the labor court, yet if the management was generous and considerate enough, at least 2-3 rounds should have been undertaken previously through some mediators, allowing only 3-4 representatives of the employees at each round. The CEO, if had a desire to participate in the talks with the dismissed workers should have associated only at the final round stage that too with only 3-4 worker representatives.

I remember one occasion when I was asked to dliver a Charge Sheet to a dreaded President of a union from whom the zonal management was quite afraid of. At first I had to take in to confidence all other important Union executives, including the Vice President of the Union, by making the atmosphere quite congenial before I called the Charged Official. The Charge Sheet could be served without even a slight hinderance from any of the union member.