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| Human Resource Talk with Miyanda Maimbo Kahari |
| The Most Neglected Employee |
 When I selected this topic for this week’s article I realized that many readers would try and fit their position in this situation. I know that many people feel that their position could easily win a prize for being the most neglected in any organization. Neglect in an organization can come in different forms, from failure to pay competitive salaries, to failure to train and develop staff. Our Drivers, Messengers or in today’s popular title Office Assistants are the long forgotten staff members who many do not really think at a glance contribute anything towards the companies bottom line. I would like to take you through a typical day in the life of a driver so that you understand why I feel that these are neglected and most of the times their contribution are not fully appreciated.
A driver in an organization at time fill three roles, that of driver, messenger and Office Assistant. The Driver normally starts their day as early as 06:00 or earlier especially if they have to take the bosses children to school. Effectively this means that instead of starting work normally like everyone else the driver starts work two hours earlier and we all know that these two hours are never paid for. A Driver must know how to manage time to a split second in order to get all assigned tasks completed. After dropping the children at school first, the driver rushes back to pick up the boss in time to be able to get to maneover through traffic and still get the boss to the office before 0:800.
After the boss has been dropped at the office, the same driver at times must dash back to the bosses home and pick up his wife to take her where ever she so wishes to go. The driver is given a long list of errands that need to be done during the day and must always remember to pick up the children from school in the afternoon. Because the driver is the one who picks up the children from school it has been noted that many drivers almost play the role of the parent when it comes to parent / teacher meetings. Since the parent is always busy, the drivers ends up getting feedback on a child’s performance and then passes it on to the parents. Even the children get much closer to the driver than their own parents. After school run more errands are to be completed in time to pick up the boss when he completes work at 17:00. At times it does not end there and some errands are done in the evening for example if there are guests to be picked up from the airport. By the time the driver gets home, it is after 21:00 and in the morning the cycle begins again.
It is important for orgnisations to note that drivers, messengers or office assistants are important individuals within the organizations. How they conduct themselves, how they work. How they interact with clients has a direct impact on the organization. A driver or messenger represents the organization where ever they go therefore a company must invest resources into training and coaching them just like every other member of the organization. There are always high expectations of these members of staff and yet it is as rare as snow in Zambia to here that a driver or office assistant has been sent for training.
The driver is one person who must be well groomed at all times, the company must assist drivers in dressing them appropriately. There are companies that buy suits for the driver’s which is recommended because remember that the same driver portrays the image of your organization. Imagine a driver looking scruffy and unkept picking up your guests at the airport, a message is sent to your guest that you do not look after your staff. Send your drivers or messenger for some grooming lessons, trust me it will not break your bank but the results will be excellent. At times the same drivers or messengers are asked to cover the reception when there is no one, they are expected to answer the phone and handle customer queries, meanwhile the same staff are not trained and have poor communication skills. Its does not solve the problem to reprimand the driver when they transfer the call to the wrong department or give the wrong information. Instead the company must train the driver on what and how they are supposed to perform.
Many drivers do not have job description, when they are employed they are given an offer letter and nothing else to show the parameters in which they are expected to operate. This results in the driver performing all kinds of assignments some which would probably not be appropriate for them to perform. Drivers are expected to keep time all the time, it is no secret that many people struggle with time management. Therefore in the absence of some kind to training on managing time and priorities, the driver is faced with challenges everyday especially when trying to consider what is priority of all the assigned tasks. Many times no guideline is given on what must be done first, this creates a stressful environment for the driver. There are many areas that can be developed in a driver to make them more efficient and effective in their roles. Simple areas like customer service, remember that your drivers deal with customers all the time. There are times when drivers are asked to perform some administrative roles such as filing or banking, do not make assumptions that they know what is expected of them. Effective use of the telephone, vehicles, fuel and other equipment such as faxes must also be taken into consideration. We are quick to give driver expensive tools such as vehicles and yet do not train them on how to effectively use the tool, however when something goes wrong we take drastic action such as dismissing them from work.
When it comes to paying the drivers, we sadly fail drastically. If a driver starts is working more that the normal 8 hours, it would make a lot of sense to compensate them some how for the extra hours, it could be in the form of overtime or time off. It is sad and unfair that human resource best practices are neglected because the person is ‘just a driver’ and is desperate for the job. Even drivers want to rise in the ranks within the organization, we are all familiar with Senior members of staff that have risen in the ranks from being a messenger to Manager position. The same development that other staff members are given in the organization is the same that should happen at all levels, all employees are equal regardless of position. I am all too aware of the complete chaos that happens when the driver does not come to work because they are not feeling well, or the office assistant does not make that most important more cup of tea. We always react as though everything has come to a stand still, this is a clear indication that drivers, messengers, office assistants are important individuals in any organization and must be given the same treatment that everyone gets when it comes to training and development and compensation.
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| The Author is a consultant for Prosoft Human Resources Solutions. For any suggestions and comments please email miyandak@prosofthumanresource.com 0979472850 / 0955408731 / 01 293406 |
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