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How should I promote my online petition?

Talent and HR: If a team of employees petition against a co-worker, what happens?

  • A friend works for a media company and the management there is about to promote a very divisive figure.  So a bunch of them signed a petition against this promotion.  What would a typical management response to this would be?  Listen to the petition and promote someone else?  Or maintain the authority and stick with the original plan?

  • Answer:

    Three scenarios here: 1. Management are 'right' and the workers are 'wrong' - Mr/Mrs Divisive is the right person for the strategy and vision they have. The reason some workers don't 'approve' is their heads aren't in the right place to cope with change. Management are pushing ahead because the cost of some 'wrong' people leaving is outweighed by the benefits of conviction and iron purpose in having what they believe are the right people in the right roles. Management Response in this scenario would be 'put your trust in our judgement and get on board or get out'. Following the appointment, great management would want to work at the root causes of such a divisive dynamic and address the assorted concerns behind it. 2. Management are aware of the problems but don't care and push it through without any further action - their response will be 'whatever'. This sort of disregard for the health of the team dynamic should be a big fat klaxon to leave and go find another company to work for. 3. Management are blind to the problem Management response in this scenario is tricky to predict. Put yourself in their shoes; a big chunk of the team basically conspire behind your back and call you out as being an idiot. It would take a really strong person to take that feedback on the chin, act with humility and work to fix the problem - possible but extremely rare to find managers with this quality. Hard to predict response as they'll probably feel boxed in and cornered. It speaks volumes about the culture that a passive/aggressive petition  rather than just being able to talk about the problems seems to be the  only outlet. If I was working in an environment where the leadership had so little  awareness of staff sentiment, team dynamics and approaches like petitions feel like the only outlet for staff, I'd be putting my  energies into finding an employer with the intelligence to pay attention  to the people issues rather then starting a revolution.

Robin Wilson at Quora Visit the source

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The culture of this particular media group seems to be one of distrust and hostility.  Employees should not have to drat/sign a petition against one of their colleagues to get management's attention.  If this work environment wasn't hostile before it sure is now.  I recommend that management do the following: 1. Review the petition and the merits of it to see if the items are legitimate concerns that need to be addressed regardless of the his/her decision to promote or not promote the "divisive figure".  The employees that signed this petition need to believe/feel/know that their actions/voices are heard and important to leadership.  2. Conduct individual meetings with each employee that signed the petition to see what their specific concern/issue is with the "divisive figure" as each employee may have their own concerns about their behavior in the workplace. 3. Meet with the "divisive figure'" and probe them for their thoughts on how they are perceived/viewed by their colleagues.  They may be shocked by the information the "diverse figure" discloses.  Most times employees have a very clear picture of how they are viewed in the workplace.  If the feedback that you get from the "divisive figure" is negative; you may want to ask them their plan for changing that perception and fostering constructive collaboration in the workplace. 4. Review all the fact finding information and pull in an outside manager to assist you in objectively reviewing the information.  It will show all parties that you took the matter serious and that you are committed to developing a culture of inclusiveness and teamwork.  5. Circle back to all parties involved about your decision regardless of the outcome: employees that signed the petition and the "divisive figure".  Let them know the steps you followed in arriving at your decision.  Be able to explain the why's of your choice.  Make sure you lay-out a strategy for moving this team forward and schedule follow-up meetings to see if your strategy is working. No matter what the decision is the culture will need some work as it relates to making the workplace more engaging and inviting to your team.

George Davis

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