My Performance In Company

Problem-Solving

Problem Identification

Since the recruitment of the new employee, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of sales I generate for the company. This is influencing my overall performance and image as an employee of the firm. It is demotivating for me as a dedicated worker who makes every effort to improve my sales performance, yet I lag behind my new co-worker. How is it possible that the new employee gets most of the client referrals while there are other employees in the sales department who are more hardworking, experienced, and skilled?

The work ethic of the new employee seems to be outstanding and over-efficient when it comes to his availability at the office and punctuality. The problem is the unusual behavior of the newcomer, who seems to be around the boss all the time, using unethical tactics to receive client referrals while employees like me are genuinely working towards meeting the target. It is discouraging to see immoral activities and when co-workers use unfair means to reach their goal, which at the same time affects your performance as well.

Therefore, I am required to conduct an investigation of the problem and understand the methods used by the newcomer and how they are affecting the whole sales department. At the same time, I need to improve my own sales and not lose track of the target (“The Problem Solving Process,” n.d.).

Problem Analysis

During the weekly meeting, when they announced the outstanding performance of the new employee, it created a spirit of competition among the other employees. Some of them were encouraged to put extra effort to meet the standards set by their co-worker, while other workers who’ve been trying their best and pushing their limits, including me, were disappointed in themselves and demotivated. There was negative energy in the sales department. Co-workers have begun to doubt each other and be suspicious of each other’s actions and unethical methods to generate extra sales for the company, which is unrealistic for an honest employee.

My personal sales have decreased, affecting my performance as a sales employee for the firm. This has led to a low amount of salary and very few bonuses and commissions, which is a demotivating financial factor. I believe other employees who’ve worked hard to contribute to the total sales of the business also feel under-appreciated. This problem needs to be addressed, or it will influence the overall performance of the business if most of the employees are demotivated due to the unethical activities of one of the newcomers.

Additionally, the use of unfair means will be encouraged by other workers to meet their targets and receive bonuses. This will create a negative environment in the business and affect the development and growth of the firm.

Generating Possible Solutions

One of the solutions to this issue is to investigate the activities of the new employee. How and when he arrives and leaves? Does he have a long time in the field and away from the office? Which client referral does he receive? And why does he win them? This will solve the suspicion and help in addressing the issue.

Secondly, all the workers are required to unite and report the matter to the Human Resource Manager. If they all feel demotivated and do not trust the actions of the new employees, they need to inform the manager before the situation gets worse and all the employees follow unfair means to generate sales.

Thirdly, since there is an energy of competition among the employees, they can all take advantage of this new attitude and utilize it to generate sales for the business. I believe I need to work harder and push my limits without creating a negative environment of mistrust and office politics. Such a working environment is discouraging for all the employees and affects their performance because of the diversion of focus on other matters and the interference in the activities of your colleagues.

Analyzing the Solutions

If I investigate the activities of the newcomer, I will be able to understand his tactics and provide evidence to the HR Manager. This will help me recognize his unethical actions and his unfair relationship with the boss. Additionally, I will be able to understand if the methods used by the new employee are efficient and help meet the target without exploiting the work ethic. However, this is a risky way to analyze the situation. It might be embarrassing for me if someone finds me inappropriate to interfere in the activity of another worker. This will create mistrust among other employees and ruin my image.

The reporting of the matters collectively by all the workers will put pressure on HR and the boss, who refers the clients to the new employee. Such inappropriate activity will be discouraged in the office if everyone stands together against it. This is a rather complicated solution as most employees will back out due to the mistrust and negative energy already created in the work environment.

Lastly, improving self-performance will benefit all the employees in achieving their targets when they utilize their anger and jealousy to generate more sales for the business. This will improve the overall performance of the business, which means they will be able to increase the salaries of the workers when required. The office environment will be motivating for all the workers, and they will be able to compete with each other yet build a foundation of trust.

Selecting the Best Solution

After analyzing the pros and cons of each solution, it can be concluded that investigating and reporting the actions of the new colleague will ignite negative energy in the working environment, demotivating the employees and affecting the overall performance of the firm. This will be a discouraging factor for me when operating in such situations, and it will also lead to a bad image in the office.

Hence, the third solution is to utilize the competitive attitude of the workers and achieve our targets, which will help us receive financial benefits such as bonuses and commissions. This will help me improve my performance in general and be able to recognize my potential. I will receive the salary I deserve and be rewarded for my dedication without trying to bring down another employee.

Implement and Reflect

To initiate a competitive attitude among the employees and my co-workers, I need to demonstrate the potential advantages of adopting such an approach towards the issue faced in the office. For that, I first need to improve my performance and show the positive side of the problem. I will have to prove that we, as sales generators, can push our limits and not restrict ourselves to specific targets but rather aim for higher sales to compete with the newcomer without judging his actions.

Once the employees understand the benefits of improving their performance, they will be able to work towards their goals, but for this to be implemented, the co-workers will need to support each other and work together to achieve the ultimate goal of the business. Additionally, the workers will need to collectively negotiate with Human Resources about increasing their salaries and bonuses. Consequently, when the overall performance of the firm improves, they will be able to provide higher financial benefits, which will motivate the employees to be more efficient and productive.

References

The Problem Solving Process. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2018, from http://www.gdrc.org/decision/problem-solve.html