A mission critical employee considered resigning in order to pursue an entrepreneurial venture.
The manufacturing employer did not realise that the employee was considering this course of action; there was an assumption that he would simply continue as always until he reached retirement.
Lacking a formal process for reviewing the aspirations and needs of its workforce, the business first knew of the critical risk to its operations when the employee tendered his resignation.
Once the resignation was tendered, it became clear to the business that the employee was no longer interested in line management, meetings, politics, stress and long hours that had been part of his job, and which workers generally face daily. The employee was provided with professional assistance and coaching by Activetics, who worked on current and future scenarios that might enable him to stay with the manufacturer and engage in other activities outside its employment framework.
Until Activetics was retained, neither the business nor employee understood the range of working options available; the business had simply assumed that the full time, 5 days a week model was appropriate because that is the way it had always been done.
Using the Activetics programme, the employee and employer negotiated a reduction in working hours to 3 days a week with a step-down to 2 days over a period of time.
During this period, the management responsibilities of the employee were reduced and an altered working emphasis saw him train, mentor and pass on his business knowledge to another talented employee. A win-win outcome.
Methodology mitigated the risk posed by an abruptly retiring employee and optimised the opportunity for another talented employee to develop professionally within the manufacturing business.
