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TECHWORKPLACE
by Jeffrey L. Berger, Esq.
Jeffrey L. Berger specializes in management-side employment and business law, and related litigation in
Washington, D.C., and nationally. Questions and comments on the TECHWORKPLACE are
encouraged. Other articles are available at www.bergerlaborlaw.com.
FROM BENCH TO BOARDROOM:
A GUIDE TO EMPOWERING HIGH-TECH MANAGERS
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Developing effective managers has traditionally presented a
challenge to growing technology and bio-science companies. Often, the technical skills and
professional mind-set that make a top-flight engineer or scientist is of limited use in
cultivating the supervisory and interactive skills necessary to manage others.
As in engineering and science, however, there are core
competencies in human resources that managers must master to do their jobs. Similarly, it
is critical that these "soft skills" be articulated and measured as part of a
manager’s responsibilities. A newly-minted manager is often delegated substantial
powers, such as hiring, discipline, and employee review, but is expected to pick up or
intuit the "accepted" processes and procedures along the way. This can lead to
an awkward and unsuccessful transition that impacts the company and employees in terms of
efficiency, productivity, and morale. Furthermore, the constant threat of liability from
sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful discharge demands that companies take
structured steps to train managers in how to comply with workplace legal requirements.
Indeed, recent Supreme Court decisions now require companies to take a proactive approach
in dealing with workplace discrimination and harassment issues. By articulating a
systematic approach to human resource issues for managers to follow, an employer can
obtain the multiple benefits of communicating and reinforcing its corporate culture and
goals, and gain an affirmative defense to employment law claims. This is most easily
accomplished through the development of a managers guide and related training programs
containing specific policies, procedures, and approaches upon which managers can and
should rely. In addition, a clear and comprehensive program empowers managers by giving
them the comfort of knowing the parameters or "tolerances" in which they can
operate. This also reduces the indirect costs of potential employment litigation, i.e.,
decisions not to fire unsatisfactory employees out of fear they will sue, requiring
exhaustive documentation of employee performance problems before allowing a termination,
and paying fired employees excessive severance to avoid litigation.
Among the employee relations basics for a managers handbook are
the manager’s role and responsibility in dispute resolution, equal employment
opportunity, prevention of sexual harassment, and responding to employee drug, alcohol,
disability, pregnancy, and leave issues. Managers must be instructed on how to interview,
hire, discipline, fire, and document their actions. Another critical area of guidance is
in performance appraisals. Many supervisors use "grade inflation" in evaluations
to avoid offending or confronting employees. This can have devastating effects for the
employer when a poorly performing employee is fired and relies on inflated evaluations to
sue for discrimination. Specifying the relationship between managers and a company’s
human resource professionals is also important, as it provides support for managers and
creates a system of checks and balances in personnel decisions. Finally, the guide must be
part of an overall personnel management system, where a manager’s own compliance with
policies and procedures is both measurable and made part of his or her own performance
evaluation. If knowledge is power, teaching managers how to manage will free them to
create a more positive and productive working environment.
© 1998 Jeffrey Berger
REPRINTED FROM:
TECHGAZETTE - September 1998, Vol. 1, No. 9
The Berger Law Firm, P.C. 1825 Eye St. N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20006.
Phone: (202) 861-1361 Fax: (202) 861-1362
Legal advice is case specific and is not intended to be provided by this article.
The Berger Law Firm, P.C. may not be held responsible for any consequences
that may arise in connection with the use of or reliance on the information provided.
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