Key working relationships
Charles Barley is the new Western Region HR Manager at Northern Construction. The company
is a 200-person road construction company based in Winnipeg, whose employee population
increases with 300 seasonal staff each construction season, which had recently ended. He was
the second HR Manager hired by the company as the first one had been let go after one year.
The President said the previous HR Manager “didn’t understand our business”, and, while a
decent person, didn’t “deliver the goods” the firm needed to get the job done.
The President knew they needed an HR Manager, and some progress had been made in
establishing procedures. The Managers, Supervisors and Team Leaders were quite well-
experienced, and had generally been promoted from within. Generally, they were a blunt, non-
nonsense group who appreciated hard workers, and had little patience with “layabouts”.
Turnover was a problem, as each season started off slowly, while the new crews got into solid
work routines. Many were inexperienced students, while others were seasonal employees,
returning each year.
Issues included tardiness, attendance and getting people up to speed
quickly. There were also some behaviour problems as some worksites were remote and, even
after a 12-hour day, some employees still had time for high jinx.
Warnings, suspensions and termination of employment could be implemented, but the impact
on operations would be high. Even if a poorly behaving employee was let go with little notice,
(acceptable in the construction business) locating a suitable replacement was time consuming
and costly (both in cash and impact on operations).
Charles had a good working relationship with front line managers in his previous position at an
equipment manufacturer. He knew, however, that managers in that role often had a skeptical
view of human resources and their procedures in general. If they had issues, they expected
them to be resolved right away, without a bunch of meetings. They had roads to build.
They expected employees to show up to work, on time and do what they were told. They had
started out as raw rookies and earned their way into their jobs by hard work. Some had
experience in other construction companies and knew Northern was one of the better ones.
The President felt that the managers could use some training but may be resistant. He also felt
that they either had to recruit better or more effectively orient employees to get up to speed
quickly. One way or another, he was tired of the slow start to the season each year.
As well as the President, key people Charles would work with included the Vice-President of
Operations and the three Construction Superintendents.
1. What steps should Charles take to assess the issues?
2. What would be key working relationships he should establish, and how could he do this?
3. What practical actions could improve their business effectiveness as next year’s
construction season begins?
