CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Identifying Toxic
Work Places
By Carolyne Gathuru
T
he amount of time human beings
spend at the workplace is so
significant that studies abound
on the different formulae to calculate
the exact amount of time in hours this
translates to over a 50 year work stint.
What is consistent though, is that the
workplace whatever its nature, occupies
most of one’s waking hours and as such
shapes the direction one’s life takes.
With this in mind, there is need to explore
what exactly work places ‘market’ when
sourcing for talent at different levels, and
whether these marketing promises are kept
towards internal customer satisfaction?
Why is it that workplace stress is often
a causal factor of mental health issues,
where workers are unable to cope with
the working environment including
supervisory pressure, work completion
demands, insufficient resources and unjust
competition?
Anxiety and depression resulting from
work place stress has seen an increasing
number of workers seek mental health
services. If asked at the interview stage,
no candidate would accept to sign up
for these outcomes, and yet the rate at
which job interviews abound is in tandem
with the rise in toxic workplaces. What
creates this disconnect? Is it a case of over
promising and under delivering at the
interview level?
Just as with any sales process, talent
recruitment goes through the typical sales
Anxiety and depression resulting from
work place stress has seen an increasing
number of workers seek mental health
services. If asked at the interview stage,
no candidate would accept to sign up for
these outcomes, and yet the rate at which
job interviews abound is in tandem with
the rise in toxic workplaces. What cre-
ates this disconnect? Is it a case of over
promising and under delivering at the in-
terview level?
56 MAL31/19 ISSUE
cycle: Prospecting - where the hiring
organization actively looks for prospects
to interview for purposes of locating
candidates that would prove suitable to
match the organization’s needs; Approach
- where the human resources or associated
department
sends
out
invitations
to shortlisted candidates to present
themselves for the interview; Presentation
- where both the organization and the
interviewee present themselves for ‘sale’
with each party presenting what they are
offering on the table for uptake by the
other; Handling Objections - both ends
handle any objections arising during the
interview conversation to ensure clarity
with regards to what is on offer and the
package the potential employee or the
potential employer comes with; Closing
the Sale - where the job offer is presented,
and terms and conditions agreed upon
including
remuneration
package,
benefits, working terms, start dates and
expectations; and After Sales Service -
where the organization delivers on the
‘sales’ promises and ensures continuing
internal customer experience excellence.
Can one tell what kind of organization
they are joining just from the interview
process? As with products and services,
can the interview candidate tell from the
packaging what could possibly be on the
inside? What does the interview process
reveal about the contents of the product
the candidate is looking to purchase
and sign up for? Should candidates also
assess for suitability the organization they
are seeking to join from the experience
during the interview process? Typically,
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