HRM CHRONICLES
Overlooked On Promotions : What Next ?
By Samson Osero
People from all walks of life asked unanswered questions when six out of forty judges were last month not appointed to various positions in the judiciary . Daudi , Angela and myself joined the bandwagon when we met at Kitengela Pork Base for our monthly-get-together meeting . I told the two : " Promotions are emotive matters that organizations need to handle with tack . We may not know why the six judges were not appointed but let ' s examine challenges of promotion practices in the corporate world ."
Daudi , a lecturer in political science , retorted : " Whether in the corporate world or wherever , promotion gymnastics to the next job positions are similar . Potential candidates are interviewed and those that qualify are recommended for appointment by the relevant powers . The appointing authority may approve or not approve the recommendations ."
Promotion Interviews
Angela , a seasoned HR professional , intervened : " Before considering actions available to candidates who miss out on promotions , let ' s first discuss promotion interviews . Like other interviews , the interviewing panel would be armed with criteria against which to rank the candidates ." Candidates who demonstrate that they possess the required job competencies stand high chances of being selected .
" I think ," Angela said , " Competencies are one side of the coin . The other one is assessing whether the candidate knows what the job entails ." Composed as if it was a formal discussion , she added : " Since each position has key performance indicators , candidates are expected to explain how they will meet them ."
I was quick to point out : " From my experience , most candidates score low marks because they fail to show how their competencies can add value to the job expectations . For instance , a candidate for a CEO position should showcase his or her strategic thinking . This is critical
Some subjective factors are so opaque that prying into them would be a waste of time . For instance , the CEO may drop a candidate because of the employee ' s unrecorded previous misdeeds . Such employees may not have been formally made aware of the offending actions or omissions . in a transformative leadership role ." Poor CEO candidates stagnate in solving basic administrative problems instead of addressing broad organizational issues .
Subjective Parameters
Once the interview panel submits names of recommended candidates , the appointing authority vets them using other parameters . Daudi identified one and said : " In pursuit of gender parity , a most eligible candidate may be overlooked in favor of the unrepresented gender . Unlike the relative objectivity in scoring candidates during the interview , the approval authority uses several subjective selection factors ." Since these factors are not rated , employees at the workplace could " sense " unfair discrimination without tabling concrete evidence .
Some subjective factors are so opaque that prying into them would be a waste of time . For instance , the CEO may drop a candidate because of the employee ' s unrecorded previous misdeeds . Such employees may not have been formally made aware of the offending actions or omissions . Neither were such particular incidents raised during the promotion interview for one to defend himself or herself .
Some corporate boards are known to bow to external forces to deny promotions to deserving candidates . Under nondisclosure agreements on board proceedings , few board members cannot dare to let the cat out of the bag .
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