Case History

What a pickle!

They say truth is stranger than fiction; perhaps this little story may you  both smile and think of the  HR  behind it:

Imagine a factory based in the Home Counties – Imagine a production line, primarily staffed by women – Imagine them performing an essentially boring, repetitive job day after day – are you there yet?

Now go to the staff canteen – a haven of refuge and escape from the above scenario. … and it’s getting on for first tea break.

The first that I heard of the riot  as it came to be known , was a frantic ‘phone call from the Canteen cook, yelling at me to get down there quickly as  approximately fifty girls were  ‘going mad down here’ and tempers were being lost.

I shot downstairs, toward the increasing roars of rage – to see Cook with a chef’s hat now falling downward, being besieged by many angry women all shouting, pushing her and very, very  angry.  All I could think of doing  to be heard and seen was to jump on the canteen counter, and to try and save the cook from being  even more manhandled. I grabbed  a saucepan  and  started waving it about. I have to say if memory serves me correct, it made contact with a few heads on its flight path!

Bellowing for order, they finally started to listen and quieten down. The problem appeared to be that our Cook had unilaterally removed the pickle from the cheese rolls (she was on a mission to economise) and hadn’t told them what she was going to do.  She hadn’t told me either, and she reported to me. They in their turn, looked forward to  tea breaks, as it was  the only part of the day they enjoyed - any change to their established routine was unacceptable and so they voted with their feet, hands, combs, and anything else they could lay their hands on.

Of course it all calmed down   as these things do, but it taught me a valuable management lesson the moral of which is, to manage change  effectively   always negotiate, always inform your staff of what you want to do, always have a fall back position.....

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