Summary:

This case study is about an article entitled Why are we losing all our good people? published by Edward E. Lawler III. It describes a fictional architecture firm called Sambian Partners. It was founded by Peter Gasbarian in1975 and now is managed by his daughter Helen Gasbarian. The company is now facing some problems of losing its most talented people to its competitors. This paper is based on the information provided by the article and is divided into two sections. The first section discusses the reasons for the issues currently confronting the Company. The second section offers suggestions that would allow Sambian to addresses the difficulties it now faces and will help to provide an answer to the article's most crucial question : How can Sambian discover what's really driving people out the door? The questions in this study are answered based on the article then on my own recommendations and conclusion.

Introduction

In this case study, an architectural firm Sambian partners has begun losing its start performers and those who are departing aren't giving specific reasons for their defection. So, how can Sambian stop the talent drain? This HBR Case Study includes both the case and the commentary. There are several questions that will be answered in the following paragraphs then my own recommendation and take out about the situation.

Q1: What is the problem at Sambian Partners?

There are several issues in this case that lead to turmoil in the company.They can be identified as follow: The lack of support structure and the absence of a clear career path, Helens leadership skills, and lastly poor management skills by Mary.
The lack of support structure and the absence of a clear career path, one of the most successful elements in creating a professional work environment lie in defining the companys culture and mission. As Jean Martin (the executive director of the Corporate Executive Board s leadership council) stated in her commentary that although people join companies for rational motives they stay for emotional ones. Employees invest mentally and emotionally in their work and contribute to their employers success. They feel a sense of pride in what their company is striving to achieve as well as a sense of empowerment that they have a role in helping to reach these goals. In this case Sambian has failed to create a mission and culture to which high performers feel connected and committed. When Toms project loses the bid, he is disappointed because he feels misalignment between the direction that the firm is taking and his own aspirations. Helens leadership skills, Helen as a CEO of the company has inherited this position from her

father, she indeed is very passionate about the firm and the profession but her lack of leadership ability clearly shows in her decision making skills (promoting Adrienne). She tried a short term fix to a problem before she even knows why its happening. Helen here is contributing rather than solving the issue of losing good employees, which is an early sign of a weak management in an organization. As a leader of the organization she needs to look at the issue as a whole. Poor management skills by Mary, Mary on the other hand is concerned about the firm and other employees wellbeing but her lack of employee management skill holds her back to effectively solve the problem. In Anna Pringle (the head of international people and organization capability for Microsoft) commentary she explains that Mary is not doing her most important job, which is to be the custodian of talent at Sambian. She failed to figure out why Tom has decided to leave the firm by asking poor questions and giving up so soon. She could have been able to prevent his departure but her skills didnt lead her to find the solution.

Q2: Does work environment matters to employees at Sambian Partners? Explain Thoroughly
"People don't just leave managers; they leave organizations" as stated by Jean Martin in her commentary. Personally, I agree with her on this issue. She explains that Sambian needs to solve the problems that are making employees unhappy. In a study of four years analysis of more than 100,000 employees around the world it has been founded that although workers join companies for rational motives (better compensation, benefits, and career opportunities,) they stay and work hard for emotional one. Jean urges Helen to support a mission and culture to which employees will feel connected. Tom's case shows how Sambian failed to create this connection. When his project was rejected he felt misalignment between the direction of the company and his own aspiration. Aside from his colleague, his boss couldn't spot his growing unhappiness and dissatisfaction. This only shows the gap in connection between the management and the employees. Therefore, a clear work environment that has a clear mission and allows the employees to speak openly about their concerns and problems is important and could have been one of the reasons that prevented Sambian's most talented people to leave.

Q3: Did Tom Forsythe tell Mary Donillo the truth about his departure? Explain thoroughly
No, and the reason for that can be presented in a couple of issues as follow: First, Mary's poor skills in pursuing to find answers. And second, Tom's feelings of misalignment with the firm. Mary's poor skills in pursuing to find answers, in the "exit interview" that Mary had with Tom, she offers him closed ended questions that led to stock responses from Tom. Anna Pringle (the head of international people and organization capability for Microsoft) describes Mary as irresponsible because as the head of HR she is not doing her most important job, which is to be the custodian of talent at Sambian. It's her job to know if an employee is at risk or not. For Tom she could have established an early warning system that could stop his departure. It's her job to provide the information and advices needed to keep Sambian's talent intact. Tom's feelings of misalignment with the firm, when his project lost the bid because there was no support structure to support it; he was disappointed with the approach the company is taking. The absences of a clear mission and an environment which employees can speak freely about what bugs them can make company like Sambian may become little more than a revolving door. This is clearly the case with Tom when he didn't feel safe to tell an insider like Mary about what really bugs him and made him leave.

Q4: How do you see approaching your competitors' employees ethically? Explain thoroughly
I dont consider it a question of ethics at all, because companies dont own people. It's their choice to decide whether its time to move on or not. In this case when J&N approached Tom he approved because they offered him an opportunity that doesn't come along often. Even though J&N are Sambian largest competitor and they were approaching their talented people. Sambian could have stopped that simply by creating the best possible work environment for their employees. That would inspire people to want to not just join the firm, but to stay there. In the end, talented people are always going to be pursued by other companies.

Q5: Does the competitor apply a hunt strategy to make it difficult for its competitors to stay in business? Explain thoroughly
When the competitor goes over to hunt the star performers of other companies it will create some difficulties for them to stay in business. In some cases it can lead to workforce turmoil, like the case of Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2006. Their stock price fell and there was a rumor that the company will be acquired. This led the competitor to lure the people out the door. As a new CEO of the company Jim Cornelius found it a very tough challenge to face, because he had to build trust and reestablish stability.

Recommendation: Q6: What is your Assessment of the high turnover at Sambian Partners? Explain thoroughly
The absences of a clear mission and culture to which employees feel connected are the core of this turnover. When they conducted the survey there was some comment about deadwood in the project manager ranks, certain prima donnas who cared more about winning awards than staying on budget, and some resented evening or weekend hours because someone higher up the chain procrastinated. It made the younger employees not valued enough. The employees need to feel as part of the organization; when the talented employees don't feel appreciated and their work arent valued by the senior management, they will search for another place where they are appreciated and valued. Thus competence and not loyalty should determine what role a person does and whether the person is a part of the organization. Jean Martin advices Helen to create the need to communicate a clearer mission and the contribution individual employee will make to it, and to get dissatisfied staffers back on board, Helen can also held a monthly employees-run "mission review session" in which workers discuss Sambian's mission and its relevance to their work. Or she can consider following F. leigh Branham's (CEO of keeping the people, a human resources consultancy) advice in calling employees together into GE-style "workout session," where employees break into groups to discuss their concerns and appoint representatives to make recommendations to the larger group.

Q7: What advice you may have for Mary to keep good employees? Explain thoroughly
As a head of Human Resource in Sambian, she needs to change her methods in the way she approaches HR. first, she needs to be clear and provide accurate information to the CEO in which will help Helen to understand the full situation of the employee. Mary must have a role in creating an environment that will let the employee aware of the new changes and policies that occur in the company and any update in its mission. Second, Mary should conduct regular "culture audits" to measure employees' connection to the company's work environment. These anonymous audits consist of a brief set of questions aimed at discovering cultural disconnects. Finally, she should do her part as the custodian of talent at Sambian. For instance, she can consider conducting listening tours. These would involve visiting every department, gathering direct feedback from supervisors and staff.

In conclusion, in this study case I have discuss some crucial issues that is inside the Sambian
Partners firm and followed it with some solutions based on what I have read from the article. And by following the suggestions that are listed above a company like Sambian will be able to survive and stop their talent-drain

References:
Lawler E. Edward III, (2008). Why are we losing all our good people Harvard business Review HBR Case Commentary How Can Sambian Discover Whats Really Driving People Out the Door? By: -Anna Pringle (the head of international people and organization capability for Microsoft) -F. Leigh Branham (CEO of keeping the people, a human resources consultancy in Overland Park) -Jim Cornelius (the chairman and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb) -Jean Martin (the executive director of the Corporate Leadership of Chief human resources officers and a division of the corporate Executive Board)