Balance consistency and fairness...

There’s nothing easy about being a leader in today’s workplace. Managers must balance consistency and fairness when dealing with their employees.

 

HR often preaches the importance of consistency.

But, in real life, manager’s must also be fair.

 

No two situations are ever identical – the people, facts, and circumstances demand close examination before decisions can be made. Managers must rely on their experience and then apply good judgment to every situation. And while it’s easier to just follow policy, the best employee relations are built on fairness and trust. Employees often point at decisions made for what they believe are comparable situations - managers must then carefully and clearly communicate the basis of their current decision and the need to be both consistent and fair. They also need to communicate that since no two sets of circumstances are the same, no two decisions are the same either. Again, it comes down to trust in the manager’s professionalism and perceived fairness. Sometimes, this can be tricky – when that happens, talk to colleagues and HR before making a final decision and then remind your employees that you’ll always seek to be fair when dealing with policy issues. Everyone benefits from that. When situations and circumstances are the same, your decisions should also be the same. But when they’re not, use your best judgment when deciding what’s fair today.

 

Howard S. Becker (1928 – 2023): American sociologist who taught the sociology of deviance, sociology of art, and sociology of music at Northwestern University.